Expat/ immigrant/ local #1: Pamela Chow
This is a new series of interviews with people who live in Barbados. The terms local, expat and immigrant are frequently used worldwide to describe social status, economic status and signal the strength and depth of a person's connection to the country they are living in. The country that they may or may not call home. Pamela Chow, 24, immigrated to Barbados from Guyana at the age of eight when her mum died. She works six days a week as a nanny and housekeeper. 'I wouldn't sa
Caribbean musings #8 The naked truth: is life better without clothes?
Remember when you were a child and summer was about turning on the sprinkler and running around the garden with nothing on? Remember the way the soggy grass squeaked under your feet and how wonderful it felt dashing from the warmth of the sun into the shade of the trees? Remember how happy and free you felt? Because it was summer and the sky was blue and it felt better to be naked than have clothes on your body. Well that's how my children feel most days. Because where we liv
Caribbean musings #7 Lessons in how to be flexible (and I'm not talking about yoga)
I did something today that I've been putting off for weeks. I went to get a replacement driver's licence. While waiting in long queues, wandering up and down corridors looking for the right office, filling out forms, clock watching and re-reading officious notices, I struggled to stay calm. I didn't want to be there. It was boring. It was frustrating. It felt like a waste of time. After an hour or so of waiting I decided that I couldn't take it any more and walked out towar
Caribbean musings #5 Pieces of me
There's something about living away from home that, for me, presents a constant search for my place, the little piece in the giant puzzle where I fit in. I'm not just talking about the role that I play. Although it's no doubt true that working or volunteering can give you a sense of value and add meaning to the population-space that you inhabit. No, I'm talking about a more shallow version of identity. That wavering, transient me that is always changing a little bit - flexibl
Barbados life: The ten best things (and it's not all what you'd think)
Yes, Barbados is a beautiful place to live: all turquoise sea and white sandy beaches, every-day blue sky and green fields of sugar cane swaying like reeds in the breeze. This abundant natural beauty has become my backdrop. And it's improved my quality of life considerably since our arrival in August 2013. But there is so much more to this Caribbean nation than meets the eye. And although I want to expand on many of the 'best things' listed below on this blog, for now, I wa
