Jamaica Me Crazy…
Incident
Once we got off the plan, we hurried to baggage claim to retrieve our bags. There we waited for a while. Once they finally arrived we hurried out to the shuttle bus.
All we wanted to do was get to the hotel, put on our swim suits and head for the beach. Our shuttle bus driver was a middle aged man with a warm smile. He greeted us with an energetic, “Welcome to Jamaica”. Returning that greeting with a smile and thank you, he asked us for the name of our resort and told us to board the bus.
Once all passengers were on board our driver, Dennis boarded the bus and warmly greeted each person. He explained how long the ride would take and that at the midway point we would be stopping at a market where we would be able to get crafts, beef patties, sugar cane, or even a little ganja if we wanted. After, what seem to me like a 10 minute conversation, we were off. The reggae music engulfed the bus and the atmosphere was that of a party. While I tried to relax and enjoy the ride, all I could think was how much longer is this ride?
We finally arrived at the rest stop and everyone left the bus in search of some snacks and the restroom. Within 10 minutes my friends and I were back on the bus and ready to go, however Dennis and a few other riders were still browsing the market and chit chatting. I looked at my best friend and said what is the hold up, didn’t he say we had ten minutes? She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders then said “well since the drivers not back I guess there is still time” and exited the bus. Another 10 minutes pass and finally everyone is back on the bus and we are on our way.
After two long hours, we arrived at our resort, checked in and dashed up to our rooms to change and head for the beach. The rooms were so beautiful however all I wanted to do was stick my toes in the warm sand. I finally made it to the beach, leaving two of my girlfriends behind because as I said, “They were taking too long.” The sand sun was hot, and so was the sand. I soaked up the sun for about ten minutes then ran into the ocean to cool off. By this time my other girlfriends finally made it down and said they were hungry and were ready to get something to eat.
We all head off to one of several restaurants at the resort. Once again we are greeted warmly and seated at the table. The waitress brings us the menus and then says she “soon come back.” I being familiar with Jamaican food see exactly what I want immediately, oxtails, rice and peas and plantain. The waitress then comes back to our table with water. She smiles and says “Everything irie?” We smile back without saying a word. The waitress then leaves the table again. We wait for another 5 minutes, and I am now quite annoyed that she has not taken our order. I see her walking past and I say with noticeable irritation in my voice, “Excuse me, can you take our order now”. The waitress saunters back over, which only annoys me even more. I proceed to say, “we have been ready to order for a while now” and rattle off my order. With still the same bright smile she replies, “OK baby, Everything irie, your food soon come.”
Analysis
Growing up as a child of Panamanian parents living in Brooklyn New York, I was exposed to people of many different cultures. The Panamanian culture is a very multicultural one itself, and is considered Afro-Antillean. My Father is a descendent of people from Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. My mothers side from Costa Rica and Jamaica. I was very immersed in the Jamaican culture, eating the food, drinking the drink, listening/dancing/singing along with the music. I understood the language and so for my first vacation as an adult, I decided to go to Jamaica my friends, because I knew all about the culture, or so I thought.
This incident helped me to realize that while I knew a lot about the culture, I knew it from the outside, the little of the culture that came with the people of Jamaica to New York. Being in Jamaica was a completely different experience. I came to Jamaica with the American or even East coast value of hurry and haste. This was not something that did not bode well in Jamaica. In a culture that moves at a much slower pace, and urgency is not their thing. Where everything is irie, meaning a state of total peace and having no worries. That most certainly should have been how I felt being on vacation in a beautiful country where the sun was hot, the sand was too and the ocean was blue. Away from the cares of the world back home. What I have learned is that I did not have behavioral flexibility (Corbitt, 2012) and in fact my behavior was inflexible. I was not able to perceive the situations and adapt my behavior accordingly. My frustration from the driver talking so much, to the ride being so long, and the stop taking forever, mounted when the waitress as sweet as she was, took her sweet time to take my order.
I am truly grateful for this class and what I have learned which has enabled me to understand my behaviors some 10 years ago. Learning not to assume I know the culture or the people around me based on my experiences with a few.
"Once you stop rushing through life, you will be amazed how much more life you have time for."
References
O'Meally-Nelson, B. (n.d) Understanding the Jamaican Cultural Environment retrieved from http://education.fiu.edu/jamaica/docs/Understanding_the_Jamaican_Culture.pdf
Corbitt, J.N. (n.d.) Behavioral Flexibility retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/buildabridge.org/cross-cultural-skill/modules/2-cultural-competence/cultural-competence/behavioral-flexibility
Incident
Once we got off the plan, we hurried to baggage claim to retrieve our bags. There we waited for a while. Once they finally arrived we hurried out to the shuttle bus.
All we wanted to do was get to the hotel, put on our swim suits and head for the beach. Our shuttle bus driver was a middle aged man with a warm smile. He greeted us with an energetic, “Welcome to Jamaica”. Returning that greeting with a smile and thank you, he asked us for the name of our resort and told us to board the bus.
Once all passengers were on board our driver, Dennis boarded the bus and warmly greeted each person. He explained how long the ride would take and that at the midway point we would be stopping at a market where we would be able to get crafts, beef patties, sugar cane, or even a little ganja if we wanted. After, what seem to me like a 10 minute conversation, we were off. The reggae music engulfed the bus and the atmosphere was that of a party. While I tried to relax and enjoy the ride, all I could think was how much longer is this ride?
We finally arrived at the rest stop and everyone left the bus in search of some snacks and the restroom. Within 10 minutes my friends and I were back on the bus and ready to go, however Dennis and a few other riders were still browsing the market and chit chatting. I looked at my best friend and said what is the hold up, didn’t he say we had ten minutes? She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders then said “well since the drivers not back I guess there is still time” and exited the bus. Another 10 minutes pass and finally everyone is back on the bus and we are on our way.
After two long hours, we arrived at our resort, checked in and dashed up to our rooms to change and head for the beach. The rooms were so beautiful however all I wanted to do was stick my toes in the warm sand. I finally made it to the beach, leaving two of my girlfriends behind because as I said, “They were taking too long.” The sand sun was hot, and so was the sand. I soaked up the sun for about ten minutes then ran into the ocean to cool off. By this time my other girlfriends finally made it down and said they were hungry and were ready to get something to eat.
We all head off to one of several restaurants at the resort. Once again we are greeted warmly and seated at the table. The waitress brings us the menus and then says she “soon come back.” I being familiar with Jamaican food see exactly what I want immediately, oxtails, rice and peas and plantain. The waitress then comes back to our table with water. She smiles and says “Everything irie?” We smile back without saying a word. The waitress then leaves the table again. We wait for another 5 minutes, and I am now quite annoyed that she has not taken our order. I see her walking past and I say with noticeable irritation in my voice, “Excuse me, can you take our order now”. The waitress saunters back over, which only annoys me even more. I proceed to say, “we have been ready to order for a while now” and rattle off my order. With still the same bright smile she replies, “OK baby, Everything irie, your food soon come.”
Analysis
Growing up as a child of Panamanian parents living in Brooklyn New York, I was exposed to people of many different cultures. The Panamanian culture is a very multicultural one itself, and is considered Afro-Antillean. My Father is a descendent of people from Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica. My mothers side from Costa Rica and Jamaica. I was very immersed in the Jamaican culture, eating the food, drinking the drink, listening/dancing/singing along with the music. I understood the language and so for my first vacation as an adult, I decided to go to Jamaica my friends, because I knew all about the culture, or so I thought.
This incident helped me to realize that while I knew a lot about the culture, I knew it from the outside, the little of the culture that came with the people of Jamaica to New York. Being in Jamaica was a completely different experience. I came to Jamaica with the American or even East coast value of hurry and haste. This was not something that did not bode well in Jamaica. In a culture that moves at a much slower pace, and urgency is not their thing. Where everything is irie, meaning a state of total peace and having no worries. That most certainly should have been how I felt being on vacation in a beautiful country where the sun was hot, the sand was too and the ocean was blue. Away from the cares of the world back home. What I have learned is that I did not have behavioral flexibility (Corbitt, 2012) and in fact my behavior was inflexible. I was not able to perceive the situations and adapt my behavior accordingly. My frustration from the driver talking so much, to the ride being so long, and the stop taking forever, mounted when the waitress as sweet as she was, took her sweet time to take my order.
I am truly grateful for this class and what I have learned which has enabled me to understand my behaviors some 10 years ago. Learning not to assume I know the culture or the people around me based on my experiences with a few.
"Once you stop rushing through life, you will be amazed how much more life you have time for."
References
O'Meally-Nelson, B. (n.d) Understanding the Jamaican Cultural Environment retrieved from http://education.fiu.edu/jamaica/docs/Understanding_the_Jamaican_Culture.pdf
Corbitt, J.N. (n.d.) Behavioral Flexibility retrieved from https://sites.google.com/a/buildabridge.org/cross-cultural-skill/modules/2-cultural-competence/cultural-competence/behavioral-flexibility
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