A recent chance meeting with a fellow enumerator led to discussion about being part of the Bermuda Census 2000.

What started out as a mission to make extra money during the summer turned out to be an eye-opening event for both of us.

I listened incredulously as my "former colleague'' boasted that she had completed three Census districts (approximately 150 households and more than 400 people).

I found myself over-explaining my one district result; had I told her that I spent three weeks tracking one elusive member of a household who finally agreed to a telephone interview? Even then, it had been slow going since he protested every second question claiming that it was an invasion of privacy. Whatever his personal business, the Government already had their files and why didn't they just look at them! And so it had gone with me doing my best to clarify the anonymous and confidential nature of the statistics requested.

Not to be outdone, she claimed that, on her first day out, she had spent three hours at one household with so many members that she had to return to the Census Office the next day to restock supplies. Even her No. 2 pencils were whittled away to stubs.

We began swapping stories like two war veterans: "I met people from South Africa, Venezuela, and the Philippines,'' she said with a smile.

I recounted how I lingered over questions with an elderly woman born the same day as my grandmother (my grandmother had died just three days before and it was as if she were letting me know that she had not gone very far).

Same with anyone who knew me when I was a little girl or who had stories about "linking marbles'' with my relatives.

Had I fended off any ferocious dogs or been forced to enumerate from the front doorstep or through a window screen, as she had? Had she manoeuvred past horses in the backyard or been offered delicious locust fruit from the interviewee's own garden? With all its ups and downs, we agreed that Bermuda is unique. In one district, there was as much eclecticism as in New York City's Soho. I encountered people from different nationalities, races, religions, educational and socio-economic backgrounds; there were even interesting variations on the family unit.

I commented laughingly, how I was considering hanging my real estate broker license. I had sat in beautiful old Bermuda homes, new one and two-bedroom condominiums, homes built by the very owners living inside, and cottages on a hill.

We threw around words like skewed results, capturing households, and reliability of data, chuckling the whole time at how superior this made us feel.

Once we parted, I paid a visit to the Census office to find out the status of the information collected. I spoke with Janet Smith Bradshaw, Superintendent of the Census.

Currently, the Census staff is working on preliminary estimates. It has been difficult to move beyond the assessment phase since the enumeration period had to be extended a full month due to lack of enumerators.

In fact, it has been impossible to collect a large percentage of valuable data. Ms Bradshaw would not comment on whether more enumerators would be sent into the field this time around.

She did, however, admit that a different strategy was needed next Census (2010) to make the job of enumerator more appealing. To this end, she suggested that improved public campaign and increased remuneration might help.

The Census 2000 Report is timetabled for release in the Spring of 2002. The information collected is used to provide information necessary for Government planning and policy making which affect all aspects of Bermudian life.

Census Day was May 20, 2000. The enumeration period ran from May 21st-August 31.

Gina Allchin is an aspiring Bemudian writer who has returned home after many years of living abroad. She is a Fitness Specialist and Business Manager of Contrology!Bermuda Ltd. (a Pilate's studio).