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Headhunted to Jamaica: How a Random Call Changed My Life & Made Me Stay 7 Years · Babes, how did you get here

• 0:00
  So you tell your family I'm moving to Jamaica, what is their reaction?
• 0:03
  Really?
• 0:04
  Yeah.
• 0:05
  Shock, but my mom is amazing in terms of letting us spread our range.
• 0:10
  And I remember when I told my best friend, her husband said to me,
• 0:13
  or he was sitting there, like, and he really Googled it immediately.
• 0:17
  And he said,
• 0:18
  Nana, Simpson is the most dangerous city in the world.
• 0:23
  Like, that's exactly where I'm going.
• 0:25
  Yeah.
• 0:26
  I laughed and I said,
• 0:27
  well, yeah, that's what Google says.
• 0:32
  But yeah, I was surprised when I came in.
• 0:34
  And I never felt isolated.
• 0:37
  It's very weird.
• 0:38
  I say that to everyone, especially people who would never live here.
• 0:41
  Welcome to a live elsewhere where we dive into the real stories
• 0:45
  behind moving to another country,
• 0:47
  the highs, the lows, and everything in between.
• 0:50
  I'm April Jackson and I'll be speaking with Lana,
• 0:53
  a Lebanese professional who left behind the buzzing pace of the Middle East
• 0:58
  to come to the vibrant center of the Caribbean.
• 1:00
  It was work that brought her hair seven years ago,
• 1:03
  but this is definitely the spirit of Jamaica that keeps her hair.
• 1:07
  And after building a beautiful life for her and her daughter in Kingston,
• 1:11
  we discuss what it is really like to raise a child far away from home,
• 1:15
  adjust the item life and ultimately how she's able to belong anywhere in the world.
• 1:22
  Lana, thank you very much for coming.
• 1:24
  Sure, April, nice to meet you.
• 1:26
  Tell me what brought you to Jamaica.
• 1:29
  I was headhunted.
• 1:32
  I was living in Dubai and I got a call from a recruiter in the UK, actually.
• 1:37
  And they said, are you interested in a job in Dubai and in Jamaica?
• 1:41
  I said, what are you calling the right person?
• 1:45
  Are you sure you're calling me?
• 1:47
  And they said, yes, yes, we're sure we're looking for tax professionals.
• 1:51
  I'm a tax professional.
• 1:53
  And there's a company there who is hiring and if you're interested, let us know.
• 1:59
  I hung up the phone that day and I was like, this doesn't make sense.
• 2:04
  How can someone in the UK call me in Dubai for a job in Jamaica?
• 2:10
  And so yeah, that's how it started.
• 2:13
  So you're from Lebanon?
• 2:15
  Yes, originally from Lebanon.
• 2:17
  And then you moved to Dubai just for work?
• 2:20
  Yes.
• 2:21
  So I was born in Africa, actually, in Gabon, West Africa.
• 2:26
  We left with my mom there when I was eight.
• 2:30
  I grew up in Lebanon, mainly.
• 2:33
  I did school there and then had my first job in Lebanon.
• 2:36
  And then when I was 30, I felt it was time to change.
• 2:40
  Okay.
• 2:41
  And I moved to Dubai, did the masters, and MBA.
• 2:45
  And got a job there and I ended up there for seven years.
• 2:48
  Okay.
• 2:49
  And when you got that call initially from the head on toe,
• 2:52
  had you felt like it was time to leave Dubai?
• 2:54
  Yes.
• 2:55
  Oh, you did.
• 2:56
  I was feeling it like for a couple of years.
• 2:58
  Oh, really?
• 2:59
  Yeah, like I need to change, I need something different.
• 3:01
  You know what I was happy there?
• 3:03
  Yeah.
• 3:04
  And it was like, it was a good life.
• 3:06
  I have to say.
• 3:07
  And I was traveling around, you know, from Dubai, it's so easy to travel.
• 3:10
  Right.
• 3:11
  So easy to go anywhere because of, you know, the airline there that is connected to everywhere in the world.
• 3:18
  So I used to travel a lot and it was, it was a good thing to be living there to be able to do that.
• 3:24
  But then I felt like, you know, the life, you know, I believe life is phases.
• 3:29
  Okay.
• 3:30
  So like I was, when I first moved there, I needed that type of life.
• 3:35
  But after seven years, I felt like I need something different.
• 3:38
  Okay.
• 3:39
  And so, yeah, when I think I manifested it.
• 3:46
  Because I was trying, I was starting to think that, you know, it's time to live.
• 3:51
  And I started looking at options.
• 3:53
  I wasn't actively looking.
• 3:55
  Okay.
• 3:56
  But then I started getting cool.
• 3:58
  Okay.
• 3:59
  So, yeah, it kind of, the universe heard me.
• 4:02
  And it just started happening.
• 4:04
  And then when this call came, made me think, what are we doing here?
• 4:10
  Like, is the universe telling me I need to move all across the world?
• 4:14
  So, yeah, that's what I have.
• 4:16
  Had you heard of Jamaica before?
• 4:18
  Just pulled Marley.
• 4:19
  Okay.
• 4:20
  But you had not any expectations about life.
• 4:24
  No, nothing at all.
• 4:26
  But what's here when I did my research, I was like, okay, that's, you know, island life.
• 4:32
  I've never lived that.
• 4:34
  Sure.
• 4:35
  I've never experienced it.
• 4:37
  And also.
• 4:38
  Okay, babe.
• 4:39
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• 4:41
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• 4:44
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• 4:51
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• 4:55
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• 5:02
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• 5:07
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• 5:12
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• 5:16
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• 5:20
  I remember Africa.
• 5:22
  I remember West Africa because we used to go there also when I was older.
• 5:26
  Yes.
• 5:27
  And so, yeah, I remember when I first moved here, I felt like I fit in.
• 5:32
  Okay.
• 5:33
  And when you said you were doing research, so the seeds get planted that maybe Jamaica could be an option, right?
• 5:40
  Maybe that's where the universe is sending you.
• 5:42
  What does one look for?
• 5:43
  What are we like, who are we talking to?
• 5:45
  Are we just online?
• 5:46
  I remember when I had my first interview with the company, hiring me, I did ask them,
• 5:54
  I said, I want to talk to a next spot.
• 5:56
  Okay.
• 5:57
  Who moved to Jamaica?
• 5:58
  What was working with you?
• 5:59
  I want to have a conversation just to see about their experience.
• 6:03
  Yeah.
• 6:04
  And that happened.
• 6:05
  What are the things that you're asking?
• 6:08
  Like daily life, safety.
• 6:12
  Okay.
• 6:13
  Even though that wasn't a big concern to me, but it's a question.
• 6:16
  So, you know, you ask if you want to move anywhere in the world.
• 6:21
  And then, yeah, just like in general, like housing arrangements.
• 6:27
  Things like, like I just wanted to know how our people living, what are the facilities and all that.
• 6:33
  Is there anything during your research you did that was concerning?
• 6:37
  That made you think.
• 6:38
  I remember when I told my best friend, her husband said to me,
• 6:44
  or he was sitting there and he googled it immediately.
• 6:48
  And he said, oh no, Kingston is the most dangerous city in the world.
• 6:54
  You're like, that's exactly where I'm going.
• 6:56
  Yeah.
• 6:57
  I laughed and I said, well, yeah, that's what Google says.
• 7:02
  But yeah, I was surprised when I came in and I never felt unsafe.
• 7:07
  So really, it's very weird.
• 7:09
  I say that to everyone, especially people who never lived here.
• 7:12
  Yeah.
• 7:13
  And I told them, like, I never really felt unsafe.
• 7:18
  Yeah, even like if I walk in downtown, because I always worked in downtown.
• 7:22
  Okay.
• 7:23
  So in my first job with a company job brought me here.
• 7:27
  And now with my current job.
• 7:31
  And people think, like, there's a lot of German kids who don't come to downtown even.
• 7:37
  But I don't, I walk.
• 7:39
  I walk.
• 7:40
  I'm fine.
• 7:41
  You know, you know, I can manage.
• 7:44
  So yeah, no, I don't feel unsafe at all.
• 7:47
  Cool.
• 7:48
  And when you were in Dubai at the time, is your family still living in Lebanon?
• 7:54
  No, there was one sister in the UAE as well.
• 7:58
  Okay.
• 7:59
  Not in Dubai.
• 8:00
  And there was my mom was in Lebanon.
• 8:03
  Okay.
• 8:04
  Yes.
• 8:05
  And I had two sisters.
• 8:06
  There was one also in Kuwait.
• 8:08
  I can't remember the timeline.
• 8:10
  So people are all my sisters were travelers.
• 8:12
  So what's been our assistance for?
• 8:14
  Okay.
• 8:15
  Yeah.
• 8:16
  That's amazing.
• 8:17
  No brothers.
• 8:18
  No.
• 8:19
  I'm just going.
• 8:20
  So you tell your family, I'm moving to Jamaica.
• 8:22
  What is their reaction?
• 8:23
  Shock.
• 8:24
  Really?
• 8:25
  Yeah.
• 8:26
  Shock.
• 8:27
  But my mom is amazing in terms of letting us spread our rings.
• 8:34
  Like she's like that.
• 8:36
  And so she didn't have, she doesn't, she didn't say no.
• 8:41
  Okay.
• 8:42
  Or like, oh my god, I'm scared.
• 8:43
  Right.
• 8:44
  But she was like, what's your plan?
• 8:45
  How come you don't want to stay in Dubai?
• 8:48
  And so I explained to her.
• 8:49
  And yeah, like she, she was like, okay, I hope it would be good for you, you know?
• 8:56
  And you know, I'm an adult.
• 8:58
  I can decide from 12.
• 9:00
  Of course, I'm sure in her heart she was worried maybe.
• 9:03
  Okay.
• 9:05
  So new.
• 9:06
  It's all new somewhere.
• 9:07
  She's never been or I've never been.
• 9:10
  Yeah.
• 9:11
  But the funny thing is that she came after two months.
• 9:13
  Okay.
• 9:14
  Of me being here.
• 9:15
  Really?
• 9:16
  Yeah.
• 9:17
  She's like, I'm doing my visa and I'm coming to check on you.
• 9:22
  And she came, yeah.
• 9:24
  And what was her impression when she looked at it?
• 9:26
  Yeah.
• 9:27
  She was impressed.
• 9:28
  She was happy.
• 9:29
  Like she liked where I lived.
• 9:30
  Okay.
• 9:31
  I took her all over the island.
• 9:32
  Even though I was new here and I was like driving on the right side of the road for the
• 9:38
  first time in my life.
• 9:39
  But I drove all over the island.
• 9:41
  Sure.
• 9:42
  It took her to the beaches and the resorts.
• 9:45
  She enjoyed it a lot.
• 9:47
  Yeah.
• 9:48
  So then you get here and just before you come, what are you expecting from your life, your
• 9:53
  new life?
• 9:55
  Uh, adventure.
• 9:57
  Okay.
• 9:58
  Yeah.
• 9:59
  I was just learning about this culture.
• 10:03
  And, uh, yeah, just living.
• 10:06
  That's something about me that I've always had.
• 10:09
  Uh, is that whenever I go to live, I live.
• 10:13
  Okay.
• 10:14
  I don't reminisce on the past or where I was or my country.
• 10:18
  Sure.
• 10:19
  Just live, you know.
• 10:21
  And buy the paintings and hang them on the wall.
• 10:23
  You know, I just make my place a home and I, yeah, I just live.
• 10:28
  So that's, that was easy to settle.
• 10:31
  Okay.
• 10:32
  So it's easy.
• 10:33
  And in the beginning, was there anything that was particularly different about living in
• 10:37
  Jamaica compared to Dubai?
• 10:39
  Oh, definitely.
• 10:41
  Definitely.
• 10:42
  Oh, yeah.
• 10:44
  Dubai, there's an easy list.
• 10:47
  Of living.
• 10:48
  Okay.
• 10:49
  And Dubai.
• 10:50
  I don't know now.
• 10:51
  Maybe it's a bit different.
• 10:52
  At the time.
• 10:53
  Yeah.
• 10:54
  Yeah.
• 10:55
  There is this, um, what does easyness mean?
• 10:58
  Like, things can just, like, you can just do things.
• 11:03
  Okay.
• 11:04
  You know, like if you have an errand, okay, don't really plan for it.
• 11:09
  You just go do it at its own.
• 11:11
  I don't know how to explain it more than that.
• 11:13
  But it's more of like, um, everything is easy.
• 11:16
  If you have something to do with the government.
• 11:18
  Okay.
• 11:19
  It doesn't take you the whole day.
• 11:20
  Yes.
• 11:21
  The bank doesn't take forever.
• 11:23
  The bank doesn't take forever.
• 11:24
  Everything is more, um, like, developed, I would say.
• 11:33
  I mean, organized, maybe efficient.
• 11:36
  Yeah.
• 11:37
  It's a better word.
• 11:39
  Um, but yeah, I mean, that was a bit, but that's not something that bothers Moon.
• 11:44
  Sure.
• 11:45
  In terms of, I don't want to live here.
• 11:46
  Right.
• 11:47
  It doesn't matter, you know, because it can affect your day to day lives.
• 11:51
  But it doesn't make me want to please show.
• 11:55
  Yeah.
• 11:56
  Is there anything that you had to deal with, maybe when you just, how long have you been here now?
• 12:00
  Seven years.
• 12:01
  Seven years.
• 12:02
  Okay.
• 12:03
  So it's been, it's been a good stretch.
• 12:04
  Yeah.
• 12:05
  Is there anything other than administrative that you had to get used to, like, your life?
• 12:10
  For example, I don't know, traffic.
• 12:14
  Traffic, it's fine.
• 12:15
  If she was driven in Beirut, you can drive anywhere.
• 12:19
  So it's fine.
• 12:20
  Um, maybe the way sometimes people talk.
• 12:27
  Okay.
• 12:28
  Yeah.
• 12:29
  It's something you have to get used to.
• 12:33
  Yeah.
• 12:34
  That was different.
• 12:35
  Yeah.
• 12:36
  It's, it's sound.
• 12:38
  It's very honest.
• 12:41
  Okay.
• 12:42
  Yes.
• 12:43
  I mean, I like honesty and I'm blunt also.
• 12:47
  I'm someone with direct and everyone but, yeah, there's even the new direct.
• 12:51
  It's a level of honesty that is a bit shocking and it's just like, oh, you gained weight.
• 13:00
  Oh, you know, those things.
• 13:02
  People all the time, if you go away and you come back and like, you have put on weight,
• 13:06
  the first thing people say to you, oh, you get so fat.
• 13:08
  Yeah.
• 13:09
  Hello.
• 13:10
  No one cares what you're feeling.
• 13:12
  Yes.
• 13:13
  That level of honesty is, uh, what's shocking?
• 13:16
  But, I mean, you get used to it.
• 13:18
  Sure.
• 13:19
  Cultures, different cultures, anywhere.
• 13:20
  It's funny because a lot of people knew from the UK to Dubai.
• 13:24
  And one of the things that they say when they're saying they're appeal about Dubai is that,
• 13:29
  you know, it's so service-oriented, it's so hospitable and they love the hospitality.
• 13:34
  And I think I always say that the starting point is really important because if you're coming from London,
• 13:40
  to be honest, any hospitality is going to feel absolutely amazing because there's no one.
• 13:44
  But coming from Drake, I've been to Dubai for five times.
• 13:47
  Yeah.
• 13:48
  And the last time in particular with my kids, I felt that the hospitality was more service.
• 13:54
  And what I mean by that is that I felt that people who are working within tourism are doing things
• 13:59
  because they have to, like, in terms of, like, they're taking off the things that they've been trained to do.
• 14:04
  But it lacked a sense of, like, genuine work.
• 14:08
  And I think because I'm used to Jamaica, where in the supermarket, for example, since I've been here,
• 14:13
  all of a sudden, my girls are tying onto my leg and I'm going on and I try to roll,
• 14:17
  and then ladies are paying hide and seek with the floor inside the supermarket.
• 14:21
  Which, to me, it's like the difference between hospitality, like, genuine work,
• 14:27
  and service is, I'm doing my job and I have to do my job to get paid.
• 14:31
  With a smile, even if it's a fake smile is there.
• 14:34
  And I just wondered, would you agree with that?
• 14:36
  Or did you feel that your time in Dubai, you would say, that's used to annoy me?
• 14:41
  Oh, really?
• 14:42
  Yeah. I mean, the service, like you said, is great.
• 14:44
  But yeah, that fakeness was, yeah, I've been triggering in the end for me.
• 14:49
  And it was one of the main reasons I wanted to leave.
• 14:53
  I mean, the fakeness of even the buildings, of scenery, of everything.
• 14:58
  And I'm not putting shade on Dubai.
• 15:00
  Sure, I love it.
• 15:01
  I loved it at the time.
• 15:03
  And I'm grateful I had the opportunity to go there and live there.
• 15:07
  But it's just that phase of my life.
• 15:09
  I was, yeah, I was done with it.
• 15:11
  And what you mentioned about your children playing hide and seek with,
• 15:15
  I love that about how here people love children.
• 15:21
  And they would play with a child, even if they don't know the child.
• 15:26
  My daughter knows people everywhere we go.
• 15:31
  I love her.
• 15:32
  Because she's a sociable person.
• 15:36
  But also, because people are like that with children.
• 15:41
  Like she's known now.
• 15:43
  Like the common places we go to, people know her by name.
• 15:46
  So say hi to her and she says hi to them.
• 15:48
  Like it's, I love that.
• 15:50
  I love this warm feeling of community.
• 15:53
  What do you think that being a child raised in that environment
• 15:56
  with that really strong sense of community?
• 15:58
  What do you think that does for their life development?
• 16:03
  It gives them more confidence in and sense of awareness.
• 16:10
  Yeah, my daughter, her confidence.
• 16:14
  Yeah, sometimes I'm like, where do you get that from?
• 16:17
  But yeah, it's when, when kids communicate with older people
• 16:21
  with a very comfortable way.
• 16:23
  Yes.
• 16:24
  It actually helps them with their confidence.
• 16:26
  And it's not only kids all the time and you know, all that.
• 16:30
  Yeah, it's, it's very interesting.
• 16:32
  It's very, when you came, did you have a fixed contract?
• 16:35
  Was it supposed to be temporary or was it?
• 16:37
  No, so it's basically the arrangement with the expats.
• 16:41
  Yeah, this company was that you have a two year contract
• 16:44
  was renewable.
• 16:45
  Okay.
• 16:46
  So I renewed it for a second time and that was it.
• 16:49
  Like two times.
• 16:50
  Did you have a plan that you were going to stay as long as the seven years?
• 16:54
  Well, as in when you just came or you were just completely open.
• 16:56
  I had no plan.
• 16:57
  I had no plan.
• 16:58
  I still live my life like that without a plan, really.
• 17:02
  Yeah, it's, yeah, I just came and I said I will sing.
• 17:06
  Where life takes you.
• 17:07
  Okay.
• 17:08
  Yeah.
• 17:09
  Yeah, and I'm still here.
• 17:12
  When I left this company that actually brought me.
• 17:15
  Sure.
• 17:16
  When I wasn't with them anymore, I took a year off.
• 17:19
  Okay.
• 17:20
  In that year, I said, am I staying or am I in pain?
• 17:23
  And it was such a hard decision to make because I love being here.
• 17:28
  But also, I'm like, I have to work.
• 17:30
  Right.
• 17:31
  I'm not going to provide for myself and my daughter.
• 17:34
  Sure.
• 17:35
  So.
• 17:36
  So yeah, it was a phase of really kind of evaluating if I love Jamaica.
• 17:45
  And yeah, it was hard to say to myself, let me look at jobs in other places or move to
• 17:53
  where my sisters are.
• 17:54
  You know, like it was hard.
• 17:56
  And I think it's because I really love being here.
• 17:59
  I love the life.
• 18:02
  This is the phase I'm at right now.
• 18:05
  We never know.
• 18:06
  Sure.
• 18:07
  But yeah, this is what I mean.
• 18:08
  And when you say you love the life, what does that mean?
• 18:10
  The simplicity.
• 18:11
  Okay.
• 18:12
  Yeah, the simplicity of it.
• 18:15
  How we have this little routine every Saturday.
• 18:19
  So, you know, we have a small community of friends that, you know, we know the people we say
• 18:25
  hide to everywhere we go.
• 18:28
  Yeah, it's just that is something I like.
• 18:32
  And to go and live in like Canada or where my sisters are now.
• 18:39
  I won't have that.
• 18:40
  I would have my sisters for sure, which is an amazing thing.
• 18:44
  But the wider community.
• 18:46
  But yeah, but not, yeah, I will not have that because, you know, it's totally different culture.
• 18:54
  But also in those countries, you have to really live so close to where.
• 18:59
  If you want to be close to family.
• 19:01
  Sure.
• 19:02
  You can't live half an hour.
• 19:03
  I wish.
• 19:04
  You have to be on the same street.
• 19:05
  On the same street.
• 19:06
  Otherwise, you will not see each other.
• 19:08
  So, you maybe you'll see each other every once a month or something.
• 19:12
  Yeah.
• 19:13
  Which doesn't make sense, right?
• 19:15
  So yeah, I mean, it's, it's so.
• 19:18
  Yeah, I love the simplicity here.
• 19:21
  I love the routine we create.
• 19:24
  I love the closeness of the meat.
• 19:27
  I love the water and it terrifies me at the same time.
• 19:32
  I also love how the people are just, you know, genuine show, you know, even if it sometimes irritates me.
• 19:41
  But they're genuine.
• 19:43
  Yeah, I love that.
• 19:45
  That period, the first time you were considering about your move or was there a time when you came and something happened that you thought,
• 19:52
  Oh, how I made the right decision.
• 19:54
  It was the first time.
• 19:56
  And it was purely from, you know, from a financial perspective.
• 20:00
  Like, will I find a job here?
• 20:02
  Will I be able to create something here and stay or will I have to leave?
• 20:06
  Was your baby born here?
• 20:08
  Yes.
• 20:09
  How was that home?
• 20:10
  That's amazing.
• 20:13
  And what was the process like in terms of being pregnant in Jamaica, where you at all, at that point, thinking maybe I needed to,
• 20:19
  because some people have this idea that you can't have kids here, that you must go foreign to have babies.
• 20:25
  I just wondered what was that.
• 20:27
  I didn't think like that at all.
• 20:29
  And I had planned on a home birth.
• 20:31
  Okay.
• 20:32
  And so yeah, I didn't want to go to the hospital.
• 20:34
  Okay.
• 20:35
  Here or foreign.
• 20:36
  Sure.
• 20:38
  So yeah, I planned on home births.
• 20:40
  It was great.
• 20:41
  My pregnancy was great.
• 20:42
  Yeah.
• 20:43
  I actually loved being pregnant.
• 20:44
  Clearly.
• 20:45
  I hated being pregnant.
• 20:46
  Really?
• 20:47
  Oh, of course.
• 20:48
  I loved it.
• 20:49
  I was like, I had 21 weeks to 23 weeks of the only time I was on vomiting.
• 20:54
  I was vomiting six to eight times a day.
• 20:56
  They had to put me on a drip.
• 20:57
  It was mad.
• 20:58
  It was awful.
• 20:59
  You had this condition and what's called?
• 21:02
  For your climate job.
• 21:03
  You had it?
• 21:04
  Yes.
• 21:06
  That's all another story.
• 21:07
  It was an emergency c-section.
• 21:09
  I said, so you're calling me and tell me when?
• 21:11
  No, it's an emergency.
• 21:13
  But between the 21 weeks and 23, I was actually here.
• 21:16
  So it was during COVID.
• 21:18
  And I came here and being pregnant in Jamaica was incredible.
• 21:22
  Because people care.
• 21:24
  Right?
• 21:25
  Like in England, they have these badges on the train.
• 21:27
  And it says like, baby on board.
• 21:29
  So that when you're on the train, people can see the badge and offer you a seat.
• 21:33
  And people don't offer you the seat.
• 21:35
  They just pretend that they don't see that your big stomach is like in their way.
• 21:39
  And then I come here and I remember one time going to get a patty.
• 21:43
  And the security said, Mom, I'm coming true.
• 21:45
  Mom, I'm coming true.
• 21:46
  Oh, no, it's okay.
• 21:47
  I don't mind.
• 21:48
  No.
• 21:49
  And like takes me to the front of the line.
• 21:50
  I was in the supermarket.
• 21:51
  I'm not think that I drew it in.
• 21:52
  I had two things in my hand.
• 21:53
  It was not a show.
• 21:54
  It was not heavy.
• 21:55
  Yeah.
• 21:56
  And the cashier looks up.
• 21:57
  I don't know how she was seemingly lying.
• 21:58
  And she says, no, you have to sit down.
• 22:00
  Yeah.
• 22:01
  And then she says, I'm not working here without moving the line.
• 22:04
  And you're not taking my ass.
• 22:05
  I said, okay.
• 22:06
  So I think that's the same thing.
• 22:07
  I'm the cashier.
• 22:08
  I was like, yes, I had the same experience.
• 22:11
  Even when my daughter was born and if I'm holding her going to do stuff, let's say,
• 22:17
  like when we did her passport or stuff like that, like, you know, go through the line.
• 22:22
  And like, all these things, yeah, it's crazy.
• 22:24
  It's actually incredible.
• 22:25
  But you forget, like, even having grown up in that.
• 22:28
  And then you go to other countries.
• 22:30
  And sometimes you have a sense of longing.
• 22:34
  But you don't even know what you're longing for.
• 22:36
  What, yes.
• 22:37
  And then when you come back, you're like, this was it.
• 22:39
  Like, this is what I was missing.
• 22:41
  Yeah.
• 22:42
  Yeah.
• 22:43
  And I don't think people can really appreciate it until they experience it.
• 22:45
  Yeah.
• 22:46
  And some people take up a grant.
• 22:47
  It's all a hundred percent.
• 22:48
  Yeah.
• 22:49
  And because they don't know what just what's going to happen in foreign and all,
• 22:53
  like, and then they're shocked there.
• 22:55
  Does your daughter consider herself a dragon?
• 22:58
  Or does she?
• 22:59
  Yeah.
• 23:00
  Yeah.
• 23:01
  I keep telling her you're half of an easter.
• 23:04
  But yeah, she's a dragon.
• 23:06
  Yeah.
• 23:07
  She behaves Jamaican.
• 23:09
  And what would you say in terms of education and raising your daughter?
• 23:14
  I think I have an issue with education system anywhere in the world.
• 23:18
  Okay.
• 23:19
  So it's not just Jamaica.
• 23:22
  But if I want to talk about the education system in Jamaica in general,
• 23:26
  yeah, I'm not with crazy studying and tests and standardized testing anywhere.
• 23:34
  Anyway, but here it can also be more like,
• 23:42
  it's something that I don't like because it can create classes as well.
• 23:47
  Okay.
• 23:48
  Like, I don't know if you know about PEP.
• 23:51
  No, I don't know about that.
• 23:53
  It's a test for kids to go from...
• 23:56
  Oh, it's for Jesus.
• 23:58
  But it's no longer Jesus.
• 24:00
  They call it PEP.
• 24:01
  So it's grade six.
• 24:02
  Yeah, to take it to get high school.
• 24:04
  Yes.
• 24:05
  And it's literally old.
• 24:06
  Yeah.
• 24:07
  It's called Jesus out there.
• 24:08
  So that system is...
• 24:10
  Yeah, it's a bit disturbing to me because it's like based on your grades,
• 24:15
  you know, they chose the high school in 2002 and...
• 24:19
  How does it work elsewhere?
• 24:22
  Like in Lebanon, we do have a test.
• 24:24
  It's in that we do, but it's just to rank you and to see like your level.
• 24:29
  Okay.
• 24:30
  But you choose where to go.
• 24:31
  Oh, really?
• 24:32
  Yeah.
• 24:33
  Okay.
• 24:34
  Because even public school in Lebanon, you basically go to the public school where you live,
• 24:39
  like in your district.
• 24:42
  If you want to go to private school, you choose the private school.
• 24:46
  But here, it's...
• 24:49
  Yeah, it's like you can't get to a private high school unless you have certain grades.
• 24:54
  Sure.
• 24:55
  And yeah, that's a bit...
• 24:58
  It's just kind of classes or filters show in a way.
• 25:02
  Yeah, I don't like that.
• 25:05
  And I always said, my daughter, if she's a natural, if she's, you know...
• 25:09
  If she studies easily, I'm not going to be putting tutors for her to pass the PEP.
• 25:15
  I'm not doing that.
• 25:17
  So if she is a natural, then that's fine.
• 25:20
  But if she's not, I'm not going to stress her out.
• 25:22
  Oh, sure.
• 25:23
  Yeah.
• 25:24
  But I did find a school where like now she goes to that, you know, I'm happy with their
• 25:30
  program because they have two days of the week outdoor school.
• 25:34
  Okay.
• 25:35
  Because it's for a school.
• 25:36
  Yes.
• 25:37
  And so it's totally like all the whole day outside.
• 25:40
  Okay.
• 25:41
  And so I do like that school just because they have that problem.
• 25:50
  And yeah, and so far, so good.
• 25:54
  But yeah, I'm the mom who's going to pull out my daughter from school.
• 26:00
  The minute I feel it's not for her, it's not working for her.
• 26:04
  Yeah.
• 26:05
  And then in terms of food and culture.
• 26:08
  Would you say that although you spent time in Dubai, it's fair to say that culturally,
• 26:12
  you subscribe to Lebanese culture.
• 26:14
  Lebanese food.
• 26:15
  Yes.
• 26:17
  But no.
• 26:18
  But no.
• 26:19
  Yeah, I do love my cuisine, where I come from.
• 26:24
  But like I told you, I've traveled.
• 26:26
  Yes.
• 26:27
  And I tried a lot of cuisines.
• 26:30
  And yeah, my favorite would be Italian.
• 26:34
  Okay.
• 26:36
  Indian.
• 26:38
  Thai.
• 26:39
  So these are kind of my favorites.
• 26:41
  Sure.
• 26:42
  I do love the Jamaican cuisine.
• 26:43
  Oh yeah.
• 26:44
  Yes.
• 26:45
  What do you love about Jamaican food?
• 26:46
  It's tasty.
• 26:47
  I love the coconut milk and everything, you know.
• 26:51
  How are you with spice?
• 26:53
  I love spicy.
• 26:54
  Yeah.
• 26:55
  Yeah.
• 26:56
  I love spicy.
• 26:57
  Is there anything you eat that you just can't get you head around?
• 27:02
  These things I cannot eat, totally.
• 27:04
  Like, what's that called?
• 27:09
  Ox dain.
• 27:10
  Oh, really?
• 27:11
  I cannot.
• 27:12
  That's the sort of thing.
• 27:13
  Ox dain, like what are you eating?
• 27:16
  Or cow foot.
• 27:19
  Okay.
• 27:20
  No.
• 27:21
  That's not happening.
• 27:22
  What about chicken foot?
• 27:23
  No.
• 27:24
  Not happening.
• 27:25
  No feet.
• 27:26
  No feet.
• 27:29
  What is your favorite to make in this?
• 27:31
  My favorite.
• 27:34
  I don't love a nice Kalaloo.
• 27:37
  Okay.
• 27:39
  Salty and, you know, nice with some vegetables.
• 27:44
  Also, I recently started eating meat again.
• 27:47
  I was vegan and vegetarian for more than eight years.
• 27:50
  Okay.
• 27:51
  And why did you summit it?
• 27:53
  Eighteen meters again?
• 27:56
  When I was pregnant, I started craving meat.
• 27:58
  Oh, really?
• 27:59
  But I crave Chowarma only.
• 28:01
  Okay.
• 28:02
  And you know that Chowarma here?
• 28:05
  You can.
• 28:06
  Okay.
• 28:07
  It's not like that.
• 28:08
  I mean, it was the amazing thing.
• 28:09
  But you can.
• 28:10
  What you're missing?
• 28:11
  What makes great Chowarma?
• 28:12
  When it's all the thing, you know?
• 28:13
  And you know, it's shaping it all.
• 28:15
  Yes.
• 28:16
  And in Beirut, you stand on the street.
• 28:18
  And they put the bread.
• 28:21
  And they put the garlic sauce.
• 28:23
  And then they shave it on the bread.
• 28:25
  Oh, my gosh.
• 28:26
  Yeah.
• 28:27
  That experience is something else.
• 28:30
  You need to do a shark-influenced Chowarma.
• 28:33
  That would be you.
• 28:34
  Oh.
• 28:35
  Yeah.
• 28:36
  So you're okay when I'm even.
• 28:38
  You're pretty good.
• 28:39
  I was.
• 28:40
  But I didn't give in to it.
• 28:41
  Okay.
• 28:42
  I think two and a half years after.
• 28:44
  Oh, really?
• 28:45
  You know when you're vegan.
• 28:47
  Sorry.
• 28:48
  You live with guilt.
• 28:50
  Okay.
• 28:51
  Oh, like.
• 28:52
  Of not being vegan again.
• 28:54
  Right.
• 28:55
  Any more.
• 28:56
  Yeah.
• 28:57
  And whilst you were living here initially, you were vegan.
• 29:00
  Yeah.
• 29:01
  I was vegan all the time.
• 29:02
  I was being vegan in Jamaica.
• 29:03
  It's very good.
• 29:04
  It's very good.
• 29:05
  Yeah.
• 29:06
  Because a lot of people don't know about, like, idle food.
• 29:08
  Oh, yeah.
• 29:09
  It's great.
• 29:10
  I love it.
• 29:11
  Even when I had my restaurant, they're like, oh, what is there?
• 29:12
  Is there vegan options?
• 29:13
  They have this idea that in Jamaica, we only eat poor rotten.
• 29:16
  Right.
• 29:17
  And jerk chicken.
• 29:18
  Yeah.
• 29:19
  I know it's great.
• 29:20
  I love the idle.
• 29:21
  The idle places.
• 29:22
  Some of them are great.
• 29:23
  Okay.
• 29:24
  Really.
• 29:25
  They have great options.
• 29:26
  I used to eat fish.
• 29:29
  I was pescatarian mostly.
• 29:30
  Okay.
• 29:31
  I moved here vegan and then I became pescatarian.
• 29:33
  Okay.
• 29:34
  And just this year I started with it.
• 29:37
  It's in me.
• 29:38
  Are you still feeling guilty?
• 29:39
  No, no, no.
• 29:40
  I got.
• 29:41
  That's.
• 29:42
  So when I started eating is when I got rid of the guilt.
• 29:45
  I'm like, I'm done.
• 29:46
  I'm not.
• 29:47
  I'm not living the guilt life.
• 29:48
  All those two.
• 29:49
  And then is there anything that you missed?
• 29:52
  For advice that you couldn't get here?
• 29:55
  Yeah.
• 29:56
  Some things that I, like I used to get my mom to bring.
• 30:00
  Because my mom visited me a few times.
• 30:02
  Yeah.
• 30:03
  The Lebanese data.
• 30:04
  I don't know if you know about it.
• 30:05
  That's all.
• 30:06
  That's all.
• 30:07
  That's all.
• 30:08
  Yes.
• 30:09
  Okay.
• 30:10
  It's the time.
• 30:11
  Yeah.
• 30:12
  The dry time with the sesame seeds.
• 30:13
  Okay.
• 30:14
  Yeah.
• 30:15
  But I found that place here that can also.
• 30:18
  I can buy from.
• 30:20
  But my mom is to roast it or tell.
• 30:22
  So that's.
• 30:23
  Yeah.
• 30:24
  I used to love that.
• 30:25
  So I used to get that from her.
• 30:27
  Other things.
• 30:29
  Like the sweets we have in Lebanon.
• 30:32
  Like the Baklava and all that.
• 30:34
  I find Baklava really, really sweet.
• 30:37
  Like I actually now can't eat it anymore.
• 30:40
  Oh really?
• 30:41
  Yeah.
• 30:42
  But I still would enjoy one.
• 30:44
  Yeah.
• 30:45
  Yeah.
• 30:46
  Yeah.
• 30:47
  Those things I still miss or I.
• 30:49
  Yeah.
• 30:50
  I find that it's not that easy.
• 30:51
  We can find them but they're not the same quality.
• 30:53
  Sure.
• 30:54
  Yeah.
• 30:55
  Is there anything that surprises you still about living in Jamaica?
• 31:01
  Yes.
• 31:02
  Oh.
• 31:03
  How people are always linked.
• 31:08
  Is they surprising me?
• 31:11
  But not even just like a little bit late.
• 31:13
  Yeah.
• 31:14
  Like I remember once I was having dinner.
• 31:17
  I still go early to events.
• 31:19
  Really?
• 31:20
  Like that's why I don't know.
• 31:21
  Like I still get ready.
• 31:23
  Get there on time or if like you know five minutes later of the time.
• 31:28
  Sure.
• 31:29
  And then I have to wait an hour.
• 31:30
  Yeah.
• 31:31
  So I had dinner and I invited my family over dinner.
• 31:34
  My aunt was like an hour and a half late and I was really irritated.
• 31:37
  Because it's dinner.
• 31:38
  You've made the food to eat now.
• 31:40
  And she said, oh but you should have told me that you wanted me to come on time.
• 31:44
  Yeah.
• 31:45
  But I've told you the time.
• 31:46
  Yeah.
• 31:47
  The late list is real.
• 31:48
  Yeah.
• 31:49
  It's real.
• 31:50
  And they're not apologetic about it.
• 31:53
  It's just, you know, it's your fault.
• 31:55
  It's your fault.
• 31:56
  When it comes to earning.
• 31:58
  That's too funny.
• 31:59
  What do you think about your life in Jamaica?
• 32:02
  What do you think would be the greatest misconception about living here?
• 32:06
  That is unsafe.
• 32:07
  Okay.
• 32:08
  That is dangerous.
• 32:09
  I mean, I'm sure.
• 32:10
  Yes.
• 32:11
  We all know this crime.
• 32:12
  We all know there are things that happen sometimes, you know, that can create a sense of
• 32:18
  unsafety or what's the right word, but yes.
• 32:25
  But it's not what people think because you can live your life normal.
• 32:29
  You can drive.
• 32:30
  You can walk on the streets.
• 32:31
  You can talk to people.
• 32:33
  You can talk to strangers.
• 32:35
  No one's going to, you know, do something.
• 32:38
  Yeah.
• 32:39
  That, I think, is something people think is there all everywhere.
• 32:45
  Or that there's regular music playing all around the streets.
• 32:50
  That misconception, too.
• 32:52
  Yeah.
• 32:53
  That's funny.
• 32:54
  I went to New Orleans and I was stunned how many people had dredds.
• 32:57
  Yeah.
• 32:58
  And I'm like, people think that everyone in Jamaica has dredds.
• 33:00
  Yeah.
• 33:01
  They need to come to New Orleans.
• 33:02
  Yeah.
• 33:03
  Everyone has dredds there.
• 33:04
  They got the wrong country.
• 33:05
  Yeah.
• 33:06
  100%.
• 33:07
  Do you see Jamaica as your home?
• 33:10
  Or do you see it as something somewhere where you're just staying for the season?
• 33:14
  It's my home right now.
• 33:15
  Yeah.
• 33:16
  Yeah.
• 33:17
  Yeah.
• 33:18
  Like, my home was anywhere else.
• 33:19
  Wherever you are.
• 33:20
  That's the result.
• 33:21
  If you left tomorrow, what would be the thing that you miss the most?
• 33:25
  Some of the beaches, okay.
• 33:28
  The community we had.
• 33:33
  Yeah.
• 33:34
  What else?
• 33:35
  The mountains.
• 33:36
  Mountains.
• 33:37
  Was it hard to adjust to life socially?
• 33:40
  I know you came for work initially.
• 33:42
  No.
• 33:43
  No, it wasn't.
• 33:44
  Actually, I remember people here telling me, you're only here in one month.
• 33:48
  So when I was meeting Peter, you feel like you've been here forever.
• 33:53
  You know, they felt like people saw how much I fit in and how much I was settling in so quickly.
• 33:58
  Sure.
• 33:59
  And I felt it.
• 34:00
  I felt so at ease.
• 34:01
  Yeah.
• 34:02
  It was a bit crazy.
• 34:03
  But I did feel that.
• 34:04
  And people felt it too.
• 34:05
  And so.
• 34:06
  Do you think that that's to your character like you would feel at ease anywhere you go?
• 34:15
  Yeah.
• 34:16
  You can kind of fit in.
• 34:17
  Yeah.
• 34:18
  Yeah.
• 34:19
  I mean, like I told you, wherever I live, I know.
• 34:22
  Sure.
• 34:23
  I'm not there just to exist.
• 34:24
  To exist.
• 34:25
  Yeah.
• 34:26
  Or to work.
• 34:27
  No, I don't.
• 34:28
  I want to live.
• 34:29
  But.
• 34:30
  I would say there are places where maybe I would not feel that much at ease.
• 34:38
  You know, this culture doesn't fit.
• 34:42
  Sure.
• 34:43
  Or mentality of people.
• 34:45
  Or if there's racism.
• 34:49
  Okay.
• 34:50
  You know, those things that can pull you away and make you feel like an outsider.
• 34:55
  Did you ever feel that you're an outsider?
• 34:57
  Or was it just always?
• 34:58
  Yeah.
• 34:59
  No.
• 35:00
  No, never.
• 35:01
  Even though they're funny thing, I don't know if we can say that.
• 35:05
  But the funny thing is that people think I'm white.
• 35:08
  Right.
• 35:09
  But I'm not white.
• 35:10
  Right.
• 35:11
  So do you make a new your wife?
• 35:13
  To add to making them white.
• 35:14
  But I'm not.
• 35:15
  I'm middle eastern.
• 35:16
  And I'm actually from the levant.
• 35:18
  So that's my ethnicity.
• 35:20
  Yes.
• 35:21
  You know.
• 35:22
  So yeah, but people don't get that.
• 35:24
  So yeah, I'm white here.
• 35:26
  How was the move to Dubai from Lebanon different or similar to being from Dubai to Jamaica?
• 35:34
  Pretty much the same.
• 35:36
  Pretty much because when I moved to Dubai, I did my master's first.
• 35:40
  Right.
• 35:41
  And so it was an international business school.
• 35:43
  Okay.
• 35:44
  And there was people from all over the world.
• 35:45
  Yes.
• 35:46
  So we made friends quickly and we had a group of people all the time together.
• 35:51
  So there was a support system immediately.
• 35:54
  And also when I moved to Dubai, I had a sister already living in Abu Dhabi.
• 36:00
  Sure.
• 36:01
  So that was a great support system too.
• 36:03
  And then when I worked there, also I worked for a multinational company.
• 36:07
  And I made friends quickly.
• 36:09
  So it's like always I thought I had a support system.
• 36:13
  And when I moved here, same thing happened.
• 36:17
  People at the company I was hired, that hired me.
• 36:21
  Also, we were very welcoming.
• 36:23
  And we became like, I immediately had friends.
• 36:26
  You know, immediately overnight, I had new friends.
• 36:29
  Sure.
• 36:30
  And I would be invited to things.
• 36:32
  And then we start having, you know, having a community, you know,
• 36:36
  and people that I can go out with.
• 36:38
  So I didn't feel alone.
• 36:39
  Right.
• 36:40
  It was immediately, like, you had your circle.
• 36:43
  Yeah, I had my circle and had people, yeah.
• 36:46
  A few quick, five questions.
• 36:48
  Hey, see or juicy patty.
• 36:53
  You don't like patty.
• 36:55
  I do, but I just don't know the difference.
• 36:58
  So any patty is fine.
• 37:01
  I mean, I think juicy is better, but you're not that good.
• 37:06
  But I'm not, I'm not, I can't remember the difference in the taste.
• 37:10
  Well, I was going to say, go to Oxford.
• 37:12
  We don't want Oxford.
• 37:13
  Yeah, have you ever tasted the gravy?
• 37:16
  It's so good.
• 37:17
  So hold on.
• 37:18
  In Lebanon, you don't do, like, head or nose.
• 37:21
  See, the funny thing is that, let's tell you this funny story,
• 37:24
  is that my mom, when we were in Gabon, I remember that my dad,
• 37:29
  they used to do, they used to slaughter, like, and put in the freezer, right?
• 37:36
  And my mom used to use everything from the cow, or the sheep,
• 37:40
  or whatever they slaughter, right?
• 37:41
  Even the head.
• 37:42
  Right.
• 37:43
  And so, they were, I remember that, like, vividly, like,
• 37:48
  a big pot with, like, all these things in it and being boiled.
• 37:52
  Right.
• 37:53
  And then we would eat the tongue.
• 37:55
  Right.
• 37:56
  And the brain.
• 37:57
  Yes.
• 37:58
  I used to love the brain, apparently, when I was a kid, currently, yes.
• 38:01
  Now I can't imagine eating it.
• 38:03
  I don't know why.
• 38:05
  But yeah, it's funny.
• 38:07
  I don't know.
• 38:08
  It's not like to judge anything.
• 38:11
  No.
• 38:12
  I've done worse, but I still can't imagine eating it in a long stay.
• 38:15
  I don't know why.
• 38:16
  Like, it's funny.
• 38:17
  Yeah.
• 38:18
  They prefer cane juice or coconut water.
• 38:20
  Coconut water.
• 38:21
  Red stripe or rum?
• 38:22
  Red stripe.
• 38:23
  Yum or cassava.
• 38:24
  Cassava.
• 38:25
  Very cool.
• 38:26
  Thank you very much for your time.
• 38:28
  Thank you very much.