My Memories of Kindergarten in St. Croix and Linstead Market
How great was kindergarten? Naps, recess, art, story time – what could be better?
I have lots of warm memories of my first few years at St. Croix Country Day School, most of them rooted in the amazing friendships I was fortunate enough to make with the kids pictured here. I still recognize just about all of these faces, and several of them even remain close friends to this day!
Then as now we were a pretty tight group, all of us seemingly aware, somehow, that we were growing up in a very special place at a very special time. One of the things that may have hinted at our special situation within our subconscious little minds was a particular song about a particular market in a magical place not all that far away called Jamaica.
Linstead Market is an old Jamaican folklore song. It’s mento beat lends a peppy feel to the tune, though the story expressed in the lyrics is not exactly a happy one…
How we Crucian kids came to be taught and love such an authentic musical expression of Jamaica (1,300 miles away), at a time when reggae wasn’t even that big in the V.I. (calypso was king back then) is a mystery to me. I’m really glad it happened, though.
No song more vividly takes me back to my childhood, these special friends, and Country Day.
At the same time, perhaps, in some small way, learning Linstead Market helped to spark my earliest curiosity for the rest of the Caribbean; a curiosity that I continue to pursue every day, of course, right here at Uncommon Caribbean.
Related Posts
Sweet Sorrel Moments at La Reine Farmer’s Market, St Croix
Back to St. Croix
