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From Jamaica to Dubai: A Pastry Chef's Journey of Sacrifice, Motherhood & Finding Her Mark · Babes, how did you get here

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  Did you feel that you were perceived positively as a Jamaican coming to Dubai?
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  You're respected and you know one of the felt that you needed to start again
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  because sometimes for example I've spoken to people who are teachers from perhaps
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  and there's this perception that they can't be that great a teacher coming from
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  these particular countries and I just wondered professionally how how were you
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  received. What I can tell people is you see Jamaicans over here we are respected.
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  Is it when I say I'm a Jamaican?
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  Whoo! Throughout the red carpet!
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  Love it!
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  Yes!
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  And then it started to do the listing.
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  Chris Gale, you same boys!
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  This is a yes!
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  Yes!
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  I said you're 60 my year!
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  Yes!
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  You have a support system here.
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  Go for it.
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  Is that all right?
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  So when you decided to come, had you visited?
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  I don't know!
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  This is full on like...
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  Babes and Braves!
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  At first it wasn't so difficult because they were here.
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  It was more than one Jamaicans here.
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  They had come to do their projects and stuff so it wasn't as
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  you know you're coming into something where you don't know anyone.
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  It wasn't that.
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  And when you get on that plane, you land in Dubai.
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  Do you remember your first impression?
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  Yes!
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  Well, it was my first time traveling.
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  It's really?
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  It was.
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  Your first time traveling and your first time moving in wanting?
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  In one.
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  My first time traveling, first time moving.
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  And of course you had that 12 hour flight.
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  You said that you had to decide whether to leave your son or not.
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  How old was he?
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  He's three.
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  So he's three years old.
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  You connect with your village and they say don't worry.
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  And I think also, you know, as Jamaicans,
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  we have a history whether it's going to the UK
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  and the Windrush generation.
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  And so we're familiar with this idea of having to go
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  to seek all those opportunities,
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  to spread our wings if you will.
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  Did that...
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  That make it easier for you to meet me?
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  No, okay.
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  Because at first when I got the opportunity,
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  I said no.
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  And I was very adamant with my no.
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  No, no, no, no.
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  And then I said, you know what?
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  It's hard.
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  This is a big decision.
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  Let me go out and get more information from my people.
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  So when I went to my dad,
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  he was like, when it's a big opportunity,
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  I feel like he should take it.
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  So I was like, all right.
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  And I went to my church and they were like,
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  this is a big thing, you know what I mean?
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  Take it.
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  So I was like, all right.
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  So when all of these important people
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  and they're like, no, man, go for it.
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  Go for it.
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  I was like, okay.
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  So I decided at the time,
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  it was my son's birthday coming up,
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  so I said, I'm not leaving until after his birthday.
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  So I ended up keeping the last, for now,
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  like I host.
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  Sure.
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  And then I said, all right, I'm about to go.
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  So I came in mid November in 2017.
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  I came over.
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  Now more than ever,
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  people are building lives far away from the place
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  they once called home.
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  Chasing opportunity, creativity, and just something bigger.
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  But at what cost?
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  I am April Jackson,
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  traveling the world,
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  speaking to interesting people
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  who have chosen a life elsewhere.
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  Shauna Silvera is a Jamaican born pastry chef
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  and recipe developer based here in Dubai.
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  She's balancing motherhood and ambition across borders.
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  Her story is one of creativity, resilience, and sacrifice.
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  But before we get into the details, I have to ask,
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  babes, how did you get here?
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  How did I get here?
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  So back in 2017,
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  I got the opportunity to come.
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  My former partner at the time,
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  he had came to Dubai and he said,
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  you know what, there's opportunity over here,
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  come over.
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  And it wasn't as easy as come over,
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  because I'm a mom.
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  I had my son back home.
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  So I went to people that I call my sacred space people,
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  my father, my church mom.
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  And I said, is this something to do?
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  Is it because back then Dubai wasn't,
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  it wasn't as big as it is now for us in the Western world.
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  And I said, and they were like, listen, go for it.
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  Your son is fine.
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  You have a support system here.
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  Go for it.
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  So I said, all right.
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  I'm coming.
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  So when you decided to come, had you visited at all?
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  No, this is full of, like,
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  babes and brave.
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  It was like come to Dubai, come to Dubai.
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  Okay, at first it wasn't so difficult because they were here.
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  It was more than one Jamaicans here.
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  They had come to do their projects and stuff.
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  So it wasn't as, you know,
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  you're coming into something where you don't know anyone.
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  It wasn't like that.
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  But I did have a friend in college that she took that first leap.
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  And I was like, don't go.
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  I'm afraid don't go.
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  So I had moved away from that feeling because more Jamaicans were here.
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  But in that time, in 2017, so it wasn't as scary, I would say.
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  So I was like, okay, I'm coming.
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  I'm coming over.
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  And when you get on that plane,
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  you land in Dubai.
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  Do you remember your first impression?
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  Yes.
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  Well, it was my first time traveling as well.
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  Really?
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  It was.
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  And that was your first time traveling
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  and your first time moving in wanting in one.
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  My first time traveling, first time moving.
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  And of course, you had that 12-hour flight.
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  And I was like, oh my gosh.
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  So that for me was scary.
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  That was actually scary.
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  Because I was like, I don't know what to do.
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  This is my...
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  So I had landed in Frankfurt.
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  Okay.
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  I had a leova.
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  So I was there for a couple of hours.
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  I was like, okay, you got this.
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  Miello and you're going through everything.
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  It was quite scary.
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  But then afterwards, I was like, okay, I'm all right.
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  Can you describe to me this might sound really random.
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  But I've thought about this a lot.
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  The first time I was on a plane, I was six weeks.
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  And so I don't remember the feeling of being on a flight.
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  And I always say to people, I'd love to know
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  when you're sitting on a plane for the first time
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  and like, you get turbulence,
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  is it a case of this is like you've watched enough movies?
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  So you kind of just...
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  No, no.
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  Up until now, the turbulence takes me out all the time.
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  Okay.
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  I'm holding onto the seat like this.
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  I'm like, okay, okay, you'll be fine.
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  You've done this before now.
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  You've done this.
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  So I don't think it has been the norm yet.
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  Sure.
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  So you get in Frankfurt and how long is your leova?
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  Um, if I'm not lying, maybe seven or nine hours,
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  it was a good stretch.
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  Yeah, because it was my first time, right?
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  So we booked it in, if I made any mistakes.
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  Something to do to you.
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  Yes, exactly, exactly.
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  So it was about nine hours if I'm not lying.
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  Okay.
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  So then I got on my next flight and I came to Dubai.
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  Ooh, I landed in the night.
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  Okay.
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  So you know, the place was so beautiful.
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  I mean, just the airports.
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  Just the airport was like, wow.
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  So I found myself very quickly.
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  The Dubai Airport was really, really easy.
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  And they'd tell you where to go in and out and you're old.
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  And I went out and I got my taxi
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  and I took on the journey.
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  Small girl, small island girl.
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  And when I saw these big buildings,
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  and again, it's night.
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  So you know, the lights are beautiful.
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  It was literally a breath of like fresh air.
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  It's like, whoa, whoa.
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  Look at me.
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  Little Jamaican girl.
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  Here I am.
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  You would say the big city.
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  So can you describe life for you in Jamaica before you came to Dubai?
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  Okay. So back in Jamaica, I've always done pastry.
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  Let me start with that.
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  My auntie, my brothers, like,
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  everybody had something to do with food,
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  something to do with pastry.
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  So it has always been a part of me.
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  So when I went to high school, I was like, okay,
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  I go into the food and nutrition and all of that.
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  And then I went to college.
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  I went to hard college of hospitality services.
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  And I did my time there.
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  I did my level one, two, three.
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  And then I started working.
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  So I was working, I worked at Jules first
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  and then I moved on to Moon Palace.
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  So I was in Moon Palace when I got the opportunity to come over.
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  So I was working.
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  I was, I was happy.
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  I was literally on the list of getting a promotion.
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  And I turned it down because I said, I knew I was leaving.
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  Okay.
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  So I said, it doesn't make sense.
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  Give someone else because I'm about to go.
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  So that's how it was.
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  I was good.
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  It was really, it was good for me.
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  And I had my, like I said, I had my child then.
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  So I was like, okay, I'm all right.
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  I mean, you were in pastry department.
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  Yes, I was.
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  I was.
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  What is it about pastry that you love?
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  I don't know.
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  I feel like I've just always, I smell it.
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  I breathe it.
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  Everything about it.
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  Because I said I was always so wronged by it.
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  So I was like, no.
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  So this, this lady, she could say she's my,
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  she's my church mom.
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  She's work all my church mom.
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  So she does pastry until any, she does pastry.
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  And she's like, you want to come?
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  So from what was about nine, I'm doing the gizada,
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  the pink on top.
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  All these little things until it moved up to wedding cakes.
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  She's actually the person made me travel Jamaica.
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  Like I know every parish in Jamaica
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  because of like wedding cakes.
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  I've been through every parish doing a cake.
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  So that's how it was.
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  And I was like, well, this is who I am now.
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  So when I did, I started,
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  before I went to hard college of hospital,
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  I'd had a course in Chilani in Holland.
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  They had a small heart there because you've,
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  of course, Renovie Heart is one of the hardest
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  colleges to get through to.
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  So I was waiting until I get my call.
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  And then when I did get my call,
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  I moved on to it.
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  What part are you from?
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  So Born in St. Mary?
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  I grew up in St.
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  I'm okay.
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  And when you're working in these hotels,
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  are you able to have freedom of expression?
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  Or because I know sometimes when it's within like an institution,
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  you have to kind of hit their particular time?
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  Back home.
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  At first, it started difficult because, of course,
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  I had a level of knowledge and experience,
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  not because of school,
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  because I grew into it.
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  So I know exactly what I was doing.
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  So of course, when you go into an industry like that
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  with people that have been doing it for a long time,
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  of course, it started off very shaky.
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  You know, it had to almost like find your clique,
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  find your group, how do I approach this?
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  How do I not approach this stuff like that?
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  Because you don't want to come off as,
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  oh, you know, it's all or those type of things.
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  So it was a bit shaky in the beginning.
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  But afterwards, I think once people see that they have,
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  you can learn from you.
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  I feel like they can ease up a bit.
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  Or if sometimes they feel like you're,
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  you're straight to their job.
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  Because going in, I didn't start at the bottom,
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  because I had my experience.
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  So I feel like that,
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  I didn't feel much of a threat to them.
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  So it wasn't that difficult.
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  It wasn't.
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  And do you live on site when you work at these big hotels?
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  No, no, no, no, I live off.
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  So I would travel from Ocherius to Ranabe.
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  How long is that?
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  Maybe like 30 minutes, 40 minutes, depending.
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  It was easy.
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  It wasn't that far.
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  You said you were up for a promotion when you were about to leave.
• 10:48
  Yes.
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  Did that promotion ever make you think maybe I should stay?
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  It did.
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  But then I was like,
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  take the trip to Dubai or take the promotion.
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  So I was like, you know what,
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  let me jump and go see what outside has.
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  Because my country is amazing.
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  There's no note about that.
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  Jamaica's sweet.
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  You're lucky to get it right.
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  Antenna Beams, because we don't want any talk that part.
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  No, Jamaica's sweet.
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  But I feel like the current that I'm in,
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  I need to go out and get more exposure.
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  Even to go back to my country to be like, guys,
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  I went to Dubai.
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  I'm here in Jamaica now.
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  Come and learn from me, you know?
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  So I was like, yeah, let me take the opportunity.
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  Because I don't know when that could come again.
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  So this is why I said, you know what?
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  Let me jump on this instead of taking the promotion at the time.
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  You said that you had to decide whether to leave your son or not.
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  How old was he?
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  He's three.
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  So he's three years old.
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  You connect with your village and they say, don't worry.
• 11:45
  And I think also, you know, as Jamaicans,
• 11:48
  we have a history whether it's going to the UK
• 11:50
  and the Windrush generation.
• 11:52
  And so we're familiar with this idea of having to go
• 11:56
  to seek out those opportunities to spread our wings, if you will.
• 12:00
  Did that, the history of that make it easier for you to know?
• 12:04
  Okay.
• 12:05
  We didn't know.
• 12:06
  It didn't.
• 12:07
  Because at first, when I got the opportunity, I said no.
• 12:10
  Okay.
• 12:10
  And I was very adamant with my no.
• 12:12
  No, no, no, no, no.
• 12:14
  And then I said, you know what?
• 12:15
  It's hard.
• 12:16
  This is a big decision.
• 12:17
  Let me go out and get more information from my people.
• 12:20
  So when I went to my dad, he was like, well, it's a big opportunity.
• 12:24
  You know, you love the PS3.
• 12:27
  I feel like he should take it.
• 12:28
  So I was like, all right, I went to my church and they were like, listen,
• 12:31
  it's a big thing.
• 12:32
  You know, man, take it.
• 12:34
  So I was like, all right.
• 12:35
  So when all of these important people and they're like, no, man, go for it.
• 12:39
  Go for it.
• 12:41
  I was like, okay.
• 12:42
  So I decided at the time it was, it was my son's birthday coming up.
• 12:46
  So I said, I'm not leaving until after his birthday.
• 12:50
  So I ended up keeping the last party for, for, for no,
• 12:55
  that I host.
• 12:57
  And then I said, all right, I'm about to come.
• 12:59
  So I came in mid November in 2017.
• 13:02
  I came over.
• 13:04
  And is it fair to say that the main motivation is that for you to be the
• 13:08
  best pastry chef that you can be, that international exposure was the only way
• 13:13
  to take those next steps?
• 13:15
  I think so at the time.
• 13:16
  I think so because like I said, Jamaica is great, but you know,
• 13:21
  you don't get to work with so much diversity all in one.
• 13:27
  So for me, I was like, you know what, let me try.
• 13:29
  Let me try because home is home.
• 13:31
  I can always go back home.
• 13:32
  Home will never fail me.
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  So I can always go back.
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  But I was like, let me go out and see what this world has to offer.
• 13:39
  So this is why I was like, you know what, take, take the leap.
• 13:43
  So that was nine years ago?
• 13:44
  Nine years ago.
• 13:45
  So your son is 12.
• 13:46
  Going on to almost 12.
• 13:48
  I know that we all start off small and grow.
• 13:50
  But every time, even I look at my own children and I just can't
• 13:54
  envisage.
• 13:56
  I can't like, I can't see them bigger, even in my mind.
• 13:59
  At every stage, I'm not joking.
• 14:01
  Like at baby stage, I'm like, I can't imagine being a toddler.
• 14:03
  I can't imagine like each stage.
• 14:05
  It's probably like a broken record.
• 14:07
  Like my girl, they're growing.
• 14:08
  Get over it, right?
• 14:09
  But I guess I would love for you to describe a few things.
• 14:13
  One, how was it in those early days when, you know,
• 14:18
  I imagine it's like tearing off a bandaid, right?
• 14:21
  And you're making that adjustment because even at three,
• 14:24
  you're still learning as a mom.
• 14:26
  Yeah, right.
• 14:27
  And in the same way, I've kind of described the different stages.
• 14:29
  They bring out different versions of us.
• 14:32
  So I'd love for you to just explain from your own perspective,
• 14:35
  those early days when you've just arrived in Dubai,
• 14:37
  you see the beauty that you so eloquently describe.
• 14:40
  But I imagine you're also dealing with,
• 14:43
  how are you going to be a mother in this different kind of circumstance?
• 14:47
  Yeah.
• 14:48
  So for me, it was difficult.
• 14:51
  And one of the things that made things super difficult is the time difference.
• 14:55
  That made things really, really hard because of Jamaica is,
• 15:00
  Dubai is nine, I was ahead of Jamaica.
• 15:02
  So when I'm asleep, you're awake.
• 15:04
  When I'm awake, you're asleep.
• 15:06
  It was that type of thing.
• 15:06
  So that made it hard.
• 15:08
  But thank God for social media.
• 15:10
  I'm not sure if it's social media for the internet itself,
• 15:12
  where we can do a video call, we can face them, we can do this again,
• 15:15
  that that really helped.
• 15:17
  Because I feel like without that, I don't know.
• 15:20
  I don't know.
• 15:21
  So that really helped us help me to be like, all right,
• 15:25
  I can time you when you wake up, give your call, all right, tell them,
• 15:29
  okay, call me when you wake up or stuff like that.
• 15:30
  But literally the internet is what has helped.
• 15:33
  Because going, it's not easy to go home as often as you would want to,
• 15:38
  being so far.
• 15:39
  Yeah.
• 15:40
  So the internet is really a channel that I had to use to be like,
• 15:43
  okay, face them, okay, video.
• 15:44
  Okay, when you're at the sports day, call me,
• 15:46
  okay, when you're at this video, call me, you know,
• 15:48
  this was what I had to use to kind of keep me going, basically.
• 15:53
  It's funny to talk about video calls.
• 15:55
  I remember the first time I left my children to film a TV show.
• 15:59
  So they were two and a half.
• 16:02
  And I remember it very well because it was around that time that
• 16:04
  that stopped breastfeeding and being a glorified call.
• 16:07
  And I had so much milk stacked up in the freezer.
• 16:10
  I was like, you know, this is what we're doing and I planned it.
• 16:12
  And it was only a week.
• 16:14
  And I say only because in the grand scheme of things,
• 16:16
  I get it. It's just seven days.
• 16:18
  But I'm not joking.
• 16:18
  I broke down balling in the car and I'm like talking to myself
• 16:23
  at my girl, it's a week like calm down.
• 16:25
  But it's almost an emotion that I can't really justify
• 16:28
  why I was being so dramatic.
• 16:30
  But that was how I was feeling, right?
• 16:32
  I know.
• 16:33
  I'm in the car and I'm like just kind of coaching myself, reminding myself, whatever.
• 16:38
  And then the joke is that so my kids are normally screen free.
• 16:42
  But FaceTime calls or whatever you need to do.
• 16:46
  We're like, cool.
• 16:47
  I'm getting excited, right?
• 16:48
  It's the first time that I get to step away from set and call them.
• 16:52
  And they were so rubbish.
• 16:53
  Them never, there was just no engagement.
• 16:56
  Obviously I was an expecting like full on conversation.
• 16:58
  And I get it. You're two and a half.
• 16:59
  But babes, you could show some kind of excitement,
• 17:02
  like a song.
• 17:03
  Oh, they give you proof of life.
• 17:05
  So what is this?
• 17:06
  They give you proof of life, that's it.
• 17:08
  And I was like, okay, cool.
• 17:12
  And then, you know, even the following year,
• 17:13
  I did the same show.
• 17:14
  So it's the same kind of thing.
• 17:15
  And the point is, even now, you know,
• 17:17
  my sister will do a video call as we've been traveling.
• 17:19
  And we kind of laugh about it, but they're still not great.
• 17:21
  They're just not great when it comes to like phone calls.
• 17:25
  And obviously it's lovely to see them.
• 17:27
  But there were times where if I wasn't in a great mood
• 17:29
  and I had seen them, it almost made it worse sometimes.
• 17:33
  If I was in a good mood, it was good.
• 17:35
  It kind of amplified.
• 17:36
  So whatever emotion I was feeling,
• 17:37
  it felt like it kind of just made that emotion more exaggerated.
• 17:42
  And I was wondering if you had any similar things
• 17:44
  or was it always like, once you see a baby,
• 17:47
  your day just got better.
• 17:48
  I had days when I would go to the bathroom at work and cry.
• 17:52
  I would tear up.
• 17:54
  So it's a mixture.
• 17:56
  I agree with you.
• 17:57
  Now, sometimes you see them is like, yes,
• 17:58
  sometimes you see them is like, why am I leaving?
• 18:02
  Like all of these, you know, the guilt, the regret and all of these things.
• 18:05
  Well, not necessarily regret.
• 18:06
  But, you know, the guilt is like, why are you leaving?
• 18:09
  But then I'm like, you know what?
• 18:12
  I am doing it for myself and my career as well.
• 18:15
  I'm doing it for him because I believe in generational wealth.
• 18:20
  And this is what I'm trying to channel for him.
• 18:23
  You know, I believe in, I don't want you to have to grow up with
• 18:26
  some of the struggles that I had to grow up with.
• 18:28
  So this is me trying to make things lighter, as best as possible.
• 18:33
  When you say the struggles that you had to grow up with,
• 18:34
  what are you referring to?
• 18:36
  So growing up, I would hold your class,
• 18:39
  I'll pass it by myself like a middle class girl.
• 18:41
  Okay.
• 18:41
  Yeah.
• 18:42
  A middle class girl.
• 18:43
  So I was okay.
• 18:44
  But I could see that my parents were struggling.
• 18:49
  Okay.
• 18:49
  They made sure that I was okay.
• 18:52
  But they, they're struggling so hard.
• 18:54
  And I was like, you know what?
• 18:55
  I want to be able to give my son a great life that like,
• 18:59
  I had or even better one.
• 19:01
  So for me to do that,
• 19:02
  I have to step out and say, you know what?
• 19:04
  I'm going to go for it and make things better for us.
• 19:08
  Obviously, as he's got older,
• 19:10
  I imagine that the way you're able to communicate
• 19:12
  these things has also increased, right?
• 19:14
  What you're going to explain to a three year old versus
• 19:16
  what you're going to explain to a 12 year old is very different.
• 19:19
  And how have you been able to make sure
• 19:22
  that he feels your sense of love at a distance
• 19:25
  and also understands your why?
• 19:28
  So when I speak to him, we talk about school.
• 19:32
  We talk about his personal play, play in life.
• 19:36
  And then we talk about myself.
• 19:37
  Okay.
• 19:38
  So sometimes I'll tell him, you know,
• 19:39
  well, mommy's doing this, this, this, this, this.
• 19:42
  And he'll tell me, oh, well, I'm doing this at school.
• 19:44
  I'm doing this.
• 19:45
  So I try to put it in a stage where it's kind of like,
• 19:49
  we have our little schedule.
• 19:51
  So we touch on almost every good thing.
• 19:52
  So we always grown dead.
• 19:54
  No matter how far we are, we know what's going on in each other's life
• 19:57
  and he understands what I'm doing.
• 19:59
  But he do has his moments where, you know,
• 20:02
  I'll get a call that he's crying.
• 20:03
  He's saying, he misses mom.
• 20:05
  And I'm like, oh gosh.
• 20:06
  So sometimes those things as I have my moments as well.
• 20:10
  So that for me is what I do.
• 20:13
  I try to keep things not on a schedule,
• 20:14
  but almost like we follow a system.
• 20:17
  So we always been involved in everything.
• 20:19
  So I know when the sports is coming up, I know when reports coming up,
• 20:22
  I know when this is coming up, I know when everything is happening.
• 20:25
  So then I am very much a part of it,
• 20:27
  even though I'm not there physically, yeah.
• 20:30
  And how often do you get to go home?
• 20:32
  So I try my best to make sure that I am home a year and a half,
• 20:37
  maximum two years,
• 20:40
  depending on the situation.
• 20:42
  Because for example, I miss my two years
• 20:46
  because I changed job.
• 20:48
  Okay.
• 20:48
  So then I had to give it some time.
• 20:50
  So I was like, okay, I'm going home this year.
• 20:52
  So I try my best a year and a half, two years at most
• 20:55
  to be like, okay, I'm coming home because it's not cheap.
• 20:59
  That it's not cheap going to Jamaica.
• 21:02
  The ticket alone is crazy coming from Dubai to Jamaica.
• 21:06
  It's crazy.
• 21:07
  So there's a lot you have to save up and have at that.
• 21:08
  But I do my best, at least a year and a half.
• 21:11
  Has he been here?
• 21:12
  Not yet.
• 21:13
  He was supposed to come this year.
• 21:14
  Okay.
• 21:15
  But I said, no, I want to come home.
• 21:16
  I said, it was supposed to be his year this year.
• 21:21
  But I said, no, man, I want to see my family.
• 21:23
  Oh, I have to come home this year.
• 21:25
  You can come next year.
• 21:26
  God's will.
• 21:28
  Do you feel that you have had a full motherhood experience
• 21:33
  considering you've had to do it at a distance?
• 21:36
  I don't.
• 21:37
  Okay.
• 21:37
  I don't.
• 21:38
  Because I feel like being there physically is a big thing.
• 21:42
  So I don't feel like I've gotten the full mess.
• 21:47
  But I also think I did what I had to do.
• 21:52
  And I'm still doing it.
• 21:53
  And I know that the time will come where we're going to be together.
• 21:56
  Full.
• 21:57
  So I'm not really worried about it, but I do believe that.
• 22:00
  I don't, I didn't get the 100% feeling.
• 22:03
  Feeling.
• 22:04
  Is there any part of you that scared about the time when you do
• 22:07
  eventually reunite?
• 22:08
  Yes.
• 22:08
  Really?
• 22:09
  Yes.
• 22:09
  I would be.
• 22:10
  Because I'm like, oh, because when I go home for,
• 22:13
  I normally go home for like a month or so.
• 22:15
  Okay.
• 22:16
  So when I go home, just being with him for one month,
• 22:19
  sometimes I have to say, oh my gosh.
• 22:22
  Like, how did money do?
• 22:26
  So I do believe that once you reunite fully,
• 22:32
  there's a lot that I have to learn.
• 22:34
  And there's a lot that he will have to learn.
• 22:36
  Because of course, you know, that being somewhere physically
• 22:39
  and being somewhere, when you're not physically there,
• 22:41
  it's different.
• 22:43
  You know, they would say, to me, I can only live with
• 22:44
  there are two different things.
• 22:45
  That's exactly what it was in my head.
• 22:46
  So I feel like that's what's going to happen to me
• 22:48
  at my son.
• 22:49
  We're going to have to learn that connection again.
• 22:54
  How do you think, obviously, you can't speak for him,
• 22:56
  but I imagine that you get a feeling.
• 22:59
  How do you think he has been different
• 23:01
  in terms of his upbringing, his character
• 23:04
  because he's had to also manage the fact that his mom's far away?
• 23:10
  You know what?
• 23:10
  Sometimes I think to myself, because growing up in school,
• 23:13
  I had friends that had parents being a bride.
• 23:17
  And I always said to myself,
• 23:20
  because I didn't have, I basically grew up with my dad.
• 23:23
  So I didn't have like that much experience as other people would be like,
• 23:28
  oh, you know, my mom is away, my.
• 23:30
  So in my head, I always ask people, like, no, even no,
• 23:34
  that I know, I would be like, how did you feel when your mom had left?
• 23:37
  How did you feel when his dad had left?
• 23:38
  Because I want to see if I could understand how he feels.
• 23:43
  But what I can say for sure is that he is, he has a village
• 23:47
  that I'm so grateful for.
• 23:49
  Like, I'm super, super grateful because without them,
• 23:53
  I don't know what I would have, I probably wouldn't be here
• 23:55
  for sure without that village.
• 23:57
  So I feel like, I feel like,
• 24:02
  um, oh gosh, I'm getting a little bit, you know,
• 24:10
  I'm trying to hold it.
• 24:12
  But I know that once we reconnect fully, things will be,
• 24:16
  he will be happy now, but we'll find out,
• 24:18
  you'll have to figure it out, there's no notes about it,
• 24:20
  so we'll have to figure it out.
• 24:21
  Do you have a plan for when you think that that could realistically be?
• 24:24
  I do.
• 24:27
  Ideally, I've always said I would love for him to finish school in Jamaica.
• 24:32
  Okay.
• 24:33
  But sometimes I double back on my thoughts and I'm like,
• 24:36
  finish school, like, finish primary school,
• 24:38
  or finish high school, like I'm thinking because he's a boat to go into high school.
• 24:43
  He still has, no, he still has one year.
• 24:45
  Okay.
• 24:45
  In primary, yeah, yeah.
• 24:48
  So I'm always thinking, what do I do?
• 24:51
  Because then I'm like, I really love the structure.
• 24:54
  Back home.
• 24:55
  I really love that.
• 24:56
  I've been seeing the kids here.
• 24:57
  I mean, granted, the ones I've been seeing are very small,
• 25:00
  but babes.
• 25:02
  Right.
• 25:02
  I'm just, honestly, it's something in the air.
• 25:05
  Right.
• 25:05
  What is going on with these children?
• 25:06
  I've been here for a while and I've seen it.
• 25:08
  So I was like, I would love him to just finish school back home.
• 25:13
  So in my head, I don't know, because at the end of the day,
• 25:15
  I'm not sure how long I'll be here.
• 25:17
  Okay.
• 25:18
  But I just know that wherever is my next journey,
• 25:20
  he has to be a part of it.
• 25:21
  Okay.
• 25:22
  It will not be the same as me leaving from Jamaica coming to Dubai.
• 25:26
  Sure.
• 25:26
  Wherever the next move is, he'll have to be there from that time.
• 25:30
  That much, I know to myself.
• 25:32
  But in terms of when I'm not sure, I'm not sure is it,
• 25:36
  because I'm trying to get my hands into a lot of little things.
• 25:40
  You know, so I'm not sure when the move is going to happen.
• 25:43
  But like I said, once it's happening,
• 25:45
  he will have to be a part of that get-go.
• 25:48
  Is there a part of you that feel free to shut me up when I feel like it?
• 25:52
  But as we're having this conversation,
• 25:54
  and we're talking about his age, right?
• 25:56
  And like I think about the ages that I moved around schools.
• 25:58
  So I went to a boarding school for like six months when I was 13.
• 26:02
  I came back.
• 26:03
  The girls were jumping the wall all the time.
• 26:05
  It was an all-girl school and I used to tell my father everything.
• 26:07
  And I went home one holiday and he's like,
• 26:09
  yeah, you're not going back to that school, right?
• 26:11
  This whole jump wall,
• 26:12
  forgot to maintain, it's not working out.
• 26:14
  And I agree with him, right?
• 26:15
  But he could have told me.
• 26:16
  So I could have just taken a few things,
• 26:18
  been prepared mentally that I was leaving.
• 26:20
  But you know, whatever.
• 26:22
  But I feel like there's always a bit of give and take, right?
• 26:26
  When your child's very young,
• 26:27
  we know that they're very adaptable.
• 26:29
  So on the one hand, you could say it's the best time
• 26:32
  to go and seek these opportunities because they're so small.
• 26:35
  And then there's the argument for,
• 26:37
  but as they get older,
• 26:38
  they're also having their own pair groups.
• 26:41
  They're getting into their own routines and structure.
• 26:44
  And then I'm like,
• 26:45
  ooh, again, from my own childhood,
• 26:48
  Jamaica has made me this way, right?
• 26:51
  The confidence, the pride,
• 26:54
  the ability to again go out into the world
• 26:57
  and kind of do what needs to be done.
• 26:59
  And I think that my years,
• 27:00
  those years through preps school and high school did that.
• 27:03
  And so then I'm like, ooh,
• 27:04
  but as he gets into his high school years,
• 27:07
  is that the right time?
• 27:08
  Or are we just saying that there's never a right time?
• 27:11
  I would say both.
• 27:14
  I sometimes feel like there's never a right time
• 27:17
  to take them away, right?
• 27:19
  But I also feel like, again,
• 27:21
  the social, the internet and stuff
• 27:22
  has opened up their eyes so much
• 27:24
  where I feel like they're more excited now to be like,
• 27:28
  yeah, I would love to come.
• 27:29
  Yeah, let me try.
• 27:30
  Sure.
• 27:31
  So I feel like that's a plus on that side.
• 27:33
  But I do agree,
• 27:34
  is it the right time?
• 27:36
  I know you're going to,
• 27:37
  like you said, get your own deco,
• 27:39
  but I'm hoping when it's the right time,
• 27:43
  it will be, and he'll be like, yes, I'm coming.
• 27:49
  Do you plan on having more children?
• 27:52
  I hope so.
• 27:53
  Yeah, I hope so.
• 27:55
  Okay, hope so.
• 27:56
  That's pretty interesting.
• 27:57
  I don't know.
• 27:58
  Let's see what God has planned for me.
• 28:00
  Cool.
• 28:01
  So we talk about the move to Dubai.
• 28:03
  You come, is it quite easy in terms of
• 28:06
  to find your circle at your community?
• 28:08
  You mentioned that there were already a few Jamaicans here.
• 28:10
  Were you able to find a new village for yourself in that way?
• 28:14
  So back in 2017,
• 28:16
  2017 versus now is different.
• 28:18
  Okay, so different.
• 28:20
  Really?
• 28:20
  I would want to say no, we have a little population on the,
• 28:25
  on their, um, you know, consensus.
• 28:27
  Yeah, I would want to say the Caribbean at that.
• 28:30
  Not just doing about the Caribbean.
• 28:31
  No, but then it wasn't as profound.
• 28:34
  We weren't as profound, but we had our little group, um,
• 28:38
  because back then, uh, there was a few Jamaicans,
• 28:42
  a few antigens.
• 28:44
  Okay.
• 28:45
  Bahemians, it was a few of us.
• 28:48
  But no, it would be good.
• 28:49
  No, you know, big no.
• 28:50
  The Caribbean is here.
• 28:53
  So yeah, it wasn't that difficult, um,
• 28:56
  but then because I had that little cheek.
• 28:57
  So, you know, you'll bring your carrier where you can go get stuff,
• 29:01
  where you can do this, where you can do that.
• 29:02
  So it wasn't as hard as if I'm assuming for them,
• 29:05
  it probably would have been harder.
• 29:06
  Because they would have been like almost like the first group.
• 29:09
  Yes. So then it probably would have been hard above for me.
• 29:11
  I had a little cushion, so it wasn't very difficult.
• 29:15
  It was different, but not difficult.
• 29:17
  Sure.
• 29:18
  And did you feel that you were perceived positively
• 29:21
  as a Jamaican coming to Dubai?
• 29:23
  Yes.
• 29:24
  Yes.
• 29:25
  You're respected in your industry.
• 29:27
  No one ever felt that you needed to start again.
• 29:29
  Because sometimes, for example, I've spoken to people who are teachers
• 29:33
  from perhaps Tanzania or Kenya.
• 29:35
  And they go to Thailand.
• 29:37
  And there's this perception that they can't be that great a teacher
• 29:40
  coming from these particular countries.
• 29:42
  And I just wondered professionally how were you received?
• 29:45
  No, I haven't had any moments like this.
• 29:49
  What I can tell people is,
• 29:50
  you see, Jamaicans over here, we are respected.
• 29:54
  You see, when I say, I'm a Jamaican,
• 29:56
  woo, throughout the red carpets.
• 29:58
  Love it.
• 29:59
  Yes, they love us.
• 30:01
  What is it?
• 30:01
  From Jamaica.
• 30:02
  Oh my gosh.
• 30:03
  And then they start to do the listing.
• 30:05
  Chris Gill, you symbol.
• 30:06
  This is a yes.
• 30:08
  Yes.
• 30:08
  I say, yes, I see my ear.
• 30:10
  Yes.
• 30:12
  So you get pure love, pure love.
• 30:15
  I remember one time I was in the kitchen,
• 30:17
  and I had an inspection.
• 30:19
  And, you know, inspection is in the kitchen here.
• 30:21
  Of course, you don't know when they're coming.
• 30:22
  They just pull up inspection, get your documents ready.
• 30:25
  And the kitchen was okay, but we weren't ready, you know?
• 30:29
  It's picked to old side.
• 30:30
  They need to make sure everything is,
• 30:32
  so I went to it there.
• 30:33
  And I was a PIC, a prison in charge at the shop.
• 30:36
  So I went to it there and I was like, hi.
• 30:39
  And then he looked at me and he's looking at my collar.
• 30:41
  He's black as well.
• 30:43
  And he's like, so I could tell that he's trying to figure out
• 30:46
  where I'm from.
• 30:47
  And of course, when he's starting to speak,
• 30:49
  he's like, no, I don't know where she's from.
• 30:51
  So he's like, oh, where are you from?
• 30:52
  And I'm like, Jamaica.
• 30:53
  Woo, that Jamaica gave us like a good 20 minutes
• 30:57
  for my kitchen to get themselves together.
• 31:00
  Because we started to talk.
• 31:01
  Oh, my gosh, you're from Jamaica.
• 31:03
  You know, I've always wanted to go to Jamaica.
• 31:04
  So honestly, Jamaica has done me good.
• 31:06
  Amazing.
• 31:07
  I love that.
• 31:08
  Were there any cultural shocks that you weren't expecting
• 31:11
  just in terms of your day-to-day living that you had together?
• 31:13
  I feel like I know that there's a lot of people in the world,
• 31:16
  but I just didn't know that I was going to get so much.
• 31:19
  Because the number of nationality that is here,
• 31:24
  I worked in one restaurant where I would want to say
• 31:27
  everyone had a different nationality.
• 31:30
  Like, it was so shocking to the owners and everything.
• 31:34
  We actually brought our passwords and we took a picture
• 31:36
  to be like, whoa, I feel like probably two might be from the same place.
• 31:41
  Amazing.
• 31:41
  But it was literally people from all walks of places.
• 31:48
  So I feel like, yeah, culture shock was very real.
• 31:53
  But I feel like I grew into it.
• 31:56
  I got used to it.
• 31:56
  It wasn't very difficult to get used to it.
• 31:59
  I feel like my tolerance level is high.
• 32:00
  And I think that's one thing that if your tolerance level is not good,
• 32:05
  I don't feel like this place is for you.
• 32:07
  Really?
• 32:07
  In what way?
• 32:08
  In general, you have to be more.
• 32:10
  It's not like Jamaica where if, oh, gosh, man, if you're, you know,
• 32:15
  if you're too much, I'd be like, I can give you the look.
• 32:17
  I can do this or I can say what I want to say freely.
• 32:19
  And here you have to be more modest.
• 32:22
  You know, you have to kind of tone it down.
• 32:24
  And so I feel like your tolerance level has to be a bit, okay,
• 32:27
  just chill, relax, look, you know.
• 32:30
  So for me, that's it.
• 32:31
  But I feel like I've always been that type of person anyways.
• 32:34
  So I don't feel like it was that difficult.
• 32:35
  It wasn't really anything like I'm stepping on, you know,
• 32:38
  it was, that was a part of why I'm.
• 32:40
  Has there been any time over the nine years that you've thought
• 32:42
  this is the time to go home?
• 32:44
  Yes.
• 32:45
  Really?
• 32:45
  Yeah.
• 32:46
  What happened?
• 32:47
  What was there something that sparked those thoughts?
• 32:50
  Really?
• 32:50
  Sometimes you just look back and be like, okay,
• 32:52
  I need to go home now.
• 32:53
  Like, all right.
• 32:55
  But then the other voice in the head is like,
• 32:58
  we haven't finished what you want to do.
• 32:59
  You know, we have the tools.
• 33:01
  So try to get those started before you go back.
• 33:04
  And so those are the things.
• 33:05
  So which is why I'm still here.
• 33:07
  I'm like, okay, finish, you know,
• 33:08
  what you came here to do.
• 33:09
  Try to work on your plans.
• 33:11
  So I was like, okay, so in my head,
• 33:13
  people will be like, device a two-year thing.
• 33:15
  You call mine and say, we're going to spend two years.
• 33:18
  That's it.
• 33:18
  Right.
• 33:19
  And then two years pass and two more years.
• 33:21
  All right, just two more years.
• 33:22
  And then the two years come and it goes,
• 33:24
  no, man, two more years again.
• 33:25
  Like, literally, that's how we consider it.
• 33:28
  Is that two years place?
• 33:29
  Two years.
• 33:29
  And then I said that, it just kept going.
• 33:31
  Sure.
• 33:32
  What was the initial dream?
• 33:34
  And how has that changed nine years little?
• 33:37
  So initially coming here, it was more just about
• 33:40
  getting the experience, you know,
• 33:42
  big city, come and see what's happening,
• 33:45
  learn different things.
• 33:47
  But I feel like over the over the time I have,
• 33:49
  but now I'm like, okay, now it's time to try and create something for you.
• 33:54
  Create your mark, put yourself out there.
• 33:56
  And I'm like, why not start from here?
• 33:58
  Because it's Dubai, right?
• 34:00
  Give it a try.
• 34:01
  So this is where I'm not now trying to elevate myself to be like,
• 34:04
  okay, do things for you now and try to be
• 34:10
  career-wise, especially try to be like on another level.
• 34:14
  Because I feel like I've been climbing the hierarchy, you could say.
• 34:17
  So I think I feel like, okay, it's time for you to go, go, go, go.
• 34:21
  And what does that mean?
• 34:22
  You say things like, put yourself on the mark and be more about you.
• 34:26
  What does that mean?
• 34:27
  Okay, so throughout my career, I have originally,
• 34:30
  I started out just as like, you could say a baker.
• 34:33
  You know, I just baked stuff and all that.
• 34:36
  But as time grew by, now I'm, for example, now,
• 34:40
  I'm in the level where I'm developing.
• 34:42
  Okay.
• 34:42
  So now I work with companies or for a company that has multiple
• 34:45
  companies that I'm developing recipe.
• 34:48
  So instead of me flipping through a book to read someone's recipe,
• 34:52
  I'm now creating it.
• 34:54
  Sure.
• 34:54
  So this is the level.
• 34:55
  So I'm like, okay, Shana.
• 34:56
  And after that, of course, Shana will get something for herself.
• 34:59
  And that's, so this is the goal.
• 35:01
  This is where I'm aiming for.
• 35:03
  I'm going to say for yourself, you want your own,
• 35:05
  participate, you want your own.
• 35:07
  Yes, yes, but I haven't figured.
• 35:10
  I knew what I wanted like a year ago.
• 35:13
  Okay.
• 35:14
  And I'm very good at custom things, so like custom cages.
• 35:19
  And then I sat on, I was thinking about it,
• 35:21
  because originally that was my plan.
• 35:22
  I was like, okay, I know that my hands are very good.
• 35:24
  I can, I can do this.
• 35:26
  But then I started to think of it on a business perspective.
• 35:29
  And I was like, maybe it's not the best thing.
• 35:31
  Because having a custom brand or having a custom business,
• 35:35
  it means that you need my hands.
• 35:37
  Right.
• 35:38
  And I feel like now is not the time for me to be so stationary,
• 35:42
  where, you know, it's just my hands.
• 35:43
  So then I had to pull back.
• 35:45
  So now I'm kind of at the drawing board to be like,
• 35:48
  what do you, how do you plan to execute?
• 35:50
  What do you want to do?
• 35:51
  Okay, because for me, that's not the route
• 35:54
  that I want to go anymore.
• 35:56
  So literally, I mean, that phase,
• 35:58
  because I was saying it to my friend the other day,
• 35:59
  and I was like, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
• 36:02
  I knew exactly how I'm going to do this, you know,
• 36:05
  but then I came to myself and I'm like,
• 36:07
  I don't know if that's a good thing.
• 36:09
  Because in this world now with so much things happening,
• 36:12
  I feel like I would be confiding myself too much.
• 36:15
  Because of course, of course, you can find great designers
• 36:18
  and people to come work for you.
• 36:20
  But as a startup, and I know how Dubai is,
• 36:22
  and it takes time and, you know,
• 36:24
  you're probably going to have to do it on your own
• 36:26
  for some time, I feel like it's going to be too much.
• 36:28
  So then I was like, okay, know what?
• 36:30
  Go back to the drawing board.
• 36:32
  So that's kind of where I am.
• 36:33
  Do you think Dubai helps with this phase
• 36:37
  of tweaking and making ideas feel like they are viable?
• 36:42
  Because I think there, I could say it go both ways, right?
• 36:45
  You're kind of surrounded by people
• 36:47
  who've seen everybody wants to be doing something.
• 36:49
  You're surrounded by a lot of visual glitz and glamour,
• 36:53
  and I could see where that could really motivate somebody
• 36:56
  to bring their ideas to life.
• 36:57
  But I could also see how those things could also be
• 37:00
  quite imposing.
• 37:01
  And I'm just wondering which one is it for you?
• 37:03
  Is it giving you the energy,
• 37:05
  or does it sometimes feel daunting?
• 37:07
  I feel like it's a little bit of both.
• 37:09
  I feel like it's a little bit of both.
• 37:11
  Because again, you know, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
• 37:14
  But then looking around me and I'm like,
• 37:16
  well, I don't know if this is the right thing now.
• 37:19
  It could be later on, but I feel like,
• 37:22
  I don't know if it's the right thing now.
• 37:24
  So again, it's like me in a tough spot, you could say.
• 37:30
  But I feel like I know my path.
• 37:32
  I know exactly what I want for myself.
• 37:36
  So I know how I'm going to go about it.
• 37:39
  But it's just that physically, I'm like,
• 37:42
  I don't think it's the time.
• 37:43
  I don't think it's what I need to do now.
• 37:45
  Because it's really going to just put me in a small bubble.
• 37:48
  And I don't want to be in a small bubble now.
• 37:50
  Because I'm doing, like I said, you know,
• 37:52
  I'm doing recipe developments.
• 37:53
  I'm creating things.
• 37:54
  And of course, I'm planning to do that for myself eventually.
• 37:58
  But I feel like I'm still in the learning phase.
• 38:02
  And I must say, even the company that I work for,
• 38:05
  the persons that I work with, they're so great.
• 38:08
  You know, they give you a lot of courage and encouragement.
• 38:12
  You know, even my boss the other day, he saw my TikTok.
• 38:16
  Because I just started on TikTok.
• 38:18
  And he's like, I'm rooting for you.
• 38:21
  I saw your TikTok pop up on my...
• 38:23
  So, you know, and they're people that I can go to.
• 38:25
  They own businesses for a long time.
• 38:27
  And I can say to them, oh, you know, I have this idea.
• 38:29
  You know, tell me what you think.
• 38:31
  And they'll give you genuine guidance.
• 38:33
  So, I'm just soaking up all of that now.
• 38:35
  Because I just started like a year, almost a year now.
• 38:37
  So, I'm just trying to get everything.
• 38:39
  So, when I do venture off, I know how to go about it.
• 38:43
  And stuff like that.
• 38:45
  Is there a reason why you want to venture off?
• 38:48
  The reason I ask this is because I do think we live in an age
• 38:51
  that glorifies entrepreneurship in a way that has the potential
• 38:56
  to be toxic in the sense that I don't think everyone
• 38:59
  should be an entrepreneur.
• 39:00
  And I don't mean that geographively.
• 39:02
  I just mean that there is no shame in doing really well
• 39:06
  at a job and benefiting from the infrastructure
• 39:08
  that a big company can provide.
• 39:10
  Whether that is from just a financial perspective
• 39:13
  so you can bring your ideas to life through that vehicle
• 39:17
  or whether that is through amazing people
• 39:19
  that you get to work around.
• 39:20
  Because I don't think that the average person appreciates
• 39:23
  how isolating entrepreneurship can be.
• 39:26
  We see these obviously amazing success stories
• 39:29
  where people go and they get lots of investment
• 39:31
  and that investment can then provide them
• 39:33
  with an almost like different start.
• 39:36
  They're not starting like the rest of us.
• 39:37
  They're not starting from the independent where,
• 39:39
  like you say, you'll have to be doing things yourself.
• 39:41
  And so, I hear you speak and you clearly love your job.
• 39:45
  You clearly love that you're still learning
• 39:47
  that you're being exposed to different aspects of the business.
• 39:50
  And then I'm like, why do we need to break out?
• 39:54
  I feel like I'm a mixture of both.
• 39:57
  I feel like even if I have something for myself,
• 40:01
  I mean until it's probably in the air where it's okay,
• 40:04
  I feel like I'll still be working.
• 40:06
  This is how I feel.
• 40:08
  Because how do I say no?
• 40:11
  Because you see, in Dubai, I've been here for nine years.
• 40:14
  I've worked for a few companies.
• 40:17
  And thank God the companies I've worked for, they have been great.
• 40:20
  I haven't had like crazy bad experiences.
• 40:23
  And I've worked, I've always worked directly with the owners.
• 40:26
  That's one of my thing.
• 40:28
  I always, I'm just fortunate I would say to work directly with the owners
• 40:32
  because not many people get to do that.
• 40:34
  And with that comes a lot of knowledge beyond just baking.
• 40:39
  So one, I think I would be grounded enough to go about things my own.
• 40:44
  But I also do believe I'll be here for a while in terms of working for someone,
• 40:49
  especially if I can get what I want.
• 40:51
  You know, I can give, because even this job that I got this last job,
• 40:55
  I was like, oh, I know how this works now.
• 40:59
  I'm going to name what I want.
• 41:01
  You know, and I was like, I would like this, this, this.
• 41:04
  And ask and it's, you know, it will be if they can meet it, sure.
• 41:08
  And they did come halfway.
• 41:09
  Some of it, they're like, okay, yes, yes, yes.
• 41:12
  No, but I can do this.
• 41:13
  And I was like, okay, all right.
• 41:15
  So now I get that I'm like, okay.
• 41:17
  So this is how I'm approaching it.
• 41:18
  So I would want to say I'm a mixture of both.
• 41:20
  I feel like yes, I would eventually want to branch off.
• 41:23
  But again, if the company is doing what they're doing and they're doing it good
• 41:27
  and you're getting, I'm getting the opportunity to excel still within the company.
• 41:31
  I'm going to take it as well.
• 41:33
  So I would say half enough.
• 41:35
  Do you think that you have anything else to learn from the craft of baking?
• 41:40
  Not the business side.
• 41:42
  Yes, but yes, I do.
• 41:44
  Yeah, I do.
• 41:45
  Because I do, I'm going to say I do a mixture of both.
• 41:48
  But I'm not a bread person.
• 41:50
  Okay.
• 41:51
  I don't like those.
• 41:52
  People will be like, how are your faces happy?
• 41:54
  No, you stay to the temperamental for me, man.
• 41:56
  I'm not, I'm not a fan of the doughy stuff.
• 42:01
  So for me, and again, even when I got this opportunity that I got to take control
• 42:07
  of the whole pastry department, I made that very clear to my owner at the time.
• 42:11
  I said, listen, I'm not fond of doughmaking.
• 42:14
  And he's like, well, I love everything about you.
• 42:16
  So I'll get you a baker.
• 42:17
  And that's what he did.
• 42:18
  That's what he did literally.
• 42:20
  He's like, I love, I love everything about you.
• 42:23
  You know, I'm honest.
• 42:24
  I say it because I am one, especially in this industry.
• 42:27
  I've been here for over a decade.
• 42:29
  I'm not going to come and tell you no lie.
• 42:31
  Because there's going to be a time when I need to show you, right?
• 42:34
  And if I can't do it, then I'm going to look like, you know.
• 42:37
  So I said, I'll make it clear.
• 42:38
  I said, I'm not a dough person.
• 42:40
  I want to learn it.
• 42:41
  Just so I have the knowledge.
• 42:42
  But I'm not one to correct someone to say, oh, you're doing it wrong.
• 42:46
  So you need to get somebody to do it.
• 42:48
  And that's what he did.
• 42:49
  So now I'm in a facility where I'm learning a little bit of dough thing on the side.
• 42:54
  But my biggest thing is I love chocolate here.
• 42:57
  Okay.
• 42:58
  So that's my next level.
• 43:00
  So I probably do a course on my own.
• 43:02
  And just to kind of get into that because I like that as well.
• 43:05
  So it's almost like I want to be so well rounded.
• 43:07
  So when I'm done, I know it all, you know.
• 43:10
  Well, I hope to know it.
• 43:12
  So yeah, so that's me.
• 43:14
  So chocolate here is on my list.
• 43:16
  In the places that we've worked, are most of them large scale.
• 43:19
  You said you came from hotels.
• 43:21
  And then when you came here, was it going into hotels as well?
• 43:24
  No, I've never worked in a hotel here.
• 43:25
  Okay.
• 43:26
  So here was restaurants and restaurants and cafes.
• 43:29
  And now I'm working for a catering company.
• 43:31
  Okay.
• 43:32
  And the catering company plus multiple stuff.
• 43:34
  How are those different styles?
• 43:36
  So now I work at a central kitchen.
• 43:38
  So I don't get to see people.
• 43:40
  Right.
• 43:41
  Is that good?
• 43:42
  How do I feel about that?
• 43:43
  It's almost like when you put on that, you know, the chemist put on that jacket.
• 43:46
  And you go in and you're like, okay, what are we doing today?
• 43:49
  Oh, we're creating this recipe.
• 43:50
  And you know, with your one million failures and your success.
• 43:53
  And you're like, yes, I got it.
• 43:55
  So that's now.
• 43:56
  Right.
• 43:57
  But before I worked in cafes, I was in a cafe.
• 44:01
  And I worked in a fine-down restaurant.
• 44:03
  So they're very much different.
• 44:05
  When I just came up that, I worked in a bakery where they did a mixture of everything.
• 44:11
  So I did a little bit of normal baking bread, croissants and, you know, muffins and all that.
• 44:18
  And then they said, you know what, we're going to open a fine-down restaurant.
• 44:21
  Okay.
• 44:22
  And I was like, yes, I'm all for that.
• 44:24
  So I was like, move me over.
• 44:25
  So I moved over to the fine-down restaurant.
• 44:28
  And that was, that was something because we were literally beside the Dubai Opera.
• 44:33
  Okay.
• 44:34
  So, you know, those busy, when it's dinner time, it's busy.
• 44:39
  So that was literally, I really cherish that moment until now working.
• 44:43
  I didn't work there for very long, maybe a year or something.
• 44:46
  But that year was one of, like, one of those moments in Dubai was like, yes.
• 44:51
  Because, you know, you know, the restaurant world and it was a, it was an open kitchen.
• 44:56
  Okay.
• 44:57
  So, you know, it can't get even more intense when it's open.
• 45:00
  But yeah, and then pastry, of course, when it's pastry, you got millions of, uh,
• 45:05
  paintings to do.
• 45:06
  So that part of it I loved.
• 45:07
  And then I moved on to the cafe and then it became a bit more homey, a bit more cozy.
• 45:13
  Again, doing recipes and stuff, but nothing crazy.
• 45:17
  Things you already know.
• 45:19
  But it's still another part that I was like, okay, let me try.
• 45:23
  And then I moved on to, now I'm in a central kitchen where it's, I'm not seeing anyone.
• 45:28
  It's me and the team.
• 45:31
  But I feel like all the phases help me to become who I am.
• 45:36
  Because now I'm not seeing anyone.
• 45:38
  But when I was in the cafes and stuff, just the personality as well.
• 45:41
  Even my boss would be like, you know, go shine.
• 45:43
  Go do, go do.
• 45:44
  And I was like, well, I'm, I'm the pastry chef.
• 45:46
  I'm not supposed to be going out to, but you know, they took that opportunity as well.
• 45:51
  But I only go set some light outside.
• 45:54
  But now I'm good now.
• 45:56
  Also, I mean, I'm not seeing people on a day to day.
• 45:59
  Demising people.
• 46:00
  Sometimes.
• 46:01
  Okay.
• 46:02
  Sometimes.
• 46:03
  Because sometimes you go out and you're like, you know, some random customers.
• 46:06
  And they might say something and they may do something.
• 46:08
  You're like, oh, you know, that may be happy.
• 46:10
  But some of them also make you sad.
• 46:12
  But now I'm good because not only do I work with the, the bakers and the chefs, we do have
• 46:18
  like office staffs and everything.
• 46:19
  So you do see people, but not just not like customers.
• 46:22
  But it's good.
• 46:23
  I like, I like this phase.
• 46:24
  I do like it.
• 46:26
  What do you think about your experience in hospitality that the average person who's never worked
• 46:31
  in hospitality?
• 46:32
  And I don't just mean from a pastry chef perspective, but they may never have been a chef on the line.
• 46:37
  They may never have been a way to wait.
• 46:39
  Whatever.
• 46:40
  Like all the positions, what do you think that they should know about the hospitality industry?
• 46:49
  I would want to say it's intense.
• 46:52
  It can get really intense, especially if you're dealing with customers directly.
• 46:57
  It can get really intense.
• 46:59
  And one thing I would want to tell people out there is that, you know, people tend to be like, oh, but I'm spending my money.
• 47:07
  You are spending your money, but I would say to you, be kind because you really don't know what's happening.
• 47:15
  You know, at the back, you know, your way to could have gotten crazy yelling from someone or, you know,
• 47:21
  and they're going through something themselves.
• 47:23
  So they might forget something or they might forget to punch it or whatever the case might be.
• 47:27
  But I would say be kind and give grace because it's hard.
• 47:32
  Because, you know, we're catering for so much different people, so much different nationalities, so much.
• 47:38
  Everything is just so different.
• 47:40
  So that would be my two cents to people out there to just be kind.
• 47:44
  Give a little bit more grace, even though you're paying your money.
• 47:48
  Even though I want money.
• 47:50
  Want it?
• 47:51
  But, you know, we're humans as well.
• 47:54
  So, you know, yeah.
• 47:56
  And I would want to say people sometimes don't know how to express.
• 47:59
  And that's one thing I realize as well.
• 48:01
  Being in a diverse environment, some people will be like, oh, English is not everyone's first language.
• 48:08
  So things might come across how make home across certain way.
• 48:14
  So you have to be very kind and graceful, I would say.
• 48:17
  Those are my two things.
• 48:19
  Because for example, the other day, I had a chef and someone said something to him and he was like, boom, like attack.
• 48:27
  And I was like, I had to say to him, well, I said, remember your ear a guy.
• 48:34
  So you can't speak to a lady like that.
• 48:36
  He didn't mean it in any, but because that's his, he's not right.
• 48:40
  And he's not, he's from a different parts of world, you know, so for him, that's how they are.
• 48:46
  So I had to say to me, you know, pull it back a little bit because she's going to think you're attacking her.
• 48:50
  Well, you're not, you know, we get, I know that he's not that, which is why I said to him, you know,
• 48:56
  pull it back a little bit because you don't want it to come across as, you know, you being mean or anger, whatever.
• 49:02
  So this is, this is the same thing for customers, you know, we're all coming from, we're all from different walks of, of world.
• 49:08
  So just be a bit more graceful.
• 49:10
  That's it.
• 49:11
  What is the, you speak a lot about diversity in the like teams that you've worked with.
• 49:17
  Are there lots of women in hospitality here?
• 49:20
  Not in my area, but I feel like there are a few.
• 49:24
  But definitely still a men dominated field in a sense.
• 49:29
  Do you wish that was different?
• 49:31
  I do.
• 49:32
  You do?
• 49:33
  Because I, in my kitchen, I'm going to say it's probably about, in the kitchen kitchen, it's probably about let's say 60 of us there.
• 49:40
  Okay.
• 49:41
  And it's only three women.
• 49:43
  Why do you wish it were more women?
• 49:45
  For me, I feel like the woman can groom the men a little bit.
• 49:50
  It's because the men said to be, how'd you say now?
• 49:55
  Not carefree, but like, when a woman will be like, no, put it back, fix that.
• 50:00
  Do that, you know, and they kind of help you.
• 50:03
  But overall, other way, I like the men, you know, I don't have much stress with them.
• 50:07
  Okay.
• 50:08
  They don't give me much headaches.
• 50:10
  The people would say, oh, men don't have much emotions.
• 50:12
  It's not like the woman that will be like, oh, you know, she's upset or she's vexed or she says, I don't really get that from the men.
• 50:19
  But I always tell my chefs, like, one of my main rule is what happens today, happen today.
• 50:24
  Don't come to work tomorrow, worrying about what happened.
• 50:27
  Because then you just bring tension throughout the next day.
• 50:30
  Yeah.
• 50:31
  It happens today, done.
• 50:33
  Tomorrow is a new day.
• 50:34
  Let's move on.
• 50:35
  So when you're managing teams with so many people from all over the place, how do you curate a specific culture for your workplace?
• 50:44
  Because like, in my restaurant, I used to always tell people when you step through the door as Jamaica.
• 50:48
  Outside is London, whatever, you know, misery and rudeness.
• 50:52
  For example, my team would come to work and it's very normal for them to not say hello.
• 50:57
  Right.
• 50:58
  And my restaurant's not massive.
• 50:59
  So there is no reason for you not to say hello.
• 51:02
  And I used to have to explain to people, I understand that in London is okay to not say hello.
• 51:07
  But in here, we have like a broad upcy.
• 51:09
  Okay.
• 51:10
  And you must say hello at the start of your shift, like you're going to be working with us for the rest of the day.
• 51:14
  So there are just little things that I had to make sure that my team were doing.
• 51:18
  And for me, it really helped to unify us because, you know, my culture, and again, because it's my place, was very clear.
• 51:25
  And so everybody having to kind of jump on board to that meant that even though we're coming from different places,
• 51:31
  we had a wooden water, a three-leather bird's culture that could be really easily identified.
• 51:36
  I feel like it's a little bit more complex for sure, because you got so much different nationalities.
• 51:43
  So I feel one, I would want to say, again, my personality, I feel like it was made for this industry as well.
• 51:54
  Because, well, let me go back to say heart, college of hospitality.
• 52:00
  They did really well, because they had some courses, even though you're a chef, they had some courses that you had to do, like problem solving,
• 52:09
  you know, controlling all of these things. So I think that also gave me more knowledge in how to deal with people.
• 52:16
  So when I come here, I know how to dealing with my team. I know how to be on this level.
• 52:23
  I know how to be on this level. I know to be on this level. I can just adjust myself accordingly.
• 52:28
  So I feel like that's a plus for me. So then I know how to deal with them.
• 52:34
  Being here for so long as well, I kind of understand the different nationalities.
• 52:38
  So then I deal with you kind of accordingly. And I try to give you some of my traits.
• 52:42
  I try to give you some of my wisdom to be like, like I said to that person, he was speaking how he was speaking.
• 52:47
  And that's normal. And I had to pull him back and be like, well, listen, do this.
• 52:51
  And now they're a little bit aware that, okay, now I don't, I won't do like that, you know.
• 52:56
  And I try to be, I try to not let ego or pride get involved, especially in my work,
• 53:04
  because I'm, I'm considered a team leader, right? I control a large amount of people.
• 53:10
  So I need to know that it's not personal. It's not, and this is what I tried to teach them.
• 53:15
  It's not personal. It's literally work. And I know how I correct people.
• 53:20
  This is one of the things, because if something is happening, and I say, in the midst of that,
• 53:25
  and I create, like, it just, it's like clash, like, you know, you're, we're clashing.
• 53:29
  And I tried to, like, okay, so when it's done, I'll pull you aside.
• 53:34
  And I'll say, listen, how you said that, how you did that, you know, you can do it better,
• 53:38
  you can do this, you can do that. So I try growing in Dubai, I tried to, to basically share what I've seen throughout.
• 53:46
  So I think that's what helped me to manage such different diversities.
• 53:50
  Like, I know how to approach you. I know how to approach you. So that's how I do it.
• 53:54
  And working in a central kitchen, are the hours better than working in service?
• 53:59
  Yes, I know. I feel like we have a lot of peak times in the central,
• 54:06
  because again, my company controls multiple brands. So there's times when it's busy.
• 54:11
  Okay. So then you have to do what you got to do, like Ramadan.
• 54:14
  We have one brand that is super busy. So we're there for crazy amount of hours.
• 54:19
  But then we have somewhere that's not busy. And the boss will be like, okay, go home.
• 54:23
  So it balances itself. Whereas I feel like the fine diner is a little bit more intense.
• 54:28
  I feel like it's a little bit more intense. But I would say creating that work life balance is good.
• 54:36
  And my owner now, he understands that. Well, both of them, I got to, they understand it.
• 54:41
  So they kind of plan according to them, like, no, listen, even if you have to spend some time today,
• 54:47
  you know, tomorrow is not busy. Take it back.
• 54:49
  Okay. So a bit of give and take.
• 54:51
  So yeah, give and take.
• 54:52
  Do you think that mothers can thrive in hospitality given the amount of hours
• 54:57
  and just were on our feet and it's long because, you know, before my children,
• 55:01
  I was in my restaurant seven days a week and they were 20 minutes apart.
• 55:04
  So I'd like fly between the two of them.
• 55:06
  And I got pregnant during COVID, which is relevant because I don't think I would have got pregnant.
• 55:11
  Otherwise, I was just working all the time.
• 55:13
  There was no time for, you know, hold to make babies.
• 55:16
  So then my children come on.
• 55:19
  And to be honest with you, initially, I couldn't even visualize how I was going to manage both of those roles
• 55:25
  because I was so used to always being there from early morning prep down to wear clothing.
• 55:31
  You close the restaurant, kitchen clothes at midnight.
• 55:33
  So you're not leaving until whatever time of the morning.
• 55:36
  And luckily, I had my core team that had been with me pre-baby to know that I would, you know,
• 55:41
  do everything with them except vomit.
• 55:43
  That's my only thing I can do.
• 55:44
  And it's not because I'm too stosh, I just cannot deal with the smell.
• 55:49
  But in terms of, you know, cleaning the toilets, I'm fine, right?
• 55:52
  Like, there's no, I'm the boss.
• 55:53
  And I think that's what kind of galvanized us as well is that they respected the grind.
• 55:59
  But post-baby, there were just times where I physically couldn't be there as much.
• 56:04
  And again, when you say work-life balance, it's a common thing that comes up nowadays,
• 56:09
  particularly in the West, everything is work-life balance.
• 56:11
  And I was talking to a friend.
• 56:12
  I was like, I just don't think that if that is one of your requirements in life, hospitality is the industry.
• 56:18
  And I know that might sound mean, but, you know, in life, we make choices.
• 56:22
  We make choices where to live.
• 56:23
  We make choices what jobs to have.
• 56:25
  And I'm not saying that we should be working people to the bone and they should be, you know, barely surviving.
• 56:31
  That's not what I'm saying.
• 56:32
  But I also think we have to be realistic.
• 56:34
  And when people come to me in an interview and they drop work-life balance, I'm not hiring you.
• 56:39
  I don't care how good you are.
• 56:41
  Because also from an independent perspective, what people don't understand is that the big boys can afford,
• 56:47
  because of economies of scale, they can afford to have multiple people in one role.
• 56:51
  So you can have a really nice smooth rotation.
• 56:53
  When you're an independent, you can't afford to have all of these people so that everybody's getting work-life balance.
• 56:59
  And then when you even have enough people, what somebody calls you sick, it's all hands-on-deck to feel that whole.
• 57:05
  And so I just wondered from your perspective, because obviously you have a motherhood mind,
• 57:10
  because you have a child, do you realistically think that women can basically thrive in hospitality
• 57:18
  and be able to manage that role of motherhood?
• 57:23
  I think you can, but it's hard, but you can.
• 57:27
  But again, it's a choice.
• 57:28
  It's a choice if you want to do it.
• 57:30
  Because even when I was back home in Jamaica, I was working.
• 57:33
  I was working, I was going to school, and I had my son.
• 57:37
  Sure.
• 57:38
  Because I had to finish, you know, there's one of the courses at heart, you had to do it while you were working.
• 57:44
  You had to do it while you had a job.
• 57:46
  So I had to do that every week as well.
• 57:48
  But again, I feel like it's a choice.
• 57:51
  I knew what I want.
• 57:52
  And I was like, listen, this is what I'm going for.
• 57:55
  And these are the sacrifices I have to make, but I'm doing it.
• 57:58
  So it all boils down to if you want, I would say.
• 58:02
  It's a case of if you want.
• 58:03
  But I do agree with you with the work-life balance.
• 58:05
  It is a bit of like an open-down thing.
• 58:08
  But again, I feel like I've been in the industry for a long time.
• 58:13
  So when I just started out, I wasn't worried about all of that.
• 58:17
  But I feel like I have reached the level now that I'm like, okay, Shana, you've done this.
• 58:21
  This is while I'm climbing, you know, it's almost like making my demands as I go along.
• 58:25
  So this is what it is.
• 58:26
  But for some companies, they're great where they do, again, they probably can't give you like what you really want.
• 58:32
  But like my company that I am now, they're like, okay, when it's slow, go home.
• 58:37
  You don't have to say nothing to do because when there is something to do, you have to say.
• 58:41
  So, you know, there's a balance.
• 58:43
  So for me, that's good.
• 58:45
  That's good enough.
• 58:46
  But of course, it's hard.
• 58:47
  It's so hard.
• 58:48
  And I'm a mom.
• 58:49
  I'm not even with my son.
• 58:51
  Makes it, you know, easier, I would say, versus if I was home, it would definitely be harder.
• 58:57
  Do you love the industry as much as you did when you just started?
• 59:01
  I love the industry.
• 59:03
  That's a tricky one.
• 59:05
  I never really thought about it.
• 59:07
  I feel like there's different phases.
• 59:12
  There's different phases.
• 59:14
  When I just started, of course, it was just wild.
• 59:18
  I guess this is what I'm doing.
• 59:20
  But as I grow, I think, I still love it.
• 59:24
  But I think I'm just in a different phase, you would say.
• 59:28
  But I do still, what I say, because I have people that reach out to me.
• 59:33
  I have a lot of people that will message me and be like, how did you get there?
• 59:38
  How do you do the pastures?
• 59:39
  I want to be a pasture, but I don't know.
• 59:41
  Even now, I have one girl.
• 59:43
  She's like, okay, she's in Jamaica.
• 59:45
  She's like, let's connect the time so we can call you and just have a chat.
• 59:49
  Just tell me, you know, and I'm like, oh, for it.
• 59:51
  So these are the little parts that still keep me going as well.
• 59:54
  She's like, okay, you know, people want to learn.
• 59:56
  Because this is my thing.
• 59:58
  Because at heart, I also did, I was working there as well as a demonstrator.
• 1:00:04
  So I train, I train trainees as well.
• 1:00:07
  So that for me gives me, give me a little boost.
• 1:00:10
  Like, okay, yeah, yeah, sure.
• 1:00:12
  I'll arrange a meeting for you, you know, just to give you some wisdom and stuff.
• 1:00:16
  But I would say, yes, I still love it.
• 1:00:19
  I still love it.
• 1:00:20
  And when you go home now, is Jamaica different for you?
• 1:00:24
  Yes, it is.
• 1:00:27
  And so much.
• 1:00:30
  When I go home, one, I tried to hide for like the first three days.
• 1:00:35
  Just to just to get that, you know, eat, sleep, taking that fresh air.
• 1:00:41
  Before everyone knows your home, you know, all the cousins of this,
• 1:00:45
  you're like, okay, I'm coming in excitement.
• 1:00:49
  So yeah, it's different, but I feel like every time I go, something is happening, you know,
• 1:00:57
  the road change or this happened.
• 1:00:59
  And I don't know this and I don't know that I feel a bit lost back home.
• 1:01:02
  But thank God, my family is always like, okay, I'll come with you.
• 1:01:05
  I'm like, follow me to the shop because I don't know if this, I don't know if, you know,
• 1:01:09
  so it's changed, but it's just home at the end of the day.
• 1:01:14
  Book me a ticket now.
• 1:01:16
  I'm gone.
• 1:01:17
  When you're away, do you feel like in Dubai, you're, you have a responsibility to represent Jamaica?
• 1:01:22
  Yes.
• 1:01:23
  Yeah.
• 1:01:24
  And I'm always representing people.
• 1:01:26
  Now, once you see me, you see that Jamaica t-shirt or I'm going somewhere and I have to
• 1:01:30
  have my Jamaica something in my hair.
• 1:01:32
  I'm always like, I'm so proud.
• 1:01:34
  I'm a very proud Jamaica.
• 1:01:36
  The other day I went to the cricket game because West Indies was playing and I was like, you know,
• 1:01:40
  I'm not bringing my flag because if I bring my flag, they'll take it because if they don't
• 1:01:44
  know, if it's West Indies, they'll, I can go with the West Indies flag.
• 1:01:47
  But if it's the Jamaica flag, they'll be like, no.
• 1:01:49
  So I was like, but when I went and I saw the West Indies flag, I was like, that's good enough.
• 1:01:53
  I was like, taking the flag and I was doing the most.
• 1:01:56
  So I'm always representing.
• 1:01:57
  Anyway, you see Jamaica.
• 1:01:59
  When you look back at your career, do you still believe that for you to become this version
• 1:02:05
  of yourself, you had to leave?
• 1:02:07
  And the reason I ask is selfishly, I left about about 10 years ago to go to the UK.
• 1:02:13
  And I'm not sure that this idea that I was chasing this bigger dream that was bigger than Jamaica.
• 1:02:21
  When I go back home, I see certain things, people and advancements that I probably didn't predict.
• 1:02:28
  And, you know, even in the restaurant industry, I see certain things like, oh, that's interesting.
• 1:02:33
  You know, people are becoming a little bit more open minded to certain things.
• 1:02:36
  I see progress in a lot of ways.
• 1:02:39
  And I don't have a conclusive answer for myself.
• 1:02:42
  So I just wondered for you because sometimes I wonder if maybe the dreams that I am still chasing,
• 1:02:49
  would I have been able to achieve them there?
• 1:02:52
  Yes, it might have, like, needed to be molded or packaged maybe a little bit differently.
• 1:02:56
  But maybe I should have stayed.
• 1:02:58
  I feel like I'm in the same boat as you.
• 1:03:00
  Because I look back home and I get it.
• 1:03:04
  Time is evolving and things are happening.
• 1:03:07
  I'm like, ooh, they have a nice restaurant.
• 1:03:09
  They have a dish and I'm like, yes.
• 1:03:11
  And this is me, Cherk, but Jamaica, I'm like, yes.
• 1:03:14
  I love that.
• 1:03:15
  So I don't know.
• 1:03:16
  In my head, I'm like, maybe if I had just stayed, maybe I would still be where I am.
• 1:03:21
  It's almost like you don't know.
• 1:03:23
  You really don't know.
• 1:03:24
  But I would say in our industry, it's good to go out and get, you know,
• 1:03:32
  more knowledge and more understanding and everything, even just about the food and everything.
• 1:03:37
  Because even when I came here, I was like, what is this?
• 1:03:40
  I don't know this fruit.
• 1:03:41
  What is that, you know?
• 1:03:42
  So now I can actually go back and if I do see it, I can be like, oh, this is this, this is that.
• 1:03:46
  And still, again, teach people because, you know, I'm learning things from not just to buy.
• 1:03:51
  I'm dealing with so much different nationalities and people have their culture here.
• 1:03:55
  So I'm seeing things and I'm like, okay.
• 1:03:58
  Yeah.
• 1:03:59
  Because even when I was growing up, my dad used to love African movies.
• 1:04:02
  We would sit and watch African movies and the food.
• 1:04:05
  And I was always wondering, what is that white thing they're eating?
• 1:04:08
  And now, like, when I came and I got used to it, I called my dad and I was like, oh, you know,
• 1:04:13
  the thing that we're watching on the TV.
• 1:04:15
  I'm eating it now and I send videos and I'm like, yes.
• 1:04:18
  So I feel like, I feel like if you don't step out as well, you probably wouldn't really experience some of these things.
• 1:04:25
  But of course, you know, Jamaica is so diverse.
• 1:04:28
  Everybody's there now.
• 1:04:29
  Every nationality is there as well.
• 1:04:31
  But here, I feel like I'm seeing a lot more.
• 1:04:34
  So I don't know.
• 1:04:36
  I think I would say I'm in the same boat as you.
• 1:04:38
  Maybe I should have said I could have said and I would have been this or.
• 1:04:42
  But you never know.
• 1:04:43
  But I'm just grateful for the opportunities thus far.
• 1:04:46
  I can say that.
• 1:04:48
  Do you ever think that moving back to Jamaica, having lived in a big city where a lot's going on?
• 1:04:54
  And there's fast pace.
• 1:04:56
  And it's a different pace to island time, right?
• 1:04:58
  It's a different pace to island life.
• 1:05:00
  Do you think that your memories, which again, correct me if I'm wrong, your memories are fun, right?
• 1:05:06
  You were doing what you were loving.
• 1:05:08
  You clearly are connected to your family and your friends and like that nice inner circle.
• 1:05:12
  But have you changed since being here in ways that might not fit the memories of your life?
• 1:05:18
  I want to say yeah.
• 1:05:24
  I want to say yeah.
• 1:05:25
  I feel like not much the lifestyle I have here, but I feel like where I'm at is like when I go home, I have to be like,
• 1:05:34
  okay, well, you're not into by a girl, you know, so get yourself.
• 1:05:38
  It's almost like if you're in a place, you need to be with that place.
• 1:05:43
  Yes.
• 1:05:44
  So I feel like that is, it can be a bit complex sometimes because I've been here for a long while.
• 1:05:50
  But then home is home.
• 1:05:52
  So it's like I have to try to always stay grounded because that's home at the end of the day.
• 1:05:56
  No matter where I go, Jamaica is home.
• 1:06:00
  How has Dubai changed since over that period of time since you've been here?
• 1:06:05
  It's nearly a decade.
• 1:06:06
  You know, someone was saying to me that they feel that more people are coming to Dubai now.
• 1:06:10
  For sure.
• 1:06:11
  I was quite surprised by that because I feel like at least in my world, people were once upon a time,
• 1:06:16
  everybody was talking about Dubai, Dubai, Dubai.
• 1:06:18
  And I think no people are talking about different destinations, but apparently everyone's still coming to Dubai.
• 1:06:23
  Yes.
• 1:06:24
  Yes, Dubai is still the place.
• 1:06:29
  Dubai is still.
• 1:06:31
  Back in 2017, it is very much different.
• 1:06:35
  One of the things that annoys me the most is the traffic.
• 1:06:38
  The traffic can tell you that there's too many people here.
• 1:06:42
  Too much.
• 1:06:43
  Too much.
• 1:06:44
  The traffic a little.
• 1:06:45
  But for sure, for sure, there's a lot of people.
• 1:06:48
  Then now then then 100%.
• 1:06:53
  I feel like people, how would I say?
• 1:06:56
  I have a lot of friends from the UK, people from the UK.
• 1:06:59
  So I feel like they're like, no, Dubai is easy, man.
• 1:07:02
  The UK is especially people that work remotely.
• 1:07:04
  They're like, no, no, I'm coming to Dubai.
• 1:07:06
  I'm coming.
• 1:07:07
  I can work from home.
• 1:07:08
  I can do this.
• 1:07:09
  So I feel like there's a lot more people, a lot more.
• 1:07:13
  And what do you think is drawing people?
• 1:07:16
  I don't even know.
• 1:07:19
  I feel like not much the weather, but just like the environment.
• 1:07:22
  Because again, like I said, my friends from the UK are people from the UK.
• 1:07:25
  It's always the weather.
• 1:07:26
  Right.
• 1:07:27
  They're like, no, don't understand the UK.
• 1:07:28
  Again, especially if they're doing like remote job, they're like, no, no, no, no, it's fine.
• 1:07:31
  I'm coming to Dubai because even when it's hot, it's still good.
• 1:07:35
  Right.
• 1:07:36
  Because it's Dubai, right?
• 1:07:37
  There's AC everywhere.
• 1:07:38
  Yes.
• 1:07:39
  So people are like, no, I'm coming over.
• 1:07:41
  And I think people use it as a not really a transition, but like they come and spend some time and then they go back.
• 1:07:47
  Because I do have people friends like that.
• 1:07:49
  They're like, okay, I'll come coming for a year or whatever.
• 1:07:51
  They do their time.
• 1:07:52
  They go back.
• 1:07:53
  Maybe they visit whatever.
• 1:07:54
  So I feel like there's a lot more people for sure.
• 1:07:58
  Does that change how you relate to new people?
• 1:08:01
  Because you know that they're not necessarily going to stay here.
• 1:08:03
  Or are you very present-minded and it's a relevant of if they leave in a year because you're with me in the here and no?
• 1:08:09
  I think that's where I am.
• 1:08:11
  Because I feel like at the end of the day, I always tell people, this is not your home.
• 1:08:15
  This is not your forever home, I would say.
• 1:08:17
  I always say that.
• 1:08:18
  Because yeah, you probably live here with your family for a long period of time.
• 1:08:21
  But there comes a time when you have to go home or go somewhere else.
• 1:08:24
  So I don't really hold people like, you know, oh, you know, don't leave or whatever.
• 1:08:28
  You have to do what you got to do.
• 1:08:30
  You know, my thing is I've meet a lot of people here.
• 1:08:33
  And I have tremendous amazing friendships that I've developed.
• 1:08:38
  But I'm okay.
• 1:08:39
  I'm like, okay, where are you going to be?
• 1:08:41
  I can, you know, oh, you're going to take a trip to Thailand.
• 1:08:43
  Okay, I'll come over.
• 1:08:44
  We can meet.
• 1:08:45
  You know, I feel like this is where the world is right now.
• 1:08:48
  People, you don't have to be at a specific place.
• 1:08:50
  We will see each other.
• 1:08:51
  So I don't really, you know, you come to Dubai, you do your time, you go.
• 1:08:56
  It's fine.
• 1:08:57
  We'll meet somewhere else.
• 1:08:59
  I don't know if I could do that.
• 1:09:01
  I don't like people that much.
• 1:09:02
  So the idea of finding people that I do really like and then them leaving.
• 1:09:08
  I think also, as I reflect on this, I'm always the one leaving.
• 1:09:13
  Because you have a traveler.
• 1:09:15
  Yeah.
• 1:09:16
  So the idea that other people are leaving me, I'm not sure how I feel about that.
• 1:09:20
  Yeah.
• 1:09:21
  It's something that I've just discovered in the last two minutes.
• 1:09:23
  I feel like I prefer you're the traveler here.
• 1:09:27
  But I get it.
• 1:09:29
  Yeah.
• 1:09:30
  The transiteness of these spaces.
• 1:09:32
  And we're seeing that more and more, like you say, with people working more remotely.
• 1:09:36
  People, again, having access to different parts of the world.
• 1:09:40
  It's becoming more of a thing that we kind of just get used to.
• 1:09:44
  Yeah, you just have to get used to it.
• 1:09:46
  Because it's like, what can I do?
• 1:09:47
  You got to go.
• 1:09:48
  You got to go.
• 1:09:49
  But like I said, if it's a friendship, like my best friend now, she was here for seven years.
• 1:09:55
  And then she's like, well, it's time to go home.
• 1:09:57
  And I'm like, don't leave me.
• 1:09:58
  Where was home for her?
• 1:09:59
  UK.
• 1:10:00
  Don't leave me.
• 1:10:01
  But she had to go.
• 1:10:02
  Go.
• 1:10:03
  But then we're going to link up.
• 1:10:04
  You know, take trips together.
• 1:10:05
  Do this.
• 1:10:06
  She comes to Jamaica.
• 1:10:07
  Or, you know, soon I'll probably go visit her.
• 1:10:09
  So I feel like, especially if it's a person that, you know, you hold dearly, you'll find a way.
• 1:10:14
  I feel like the world is moving so fast.
• 1:10:16
  You'll find a way.
• 1:10:17
  You'll find it.
• 1:10:18
  Do you feel that there's a part of you that people meet in Dubai that doesn't necessarily exist
• 1:10:23
  in the Jamaican side of you?
• 1:10:30
  I don't think so.
• 1:10:31
  I feel like what you see is what you get.
• 1:10:33
  Okay.
• 1:10:34
  And this has always been me.
• 1:10:35
  I've always been, like I said, not calm, but I am kind of calm.
• 1:10:43
  I've been always genuine, always kind.
• 1:10:46
  I'm going to express if I need to.
• 1:10:49
  I think especially with my career, I've learned how to express, when to express these, you know, time and place and type of thing.
• 1:10:56
  So I feel like it's me wherever you go, you're going to, this is what you're going to get.
• 1:11:01
  This is who I am.
• 1:11:02
  I don't feel like much will change.
• 1:11:05
  I don't think so.
• 1:11:06
  Has living here changed you at all?
• 1:11:08
  Other than your tolerance, and I don't mean professionally.
• 1:11:11
  I just mean sometimes when we live outside of our comfort zone, we discover parts of ourselves.
• 1:11:17
  That we didn't necessarily know.
• 1:11:19
  I would say yes, it has changed me, but I also feel like it's almost like the same.
• 1:11:27
  But call me as I have my support system.
• 1:11:29
  I have my family.
• 1:11:30
  Here I don't, you know, it's almost like I'm on my own.
• 1:11:33
  Thank God for the friends, you know, I have a friend that says friends that became family.
• 1:11:37
  That's the motto.
• 1:11:38
  So thank God for those people.
• 1:11:40
  But I feel like I'm a soldier.
• 1:11:45
  I feel like I'm a soldier.
• 1:11:46
  So no matter where I am back home here, I'm just a soldier.
• 1:11:50
  And I do appreciate the cushions, you know, my friend, my circles and everything.
• 1:11:55
  But I feel like, yeah, what you see is what you get.
• 1:11:58
  This is me.
• 1:11:59
  Do you think you could live in a coal country?
• 1:12:02
  Cold country.
• 1:12:03
  I don't know.
• 1:12:04
  Yeah.
• 1:12:05
  I feel like I haven't experienced that cold.
• 1:12:08
  You know, my best friend is always laughing at me because I'm always like, no, I like the cold.
• 1:12:12
  I like the cold and when she's like, girl, you're going to come to the UK when it's cold.
• 1:12:16
  And you'll tell me if you like it.
• 1:12:18
  And I'm like, okay, okay, we'll see.
• 1:12:20
  But I don't know.
• 1:12:21
  I'm not sure.
• 1:12:22
  I mean, we've been traveling since last year, January 3rd.
• 1:12:26
  And we've only been in hot spaces.
• 1:12:30
  And every time I look at whether it's a video or a picture and people are like wrapped up
• 1:12:35
  in their winter clothes, I'm like, how the hell did I last that long?
• 1:12:40
  Like I just, I don't understand.
• 1:12:42
  And going back to coal, I just really don't think I could do it.
• 1:12:47
  Honestly.
• 1:12:48
  And I think it's not just the cold of the UK, right?
• 1:12:50
  But it's the greyness where the ceiling is on your head.
• 1:12:56
  And I do think it's really easy to underestimate how the weather affects your spirit, right?
• 1:13:03
  Particularly when you go up in a hot country, right?
• 1:13:05
  You go up in a hot country and that's all you know.
• 1:13:07
  And then you're like, this is normal, right?
• 1:13:09
  People being joyous or light hearted or joking or smiling is our norm.
• 1:13:16
  And then you go to coal countries.
• 1:13:18
  And I don't think it's even an unfair stereotype.
• 1:13:20
  It is fact people in coal countries are more miserable, right?
• 1:13:23
  Like that is just my observation.
• 1:13:25
  Yeah.
• 1:13:26
  And so, and I think that the cold weather becomes a part of the culture.
• 1:13:31
  It affects behaviour.
• 1:13:32
  So it's not just that it's cold outside, right?
• 1:13:34
  It affects the way people interact with each other.
• 1:13:36
  Because we see that in those coal countries, when it's hot, the energy is different.
• 1:13:40
  Different.
• 1:13:41
  Whether it's people are going to walk a bit slower.
• 1:13:43
  So maybe they're going to be more likely to greet you.
• 1:13:45
  Yeah.
• 1:13:46
  Where they were before because they were just trying to get older to coal.
• 1:13:48
  I haven't experienced that coldness yet.
• 1:13:52
  But I lived through my best friend.
• 1:13:53
  Like I said, she'll tell me.
• 1:13:54
  She's like, you think it's cold where you drink hot chocolate?
• 1:13:58
  It's not that cold, okay?
• 1:13:59
  She always says that.
• 1:14:00
  She's like, it's not that cold.
• 1:14:02
  It's dull.
• 1:14:03
  It's grey.
• 1:14:04
  It's this.
• 1:14:05
  So I lived through her.
• 1:14:06
  So I haven't experienced it yet.
• 1:14:08
  But I do agree with you somewhat.
• 1:14:10
  Because of course, you know, if you're cold, then it's going to be like almost like tense.
• 1:14:15
  I'm almost like tense.
• 1:14:17
  I'm still really impressed that you moved here without ever having visited.
• 1:14:21
  Would you recommend that other people do the same?
• 1:14:24
  Yeah.
• 1:14:25
  You would.
• 1:14:26
  Oh.
• 1:14:27
  Yeah.
• 1:14:28
  You sure what?
• 1:14:29
  I don't think.
• 1:14:31
  I don't think for me, once you got your money, once you got finance, you're okay.
• 1:14:38
  You know, you have a career.
• 1:14:39
  Did you have a job before you came?
• 1:14:41
  No.
• 1:14:42
  Okay.
• 1:14:43
  It was, it was initiated, but I didn't have a job.
• 1:14:46
  I have a comfort.
• 1:14:47
  But it was like, okay, you know, I have a patient shift.
• 1:14:49
  I'll make some calls to the doubt.
• 1:14:50
  So I didn't have a job for like four months.
• 1:14:53
  Okay.
• 1:14:54
  Four months.
• 1:14:55
  Were you worried at any point during that four months?
• 1:14:57
  Because I would be bricking it.
• 1:14:58
  I'm like, oh my god, we're in a job deal.
• 1:15:00
  No, really.
• 1:15:01
  Because I feel like with the career that I have, you'll find something.
• 1:15:04
  Okay.
• 1:15:05
  Even if it's not what you want immediately or the position that you want, you'll find something.
• 1:15:09
  And then after that, you can even get something better.
• 1:15:12
  So I wasn't really worried.
• 1:15:13
  But now, if people ask me about Dubai, I just state the facts.
• 1:15:17
  I mean, you see most of it on social media and stuff.
• 1:15:19
  But for me, is just make sure you have your money.
• 1:15:22
  Make sure you, you know, you can fund yourself for some time until you find a job.
• 1:15:26
  I would always tell people like, listen, I'll tell you when to come.
• 1:15:31
  Like in terms of like, oh, you know, try to come closer to the peak seasons.
• 1:15:35
  So that you're sure that, especially hospitalities people.
• 1:15:38
  So that you're sure that you can get a job because there's always looking within these times.
• 1:15:42
  So I do give like my two cents.
• 1:15:45
  But overall, I would say yeah, because it's not that difficult.
• 1:15:48
  And also that goodness for like how safe it is.
• 1:15:52
  You can just come as a woman and be like, okay, give it a try.
• 1:15:55
  So that, that's a plus.
• 1:15:57
  And this is why I could be like, no, come over.
• 1:16:00
  And even when people do come over, especially from Jamaica or like Caribbean wise.
• 1:16:05
  Once you find one Caribbean person, you're good.
• 1:16:09
  You're good.
• 1:16:10
  It's funny.
• 1:16:12
  I feel like I don't have a Jamaican friend in England.
• 1:16:16
  I know.
• 1:16:17
  Remember, I don't like people anyway.
• 1:16:20
  But I don't think that when I move to new countries,
• 1:16:25
  I actively seek out a Jamaican.
• 1:16:29
  And now that we're having this conversation, I'm like, why?
• 1:16:32
  I don't, I mean, because it's interesting to me in the sense that, you know,
• 1:16:37
  people describe London as very multicultural.
• 1:16:39
  And you find that because there are so many different cultures coexisting,
• 1:16:42
  it's very easy for you to find your tribe and stay within your tribe.
• 1:16:46
  And I guess in my mind, if I'm going to surrender to the new environment,
• 1:16:52
  I don't want to have the crutch of the familiar.
• 1:16:56
  And so I've deliberately like gone.
• 1:16:59
  But do you think that's because you have traveled so much,
• 1:17:03
  you kind of develop like, you know, that experience and everything.
• 1:17:06
  But for someone who was, let's say, never traveled before,
• 1:17:09
  it probably would be good to have somebody that's there to be like, oh, you know,
• 1:17:13
  where can I get this? Where can I do this?
• 1:17:15
  Because those are the questions, you know, when you come, you're like,
• 1:17:17
  okay, and then I'll be like, okay, let me take you to this place,
• 1:17:19
  you can go by this, you can do this.
• 1:17:21
  So I think if you're new, especially to traveling,
• 1:17:24
  I would, I would think it would be nice to have someone to just kind of like,
• 1:17:28
  okay, you've been here before, you know, how it is, you can help me,
• 1:17:31
  you can guide me.
• 1:17:32
  It makes complete sense.
• 1:17:33
  Yeah, yeah.
• 1:17:34
  How do you connected with some of those people before you?
• 1:17:36
  I knew them, because it was the same culinary.
• 1:17:38
  Oh, amazing.
• 1:17:39
  Yeah, yeah.
• 1:17:40
  So it wasn't, like I said, that's what I said for me.
• 1:17:42
  It wasn't difficult at all.
• 1:17:43
  Also, when we're advising people to jump on a plane to the new environment,
• 1:17:46
  we should also asterix, you know, caveat four point to all.
• 1:17:51
  No people there first.
• 1:17:52
  Is that what we're saying?
• 1:17:53
  I think it will be good.
• 1:17:55
  I think that makes it.
• 1:17:56
  That makes it feel a bit better.
• 1:17:57
  Especially if you're, if you're new to the whole channel,
• 1:17:59
  I mean, you're a pro.
• 1:18:00
  No, no, no.
• 1:18:01
  I mean, in terms of just advising other.
• 1:18:03
  But yeah, the idea of getting on a plane,
• 1:18:06
  yeah, I still think I'm too much of a control freak to move, right?
• 1:18:09
  It's something to travel.
• 1:18:10
  It's another thing to move.
• 1:18:11
  It's another thing to move.
• 1:18:12
  To live.
• 1:18:13
  I just think it's because there's also a transition from, you know,
• 1:18:16
  that Hollywood period, Hollywood, Hollywood, Hollywood period,
• 1:18:19
  where everything's new, everything's exciting.
• 1:18:22
  And then you get to a point where, raw, like I live here now.
• 1:18:25
  Yeah.
• 1:18:26
  Yeah.
• 1:18:27
  Because even though the day I was having conversations with all my friends
• 1:18:29
  and that's what they were saying, they're like, people think,
• 1:18:31
  it's different when you live here.
• 1:18:33
  You know, you have to get a bank account.
• 1:18:34
  You have to do this.
• 1:18:35
  You have to do that.
• 1:18:36
  Like there are things that you need to do.
• 1:18:37
  And I'm like, yeah, that's true.
• 1:18:39
  But again, moving to a country and having someone there
• 1:18:42
  makes it so much easier.
• 1:18:43
  Because then I can tell you, I'll give you a list of things to be like,
• 1:18:46
  well, listen, girl, listen, guys, this is what you need.
• 1:18:48
  You need to, after some time, you'll need this.
• 1:18:50
  And after that, did it.
• 1:18:51
  So I definitely think going somewhere else, reaching out if you can.
• 1:18:57
  Yes.
• 1:18:58
  Not necessarily.
• 1:18:59
  You don't necessarily have someone.
• 1:19:00
  But if you can find someone, then go for it.
• 1:19:02
  Because like I said, I do have people until now that messages me
• 1:19:05
  in my DMs and they're like, oh, you know, you live,
• 1:19:07
  I see that you live abroad and they'll ask me questions.
• 1:19:10
  And I'm like, yeah, and I'll give you all the details you need.
• 1:19:12
  Some of them I'll be like, you want me to jump on a call.
• 1:19:14
  I'll give you all you need.
• 1:19:15
  Because at the end of the day, you know, we're all one people.
• 1:19:18
  You're my fellow Jamaican.
• 1:19:20
  I wouldn't want you to go somewhere and, you know, you're strong.
• 1:19:23
  Did or whatever the case be outside of logistic questions that people ask.
• 1:19:27
  You know, visa, all the boring stuff.
• 1:19:29
  Are there any interesting questions that people ask?
• 1:19:32
  I feel like they always ask questions like one, they hear about the how safe it is.
• 1:19:42
  They'll really ask, is that really true?
• 1:19:44
  Okay.
• 1:19:45
  Is it really true?
• 1:19:46
  And I'm like, yeah, from what I've experienced, yes, it is.
• 1:19:50
  I've been places crazy.
• 1:19:52
  I've been out to the clubs.
• 1:19:53
  I've been everywhere.
• 1:19:54
  And I could just go on my way.
• 1:19:56
  I'll be walking into the streets.
• 1:19:57
  But getting a taxi like, I'm okay.
• 1:20:00
  Yes.
• 1:20:01
  This is my experience.
• 1:20:02
  I've had places where I've left my purse.
• 1:20:04
  And I called them and I'm like, oh my gosh, I left.
• 1:20:07
  And they're like, okay, where are you sitting?
• 1:20:08
  And they go and they call me.
• 1:20:10
  Yeah, I found it.
• 1:20:11
  Okay, come and collect it.
• 1:20:12
  This is my experience.
• 1:20:13
  I don't have anything when it comes on to like any scaryness.
• 1:20:17
  Sure.
• 1:20:18
  So for me, I'm like, yes, it is true.
• 1:20:20
  Like it's safe.
• 1:20:21
  Where, of course, you always have your guards up, but it's safe.
• 1:20:24
  So that for me is true.
• 1:20:26
  But also, they're like, okay, we all know that one is the Muslim country.
• 1:20:30
  You know, they're afraid.
• 1:20:31
  Like, because we're Christians, we're mainly Christians.
• 1:20:35
  So that's one of the things as well.
• 1:20:37
  And I'm like, no, even today, I went to church.
• 1:20:40
  And the church was so big.
• 1:20:42
  I even said to the person invited me.
• 1:20:45
  I was like, this is probably the biggest church I've seen since I've...
• 1:20:48
  I didn't know this exists.
• 1:20:49
  This is literally what I said.
• 1:20:50
  I didn't know this exists.
• 1:20:52
  Of course, me personally, I like a more intimate church where it's like a couple people.
• 1:20:58
  But this was so big, probably hundreds.
• 1:21:01
  And I was like, I've never experienced this.
• 1:21:03
  But it was great as well.
• 1:21:04
  And they were like, yeah, they have different times.
• 1:21:06
  And I was like, definitely I'll come back.
• 1:21:08
  So that's one of the things as well.
• 1:21:10
  The religion part of it.
• 1:21:11
  Yeah, you can worship.
• 1:21:12
  You have, we have spaces.
• 1:21:14
  So that's one.
• 1:21:16
  I always tell people that it tolerance.
• 1:21:20
  You need to know.
• 1:21:21
  Because you know, we Jamaicans, we're quick and we're hyper.
• 1:21:24
  And we're, you know, so I always say to my family.
• 1:21:28
  I was like, some people could not live here.
• 1:21:30
  Because if you can't control, if you're not disciplined enough,
• 1:21:34
  because especially like retaliation and stuff, they don't do that here.
• 1:21:40
  You know, you can't be violent.
• 1:21:41
  You can't be, you cannot.
• 1:21:42
  So if you can't control yourself, then this is not the place for you.
• 1:21:46
  These are like the factors outside of everything.
• 1:21:49
  And this is for me.
• 1:21:50
  If you can manage all of this, you're good.
• 1:21:51
  You're good.
• 1:21:52
  You're good.
• 1:21:53
  How's dating in Dubai?
• 1:21:55
  Ooh.
• 1:21:56
  Dating.
• 1:21:58
  I would say it's not easy.
• 1:22:01
  Is it that because people are constantly moving?
• 1:22:05
  That's one of the things.
• 1:22:06
  Okay.
• 1:22:07
  And two, for myself, I'm more of a culture girl.
• 1:22:12
  So ideally, I would want people within my culture.
• 1:22:15
  And I feel like that's hard.
• 1:22:17
  Because they're just 1% of the population.
• 1:22:20
  So it's a bit hard.
• 1:22:23
  But I don't know, I think it's hard.
• 1:22:29
  Have we given up on dating here?
• 1:22:32
  I want to say give up.
• 1:22:34
  Okay.
• 1:22:35
  But I would say I'm at a pause.
• 1:22:38
  Okay.
• 1:22:39
  I would say I'm at a pause.
• 1:22:40
  Right now, I'm kind of like getting myself together.
• 1:22:42
  And then I'm like, okay, I'll jump back in the circle or whatever it is.
• 1:22:46
  But it can be difficult.
• 1:22:48
  And again, with the...
• 1:22:51
  It's kind of like what you want.
• 1:22:53
  Again, I'm more of a culture person.
• 1:22:55
  I would really like people of my culture.
• 1:22:59
  But...
• 1:23:00
  You see, I just say I want a Jimmy Conman.
• 1:23:02
  I'm not staring at Jimmy Conman.
• 1:23:04
  Okay.
• 1:23:05
  What other country are we thinking about?
• 1:23:07
  What other countries do that?
• 1:23:09
  Come on.
• 1:23:11
  Who knows?
• 1:23:12
  We might find that.
• 1:23:13
  You might declare what you want.
• 1:23:14
  And what you want may come back.
• 1:23:16
  That's true.
• 1:23:17
  That's true.
• 1:23:18
  Is there any island that you don't want?
• 1:23:23
  I don't think so.
• 1:23:24
  So does any island?
• 1:23:26
  I think islands.
• 1:23:27
  Let's say...
• 1:23:28
  Yeah.
• 1:23:29
  So if you could find someone from an island.
• 1:23:31
  And we don't have any preferences for the islands.
• 1:23:34
  Not really.
• 1:23:35
  I'm not too picky.
• 1:23:37
  I feel like they need to come.
• 1:23:39
  Right.
• 1:23:40
  And then we can analyze and see if you're...
• 1:23:42
  No, yes, no.
• 1:23:43
  And then we can...
• 1:23:44
  What are the things that we look for?
• 1:23:48
  I feel like I'm a short girl.
• 1:23:50
  I like a little bit of height.
• 1:23:51
  Okay.
• 1:23:52
  A little bit of height.
• 1:23:54
  I like my complexion as well.
• 1:23:56
  Okay.
• 1:23:57
  What else do I look for?
• 1:24:00
  Outside of the norm of being kind and being generous and being this.
• 1:24:05
  I like good teeth.
• 1:24:07
  I mean, probably anywhere it can.
• 1:24:09
  You can get that in six anywhere.
• 1:24:10
  But I'm just saying is...
• 1:24:11
  If it came ready.
• 1:24:12
  Yeah.
• 1:24:13
  If it came ready, great.
• 1:24:14
  Let's not be picky.
• 1:24:15
  Yeah, just...
• 1:24:16
  Like I said, I'm not very picky.
• 1:24:21
  Because it's more of what's on the inside than what's on the outside.
• 1:24:25
  And that I won't know until you find me the one.
• 1:24:29
  And then I can go on some dates and get to know people.
• 1:24:33
  But other than that, I'm super, super not picky.
• 1:24:36
  But I do love the cultural part of it though.
• 1:24:38
  Because I don't really want to have to explain too much.
• 1:24:43
  But that's just...
• 1:24:44
  Yeah.
• 1:24:45
  That's it.
• 1:24:46
  Yeah.
• 1:24:47
  That's it.
• 1:24:48
  Not too picky at all.
• 1:24:49
  Does the nine years feel like it has gone by very quickly?
• 1:24:53
  Yes.
• 1:24:54
  Really?
• 1:24:55
  I feel like time moved too fast in Dubai.
• 1:24:57
  I mean, it's the same time everywhere.
• 1:24:59
  But I feel like Dubai disappears like this.
• 1:25:02
  You wake up it's a new day.
• 1:25:04
  You wake up it's a new month.
• 1:25:05
  And then it's a new year.
• 1:25:07
  Call me crazy, but I feel like time goes by quickly.
• 1:25:11
  I don't know why.
• 1:25:13
  Is there anything that you would have wanted to touch on that we haven't?
• 1:25:19
  Is there anything?
• 1:25:23
  Not necessarily.
• 1:25:24
  I think we kind of touched on a little bit of everything.
• 1:25:30
  Yeah.
• 1:25:31
  Yeah.
• 1:25:33
  I mean, in terms of myself.
• 1:25:36
  You know, like I said, I did tell you that I have a little podcast coming up.
• 1:25:40
  Tell us about the podcast.
• 1:25:41
  Yes.
• 1:25:42
  It's called Island Industry.
• 1:25:46
  It's literally about the kitchen.
• 1:25:49
  Okay.
• 1:25:50
  What happens behind the scene?
• 1:25:52
  And it's me wanting to sit down with chef's hospitality workers.
• 1:25:57
  Just everyone to just tell us what really happens.
• 1:26:00
  Again, you don't really know.
• 1:26:02
  People on the outside.
• 1:26:03
  You just see someone come to you table and be like, hi sir.
• 1:26:06
  But I want people to share their experience from where they came from and where they are
• 1:26:11
  and where they're going.
• 1:26:13
  So that's what my podcast is about.
• 1:26:15
  Just giving them a space.
• 1:26:17
  I don't really see much of that.
• 1:26:18
  Especially the industry people to be like, tell me what you've experienced.
• 1:26:23
  So that's what it's about.
• 1:26:25
  Very cool.
• 1:26:26
  I have one more question for you.
• 1:26:27
  Tell me.
• 1:26:28
  If your life was a postcard, what would the picture look like?
• 1:26:32
  If my life was a postcard.
• 1:26:39
  I feel like I would want it to be half black, half coloured.
• 1:26:46
  And I want it to be a mixture of buildings and a mixture of people.
• 1:26:54
  That's what I would want to see on a postcard.
• 1:26:57
  If I was a postcard.
• 1:26:59
  Thank you very much.