On my second night in Kingston, we went out to a piano bar that evening and met some interesting people. We met two guys who had worked in the S.A.S. for 25 years who were now living in Spanish Town (one of the most dangerous areas in Jamaica) and training Jamaican police officers to deal with extreme situations, such as hostages. We had a big talk with them about staying safe in Kingston and they told us that as long as we learned the rules and played by them, we were in no more risk of random violence than anywhere else. BUT, they said, we could never, ever let down our guard and never forget where we were because that's when a lot of foreigners get into trouble. Two co-workers of Dan's have been mugged at knifepoint, one of them was mugged the night we went out to the piano bar. However, both incidents occurred late at night, after an evening of drinking AND in an isolated parking lot in a bad area of town. I'm still a bit anxious about my safety down there but we're both fairly sensible, even after a few beers, so I'm hoping that will help us stay out of trouble.

We were invited to watch the first live taping of the show "Rising Stars' (an American Idol-type show) that Sunday, which I hoped would be a good opportunity for me to meet people in the local television industry.  The show was a lot of fun and some of the singers were wonderful; they're allowed to sing their own material and the ones who did so were generally the ones who did better with the audience.  Afterwards, we chatted with the producers and went out for beer with some of the staff.  It was great to get to know people in my industry.  Most asked me to get in touch when I move down to talk about possibilities for work and/or collaboration on some other projects, so I left that evening feeling very positive but knowing I had a lot of work - and potentially a lot of schmoozing in order to get that work - ahead of me.