It felt like just yesterday we were anticipating summer. Teachers and students were longing for a break from paper marking, homework, and pop quizzes. But as we quint, summer is over, and “free paper bun!”
With only a few weeks before the new term, there’s a mix of excitement and dread. Students are eager to show off their new “bling,” while teachers already dread the return of the noisy bunch. As for parents, they’re glad to finally get the kids out of the house!
But there’s no back-to-school season without shopping. In Kingston, Montego Bay, and Ocho Rios parents try to haggle, asking each vendor “Wah my price?” until they hear the most favorable one. Meanwhile, kids are carefully selecting the latest backpacks and shoes—most likely a pair of Clarks (Jamaica’s national shoes). Nothing says “I’m ready for school” like a fresh pair of Clarks and we know when Jamaicans do back to school, we do it in style.
The list of must-haves is long: textbooks, notebooks, pens, pencils, and of course, a sturdy lunch kit to last the year because mommy and daddy "naa buy no more."
For many of us who grew up in the early 2000s, going back to school was a different experience. The first order of business was to draw our feet on a piece of cardboard so family members overseas could send school shoes, or so mommy could go to town and get the right size. Socks, belts, and undergarments came in dozens, and not to mention clips and ribbons for the girls—it was like Christmas in September to see the bright and dangling accessories on the first day of school.
The historical “washout” the week before school was a must. Whether by herb or by medicine, no child was left unwashed. We needed not to go back to school with a bad belly from the summer after eating up the eep a sweet sweet.
If you had to get your uniform made, then you know the struggle of getting it in time. Tailors and dressmakers were always fully booked but never refused a customer. “Yeah man, me have space,” or “Come back next week” was the same thing they told someone two weeks ago, but still hadn’t started their uniform! Whatever back-to-school experience we had, living in Jamaica makes it a whole lot better because when we step out well sharp on that first Monday of September, the swag "tun up loud til it buck!"