the beach (and therefore swimming) is an integral part of life in jamaica, right?

Nope. My mother still can't swim worth a damn. My father, who grew up even further from the ocean than my mother swims like a fish. I learnt to swim and did most of my swimming in the pool.

I think for a lot of Jamaicans, the beach is just there, and the ocean is even more just there. It's not that much of a destination if you fall between the classes of people with a bunch of leisure time and those who work on it.

And a fair amount of Jamaicans don't grow up or live that near to swimmable ocean.

Between you and me, Vortex, you know it's because black women hate to get their hair wet.

Between you and me, Vortex, you know it's because black women hate to get their hair wet.

har. I tried to be diplomatic about it. but, the advances in hair technology have made that much less of an issue. although, i still know people who sleep in chairs to not mess up their hair.

I can't float and I am white as they come. Must be my dense Irish/Scandinavian bones.

I can't float, but it never stopped me making the school swim team. My mother, aforementioned non-swimmer, enjoys the water, and floats with aplomb (no pun intended).

I found not being able to float helped my swimming, as I had to learn to take action to stay above water.

My sister is on her way to a charter school in Detroit for an interview.

The car in front of her has 3 people in it and they are passing a joint.

BWAHAHAHAHA!

Is she rolling up the windows and turning off the AC, Aimee?

I can't swim underwater - I've always bobbed right back up to the surface or pretty close to it, even when I was skin and bones at 145 lbs. Nowadays I'd probably float on the surface like cork.

In a lake or a pool, I know I can get to land in any direction if I swim far enough. The ocean, NSM.

What ita and Brenda said. When I think "lake", I think Lake Michigan. Small and swimmable do not mesh with lake in my head.

I get weirder about lakes and oceans. Lakes because I fear various animals and oceans because I have nearly been drowned numerous times by powerful undertows (and because of animals).

This me, except for the undertow thing. I have this irrational fear being attacked by something under the water and not being able to plant my feet. I have no idea where it comes from. So I'm fine with a pond or lake until I can't touch bottom anymore.

I also nearly drowned in a creek when I was a kid. It wasn't super deep, but I fell in, inhaled a bunch of water as I landed and then the water was too murky to tell which way was up so I panicked. Luckily one of my friends pulled me out.

Swimming in a pool, I don't have a problem. Though I still can't make myself dive. I just can't force myself to leap headfirst into anything, water or no.

Is she rolling up the windows and turning off the AC, Aimee?

Heh. This is my sister - she's probably going to stop them and ask for a pass.