Contrasts - shopping
on George Hamilton (Jamaica), 05/Jul/2010 13:59, 34 days ago
Across the street from where we live is the Sovereign Shopping Centre where the kids in our neighbourhood hang out on Saturday night. It's got a mixture of shops including United Colors of Benetton. The biggest store in the mall is the Supermarket. I shop there only when it's pouring rain or when I'm bringing home heavy items like jugs of water because I prefer the cheaper Empire Supermarket on the next block.In between the Sovereign and Empire Supermarkets, you find alternative shopping experiences. This is the real Jamaica, built for and by the locals. Children buy their candy from these merchants. They're more like "corner stores" but there are excellent services to be found in this strip of Barbican Road as well. In all honesty, I'm only just now starting to feel comfortable walking around by myself in this neighbourhood. I am fine when I'm with George so up until really this week I only went there on weekends. And I would never pull out my camera along here when I was by myself.Next door to Newman's above is a tailor and across the street is the shoe repair which did an excellent job on my bag. These shops are certainly nothing fancy to look at but I'm more than pleased with the results the shoe repair below did on my bag.The grocery store below next to the all-American 24 hour Burger King always makes me smile. The lifestyle contrasts are what make Jamaica interesting and it seems to work somehow.I went to the green and yellow store below today to pick up a bottle of fruit wine but they weren't open. I'll have to keep going back to find out their hours of operation. We've been told fruit wine is made from mango, pineapple, banana, and grapes. There may be more fruits but those are the ones I remembered. I just want to taste it. The supermarkets sell all the familiar brands like Yellow Tail but I've never seen fruit wine. That doesn't mean it isn't there. Grocery shopping has never been my favourite activity - I tend to go in, get what's on my list, then leave. I decided I wanted to buy my fruit wine from an independent seller so that's where I'm going to buy it.In the supermarkets, you are greeted by a person who checks your bags and in some supermarkets you have to get your fruits and vegetables weighed before you take them to the cash register at which point a young man will often rush over and load your groceries onto the conveyor belt and put your cart neatly back in the buggy coral. You will then be greeted by a very polite cashier, always smiling, who hands your groceries over to the baggers who always look like they're enjoying their jobs as they joke and carry on with each other. One of them will then take your groceries out to your car. Some stores even have a second set of carts solely for this purpose. We take our groceries right from the checkout counter omitting this last stage because we walk home with our groceries. But from beginning to end, you could be served by as many as 5 employees in a supermarket. In Canada you'd only get one!In comparison, in the smaller neighbourhood shops like the one above, you are greeted inside with security bars between you and the produce and the cashier. You pass your money and merchandise through a small opening in the iron bars. One wonders about the safey of street vendors who are out every day in the same locations. But speaking about street people, I heard a lovely story the other day. I don't usually pass along stories that happen to others, but this one just seemed nice.At the corner of Hope and Marley Roads, where Candas and Alastair live (a ten minute walk from our apartment) there is a man named George who has a white cane who possibly lives in the abandoned house at the same corner. He has severe cataracts or glaucoma and can't see. He does beg from the cars, but never from walkers. I pass him just about every day and he's never asked me for money. But because he is on their corner, Candas and Alastair have befriended him and always slip him some money. But one day they noticed he gave the local psychopath some money. The local psychopath has been seen naked by children we know and George and I have seen him walking about in only his underwear tied in a knot in front. Every once in awhile he scares me with his antics. One day he was hidden from view and as I passed he shouted out suddenly and really scared me. I just about jumped into the traffic. But I did laugh at my reaction because I know he won't harm me. At least I don't think he will. Another time he was angrily whipping a branch that looked like a willow so I crossed the busy four lane street in heavy traffic to avoid him. When Candas and Alastair saw George, the blind man, give the psychopath money, they questioned him and he replied, he had to look after him too. Jamaicans are amazing. They are the nicest people in the world.