new beginnings

So now I'm ready to talk. Its been enough time. I've recuperated and reflected and sharing my story is a necessity. I'll try not to go into too much details though. I had a bad experience in Jamaica. A really really bad experience. One that resulted in the loss of a seemingly good friend and an increase in debt. *sigh*

Freshman year, I met a group of friends that I had grown extremely close to. A circle had been created and since then members of which have came and gone according to my feelings and experiences with them. One of the girls I became really close to after one of my falling-outs with another girl who I'll call Judge Judy (or Judy for short), was with another girl I shall call Ms. Prissy. I fell in love with Ms. Prissy's seemingly similar interests and the depe intellectual conversations I couldn't have with some of my other girlfriends. Anyway, spring break of Freshman year was spent at home dwelling on the misery of my on-again, off-again relationship with then boyfriend Mr. Maxima. Upon my return to school, I saw that alot of my acquaintances spent their spring break in exciting places underneath the sun. It was then I decided that I'm not going to spend my next spring break in the house. It was time for me to plan my getaway. When I brought the idea to my circle of girlfriends, Prissy was overly eager to suggest Jamaica as our destination and her "vacation home" as our place to stay. When offered that as opposed to a expensive hotel my friends jumped at the offer. I fell into the hype against my better judgment. It was putting money back into my pocket being that I didn't have to pay for a pricey hotel. Even though growing up no matter how much money we had, my mother always made us stay in hotels which resulted in my dislike for staying at strange houses, the idea of saving money on my tight college budget was much more appealing. Plus, she came from a somewhat well-to-do family with a large house in Long Island so I figured, she must have a nice house down there.

In the months leading up to the purchase of the plane tickets, not once did she ever describe the conditions of the area that she lived in. Not once did she describe her house in great detail. I trusted her judgment. After all, she was my close friend. How could I question her? I saved $400 from my great summer job at an insurance firm in the city in order to buy my ticket. The ball was rolling. I was too excited and no one could influence me otherwise. In November, I bought my non-refundable ticket and there was no turning back. My roomie Ms. Chocolate and her best friend Ms. Bonnie were coming along too and we bought our tickets together. It was an exciting time that cost a lot of money. I had to obtain my passport, buy some new clothes (being the fashion lover I am.lol), get my hair done and all that good stuff.

In the days leading up to our departure, Prissy decided to give us a little information about her house that she never mentioned before. She says, "Guys, just so you know, I have no hot water. I mean the water is not cold but its not hot either. But don't worry it'll be fine 'cuz its gonna be crazy hot down there." In my head I was thinking, why didn't she tell me this before? I almost started to protest but then I decided it'll be fine since its hot and it can't be that bad.

Our flight was at 10:30 am but we had to take an amtrak train to bring us to the airport. The train was at 5:15 in the morning. We didn't get any sleep. With our bags packed, we headed over to Prissy's house to celebrate our departure and Judy's (who is one of Prissy's roomates) birthday. There was alcohol involved and I got a little tipsy but Chocolate got crazy drunk. This resulted in the loss of her wallet which was not discovered until our trip to the amtrak station. She never ended up finiding her wallet but she left me and Bonnie to travel to the airport ourselves while she went to search for it. She managed to make the plane after a stressful panic filled process which involved the flight attendants holding the plane for her. We were already off to a bad start.

Once the plane touched down in Jamaica. We were tired, hungry, and miserable and wanted nothing more but to lay down and get some food. Instead we were forced to wait in the airport for 3 hours for Prissy's brother to pick us up. Unbeknownst to us, he took it upon himself to not show up until Prissy's plane landed which wasn't until 3 hours after we arrived (She flew separately because her father works for some airline). I was scared and angry being in anothr country and not knowing what to do but when they arrived I held my tongue; Prissy was my friend and I didn't want to be disrespectful. The next few days was something out of nightmare. There were gigantic cockroaches, little baby ones crawling in the bed, a field mouse crawling in my bed, no hot water or water pressure, family and friends staring at us as if we were aliens from another planet, and worst of all being scammed out of money by the family of a friend who I put my trust in. It was nothing we expected. Even the tourist areas appeared lackluster and rundown; nothing like the commercials. We decided to come back early. Mommy dearest came and saved the day and paid for a ticket back home. But of course we couldn't leave without a bang. The day we were to leave Prissy's brother, who greatly contributed to our misery with his scams and other antics, decided to overcharge us for taking us to the airport. Our flight was at 5 and at 2:30 he took it upon himself to fight us and not drive us anywhere unless he got the money he demanded which was almost $40; that was more than twice the amount it cost to get us there which was what sparked the big argument. To make matters worse, Prissy fought for him. It was her convincing us to give him the money that stopped it (mind you we were sitting in the parking lot arguing for over a half-hour and we still had a half-hour trip ahead of us). After he got his money he had no problem admitting that the extra money was for his pocket. Upon hearing this, Prissy did nothing, said nothing. The guilt was etched all of her face. I asked her, "Are you really going to let him do this to us?" When she didn't respond all I could do is turn around and listen to the music blasting out of my ipod. At the airport I told her goodbye as did Chocolate, but Bonnie did not. Bonnie was really upset. The reality of the enormity of her betrayal had not hit me yet.

Once I was in the comfort of my home with my family, I got the chance to really think about the situation. I had to recount the story a number of times and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Prissy had betrayed me. Her family took advantage of my friends and I. She did nothing to protect us. Whether she knowingly participated in the scam or not remains unkown, what I do know was that when the realization of it hit her she did nothing to protect any of us. We had to fend for ourselves in a situation that she put us in and even after the fact, she was unapologetic. I'm not even angry though. I was disappointed. Another friend bites the dust in the chronicles of Ms. TooHollywood. It was hurtful. But I realized that I do not have a need for individuals like Prissy in my life. I can turn over a new leaf and be open to the possibility of new friends. I don't leave my friendship with Prissy without a lesson: trust your instincts and never compromise your values or standards. Though I loved Prissy dearly as a friend, it is time to leave her behind a long with the distant horrible, memory that was Jamaica and accept a new beginning. Besos.