Latest / Babes, how did you get here / $700 in My Name & a Prayer: Why I Left Everything in Jamaica for Dubai

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$700 in My Name & a Prayer: Why I Left Everything in Jamaica for Dubai · Babes, how did you get here

• 0:00
  I'm gonna have to do this all over again first time it really hit me was when I literally had I think seven hundred
• 0:22
  U.S. in my name. I broke free. I just have to do what I have to do I have to see it through. But the journey is
• 0:31
  Mark you the the prophet that was was was talking she wasn't there is it and she you know
• 0:37
  I got up and I said hi. I'm chef. I don't remember what it is. I told him what I did and they were like tell us a phone
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  fact. I'm like I don't know a phone fact at the time, you know, I was like I just don't believe like I just don't feel like I
• 0:49
  belong in Jamaica and everybody was like okay the perfect key when she picked on me and she was like you I see an
• 0:58
  international you know opportunity for you elsewhere and literally before that I literally prayed and I
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  because I really wanted a solid confirmation and she didn't know that I was doing that I was planning to do
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  anything. It feels like no more than ever people are chasing new countries new lives new beginnings. I am
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  April Jackson traveling the world that's speaking with interesting people who have chosen a life elsewhere. Today I'm
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  speaking with Shafal. Shafal. I don't know why this goes that way before. Shafal. Yeah Shafal. Hilted. Yeah. You know what it
• 1:36
  by that was so good. That was so good. I'll clap myself in. I'm very sorry. You're good. Okay. Yeah. How is the commute? Where do you
• 1:46
  go to get from from Dubai to Jamaica? Oh, as in the flight. The States. Okay. So you go by this. Yeah. How long does it take?
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  Well naturally from Jamaica to New York. It's probably like three and a half four hours. And then New York to
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  here. And then New York to here to Dubai. My first time I just flew straight from New York to Dubai and it
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  was like 12 12 hours stretch. Yeah, man. Do you think you would have come here if you didn't have an
• 2:18
  aunt? I don't know. It helps to have someone. Yeah, man. Yeah. I've lived just I'm just a girl. Like I
• 2:29
  lived with my I still lived with my parents back in Jamaica. So like for coming or no one like the
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  big people things like people like them. Oh God, no. I still I probably still would have. Okay. It
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  would just take me longer to move, which still would have been great. I just have I just have to prepare
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  like seriously. Like yeah, I would have. But knowing that my aunt is here. How long has she been here?
• 2:59
  She's been here for about seven years. Okay, so a good time to kind of show you the ropes.
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  Yaman Yaman Yaman and she she'll have a clientele here that I'm able to be exposed to as well
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  because she's in the same industry. So that's great. But I am yeah, I hope to I will eventually be moving
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  on my own. Well, you know, my parents different. What can I do? I don't know. I'm a mobile. They're
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  like girl, where are you going? But it's a blessing. I'm happy. I'm happy about that. I think
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  sometimes I saw this thing and people are talking about if you have the security of a home to go back
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  to. So you know, whether it's moving out of state for this person or whether it's another country
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  to have the the privilege of a home to go back to is one that I think we often forget. So yeah,
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  I think it's an absolute and it's again going back to this idea about entrepreneurship. A lot of
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  people they speak as though there's just an innate ability to be a risk taker without necessarily
• 4:06
  providing people with the full picture. And whenever people speak to me about business, I'm always
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  super super transparent because one I don't think it damages my ego like I don't care. I tell people
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  all the time I started my restaurant because my dad gave me the the start up money to start the
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  restaurant. Otherwise, I don't know what the hell I would have done. And for some people, I guess
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  that means that it's not as great an achievement. Yeah, I can never work for it. So yeah, I get me
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  again, to me, it's more important to show the reality. Yeah, especially when people are looking
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  to you as an example of how can they open their own place, etc. And so I tell people all the time
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  acknowledging the privileges doesn't take away from the other challenges. And I think it's
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  a beautiful thing that you come from a family that you can fall back on. I hear some crazy
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  family drama. Me and my sister, we are always talking about like even what family members do to
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  each other. Yeah. You know, my sister has all my passwords. If she called me now and said she needs
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  a security code for something, I give it to her without thinking. And again, it comes from my dad
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  because that's how he raised us. Yeah. And it's so easy to take for granted. Until we hear about
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  these other stories, we're like families having to take family to court. I'm like, what is going on?
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  We're privileged. And I always, I think it's so privilege that we have something to
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  bitch about. We have something to bitch about even always a privilege. Like, I just feel like we
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  need to always just look at the good in whatever situation it is. What is the dream?
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  You say you're coming to Dubai to be bigger? What does that mean? More students,
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  more reach. I want people to be flying in from Russia to come and train with me. You know, like China
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  because of because they see the lack and they see the value. You know what I mean? Like, I want them
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  and I also want other persons to start doing the same thing I'm doing. Like, out for more value.
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  You know, don't just do it for the money. I want to have a live studio where girls can call and
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  feel like, you know, they can transform and they love all of that. You need to feel more
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  beautiful and feel appreciated. And that's the vibe I gave my clients back home and I want to
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  just bring that here. What I want to also bring up some girls from Jamaica too? Yeah, some of
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  some of them that were my students, you know, that, you know, want a bit of life as well, you know,
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  probably them tired of Jamaica or something. I want to definitely offer that extend that to them.
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  And yeah, and start teaching more instead of doing lashes and have girls do that.
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  And yeah, pop out of baby, get married, get a ring. Yeah, I want to get married. I want to have
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  kids. And yeah, and my passive income, that is the dream. You said that you had a taste of motherhood.
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  What does that mean? Yeah, I had a miscarriage when I was like probably about four years ago.
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  Okay, so it was beautiful though. It was like eight weeks, but those eight weeks were
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  beautiful. I had dream simulator. Yeah, so when you taste that, you're like, you know, this after
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  a pain, it has to, how did you cope during that time? It was rough. Thankfully, I had a really good
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  partner. It was rough, man. But I think it was supposed to happen because I was just starting my
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  product line at the time to, to offer to, you know, sell lashes. And more I must say,
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  the money that I had to, well, we shared that, but it was a lot for just the visits.
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  And I was like, yeah, no, if I had to continue doing this for nine months, then my product line
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  wouldn't have been launched. Okay, you know what I mean? I feel like a lot of those things
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  happen for a reason. As I say, I found a good in the bad. My cravings were through the roof.
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  I would, I knew, I just felt like I would have been a fat mummy. And I would have loved every
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  moment of it, because I know the baby would be healthy and everything, but we were you craving?
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  We were on our way to Wendy's one time and I was like, no, no, no, we were right at the stoplights
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  and Wendy's is right there. And I was like, no, no, no, no, I feel for, I feel for jerk chicken.
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  I jerk chicken was all the way on Red Hills Road and we're at Wattsaloo and this guy looked across
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  and he's like, okay. Then why, why wouldn't I, you know, carry a child for that, for that character?
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  It was, it was a beautiful journey. And I loved it. But that's the Vex boat. It happened for a reason.
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  I don't know as much about miscarriages at the time because I, I didn't know how, how much more
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  frequent they are than I had, I think it's like one in four. Girl, I've had clay, like, I love my
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  clients. They're like my besties. Listen, when I tell you how much of my clients go through
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  that, after I told them about my miscarriage, they were like, oh, girl, the same thing for me.
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  And I was like, really? So, and then they were telling me, oh, like, they felt like it was their fault.
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  And I felt the same way. You felt like it was your fault? Yeah. In what way? Because like,
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  what, who else would it be? Whose fault else would it be? But that's just, I tricked the enemy, please.
• 10:01
  Right. Yeah, man. But it happened for a reason. But it's, it's very normal.
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  So it's only through you sharing. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. I didn't know it was that normal.
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  I didn't realize either. Yeah. And it's not talked about enough. I wanted to do it on my YouTube
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  channel, but YouTube is a lot. And about that. But, um, yeah, I always pitch and talk about it.
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  But I tell you, like, it's, it's normal. And I didn't know that looking back on happy
• 10:32
  happened though. In terms of you, and if at any point you're sick and tired of me asking,
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  no, you're good. You're good. But your body's already changing and already preparing for this.
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  And then you have the miscarriage. And then your body presumably then has to make some more changes,
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  which aside from physical, I'm presuming there's a lot of emotional, yeah, just things going on.
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  How are you still able to keep this beautiful positivity or did that come with time and reflection?
• 11:02
  No, I was like, even up to no, I'm still insecure about my belly area. Really? Yeah, man. But
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  like, I gained weight after the miscarriage. And I was never able to go by down to that size.
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  And even though I still get insecure about my belly, I mean, I can relate to the insecurity
• 11:24
  because I did a post year of the day. I was trying on some clothes for a fashion partner. And
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  I was like, you know what? I'm going to talk about the fact that I'm super, I do think I have some
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  sort of body dysmorphial, like disclaimer. I bet. Because I feel like I always see myself bigger
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  than I am. And people are like, oh, what kind of report? And I think sometimes people think that I say
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  things for you to then say, no, you look great. And I swear on my life. I never need, I'm never
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  seeing something for you to them. But like, oh, no, baby, look great. Like, no, that's not the point.
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  But I wanted to share that even though I know I'm a particular size because I buy the clothes
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  and they fit. I expect them not to fit. If that makes sense, like, I expect the jeans not to fit.
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  Why? Because I look on the jeans and I'm like, no, there's no way I can fit in those jeans.
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  And the point is, is post baby, I obviously will always have saggy skin, right? Even my dad, he
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  called me after I spoke to him on another podcast and he saw it. He was like, you know, if you really
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  want to get rid of it, I'll pay for you to get rid of it. And for some people, they might
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  interpret that as my dad encouraging and saying there's something wrong. And no, he is saying,
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  I'm his daughter. And if something is deeply bothering me, he doesn't want me to feel like I have to
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  carry it. But honestly, there's a few reasons why I would never, like, trim off the saggy,
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  saggy skin. First, I feel like when my children grow up, I want them to know that they are perfect
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  as they are. I rewind. I was going to do a misdemeanor world after misdemeanor universe and they
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  asked me to get a rhinoplasty. And they said, would you consider it? And I said, yeah, consider it.
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  Because to be honest, I don't rely on my nose. I don't mind it in person, but in pictures,
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  I'm like, babe, it could be like a bit, like a bit Eurocentric. And then my dad again, he was like,
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  if this is something that really bothers you, and the point is, at the time, I was like, you can
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  already Google my face, right? So if I have a child, this was long before children. But if I had
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  a child, and they saw my face look one way, and then they're going to know, and then they're
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  going to ask, right? They're going to ask, what did you do? And also, if they have my nose,
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  how are you to tell your child that she is beautiful as she is? Because I don't want my children
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  to want plastic surgery. I know that that might be controversial because living at age,
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  right? You know, you do you. I'm just saying for my child, that's okay. I don't want them to think
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  that they have to alter things, especially their face, right? So how do I say, babe, you're perfect
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  as you are? But by the way, I trimmed off my nose. No, you made her advocacy. I'm not
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  no wrong, we didn't know what's going on. But also, they exactly have my nose nose. And that's
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  their own which it knows. But the point is, is that I do understand the insecurity, but also what's
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  crazy about the insecurity is that I look back on the pictures before children. And I wish I
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  enjoyed my body more. Same. Right? Like, I thought I was too skinny. Really? Yeah, I was like,
• 14:23
  boy, I should follow you. Nobody that you touched saw. You did really, I did feel hungry.
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  But I mean, I love the weight as I put on no hope ever. I just wish the belly didn't come with
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  from all of that. You know, I definitely know that that that caused a lot. But as I said,
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  looking back, grateful. It sounds like you had a great partner. I did. Is he still your partner?
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  No, why? My reason was that I'm a Christian. So I wanted a Christian partner at the time.
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  Yeah. And it just, it just didn't work out. But we still talk up to this. They were good. I always
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  keep, you know, tabs on my ex on my exes. What does that mean? Meaning, meaning we're still good.
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  Like we're still good. You know, I've been a good girlfriend here and there. And no fuss in
• 15:24
  MBs news. I'm like, hey, how's your girlfriend? What's going on with that? I would talk about each
• 15:29
  other. We talk about each other's relationship. He helped me. Sometimes I'm a chat to him,
• 15:34
  both theme team and him chat to me, both. And it's not him alone. Others too. So I have
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  questions. I build a friendship with my partners. So you continue to rationalize the keeping tabs,
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  as you call it. I asked the internet very recently if it is actually possible for men and
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  women to be friends because the context was I had an ex and he said to me that it's not possible
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  because the man is always him waiting, right? Whether he, he tells you that he's not and it's fine.
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  If you give him the inclination that there is an opportunity, he can go and find the opportunity.
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  So I put the question to you. Do you think it is possible for men and women to just be friends?
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  I think it's possible. Well, you know, girl, we're pretty like these men always like us. Like
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  it's it's just because like we're we're James. So they're gonna like us. However, I think it is
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  possible. I know that usually how it it starts off for me sometimes. Most times is them try to
• 16:39
  put a word in, you know, like, you know, I'm like, you know, I'm like, you're on. I'm like, no,
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  it's not gonna work. Right. And then we're like, yeah, we can't be friends. And then that's
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  whole that ends up happening. And they stay friends. Yeah. I'm staying. I'm staying at a box there.
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  And I said, I'm gonna put them. That's where they are. That's where they are. So yeah, what's your?
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  I think we can be friends. Okay. That's it. Does nobody want to put an attack to me? And some,
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  some still some do after. But yeah, no, yeah. Do you think that your miscarriage affected your
• 17:12
  relationship? I think it made it easier. Okay. Because we weren't we weren't together at first.
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  And then the pregnancy, we're like, okay, all right, we're doing this. Yeah, we'd like,
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  we'd just do this like because we had similar values where we wanted it to be at two parent
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  household. We don't want to argue in front of the kids. I love those. I really missed those
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  conversations. I'm not gonna lie. Those comforts like that ex he made me. I think I was probably my
• 17:51
  most mature relationship. I'm not gonna lie. Big up you. Big up that guy because I wasn't having
• 18:00
  the hard conversations, the uncomfortable ones before. And it's after and during, I'm telling you
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  that it was a friendship at first because I was like, you know what, we're just gonna be friends.
• 18:16
  Actually, actually, so I'm never staying with friends. No, no, let me tell you how we met. It was
• 18:22
  a blind date. Oh, really? Yeah, my friend had a blind date thing that was going on in 2022.
• 18:27
  You know, everybody bored, not get to go nowhere. I mean, just start to say, back in Jamaica,
• 18:33
  they were like, when it can't come out, no, you know, and we went, we actually went on a date.
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  And my first impression was like, yeah, no, we're just gonna be friends, you know. But then, no,
• 18:46
  hold on, what was it about the first date that's? I don't know. Just get friend vibes. Okay.
• 18:51
  It's just because we really vibed. Okay. It was a physical thing. Yeah, yeah, we had to meet up
• 18:56
  physically. No, isn't it was a physical thing that wasn't aligned? No, no, no, he was, he was,
• 19:02
  I was, he was a nice looking. Okay. He's nice looking. Okay. But yeah, I was like, no, we're just
• 19:08
  like the way how we vibed. It's like two friendly friends. Two friends. Okay. You know, I was like,
• 19:13
  yeah, you know, but then we started to talk conversations like deep, good, deep conversations
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  just hold I bond. Okay. And I'm telling you, those conversations were good. Like he brought, he,
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  he, he actually helped me on hold to have conversations in my other, you know, relationships afterwards
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  because, you know, whole he asked me questions about scenarios. And what would you do if this,
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  that, that, that, that, and how do you feel about, you know, I might say, well, I just really
• 19:45
  challenged my mind like, well, I didn't want him somewhere before. So I love that. What are some
• 19:51
  of the things that you're carrying with you in terms of that level of awareness before you choose
• 19:55
  your next partner? We have to have good conversations. We have to be able, I like you, if you're not
• 20:04
  good at certain things, I hope that being with me or even starting to date, you know, you're able
• 20:12
  to get better at it because I'm obvious. We're not perfect. But say, for example, you're not good
• 20:16
  at conflict resolution. And you see how I handle conflict resolution. And I'm like, hey,
• 20:22
  let's handle conflict this way because if you handle it that way, I'm going to shut down, right?
• 20:27
  You know what I mean? So can we going forward handle conflict this way? You don't
• 20:32
  walk out or star modes or don't message me for three. They don't like, for example, you know,
• 20:39
  yeah, I definitely would want somebody to be, you know, a man of God. I'm somebody who's able to
• 20:47
  lead somebody who's consistent. But for sure, going in, I definitely want to see that person
• 20:59
  wanting to be a father, like they want to actually be a father and they want to actually be a
• 21:05
  husband. Like if you don't want that name, what's their purpose? Like, do you think that people,
• 21:14
  even from a husband, wife scenario, and it can go both ways, right? I don't mean male or female,
• 21:19
  but just people that they want the celebration of the wedding, but perhaps not the marriage, right?
• 21:25
  Or you want the celebration of pregnancy, like the fun things, but you're not necessarily thinking
• 21:30
  about the parenting, because what really struck me was when you were talking about bringing up
• 21:35
  scenarios like hypotheticals of how you would deal with them. I think that's amazing. I think
• 21:38
  to ask the questions about your approach in terms of arguing for the child or not, a lot of times
• 21:43
  people don't ask those things, not necessarily because they don't want to, but so many people aren't
• 21:48
  really thinking about what parenting takes or what being a husband really takes. Do you think that
• 21:56
  there's too much of that or do you think as we get older, because again, people are having
• 22:00
  children later, they're getting into marriages later. Do you think that that is bringing an extra
• 22:06
  level of maturity that are perhaps having what once was perceived as a tough conversation, but people
• 22:11
  are having them more? I feel like we need to have them more. I feel like probably the past three
• 22:19
  years, more on social media here, people talking about it's important to have the tough conversation.
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  I think my generation, what I know for sure is they're better dads than my father's generation
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  and my father's father's generation. They're more present. They want to actually be in the child's
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  life versus my father's father's generation. They could give two sheets, how many children
• 22:51
  then bring on this earth and they don't want to be in there. I'm not talking about everybody.
• 22:56
  No, no, no. I'm speaking trends of generation. I feel like more than ever, my generation,
• 23:03
  I feel like the fathers are better. They're more present. I don't know about them wanting to be
• 23:10
  a better husband. But you feel like as a dad, you're taking the more and more seriously.
• 23:15
  I feel like I love that. I feel like it's going to get even better. I feel like these Gen Zs,
• 23:22
  I feel like maybe they're not going to have as much children. The good thing is they're going to,
• 23:29
  if they do, they're going to be more present and they're probably going to have like more
• 23:33
  hard conversations, but just stressed out about the mental part because they always need a
• 23:39
  mental break. In my generation, nothing is called depression. I love that we're having
• 23:50
  the conversations about depression because it's real. I do think that the pendulum was swung so far
• 23:59
  where it wasn't a thing. It was completely disregarded. It was swept under the rug.
• 24:05
  However, the pendulum babes, it feels like they've gone too far in the next direction.
• 24:11
  With the Gen Zs? I don't know which gen we reach, but currently, it just feels too far.
• 24:17
  Yeah, I feel like even like I see parents saying, all my kids not going to school if they want
• 24:21
  a mental health day, respectfully your child is six. And sometimes in life, we have to show up.
• 24:27
  Yeah, and even when we feel like that, that's age because they have to do that when they get older.
• 24:33
  It's just too much. Let's find some middle ground. And also, maybe I'm projecting. I put
• 24:40
  my hands up, maybe I'm projecting. But the overuse of the words like depression and anxiety
• 24:45
  really bothers me because as someone who has actually been depressed and actually been
• 24:50
  medicated, all of the things, when we throw words around, they lose their meaning.
• 24:55
  Yes. And just because you're feeling sad or you've had a bad day, I'm not disregarding your
• 24:59
  feelings. Yes. But babe, you're just sad. Yeah. You're not depressed. Yeah. There's a very big
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  difference between depression and sadness. And I just think that now we're just like throwing words
• 25:10
  around, even like harassment. Okay. Let us not deny people's true lived experiences by overusing.
• 25:19
  And then we say, oh, but language doesn't matter. No language does. It does. It does matter.
• 25:23
  So I feel you 100% I do love, especially within the black community, that we're talking about our
• 25:28
  feelings. Don't get me wrong. But let's just be careful that we don't go a little bit too far.
• 25:33
  Too far. Yeah. And just use it because it's. It's so dramatic. Yeah. Yeah. And it's funny
• 25:38
  that you say about the dad's thing because again, what we tend to do, right? We tend to use our own
• 25:42
  experience to define a generalization. Not what is what I see. And I think that you might have
• 25:50
  a point. My initial thing when you said it was like, really? My dad's amazing.
• 25:54
  And then you have amazing. I'm wondering if you don't mind me. No, I'm 36.
• 25:58
  Oh, I kind of look at all that I mean, but not too much. But I feel like your initial thing,
• 26:05
  I was like, oh, no, really? My dad's amazing. And then also I think of like a lot of modern
• 26:11
  dads. But I think you do have a point. Again, taking out my experience, my lived experience and
• 26:17
  thinking about things generally, I saw a braiding, a hair braiding class for men. And so as we're
• 26:23
  having this conversation, I'm like, you would never have had a hair braiding class for dads,
• 26:28
  you know, 15 years ago. That wouldn't have been a thing. I love that though. And so I think that
• 26:33
  you're right. There is, I think again, nothing goes one way, right? Where we see improvements in one
• 26:39
  area, we might see a difference in another because arguably back in the day, a man had his wife
• 26:45
  and two kids and his one salary was able to live for his family, right? And so the mother was
• 26:51
  able to be at home, be more present and fill that role. And obviously, times have changed,
• 26:58
  we're for most people. They need two working parents. And again, I always say that this modern life,
• 27:04
  I don't think it is conducive for families. I don't think it is helping children. And that's
• 27:11
  a whole other discussion. But my point is, is because a woman is no working, maybe it's also
• 27:17
  created a bit more space for men to be fatherly in that hands-on way. Whereas before, their main role
• 27:24
  was right. Right, right, right. You know, right. I get that. And so my thing is not to negate
• 27:31
  the dads of the time that were bringing home the bacon, because being able to bake
• 27:36
  under tears, good, you know. But I appreciate what you're saying. Also, even in looking at my own
• 27:41
  children, and you see how much time means to children more than the money, thankfully, because
• 27:47
  men are making off money. So thankfully, the time, the time that I spend with them on a daily
• 27:53
  basis in this young phase, right? As they get older, their needs will change and then the money
• 27:57
  have to make. But right now, that bond is really, really through spending time. I actually, I hope I'm
• 28:04
  praying that my husband is able to, I hear men say that, you know, there's no such thing as
• 28:10
  proper balance. I just feel like they're not able to multitask as good as we are, to be honest.
• 28:15
  Like, I feel like we do the damn thing when it comes on to taking care of the kids and working,
• 28:20
  and but I still feel like it's a hand in hand thing where we need each other. Yes. Yeah. So
• 28:28
  someone told me yesterday, there's a reason why women are the mothers. Yeah. And I hold hearted
• 28:33
  agree. And there are, there's a reason why the men are the fathers. Yeah. There needs to be some
• 28:39
  balance. Yeah. Do you think that your standards are higher now in terms of what you're looking for
• 28:45
  in a partner? They need to be. I'm working on it. But they do need to be. They do need to be.
• 28:53
  Is it too soon to talk about dating in Dubai? Have you, have you sculpted the landscape?
• 28:58
  No. Honestly, as I said, I haven't gone out as much. Okay. And I need to. I will.
• 29:08
  Yeah. You've been catching up on the sleep. Yeah, mine. Did you, when you started catching
• 29:12
  up on the sleep, did you feel guilty for it? No. Okay. No. There were a few times that I was like,
• 29:23
  boy, I need to be probably making posts on, you know, my page to make it seem as though, no,
• 29:28
  I was like, no, I felt like I was not putting myself first back in Jamaica. I know it's a time
• 29:37
  for me to actually put myself. I get a whole new start. So I was like, you know, I'm going to
• 29:43
  prioritize sleep. And I mean, I still start working. So that's going to be in the bin. But I'm happy
• 29:53
  I was able to experience it. It was so refreshing. It was really refreshing. I just need to,
• 29:59
  my body needs to acclimatize back now to the time zone because I went back to Jamaica and I'm
• 30:05
  back here. And boy, you know, but it will be fine. That'd be good. In terms of building a network
• 30:14
  here, I know you said you haven't really gone out yet. Yeah. But do you feel like the energy is
• 30:19
  very collaborative? Do you feel that people are keeping their contacts themselves? No, that's
• 30:25
  the good thing about what I like about here. I feel like it's definitely more collaborative. And I
• 30:30
  realized that I have to go out. I have to go out like, and I realized that late. Okay. Because when
• 30:41
  I went out, I got introduced to the girlies. First of all, I don't even have to get introduced.
• 30:48
  I just go in the bathroom. Oh my God. I love your hair. Wow. Oh, where are you from?
• 30:55
  And we're talking and we're talking and I asked them where they're from and I'm like, oh, I love your
• 30:59
  lashes. I do lashes. Yeah. Like so the conversation starts there. I get them to like my page. So I have
• 31:07
  to go out for that to happen for my business to grow. But I learned that late. And so I do intend to
• 31:13
  go out more. That's one thing. I hear that Dubai is a place for that. Okay. It's a place for
• 31:18
  networking. And it's the place for your business to grow and for the beauty business to to to
• 31:24
  boom and stuff like that. So I'm excited for it. But definitely I realized I have to go out. You
• 31:31
  can't just sit on it or just sleep. I'm talking to myself. No, but I haven't been sleeping as much
• 31:38
  because you know, I'm training for the new job. Okay. The girl is taking a night to five.
• 31:43
  We're not really at night to five, but basically, right. So I'm excited. It's so new.
• 31:50
  Was there anything daunting from the perspective of lashes, aren't new, bros, aren't new to Dubai?
• 31:58
  Did you like, you know, people ask about market research? Did you? What did you do to tell
• 32:04
  yourself that it doesn't matter that there are people here that are available. I can still come
• 32:10
  here and do something different. Yeah, because I heard about how much they prioritize beauty here.
• 32:16
  And I was like, yeah, and I heard about how much the space is still ripe for it. You know, even though
• 32:25
  there are a lot of people coming from other countries doing it. You know, once you can hone in
• 32:29
  on the experience that the customer has and the ambiance, that's important here in Dubai.
• 32:39
  And I recognize that with the few clients that I've had and they loved it. So, yeah, man,
• 32:48
  I would say I'm being transparent. Back in Jamaica, I am one of the more
• 32:55
  luxury priced lash artist. And so when I decided that I'm going to come to Dubai and charge those
• 33:06
  prices, my aunt's clientele is mostly Africans. They look at me like, okay, your Jamaica price was
• 33:15
  too much for that particular clientele. Yeah, they're like, so, you know, a me start for the know.
• 33:25
  I'm giving these scones, obviously, because I'm new. I need the clients. And then I show them
• 33:29
  what it's all about. And then, you know, they're going to see, because that's what I had to do in Jamaica.
• 33:34
  Right. Because people see that I know what I'm doing. And so they're like, yeah, and then
• 33:41
  they see that I know what I'm doing. And they go out there and find someone cheaper. And then
• 33:45
  they come right back. Yeah, man. So it just needs to happen here from scratch again. But I have to
• 33:54
  be proving myself again, letting people know, you know, that I'm an authority in the space, letting
• 34:01
  them know that I know what I know, you know, because it took a while for Jamaica to see that.
• 34:06
  So it will take a while for Dubai to see it. How's your ego doing? It's bruised. Yeah, man. Yeah, man,
• 34:15
  nobody know me here. I jumped me across. Even before I started because, you know, my father,
• 34:20
  he's in the entertainment industry. So people know me from that, right? So even before it was a
• 34:25
  little, you know, easier for me to squeeze my way into, you know, spaces. But here,
• 34:34
  don't nobody know you girl. Don't nobody know you. Who? Oh, okay, you do lashes. All right. Yeah,
• 34:42
  no. So girl, I have work to do. I've worked like it's, it's even worse now. The work I forgot
• 34:50
  tone up even 10 times more because I don't have that reputation. Nobody knows me. The good thing is
• 34:58
  the Jamaicans here, they know me. Okay. So that's not bad. Right. Right. People at least recognize
• 35:03
  my face from Jamaica. So that's, that's a great thing. So they'll tell their friends, you know,
• 35:08
  that time here and stuff like that. So I'm, I'm very grateful for that. Because, you know,
• 35:11
  Jamaicans, a lot of Jamaicans are here. Really? I mean, if I know that until my reach, I was like,
• 35:16
  whoa, that's so much over there. And the community vibe is, it is nice. It's warm. But,
• 35:25
  I don't, I don't only want to do Jamaicans. I'm excited to do the people from different countries
• 35:33
  and learn about their culture and, you know, try to differentiate the different accents from,
• 35:39
  you know, because to me, and I don't mean to, I don't mean to make anybody feel any way, but like,
• 35:45
  if you have a certain type of hair to me, you're Indian, like, yeah, and Chinese, Chinese, yeah,
• 35:52
  you know, but I'm just saying, like, I want to be able, my job has exposed me to so many things.
• 35:59
  You were back in the drug maker. My first makeup gig, well, not my first, but my makeup gig one time
• 36:06
  was the, the, the one that allowed me to travel to St. Thomas for the first time in my life. So it
• 36:13
  has exposed me to a lot of things back home. And I've learned a lot of things about people and
• 36:18
  what they do. That's the favorite. That's my, the best part of my job, learning about clients
• 36:24
  and where they're from and what they do. I didn't even know pirates were a real thing until
• 36:29
  I had a client who should work on ships and she's telling me that, yeah, pirates are a real girl.
• 36:33
  I'm like, are you crazy? Like, I thought I would stop with only in the movies. Just like no girl,
• 36:38
  they're real. So it's about the experience and the stories and I just can't wait to experience
• 36:45
  that here all over again with people from different countries that aren't only black that, you know,
• 36:51
  are just different. Is there the perception that, or it might be too soon? So that's also fine,
• 36:58
  but is there the perception that because you're a Jamaican or black, you can't do what you do in
• 37:04
  terms of makeup, lashes, brows on people outside of your community? I'm not sure, but I remember when
• 37:12
  I did my client the other day for Valentine's Day, I feel like I'm a fighter still because she
• 37:17
  never met with techno pictures, but no, no, it's fine. She's so sweet. Yeah, she, she had asked
• 37:25
  my aunt about it and she was like, where are the black people? Where are the black people on her
• 37:30
  page? She eventually saw it, but I'm saying that here, if they're not seeing that on your
• 37:39
  page, they're a little more skeptic. I feel like that's the same way in Jamaica too, but like,
• 37:44
  they're more skeptic. They want to see that you are doing their kind. Yeah, so I would say that.
• 37:51
  Would you say that social media is probably your greatest marketing tool? Yeah, man, outside of the
• 37:56
  bathroom chat. Definitely, yeah, for sure. Is that what social media is for you? Business,
• 38:02
  business, and I also get to express myself a lot over there too, even on my personal page,
• 38:08
  like people on my personal page, I'm known for chat foolishness, like I taught the truth,
• 38:12
  I speak my mind, and I come off. I just dropped the phone, let me drop the mic. Yeah, I just,
• 38:18
  I tell, I taught my mind, and I do that, but I even do that on my other pages too, where I
• 38:24
  speak my mind, but I'm speaking and I'm educating as well. So I think that was honestly one thing
• 38:31
  that kind of set me apart from the other beauty professionals. I was educating my clients,
• 38:40
  and that was what built trust for a lot of them in Jamaica, and I'm going to have to do that all
• 38:46
  over again here. In terms of lashes, when we see the lashes that people can't open them eyes,
• 38:55
  and then look like something really sweep the floor, how do we feel about those as a professional
• 38:59
  in the industry? Are we like, oh, there's a time in a place? Are we just like, oh, well,
• 39:04
  you're expressing yourself? Like, what's the vibe? How are you? Girl, don't get me riled up. How are
• 39:11
  you expressing yourself with those things on your eyes? The first of all, it's probably too heavy.
• 39:16
  There's that. You can have those heavy things on your eyes. Like, I'm trying to be as
• 39:23
  lean as possible, because a lot of persons, that's how they get scarred from doing lashes,
• 39:29
  because I'm in my experience. You know, back in Jamaica, you have the girlies where I go to
• 39:34
  my tone, going to their lashes, and that stuff is heavy. I mean, it looks it. It looks like, say,
• 39:40
  you're ready to fly. Yeah. And even it's not even about it just being heavy. It is not being
• 39:47
  attached to the lashes properly. So, you know, you have multiple lashes, right? The lash
• 39:53
  extensions are supposed to be attached to one natural lash. When you put it on stuff like
• 39:58
  clusters that take 30 minutes or 15 minutes, you're putting the clusters to about five natural
• 40:06
  lashes. Right. Remember when your lashes grow, you know, like, it's going to, if you say,
• 40:14
  okay, you're going to take off that cluster. Sure. It's going with those five lashes.
• 40:19
  That's alopecia, Kisha, for you. Right. You know, so it's not being attached properly, but people
• 40:24
  don't know this. So that's where I think I won a lot of my clients, because, you know,
• 40:29
  may I chat up with things them and I tell them say, hey, you're not going to catch alopecia. Kisha.
• 40:35
  So, and I feel like I'm very dramatic too when I talk, and you know, I love to make people laugh.
• 40:40
  So, you know, I mean, I, naturally, I, I just tell it all it is. So, um, but yeah, I know it's,
• 40:50
  it's yes, fine. It's a well expressing yourself, but it's also not healthy. And I thought a lot of
• 40:55
  people don't realize that, yes, it might look nice and flottery, but some, it's not, sometimes,
• 41:02
  it's not healthy based on the artist who is applying it. You know, if they've been to a short course
• 41:10
  that's, you know, like, what can you learn in one day? It's something that's so intricate.
• 41:15
  You're working with tweezers that are sharp. You're going to learn how to use tweezers properly
• 41:21
  in one day and deal with glue. You're using two hands. Yeah. Yeah, you're going to learn how to do
• 41:26
  something like that in one day. Hell no, girl. Do you think that being a beautician is ever looked
• 41:32
  down upon? I think so. I think people look down on it. Just like back in Jamaica, I think so.
• 41:40
  How were your parents when you said that this is what you wanted to do?
• 41:44
  I mean, my mom supported me. My dad supported me too. I finished college just because I didn't
• 41:53
  though. Okay. I didn't finish college. I never finished it for myself. I didn't like school.
• 41:58
  I didn't like school. I was like, do I have to do this? But you know, I just got the piece of
• 42:03
  paper for them. I didn't even go to graduation. That's how much I hated school. Yeah, man. I was like,
• 42:07
  yeah, I just doing this. I mean, I never wanted to go school either, but I went to the graduation.
• 42:11
  No, girl. Like, honestly, I didn't like it that I didn't like school at mochi. Graduation,
• 42:16
  I spent this bag of money by dress, by boots. Then I for pay for the gold. Yeah, for taking
• 42:23
  I just took the picture and was like, hey, yeah. But yeah, I mean, I was doing what I'm doing
• 42:30
  before I graduated anyway. So they knew what time it was. It was coming. So they knew. Yeah, but
• 42:38
  I didn't know the hospitality industry back in Jamaica. No, what do you mean? No, they're not
• 42:46
  coming. No one like that. They come here. They go to the States. Right. So yeah, I mean,
• 42:53
  I was oh, and I love what I do. If I because I think because I went through so much in college too,
• 43:01
  I was like, yeah, I probably am not going to like the industry. And I tasted a bit of the
• 43:06
  industry too. And we're talking about hospitality. Yes. Okay. Hospitality. In by doing internships.
• 43:12
  And I was like, yeah, I don't like how the management treats the staff. And I was like, yeah, no,
• 43:19
  I'm not doing this. I'm not going to be treated a certain way for a paycheck. I'm good. So you
• 43:25
  mentioned that a part of the bigger dream is to bring students in Jamaica to come abroad and see
• 43:32
  and get that exposure. I often say that I fell in love with Jamaica when I left. And like,
• 43:40
  don't get wrong. I've always loved Jamaica, but like that deep, like feeling the need to
• 43:47
  talk about Jamaica every single day, feeling the need to let people know something about Jamaica that
• 43:52
  they didn't know, to broaden the spectrum, to challenge a stereotype. Like I genuinely feel like
• 43:57
  it's my life's work, right? And I only felt that when I left, and I'm just wondering from your
• 44:04
  experience, do you one believe that you have seen Jamaica differently having left? And if so,
• 44:12
  why? And two, is the goal to always stay away? Yeah, I'm okay with staying away. Really? Yeah,
• 44:20
  man, because when you're exposed that I was even talking to somebody that's in my workplace. And
• 44:26
  she's like, oh, she feels tired of Dubai already. She's been here for probably like four years. And
• 44:30
  she's like, she'd love to go back home, but she kind of got back home. Took to earn what?
• 44:36
  You know what I mean? Jamaica is a beautiful place. It's warm. The people are
• 44:43
  love the people like, we're the best. But the earning capacity is just not it, especially when you have
• 44:52
  big dreams, you know, that's my experience. Sure, that's my experience. And I know people, people
• 45:01
  would say, you know, like, yeah, people I want to Jamaica, you know, it's true, but oh much of them,
• 45:07
  yeah, it's just a percentage. And you have a lot of person going to college and in the
• 45:12
  hospitality industry, but I'm not going to say, I never like to say that an industry is oversaturated
• 45:21
  because there's always room where you can do something and thrive at it. But I just feel like
• 45:29
  Jamaica is beautiful, but ain't nothing wrong. You're not letting go of your roots because you
• 45:34
  move elsewhere. Like people are going to know that I am Jamaican. I'm going to find somewhere to
• 45:39
  squeeze my accent in. Okay. Yeah, you're going to know. So it doesn't take away from from from my
• 45:48
  home. I don't have to be there to, you know, be like ripping jump. No, I can be out here and
• 45:55
  I'm spreading. Let's just say I'm the one spreading the good news about Jamaica. I'll do it from
• 46:00
  afar because I want to earn more. And I, as I said, I was going to do more, um, um, luxury
• 46:09
  prized lash artist there. I want to be able to do that in another place where I don't have
• 46:20
  person saying, lot expensive me. Right. You know what I mean? So yeah, I just, you speak about
• 46:29
  wanting children and a family. And I wonder in terms of like location, has that then come into your
• 46:37
  mind? Because, for example, myself with my girls, I always said by eight, we need to be back in
• 46:43
  Jamaica. That was much, you know, by their age. Why? Because so I went to preschool in Jamaica.
• 46:48
  Like, it's like living for good. Yeah. And they're five. No, you say girl. I know.
• 46:58
  But the reason for me, I felt like eight was a good age because you still have enough of your
• 47:04
  formative years, right? To have Jamaica kind of shape your character. Okay. Um, and so that was my
• 47:11
  deadline. The point is I always knew that they were never going to stay in England. Because the
• 47:16
  values, you know, when you speak about the values that you hold there to you, for me, my values
• 47:21
  with the UK don't align. And as our children get older, I appreciate that they spend more time
• 47:26
  away from us. So whilst now we're living in this little bubble that I can make sure that the values
• 47:31
  that are important to me are being instilled in them, you know, as they get older, as their peers
• 47:36
  become more important rather than their mother, these are the types of things I think about in terms
• 47:40
  of what is the wider culture of the space going to impart on my children. And for me, the UK culturally
• 47:48
  just is very miserable, you know, because of the weather I heard too. Yeah. And I think, you know,
• 47:54
  it's more than it just being gray outdoors, I think that that has kind of seeped into the
• 47:58
  culture of complaining. And don't get me wrong, you know, I love a good vent, you know, I can
• 48:02
  call you and we can vent about XYZ, but after the venting, we need to then move on, do something,
• 48:08
  make decisions, yeah, you know what I'm saying? I feel like they wallow in the venting. Yes,
• 48:13
  yes, yes, without any action or changing anything. And that part, I don't like, I also find it
• 48:18
  quite anti-competitive in the sense that, you know, I land in New York, I feel like I can take
• 48:23
  over the world. I don't know how or why, but I feel like there's just an energy that says, yeah,
• 48:27
  man, you can't take over the world. In England, I almost feel as though you are looked down upon
• 48:32
  for wanting to be the best, right? Because we must all get to participation middle and we must all
• 48:36
  be equal. And don't get wrong, you know, I believe that we may come into the world equally. And even
• 48:42
  that I say with hesitation, because respectfully, the environment of the womb is not equal for many
• 48:47
  people. Regardless, I'm not saying it's anyone's fault, but I'm saying there are different things
• 48:51
  that play. If you are a wealthy lady who is able to eat lots of organic foods and have her chef
• 48:58
  make food for her and she doesn't have stress and all of these things, then your womb is probably
• 49:03
  in a better condition than my womb, you know, it's just what it is. So this idea that it's all
• 49:08
  equal, I think, is also a fallacy that we keep saying to people that is disingenuous. But aside
• 49:14
  from that, I just think that Jamaica made me, right? Even, and I wanted to ask you, is there anything
• 49:20
  about your childhood that has allowed you to be fearless in this way, to be brave, to say, you
• 49:28
  know, I have these dreams and I'm going to go for them or have you kind of just not fault about it
• 49:33
  because I think sometimes also when you're living, you don't necessarily reflect on the pieces that
• 49:40
  made it happen. As I said, I was sheltered. Mama used to tell me, like I was thinking about
• 49:48
  a couple months ago. Mama used to tell me that I need to home by myself because she used to
• 49:56
  tell me that I need to home by myself a lot. And I feel like that made me this fearless
• 50:08
  know because I'm able to do and talk. How I'll, you know, do what I want to do now. So yeah,
• 50:16
  I definitely feel like that was because sometimes she used to tell me for shut up, you know,
• 50:24
  I'm not bashing what I'm just saying. I wasn't able to express myself a lot. Do you think she was
• 50:33
  trying to protect you? Do you think it was not understanding? I don't know. I'm just remembering
• 50:39
  those core memories. What I just feel like, no, because I wasn't able to say and do a lot,
• 50:49
  I feel like that's what has made me this fearless individual know. A sheltered life is,
• 51:00
  yeah, like I definitely feel like she was trying to protect me.
• 51:04
  Definitely think so. She was trying to protect me from boys.
• 51:09
  For sure. I mean, I'd be trying to protect you from boys too, but I understand.
• 51:15
  100%. I'm just trying to remember like from church days because the boys liked me at church,
• 51:20
  even though I was bullied at church. I know. It's crazy. I know. When I said that to people,
• 51:27
  they're like, are you okay? I'm like, yeah, no, I was bullied. I was bullied at church.
• 51:35
  The girls made fun of me. First of all, I had double routine. Double what? Double routine. So basically,
• 51:44
  my mouth is small. So I have my, so my teeth were croning. Okay. So I had like fangs from the top.
• 51:52
  My canines were protruding. Okay. And then I had it at the bottom as well. So people used to make fun of me.
• 51:56
  I remember, oh my gosh, when I was trying to do dancing to enter the dance. Oh my god. The teacher
• 52:05
  said to us, oh, just, um, just freestyle. Jit. The girl never laughed, never laughing. Just like,
• 52:13
  you could see them. I could see them in the corner of my eyes. How old are you at this point?
• 52:18
  I was probably like, well, oh no. So young, me young man. Yeah. Well, you know, I felt like where I shine
• 52:28
  was when we'll find what's in my code. I sing. Okay. Yeah, man. Yeah, my, I was like, you know,
• 52:37
  so I usually do a lot of lead singing back then. So I felt like that was kind of like kind of like
• 52:43
  my get back. That was where my mom was like, yeah, you need to be a little more humble. Okay. You
• 52:49
  know, but I felt like looking back, maybe that was my reason for being on humble. Well, to her.
• 52:59
  You know, because I was bullied. I was almost like I was being silenced. And so I felt like
• 53:06
  maybe that was my get back like, I'm saying this to you. No, and I'm just realizing that maybe
• 53:10
  that was like what it was for real. You know, that's so I love that effect. Yeah, girl. I love that.
• 53:17
  I love that big epiphany moment. But yeah, that's so true. That's probably definitely why I was,
• 53:24
  I was like that. So no, because you know, she was, you know, doing all of that. I feel like
• 53:30
  that's why I'm so fearless. I just want to just do it. You know, there's nobody to tell me. No,
• 53:36
  she's, she's my mom is so supportive. Like, honestly, I don't know what I do without my parents.
• 53:42
  What do you think in terms of their parenting style has really fostered that bond? And I'm
• 53:48
  selfishly asking for myself, especially the mother daughter bond, because I think that it's
• 53:52
  either great or terrible. Very few times you meet people and they're like, oh yeah, me and my mom
• 53:57
  are so so like it's neutral. Yeah. Um, I don't know. She's just supportive. Like, they make sure that
• 54:07
  I had my, the money that, you know, to go on the work on travel program. I wanted to go on it
• 54:14
  from second year. They were like, boy, I'm only that kind of steep. And then they ensure that
• 54:20
  my sister and I went on it and they said, listen, I'm gonna go make the money, put on the money for
• 54:26
  the next year, okay? You know, so they taught us those things. And I don't know, it's just the
• 54:35
  supports. Like, I don't know where I would be if I didn't have the supports.
• 54:43
  Oh yeah, I probably wouldn't even be here. I'm just gonna be honest with you. Does your drive
• 54:50
  and desire to, to realize the dreams that you can visualize come any part from the little girl
• 54:56
  who's blue debt church? Have you considered if it doesn't work out or is that not how you
• 55:07
  be? No, no, no, no. Okay, it's off to work out. It has to, there's no, go back home.
• 55:16
  After all, first of all, I had a yard sale, right? It's serious movements. It wasn't like, I didn't
• 55:24
  be, they'd be moving. Okay, girl, I'm gonna have to buy back every, because when I came here,
• 55:29
  I had to buy everything over lights, bed, everything. To do that back in Jamaica, together.
• 55:39
  I ain't doing that no more. I don't want to have to buy back no more stuff. Move back. No,
• 55:46
  it has to work. Why wouldn't it work? Me? It has to work. It has to work.
• 55:54
  Why wouldn't it work? I mean, I love it. No, it has to work. Like, everybody was like,
• 56:02
  if anything, I just have to work. I just, I just don't have a plan B. I don't have a plan B.
• 56:12
  So do you have deadlines in your mind? I'm just interested in how your brain works. Yeah, yeah.
• 56:16
  Do you love yourself? Yes. I love asking questions. Do you have in your mind when you
• 56:22
  foresee something happening that you want XYZ by this time? I don't, I don't love to do that.
• 56:29
  I mean, it's because I need to work on my discipline. However, I want to try to do that. But then,
• 56:38
  I've, I'm not saying that there's not room for improvement in my life. Maybe if I do do that,
• 56:46
  it would, it would be better. But I feel like, like, because, for example,
• 56:53
  we're not going to offer the job. I was like, okay, I'm just going to do this for six months.
• 57:00
  I kind of do that for six months now. The level of stability that I'm going to need in order
• 57:03
  to start from scratch, no, it has to be longer. And that's why, maybe that's why I don't like to
• 57:12
  be too stringent on making my plans because when you really sit on your pencil, all the things
• 57:18
  that you need to achieve, you kind of need to be a little more realistic. Sure. I already have
• 57:24
  in my mind, hold on. I'm going to give that company. And I'm excited to give them those years
• 57:31
  because I think why I'm so excited is because I've always had to pinch from the money that I earn.
• 57:41
  In Jamaica and live off of that versus having to get it from somebody else. Yeah, he means
• 57:47
  wants it. I don't have nobody giving me handouts back in Jamaica. I don't, I mean, apart from the
• 57:54
  support from a parent and I don't ask them for money like that is when we really need it,
• 57:58
  my ask. And so for me to have to actually not say, okay, I have to do a client today to get
• 58:06
  money or I have to be, I have to make sure that this week is full like, boy, I don't have to worry
• 58:12
  about those gymnastics. So I feel like that is why I'm so excited to experience this new way of
• 58:20
  making money because but then, even though yes, I love being an entrepreneur and not having to
• 58:26
  depend on, as you said, like somebody else to tell me when to get a vacation, there's still some
• 58:34
  downsides of being an entrepreneur when when you're broke, you're broke. Okay, it's like I see
• 58:42
  your level of brokenness. But yeah, like you're getting your paycheck every every month,
• 58:50
  I want to get ready for you. Yeah, yeah, man, I'm excited for that. Are there any misconceptions
• 58:58
  about your life here in Dubai? Yeah, man, people I'm sure of it. They're like, oh, you're moving
• 59:04
  like what I tell people that I'm moving to Dubai. Dubai. Yeah, you have money. I'm like, I've
• 59:11
  come here to look the money. What do you mean? You know, yeah, that's definitely a misconception
• 59:17
  for sure. I'm like, I'm coming here to be where the money resides more because money's in Jamaica
• 59:23
  there's no doubt about it, right? But I definitely feel like I want the inspiration of
• 59:31
  I feel like the architecture here alone inspires me like I feel like I am in this big jungle
• 59:39
  and I'm a baby lion and I'm growing into this big jungle, you know, like just like going through
• 59:46
  the phases, learning the jungle, learning where to get food from, you know, learning the different
• 59:51
  parts of the jungle and I'm enjoying the journey. It's funny that you describe about the
• 59:59
  architecture because I was saying to my dad this morning, I feel like for some people being here
• 1:00:04
  can go one of two ways, right? You either get deeply inspired by the wealth that you see
• 1:00:11
  or it can feel really daunting about what you don't have and it sounds that you are the former.
• 1:00:16
  You're inspired by seeing what people have and the growth and the potential. Yeah.
• 1:00:22
  I am kind of daunting sometimes because I'm not used to this level of luck
• 1:00:32
  because it's that big sacrifice to leave what I'm so used to to come here to be in a whole new world
• 1:00:41
  not be earning as much yet. I don't have to say yet, right? It does get daunting
• 1:00:53
  but as I said, I have to look at the bright side. I have to almost see the end of the tunnel
• 1:01:00
  even when I'm not seeing the in between. I'm just trying to see the light to be honest. That's what I
• 1:01:08
  have to try to do.
• 1:01:16
  Sure for what hours? Okay. I lost questions. No problem. Thank you. Wow. I'm going to talk about
• 1:01:26
  the amount. Yeah, man. This is what happened. But this is why I can't talk to you on the phone
• 1:01:29
  because then you'd have the podcast on the phone. Yeah. Absolutely.
• 1:01:38
  Has there been anything so far that has surprised you that you weren't expecting when you came?
• 1:01:47
  I mean, when I was doing my research, I saw the lash prices and I was like, boy, these girls
• 1:01:53
  are charging what the girls here, some of the girls here are charging. I was like, woo.
• 1:02:00
  Because you know, as I said, mine is a little more. But then I came here and some people
• 1:02:09
  I'm getting that reaction from them. So that's a little, I mean, I should have probably expected it.
• 1:02:17
  But honestly, I just need to find my people like I did in Jamaica.
• 1:02:23
  So that's definitely shocking for me as well as, as I said, the shiver with the main.
• 1:02:35
  I'm exposed to a lot more of the African men and I'm seeing where
• 1:02:41
  not even just the Africans, the natives, I would say like the people, I'm sorry, I'm new.
• 1:02:48
  So the ones that were the long, the traditional long, yes, I got you. Right.
• 1:02:57
  I feel like the men are more loving to one another here. Okay. And I love to see it.
• 1:03:11
  Right. But I also just feel like I love to see when there are healthy relationships
• 1:03:24
  that, you know, and nobody's not calling you, you know, a homosexual or something, you know.
• 1:03:31
  Um, so that's new. I love that. Like I'm, I could get used to that's not going to lie. Cause
• 1:03:41
  the men in Jamaica, man, them kind of toxic certain way. Love them. No, I feel the most out of
• 1:03:47
  the sweetest way you know when they're together. Um, so that masculinity, bravado. Yeah, man. Okay.
• 1:03:56
  What you have it here, what it's, they're more loving. Like I see when men are greeting each other,
• 1:04:01
  they're actually hogging. I don't see that back in Jamaica. Really? Curl no. Yeah, really. I'm
• 1:04:09
  no thinking about them up. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you get to look a side shoulder. Big up. Are you
• 1:04:16
  getting the, the men here, they're hogging. I love to see that. I'm not going to lie. It's,
• 1:04:23
  it's nice. It's nice. It's, it's refreshing. My last question for you, if your life was a
• 1:04:29
  postcard, what would the picture look like? That's what the picture would be. Um, and it would
• 1:04:38
  probably say a note, have a note that says just do it. Love it. Yeah. Thank you very much.
• 1:04:48
  Thank you for having me. Is there anything that we haven't touched on that you would have wanted to share?
• 1:05:01
  I know I had, I mentioned that in the thing with I'm not sure if I want to ring it up, but
• 1:05:08
  good. We spoke about Allah. We did. Like we, we have some voices. We spoke about it.