A Cultural Deep Dive in the Caribbean Sea

A cultural deep dive in the Caribbean Sea

Did this really happen? Did I go back to Barbados in January for a new Caribbean Culture and English course, as in the good old pre-Covid era? The answer is yes, and it was such a delight to be immersed in culture and sunshine again, enjoying passionate one-on-one or group debates, classes and field trips, unexpected encounters and then some. Two months later, I’m still having a hard time summing up how intense and jam-packed those two weeks were, unlike any ordinary course or vacation merely spent basking in the sun. I’ll highlight three of its takeaways: intellectual stimulation, emotion, fun.

Intellectual stimulation? Check!
Because we found that some of our well-entrenched certainties and knowledge weren’t written in stone;
Because we were taught by outstanding presenters whose refined English is too seldom heard in the conferences we serve;
Because we honed our professional linguistic skills and were given new insights to better understand Caribbean speakers’ terminology, phonetics and colloquialisms;
Because we learnt the basics of creole languages;
Because our eager Western minds marvelled at the avalanche of exotic new words – island names, religious beliefs, cultures…
Because we found out that Caribbean people, far from making cancel culture their battle cry, see appreciation where some Western circles see cultural appropriation.

Emotion? Check!
When, in the midst of her lecture on Emancipation*, Dr Marcia Burrowes suddenly sang a nursery rhyme depicting the trade slave in simple lyrics;
When Dr Margaret Gill made no mystery of her condition, bipolar disease, to support the need for better mental health care in the Caribbean;
When Dr Pedro Welch calmly recalled the racism he experienced repeatedly as a young Black man in Great Britain in the nineteen-sixties, in order to help us better understand the need for Reparations if the scars of enslavement are to finally fade;
When a large sea turtle briefly peeks it head out of the water, or gracefully swims and ignores us poor snorkellers.

Fun? That’s right, group outings are back! Covid? What Covid?
Fun is… rushing off to the beach after classes, catching some late afternoon rays and cooling off in the blue Caribbean Sea;
Fun is… sipping a rum cocktail by the beach and squinting to catch the elusive green flash of the sun before it sets behind the sea horizon;
Fun is sailing on a catamaran and dancing in the wind;

Fun is making new friends and glimpsing into their lives as days go by.

Children’s corner, anyone?
How about a playful, artistic afternoon with real paint tubes and brushes?
… or daring to try out a new sport like cricket and its impossible rules;
… or instantly turning into a dub poet as part of a Caribbean Literature class, singing and pounding on a plastic bag or detergent bottle?
… shamelessly devouring a bag of cassava or plantain chips?
… shooting a video clip while chasing a hen waddling between tables or a family of monkeys crossing the street?

Above all, there’s the pleasure of reconnecting with cultural discovery and being made aware that…
our histories, albeit shared, are experienced as different events;
our cultural traditions and religious beliefs are infinitely varied, as are our culinary tastes;

...and above all, that the world and its peoples are a treasure trove.

Here’s what might well be the secret of our course’s success: in addition to challenging our core beliefs, it shows us that small pleasures can still touch our souls. As promised by Ocean Inspiration, it was a journey that took us well beyond the white sands.

Thank you for your continued support!

Jihane Sfeir
March 26, 2023
Translated by Edna Setton

« Very enriching and inspiring, total discovery of a new culture, history, region » Anne, French free-lance interpreter

« A very enriching experience, in terms of what we learned about the history and the culture of the region, but also at a human level » Lara, Spanish free-lance interpreter