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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