Thus sparking a need to clear your mind and free your thoughts, usually though your hobbies, and that is where you have to use your brains to make your money at home.

that's what I did

I think that this is a wonderful thread and a much needed discussion. I've read comments by all and agree with most, first Mikki Forbes, i undersatnd your frautrations and you make a great argument with supporting points. CG: I also understand what you are saying and respect your point of view, reading these comments has left me a bit disheartened. I too, i'm a student studing abroad with every intention on returning to the Bahamas. In less that 3 years i will have earned a Ph.D in Ethnic and Cultural Studies. I decided on this field because I know that i will get a job in academia back home, because there is such a need for Bahamian Profs. My passion though is creative writing, i have an MFA in creative writing, I knew that returning home with such a degree, I would not be employable, only jobs teaching. So I stayed in school and majored in a career that i knew i could make a living and educate my people. Also, I know that the kind of money that i would make if i opt to stay in the U.S, I will never make at home, but the question i ask myself is, if don't go home and advocate change then who will?

on this issue of nepotism...i agree its a problem in bahamas, but really what i am discovering first hand (even today)...having contacts is the only thing that matters! for example, i have been trying for months to get on the UN roster - and couldnt. on the w/end i met a guy who gave me THE contact person in germany. so i just sent her personal email (literally 5 minutes ago), and she has already emailed back and said she will put in my name in for a vacancy coming up in cairo! ha...i'm not even on the roster! go figure.
having said that, i have double 'bad luck', cause i dont come from a 'privileged' bahamian family at all. my parents struggled to put me and my sisters through university. when i was at uni, i did every extracurricular activity possible to set me aside from others. that paid off, cause when i finished law school, i applied to ONE law firm in nassau (i had never even done summer work there and knew noone) and within 2 weeks i was offered the job with a good salary - and believe me, i didnt know what to do, cause they kept calling me in LONDON....the thing i find about bahamians (generally): we dont want to learn the necessary languages and do the 'extra stuff' that give us an edge. law degrees (undergrad and postgrad) come a dime a dozen these days. its easy and doesnt take much. employers want to see that you are not only capable of the job, but that you are dedicated, that you are a team leader, that you take initiative - that is so important, especially when working for a private/international employer. i have reviewed cvs of my friends and family and i simply cannot believe how empty they are. im not saying mine is great, but at least there are things that make it different. and THAT is what will give you an edge in nepotism-land!

cairo...god know ...the malaria scare ...the terrorist
dont go!

cairo...god know ...the malaria scare ...the terrorist
dont go!

lol! girl you are too much ;). i just moved back to england from
cairo, where i lived for 7 months...when i was goin (to egypt) from bahamas - i went to my doctor for malaria tablets. she refused. she said you are going to polluted cairo, you do not need malaria tablets! you wont be in the desert! she was right, but i was quite concerned in the beginning. As for terrorism, the were a few attacks when i was there...but none as big as what was waiting for me when i returned to london!

I think that this is a wonderful thread and a much needed discussion. I've read comments by all and agree with most, first Mikki Forbes, i undersatnd your frautrations and you make a great argument with supporting points. CG: I also understand what you are saying and respect your point of view, reading these comments has left me a bit disheartened. I too, i'm a student studing abroad with every intention on returning to the Bahamas. In less that 3 years i will have earned a Ph.D in Ethnic and Cultural Studies. I decided on this field because I know that i will get a job in academia back home, because there is such a need for Bahamian Profs. My passion though is creative writing, i have an MFA in creative writing, I knew that returning home with such a degree, I would not be employable, only jobs teaching. So I stayed in school and majored in a career that i knew i could make a living and educate my people. Also, I know that the kind of money that i would make if i opt to stay in the U.S, I will never make at home, but the question i ask myself is, if don't go home and advocate change then who will?

congrats to you Burkina! how much does a job as a Prof pay in the States? how much in Bah? I know the money is not important to you, and that's commendable. do you think it will be easy to get a job at COB for example?

congrats to you Burkina! how much does a job as a Prof pay in the States? how much in Bah? I know the money is not important to you, and that's commendable. do you think it will be easy to get a job at COB for example?

if were throwing out figures at least 75K and if you get published in a journals or hold positions of leadership at the unversity you damn near can pick a number in the low six figures. There is money to be made in academia and she writes, creatively- her possibilities are damn near endless. Best wishes Burkina!

lol! girl you are too much ;). i just moved back to england from
cairo, where i lived for 7 months...when i was goin (to egypt) from bahamas - i went to my doctor for malaria tablets. she refused. she said you are going to polluted cairo, you do not need malaria tablets! you wont be in the desert! she was right, but i was quite concerned in the beginning. As for terrorism, the were a few attacks when i was there...but none as big as what was waiting for me when i returned to london!

As I understand it, malaria is transmitted by the bite of the Anopheles Mosquito. These Mosquito live and breed near water (the Nile!) Not in the desert. The most cases of the illness are found south of Cairo. When I went to Egypt I took the shots, as well as those for hepatitis A, and typhoid. You were lucky!

Addressed to no one in particular.

Perhaps I am mistaken but I see this thread saying that more money can be made outside the Bahamas. There is more opportunity outside the Bahamas. Both of those statements are true. I do not discount the need for money. We need it, we can't live on fresh air alone. But I hope you will allow an older guy to tell you this, I have never taken a job because of the money. I have always followed Joseph Campbell's motto, "Follow your bliss!" In other words, do what you love doing, the money will follow. It might not be fist fulls of money but it will be there.

I know people with fists full of money. For some, money was the Bliss, for others they thought money would bring Bliss. I know a guy with "more money than God" but he hates his job. You know what his real Bliss is? Carpentry! But he followed real estate. He can't wait to retire so he can make furniture. I wonder how much happier he would have been if he has followed his Bliss in the first place.

If your Bliss, your desire, your love, is to build a better Bahamas - then follow that or you may wake up one day, old, with bags full of money and your Bliss has passed you by! Money, opportunity, is important but it is not the be-all-and-end-all. At the end of the day you must ask yourself, "did I really do what I wanted, or did I give in to the pay cheque?" "Have I abandoned my gift for someone else's dream?"

Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God, and humanity.

he needs to move to California then. My friend has her engineering degree she graduated in 03 as well and she JUST got a job with Boeing making a little under 60K. You have to help yourself first. I had that same idealistic look to at helping my people, but i have to help myself first. Dont give up on him, pray for him and ask him if keeping company with strippings and drunks is his idea of helping Bahamians.
Man I feel sad for the dude and I dont even know him! He's throwing his life away. and that money it took for him to get that degree at FIU- it wasnt cheap unless he went on scholarship. But then I have to play devil's advocate to because you see how this "bedmaking economics" in the name of tourism development and foreign investment has us right?

He has to ask himself... How can I help the poor if im one of them... good god damn it im praying for him to get his sh!t togehter.
peace

Amen Amen Amen. I would love to be idealistic and say I am going to return to the Bahamas to help my people and my country, but until I am in the position to help myself, I will not be able to help anyone else. I left New Providence to pursue a Masters degree and I knew that I would not be returning. Maybe after I have completed my doctorate and have established myself internationally, I would consider returning to Nassau, because that would probably be the only way I would be accepted ....without having the right last name

Addressed to no one in particular.
Perhaps I am mistaken but I see this thread saying that more money can be made outside the Bahamas. There is more opportunity outside the Bahamas. Both of those statements are true. I do not discount the need for money. We need it, we can't live on fresh air alone. But I hope you will allow an older guy to tell you this, I have never taken a job because of the money. I have always followed Joseph Campbell's motto, "Follow your bliss!" In other words, do what you love doing, the money will follow. It might not be fist fulls of money but it will be there.
I know people with fists full of money. For some, money was the Bliss, for others they thought money would bring Bliss. I know a guy with "more money than God" but he hates his job. You know what his real Bliss is? Carpentry! But he followed real estate. He can't wait to retire so he can make furniture. I wonder how much happier he would have been if he has followed his Bliss in the first place.
If your Bliss, your desire, your love, is to build a better Bahamas - then follow that or you may wake up one day, old, with bags full of money and your Bliss has passed you by! Money, opportunity, is important but it is not the be-all-and-end-all. At the end of the day you must ask yourself, "did I really do what I wanted, or did I give in to the pay cheque?" "Have I abandoned my gift for someone else's dream?"
Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God, and humanity.

I feel you, but what about the experience of something different so we can have a world view and bring back our experience for a better Bahamas. All the while, not getting caught up in the monotony of Nassau (and in the process getting a little more money ;) )

I feel you, but what about the experience of something different so we can have a world view and bring back our experience for a better Bahamas.
Experience is great! Get all you can. But keep your eye on the main issue. That experience must be used, not for your enrichment, but for the enrichment of others - as you enrich others you get enriched. Don't spend to much time getting experience so that you have no time left to share it.
Life is sort! Time passes too quickly.

All the while, not getting caught up in the monotony of Nassau.
Nassau is as monotonous as you wants it to be. I lecture on many subjects - I always have a full house! Bahamians want to learn, to experience, to grow. I don't know what your field is but whatever it is, I can assure you that there are many of your fellow countrymen what want to know, to learn.

(and in the process getting a little more money)
Money follows. But do you know why White people, were ever they go are successful (mostly)? They share with each other and the money follows. Black folks need to follow this.

I have to log off now as I am doing a class - sharing!

As I understand it, malaria is transmitted by the bite of the Anopheles Mosquito. These Mosquito live and breed near water (the Nile!) Not in the desert. The most cases of the illness are found south of Cairo. When I went to Egypt I took the shots, as well as those for hepatitis A, and typhoid. You were lucky!

mmm maybe...well i had the hep A and typhoid, but didnt even know anyone who had malaria tablet/shot!

mmm maybe...well i had the hep A and typhoid, but didnt even know anyone who had malaria tablet/shot!

see... dont go!

Addressed to no one in particular.
Perhaps I am mistaken but I see this thread saying that more money can be made outside the Bahamas. There is more opportunity outside the Bahamas. Both of those statements are true. I do not discount the need for money. We need it, we can't live on fresh air alone. But I hope you will allow an older guy to tell you this, I have never taken a job because of the money. I have always followed Joseph Campbell's motto, "Follow your bliss!" In other words, do what you love doing, the money will follow. It might not be fist fulls of money but it will be there.
I know people with fists full of money. For some, money was the Bliss, for others they thought money would bring Bliss. I know a guy with "more money than God" but he hates his job. You know what his real Bliss is? Carpentry! But he followed real estate. He can't wait to retire so he can make furniture. I wonder how much happier he would have been if he has followed his Bliss in the first place.
If your Bliss, your desire, your love, is to build a better Bahamas - then follow that or you may wake up one day, old, with bags full of money and your Bliss has passed you by! Money, opportunity, is important but it is not the be-all-and-end-all. At the end of the day you must ask yourself, "did I really do what I wanted, or did I give in to the pay cheque?" "Have I abandoned my gift for someone else's dream?"
Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God, and humanity.

this is so true. having practiced the most boring type of law known to mankind (corporate/commercial) for one whole year, i decided, the legal profession takes too many hours out of your day, to do something as dull as paperwork. so i decided if i do law, it will be something that fascinates me. for some, thats civil, for me its crime/human rights law.

for some, thats civil, for me its crime/human rights law.

with a sound reputaion (that will follow you because everyone will be talking about "dis lawyer that I got" while being a strong advocate for your clients girl youll clean up here!