A little dose of what it is like to travel in developing countries......

Hello Readers:

I apologize for the delay in posting, I've been traveling a bit over the past few days.  For those of you who know, I went Jamaica this past weekend to watch my brother get married to his beautiful wife!  It was amazing.  For the most part, my experience in Jamaica didn't consist of anything outside of the resort.  That said, it was nothing CLOSE to what I am going to experience when I go to Honduras.  However, I did get a little dose of reality when I traveled away from the resort one evening.  The people in Jamaica are very much believers in the "One Love" mentality.  In fact, I sat for about 45 minutes listening to a man discuss what each of the colors in the Rastafarian movement (red, green, yellow and black) stood for.  He said, "the red is for the blood of the people, the green is for the earth and it's value, the yellow is for the sun and the black is for the party people.....one love."  The Jamaican culture practices a lot of Rastafarian beliefs which typically consists of a "spiritual use" of cannabis..................which, in my opinion really just means that they have a spiritual excuse to smoke pot.  However, this is just a part of the culture!  The moment Emily and I stepped off of the plane and went through customs we were offered drugs and alcohol.  Additionally, I was also offered (excuse me mom...if you're reading) "a good Jamaican F&%$".  At that point, I was scared.  The reason why I bring this up is because for the longest time I had this understanding that the folks in Jamaica are totally relaxed, friendly and harmless....One Love right????  However, I do not belong to their culture.  I was a mere tourist pretending to relate when I talked to them.  This was an eye opening experience for me and it also helped me realize that while in Honduras, no matter how much I try to totally emerge myself into their culture, I am not one of them.....and it is important to practice safety, safety, safety.  Does this mean I can't do what I am sent their to do??? NO!!!!  Trust me, I will try as best as I can to emerge myself.  I will learn from them as much as they will learn from me.  I am sure it will be a wonderful experience.  However, this trip helped me realize how different we truly are from the rest of the world.  It also reminded me, once again, how lucky I am to have the things I have in my life.....Including clean water! :)

Until next time, happy travels!

Love,

She Who Travels For Justice