Bolt continues to place Jamaica on the map
BEIJING, China — When an explosion killed over 100 people in Tianjin, China, last week, many Jamaicans were learning about that town for the first time.
Similarly, in that section of China, a lot of people don’t know where Jamaica is located.
Louis Davis, a Jamaican who has made his home in Tianjin, revealed that if it wasn’t for the iconic ‘To the World’ pose of Usain Bolt, the tiny island of Jamaica would not be known in that side of the world.
“Many Chinese don’t know where Jamaica is, even if you tell them where, like the tip of Cuba. But once you use the Usain Bolt signature sign, once you do that, most of them tend to know exactly where you are from,” he told the Jamaica Observer, while in-transit at Chicago airport en route to Beijing.
Davis, a Kingston College past student and a former employee of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), is currently teaching English and has made Tianjin his home since 2014. And he is loving every minute of it.
“It has to do with my wife. Both of us are adventurous. We travel a lot. I came in 12 days before 9/11 (World Trade bombing) and the stress factor was getting to me. So I decided to come over to China, and we love it,” Davis noted.
Davis, who said there are about four Jamaicans living in Tianjin, will cut the near two-hour journey to Beijing short with a ride on the speed train, because he cannot afford to miss Bolt and his fellow Jamaicans in action. He will be waving that black, green and gold flag proudly.
“I will not get another chance to see Usain Bolt, and I will not see another World Championships. Anywhere else will be too far, too expensive. I have to go at least one day and that is Saturday,” he noted.
“China is not a reggae country, but Bolt has indeed made Jamaica known in China. Jamaica has some work to do in terms of selling its brand here. The Japanese have taken onto all things Jamaica — dance, food and music,” he noted.