It can be a shock for Jamaican rugby fans who leave the island to visit Brisbane in Australia. Jamaican bartender Sheldon Spencer felt some culture shock when he participated in an exchange program sponsored by Appleton Estate rum. In spite of the shock, however, Spencer said the game was “pretty awesome” and found some points in common with Queenslander fans. For example, he mentioned the passion of everyone at the game, which he found “infectious and lovely.” He feels like a Queenslander now because of that passion, saying “it felt like a big family.”
Spencer spent a few days talking shop with Leah Stevens, a local Brisbane bartender during his visit, and then Stevens visited Spencer’s hometown in Jamaica. Stevens thinks Spencer had a more difficult time on his visit to Australia than she had visiting Jamaica because it was winter in her country when he was there, and he “didn’t bring a jumper.”
A recent study of 1,000 individuals indicated that 62 percent of Australians think their country is becoming a culturally divided nation, while 45 percent think the country is becoming more close-minded. Spencer and Stevens wanted to counteract these trends.
According to Spencer, it’s important to respect everyone’s points of view when visiting different cultures. Not everyone will appreciate the same things, he said. For example, Australians “really love” their rum and cola, and when Spencer suggested they try one of his cocktails, they though he was “looking down” on their drinks,although that was not his intention. He did express amazement that Australians drank their rum in pre-mixed “tinnies.” “We don’t have anything like that in Jamaica,” he said. Spencer and Stevens did bond over their mutual love of rum. They even collaborated on a cocktail, combining flavors from both of their cultures: lime juice, sugarcane and lemon myrtle.
Stevens said that “it was love at first sight” when she saw Jamaica’s lush countryside and its sugarcane fields. She found it a little difficult to get to know the people because of how fast she speaks compared to Jamaicans. When a Jamaica tells a story, she noted, “there’s no rush to get to the punchline.” She first thought everyone she met was a little stand-offish and quiet, but once she got them talking, “they’ll share their heart.”
After the exchange trips, Stevens believes she and Spencer are “good mates,” saying that they’re different, but as bartenders, they are the same. The most important thing they learned was to keep an open mind. “We get so caught up in our lives, it’s easy to forget there’s a big wide world out there,” she said.
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