Ok, I need to say upfront that this is a business trip. We didn’t get to hit Montego Bay nor did too many touristy things. But, the chance to get to know a country this up close and personal had been a very rich and enlightening one.
As someone puts it, Jamaica has an old soul. Although it is still young in economy, urban and industrial development, but it is a country with a rich history- and layers waiting to be uncovered. Raggae music aside, it has had a colorful political journey (though this has worked against the progress of the country over the last few decades).
The Jamaicans often compare themselves with Singapore, and Minister Mentor LKY had visited it during the sixties. Till this day, they still remember that he took the Jamaican ideas and plucked it into Singapore. And he famously said that Jamaica had everything going for it, but the people were its biggest problem- they just love to have fun too much.
I guess there has to be some truth to that, the rich poor divide today is pretty heart-breaking. But I must say that there are so many brilliant Jamaicans. I have been so impressed, with not just their knowledge, experience and calibre, but also all of their hearts and desires to see Jamaican flourish. Of course, I take it with a grain of salt. There are some policies I do not understand (30% interest rates??!!), and there must be still some hidden problems that have kept foreign investments at bay. While waiting for the gap between talk and action being bridged, I can only pray that the gap between the rich and the poor do not increase at too fast a rate.
We spent most of our time in Kingston, where all the government offices were. There is definitely much room for city development. Arthur had back-to-back meetings with the rest of the delegation while I was mostly stuck in the hotel working. Too many and long heavy dinners with officials, and businessmen left us drained, often wishing that the evening would end earlier.
The most touristy things we did were over last weekend. We visited Vernom field- a large open space that the government was looking to develop into an airport hub (err… which I think would take a couple of decades, and “potential” was the buzz word). Then, we went to the milk river bath, which was one of the most radioactive waters in the word- supposedly good for health and had healing properties. In the evening, we stayed over in Aloysius’ “godfather”’s- Uncle Billy’s house, and had the experience of a lifetime of attending a Free Masons (a gentlemen secret society, Dan Brown uses them a lot, go google!) dinner. In midst of it all, we also visited coffee and rum factories.
Food was fun- I really enjoyed the Jamaican fare. The top 5 foods that I love are- Jerk chicken, ackee and salt fish, plantain, mangos (so many different types!), and ginnip. Okie dokes, a pretty long tweet.. here’s some pictures, enjoy!
This is obviously not a usual tweet. It’s more like tweeeeeeeeeettweeeeeeettweeeeeeet… :p Oh yeah, I’m obviously in a holiday mood, and am so glad to be back in the business of writing. Providing short travel bites along the way helps me feel that you’re on the journey with me.. It also saves me from having to trace back 5 weeks worth of travel thoughts in one lengthy blog post. So here’s my first tweet, on what I did with my 18 hours of air time… :p
It’s my first ride on Japan Airlines, and I would definitely ride it again. Both flights were relatively smooth, and the service standards high. How can anyone resist pretty Japanese stewardesses who were always smiling, polite and so sincerely apologetic and hopeful when the entertainment system was down for about an hour.
The technical glitch provided some interesting reflections. I must confess that I was pretty upset that I could not start my movie. I tried almost every ten minutes to re-select my movie, only to realize that I wasn’t the jinx this time round. They had to reboot the entertainment system twice, and passengers were visibly a little frustrated. But there was really no other recourse than to wait, so i could only helplessly resign myself to patience management.
My frustration and impatience made me realize that as a passenger today, I had an underlying expectation to be entertained on my flight. I still brought my book, I could sleep, I had my laptop there were things I could still do, but that didn’t stop me from frowning. Why? I tried to imagine flights in the last decade when there was no in-flight entertainment system- they still managed to pass time without the frustration, why was I not able to keep my impatience in check? Hmmm...
And then, there is this amazing phenomenon noted by Arthur. All the passengers remained in their seats until the seatbelts signal was turned off after landing. This would not have been possible in Air China or Singapore Airlines for that matter. *grin*
Oh and one last thing.. the food really yummy. Not quite the sushi and total Japanese fare I was hoping for, but the yuzu salad dressing, cold somen appetizer, tamago and pickles side dish, matcha cake dessert, pancakes & waffle breakfast and citrus kumquat drink definitely left an impression. Wondering what I’ll have on my way back…
Personality A: The dove who wants to believe the good in others, to look beyond their agendas and motives and to do unto them what Jesus would. It’s not about being simple minded and putting blind faith in others- the others, who they are and what they think or do, don even matter. Rather choosing to base her actions on the One who really matters. Cest la Vie, and being in the moment is her mantra.
Personality B: The guarded worn dog who looks upon the eager beavers and smiles from a distance. Weary of conversations that go in circles, and those that try to look deeper than it actually is, she’s becoming more comfortable with mindless chatter than she used to. Letting go and moving on also seems to be getting easier and easier. Take things easy, is her tagline.
Can Personality A and B be a good match? Will they call the other person a hypocrite when they meet? Can they co-exist?
Can she honestly be both? Not just on different days, but at the same time? What triggers the personality to surface? The audience, her mood, her mindset, the weather? Which is me today?
I realize A is here when I’m being her, or find out that B was there in retrospect. It’s not a choice of deciding who to be. There are some days when I can be A one minute, and B the other. There are some days that I enjoy having both show up to converse with each other at the same time. There are some days I find it hard to handle them both. And there are some days I find myself in an identity crisis. I know I may sound confused to some- but I’m not. Really.
Although I’m finding harder and harder to define me… My assessment is that I am a growing product of God and life. Thankfully, the latter is but a tool of what He uses to make me into Who He wants me to be. Till He leads me there, praying that I’ll enjoy being A, B, C, D and more!
