thepancollective

slight pepper? (and aftermath)

Is it arrogant to say ahead of time that the Soca Warriors will make a meal of Paraguay in today's match? I don't think so. This morning as I took my usual morning walk down the road to buy papers, the air was thick with confidence. I could not help but notice that all the men who passed me on the road (women didn't seem to be out yet - except for one woman in a blazing red jacket) had on what appeared to be brand new, shiny red t-shirts. Clearly one cannot wear the same old red t-shirt for history in the making.

As I passed by the guard in a nearby school, I called out to him: "You have on your red from early!" His face broke into a proud smile: " Exackkkly!" As I passed by one man who had SOCA WARRIORS emblazoned across his chest, I said to him: "Go, Warriors!" He laughed with casual confidence: "Yes! Yes!" I passed a few others along the way and what struck me about each of them was the common facial expression: a quiet, pensive, gritty determination, mixed with studious mental focus ... as though thinking ahead, projecting energy, envisioning the Warriors scoring many goals ... and, at the same time, visualising the match between England and Sweden as having 'the perfect' outcome (for T & T). We don't mind whose hair Peter Crouch pulls in that game, we don't care how many goals the referee says don't count (even though they do) ... once the score is such that T&T is guaranteed to move ahead.

Mummy just said to me: "They'd better win so they could stay on longer in Germany ... because if they don't, they'll be coming back the same day as Vanessa (i.e. my sister who's holidaying in the States). If so, she'll have to overnight in Piarco." 

"Or hitch a ride with Beenhakker," I added.

But ... I have a strong feeling there will be no Warriors in Piarco and no traffic on the road that day.

P.S. (Aftermath): Well, we didn't make a meal of them, but ...it doesn't hurt to think that we could have. Congratulations to the team. You may not have scored goals, but you scored points in many other ways.

what lies beneath

This past weekend, my family and I decided to spend the Easter holiday in St. Lucia.  We had an amazing time -- partly because we went with some great friends, but partly because my husband, Marcus, and I were able to go diving for the first time in three years.

We were supposed to go on Good Friday, but for various reasons, the trip was cancelled. (Turns out it might have been a good thing, since Simone of Simone's Belize Blog tells of a Belizean legend that says those who dive on Good Friday will turn into mermaids!)  We did finally make it out on Saturday morning, however -- and it was heavenly.

While many people believe that scuba diving is an thrill-seeker's sport, I find it quite the opposite -- for me, diving is particularly meditative.  To conserve air, a diver is required to breathe...very...slowly.  For me, this slow breathing, accompanied by the complete absence of sound (save for the bubbles being released from your regulator), the sensation of flying, and, if you're lucky, the breathtaking scenery -- it's a time of complete relaxation. 

It had been a long time since I breathed that deeply. I wish I could've stayed longer.

on your mark...get set...go

This is a great week to begin my journey with this blog collective. It is a week of firsts. This is my first experience “blogging” and this Thursday, Jamaicans will be inaugurating our first ever female Prime Minister- the Honorable Portia Simpson Miller. In the same vein as Liberia and Chile, they have decided that “Since men have gotten us into this mess, let’s see if a woman can get us out of it.” Now, Jamaica is an interesting climate of matrifocality and chauvinism, which means that while more women than men earn the money that supports the households, most men still feel comfortable expecting their every desire and opinion to be taken as law. So, are Jamaican men scared about this shift in power? Yes… but they are more than kind of intrigued by this female politician that is known to be Bible-quoting, baby-kissing, and just the right amount of feisty. In many ways, it is her matronly persona that won over even the most sexist of men, who will always have a soft space in their heart for their mamas.

Electoral races are not the only places where ground- breaking Jamaicans are coming in first. We just participated in the Commonwealth Games, which is where all of England’s old colonies compete athletically in what could be deemed a mini-Olympics. Now, the existence of these games is highly problematic in 2006. The idea of the Queen of England sitting in an aerial seat, looking down on “her subjects” throwing javelins, jumping through hoops (gymnastics), and running around in circles, is slightly too Medieval for me. But no one seems to mind and 53 countries competed. Jamaica won the 7th highest number of medals, mainly by sweeping all the track events, and it has been a great source of pride for all here. And this is so different from how I experience patriotism in America. For one, almost every Jamaican followed the games, as if they personally knew every athlete competing, and with every medal won there was a public swell of pride. It exemplified for me how people here believe that they belong to something bigger than themselves. It is a first for me to experience such national unity and pride.