Intro Paragraph

Do you have a bucket list of places you want to travel to? You will  not hesitate to add the Bahamas to your list of places you want to travel after learning all about the islands. For my eighteenth birthday I was gifted a week-long trip to the Bahamas. My first thought was, “It is just another beach, how much better can it really be?”  Then  I had the chance to see the magnificent beaches and interact with the overly friendly people, I was so excited to learn about the culture and life of the citizens of the Bahamas. (hook) The drivers drive on the "wrong" side of the road and are very aggressive. As you walk the streets and meet Bahamians you will hear many people saying, "God bless you. Welcome to our island. I will pray for you." Can you imagine walking down a street and only hearing positive words? It makes you wonder why the culture in another country is so immaculate and where the culture in America went wrong to have so much negativity and hatred. Culture can affect different people in different ways. The textbook definition of culture is, “the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.” (www.dictionary.com).   After taking the time to read all of the information I have accumulated, I hope you are able to see just how important Culture and traditions are to the citizens of the Bahamas.  Some of the most influential traditions are their heritage, the way their music influences their people, and religion. (Thesis) Given this information, read on to see for yourself some the most intriguing and shocking facts about one of the most fascinating places in the world, the Islands of the Bahamas. (bridge)

Bahamas Research

I have spent a lot of my semester researching the Bahamas and religion. I wanted to do my research paper solely on religion but I kept running into too many walls that made it feel impossible to write a ten page paper on the importance of religion in the Bahamas. Instead, I decided I would focus on culture because then I was still able to use the religion and how it has helped shape the culture in the Bahamas. Religion is a course that is taken in their public school system, how crazy is that? I would have loved to have taken a religion class in grade school.

One of the neatest things I found during my research was learning about the Junkanoo festival. The costumes are all so unique and the music they play and dress up to all ties back in to my topic for my research paper. 

The islands of the Bahamas truly do have a lot more to them than just their beautiful beaches. The people are friendly and love meeting new people and sharing their culture and how much they love their country with tourists.  

Revision of Little Cog-Burt and Cotton Candy

After reading both “Little Cog-Burt” and “Cotton Candy” I noticed the many differences and similarities. Lola and Little Cog-Burt shared some of the same behaviors. Lola was able to communicate verbally, however, she could have been labeled as bashful or even strange. She would send the men she loved dead butterflies and she did it in secret. The butterflies symbolized the men she had fallen in love with and wanted to be with sexually. She was not satisfied sexually.  When Lola would visit the zoo, she would feel a connection with the zoo animals. Some might consider this very odd. I think Lola was missing that personal connection with humans and a lot of this had to do with the way her mother was. Her mother was very strict and tried to control her.

 Little Cog-Burt had  issues with connecting to humans but in a different way. The story calls him a

little boy who always whined. Moira did not care for Cog-Burt because of his whining and he always hid from her. On the day of the Christmas party all the other children gathered around in a circle and received their gifts from Moira and Richard happily. Poor Cog-Burt was last and sat in the corner very quietly. He did not want the large ball that Moira had picked out for him. Unlike Lola, Cog-Burt would cry or “whine” to show expressions and communicate. In today's culture, someone would automatically assume Cog-Burt suffered from autism or another mental disability. If someone is not familiar with autism someone might be like Moira and just think he is ungrateful and rude. Like any mother would, his mom was able to tell them what he was saying and communicate for him. I think this is Allfrey’s way of letting the reader know that Cog-Burt has a social disorder whether it be Autism, social anxiety, As burghers, or any other mental disorder. Communication skills, fairies, butterflies, mothers, and other similar aspects of the readings made me believe that it was done so on purpose. Caribbean kids and the women in these stories were very interesting and I would have loved to visit their towns and their people.

Little Cog Burt and Cotton Candy

After reading both “Little Cog-Burt” and “Cotton Candy” I found there are many similarities but also differences. Lola and Little Cog-Burt shared some of the same behaviors and the way the interacted with others. Lola was able to communicate verbally, however, she could have been labeled as bashful or even strange. She would send the men she loved dead butterflies and she did it in secret. From my personal experience from working with children of all ages and special needs, most of them are not interested in the dead bodies of an insect. When Lola would visit the zoo, she would feel a connection with the zoo animals. Some might consider this very odd. I think Lola was missing that personal connection with humans and a lot of this had to do with the way her mother was. Poor Cog-Burt had the same issues with connecting to humans. The story calls him a little boy who always whined. Moira did not care for Cog-Burt because of this and Cog- Burt always hid from her. On the day of the Christmas party all the other children gathered around in a circle and received their gifts from Moira and Richard happily. Poor Cog-Burt was last and sat in the corner very quietly. He did not want the large ball that Moira had picked out for him. Unlike Lola, Cog-Burt would cry or “whine” to show expressions and communicate. In today's culture, someone would automatically assume Cog-Burt suffered from autism or if not familiar with autism might be like Moira and just think he is ungrateful and rude. Like any mother would, his mom was able to tell them what he was saying and communicate for him. I think this is Allfrey’s way of letting the reader know that Cog-Burt has a social disorder whether it be Autism, social anxiety, As burghers, or any other mental disorder. Communication skills, fairies, butterflies, mothers, and other similar aspects of the readings made me believe that it was done so on purpose. Caribbean kids and the women in these stories were very interesting and I would have loved to visit their towns and their people.

Tétiyette and the Devil

“Tétiyette and the Devil” is a short story that is told by a young Guadeloupean seventeen-year-old girl in Creole. The story begins with “once upon a time" which cause the reader to believe this is a story like that of a fairytale with your typical happily ever after ending. Tétiyette was the only daughter of her parents and was very hard to please. Her mother is trying to find her a husband but none of the men are good enough for her. The men are referenced as ugly animals like a pig, goat, and the devil. When the devil finally approached the house and asked to be with Tétiyette, she accepted. He wore his best suit and was decked out in gold and beautiful clothing. After Tétiyette agreed to marry this handsome man her mother tried to warn her of him. She gave her a handkerchief and a pin and told her daughter to stick him when he went to sleep. If blood flowed, it was believed that he was a human being but if slime oozed out then he was the devil. Tétiyette tested the stick on herself and her new husband. Her husband slimed but she had blood flow. She showed this to her mom to deceive her that her husband bled so she would be proud of the husband she chose. After the honeymoon days passed, the devil began to eat her. She cried out to her mother in law, mother, father, and lastly her brother. No one came to her aide until her brother felt sorry for her because she was his only sibling. The little brother said: “oh no! Oh no! She’s my sister, she’s my only sister and she’s being eaten up! Oh no! Oh no! “(Esteves, Carmen C., and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert,1991 p. 4).” He ran to the kitchen where he grabbed a knife and slit the devil’s stomach open and his sister emerged all whole. 

In my opinion, I think this story was written to remind young girls not to lose themselves and forget who they are when looking for their soul mate. It is easy to see someone as someone they are pretending to be and not who they truly are.

The Bahamas

My adopted islands are The Bahamas. When you think of The Bahamas you think of elegant beaches, the straw market, cruises, and maybe even The Atlantis Resort. Although these are all very true information about The Bahamas, there is so much more to learn. Let’s dive into some basic facts.

The Bahamas are made up of over seven hundred islands and two hundred cays in the Atlantic Ocean. Only about thirty to forty of these islands are inhabited. There are over twenty-two hundred square miles of beaches. It is a coral based archipelago, a group of islands, that has over two hundred rocks and cays. Some of these islands are uninhabited, but some are packed with locals and resorts. Grand Bahama and Paradise island are the two most common islands and well known for their large hotels. The islands are located in North America and have a population of approximately three hundred and sixteen thousand people. 

Bahamian English is the most popular language spoken. According to https://www.bahamas.com/our-language Bahamian English is a mixture of African influence and island dialect. The dialect and idioms were guided by African slaves, English Puritans, and other settlers. Their language is so unique that it can only be found in The Bahamas. The Bahamians love to talk with tourists and are generally easy to understand. Most of their words sound like the “h” sound is missing. Haitian Creole is another language spoken but not as common. 

The political status and legal traditions of The Bahamas follow The United Kingdom very closely. The Prime Minister is head of the government and they are a part of a parliamentary democracy. They are a former British Colony that is now a independent country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The cabinet is head of all executive powers, but Queen Elizabeth II is head of the state.  The government is very detailed and there is a lot of good information available. If you want to read more visit http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/bahamas/constitution-politics.

Enjoy this short video clip that talks about The Bahamas. 

https://youtu.be/YmXLXQ3anfA


Travel info:
The best way to get to The Bahamas is by air. If you live near water and want to take a boat or fairy that is another possibility. Cruises are a very popular way that people are using as a cheaper method of travel. The average cost of a cruise from Florida to The Bahamas is approximately five hundred dollars per person for a five night cruise. This is all inclusive so your food and room is covered. Your passport is not a requirement to leave from Florida to go by ship but if there is an emergency you will not be able to re enter the country by air. If you travel by plane make sure you have your passport. The Bahamas do except American money in most places but they also have their own currency. If you prefer their currency, you can exchange it at the airport. Depending on which island you stay on would depend on where you would want to stay. For example, Freeport has beautiful beaches and great restaurants. They also have a large casino. Nassau is known for the resort Atlantis. It has many room, restaurants, a waterpark, shopping mall, and even their own aquarium. Snorkeling, shopping, site seeing are all fun things to do while visiting The Bahamas. 

About Me

    I am starting this blog to help you learn all there is to know about the Bahamas, but before we get into all of the interesting things there are to know about the islands let me tell you a little about myself.

    I am just your average every day working mom and college student. I recently resigned from my local school system so I could stay home and take care of my premature twin girls and pursue my passion to finish my education degree. My husband and I have been married four years and we have loved (almost) every minute of it. I grew up in Gwinnett County in the city of Lilburn. Unfortunately, I have not strayed too far from home. Bethlehem, a small little town, is where my husband and I have built our home to raise our girls. Dogs are a big part of our family. We can not forget about our furry family members. Charlie, Bella, Bo, Waylon, and Jackson. All five of them are part of our family and share our bed. My heart for babies and dogs grows bigger each day.
    In high school, cheerleading and volleyball were my sports of choice and I spent many, many afternoons in a gym practicing. I loved school, but not for the academics. I wanted to socialize and see my friends. Making decent grades was important for me. If I did not have an A than I was not a happy student. It gave me true anxiety to not understand something we were discussing in class but as I got older I slowly started to grow out of that.
    Adventure. I love adventure. Traveling and trying new things is a huge passion of mine. My husband and I  love trying new vacation spots each year. Sometimes we travel to the mountains and sometimes we try out a new beach. This year will be an entire new adventure for our family as we bring our twins along. SPOILER ALERT: we go to the Bahamas often. We LOVE it there. One day I am going to stay in the presidential suite in Atlantis. Of course we will have to win the lottery first.
    I am looking forward to sharing all of my personal experiences and new knowledge about the Bahamas with you. My hope is that we can learn together and become experts on one of the greatest islands in the Caribbean. Bare with me through this blogging journey because I have never done this before.

-Michelle

Always a full couch. We are just missing Jackson. 

Paisley and Peyton