KETTLE CORN AND RODEOS!

Hello,

      So we haven't posted since the honeymoon, but life's been pretty busy getting home and settled in from wedding and honeymoon.  We have finally gotten the house in order from all the wedding gifts and all the new purchases from the gift cards and money we received as gifts from everyone!  The place looks more like a home now rather than a ghetto little, bare walled apartment!  I LOVE it!!

      This weekend will be insanely busy!  We are going to be working for my aunt's business.  She owns a kettle corn vendor booth and she works, rodeos, street fairs, community events...stuff like that.   Well this weekend is one of the biggest events of the year...The Ramona Rodeo!!  Rob will be cooking the corn in the kettle and I will be working the front table selling the corn!  Its amazing!  People will wait in a 30 minute line to get a bag of kettle corn!  :o)  We are working all 3 days of the event!  Tonight, Saturday Night, and Sunday!  Going to be busy busy fun!  I love working rodeos because I love country music and the country "feel"!  I don't get to listen to country music very often because Rob isn't much of a fan!  :o)  No getting away from it this weekend! lol!

        Rob and I are also going to be getting back to our healthy eating!  Have been so focused on other things that we had let that go a little too much and are ready to get back on track!  It feels so good to be healthy!  I got those Sketcher's Shape-Up shoes for my birthday and I want to start walking with them and my dad is going to help me get my bike set-up with new tires so I can start riding!  Exercise is going to be my new focus!  Time to get my body in shape!

       On top of ALL of this Rob and I are both in search for work for summer!  So we have been filling out apps and submitting resumes like CRAZY!   Hopefully something will materialize for the both of us!  We need consistent work and flow of income so we can get through summer with Rob not being able to teach!

Well....that's about it!  Catch up with you after the BIG Rodeo/Kettle Corn weekend!

                                   Love,
                                        The Hesters

Friday Night Beach Bash!

So last night was the beach bash!  It was really fun however both Rob and I were super tired and I had a belly ache from too many Jamaican Smiles...(that's our FAVORITE drink)!  When we got to the party we were served a rum and juice cocktail in bamboo cups (that we got to keep as a souvenier) and the entire buffett was served in kayaks!  It was very cool!  They had a stage set up for the local band that would be playing for us and like 4 meat carving stations where they were serving Jerk Chicken, Pork Ribs, Beef and other stuff too!  Once dinner was over they started the entertainment and the band played some music!  I can't stop dancing and grooving to the beats of the reagge!  I love it!  When the band took a break they introduce "The Fire Kid" , he wasn't a kid...more of a young man and he did some dancing with two fire sticks and he would run the fire over his skin and on the bottoms of his feet! It was amazing!  Then he started running around the dinner tables and doing tricks and stuff right in front of the guests as we all  watched!  Then he ran right up to the tree I was standing under (Rob had ran to our room to get the video camera), he handed me one of his fire sticks and then climbed up into the tree and did some cool fire stuff in the tree.....all the while I'm still holding the fire stick and he finally jumps down and I go to hand him the fire stick and he grabs my hand in his hand and makes me feed him the fire!!!!!!!   It was sooooooo awesome....

     The bummer part was that Rob did return in time with the video camera and not only didnt catch it on the video but he missed the whole thing...!  Total bummer with that....but I guess I have the memory and we may  buy the photo from the resort...not sure yet..Oh yea...our regular camera battery was dead too...so I didnt even have that as an option! :o)  Oh well..."its no problem mon!"   That is what our friends here in Jamaica would be telling me! "Irie Mon"   :o)

                                    Love, Mrs. Hester

Learning Patois! (pronounce PAT- Wah)

Hello!
     Are you wondering what Patois is???  Here is some information and some words for you to try it out for yourself!  Its amazing to hear the staff talk to each other!  I will try to get a video of it later....but for now you can read up on it! 

                                                 Love, The Hesters

      Jamaican patois evolved, in Jamaica, over hundreds of years during which time the language was influenced by loanwords introduced by African slaves, and it was also heavily influenced by English words, from the British, who colonized the island. Therefore, it should not be surprising that many words in patois lean towards a British pronunciation; although no similar word may exist in standard English.
Some say that Jamaica patois is an accent. It is more than an accent. Some say that patois is a language. Suffice it to say that patois has its own pronunciation rules, word order is important and correct usage and placement of verbs are important. Moreover, Jamaican patois incorporates new words from other languages and from other cultures on a continual basis.
The language is constantly changing. Much of the change is due to new words being "coined" or borrowed from other languages. Youth culture also drives and promotes change in the language. One of these ways youth culture affects patois is through the use of the Internet.
Jamaican is a spoken language and was hardly written, except in folk poetry and folk stories, but now patois is frequently being written in Internet chat rooms where spelling is gaining standardization and new word are being coined.
Jamaican patois is the 'lingua franca' spoken in Jamaica. It is a vibrant, expressive and lively language. If you've ever listened to or heard dance hall reggae music you've had a taste of what the language sounds like.
If you know a few words of patois, Jamaicans will be delighted to hear you speak them but it's not necessary because Jamaicans can understand standard English perfectly well!


The following are a few examples of Jamaican words.
Popular Words for Greeting People:
yes eyeyah = yes sir (used as a very informal greeting)
wah gwan = what's going on
nutten nah gwan = nothing is going on
suh wah pun = so what's up
Showing Location:
eh deh = it is
nuh deh = it is not
deh deh = to be
she deh deh = she is there (at home etc)
Pronouns:
mi = I/my
yuh = you
unno = you(plural)
wi = we
dem = they
Common Verbs:
lef = to leave
dem lef = they left
gi = to give
dem gi eh = they gave it
Words and Expressions:
cho = an exclamation
cho nuh dweet = don't do it (exclamation)
cris = pretty, looks good
chaparita = wrist bracelet
boops = someone with money