Well, I haven’t been up to anything very exciting worth reporting lately. Weekdays are usually filled with being at the office, and evenings I try to work on creative projects but usually end up spending most of the time cooking. I have been managing to do at least 30 minutes of yoga nearly every day, though I don’t think I am improving much!
Weekends usually I go to the beach. My living allowance doesn’t really allow me to indulge in any expensive touristy activities so I have to keep things cheap by going places that are free and bringing a picnic lunch. The beaches here are beautiful, and I always look forward to the weekend! Unfortunately there are no museums on the island so there aren’t many cultural activities to try, and most of the live music happens in bars and doesn’t really get started until 11 pm or later, which makes it hard for me given the limited transportation available and the fact I am not allowed to ride a bike, and can’t afford a taxi.
I have gotten to travel a bit around the island, usually for work, which gives me a different perspective than people who come here as tourists. While it’s lovely living in a tropical island, it’s also become fairly routine. When I first came here I was hoping it would be like when I lived in Laos, and had a lot of Lao friends, and was invited to a lot of Lao cultural activities, spent time with people in their villages, with their families, experiencing a lot of traditional activities. But Lucians don’t particularly want to involve me in things, and most of the Lucians I know spend their free time going to church or watching TV, 2 things I am really not interested in. Culturally the Caribbean is fairly Westernized, so unlike Samoa and other places I have spent time, there aren’t really many opportunities to have interesting cultural exchanges. Unfortunately there is not a lot of local art and craft being created, although there is some, most of the souvenirs and objects for sale here are produced in China and imported. There is some pottery and carving that goes on but not really around where I am posted, and the carving generally emulates Western styles rather than indigenous perspectives.
In many ways a lot of parts of St. Lucia remind me of the US in 1980’s. It’s pretty low-tech. There are lots of hand-painted signs, which is one of the best art forms on the island in my opinion I also love the brightly-coloured buildings and architecture, and the old wooden houses. Unfortunately most of the older buildings were destroyed, so unlike places like Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic there aren’t beautiful colonial-era squares and architecture around. In fact I can honestly say Castries is quite a dirty, disgusting place. There are open gutters everywhere, full of rubbish, which become mosquito breeding habitats after any rain. There are homeless dogs all over the city and people just throw their rubbish everywhere. There is no recycling programme and there is plastic everywhere, which all gets washed into the sea, and no one seems to care. People also use a lot of styrofoam, which heaps up in piles as well, and gets carried out to sea when it rains.
Being an island things like refrigerators, stoves, and cars that no longer work seem to just sit somewhere rusting for eternity, never making it to a landfill or off the island.
One thing that is equal parts frustrating and enjoyable is how laid back everyone is here. One of my workmates asked me “Do you think St. Lucia is laid back?” and I said “Yes, why?” and he said “Whenever I ask foreigners what they think of St Lucia, they say it’s very laid back.”. I thought about it for a bit. Whenever people ask me if I like St. Lucia, I usually just say yes. If they ask me what I like about St. Lucia I usually say the beaches, because I can’t really think of anything else positive to say. But since that conversation I realised I could say that I like how laid back it is here. I also realised that was probably also the conclusion the foreigners my workmate had spoken to had also come to, it’s an easy enough thing to like and say you like about a place to avoid the awkwardness of telling people you just aren’t really digging their country.
But with all the laid-backness comes some challenges. It can be very frustrating to show up for what you are told is a workday, and no one else comes to the office. Is there a point when people can be too-laid back? Maybe St. Lucians have reached that level. However, after the last few years where my life was so busy, and so stressful, this is exactly what I need. Just to be laid back and not have every minute of every day full of things to do. It really took me a while to adjust to that life style, but I am trying to accept it as I know it will never change, and it’s useless to try and get things to happen quickly or people to be efficient, they just can’t. So with that acceptance has come some kind of peace, and the ability to like St. Lucia better than I had at first.
It is also better now that I have a few friends and people to do things with, but it’s still been a challenge in terms of living here. A lot of that challenge has been because of the restrictions placed upon me by being a Peace Corps volunteer. I am an extremely independent person and have always been in situations where I was expected to manage my own behaviour without constant oversight. To now be placed in a situation where I need permission to get on a boat and am prohibited from riding a bicycle (amongst many other restrictions!) has been a huge challenge to come to terms with.
Another thing that I find quite challenging to deal with is how women are portrayed and viewed in this society. To a certain extend women are quite empowered – education is accessible, and there are many professional women and single mothers who seem quite empowered. However at the same time, in popular culture, on Soca music and Dancehall in particular, objectify women to the extent it actually makes me feel… physically unwell.
An example is the very popular song “Pon Di Cocky” by popular Jamaican artist Aidonia. I go to an all-female Zumba class, and the women request this song to be done every session. Here is a sample of the lyrics, and a link to the video:
You pussy tight eeh?
Pussy tight eeh?
You pussy tight eeh?
Pussy tight eeh?
You love it, me love it
When you ride me, set it up no
COME GYAL!
Take you time pon[on] the cocky darling
Sit down pon [on] it no gyal the cocky
Tough it nah bendSit down pon [on] the
Sit down pon[on] the
Sit down pon[on] the cocky
Sit down pon [on] the cocky
Lyrics from <a href=”http://www.elyrics.net”>eLyrics.net</a>
To end a positive note, one thing I have been enjoying about St. Lucia is learning about rastafarianism and ital (vegetarian) food in particular. There are a few little ital restaurants I have found that I really enjoy going to, and exploring that particular sub-culture. In many of the places I lived (Laos, Benin, Avignon), there weren’t really obvious or accessible sub-cultures or counter-culture movements to explore, so it has been interesting being exposed to this one.
YUM! This shit is so good.
Hello, Saint Lucia 