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.

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. ;)

Conversation with a Bajan woman

In the faculty lunch room last week, I met a fascinating Bajan woman and we discussed a few topics that I found interesting which I’ll share with you.

• The first topic is Relationships and Security

On this topic, she made it a point to tell a colleague that we can’t have the full Bajan experience unless we get a Bajan man while we’re here. Mark you, her partner is not Bajan.

“Bajan men are great partners- they’ll give you their money easily and if u cheat, they’ll just drink.” This last part was significant because other men from different cultures would react much differently apparently. Which brings me to her next  point:

“Never date a Vincentian, a married man or a police. A Vinci (Vincentian) man will chop u up; they can’t take a hurt.” These three categories of men to be wary of were given to her by her mother, she said, and “If it comes out o my modda mout’, it mus be true”

As it relates to the other two categories

“Police men are always broke. From the day they join the force to their last day. They spend the money on flashy cars and all these expensive things so nothing’s left for you”

A male friend of hers who was present also made a point to say that Guyanese police are also on the poorer end of the spectrum but that this is due to how low they get paid. He said they protect you in the day and commit crimes against you in the night. “That’s why our police are so well taken care of- our government knows better” This male friend is also Bajan.

“If you dealing with a married man, know your place. Don’t call that man after 5- the man is eating with his family. Never disrespect the main woman. He’s been stringing you along for 2-3 years for a reason! He’s not gonna leave his wife for you. After 4 years, he’s gonna drop u ‘cause he doesn’t want u to bring he (him) to court and sue, 5 years are coming up.”

 For those who don’t realize the significance of 5 years in a relationship, it means you are now common law relationship in the eyes of the law. But this only applies if you have been living together the entire 5 years.

• Then we tackled the issue of security in relationships

My friend was present and she has been with her partner for over 6.5 years. I was teasing (with 50% seriousness) her to get married and get her benefits.

“You don’t need to get married. Just make sure your name is on the bank account. Two years in, my name has to be on that bank account. Every night I’m there doing my womanly duties and nothing? *laughs*”

Culture Shock: Politics at Cave Hill

Let me preface by saying that I didn’t experience much in regards to the political atmosphere at UWI, Mona where I did my first degree. Suffice it to say that the fact that I’ve had to pack up my life and move to another country has made it so that I kind of have to be more involved in certain things as it regards extra-curricular activities and such.

Now, at Mona, I would vote when it came time to do Guild Elections and the most I would know about candidates is if they were close to a circle I was in or not. More often than not, they would be outside of my circle of friends or close associates and so I would know so little of them that I could not tell their names different on the ballot. At Cave Hill, given that the campus is smaller, even though the candidates are not in my circle, I’ve already (in my month here) come to know more about these people than the ones back home.

The specific election I will address is that of the “lower positions” (the words of an executive member of the board, not mine) in the Law Society- 1^st and 2^nd year Law Representative, Education and Mooting Chairperson and Cross-Faculty Representative.

I first noticed tension when one of the nominees (people volunteer themselves to run) who was Belizean announced himself for candidacy. He was clearly a favourite with those who had been in the Cave Hill Law Program since year one. Those of us who had just come aboard in our second year had little to no clue who he was but he was met with cheers from those who knew him. The next class, one of my colleagues from Mona announced his name to be in the running for the same position. Those of us from Mona cheered, much to the annoyance of others I came to realize. The third candidate did not announce herself during that class but she offered herself for help with getting handouts and such for those who had been experiencing problems- good tactic.

After that class, a big hoorah happened when a couple supporters of the Belizean decided to provoke some of my Mona colleagues. They jeered their support for their candidate over the assumed candidate for all Mona people. The manner in which this was done was joking by a couple of them but the incident went on so long that it really started to push buttons. Comments like “They’re the minority so they don’t matter” were aimed at the Jamaicans and this set off a firestorm that even 15 minutes later had not really cooled. I must admit, it is hard for me to come to terms with the fact that an individual can invade your personal space to a level that only a Siamese would, point in your face, shout and laugh at you then turn around and flash you off and YET end up telling you “Don’t take it personal”. And here I was thinking Jamaicans were abrasive.

It seems to me that a major difference here is that getting physical is not always about something aggressive but, as I said, it’s hard to wrap my mind around it. I’ve seen it happen with Bajans as well as Belizeans. Someone bounces you quite hard and does not even look back at you. At home, an apology better be offered up quickly or “It a go be war!”

UWI, Cave Hill: It's no Mona- my first day of school

So I experienced more disorganization. I was slightly unamused. Others were far more irritated but I was preparing myself for this for a while because I had received warnings. I was told that if I thought UWI, Mona was efficient, Cave Hill would amaze me. The sarcasm in that was not lost on me. From the people in Administration approaching at their own leisurely pace and then addressing you as if you were begging a favour rather than requesting what you were owed and promised to the campus bookshop closing indefinitely at about noon due to some issues with the system. There was no sign placed on the door to inform us of this though which I thought was the least they could do. Alas, this was another thing that made me realize I’m not in Jamaica any more. With every issue me and my classmates would have, we’d be responded to with “Welcome to Cave Hill” by those who’ve been through it before. *blank stare*

What I came to learn really quickly though is that the experience you get from this opportunity or circumstance (depending on how you look at it) will be determined by the attitude you approach it with. Honestly, the “hostility” from staff here is no more than that of staff back home. I’d actually say they’re not as bad as those back home. The only real drawback is the system that they have. It seems a bit backward. For example, you have to “renew” your student identification card every year which is really having it validated by getting a sticker put on it with the new school year. I see that this could be beneficial in that students who have not paid their fees would not be able to access benefits that are intended for those who have but at the same time, you have to join a long line just to get a sticker and you have to be in line with students who are getting theirs for the first time who will, no doubt, take longer. And while I’m on the topic of getting new id’s, at Cave Hill, you have a total of six(6) hours per WEEK in which you can attempt to do this. Now, you would think that they’d allot more time for this at least at the beginning of the school year seeing that you cannot access some services on the campus without your id and there are a good amount of new students each year.

But I digress. An important thing to bear in mind is that while some of the admin here don’t care, some of them do. At the end of the day, it’s about getting the most out of your time here- most importantly to leave with the degree you will have no doubt sacrificed for and then to have as great of a cultural experience as possible. The key to survival here is to not stop asking for help until you get it. It (balancing school and exploring and frolicking) has been done before and it has been done with great success so it can be done again.

Pit: I had to stay on campus longer than I intended. Well after classes had ended AND I was broke already on my second day here.

Peak: A couple of our classes were actually cancelled J

Pics from BIM All-Island Tour

Mini reunion of Jamaican students

On the extreme right is the current Guild president, Odwin Trenton

Some of the Jamaican students at Cave Hill

At the Sunbury Great House

My knight in...black armour

Cameras from olden days

Eye stuff from olden days

More eye stuff from olden days

This is a swimsuit circa......olden days

Olden day potty

*throws holy water*

This is a tiny chair. Don't let the angle fool you

Asked Jeff to stand next to it to show perspective

You are reading right- it's a punishment chair

*Throws a gallon of holy water*

In real life, this looks soooo creepy!

*gasps* A black doll!

A wall of maps of Barbados

I wanted to show some of the paintings that had black people in them

These chains and whips do NOT excite me!

Um..... Torturous much?

The NON-AC buses

The view is SO awesome in real life

The Rock. The island of Barbados used to be as high as the top of the rock apparently. The Atlantic Ocean fixed that.