During the month of January my school has a short term between the end of Christmas break and second semester. There are definitely pros and cons to it, but one thing I love is that it gives students the opportunity to travel easily! I went to Jamaica, but my friends were literally scattered across the globe during January. My roommate went to 6 different countries in Europe, another good friend went to Kenya, 3 of my friends went to Greece, one went to Indonesia, one went to Puerto Rico, etc. I absolutely love that I was able to get class credit while seeing part of the world, and it didn’t interfere at all with my major and the strict schedule I have to be on for it.
Obviously I took quite a few pictures today, so I wanted to briefly recap my trip and share them!
We flew into Montego Bay, and then drove about 3 hours to Jamaica Deaf Village, where we would be staying the next two weeks. The class I was taking was focused on disabilities in a developing country, but it was mainly focused on learning about how deaf people live in Jamaica.
The view from where we were staying was stunning!
Mocha, the village dog.
Garfield and Aunt Jemima were two cats that hung around our house. Obviously, I was happy!
We also visited a coffee shop that students at a deaf school had started a few years ago. It was amazing to see how easily they can communicate and run a business even though they were deaf. Ordering a drink was slightly different than a normal coffee shop, but they had a great and easy system!
Then we visited YS Falls to go zip lining and explore the falls! This was one of my favorite places that we visited in Jamaica. Somewhere there also told us that this was where Ben and JoJo went on an episode of The Bachelor a few years ago, so that’s an interesting fact if you watch that show!
We also were able to visit a black sand beach! On a side note, this beach had so much trash on it that is kind of ruined how cool it was. But it was still fun to see a black sand beach!
Spot the rainbow!
Another fun fact about Jamaica is that there are goats everywhere. It was so funny just to drive by a bunch on the side of the road chewing grass!
I found 3 more cats by the end of the trip!
We found this outside on our last day at JDV. We also found a cockroach in the bathroom that night. Needless to say, we were ready to leave the next day!
Supposedly this is the best ice cream place in Jamaica? The first time we went, I got this coconut ice cream and it was so good!
Devon House
We also visited Dunn’s River Falls to climb the waterfall. This is the beach that the falls ran into.
Really wish I had a waterproof camera to show Dunn’s River better, but it was definitely a cool experience to climb the falls!
We spent the last 4 days in Montego Bay, and got to watch the sunset almost every night!
picture via
We also went to see the luminescent waters in Jamaica with Faithful Waters. Basically when you move, the water lights up due to the organisms that live in it. It was not nearly this bright when we went unfortunately, but it was still neat to see the water sparkle in your hands when you scooped some up!
If you are ever in Montego Bay, I recommend going to The Pelican to get chocolate malt shakes. SO good.
We stayed at El Greco Resort, and the breakfast there was pretty much the only good thing about it. I did not like the location of it, our air conditioning was broke in the bedroom for the first 2 days, and the wifi was down for the last 2 days. I felt like we were always calling the front desk because something broke, and they were not very nice about it. I’m gonna be 100% honest here and say that I probably would not go back to Jamaica solely for a vacation. I enjoyed the class and staying at JDV, but once we went to MoBay it wasn’t as good. Mainly because people were constantly harassing us on the street whenever we were trying to go anywhere, either trying to get us into their shops or creepy guys trying to hit on us. Plus, there wasn’t a whole lot within walking distance, and we were told that it was unsafe to take taxis or anything like that. If you are planning on going to Jamaica, I highly recommend staying at an all inclusive resort, where you only leave for the occasional outing.
The sun was setting on the plane ride home, and the clouds were so pretty!
Phew, sorry for the picture overload, but this is only a fraction of the pictures I took haha. It is weird that this trip is over because I have been looking forward to it for so long, but I am ready to get through second semester now!
Have you ever been to Jamaica? Where are you traveling to next? Share in the comments!
xo, Scarlett
