Day Two in Jamaica

Now, it is day two in Jamaica, my first full day. I am very excited to see what an all-embracing day from sunrise to sundown is like here in Jamaica. When I woke up on Monday, we had a short breakfast of fried plantains. A plantain is a fruit that is commonly fried to create a treat-type food in Jamaica. Chad, his wife, and I were in a rush, as today I would join them as they go to work! Both Chad and his wife work at a ranch with cattle, goats, and pigs, which  is about 15 minutes away from the house. The family owns one automobile which we drove to the ranch. While we would go to work, Chad’s mother, who lives with the family, would take care of the family’s young children. It is very common for three generations of a Jamaican family to all live together, especially when the wife also earns wages, like in the Bolt’s case. Thereafter, we said goodbye to the children and headed to work. While driving, Chad and his wife talked with me about the economy in Jamaica. I learned that, unfortunately, Jamaica currently is in very large foreign debt. This is a burden to the country’s economy, and is very stressful for working citizens and political leaders. Also, another large problem for the Jamaicans is the way that the Jamaican dollar has been losing value. Not long ago, the Jamaican dollar had similar value to the US dollar, but in 1990, a large financial crisis changed that. Soon, we arrived at work, and I was kindly welcomed by the owner of the ranch, Romario, an Indian man who immigrated to Jamaica in 1994 to seek new opportunities. Romario, a man wealthier than Chad, lives in the urban part of Kingston in a gated community, while Chad, a middle-class citizen, lives in a bungalow. Bungalows are, in fact, the most common homes for average citizens in Jamaica. After talking with Romario about his business for approximately 2 hours, I went to go observe what kind of work Chad does on the ranch. He and his wife’s job is to mend the cattle on the ranch. This interested me because of their direct contact with the animals. Cattle, along with goats and pigs, which are also on the ranch, are the most abundant livestock in Jamaica and a prominent source of money. Chad, his wife, and I would remain at the ranch for a few more hours. While at the farm, I even got to contribute to the work by feeding the cattle! This was a memorable experience for me to say the least, as I had never fed an animal before. At 5pm we headed back home to the kids. When we arrived back at the house, Chad’s mother had already prepared dinner for us! We were served fish, jerk chicken, and rice with black eyed peas. The local spiced jerk chicken was the highlight of the meal, as it was wonderful to eat something especially native to Jamaica. The most popular religion in Jamaica is Christianity, and the Bolts are indeed Christian, so after dinner Chad prayed to thank the Lord for the food. That night, I got to know Chad’s mother, and she explained to me how the house that they live in was actually the house that Chad grew up in many years ago. After about an hour of talking, I called in a day, and went to the sleep in the guest bedroom. It was not easy to sleep night, as I was overflowing with excitement for my final day in the country I had already come to love, Jamaica.