Latest / Babes, how did you get here / Google Said Jamaica Was Dangerous, LinkedIn Said Otherwise: My Year in Kingston

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Google Said Jamaica Was Dangerous, LinkedIn Said Otherwise: My Year in Kingston · Babes, how did you get here

• 0:00
  We now know from living in Jamaica that we have this idea that everybody must know us.
• 0:04
  Like, yeah, the kind that you're a tiny dot and you have to scoot to find us on the map,
• 0:08
  is a relevant base. The 2.8 million people that are here are the most important people.
• 0:13
  So then when you say that you didn't know about Jamaica, really, but then I don't know that you're
• 0:18
  saying that they make sense. Welcome to a Life Elsewhere, a podcast about people who have chosen
• 0:24
  to move abroad. They've stepped beyond borders, swapping out their regular routines for the unfamiliar.
• 0:29
  I'm April Jackson and I get to sit with someone in each episode who has packed up their bags
• 0:34
  for a Life Elsewhere. Today's guest is Harry Mousseau. I am so excited to speak with her about
• 0:40
  what it takes to leave the familiar behind and move to a place where your name, your language,
• 0:45
  and even your way of being might feel foreign. Thank you very much for coming.
• 0:50
  I want to start to talk about one of the first time that you left South Korea.
• 0:55
  It goes back to 10 years ago, actually, around this time. I was 15 or 14. I can't really remember.
• 1:08
  I left Korea to go to New Zealand. Okay. Yeah. So I started my high school career there
• 1:15
  and then a year into my life in New Zealand, I was like, I need to go somewhere bigger,
• 1:20
  more diverse. So I did choose New Zealand. Because New Zealand was one of the only English-speaking
• 1:27
  country that my family could afford at the time. Okay. But I told myself there will be other
• 1:31
  ways for me to find ways to afford my studies. So I started looking for programs in the US,
• 1:38
  you know, in the UK, like anywhere that's more, you know, there's more diversity and there's more
• 1:44
  people and I ended up finding something in the US and went ahead with that program. How long
• 1:50
  were you in New Zealand for? So about a year. Okay. And then you go to the US, see one
• 1:54
  part of the US or in. I went to New York. Okay. That in Ireland. Oh, when you say New York,
• 2:00
  I'm like, oh, and then he said, that's Ireland. I'm like, oh, well, most people don't really know
• 2:05
  much about New York. So I just say New York, besides the part of the five boroughs, but
• 2:11
  and how long were you there in that island? So I went, I finished my high school there. So around
• 2:17
  three years. Yeah. I was in San Island and I graduated from high school there. Okay. And then we
• 2:23
  go to university straightaway. Yes. I went to university in Boston. But yeah. So at this point,
• 2:29
  you're an only child or do you have something? I'm an only child. Okay. And unfortunately.
• 2:34
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• 3:19
  So you're around 1415 and you tell your mom that you are leaving home. Yeah. What is the vibe?
• 3:25
  Well, they had expected it. Okay. Yeah. I've been asking my parents to send me a broad
• 3:30
  since I was like eight years old. Really? Yeah. I was so determined. Well, like a funny story,
• 3:38
  but one time when I was like around seven or eight years old, my mom and I were on our way to
• 3:46
  Switzerland for a little vacation. It's the her friend who was living there at the time.
• 3:51
  And on the airplane ride, I remember this so clearly because it was so, it just shifted my entire
• 3:58
  life trajectory, I feel like. She told me the story of Ophrawing Free. And then I was like,
• 4:05
  this story is mind-blowing. I want to be like Ophraw. So I have to be in an environment where she grew up,
• 4:11
  like, which is the United States. Okay. And I have to learn English. I have to speak to a lot of
• 4:17
  people so I can, you know, make positive impacts like she did. So yeah, I don't know why I started
• 4:24
  this story. So, but yeah, you're on the pursuit of being Ophraw. Exactly. In the age of eight,
• 4:30
  we knew we were going to leave. Yeah, I knew I was going to leave. For sure, my parents knew I was
• 4:35
  going to leave, but I was, you know, way too young. Okay. We waited until I was graduating from
• 4:40
  middle school. Sure. And yeah, they finally said, okay. And then when you graduate from Boston
• 4:47
  University, you go straight into work? Yes. Okay. That's kind of a long story. Okay. But yeah,
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  upon graduating, I graduated six months earlier. So in January, I graduated. What I didn't
• 5:04
  realize when I signed up to graduate a little earlier was my visa status and how difficult it
• 5:11
  would be for me to find something in January when a lot of companies don't hire. Right. So,
• 5:19
  what I did was I started applying for a bunch of jobs, including some Korean American companies.
• 5:28
  Which originally I didn't, I didn't really want to work for. Okay. Because I was in the US,
• 5:32
  I wanted to work for like an actual diverse short company. But that was the first thing that I found.
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  So upon graduating, I started working for a Korean American media startup. Okay. Yeah. And then
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  how long will we be there before we leave? So I was with the company for about a year and a half.
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  But my work visa only allowed me to stay in the US for one year. Okay. The work kind of promised
• 5:59
  me that they would sponsor me at the end. And just how, yeah, it's kind of how the story goes.
• 6:07
  Okay. I wasn't, I didn't end up getting the sponsorship. So I had to leave the US and start looking
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  for other opportunity. When you left the US, did you go back to South Korea? Yeah, I went back
• 6:19
  to South Korea. Okay. I mean, I traveled here and there during my year that I was working in the US.
• 6:25
  Sure. But afterwards I just packed up everything and kind of, yeah, went back. And then what did we do?
• 6:35
  So that's when I started having some quarter life crisis. And yeah, I just kind of didn't know
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  what to do. Okay. I was working for the media startup, but I felt like I was, because I was writing
• 6:52
  a lot about tech and business and environmental startups that were promising to the investors.
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  I was writing about something that was interesting, but I felt like I wasn't really doing much.
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  Okay. And the reason why I went into storytelling in the first place was to make positive impact
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  and to share the stories of people that are unheard and things that are unseen.
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  But then I was doing something that was totally against my moral, my values.
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  So I decided to find ways to impact other people's lives and to make positive impacts.
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  So I started looking at international development, which kind of led me to the work of the UN.
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  Right. So now you work at the UN? Yes, I work with UNESCO. You applied for that job in South Korea?
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  Yes. So during that year, I was kind of struggling and exploring different areas.
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  I participated in this program called Overseas Procurement Expert Training, which is like totally random,
• 8:13
  but it's basically, I don't know if you know about procurement, but it's buying things.
• 8:21
  Yeah, it's buying things, selling things. But in this specific context, it was for the UN.
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  Okay. So like the UN, because there's a lot of development work being done on the ground,
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  but they need a lot of materials and also people who would come and help out.
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  And those things are all considered procurement, right? And I just randomly found this program that
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  was being advertised on Instagram. And I was like, oh, this looks like something that's helping
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  for a normal community. So I'm going to sign up for it. So I did. I took that course for two
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  months in the summer of 2023. And after the program, I learned more about the work at the UN. And
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  you know, the role of UN and also the role of my country being played in the field of international
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  development. So after that program, I kind of found my way into the UN system by applying
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  for this program, like this is very specific to the Korean setting, but a young professional program
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  to work at a UN agency in South Korea, which I did for six months. Okay. So I worked at the training
• 9:38
  and research branch of the UN. And then afterward, I signed up for the UN Volunteers Program,
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  which led me here to Jamaica. Okay. So the UN Volunteers Program, yeah. You get placed here
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  directly. So how it work is you can select up to three countries, just three UN entities,
• 10:04
  yep. And I chose, well, my first choice was actually Fiji. Okay. And a different UN
• 10:13
  organization. My second choice was at the WHO in Mongolia. Okay. And my third choice was at
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  UNESCO here in Jamaica. We got number three. So Fiji, Mongolia and Jamaica. Right. You put
• 10:29
  in your application and then they choose where you're going to go. Yeah. So the UNB system will
• 10:36
  decide where they see you most fitting. Sure. And I guess they saw me in Jamaica. Yeah,
• 10:45
  most fitting. Why did you put Jamaica at all on the list? Because I really liked the job. Okay.
• 10:51
  That I saw. Okay. Cause it's all different positions. Sure. So the job at UNESCO was a project assistant
• 10:58
  for this project. Right. That support people and businesses that are in the creative and cultural
• 11:06
  industry. Okay. And that was something that I've always been passionate about culture and creativity.
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  Sure. So that felt like the right right place to be. So it wasn't even about Jamaica. It wasn't
• 11:17
  about Jamaica. And I mean like Jamaica was an unknown place. Really? Yeah. I didn't know anything
• 11:24
  about Jamaica. I only knew that you know a lot of my high school friends and college friends
• 11:29
  would go to Jamaica on vacation. Okay. But I was never interested because I wasn't like a big
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  Caribbean enthusiast. I am now. You now know from living in Jamaica that we have this idea
• 11:42
  that everybody must know us. Like yeah. The fact that you're a tiny dot and you have to
• 11:46
  squint to find us on the map is a relevant base. The 2.8 million people that are here are the
• 11:50
  most important people. And so then when you say that you didn't know about Jamaica. Yeah.
• 11:55
  Really? But then I mean now that you explain it, it makes sense. So you picked the place based
• 12:01
  on the position. Exactly. How long after you put in your application do you find out where you're
• 12:06
  going to go? So the selection process I think took about two months. Okay. And then the interview
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  takes another month. Okay. So like three months after applying I knew I was selected to come to Jamaica.
• 12:23
  Okay. But it took me a long time to decide whether I wanted to take this opportunity or not. So
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  after you get the opportunity how long do you have to tell them yes or no? So that was the question
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  that I had actually because I was like I really want to take this job but this is a very very long
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  journey. Right? Like this is going to be so far away. How far my morning?
• 12:47
  Like at least 25 hours, 25 hours of travel from home. Talk me through it. So how many flights?
• 12:55
  Well I live on an island in South Korea. Okay. So even though we have bridges. Sure.
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  It's a long hike to get to the nearest airport. Sure. Well nearest international airport that
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  would bring you right all the way over here. So I would go like five, six hours driving to get
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  to get to the airport. From there I would take a 15 hour flight to New York. And from New York
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  three and a half hours. Yeah. Three and a half hours. Okay. So I mean it could, I mean it's not too
• 13:30
  bad. Maybe speak about it. But yeah. Compared to Fiji and Mongolia. The reasons why I chose Fiji and
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  Mongolia as my first and second partially was because I wanted to be near home for the first time
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  in 10 years. Okay. I have a single mother living on her own in Korea. So I wanted to do something
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  nice for her. And I wanted to stay near her at least for a couple of years. Sure. Before she
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  you know like as long as she's healthy like I wanted to kind of be there and travel with her
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  and bring her out to the places you where I live. But I guess life had other plans for me. So you're
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  trying to decide whether you should take this position in Jamaica. What are the factors that you're
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  thinking about to make that decision? So one was the distance. Right. Also safety. Okay. Cost of living.
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  Yep. And also will I be able to kind of belong? Okay. Yeah. In the country. Yep. Like will people
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  think that I'm an outsider? Right. Well, they accept me. Cool. That was. And so distance we
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  clearly felt when you were considering safety. What were your thoughts about coming to Kingston?
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  Yeah. So because I didn't know anything about Jamaica, I started looking it up. Okay. And you know
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  like asking Google is. Yeah. You're an asking Google. You're you're you're looking at the number.
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  Okay. And when you look at the numbers, unfortunately, Jamaica isn't one of the safest choices.
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  So safety, I was very concerned about. But I clarified with a lot of people who have lived in Jamaica
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  and also my current colleagues that I have. I've talked to them prior. So before you can come
• 15:19
  in. Yeah. I clarified that with them. Sure. What did they tell you? They said it's it's livable.
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  It's it's just like any other other big city at home. So it seemed less unsafe than. Right.
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  than what I was researching. And when you say the numbers, what numbers are we asking Google for?
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  So well, I didn't ask Google anything. I just said safety. And then Google shows me the the
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  statistic of, you know, the the rate of homicides or, you know, rate per a thousand a hundred thousand
• 15:55
  people. Sure. How many people are murdered? Okay. You know, like they'll see the numbers.
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  And then you speak to some people. Yeah. And your conclusion was there is a big contrast. Okay.
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  And I would have to see it myself. Okay. Yeah. I don't think it's fair for me to just fully trust
• 16:12
  the stuff. Yeah. That's that. Okay. So that's safety. Yeah. Distance. Then we said that the other
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  fact was, would you belong? And how did you evaluate that before arriving? Yeah. So actually, I
• 16:25
  what before I move to a new environment, I do this thing where I go on LinkedIn. Okay. And I look
• 16:31
  up the work play. And I find people who have similarity. Okay. As me. So whether it's somebody
• 16:39
  that's from South Korea, or somebody who has gone to the same school as you sure, or someone
• 16:45
  who has had the same job, similar job as me. Right. And I was able to find actually a good
• 16:52
  amount of people who have lived here, who are South Korean. Oh, really? Yeah. There's more of you.
• 16:57
  There's more of me. It's because the Human Volunteers program is funded by my government.
• 17:03
  Okay. Well, it's funded by a lot of the different governments in the world.
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  It's a new unique. Yeah. Well, it's because not a lot of Korean people, I guess, put themselves
• 17:13
  out there on social media. So I get more attention than an average Korean people who is moving here.
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  But yeah, I talked to the other Korean volunteers who have been here before me. Yeah. And they
• 17:27
  said that there's actually a big Asian community, right? Majority being the Chinese people.
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  But they won't look at you and think that you're from somewhere else. Okay.
• 17:40
  Unless they start talking to you and then they hear your accent. That's when they will assume
• 17:45
  that you're from somewhere else. Right. But even then it made me comforting knowing that there's
• 17:50
  a diversity short here in Jamaica. So yeah. So we passed that. Yeah. So the boxes were
• 18:00
  were ticked. Right. And I said, okay, I'll see myself. I'm going to come. Yeah, I'm going to come
• 18:05
  and I'll see it myself. So even though Google told you that it's dangerous and the flight was
• 18:10
  really long, it was your fellow Koreans that said actually fellow Koreans and also other international
• 18:16
  people who have been here before me. Cool. So you make the decision to come. Can you tell your mom?
• 18:23
  Mom Zee, I'm not going to be a feed you on Mongolia. We're not going to go traveling together
• 18:28
  because I'm going to be literally halfway across the world. Yeah. What is her first reaction?
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  Well, first of all, she was like, oh, Jamaica in Africa. So that's a common misconception.
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  Okay. In Asia, a lot of people think that Jamaica is in Africa. Yes.
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  Maybe because of the history, sure, colonization, et cetera. So I had to tell her everything
• 18:52
  that I knew about Jamaica. So did we do internet? We included all the facts.
• 18:57
  Well, yeah, all the fact that I found, right? Which I can't verify because it's not my fact,
• 19:03
  sure. So I told her and she was obviously worried. Sure. Well, her alone wasn't as worried,
• 19:13
  but she's very nosy. And she likes to get inputs from other people. Yep. And when she talked to
• 19:20
  other people, they said, oh, you're sending your daughter all the way out in the Caribbean,
• 19:28
  like that is so far. And she could be unsafe there. But at the end of the day, I talked to her.
• 19:37
  We evaluated the pros and cons. And I told her there was one Korean girl who came here before
• 19:44
  me. Right. And she went to Harvard for grad school. Oh, and you know, like, big university name
• 19:51
  to Korean parents is a big thing. It's a big thing. So she strategically just slipped down.
• 19:56
  And I told that to her and she's like, oh, actually, if you can get her Harvard by going to Jamaica,
• 20:02
  I'm all for it. She put me on the plane. So yeah, how she visited you here? No, not yet. Okay.
• 20:10
  She would like to come here before I move out. Okay. Yeah. Because I told her all these good things
• 20:16
  about Jamaica that I've been able to witness. And so you're only playing and you're getting over,
• 20:22
  we've packed up our stuff. What's our emotion? What are we feeling coming to Jamaica?
• 20:27
  Oh, very mixed emotions. Because it had been a while that I had moved to a different country.
• 20:35
  Okay. Like nine years ago, I moved to the US. And that was, I didn't really remember what
• 20:46
  that felt like to move to a totally different place that I'm not familiar with. So I think there
• 20:53
  was a lot of mixed emotions and then leaving your mom when in your mind exactly the possibility to
• 20:59
  stay close. Right. Sure. Right. But I think she knew that I was eventually going to go away again.
• 21:06
  Yeah. She always tells me, you're not my child. I think you're the child of the country.
• 21:13
  So you should go and do your thing to make the country proud. Okay. So you arrived in Jamaica.
• 21:21
  And we go to work straight away. How do you find housing? How does that work?
• 21:25
  So housing, I had to find it myself. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. If I was here as like a long term
• 21:34
  short step, I would, you know, of course, look at it for me and support me. But because I was here
• 21:41
  only for one near contract originally, I had to find everything myself. But I have Facebook. Okay.
• 21:49
  Facebook is a great thing. No, no marketing or. Sure. Anything. But I feel like in each stage of your
• 21:56
  life, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, social media is generating the job done. I utilize them
• 22:03
  to the max reddit and show. Okay. So we find housing on Facebook. Yeah. I found something on
• 22:09
  Facebook. Are you living with someone or do you invite them? Yeah. So I found out during my
• 22:13
  process of moving here that there's actually another girl from South Korea who will be working
• 22:19
  in my office at the same time on the same program. So we decided to move here together together.
• 22:26
  Okay. On the same day and also to move into the house together and become new mates. So yeah,
• 22:33
  I now have a roommate and yeah, we are at this nice, beautiful apartment. When you arrived,
• 22:41
  were there any major culture shops? I think the heat, the heat surprisingly. I had expected it,
• 22:52
  of course. And I had been to the Caribbean before. Okay. Not to Jamaica, but to the Bahamas and
• 22:58
  Vermeerah. Right. And what I didn't realize with that when I went to those countries, it wasn't
• 23:04
  summertime. Right. So I landed here at the end of June. Okay. During the hurricane season,
• 23:11
  the humidity and the rain and the heat. It was it was a lot. And the cost of living actually
• 23:20
  really threw me off. So when before you came, yeah, you thought that it was going to be quite affordable.
• 23:26
  Yeah. I mean, a lot of people were saying that Jamaica is expensive. Right. But because I had lived
• 23:31
  in major cities in the U.S. Sure. I was expecting at least something similar. Yeah.
• 23:36
  Like groceries, for example. Madness. But crazy. Madness. I used to be able to shop
• 23:44
  my weekly grocery for 20 US dollars. Okay. Because I'm very conscious about my spending. Yeah.
• 23:51
  And I like to meal prep and I buy, you know, produce mostly like no instant food or whatever.
• 23:59
  So I was expecting something similar. Yeah. But not easily a hundred US dollars on my weekly grocery.
• 24:06
  I bought coconut water, a big bottle of coconut water, dozen eggs, chicken mince,
• 24:11
  beef mince, and a bami one. Yeah. And it was literally like 32 pounds, which is about what,
• 24:17
  $40. I was like, how are people living now? It is like the food I can't get over the food prices.
• 24:23
  Yeah. So I can imagine that that would have been quite a big one. And then are you shopping in
• 24:28
  supermarkets? Are you going to local markets? How do you navigate that? So of course at first,
• 24:33
  supermarkets are convenient. Yeah. So I would only shop at supermarkets. Then as time went on,
• 24:39
  you know, some friends would take me to the market. Okay. And most recently, I went to coronation.
• 24:45
  Check you out, babe. Yeah. Which is a good experience. Yeah. And the produce are definitely
• 24:52
  much cheaper at the markets. But still because a lot of these products are imported,
• 24:59
  even at the markets, like if I were to get grapes, which are one of my favorite fruits. Oh no.
• 25:05
  They're easily like a thousand five hundred for one pound of grapes. Have your favorite foods been
• 25:13
  replaced by local favorites? Actually, my favorite foods have changed. Okay. Since coming here.
• 25:23
  And I think it depends on the accessibility of things. Sure. Before I would rarely eat
• 25:33
  Korean food. Oh really? Yeah. In the US, because I had Korean food everywhere. Sure. I never
• 25:38
  really thought about it. I never really went out to eat maybe like once a month. I would go out
• 25:43
  to a restaurant. Right. But here I started creating so much Korean food because there's no supermarket,
• 25:50
  no restaurant that sells Korean food. Right. So I started cooking Korean food myself. Did you bring
• 25:56
  over some secret ingredients from Korea? Not in the beginning, because I didn't think that would
• 26:01
  be impossible to get to get here. But it wasn't possible. Right. So what I ended up doing was every
• 26:08
  time I went to the US to visit some friend. Right. I would grab my suitcase and stack it up
• 26:16
  and bring it back. Okay. Yeah. And what are your favorite Korean things that you cook?
• 26:22
  Any stew dish? So my favorite Korean food or my favorite food in general now is tofu soup. Korean
• 26:31
  spicy, soft tofu soup. Yep. And that's something that I try to try to make here a lot. I saw that you
• 26:40
  had a pop up recently. Yeah. You actually made food for the public, the pink public. Yeah. How did that
• 26:47
  overwhelming? Really? Yeah. Good overwhelming. Okay. Of course. But I felt bad because I wasn't prepared
• 26:54
  to accommodate that many people. Okay. So you prepared for how many? So we had two
• 27:01
  sales so far. The first one didn't know what to expect at all with prepared food for 60 people.
• 27:08
  Okay. Sold out within the first hour, people were angry. Oh no. Understood. Understandably so.
• 27:14
  Okay. Because they were waiting in line for like one one hour and some people were there already
• 27:19
  like two hours prior to the event. Right. So after that, we were like, okay, we need to prepare more.
• 27:27
  So we made three times more food. Okay. For our second thing, so we're making 180 portions.
• 27:34
  180 portions. Yep. Which we're also sold out. And we have more angry people.
• 27:39
  Well, this time we were more strategic. Okay. So we had a little POS system. Right. And yeah,
• 27:47
  instead of having them wait in line, like a takeout, you know, system, we gave out number.
• 27:53
  Okay. And we partnered with this cafe that had a lawn. Okay. So we told them, you know, go out
• 28:00
  and write kind of, you know, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the lawn. So yeah, let's, let's, let's,
• 28:06
  let's disappoint. Let's disappoint. And we were, I think able to feed almost all of them. Okay.
• 28:13
  Yeah. And how did people you're able to just online? Yeah. Because I'm active on TikTok. Okay.
• 28:18
  I posted a lot about it. Well, not really a lot, but the first video I posted about,
• 28:24
  it kind of blew up. So people knew about it. Sure. And I opened an Instagram page. Okay.
• 28:31
  So people found the page and kept up with it. What did you serve? So the first one we had,
• 28:38
  I served kimchi fried rice. Okay. And bibimbap. Yep. Which are probably the most famous
• 28:44
  dishes of Korea. And bibimbap is rice at the bottom. Yeah. Exactly. Okay. And fried egg on
• 28:51
  the top. Yeah. Mixed with gochujang, which is the spicy pepper paste. Right. And kimchi fried rice
• 28:58
  is fried rice with kimchi, the fermented cabbage. Yeah. And then the second sale, we had
• 29:04
  hotteok, which is a sweet kind of fried dough pancake. Okay. Filled with cinnamon, brown sugar,
• 29:15
  and nut. And we also had the bokeh rice cake, chewy rice cake, spicy dish with kimbap.
• 29:25
  Kimbap is a rice roll. Okay. See, we covered it so less. Similar to sushi. But Korean.
• 29:35
  But Korean. And we don't use any sour ingredients. Sure. And to get the ingredients for that,
• 29:42
  was it quite difficult considering you're saying that there's no Korean? Yeah. So we actually had
• 29:46
  to ship us the case from the US to get the ingredients. Yeah. To get the ingredients here.
• 29:53
  And people are really receptive to it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you see any similarities between
• 29:58
  Jamaican food and Korean food? I think the spice. Okay. The spice. You like the heat? Yeah. Korean
• 30:06
  food is all about the heat. Right. Yeah. So I think that's why people were interested. Right. And
• 30:13
  they were receptive because of the spice. And when you lived before in the state, did you also
• 30:19
  share your culture in that way through food? Not as much because it was accessible. Okay.
• 30:25
  Here, I saw the lack of accessibility. Sure. And every time I met somebody new,
• 30:30
  there would be asking me about Korean food. They would be asking me about my culture.
• 30:33
  They're friends love to eat. Yeah. Clearly. Jamaicans love to eat. And they're so curious
• 30:39
  about other culture. Sure. So I wanted to do something for them. Sure. So they can try my culture,
• 30:47
  a piece of my culture. So overall, I think it was successful because of that
• 30:54
  positive reaction. And then my passion for sharing cultures, they worked well together.
• 31:01
  Is there anything that you eat in here that should you leave? You're going to really miss?
• 31:08
  I would like to, I would say, I don't want to say jerk chicken because it's so
• 31:15
  so generic. I think sorrow. Oh, good choice. Yeah, sorrow. Do you like it with a lot of ginger?
• 31:25
  I love ginger. Okay. I think ginger just solves all my problems. Like whenever I feel some pain
• 31:31
  anywhere, I just like have some ginger. And then I'm well. Okay. So I love sorrow. Did you spend
• 31:38
  Christmas here? No, I was away. Okay. I was away. So you didn't do Christmas harm?
• 31:45
  No, it was cute. Oh no, babe. She missed out. But I have my, one of my co-workers, I have,
• 31:52
  she's like my office mom. And she likes to bring me the food and drinks that she make that home.
• 31:57
  Sure. And she made me a little sorrow, rum, drink kind of thing for Christmas. Yep.
• 32:03
  And she gifted it to me and it was so delicious. I think that's why it's one of the things
• 32:09
  that I'll, I'll miss the most about Jamaica because of that word. And then also the taste of
• 32:14
  the sorrow juice. Sure. That was so delicious. And then your boyfriend lives in the States.
• 32:20
  Yes. Has he visited you? Yes. Twice. Oh, yeah. What does he think of Jamaica?
• 32:25
  Well, the first time he was here, he didn't get to meet any of my co-workers or friends because
• 32:30
  there was like the first, no, the second month I was here. Okay. So I didn't really
• 32:34
  know much about the island. I didn't know that many people. But the second time he visited
• 32:39
  during carnival season. Okay. Yeah. So it was a totally different experience. We got to do so
• 32:45
  many things. We also got to visit Portland together. Yep. Which is one of my favorite
• 32:50
  parishes in, in Jamaica. Yep. It's the most lush. Yeah. Parish. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Very natural.
• 32:57
  Everything's so beautiful there. Was that your first carnival? Yeah. It was my first carnival.
• 33:02
  What did you guys think of it? It was crazy. It was something else. Because I lived in the
• 33:10
  center of Kingston. Yep. And you Kingston? A lot of these road marches. Yep. They would end or
• 33:17
  start in my area. Right. So night and day for like two weeks, I would hear it. I would
• 33:24
  participate in it. Yeah. And I would see it from my balcony. It was definitely a celebration.
• 33:32
  Celebration. Yeah. That I'll never forget. How is it managing long distance?
• 33:38
  We've been doing it for three years now. Okay. So we've gotten used to it. And I think me being in
• 33:44
  Jamaica was with nights change. Right. Because we were kind of closer. Okay. Then what we were used to
• 33:53
  before. Sure. So it was like four, five hour flight. Sure. And I would be in Boston or he would be
• 34:01
  in Jamaica. So it was, it was very nice. Very durable. Yeah. Cool. And then your programs had
• 34:07
  us for a year. Mm-hmm. And then what happens? So I had originally requested an extension. Okay.
• 34:15
  That means you liked it. Yeah. I like, I loved it. So I was supposed to be here until December
• 34:21
  this year when you would make it a total of a year and a half. Right. But I have a new job. Oh,
• 34:30
  I got a new job offer in Bulgaria. Okay. So I will unfortunately be moving out of Jamaica. But
• 34:40
  yeah, I'll be moving out of Jamaica and going to Bulgaria. To Bulgaria. Yeah. What do you think you,
• 34:48
  what do you think Jamaica has done in terms of you? How has it changed you being here?
• 34:54
  In a lot of way, I think I've learned a lot. I think I've learned to appreciate
• 35:05
  my culture more. Okay. Because of how curious and receptive people were here of my culture. So
• 35:13
  every time I talk to them about it, I felt more proud. Okay. And yeah, I just wanted to do more.
• 35:22
  So in that aspect, I think I became more proud to be Korean, of course. And what else? Another positive.
• 35:34
  I mean, I learned the work of the UN short more thoroughly. I got to experience it. So that was a
• 35:41
  really good experience. I remember you said that you used to use an English name. Yeah. What was
• 35:48
  your English name? So it was Henna. Henna, okay. Yeah. But it was spelled H-E-N-N-A. Why did you choose Henna?
• 35:55
  Because I went to an English, like we have extra curricular after school programs for learning
• 36:04
  languages or, you know, doing more schoolwork. Right. And I went to an English academy
• 36:10
  type of place. And I had my favorite teacher there who saw me. Right. And she said, you're going
• 36:16
  to be Henna. Okay. And he gave you the name. He gave me that name. How would you at this point
• 36:20
  of the academy? I was in second grade. Okay. Cool. Yeah. So from second grade, you would go around.
• 36:26
  And if someone asked you what's your name, you would say Henna. Yes. Really? Yeah. Even in Korea.
• 36:32
  In Korea, no. Only when you travel. Yeah. Only when I spoke English. And you would say Henna.
• 36:36
  Yeah. Because that was the name that I associated English with. And also say that my friend
• 36:41
  wrote your personality different. So I speak as a lady, her mother's friend. So she speaks
• 36:46
  French fluently, but she lives in England. Yeah. And she said that when she speaks French,
• 36:50
  she feels more certain. She feels a little bit different in character. Do you feel that
• 36:54
  Harim and Henna had different energies or were you the same person? It was just your name.
• 37:01
  I think there is a difference when I speak Korean, versus when I speak English. Okay. I'm too
• 37:06
  different. Really? People? Yes. But the name, not necessarily. I think it did kind of stop me
• 37:14
  from being more Korean. Right. Because the name itself isn't Korean. So when you're going through
• 37:20
  school in the States, New Zealand, you were Henna. Yes. When you came to Jamaica, are we still Henna?
• 37:27
  No. So about two years into my international studying experience, I just suddenly came to this
• 37:38
  realization that I wasn't Henna. I didn't want to be Henna. Okay. Because people were asking me,
• 37:43
  oh, where are you from? Yep. And I didn't want to say I was from somewhere else because I wanted to
• 37:49
  belong. Okay. So bad. Yep. I started saying that I was transferring from another school in the
• 37:57
  same neighborhood. Yep. That was my response to where you from. Sure. And then as I grew all
• 38:04
  there, I realized that wasn't what I wanted to say. Right. I wanted to be proud of who I am.
• 38:10
  I wanted to say I was from South Korea. Sure. And when I said I was from South Korea, I wanted to
• 38:15
  introduce myself. Right. With my Korean name, with the story behind it. Because it's cool.
• 38:20
  What's the story behind your name? So you can't tell me it's cool and not tell me why. So my
• 38:26
  grandfather was a Buddhist monk. Okay. And he could apparently see the future. Okay. Because he was so
• 38:35
  walk. Yep. And I wish I could be Buddhist by the way, but I have to kill the mosquitoes. Oh,
• 38:40
  me too. So it's it's just the mosquitoes. Right. Yeah. Yeah. I couldn't kill anything. Oh,
• 38:46
  unflies. Flies, I wouldn't. My daughter says I'm old. If the Buddha says no, no, no, you cannot
• 38:52
  fly. Wow. Yeah. She's she's better than that. Yeah, she is. Yeah. So my grandfather saw that I was
• 39:01
  going to grow up and be a stubborn young lady. Okay. Which he wasn't completely wrong. But because
• 39:09
  of my nature, he wanted to lock that stubbornness inside a forest. Okay. So my name in Korean means
• 39:16
  clever for it. Oh, amazing. And he basically locked the stubbornness inside of the forest and made
• 39:24
  me clever. That is very cool. Yeah. So much better than I know. Yeah. I feel like my family stays
• 39:32
  with my name. Yep. And just my personality stays with my name and it's just everything that is
• 39:40
  me. Yep. So I didn't want to give that up. And did you feel that when you were henna, you were
• 39:45
  a little less confident? Or yeah, I would I would say so. Okay. Because I wasn't very comfortable
• 39:53
  speaking English. Okay. When I was introducing myself as henna. Sure. So I would think that I was
• 40:01
  more shy. I don't know if it was because it had been a couple of years that I was speaking English
• 40:09
  that I became more confident. Right. Or maybe it was the name. Sure. Yeah. So either way, I'm glad I
• 40:15
  make that sweat. That is it. Yeah. And it's a it's a complex name when you look at it. So when you
• 40:22
  say it, you can say it. It's not hard, but it's not hard. You look lazy as well. Yeah. Like
• 40:27
  with me. So I can just reintroduce myself a few more times. I don't have a problem. But I would
• 40:33
  like to be called her in heaven. Yeah. Very cool. And then when you came to Jamaica, do you think
• 40:38
  that because Jamaicans are so proud? Do you feel that that kind of fueled your pride more
• 40:44
  in South Korea? I think so. Yeah. Now that I think about it, I mean, there's not a place that you go
• 40:51
  that you don't see someone wearing a Jamaican flag. I know. No, that was another big culture shop.
• 40:56
  Oh, yeah. Yeah. And a few weeks after I moved here, I went to the grand gala. Okay. What
• 41:03
  is the grand gala? It's to celebrate the Jamaican independence. Yep. The Ministry of Culture,
• 41:10
  they host this event every year to celebrate Jamaica and to showcase the best things in Jamaica,
• 41:18
  best people, best artists. So I went there in August last year. Okay. And everybody in the state,
• 41:27
  first of all, the stadium was full of people, full of people. I had barely gotten my ticket. It
• 41:33
  was so hard to get a ticket, even though it was a free event because it was such a popular event.
• 41:38
  Everybody was geared up in Jamaican colors, Jamaican outfit. Yep. They were so proud. They were
• 41:45
  proudly singing a bunch of gospel songs, even before the event started or they were singing
• 41:51
  Bob Marley. And the energy that I felt, I'm not even Jamaican, but I felt so proud to be there.
• 41:59
  Like I feel so proud to be part of what was happening. Yep. And I think that really
• 42:04
  fueled my confidence in my culture. And also I wanted to learn more about Jamaica as a country.
• 42:12
  And like, why are they so proud? Yeah, I wanted to find out. Did you find the answer?
• 42:21
  Um, I'm still searching. I mean, I have an idea for it. There's lots of things that people can
• 42:28
  be proud of. Jamaica. But the mindset, I think, is so unique about Jamaica. Like there's other
• 42:37
  countries where there's lots of things that people should be proud of. Like for example,
• 42:44
  my country, I think everybody can be proud to be Korean. But we do get shy. We're not as,
• 42:55
  I guess we're not as proud on the surface level when you look at them.
• 43:01
  So, yeah, it's the attitude, it's the mindset. And they're not afraid to be who they are. So,
• 43:10
  which is very, very unique. Something to be admired. If somebody was thinking about coming to Jamaica
• 43:18
  to live, what would be your advice for them other than searching on LinkedIn? I would say do it.
• 43:25
  Okay. Yeah. Do it. Even if it's just for a year, just do it and find it out yourself
• 43:35
  instead of trusting what's on Google. And if your life was a postcard, what would the picture look like?
• 43:45
  Oh, my life on a postcard. I would definitely be on a beach. Okay. I don't know if I will be in it.
• 43:52
  I would put myself in it. Okay. On the beach, relaxing. But then there will be a lot of things going
• 44:02
  around me, happening around me. Like, I don't know. It could kind of look like an AI-generated picture.
• 44:11
  Okay. So, you would prompt it being like, oh, picture this Korean lady on a Caribbean beach.
• 44:19
  Right. But then there's big cities around her and a whole bunch of diverse people, a lot of
• 44:28
  different foods. Yeah, just a lot going on. But then like, I'm content. Right. I'm relaxed.
• 44:37
  On the sea. Yeah. Are there beaches in Bulgaria? I think you can't access the Black Sea.
• 44:45
  Okay. Yeah, because it borders Turkey. Right. But I have no idea what the beaches there are.
• 44:54
  Like, I would assume that it's nothing like the Caribbean. And when you're leaving, will you be
• 45:00
  packing any Jamaican products that you won't be able to get in Bulgaria? Do you think so? I already bought
• 45:05
  a ton of ginger tea. Oh, really? Yeah. And also coffee, even though I'm not a coffee drinker,
• 45:11
  I think it would be a great gift for anybody that is coming my way. There's little coffee
• 45:16
  like limon drink. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, I don't drink coffee, but I tasted it and I can taste
• 45:21
  the difference. Sure. So, I got some coffee, rum cake, and also some Greek honey.
• 45:29
  And I would like to buy dominoes. Oh, really? Yeah.
• 45:32
  Definitely dominoes? I've played dominoes here for the first time. But do you slap it down
• 45:37
  or do you just say, I'm respectful. Yeah. And dominoes. Oh, I like that. Dominoes, green tea,
• 45:46
  I'm sorry, ginger tea, and coffee. Yeah. Very, very good. Yeah. And then I have some
• 45:52
  few questions for you because I know you like food. Taste the patty or juicy? Taste the
• 45:58
  one hundred, really? Yeah. Tonephically sweet. Why juicy? Why tasty? Because juicy patty is just
• 46:06
  too like bitty bitty on the inside. When I get a tasty chicken patty, there's like actual
• 46:11
  piece of chicken in there. But I think that's a debate to be made. Really? Also depending on the
• 46:17
  location. I mean, let's talk about it. My favorite patty is a curry goat patty from dominoes.
• 46:21
  Oh, the barbecue pork patty from the dominoes is also very yummy. But you choose juicy
• 46:26
  patty. Yeah. It's just cheese. Oh, no, I don't like the cheese patty or mega patty. Have you tried
• 46:31
  it? Yeah. I don't want that. Do you prefer cane juice or coconut water? Coconut water.
• 46:37
  Okay. One hundred percent. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Had you had coconut water a lot before before coming?
• 46:43
  Because when I have coconut water in Southeast Asia, it has a like saltiness to it that I find
• 46:48
  quite different. Yeah. Yeah. I can taste it now. You can. Okay. Yeah. You're coconut water
• 46:52
  connoisseur. I would say so. I've had so many different brands, so many different vendors that I
• 46:59
  got my coconut water from. Yeah. But it's something that I can't live without now. Okay. Yeah.
• 47:04
  So what you can do in Bulgaria? I can tell you for a fact, there's no coconut water. Not fresh coconut
• 47:09
  water, but I'm sure they'll have some in the storage. Yeah. But you can. I'm curry goat or oxeal.
• 47:15
  I don't eat goat. Oh, don't say it. Yeah. With boiled goat. Still. I just never, never really like
• 47:22
  that or lamb. You don't eat lamb either. Okay. So you definitely say oxeal. Yeah. And oxeal
• 47:27
  tastes good. No, oxeal. Yeah. A little expensive, but it's worth it. Very true. Yeah. Who? Well, thank you very much.