January 27, 2024 - Week 1

Training awaited me for the first few days and I was able to meet other volunteers and again be excited about our assignments. Day 4 however, was a day that tested my patience.

It started with heading to the Tax Administration Jamaica office - similar to Service Ontario, there was a line outside it as most were eager to get on their merry way. The process to get my Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN) seemed simple enough, fill in a form and get my 9 digit government number. However, little did I know that the issue wouldn't be my name, my occupation or even my citizenship, but rather the city of birth. Apparently Hong Kong Island did not exist in the database, however the issue was resolved after the manager stepped in to my relief.

Next was banking - where the process to open my account took just shy of 3 hours, mind you, banks close at 2.30pm here!

To wrap up the week, grocery prices are definitely exhorbitant. Tomatoes are CAD 14/kg, Oat Milk CAD 7 for 500ml and Lysol wipes CAD 15. However meat is cheaper: eggs CAD 4 for a dozen, chicken breast CAD 17/kg. I will happily stick to my protein powder until I decide on a new meal plan!