For all my life I never understood why so many Caribbean people can't swim. Why?
First: Can you swim?
Second: When did you learn?
Third: Did you grow up in the Caribbean? Did you grow up near the sea or ocean? Do you have any fears of swimming and or water? (NOT LIKE BATHING.)
Four: Can your family members swim?
Finally: How important is swimming to you?

just conducting research.

i love to swim.

well............ I was born and raised in trindad, we went to the beach at least every other week or to de river and...............NO i do not know how to swim, I almost drowned three time's so therefore I will no longer tempt faith. All my family members do know how to swim.

I also do not know how to ride a bike either(fell down to many times)

can't say for sure when i learned to swim but i can when i lived in Jamaica i lived real close to a river. My family members are worthless they basically grew up in water but dem no know how fi swim. I don'tt swim here in Canada though, fi dem watah too nasty fi me.

gyul, me an you both...cyaa swin, cyaa ride a bicycle fi save me life

i grew up near a river and went swimmin lesssons too, and i still cyah do a decent freestyle


but of late, i have been working hard at it, at least ah could float!! dat is a starT!

ah thought ah was de only one... .

gyul u and me... i can stay afloat but i ent no fish...

And i can ride a bike well...

__________________

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...cruzandread, I hope you are not one of those people who stereotypically think everyone from the Caribbean is supposed to be able to swim.....if you are, then you're seriously mistaken...contrary to popular belief, many people from the Caribbean are not born natural swimmers, and most highly populated areas are not even close to the beaches...no we do not use the beach as our bathroom, so we are not there everyday of our lives, for many of us who can swim we did not learn to swim at the beach but at a pool with organized instruction....

I'm glad to know there are a rew others just like me.

Me I was born and raised in Jamaica. While there I did competitive swimming. I've been swam all my childhood life and I loved it. I dont think its a must that every person from the islands know how to swim. It would be good but unlike me not every ones family has money to invest in swim lessons and stuff like that there. And "Trini 4 Life", I think you took the original post abit too serious. The guy was jus asking a question. You didnt have to get into using the beach as a bathroom. That was uncalled for.:flower

LMAO IS SO TRUE..U KNOW HOW MUCH PPL I KNOW THAT BORN AND RAISE AROUND DAT NICE OCEAN AND DEM CYAH SWIM FUH SHITE...

WELL I COULD SWIM..AH LEARN WHEN AH WAS LIKE 6...HORIFFIC STORY...AH USE TO USE DE LIFEJACKET AND MEH UNCLE USE TO GET MAD AND SAY AH HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM..MY BOY PICK ME UP..AND FLING ME IN DE DEEP END AH DE POOL AND SAY IF YUH WANT COME OUT..YUH BETTER LEARN TO SWIM..WELL AH SWIMMIN LIKE AH FISH SINCE DEN...

GROW UP IN TRINI..NOT REALLY I LEFT WHEN I WAS 9, MY WHOLE FAMILY KNOWS HOW TO SWIM EXCEPT MY MOMS...SWIMMIN IS WICKED I LOVE IT...I LOVE THE WATER...

hum well nobody could ride bike better dan me .. but when come to swimming lawd i like a cat lol cah swim if meh life depended on it .. i got lessons in college .. im what u call an under water swimmer ... (cah keep meh head above water) ...i love de water though i guess some people just doh have a natural nak fuh it ... i was born and raised in trinidad .. get nuff nuff scrapes from learning to ride bike and ting and i lived withing walking distance from the ocean but if yuh throw me in dat water yuh betta have a net to catch me after wards..


sweets gyal i feel sory fuh yuh .. yuh uncle is a wicked soul .. but i guess yuh come out good dey.. i hope he rasss coulda swim cause lawd yuh rasss woulda fart lol

LOL now ah feel better.....I eh de only one who cyah swimm and for the islands..........

We need to start an IMIX swimming class for all ah we who cyah swim..........but I scurredddddddddd almost drown 3 times

i by no means have any stereotypical view about my fellow Caribbean people or any other Africans or even Europeans. (although that's harder to fight against) i just wanted to know where people were at about the whole swimming thing. sorry. i touched a nerve. i love swimming and i guess i wondered what other people's experiences were . . . jah. why the shade? it's no good for swimming. love up

Arimagal - Yuh definitely not alone...Can't swim nor ride a bike....
and I'm from Arima also