A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part VII

June 11, 2010

Yesterday was an absolutely horrible day.

First, the dentist started on my root canal. The procedure itself was not too bad, but the pain afterwards will make you a junkie. I was prescribed pain medication – 1 pill, 3 times a day after meals. Yesterday, I took 4 at one time – my tooth was hurting that bad.

After I got done, I came to work – around 11 a.m. Time enough to put in almost a full day if I worked late – which I was fully prepared to do. But, the internet had other plans. For some reason, even though my friend who was sitting right next to me was able to get on, my adaptor couldn’t find a connection. I don’t know what the hell happened!

THEN, it started raining and the internet was slow as methuzela. So I just gave up and called it a day.

It put me behind in my work – which is becoming a real problem for me here. I NEED to put stuff out almost every day to maintain my income. And to not know one day to the next if I’m going to be able to put in a full day is becoming a source of frustration for me.

But, that’s life in the tropics. You have to learn to roll with the punches. I really don’t know if it’s something I can get used to. Since I’ve committed to a year here though, I’m going to have to figure out something.

I’m Not the Only American to “Up and Move” to Jamaica

Travelling-Freelance-WriterYesterday, I met a woman about my age (40s) who lives in the same building. She gave me a ride to the dentist because I happened to be leaving at the same time she was to take her daughter to school.

She’s a New Yorker, so we hit it off on several fronts right away – fast walker, talker, outgoing, etc. She said she’s been coming to Negril for about 7 years and just fell in love with it. One day, she just decided to move here and “Give it a try; see how it goes.”

I asked her if she had any regrets and she said, “No, other than I wished I’d saved more money before coming.” She’s in the same boat as I am, meaning that she’s paying bills back home (ie, mortgage) and here as well.

As I recounted in this post about living in Jamaica, while the accommodations can be cheap, you can spend almost as much per month because you’re out so much more here.

Other than that though, she said she’s really enjoying her life here . . . and her daughter is getting an excellent education. She’s opening a boutique with a British friend of hers who’s been living here for 4 years, after having visited for 10+ years and falling in love with it.

FYI, that seems to be the story with a lot of transplants here . . . they visit, fall in love with the country, they move. So the commercial about Jamaica is really true, ie, “Once you go, you know.”

As for the schools here  . . .

The Educational System in Negril, Jamaica: Good, Bad, Better, Worse than America?

educational-system-in-jamaicaI’d estimate that my friend’s daughter is 11 or 12. She said she’s in “4th grade.” Of course, this means something different than it does in the states. My new friend explained that the school system here is on the British system (Jamaica was a British colony until 1962).

She said her daughter is ahead of the stuff they’re studying on her level in America (Long Island, New York School system) — and she goes to public school here.

Negril, Jamaica: What’s in a Name?

The British influence is all over the culture here, eg, the names of the people. You’ll meet a lot of Patricks, Byrons, Georges, Sheldons, etc. (all names of actual people I know by the way).

I have to admit, this is kinda funny for me because Jamaicans have such strong, beautiful African features. So I expect to meet Khalils, Malcolms and Sefus. So when I meet a “Matthew,” for example, it kinda doesn’t fit in my head. It’s kinda like imagining my name being “Lisa” instead of “Yuwanda.”

But that’s my disconnect; not theirs.

About Patois: The Language of Jamaica

Last night I was at my favorite country western bar with the best, cheapest rum punches on the cliffs in Negril, Jamaica and I asked the proprietor, Dawn, about Patois, the native language of Jamaicans. I asked what it was derived from.

Sidebar: I went to Dawn’s and had two shots of Jack Daniels, which did more to calm my aching tooth than four pain pills.

The reason I asked Dawn about the origin of Patois is because I’m pretty fluent in Spanish (I got really good at speaking it when I married my now ex-husband, who is from Argentina (hola Marcelo!)). On previous trips, I’d always notice in the airport here how there seemed to be a lot of signs in Spanish, so I wondered why (as opposed to Creole, French or German, for example).

Jamaica: A Brief History of This Beautiful Island

Dawn said Patois was a mix of African, Spanish and English. When I read up on Jamaica this morning, I learned why. In the past, Jamaica has been ruled by Spain and Britain, and a lot of African slaves came through these islands. Some stayed, some were bound for America.

Interesting how history is always relevant — even hundreds of years later. It’s one of the reasons I love travelling — you learn so much – and it’s so much easier to remember than reading it in a book in history class, which you tend to promptly forget right after an exam. If I’d had a child, I think I would have strapped her to  my back and globetrotted with her rather than send her to traditional school.

But once again I digress.

That’s it for this Girl a Go Go today.

Have a great weekend everybody. I’m planning my sister’s birthday party here next month so this weekend I’m scoping out hotels for some American friends who are flying in. One is really picky about hotels (no flowered bedspreads for him), so I promised to visit a few, take some shots and send them along so he can choose.

Jah guide (A Rasta farewell that means more or less, good-bye; literal translation is “God shall guide.”)

Yuwanda
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Related Posts

A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part XI
A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part IX
A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part V
A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part IV
A Freelance Writer’s Life Abroad: Inside Peek at My Life as an American Living in Jamaica for a Year, Part II

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