Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

[Ochigal]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Originally posted by PastLifeJamaican:
[qb] Not only am I jealous and yearning for the patty..but look as Miss Sonia's skin!!! Flawless!` [/qb]

Living in Jamaica is better than 1000 bottles of Oil of Olay!!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[sheanlee]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Originally posted by Ochigal:
[qb]

Originally posted by PastLifeJamaican:
[qb] Not only am I jealous and yearning for the patty..but look as Miss Sonia's skin!!! Flawless!` [/qb]

Living in Jamaica is better than 1000 bottles of Oil of Olay!!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [/qb]

You are so right Ochigal...when I come "home from home", my skin all over is glowing and soft..love it! And I think eating such fresh and steroid free food detoxifies my body and I feeeel better.

[AngieB]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Rudemonk, this is one of the best trip reports that I have ever read. I think I enjoyed it so much because it is about a person, a real person carving our a real life for herself. Each step was more exciting than the next to read. I could feel my anticipation mounting as I read. The end results is beautiful. I will admit, that american side of me came rushing out. I automatically wanted to fix what I perceived was broken. I wanted to rush out to the store and buy her a nice rolling pin. No, I said, hard working honest people are not concerned with one aparatus replacing another where the first worked well. I would guess she would say, rather than bring me a rolling pin, come and buy patties from me every day while you are here.

Her face has years of knowledge carved in that flawless skin. Her eyes are sad at first glance, but I suspect if you ever get to know her, you will find that she isntt sad at all. Rather, she is about no nonesense, and finds that useless chatter is....useless. I would love to know what she truely thinks about so many things. Whats in her heart, the things she has seen. Hear the questions she wants to ask us (americans).

She looks strong and proud. I bet those curlers in her hair comes out twice a week. Wednesday night prayer meeting and church, where she is very active. Look at those pots, they are spotless. Wow, what pride. I will definately make her one of the first places I stop on July 3rd when I arrive and I will tell her you sent me. Maybe if I am very good and very lucky, she will talk with me for a while. I am very excited about this Rudemonk, this is my kind of Jamaican experience.

[rudemonk]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Well I'm glad you guys have enjoyed the pictures. I'll try and find some more. You guys might like some of the Blue Mountain shots I have.

Angie- trust me her pots aren't exactly spotless, lol...just adds more flavor that way...and this is not restaurant eating by far...

She's a little sad at that moment, due to some losses both financially and family wise, but she is devout and born again- I guess it is a source of strength for her and we have had some very long conversations about faith- she is usually very optomistic. i told her a cheesy greeting card aphorism, God closes a door to open a window and she spun it around on me saying God closed her window to open a door.

The thing is, the smallest events can have deep repercussions, and when you are always on the edge of making it or not making it something as small as not having the electrician hook up your lights- but he has your money- or having to get a bigger sink at the discretion of the inspector, can end you.

Same thing anywhere really, life can be hard all over. One thing we reached commonality as far as our faith conversations go, I told her that in Shaolin philosophy wherever you are at that precise moment can be paradise. I like to think that helped her, but I have a deep feeling she has a few years of practicing that on me, lol...

[geocox]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Where did you come from rudemonk??
Yes, this a wonderful post.... please...WOW
I am there all the time and neva' saw this place??



Geo

[rudemonk]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

sista- one other thing I wanted to mention which escaped me before was in regards to the roots- you know, there are all different kinds, you might have a purging roots, lol...that's what I got, a friend played what he called a trick.

the cleaning lady wasn't too psyched at having to replace all the tp every day, so I gave her his name with no compunctions...that was several years ago and no pranks since, heh heh heh...

but back to roots, if someone offers you roots, you have to make sure you know which kind it is, and you should shake the bottle and crack the top, if a lot of fizz rushes out, you got a good bottle. I don't personally drink it, but I have a friend who swears by this one Rasta's brew- he is very recognizable as he walks the beach, can't miss him though his name currently escapes me. he is all duded up.

you may already know this in which case I will now take a big glass of STFU.

Geo- For the last like, 5 years or so, Miss Sonia was all over the place, you just used to have to search her out. Now however, she is located on the jungle side right next door to the Jungle Nightclub, set back a ways in some bamboo- you'll see all the jerk chicken/soup carts (Cremo, Step-a-Side) shoved up off the road right past that bike rental shack that pushes all the flake, she's immediately past them...if the guy she hired to do her lights finally sets them up you won't be able to miss her. If you were down anytime in Feb-April you may have seen candlelight or gas lamps flickering in the woods, that was her table set up.

Those carts are also a very good value, and if you do your homework you can find very tasty food, especially Visions soups and stews- right before work most nights I'd make it a point to get some of his conch stew, it is better than anything you can get at the Border, that is for sure, although going to the Border can be an experience just in and of itself. Except for the night he has chicken foot soup, that is not for me. I let my friend eat that. I joked with her that I guess it made it easier to catch all the chickens, but at the same time Jamaica is hell on earth- if you've done something bad in a past life I am certain you come back as a chicken in Jamaica. If I were born a chicken in Jamaica I'd swim off that island. There is no hope, you're done as soon as you hatch. i imagine the day the chickens saw the Colonel was setting up, they must have been like, what did we ever do to deserve this **** .

He makes a real good vegetable soup too with tons of spinners.

[sistacaf]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

rudemonk who ARE you??? i am crackin up more with every thing you type..... are you a kung fu guy??

i don't generally drink the regular roots, as of course those are fi men, the one i have is made by Miss Viola in Ochi. It's a special preparation for women; a blood cleanser and balancer for the women's - er - plumbing, nahmean? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

"take a big glass of STFU" [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

HAHAHAHA, OMG -- naw, you nuh haffi "STFD & STFU" (one of my favorite 'eedyat-dismissers'..... you mussi a Henry fan too, eeeeh?) [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[AngieB]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Rudemonk, I agree with SistaCaf, who are you and why have I not run across any of your post before. What do you do that will bring you to Jamaica to work for months each year. What spiritual base do you have, you mentioned it earlier when talking about your friend.

Of course, I know that we are prying but it is so welcoming to see someone new that has a different but interesting view of Jamaica and its culture. Tell us to mind our business and we will... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[jabound]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

So this is where everyone is hanging out lately !!!!
Hi Sis, Ochi ,PLJ & Angie
Doing Vegas without Geo, safe
If you guys had noticed, him/she (rudemonk) is still a visitor, only been here long enough to talk to you guys. But doing well for a newbee. Loved your report so far, Monk . That means I expect more to come. By the way, I'm Jim, I just sit back and watch the board nowadays. We need a sitback and learn post now and then. Been doing that side of the road for sometime now, same as Sisterisacalf. We stay at the same place. Love watching life in Jamaica.

[BND1999]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Thank you so much for telling me where she moved to.... she's a wonderful woman.. with great food.... my guys were regulars.. but when she moved.. we never did figure out where she went...

((jim)) good to see you

[sheanlee]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

The thing is, the smallest events can have deep repercussions, and when you are always on the edge of making it or not making it something as small as not having the electrician hook up your lights- but he has your money- or having to get a bigger sink at the discretion of the inspector, can end you.

AMEN...the straw that broke the camels back so to speak. Been there.
Monk...mi lovin your writin stylee! Welcome to di board and don't leave us too soon now!
Hey JT...this man/ooman is good no? [img]/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[rudemonk]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Wow, what can I say, I am happy to see so much interest in Miss Sonia, she will be psyched, and I'm glad soe of her old patrons will be able to find her again.

All right, I guess I need to come clean, lol, not roots clean, but board clean. I suppose I should have gone to the introduce yourself forum but, well, I dunno I didn't.

My shifu would say that is very ch'an of me. You just eat when it is time to eat, and sleep when it is time to sleep. Wherever you are is your temple kind of thing. In some of my lines of work anonymity can sometimes be a blessing so I figured I'd just take it slow so I read through some of the threads and figured there were a lot of people who were going to Negril that might enjoy seeing some stuff off the beaten path so to speak. Living down there definitely adds another layer, lol, when there's no water it adds a layer of dirt heh heh heh...

I've been going down to Negril for about 5 or 6 years now, and I live and work down there for a few months out the year, with sporadic trips down through the rest of the year.

Some people in Negril call me 'monk' or 'shaolin' because that is what I am. I'm a 35th generation disciple of a Shaolin Temple Fighting monk who split China and established a temple in NYMFC. Actually I am not technically a monk, I'm only on the second stage as far as my vows go, but I guess people see what they want to see, and conversationally/philosphically the distinctions are sort of irrelevant, and yes i am learning gong fu. When I was a kid, I thought of becoming a Catholic Monk but couldn't agree with the celibacy, lol....I'm now very interested in the engaged monastics, and so that's what led me to enter into the Shaolin temple. It's buddhism, Ch'an buddhism to be exact,which is the father of Zen buddhism which you may be more familiar with. It is a system constructed with the goal of destroying duality and developing transcending wisdom through what is called heart to heart or mind to mind transmission of the dharma. That's what me and Miss Sonia sometimes speak of, because a lot of other spiritual systems are sort of like a crutch in the way they are disseminated- and by that I mean no offense- but from the Ch'an perspective, it is more accurate to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is within rather than to think of God externally saving you. So Miss Sonia had some pretty heavy duty personal losses, it's not really a secret so I guess it's allright to say, her daughter was run over in the street, coming on the heels of another family death and not knowing where she would be able to set up her shop and all kinds of other **** , and when terrible things like that happen, much less seemingly all at once, you search for a reason, but the reason is that terrible things just happen sometimes and you can't tell how things will turn out, you just need the wisdom to understand that life is sometimes bitter. Nature is a ***** at a certain level of understanding, but on another, the lion does not commit murder when it takes down a gazelle. It might be terrible or horrifying to see it, but it depends.

So anything can be used as vehicle for this tanscension, hence the gong fu in the case of Shaolin, and making patty in the case of Miss Sonia. As far as I am concerned, she has very good gong fu.

The 'rude' part came when I walked around Roots looking for this chick named Kerri Ann to buy a late night phone card (cheaper to get 'em in the minimarts but they're not open past 10PM) and wasn't in the mood to take any **** from anyone trying to sell me, in descending order, hash, sumtin for de head, weed, ganj, smoke, coke, mushroom, or parasail- which flat out almost made me **** my pants, even though I knew he meant the next day the way he said it sounded as if he was suggesting it right then and there. The second most hilarious sale try came when the parasail guy was dismissed, his bredren tried to sell me on a banana boat. I was like, brother, are you even lookin at me? Do I look like the type to ride a banana boat? Many of the hustlers could not get their heads around my assertion that I do not practice that style... You see, in Negril, in March a whole different crew comes into Negril to work the college students, and what I call the year long shift sort of takes a hustle break, lol...so a lot of those cats it's like you have to educate them every week, on Monday they don't know you, but by friday they stop asking you to do something for them, and then after the spring break season the year long hustlers rock back into town, and you can be at square one all over again...well, one of the year longers finally shed the pushers off me by nodding at me and saying, "Yo...rude monk dat." Everybody just looked at me and then walked away. I was like, whoah...sick magic bullet.

Funny thing is, I have no idea who that cat was, and never saw him again. I did finally find Kerry, by walking through some of the back shacks, where nobody really goes. She was holding court and I was pretty much at ease in the situation so I guess they coughed up some respect for an easy like sunday morning white man.

I have quite a few businesses actually, and many concern Jamaica. At the risk of letting the cat out of the bag completely I do a lot of work in nightlife, event creation, djing (selecting), and now I am looking for a way to get a temple started up down in Jamaica to counteract BET, lol... so that's a little of who I am.

[sheanlee]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Thanks for the introduction but don't feel bad. I never introduced myself when I started chatting on the board either!

her daughter was run over in the street

This is a tragic incident, but from what I've experienced..not uncommon in Jamaica. One of my Jamaican friends and I talked extensively about the reckless driving that happens waaay too often. I observed the scene of someone being hit by a bus! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]ray:
And a few boardies have similar indidences that they have posted about in trip reports. People gathered around on the roadside, women bawling...young boy lying in the road next to his bike! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[sistacaf]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

Sisterisacalf.

[img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

BOAL! oh jim you jus a KILL me, you the ongly one who ever gets that.....

Now rudemonk i mus come clean too, i felt the vibe so strongly that you were a gong fu guy that i snooped in your profile and linked your homepage..... A-HA! I was right..... myself, i am a ving tsun gal. something about your way of speaking just grabbed me immediately, and indeed, my way of thinking is very much like your own.

I sincerely hope you achieve your goal of opening a temple in Negril. I would support that venture and come and represent. bway would i LOVE to have a place to train there; how peaceful and serene it would be out on those cliffs.

if you can suggest any place in Philadelphia for Shaolin, please PM me with information. I have been away too long.

and please to come wit some more stories, if you would.... [img]/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[smth744]

Re: Negril - Pictures- not really a trip report per se...

rudemonk ~~ thanks for the pictures and post --- Miss Sonia is one of my favs, too. Sweetest lady you ever wanna met.

tru, tru,,, she has had tough-times these past couple years --- personal and otherwise --- but she's ALWAYS gracious, loving, pleasant, and egar to make her customers have a delightful dinning experience.

as for the other patties, i agree with what you said about JuicyBeef. F.Y.I. i've 'learned' they're mass produced and trucked frozen to the various outlets. I prefer TanTan ... especially those baked in Lucea ... who's cooking makes a difference. TanTan-Lucea are made on-site daily, and you gotta be quick, 'cause they'll sell out shortly after lunch.

Back to MissSonia ~~~ she's a great person to sit and chat with. So much wisdom. Many times, she's calmed me down and set-me-straight about issues, as she would calmly 'guide' me, as she knitted doilie or shawl.