Hello All!

This is my brief personal experience of Jamaica. I have been there 6 times. My first time was in 1993 when I was 18 years old. I went alone but arrangements were made so I would have a room in the family home of a Jamaican friend who lives in my neighborhood in LA. When I first arrived there the first thing I noticed was the air. It was hot and steamy, very thick. Quite a difference from the air conditioning of the aircraft. Being from LA, I wasn't used to heat at nighttime. I nervously went through customs and when I got outside the Sangsters airport in MoBay I noticed the people. The pace was very different, much slower. People seemed very laid back and observant. I was picked up by my boarders. On the way I noticed that the road is only a 2-way main road and that driving is on the left side. The sea can be seen from some parts of the road. There were many trees and stands on the side of the road selling wood carvings and sea shells. Wow, it was as exotic as I thought! People tend to drive really fast though. I got a chance to experience alot of fruits and vegetables that we don't have here in the US which was very interesting. Some of these were: fruits- sour sop, sweet sop, sugar pine, star apples, custard apples, bread fruits, which can be fried or roasted. Fried, it tastes like fries of course we already know of mangos, sugar canes and pineapples :) My favorite vegetable is callaloo-a combination taste of greens and spinach. The food is absolutely tasty there and seems to taste a little better than food here. Maybe because it's more natural. Montego bay and the north coast is more visitor friendly than Kingston which is the capital on the south side of the country/island. I met a Jamaican guy there that I have really liked very much. He made my trip alot more exciting and would pick me up and take me out. My favorite place in Montego Bay is to go out to PJs. Its a place that always has Live reggae music. They sell food and drinks which is! located on Gloucester (bottom road,his is the entertainment strip full of restaurants and clubs) Jamaica is a place where you can have lots and lots of fun and meet lots and lots of cool friends. My only caution is to be very careful about your wallet, purse and how your money is spent. I will tell the rest of my story in another part. Take care.

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