Financing the lifestyle

The reason I share with you the cost of airline tickets and other expenses is to show how relatively inexpensive it is to do what I’m doing. It costs $197 to fly from New York to Jamaica. $157 from Kingston to Miami, etc. I stay at hostels, couchsurfers, or with friends. While not for everyone, it’s a lifestyle that is within financial reach of many people. All you need is the freedom.

Yes, the freedom comes first–at least it did for me. I’d like to suggest to you that freedom is not dependent on money. Money provides options, sure, but freedom is something you can claim at any time depending on your level of courage, and freedom is something you can maintain as long as you wish, depending on your level of discipline.

Between the Sunday that I decided to quit my civil engineering job, and the Tuesday when I actually handed in my resignation letter, nothing changed as far as my financial status. I was still broke! What changed was my level of commitment to live my dream. That’s what made the difference.

It’s not all “perfect” yet. The tides of revenue ebb and flow. The pendulum of profitability swings back and forth. There were ups and downs, and there continue to be ups and downs. However, the freedom is still there. The freedom is still there because I have the discipline to weather the tides of outrageous fortune.

My journey has been chronicled and made into a step-by-step guid in the books I’ve written:

I quit my job even before I had my Ducks in a Row

I was therefore able to execute and develop a Turn Your Passion Into Profit philosophy and formula,

and set an example of what Living True To Your Self means, that others can follow.

So, when you share my adventures as the Jamaican in Wherever, know that anyone can do this. I’m just an bordinary guy who simply wanted freedom bad enough.

With that said, here are some scenes from the past few days of freedom hanging out with Heru, a friend and fellow rat race escapee and nomadpreneur on the island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

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Heru takes me to THE coconut vendor on the road by First Car Rental, Wayne who also sells irish moss, coconut oil and other coconut-derived drinks and products

And special thanks to Wayne’s son, Eli (pronounced ALLI), who reminded his dad to make me a special batch of honey-sweetened “coconut moss” (irish moss seaweed and coconut water)!
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It’s a four-cruise-ship day!
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Ital Glory sidewalk cafe!
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I am now officially addicted to Judy’s cooking! Clay pots, square dumplings and moringa juice $10 for a large plate with HUGE portions!
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Health Food Store
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Blurry shot inside health food store
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Heru is “The Whole Body Consultant” on island and has a “Lunchtime at Livity” workshop at Natural Livity Kulcha Shop & Juice Bar every second Thursday of the month
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Hanging with Al, Heru’s Tai Chi instructor
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Heru also does two radio programs on WUVI 1090 AM, “Avenues of Healing” which airs Thursdays from 4-5:30pm Eastern Time, and “The Music & Culture Experience,” which airs Friday mornings 10:00am to 11:45. Stream live at: https://wuvi.am
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Being interviewed. (on both programs)
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A new friend on the University of Virgin Islands campus
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Did I mention I’m a cat person?
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View from the hills
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The Jamaican in ……..

As a nomadpreneur, I typically only purchase one way tickets.

Once I discovered that my Jamaican pilot friend, Ron, was heading to Jamaica, and once we agreed to meet there and hang out together, I wasn’t sure exactly when I would depart the island, so I purchased a one way ticket from New York to Kingston. ($197 on Fly-Jamaica)

Once I landed in JA, and as the days progressed, I decided I would leave at the same time Ron would (May 7th), My post-Jamaica plan was to visit another Rat Race Escapee and nomadpreneur friend on the island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.

After doing a bit of research from back in New York, it seemed that I’d have to fly back to Fort Lauderdale on the US mainland and then take a flight through Puerto Rico on my way to St. Thomas. The arrival and departure times of the connecting flights weren’t working out conveniently, so it seemed that I might have to spend a night in Florida, and perhaps use that opportunity to visit a college friend.

Fortunately, however, while searching again in Jamaica, I found a flight from Kingston to Miami ($174.48 on American), and then a few days later, I found a direct flight from Miami to St. Thomas at a great price and purchased that ticket on April 27th. ($157.20 also on American). Woo hoo!

So, I left Jamaica on May 7th, (I booked myself on the same flight he had arranged months before), Ron headed back to Macau, and I did a little island-mainland-island hop:
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Kingston to Miami and then to St. Thomas

Now, the ticket agent in Kingston had told me he wouldn’t be able to “tag” my bags such that they’d be routed all the way to St. Thomas because of the fact that I had made two separate reservations for the two-stage journey. He also told me that since I’d therefore have to re-check my bags in Miami, that I’d be charged the $25 domestic-flight baggage for my checked bag. (I, however, had no intention of paying this fee).

Once I landed in Miami, got through the huge immigration line, picked up my bag at the carousel, made my way through customs and then headed to the ticket counter, I explained my situation to the check in counter agent and she got her supervisor, Gina, to come over. I explained to Gina that my trip from Miami to St Thomas was all one international flight originating in Jamaica and not simply a single domestic flight, and therefore, requested that my baggage be treated according to the international flight baggage allowance. She agreed and waived the $25 charge. Woo hoo!

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Sometimes all you have to do is ask. Thanks, Gina!

and, so, at 8:55pm on Tuesday, May 7, I landed
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Nighttime on St. Thomas

….and am now the Jamaican in St. Thomas! (Um, not sure for how long. Only bought a one-way ticket)

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Morning in Fortuna….The view from Heru’s place in the hills

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The view

And, after being on island for 24 hours, my first question for everyone is:

Why did the iguana cross the road?

Stay tuned

Jamaica wrap!

So much to share, so little time! For the eighteen days I spent in Jamaica, I accomplished quite a lot.
In addition to Milk River, Reach Falls, the Bob Marley Museum, there was….

A visit to the Green Grotto caves
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Beneath the earth
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Entertainment in Runaway Bay

Rafting on the Martha Brae River
I’d have to say that this was the high point of the whole trip!
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Make sure you ask for Captain #45, Mr. Daley. He’ll treat you right! Take my photo along with you and tell him the Jamaican in China sent you!
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Jamaican on the Martha Brae

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Me and Mr. Daley

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Time for me to take the wheel, so to speak

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Tourists from France…psst…ditch mom, and meet me at the mouth of the river!
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Thanks, Mr. Daley! Great guy!

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A visit to Rose Hall, the haunted “Great House”
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Tour of Rose Hall

.Our tour guide sings the Annie Palmer song

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Shopping in the markets

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Reconnecting with friends from the old neighborhood….

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As well as with family….can you see the resemblance with Aunt and cousin?

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I’d have to say, however, that the simple pleasure (or harrowing, hair-raising, adrenalin-pumping trauma, take your pick) of driving on the narrow winding roads through the mountains of Jamaica was one of the most satisfying activities! It’s sort of a rite of passage for anyone who calls Jamaica their home.

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Driving
Here’s a video, with “It’s all coming back to me” by Celine Dion providing the soundtrack

 

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And, then, there’s eating locally-grown, tree-ripened, pesticide-free food (pumpkin, sweet potato, green banana, yam to accompany the callalloo picked an hour earlier from my Aunt’s back yard)
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Last meal in JA

I’ll be sharing more photos and observations of life and my time in Jamaica, but, now it’s time to wrap it up and say goodbye…
Time to hit the skies once again….
This blog is about to become….

The Jamaican in……

(stay tuned!)

School time in Jamaica!

As recently as this March, I had the opportunity to tutor some students in New York in Integrated Algebra in preparation for their Regents exams. The students were great, and eager to learn and wished do well. However, while tutoring, I noticed there was something missing in their fundamental understanding of the relationship between and among numbers.

Many of the students in high school simply don’t know their multiplication tables well enough and stumbled when it came to answering simple multiplication queries (eg. “what’s 9 times 8?”).

I realized they hadn’t been sufficiently prepared in their earlier grades.

In Jamaica, starting in second grade, students are taught to memorize their multiplication tables from 2 to 12. When I was at Pembroke Hall, for example, we drilled
“Two 1s two.
Two 2s four.
Two 3s six.
Two 4s eight”
etc., all the way to 12, ending with “twelve 12s 144!”

This memorization and practice would be drilled day after day from second grade to onward. The result is that Jamaican students have an affinity for numbers which forms a solid foundation for higher mathematics.

I remember my second and third grade teachers, Mrs. Sutherland and Mrs. Downy, respectively, walking around the classroom–with cane in hand–listening to each student as he/she recited, and giving a whack to anyone who messed up. As a result, the recitation becomes automatic, unconscious and quick. In fact, if someone in Jamaica wants to say something is done quickly, they might say it happens in “two 2s.” For instance, the paint advertisement I showed in the previous post could have said alternatively “In two 2s, it dry!” referring to the lightning speed at which one processes 2 times 2.

This simple training has far-reaching effects not only in school, but in daily life as well. For example, if you are purchasing several items in a store each with a price that ends in 5 or 0 (say, candy at 25 cents each), and the cashier tells you the total price is $1.57, you immediately know this is incorrect because any number multiplied by 5 MUST end in a 5 or a zero. It gives you a confidence with how numbers work and interrelate that improves your chances of success in school, life as well as in business.

Here is a video of 3rd grade students at Pembroke Hall Primary school in Jamaica reciting their “times tables.”

I learned that the recitation has been modified to now reinforce the complementary relationship between multiplication and division. (i.e. “Two 1s two. Two into two goes one time…”, etc.)

So, if you want your children to excel in math, start them early (or petition their schools) to drill this
view on Youtube
在中国 (view in China)

As mentioned, I went back to Pembroke Hall to speak to the students during their 7:30am Wednesday morning “Devotion,” where the students gather for prayer and a few words of encouragement before their day of class. Here are a few shots from a wonderful day!

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Students gather outside the classroom

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Getting ready for my return engagement with Mrs. Brown

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Who knows? One of these kids may just grow up to become another Jamaican in China!

My intro:

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在中国 (view in China)

Devotion in jamaica

talking to students in jamaica

talking to students in jamaica

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Then I decided to launch Ron’s public speaking career and put him on the spot as a real-life Jamaican pilot living in Macau. The kids loved it! Ron, on the other hand, had a few words to say to me about ambushing him like that!
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Pilot speaks to pupils

Then, I asked Mrs. Brown to lend me a few students for a photo in front of the school
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Walking to the front of the school

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Say “cheese!” and remember: Only the best is good enough!

Click to see: My first visit to Pembroke Hall

 

Jamaica Seen

Scenes of life and times on the Rock…Seen?
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Morning crossing

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Jamaican for “eat” is N _ _ _
Pat, can I buy a vowel?
(Answer for non-Jamaicans: NYAM)

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As yuh quint, it dry!
In the Oxford Dictionary, you’ll find a definition of quint:
QUINT: five: the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one.

In the Urban Dictionary, you’ll even find a provocative, but misleading Jamaican slang definition.
The truth, however, is that “quint” means blink or squint–as in “as you blink, it’s dry”

I really like the fact that Jamaican ad campaigns now feature our Jamaican patois “language.” Even though practically everyone speaks and understands it, Patois was never considered legitimate enough to sit alongside the Queen’s English in ad campaigns sponsored by corporate concerns. This is major and represents, on one level, an embrace of our culture.

Ben, a friend of mine who reads my blog said:
“Walt, I was in the super market yesterday on Cape Cod. One of the aisles said, “Jamaican Food”. It wasn’t even in the international food aisle. Thought it a bit odd.”

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Um, psst….Walt…..behind you….take a picture

Oh, well see, the trouble is, as you spend more time in Jamaica going from Parish to Parish, you get so accustomed to the beautiful scenery around every corner and in every crevice, that you forget to take photos

Here, lest I forget, is a random, gratuitous shot of paradise to remind you where I am
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Random, gratuitous shot of paradise

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The infamous “Flat Bridge!” One day this bridge will be improved…..I hope…

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From Church on Sunday

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Welcome to Montego Bay

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Table Tennis in Runaway Bay

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Runaway Bay

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No matter how challenging survival gets, you can’t ever really starve in Jamaica. Fruit trees abound along the road and in every backyard and front lawn. June plums in St Mary

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This is what a june plum seed looks like. Can anyone from Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic or any other region tell me if you have it in your country and what do you call it?

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Pomegranate

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Caught cooking