Life of a Jamaican

Category: Jamaican Culture

  • Ackee and Saltfish: Slave Food to National Dish

    Ackee and Saltfish: Slave Food to National Dish

    If I tell you, you are the ackee to my saltfish, it means I can’t live without you. It means without you I am incomplete. It is interesting to note however that at the Northern Caribbean University they serve ackee and ‘saltish’ where a plant-based substitute is used in lieu of saltfish, given meat is…

  • How To Cheat In A UWI Exam

    How To Cheat In A UWI Exam

    Examinations are in full swing and students are either preparing to pass their exams fairly, preparing to cheat, preparing to fail or failing to prepare. I have never had the desire or need to cheat in an exam. If I’m not prepared, then I accept the possibility of failing. Unfortunately not all share this view…

  • To Beat Or Not To Beat

    To Beat Or Not To Beat

    It was a cold dark night, full of mischief that evades memory. I stepped through the gate like I was the ‘man a yaad’, only to be greeted by the lady of the house. She was clearly angry about what I had done. Back in those days we kids didn’t have smart phones, so I…

  • The Blue Mountains Jamaica: A Quick ‘Peak’

    The Blue Mountains Jamaica: A Quick ‘Peak’

    Blue Mountain Peak is the highest place in Jamaica with a height of 2256 meters. The journey to the peak starts at Mavis Bank. You will then cross the river and initiate the thigh burning climb. It is strongly recommended that you start the hike in the night as the sun, plus a climb can…

  • Jamaican Nicknames

    Jamaican Nicknames

    My grandmother is so nice they call her Miss Nicey, her sister is so cool,  they call her Miss Cooly, their brother is so hard they call him Maas Rocky. Given that I am so awesome, will they eventually call me…. Awe-sy!? In the lower and middle class Jamaican society, where bureaucracy and hierarchy fail…

  • “A Proper Backsiding” – Child Abuse Or a Cure For Disobedience?

    A “backsiding” is a term often used, especially in rural Jamaica, to describe a spanking. This spanking is usually very thorough and is of an intensity proportional to the offense. We Jamaicans are very angry people and a simple backsiding, where it involves the aluminum pot covers, barbed wires, chains, frying pans or ‘anyting di han…

  • The life and Death of Gully Bop’s Tooth: A Chew Story!

    The life and Death of Gully Bop’s Tooth: A Chew Story!

    Gully Bop is the name of a Dancehall artiste who has had a sudden rise to fame after an amateur video of him performing went viral. Within a few months he transitioned from being homeless to performing at arguably Jamaica’s biggest stage show, Sting! Physically speaking, Gully Bop is not the most well groomed man…

  • I INTERVIEWED A HOMOSEXUAL: IT WAS A VERY ‘FUNNY’ CONVERSATION

    The last blog article posted was very controversial. Several friends opposed the very idea of homosexuality, expressing very passionately that “Batty Bwoy fi ded” while others argued for equality. Conversations got very heated and many persons were offended. The article caught the attention of a certain gentleman on facebook via a group which was created…