Geography
Jamaica is the largest English speaking Caribbean, and the third largest in the region. The island of Jamaica is divided into three (3) counties. These include Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey. These counties are divided further into fourteen (14) parishes: Kingston, St. Andrew, Manchester, St. Ann, Clarendon, St. Catherine, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny, St. Mary, Portland and St. Thomas. Each parish has a capital town, Montego Bay in St. James and Kingston, have many city status. Kingston is Jamaica’s capital.
Culture
Jamaica has a rich and diverse culture blended from around the world. In this beautiful island, our motto is “Out of Many One People” This motto represents the different races of people living together in Jamaica as one. Equally important is our National Dish-Ackee and SaltFish, our National Bird – The Doctor Bird, The National Tree – The Blue Mahoe and the National Flower- The Lignum Vitae.
Language
The official language of Jamaica is English, spoken in proper fashion with a uniquely Jamaican accent. But the language of the streets is patois. This musical dialect is a combination of English, Spanish, Portuguese, African phrases and a good dose of Jamaican slang. Spoken in a sing-song style, the result is as exotic as any foreign language.
Music
Jamaica is the home of the famous Reggae music, founded in the 1960’s reggae music was developed and made famous by reggae artists such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff among many others.
Read more: http://www.jis.gov.jm/ja50/v2/in-a-nutshell-jamaica/overview-of-jamaica/
Overview of Montego Bay
Montego Bay defies description: posh resort, package tour playground, market town, commercial centre, seaport, slum, second city, capital of the west - its disparate elements co-exist without blending. The result is an atmosphere of schizophrenic energy. Almost all tourists enter Jamaica through the Donald Sangster airport but Montego Bay has long outgrown the label "tourist town". It is sometimes referred to as "the Republic" a nickname dating back to the last century when independent local landowners criticized the government for neglecting the western parishes. That situation still exists and true Montegonians, born in the bay and known as "Bawn a bays" sometimes still threaten, only half in jest, to secede from the rest of the island.
Read more: http://discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/tour_ja/tour_c.htm