Nursing in Jamaica -- The Glistening Waters

Today was a more relaxing day for me.  I was assigned to assist our cook, and we made a trip to the market.  It was raining off and on, and knowing we had a full day of activities planned, I was keeping my fingers crossed that the rain clouds went away.  A woman came by; I can't remember her name or all she said, but she talked about her faith and belief in God.  She was so passionate about her faith, and she told us.  "I'll pray for sun, and you'll get sun."

Sure enough, we got sun! 

 After lunch, the cook didn't assign us anything else so I headed over to the clinic to help with doing papaya seed teachings.

Papaya seeds are truly wonderful things.  When dried and crushed, they can work as a medication for worms, for both treatment and prevention.  I got to quickly learn and teach the people waiting on the porch how to do this. It was a pleasure to be able to talk to them.

After we closed the clinic, the whole group jumped aboard a bus to take the luxurious ride to the Martha Brae. And by luxurious, I mean flying down a narrowed road on (to us) the wrong side of the road, barely missing cars and pedestrians. All paranoia aside though, our driver is excellent, and once again, had us laughing.

The Martha Brae is a long, beautiful river.  The rafts that go on the river are made of long pieces of bamboo with a wooden bench built on it.  Two people can ride on a raft, while an attendant stirs with another long piece of bamboo.  The scenery was beautiful and it was so very relaxing. I even got to stir the boat (most of the classmates gave it a try).  Believe me when I say, it isn't as easy as it looks.

After a dinner at the dorm (and after nightfall), we were loaded back onto the bus and driven to a bay where the Martha Brae and the ocean meet.  This place was called the "Luminous Lagoon" or "The Glistening Water", because there is live microflora that live in these waters.  They light up when irritated, just like fireflies.

 We were loaded onto a small boat (so small a few of us road on the front of the boat -- me included.  [Please remember that this is illegal in the states.] I leaned against the windshield and gazed up.  The night was clear and all the stars were close and clear.  It was beautiful. But not as amazing as the water.  When we stopped and got in, we got to understand what he meant by fireflies.  Every time I moved across the surface, little yellow lights would appear, like fairy dust.  It was the closest to Tinkerbell I will ever be.  

To all of you reading this: Jamaica is beautiful.  If you ever have the opportunity to go, go!

My lesson for today: Faith can move mountains. And occasionally, the sun.

~Chante'