Coming back to live?

This week's column looks at the question: where is home and talks about living in 2 places. As I was writing, I recalled a question a friend of mine asked me recently: "So you're never coming back to live in Guyana?" It gave me reason to pause because it seemed to have been said in an accusatory tone. It was as if I was being chided for choosing to live in another country. I found myself having to defend my decision to live abroad.
I'm sure that many of you living abroad have been confronted by this situation at one time or another. My appeal to those asking the question is this: please do not be quick to judge our decisions and choices. We also cannot foretell the future, who knows? Maybe some of us will return to Guyana to live.

Eating Hassar

This weekend I cooked hassar curry. As I ate my meal, I wondered about the fascination with the fish, after all, the most significant part of hassar-eating is sucking on the tough shell, the meat is of little consequence; oh, I love the eggs inside. So what is it that makes us desire this fish? And is it better cooked with coconut milk or water?

Craving the Taste

The subject of this post is the headline for this week's column, in which I discuss how other factors, apart from the food itself contribute to our sense of taste such as the atmosphere and the environment. I've noticed that although I use the same raw ingredients, spices and methods of cooking as that back home, the dish would still not taste the same as if I were having it at a table surrounded by friends or family.

Married Man's Pork

How did this name come about for sweet basil?

Roti/Dhal Puri Dough

Can anyone tell me if the dough that is made for roti (regular paratha or oil roti as we say) is the same dough that is kneaded for dhal puri? I'm asking because when I make dhall puri with the same mixture I use for roti, the finished product does not feel or look the same like the ones we would get from a snackette or other people who make it regularly - which is usually paper thin.

An Altitude of Frustration

It's one thing to struggle to get things into a suitcase, another thing to pay overweight but downright frustrating when your baggage does not arrive, especially with the perishables you so carefully packed!
That's what happend to me last week. Fortunately, thanks to my sister, the tightly, securely and well-encased goodies survived their overnight delay.
At the heart of this frustration lies sloppy service. The agent to whom I had to report my non-baggage arrival could not tell me why my baggage had not arrived the same time with me - he said he did not know and was not informed of any irregularity. Add to that his incompetence of putting the name of my travelling companion on the claim form instead of mine!
Wait, it's not over. The airline supervisor on duty wants me to return the next morning and explain my dilemma to the morning agent because she will not be on duty then (instead of her making a note and leaving it for the morning agent to follow-up). On top of that, she suggests that I write a letter to the Manager because "...my telling him that customers were complaining will not do anything." What is she doing there then?
I am sick of the incompetent and shabby way Caribbean travellers are treated, not just by our own but also by those fighting for market share and not delivering the altitude of service they boast.