So many cultures, so little time

This weekend, I drank a toast to the Queen of England, celebrated Philippine Independence Day and sampled Vincentian mannish water.

In other words, it was the sort of weekend that could only happen in the Virgin Islands.

And that’s one thing I love about this territory: It’s relatively tiny, but the population of less than 30,000 is more diverse than many cities several times its size.

As a result, even small events tend to turn into multicultural affairs. On any given day, you never know who you might meet.

This weekend was a prime example.

On Saturday, there was a reception at the Government House in honour of the Queen’s 85th birthday. Of course, the atmosphere was very British in many ways:

There was a formal ceremony, and Governor Boyd McCleary — himself an Irishman — made a toast to the Queen.

Even so, to my relatively untrained eye, we definitely seemed to be “limin’,” with Caribbean-flavoured hors d’œuvre in a relaxed, tropical atmosphere.

Naturally, there were many Virgin Islanders and Britons at the reception, but there were also plenty of people from the far corners of the globe. In fact, I suspect that every continent was represented except Antarctica — and before the evening was over, I met someone who had visited there as well.

One attendee had lived in so many different places that he had a hard time naming his country of origin. Asked where he was from, he shrugged. “I carry a British passport,” he said with a grin.

This diverse mix of people — combined, perhaps, with the stiff drinks served at the bar — made for some interesting conversations. Topic ranged from alternative energy to literature to African tigers to juicy gossip. And that’s just what people were willing to say in front of a journalist.  

Araw ng Kalayaan!

After the Government House reception, I wandered over to Le Grand Café in Road Town, where a crowd had gathered to celebrate Philippine Independence Day — and to drink San Miguel, a Philippine beer that was introduced here this weekend.

In a crowd of more than 100, most attendees were Filipinos, but everyone was clearly welcome.

As a Filipino band played songs such as George Michaels’ “Never Gonna Dance Again” on electric guitars, attendees bobbed up and down in time to the music.

On the edge of the crowd, a group of men talked nostalgically about their home country, where many temporarily left behind wives and children.

Then, they taught me a bit of their language, Tagalog: “Araw ng Kalayaan!” At first, I understood this phrase to mean “Happy Independence Day,” so I went around saying it to anyone who would listen.

Only later did I learn that it actually meant only “Independence Day,” which might explain the funny looks I got. But no one kicked me out, and the party was good fun.

Later that night, I met up with other friends and we went to a dance party at Callaloo, Prospect Reef. There, the crowd was mostly Caribbean, and the dancing involved less bobbing up and down and more winding round and round.

Mannish water

The next day, I went to Long Bay, Beef Island with some Vincentian friends. One of them brought an enormous pot of what he said was a traditional Vincentian soup: “mannish water” made from goat head and tripe.

It tasted great, once I trained myself to eat it without looking at the bits of skin and intestine that floated in the broth. The chef wasn’t surprised that I liked it: He claimed that “Vincy” mannish water is the best in the Caribbean.

When I pointed out that I knew some Jamaicans who might disagree, a lively, good-natured debate ensued.

The Vincentians also explained where mannish water gets its name: not because of any mannish taste, thankfully, but because eating the soup is said to make you more manly.

Good weekend

Now I ask you: In what other nation of less than 30,000 people could someone have such a weekend?

Of course, the VI’s diversity does occasionally lead to tensions. But I suppose this is natural, given human nature. And by and large, people from all over the world seem to get along swimmingly here.

I was still thinking about this on Tuesday morning, when I returned to work with co-workers who are from the Virgin Islands, Ghana, Nigeria, St. Lucia, the United States, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines.

And once again, I felt lucky to live in the Virgin Islands.

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