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July 19, 2008
So much...
... in such a short span.
Still haven't seen much of Jamaica but now at least we have established plans to do so. I'm going to a resort called Strawberry Hill tomorrow and then to Ocho Rios next weekend.
Where to start? I've met a lot of people here in Jamaica, but sadly most of them are from the states. Most notably I made two new friends; Denae and EK. It's kind of wierd getting older because once you have a job you are never really presented with opportunities to meet new people. You're never really thrown out of your comfort zone so far away from your friends that you meet new people out of necessity. I had kinda forgotten that from being in school way back when.
Denae is hilarious. She shares my passion for randomly bursting into song, and talkin' some shit. Oddly enough our first interaction was rather awkward. She got moved to a new Condo and when they got there, it hadn't been lived in for a long time and ended up having some issues. Apparently the water coming out of the pipes smelled like raw sewage, the air conditioning was less than stellar and on my visit there it looked a little too rustic for my tastes. So they moved back the same night and Denae called me up at 11, I had already gone to bed because I'm lame so it caught me by surprise. She took advantage of that by telling me that it's time to get up for work which caused me to leap out of bed start looking at clocks and getting dressed in a split second. That's when I knew we were going to be friends. LOL If I were in the same boat I would have probably done the same thing.
She later became my co-trainer and rocked the party so much that the next assistant I have is going to have to kick some serious ass to meet the bar that was set.
We've had a lot of fun. Monday is her birthday and I've got no way to leave the Condo today to buy her something sadly. It's going to be rough splitting when we head back to the states but I have a feeling we'll be keeping in touch.
EK is my hero. He's my roommate and we clicked instantly. I'm not sure at what point we realized we were on the same page. I think it's when we united in our hatred for the maid because she stole his cologne.... She a tricky bitch.
We've already been through some amazing things. I'm pretty sure that our apartment is haunted by a prostitute name Sparkle. When I was here alone I used to hear random voices from all her "menz" in the back room. It later turned out that it was not haunted by a working girl but that I had the bathroom window open, but I'm holding to the prior belief because it's just like something that would happen to me.
We also share a passion for comedians like Margaret Cho, Wanda Sykes, Ellen... and he introduced me to Eddie Izzard. It's got to suck having me as a roommate because I am 100% braindead and drained at this point. The other day I left the coffee pot on all day, we walked in and could smell the plastic burning. Beautful.
Hey! We went to Devon House last night. Apparently it was a dangerous decision but in true American Tourist form we didn't think twice of it. We leapt out into traffice and walked through a poorly lit park with no idea where we were going, showed up at Devon House and they had actually closed the restaurant we intended to go to years ago. We then proceed to go to some place called the "Grog Pub." They serve some serious rum at the grog pub. I took a sip and immediately realized that if I didn't stop there I would be in no condition to walk home.
So, we were later informed that Devon House is very dangerous after dark. It was well after dark. We made it out alive, and I believe somewhat more cultured for the experience.
The best part of the entire thing for me is that we got caught in the middle of a tropical storm. The rain just came pouring down and the lightning and thunder came out of nowhere. I WAS SO HYPED! I was running around in circles in the pouring rain and lightening thinking in the back of my head... this alone is reason enough not to leave Jamaica ever. And what does one do when they are caught in a tropical thunder storm? We got ice cream. Devon House is known for having the best ice cream possibly in the world. No I'm not exaggerating that's what the tour guides say about it.
The only problem with this great ice cream? F the flavors. There was some crazy shit there! I'm talking about peppers in ice cream, hard liquor in ice cream... things that just don't belong in ice cream. I've been rather adventurous but this particular day I didn't feel like having red peppers in my ice cream so I dorked out with with Pistachio, Beaurdeux Cherry, and Cookies and Creme.
I should note though that I've tried a few amazing things on this trip. ganaps... which I had to Americanize with the term "G-Napz." and patties are by far the most amazing junk food you could ever dream of. I'm talking about genius here so opt in.
Here's the thing. A patty is simple sweet. It's like a flakey biscuit wrapped around either beef, beef and cheese, soy, fish, or curry chicken.
I've also had rice and peas. Most Americans would know this as red beans and rice. Jamaicans call beans; peas. That can get a little dissapointing sometimes. I'm not a big bean person. I don't really enjoy them or what they do to my digestive system. But... when rice and peas is done properly it's pretty good.
I also had stewed peas and pork. Most Americans are going to know this as pork and beans. I also did not realize that when I placed my order. Imagine my surprise when the waiter came out with a giant plate full of pork and beans. LOL.
I've now had Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, Jerk Pasta, and Jerk Hamburger. I'm yet to be jerked out. This stuff is freaking amazing. The first thing you need to do if you go to Jamaica is toss out the rule book, find yourself a good seedy street corner and order Jerk Chicken from some guy standing behind a flaming oil drum. it will rock your party.
I will highly recommend never ordering a hot dog in Jamaica. They tend to be a little undercooked, they have a sickly reddish color and they will sit it on top of an uncooked slice kraft single.
There is a heavy Indian influence on Kingston's cuisine. You can get curry just about anywhere but there are other trademark foods like roti, masala, and samosas. There was even stamp and go at the Grog Pub.
So for everybody who's been asking me... yes I do intend on going to the Bob Marley museum before I leave.
Let it go.
Now here's the real deal... There is a Nissan here in Jamaica... well many of them, but this one is special. I call it the bunny car. It is freakin' cute! I've made the decision to import it back home no matter the cost. I watch for it every time we go ANYWHERE. I've taken to referring to watching for it as hunting an elusive animal because they seem to appear in packs of 3 or 4 in a row some days and none others. Here is the beauty that is the Nissan Bunny Car (March):
How can you not love that!!!!
Posted by Decemberice at July 19, 2008 06:57 AM