Walt F.J. Goodridge is....
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English
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© 2010 Walt F.J. Goodridge. All Rights Reserved, but feel free to share with anyone!
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We now resume our
regularly scheduled adventure, already in progress..........
As
a show of respect and honour to my country and country-women (and men), please
note that I will be reverting to
"The
Queen's English" when spelling particular words in this post.
Jamaican
in China!—The Embassy Girls
Ok,Ok...Yes,
I know these are sophisticated, adult ladies, I know, I know.
I
just think "The Embassy Girls" has a nice ring to it, like a
television series,
you
know? Like a Jamaican Charlie's Angels...:-)
Anyway,
YES! You guessed it from the subject line, I finally made a visit to the
Jamaican Embassy in Beijing, China!
It was an unannounced
visit, but Attache and Vice Consul, Christine Barker, was nice enough to meet
me at the Jianguomen train station (# 1 and
#2 line) and guide me back to the Embassy's location on the 7th floor of a
17-storey building in the Jianguomenwai
Diplomatic Compound! Thanks, Christine!
Welcome to our
humble....um, office building
As
this was during the Golden Week National Holiday, the Chinese staff at the
embassy was out, and so was the Ambassador. So, it was just me and the girls getting acquainted
during my short visit.
A
long time ad campaign touted Air Jamaica, the national
airline, as "the little piece of Jamaica that flies." Well, the Jamaican
Embassy is the little piece of Jamaica that files...Just kidding, ladies!
Minister
Counsellor Jacqueline Bell, Attache
and Vice Consul, Christine Barker, and Administrative Attache Keera Clarke do
much more than filing. They perform a wide range of tasks! There's
processing visas, renewing passports, providing support
for Jamaican nationals, promoting a positive image of Jamaica abroad, as well
as sensitive communication on behalf of the ambassador, plus a host of other duties I'm sure they DIDN'T
reveal to me in the interest of Jamaican national security!
Jacqueline, Keera
and Christine. The Embassy Girls (Weeknights at 8! Check your local listings)
Here
are a few facts I learned during our chat:
1.
About 600+ visas each year are processed for Chinese nationals and residents
who wish travel to Jamaica. Too low! We have to do something about that!
2.
There are only about 40 Jamaican citizens registered with the Embassy as
"Living in China"! So,
assuming there could be just as many who HAVEN'T actually registered, that
still probably puts the total number of Jamaicans
in China at less than 100. No wonder I haven't seen any Jamaican beef
pattie shops in Beijing! We'll have to do something about that, too. (Of course, give me a few months by
myself to um....check out the um....you know, the um lay of the land before you start sending any more
Jamaican men. I think I can handle the, um, research on my own...I'll let you know when I'm finished here.)
3.
And finally, I learned that being so far away from home, friends and family
back in JA, makes the girls a bit homesick at times. So,
if you're reading this and want to brighten up their day, do me a favour
and send an email to a special address I've created that
will forward your message directly to them! Send well wishes to embassygirls@jamaicaninchina.com
So,
would that make ME "Charlie," or "Bosley?"
Please
note the colours of the Jamaican flag for future reference. I don't want a
repeat of last time. Ok, people?!!
This
was definitely a high point of the week! Not just because of the new friends
I've made, or the things I've learnt, but
also because of something a bit closer to home that you may have to be
Jamaican to really appreciate. I
mentioned this in a Saipan Tribune article when I ran into
my musician buddy and fellow Jamaican, Wayne Wright, on the
island of Saipan, in the middle of the Pacific, 8,000 miles and 19
years away from where we last saw each other.
Every
time you meet a fellow Jamaican somewhere overseas, you take a little trip back
home before you even utter a word to each other. There is a knowingness, a tacit understanding of a
shared culture, a shared experience, and what it
feels like to be Jamaican in the wider world of people and places. And
then, when we DO speak, to hear that familiar cascading Jamaican lilt and
musical intonation,(The Trinis and the Bajans know it, too) and to be able to break into our
trademark patois to further forge invisible yet powerful
bonds of connection and camaraderie--because the sound and syntax IS a uniquely
Jamaican creation--it
is familiar and comforting in a way that no song or sonnet can
capture.
Of
course, I'm sure every citizen of every country can say the same thing, but, of
course, we feel our story
is just a bit more special, a little different. From the Arawaks to the
Maroons, from Bob to the bobsledders, in
our story we share a little secret between us that only Jamaicans know.
Because of our relatively small size as a nation, as
well as our pantheon of personalities and their relatively
huge impact on the world, there is a shared pride in our
uniqueness and strength! We know what we are capable of. As we say in J.A,
"we likkle but we talawah!"
Thanks
for the trip home, ladies.
I'll
be back!
Walt
p.s.
And
in a public but private "Jamaicans only" response to Jacqueline, who
made a comment about my appearance,
I
say:
'ow
yu mean mi nuh look like a regulah whatsitwhatsit?
Yu
did wahn si mi inna sum dutty crep an' tear-up gyanzie???? eee?
(My
apologies to the non-Jamaicans in the audience. You'll have to sit that one
out!) :-)
KEY:
Trinis
= Trinidadians
Bajans
= Barbadians
Bob =
Bob Marley
Arawaks
= indigenous (pre-Columbus) inhabitants of Jamaica
Maroons
= Escaped slaves who mounted a successful 80-year resistance to British
domination; and who granted
the
British government's request for a peace treaty which is still in effect today.
Likkle
= little
Talawah
= Jamaican patois word meaning "brave, strong, fearless"
********************
end of this episode;
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Big T'ings a Gwan!
As we say in Jamaica, "Big tings a gwan!" Translation: Big Things are Going on!
1. JAMAICANS.COM
Jamaican in China is now featured on the Jamaicans.com website along with
reviews and much more!
2.CHINATRAVEL.NET
Check out Aimee Groom's interview for ChinaTravel.net*, the sister site to Ctrip.com
(the largest online travel service provider in China), and my story,
"A Jamaican in China and Nomadpreneur Lives His Dream!" which has been featured
in their China Blogger Profile.
[*ChinaTravel.net is a travel resource providing up-to-date, quality content and
information on destinations, attractions, news and events for people traveling in,
or planning to travel to China.]
3.FACEBOOK
Now you can keep in touch via facebook, and easily share Jamaican in China
with your friends. Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamaican-in-China/122083391185913
and "like me" to comment
Preview of Things to Come!
Episodes and ideas I'm working on, based on all your great conversations and feedback :
Jamaican Gold! (the Athletes' secret revealed)
Black Privilege in China
The Secret X-Rated Episode
Germ Theory and China (Yes, I said it!)
Dating the Waitress at Your Favorite Vegetarian Restaurant (and other bad decisions) from The Nomad's Relationship Guide
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