"Real Talk. Not Cute." (Part 2)

Continuing on the saga...

I came home from the presentation and got ready to go to the Crane's house for dinner, they're an amazing family from Scotland I met while hanging out at Oualie-they have a younger boy named Colin and a gorgeous girl our age named Lauren. They invited a couple of people we've met at the bar including this baller chick named Siri; she's from Norway and just randomly decided to pack up and head down to the Caribbean for a couple of weeks-last time I talked to her she was heading to St. Martin and thought about staying another week touring another island. One day I hope I have enough courage to jump on a plane and adventure about on my own..although I still think I'd have more fun with a smaller group! In all it ended up being, of course, my partner in crime Kevin, Colis, Moy, Andy, his date (I didn't catch her name but she was visiting for the weekend from Dominica), Colis' friend John, Zac, and I (I think a few others stopped by as well throughout the night). Colis cooked up some delicious chicken, fish, hamburgers, beans and rice with coconut milk, and a salad...it was probably one of the top meals I've had on the island, I don't think the family understood how grateful Kevin and I were to get away from our college budgets and enjoy a real home cooked meal!

Me being me, I was really excited to be in a household rich with different cultural backgrounds-we had Scotland, US, Norway, Nevis, St. Lucia, and Dominica within one room. Unfortunately, we had a couple drinks and after being in the sun all day I got exhausted by midnight and took a power nap in the chair for a bit...I felt really bad for eating, drinking, and then sleeping in their chair but apparently I wasn't the only one...Zac did the same thing too. haha So much for the energetic youth right! I somehow pulled enough energy to go into town with Kevin, Siri, John, and Colis and we checked out the village where the late night partying goes on for Culturama...and I'm not lying when I say late night-more like into the early morning. I don't know how people do it but from what I hear, the music and dancing doesn't stop until sometime after 6am...!? Luckily we made it back a few hours before dawn for some well deserved sleep! Ps, talk about a small world, John grew up all around the US, most notably a few places in NC as well as Ft. Collins, Colorado for a while...I can't think of anyone else that has heard of it, much less lived there! I thought it was interesting at least. The group decided to go out to Lover's Beach on Sunday so a good majority of the day was spent sunbathing and studying-a fair compromise if you ask me! Lover's is a really nice beach just a hop skip and quick swim (or walk. I prefer to take the road...) away from Hurricane Cove-it has a nice stretch of black (from the volcano) and white sand and waves more like what we're use to in the States. Gorgeous area and very secluded!

By this point in the trip I was beginning to be torn between ready to go home and never wanting to leave. I've missed the States incredibly, it's funny how little things I didn't think would bother me turned into huge issues after a while. Mosquitoes became my primary enemy after a while-my legs are so scarred up by random half-asleep episodes of 'attack-the-itch', it's amazing how the mosquitoes in NC will barely compare to the swarms here. As I write this I can spot three or four of those buggers flying around my computer and I. I also started missing my car and the ability to be independent. I finally realized I was starting to get irritated because alot of my freedoms I'm just so accustomed to had been taken away-I couldn't go out to a store in the late evening if I needed something, the manager gave us strict rules about what time we should be in from where (keep in mind these were casually enforced the last two weeks of being here...) and where we could party (apparently we couldn't stay in the bungalows and drink because we were too loud but if we went out and came in late she would get upset too), and I haven't had any significant alone time unless I'm in the shower or sleeping.

Despite these factors, I love everything about this island. I like the fact you have to be outgoing and make friends to find your own fun and the culture is very intriguing. I can definitely see myself moving to the Caribbean for an extended length of time in the future-my ideal situation, as I've fantasized with a couple of my friends, is to find a mate back in the States and move to an island on a whim, perhaps someplace with a little more tourism and nightlife so that I could find a job..although I've already had three job offers while being here! If nothing after college happens I know where to go! haha Interestingly, living among a different culture for an extended time has made me appreciate my background more. In the past few years I've grown jealous of the cultures that have so many unique traditions where as I feel as though I have none to offer. Perhaps that has come from being a member of Fusion, and the fact people can bring different foods and dances and traditions and beliefs to the table and teach the rest of us something.

Living here has a) made me realize my own rich culture and b) made me realize I have the ability to appreciate other cultures based on my background. A) I really do have a culture-it's Christmas time and food and traditions with the family, it's alcohol and fireworks on the 4th of July and realizing every year we've yet to learn the two should never mix, it's Halloween and awkwardly dressing up and asking our neighbors for candy (it really is an awkward concept if you stop to think about it), it's football season, and hip-hop and Hollywood and all these things that I'm sure I would be fascinated by if I weren't an American myself. B) I have been overwhelmingly blessed to have grown up in the family I have where I've been encouraged to accept others despite looks, backgrounds, beliefs, orientation, etc. In recent years I feel like my fascination with different cultural groups is a defining factor that makes me, me and I have my family as well as my American background to thank for that-as I mentioned, if I weren't an American I'm sure I would be just as intrigued by our culture, but I'm glad I grew up in a place where our traditions are strong but not strong enough to override my ability to learn about others. For a while I felt as though I was embarrassed to say "I'm from the States" because well, some people just don't like us, let's face it. I also felt like there's a stigma that comes along with saying that and I was afraid they would automatically assume I'm a rich, white person from the States, looking for a safe, touristy way to spend my vacation. In fact, it's almost a treat to now say "hey, I'm from the States" and in fact, I would like to go somewhere only locals go...it's nice to surprise people and change their minds on how they tend to see a group.

Alright, enough rambling on now! Thank you all for reading my book, I'll be doing personal autographs on August 5th and 6th....;)