A Contrast in Culture

When I went to Cable and Wireless, Bernard, my customer service agent helped me through a mountain of paperwork. There were forms to fill out, questions to be answered, agreements to make and the inevitable proof of identification. I pulled out my driver’s license and handed it to him. Bernard looked at it for what seemed a longer time than needed and then looked at me. I thought to myself, “Oh my gosh, have I aged that much?” But that wasn’t what he was thinking. As he handed it back to me he said, “It’s hard to believe a lady is treated like this.” What? He was referring to the information on our driver’s licenses; specifically weight. I looked at him and responded, “Oh, we always lie anyway.”

This was one of those moments that caused me to pause. He called me a lady – it was very respectful. I’m not a girl or woman, but a lady in his eyes. I have visions of walking across the room in three inch high heels with a book on my head and white gloves on my hands. Humm, I will probably eat a watercress sandwich for lunch. My thoughts turn in another direction as I remember that fidelity among Saint Lucian men is not the norm.

This small interaction is a symbol of the culture here in Saint Lucia. Some values they hold are ones that we might have enjoyed fifty years ago. Women are expected to cook, clean, wash and take care of the children. Women work very hard. Most get up at four in the morning to begin cooking. They make their own juice, called local juice, made from golden apples chopped and blended and squeezed by hand. Juicers are not the norm here.

They bake lots of cakes, not as sweet as ours and most have no frosting. They buy fresh fish from the fishermen and fillet them for the evening meal. Their diet is filled with starches with very little vegetables; macaroni and cheese, rice, beans and pasta with a small amount of meat and a few slices of cucumber and a fried bake is a typical meal. None of this comes from a package or a restaurant.

This is an island. Almost everything here is imported from somewhere. There aren’t dozens of car dealerships on the island. I know of one. Most things on this island are imported. They don’t throw things away and get new things. The men fix things.

When I arrived on the island I unpacked my small alarm clock and found it didn’t work. I left it at the Pastoral Center because it was one less thing to carry and because it didn’t work. When I met my host family, I mentioned my alarm clock was broken and I needed to buy a new one. Bea immediately said, “Give it to Neil, he will fix it”. I hadn’t even thought of actually fixing it – my thought was to go get a new one. What a concept; what a lesson!

Most things people have are paid for, including their homes; at least those that are lucky enough to afford this luxury. A 2005 study found my village of 18,071 has almost 46% living in poverty; 33% of children 0-14 years of age are indigent. Imagine. In the United States 16% of our children are living in poverty. Imagine. In the United States we use credit as a way of life. Here, people don’t have pounds of thin plastic cards to lug around in their pockets or purses. Most don’t have a debit card. They use cash. They pay for what they buy. What a concept. There’s a lot in this paragraph to reflect on.

Until the 1950s they were heating their irons on coals. They had mostly outdoor plumbing and outhouses. Today many have indoor plumbing and electricity. Old fishing technology using spears and ropes are still used. They are using propane tanks to heat their ovens and most homes have no hot water, including mine. It’s hot year round, but there is no air conditioning in homes. Electricity is available and reliable but very expensive.

Here’s the contrast. In the last few years Cable TV, cell phones, and the internet have been introduced to the island. With this came the introduction of computer gaming. Children are introduced to many of the same things our children are experiences. They see the same American commercials on TV that our children are subjected to. They watch the same movies, sitcoms and reality television that we do. While their children are doing this, parents are using a new device recently introduced to the island: the Blackberry.

There is a stark contrast here. Among the women making local juice, the men fishing with ropes and spears and the public village washrooms; gold chains sparkle in the sunlight with sagging pants that create a judgment by older generations. The culture is moving towards a thirst for materialism. And so I see the past and the future in one breath; a clash of cultures viewed in one step. Within this breath and step it’s easy to envision a different future.