Here in Jamaica weed is indeed illegal. One can get fined and even jailed depending on the amount one is caught with and your intent, that is not to say that weed isn’t seen (and mostly smelt) in everyday life. Rastas use it as a part of their religion and are given some leeway in their dealings with the illegal herb, it is generally a common myth that once one is smoking the herb in the confines of their home as a religious activity one is in his right as a Jamaican Citizen to do so. The entertainment industry has also given flight to the activity of smoking weed by incorporating it into lyrics and a right of passage into ‘ganstahood’. Now, more and more people are seen indulging into the activity, getting high, and reaching “another level of consciousness”. Many people consider the way law enforcements treat weed smoking offenders as lax, as they have more important things on their plate, that is not to say that if someone is blatantly abusing the substance they will not be reprimanded.

A thriving business has been around in Jamaica of people exporting the herb making a hefty profit and also risking life and limb, growing the crop in the shadows of the police. It is rather sad to think that many people who hear about Jamaica first think of weed and are drawn to this place by the idea of it being “ok” to smoke it here without fear of legal repercussions. Jamaica is contrary to popular belief, not a safe haven for ganja smokers. It is indeed against the law.

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• Have Sunday dinner with Rice and Peas and some mix up juice (mango, carrot etc) religiously every Sunday.
• Carry fried fish and bammy when traveling overseas.
• Call soda “soft drink”.
• Blink their eyes (cut eye) when displeased with someone.
• Refer to supermarket plastic bags as “scandal bags”.
• Refer to green bananas, yams, etc. as “food”.
• Have a kerosene lamp with a “Home Sweet Home” shade.
• Refer to Orientals as “Mister Chin or Miss Chin”.
• Try to get your attention with a “psst….” sound.
• They say hush as a term of condolence and not for someone to be silent or quiet.
• Use words such as ‘irregardless’ and are convinced it is a grammatically correct English word

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Let’s start with Weekdays.

Monday through Thursday breakfast usually consists of a combination of the following:
boiled or fried eggs, fried ripe plantain, cornmeal, rice, banana or hominy corn porridge, Milo, coco or Horlicks, mint tea, or cerase, bread, and fritters. The list is endless but these are some that come readily to mind. Chances are, if you randomly pick a Jamaican and ask them what they had for breakfast in the past week, one or more of these will pop up.

For lunch on the weekdays, it all depends on where you work or how much time you have and how much you want to eat. Lunch can include any combination of the following:
Patty-beef, cheese, chicken, vegetable, shrimp, mega(any meat patty with lettuce and tomatoes, box lunch- cooked food such as rice and peas and chicken with vegetables, Bun and Cheese, soda, coconut water, bag juice and box juice, red peas, conch or chicken soup.
Now, dinner for a Jamaican is meal of the day that we look forward to. A typical dinner menu could include:
Rice and peas- even though this is mostly reserved for weekends, white rice, yam, banana, dasheen, dumplings, sweet potato, irish potato, and cabbage and corned beef, stewed chicken, curried chicken, Stewed peas, tripe and beans, cow foot and beans, corned beef and macaroni, and the list goes on.

Now notice that I said weekdays Monday through Thursday, this is because Friday has one very important feature…NOBODY COOKS ON A FRIDAY EVENING. breakfast and lunch are as per usual but on a Friday evening, its time for something special and the culture is buy dinner. Dinner can either be bought and carried home or eaten on the road. This is the time of the week reserved for things not eaten for the rest of the week and more than likely “non traditional foods” or fast foods. Some foods and restaurants include, Island Grill, KFC, Burger King, Pan Chicken and even Pizza.

Weekends are a different affair. More time is available and as such breakfast prospect tend to change. A typical Sunday or Saturday breakfast may include: Ackee and Saltfish, our National dish, so it holds a very special place in our hearts, liver, mackerel, red herring, fish, saltfish and cabbage, boiled green bananas, yam, bammy, roast or fried breadfruit, festival, boiled and fried dumplings. Sunday dinner is also a special affair and i have noticed that most Jamaican families, settle into the habit of preparing the same set of foods on Sunday. Sunday dinner must include Rice and Peas and one or a combination of the following meats: Fried Chicken, Baked Chicken,Oxtail, Curry goat, Escoveitch Fish, Stewed Pork, Jerk anything….potato salad, toss salad, macaroni salad. Saturdays are not complete without soup. There really is no rule to Saturday eating apart from breakfast and soup.

How could i forget…Sundays are not complete without Dessert Ice cream and Jello or Jello and condensed milk. Or the family goes out to get ice cream.

Special occasions come with special foods. For funerals it’s customary for the family of the deceased to have a nigh night before the funeral and to prepare food for families and friends after the funeral. There must and i emphasize must be mannish water and curry goat and White rum. I really don’t think anything else is mandatory. You might have heard about blue draws and run dung, but you will be surprised to know that those foods although a very important part of our culture are not foods that you encounter everyday here in Jamaica. You should, after this post, have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Jamaica and are looking for “traditional” foods. It bears well to know what to expect so you can prepare your stomachs…apart from the rich array of foods we love our foods spicy. Eat up!

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The Rastafarian movement has amassed a huge following. Some of these individuals may not even truly believe in the teachings of Rastafarinism. Many of these “rastas’ have joined the movement mainly because of persons such as Bob Marley, the the first globally recognized Rasta. Indeed many people have claimed to be rasta but are in no way a Rastafarian and as a result many ’sects’ have emerged each following their own path.

Many Rastafarians, apart from Bob Marley have gained worldwide fame mainly in the music industry, of note are Peter Tosh, Sizzla, Damian Marley and more recently Munga Honorable. Because of these ‘Rastas’ and others, Rasta symbols have indeed become trends and fashion statements. for example, many people are now wearing dreadlocks but it is more for the look than religious purposes and also the meanings of words such as Irie, overstand and Ital are now almost universally accepted and said by everyone having some form of Rasta influence.

Indeed Rastafarians have made significant strides as a part of the Jamaican experience and, their way of life that have achieved worldwide acclaim in its own right. What would Jamaica be without the Rasta? better yet ask the question, what would Jamaica be without Reggae, Bob, Sizzla, Ganja and the Red, Black, Green and Gold.

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All we know is that if you leave this island for a prolonged period you are gonna long for a bite into that golden brown bundle of goodness. The taste is indescribable and if you ask someone what is a patty and they don’t know, that person isn’t a Jamaican. In recent years patty fillings have gotten very diverse, at one time it was only beef now we have chicken, shrimp, lobster, vegetable and cheese, each tasting just as good as the next. But i should let you know Juicy Patties IS the best hands down, no argument there so i don’t know what the big fuss is for.

Here is a Beef Patty recipe, i hope you enjoy!

Ingredients
Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 cup solid shortening
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine
1/3 cup cold water

Meat filling:
2 tablespoon margarine
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon chopped Scotch bonnet pepper
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice berries
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup beef or chicken stock
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water

Instructions
Prepare the pastry:
Sift the flour, curry powder and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and margarine until crumbly. Add the cold water to make a stiff dough. Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and roll out the dough until about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 8-inch circles. Cover with wax paper or damp cloth until ready to use. You can place the dough in the refrigerator overnight. If you do refrigerate, remove the dough at least 15 minutes before using.

Prepare the filling:
In a heavy skillet, melt the margarine and saute the onion and Scotch bonnet pepper until they become limp. Add the ground beef, salt, pepper, curry powder and thyme and mix well. Brown the meat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the breadcrumbs and stock and combine all the ingredients well. Cover the skillet and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When all the liquids have been absorbed, the filling is ready. It should be moist but not watery. Remove the skillet from the stove and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare the patties:
Uncover the dough circles and place 2 to 3 tablespoons of filling on half of each. Moisten the edges of the dough with water and fold the dough circle over the meat filling. Pinch the edges closed with a fork. Lightly brush the pastry with a mixture of the egg and water. Bake on a lightly greased baking sheet for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pastry are golden brown.

Yield: 10 patties from here

This is how it should come out

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Before God and all mankind
I pledge the love and loyalty of my heart
The wisdom and courage of my mind
The strength and vigor of my body

In the service of my fellow citizens
I promise to stand up for justice, Brotherhood and peace
To work diligently and creatively,
To think generously and honestly
So that Jamaica may, under God,
Increase in beauty, fellowship and prosperity
And play her part in advancing the welfare
of the whole human race.

Most of us don’t think like this anymore, its all dog eat dog. When i was in High School and Preparatory School, we had to recite this every morning, hand on left breast at full attention, we saw it as a bother then but i think we should continue it to this day, meditate on the words and see what they mean to you.

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To obtain this unique flavor and the true jerk experience, a long process has to be followed. First the meat is seasoned with Pimento (allspice), garlic, onions, pepper (scotch bonnet), thyme, escallion and other spices and is allowed to marinate for at least overnight. The pimento is a crucial ingredient and must be present during the preparation. The marinated meat is then placed on pimento wood laid over charcoal and allowed to slow cook (at least an hour) until the meat is well done. Using this process all the spices are allowed to soak through the meat and this is where the aroma and flavor comes from.

In recent days some of these steps have been circumvented or replaced with more modern and faster techniques. In the early 1960’s entrepreneurs who wanted to capitalize on the jerking process devised a unique way of jerking that cut the time in half and made it available to the masses. Oil drums were cut in half and holes were made to allow the smoke to come out. The meat was then placed on a grill and allowed to cook over charcoal for a while. This commercialized the process and was an instant hit in the country. Tourists would come to the island and try this delicacy and wonder how they could make this in the comfort of their own home.

Modern jerk food can be prepared now at home with the advent of commercialized jerk seasoning. Companies such as Island Spice, Walkerswood and Eatons have bottled the same spices used for hundreds of years to jerk food and changed up some of the preparation method to maximize on the jerk flavor. Using your own barbecue grill, oven or stovetop and mix in some of these spices and you’ve got your own homemade jerk food.

In more recent years people have been experimenting with the types of foods that can be jerked and have been having some great and interesting results. To add to the traditional jerked products of pork, chicken and fish, people have been jerking soy products, beef, vegetables and goat, each capturing the unique jerk flavor. In addition to new jerk products, jerk vendors would normally sprinkle some Red Stripe Beer over the jerking food in the final jerking stages; this would add a nice tangy flavor. Each day more and more foods are being added to the jerk menu, many of these being discovered at the annual Boston jerk festival in Portland Jamaica. Thought to be the birthplace of jerking, Boston’s patrons have mastered the art of jerking with each vendor having his secret jerk spice mix. When you go there you are greeted with the smell of jerk pork cooking on pimento wood…an unforgettable aroma. You are then approached with a sample of some of the best jerk foods in the world, jerk pork, jerk chicken, jerked fish and for those vegetarians jerked vegetables. These jerked foods are generally served with fried Jamaican dumplings, bammy or festival…each indigenous to Jamaica and having their own unique and exquisite flavor that compliments your jerk food. And finally, wash down that sumptuous meal with a drink of some cool refreshing D&G Ginger Beer or Ting, which are native Jamaican beverages.

From its humble beginnings as a way of preserving food, Jerk is now a worldwide phenomenon, with its demand increasing in countries such as Canada, USA and Great Britain. Being hailed as one of the Top 20 food to eat before you die, Take a bite and lose yourself in a wonderland that we as Jamaicans have been lost in for so long. With Fast food companies such as Island Grill, Jerk is now a once stop away, competing with KFC and Burger King, the only difference is Jerk being healthy and nutritional.

Here is a video of a Jamaican man jerking some chicken using the drum pan method.

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For visitors, returning residents and locals, know that the hurricane season begins June 1st and ends November 30th, so for those 6 months ensure that you listen to the weather reports and stock up on your batteries, tin foods, bottled water and ply board (for that extra reinforcement). Try not to travel when you hear of an imminent hurricane or tropical storm, as it may dampen your trip. There are five categories of hurricanes, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest, a tropical storm with winds between 74-95 mph is a category 1 and anything greater than 155 mph is a category 5.

If you happen to mention the word “hurricane” in a conversation with older folks the first thing you will hear is “Gilbert” for many that is a standard for a hurricane anything less is a “breeze”. We may act nonchalant about the possible dangers of a hurricane and most of the time are ill prepared but we somehow manage. I sometimes think that supermarkets love hurricanes as here in Jamaica just mention “tropical storm” and its off to the supermarket, spending loads of cash on food (even perishable foods) only to find out that the storm has missed us or has subsided.

Regardless of it being a tropical storm or hurricane the weather is one thing that makes us truly unique and truly Jamaican, never forget Gilbert and never walk without our umbrellas.

Here are some clips of various hurricanes from 1984-2005

<video>youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOfI0dOs4WQ</video>

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The Jamaican entertainment, culture, food and people are known worldwide to be some of the most original, unique, and diverse around and are constantly in the global spotlight. I will attempt to showcase some of the aspects that make us who we are and in the process get rid of some of the stigma attributed to Jamaicans.

As our motto says “out of many one people”, see the many things that make us a unique people and feel free to partake on this wonderful ride through my island country.

What does Enter’ Jamaica mean? well the name has two meanings. The first one is basically a ‘welcome to my island’ or ‘come in to Jamaica’ the second is Entertainment Jamaica, abbreviated by Enter’.

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