So I had a really interesting thing happen to me today. I was attempting to fix some of the broken computers in the lab, and a group of young high school girls walked in. They wanted to look up some of the testing criteria for the CXC exam (SAT Equivalent for Jamaica) but they decided that they REALLY wanted to touch my hair instead. I flashed back to growing up in a very white suburb of Northern California where there was one of the few African-American families living next door. Their grand daughter would come by occasionally and I would always want to touch her hair! It was just so different!
So the girls kept pestering me and pestering and I finally let them tug a lock. "Not to hard!" I yelled, "There's not much left!" They giggled and were satisfied and went back to work.
I'm still getting the "White Man" comments most place I go, but now I take it as an opportunity to go and say hello and introduce myself. This works especially well at school because I pretend that I'm all pissed off being called white man, then walk up to the guy who said it, ask him/her their name and then smile and introduce myself. I then make the entire class repeat my name. They all laugh and then comply.
The housing issue is now settled. I will staying at my initial house (for a hefty increase of rent) but will be able to create my own kitchen giving myself pretty much my own place. This will be nice for both me and my family as we will be out of each others hair (I wonder if THEY want to touch my hair too.....?)
This morning I was pouring my coffee into my favorite thermos (Balan & Terry you know the one!) and my host father was watching TV. He asked, "Hey do you know these guys??" and as I looked I found my fellow volunteers being interviewed on the TV! One of them was my roommate from the trainings. They were really impressive I thought. It reminded me how unique the press is here. It seems even more free than in the US. They will take the smallest topic and make and stretch it out into a whole hour. Almost PBS/NPR style. They also are not afraid to say or ask ANYTHING. After the Olympics they were asking the Jamaican women's team what happened during the 400m relay race, basically asking them how could they f*ck up so bad. I really liked the style and think that the US press is just too polite and politically correct.
Anyhoo thats it for now. Please cross your fingers for me that my computer power cable will arrive tomorrow!
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5 comments:
That's a funny story about the kids touching your hair. Make sure they don't pull any out. You and me don't have too much left and we have to watch out for each other!
Hey Jason! Congratulations on passing your test. Glad to see you got through all of that bad weather unscathed. What a cute story. Your posts make me smile. :) It's as if I can hear you talking. In many countries in the Caribbean, anyone from a 1st world country can be called "white man" regardless of their skin color. It loosely translates to "foreigner". In any case you're still my favorite white boy! :) You got a lotta soul and a lotta cool. One love breda.
Glad to see you are safe! The hair story is hilarious! Take care and keep blogging.
Your story made me chuckle : )
I usually just get "Why did you do that to your hair..." and not having people want to touch it! That was a great story!
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