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"Google Said Kingston Would Kill Her — She Moved Anyway" · Babes, how did you get here

• 0:00
  Welcome to A Life Elsewhere, where we dive into the real stories behind moving to another country.
• 0:06
  The highs, the lows and everything in between.
• 0:09
  I'm April Jackson and I'll be speaking with Lana, a Lebanese professional who left behind at the buzzing pace of the Middle East to come to the vibrant center of the Caribbean.
• 0:19
  It was work that brought her hair seven years ago, but it is definitely the spirit of Jamaica that keeps her hair.
• 0:25
  And after building a beautiful life for her and her daughter in Kingston, we discuss what it is really like to raise a child far away from home, adjust the island life and ultimately how she's able to belong anywhere in the world.
• 0:40
  Ilana, thank you very much for coming.
• 0:42
  Sure, April.
• 0:43
  Nice to meet you.
• 0:45
  Tell me what brought you to Jamaica?
• 0:48
  I was headhunted.
• 0:49
  Oh.
• 0:50
  I was living in Dubai, and I got a call from a recruiter in the UK, actually.
• 0:55
  Okay.
• 0:56
  And they said, are you interested in a job in Jamaica?
• 1:00
  I said, what?
• 1:01
  Are you calling the right person?
• 1:02
  Yeah.
• 1:04
  Are you sure you're calling me?
• 1:05
  And they said, yes, yes, we're sure we're looking for tax professionals.
• 1:09
  I'm a tax professional.
• 1:11
  And we there's a company there who is hiring.
• 1:16
  And if you're interested, let us know.
• 1:18
  I hung up the phone that day and I was like,
• 1:21
  This doesn't make sense.
• 1:23
  How can someone in the UK call me in Dubai for a job in Jamaica?
• 1:29
  And so, yeah, that's how it started.
• 1:32
  So you're from Lebanon?
• 1:33
  Yes, originally.
• 1:35
  Originally from Lebanon.
• 1:36
  And then you moved to Dubai just for work?
• 1:39
  Yes.
• 1:40
  So I was born in Africa, actually, in Gabon, West Africa.
• 1:45
  We left with my mom there when I was eight.
• 1:49
  I grew up in Lebanon, mainly.
• 1:52
  Did school there and then had my first job in Lebanon.
• 1:55
  And then when I was 30, I felt it was time to change.
• 1:59
  And I moved to Dubai, did a master's, an MBA, and got a job there.
• 2:05
  And I lived there for seven years.
• 2:09
  We're dropping new episodes every single week.
• 2:12
  So make sure you subscribe.
• 2:13
  You don't want to miss this, babes.
• 2:15
  And leave a comment and tell me, what do you want to hear out of my next conversation?
• 2:19
  Your support really helps this community grow.
• 2:21
  And if you know someone who's quietly been thinking, should they take that next big leap?
• 2:25
  Babes, send them the podcast.
• 2:28
  People love children.
• 2:30
  And, you know, they would play with the child even if they don't know the child.
• 2:34
  You know, like they just... My daughter is... She knows people everywhere we go.
• 2:39
  I love it.
• 2:40
  Because she's a sociable person.
• 2:43
  Yeah.
• 2:44
  But also because people are like that with children...
• 2:49
  Like she's known now, if we go from like the common places we go to, people know her by name.
• 2:54
  So say hi to her and she says hi to them.
• 2:57
  Like it's I love that.
• 2:58
  I love this warm feeling of community.
• 3:01
  What do you think that being a child raised in that environment with that really strong sense of community?
• 3:06
  What do you think that does for their development?
• 3:12
  gives them more confidence and self-awareness.
• 3:18
  Yeah, my daughter, her confidence is... Yeah, sometimes I'm like, where do you get that from?
• 3:25
  But yeah, it's when kids communicate with older people with a very comfortable way.
• 3:31
  Yes.
• 3:32
  It actually helps them with their confidence.
• 3:35
  And it's not only kids all the time and, you know, all that.
• 3:38
  Yeah, it's very interesting.
• 3:40
  Before we continue, make sure that you join our community by clicking the link below.
• 3:45
  You will get to choose thumbnails before the episodes go live, pick our next destinations, even recommend guests.
• 3:52
  I really cannot wait for you to help me shape where this podcast goes.
• 3:57
  And then in terms of food and culture, and would you say that although you spent time in Dubai, it's fair to say that culturally you subscribe to Lebanese culture, Lebanese food?
• 4:08
  Yes.
• 4:09
  But no.
• 4:10
  But no.
• 4:11
  Tell me.
• 4:12
  Yeah, I do love my cuisine, right?
• 4:15
  Where I come from.
• 4:16
  But like I told you, I've traveled.
• 4:18
  Yes.
• 4:19
  And I tried a lot of cuisines.
• 4:22
  And yeah, my favorite would be Italian.
• 4:26
  Okay.
• 4:27
  Indian.
• 4:28
  Oh.
• 4:30
  Thai.
• 4:31
  So these are kind of my favorite cuisines.
• 4:33
  I do love the Jamaican cuisine.
• 4:35
  Oh, yeah?
• 4:35
  Yes.
• 4:35
  What do you love about Jamaican food?
• 4:38
  Um, it's tasty.
• 4:39
  I love the coconut milk and everything, you know.
• 4:43
  How are you with spice?
• 4:45
  I love spicy.
• 4:46
  Yeah, yeah.
• 4:48
  I love spicy.
• 4:49
  Is there anything you've eaten that you just can't get your head around?
• 4:53
  There's things I cannot eat.
• 4:55
  Tell me.
• 4:56
  Like, um...
• 5:00
  what's that called?
• 5:01
  Ox tail.
• 5:02
  Oh, really?
• 5:04
  That's the thought of it.
• 5:05
  Ox tail, like what are we eating?
• 5:10
  Or cow food.
• 5:11
  Okay.
• 5:11
  No, that's not happening.
• 5:14
  What about chicken food?
• 5:15
  No, not happening.
• 5:17
  No food.
• 5:21
  What is your favorite Jamaican dish?
• 5:23
  Ah, my favorite.
• 5:27
  I do love a nice kalaloo.
• 5:28
  Okay.
• 5:31
  Salty and, you know, nice with some vegetables.
• 5:34
  I also recently started eating meat again.
• 5:39
  I was vegan and vegetarian for more than eight years.
• 5:42
  Okay.
• 5:43
  Why did you start eating meat again?
• 5:46
  I...
• 5:48
  When I was pregnant, I started craving meat.
• 5:50
  Oh, really?
• 5:51
  But I craved shawarma only.
• 5:53
  OK. And can you get shawarma here?
• 5:57
  You can.
• 5:57
  OK.
• 5:58
  It's not like the most amazing thing, but you can.
• 6:01
  What's missing?
• 6:01
  What makes great shawarma?
• 6:03
  When it's on the thing, you know?
• 6:05
  And you have shaving it off.
• 6:07
  Yes.
• 6:08
  And in Beirut, you stand on the street, and they put the bread, and they put the garlic sauce, and then they shave it on the bread.
• 6:18
  Oh my gosh, yeah.
• 6:19
  That experience is something else.
• 6:22
  You need to do a jerk-influenced shawarma.
• 6:25
  That would be you.
• 6:26
  Oh, yeah.
• 6:27
  So you were craving me when you were pregnant?
• 6:31
  I was, but I didn't give in to it until, I think, two and a half years after.
• 6:36
  Oh, really?
• 6:38
  You know when you're vegan?
• 6:40
  Sorry.
• 6:41
  you live with guilt okay oh like of not being vegan again right anymore yeah whilst you were living here initially you were vegan yeah I was vegan for all time always being vegan in Jamaica is there yeah because a lot of people don't know what like I tell food and
• 7:00
  Oh yeah, it's great.
• 7:01
  I love it.
• 7:02
  Even when I had my restaurant, they'd be like, oh, but is there a vegan option?
• 7:06
  They have this idea that in Jamaica we only eat currywota and rice and beans.
• 7:10
  And direct chicken.
• 7:10
  Yeah, no, it's great.
• 7:12
  I love the Aital.
• 7:14
  The Aital places, some of them are great.
• 7:16
  Really, they have great options.
• 7:19
  I used to eat fish.
• 7:21
  So I was pescetarian mostly.
• 7:22
  I moved here vegan and then I became pescetarian.
• 7:25
  Okay.
• 7:27
  And just this year I started eating meat.
• 7:29
  Eating meat?
• 7:30
  Are you still feeling guilty?
• 7:32
  No, no, no.
• 7:34
  So when I started eating is when I got rid of the guilt.
• 7:37
  I was like, I'm down.
• 7:39
  I'm not living the guilt life.
• 7:40
  Oh, that's too great.
• 7:42
  And then is there anything that you missed food-wise that you couldn't get here?
• 7:47
  Yeah, some things that I used to get my mom to bring.
• 7:52
  Because my mom visited me a few times.
• 7:54
  What did you bring to me?
• 7:55
  The Lebanese Zata.
• 7:56
  I don't know if you know about it.
• 7:57
  Zata?
• 7:58
  It's in the seasoning?
• 7:59
  Yes.
• 7:59
  Okay.
• 8:00
  It's the time, the dry time when the...
• 8:03
  sesame seeds okay yeah that is something i always needed but i found that place here that can also um uh i can buy from but my mom used to roast it herself so that's yeah i used to love that so i used to get that from her um other things
• 8:21
  Like the sweets we have in Lebanon, like the baklava and all that.
• 8:26
  I find baklava really, really sweet.
• 8:28
  Very sweet.
• 8:29
  Like I actually now can't eat it anymore.
• 8:31
  Oh really?
• 8:32
  Like before, yeah.
• 8:33
  But I still would enjoy one, you know?
• 8:36
  Yeah.
• 8:38
  Yeah, those things I still miss or I find that it's not that easy.
• 8:43
  You can find them, but they're not the same quality.
• 8:45
  Sure.
• 8:46
  Is there anything that surprises you still about living in Jamaica?
• 8:53
  Yes.
• 8:54
  Oh.
• 8:58
  How people are always late.
• 9:00
  It still surprises me.
• 9:03
  But not even just like a little bit late.
• 9:05
  No, fashionably late.
• 9:06
  Yep.
• 9:06
  Like...
• 9:08
  I remember once I was having dinner at my house.
• 9:10
  I still go early to events.
• 9:11
  Really?
• 9:12
  That's why I still get ready, get there on time, or if like, you know, five minutes later of the time, and then I have to wait an hour for people to...
• 9:23
  I had dinner, and I invited my family over for dinner, and my aunt was like an hour and a half late, and I was really irritated, because it's dinner.
• 9:30
  You've made the food to eat now.
• 9:32
  And she said, oh, but you should have told me that you wanted me to come on time.
• 9:35
  Yeah.
• 9:36
  But I told you the time.
• 9:38
  Yeah, the lateness is real.
• 9:40
  Yeah, it's real.
• 9:41
  And it's, you know, they're not apologetic about it.
• 9:45
  It's just, you know, it's your fault that it's your fault.
• 9:47
  Why did you come so early?
• 9:50
  But I would say there are places where maybe I would not feel that much at ease.
• 9:57
  You know, if culture doesn't fit.
• 10:03
  Sure.
• 10:03
  Or mentality of people.
• 10:08
  or if there's racism you know those things that can pull you away and make you feel like an outsider did you ever feel that you're an outsider or was it just always no no never even though the funny thing I don't know if we can say that the funny thing is that people think I'm white but I'm not white right
• 10:32
  So Jamaican, you're white.
• 10:33
  To Jamaican, I'm white.
• 10:35
  But I'm not.
• 10:35
  I'm Middle Eastern.
• 10:37
  And I'm actually from the Levant.
• 10:39
  So that's my ethnicity, you know.
• 10:42
  And so, yeah, but people don't get that.
• 10:45
  So, yeah, I'm white here, apparently.
• 10:48
  How was the move to Dubai from Lebanon different or similar to moving from Dubai to Jamaica?
• 10:55
  Pretty much.
• 10:56
  The same.
• 10:56
  Pretty much because when I moved to Dubai, I did my master's first.
• 11:01
  Right.
• 11:02
  And so it was an international business school.
• 11:04
  Okay.
• 11:04
  And there was people from all over the world.
• 11:06
  Yes.
• 11:06
  So we made friends quickly and we had a group of people all the time together.
• 11:11
  So there was a support system immediately.
• 11:14
  A few quick fire questions.
• 11:16
  Tasty or juicy patty?
• 11:21
  You don't like patty?
• 11:23
  I do, but I just don't know the difference.
• 11:26
  So any patty is fine?
• 11:29
  I mean, I think juicy is better.
• 11:32
  But you're not that convinced.
• 11:33
  But I'm not convinced.
• 11:35
  I can't remember the difference in the taste.
• 11:38
  Well, I was going to say, I could go to Oxlil, but you don't want Oxlil.
• 11:41
  Yeah, have you ever tasted the gravy?
• 11:43
  No.
• 11:44
  It's so good.
• 11:45
  So hold on, in Lebanon you don't do like head or nose.
• 11:49
  The funny thing is that, if I tell you this funny story, is that my mom, when we were in Gabon, I remember that my dad, they used to do, they used to slaughter and put in the freezer, right?
• 12:04
  And my mom used to use everything from the cow or the sheep or whatever they slaughter, even the head.
• 12:11
  And so I remember that vividly, like a big pot with all these things in it and being boiled.
• 12:21
  And then we would eat the tongue and the brain.
• 12:25
  I used to love the brain, apparently, when I was a kid.
• 12:30
  Now I can't imagine eating it.
• 12:31
  I don't know why.
• 12:33
  But yeah, it's funny.
• 12:35
  I don't know.
• 12:36
  It's not like to judge anything.
• 12:39
  I've done worse, but I still can't imagine eating an oxtail.
• 12:43
  I don't know why.
• 12:43
  Like, it's funny.
• 12:44
  Do you prefer cane juice or coconut water?
• 12:47
  Coconut water.
• 12:49
  Red stripe or rum?
• 12:50
  Red stripe.
• 12:51
  Yum or cassava?
• 12:53
  Cassava.
• 12:54
  Very cool.
• 12:54
  Thank you very much for your time.
• 12:56
  Thank you.