A moment I wont forget
Last year for the Team Leader Conference we went to Jamaica. Every Conference we stay at the same chain of hotels and we give up an afternoon to do community work. The first year I did it was in Turks and Caicos and we did gardening on the beach. I'm fully acclimatised to Canada now, so gardening in 30c + gave me wicked heat stroke.
Leading up to this TL conference I had been dreading doing the community service because I didn't want to end up so sick again. Once again I was told I would be gardening. I climbed onto the mini bus with a feeling of dread. I hate gardening and the chance of heat stroke made it even worse.
We drove for an hour high up into the mountains of Jamaica to a place called Beston Springs. This was well and truly off-resort "Real Jamaica" We walked down to this field that was completely overgrown with weeds and grass. Our local guide gave us machetes and gave us our instructions. I know we've all heard Jamaicans talk on tv and it's all "It's alright Mon! Have a drink Mon! Smile Mon!", let's just say the real life version of a Jamaican is much different. For a start they don't speak clearly at all. I know they speak English but for the life of me I could not understand what this guy was telling us to do. He just kept motioning with a machete and implying something we were cutting would be poisonous.
At this point, I just grabbed a machete, prayed I wouldn't cut mine or another person's leg off and started clearing the field. I worked until I was covered in mud and I had blisters all over my hands. I chopped and chopped, taking my work frustrations out on everything in that field. At some point it started raining heavily so I took shelter under a tree with the Jamaicans and waited for the rain to stop. The Canadians didn't mind the rain and kept working.
In three hours we cleared the whole field. The before and after photos were amazing. We were all dirty, smelly and exhausted but for the most part happy because we had done such an amazing job. While waiting for the bus to pick us up, it poured rain and we all ended up soaking wet. I climbed onto the bus and headed for the back seat. On the way home the bus driver flicked on some Bob Marley. Coolest moment ever involved our bus, cruising along up in the mountains of Jamaica, singing in unison... "Don't worry about a thing... cos every little thing... is gonna be alright." It's one of those times that I go back to in my head and love every second of it.
As corny as it sounds... this is why I travel. Sure I love seeing new cities and I love 5 star hotels... but the moments I carry with me are just the unique little experiences that I'll always remember. The moments where I just stop and take it all in and go wow... this is living.
Leading up to this TL conference I had been dreading doing the community service because I didn't want to end up so sick again. Once again I was told I would be gardening. I climbed onto the mini bus with a feeling of dread. I hate gardening and the chance of heat stroke made it even worse.
We drove for an hour high up into the mountains of Jamaica to a place called Beston Springs. This was well and truly off-resort "Real Jamaica" We walked down to this field that was completely overgrown with weeds and grass. Our local guide gave us machetes and gave us our instructions. I know we've all heard Jamaicans talk on tv and it's all "It's alright Mon! Have a drink Mon! Smile Mon!", let's just say the real life version of a Jamaican is much different. For a start they don't speak clearly at all. I know they speak English but for the life of me I could not understand what this guy was telling us to do. He just kept motioning with a machete and implying something we were cutting would be poisonous.
At this point, I just grabbed a machete, prayed I wouldn't cut mine or another person's leg off and started clearing the field. I worked until I was covered in mud and I had blisters all over my hands. I chopped and chopped, taking my work frustrations out on everything in that field. At some point it started raining heavily so I took shelter under a tree with the Jamaicans and waited for the rain to stop. The Canadians didn't mind the rain and kept working.
In three hours we cleared the whole field. The before and after photos were amazing. We were all dirty, smelly and exhausted but for the most part happy because we had done such an amazing job. While waiting for the bus to pick us up, it poured rain and we all ended up soaking wet. I climbed onto the bus and headed for the back seat. On the way home the bus driver flicked on some Bob Marley. Coolest moment ever involved our bus, cruising along up in the mountains of Jamaica, singing in unison... "Don't worry about a thing... cos every little thing... is gonna be alright." It's one of those times that I go back to in my head and love every second of it.
As corny as it sounds... this is why I travel. Sure I love seeing new cities and I love 5 star hotels... but the moments I carry with me are just the unique little experiences that I'll always remember. The moments where I just stop and take it all in and go wow... this is living.