Pageant At A Strip Club

So I went to pageant (for strippers) at a strip club

These are the moments that make my time in BIM so memorable.

You haven’t really experienced one of life’s greatest situational ironies until you have attended a stripper pageant. There is nothing like a stripper donning an elegant (by some standards) evening gown and walking onstage to Celine Dion’s “I’m Your Lady” or Rihanna's California King Bed.

This was something I wish I could have gotten pictures or even video of so I could share with you all but recording of any of the night’s events was strictly prohibited. While being able to say I was ejected from a strip club would have also been a great story to tell, I decided to adhere to the rules.

They had 3 segments- stripper wear, lingerie and evening gowns.

These ladies took the entire show seriously. I could smell the scent of broken dreams and desperate clinging to a semblance of what could have been in the air. Each of these women had a story- somewhere there life took a turn and they haven’t since been able to get on a different path so they made due with the journey they were now on. But still, they remained hopeful and carried within themselves some quiet dignity that allowed them to get up on that stage and pretend that they were not one notch below “women of the night” but instead one step away from being ambassadors of the entity which would, at the end of the pageant, crown one of the queen. To be honest, the only difference between that pageant and the typical beauty pageant is the known backgrounds of the strippers, the location, the encouraged interaction with the pole and the absence of a question-and-answer portion. I must say that it was very classy pole-dancing- the type that women from all walks of life buy DVDs or attend classes to learn how to do.

During the breaks from each segment the strippers that did not participate in the pageant did their usual form of entertainment. Overall, there wasn’t much to be fascinated by except the music that they chose to dance to. Maybe they were disappointed about not being a part of the pageant. They may have felt that the crowd was not really there for them that night. All the same, I could have done without the seemingly pregnant stripper though. I was uncomfortable and so were those I came with. Not simply because she was pregnant but because it seemed like she was due and I really could not imagine the trauma that would take over everyone if her water broke. I also felt really bad because no one tipped her, not even her fellow strippers and I had seen from previous sets of other strippers that it was commonplace for the girls to encourage the audience to start tipping by tipping each other.

S.O.S: Stuck Overseas Studying Jeffrey H

Age: 24

Where you study: Barbados

Major: Law

What’s the biggest culture shock or some of the biggest culture shocks between where you study and where you’re from? The people, the country, the school etc..:

I visited Barbados a few years before actually studying there so there was little to “shock” me.  The country still felt fairly orderly and time seemed to move at a leisurely pace. Back home things seem a bit chaotic on the roads and the day’s pace is somewhat frenetic.

I was already exposed to the unique Bajan dialect as well so I this time round I was prepared to listen keenly and have my ‘could you please slow down’ line at the tip of my tongue.

One noticeable experience this time round however was using the ZRs (mini-bus) for travel. The drivers have the same scant  regard for the road code as their equivalents in Jamaica. So too the conductors; there’s hardly ever an extra person who can’t fit into the vehicle. Of note as well is the fact that Jamaican music (whether dancehall or reggae, but mostly dancehall) is always the genre of choice on these buses. I once boarded a ZR and heard a series of Rihanna songs playing (instead of the good ole dancehall I was accustomed to). I was shocked and confused.

How well did you adjust to any change(s)?

As I indicated in my previous answer, there wasn’t much to get accustomed to and despite the differences the cultural make-up of the place wasn’t vastly different from my experience back home. One member of the current Cave Hill guild once told me that we came off the same slave ships so we’re all brothers and sisters. The way we go about life seems to confirm that belief.

In respect of the dialect, I can understand Bajan when spoken at a moderate pace. Anything beyond that results in an automatic state of smiling and nodding.

What is/are the best part(s) about studying where you do?

I did a degree at the Mona campus where there is precious little in terms of diversity of nationalities. My co-curricular involvement meant that I did know a sampling of individuals across the region but that can’t hold a candle to what Cave Hill has to offer. On any given day various accents will compete for your ear’s attention. It’s been fun trying to mimic each of them and learning the wonderful phrases used to describe food, aspects of man/woman relationships etc. 

I’ve long been a supporter of the regional integration movement. That, along with my general interest in politics, means that I gravitate towards such discussions when they occur.  What those encounters have confirmed is that we do share a common set of problems in the region and the students I expect will one day be in leadership positions seem to appreciate the folly in not moving things forward on the integration front. That gives me hope and hope is a good feeling.

Also, Cave Hill is known for having a cricket field at a prominent spot near the entrance to the campus. While at times the field seems like the best kept facility at the school (instead of say student facilities), it’s always nice seeing an Australian team playing a practice match in the morning and spending a late afternoon watching a some limited over cricket.

It's Been A While. Missed me?

It’s been a while, I know. My sincerest apologies. I’ll blame exam stress, jet lag and the heat. Yep, those three cover the gap since my last blog. I honestly have no idea where to start. I tried going through my pictures to determine what experiences to write on. Looking through them told me so much- it does not get easier each time I leave home; I had waaay more fun in Barbados this time around; I have a lot of material to blackmail future lawyers and I take far too many pictures of myself. Ha! Like that last one is even possible. I have topics I want to tackle based on my time in BIM and I will slowly but surely get to them. One thing that I took away from last semester was that opening my mind (and, reluctantly, my heart) to Barbados has influenced how I view my own homeland and it has inspired me in ways that I did not expect.

If I was at home, I, no doubt, would not have had many of the cultural experiences that I did but that’s expected. What I did not anticipate was the motivation that being away would trigger in me. I found myself more and more thinking of all the things I could be doing if I was home where it would be easier. I had ideas (I’m an idea girl) but I hardly put most of them into motion. I had unknowingly become complacent because I was in my comfort zone at home. Knowing that I had to be in Barbados lit a fire underneath me and the newfound sense of urgency pushed me to take the steps needed to turn my ideas into reality. Many of them are still works in progress but that is due in large part to the fact that I was away. However, because I was away, I am further along in terms of actual progress than I would have been had I just been home this past year. For that, I am truly grateful.

I do believe that things happen for a reason and that some reasons are clear instantly while some are revealed later on. I figure each time the latter happens, it’s a test of my patience. Clearly, I need many pop quizzes on patience. J Bear with me as I get back into the groove of writing. I’ll try and spice it up with pictures but I will have a hard time choosing from the hundreds (maybe thousands). I should really delete some or get an external hard drive. Aaaaand I am going to wrap this up now.

Along with my new attitude came my new hairstyle. I shaved the sides of my head off. I went to a barber and had it done. I was going to Barbados with more spunk than I left. I felt like a bad-ass, to be honest. I was given earrings with spikes on the ends for my birthday when I went home on break. They added to why I felt like a rock star. That rock star feeling stayed with me until my hair grew out (getting your hair done in Barbados is expensive- like everything else there) and actually had only faded the day I actually had to leave home. Even looking at the pictures I took still give me that empty yet gnawing feeling in my gut that I was a girl going to a foreign place and leaving behind so much of myself with my loved ones. Le sigh. Most of my classmates were so excited to leave their home and some who were in the Mona (Jamaica) program wanted to go to Barbados. People be crazy! I kid….kind of. Anyway, take a look at some pictures ‘til I holla at wunna next.

You'll see more of the style in later posts. Loved it so much I  did it again when I returned to JA

The top earring is facing the wrong way but you get the idea

This should give you a better idea

The second I can see this view, my heart is crumbling.

It feels like the loneliest walk I'll ever take traveling  down this passage

No turning back now

I miss you already, JA

See you soon but not soon enough

S.O.S: Stuck Overseas Studying- Peter M

Age : 21

Where you study: UWI Mona

Major: Law

What’s the biggest culture shock or some of the biggest culture shocks between where you study and where you’re from? The people, the country, the school etc..:  The general interaction in Jamaica is louder and more aggressive than back home in St. Vincent.

How well did you adjust to any change(s)? : …Still adjusting, but pretty well so far

What is/are the best part(s) about studying where you do? : Exposure to new people

What is/are the worst part(s)?: Inconvenient to travel back home frequently

How’s the food? (if not mentioned before): Excellent. Love Jamaican cuisine. Could have had more eastern cbean food readily available but I manage.

What do you miss most about home when you are abroad studying, if anything?:  Ease of travel anywhere I felt like at minimal cost

Would you migrate there at a later point in your life? Why or why not?: Still up in the air, not sure. Depends on economic climate and security

Any other interesting things you’d like to mention?: Jamaican girls are quite attractive

S.O.S: Stuck Overseas Studying- Cara

Stuck Overseas Studying is a series of posts that I'm introducing to Jabajanas. I love that the acronym is S.O.S and I did it intentionally because often times when you are abroad for school, you feel like you are in distress and in need of being rescued. The series is going to be about the studying-away-from-home experience of various people who are either Jamaicans studying abroad like myself or non-Jamaicans studying in Jamaica. I first felt inspired to do this when talking to an old friend of mine from primary school. She was my best friend in third grade. She struck up a convo with me over the Christmas and we started talking about our lives and while she started sharing hers with me, I told her to stop answering me in Facebook chat and asked if she would be so kind as to answer formal questions that I would send her via e-mail for a blog post. Once you become a blogger, you start seeing every experience as worthy of documentation and every adventure, conversation and mishap is a potential blog post. Without further ado, I now invite you to experience Cara's journey.


Age: 24

Where you study: University of Medical Sciences, Faculty 2, Santiago de Cuba

Major: Medicine                                                                            

What’s the biggest culture shock or some of the biggest culture shocks between where you study and where you’re from? The people, the country, the school etc..: I would have to say that the biggest  culture shocks for me was going to the bathroom with my toilet seat and lysol in hand and after "cleaning up" , having to put the tissue in the basket beside the toilet instead of flushing it plus having to use newspaper instead of toilet paper when I go to my cuban friend's house and forget to take tissue and not being able to use the internet freely (thats if ur lucky to have access at all) and going to the supermarket and having to carry the things u bought in your hands (bags r not provided).

How well did you adjust to any change(s)?:   Well the adjusting period was a 2 part process because the first year we were placed in a school for latin americans in havana then the 2 year we were moved to santiago de cuba to a school filled with cubans, africans and haitians (no cuban students were at the school in havana) At first i adjusted rather poorly....with lots of time spent asking myself why i chose to do it. however as the months went by i began getting the jist of most conversations...though alot of my responses were Si, Si, Si while nodding my head. it was easier to adjust to santiago because not only is the atmosphere more caribbean, but there were quite a few jamaicans and other caribbean nationalities there. plus we had more freedom in santiago...with the boys now being able to be on the girls' dorm and vice versa. 

What is/are the best part(s) about studying where you do?: Being able to learn another language, meeting people from all walks of life....learning about different cultures...about countries i've never heard of prior to going to cuba (eg. seychelles, djibouti, nauru).....being able to submerge myself in the world of performing arts ( opera, ballet, symphony, art museums) with a ticket for each show being about $ 30JMN....TOTALLY FREE health care. Studying in cuba revealed to me the true difference between the things that i really need and the things i think i need....it has taught me how to be frugal and appreciate the simpler things in life....

What is/are the worst part(s)?: Being in cuba sometimes feel like being on a different planet. At times its so difficult to communicate with family and friends back home.  ive lost contact with alot of people because of this difficulty in communication. we do get roaming with digicel however, the cost for a text from my cel phone to jamaica is $84. recently the bb service was made available.....but its cost effective at all. you have to sign up for which plan u want at the same cost however, everytime you receive a ping, or one of your contacts changes their status or u change your status ...u pay. if u aint got any credit then u just simply wont receive any messages. being in cuba means most times having to bite your tongue in fury at some irrational rules that the cubans set and their rigdness and sometimes inability to rationalize. it is really hard to leave cuba to visit jamaica. travelling to jamaica requires a "salida" which is like a temporary visa that can anly be obtained in december and july providing you didnt fail any course or in the event that a family member dies in which u have to show proof of death. 

How’s the food? (if not mentioned before): for the most part the food is horrible. i cook most days but when i do eat out i normally dont eat much. they cook their rice with meat in it (pork or chicken)...no, not nicely cut and cooked meat. and the rice is so wet. the seasoning of choice for the cubans is salt and nothing more. which is a far cry from the jamaican way. 

What do you miss most about home when you are abroad studying, if anything?: nice bathroom, being able to flush tissue down the toilet, patty, pastry, internet access, paying $3 for text, being able to use my cel phone as more than an alarm.... but most of all family and friends.

Would you migrate there at a later point in your life? Why or why not?: No. though it's cheaper to live in cuba than jamaica and more peaceful i wouodn't live there permanently. the salary of a doctor is chicken feed plus there are alot of restrictions i would be subjected to though i'm not a native.

Any other interesting things you’d like to mention?: cubans love baseball, its common place to see cross dressing men on the streets, cuba's society is firmly trenched in its history. if your not a diplomat then u dont have access to cable tv unless u happen to go into one of the hotels. cuban television doesnt have commercials. in santiago the most common form of transport is a "camion" which is a truck. cuba has 2 different currency...pesos moneda nacional "MN"(used at the markets, at the bodegas, and for transportation) and pesos convertibles "CUC" ( used in the stores, at the airport and in the hotels).. wit 24MN=1CUC. the cubans love to take advantage of the multiple currency on unsuspecting tourists. oh and i met my future husband there. with each year im in cuba...my english deteriorates a bit. and can u believe the cubans make us do an english course?! guess who are the teachers....CUBANS...how stupid is that when we know more english then them...cubans are big on promoting different cultures

Pictures documenting some of Cara’s memories and adventures from Cuba will be in my next post.

The Law of Style. Jamaica Blog Awards feature in Jamaica Observer

This post is courtesy of an article in the Jamaica Observer under the Lifestyle section titled "Saturday Fashion - January 21". The Jamaica Blog Awards took place on January 15, 2012 and I attended along with some other friends and fellow bloggers. In this article, you will see my girls Karen (Mz_KARizma), Jo (MszRockstar) and Tanhoi (Tanhoi_S).

I have to say congratulations to ALL the winners especially Jo Will, Ricardo Brooks and Tonian Lindo. 

Now to the Observer article. Photos were by Marlon Reid, according to the Observer.

"Fashionable threads were spotted at this past Sunday's Jamaica Blog Awards at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and the '40ified' party hosted last Saturday in Parrotee, Black River. Here are your Saturday Fashion team's fave style picks.

(L-R) Nastassian Brandon, Kacian Freeman, Shelly-Ann Rerrie and Karen Lloyd  1/2

(L-R) Tashoi Sinclair, Jody-Ann Williams, Shameka Saunders and singer Aria

 2/2 

The Law of Style

Nastassian Brandon, law student at the University of the West Indies' Cave Hill campus, wore an elegantly simple gold-and-burgundy minidress, which caught our photog's lens.

Beach Beauty

Mandeville-based beauty parlour owner, Kacian Freeman partied in St Bess at the '40ified' party in beach-ready shorts and an ethnic print cover-up.

Shelly's Signature Moment

Shelly-Ann Rerrie, director of Signature Styles, earned style points for her on-trend tangerine-hued jumpsuit.

Hints of Red

University of the West Indies student Karen Lloyd used pops of red — a bow in the hair and the colour in her striped shoes — to accentuate her black strapless cocktail dress.

Simple Does It

Understated simplicity worked well for Accent Marketing Sales Associate Tashoi Sinclair, in a basic black top with shimmering gray pants, which she accessorised with a black necklace and statement earrings.

Retro Chic

Jody-Ann Williams — winner of two awards, Best Entertainment and Best Music Blogs for her Real Talk with Msz Rock Star blog — was retro chic in a tiered, white lace dress.

Sunday Casual

Dressed in the perfect Sunday casuals, cute-as-a-button medical student Shameka Saunders paired her floral print dress with an off-white belted jacket.

Hitting The Right (Fashion) Notes

Although guest singer Aria's performance at the Jamaica Blog Awards did not exactly bowl us over, her snazzy trenchcoat ensemble, which she dressed up with pearls and short shorts, certainly did!

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Saturday-Fashion---January-21_10578295#ixzz1k77eWZaz"

Bajan to English to Jamaican Dictionary (Some of what I’ve learned so far)

I thought I'd share some of the fun things I've learned in terms of language while I've been in BIM and try to break down some language barriers while I'm at it. Bear in mine that I am not a linguist. I am merely a learning Caribbean girl.

1) Sain- Something- Sumn/ Sup’n

Sentence examples:      (Bajan) Do sain fa me

                                     (English) Do something for me

                                     (Jamaican) Do sumn fi mi

2) Malicious- Curious/Inquisitive- Faas

Sentence examples:      (Bajan) Wendy Williams does be too malicious when it comes to celebs

                                     (English) Wendy Williams is too inquisitive when it comes to celebs

                                     (Jamaican) Wendy Williams too faas when it come to di celebrity dem

3) Gine- Going- A go/ Gone a (in relation to a person going somewhere)

Sentence examples:      (Bajan) I gine campus mart

                                     (English) I am going to to the campus mart

                                     (Jamaican) Mi a go di campus mart or Mi gone a campus mart

4) Wunna- You (Plural)- Unu

Sentence examples:      (Bajan) Wunna does really make me sick

                                     (English) You (all) make me sick

                                     (Jamaican) Unu sick mi

On a related note:

Bajans also say “yuh all” while Trinis (Trinidadians) say “all yuh” (sometimes sounds like ‘all ya’).

At first, I was thrown by how some things were said by Barbadians or Trinidadians but when I put them next to things said by Jamaicans or those of another Caribbean country, it somehow makes sense in terms of how words and phrases evolved. Eg: Wunna makes sense when I look at how similar it sounds to unu- it sort of sounds like “unu” with a ‘w’ at the front. Another example is “all yuh”. It’s just an inverted way of saying “you all”/”yuh all”.

5) Hey/Hay- Here- Ya so

Sentence examples:      (Bajan) What gine on hey?

                                     (English) What is going on here?

                                     (Jamaican) Whaa gwaan ya so?/What a gwaan ya so?

Note:  It may seem confusing to those of us not versed in Jamaican patois but “go” and “going” is conjugated (in Jamaican patois) depending on the subject being referred to as well as the preposition it follows as well as the tense. It’s just something I’ve learned to speak much better than I’ve learned to explain. Maybe when we become standardized, it’ll be easier. ;)

Jamaican Patois Bible: Some Thoughts

This morning I had the great pleasure of reading this article published in the BBC News Magazine online about the translation of the bible into Jamaican patois. I felt the need to share my thoughts on Twitter and it spiraled into a need to make a blog post.

My tweets read (abbreviations were made due to the 140-character limit on Twitter):

“Wow. The bible being translated into patois. All those linguists n they spell "wey" as we. No one sees the problem here?” Perfecting the spelling of patois is a very important issue to me. Spelling is key in the written word as I’m sure we can all agree

“Are we unaware how difficult it would be on this side of the world for a country to have creole as its first language?”

“The parents and children have a hard time reading and writing English. Do we really think they'll be that much better doin it w patois?”

“Unless the Bible is an audio version, I don't see how it's useful to anyone except the linguists who want to find purpose for their degrees”

"Also, if you are trying to make a language standardized, one would think you would keep the spelling of words constant”. The reason for my gripe here was based on the fact that happy was spelt two different ways in the article based on excerpts from the same book. eg: ‘appi vs api

“Ok, so you want to cater to the potential esteem problems of a child who only knows patois. Teach him English”. The esteem issue was brought up in the article in relation to children who enter school with only a proficiency in Jamaican patois who are then mocked by peers or whoever else. Seemingly, teaching them patois would be a step towards solving this esteem issue.

“Is it not clear that we will be limiting our children? Are they only to be able to function in Jamaica? I need to speak to someone abt this”

“Who worries about the esteem issues of the child whose parents are strict about them speaking only English?”

“The White English man? WHUCK?! So the black English man speaks patois? That's what you're telling me? Look here nuh!”. This was in reference to a sentiment shared at the end of the article about the patois-speaker feeling inferior due to the fact "…the model is the white English man, his language and educational standards… and we have not been able to attain it…”

Whuck is a word that is the hybrid of two other words which I will not elaborate on.You may seek clarification here though- it’s the post from the blog from whence I borrowed the term. Note my use of both English and patois in one tweet. But maybe I didn’t exaggerate my patois enough because it seems that that is necessary for our language to be differentiated. I’d just like to point out that some words are the same in English as they are in other languages eg: cul-de-sac (same in French as it is in English though literal translation may be slightly off). But I digress…

“Changing the spelling of Mary to Mieri? Well, we're just going all out, aren't we?”. Ok, this tweet does correspond with the point I made above but it was not intentional.

At the end of the article, I was left with these thoughts: