Caribean Islands:
I woke up this morning and realized that I had two Caribbean
countries scheduled in a row, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. So
I am rolling this post into one- the Caribbean Islands. First thing that I did
this morning was go for a swim to celebrate, which was hard to do when it is
seven degrees outside. True, the pool I use is indoors, but I still had to go
out in the cold with wet hair afterwards. I then had a nice tropical fruit
smoothie followed by watching my movie about the location. I based my research
on the two countries mentioned above.
Both countries fell under British rule until the mid 20th
century. However the demographics of the two countries are slightly different.
Barbados has a high percentage of people from India, where as the majority of
people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are former slaves of African descent. English
is widely spoken in both places; however, people in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines are much more likely to speak a dialect of creole in casual
conversation with family and friends.
Food:
Both places had black eyed pea dishes. Black eyed peas and
rice seemed to be a common dish for both, so that I what I decided to make. I
could not find a beer made in either, so I bought Red Stripe, a common Jamaican
beer. For tomorrow I have a Caribbean rum that I plan on mixing with Pineapple
Juice. Since Barbados has such a high Indian population, roti and other flat
breads are commonly eaten with the meals.
The recipe I used for the black eyed peas and rice is here: http://globaltableadventure.com/2010/05/16/recipe-peas-n-rice/
Movie:
The movie that I chose to watch was filmed in both Barbados
and Grenada, a separate country from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The movie
is called “Island in the Sun”, a British movie set on a fictional Caribbean
Island. This movie came out in 1957 and for the time, was highly controversial.
The movie’s main theme is that of mixed relationships between blacks and
whites, and there struggles with it.
The movie itself follows three different couples (4 if you
include one that is already married). Two of them are couples that are black
and white. One where the man is black (woman white) and the other the opposite.
In the first case, the man is trying to get into politics and is seeking to
represent his island people, where the woman’s family had owned a plantation on
the island 100 years prior. In the end, one of the couples goes off together
and the other split apart, feeling that their differences are just too much to
overcome.
At the same time, two of the characters find out that they
are 1/32 black, though they do not look it. The discovery comes in the form of
a newspaper article. The brother and sister are forced to reflect on their own
lives, and what it means for them. In the woman’s case, it threatens to put an
end to her plans of marring a titled British official, thus polluting the
bloodline.
The movie also touches on politics common to many of the
Caribbean Islands, where a minority of British rule over a people they don’t
necessarily identify with.
My Thoughts
As many of my readers know, I am married to a man from Southern India. When I got married to him, no one even batted an eyelash, as far as I can recall. True, I was once questioned about whether it was a good idea to think about dating him when I was first considering taking our friendship to the next level. However, this was before any of my family met him and found out what a wonderful guy he is. By the time I got engaged to him a little less than two years later, he was already considered one of the family. The issue of a mixed marriage, or having mixed children was never an issue.
One of my aunts married a man from Jamaica, years earlier. They had three wonderful, intelligent daughters who I absolutely adore. The movie got me thinking about them. What struggles did they avoid by being born in the 1980's instead of the 20's? Unlike the woman who is 1/32 black, they have always known what there background is. None of my cousins had any trouble finding husbands, but the movie reminds me that there situation could have been much different for them half a century ago.
Work Cited:
Barbados. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados. Retrieved: January 20, 2014
Hays, Alfred. Waugh, Alec. Rossen, Robert "Island in the Sun". Copyright: 12 June1957. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aqpCjPGero Retrieved: January 20, 2014.
"St. Vincent and the Grenadines". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines. Retrieved: January 21, 2012.
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