By Kristin D’Agostino –
Sophia West, a student in the college’s English Language Acquisition (ELA) program, moved to Asheville from St. Elizabeth Parish in southwestern Jamaica nine years ago to take a housekeeping job at the Inn at Biltmore.
At the time, the 52-year-old empty-nester was ready for an adventure and, although she’d never been to the United States, she jumped at the chance to join her cousin in Asheville who was also working at the inn.
Western North Carolina with its mountains and open space was similar to Jamaica. And the new job offered more money than she’d been making as a gas station attendant.
West took the plunge, and it paid off. For the past three years, she’s worked her way up in the ELA program and is now at the advanced level.
When not studying English, she cares for her 10-year-old grandson Kayden and works as a housekeeper at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community.
West also stays connected to her home country and her family. Every day ends with a WhatsApp session with her three grown kids. She loves Asheville’s selection of Jamaican food venues, especially Charlie King’s Food Truck, which is currently rebuilding after the hurricane, and she listens to reggae music whenever she can.
“I love my country,” she says. “The beaches, the food and the people all look out for each other.”
During her last visit home in July, West enjoyed cooking dinner with her family and sitting out under the mango trees.
One of the things she values most about her culture is the reverence that Jamaicans have for elderly members of the community. Grandparents often live with their families in the home, and older residents look out for the younger ones, keeping an eye on neighborhood children.
“There’s always someone at home,” West said. “Here, the elderly are in nursing homes and it’s kind of sad. They get lonely. At home you’d have someone to talk to.”
West feels a special connection with the older…
Read the full article here
