Here’s the third installment of questions YOU asked! I try to answer them as honestly as possible and based on my own experiences, so take them with a grain of salt.
You can read PART 1 and PART 2 here.
Q: How would you compare your travel experiences in Jamaica to those you’ve experienced traveling to other destinations?
A: This answer will be limited to Canada and the United States because I’ve never traveled anywhere else. Boring I know! Coming from a large Canadian city myself, I’m not a fan of big cities in general although I’ve enjoyed Toronto and US cities I’ve visited. I have lived in Calgary and Vancouver and have visited LA, San Fran, Boston, Orlando, St Louis and a small town in Indiana. Since climate is a huge factor for me I can say I’ve only really enjoyed the warmer climate places. I think the biggest difference between ALL of these places and Jamaica is culture. Americans and Canadians are just people to me, and we all have similar behaviors and customs. Perhaps that’s why I was immediately drawn to Jamaica from day one, because it’s SO different culturally. And being surrounded by the ocean doesn’t hurt either!
Q: Out of your entire experience thus far in Jamaica, what have you learned most about the country, culture, people, and yourself?
A: As I wrote about in my book, the BIGGEST thing I have learned from my travels to Jamaica is tolerance and possibly humility. Tolerance for a different way of life; there are SO many differences between cultures and I find it intriguing. Humility because the minority roles are reversed in Jamaica. I am a minority there and I stick out like a sore thumb. Although you guys might think I’m brave and act like I run the joint, I tread lightly in Jamaica. It’s not my country. But that’s also one of the most beautiful things about it. Because I’m so out of my element, there is SO much to discover and so many people willing to help me discover it. Jamaicans are some of the proudest people I’ve ever encountered and I adore them for that. The island is overflowing with flavor, vibes and hidden treasures.
Q: If your dream were to come true, what would you be doing after this project is over in MoBay?
A: Well, I realized after my last attempt to live in Jamaica that being there full time isn’t what I really want. My perfect life would be to come and go for months at a time, at my leisure. I willingly admit that my family has become more important to me lately and I could never completely ditch out on Canada altogether. So I guess my absolute dream come true would be to pack my whole family up and take them with me forever LOL! Aside from that, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a reality show that has to do with Jamaica. I would totally do a show about “touristy” foreigners coming to Jamaica to live the “Jamaican way” for a period of time and see who can make it and like it, and who gets voted off because they can’t hack it LOL!
Q: Montego Bay is becoming very violent down town and in the center. The Hip Strip is now anything but hip. Ocho Rios is also becoming run down. More and more tourists are sticking to the hotel compounds and going on organized tours. Compare this with Barbados, where tourists go as they please and in a very safe environment. Why choose Jamaica when you can go to Barbados??
A: First off, I totally disagree that more and more tourists are staying IN the confines of a resort. And if they are I believe they’re being misinformed. As far as my readers go I think more of them are leaning towards more authentic vacations over resorts. Sure it’s no secret that crime rates are high in Jamaica but they’re FAR from the top of the world list of crime rates! I’d go in the streets of Jamaica over Mexico ANY day – I watch the news! Regarding Barbados, I don’t travel to go to a beach destination. I travel to have a cultural experience and Jamaica’s got the culture I’m looking for. I honestly don’t know much about Barbados, but there are other Caribbean locations I’d visit LONG before Barbados. Haiti, Grenada, Guyana and Belize would be more my style. Not all of us are looking for the safe beach vacation. I have an adventurous spirit!
Q: What would you consider the best and the worst months to travel to Jamaica and why?
A: I’ve been in Jamaica every single month except January and June. The month I hated the most was August because I almost couldn’t bear the heat. I’ve never felt anything like it before!! I had a FREE home to stay in and I opted to pay just to get a room with AC – and I never use AC! Loved February because the nights are cool enough that you might want to actually wear pajamas. They say September and May are rainy season but I’ve never experienced abnormal rain in either of those months. I have to admit, I WANT to experience a hurricane there at least once but no matter if I go during hurricane season I just can’t catch a break LOL! I was even flying into Jamaica on the same day one was supposed to hit but it veered at the last minute and went to Haiti.
Aside from weather, great months to travel to Jamaica are months with holidays or big events. Easter and Christmas are awesome, July for Sumfest, August for Independence and ATI, January for the Jazz festival. The list of events goes on and on! There are no bad months in Jamaica!
Thanks again for submitting your questions! I love answering them and giving my two cents. I look forward to a next installment down the road although since I’m heading back to Jamaica shortly, I’m gonna have plenty of new things to write about! Can’t wait!!
Comments
9 responses to “Reader Questions – Part 3”
Haha … “Americans and Canadians are just people to me” … so what are Jamaicans then, Kristi, exotic aliens? 🙂
I’ll be back to read the rest later. I have got to stop checking your blog in the middle of work!
i WOULD LOVE LOVE LOVE TO BE ON YOUR REALITY SHOW!!! AT LEAST I KNOW I WONT BE THE FIRST ON CUT!
LOL at first one voted off. I just think it would be a really fun and educational idea for a show. I’ll make sure to put out an open casting call when I score a deal LOL!
I LOVE the idea for the reality show! How could you pitch that to the right people?? I really think it would be a good show. I KNOW I wouldn’t get voted off the island until we had to kill a goat to cook or something. I just can’t do the animal killing thing. My friend keeps talking about the fact that he has two goats for me and my best friend when we go back to JA in August, but I made him promise he would butcher them before we get there. Seriously…I turned vegetarian for over a year in 2009 because I stumbled upon a video of how they butcher cows. Yuke!
I also would like to add that I spent a lot of time in downtown MoBay when I went there this month, and the only time I felt unsafe was when this dude was pissed because he saw me trying to film the streets of downtown while driving in the car. Point being, I was video taping people that didn’t want/ask to be video taped – doing the “tourist” thing. I was being rude, and deserved him yelling at me. Luckily, we were driving, and were able to get away from him. 🙂
One thing I did notice though – and I hope I don’t offend anyone because that is not my intention – was that the women of JA treated us way worse then the men. We got dirty looks frequently from the women, but not the dudes. LOL
Well Jamie, maybe I’ll have to think of a way to pitch that idea to someone. I think it would be a riot! I’d get voted off my own show if there was goat killing going on LOL!
I’ve also had one or two people overreact when they thought I was taking pics with them in it, when in fact I was taking a pic of a sign above and behind the guy. He FREAKED so I walked over and showed him that he was no where close to being in the picture.
Just had another chance to read through this and I have to agree with you about travelling being a cultural experience. People can do whatever the heck they want with their own money, but I’ll take the liberty to say that I don’t understand the point of “resort” tourism. I really don’t want to be hanging around the SAME people I’d normally see at home when I’m off exploring a new land. I mean, what’s the point of that? I shamelessly make fun of my Norwegian acquaintances who go to the Sounthern European islands to sit on a beach with other Norwegians, eat Norwegian food, party with Norwegians, read Norwegian newspapers and do everything Norwegian all bloody day long. How does that make sense? Why bother to waste all that money to travel in the first place? Just stay home, man! LOL
@Jaime, re your experience with Jamaican women, sorry you felt targeted. You probably got that impression because to a woman you as another woman isn’t all that special, but to a man — a Jamaican man — you’re a novelty, something exotic that he probably doesn’t experience on a regular basis. Furthermore, men, broadly speaking, are nicer to women than other women! Sad, but true.
As for the picture taking thing, this is something many tourists take for granted. You certainly weren’t the first and will not be the last so don’t feel too bad about it. Having said that, travellers to Jamaica (and I’m not talking about you here Jaime, but in general) should realize that not because the country is poor and many of its people are suffering that doesn’t give one license to exploit people in ways you wouldn’t do in your own country. Snapping pictures without asking, talking down to people about how poor and rundown the place is and pitying (different from empatizing with) people comes across as elitist and condescending because Jamaica IS a poor country, has always been and you probably knew that before you arrived so what did you expect? The same standard of living like in a developed country? I hope I’m not offending anyone here because that is not my intention at all. I’m just trying to shade light on some behaviours people often don’t realize that they have when they travel to poorer countries, but that which Jamaicans, especially those who live in the resort areas, pick up on and take offense to.
I used to work in Ochi at Enchanted Gardens Resort & Spa many years ago, and I can’t tell you how many times foreign men felt they had the right to lay their hands on me without my permission… all because, to them, I was this poor little local waiting to be “rescued” by one of them. Tsk! They knew nothing about me. I actually loved my life just fine, but how would they know? They never asked, they just assumed. Like Kristi discovered Jamaicans may be poor, but we’re nonetheless a very proud people. It’s wise to extend the same courtesy as you would to people in your own countries at all times otherwise those who may not be that into you (like the women for example) will give you dirty looks. Kristi is a good example to follow, and that’s why I, as a Jamaican, can extend a lot of respect to her. It’s a world away from the life she’s used to in comfortable Canada, but she seems to want to get to know the people … which in my opinion is the right way to interact with the locals of any country, the respectful way. Talk to people, ask them about something other than how they’re coping in their poverty stricken country (they’re coping just fine because when you’re poor you learn to be happy with what you have or don’t have!) … show a genuine interest and I believe you and Jamaicans will get along swimmingly. It probably means nothing coming from a nobody like me, but I think Kristi is doing great job and whether JTB realizes it or not you do a lot for Jamaica so thanks, girl! Keep it up! (and sorry for the over long post!)
WOW Shelley! Long ass reply but very well written, and I totally appreciate what you said about me near the end because as I was reading I started feeling horrible wondering if I’m indeed exploiting! That would never be my intention and I think it’s not the intentions of many travelers, even if it comes across that way. It’s a touchy subject though and it’s a thin line between capturing stories and exploiting them.
PS: Interesting angle on the Jamaican women thing, I’ve never thought of it that way before.
Apologies again for the long post, Kristi! I did debate with myself whether I should post it, but in the end I thought why not. I know travellers just want to enjoy their stay and have memorable experiences to take back home with them so I thought it might be a good tip on how not to unintentionally step on the toes of locals. Jamaicans can be very easy going … until you get on their wrong side. Those guys who would touch me uninvited didn’t really mean anything by it either — in their minds they were just being friendly — but they didn’t understand that I found their attentions unpleasant and unwanted until I told them. I sincerely hope I didn’t cause any offence to you or anyone else! I decide whether I like a site within the first few minutes of arriving, and since I discovered your site I’ve been checking in almost every day. I like what you do here because we share a similar philosophy on travel and your tales of adventure in Jamaica are pretty humourous as well! lol I think you keep a good balance about the positives and the negatives which is fair. So I don’t think you’re exploiting at all. If I did, I’d tell you and then bounce because I’m just a straight and up front person like that! You know us Saggis! 🙂
Shelley I always love your comments and appreciate your participation. I wish others had as much to say as you do! I love a great debate or conversation that’s REAL. So don’t stop….I like it lol!