Day One by Koome Kirimi (Delegate from Isiolo, Kenya & Minnesota, USA)

Global Footsteps 11 2007 Jamaica kicks off with a great start. Participants from the UK, Poland, Russia, US, Brazil, Turkey and Kenya arrive and are received at the Moneague College, Saint Ann Parish Jamaica.

The weather was approximately 80F and there was a gentle breeze blowing in from the escarpments of St Ann Parish, Moneague. The participants/conference co-ordinates who arrived earlier like Peter and myself helped out with the checking in of the incoming participants. I personally got to learn some Jamaican english Patois or Creole from a few of the conference participants. The dinner was fantastic as the English tourists Tony and Nikki Burley said. The jerk chicken, boiled rice and mashed potatoes was a great welcome to this lovely island. After a hefty meal, we got down to some business with conference facilitator Ania Standish co-ordinating a few daunting ice breakers. The best of them was the fruit salad which got us running around like crazy monkeys. On the positive side, we got to know each other by name after the breath-taking ice breakers.

To sum it up, we watched the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" by former US Vice President Al Gore.

It is worth noting that as we broke off to retire for the night, the delegation from Kenya and South Africa had not arrived due to visa hitch and aircraft faults. We expect them to arrive on Monday 9th July at Montego Bay...but its still uncertain.

PS. Talk to the night guards! They are really cool and friendly!

The participants enjoy a tour of the campus

The Minister of Tourism in Jamaica introduces herself

Fabio introduces himself

Sergei the cameraman films the getting to know you evening

Drawing each other!

Drawing gameFabio tries to remember the names

The chair game in which the students had to change places into alphabetical order

Piotr Konstanty tries to change chairs!