We made it to Kingston! We have now been here in Jamaica almost 2 weeks. It feels both long and short. The trip to Kingston went really smoothly. Allie did great, we managed all of our luggage, I didn’t even feel that sick on the plane! We arrived along with another family of 3 so we were picked up at the airport in a 15-passenger van and taken directly to our housing complex. The drive was I think about 45 minutes if I remember correctly. The first day was a little awkward because we got to our new place and then we just …. were here.  Looking around like “what do we do now?” But the next day Scott started work and I’ve been doing social things so we have found our bearings.

I had to do a before and after. This is Allie when we arrived in DC

This is Allie when we left DC. We weren’t there very long but long enough for her to change so much!

All of our luggage ready to hit the road. We had 5 suitcases, 1 large carry on, 1 briefcase, 1 back pack, 1 diaper bag, 1 car seat, and 1 stroller.

Thankfully this is what Allie did for the majority of our flights. First to Miami and a couple days later to Kingston

so much stuff. Heading to the airport in Miami

Some light reading on the short flight to Kingston

WE’RE HERE

A few first impressions:

• The weather is not unbearable! I had envisioned myself constantly drenched in sweat, breathing heavy, red in the face, sticky. But so far, it has been very manageable.
• Driving is not as crazy as I was expecting. Driving on the other side of the road will take some getting used to, but other than that, the roads and drivers seem organized for the most part. We have not received our car yet so I may say otherwise when I actually start driving.
• The poor are more poor than I had anticipated. I knew coming to Jamaica that we would see poverty but it’s humbling to drive by cinder block homes with tin roofs. We are so fortunate.
• The best is better than I had anticipated! The grocery store is clean, organized, and well stocked. There are nice places to go out to eat. It’s not all open air markets and roadside stands.
• The people are so kind and they LOVE Allie (who doesn’t). One of the security guards has already nicknamed her “bright eyes”
• The Ficklins are not built for church in Kingston with NO AC!  We are wimps.
• I think we will have a really great 2 years here! We have already made friends with others in the community and I know we will continue to do so.

Our things should be arriving soon. We will get our UAB hopefully this week and then our HHE after that. We will also get use of our car within about 3 weeks. I’m very much looking forward to getting our things so I can actually start making this place home.  When we get our stuff all set up I will do a post about our apartment.  Right now it’s just bare walls and really ugly furniture!

Allie on the drive through Kingston from the airport to our apartment. At this point she was ready to be out of her seat

The road from the airport runs right along the coastline.

Our new view!

The pool area at our complex

We have already spent a lot of time at the pool

Beautiful Jamaica

As I mentioned, I think this will be a really great 2 years for our family! There are many families in our complex with small children. We can’t wait to take more trips to the beach, go up into the mountains, and discover more local food. We are so excited to get to know this beautiful country!