Two Pina Coladas- I want one for each hand

 

A few years ago I discovered the joy of floating in my pool with either a Margarita or a Pina Colada. It was a great month, until I realized I had gained about 10 pounds just through alcohol consumption! But when we think of summer or tropical islands we often think of a cold beer, a frothy drink or a rum punch. This romanticized view seems to be how warm weather should be enjoyed. However as our Cuso training warned us, alcohol consumption can be very problematic.

Grenada is a country with 110, 000 people. They also have the dubious honour of the fifth highest per capita consumption of alcohol on the planet. In fact Grenadians drink on average 12.5 litres of alcohol per person per year. Canada is 10.2 and the USA 9.2. However Canada and the USA have aging populations and Grenada has a much younger population, 24.5% of the population is under 14 compared to Canada which has 15% of its population under 14. This means that almost a ¼ of the Grenadian population that was allotted 12.5 litres of alcohol isn’t of drinking age.

The local rum distilleries cannot keep up with local demand. In fact they don’t even bother with exporting, at 130% proof alcohol, you can’t put it on a plane away.

In the past month we have seen the impact that alcohol can have on us and those in our community. When we were in our car accident there was alcohol in the vehicle that hit us. We also  have friends who are having to change their future plans based on their use of alcohol as a coping mechanism.

I suspect that for some volunteers and visitors alcohol consumption sneaks up on you. Everyone is drinking, all the time, so why not join in?  But alcohol soon becomes the social activity instead of it being an accompaniment to an activity. Even the Hash that we like to participate in has a logo of “Drinkers with a Running Problem”.   Everything becomes second to the alcohol.

Of late there have been a few  people who I became concerned about and found this helpful questionnaire about alcohol consumption.

Do you have a drinking problem?

You may have a drinking problem if you...

• Feel guilty or ashamed about your drinking.
• Lie to others or hide your drinking habits.
• Have friends or family members who are worried about your drinking.
• Need to drink in order to relax or feel better.
• “Black out” or forget what you did while you were drinking.
• Regularly drink more than you intended to.

I watched them check every one of those boxes. Unfortunately  these people don't realizes the impact they have on other people not just themselves.

Having a father who was mentally ill, these blinders to other people was the hardest part of my fathers illness. Everything was about him and the pain others were feeling either didn't matter, was exaggerated, or could not compare to his own. These issues are complex and difficult to untangle but to me a big part of growing up and being a whole person is moving from me.... "my pain", "my hurt", "my grievances" to you... "how are you?", "how can I help you?".  And you will always grow old but that is never a guarantee that you will grow up. To illustrate that point...

There is this white guy here who wears his grey curly locks in a pony tail at the nape of his neck. He is always wearing flip-flops  and shorts,  you can tell at one time he would have been really handsome. He  is also always drunk, no matter when I see him 7:00 a.m., noon, 4:30 p.m. it is always the same. I often wonder what his story is, how did he get here, where does he stay, who has he left behind? Jimmy Buffet, Kenney Chesney and others like them have romanticized living in/visiting  the Caribbean and drinking away your past. However when you live here you see the reality - what people are really doing is drinking away their future.