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I remember how special I felt when at the age of 12, I was told that I will be moving to Toronto, Canada. I was one of the lucky few who had the opportunity to go \u2018ah foreign\u2019 and live a life of luxury! I would get to eat all the fancy foods and cereals I saw on TV.\u00a0\u00a0My mouth watered at the very thought of having cornflakes with strawberries (Imagine my disappointment when I realized that cornflakes did not come with the strawberries already inside!) Forget having fried plantain, mango, coconut water and scalded goat milk for breakfast! Instead, I wanted to have apples, grapes, KFC and all those other fancy foods and fruits I saw on TV.\u00a0\u00a0While I was more occupied with the superficiality and materiality of moving to Canada, my aunt explained that by moving, I would have access to a world class education and thus, the opportunity to create a better life for myself.<\/p>\n

For the first 5-10 years of my life, I embraced Canada and accepted it as my new homeland. Thoughts about \u2018back home\u2019 were few and far in between. My expectations and aspirations followed those of the ordinary Canadian teenager.\u00a0\u00a0I would go to university, get a well paying job with good benefits and a nice retirement package. My life was planned and as long as things panned out like they were suppose to, I would be set!\u00a0Eventually I would achieve all of my goals.\u00a0\u00a0I completed my undergrad at one of Canada\u2019s top universities; secured an indeterminate position with the government where the benefit and retirement packages are the best in the entire country and yet, I was not satisfied.<\/p>\n

The things that once made me happy; the food, the luxuries of automobiles, TV and designer clothing no longer filled that void. I began to hate the food because I learned that most of it is bad for me and yearned so desperately for a sweet grafted mango and some coconut juice. I cherished the taste of some ground provisions,\u00a0coconut\u00a0dumplings and saltfish. I wanted to be able to release all inhibitions without fear or judgement when I ‘wuk up me waist’ to the sweet sounds of soca music. To be kissed by the warmth of the sun on a daily basis and feel the warm sand sifting through my toes was more pleasant than heaving to live through the cold and trek through the snow.<\/p>\n

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After 13 long years, I returned ‘back home.’ Ironically, my return only took place because my planned trip to Tanzania fell through. Before I arrived, I thought about how bad my country would look. Rampant poverty, people bathing in the rivers and cooking outside on wooden stoves. \u00a0I didn’t know if I could adapt to such an atmosphere having lived in Canada for all of these years.<\/p>\n

As I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by the soothing melodic sounds of the steel pan. It was carnival season and the steel pan players were at the airport to greet\u00a0incoming\u00a0visitors. This was only the beginning of Vincentian hospitality. It didn’t take long for me to fall back in love with my homeland. I fell in love with culture, music, food, community, sincerity, relaxation and the list goes on. If being\u00a0evaluated\u00a0against North American standards, things moved slowly; \u00a0however, they \u00a0got done eventually and the world around us never crumbled.<\/p>\n