Kingston,Jamaica

[chelley]

Can't believe the roads, says more potholes driving from Mandeville to spur tree than our 1,200 km drive through bc.

LMAO... that is SOOOO true... hubby did make a lot of comments about the roads when he first drove them... now he complains about the littlest bump in the road, i tell him "you are SO SPOILING yourself... wait to you go back to yaad and have to drive home to spalding or some business"... how soon one forgets!!!!

my hubby couldn't get over how LOOOONG the days are in the summer... i'm sure your wife will have the same amazement when the time comes around!... or how it can be sunny and COOOOOLD (I think that's the most popular one i hear from my friends who come during cold season for the first time)... seeing one's breath in the winter is another one...

oh.. and my husband loves it if he can catch his clothes or a blanket coming out of the dryer and put them right on... nice and warm but then again so do i

Great stuff tho... very cute, thanks so much for sharing!  

[canuck0469]

LOL......seeing one's breath in the winter is another one...

My word, she goes out everday just to see it, can't believe it

[chelley]

i just went back and reread your post... it really is great to hear... it's wonderful to experience all these things in a completely new and different way thru the eyes of someone you love... it gives you a new appreciation not only for them, but also for what you do have... it's like bringing a breath of fresh air to your life  

okay, sorry for gettnig sappy...

would love to hear about another update this week!!!  as they say, NEXT!!!!

[Helpmeplease]

hehe great stories guys..hubby is so funny when it comes to sunny but cold...everytime it's sunny out like today for example he says wow it's sunny!! and then opens the door to go outside only to be hit with -20 temp this morning lol..he keeps doing it expecting a different result..poor guy..he is adjusting very well though! Loves the snow, we made a huge snowman a few days after xmas...

We both miss Jamaica very much though, I have not been there since Sept 2009! Crazy...

he is adjusting better than I thought he would, he actually scrapes my car off for me in the morning and plays with our puppy outside, I thought for sure he would stay inside at all times except to get in the car lol

He went jogging the other morning, almost could not breathe because of the cold....he misses jogging around priory and going for an early morning dip!

[Sickntiredofjamaica]

  @  sanchester thanks for the advice...but if it aint authentic juicy beef patty straight from jamaica straight out the over of juicy beef i do not want it noman i need to open a franchise up here seriously...and we shoudl link up

i live almost down town dundas street west and bloor street west

[CharlieD10]

Sick - Juici Patties already has a franchise open, the address is 50 Thornmount Drive, Scarborough M1B 2P3...take a drive out and go get those patties LOL! If you want to open a branch, the owner of Juici Beef Limited is well-known at the firm here, I can put in a word, hahaha!!

There is something about a patty that just makes you feel at home when you are homesick!  I remember when I was in NY, I was homesick so bad...finally my cousins started taking me to a shop in the Bronx where I could buy patties and D&G Ginger Beer...ahhh, I felt much better on those weekly trips 

[Maple Syrup]

and the forum is at it again.......... I love the stories!!!
Hubby and son will be have their 6month anniversary of landing on Sunday.  So far, I can remember hearing all the same things about how 'good' our roads are... how they can see their breath outside... the hot water tank is nearly depleted daily! LOL... whenever hubby marvels at something new he says: 'country man come ah town' LOL.  They love taking the subway....thinks Yorkdale mall is prettiest mall in the country... he has never signed his name more in his whole life...and now has a 'new' wallet (thanks KC) full of 'plastic'. He's fascinated with the healthcare system and our taxation system. "BLURTZNEET, 13%!?!?!?" He now drops F-bombs everywhere!!!  He has also succesful completed his first scientific experiment: leaving a bottle of water on the balcony to see if it would freeze. He called everyone back home to tell them outside is literally like ICE! LOL!  Our son is learning French, Italian, plays the trumpet (drumming lessons start next weekend) and joined a dodgeball house league and now refers to Jamaica as "that bush".  Poor thing.

I know I'm in for a lecture (with his 6 months of wisdom) when he starts his sentences with: 'you see, in this country.........'  LMAO

[kc416]

LOL - love the posts... No prob Maple, every man needs a pretty new wallet!

My hubby was a country boi, so he was very very suprised at alot of things. Pretty much everything actually.

Escalators - he still doesnt go on them and thinks they are dangerous
Dishwasher - when he came to my work and saw the dishwasher asked me what it was, and then told me that it was insane
Toaster - LOL
Snow - everything about it
How all our buildings have so much glass, he calls every high rise a "hotel" - coming from Airport to downtown Toronto he couldnt believe how much glass there was - he dubbed toronto "the land of glass"
How flat Toronto is - there isnt a hill for miles
Seeing his breath outside in winter and pretending he was smoking
How polite people were - his first time experiencing "customer service - and the whole customers are always right"
Basements - living underground - Whooooi
the TTC - taking the train was like a day trip for him in the beginning
Eaton Center - how big the malls are - inluding a store for every item, a shoe store, a bag store, a make up store, a phone store

[CharlieD10]

Just got back in office from meeting Nae-nae and hubby at the embassy    Their trip was OK even on the public bus, LOL.  They are waiting now to be let inside.

So happy to have met them, lovely couple.  I'm so glad my hubby introduced me to this forum, already it has become a daily obsession, and I am glad for those who have gone before who have paved the way for those of us coming after!

Maple - yep, your son sounds exactly like I would expect a child to going through this experience, LOL.

[chelley]

Oh... the talk of the kids just brings me back to last year when my kids were in jamaica (not for the first time, but for the first time in the country, they spent months in harbour view kgn previous, but that's city and they didn't see near as much as they did the first few days in the bush )...

they were hilarious (and LOUD) for the first few days "MOMMY LOOK, THAT MAN IS CARRYING A BIG BASKET... ON HIS HEAD!!!!!" or "IS THAT A GOAT? WHY IS IT IN THE ROAD???" or "IS THAT DOG DEAD?" (to every dog that was sleeping at the side of the road)... or the famous '"IM NOT EATING THAT!!!"...

ah the memories...  they adapted fast my 7 year old daughter picked up the patwa like crazy and had a million little girlfriends by the 3rd day of school (and a million haters with her long hair )... my 4 year old son, well, he only spoke patwa to the animals (figured out that's the only way they'd listen to him lol), and he also had a million girlfriends... he somehow managed to make some girl cry at least once a week... ugh...


thanks for sharing all, love the vibes

Charlie, great that you met Nae... why oh why did they take the bus lol? i'm sure that was an experience for her did ya'll make it to Devon house?

[CharlieD10]

Chelley - no, unfortunately.  When they arrived no-one was being permitted in and they were told to return for 1:30.  They went to get something to eat, but I couldn't leave the office until they were done and already headed back to the embassy to get in line.  So I met them there and we chatted, and then had to come back to the office.  They are headed back to Mobay as soon as they are done, it being such a long trip. 

Aren't kids hilarious?  And they have none of the filters adults have, so everything they observe comes right out!

When my husband was here, he had the keys and gate opener, so he would wait for me either at the bus stop or near the gate in the evenings.  Practically every evening I would hear a story about which young woman tried to proposition him while he was standing out there, hahaha!  After a while when they realised he was with someone, they kind of cooled off, but every now and again I would hear another story.  Kinda makes me glad he lives in a retirement community! 

[HighlyFavoured]

Hilarious!!

Hubby, was fascinated by: snow and shovelling, that people don't actually say good morning/evening/night, how much people swear (my husband does not cuss at all) "boxfoot" and "rockstone" is as close as it gets, how young ladies can wear next to nothing during -20 and he's bundled up head to toe with longjohns on, the food i.e. "This doesn't taste like our irish potatoes/bananas, pumpkin, etc etc", the fact that people bought rats, the very same rats he tries to kill in the field (did I mention my hubby is from country?), walking on ice, how I can say -20 is not too bad, how much water/current/food people use and/or waste... Lots of talk about being in the freezer or the icebox and how sunny days does not mean it's nice outside. I have taken many pictures of him in the winter which he has forbidden me from putting on Facebook - EVER. LOL! The fact that we have a holiday and people literally do nothing.

It's funny that sometimes he still refers to himself as a "tourist". lol After 6 months.  Wow! 6 months.

[highlyfavored]

canuck0469

You touched my yittle heart the way u express about ur heart beat & how she is just in awe u remind me of my dear uncle who was thrilled to see how acted when i just arrived in Canada for the first time he take me for his yittle princess i cant wait to get back in Canada i love Her (Canada) so

[SmoothiesQueen]

That would be awsome! as far as the antiquity of things in Jamaica, I remeber standing in a long ass line in Sav one day at Scotiabank when it dawned on me that they do not use computers like Scotia here, they use filing cabinets!!!! oh well fingers crossed.

Hey cool...how long did you live in Jamaica for??

And just curious were you living there while you filed?? If so did you have any trouble with the financial part? In my thread someone said there is no financial requirments for sponsering a spouse and dependant child...I'm currently reading through everything to figure out how to file that part!!

[kc416]

LOL - i forgot the best one, where hubby first saw someone poop n scoop... he was in SHOCK, he almost died that day.