This is the land of my birth (Not)

So I decided to write about another one of those places I've visited and fallen in love with...this being Jamaica.

My first visit to my sister caribbean island was in 1999. The Salvation Army's Caribbean Territory decided to hold it's Caribbean Music Institute (CariMI) in Jamaica. My first response was...WHY??!!!. Why not Barbados, afterall, our crime rate was not as high as in Jamaica, we didn't have as many murders, as in Jamaica and in my opinion we didn't have all de ganja. I was adamant that I was simply NOT going to Jamaica...EVER. Why would I want to go to such a crime infested country...mind you all I knew about Jamaica was what I heard in the news and this pretty much amounted to ''crime and violence, crime and violence". However, my desire to go to this first CariMI won out and I reluctantly got on the plane.

Poor me...when i arrived in Jamaica I had to wait almost TWO hours at the airport before I was collected! Why? After a high amount of murders in a two week period the goverment had placed a curfew on the city. Boy when I heard that I was ready to tell my ride don't bother, I gine back pun de next flight to Barbados. So for nearly a week I stayed on the campsite however, when I did leave (to go to LIME CAY) it was then I fell in love with Jamaica.

Jamaica, like most caribbean islands, is culturally rich however, the Jamaican culture is not hidden away or placed in neat little bundles and sold to tourists for a hefty portion instead, Jamaica wears it's culture on the streets. Driving through the streets of Jamaican you can almost (if you listen closely) hear the heartbeat of the nation.

The first thing I noticed was how enterprising the Jamaican people are. As I drove a long I realised people sold EVERYTHING anywhere. Car rims mounted on a wall (on some side street) for sale. People selling mangoes and other fruits to drivers, weaving in and out of the traffic. The most interesting thing I saw was the bagjuice (similar to the bajan "sucka bubby") but this is literally a juice in a bag as a opposed to a cute little tetra pac and people were selling these bag juices from out of card board boxes, crocus bags, just about anything.

It's interesting the amount of ports they have in Jamaica. You've got PORT Royal, PORTmore, PORT Antonio...Since my first visit I've visited Jamaica on 4 other occasions. I've stayed in Kingston, spent some time in Montego Bay and Mandeville and enjoyed a wonderful 2 week vacation in Savannah-la-mar and I've noticed that the Jamaican people love their FOOD. Hotdogs, burgers and tuna (in the tin) go out the window when I'm in Jamaica. I'ts banana, and banana and banana, liver(which I LOVE), ackee and saltfish, dumpling and saltfish, banana and saltfish, bakes and saltfish..and did I say Liver and of course you can't forget the stewpeas and rice. Ain't nothing like a Jamaican pattie or that scrumptous Tastee cheese in the tin (which I love). Unfortunately I'm not a fan of anything hot so I pass on the jerk pork and chicken.

I'm not a fan of Kingston but I fell in love with Savlamar; probably because the people there (and their ways) remind me of my days living in St. Andrew (in Barbados) as a child. Going to the market, visiting the butcher and eating all that country food. And the people...from the security guy at the patty place (who wanted my number in Barbados) to my friend's mom who made curry goat JUST FOR ME (and no one else).  I think mostly the people I met were FASCINATED by my accent, so they just engaged me in conversation...constantly. I certainly can't foget the washer woman!! Imagine momma, hired the washer woman to wash my two week supply of dirty clothes...WITH HER HANDS!! Of course on my return home I was loaded down with everything Jamaican.

My initial opinion of Jamaica was basically the danger of a single story. Now, I probably would live there if I had to. It's one of my favourite places, I love the Jamaican accent...can't imitate it no matter how I try and I love that my caribbean brothers and sisters, despite adversities have fought on; have produced people like Bob ,Garvey,and Usain Bolt; and are forerunners in the caribbean film industry as well as the arts.

Jamaica, not the land of my birth but the land of my heart.

Be NISE

Service. Most businesses wouldn't survive without good service. Some do however, and I think mostly it's because Bajans have a super high level of tolerance. Recently I've been trying to give people the benefit of the doubt but that's easier said than done.

I've started to plan my family reunion which is in 2012. Yes, this is just 2010 and I have lots of time but I've got to at least have a rough estimate of the cost. My family is spread across the entire world and people have to save so I need to give them some idea as to the cost of the activities.

In 2008, we held our reunion banquet at Colony Club Hotel.  Not only was the food superb but the service was EXCELLENT. When I say service I mean the enitre experience from initial contact through to the end of the function. The food and beverage manager there subsequently went on to win a Barbados Toursism Award in 2009.

So after my Colony Club experience every venue has a whole lot to live up to. After visiting some properties I've narrowed my choices down to 3 hotels and I particularly like the one which has a lot of sea breeze.  Here is where SERVICE comes into play. 

I'm just waiting on the GM (who dealt with me) to send me an email giving me an idea of the cost and the menus that fit into my budget. After  viewing the restaurant at this hotel, I sent an email requesting this information... No response. I waited about a month and sent another email, (I assume he didn't read the first)...still no response. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, (being the GM and all he's got to be busy) I decided to call...left a message...no response. Went on to leave at least FOUR telephone messages and send another email...De man ain't respond yet!!!!

A number of reason run through my mind:

1. 
   
   He  thinks I'm not serious
2. 
   
   The reunion is in 2012 so he believes he has AT LEAST a year to respond to me
3. 
   
   It's just a little old family reunion and we really don't reach very high on the totem pole of potential customers
4. 
   
   He didn't get my emails or my MANY telephone messages
5. 
   
   He's on vacation or sick-leave

Since I'm planning this reunion for FREE and it's not like I have a client who particularly requested the hotel where the seabreeze blows, I've decided to forget about them and look at my other choices.  After all, we are going to be PAYING for the location and since Colony Club set the bar SOO high I refuse to settle for anything less. 

National Initiative for Service Excellence...some people just don't know how to be NISE.

Concrete Jungles Where Dreams are Made of...

I've always loved the idea of getting on a airplane and after a few minutes or hours, arriving in a place that is so much different from the island I call home. One of those places which I fell in love with was New York, the Big Apple, the capital of the world.  I have visited other cities but none give me that buzz that NY does.

For Bajans, New York is like one of those places where you MUST go. We flock to New York every summer in droves, to visit family and friends and of course to shop, shop and shop some more.  I wonder how many of them see the place, how vibrant New York is with culture or do they just see Fulton Street, 34th street, the fashion district, Sak's Fifth avenue and the Aquaduct flea market. 

What I love about New York? The Culture: I love that there is a Little Korea,a Little Italy a Chinatown. That I can go into a random store and hear Bajan, Trini, and Jamaican accents and be served by an Italian dude. New York is like one big cohoblopot where you'll get a little bit of this and little bit of that.   In New York I can find a Banks beer, drink a Ting and even have some fish cakes and an ice cold glass of mauby.  It's one of those places that grows on you.

The free concernts in the various parks in any of the boroughs....if you're an arts lover like I am, then those free concerts are the best thing...next to slice bread.  I've totally enjoyed my visits to Soho and marvelled at the different types of architecture (and NO I'm not an architecture buff) in the boroughs. From Soho's cast iron buildings to the brownstones in Brooklyn Heights.

There's nothing like a NY subway station. I know, they're trains all over, nothing new about a train but where else do you hear classical musicians, bucket drumming, and accordians, in one day.  The subway of course  and...did you know the NY subway is one of the world's largest(obvious) and let's  not talk about public transportation after midnight...in B'dos I've got to make sure I'm on the last bus at 12a.m (if i want to get home, that is). It took me a little while to understand the subway system there but once I got the 'uptown-downtown' business understood...I was good to go.

If we're talking about NY we definitely can't forget Times Square and 42nd street. It's like Baxters Road or Oistins but in a bigger City.  The place never sleeps. You can leave home at 10p.m. and still watch a movie, get a bite to eat and take a ride on a buggy. Let's not forget Toys R Us.  I do love shopping, and I can browse for hours without buying anything. 

Everything in the city is not all roses (we know that), the streets there are NOT paved with gold but there's something to be said, I think, about people, who flock to the place, for a better life.  All won't make it but NY, I believed is filled with the dreams of immigrants, some full-filled and some not and these dreams resonate around the city.

As much as I'm fascinated by New York, I wouldn't live in the place.  I'm a caribbean girl. I love my sea to look blue and my sand to be almost white and summer all year round. I love that I still live in a place where some people remember to say good morning when they pass you on the streets and that I don't need to rush all the time, just because 'it's the thing to do'.

Yet for some Alicia Keys got it right when she said:

"these streets will make you feel brand new, big lights will inspire you, Let's hear it for NEW YORK!!

Full Coverage

I've been on this ''makeup journey'' for about two years. Now I'm in no way addicted to the stuff. I can, on any given day, wash my face, moisturize and go. However, I love makeup. My face to me is like a canvas to an artiste. I'm not super great at it but I do try a little something, something. Living here in Barbados where it's ALWAYS hot has its benefits where makeup is concerned. I don't need to buy a winter shade and a summer shade. My complexion stays the same from January to December.
Now as I've said in an earlier blog I've been trying to use different products. Thus far I've tried Iman (which is ok) and MAC which for the most part I love. I've also tried, at least once, Cover girl, Fashion Fair and Maybelline and even (gasp) Mary Kay. I tried Black Up once (wasn't mine) and I totally love the feel of it going onto my skin. Unfortunately I totally DON'T love the price since it's roughly US$50 here.

Right now I've settled on Mac and Iman. However, this makeup thing is not cheap. Makeup costs money and here in Barbados where the cost of the items includes shipping and duties it's rather expensive. Take for instance Iman, a drug store brand in the US that sells for a little more than $10 in some places. Here in Barbados it sells for approximately US 30!!!!! can you believe it.
I was trying to make my MAC Studio Tech foundation last as long as possible and it barely reached the 6mth mark. Now it's gone (bummer)) and I'm not working right now, so I really can't, with a good conscience spend 60 or 80 dollars for stuff to put on my face. Well as my mom would say ''force make water go up hill'' so I decided to buy a Black Opal stick foundation for twenty bucks!! I've tried Black Opal only once before, more than 10 years ago. At the time I really couldn't find my shade. It was either too dark or too light. Well I've got to thank Erin from Scandalous Beauty for reintroducing me to Black Opal, she gives it a lot of praise on her Youtube Channel

I've got to give myself a pat on the back because I bought, a good shade without having a tester (yeah!!). Now my face has a lot hyperpigmentation. I hardly notice it but I know it's there. These dark chunks on my cheeks that I ususally try to hide when I'm having a night out on the town. I tried the Black Opal tonight when I came home and my honest reaction as far as coverage was Not Bad...It gives good coverage. I don't need to use a concealer on my cheeks since it covers the hyperpigmentation quite nicely (and I really don't want to look tooooo made up) I'm not 100% certain that the shade is the BEST shade but it works. Obviously it doesn't feel like MAC or Black Up (which feels silky smooth) and you've got to make sure you set it but for 20 bucks it'll definitely work for now. These are the pics I took tonight (got to try it tomorrow in the day time). Give me your honest opinion.

How the Youth Get So

So everytime something happens among the young people of this country we hear the talk being circulated 'how de  youth get so?' Everybody gets to buzzing, everybody has an opinion. Apparently this generation of young people cannot be saved and there is no hope for our future. I've always thought that children DO NOT socialize themselves.  It's not like if we took everyone let's say 35 and under out of the country that all the ''social ills'' would disappear. Indeed NOT.  Are the 'adults' in society setting examples for young people to follow? Are parents teaching and guiding their children?

I've been to parties where a two year old cusses an adult and everybody laughs (some nervously) no one corrects the child.  Or mummy takes her  5 year old to the supermarket and he wants a snack so he rolls on the ground and throws a tantrum (and mummy buys the snack). So usually it goes like this...mummy Can I have...Can I go....Can I do...? and mummy says Yes! Yes! Yes!Do parents ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, that little word NO  would come in useful.

Children seem to have everything nowadays. Laptops, cell phones, Ipods, play stations and the list goes on.  Some children have almost every single gadget there is out there (for kids). In addition to that, mummy does the laundry tidies the room, cooks the food etc What does the child do? How do we teach them responsibility if they get everything (at great cost to mum and dad) and everything is done for them; or that sometimes it's good to do without or to maybe work to achieve something.

Then we have the Do as I say but not as I do mentality. In other words,  I can have lots of boyfriends but you can't ORI can cuss but you can't OR I can party hard and drink till I get drunk, but you can't? Are parents serious? Don't we realise that our children learn from us. They are like sponges soaking up every little thing in site. Or rather, they are like mirrors and sometimes (unless they break the cycle) our lives are reflected in them. 

So on how de youth get so...Today I was waiting on a minibus and decided to wait in the market, in the cool and out of the hot sun. I was standing  near an old lady's tray when about 15minutes after I heard her mutter "next time I going to buy a can of fly spray and when people stand up in front my tray I going to spray all 'round it" I thought I was hearing things but then she said it again. I couldn't believe she wanted me to move but was telling me to move in a rather roundabout way. So I said to her that if she wanted to me to move all she had to do was ask...who tell me say so... the old lady proceeded to tell me that I could go and pick up my clothes from in de bush where I left them (ehem) and all about me and wuh I does do (or don't do) and that me and she aint no company and that I only have a pretty face but no COMMON SENSE...this last part with great emphasis...and on and on she went.

And we wonder how de youth get so...

I got a feeling

What is this feeling called love. The dictionary calls it a strong affection for another person. I just say it's OVER-RATED. Love. How many times have you ''fallen in love" or out of love for that matter.  Was the person not cute enough. Not sweet enough. Didn't pay you as much attention as they used to. Did your feelings just die!

I've been watching 16 and pregant on MTV and in almost every single episode, the fathers were either non-existant or simply too immature to handle a baby so typically the MOM did all the work. On the most recent episode, we meet a girl, who has sex with a guy on a rebound. A month later she finds out she's pregnant. WITH TWINS.  The guy, is no ordinary guy, because he sticks around. He survives pregancy AND delivery. He gets an apartment, sells his truck, buys a family van AND a car for the girl.  They do argue occasionally but nothing a  little couselling won't solve. He stays home at night so she can go out with her girlfriends.  The girl decides she's not in LOVE with the guy in fact she's in love with her ex-boyfriend who she broke up with before she had rebound sex.  Now here is where I simply just want to kick her in the head. Now here you've got a guy who ADMITS that yes inititally he wasn't in LOVE but now he loves his family and he wants to make things work and you've got an immature 16 year old who can only think about her exboyfriend. An exboyfriend who by the way tells her she got pregant because she made a stupid decision(and now he no longer returns her calls). So now she's sad because she's already pushed away a good guy (baby daddy who has now moved back in with his parents) and she now realises that she misses him and that you don't know what you've go till it's gone. My Jamaican sister would call her a dumb ass.

Now do we yet see why love can't just be a feeling. It's got to be more than that. It's got to be commitment. Guy committed to girl and girl committed to guy and both of them committed to making that relationship work. We obviously get problems when all we can think about is self, self, self, self, self. Now I can hear the naysayers.  ''but there's got to be some attraction'' I've got to feel SOMETHING. I agree with you there. You've got to feel something. That attraction, according to my cus is  just 10%.  When the baby's balling the house down at 2 in the morning (especially when you got twins) what makes both of you get up. Love or commitment. I say it's commitment. Cause that love is only gonna push you so far.

However, let's put another spin on this thing. I believe in the Bible (unapologetically) and it tells me a bit about love. From what I read love CANNOT just be a feeling. It's something you do or should I say something you're committed to.  Here are just a few things the B-i-b-l-e has to say about love.

• 
  
  Love cares more for others than for self. 
• 
  
  Isn't always "me first,"
• 
  
  Doesn't fly off the handle,
• 
  
  Puts up with anything,
• 
  
  Always looks for the best,
• 
  
  Trusts God always,

Weww. That's a lot. Now that one that says ''doesn't fly off the handle'' that's the one that makes me say love has to be a commitment. Most of us will fly off the handle sometimes. I know I do. For me NOT to fly off the handle that's one big commitment in and of itself.  When you really think about it though. If we treat others the way we want to be treated, love would be so easy.  Obviously though it seems that this love thing is something you've just got to WORK at and be committed. 

Moral of the story... sex is NOT for children. Wait till wunna married!

Me and my Cakes

I absolutely love to bake. I would always bake the occasional cake when I was in my teens but somewhere along the way the love of baking sneaked up on me. Sometimes I'll just, for no apparent reason, get the urge to try a new recipe. Now, with this love of baking you'd think I'm a cake-a-holic. Far from. I really don't like the stuff at all. In fact I'm not really a fan of anything sweet. I've got tasters though. My mom, my brother, my cousins and friends will usually tell me how the cake went. I do taste the cakes to make sure they aren't too dry, too clammy, too sweet, make sure the texture's just right but you wouldn't see me eating an entire slice. I'm just not a cake eater.

I'm in love with the process. The mixing and creaming and blending and beating all to create that perfect finished product, which doesn't always come out perfect mind you. I've had MANY disasters. Like the time I made the perfect chocolate nut cake...and forgot to grease the pans.

I've become really serious about baking over the last two years and I've been turning out birthday cakes, valetine's cakes, anniversary cakes...any occasion cakes, just to practice the art of cake baking. Along the way I've learned a thing or two.

• I ALWAYS sift the flour and depending on the recipe I'll sift it twice. I've discovered self-rising flour (thanks to my aunt).  It's a joy. I no longer use that other stuff.
• When I first started my kitchen would be topsy turvy at the end of a session. Now I try to measure all ingredients and put them aside and I wash up as I go along.
• Betty Crocker is my best friend. If you didn't know it there are product recipes on their website and since goldmedal flour is one of their brands you can find some really good scratch baking recipes on there.

I recently tried their Peanut Butter Marble Cake for my friend's birthday and the best response I got was from her brother who said  ''this is the best cake I've ever had" so if you like the combination of peanut  butter and chocolate, you can give the recipe a try.  I made one slight alteration when I iced the cake. I put chocolate chips in between the two layers for that extra chocolatety taste. Here's the finished product. The link the recipe is below.

Peanut butter marble cake by Betty Crocker. Try it and let me know what you think

Feeling Hot Hot Hot!

I feeling hot, you feeling hot, we feeling hot, hot, hot. The sun has been coming out every day in Barbados since last year's rainy season. In other words, 'nuh rain ain't falling'. I really, really need some rain now. I'm so tired of the heat just about now. Not humidity by the way, scorching hot sun. Everyday. all the time. Everytime I see a little cloud I say ahh ... and then the rain does NOT fall. Things are soo bad the Water Authority is telling us not to water ornamental plants. Some people obviously don't care because they are still wetting the lawn grass and the shrubs. Now I won't mind if they were growing food but dont't tell me you are going to use SCARCE water to wet plants that are only going to look pretty. Bajans are really too much. Now if you live in Barbados and if you're from St. Andrew like I am, then you know that country people water is the first to get turn off.  Not the ones in the town. When the Water Authority decides to implement stage two of their ''save the water" plan, the first taps to be dry will be those in...yes you guessed, the country. Those that live in places like BOSCOBELLE way in the country.

So a couple weeks ago I'm in Boscobelle visiting a cousin and  I realise that while my garden at home is brown, brown, brown, the gardens in Boscobelle green, green, green and pretty, pretty. So I took a walk in the neighbourhood only to realise that people are watering their ornamental plants. Yes the very thing that the Water Authority says not to do Boscobelle people are doing quite comfortably. Well let them continue. It's their water that will get shut off first.  

I remember in the 2008 rainy season we had so much rain that I had to wear my sneakers to work almost everyday and every evening I was praying that the rain waited until I got into the bus terminal before it came down.  This did not happen last year. It seems like Barbados has been dry for ages. I'm praying that some rain will come because this water shortage thing ain't no joke. The thing, is when the Water Authoirty decides that things really bad and start shutting off the water, more than likely they will turn it off in the country areas. Those areas where they figure no one of ''importance'' lives just the plebs. Yup, like those people in Boscobelle who continue to waste the precious water.

Since water is so scare we need to find ways to minimize our usage.

1. If you must wet the garden, try catching that water you run while you're waiting on the hot water to come through.
2. but a bottle/ball or some other device in the toilet tank. You can usually flush the toilet on less water than you do now. 
3. If you're installign a new toilet purchase one where you can control the flush i.e you hold the button down to flush and it stops as soon as you let it go, so you only use what is absolutely necessary to flush.
4. Make sure your pipes aren't leaking. If you have a drip and you can't get it fixed right away, catch that water until you do. Use it to flush the toilet or wet the garden.

This is just  a small little island. What we need now is a good week of rain rain rain and more rain. Yes people will change their cry. Instead of it being too hot and too dry you'll soon here 'de rain ain't wanna stop'. However, I still say SEND DOWN THE RAIN!!