1. The Evie-ning Before
SATURDAY 29TH JUNE 2024
Eeeek, the first episode! Welcome. Please indulge, get comfy and gear up for the first ever episode of the Jamaican Diaries (OMG, how exciting!) I'll set the scene for you...
It was the night before everything would change. I was prepping for the trip of a lifetime. The night before. Every last detail had led up to this. The nerves were CREEPING in and the anticipation started to swirl in my stomach. Now as you can see by the organised suitcase and airport outfit, your girls a planner! Things were done. Things were ready. Things, were... good. I was... good. Was I good? Or was the panic attack pending?
Suitcase Packed 😆
Now, when I say this trip took time to plan- I wasn't lying. While IVHQ (the company I planned the trip with) did help me with a lot of logistics, it still took a lot of brain power to get to this point.
Now how did I get to the stage of a packed suitcase? Well, I wish I could say it was easy. With a full time job- logistics of the trip and well starting from scratch it was... challenging. Now the process itself could be expanded to a much deeper level so please let me know in the comments below if you want more detail on this. But essentially, I had to take it one step at a time- starting with working out my own motivations of the trip itself.
I intentionally designed this trip around my personal needs—seeking cultural immersion, solo adventure, and meaningful charity work in youth development and mental health. I craved self-growth under the sun, surrounded by reggae beats, good food, and vibrant community. And hello? Jamaica SCREAMED perfect. People spoke English which helped, there was insane cultural differences but plenty of room for vibes too. And the challenge of the environment- wow. I then used these factors to guide my search further. The search then led to the company IVHQ. Within the company I then browsed the courses where I stumbled upon the 'Childcare and Youth Development in Jamaica'. I researched, worked out my finances, spoke with Lia (my now Programme Manager) and worked everyday to get everything sorted in just under 2 months. Packing lists, shopping trips, travel appointments, vaccines, flights, transport- all that jazz. Each thing was slotted into any free time I had when I was not at work. I then strived to get it done by the fixed deadline on the 30th June (the date of this episode- ahhh!).
Now, you'd probably imagine that by this point, after all the planning that I would, well, be at my most calm. HAHA I was not, but I was determined to be. So with all that said, how does one deal with the anxious transition from panning, to now near action I hear you ask? This is where the Evie-ning comes in.
Here I am enjoying my Evie-ning with the final comforts of home
Now, an Evie-ning was specifically designed by ✨ yours truly ✨ as an evening of well- self care. It began at university, where I had to come up with a polite way of saying, you know what- I don't have plans, but I don't actually want to do anything tonight. I had to say it in a way WITHOUT losing all my friends. So, the term Evie-ning was invented. 'Sorry guys, I'm actually having an Evie-nig tonight- can we do tomorrow?' Yer, lets just say, it stuck!
Anyway, to calm myself from the reality that I’d just booked my first-ever solo trip to a country very different from my cosy little hometown of Winchester, I attempted a night of self-soothing: movies, chocolate, a hot scrubby bath, and an early bedtime.
But let’s be real—relaxing was... not on the cards. I was darting around like a drunk baby on roller skates, practically having a meltdown to my mum because my suitcase wasn’t rolling properly. Honestly? Hilarious in hindsight.
My mind had the essentials running through it, Snacks? Check. Playlist? Check. Passport?, flight details?, Alarms set? Check, check and check. Jamaican Patois learnt? Well, not exactly! So, I counteracted my brain with the thoughts of 'I had this', 'I was prepared'- 'what on earth could happen that I wouldn't have prepared for?' HA we will re-visit this exact phrase later on, because you truly cannot prepare for everything yet somehow, I had the biggest surprise of them all.
I started to hear the reactions of those telling me, 'respectfully, you are a blonde white girl going alone to Jamaica- are you sure?' in my head. Yes, Jamaica was very different to the UK, but this was my main motivation for the trip. I wanted different, I wanted a challenge, I wanted to immerse in the culture. So yes Karen, I was sure.
This was it. Excitement, nervousness, and a tinge of fear all mingled together in a heady cocktail of anticipation as I drifted of to sleep. I started to imagine getting on on the plane, the first bit of Jamaican music I would hear, the first toe dipping in the sand, that first swim, first meal. The people I would meet. The countdown was almost over. And when I awoke, it would be real, it would be happening and that thought began to terrify me.
Little did I know what was to come :D
Stay tuned,
Goodnight,
Eves
