> Feeling out of place when I can’t identify with certain pop culture references or cultural norms (like being able to swim, liking baseball, listening to rock/country or playing golf), because I grew up differently.
For swimming, the norm in America is to think you know how to swim. 80% claim they can swim, but only 56% can demonstrate the five core skills that the Red Cross considers to be basic skills. The skills are (1) step or jump into water that is over your head, (2) return to the surface and float or treat water for one minute, (3) turn around in a full circle and find an exit, (4) swim 25 yards to the exit, and (5) climb out of the water [1].
The author, though, is from Jamaica. I would have guessed that swimming would be much more common there, since it is an island nation. However, to my surprise, a bit of Googling reveals that apparently Jamaicans are no more inclined toward swimming than are those who live nowhere near large bodies of water.
[1] http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Launche...
For swimming, the norm in America is to think you know how to swim. 80% claim they can swim, but only 56% can demonstrate the five core skills that the Red Cross considers to be basic skills. The skills are (1) step or jump into water that is over your head, (2) return to the surface and float or treat water for one minute, (3) turn around in a full circle and find an exit, (4) swim 25 yards to the exit, and (5) climb out of the water [1].
The author, though, is from Jamaica. I would have guessed that swimming would be much more common there, since it is an island nation. However, to my surprise, a bit of Googling reveals that apparently Jamaicans are no more inclined toward swimming than are those who live nowhere near large bodies of water.
[1] http://www.redcross.org/news/press-release/Red-Cross-Launche...