All-inclusive Bermuda

With 30% of the population from other countries, Bermuda is becoming a truly multicultural island

Kuda Manungo has become so Bermudianised, when he goes home to Zimbabwe he greets complete strangers with a cheery: “Good morning.”

This spontaneous friendliness, he says, means he gets a few odd looks in the conservative southern African country where people generally keep themselves to themselves.

Fourteen years of experiencing the Bermuda culture every day tends to do that to people who came to these shores as foreigners but then became an ingredient in the melting pot themselves.

Manungo, 44, who arrived on the island as an air conditioner and refrigeration technician with AIRCARE in 2009, is one of more than 19,000 foreigners currently living here: about 30 per cent of the total population.

And while traditional sources of immigration – the UK, North America, the Caribbean, the Azores and increasingly the Philippines – make up more than half the foreign population, the list of nations grows longer by the year.

Census data shows 57 Zimbabweans were living in Bermuda in 2016. Similar numbers were recorded from China, Ecuador, Brazil, Switzerland, Japan, Austria and Mexico.

From Azerbaijan to the Falklands Islands, from Tonga to Burkina Faso, from Kiribati to Iceland, our 21 square miles are populated with people from just about every far-flung corner of the globe.

According to Manungo – as well as Bermuda residents originally from China, Japan, Argentina and Thailand who spoke with us for this article – the key to settling is a combination of integrating into the local community while retaining relationships with fellow natives who share similar likes and culinary habits that remind them of home.

Embrace each other’s cultures and celebrate our differences, in other words. And in doing so they’re helping shape the ever-evolving dynamic of this multinational island.

When Manungo arrived in Bermuda, he quickly realised he had come to a less conservative place.

“In Bermuda, you might see a boyfriend, maybe in his 20s, living or sleeping over in the girlfriend’s house which is actually the parent’s house, and the parents are happy for their daughter’s boyfriend to be there,” he says.

“We don’t do that in Zimbabwe! That’s a cultural thing. It was unbelievable at first but now it’s just funny because I’ve seen it and I know it happens. But it was shocking to see in the first place.”

That’s not the only thing that surprised Manungo.

“When you come in you quickly notice the differences in culture,” he says.

“I’ve noticed Bermudians talk to strangers. They can just meet you, sit with you and talk with you for 10 or 15 minutes.

“Back in my country you start feeling a little bit suspicious when people do that. Why is this person talking to me? What are they trying to take from me? What do they see?”

What began as a quirk, however, soon became normal.

“Now I do the same,” he says.

“At home, just to talk to somebody at random is not that normal. So, when I go home and I greet people, they assume they know me and just greet me back. Then they look back and say, ‘Huh, who is this guy? I can’t remember this guy!’”

Luisina Medran, 28, a senior, in the audit practice at KPMG in Bermuda, came from Argentina 18 months ago and was taken aback by the level of helpfulness from her new fellow residents.

“My boyfriend and I bought a big barbecue and we were trying to carry it on the bike,” she recalls.

“We tried for two minutes with the bike – it was impossible! There was a lady with her mom who saw us struggling and they decided to help us. They put the barbecue in their car and brought it to our place.

“It was really weird because if that happened at home we would think, ‘That’s our barbecue. Someone else has taken it.’

“It was really nice.”

It’s all very different to living in a big country.

Dan Zhu, an actuary from China who previously worked in Paris, came to

Bermuda five years ago in her late 30s.

“In a big city, nobody will say anything to you. But this is a small community and once you break ice you can make a conversation very easily with everyone,” says Zhu, who works for Arch Reinsurance.

“The local people are very friendly. This place is so special and reminds you how lucky you are and how grateful you should feel.

“For example, you never worry when you walk down the street. You can’t do that when you live in Paris or New York.”

Kota Nagasawa, 24, from Japan, who arrived last year after a spell in New York, agrees on the friendliness.

“People on the island honk their horns on the street,” says Nagasawa, a senior, in the advisory practice at KPMG in Bermuda.

“In Japan that’s considered a very rude thing. You don’t honk unless there’s an emergency. You just don’t do it.

“In the US people do it when they’re annoyed. Here, it means hi. It’s just funny for me. It tells a personality. Bermuda people always want to connect with someone. It shows the character of this place. I like it.”

Then there’s the glorious weather, spectacular beaches and lush scenery that make Bermuda an ideal holiday destination, which expats get to enjoy for the long term.

“I think this is the most beautiful sea I have ever seen,” says Mos Cnx, 30, whose homeland Thailand isn’t exactly short of breathtaking beaches.

“I like it here. The people are very friendly, and I get to go to the beach on my holiday.”

Nagasawa says: “The fact I can walk to the beach is incredible. When I lived in New York, one thing I missed was nature. The only nature-related place in New York is Central Park.

“Since I came here it’s very nice to have the ocean and beach nearby and