The Other Side of Jamaica
I watched Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” on the Travel Channel the other day when he went to Jamaica. He said he wanted to show a different side of Jamaica, and I think he did.
He came from the direction of the more local side of Jamaica than the tourism side. For those of you who don’t know, what you see in the Sandals and Beaches commercials is not the real Jamaica. Not everyone lives in a resort with spas, free drinks and sits on the beach all day. Jamaica is a poor country, with a high crime right. However, I still love it. Hey, America has a high crime right too, so who are we to complain.
Bourdain spent a lot of time in Kingston, which I would think that 95% of tourists never go to. I, however, have been there and spent about three days in Kingston. But if you really want to experience culture, you can’t do it from the deck of a cruise ship, and you can’t do it in a resort. (I’m not knocking those of you who take cruises,I’m just talking about culture.)
I did learn that Jamaica has kept some of the manufacturing and cultural heritage more than some of the other Caribbean nations. That’s good. America is the melting pot, there are so many different cultures here that we really don’t have a culture. We have a mish-mash (is that a word?). Having been to a number of other countries, I love to see other cultures that haven’t been changed much, or Americanized. That is getting pretty hard though with satellite TV and the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an America hater, I just enjoy other cultures other than my own.
One thing I found really cool about Jamaica, is the music scene. Artists make singles on vinyl, then distribute them to local DJ’s. The guy on the show said that they don’t really own music, they go to the dancehall’s to listen to it. If you know me, you know that I am a vinyl record album junkie, so I love the fact that they still make vinyl records instead of CD’s.
Posted on February 22, 2008 - Filed Under Jamaica Vacation, Jamaica, Beaches, and the Caribbean, Travel
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4 Responses to “The Other Side of Jamaica”
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Dear Beach Bum,I have read your words about Jamaica, and what I have to say is,unless you have lived there,like Jamaicans have to live, you should not make comments.I have lived there in Trelawny for over 4 years,and it is a sad fact that 95% of Jamaicans are very hard pressed just to eat,most of them live in ramshackle tin and wood sheds with no water or proper toilet facilities,they are shunned by their own government,and as poor as they are they still have to pay for doctors medicine and dentistry.And if it was not for the American church,who give the Jamaican people free health care,{well it actually cost £3} most of them would be in danger of dying,it is alright for people like you who have regular work or have money to speak as you do,but I would tell you to go out and visit towns and villages especially the ones that look like uninhabited farm buildings and see how these people live for yourself,yes there is life there, there is entertainment there etc,but then ask your self do you want to live like it.My local bar looks like a cowshed,but they are a proud people and still manage to keep themselves clean and tidy,and I can tell you that 100% of them want to live in foreign,and it does’nt take much to work that out,most of them rely on money coming in from friends who work abroad illegally,England,U.S.A.,Canada and the like,but with all the new sactions on foriegn workers this is making their life increasingly difficult.And with the rest of the world wanting bio/fuels they are lucky if they can get even a plate full of rice a day.So Beach Bum the next time you are in a foriegn land enjoying the sun,sea, sand and sex,take time out to think how the locals live, yes Jamaica is a wonderfull country, but only for the tourists, but I would not want to live anywhere else, despite all these hardships the locals are a wonderfull race of people.Ben.
This was just a post relaying what I had seen on TV.
I actually have done more work than relaxation whenever I’ve been to Jamaica. I’ve been in the streets in Kingston. And up in little mountain villages.
I have seen how people can live in Jamaica, and yet still be proud of who they are, and where they live. I see people here in the states who have everything they want, and are still unhappy, hate their country, and hate themselves. Who do you think is better off?
My whole family has been to many countries in the Caribbean and tried to help as we can. My parents have been to Grenada and Barbados, my brother and sister-in-law to Costa Rica, my other brother to Honduras, and me to Jamaica twice. I love Jamaica not because of the great beaches, and beautiful scenery, but because of the people there too.
Thank you for your comments, and putting some perspective back into it. Maybe I forget about the people sometimes and focus too much on the beach, but then again, that’s really what my blog is about. I just try to add a little bit more to it.
The Beach Bum
Dear BeachBum happened on your site and saw this response to what you wrote. First of all i deeply disagree with Ben Williams, its seems that people who are from a rural back ground always seem to think Jamaica is some poor dilapidated country, not their fault, its the sum total of their experience. Yes the majority of Jamaicans are poor and yes there are some whose very existence depends on charity-I would like to add that we have a significant number of home grown and funded aid organisations that do allot of work to aid the poor-.
I would have perfered however a more balanced view, i grew in the 70′s to the sounds of my uncles stereo playing everything from greece to Bob, and Starsky and Hutch etc on tv,yes we in some parts of Kingston are too westernized but i dont’t think we are an extreme minority, there allot of capable educated who more than have the ability to take acre of themselves and their families. Just like other societies we upper, middle and lower classes. This is distinguished from the american system which is based on income, in Jamaica decency and social graces play a role. Another point about Kingston, it’s more than ghettos i would encourage trips to Liguanea, Manor Park, New Kingston etc and the surrounding neighbourhoods. Thanks
Ron, thank you so much for your comments. I think that sometimes here in America (and in Europe), many people think of Caribbean nations as third world countries, when they really aren’t.
I’m not trying to badmouth Americans, but many have never traveled beyond their own state. They have no idea what is out in the world. They hear that Jamaica is poorer than the US, so it must be a poor country.
Thanks again for the comments.