Connections

Some time ago I wrote about how an expat can become connected to the chosen community in which they live. Many will make the effort, but some will not. I belong to the former group.

When we decided to make Grenada our permanent home, I started to find ways to become involved in the life of the island. Many ideas were examined and many discarded. Eventually, I became involved with the Grenada Association of Retired Persons, I started working on an oral history of the island and I also began work on compiling information on folk medicine. Then I joined the Grenada Green Group and a few months later the Willie Redhead Foundation, a historic preservation group. Some things worked, I met wonderful people, other things did not, so I narrowed my activities down to what I could realistically manage.
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Not only do I enjoy the work of the Grenada Green Group and now my presidency of the Willie Redhead Foundation, but I now run into people I know all the time. More than that, I have learned of their families, their lives, some come and help me celebrate my holidays.
Grenada is a small island and everyone knows everyone else or is related to everyone.

I now find myself being in some way connected to many people and these connections place you in the minds of people. When mentioning someone, you are often asked “who was she?” or “is he from Mt. Moritz?” Since I do not have such connections, I am often identified by how people know me. The market vendors from whom I buy regularly, just call me the “white lady.” Since not too many white people shop at the market, that description immediately identifies me. The butcher from whom I buy my meat, just calls me “mummy,” an endearing way to identify me. Conversely, if a name comes up in a social context, I can identify that person by the family they belong to or where they live.

These connections make me feel that I truly belong here now and am accepted as part of the island.