comparing the countries

I just got home from the airport and I felt obligated to write my last post in this blog! I have had a wonderful time and even though I miss everything about Jamaica it feels good to be home. I have read my friends blog posts and compared the countries. It has been really interesting to read about their time abroad and even though it seems like they’ve all had a great time I’m sure they haven’t enjoyed their time as much as I have!

Jamaican food is just like Australian and South African food inspired by different cultures. Both Jamaican and Australian food is inspired by English, Asian and African cuisine. I think it is great that countries actually has been inspired by other food cultures and mixed it together with their own food. It shows that the world is becoming more and more

Australians and people in South Africa seem to be bolder than most countries when it comes to what they put in their mouths. They eat food that I had never before thought was possible!  What I was most surprised to hear is that you in South Africa actually eat sheep head. It would take some persuasion to get me to eat that! I thought the Jamaican food was quite something but in comparison to the sheep head and the crocodile it became very normal to me.

I think drinking is a common denominator between Jamaica and Ireland or at least a prejudice you have about both countries. If someone asks you to picture a Jamaican or an Irishman in your head you often see a pirate with a bottle of rum or maybe a dwarf with a glass of beer in his hand. And even though that is an amusing assumption that Irishmen and Jamaicans get hammered all the time it isn’t really a truthful picture. Drinking isn’t actually their work but it is something they do at Friday night when their two days of freedom is waiting.

Jamaicans and South Africans have the same social rule about addressing someone you don’t know quite well yet with a title that fits the person for an example Mr. or Mrs. to be polite in South Africa you address a friend’s parent with their oldest child’s name and then say ra or ma depending on if it’s the mother or father you are talking to. I don’t think I could ever get used to that honestly!

Irish people and Jamaicans seem to have one thing in common, both countries differs from Sweden when it comes to time. Both are a lot more spontaneous and they don’t take planning as serious as swedes do.

South Africans seem to be a bit more open to strangers than Jamaicans are. It seems there wouldn’t be any awkwardness if a complete stranger came up to talk to you. That seems weird to me as a Swede but that is probably just because people in Sweden are naturally shy and introvert. Though swedes aren’t completely asocial, I wouldn’t be totally surprised if an old lady would start shouting at me regarding my biking skills. It seems like Australians are the opposite of Swedes when it comes to how you act towards strangers. They seem to be really nice and welcoming. The one thing I reacted to regarding Aussies is that they every time they exit a bus they shout “thanks!” to the bus driver. This is impossible for me to do since every grumpy bus driver is my sworn enemy, and have you ever met a bus driver who isn’t grumpy in Sweden?

 

During their celebrations Ireland and Jamaica seem to have their dress codes in common. It is tradition for both countries to dress up in a color that is symbolic for their country. The Irishmen dress up in green clothes while it is tradition for Jamaicans to wear clothes in the same colors as their flag during Independence Day.

 

South Africa celebrates heritage day, a day to celebrate the different ethnical heritages in the country. There is no such celebration in Jamaica but I think there should be since just like South Africa, a big part of the population comes from different countries.

As you can see there are a lot differences and similarities between all these countries. I think it is interesting that countries can have so many similarities even though they are situated on the other side of the globe.


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