2021: Mid-Year Mark

The ability to reflect on the past and use it to plan for the future is one of the abilities which sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom. I reflect at the close of every chapter of my life, be it relationships, leaving an old job, ending an academic year and certainly, at the mid point of every year. I’ve been sharing mid-year reviews since 2018 to summarize what I’ve been up to so far and where I’ve reached in my goals. Read on for a few life updates and what to expect from Adventures from Elle for the rest of 2021.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle34 Comments

Chatting With More Creative Jamaican Medics

It’s a new month, so I’m starting June right with a new blog post. Last Christmas (#blogmas2020) I had the idea to feature five health care workers doing great things outside of their careers in medicine and nursing, simply because I always get asked how do I make time to blog consistently as a medical doctor. To be honest, it’s not easy but I believe people make time for what they love, and I love blogging, exploring Jamaica and trying new things. Today I’m back with seven medical doctors making time for their passion projects to inspire you all to ford your own streams. Read part one here.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle29 Comments

Sheldon Levene: A Jamaican Content Curator To Watch

Sheldon Levene is a Jamaican photographer, app creator, motion and graphic designer who curates Jamaica’s history, natural beauty and experiences through digital media. I first found him on Instagram, my favourite social media platform, in 2018. At that time, his feed was already populated with dozens of photographs documenting Jamaica by air which invoked feelings of awe, nostalgia or a combination of both. His growth since then has been remarkable.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle14 Comments

Is Blogging Still Relevant in 2022?

I often get curious looks and quizzical expressions whenever it comes up in conversation that I run a local travel blog, but the braver of the lot will sometimes ask “Isn’t blogging dead?” or some variation of this question. People watch more than they read these days, and a common saying exists in Jamaica that if you want to hide something from a Jamaican, you should put it in writing. The vlogging world has picked up a lot of traction thanks to the YouTube platform, and it’s actually quite lucrative with many vloggers and YouTubers making six figure incomes and giving up traditional jobs, due to advertisements, sponsored posts and affiliate marketing. A popular YouTuber will easily garner 10,000 views within 24 hours of releasing a new video, while it may take months for a blog article to gain the same kind of response. Thus, the question is valid. Is blogging still relevant in 2022?

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle53 Comments

2020 Year In Review

What a year! 2020 was not what we were expecting, and I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the one million deaths and counting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully, my relatives and friends all ended 2020 alive and healthy, and the few who were infected recovered nicely. For me, 2020 was a year filled with many disappointments and challenges, but it was also a year of immense personal growth and a modest amount of blog growth too. Today I take a look back on the year that was in terms of personal life, adventures, blog growth, milestones and 2020’s top posts.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle26 Comments

Discover Christmas in Jamaica: Food, Traditions & Celebrations

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” Hopefully you sang that line. I absolutely adore Christmas: the carols, the food, the festive cheer and the religious significance. Without the birth of Christ, there would be no Christianity. Of course, no one knows exactly when on the Gregorian calendar Christ was born, and the date chosen to commemorate His birth may have been to replace a pagan winter solstice feast centuries ago when Rome was trying to Christianize its populace, but nonetheless, the date has taken on a very special meaning for most Christians across the world. How Christmas is celebrated varies from country to country. A few posts ago I’d shared what several bloggers across the world had to say about their favourite part of the holidays here; now I’m sharing what’s unique to Christmas in Jamaica and my favourite parts about how we celebrate the holidays.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle37 Comments

Why Jamaica is the Ultimate Destination for Chocolate Lovers

When you think of luxury chocolate, think Jamaica! Jamaica is a tiny dot on the map yet most people around the world have heard of this country. This may be due to our reggae and dancehall music, athletic prowess, infectious culture and accent, our food, rum and Blue Mountain coffee. However, a lesser known fact is that Jamaica produces some of the world’s best chocolate bars! Jamaica is one of 17 countries recognized as producers of fine or flavoured cocoa by the International Cocoa Organization, and only one of 8 countries to do so exclusively. The flavours of fine cocoa beans range from fruity and floral to herbal, woody, nut and caramel notes. Cocoa trees yield approximately 20-30 pods per year, with each of the pods containing only 30-40 beans. It takes 400 beans to make one pound of chocolate, which explains why Jamaican chocolate bars may fetch high prices comparatively.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle18 Comments

10 Bloggers Share Their Favourite Part of the Holidays

Christmas is easily my favourite time of year. The weather is cooler, everyone seems cheerier and the pace of life and work slows down. Good luck trying to do business in Jamaica during December. Friends and families get together, decorations and ‘pepper lights’ go up, and my favourite foods and drinks like Christmas cake and sorrel are abundant. I love that Christianity isn’t the only religious festival at this time of year too, as Jews celebrate Hanukkah a few days before Christmas, and Kwanzaa is also a special time of year for African-Americans.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle10 Comments

Chatting with 5 Creative Jamaican Medics (Part I)

You’d never believe how often I get asked about how do I make time to blog as a doctor. People are often in awe, and I get it. The hours are horrible, but we are human too with other talents, interests and callings besides medicine, ranging from cooking, baking, sewing and more! Today I feature five talented medics who are doing amazing things while balancing their careers in medicine.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle21 Comments

Celebrate Christmas with Jamaican Reggae Tunes

Today I’m taking you on a reggae Christmas musical journey with 12 Jamaican Christmas songs. Jamaica’s predominant religion is Christianity so we play a lot of traditional Christian carols in our homes and we sing them in our churches at Christmas. American Christmas classics make it on our airwaves too and a lot of us can sing these songs word for word, BUT it’s not really Christmas in Jamaica until the reggae Christmas tunes start playing. It’s a bit ironic that even devout Rastafarians have thrown their hat in the ring at remixing Christmas classics and putting a Jamaican spin on it, but regardless, these are a mixture of reggae Christmas classics which have made their way into our hearts and homes, and a few others which.. well, you’ll just have to see.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle20 Comments