My Culture Is An Important Part Of Me

Culture – the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. That’s the Oxford definition. Culture for me is pride. It’s a rooted connection to my history. I feel it running through my blood, I hear it in my voice. It runs deep. Ask me where I’m from and I can tell stories all day long. My culture is an important part of me.

I am from a community rich in culture. It permeates the island. The food, the music, the celebrations. When anyone opens their mouth to speak, it screams culture! I miss home so much. 

Special holidays are celebrated with an island flair.

I remember Christmases on the beach. Easter weekends flying kites on an open pasture. Summertimes were spent in the mountains mango picking. Pick one, eat one was kind of the motto. I could reminisce all day long. 

I spent my childhood going between two islands; St. Thomas and St. Kitts. So I am connected to both. Two little islands in the Caribbean Sea that have their own unique qualities. St. Thomas is my place of birth and where I grew up. St. Kitts is where my mom is from so I spent so much time visiting family there multiple times a year and even lived there for a few years as a child. 

I’m a Caribbean woman through and through, and I am extremely proud of my home and my culture. 

Some days I feel so far removed from home though. After all, I am miles away from the place I will always call home. It’s been years since I’ve visited. For one reason or another, there was an excuse not to go. 

First, we were saving for our wedding and honeymoon. We cash flowed both so didn’t have the extra to spend going home. Then we were expecting baby girl and Zika hit, so traveling to a tropical place wasn’t an option. On and on there were reasons and now it has been many years. 

The kids have never been. Just that thought makes me sad. I want them to experience my culture. Not just experience it, I want them to know it and grow to find comfort in it just as I do. I want them to feel connected to it. 

I want them to have memories and tell “Remember when” stories when they are older. “Remember when we would go to St. Thomas in the summertime?” Or “Remember that beach picnic we had that one Christmas and the iguana ran away with our pâté?!!!” LOL. That never happened to me but I just imagine them having wonderful stories to tell about their childhood adventures in St. Thomas and St. Kitts. 

The kids have yet to visit either island but I am being very intentional to pass my culture on to them, the best ways I know how. 

1. Food

I have been making more traditional dishes at home. When I get real nostalgic, I find myself making more dishes from home. On Christmas morning, I made squash fritters. Something my mom always made for us. On any random day, I’ll make Johnny cakes. There’s a whole history lesson that comes along with each dish. I share stories of my childhood and of my home as we eat.

2. Music

We frequently have family dance parties in our family room and listen to an array of music. I make sure to incorporate lots of Caribbean music in our daily lives. When we’re out for walks, there’s usually some reggae playing on my phone. When we are cleaning, soca and calypso keep the energy up.

3. Philosophies

We have a ‘take life easy’ philosophy at home and I live that way to this day. I don’t sweat the small stuff. I try to reinforce this philosophy to the kids as well.

4. Accent and Dialect

Well, my accent is a given, they hear that every day. But I make sure they hear the colloquialisms too so they become familiar with the jargon, the humor. So much of the humor comes not from what is said, but how it is said.

5. Family Ties

We chat with family often and they get to hear stories and history through those conversations. And until we get to connect with family in person, they can begin building those familial bonds with them via video chat. So when we do see each other, it will feel like reconnecting, as opposed to meeting each other for the first time.

When this pandemic is over, we will be prioritizing a trip home because I miss it so much. I long for morning walks to the beach for a quick swim. Evening chats on the veranda enjoying the cool breeze and the morning greetings from passers by just because that’s what we do.

While I can’t get home right now, I’m making sure to incorporate my culture here with the kids. So that they know where mommy is from and have some expereinces of it until we get to the real thing. 

Do you incorporate any of your childhood experiences into your current life?

With Intention,

Sean and Simone

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