December 29, 2024 - Week 49

Merri Chrissmus and nuff blessings!

What a week of sorrel, Christmas spice cake, honey ham, Christmas Carols (with reggae remixes), the Grinch, one black Santa Clause, and snowflakes!

Christmas was spent at my Jamaican parent's place - up in Stony Hill. It was the first gated community I have been in and it reminded me more of Canada/Australia with their trimmed hedges, uniform houses and large backyards instead of condos or randomly colored houses. We spent time talking about politics, the changing Jamaican culture/values and the revitalisation of Africa. Needless to say it was an interesting discussion.

Boxing Day was a farewell dinner for a friend met through the coffee club I set up. Her journey was similar to mine - previously in a corporate job but in wanting to do more for the world, decided to work in the Japanese Embassy here. However, like me, she also faced frustrations: bureaucracy, delays, roadblocks to effecting change/processes, politics, the Caribbean lack of pace. And so she decided diplomatic work was not for her and returned to England to reassess.

At a friend's birthday party (and yes she made the cake herself), I met a Forensics Scientist. Nerdily, we exchanged differences in our jobs, with her always interested in forensic accounting and me wondering what types of cases she gets. Shockingly, there is only one forensics lab in Jamaica and with the number of murders and other weapon-related incidents, she said the team is desperately undermanned.