Caribbean food adds spice to Sussex Hall

Pictures of tropical beaches with different shades of aquamarine waters adorned the walls while reggae music danced through the air in the Sussex Hall lounge Wednesday night.

Fifteen miniature flags were propped up on a coffee table, and the smell of spices filled the room as approximately 15 students mingled at the "Taste the Caribbean" program organized by sophomore Gaynel Daniel.

She said she created the festive atmosphere as part of a program meant to give students a flavor of her native home, the Caribbean Islands.

Daniel, who organized the event to fulfill one of her obligations as a resident assistant, said she felt the event was a success.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about the Caribbean," she said. "This is a way of educating people. We don't live in trees, and we do have cars."

Daniel, a resident assistant in Sussex Hall, said the spicy food is one characteristic that makes the Caribbean Islands a distinctive and favorable place for vacationers.

"Everything has to be hot," she said. "If it's not hot, we don't want it."

Daniel brought jerk chicken and Calloo Creole Soup, two traditional dishes, to the program for students to sample.

She also played different types of music for students to hear.

Daniel said the two most popular types of Caribbean music are reggae and calypso, which derive from African slaves.

She said reggae takes on two forms - the conscious style is relaxed and encompasses a whole person's being, while the other type is a more upbeat, dance hall variety.

Calypso music is a combination of storytelling, singing and instrument making.

Recently, calypso music has been geared toward "wucking up," she said, which is a type of gyrating that involves smooth hip movements.

In addition to the music, Daniel said, she had planned to have Black American Studies professor Howard Johnson, a Jamaican native, speak at the program about Caribbean culture. However, he was unable to appear due to a late-arising conflict.

Students said they were impressed with Daniel's efforts.

Junior Ike Jones said he attended the program to support her.

"I also came to learn more about where she's from without asking her a lot of questions," he said.

Creole, a combination of French and English, is the language most commonly spoken throughout the islands, Daniel said.

"Saca fete?" is a phrase commonly heard on the islands meaning, "How are you?"

Daniel said the correct response would be, "Mon la mon la," meaning "I'm fine."

The island of Dominica, where Daniel spent the first seven years of her life, is governed by a prime minister, which demonstrates more British influence, Daniel said.

Daniel said she now lives on the island of St. Thomas which, like the majority of the islands, thrives on the tourist business.

Most Caribbean natives hold regular jobs working on U.S. bases or as teachers, while some prefer the more traditional occupation of cultivating the land, she said.

Other inhabitants choose to cater to the tourists and earn their livings by braiding hair or playing instruments on street corners, Daniel said.

"The islands are an ideal place for people from the United States to vacation, but for [natives] the United States is ideal," Daniel said.

BY COLLEEN LAVERY

Staff Reporter

Source: The Review, University of Delaware, Newark

Date: 6 October 2000