Independence Day, Birthday Surprises :)

On February 22nd, St. Lucia celebrated its 30th anniversary as an independent nation. Like last year, Fond St. Jacques held a wide range of fun traditional activities as well as different sporting events. Fortunately this year the activities were a bit better organized and less stressful to plan. Unlike last year, when my friend and I took the monkey (actually, more realistically a gorilla) on our backs and weren’t very successful in recruiting help along the way, this year the Youth and Sports Club we had formed last year collectively took on the task. Even though the arrangements still proved to be a bit hectic and stressful at times, it was much more manageable this year with more hands on deck. This year we had an 8 person relay marathon, a football competition, and a day of fun activities (sprints, sack & 3-legged races, lime & spoon, endurance contest, etc.) which culminated with the greasy pole and pig extravaganzas. The greasy pole contest was particularly fun to watch this year, as the pole was a bit taller and took a solid hour plus to successfully summit. Time after time a group of guys would get ½ to ¾ of the way up in quest to attain the prized cash and bottle of rum, only to come crashing down to the cheers and jeers of spectators. The greasy pig catch was a bit anti-climactic, because upon its release, the pig slowly turned and walked in the opposite direction of the mass of people sprinting after it. It was therefore oblivious to the fact that a mob of pork-eating fiends (including myself) were barreling down upon it, and that running might have been the appropriate course of action. In the end, a big mass of people piled atop the poor creature, very much like a fumble in football (except in this case, they were grabbing for a live pig skin).

So I recently turned 24 and had a birthday unlike any other. It started off pretty normally. I took the morning off and went to a fellow PCV’s house to hang out, watch a movie, and eat lunch. As there was a funeral in Fond St. Jacques that afternoon to attend, and I’m not one that is typically fond of crazy parties with lots of people, I didn’t have any big birthday plans for after the funeral besides having my best friend from St. Lucia over for dinner. As I went to the funeral to play my violin with the church choir, things started to take a few twists and turns. During the funeral service, one of the teachers at the school who’s part of the church choir quietly said to me, “mwen ka vini a kay ou oswe-a pou manje ek ni a bon tan” (I am coming at your home tonight to eat and have a good time). As the funeral service was just starting I didn’t properly respond but just chuckled a bit, all the while wondering if she was serious or just giving me a joke. Had my friend invited her over for dinner without telling me, or had he told her and she was just pulling my leg? Things got even more interesting after the service finished. The burial site of the deceased was about an hour’s drive away in Vieux Fort, and I originally intended on just attending the service itself and not going to the gravesite. As I left the church to check my friend about coming over for dinner, I saw that he was in the back of the choir bus that would soon be heading to the gravesite. As I approached the bus, which just so happened to be full of people that I know from the choir, my friend told me that he invited a mutual friend (not the one mentioned earlier) to come over as well. A few other people then said that they’d be coming as well. My best pal then asked whether I’d had a chance to get some drinks and stuff in town for later. Slightly confused, I responded that I had been in town earlier and had gotten a couple of things for dinner, but that I didn’t have much of anything substantial at my house to have a party perse. He then asked whether I would have a chance to go back into town and get some things for later. Now here’s when my mind started to send up little red flags and had just a tad bit of trouble understanding what was going on. I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed as though I was nearly being thrown into the position of preparing everything for a birthday party which I essentially didn’t expect, plan for, or even in the least bit want to have. Hmmm….as a bus full of people, some of whom potentially could be invading my house in hopes of Ben’s Birthday Bash 2009, quietly sat, I searched, and searched, and searched some more for an appropriate response. Finally, I replied with, “well…I was actually going to head down to the gravesite since the whole choir is going.” Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that someone (who just so happens to be me) would go as far as to see a burial just to avoid planning a joyful celebration of his or her own life? Oh, the irony of it all. Upon returning to Fond St. Jacques, I explained to my friend that I didn’t really expect or plan to have a lot of people at my house, and that I didn’t feel like going to town last minute to rush and arrange things. Fortunately, he had already put 2 and 2 together, told me not to worry, and went to town himself to shop. More fortunately still, nobody else ended up coming over and I was allowed to have a quiet evening, largely I suspect because people were otherwise engaged at the funeral “after-party” of sorts.

In comparison to the United States, roles are sometimes reversed in St. Lucia when it comes to certain social occasions and celebrations. I mentioned a bit about it in my last blog post how this manifests itself at funerals, and as you can see, a similar trend carries through for birthdays. Except when you’re a child, if it’s your birthday and you’re celebrating it, you are expected to do so by throwing a party for everybody else. So, for example, instead of your friends taking you out for a birthday dinner, you would be expected to provide food and drink for all your friends. Fortunately I was able to get out of it. After all, it’s my party and I can not have it if I don’t want to.