Page 8 - The lifestyle and the Culture of the Caribbean
P. 8
The Lifestyle and the Culture of the Caribbean
Although I am always cold, at the thought of what
would soon become of my lovely Caribbean isles, I
shivered. After years of plundering our treasures
and land, these people left, but their descendants
remained behind. New cultures were born, and new
languages formed. There were many different
traditions and ways of life. I listened many nights to
the older folks telling stories about Anansi. That
tricky spider-man, who knew how to have his way
with many unsuspecting people: young and old
alike. During the days, when it was sweltering, I
would watch as the older men taught the younger
boys how to shimmy up the coconut trees. They
would pelt down mouth-watering, luscious nuts
that would cool their patching thirst. I could taste
the water’s sweet saltiness from the coconut fruit,
especially in trees growing near the beach.
I would take in all the excitement from all of the
different scenes of Caribbean life throughout the
day. I saw mothers and their older children headed
to the river to wash their clothes. Sometimes they
would lay the clothes on rocks to bleach in the sun,
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