Submitted by Aileen Kerrigan on the 2018 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography and the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics…
This week was full of cultural experiences for us! Wednesday night, we went to the Culture Center, which is located on an old sugar mill; the largest on the island. From sugar cane that grew on a nearby plantation, this mill used to make all kinds of products from the juice, for example rum. After it was a sugar mill, it became involved in limes, when Dominica was one of the largest lime producing islands. A large lime plantation gave them the fruit, and they produced the juice. This night though, was a Cultural Extravaganza. It started out with us walking around and looking at paintings done by local artists, some of which were available to talk to. They were all so beautiful, and some depicted scenes of the island we had visited. My favorite was a painting of a woman, whose hair was feathers from the national bird, the Sisserou Parrot, and she had the beauty of all of the natural wonders of the island including being made from waterfalls. It was just a wonderful interpretation of Mother Nature, and the culture of women on the island. The night continued with some drummers, dancers and local singers that are well known all over the island. Our favorite group was the young dancing troupe, ranging from elementary to high school students. Afterwards, they were all so friendly and wanted to teach us their dance; one of them is currently the champion of the island in the dance! They were great at dancing, and wanted to know more about our culture because we got to see theirs. We joked and said ours was nothing special, and they mentioned that they love our “memes”. We got to teach them some dance moves in return, and we taught them the shopping cart, disco and running man. Everyone, including the students, seemed to be having a great time.
Friday night was another great cultural experience. Unfortunately, our group will not be here to get to experience Carnival, equivalent to our Mardi Gras. This night, though, there was a parade to open up the celebrations, and it was unbelievable. The pride everybody had because they were still celebrating despite the hurricane was breathtaking, along with all the beautiful costumes. Stilt walkers were dancing up and down the streets accompanied by loud music and there was just happiness on everyone’s face. I felt just a little out of place being there, because everyone was so proud to be Dominican and excited to be where they are now four months after the storm. I’m disappointed we will miss the big celebration, but thankful we all got a little taste and got to see the true modern culture of the island.
This week we head home, and I am very glad to be getting back to my normal routine, but leaving such a nice group of people and a beautiful island with so much to see will be really hard. I am forever thankful for this opportunity.
