Day 4

After KFC, we head back home. Getting a taxi isn't to hard cause we are in Downtown Mobay which is as lively as ever. It reminds me of the Fashion District in Los Angeles on a Saturday afternoon....or like NYC. There are people and cars everywhere. Where are all these people coming from...work? Why are they just hanging around like they don't have no where to be? There is just so much going on and I'm taking it all in...while trying not to look like a tourist and in such amazement by it all. Should I walk fast, should I walk slow...do I look ahead, look down, walk with a smile walk with a frown Oh my God its just all too much!!! We finally get nearer to the buspark but pick up a taxi along the street. I began to notice the route names on the side of the taxis and that helped me during my trip in figuring out who goes where and what car to flag down. We pack up in the taxi like sardines (the norm) and head home.

The current had been restored in downtown Mobay, but it had not reached our neighborhood as yet. The street was completely dark. I could see the flicker of candles through some homes windows. The occasional radio play was going on, or the chatter of some veranda banter was able to be heard. That night I once again had to take my water bottle shower. Earlier I set some buckets out to use but the water in them was rather dirty so we didn't use much of that batch. Oh boy now what are we gonna do? Later in the middle of the night the power came back on and all I remember was Evan jumping u and yelling...."yeah!!!" Now we wait for the water.

The next morning Evan goes to work. I stay home and watch a little cable. That's right CABLE! Got to relax with my electricity and watch a some movies. It rained alot today so I got prepared and found some key points on the house where the rain was filtered and with clean runoff. I was able to fill at least 3 huge buckets! YES!!! We'll have water to shower tonight and to flush the toilet, (this is still giving me anxiety). Later after Evan arrived from work the water came back to life. Slowly but surely. I cannot tell you how ecstatic I was. Plus this house has hot water. That was one of the best showers I had in a looonnnggg time. Sad part was I knew we were leaving to stay in the country tomorrow and I had to say goodbye to my electricity and hot water again...heck I was saying goodbye to water period.

Yuh Falsee Wife...Lost in Translation

So I realize that no matter how much I may visit Jamaica or know a Jamaican I cannot understand the patois all the time. Things just always seem to get lost in translation here. Lots of times I realize that the words in patois make absolutely no sense to what they are referring to, or either in American or Black American slang, they mean something completely different. I got one of my many doses of this when I went to KFC to meet Evan.....

Evan finally arrives as I wait for him on the steps of the buidling that houses KFC, and Pizza Hut (this is sooo the U.S.). This later became our standard meeting spot. We decide to get some grub inside KFC. I really didn't want KFC cause I don't even eat it at home, but it was close and convenient and what the heck. (Augh the beginning of my stomach issues in Jamaica)We order and go upstairs to eat where its alot quieter. I'm a lot more dry now. The Jamiaca sun does wonders for the quick dry process. The hair is a bit wild and crazy, but whatever. Once again I am getting stares. I get stares from men, women and children alike. It is very unsettling cause I have no idea what they are staring at. When this "phenomenon" happened the first few times I chalked it up to the fact that I was walking around with a foot splint and had abrasions all over my face from my accident. But today I don't get it cause the facial scars have long faded and the foot is in a flip flop just like everybody else. "Oh well." I just deal with it and go on about my business chatting it up with Evan. As we are eating I notice a couple of girls to the right and in front of me....staring and then going back into their conversation. Evan's face is to me but his back is to them, so he doesn't notice it. All of a sudden one of the girls yells out to me "Gyal yuh false!" My eyes lit up and widened. "What did she say?" I wasn't exactly sure if I heard her right, so I said "Wha yuh sey?"..."Yuh falsee!" Evan turns to her and asks "Yuh tink she ah Jamaican?" I don't know what she said after that cause it went into a patois that was above my head. All I know is I was HEATED!!

"What she mean I'm false? Like I'm fake...you saying I'm a perpetrator....trying to be someone I'm not? I know I'm not Jamaican and fine with it!! Who she calling fake!!!!"

Yeah these were all the thoughts going thru my head, cause where I'm from calling someone "false" ain't good. I'm quiet and have this little smirk on my face as I try to understand what is going on. Evan "translates" for me and says that the girl is saying I look false....as in not real.....like a doll. It's a compliment. "OHHHHH!!! Now I get it. Well that's not mean...I guess its actually quite sweet." I started to understand the girl alot better now. She then proceeded to call me falsee again and say I look like a Bratz doll. I laughed! My younger sister loves those dolls. But they actually look a bit odd to me. You know big faces with small features. Kinda odd. Oh my gosh do I really look like a Bratz?

After that....jokes were on me, and Evan has sense dubbed me with the nickname of "Mi Falsee Wife"....awww how sweet....I think.

Big City Girl, in the.....Little City.

Well its day 2 after Dean, and we're still in Mobay, still without water, still without power. Its very frustrating to say the least. The toilet doesn't flush cause there's no water in the pipe or water to pour into the bowl. So I've been having anxiety about going to the bathroom knowing that I wont be able to flush the toilet. There's no electricity to have a cold drink from the fridge, so I am hot and dehydrated. "Augh! When is the power gonna come back on!" Evan goes back to work today and leaves me in the House of Ill Goodness. I decide to get a taxi into downtown Mobay. We are staying about a 5-10 minute ride to the Mobay buspark. This was my first time using the taxi alone to get to a town I don't know. First time I was not gonna be able to depend on Evan speaking patois for me or paying attention to where we were. I was on my own. I'm a Negril girl too, so I know nothing about Montego Bay. I pass it when I come into Jamaica and I pass it when I leave...end of story.

I'm anxious to get on with my day and explore the new city, find some food, an ice cold drink, and use a toilet! Getting a taxi was easy as pie. Getting around downtown...not so easy. I get out of the car at the buspark and make my way up the main street. I didn't want to go into the downtown streets cause I am not too comfortable with the crowds yet. Especially when I don't look like I know where I am going. As I walk, I'm getting hissed at and "Browning, Browning!" yells are coming from all over the place. This is one of the few times in all my life that I actually felt intimidated. I'm walking around without a real idea of where I am or where I'm going, with guys coming at me with some serious aggression. For the most part all this attention was just getting on my nerves. I don't have time to swing the fly swatter all day, a girls on a mission. Up behind me comes a guy, "Psst browning, psst". I turn around and this time engage him, cause I wanted to ask where the Tastee Pattie was. Of course he was more than willing to become my tour guide. What is it about many Jamaican men becoming impromptu tour guides? They always want to show you this or that, tell you what plant is good for whatever remedy, show you the Tastee Pattie, give you history of the street its on, tell you about they 3 month old babies, and they babies mamma they just can't get along with. Well that was the story I got from my "tour guide" for the day. I don't remember his name so we'll just call him "Psst".

So now I once again have a stray. I really just wanted to spend the day by myself to take in all the sights, do some window shopping, jump in the ocean. But now I cannot! I am way to cordial for my own good, and its hard to hurt someones feelings and just tell 'em to "Scram! Beat it!" I end up going past the hip strip, and to the Dead End Beach. It was a nice day....at times. We had a few showers that caused me to get out of the ocean early and then become dirty and soaked. Yes Psst is still hanging around. He speaks Patois but I can tell he's trying to speak standard English to me so that I can understand him better. At one point he was talking about his mother and how she would love to meet me. Later she calls and he gives me the phone to say hello. Now mind you I have already told Psst my reasoning for being in Jamaica.....to get married....just 3 days ago.....and spend time with my HUSBAND. This means absolutely nothing to him. Nor does the fact that he has a 3 month old!! After all this flash rain showering I am feeling dirty and disgusting. I need to use the restroom, and clean off some of this sand and dry off the clothes I am wearing. Psst finds me a back woods type bathroom in some sketchy hall behind the shops on the Hip Strip.....oh heck no!! I may look a bit crazy in these soaked clothes but a girl is still stush, and will high tail it to one of these little expensive restaurants, put a smile on her face and ask to use their restroom.....and that's exactly what I did. This restaurant was really nice too, and I surely looked like I didn't belong but a smile goes a long way. The basin water was hot too and they had an high powered hand dryer.

I had a plan to meet Evan after he got off work and it was about an hour til that time. Psst is still trying to be tour guide and now he wants me to come and meet his mother......"HA HA HA!!! What?! Why would I want to meet your mother?" I quickly remind him ONCE AGAIN, that I am in Jamaica to be with MY HUSBAND!!!! And that I don't see a need in going with him to meet his mother. We say our goodbyes and I head to KFC to wait for Evan, with a "my God, what is wrong with these men" attitude.

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Jamaica Can't Get a Break

So today I did my normal Saturday thang. I woke up at the lazy hour of 11:30a, and called the fam to see what was going on for the weekend. Later I hung out with family and then went to do some grocery shopping. I went to the local 99cent Only store (the original one). I love this store. Its surely come a long way cause now they sell fresh produce, and brand names that I can find in many of my local main grocery chains, but for much less. After my check out I realize just how much stuff I got for such a little amount of money. It makes me think about Jamaica and inflation. Jamaica really needs a 99 cent store. Jamaica really needs alot of these little cheap priviledges we have here in the States. I began to recall walking around town and "eye-shopping", (as Evan calls it, window-shopping to me), and I notice how ridiculously high prices for the most average of items is. Whoever said it was cheap in Jamaica surely must be confused. The prices of things are hugely inflated!! I went to JA with a few hundred of US cash. That got me nowhere! Going to the local corner market was ridiculous. First off the quality of food items are almost inedible. I'm a pretty healthy eater, and I had a hard time finding stuff that I would consider putting in my body. These items would be comparable to the US brands that you would never consider buying. Then the cost of these low brands were higher than the cost of the preferred brand back home. I was hard pressed to find fresh vegetables and fruits in these stores. This is crazy to me cause Jamaica seems to be known for their delicious and exotic fruits and vegetables, but it seems they are not consumed as much in the lower class than need be. There were of course street vendors but again selling fruits and veggies at inflated prices many times. After going to the market and buying a half gallon of Grace Juice I realized that I paid an equivalent of more than $5US for it! Isn't this a local Jamaican brand! Why was the cost so infalted! I would never pay $5 dollars for some juice here at home! I also noticed that the small markets in downtown Mobay were all owned by the Chinese immigrants. Well this makes sense cause they own the smaller markets here in California too. Many things can get imported out of China for cheap so I completely understood their position in this business. What I didnt understand is why the prices were all of a sudden so much higher than what I was used to seeing.

We also went to a few clothing and electronics/small appliance stores. Oh my God!!! Now these prices made me wanna slap somebody! It was hard for me to really understand the price when I saw it quoted in Jamaican dollar, but once I did the conversion I was floored!!! Small off brand TV's and DVD players were about double what you can buy them for here. I'm not the most educated on import/export taxing and rules but I am sure this has a huge influence in these consumer prices.

Jamaica doesn't export nearly as much as they import. Which they cant! They are a small country with limited resources. I'm not sure what Jamaica has to export beyond their produce, bauxite and sugar. Right now it seems they only really food export is bananas, but not to the US. And why the US chooses to get its nasty bananas from Ecuador vs Jamaica has my mind spinning. All of you who have never had a Jamaican banana you really have NO IDEA what a banana is supposed to taste like.

I began to see just how hard it is for many people in Jamaica to just live a basic and simple life. With the pay wages being as ridiculously low as they are, but the cost of living being so much higher I got a bit depressed with this realization. Evan hates it too. I could tell, as we walked around and he explained it all to me, that it truly bothered him. "Jamaica can't get a break", he says.

So after I left the 99 cent store I was compelled to write a bit about how all this made me feel. Just one of the reasons I can't wait for Evan to get here. So we can go eye shopping and then buy our months worth of groceries from the 99 cent store for less than $50! We are truly fortunate living in this country. I guess it just takes leaving it to really understand that concept.

After the rain.....

The morning after the storm the sun was creeping in. I went outside to see the extent of the damage....there wasn't much. Actually all I saw were leaves and trees everywhere. The pool was completely dirty but the hotel staff was on it, an soon enough there were little ones splashing around. I didn't sleep all that well the night before. The wind was kicking up something terrible. I would wake in the middle of the night and just lay there listening to the pounding of the wind and trees against our roof. All I could think about was the idea of the roof getting ripped from over our heads! As I walked around today I started to think how bad of a situation we would've been in had the hurricane not side-stepped and missed Negril. I mean, none of the windows in the hotel were boarded up. I had already broke a glass vase from the heavy winds that flung open the door and knocked the vase to the ground. The thought of glass breaking everywhere freaked me out a bit. I checked online and saw the details of the storms path. Apparently it did touch ground but mainly on the south eastern side of the island. I heard Kingston, Port Antonio, and Clarendon were hit pretty badly. The photos tell a horrific story. We definitely came out blessed to have been fortunate enough to only get a bad wind storm....others were not so lucky.

That day my sisters and friends headed to the airport in Mobay. They ended up staying over night there, as the flights were all out of wack and all the planes were originally flown out of the country the night before. Evan myself, and my dad went and stayed in Montego Bay. My dad had an early morning flight the next day so we wanted to get him close to the airport. We made it to Mobay about late afternoonish so we decide to eat first at Mobay Proper. Its a little hang out restaurant that has a bar an pool tables. I'm sitting in the pool hall watching Evan and my dad play rounds pon rounds of pool and I think to myself..."never saw this coming." It was so odd seeing them just hanging out doing their 'man' thing after all the controversy that surrounded me marrying this man. They really enjoyed their time with each other and I was extremely proud of how Evan was able to just be himself and not conform or become someone else for the sake of pleasing another eye. I was happy. And even though my dad missed walking me down the aisle, this time spent with him and Evan, more than made up for that.

That night we stay in town, out near Granville. Evan has family out this way, so we stay at there house while they are out of town. The Granville house was nice, but there was no electricity still, and no water. I'm not one to be able to skip washing up I don't care where I am. I'll wash in a river, in the rain, in a bucket. That night I learned the art (and a day later mastered) the art of bathing with less than half a gallon of water. Crazy I know!! Evan was able to recover enough water left in the outside pipes to fill about 2 half gallon juice bottles. I was able to bath, wash my face and brush my teeth with just one bottle and still had water left over! The water was cold, but still water no doubt. And all who have been to Jamaica know, that a day there will leave you feeling hot sticky and dirty. So I was grateful for the water we did have. I figure a day of doing this wouldn't be a problem, cause of course the water would be back up the tomorrow......HA! Oh was I mistaken.....

The beautiful day after the storm:

Hurricane Dean / Honeymoon Dean?

The day after our wedding was the day Hurricane Dean was to touch down on Jamaican soil. My family and friends all had different days they were planning on returning back to the states. Some were to leave today. They tried to scram and make a run for it the night of the wedding, but to no avail. The airport closed at 8pm and the wedding didn't end til around 9 or so. So we battened down, and braced up for what was being called as a catastrophic category 5 hurricane. A size that Jamaica has not seen since Gilbert. Wikipedia states this of Gilbert:

It moved consistently west-northwest influenced by a strong high pressure system to its north. This movement led to the hurricane's first landfall in Jamaica. The eye passed completely over Jamaica on September 12 with 125 mph (205 km/h) winds and a central pressure of 960 mb (28.35 inHg), making it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.[1] It was the first hurricane to make direct landfall in Jamaica since the 1951 season, when Hurricane Charlie passed over the island with winds around 100 mph (160 km/h).

So actually,...Dean....was gonna be a FAR worst hurricane. And let it be known that all Jamaicans living through Gilbert and Charlie can remember the day as if it was yesterday.

Now I however, know NOTHING of hurricanes. I live in earthquake territory and those last all of 20-30 secs and don't do as much wide spread damage as hurricanes. So I woke the morning after my wedding just thinking about the day before and the days to come. Evan and I were planning on leaving the hotel in Negril and go into Montego Bay that evening cause he had to work the next day. That's right...back to work, back to reality, just that quick. We decided to go handle the business we needed to take care of in town. So we set off for the day. Ended up back at his house and decided to just hang out for awhile. There was an erie feeling in town today. Lots of businesses boarded up, glass windows taped with an 'X', people frantically shopping in the local markets, and it was very gloomy outside. Nothing like the beautiful clear skies we had just had the day before. I'm just taking it all in, knowing that people are preparing for the hurricane. I must've just been oblivious to the entire situation, or completely lovestruck , because I wasn't at all really understanding what was going on at the time. I'm just elated to finally be back in Jamaica and with my man. (Still didn't feel married)

We stay around his house for awhile. Long enough to find out that his job will be closed tomorrow due to the impending hurricane that's on the way. "Hmph! I guess we get an extended weekend/honeymoon!"....(yeah completely oblivious). We didn't have a room back at the hotel anymore so we thought we would hang just stay at his house for the night. Its only the late afternoon, but the sky is dim and clouds and thunder are rolling in. Thunder begins roaring louder and louder. Its hot and humid, we fall asleep under the fan. Soon the rain begins to pour pour pour. I wake a look out the window at the neighbors doves that are sitting in the coup. "Hmmmm...what's gonna happen to his bird?" Evan awakes to the fan shutting off. He proceeds to say "There goes the power." "Where goes the power", I say. Apparently JPS shuts the power off on the entire island when a hurricane is en route. I did not know that. But of course now it makes all the sense in the world....power lines are sure to fall down. We don't want them falling and creating fires all over the island. The other problem here is that when power goes down, so do the pumps for the islands water supply. I did not know this either. Now its all starting to make sense....I see so many homes with these huge black water tanks hooked up to their home, or sitting on the roof.

After awhile we decide its probably better to go to the hotel where my family still is and hang out with them. There's at a generator there, and water will still be on. Now remember, the 2 of us have not prepared for this....no food, no water, and right now no place to stay. As we begin walking in the wind storm, we see a car and hitch a ride back to the beach road. While on our way I begin to take better notice at the condition of the houses in the neighborhood...I notice the cinder block foundation, the open portals, zinc roofs being held down with a concrete block. "How in the world are these homes going to survive a Cat5 hurricane!?" I question it, but still don't panic.

By this time its around 6-7pm. We drive down the desolate and dark Norman Manley Blvd. There is not ONE soul in site. I've never seen this road look so grim. The only light is coming from the break of clouds in the dusk sky, and the outside perimeter lights from SOME of the hotels. Not all hotels seemed to have electricity. The wind is blowing something crazy and the sound of the generators are really annoying and a bit frightening. We make it to our hotel. Meet up with my family and friends who are having a "normal" evening meal in the hotels Veranda style restaurant. The awnings are banging all over the place, the wind is picking up even more, and there is debris from trees all over the place. "Why in the world are they sitting up here eating?" The owner has a bit of a rushed frantic feel about her. We end up getting us a room at the hotel for the night. So now that we have a place to stay, we need the food. What's left to do but raid my sisters mini-kitchen for water and snacks, and ensure that I get my wedding cake!

We head back to our room, and I wait to see what its like to live through a hurricane......


I have a few videos (unedited videos) of our time during the hurricane. Forgive my horrible commentary, and bad filming capabilities. Evan is much better at that stuff than me.

This is from our ride along the dead Norman Manley Blvd:

Apologize

Can I just say that I love this song!!!!! I know this is off my normal Jamaica topics but....I do have a life outside of Jamaica. And its a rather alternative pop life at that.

Oh! Ever since I saw Danny and Anya dance to it I might have literally lost my mind over it. I thought it was my own secret obsession. I would imagine myself dancing the same dance at my wedding. Asking myself why I couldn't have continued to study dance so that I can be able to have someone like Danny throwing me through the air when I'm trying to "apologize". Ok ok. Maybe the number is a bit too sexy and sultry for a wedding, and the lyrics don't go well when you are speaking your forever vows, but I fantasized about this song. Then, So You Think You Can Dance featured One Republic on one of their episodes, and they sang it live. I began wondering if this fantasy I had was not an isolated event. After awhile I forgot about apologizing, and went on with my days, days turned to weeks, weeks turned into months. Then...BAM!! I'm driving into work listening to the radio and it all comes rushing back to me....Danny, Anya, me in the middle-being thrown in the air,.....

oh it's too late... to apologize....I said its too late...

I loved you with the fire red, now its turning blue

I tell ya, I REALLY want to apologize. Just let me apologize. If I was going through some heartache this song would have me on fiyah!!! Actually its already got me on fire. Whew! I really need to cool down.

Come on now people...you don't know what I'm talkin' about?! Have you been living under a rock?! Well allow me to lift you from the rubble:



Oh yeah now you wanna hear ALL the lyrics:



Did you hear those lyrics?!.....my God.