london

well i am a black female and i would like to find out feedback from people like me. i know even though it is 2007 some cultures may not be very open to black people. where are black friendly places? so far in my travels, i have not met any cannibals and i have some largely positive experiences and i wanted to stay away from the negative places.
everywhere you go in this world you are going to face prejudice. it depends on the type of person you are.it is up to you to decide that you are not going to let these people get you depressed. it is human nature to have some type of prejudice.by having a positive attitude you can keep yourself from making the negative experiences bring you down and wherever you go you will be happy.
as a black traveller from a third world country like jamaica, the first place that i stayed more than one month was london. i was so excited to be in a first world country. in my native country jamaica, sadly to say, i faced a lot of prejudice. white people only socialise with white, chinese only socialise with chinese, indians only socialise with indians, etc, etc. i was so excited to get a job in london. at my job, everyone talked to me, white , black, indian, chinese, maybe their curiosity was stronger than their prejudices? well for whatever reason it was, they made me feel like i was unique. maybe at the time i was just young and naive. i just walked around with a great big smile on my face, and people were looking at me like i was crazy. i was so thrilled to be in a new environment and to discover new experiences. maybe i didn't stay in london long enough to encounter prejudice. it is true that some countries treat foreigners better than they treat their own. most people in london did not seem too happy however. they seemed stressed and were always complaining about their taxes. maybe if i had lived there long enough to have major responsibilities i would have become depressed too, but i was so thrilled with having a job (my first), earning the almighty british pound, the freedom that comes with having some money in your pocket, being able to see the sights and do the things i saw on TV or read about in some foreign magazine.
most places i go to , people seem to be excited to meet someone from the caribbean. i have faced racial stereo types, but i dont let it bother me. for the most part anyone who asks a negative question, i just label them as being dumb and dumber and i move on. some stereotypes i faced are reflected in the questions that people ask me. their first question is like : if you are from the caribbean, what are you doing here? ( they seem to be brainwashed by the advertisements that sell the myth that the caribbean is all paradise, that everyone in the caribbean is living in heaven), next question, do you know bob marley? ( some people don't know that bob marley died over 20 years ago), next question, do i know where they can get some weed ( because surely i must have some in my pocket? no i don't! believe it or not, not all jamaicans smoke weed.

Comments

Dani said…
Good Morning Ms. Nichole!
O my I got a good laugh at the typical questions you get! It just goes to show how narrow minded some are. I'll admit to my own too though, the first time I called a person "oriental" my husband about died. He corrected me quickly and I felt like a huge idiot. I never meant to offend anyone. I live in Guam at the moment. It's a little island in the South Pacific Mariana Islands chain. It lies closer to Asian countries than anywhere else. The people are wonderful here and there's a very large military community so the people here accept all kinds of cultures. It's definitely not as quaint as the Carribean, but the spirit of the people still pretty laid back and Bob Marley's influence lives on here as well. I look forward to your future posts.
Be blessed and much respect!
MsJamusic said…
Thank you Dani. I am just getting started. Some of the questions I get are just hilarious and I will talk about them soon.I would love to visit Guam to see what that the culture is like in that part of the world.

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