Getting lost

 It's becoming very easy to get lost in Jamaica these days, because of the rapid development taking place everywhere.

So I guess on my annual visits I just have to get accustomed to it.🥴. 

Last year we got lost trying to find the roast yam and saltfish vendors at Melrose Hill. For they had been moved from their regular place in Williamsfield to the new highway bypassing Mandeville. And because as per usual,  no information signs had been posted anywhere about how to get to their new location, we just decided to forget the yam treat and head home to the north coast. That's when we almost ended up in the bowels Clarendon for again, there were no directional signs anywhere about how or where to connect with the Edward Seaga highway 😡.

Getting lost this year had nothing to do with signs however, but rather because of the rapid development taking place everywhere along the Northcoast highway, from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios.

This is making many areas unrecognizable! 

I had visited my friend's home in St. Anns Bay many times, but could we find the entrance today! This had been easy to find as one simply drove down a lonely, unpaved road to the beach.

But it's not lonely or unpaved anymore, for a massive housing development of some 1000 units on 100 hundred acres of land is now taking place right where the entrance had been, and more, there is now a massive private security gate.

After driving around in circles for a while, in frustration, called our friend Chris who had to drive to where we were and lead us to the new paradise. 

But it was worth the frustration as once we got there, we had a wonderful afternoon hanging out with old friends.

L-r back: David, Grace, Bernie, Joan, Chris

 Front: Shirley, Denise.

Most of us had been members of the once vibrant Fun and Thrills Adventure Club which saw us regularly hiking and riding around the island and normally ending up by a nice river where we would swim and eat delicious meals cooked right there on the river bank.

Those were the good old days.

 Today, it was really great hanging out with the old crew once we found our way.

Great memories.

Hmm. Wonder where we will get lost next year?  For with the rapid development taking place everywhere, it's bound to happen.

(NB. Some pics taken by Denise and David.)

Kingston isn't Jamaica !

 As a country girl growing up, I often not only heard the term"Kingston is Jamaica" but also saw it in action and was always incensed.  

We had to become accustomed to being left behind, for that is how most of our governments operated. 

In short, we were 'back a bush' so had to be satisfied with 'what lef' or nothing!😡

So, we never even saw street lights or asphalt roads  much less sidewalks, until we went to the great city.

Seeing the immediate reaction by many to the devastation left by Beryl, just reminded me how we country folk used to feel being left out of the picture.

To be clear, I am no longer a Jamaican country person or even a Jamaican resident anymore. But it really hurt when for days I got news from home that hurricane Beryl had only been a little breeze blow which had only done minimum damage.

Ok, admittedly, many of those who referred to it as a little 'breeze blow' had survived Gilbert and it's aftermath which had caused them to be without electricity for weeks on end and had  known many roofless friends and neighbors.

 So they having expected a very bad experience  based on Beryl being  prophesied to be worse and it sure wasn't in their neighborhoods, can be excused. 

But not the media which downplayed the island wide damage or couldn't wait till they had the facts.

 So they carried stories of comfort, based on the situation in most of Kingston.

Yup. In their minds, Kingston is still Jamaica apparently!

It was only about two days after Beryl had totally wrecked sections of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, that the rest of the country and indeed world, started to recognize that there was more to Jamaica than Kingston!

I eventually learned that the devastation in my parish, St. Elizabeth, had really been severe, with a vast number of persons left totally homeless or severely exposed to the elements.

The destruction in these country areas are not only parochial problems though as it is these three parishes that mainly supply a significant amount of not only the fruits, foods and vegetables to the entire country of Jamaica, but poultry and fish as well.

Let's hope when it comes to rehabilitation and helping people to get their lives back on stream, the Kingston is Jamaica philosophy will not prevail. As everyone is a taxpayer (even if it's only GCT)  and should not be treated as lesser beings, simply by virtue of not having been born 'under di clack' 😡.

And this means in terms of having essentials like light and water restored!

We also all need to be vigilant to ensure that the billions to be spent to repair infrastructure is properly accounted for and quality work done, for remember this is just the first hurricane of what is predicted to be an active season.

An enjoyable affair

 Dubbed Black History Month Fashion Show, the afternoon get together at Tamarac Senior Center was a hit with everyone.

M.C. Sam Munro and the volunteer organizers

We got a  rendition of the Black National Anthem "lift every voice and sing" from Holly Bowen, who has a wonderful voice and is described as a foundation member of the well known South Florida Caribbean Chorale. 

                  The songbird Holly Bowen.

Our art teacher Michelle (center) was there and posed with students Joan and Helena.

Michelle and Hellena

About half of those who attended wore some form of African dress and there were some really beautiful prints and styles.

It was from the participants that the  'models' were drawn.

Seniors in their colorful garb waiting in line for the door to open

Noor, another art student. She came in her Pakistani national dress. Very nice.

As I was one of those who thought I could model, I got no pics of that segment.😊

The Haitian drummer doing the cuckoo dance.

The food was delicious and I hear it was Sam the M.C who organized it all. 

It sure fuelled our bodies to get on the dance floor.

The drummers gave us solos before the proceedings officially started .

The drummers were Caribbean, African descendants of course. The lady was from Haiti and the gentleman from Clarendon, Jamaica.

It was a nice function from start to finish and all the seniors had a great time. 

According to the  M.C.  Sam, (who is also our Site Supervisor at the Tamarac Senior Center,)  the function was organized in record time by the volunteers above.

 He promised that it will become an annual affair during Black History Month. 

Great going guys.

P.S. 

Thanks to our wonderful art teacher Michelle, I finally got some pics of the 'models' in their African garb and a few other pics. 

I am sharing these memories of the wonderful day below.

Michelle with her students Helena and Jennifer 

At the table with top artist Diana

The models

Home at last😊

 As I flew over Zambia, it was as if I had reached my beautiful home, Jamaica.

The place is absolutely sunny, green and lush and I actually got to see the wonderful Victoria falls from the air. 

It was even more amazing than I had ever thought for as far back as I can remember, I had always wanted to visit that place described as one of the wonders of the world. 

It’s in Livingstone, which is really flat as it’s in a valley. 

I didn’t get a pic from the air, but the pic in my mind is forever etched. 😊

Airlinks lunch boxes are so attractive 

We had left the hiccup in Johannesburg behind and had arrived via Airlink that lovely little South African airline which calls itself ‘domestic’ but it is clearly regional, as Zambia is definitely not part of South Africa!

I think the different feeling I got immediately about Zambia was because of the climate. 

Cape Town is absolutely beautiful but it tends to be bleakly. As I landed in Zambia a warmth embraced as  it must have been in the 80’s. 

Yup, my type of climate. 

Oh how I love my friend Wendy.❤️

She is a Jamaican who has made Zambia her home for the past 7 years but knows the entire region like the back of her hand. 

Without her, we would never have this wonderful adventure as she has directed us every step of the way, (except on how to get left at an airport).

Look at the Airbnb she recommended for us!

I can’t wait to get to Lusaka to see her and meet her family for I really haven’t seen her for about 20 years.

And Ian and Sue who own the lovely Airbnb have been super helpful,  from the past few weeks, long before we got here. 

Ian took us into Livingstone where we got some stuff, tried some local food and walked home.

Interestingly, on our walk home, we saw a lady and her school-age son, walking and eating these grape looking things.

 They offered us some and the young man even went and picked some more. We were warned that if they touch the outside of your mouth it itches.

 It did.

Coincidence was, she works right at the crocodile farm right beside our home.

Small world.

 I feel so at home here that ever since I arrived, the words to the signature song made by the late, great Peter Tosh aka stepping razor, have been swirling in my head.

Don't care where you come from
As long as you're a black man, you're an African
No mind your nationality
You have got the identity of an African. 

'Cause if you come from Clarendon (you are an African)
And if you come from Portland (you are an African)
And if you come from Westmoreland, you're an African

So don't care where you come from
As long as you're a black man, you're an African
No mind your nationality
You have got the identity of an African. 

Amén

I now know the difference between 3 g, 4 g and 5 g. 

With 3 g you can do almost nothing on the internet. With 4g It takes forever to upload pics so g although this blog is written on 24th March, I really don’t know when I can publish it 😡. 

They say you don’t miss something until you lose it. Well I really miss 5 .

No manatees today😢

Today was clearly the worst day to choose to visit the manatees at Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach.

This attraction is an initiative of Florida Light and Power (FLP) which on seeing that manatees gather in the warm-water outflows at Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, especially during cold weather, developed that area as an interesting scientific center where families could learn about these huge gentle mammals.

Their mission is “to not only educate the public about the relationship it has with these wonderful creatures, but to “inspire communities to preserve and protect Florida’s environment and wildlife for future generations,” they declare on the promotional material inviting persons to visit their free attraction.

Inside the educational center

It is really a good educational center, especially for kids and an excellent initiative by FLP.

I have been fascinated by these huge gentle creatures ever since I had the opportunity to swim with a nuclear family of manatees, (father mother and two babies) and pet them many decades ago, at Alligator Hole in Claredon Jamaica.

Our manatees are endangered and this is an environmental center, but unfortunately, on the three other occasions I have stopped there to see them, I was  disappointed, as they were up-river feeding.

In Florida I have seen many however, especially in the St. John's River at Blue Water Springs; https://joan-myviews.blogspot.com/2022/02/hontoon-island-and-more.html.

Giving kids an education 

I still can’t get enough of manatees though, so, when my high school friend Sonja told me about this preserve operated by Florida Light and Power, I was ready to explore.

Rough seas today

However, on Saturday 4^th, low-temperature records dropped drastically across portions of the USA because of an artic freeze. While in southern Florida, the temperatures were in the 70’s, there was a strong breeze throughout the day, (up to 40 mph in some areas), causing rough seas.  That is probably why we did not have the good luck to see any manatees.😪

At one point, while inside the scientific center, we saw a few on the live loop camera feed, but by the time we rushed outside, they had vanished.

Oh well, at least we discovered somewhere new and maybe next time our luck will be better ( I hope).

And I did learn one thing which is that manatees are very distantly related to elephants though their extinct ancestors.

As I keep discovering, all things are possible with the complicated science of evolution!

 West Palm in the distance

Jamaica an English-speaking country?

Every time I hear someone say Jamaica is an English-speaking country, I have a good laugh.  Not only because the last survey (2007) done on the topic showed that less than 18% of  us speak it, but because of the hilarious experiences I know about.

The first was when relatives from Nicaragua, Bluefields to be exact, sent their children here to learn English.

For the benefit of those who don’t know of our close connection to that part of the world, let me explain our links.

As you probably know, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, thousands of Caribbean people including Jamaicans, went to Panama to seek work on the canal project. That was a dangerous project and thousands died, but when it was completed in 1914, some persons returned home. However, many others decided to seek opportunities in the region and those who did not remain in Panama, moved up to Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and even over to the San Andres Island among other places.

Interestingly, it was the Jamaicans who named an area on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua where they settled, Bluefileds, after our own Bluefields in Westmorland.

This is where some of my relatives settled and it was some grandchildren of one of my cousins there, who were sent to Jamaica to learn English. They went to live in Clarendon with another relative who operated a bakery there. While there, they attended elementary school nearby.

Well, that project failed badly, so after a few weeks the parents had to come and retrieve their children, for not only did they not learn a word of English, but also every second word out of the mouth of the babes was a bad word.

I heard an even more amusing story from a young lady I met in Florida where she was studying psychology. She told me she was born in East Asia, Myanmar to be exact and her parents who were doctors, wanted herself and her young brother to learn English. They found on the internet, this beautiful island in the Caribbean where it was revealed that English was spoken. Excitedly, they wrote to the government to enquire if there was any demand for doctors and were quickly recruited.

When they arrived here, they were posted to a quite large, supposedly progressive district in St. Thomas, where, she then nine, and her brother then seven, were enrolled into a local elementary school.

She enjoyed her time there and better yet, how quickly she was becoming proficient at  ‘English!’

Three years later, she was sent to a prestigious high school in Kingston and from the first day, every time she opened her mouth to speak, her colleagues in class laughed uproariously!

At first, she couldn’t understand why, then someone drew her aside to tell her she was speaking patois they were not allowed to do so in class!

Long story short, she eventually learnt English there and was happy to report that she is now tri-lingual, speaking her native language, patois and English!

I don’t how common it is for foreigners to move here to learn English only to learn that we are not really an English-speaking Country. Unfortunately, the problem does not only lie with school kids and some parents but teachers as well. For how well I remember how often I had to go in to see the English Teacher at a Spanish Town high school when I lived there, because she was marking things wrong in my children’s English homework book, when they were right!

I love patois to the point where I now have a you tube channel teaching whoever wishes, to speak Jamaican patois. I, however, love learning other languages for I totally agree with the Canadian, Yama Mubtaker, that “If people had the right skills and intention to communicate well, there would be no conflict. The better we are at communicating, the better our lives will be.”

You know, we have many young ambitious Jamaicans all over the globe teaching English. By not ensuring that all our own citizens master this international language, we are really stymieing their progress in the midst of the myriad of opportunities worldwide in so many different areas.

Why don’t we use some of these specially trained young people  who are teaching foreigners all over the globe, to teach English in those sections of Jamaica where people’s progress is being impeded because of their inability to communicate in this important international language?

Let’s start living in the real world instead of the land of make believe.

English speaking indeed!

 

https://youtu.be/EG_UIhU0uac

(268) JAMAICAN PATWAH - YouTube

 

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Jamaica 2021, what a blast!

 As much as I love the convenience of living in the USA, nothing can equal my annual visit to my homeland, Jamaica.

 To begin with, I always try to coordinate these visits with mango season, especially when East Indian mangoes are coming in, as that is my top favorite. Boy, did I ever get a whole heap this year. I was tempted to smuggle some in but luckily, I didn’t as I traveled through Miami airport and they dug up my luggage on my return.

Ass holes.

This year was extra special though, since it was the first time in years that my visit coincided with that of my daughter and granddaughter. Naturally my brother and sister-in-law were already there, so we all stayed with them at their home in  Silver Sands most of the time.

We had a wonderful time using Trelawny as our base. As usual going fishing was on the top of our list of activities and for the first time in my life, I caught a fish that was probably close to a pound!

We didn’t stray much from Silver Sands, as it has the best beach in the island, in my book. Before the younger ones arrived, my brother, sister in law and I journeyed over to the center of the island to the world famous mineral spa at Milk River, as some of us not so young ones were having some aches and pains. 

Milk River spa

We didn’t know it before we drove there, but it had just reopened after having been flooded a few days earlier when the country was inundated with rains. As a result, the water was not as hot as normal, but soothing none the less.

Milk River bath was established some 300 years ago, after a runaway slave who had been beaten half to death by his wicked slave master, found a stream in the hills, bathed his wounds and was miraculously healed. Subsequent tests revealed that the stream coming out of the hills, 

had one of the highest radioactivity levels of any mineral spring The water is promoted as being good for a long list of ailments and although the pool is closed, there are six private baths open for use. 

After leaving there, we headed along the South Coast highway (built in the 1970’s) which is almost impassable today, to visit the manatees, called sea cows locally.

They are endangered, and a family is kept at Alligator Hole but unfortunately, we never saw them as the keeper said they were up river.

Incidentally, Alligator Hole is in a swampy section of the Milk River and there are crocs in it but they don’t interfere with the gentle manatees. 

A correction though, for while the sign there says Alligator Hole, there are no alligators in Jamaica, only crocs!

From there we wended our way gingerly on the badly

 deteriorated South Coast highway over to Little Ochi where the food was great as usual.

A few days later, I jumped on the convenient Knutsford Express to visit friends and family in Kingston. 

Thanks to my knowledgeable cousin Dor, I was introduced to some marvelous improvements taking place in downtown Kingston.

These range from strategically placed info boards on many historic buildings to a sculpture of two important founders of our nation, Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley  and the unbelievable transformation of Water Lane. 

For blocks intersecting with that street, outstanding Jamaican artists have given their skills to create murals depicting Jamaican life all around.

A dramatic and most welcome turn around in the entire area.

When the kids arrived, we visited the Puerto Seco beach and although it has been nicely upgraded and child-friendly, it’s just not as lovely as the good ole Silver Sands beach.

They being adventurous, visited Mystic Mountain, but because of my dislike of heights, I hung out with my friend Chris at her beach house nearby, until time to pick them up. 

They had a ball there and at Dunn’s River falls before joining us on the lyme by Chris.

Silver Sands beach

We separated for a few days as Michele and Maddy wanted to hang out in Kingston with the Williams clan who celebrated her recent milestone. That was her earning a PhD  after many years of dedicated study and sacrifice. While in Kingston they boated over to Lime Cay to swim before returning to the country to join me for a few days a Bahai Principe in Runaway Bay. It’s not a bad hotel but boy do they need a good chef or two!

While they were away, we journeyed to Seaford Town in the hills of Westmorland, a place I had always wanted to visit. This settlement is called locally, German Town as after the Abolition of Slavery (Aug. 1, 1834), many planters had a shortage of labor so imported indentured workers.

A section of Seaford Town

One was the establishment of a European settlement by Lord Seaford, then owner of Montpelier Estate and Shettlewood Pen which were located in St. James. Over one thousand Germans were brought to Jamaica with the promise of being granted accommodation, land, and employment. 

This township was entrenched on five hundred acres of land. However, over the years, through assimilation and migration mostly to Canada, (I understand they left in droves during the turbulent 70's when the communists tried to take over Jamaica), there are no more true blooded Germans there anymore and the use of any German language has virtually disappeared. 

When I asked a young lady at the gas station there where the Germans were, she pointed to the burial ground beside the Roman Catholic church there.  😅

A  visit to the cemetary and a cursory glance at the tombstones, definitely confirms that this area was once inhabited by Germans, due to their names. 

That is the only evidence that this rural middle-class village was ever populated by those nationals.

As usual, this visit home was as interesting and invigorating as expected and I cant wait for the next East Indian mango season.

 Talk Jamaican: Milk River - YouTube

Memorie

Milk River where the manatees are kept