Linsey: Food, Culture and Language Across the Caribbean Diaspora

Written by: Alec Kissoondyal
Edited by: Sheridan Block
Contributors: Grayson Williams, Avre Smith, Elizabeth Rivas, Amanda Priore, Zen Panos, Aubrey Lea, David Hazday, Sydney Eldeiry, Malena De Tomas, Callie Carpintery, and Allytah Baquero

Linsey smiles and shares her traditional Karabela dress (Photo credit: Avre Smith)

Originally from Haiti, Linsey lived in the Dominican Republic before immigrating to Florida, where she currently resides. She is a philosophy major at the University of Florida, the Vice President of Club Creole, and an ambassador for the Office of Black Student Engagement. In addition to her academic achievements and community involvement, Linsey enjoys cooking. She uses her love of food to share her culture and learn about the culture of others.

Moving Around

Map of Linsey’s migration (Image credit: Avre Smith)

Imoved from Haiti to the Dominican Republic (DR) when I was four years old, and from the DR to Florida when I was eight. Since I was so young, I don’t remember moving from Haiti to the DR, but the move to America was a culture shock.

For one, the infrastructure was completely different. The Dominican Republic is primarily a moped-type of place; but in America, there are mainly cars, large streets and highways. The school system was also very different. I went to a private school in the Dominican Republic, and it was very strict and structured. We had to buy school uniforms, which really limited my family because we were already strict on funds, but we had to wear specific things. I don’t think you could wear jeans; it had to be khakis or navy-blue pants. So there were different parameters we had to work around. I don’t know how my father did it, but we got the uniforms.

In the DR, I always felt like we were on the other side of things.

We started school in December, halfway through the school year. Everyone was already friends with each other, and here we were, these Black Haitian people going to a private school where we were the only Black people there. We wondered, “Where do we belong?”

I was such a bad kid. I acted out a lot when we moved to the DR. I wasn’t making any friends. I didn’t have anyone, and that was hard for me. Even though I made good memories on the island, I didn’t have enough time to settle down. We were only there for four years. That wasn’t enough time to make friends and get into the culture. I feel more disconnected from the DR than from Haiti, but I still think that, ultimately, it’s a part of my experience and I don’t want to diminish that.

The Cultural Importance of Food

Linsey preparing and sharing Haitian Mac and Cheese (Image credit: Zen Panos)

Most of my happy memories — and even my sad ones — involve food. My earliest and fondest memory of food was trying my mom’s Haitian Mac and Cheese. It was so delicious. I remember thinking, “This is what I want to cook.”

Sometimes I cook intercultural foods because there are a lot of foods that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share, like saltfish and tostones. When I cook something which is both Haitian and Dominican, I realize, “Wow, they have so much in common!”

One of my roommates is Filipino and the other is Bengali, and they always talk about how these same ingredients are used in their countries. It got me thinking that these ingredients aren’t native to Haiti. Other cultures use the same ingredients in different ways.

I express my love and creativity through cooking. Everyone can cook, you just have to do it under the right circumstances and with the proper ingredients. It doesn’t have to be a chore that’s dreaded.

Haitian Identities at UF

For many of my peers, one of the reasons they don’t feel Haitian enough is because they don’t speak the language or they don’t like the staple foods, so they don’t consider themselves Haitian. Their parents didn’t immerse them in the culture, and they may not have been taught to speak creole. They don’t feel connected to Haiti because they feel like they don’t know enough about it.

If you talk to any Haitian, especially my bosses (who are both Haitian), you’ll find that we’re proud to be Haitian. We will talk your ears off about how we’re the first free Black republic. But I think that can be detrimental up to a certain point. The older generation is so prideful about being Haitian that they love the country as it is, and they aren’t always willing to spark change.

Many of us don’t live in Haiti, or if we do, it is for a certain amount of time. To understand why the country needs change, you have to be in the situation and experience the corruption. You have to know where the issues are and experience a healthier system to know that there is a problem that needs to be fixed.

That’s where the line is between loving Haiti but seeing the problems. Haiti is beautiful, but there are essential issues that need to be deconstructed.

Community Involvement

I am an ambassador for the Office of Black Student Engagement under the Center for Inclusion and Multicultural Affairs at UF. We put on programs once a month to raise awareness for Black culture and connect Black students with Black faculty and staff to create that networking relationship. I am also a Gala Director and the Internal Vice President for Club Creole and part of the recruitment committee for the Changemakers Dialogue under the David and Wanda Brown Center for Leadership.

With Club Creole, we’ve had to research a lot about Haitian culture and present information, whether it is about the origin of food or Haitian migration. I also participated in the Hispanic Heritage Month Pageant, where I represented Haiti. We had to wear something from our culture, so I wore a Karabela dress, and I had to explain the history of the dress and why it is important to Haitian culture. I learned more about Haitian culture by participating in these events and presentations, but it also comes from learning it in school when I was younger and from social media.

Life as College Student

I came to the University of Florida knowing I would be a pre-law major, but I wanted to challenge myself. I started taking math and chemistry sequence courses, but that didn’t work out. Instead, I looked into political science since mostly everyone who goes into law school is a poli-sci major. I took my first class and thought, “This is pretty boring.” Then I took a philosophy class, and I enjoyed the discussions we had every day.

After changing my major so many times, I went exploratory for a little bit, and I realized that philosophy was the only viable option to graduate on time. But it has changed the way I view the world. Every time I look at something, I always ask questions about it.

In this video, Linsey talks about her Karabela dress, a traditional style of dress from Haiti, and her favorite Haitian Mac and Cheese dish. (Video Credits — Producer, Creator, Editor: Callie Carpintery Background set up: Malena De Tomas Interviewers: Sydney Eldeiry and Amanda Priore)

Looking Forward

I have been thinking of ways to help Haiti through law, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be through my career. I can be a lawyer but still work with school children and help them get an education, or even help in the health field or the dental field or help them get eyeglasses and improve hygiene.

I’m starting to learn that I don’t have to be a lawyer to help Haiti. I’m still trying to figure out where I fit in to giving back to Haiti; but for now, I’m going to focus on following my passions and getting to a place where I am financially stable enough to give back, not only in terms of money but also in terms of time.

WeaveTales and UF English Department’s “Journey to Florida” exhibit will be on display at the University of Florida’s Scott Nyugen Scholars Studio at Library West in Gainesville, Florida starting April 13, 2022. There will be a discussion about immigrant communities in Gainesville and the importance of community engagement in English studies from 3:00 to 4:30pm. The event and exhibit are open to the publish, and the English Department will collect books and cash donations for Gainesville Books to Prisoners. Please RSVP to Dr. Laura Gonzales at gonzalesl@ufl.edu.

Disclaimer: The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of WeaveTales and its employees.

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