My Speech About Jamaica - "Yamma, Yamma!!"

Last Saturday, we had a speech contest. I participated in the speech contest and my speech was about what I have learned and experienced in Jamaica. I was very nervous until I finished my speech. It's a relief that I didn't forget anything during my speech. The first word that I said in my speech was " Yamma, Yamma" and I think this was very memorable for everyone who listened to my speech because almost everyone, even teachers especially Mr. Crawford, says "Yamma, Yamma" whenever they see me. The following behind is my speech script!

"Yam ma, Yam ma." You guys probably think it is Korean, but no. This is a Jamaican word that I always say whenever my little brother spills water on my desk, whenever my homework files are gone, and whenever I go to Jamaica.

From traveling many different countries, I learned much about other countries and their cultures especially about Jamaica which affected me positively. After going to Jamaica I became optimistic. Whenever a bad situation happens, I repeat "Yam ma, Yam ma" which means no problem in Jamaican. The influence and information we get while traveling is why it is think this is very meaningful and important for everyone.

Does everyone know when Jamaica gained independence? It was August 6th, 1962. It was quite late, and Jamaica is still known as a poor country.  When it comes to wealth, Jamaica is a land of extremes. It's hard to believe, but on the northern coast, which is the home to tourism, and in the suburbs of Kingston, wealthy Jamaicans live in first-rate housing, visit shopping centers featuring the best imported goods, and enjoy an elevated standard of living. Yet, not far from these wealthy places a significant number of poor Jamaicans live in squalor, with poor housing, limited food supply, and inadequate access to clean water. People in living in different parts of Jamaica have a totally contrasting life.

What would be the major factors that led Jamaica to poverty? They are slavery and colonization. Jamaica was once a colony of the United Kingdom. Most countries, even Korea depended on religions to overcome the difficulties in the past. Religion takes a big role and whenever we go up to some mountains in Korea and look down, churches are one of the prominent sights visible from there. Most people believe that Korea has the most churches due to these common appearances of churches, but that is not the truth. Jamaica is where there are the most churches in the whole world. The religion Jamaica used to overcome difficulties is Christianity. The Christian faith gained credibility as time passed by and now it is the largest religion practiced in Jamaica. As a result, there are over 1,600 churches all over Jamaica and that number is growing. It's even recorded in Guinness Book of World Records.

In addition, Jamaica needed a railway to deliver lots of resources to the United Kingdom. Jamaica was the first country in the Western world to construct a railway, even before the United States! I was very surprised by this fact.

Does everyone know what GDP is? It means Gross Domestic Product. By just comparing the GDP of Jamaica and Korea, we can noticeably see that Jamaica is much poorer than Korea.

But which country do you think is wealthier in mind? Jamaica is suffering poverty, while Korea is developing and becoming one of the technologically strongest countries in the whole world. Some people might think development and technology is the major factor that decides the happiness of people, but that is not true. People in Korea compete with each other and get stress from all the work they have to do. However, despite their poor environment, Jamaican people are the wealthiest in mind. They always say "Yam ma, Yam ma", no problem, even to tourists from other places of the world. Once in Jamaica, a waitress spilt root bear on my shirt. I was very unpleasant about it, for one of my dislikes is root bear. Although I was kind of angry, I tried to smile but then the waitress irritated me more. She was repeating some kind of word in a language that I couldn't even understand!! Later on, she told me that it meant no problem in Jamaican. Jamaica is etched in my memory as a pleasant place, due to its optimistic people.

As you can see, traveling helped me learn more about Jamaica and be influenced positively, becoming more optimistic. I personally think this is the reason why traveling is so important. I hope everyone gains many things from traveling and also, I hope the many teachers in KMLA gain a lot from staying in Korea. Thank you for listening to my speech.