The Seven Things I love the Most About Jamaica

What I love about Jamaica (Our Seven Jewels)

Last week, Stephanie and I were enjoying dinner with friends at "East" in Market Place when the gentleman across from me asked: “So Basil, tell me seven things you really love about Jamaica.” I responded that I could name a thousand, but he insisted that I limit my response to seven. Here is the list I shared from my status as a retired returning resident.

1. Our people
Jamaican people are my people, the people who nurtured, loved me and taught me manners, our songs, our stories and gave me a substantial culture. We are long suffering people who are genuinely engaging, industrious, generous and fun loving. I have received so much kindness from strangers! No other people can charm each other with our expressions. Everyone else can more or less say: “I haven’t seen you in awhile. How are you?” In Jamaica we say: “Long time now me never see you, come mek we walk and talk.” Isn’t that beautiful? And speaking of beautiful, it is no accident that we have so many gorgeous people. Do you remember how Stella got her groove back? When the British went to Africa to bring back slaves to work the cane fields, they were heartless, but let’s give them credit for being shrewed businessmen. They didn’t bring back diminutive, ugly, handicapped, weak, sickly people; and even if they did, they would have perished during the crossing. In order to get the best return on their investment, they selected and brought back handsome, strong and intelligent people. That is our gene pool. Now add a little sprinkling of the Scots, the Irish, the English, the German, Dutch, Chinese, Syrian, Indian and Jewish blood and what do you get? You get some of the most intelligent, talented and beautiful people on earth. We were hand picked unlike places that were populated by criminals and undesirables who England wanted to purge from their society. Jamaica could be such an advanced, thinking and productive society if our wealth was not so badly managed.

2. Our weather
I often joke that the weatherman in Jamaica has the most boring job. Other than hurricane season when a few storms clean the air, the weatherman can make a recording and don’t even have to show up for work; “Just play it again Sam.” i.e. “Ladies and gentlemen, today is just another day in paradise, sunny and 80% Fahrenheit with afternoon showers followed by a glorious rainbow from one horizon to the other. The ocean is 90 degrees and the cool breeze will be blowing at a mild 20 miles per hour. The sunrise was just magnificent and the sunset will colorful and guaranteed to inspire the poets in all of us.” Who wouldn’t want to be in paradise? One of my passions is playing golf which because we are a tourist destination and so few local people play, in addition to the wonderful weather all year long, I can make my way to the club without having to make a tee time any day of the week. I love walking the course with my caddy who has become a very reliable friend. I often enjoy playing with the caddies who give me five a side and still beat me. In the United States, I am robbed of the opportunity to walk the five miles as golf carts are now mandatory.

3. There is always something going on. You cannot be bored living in Jamaica. Whether it is a play, Carnival, Bacanal, Brukins, Jazz fest, Independence celebrations, there is always something exciting and wonderful going on at local live theatre, Sabina Park and the National Stadium. Christmas is an absolutely wonderful time on the Island. My wife and I enjoy going to a friend’s house for soup on Saturday afternoons, church on Sundays mornings and hanging out with family on Sunday afternoons. Beenie Man or some other great entertainer is always performing in a neighborhood close to you. We can partake of what we show off to the tourists. Most resort hotels offer a wide range of music including jazz, mento, calypso, reggae, country and classical. Jamaicans are very diverse in our taste. Obviously the food is unparalleled. Whether served in someone’s home or at a restaurant, Jamaican cuisine is one of the jewels of the Caribbean. The list of options is much too long for this brief discussion but we are creating a food sensation around the world. If you like hot and spicy, you will love Jamaican cuisine. Scotch bonnet pepper is the most flavorful of all peppers. I have a particular fondness for corn pone and corn porridge. I can "nam" Jamaican every day.

4. Excellent Education if you can afford it. I really wish my children and grand children could have a Jamaican private school education that is based on the Classical model. Why don’t we bring some of this excellence to the public sector? How do you explain why so many world class athletes come out of our University of Technology or that a little girl from Jamaica can win the Scripts Spelling Bee?

5. Economic opportunity. With an in-expensive talented labor force, sunshine, good soil and rain, what’s to prevent us from producing our own energy and competing on world markets for agricultural products? The world wants our coffee, rum, spices, ground items, fruits, jams, sauces, honey, nuts, flowers, and the many others, so why haven’t we fully exploited this sector? It pains me to see how many of our mangoes, almonds, oranges go to waste and how much of our land remains fallow when we could be the new bread basket for the world. Our banana and plantain chips could easily replace potato chips throughout the world. I believe food will be the bauxite of the future.

6. The place is very international. We get visitors from all over the world and have more trading partners than most other countries. I met Jamaicans who speak fluent German, Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, Russian, Hungarian and Spanish. Jamaicans live in every corner of the world and the world comes to Jamaica.

7. Opportunity to Serve. Jamaica offers a myriad of opportunities for every citizen to serve the people and the country. Doing very little can go a long way. I am surprised by how much can be accomplished just by calling on my relationships to improve housing, enhance employment opportunities, computers for classrooms, sports equipment and promoting my seven steps to good health. I get a great deal of satisfaction from meeting some of the unmet needs in rural communities that actually have measurable impact on the lives of many. I am convinced that this kind of advocacy is doing God’s work. According to Martin Luther King, we can all be great because we can all serve. Volunteering and giving generously is a very worthwhile mission, especially for retired people like me. No one can meet all the needs in Jamaica but that does not mean we cannot help someone. We cannot do everything but we can do something. Every little bit helps a little.

Yes. Jamaica is a brand. I am not at all surprised that Jamaica was selected as one third happiest places to live by Life Magazine. If you place the names of all the countries of the world on Tee shirts, the Jamaican shirts would sell out first. At this point in my life, I am where I want to be. Count me among one of the happy people living in one of the happiest places in the world. Yea mon! I am in a Jamaica state of mind. Because I have returned to the fountain of youth, I am so much more younger than when I retired. Is it possible that I can live a long life without getting old?