I just returned from my honeymoon in Montego Bay, Jamaica.  We had a wonderful time at a Sandals resort in the city of Montego Bay.  Jamaica’s number one industry is tourism and we found out why.  Every Jamaican we ran across tried to sell us something or offered to take our picture so that we might buy the prints at an outrageous price.  However, once you get past the folks that would rather sell you something than be your friend, we found some great people and an interesting culture.

Overall, the general population seems to very relaxed and carefree.  Being poor doesn’t seem to bother most people as long as they can relax and find something to do in order to pass the time.  Several people told us that in Jamaica there are no problems; only “situations.”  We found this to be true as our bus driver proceeded to back up traffic during rush hour on a one way main street filled with the local townsfolk and children just getting out of high school.  One man who acted as an impromptu traffic officer pulled out a 6″ knife on the driver of an oncoming vehicle, threatening him to back up and let us through.  This was merely a “situation” for the locals – no problems!

So besides the physical goods that I returned with from our post-marriage excursion, (those being rum, coffee, and cigars) I returned with a different outlook on work and life.  Why should we worry so much about things that really don’t matter?  Why should we have to worry about our failing economy when there are so many other countries that we could move to?  Why do people have “problems” in the first place?  Maybe they really are just “situations” that don’t require so much stress on our behalf.  Who knows, but I know that I will definitely be looking at my “problems” in a new light.

Tags: Cigars, Coffee, Jamaica, Problems, Rum