Anguillian Student Showcases Island's Culture And Heritage

By JESSE YEATMAN
(Staff writer for Maryland Online News)

Ferneldra Carty, a senior at Leonardtown High School and a native of the small Caribbean Island of Anguilla, grinds kernels of corn to show students Ryan Thomas, center, and Ryan Lack the process of how her grandfather and others from her country would make corn meal.

The preschool students at Little Seedling School eagerly awaited their chance to turn the handle and grind corn kernels brought in by Ferneldra Carty.

Carty, 17 and a senior at Leonardtown High School, recently had prepared a special presentation for the children, a presentation that included frying fresh plantains, performing songs and dances from her home country of Anguilla, and a quick history lesson on the independence of her country. Carty is enrolled in Leonardtown High’s child development program, which prepares students for careers in early childhood fields and teaches parenting skills.

Along with the plantains and corn, Carty brought in homemade coconut tarts, a recipe from her home island.

‘‘And then my aunt [Rosalind Lake] made Caribbean cornbread,” which has pineapple and cheese in addition to the corn meal, she said. Before the snack break, she talked about her home country.

‘‘We’re here, in North America, but my family is from all the way down here in the Caribbean,” she said pointing to her island nation on a globe. The island is small – just half the size of Washington, D.C., and located in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea off St. Martin’s Island. The overseas territory of the United Kingdom is nicknamed Rainbow Island, and has an average high temperature near 80 degrees.

Carty said she remembered once several years ago when it got cold overnight during the winter. Her mother and others on the island complained of the chill, which was around 60 degrees, she said.

When she goes back to the island, she takes two airplane rides, a boat from a neighboring island and a bus for a 20-hour trip. Her destination is a tranquil island surrounded by white sandy beaches and crystal clear water.

She sang a few songs from the island, including a rendition of ‘‘This land is your land” adapted with Anguilla towns and landmarks. She also described the country’s flag and the pledges that students sing to the island and to honor the British queen.
Carty moved to the United States two years ago after being raised in Anguilla since age 2. She has been living with her aunt in Great Mills the last two years while attending Leonardtown High. She still goes home to the Caribbean during summers to live with her parents.

The Leonardtown High School senior said she is planning to go to St. Francis College in New York next year to study child psychology. The early childhood classes at Leonardtown have given her a leg up in the field; not just the college credit she earned from the high school program but also the experience working with children.
The students followed Carty around the classroom, pleased to have the guest teacher share something new for the day. ‘‘We just thought that since she’s from another country, she’ll have a lot to say and teach us,” said Michelle Cardwell, preschool teacher at Little Seedlings.