#learn-patois · 3 years ago

Are some patois accents harder than others?

I am not Yaadie, but I have been following dancehall-reggae music (and socca) since 2008 and roots/reggae even before that. My favourite artist and music camp is Mavado/Gully Side coz I relate to him and his story a lot. Anyways, around 2011 is the time I put effort to listen and learn patois from the music I listened to, and even though I still struggle with speaking (coz no one to talk to), I can hear, read and write quite a large part of the language. I also watch YouTube shows like Onstage TV and follow a few musical shows when I can (like Sting). Now, something I am yet to grasp with is the accents that I hear which vary from person to person and region. Sometimes, I can hear the person fluently and sometimes some words pass me, or even the accent from the person becomes hard to hear entirely, especially when they speak fast (like an interview I watched of a woman in the market). Mostly, since I follow the music, this is where I notice this a lot (even I do miss some words from my favourite artist, Mavado, in some songs and have to search the lyrics). For example, I hear (almost) everything Tony Matterhorn says, but I struggle here and there to hear what someone like Bounty Killer says (and his baritone voice does not help). I also notice that, even though I am a big fan of old school riddims, especially the 90s, the accent is even harder compared to, say, music past 2005. Red Rat and King Yellowman are another example of exceptions, and I would put them in the Matterhorn category. So my question is, for those in Yaad, does the accent vary between different places in Jamaica, and would any one area be considered to have a more deeper (and harder) accent than another?

#travel · 3 years ago
#travel · 3 years ago

What should I know before my trip to Jamaica?

We're taking a delayed honeymoon since it wasn't in our budget when we got married last year. So, after widdling it down from 7,000 islands to just a few, we decided on Jamaica. It has everything we want to do, including swimming with dolphins, scuba/snorkeling, hiking, off-road jeep tours, etc. So we're looking at RIU Palace Tropical Bay in Negril. It's within our budget, right on the beach, and has everything we would need. Is there any reason we wouldn't want to stay there? Sometimes reviews online can't be trusted. It looks great for the price, but before we commit, I just wanted to double check through you all in case there's something we should know. Also, and more importantly, is Negril a good place to stay to begin with to see the actual culture of Jamaica? From what Inread, it's better than Montego Bay for what we're looking for. Yes, in Negril we'll still be at a resort on the beach. It's obviously a tourist destination, and we do want to relax and be tourists because we're going on our honeymoon. But we also want more than just the beach experience -- we can do that in the U.S. We're interested in the awesome parts of Jamaica you don't see in vacation/honeymoon advertisements. We'd also like to know of any common tourist mistakes or annoyances. We don't want to be assholes when visiting, but we don't know much about hit country. So please, I'm all ears. Also, if you all just don't want any American tourists at all, and if you hate us all before we even arrive, I'd like to know that, too. I get it and understand. Americans suck sometimes. Anyway, I'm at work and typed this quickly, so I didn't get all of my thoughts out. But please, tell me anything that comes to your mind that you think a visitor should know. Planning a trip to a country you've never been to is realky difficult without the help from those who have. So we greatly appreciate any info you're willing to provide. Thank you all im advance!

#travel · 3 years ago

Sandals South Coast

Hubby (teacher) and I (self employed) have booked a trip to Sandals South Coast in early April of 2023 (his spring break). We are spending a pretty good chunk of change because we haven't ever been on a "luxury" vacation and haven't traveled at all during COVID so we're ready for a splurge. We are staying in a beachfront walk-out one bedroom butler suite in the Italian Village. Because hubs is a history teacher he would love to visit at least one, possibly more, historical sites or museums that aren't a 3-hour drive from Whitehouse/Sandals South Coast. I'm also not super thrilled with the number of tours/offsite activities that are being promoted on the Sandals website, so I'm now wondering if there's good suggestions for any private tours/drivers that we might be able to contract on our own. It's our first time in Jamaica and I love nature, he loves history, and we're both in love with food. I mean, I kind of daydream about eating "real" jerk from a small stand, we've never had ackee, I'd love to taste some real pepper pot. I have it in my brain that the "jerk shack" at the Sandals resort is going to be softened for tourists. Is there such a thing as a Jamaican food tour? Are there any historic sites within an hour of Whitehouse/Sandals SC that are worth seeing? Are there any private tour guides/providers that also do the standard trips that are marketed through Sandals like visits to (any) falls, etc.? Anything that's a must-see or must-do in that area? I'm a person who has traveled a lot in Mexico, I speak Spanish, and so when we do visit Mexico we end up spending a lot of our time eating with/hanging out with locals, but I understand that my expectations should probably be a little different in this case. Thank you very much in advance for any ideas/thoughts/experiences with Sandals SC, recommendations of favorite things at that Sandals, or favorite staff, any particular butler we should request, anything like that. We have already booked our flights and our MoBay as I've been told that will shave time and stress off of arrival and departure.