Babes, How Did You Get Here? | Two Canadian Sisters Who Call Jamaica Home: Growing Up Between Cultures, Identity Crisis, and Finding Belonging in the Arts

What happens when two Canadian sisters, aged eight and nine, move to Jamaica without a choice, spend their formative years navigating the zoo effect at Mona Prep, grappling with cultural identity, building careers in theatre and horseback riding, and discovering that home isn't where you're born but where you choose to grow—even when you're not sure you're allowed to claim it?

In this raw, hilarious, and deeply vulnerable episode, host April Jackson sits down with Alexandra and Scarlett—two teenagers who moved from Montreal to Jamaica in December 2015 and have spent the last decade figuring out what it means to belong. From being flocked by curious classmates on their first day at Mona Prep, to hand learning Jamaican social studies for quiz competitions, to battling the question "am I allowed to call myself Jamaican?", to navigating race and privilege as white foreigners in a predominantly Black country, to building a life in theatre and music, to training horses six times a week, to missing dumplings and real maple syrup, to discovering that Jamaica has given them the gift of culture they never would have had in Canada—this is a story of resilience, reinvention, and choosing authenticity over expectation.

In this episode, we discuss:
The Move: Arriving in Jamaica in December 2015, starting at Mona Prep, and experiencing the "zoo effect" as the first white kids many classmates had seen.
Cultural Adjustment: Learning Jamaican social studies, Patwa proverbs, and current affairs through junior quiz competitions, and discovering that standardized testing became second nature.
Identity Crisis: Wrestling with the question "am I allowed to call myself Jamaican?" when you're not Black, don't have a passport, and can't vote—but Jamaica is home.
Race and Privilege: Being hyper aware of standing out, navigating street harassment, and realizing that being white and foreign comes with both privilege and scrutiny.
Building a Life in the Arts: Teaching piano privately, stage managing productions, working in New York as a music director, and putting on Jamaica's first live musical theatre camp with no backing tracks.
Horseback Riding Dreams: Training up to six times a week, competing abroad under the Jamaican flag, and planning to become an equine vet to fill a gap in Jamaica's veterinary infrastructure.
The Reality of Growing Up Between Two Worlds: Missing dumplings and maple syrup, being asked if Jamaica has schools, and discovering that people abroad think Jamaica is in Africa.
Future Plans: Heading to university in Ontario to study music education, pursuing veterinary school, and grappling with whether to come back to Jamaica or stay abroad.
Quick Fire Round: Choosing juicy patties over tastee (or no patties at all because of a traumatic maggot incident), curry goat over oxtail, sorrel over eggnog, and rum over Red Stripe.

00:00:00 Introduction: Two Canadian Sisters Who Call Jamaica Home
00:02:18 The Move: December 2015 and First Impressions
00:08:40 Starting School at Mona Prep: The Zoo Effect
00:13:54 Cultural Identity Crisis: Am I Allowed to Call Myself Jamaican?
00:15:56 Navigating Race and Privilege in Jamaica
00:20:30 Building a Life in the Arts: Theatre and Music
00:17:55 Horseback Riding Dreams: Scarlett's Passion
00:28:57 The Reality of Growing Up Between Two Worlds
00:31:21 Future Plans: University, Veterinary Dreams, and Coming Back
00:36:38 Quick Fire Round: Patties, Rum, and Jamaican Vibes

#HowDidYouGetHere #AprilJackson #JamaicaLiving #CanadianInJamaica #ThirdCultureKids #CulturalIdentity #MonaPrep #TheatreLife #HorsebackRiding #MusicEducation #ExpatLife #GrowingUpAbroad #RaceAndPrivilege #JamaicanCulture #LivingBetweenWorlds #Reinvention #CourageOverComfort #FindingBelonging #CaribbeanLife #MulticulturalIdentity

From a small New Zealand village with no traffic lights to the
most dangerous war zones on Earth — this is the incredible
story of John (JC).

For over 20 years, he served in the New Zealand military and
later with the UN, deployed to some of the most extreme places
on the planet :

🌍 East Timor — living in a tent, sleeping with snakes
🏜️ Syria & Lebanon — during the height of suicide bombings
❄️ Antarctica — 6 months at -40°C
🇭🇹 Haiti — during the 2010 earthquake
🇸🇩 South Sudan — running humanitarian aviation during COVID
🇯🇴 Jordan — raising a family between missions

He was in Sudan the exact day President Bashir was overthrown.
He saw a country with possibly just one incubator during the
pandemic. He survived, traveled the world, and built a family
through it all.

Today, he lives in Cambodia with his wife (who also works for
the UN) and their two daughters.

In this interview, he tells EVERYTHING: what UN missions are
really like behind the scenes, what it takes to raise kids in
unstable regions, the limits of humanitarian aid, and why he
keeps doing it.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⏱️ CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 Introduction
• 00:02:30 Growing up in a village with no traffic lights
• 00:08:00 Joining the Air Force at 17
• 00:15:00 First deployment: East Timor
• 00:17:30 Syria 2003: his first day in Damascus
• 00:22:00 6 months in Antarctica at -40°C
• 00:35:00 Haiti during the earthquake
• 00:42:00 Why the Haiti/DR border is visible from the sky
• 00:48:00 South Sudan: handling COVID with no resources
• 00:54:00 Living under sanctions with a family
• 00:56:00 The day President Bashir fell
• 01:05:00 Raising kids on UN missions
• 01:20:00 Why Cambodia now
• 01:27:00 Identity, roots, and what we pass on

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🎙️ If you enjoyed this, subscribe for more stories of
extraordinary lives.

💬 Let me know in the comments which part hit you the most.

👍 A like really helps the channel grow.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

#UN #Military #WarZones #Cambodia #ExpatLife

Babes, How Did You Get Here? | Shauna Silvera: From Jamaica to Dubai – A Pastry Chef's Journey of Motherhood, Sacrifice & Building a Life Across Borders

What happens when a Jamaican pastry chef gets offered an opportunity in Dubai, turns down a promotion at home, leaves her three year old son with her village, boards her first ever flight, and spends the next nine years building a career in recipe development, navigating hospitality's brutal hours, managing motherhood through FaceTime and time zones, and discovering that home is wherever you choose to build it—even when your heart is split between two worlds?

In this raw, deeply emotional, and profoundly honest episode, host April Jackson sits down with Shauna Silvera—a Jamaican born pastry chef and recipe developer who left everything she knew in 2017 to chase opportunity in Dubai, trading a promotion at Moon Palace Jamaica for a plane ticket to a city she'd never visited, a career she was still building, and a son she wouldn't see for months at a time.

From growing up in St. Mary and St. Ann surrounded by pastry, learning from her church mom who took her through every parish delivering wedding cakes, to studying at HEART College of Hospitality Services, to working at Jules and Moon Palace, to landing in Dubai at night and seeing the lights for the first time, to spending four months without a job, to working in fine dining beside the Dubai Opera, to transitioning into recipe development for a catering company, to navigating the guilt of missing her son's childhood, to planning for the day they'll finally reunite, to turning down custom cake business because she refuses to be stationary, to representing Jamaica everywhere she goes, to discovering that tolerance is survival in a city of a thousand nationalities—Shauna's story is one of courage, sacrifice, and choosing growth over comfort every single time.

In this episode, we discuss:
The Decision to Leave: Trading Promotion for Opportunity – Turning down a promotion at Moon Palace to move to Dubai, consulting her sacred space people, and boarding her first ever flight.
First Impressions: Landing in Dubai at Night – Arriving in Frankfurt for a nine hour layover, landing in Dubai, seeing the lights, and thinking "look at me, little Kingston girl."
Life Before Dubai: Pastry Roots in Jamaica – Growing up surrounded by food, learning from her church mom, delivering wedding cakes across every parish, and studying at HEART College.
The Hardest Decision: Leaving Her Three Year Old Son – Hosting his birthday party before leaving, saying no at first, and finally deciding to jump.
Motherhood Across Borders: FaceTime and Time Zones – Managing the nine hour time difference, crying in the bathroom at work, and living for video calls.
Finding Community: Jamaicans in Dubai – Connecting with other culinary professionals, discovering the Caribbean community, and why Jamaicans are respected and loved in Dubai.
Working in Dubai's Hospitality Scene – From fine dining beside the Dubai Opera to cafes to central kitchens, and why every phase taught her something different.
The Reality of Hospitality: A Message to Customers – Why kindness matters, why grace is everything, and why your waiter might be going through something you don't see.
Career Evolution: From Baker to Recipe Developer – Moving from baking to recipe development, creating for multiple brands, and why she's still in the learning phase.
The Entrepreneurship Dilemma: Custom Cakes vs. Freedom – Knowing exactly what she wanted a year ago, pulling back because she doesn't want to be stationary, and waiting for the right time.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction: A Jamaican Pastry Chef's Journey to Dubai
00:01:18 The Decision to Leave: Trading Promotion for Opportunity
00:02:52 First Impressions: Landing in Dubai at Night
00:05:10 Life Before Dubai: Pastry Roots in Jamaica
00:09:32 The Hardest Decision: Leaving Her Three Year Old Son
00:12:44 Motherhood Across Borders: FaceTime and Time Zones
00:26:10 Finding Community: Jamaicans in Dubai
00:29:05 Working in Dubai's Hospitality Scene
00:31:48 Career Evolution: From Baker to Recipe Developer
00:33:42 The Entrepreneurship Dilemma: Custom Cakes vs. Freedom
00:44:44 The Reality of Hospitality: A Message to Customers
00:59:55 The Question of Home: Could She Have Stayed in Jamaica?
01:03:56 Dubai Then and Now: Nine Years of Change
01:09:54 Advice for Aspiring Expats: Jump or Plan?
01:19:49 Dating in Dubai: The Cultural Challenge
01:22:17 The Future: Reuniting with Her Son
01:24:23 Life as a Postcard: Half Black, Half Colour

#HowDidYouGetHere #AprilJackson #DubaiLiving #JamaicanInDubai #PastryChef #RecipeDeveloper #MotherhoodAcrossBorders #ExpatLife #HospitalityIndustry #CaribbeanInDubai #LivingAbroad #Reinvention #CourageOverComfort #FaceTimeMotherhood #WorkLifeBalance #DubaiExpat #JamaicanCulture #IslandIndustry #CulinaryJourney #SacrificeAndSuccess

Babes, How Did You Get Here? | Janelle Brown: From UK to Thailand – A Two-Week Holiday That Turned Into Seven Months in Phuket

What happens when a British content creator books a two-week Christmas holiday to Thailand, finds an apartment five days after landing, and decides she's not going back—building a digital nomad life as a social media coach, navigating car crashes, client losses, dating disasters, and the reality that Phuket is definitely not as cheap as Instagram makes it look?

In this raw, hilarious, and deeply honest episode, host April Jackson sits down with Janelle Brown—a British digital nomad, content creator, and social media marketing coach who left the UK for Thailand on Christmas Day and somehow never left. From breaking up with her boyfriend in November and reclaiming her freedom, to landing in Phuket with zero plans and finding an apartment in five days, to quitting her corporate job in 2019 and moving to Ibiza (where the beach clubs took over), to lying on her CV to get into marketing, to having 15 jobs before turning 23, to losing one of her biggest clients last month, to surviving a car crash on Thursday and breaking down on the side of the road, to navigating the language barrier with Google Translate, to refusing to use dating apps because people can literally make up their whole identity, to discovering that Phuket is not Benidorm but it's definitely not cheap either—Janelle's story is one of risk-taking, reinvention, and choosing freedom over safety every single time.

In this episode, we discuss:
The Two-Week Holiday That Never Ended: Landing in Phuket on Christmas Day 2023, finding an apartment in five days, and telling friends back home she's not coming back.
The Breakup That Changed Everything: Ending a two-year relationship in November, realizing she had no ties, and choosing Thailand over starting over in the UK.
From Ibiza to Thailand: Quitting her corporate job in 2019, moving to Ibiza to build a business, partying instead of working, coming home with zero money and zero clients, and learning the hard way.
15 Jobs Before 23: Working as a waitress, teaching assistant, events manager, PA, doing door-to-door sales for two days, and being called a jack of all trades her entire life.
Lying on Her CV: How she got into social media marketing by pretending she had experience, getting full training from her employer, and building a business from there.
Life as a Digital Nomad: Running a social media marketing business from Thailand, coaching other entrepreneurs, and why success is speed.
The Car Crash: Having a car accident on Thursday, the front of the car coming off, breaking down on the side of the road, and wanting her mum but having to deal with it alone.
Losing a Major Client: Having one of her biggest clients end their contract last month, the financial panic, and the reality that nobody's coming to save you.
The Reality of Phuket: Why Phuket is not as cheap as people think, why a dress cost 40 pounds when Bangkok sells similar for 11, and why gentrification is happening here too.
Dating in Thailand: Why she doesn't use dating apps, why holiday romances don't work, and why it's terrifying that people can make up their whole identity in a foreign country.
The Language Barrier: Learning basic Thai, relying on Google Translate, and why living here is actually harder than living in the UK.

📚 For more details on parenting course:
https://april-s-site-fcfd.thinkific.com

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: From Two-Week Holiday to Seven Months in Phuket
00:47 The First Trip: Following Intuition to Thailand
02:45 Christmas Day Arrival and Finding Home in Five Days
03:20 The Breakup That Changed Everything
05:11 Building an Online Business: From Ibiza Failure to Thailand Success
02:19 The Thai People and Building Community
09:16 When Reality Hits: Car Crashes and Losing Clients
10:26 Driving in Thailand: Freedom and Fear
12:36 What Surprised Me About Living in Phuket
14:34 Why Phuket Over Other Parts of Thailand
15:41 Friendships Across the World and Staying Connected
17:30 The Reality of Digital Nomad Life: Isolation and Pressure
19:39 Turning 30 and Redefining Success
20:20 Jack of All Trades: Embracing Multiple Passions
23:47 The Future: Staying Open to Change
25:09 Dating Abroad: The Challenges of Finding Love in Transit
26:37 Reinventing Identity: Becoming a Content Creator
28:22 Misconceptions: Phuket Isn't That Cheap
30:59 Respect and Tourism: Navigating Cultural Sensitivity
34:41 Advice for Aspiring Expats: Build Before You Leap
36:33 Life as a Postcard: Beach, Sunset, and Freedom

#HowDidYouGetHere #AprilJackson #ThailandLiving #PhuketLife #DigitalNomad #ContentCreator #SocialMediaMarketing #ExpatLife #UKToPhuket #OnlineBusiness #Reinvention #CourageOverComfort #TravelingAlone #LivingAbroad #SoloFemaleTravel #ThailandExpat #BeachLife #SoutheastAsia #EntrepreneurLife