Hotel Party

Last night, we went to Portmore Municipal Council's staff holiday party, held at the fancy Terra Nova Hotel near New Kingston. We decided to spend the night at the hotel so that we would not have to try and get a ride home after the party at 2 AM. Plus we don't mind the hot water, cable TV, and internet available in the hotel room.

We got into the room about 2:30 PM. It had hot water, and cable, and internet. Hey, that was just what we were looking for. That worked out well for us. Plus the big bonus was that the room was carpeted. The last time we saw carpeting was at the hotel in Miami. It was almost too much for our barefoot feet to handle. It was so great not to have to wear flip-flops (Jamaicans call them slippers) while inside plus it felt so soft and clean. We spent the afternoon watching TV, showering, and using the internet. All at the same time. Well almost. At one point Shane was checking his email, watching the KC Chiefs game, while switching back and forth between "Sean of the Dead", which is a funny movie by the way. Kaelyn took two hot showers, to make up for all the cold ones in our apartment.

We went down to the party/banquet around 8 PM. The food was ok. We think it might have been a little funny because it had been sitting on the buffet line for a while. (We started at 8:30 rather than 7:00, typical Jamaican event) We both got a vegetable plate, and it was really good, with about 12 kinds of vegetables (corn, potato, cabbage, tomato, mushrooms etc. ). After the food, members of staff wowed us with their musical talents. The City Engineer sang some smooth R & B. The accounting staff did a skit and a dance routine. Our boss, the planning director, is a bit of a comedian and did a little standup. We were so proud.

After the performances, the DJ's went through some 70's funk and pop (e.g. Jackson 5), then into oldies reggae and dance hall. We danced a bit, but bowed out when it got a little too hot and heavy for us. Jamaican dancing can sometimes make grinding from back home seem quite tame. It was a fun night, and then we had the next morning to chat online and take more hot showers. Afterwards we went to a Christmas craft fair at Devon House and went out to eat at the Thai restaurant.

All in all, a very nice holiday weekend.

-Shane and Kae