I recently had the chance to travel abroad to Martinique for a week as part of Agnes Scottâs first-year Journeys program, which was the opportunity of a lifetime. If you know where Martinique is, I applaud you. If not, youâre in the same boat I was in before this trip. For those who donât know, Martinique is an island in the Caribbean, more specifically in the French West Indies. Itâs not a country but a Department of France, along with Martiniqueâs sister island, Guadeloupe.
Photo by Sydni PerryÂ
When sharing the exciting news of my study abroad with friends and family, I noticed the two different reactions I got. If I said âIâm going to Martinique,â Iâd get mostly vague congratulations because they didnât know what I was talking about. To make it easier, I starting saying âIâm going to the Caribbean,â which prompted a different reaction. When people think of the Caribbean, they generally think of sun, beaches, and rum. The kind of place families take cruises to. But over the course of my class and my trip, I learned that Martinique is so much more than that. I discovered that this little place I had never heard of is a whole world of its own.
Walkway at La Museé de la Banane / Photo by Melody Simmons
Over the course of my trip, I learned things I never couldâve learned in a book or in a class. I saw firsthand the complex culture of the island. Throughout the week, our group visited former plantations, museums, and the UniversiteÌ des Antilles. We learned about the history of colonization and slavery on the island and how their local language of CrĂ©ole developed. Along with the historical tours, we also walked through a rainforest, swam through a river gorge, and learned the traditional BĂ©lĂ© dance with local dancers. Through each of these activities, I learned a lot. But the real cultural immersion happened through the little things. Talking to locals in town when getting ice cream and hearing about their lives, listening to stories from our amazing guide Julie, and singing a CrĂ©ole alphabet song with an elderly woman so sweet we all wanted to adopt her as our grandma. These little moments are what taught me the most about what kind of people live in Martinique and what their culture stands for.
Art depicting Bélé dancing / Photo by Melody Simmons
One of my favorite moments happened on our last night in Martinique. All twenty five of us got together for a final dinner in Trois-Ilets, the town our hotel was in. After listening to the restaurant play Ed Sheeran and The Eagles for about twenty minutes, a local band set up right in front of us. The band, consisting of a singer, keyboard player, and guitarist, played a couple songs in French before singing a song about Martinique. Listening to that song on our last night encapsulated my whole trip. I may not have known what all the words meant, but I understood. Martinique is an island of a mix of people and cultures, full of beauty and history.
In the middle of the song, a couple students in our group got up to dance. âLetâs do the BĂ©lĂ© moves we learned earlier!â one of them shouted. They took off their shoes to dance barefoot, as tradition dictates your feet have to touch the same ground the slaves danced on. Everyone watched as American college students tried in vain to get the traditional moves right, with our professor, our guide, and her fiancĂ© joining in. The band was grateful for our enthusiasm and others in the restaurant enjoyed the show. Then a woman from a nearby table jumped out of her seat and joined us, showing us the right way to do the dance moves. With our whole group laughing, dancing, or filming, we all enjoyed this truly immersive moment. Travelers and locals side by side, sharing a culture they donât have to share, but choose to. Martinique invited us into their little world, and Iâm so grateful they did.
Scotties on a ferry to Fort-de-France
My main takeaway from this amazing trip is this: travel to places youâve never heard of. Immerse yourself in a culture you didnât know existed. Learn from people you didnât expect to meet. Because when you do, youâll discover worlds other than your own. Youâll learn that the beauty of the world doesnât just exist in Paris, London, and New York, but also in the places youâve never heard of, like the little island of Martinique. And if you ever get the chance to visit the island, drink some guava juice for me, and be thankful for the little world you get to see.