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Darwi n

Excerpted from from fieldnotes taken in Exuma, Bahamas, for the class Design
Anthropology, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Spring 2014

Gareth and I walked into the Exuma government office building next to Peace
and Plenty in Georgetown. The building is somewhat old, and contains the post
office, police headquarters, and a space that looks like a bank. Each of these
spaces is cordoned off by a glass door, in order to contain the air conditioning,
which makes the indoor temperature 5-10 degrees cooler. We ask the
receptionist at the front desk for Darwin, and Gareth explains he is from Harvard
University. I know that the project has had quite a bit of contact with Darwin in
the past.

We are asked to wait in the bank waiting room where a large, elderly man is
flirting with the teller behind the glass. He eventually moves aside to ask if we
have business with her, and we reply no. I think he is going to politely ask us
where we are from and why were in Exuma, like most Exumians I have crossed
paths with in small, semi-confined spaces, but to my relief he did not and simply
continued his conversation with the teller. By this point in the day (it was 4pm), I
was quite tired from the wealth of interactions and data I had gotten as well as
from the hot sun that had finally decided to give us a full show of its glory.
Luckily, there is a wonderfully robust breeze coming off the sea on these
islands, so you are never stuck in a conversation with the sun alone, which
would be too intense.

We are called in to Darwins office after 5 minutes or so. He is in an inner
chamber, a third-degree inner chamber (through the glass door leading upstairs
to the bank and gov offices; then through a second glass door within the
upstairs area leading to the receptionist area; and finally through his opaque
office door within the receptionist area leading to his office. Although by now, his
office is on the outside wall of the back of the building, so it is only inner from
the perspective of entering and flows of the building). Needless to say, by now it
is quite cool. And I can understand why. Darwin is fully covered by a gray suit,
with a thick white shirt peeking out centrally, the throat wrapped snuggly by a
wide blue-and-yellow patterned tie (the colors of the Bahamas; In retrospect I
cant seem to confirm if these were the actual colors or I added them in my
imagination).

Darwin welcomes us in with a wide, slightly stiffened smile, immediately
conveying the air of a politician. His demeanor appears to be a mix of well-
feigned enthusiasm and annoyance at being bothered at the end of his
workday. He sits at his wide, what looks like a mahogany desk (although I dont
know my species of wood to say). A black, oblong table that could seat six or
seven juts out directly in front of him, making his piece of furniture the de facto
head were this table to be used for a meeting. The homepage of Yahoo news is
up on his computer, looking suspiciously as though he pulled it up as an
artificial backdrop for our meeting.

Gareth has just come to say hello and make contact with Darwin on this trip. I
have come along for the introduction with the hope that I can interview Darwin or
someone else in the Exuma government at a later date. Upon introducing me,
Darwin produces his wide smile and asks how I am enjoying Exuma. The smile
drops away, a little too quickly, when we move on to the next polite conversation
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opener. Gareth says he has just come to say hello and talk to Darwin. Darwin
says he did not know Gareth was coming (to Exuma, it seems). Darwin repeats
this proclamation not too much later during the initial exchange (in retrospect, it
would seem that Darwin may have been unhappy about not knowing about our
arrival on Exuma in advance, but I know too little to say for sure. It had seemed
as though Jose was in regular contact with him.) The conversation, and the
wide, but quick-to-retreat smile returns to me, and to the subject of where I am
staying. I tell him I am staying at The hotel, and a few other related topics follow:
there were no rooms at the Peace and Plenty, which is why we are staying
outside of town, but now there seem to be rooms at the Peace and Plenty (to
which he offers that it is because the music festival just ended), but in any case,
we will move there on Thursday, etc. Although this is all unimportant minutiae to
us, Darwin follows each revelation with a disproportionately interested or
concerned Aaaaaahhhh (as in I see), sometimes repeating what we have
said back to us for effect.

It is unclear to me why we are stuck in this seeming mismatch of effort from
each side of the conversation with Gareth and I engaging in small talk as
customary conversation opener but small talk regarding small things that are
of little to no concern, and that we would like to smoothly and unobtrusively pave
the way towards the point of the conversation. Meanwhile, Darwin, through his
energetic responses, seems to be taking each of these small points as an
important piece of information, creating a staccato effect in the conversation
from my point of view. I cannot tell if this is merely customary Bahamian
politeness in conversation, or if Darwin doesnt want to deal with us, and is not
eager to get to any point in the conversation. From the viewpoint of
American conversational style, I would interpret the latter to be the case. In other
words, a person devotes unnecessary time to polite minutiae as a method of
stalling the conversation, stealing time away from AND steering the conversation
away from more important, but perhaps undesirable, topics. But even if that is
the case, I cannot say why the topics might be undesirable. Is Darwin fed up
with the Sustainable Exuma project? Is he eager to leave for another
engagement? Would it be inappropriate to jump right into topics of substance
during an initial meeting? Does my presence as a student, as a young woman,
affect the situation? I cannot say.

This pattern of discussing frivolities like where I am staying, and how beautiful
it is, what I should do, or where I should go, appears again and again
throughout our meeting. Just when I think we have exhausted the topic, and that
we have more important issues to discuss, Darwin will turn to me again and say
that he just hopes I have a wonderful stay in Exuma, etc, etc. This kind of
exclamation or well-wishing will either actively break the conversation, cutting off
the previous topic or it will mark pauses or fill natural gaps in conversation.
Gareth explains that several students are all over the cays, and Darwin is
surprised that Gareth was able to place them (arrange their travel and stay)
himself. Smart man, he says. Again, I cant help but wonder if Darwin is
annoyed that he was not previously informed of the matter. Gareth mentions the
unique situation of Ben and Crishon at Sandals and that they will interview
guests and workers there, getting an inside look at the resort. We discuss their
situation briefly before the conversation is again turned around onto me, and
how I should go stay at Sandals, or another expensive resort nearby it, and
other possibilities that have nothing to do with my role and purpose of
performing research and everything to do with enjoying a luxurious vacation.
Perhaps it is difficult for Darwin to wrap his head around a young foreigner
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being here for anything other than travel and vacationing? Or perhaps this is
again customary polite talk.

We do reach matters of some substance. For instance, Gareth mentions the
workshops the project is holding this weekend and in three weeks' time. But
again the conversation seems side-tracked by less important details. We will be
holding a workshop for business owners for instance, and I believe Gareth asks
Darwin if he can recommend anyone to attend or if he could let particular
people know about it (my memory of the exact question is fuzzy). Before
allowing further explanation, Darwin says to go through the Chamber of
Commerce, that they will inform everyone. But then Gareth explains that we
have contacted the Chamber, and we want only around 8 participants from
around Victoria Pond. Darwin ponders the small number for a moment and
seems a little stumped on how to proceed advising us. He awkwardly concludes
by repeating his statement about utilizing the Chamber of Commerce to get the
word out, even though Gareth has already made clear that we are already in
contact with them, and we dont necessarily want to get the word out.

Gareth mentions that the US Navy has contacted him with an odd request.
Twenty-four cadets are stationed somewhere not far away, and they need to
complete a community service requirement as part of their training. They have
offered to come to Exuma to build two chicken coops. Darwin is asked if he can
think of where they might be able to use two chicken coops. Gareth and Darwin
ponder various cays and localesto no avail, in the end. One cay has a
problem with snakes attacking chickens (Staniel Cay possibly? Gareth is very
disturbed by the idea of snakes anywhere in Exuma through which he may pass
during his travels). We talk about the snakes and chickens problem of this
particular cay for a minute before Gareth finally asks, Do you think a chicken
coop would keep the chickens safe from snake attacks? To which, Darwin
shakes his head. No. It would probably trap the chickens and make them
easier prey for the snakes. I find this conclusion hilarious given the fact that
Darwin was the one to bring up the snake problem, seemingly to inform a
suggestion for the US Navy project. We move on from this counterproductive
example to other possible locations for chicken coops. Another cay, Darwin
says, has goats and chickens. The goats often run onto the landing strip at this
remote cay, making it very dangerous to land there. We discuss this intriguing
problem for a minute before getting back to our original topiccan they use
chicken coops? No. But perhaps the navy can build some cages for the goats,
Darwin jokes. Or, more seriously, a fence around the landing strip. This last
statement (although I believe that the actual order of the last two statements was
reversed), seems to hit on a more meaningful, serious note. It is hard to see how
two chicken coops could make an impact in Exuma, and based on our
conversation, difficult to determine where to allocate them. But, Darwin seemed
to say, at least as I perceived it, if they really wanted to do something useful,
here is a concrete project that needs to be completed and cant under current
circumstances fencing off this problematic landing strip. But Darwin then
brushed off the idea by saying that it was difficult to do because getting
materials there was a hassle, especially without regular flights to the cay. All the
more reason for the US Navy to do it. Finally Darwin makes the point that if we
offer this small, free service to the cays, if people find out about it or we
advertise it, we will have overwhelming demand. And since the US navy is only
offering two, that would be a very awkward and undesirable position to be in.
The conversation moves on with no resolution on the chicken coop proposal
except for the implications, from all of our failed brainstorming of possible
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recipients, that perhaps the project is not a good idea.

Gareth mentions that we have visited the The Organization, and that they have
an interesting idea for small business/income generation in Exuma: apiculture,
or beekeeping. It is easy to set up, and The Organization knows someone who
can advise them on the project. To this idea, (which, having sat in on the The
Organization meeting, was actually a viable business proposition for Exuma)
Darwin responded with a story about how he once had to exterminate a beehive
which I believe had made an electric box its home, and in the process either of
walking between the hive and his car or in the process of exterminating them (I
cant remember which), the bees attacked and stung him. The moral of the story
was that bees sting. And therefore, it would seem, apiculture was a bad idea, or
not one that Darwin was interested in or approved of.

Earlier in the meeting, Gareth introduces me, and I explain my background in
international relations and public policy as a legitimizing lead in to the interest in
Bahamian/Exumian politics. I say that I would be very interested in interviewing
Mr. Darwin or anyone else he suggests that I contact. He smirks at the
proposition. I cannot be sure what his attitude is towards the matter. Does he
laugh because the politics are so complicated? I begin to feel doubts about the
topic. Im worried it is sensitive, and as someone only briefly involved in Exuma,
perhaps I am not the right person to pursue the matter. What if I am seen as an
annoyance or time suck given my lack of serious involvement in the project?
Furthermore, I worry what Darwin and his colleagues might think about us
students, foreigners, descending on these islands and approaching, in my case
at least, what might be uncomfortable topics. What if I am seen as an
unqualified intrusion? By the end of our meeting, however, Darwin suggests that
I speak to the head councillor in Exuma, and after some not very promising
exchanges on how I might meet with him, Darwin finally says, sincerely I think,
that I should just stop by whenever I am ready. One of only a few rare moments
of directness and honesty.