Preparing Jamaicans to Migrate

I directed a couple of my Sunday Gleaner columns at Jamaicans who are thinking about migrating. For those who are abroad, do you think I got it just about right?

Advice for Migrating Jamaican Professionals

How Companies Can Make the Most of Migrating Jamaicans

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Video Interview - Jamaican Productivity and Migration

Here is a link to the video interview based on the article "Why Jamaicans Have to Migrate to Become Productive."

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Why Jamaicans Have to Migrate to Become Productive

I recently wrote an article in the Gleaner: Why Jamaicans Have to Migrate to Become Productive. You can access it here: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20101205/business/business3.html

P.S. A recent editorial in the Observer expressed a somewhat similar sentiment: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/Two-faced-Jamaicans--Why-are-we-better-when-overseas_8107572

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Jamaican Children Struggling in the US

An article appeared today in the Washington Post describing the struggles that Jamaican children have when migrating to the US.

I left Jamaica to live in the US when I was 18, after completing my A' Levels. I arrived a few days before classes started at Cornell and ran into West Indians who had left home to live in the U.S. In come cases, they had been in the high school system for only a year.

All I can say is that those of us who graduated high school in Jamaica were very different. It wasn't until later that I came to understand a little about attending high school in the US, and how difficult it was for those who had to ensure that rite of passage.

The article can be found by clicking here: Far from their island, Jamaican children struggle new expectations. The most telling line in the article comes at the end:

"Ferguson said more programs are needed to help Jamaican migrant children adjust to the U.S. school system, including the possibility of post- and pre-migration counseling."

Wow -- exactly what I have been thinking, and saying, when I give my two cents' worth of advice to Jamaicans here who are thinking about migrating. I haven't yet met a family that appreciates the challenge... most seem to see migration as a way to release the frustration that they feel at everyday life in Jamaica.

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Departing Jamaica and Choking Up

When I lived in the US I found it it difficult for me to care too much about local "anything."

I'd get calls from the local firefighters, policemen, Cornell (my alma mater,) people wanting my vote plus all sorts of others who wanted me to get involved by giving my time or money for
worthy causes.

What I realized over time was that I'd weigh every appeal against what I knew was happening at home.

For example, I have never given money to Cornell, because very appeal for funds would only lead me to think of what Wolmers (my old high school) would do with a fraction of the financial
resources that Cornell raised from its alumni and had in its endowment.

I guess the truth was that I always felt like a visitor in someone else's country. I never once made a decision to become "Francis the Black American" and I remained forever "Francis the
Jamaican."

Looking back, I think this decision was made when I arrived in the US, intent on returning to Jamaica. The question I always kept in mind was "when" -- there were few moments when it became a matter of "if."

I do recall one such moment, however, when I started to tell myself over a period of months that I could live in New Jersey for the rest of my life. It came at a point when I had
just about everything - a family, a career, a four bedroom colonial, 2 cars... the American dream.

I also remember not having travelled to Jamaica for some time.

I took a 10 day journey home to end this unplanned hiatus and when I got on the plane to fly back to Newark and it started to taxi, I got "a feeling."

I know that many Jamaicans who live abroad know exactly what I am talking about. As the plane takes off and you look out the window to catch a last glance at the mountains, the sea and the sun, and you leave your loved ones behind, you start to choke up.

Gone is the beauty of Jamaica, the pan-chicken you love, friends who know you, family who are a part of your life, the bright sunshine every day, the breeze coming down in the morning with
the rains in the afternoon.

Ahead (in my case) was the state that many call "the arm-pit of America," life as a stranger, the status of a minority, the strange smell driving from Newark airport on the Turnpike, the
everyday lack of connection between people, Burger King, not knowing your neighbour's names, and more.

On the flight that day, I had a serious case of the that particular feeling... a deep homesickness that felt like an ache somewhere just below my heart.

And, like most of us do, and I had done many times before, I swallowed hard and brushed it off.

That worked.

Until I got home, and walked through the door, said goodbye to the friend that picked me up from the airport, and laid my suitcases on the floor.

And then it cam. Ah bawl, ah bawl, ah bawl.

Crying like a baby.

Out it came, and I was shocked but because I was alone, I allowed it to come.

After about a half an hour, I had the presence of mind to call a few friends, and a very wise one suggested that perhaps I had given up on something important to me.

That made sense to me, and from that moment on I knew that I was bound to return, and that life as a stranger in a foreign landwas coming to a close.

That episode changed everything, but in a way it didn't change anything -- it just made things clearer.

I now understood why I had never developed an American accent, and why as soon as I returned to Jamaica my Trini-American wife started to complain that I had become harder to understand. Back with my own people, it seems as if my accent relaxed back into its natural fast clip, filled with more patois than I had used in the past 20 years.

Not to say that returning home to Jamaica is for every Jamaican -- it definitely isn't.

But if you find yourself resisting becoming an African American, unable to speak with an American accent consistently and crying after trips to Jamaica, make sure that what is keeping you away from your rightful place at home is damned important.

P.S. Digicel recently placed a tremendous advertisement in Norman Manley airport. It takes the form of a mural and it's located is just before the boarding gates. I think it's about 50 yards long, and about 2 stories high, from floor to ceiling.

It has a Digicel logo down in the corner, but the ad itself is a collage of pictures from around Jamaica, divided into sections. It has a section with people, another with sports, and I think
the others are all scenic shots of the island's beauty spots.

It is breathtaking -- and when I first saw it for the first time as I was leaving on a business trip I felt that choking feel again, and I had to smile.

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Passing for White in England (Not)

This is an interesting article that describes a Jamaican man's experience as an immigrant to London in the 1940's. He was a light skinned Black man, who probably left a Jamaica of privilege to arrive in London to learn that a lot of what he believed was very, very wrong.

He overcame tremendous odds as you'll see in this two part series. When I hear stories like this I always wonder why Jamaicans believe that they can't survive a move back to Jamaica.

I think a move to live in the US, Canada or the UK is a tough one, and that anyone who can make it in these countries after living in Jamaica, can surely survive a move back home, and even do well because of the skills they had to learn.

Click here to read Part 1

Click here to read Part 2

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Returning Home, Giving up the American Dream

The following comment was made by mackdiva, an anonymous reader of this blog.

Jamaicans everywhere need to engage in much more dialogue with each other to sort out exactly what it means to migrate to another country. There are facts, but there is a lot of fiction...

Thanks to mackdiva for sharing
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Well my friend...the grass seems greener when all you see is the hype that is America. There is much muchness here. Stores galore, big shiny hospitals with art on the walls, and nightlife and museums and baseball games and the list goes on.
But you need plenty of money to buy into all the muchness...pretty much like any other country. If you lived in Australia, or Gabon, or Thailand I would imagine that you would need a lot of money to live large there too. Just as if you were not so well off or struggling in those places the grass might seem greener somewhere else. I rarely hear of wealthy people leaving JA because I imagine they feel they have enough.
Now I was fooled by the hype of America. I grew up watching Sunday matinee movies on JBC where everybody in America sang and danced and all were happy. I visited America and was dazzled by all the shiny stuff...but thats all it is... stuff.

America is not that much different to anywhere else in the world right now. Never really was. It's not particularly safe, it has it's economic struggles, food is expensive. Many jobs do not offer insurance. Public schooling is weak unless you live in a very wealthy area. And I don't mean ordinary wealthy by living in a nice brownstone in Brooklyn wealthy. I mean living on Park Avenue overlooking Central Park wealthy, to have your child in a good public school that has the calibre teaching of say Fay Simpson Prep in JA.

Here in the States you have to put up with a value system in Education, and morals, and just a bunch of other things across the board that do not match the way we Jamaicans are raised. My daughter has to put up with children constantly talking and misbehaving in the classroon because her classmates do not value Education as Jamaicans do. The Teacher's hands are tied because even daring to discipline a child here is considered a crime...so classrooms are out of control.

I had to take my child to the hospital after a child stabbed her with a pencil at school. A beautiful hospital with smiling nurses and glistening floors. My husband and I took her through Emergency and the Doctor prodded her wound as my daughter and I winced. The Doctor declared her a non medical emergency and refused to clean it or put a little salve on it....unless we had $280. My husband and I do not have insurance at our jobs as we happen to be 2 of the millions of residents and citizens of America who do not have insurance so our hands were tied. So I asked for an excuse for school...and the Doctor said sure with a lovely smile...if we had $280. So off we went to lovely shiny Walgreens...which I can assure you has no cure for being treated like a second class citizen.

Everything(emphasis on the word thing)is here in the USA. When I lived in New York City I was surrounded by Theatre(I love the theatre)...a decent seat is at least a hundred dollars so to take you and your family is at least 300dollars.How often can you do that? I can't afford that! Plus you work so much here you often don't have the time or are too exhausted to do all the entertainments they have here. Add Winter to that and you really do not want to go anywhere. Plus, what is the use of a thousand baseball games when all you want to see is a Cricket Match?

I do not blame anybody for thinking America is so glamorous. America's attractiveness is based in illusion, Hollywood, popular culture, celebrity, glitz in bulk...mesmerizing. Yet, all you have to do is look at the latest episode of some celebrity show or glossy magazine to see how unhappy people are here, and these are Americans born and grown here with a pile of money. There is something wrong with that picture.

I met a young lady recently who although born here in the States believes there is a lack of compassion and care about people here that makes her uncomfortable and unhappy. She is looking to Europe for relocation. Her parents who gave up all they had in India to live here think that she's mad. So maybe the grass will always seem greener, but I have seen first hand that it is not, and I am glad that I have discovered this while I am still fairly young and have the strength to move back home and work towards my goals and dreams, same as I would in America. So with all the material stuff that is here... jackmandora...mi nuh choose none...I'm coming home.

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An Angry Comment on this Blog

In response to an article I posted up on Jamaican migration, I received quite an angry response from an Anonymous poster.

Before a flame war breaks out, I want to issue a warning that anyone can post anonymously, and can claim to be any identity they choose, just in order to create a war online. For all I know, the poster is someone who lives next door to me here in Kingston, who just wants to stir up a fuss.

Anyway, here is a sample of what she (?) said:

"I am an American, born and raised. I have visited the Caribbean Islands several times and Jamaica three times. How in the world can anyone from the islands come over here and dislike our country especially black Americans? Frankly, we black Americans cannot stand people from the Caribbean and will let you know it in a heartbeat."

"You black people from the isles, all of them, started this I don't like black Americans thing, way back then. It's all about jealousy. We look better, smell better, dress better, are classier, have more culture, are friendlier with more charm and we take your men, don't try to deny it. Learn from us."

"Black Americans, Americans period don't need you. Open your eyes. Go back to your boring little mountains, smoke your joint, do your nasty booty dances,..."

I almost deleted the post, but it seemed pretty heartfelt, and so authentic that it made me wonder how widespread the sentiment it. I lived in the US for 2o years and never heard anything like this from anyone, let alone someone who I imagine to be educated.

See the original comment at the link below.

http://urlcut.com/angrypost

Add your comment to this post.

P.S. If this turns into a flame-war I will use my delete button heavily, and remove any and ALL posts that violate my personal, and admittedly arbitrary, code of conduct.

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More Memoirs of an Illegal Alien

In a prior post, I referred to an excellent series that is being released ever so slowly on Jamaicans.com -- "Memoirs of an Illegal Alien."

The series makes for compelling reading, and is the only account I have read in any form that described the Jamaican experience in America.

The protagonist is a Jamaican like many that I am sure we all know -- illegally living in the U.S., and barely getting by with purchased social security numbers, close scrapes with the law, living hand to mouth in someone's spare bedroom, odd jobs here and there, etc.

The issues come out every few months or so, and they are quite realistic -- so true to form that I imagine that the author is delaying his posting so that he can stay a few steps ahead of the law!

Here is the link to the entire series, once again.

I had to myself after reading his account of how he snuck back into the US from Bahamas in Series 31 -- is to REALLY worth it?

P.S. Has anyone read any other first hand accounts of Jamaicans living in the US in any form? I welcome the input.

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The Right Kind of Brain Drain

Recently I heard that a friend of mine who is a doctor migrated to live in the U.S. from Jamaica. Some would lament the "brain drain."

I wonder whether or not her departure might just be a non-event in the grander scheme of things, and in terms of the benefit their leaving might bring to Jamaica.

A quick look at the pros and cons would yield the following insights.

Jamaica's main source of foreign exchange "earnings" is remittances. When a doctor leaves Jamaica they are likely to earn a great deal more money abroad, and are likely to send some of it home via Western Union, thereby helping out the country.

Also, the vast majority of doctors focus on healing, and don't create new economic value. Instead, their focus is on stemming the loss of life and livelihood (in economic terms.) Cuba is a good example of a country that has thousands of doctors, good healthcare, and a backward economy.

Lawyers are a bit bit better -- they facilitate the creation of economic value (or at least some do) by allowing commerce to thrive... sometimes. Without a good legal system, it is impossible to create economic value that is sustainable.

Jamaica would really suffer, however, if it lost its business-people. The fact is, the country needs it business-people to create economic wealth, which would probably improve education, create jobs, cut crime and give people hope that things could get better.

In this sense, a business-person who migrates takes with them way more economic potential, than does a doctor or lawyer.

Yet, our shools are filled with students who want to enter college to become... doctors and lawyers. Not entrepreneurs. Not educators. Not business-people who create jobs for others.

We need a change in priorities, and to rethink the economic effect of our brain-drain.

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Leaving in a Huff

It is a very tricky thing to discourage someone from migrating from Jamaica.

While the tangible pros and cons are apparent, I think that it is a mistake to leave under certain circumstances, and the kind of attitude that will only cause trouble in a new country.

I think it is a mistake to leave Jamaica because one feels disgusted, saddened or angry at "the state of affairs."

Why so?

From what I can tell of my 20+ years in the US, there is plenty in that country to feel disgusted, saddened and angry about. And I think this is true of any country that one might migrate to.

The problem is that these negative emotions can easily cloud one's judgement, to the point where everything starts to look bleak. There are many people who live in the US who have never lived elsewhere who say they would love to live elsewhere, because they have the same feelings towards their country.

The problem is that someone who migrates with these negative feelings may very well discover that the cause of them is not Jamaica. They might also find that there are many things that people in the US complain about, and a lot that can make them unhappy if they want.

The point is simple -- migrating with these feelings can lead to them showing up again at some point after the move to the new country has gone through its honeymoon stage. Its better to work on those feelings before leaving, than after.

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Letter from Someone Moving Back

This very nice letter came in from a reader of the blog:

I am not sure that you will remember me from ... Florida. I wrote earlier about the difficulties of living here and how much I wanted to return to Jamaica. Both you and your wife were kind enough to respond to my questions and comments which proved very useful. I want to thank you for being a "sane" link to Jamaica(smile!).

I went home in March and spent three months to "feel out" how being there on a daily basis would affect my perspective on life there. I have to tell you I stayed in the Ocho Rios area and made sure to take the mini buses, taxi and foot transportation. I also rented a condo for approx. US$570.00/month and paid JA$2300/mnth. for light. I tried my best to blend in with the community (going to market on Saturdays, shoemaker, supermarkets, volunteering with the medical emergency service ect.) and found it to be very enlightening.

Life there seemed sort of every day in that I went about my business in St. Ann's Bay as anyone else. There were helpful people and others who just treated you as if you are a "regular". I enjoyed it all. I even bought a piece of land in <the St. Ann> area and met many returning residents who gave me their own views and experiences. I found that prices when calculated US/JA was somewhat similar on some things and cheaper on others (especially food). It surprised me how much food and supplies Jamaicans are producing for themselves and I find if I buy local the quality is good and worth the investment. Most of all I just loved being home. Hearing the familiar language and the attitudes gave me a real feeling of belonging. Despite the fact that there is dire need for jobs for everyone, especially the young people, there was still a spirit of gratefulness for what they had. I felt humbled. I had a chance to put my life in America in perspective and realized that I don't need all the things I have to be happy.

I feel that if everyone had an opportunity to go home and leave the "farrin mind " behind, we could get a more honest feel of what our country has to offer. I am now going on Monday to try to find a place to start a business ( some say I'm crazy) but I have an idea that I want to explore and I am have every intention of looking at all angles in an intelligent manner. I am also aware that I need to proceed cautiously (after purchasing land here I could write a book!). There is so much more I could say regarding my stay there but I hate to bore you, though I know you will be interested in my experience. Please feel free to use my letter if it will help anyone who is interested. I must say though that land and homes in Jamaica is not cheap!! The market is better than the US in terms of rising prices. This says something about supply and demand because I found it difficult to find a nice affordable piece of land. I am glad that I was adventurous enough to have tried and did well.

Francis thank you for your blog because it has helped to guide me on what is happening in our country and I hope you will continue to fight to stay in Jamaica. The best part of your blog, for me, is that you write on both sides. You attempt to show the good, bad and the beautiful sides of Jamaica. I agree that someone with ADD would do rather well there... I guess that's me.(lol!)

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Richest Countries in the Caribbean

Here is an updated list of the Caribbean's richest countries.

Interestingly, Trinidad has just passed Barbados in per capita GDP.

Richest Countries in the Caribbean Rank Country GDP - per capita
1 The Bahamas $ 21,300
2 Trinidad and Tobago $ 19,700
3 Barbados $ 18,200
4 Antigua and Barbuda $ 10,900
5 Saint Kitts and Nevis $ 8,200
6 Dominican Republic $ 8,000
7 Saint Lucia $ 4,800
8 Jamaica $ 4,600
9 Cuba $ 3,900
10 Grenada $ 3,900

Thanks to Barbados Free Press for the information, taken from the CIA Factbook.

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2 great Jamaican online comunities

There are two excellent Jamaican online communities that both have very active message boards: http://www.jamaicans.com and http://www.everytingjamaican.com/ They are the best places to get answers for any and everything Jamaican.


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Reasons Why Moving Back to Jamaica is Easy

In a reader's comment to the blog today, I was challenged in no uncertain terms.

I wrote about the seven reasons why Jamaica is a tough country to move to, or move back to.

It made me think.

The truth is, Moving to Jamaica is easy, for many reasons, some of which are related to a Move Back, others of which are related to an expat move.

Here are some reasons why a Move Back to Jamaica can been so very easy:

1. Family
One big reason I have always wanted to come back is to take care of my parents.

n an earlier post, I mentioned that we Jamaicans are way too enamoured of the idea of sending away our young to live in "farrin." The separation that results is painful to observe, and I think that many parents regret not being able to see their children and grand-children for more than a few days each year.

It's just not what they had envisioned.

They also aren't too keen on getting into the "rush-rush" life of Toronto or New York by moving there, away from their plants, pets and people they love.

The result? A lonely and slow process of getting old.

As the years pass by, Devon's success on Wall Street starts looking less important than just having an opportunity to spend the last few years living within a few miles of his kids. His sister Andrea's medical degree from the University of Florida is cold comfort when she is treating cancer patients in Orlando, instead of being here now and again to get her elderly mother some milk from the fridge.

Moving Back to Jamaica restores the natural connection that migration disrupts between parents and children.

At one point, parents wiped their children's bottoms, and at a later point it seems natural to expect that ... well... you get the point.

2. Friends
The friends I made in the states are long forgotten. We passed through each others lives like fellow passengers on a long flight. We each knew that the time would be short, and that we would separate, never to see each other again.

Here in Jamaica, at a recent dinner meeting, I ran into my friend Mark who I played with back in 1976, a neighbour on College Common. At the same table sat another fellow I was at JC Hope United's cub scouts with in 1974. Yet another fellow went to Wolmer's with me in 1982. We sat together quite randomly, and I had not seen the first two guys since the years I mentioned.

To say this would never happen in the U.S. is to put things mildly. In the U.S., like everyone else, when I visit I find myself sinking into a sea of anonymous people who don't care whether I drop down dead in one moment or the next.

Coming back has effortless restored me to parts of who I am that I had forgotten.

3. Food
More than the quality of the food back home, is the importance that we Jamaicans place on getting together to eat. We eat slowly, and tolerate, but do not love, fast food (other than patties.)

Eating serves a social function, and the connection that we feel around a shared meal is palpable.

I belong to the Jamdammers running club that has a full breakfast after each Saturday run of 10 miles. That's a FULL breakfast. I realized how full it was when I ran with a Johannesburg running club in December, and they served bread and butter after the run. Here in Jamdammers, we almost spend more time eating than running, but the food itself is only a part of what we enjoy.

4. Foolishness

Jamaican life is exciting. On this week's list we have a hurricane that is wobbling its way towards us, an election looming, my car that broke down last night, rain and floods for four days straight last weekend, water lock-offs each day (due to the drought??) and who knows what else coming our way.

The excitement in the air is, as usual, nerve racking, and any kind of what we call "foolishness" can break out and happen at any point. This has the effect of keeping a recent arrival on their toes at ALL times and there is _never_ a dull moment.

For many, this kind of unpredictability is debilitating. For most, the daily foolishness is awakening.

5. Flora (her, another F!)

Tomorrow morning, on my weekly 4:30am ride from Liguanea to Port Royal and back, I'll be riding back to Harbour View just as the run rises over the hills of St. Thomas and St. Andrew.

The hills will all take on different hues of blue-green, while the sun will spill its rays over the clouds, and send bright darts into our eyes. To the left will be the blue calm waters of Kingston Harbour, while to the right will be the rough surf of the Caribbean Sea.

Easy.

6. Patois (I ran out of F's)

When I lived abroad, I learned to s-p-e-a-k s-l-o-w-l-y so as to be understood.

Back home in Jamaica, I relax and use more words, phrases, tones, abbreviations, grunts and other unnamed sounds than ever before. I am back to being bilingual and it feels ever so relaxed, normal and natural.

7. Fulfilled

No matter how hard I worked in the U.S., it was difficult to get motivated for very long by working long hard hours to make rich people even richer than they were before.

In Jamaica, I give J$50 (=US$1) to a beggar and I can tell from his eyes that this is a LOT of money. Yes, the poverty is widespread and saddening. But the opportunity to make a difference is tremendous, and it makes working and living here in Jamaica an act of contribution and service, rather than an act of personal enrichment (at least in tangible terms.)

Small acts of kindness go a long way.

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For someone moving to Jamaica for the first time, in a later post I'll look at why moving to Jamaica can be easy for a first-timer / expat.


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Kingston the Ghost Town

August is always a slow time of year for expats who go away to escape the stifling heat, but this year the heat isn't only coming from the sun, it's coming from the elections.

While I doubt that this year's election-period will be anywhere near as violent as those we have experienced in the past, the word is out that Jamaican elections can be dangerous, and that the worst increase in murders came during the infamous 1980 elections.

The result is that expats, and especially non-working expat spouses, have been leaving Jamaica in droves, planning to return right after the dust settles in late August or early September.

It seems like a decent strategy.

Thankfully the elections are not being held in the middle of a school term, which could cause a major disruption in the schooling of young attendees of Hillel and the American School. At the same time, it doesn't look like we are in for a violent period.

The kinds of things that are happening seem non-political in nature, or just tribal. Our fingers are crossed, however, and that includes the expats who decided to stay and weather the storm.

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Being Stuck in America

Today a friend of mine shared the following story about a conversation with a fellow Jamaican in Florida: She shared with a friend of hers that she was on the way back home for a short visit, and he pointedly asked her: "Yuh mad! Do you have any idea how many people were killed last month in Jamaica?"

She stammered out a weak reply; "No."

He told her "A hundred and something!" Like many Jamaicans abroad, she responded with shock and told him that "A lie yuh a tell!"

He called Jamaica on the spot, and spoke to someone who confirmed that we did indeed have over a hundred murders. I guess he proved his point. He was factually correct about the number of murders.

However, what is more interesting is that we have some 2 million tourists per year coming here.

In spite of Jamaicans like him.

In an earlier post, I shared the reaction that my wife received when she shared that she was moving back. The most negative reaction came from Jamaicans.

Many Jamaicans in the U.S. are angry that they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They love their country, and miss it terribly. They are angry that they cannot return (for many good reasons.) They are unwilling to assimilate into the mainstream U.S. (which for most means becoming African Americans.)

They are stuck.

They also lose sleep at night wondering what will happen when their children and grand-children lose their Jamaican-ness, and won't be able to tell a mango from a muss-muss. They send their hard-earned money back, hoping that it will make a difference, guilty that they left in the first place, and hurting for those who are living without back home.

Last night on the political debate between Audley Shaw and Omar Davis I heard a good idea for the first time -- an overseas Jamaican investment bond. Perhaps that might be a useful way to contribute?

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Welcome to My Blog

A Note from fwade, the author of this online diary: Moving Back to Jamaica

To be taken straight to the latest entries in the blog, click here.

If this is your first time here, welcome! There are many ways to read this blog, but here are some basics:

1. The articles are written in reverse date order, with the most recent posts presented first. To go back to the very beginning, you can look in the Archives from the Main Page, or click here.

2. You can make a comment on any post -- I read all of them and reply to many!

3. At the top right, you can subscribe to the blog which simply means that you are sent email whenever I post a new entry. That way, you can keep current without having to come and check. If you understand what a RSS feed is, that is also available.

Once again, welcome to Moving Back to Jamaica, and I hope you enjoy what I have written about my move back.

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