"how can this person come to Jamaica for 3-4 months every year,what kind of job do they have that allows them to do this.Then they think THEY MUST HAVE $'s" and ya know THEY ARE RIGHT !!!! because otherwise how can they do "
As I've mentioned before I have many Jamaican friends, rich, not so rich, poor, working...all of them working and working hard...and I truly do not know exactly how I'm perceived but because I actually live "a-yaad" for three months they see me do what they do - shop, cook, read, gather and chat and visit. They don't see me staying in a hotel or resort for those months, they don't see me clubbing or seeing a ton of live music - they see me "living" there. The impression I get is that sure, they probably know I have the means to get and be there for that length of time but I never get the vibe that I have more and must give to them. I am VERY lucky that way. I have totally great friends - Jamaican and expat.

You know where I get that attitude? Right here in the good ol' USA. I have friends who say, "oh, going off to Jamaica AGAIN for three months? MUST BE NICE." I know they look at me and try to count the coin in my bank account. Until they actually VISIT me there they have no clue where and how I live there...and I think the few that do visit me there are actually surprised. Jealousy is alive and well in the states and here's the kicker - none know nor do they want to know exactly how hard I work all year to treat myself to my winter.

Opinions, everybody has one, one's no more or less valid than another's. We all have differing perceptions and realities. How does that come about? Here is one of my favorite parables.

The Scene: Grandpa setting at the roadside with his grandson. It is a warm summer afternoon in eighteenth century Ireland. A traveller happened to pass by. He stopped and asked them. ‘Good day my good man, can you tell me how far is it to the next village?’

‘About four miles’ replied the old man.

‘Tell me good sir, what are the people like there?’ he asked.

‘Have you been to the village back down the road?’ asked the grandfather.

‘Yes’ replied the traveller.

‘Well, what were the people like in the village?’ asked the old man.

‘Oh, they were great, really friendly and welcoming.’ said the traveller.

‘Well, that is good to hear,’ said the old man, ‘and that indeed is how you will find the people living in the village you are travelling to’. The happy traveller starts walking to the next village.

Some time later yet another traveller walked by and stopping asked the old man the distance to the next village. ‘Four miles’ said the old man.

‘What are the people there like there?’ Asked the traveller in a somewhat grumpy manner.

‘Well sir, what were the people like in the village back down the road?’

‘Oh, they were anything but friendly, not welcoming at all.’ Replied the traveller.

‘Well,’ said the old man ’I'm sorry to tell you that you will find the people in the next village much the same.’ With that the unhappy traveller began walking towards the next village.

After a short while the little boy asked his Grandfather: ‘Grandpa, why did you tell the first man that the people living in the next village were nice, and then you told the second man that they weren’t nice? You must have told one of them a lie.

‘I told the truth to both of them’ replied the old man. ’You see my boy, the way you approach and deal with people is often reflected in the way they respond to you.’