Day 5

One of my favorite parts of my week in Jamaica was experiencing the pop culture. Jamaica is so vibrant and the people are proud of who they are. That shows in every aspect of the atmosphere. For one, all of the buildings are vibrant and painted in wild colors. They embrace their connotation of Rasta culture and lots of things are adorned in red, green, and yellow. Many people wear the Jamaican flag on shirts or jewelry (much like America).

One thing that really resonated with me is the music. Everything is reggae. There really is no network of genres like there is in American music. Reggae is purely Jamaican. Everyone listens to and blasts their music, and even the old women like Bob Marley. The only differentiation I noticed was between Jamaican and American music. In the club, there was a section that played Jamaican music, and a section that played American top 40 music. I even heard reggae versions of American songs. Many unexpected songs were made into reggae versions that I heard in the background coming from Ms. Paulette's television. I thought it was great. The one I found most amusing was a reggae version of Kenny Roger's "The Gambler." I'll definitely include links to some Jamaican music I learned in my capstone.

Another aspect of pop culture is how that culture is presented: performance. The people of Jamaica love to perform. I just need to get that out there. Whether it is the young women of Petersfield showing off their best dance moves in an impromptu jam session or young children in the preschool fighting each other to sing R. Kelly for me. It's not in a bad way, either. They are simply high on life and want to express their joy with whoever will hear it. I think it's all wrapped up in the unofficial catch phrase of Jamaica:

Jamaica, no problem!