I started Gordonswaby.com ( June 2006) a couple months after Kirk Brown, the author of the blog, Jamaipanese.com ( February 2006) started his. I met him through blogging and have known him for about 6 years.
The word “Jamaipanese” is a portmanteau; a combination of Jamaica and Japan. Kirk is a Jamaica ( He’s Jamaican) and Japan ( more so Japan) enthusiast, he’s been an enthusiast of the latter for a while, but didn’t get to visit the country until recently–that’s the interesting part.
Kirk had everything he needed to go to Japan, but money. But that wasn’t going to deter him from going. Most people wouldn’t have bothered, but Kirk did and I admire him for that. His story is interesting and I think it should be highlighted.
Picture courtesy of Taylor’s Photography
On January 18, 2010 Kirk wrote a detailed blog post explaining how he’d acquire the funds to go to Japan, where he’d stay and what his expenses would be. You can read the blog post here. It’s titled “Operation Visit Japan”. What I find particularly interesting is how he managed to raise about 40% of the funds through his blog via donations (I’m pretty sure many told him not to bother because people would not donate, but he did anyway). I donated and encouraged him as I’m sure many others did. As a result he received over $1,000 USD in donations from people all over the world. This is an example of how useful the internet can be to anyone, wherever you are, it just takes effort and dedication.
Kirk even managed to snag sponsorship from a Japanese company for wireless internet connectivity while he was there and even stayed with a Japanese reggae singer who he met through his blog. There is still much more to be told, but I definitely can’t tell it like he can. He has organized all his posts re: his trip to Japan he in a category that you can read here
Kirk is a good writer, consistent blogger and a great friend. I’m very happy for him and I’m glad he finally got the opportunity to visit a place he’s so crazy about.
Ode to Jamaipanese.com, my blog of the year!
Originally published on gordonswaby.com on 2012-01-12 (recovered from the Internet Archive).