June 15, 2024 - Week 21

With two weeks left before Graduation, I nearly lost my voice training the choir and drumming students for their performance on the day. Unfortunately, the Graduation class of around 40 students were being tardy to their sessions and reluctant to sing the song selected "This is me" (from the Greatest Showman).

Little did I know that on Thursday evening I would receive a long phone call from the principal explaining to me that the song selected by the teachers and Board has now been canned and is to be replaced. She apologised for not recognising it earlier and that the Gen Z Graduates were actually boycotting the song because it was and still is a Pride Anthem. The male students were calling it a 'batty man' song and refused to sing it. The following day there was an emergency meeting with the class to announce this and select a new song - they settled on a Michelle Williams song. What confuses me though is that they also selected to march to "Roar" by Katy Perry who is an LGBTQ ally... I guess they are just selective about which songs they don't like...

In connection to this boycotting, I have also come to observe that Jamaicans sometimes express their opinions in a sarcastic or sassy manner. One day a teacher asked me "Do you not have any electricity this morning?" and upon me responding with a quizzical look, she said "Your pants aren't ironed" and to my shame they were wrinkly (trust me I never wore those pants again that week). On another occassion one teacher was looking tired and another asked her "Are you uncomfortable?" and when the teacher responded she was tired, the response was "Are you at retirement age?". I assure you, my face went all sorts of expressions during the rest of that meeting where other punchy exchanges were made.

To conclude the week, I had issues opening my electronic front gate and to my dismay no one (not even the security guard or my landlord) would answer my call, so in the dark I had to scale the 2m fence just so I could enter my compound. My friend upon hearing the news responded "That isn't the type of Jamaican influence we would desire!"