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teach us about her island of Dominica, which I am ashamed to say I yet have to visit. She helped raise us the way she raised her own kids, in a stern and no-nonsense kind of way. To this day my sister speaks English with a heavy Dominica accent. She says things like bathe instead of shower and tends to add a“ oui” at the end of her sentences. Those familiar with the Dominica accent know what I’ m talking about.
Pluma would cook for us and then made herself a pot of Braaf. It wasn’ t until years later, when I moved to St. Maarten, that I realized it wasn’ t a dish called Braaf, it was actually a Broth that she used to make. We grew up speaking Papiamentu at home, Dutch in school, English with Pluma and we learned Spanish from watching TV. Back in those days we had one of those TV’ s that you had to adjust the antennas and hope for good reception. Changing channels meant having to get up from the comfort of your chair or floor and turning this knob left or right. Still, the only reception we could get was two channels from nearby Venezuela and the only channel available on Curaçao back in those days, which didn’ t start until 6pm. So, for the longest time I know Captain Caveman as Capitan Cavernicolas and Tweety as Piolín. I watched all the 80’ s TV classics like Alf, Miami Vice and Growing Pains dubbed in Spanish and it wasn’ t until a good while later when we finally got Satellite dish installed that we were introduced to the magic of American TV and the convenience of a remote control.
Having a nanny was a normal thing when I was growing up, or at least it was in my parents’ circle, I guess. I hate calling her that because Pluma was much more than just a nanny. She was more like my mother’ s assistant and the second in command whenever dad wasn’ t home. It is definitely not something you see in middle class homes anymore these days and the job as a live-in is something only the rich folk can afford nowadays.
We were not rich, not by any means but Pluma being there helped my mom and allowed for precious time she then got to spend with us. My dad was always working during the week, so she and Pluma were our parents until dad came home after 5. Mom would help us with our homework, tell us stories of Anansi the spider, make art out of colorful clay and taught us how to paint rocks. She was and still is the coolest mom.
My mom was easy going. The discipline was done by dad and the words“ wait till your father gets home” were sometimes more terrifying than the actual discipline we would receive from dad. Even the dogs