Feb
15, 2014
Jamaica – Ya Mon! :) On the drive
to Ocho Rios, looking at the ecological side of things: the countryside looked
luscious, green and healthy. A lot of the homes were made of concrete. There were a lot of goats that roamed around freely. Or, if they were not walking freely they were tied up like a dog tied up to it's doghouse. Very Interesting! When we arrived at The Sunset
Jamaica Grande Resort it was an amazing, beautiful and open concept style resort.
Amazing, because all the staff were super friendly. The friendly staff gave it a
warm and cozy feeling. The feeling of entered the home of a loving relative's house. As you enter into the resort, the ocean can instantly be seen. It can instantly seen because there are no windows, walls or doors blocking this gorgeous view. This view is absolutely breathtaking. The vibe is chill. And, I love the feeling that
there is no snow here and it’s February. It is so rejuvenating to feel the combination of the
natural sea breeze and the heat embrace the skin. I am thinking “yes, I am in Jamaica, and I love every second of it”. Furthermore, besides the visual and physical aspects of Jamaica, it would be to nice to take a closer look into the culture of Jamaica.
Do you believe that things happen for
a reason? For me, today was one of those days. The iLEAD Jamaica members crossed paths
with a local man, who offered to share his perspective of Ocho Rios (his name and appearance will not be published in order to protect his identity since he said he could lose his job if it was made public). After hearing his touching story about how he and his family live in poverty, the iLEAD team decided to put their money together and help him out by taking him on a shopping spree. I did not expect that his presence and
insight about Jamaica would have such a profound effect on me. He really made me love
Jamaica and Jamaicans that much more.
For
example, when he introduced himself, he shared
how much love and appreciation he had for all of us for coming to Jamaica - his
home, and the appreciation he had for us. He was
happy that we were taking the initiative to do great and wonderful things in this
world. The feelings were mutual. Plus, it is not everyday you come across a
genuine man from another country who demonstrates and expresses nothing but
love and kindness towards his new friends, us – the iLEAD Jamaican 2014 team.
I will post a video we took of our experiences with this amazing local man so that you may experience a little bit of how he had impacted, and
intensified our perspectives of Jamaica. I believe it was fate for our iLEAD team to meet this local man because a local perspective can be a much more insightful aspect of the Jamaican culture than from what is
visually seen. That is why the video will be posted - so that you can witness a view from
a local Jamaican man.
Our new friend, seen in the picture, reminded me of how
precious and how perfect life is when you allow yourself to see beauty in
places where things may not seem so attractive. Like the saying goes: Beauty is
in the eye of the beholder! What do you see? My thoughts: One love and change
begins with you.
