Winter Blues Without the Blahs

[SmoothOperator]

My birth country doesn't belong to me any more. It belongs to another generation of Jamaicans.

Hmmmm. This give me pause. I live a foreign but make regular trips to Jamaica. When I land I always enter on my JA passport and enter using the Jamaican nationals line. Part of me feels a little like you do that having been away for a few years that Jamaica now belongs to a new generation but another part of me still claims it as my own and the bond is still there.

[CurtisD]

Bawn n bred

I also live in a foreign land but still make trips to Jamaica.
Bawn n bred in one paradise but now living in another.
When I reach I always enter on my JA passport
and am proud to join the Jamaican nationals line.
Part of me feels a little like you do Peasie,

Having been away for a few years
that Jamaica now belongs to a new generation
but another part of me still claims it as my own
and the bond will always be there.

No matter how many countries I have visited.
No matter how many languages I can communicate in
there is always an instant joy and relief
to hear the accent of my fellow citizens
and very expressive patois words being spoken……

[SandiF]

Beautiful Curtis!

Jamaica will always be home.

I also live in a foreign land but still make trips to Jamaica.
Bawn n bred in one paradise but now living in another.
When I reach I always enter on my JA passport
and am proud to join the Jamaican nationals line.
Part of me feels a little like you do Peasie,

Having been away for a few years
that Jamaica now belongs to a new generation
but another part of me still claims it as my own
and the bond will always be there.

No matter how many countries I have visited.
No matter how many languages I can communicate in
there is always an instant joy and relief
to hear the accent of my fellow citizens
and very expressive patois words being spoken……

[Peasie]

Thanks SmoothOperator and Curtis. I think you are right.

Thanks everyone for tagging along on this trip report

Tomorrow I leave my birth country for my home in the US. So far this has been a wonderful vacation. I am a Kingston girl at heart and today I did a lot of fun running around things. But first I loaded up with some fruit - soursop, orange, papaya
from this basket on my mother's kitchen counter

[Peasie]

My cousin and her husband invited me to lunch at Liguanea Club where their son was playing in a squash tournament. It was a cool early afternoon and some rain fell late morning. After that I headed to Scotchies to get jerk pork and jerk chicken for my mother and me. I was not hungry so I am saving mine for tomorrow when I carry some chicken for my lunch on the plane. Yes, I'm one of those Jamaicans who carry their food on plane

I met a friend from high school - we've been friends since first form - for a walk around the Mona dam. It was such a great late afternoon for some exercise and the view of the mountains from the dam was spectacular. I love mountains and have always ALWAYS missed the mountains of Jamaica

[Peasie]

I ended my last night on this sojourn in Jamaica with two friends I've known since 1st form. We caught up on each other's lives and I updated them with our other high school friends whom I met up with in Sorrento, Italy, in October!

Ah, my old school friends. They have lived and worked in Germany, Spain, Israel, Great Britain, United Arab Emirates and have all done well for themselves. We are all of Kingston middle and working class families (at least back then in the 1970s) and daughters of nurses, policemen, car salesman, mechanic, lawyer. We grew up in Cross Roads, Barbican, Harbour View, Shortwood Road, Red Hills, Mona Heights. Most of us took the JOS bus home after school or to hockey, swimming, piano classes, where our parents collected us after work. We went to primary school and prep school. We worshiped at Anglican, Moravian, Catholic, Brethren, and Methodist churches. My old school friends

After high school we went our separate ways. Two of us did National Youth Service, some dispersed to foreign lands, and some went to UWI. My first job after UWI was with the Jamaican Government. Si mi here working with children in Grants Pen

[Peasie]

So now it is time to say "see you later" Jamaica. I spent my last night with friends at Usain Bolt's restaurant, Tracks & Records. It is a sports bar with excellent service, great drinks, and good food. It seems to be popular with families.

One of my friends brought her 15-year-old daughter who was absolutely delightful ... I wish I had her confidence at that age! So this young lady revealed some of the challenges of going to school in Kingston. She has been bullied by other girls at the school to give them money or they will hurt her The bullies told her because she went to Immaculate Prep she must be rich and she needs to pay them. My girl was like, "Nuh uh, you want me to cut you?" They left her alone.
But, guess what? She could not report these bullies because she feared retaliation.

Lawd. And this is at a time when teen girls in school uniform are being killed and threatened by older men. Why?

So you see, my visit to my homeland started off with good fun and real joy. It is now ending with shaking my head and worrying about our young people. Sigh.

[MsExced]

Still tagging along Peasie...Jamaica so sad about the crime but still home.

Glad you had fun love the picture of you and the kids they listening so intent

[Pepper]

Just got the time to catch up with my reading. Wonderful trip report, This is my favorite photo. I could take a seat and dive right into that basket.

You must be going through withdrawal now...at least you have the Ravens to cheer about.

Thanks for taking us along, I enjoyed the ride.

[Pepper]

Other performances on the last night were Dionne Warwick and her son David Elliot, Monica, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Romain Virgo. With the exception of John Legend, the rest of the line up seemed boring to me. I'm not a fan of Monica's sound but the audience clearly loved her. Warwick's voice is aging (she's 72) but she delivered a very classy act to an audience in awe of her greatness and contribution to music.



.

Was she sober?

[Peasie]

Was she sober?

Who? Miss Warwick? She is 72 and is a legend. I only noticed that she gave her audience all she had and she was gracious in their standing ovation and appreciation of her performance.

[Peasie]

Still tagging along Peasie...Jamaica so sad about the crime but still home.

True dat.

The other day I was thinking that each of my friends, family, friends of friends, in Jamaica etc. has had a recent experience with crime. This is pretty scary. And very sad.

And not just in Kingston either...

[Peasie]

Glad you had fun love the picture of you and the kids they listening so intent

Thanks

You know, if I were to live in Jamaica again, I would really want to work with and advocate for children

[Peasie]

Just got the time to catch up with my reading. Wonderful trip report, This is my favorite photo. I could take a seat and dive right into that basket.

You must be going through withdrawal now...at least you have the Ravens to cheer about.

Thanks for taking us along, I enjoyed the ride.

Thanks, Pepper. I bought two large soursops at a small market in Kingston. I heard that they are in great demand because of their reputation to kill cancer cells. My sister told me that a friend of hers said the only thing he has not dome with the soursop is make love to it the way how it good!

I also had East Indian and Julie mangoes

Some day on one of my trips home, I would love to find FRESH HOMEMADE KINGSTON CHERRY juice. Lawd, a woulda bawl livin yeyewata when mi fine ie

[Pepper]

Who? Miss Warwick? She is 72 and is a legend. I only noticed that she gave her audience all she had and she was gracious in their standing ovation and appreciation of her performance.

LOL, yes me know how old she is, and yes she is legendary for hitting the bottle.