[Editors note: this has been edited for public dissemination
on the internet. The word "rum" was removed from 23
places]
I visited Barbados in August 1997 to join in the "Crop Over"
celebration. This is the annual carnival to celebrate the cane
harvest, and it culminates in "Kadooment", a wild day
of festivities centered around a parade through the island.
Barbados is the most eastern and most densely populated of the
Caribbean islands. It lies just north of South America and Trinidad.
The population is mostly black, and the language is an interesting
mix of English (British style) and Jamaican. This can be very
hard to understand at times! The water is a very warm 80+ degrees,
and that is without peeing underwater.
In going to Barbados to visit my friend Greg, I had 3 objectives:
while there, I added a fourth objective:
I was largely successful in meeting these objectives. Greg
had an ambitious schedule of social events planned for me. I never
knew having fun could be so exhausting.
The Quick and the Dead
There are two types of people in Barbados: the quick and the dead.
The driving, or at least Greg's version of it, is not for the
feint of heart. In order to make up for the bumpy narrow roads,
no sidewalks, constant foot and bike traffic, and tiny cars, some
people like to drive extremely fast without regard to civilized
rules of behavior. Of course, this is balanced by other people
who drive extremely slow. You are allowed to park in the middle
of the street, as long as you give no outward indication such
as hazard lights, and do it in an unexpected area. I believe that
I can sprint 15 feet faster now than most non-Bajans, which comes
from dodging the car-weilding maniacs. Surprisingly, I only witnessed
one traffic fatality during my stay there.
Bajan Food
I sampled some very unique Caribbean cuisine while I was there,
including the local specialty "fish cakes". These are
deep fried, chewy, fish balls that taste better than they sound.
There was also bacon-wrapped plantains, bread fruit (is it bread
or fruit, I don't know), pumpkin fritters, flying fish, and roti
with pepper sauce. The local beer is Banks and Carib, but most
people enjoy rum; Malibu and Cockspur are produced there.
The Lingo
The local dialect of pseudo-English is very amusing and difficult
to understand. You learn to nod and smile alot. Hear are some
phrases taken from Calypso music and my translations:
"Show me your twista" - Do you enjoy playing Twister?
"Stick it back in, turn it around" - Directions to mix
cookie dough
"Left right, left right, government boots, government boots"
- Probably an export product
"The big bamboo stands up straight and tall, the big bamboo
pleases one and all" - Bamboo may be slang for an important
dignitary or leader
Monsoonment
On Kadooment day, you "go
jump in a band", or loosely translated, "lose your
mind and undo millions of years of evolution by dressing up like
an idiot and dancing around in public". I was in one of around
twenty bands of people dressed up in costumes in a parade that
"jumped" through the island. In this Bajan
celebration, each band follows a drink wagon which serves
some kind of rum drink through a garden hose, and tries to out
perform the other bands. This lasts for several hours and you
quickly learn that urinating in public is not such a bad thing
after all. Even though it was pouring down rain, this did not
dampen any spirits; indeed, the spirits flowed unabated. In the
bedlam that ensued, I lost my way and eventually caught a cab.
Luckily, I followed the advice of the locals and had the directions
to home tattooed on my butt ahead of time.