Globe Trotting: Jamaica Me Crazy
The first week of June, my parents and I ventured to Negril, Jamaica for our family vacation. Negril fortunately seemed untouched by the chaos in Kingston(see news on the situation here). Though much of my time was spent at the resort, I did have the opportunity to travel around in a van while going from place to place and talking to the locals I encountered. My dad was especially social and because of his inquisitive nature, we learned a lot about the people, culture and country. Overall, the trip was amazing. I’m breaking this blog up into two parts with a slideshow in the middle (TO TURN OFF SOUND IN SLIDESHOW JUST CLICK THE SPEAKER AT TOP OF SLIDE). Enjoy!
TOURIST EXPERIENCE:
My family and I stayed at the Beaches Resort where we had our fair share of fun with the following activities:
- Swimming: Obviously a classic activity in any area located near pool, beach, river, lake etc. In addition to the Paradise-esque seven-mile beach, Beaches has two pools, two slides and a lazy river. A HIGHLIGHT: Swimming in the Jamaica caves, where we saw bats! The cave we swam in, Pirates Cove, is one of the oldest in Jamaica.
- Banana Boating: A banana shaped inflatable boat is attached by a string to a boat that tows the banana around the ocean. The boat driver takes sharp turns and maneuvers the boat through the water to cause a bumpy but fun ride. It can fit from three – ten people.
- Day boat cruise: The day boat cruise took us around the island to places where we could snorkel (see bellow) and to the caves where we swam (see above highlight). There was a dj and slide on board. The cruise was a great way to see the island, get a nice tan and swim in deeper waters.
- Zip Lining: A van took us to a jungle area about an hour and a half away where we hiked and then zip lined! It was beautiful but
Aside from the outings listed above. . .
- Night Life: When traveling with your family, night life is limited. However, if I was less lazy and had companions my age, I may have gone to the discoteca at the resort. If I was maybe two years younger, I would have gone to the teen lounge, but I looked there and it was mostly 13-year-old boys playing Xbox. Fortunately, the resort has nightly shows so I was able to see acrobats & Jamaican dancers (see slideshow bellow).
- Food: I had the opportunity to eat the traditional Jamaican meal of jerk chicken (delicious!). But, most of the time, we ate buffet style meals offered at the resort. However, food aside, Jamaican coffee is probably the most delicious coffee I’ve tasted.
CULTURAL EXPERIENCE:
- People: Everywhere we went, Jamaican people greeted us with smiles and welcoming words. They love their country, despite its corruption. Like I said above, my dad is a really talkative guy so I ended up hearing quite a few tales about people’s lives. One woman named Latoya, who worked at the hotel, befriended my mom. Latoya is one of six in her family – her parents, however, are divorced. Her mother moved to the US and married an American man, they send money to her and her siblings. She and her siblings worked their way through online college and are hoping to work their way up at the hotel. Latoya said working at the hotel has huge perks for Jamaicans and it is easy to be promoted – all employees also get health insurance and tips. Hollywood (i’m not joking, that was his name) on the other hand, doesn’t make much money as a driver. A sign at the front of the bus reads “Please tip
” in hopes that he can get extra money. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to pay for gas. He pointed out his neighborhood on the long drive to the zip lining area and told us about his favorite American movies. Hollywood told us most of the information I included below about the Jamaican lifestyle. I asked both Latoya and Hollywood why they don’t want to move to America and they said they love Jamaica too much and can’t imagine living anywhere else. - “Yeah mon”: This phrase is not a Jamaican stereotype. People say “mon” after everything. At first I thought it would be offensive to say it back but then I realized it’s super common to say it at the end of every sentence. Jamaican dialect is hard to pick up or understand because it’s quick but elongated and they use a lot of slang, such as “boom bahm” means awesome.
- Lifestyle: Although Jamaicans have the luxory of oceanside living, the lifestyle is far from glamorous. Most Jamaicans live in huts, shacks or one bedroom houses – some even with outhouses! There are no addresses on houses, natives just rent out boxes in the local post office to get mail. I learned from one of our bus drivers that they do not even own the property, the government does. At any given time, they can be evacuated. There is one main road to get from place to place (it can take you from Negril to Kingston in about four-five hours) and people don’t really have cars. To get from place to place, natives usually walk. If they work farther away, they take the bus or hitchike. Every town has a small center where there are little boutiques and stores to purchase the necessities. Some towns have schools, others don’t. This means that some kids walk from town to town just to get to school every day. School for students is in shifts because there is not enough room for all the students to go at once. One shift is from 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. and the other one is from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Most Jamaicans are very religious practicing Christians. They do not have sex before marriage and dating isn’t really common. Latoya, the woman my mom befriended, told my mom that if a woman and man like each other, the man must go to the woman’s church where the preacher will see if they are a good match. Then they will date.
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