A Good Experience

I choose to come to Jamaica because I thought that it would be a good experience to take and to have. Throughout the whole ten days of being in Jamaica, I have learned a lot about their culture and heritage. It is a wonderful thing. I also learned and compared the things that Philadelphia and Jamaica have that are similar and different, such as, the dances and music. The three major things that interested me the most were socializing, trips, and the service that we did.

The first interesting thing that stuck out for me was socializing with the students from Yallahs high school. For example, when we went to Reich Falls and to the beach we socialized with the students from Yallahs High School. During that time on the beach we and the Yallahs students were showing and sharing dances with each other.

Also, when we all went to the party last night we were all dancing and having fun together with Yallahs scholars.  While at the party we were talking and having an awesome conversation with one another. Another example of us socializing is when we worked at the school in our groups for the documentary. As we were in our groups working, we learned a lot about each other and our cultures.

The second interesting thing that stuck out for me was the trips that we took because they were so informing. For example, when we went to the Bob Marley Museum I had learned a lot about his life and accomplishments and what he liked to do. Also while there I learned that he had a lot of children and that his favorite game to play was football (soccer). Another trip that we took while in Jamaica was to the Dead Yard memorial ritual. The Dead yard is a tradition that Jamaicans do to celebrate the life of some one that has passed away. While there at the Dead Yard we saw people drumming around in a circle, chanting and singing. To me it felt like they were doing libation because when we’re doing libation in Sankofa we honor our ancestors by drumming and pouring libations. Another trip that we took was to the National Gallery of Jamaica. Throughout the gallery we learned about a painter named Barrington Watson and saw all of his art work.

The third interesting thing that stuck out to me was the all the service work that we did. Some of the service work that we did was when we were working with the Yallahs students on the documentary. For example when we were there we were taking picture with them and getting the footage we needed. Some other service work we did was at the Sankofa, an elementary school in Yallahs. While in Sankofa we learned a lot of quotes from Marcus Garvey that the students were learning. Also we watched the students play music and listen to them sing. It was all a good experience to have because I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know from the students that were in second grade and I’m in high school.

In conclusion, my experience in Jamaica was amazing and I learned a whole lot about Jamaica and the similarities and differences between Philadelphia and Jamaica.

By Tyteiana Jefferson