{"id":4644,"date":"2017-03-03T13:30:01","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T12:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myqamar.com\/?p=4644"},"modified":"2020-08-05T14:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T12:16:36","slug":"guadeloupe-never-heard-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myqamar.com\/gb\/2017\/03\/03\/guadeloupe-never-heard-of-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Guadeloupe? Never heard of it…"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Living \u00a0abroad, I often find myself trying to explain where I come from and how I ended up in Kuwait of all places. But trying to conciliate the idea that I can be\u00a0Caribbean and French at the same time seems to be a huge bag of bones for\u00a0people are seldom aware of the complexity of the French colonial history. I admit I kind of gave up giving history lessons, but it helped me realise how much I love my homeland and value my culture.<\/span>\u00a0So in an Eureka moment, I decided to do what I know best \u2014 blog about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guadeloupe? Never heard of it\u2026 <\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t come from the Bahamas, Seychelles or Hawaii\u2026 nobody\u2019s got time for you and your\u00a0island they never heard of before. Welp, since Google is everybody\u2019s friend, it\u2019s time to get your pricey iPhones and check out Maps. Type in Guadeloupe<\/em>\u00a0and zoom in\u2026 again\u2026 yes, again\u2026 stop! Here we are\u2026 welcome to the Caribbean. See this island right there? It\u2019s my home, baby! \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Slide to locate Guadeloupe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A butterfly in the Caribbean sea<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Guadeloupe is a gift that keeps on giving \u2014 Marie-Galante<\/strong>, la D\u00e9sirade<\/strong>, les Saintes<\/strong> form\u00a0Guadeloupe\u2019s dependencies<\/a>. The French part of St Martin<\/strong> and St Barthelemy<\/strong> used to be dependencies too. Today they are autonomous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guadeloupe is a name given by the Spanish settlers when Christopher Columbus<\/strong> stumbled upon an island previously named Karukera<\/em> by the Kalinagos<\/strong> \u2014\u00a0the land\u2019s Natives \u2014 while he was looking for a road to India. It comes from Santa Maria de Guadalupe de Extremadura<\/strong>, after the image of the Virgin Mary venerated at the Spanish monastery of Villuercas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karukera<\/em> translates to \u201cthe island of the beautiful waters\u201d. It\u2019s not just a title, our white-sand and black-sand beaches, rivers and waterfalls stand no comparison and if even the New York Times praises us<\/a>, it must be true! But see for yourself\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Les i\u0302les de Guadeloupe (@ilesguadeloupe)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>