St Elizabeth girl travelling the globe
Renee James to visit Antarctica in November
Published:Sunday | October 8, 2023 | 12:09 AMShanel Lemmie - Staff Reporter
Though raised in a small town, St Elizabeth native, Renee James, is expanding her horizons as a global citizen.
In her 36 years, James has travelled to around 73 countries. Looking back at her childhood, she told The Sunday Gleaner that her bi coastal upbringing in Malvern, St Elizabeth, and New York City has been the chief motivation for her to travel as extensively as she has.
“I think having this bi coastal upbringing between Jamaica and New York, it started a love of travel. I’ve been travelling since about two weeks old, I was exposed to a lot of different cultures and I found the pros and the cons in that. So, while I was always the new girl in school, it really helped me to be able to make friends really really quickly and that has helped me in travel.”
She continued, “I love also that because I have travelled to all continents where people reside, when I meet somebody new I am able to welcome them with an open mind. I have experienced a little bit of their culture, their foods. I have perhaps met someone or befriended someone that reminds me of them so when I meet people I am really warm and accepting towards this potential new friendship because I have been exposed to a lot of different cultures.”
She says ‘as a country girl’, she has inherited the warm disposition that helped her to go into every opportunity with an attitude of gratitude.
“I don’t take any opportunities for granted because I know what it’s like to live in a very small town with one stop sign. In my hometown, we don’t even really have a stop light, its just like, a stop sign so when I am able to visit big cities or try new foods, I am always really appreciative of that. But I think actually, that [my] small town community has really helped my personality to be accepted by lots of different cultures. When I tell people that I am from Jamaica, it’s such a warm reception. I will say, for a small country, our reputation does precede us in a very positive way. That has really helped me to be confident in going anywhere because I know I will be received well.”
As a part of her travels, James said she has lived in South Korea, Wales and has travelled all of the seven wonders of the new world. Recalling her expeditions she says while she enjoyed the food and geography of Vietnam, she classifies her 2019 visit to Petra, the famous archaeological site on Jordan’s south western desert as particularly enlightening experience.
“I have been to all seven world wonders and I think visiting Petra was my favourite. Going to Jordan was just a culture shock. Coming from [a] Caribbean island, you would think that heat would not be a culture shock, but it was in the hundredth degree percentile every day.”
Though noting the majesty of the Dead Sea, she explained that experiencing the hub of the old world was particularly interesting. “You’re walking through the stones that have been carved out and you are seeing what was [the] Times Square of that time. So as you’re walking through, you’re seeing ancient Greek written on the wall, you’re seeing all these different languages written on the wall. Living in New York and kind of understanding being one of the centres of commerce, it was really interesting to see what that was like in ancient times.”
Continuing her expeditions around the globe, James said she will be travelling to her final unexplored continent, Antarctica, in November.
“This is gonna be my last continent and its something that I am really really proud of. In order to go to Antarctica, so much planning has to go into it. I am actually going on a science expeditions trip so this is a scientific research trip.”
Baked into the experience is a week-long stay on a ship where participants will be educated on wildlife, climate change and the remote continent in general.
“It’s taken decades of work and maintenance of myself, my health, watching my finances, being comfortable in different climates and with different people around me to be able to go on this trip. So, I feel like this is really a combination of all of the travel beforehand, all of the work I’ve done beforehand to be able to afford this trip, to be healthy enough to go on this [trip] and to live on this ship with strangers for weeks. I think it really is a culmination of years of travel, years of hard work coming to fruition.”