Welcome to Great Huts!

Feb 17^th, 2014

Today was our first day at Great Huts!

To be honest, I’ve been kind of dreading the bug situation here (especially considering the fact that saying I am afraid of bugs would be putting it lightly), but it is definitely not as bad I had anticipated! However, if I never have to see another mosquito or lizard in my life it would be too soon! The huts themselves are also amazing and even more remarkable in person than they looked online.

We met in one of the larger huts today for our first meeting at Great Huts, and discussed things we had already observed since we’d been there and also hammered out the plan for the next few days.  I’m in charge of dissecting the reward and job structure at Great Huts, which should be an interesting experience! I’m excited to get to know the staff more, immerse myself in the Afro-Jamaican culture and see what else Great Huts has to offer!

Great Huts: Day 1

First of all I want to say Happy Family Day, and that I'm sending all my love to my family back home!

This morning I woke up at 7am to get an early jump on the day with a run on the beach prior to packing up. We all boarded a bus around 9:30am. Currently we are en route to Port Antonio. It's so lovely on the bus - the scenery is like nothing I have ever seen before and there are people all over the side of the road selling fruits and vegetables.. I mean why not right? I'm looking forward to arriving.

4 hours later, we had arrived at Great Huts resort. The place is incredible, humid, colourful and full of greenery. The hotel is on a cliff and is amazing. We just got our room and it is a workout to get up to the bed. The stairs everywhere are so steep but this resort is hands down one of the coolest places I have ever been before. There are no windows at all as all of the buildings are open concept to allow the fresh sea air to circulate the rooms. It is very eco-friendly and I can definitely see myself coming back here for a vacation. I can't wait to see what else Great Huts has to offer.

Right in our backyard  

Before surfing: from the right, Lisa, Astoria (middle), Shelby (me) on the left

I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next with the next few days at Great Huts and I am even more excited to begin working at the Portland Rehab Management Clinic.Tomorrow is our first day of work at the clinic and I couldn't be more excited. I am responsible for their social media research and I will be trying to set them up with more research on social media and how they can get a solid network of people to follow and possibly donate to the clinic. I have also volunteered to be in charge of donations for the clinic, so I am excited to give the clinic all of the wonderful items everyone brought... It's good karma.

After the first half day here, we had a meeting and organized more questions and details which we will go over tomorrow. However, the most important part about our first day at Great Huts is that seven of us all went and surfed in the Carribean Sea. It was a mind-blowing experience and not to mention one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. 

Boston Bay Beach (Our surfing spot)

Cheers!

Great Huts tomorrow!

February 16^th, 2014

HAPPY 22^nd BIRTHDAY TANIKA!!!!

Today is our third day at Sunset Jamaica Grande resort and the weather is nice and hot!! We had our team meetings, group meeting and a little group photo shoot around the resort. At our team meetings, we spoke about what each of us would be assessing individually while at Great Huts resort and at Portland Rehab Management Centre, and then at our group meeting, Natalya went over some of the basic information about Jamaica’s economy. 

I also faced one of my fears today…. sea creatures. I held a sea urchin! I wish I could have gotten a photo. As for tomorrow morning, we pack up and head over to Great Huts. I’m excited to see how this resort compares and what differences and similarities we will discover. 

Check out our blog tomorrow for our first post from Great Huts Resort and the Portland Rehabilitation Management Centre.

Second day in Jamaica

Feb 15, 2014 

Jamaica – Ya Mon! :) On the drive to Ocho Rios, looking at the ecological side of things: the countryside looked luscious, green and healthy. A lot of the homes were made of concrete. There were a lot of goats that roamed around freely. Or, if they were not walking freely they were tied up like a dog tied up to it's doghouse. Very Interesting! When we arrived at The Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort it was an amazing, beautiful and open concept style resort. Amazing, because all the staff were super friendly. The friendly staff gave it a warm and cozy feeling. The feeling of entered the home of a loving relative's house. As you enter into the resort, the ocean can instantly be seen. It can instantly seen because there are no windows, walls or doors blocking this gorgeous view. This view is absolutely breathtaking. The vibe is chill. And, I love the feeling that there is no snow here and it’s February. It is so rejuvenating to feel the combination of the natural sea breeze and the heat embrace the skin. I am thinking “yes, I am in Jamaica, and I love every second of it”. Furthermore, besides the visual and physical aspects of Jamaica, it would be to nice to take a closer look into the culture of Jamaica.

            Do you believe that things happen for a reason? For me, today was one of those days. The iLEAD Jamaica members crossed paths with a local man, who offered to share his perspective of Ocho Rios (his name and appearance will not be published in order to protect his identity since he said he could lose his job if it was made public). After hearing his touching story about how he and his family live in poverty, the iLEAD team decided to put their money together and help him out by taking him on a shopping spree. I did not expect that his presence and insight about Jamaica would have such a profound effect on me. He really made me love Jamaica and Jamaicans that much more.

            For example, when he introduced himself, he shared how much love and appreciation he had for all of us for coming to Jamaica - his home, and the appreciation he had for us. He was happy that we were taking the initiative to do great and wonderful things in this world. The feelings were mutual. Plus, it is not everyday you come across a genuine man from another country who demonstrates and expresses nothing but love and kindness towards his new friends, us – the iLEAD Jamaican 2014 team.

I will post a video we took of our experiences with this amazing local man so that you may experience a little bit of how he had impacted, and intensified our perspectives of Jamaica. I believe it was fate for our iLEAD team to meet this local man because a local perspective can be a much more insightful aspect of the Jamaican culture than from what is visually seen. That is why the video will be posted - so that you can witness a view from a local Jamaican man.

Our new friend, seen in the picture, reminded me of how precious and how perfect life is when you allow yourself to see beauty in places where things may not seem so attractive. Like the saying goes: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! What do you see? My thoughts: One love and change begins with you.

First Day in Jamaica

February 14th 2014.

At the airport in Montego Bay

The first day of our iLEAD adventure was a success.  We left Toronto at approximately 6:45 am and we arrived at Montego Bay at approximately 10:30 am. As soon as we stepped out of the airport we left that cold Canadian winter and entered the hot and humid Jamaican weather.  After boarding a bus to the hotel, we arrived at Sunset Jamaica Grande at around 1:00 PM. 

 

 

Group meeting at the Sunset Grand Hotel

After a quick check-in and a quick bite to eat, and a tour around the hotel, our group gathered around for a meeting to discuss our strategies regarding our two projects.  It was very nice to be able to relax on our first day in Jamaica, but we are excited for the opportunities that await us at Great Huts.  This was the first of many experiences that we will have in Jamaica, and myself and the rest of the team is looking forward to every day!