November 11, 2024 - Week 42

Today is the postponed date of our Jamaican Sign Language Course Practical exam, which is worth 50% of the course. The studious teachers were with me in the staff room practising silently and consulting our deaf office helper as the others rushed in at the last minute trying to finish writing their speech, which had to be presented fully in Sign Language. Not unexpectedly, a few teachers skipped the test altogether.

If anyone is keen on seeing me sign the 5 key differences between the deaf and hearing, let me know and I will be more than happy to showcase my 5-minute JSL speech!

Other than spending my evenings and weekends practising (and signing is so tiring on my hands and fingers, even as a pianist...), this week was graced with torrential rain again. However, in the glimpses of sunshine, I helped harvest Pak Choy from our School's farm - yes I trudged through the mud with a knife in hand and cut those lovely veggies. I revisited my February experience of bagging vegetables and selling them by the pound, thankfully this time I used the correct scale and didn't sell by Kilograms.

On Saturday, I visited Bob Marley Beach - a black sand beach. As it was forecasted to storm, the beach was empty but for a handful of other individuals so we nabbed some cabanas for free and had the water to ourselves. However, a few stray dogs were also persistently following us and one even chased me into the waters as it begged for the beef patty I had for lunch. I was praying the dog wouldn't be so desperate as to follow me into the water - because I don't know who would swim faster!

I closed off the week by hosting another coffee catch-up at a supposedly Canadian cafe. This time, there was a large turnout, with ladies from the USA, Jamaica, Japan, England, Ireland, Ecuador, France, Trinidad, Guyana...