Karen Jamshidi reports:
The summer holidays for me were not just a break, they were a chance for me to embark on a spiritually uplifting adventure and delve into the culturally rich and amazing islands of the Caribbean. Nuala Nagle and I joined each other in Guadeloupe, a French colonial island, and were introduced to the Bahá'í community who would be looking after us for the next six and a half weeks. We arrived on 10 June and for the first four weeks we were left “to do our own thing”, so we decided to visit the island of Dominica, otherwise known as the “nature island”. We met with the community there as well but not until after making very good friends with the locals. I have never encountered people in the western world who are as friendly as islanders. They are all so spiritually alive and they so giving and friendly, Nuala and I were made so welcome. They took us around the island and also took us to a reggae concert, which was really out of this world! Our trip to Dominica was one of the best experiences I have had in my life and I would recommend it for anyone who is wanting to do service, the Bahá'í community are so lovely and the island is truly one of the earth's natural beauties.
On returning to Guadeloupe Nuala and I became involved in the Dance Workshop, which was part of a campaign the local Bahá'í community were arranging for the next three weeks. Youth from France and Puerto Rico came to take part and a world class drummer came from Colombia. The atmosphere was very charged as people were helping and assisting with the project. Nuala and I had to learn the dances in a week. I have never participated in a dance workshop and therefore did not know any of the dances. I had so much fun learning them! Especially when I had to learn them in French! Although I had some difficulty in communicating with the other Bahá’ís I used my limited knowledge of French and Nuala helped me a lot, but the unity between us all made it so much more enjoyable and productive. The whole trip was so exciting and I thoroughly loved the dance workshop. I was able to give newspaper interviews when I came home and also spoke on the radio about my time away.
The islands of the Caribbean are large in number and the culture is truly beautiful, I would encourage anyone, young or old, to visit the islands and absorb the atmosphere— it is an experience that will change your life forever.
BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE