Finally, we were able to adjust to
the best of our abilities to the Jamaican lifestyle, also known by many
Jamaicans as “Jamaican time”. The conversion of lifestyles often has been
proven difficult for many, but after a few long equations with numbers that
have been derived from Navier-Stokes and others that use the Beaufort Sea State
scale, there has been a consensus that one minute New York is approximately ten
Jamaican minutes. [Ed: I think there are some unit conversion issues w/ the math here.]

A slow morning was been welcomed by
many and the sun finally flexes its strength a bit. This, by the way, had
opened the door for a few to show off their fresh sun burns.

“Its time to
celebrate life and nobody’s holding back.”

 
The morning hours were filled with scrambling to complete research
proposals. The afternoon hours were rewarded, after meetings with professors
about these proposals, with lots of tanning and swimming.  A day filled with relaxation, blue waters,
strong sun, and tropical flowers (for those who cared to look) was a recipe for
beauty.

To experience the day as a whole,
the Jamaican food that was served must be discussed. For breakfast on Thursday,
the kitchen served scrambled eggs with onion and chives. This has been served
before and seems to be as popular a food for Jamaicans as in America. Lunch was
a first timer, a concoction of franks and beans, but with a twist. The sauce
was real sweet and not thick as is typically served in America. Corn fritters
and corn bread with raisins were the carbohydrate chosen as company. The
hotdogs used for our meal were much softer than I’ve grown used to, but the
flavor was about the same. The dinner was one of the greatest so far. There is
a Jamaican potato cheese dish that’s much creamier than mashed potatoes and
much better. This marvel of nutrition was served with typical chicken stir-fry,
AND roast pork that was stuffed with herbs, roasted, and then sliced. You can
assume this was a big hit among the guests here at the lab.  Friday morning breakfast was a favorite of mine,
but doesn’t seem as popular among the less adventurous. The protein source is a
salted fish that seems to be pan fried with vegetables and lots of onions.  This is served with a small roll and a spinach
onion dish (Note: It was somehow not unusual eating these for breakfast) A
first for the group was what the head chef called a “real Jamaican breakfast”: a
coconut peanut porridge that got better with every bite.

– Jason