{"id":281,"date":"2014-08-23T11:51:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T15:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.culturallycaribbean.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2015-02-17T22:14:18","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T03:14:18","slug":"conch-cane-curly-tails-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.culturallycaribbean.com\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"Conch, Cane, Curly Tails, and More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>My husband, T,\u00a0is from\u00a0The\u00a0Bahamas \u2013 The beautiful Bahamas that can boast of more than seven hundred islands, rocks and cays. He\u00a0grew up on Grand Bahama which is\u00a0one of\u00a0approximately thirty inhabited islands,\u00a0but also lived in the capital of Nassau on New Providence for a short while before\u00a0leaving\u00a0for college in the States.\u00a0The number of years he has\u00a0spent abroad has now caught up with\u00a0those that he lived in his homeland,\u00a0but he still maintains a strong\u00a0Bahamian identity:\u00a0An aquamarine,\u00a0gold and black\u00a0flag greets him every time he pulls his car into the garage; he makes a mean\u00a0peas and rice;\u00a0it was\u00a0from him that I\u00a0first heard the words ‘potcake’ for a dog of\u00a0indiscernible breed,\u00a0and ‘tingum’\u00a0for\u00a0pretty much\u00a0any noun; and,\u00a0thanks to a certain oft-played cassette (yes, I did write\u00a0cassette!) I\u00a0have more than a passing familiarity with some of\u00a0Phil Stubbs\u2019 songs.<\/p>\n

Although\u00a0his visits back have not been very frequent,\u00a0a family\u00a0trip in May for\u00a0a dear\u00a0cousin’s wedding was so rich in\u00a0all that brings a smile to both the lips and heart that the\u00a0lengthy period of absence\u00a0lost its importance. His list of must-dos and must-eats was just as comprehensive as mine had been\u00a0for Trinidad,\u00a0and Nana and Papa went above and beyond to ensure that we experienced as much as possible in the seven days that we were there.<\/p>\n

For those of you familiar with Bahamian culture, it will come as no surprise to learn that one of the items at the top of T\u2019s list was conch. It is a staple of Bahamian cuisine and is prepared in a variety of ways. There is conch and rice; conch chowder; grilled, stewed, and steamed conch; battered and fried conch fritters and cracked conch; conch souse; conch salad and\u00a0probably many other dishes\u00a0with which I am not yet familiar. Given that fresh conch is not available where we live and that our frozen reserves of Nana\u2019s fritter batter are long gone, you can understand the gravity of T\u2019s deprivation and his joy at having been reunited with the marine delight.<\/p>\n

For Little L and Littler B, however, it became clear that sugar cane was their preference. They were intrigued from the moment they saw Papa reach for the tall, strange sticks that were propped against the kitchen wall. With unwavering attention they looked on as he carefully peeled away the tough skin and cut the fibrous stalks into smaller pieces. Their interest then soared when they understood that these were no ordinary, garden-variety sticks, but tasty ones that they could chew to their hearts\u2019 content and from which\u00a0a\u00a0sweet juice could be extracted. Uhmm \u2026 jackpot! The timing of our visit was also such that the children were able to enjoy a number of local fruits that were in season.\u00a0Scarlet plums, dillies, mangoes, cocoa plums and tamarind all made it past their little taste buds, though as delectable as they were, none could possibly dethrone the highly favoured sugar cane.<\/p>\n

Despite the impression that I may have given thus far, we did not spend all our time eating. There were family gatherings and visits which facilitated Little L\u2019s continued quest for new cousins; pre-wedding activities in which she, as one of the flower girls, was most pleased to participate; search missions among the plants in Nana\u2019s garden for curly-tailed lizards; and lots of running after Littler B, whose inter-island spree of destruction claimed further ceramic casualties, and whose keen interest in his grandparents\u2019 dog, Oreo, resulted in the poor creature\u2019s numerous disappearing acts. There was also a function in recognition of T\u2019s\u00a0achievements at which he spoke with students about his academic journey and their own educational goals; as well as a much-anticipated trip to the beach \u2013 Paradise Cove, where we built sand castles and floated in water that embraced every shade of blue imaginable. But the true highlight of the visit was, of course, the wedding. Simply put, it was glorious: from the exchange of vows beneath a white lattice gazebo before an azure horizon, to the reception where the young, not-so-young and\u00a0in-betweeners got down to calypso, soca, reggae and dancehall.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the trip came to an end too soon (well, maybe not for Oreo, who came out of hiding to escort us to the door and to most likely\u00a0confirm that Littler B was\u00a0really leaving). With homemade banana-nut bread packed for\u00a0our journey back to the States, we said goodbye to Nana, Papa, and a truly wonderful\u00a0time\u00a0in The Bahamas. Hopefully, not as many years will pass before the next visit, but in the\u00a0interim I will have the contentment of recalling fond memories from that week in May. For\u00a0even now, three months later, I smile to think of\u00a0breathtaking sunsets over the sea, and a pair of coconuts left anonymously at the front door, in true island style.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n