The Barbadian People

Maybe the fact that I'm a writer makes me attuned to people and all of their quirks. I'm basically a people watcher because I find us so fascinating in our contradictions, convictions, sometimes hypocrisy.

And when I'm visiting a new place, whether a mall or a country, I'm fascinated by the culture and norms of its people. Barbados wasn't immune to this.

I found the citizens of Barbados to be friendly, for the most part. There are some countries where tourists are treated as irritants by the citizens. You feel unwelcomed. And the advice is that you'd better stick to the resort area. Not the case on this island. I'm not naive to think that I shouldn't be careful and aware at all times. However, the locals were friendly and cooperative.

While there, twinges of my Guyanese accent crept back. And once the locals discovered that commonality, the conversation and openess went deeper. BTW, my accent always comes back when I'm around my mother or brother or Guyanese friends. It's not something that is affected, but slips on like a well-used houseslipper, basically comfortable. So being in the Caribbean around things that reminded me of my childhood provided a place of comfort.

Barbadian men are very nice. I wasn't bothered with flirtatious pain in the asses. Heck, it could be that I'm not the ideal type: young, giggling, and showing skin. But I found them willing to chat. And when we needed directions, they would go out of their way to make sure we got all the information and we were comfortable getting to our destination. One group of Rastas led us to one such location.

The women were cool. I had a run in with a couple unsmiling ones. And please don't think that I expect any islanders to be smiling and catering to me as a tourist. However, when I say hello to a cashier, thank you, etc., movement of the lips would be appreciated. One young thing had so much attitude that I complained to the owner. Nothing short of what I would have done here.

The ethnic make-up of countries also interest me. It speaks to the populations and immigrant groups that co-exist. Unlike Guyana, Trinidad and a few more islands, where the dominant groups are Indian and Black with a spatterings of shades in between, Barbados has a broad range of browns with Europeans at one end of the range to dark blacks at the other spectrum.

I didn't see any overt bias to a color system, but I'm sure that something exist. After all, it's in our nature to divide whether it's by color, economics or class. I do know that the previous government administration that was in power for 12 years would be classifed as light skinned - definitely mixed heritage somewhere. And now the new administration is led by a dark skinned black. I'm not up on my politics to know what prompted the dramatic change and how long it will last. They are on a 4 year term like the U.S.

What I absolutely loved about these people and their graciousness is that they remembered their visitors. My brother is the extrovert in the family. And from the time that we landed, the rental car sales rep and him were chatting because he's used his service twice. Then we went to a fast food restaurant called Chefette, and the employee remembered him. A man who sells rum punch across from the restaurant said hi to him. We go to the Hilton and it felt like the entire staff knew him. It's not that they remember his name, but they remember details about him and can ask about family members. Once he introduced me as his sister, and I saw them a second or third time, I was also included in the greeting and conversation.

The people of Barbados would definitely make me visit the island again.

Here are a few photos of a friend's house. The covered patio was huge. We sat there drinking Cranberry and vodka talking about politics, celebrities, and whatever else popped into mind. On the estate, and it was big enough to be called such, there was an inground pool. You could see the ocean. And there was a bird sanctuary so nothing could be built next to it. I absolutely loved this house.

Yesterday I declared Beverly - Beachlover - winner of my Barbados treat. I promised to post the photo of the prize. She gets a small watercolor of a local artist and a sample of Barbadian Rum.