Rent a Tile

Today was just awesome. We started with language lessons. Learning the tenses in Patwa. Then for homework we had to write a paragraph using past, present and future tenses. We had to write what we thought about Jamaica before this week, What we know now as a Peace Corps Trainee and What we think our life in Jamaica will be in the future. What's just lovely about Patwa is you don't have to change much on the tenses. Here is a few sentences from my homework. Enjoy!

Mi did kina concern bout de people dem, but mi find out seh kind and confident. Now mi a find out seh dem like music and dance. Mi waah fi be a Jamerican afta 2 year.

There I said I was concerned about the people here, but I found out they're kind and confident. I now know they like music and dance. And I'd like to become a Jamerican( as in well integrated in Jamaica culture) after 2 years.

Plurals add dem after a noun. So girl dem, boy dem, book dem. You dont add the "s" after the noun to make it plural. Neat right? Theres all sorts of little things like that, I'm learning and practicing at home with my home stay family too.

After our language class we visited the UWI! We went to the University of the West Indies and learned about Jamaican dance and steel drums!
From Jamaican dancing, there was an evolution. It went from more African based to ska ( sixties type dancing, mash potato and the like), to reggae (a sway back and forth), and dance hall ( a sort of mix of dances, depending on the song). The dance teacher showed us how to dance a little bit of everything.

 Then our Language and Cultural Leader told us how couples would go to dance halls and rent a tile. Oh what does that mean? Well, apparently, some couples would dance so close to each other, they would also end up staying in one place. That tile that they were dancing upon, would be "rented". A small likle (little in Patwa) tile. A degeh degeh (measley little) tile. I thought that was funny, because I could think how couples like to be close. Then thinking how to dance so close the people are on one tile on the floor! This was back in the day, I don't think they do that anymore now.

After sweating a good hour or so from dance, we got lunch. I cracked... I got KFC. After our bellies were full, we went to the Pan Yard and learned about steel drums! There's all sorts and sizes of them. Going from deepest noise to lighter, we have your 6 bass, 4 bass (the one I played with), triple cello, double seconds, and double tremor and then there were your good, rock band set of drums. Steel drums come from Trinidad and Tobago, historically, and weren't played until about the 1930's. Also you can paint them chrome(environmentally bad) or just normal ( better than chrome), of course the chrome is prettier, and has the silver reflection and all that jazz.

 The students and teacher who told us all about the steel drums played a few songs for us! It was beautiful to hear! One song they played is called Palance. Its a pan song with a hop. It has a dance that the panists hop while they play- also we, the PCT's hopped around their pans too.

Over all it was a culturally refreshing experience. I loved it!