My Island Heart, A Story of Travel and Identity
By: Nicole Ballentine
Counter Person: “What do you want?”
Me: “Can I get an oxtail with rice and peas?”
Counter Person: “You want cabbage?”
Me: “Yes and plantain thanks!”
That brief exchange is a typical encounter in a Jamaican restaurant in NYC. Growing up in the United States but being of Jamaican descent, these and other interactions, like speaking with my grandmother and understanding her Patwah, are all reminders that there’s another place on Earth that I consider home.
Jamaica, the homeland of both my mother and father, may not see very me often but has always been with me in spirit. On holidays when my cousins get together and play Ludo, the Jamaican version of the popular board game, when I hear Beres Hammond, a popular old school reggae artist, or watch a Majah Hype video and can relate, I realize the tropical island is still very close at heart although I'm displaced thousand of miles of away.
Even with these experiences I’ve been able to have, I worry whether or not I carry enough of my culture and fear not being able to pass down the same recipes and traditions I grew up with to my own offspring; especially now since I will be heading to the West Coast in a few weeks to begin the next chapter of my life and will be far away from my family and my Jamaican American community. It won't be as easy to grab a (good) beef patty with coco bread in Los Angeles as it is in Crown Heights BK but I will be able to now tell others of what one is and learn how to create Jamaican dishes and make a Jamaican Ludo board to play with my new found California friends.
When you think about it, that is truly the beauty of travel, being able to share your traditions and beliefs and to create and pass down a culture of your own as you move throughout the Earth. So I’m really not losing my heritage but adding to it as I continue on my journey around the world.
Nicole Ballantine
Creator, Latitude + Avenue
"for the wanderlust"
Nicole Ballantine is a freelance Lifestyle Editorial Assistant currently living in NYC with sights on California in the upcoming months. After losing her Product development job in August 2014, Nicole was inspired to create the life she always wanted to live and dreamed up Latitude and Avenue, a lifestyle travel website geared towards the millennial woman. As a 25 year old female who travels frequently, she knows what it’s like to want to hear and curate real travel stories and not just the typical “perfect vacations’ we read about but the trips that forever change our lives! Her goal in creating Latitude + Avenue was to further connect, young women to relatable travel stories and provide products for wear while exploring the world. Follow @latitudeandavenue on Instagram and subscribe to the website.
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