"well, she sneaks around the world from kiev to carolina,
she's a sticky-fingered filcher from berlin down to belize.
she'll take you for a ride on a longboat to china. tell me
where in the world is.. danielle gantt?"
when it rains here, it pours extremely hard for like 10 minutes usually.. and then stops. except, there have been some days where it seems to do that off and on all day long.
-
p people are so friendly
pe people are usually really really friendly. i always feel like an older black woman will go out of her way to take care of me or just be super nice to me. like… when i first got here, a lady in the airport just started talking to me. she had me watch her luggage and she was so nice and friendly. when i was at the old time wedding in tobago, a woman shielded me from the rain and was really nice to me. then, there was that woman at the waterfall. i feel like i’m forgetting some women. this happened to me in south africa too. i love it because i just like watching that motherly instinct snap on in people. you know.. they look at you....square you up… and once they see that you’re harmless, they temporarily adopt you. i just love it when i find a warm woman like that.
-beef with jamaica?
i don’t know, but i sense a little beef between trinidad/tobago and jamaica. i think a lot of the things we associate with jamaica in the states (such as wining), actually originated in trinidad/tobago and people aren’t happy about that. at least, that’s my perception. it may not be beef with them though.. they probably got beef with the states because we don't take the time to learn things like that. the only islands most people have heard of in the caribbean with a large black population on it is jamaica & haiti (the other island they know is cuba).
sleep!
-i have been running to the bed every night. running. i usually end up doing that during midterms or finals back home, but this is every night here. i even have an easy time sleeping in vehicles now. the days are really exhausting. and, the sun sets so early and rises so early that it’s just making me so exhausted trying to keep up.
the year for people of african decent.
the u.n. apparently declared this year to be the international year for people of african decent. i’m just now hearing about this , because here in trinidad/tobago, it is kind of a big deal. i guess in america, it doesn’t matter. interesting.
we had to get up early in order to get to the emancipation day parade in port-of-spain. we had to wear these t-shirts from the pan-african studies department. ugh.. i kind of didn't want to wear it because, as i saw when i got there, almost everyone around us had on african-inspired clothes. headwraps.. and more. i just felt a little dorky. lol.
when we got to the treasury building (where their emancipation proclamation freeing the slaves was read), there were so many people everywhere! it was mostly black people. there was a guy making a speech. i love trinis! like, if someone is making a speech and the crowd doesn't like what they're saying, you'll hear an instant wave of boos (i wish arielle was here). lol. i think he tried to thank the arts ministry or something for the event... but, from what i understand, many feel like the black events don't get a lot of funding and there were many obstacles, such as getting a home for the heritage festival, that could have been made easier. i was a little nervous about being in the parade. i knew it was going to be really long and, the sun was blazing and there were so many hot bodies. but, as soon as the music started... i was like "let's do it!"
we stopped in a souvenir shop, but there wasn't anything there that i felt like i had to buy. i'm already a picky shopper and when i am almost broke, i definitely won't buy anything. i was just really anxious to begin the parade. after a while, lavergne led us behind a group in the parade and we merged in with them. we were behind a float that was blasting music really loud. i just had such a good time. there was nothing but good vibes and i tried to soak it all up. i mean, when do any of us get to be around an entire sea of black people... dressed in african clothing... dancing.. and liming? and the music was all this social activist stuff and was about celebrating. they would loop the song for about 30 minutes so i tried to learn all of the words. and i just danced and danced.
patrice went on the trip last year and told me that her group was lame and didn't dance the entire time. so, i was determined to make her proud and dance the entire time. about 30-45 minutes in though, i looked behind me and saw no one from my group. i got a little nervous, but then i saw kenwyn and yakira a few rows back waving their arms to let me know that they were there. i felt better and continued to dance. i had a blast! the music was good. and... i mean, the whole day is dedicated to black ancestors... to the people that slaved and went through so much horror. if all i have to do is dance down some streets to honor them, i'm there!
this entire day, it looked like rain.. but never did actually rain. lol.the sun started beating down and i started wondering "hmm... how long is this thing?" whenever i thought about stopping, i just thought about how i've probably danced longer in nightclubs. so, i kept going. this isn't like some straight down "market street" in chattanooga parade... it took turns and was seriously long. it was from the treasury building in port-of-spain to the lidj yasu omowale village at the queen's park savannah. i probably danced from 10:00 am until about 12:30pm. when i thought we were close to being done, i stopped and got a snow cone, a staple in trini foods. i asked the guy what kind of flavors he had, and he kind of looked at me like "really?" lol.. everyone basically only sells two flavors.. "kola," which looks like cherry but i can't be sure what it tastes like.. and pineapple. i went for the pineapple and it was so refreshing. i was burning up. 5TT$
after about another 30 minutes of dancing, i had danced to the end of the procession. i did it. i felt so good that i did the entire thing. yakira told me that the parade during carnival is twice as long and the music is nine times as fast. errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... i might rethink trying to do carnival.. lol. or at least get into really good shape before i go. i'm thinking about coming back for that in two years. so, that's plenty of time, right? anyways, we got into the festival area and found the rest of the group. after i found out that we were no longer going back to maracas beach, i decided it was time to go ahead and spend the rest of my TT$. i had like 35 TT$ left (like $5 amercan dollars.. lol). before i got a chance to figure out what i wanted to buy, it was time to head back to the dorms.
when we got there, i decided to go and spend the rest of my money around town buying my favorite trini treats. i went to the store and bought so many kiss cakes. dr. turley told me that they were good, and kenwyn had warned me that they were like a drug... but that only made me want them. lol. i've been eating them from time to time whenever we stop on the road. paired with a bottle of water, it's like the perfect snack time. they have creme inside, but it isn't all filmy like i find cream in snack cakes is back in the states. and the cake has a slight orangey/lemony taste. they aren't really sugary and there is no icing on top. they are just really soft and delicious.
i bought like 12 packs of them.. lol. i also picked up some banana solos, cokes & pepsi's (because they don't have corn syrup in them like they do in the states. they have sugar cane instead and taste delicious), and khurma (those little crunchy ginger sticks). i was going to also get a coconut, but i didn't feel like carrying it. lol. last but not least, i got my last double from a place nearby the school. people think i try to be slim.. and cheap.. but i literally can only eat one double. usually the line is long, but i guess everyone was at the festival. when i ordered the double, the workers made fun of me.
one double? ONE DOUBLE!? just one?
lol. sorry. i can only eat one! i went back to my room... made a cup of coca cola, got the double, and sat in front of my computer and watched a movie. it was perfect. it was so perfect. after dancing and walking around for hours... just sitting down with that double and that coke made the whole trip worth it. i felt so good. the food was so good. then, someone knocked on my door... dr.talley and dr. turley were downstairs, ready to meet with us to talk about our departure. i went downstairs with the rest of my double and listened as we got told the procedures for coming back to the states. after the meeting, i went back to my room and chatted online.
at around 8pm, we left the dorms to go to lavergne's home. she had invited us to dinner. her home was so lovely. i took a picture of their living room and kitchen so i could steal their ideas for my new apartment... lol. and LIAM, lavergne's 1 year old son, was awake! i could play with him for hours. he's just so cute. and, he was in his own territory so he was just entertaining us (it's kind of interesting how that is. like, even when you're a kid, you know that when you invite someone into your home, you have to entertain them. or maybe that's a trini cultural thing that he picked up.). constance, lavergne's sister, cooked some fish and bake.. it wasn't shark but it was delicious. there was slaw and pineapples to go with it. we all talked for a while and i played with liam for a while. suddenly though, it was time to go. and, i was telling liam goodbye and he was like "no!" and he grabbed my hand.
i felt like it wasn't just liam i was saying goodbye to... it was trinidad, a place i really fell in love with. and, the urge to come back here is really strong. i love this place. i really do. and, i think i like the people here a lot more than the people in south africa. i'm not trying to judge them or anything. i don't say this in a mean way or something. but, what i think i saw in south africa was really an almost broken people by comparison to the people here. there's this ridiculous amount of optimism in south africa. so much optimism but it's hanging on by a thread. i can see that it could easily go from a 10 on the optimism scale and crash all the way down to 1. you know.. they had nelson mandela and that triumph.. and then a couple of corrupt governments. and things have changed but not really from what i observed... in america, i think we call it "progress" (you know.. a black guy becomes president... people are still getting discriminated against and there's as much racism as ever... but they call it "progress"). coming to trinidad made me see south africa in a new light... i love trinidad/tobago. i would come here to relax, but as far as research goals, my desires to study south africa have never been stronger. i just have an urge to figure out and unpackage what's going on in south africa.
i went back to the dorm and stayed up all night washing clothes, cleaning, packing, and chatting online. since we were scheduled to leave our dorms at 4:00am to catch our flight, i didn't see the point of going to sleep. i wanted to sleep throught the flight.
i was sad to leave trinidad and tobago. i had a great time there. and, i'm sure i'll be back some day.
i got up super early so that i could make the macaroni and cheese (or “macaroni and che” as me and kenwyn have been calling it since i didn’t have enough cheese! lol) for our lime at the beach. i got up and went downstairs into the kitchen that i had never used. i was SO GRATEFUL to lavergne’s husband and dr. turley for insisting that i learn how to use a gas stove and teaching me how to in tobago. so very grateful. i looked around for matches. there were none. i thought lavergne and kenwyn had given us some on the first night when they gave us all kinds of dishes and pots and pans. but, i guess not. i searched all over the kitchen but there were no matches in sight. i decided to go ahead and try to grate the cheese up. there was no grater so i had it set in my mind that i was going to try to grate it with this spoon that we had that had holes in it (lol! i was so determined) or cut it up into thin slices. the whole process was going very slow. i thought i might as well cook the noodles and at least have something done since the cheese was going no where.
so, i decided to go to the lobby front desk and ask them. on my way there though, i passed by the common area and immediately thought to look in the common kitchen area that the students of the university use. sure enough, there were match boxes all above the stove. some of them still had matches in them. so i took one box. i also saw a grater sitting near the kitchen sink. i went ahead and borrowed it too and took it back to our kitchen. the matches that i had picked up were old... and the box was too stale to strike a match on. i had to run back to the common kitchen for another box. this time i was able to get a more fresher box. the matches lit but the stove still wouldn't light. i was so frustrated. i couldn't figure out what was wrong. then, i wondered about the switch on the gas tank. when i first started cooking, i assumed it was closed (like it should have been)... and had switched it to what i thought was open. however.... i switched it back and tried to light the stove.. it finally lit! meaning.. apparently the gas tank had been left open all these days (not good. we could have blown up if there was a leak in the hose).
the "macaroni and che" cooked up well enough... but there just wasn't enough cheese! kenwyn called and told us that the bus wouldn't be arriving until later so i went upstairs and chilled a bit and then headed to the bus with my "macaroni and che." some of kenwyn's friends and family joined us on our trip to toco beach. it was a really long drive, and there was heavy traffic at some points but there were some great views along the way.
maracas beach was such a touristy beach... but toco beach was full of trinis. everyone was liming with their families and having a really great time. the beach itself was GORGEOUS. i had to get in the water as soon as we got there. i just fell in love with that beach.
i got in the water for a minute and then i sat in a palm tree and ate really quick... all the food was pretty good. then, i headed back into the water. there was like this forbidden area right in front of where we had set-up our picnic. i didn't know you couldn't swim in there UNTIL i hopped in and a life guard blew his whistle at me. SO EMBARRASSING! lol. so, i went into the area on the right side of our camp and swam around a bit. the current was really strong and it kept pulling me. when i saw a crab's arm float by me.. i was like "TIME TO GET OUT!" lol. i went back to camp and had a beer. my favorite beer here is "stag." it's advertised as being "for men." whatever!
i headed back into the water but this time, i went to the other side of the beach. it was a lot better. the current wasn't as strong and all the people around me were super friendly. i came back to the beach for something to drink and then headed back to the water with kenwyn, yakira, and kenwyn's two little sisters. it was really fun splashing around, and kenwyn's little sisters are so silly. there was good music playing too. i just really began to enjoy the water... hopping as the waves come in... pushing away debris or "floaties" as i call them. i can see why people love the beach so much. i could totally get used to going to the beach every week. we stayed in the water for hours... then, something bit yakira's finger, so.. we were all like "TIME TO GET OUT!" lol.
i went back to our site and had a beer and some of the delicious watermelon dr. turley had bought off the side of the road. i actually don't really like watermelon, but this summer, i've been in some hot places... and i've began to realize how refreshing watermelon can be. after sitting around for a second, i decided to walk down the beach and people watch. everyone was liming! it was such a relaxed, care-free environment. i got hit on a couple of times, which is aaalllwwaayyyss a confidence boost for me when i'm in my swimsuit... lol. really, nobody cares about any of that stuff here. on the beach, all you see is these really fat women in tiny bathing suits, flaunting their curves. and, i just soaked up all the vibes. i have fallen in love with the people here.
i was determined to walk all the way to the end and see the entire beach. when i got to the end, there was this point where a stream from inland and the sea met. i really wanted a picture of it so i went back to the site to get my camera. when i got there, everyone was packing up to leave. i was thinking, "already!?" i could have stayed there all day. i asked kenwyn if we were leaving and he didn't seemed to thrilled about leaving either. he told me that i could go and take my time.
we won't leave you.
so, i got my camera and took a couple of pictures. there were palm trees that had fallen into the water. people were climbing on them and playing on them. i wish i could have stayed there all day.
after i took my pictures, i followed kenwyn and his family back to the bus. i tried to go to sleep on the bus but the driver was playing some songs that i knew! some taurus riley and gyptian (i have to thank kristen kirksey for putting me on those songs).
she's royal.
so royal. and i want her in my life.
i never knew anyone so divine.
the way she moves to her own beat..
she has the qualities of a queen.
so supreme.
oh. what a natural beauty.
no need no make-up to be a cutey..
she's a queen!
after we got back to the dorms, i tried to blog and work on a little research. then, i fell asleep.
i got up early, like usual, and literally had nothing to do. since we decided not to go to port-of-spain, there was nothing to do. it was also raining really hard. i thought about going to the library but jessica told me it was closed. so, i just sat in the room and watched movies and worked on my research paper.
at around 3pm, shannon knocked on my door and told me kenwyn was downstairs and waiting to take us to the monastery. i wasn't told that we were going, so i wasn't ready. i had to toss on some clothes really fast and make my way downstairs. we caught a taxi to bottom of the road that led to the monastery (only 3TT$, but i would have rather walked because i knew it was a really short walk) and then took the monastery shuttle to the monastery (4TT$). there was really nothing particularly special about the monastery except that it had a great view of st. augustine. it was just very peaceful and relaxing. i laid down and listened to the birds.
we took the shuttle back down to the main road. dr. turley and i went back to the dorm while kenwyn took the others to the grocery store (i had already gone). dr. turley and i just chilled downstairs, which was my first time doing so. i usually stay away from there because it's so hot. we had a good time though. i reheated the dinner constance made that i was saving and it was delicious (?roti? bread, curried potatoes and veggies, and chicken). dr. turley and i talked about everything.. food... black rights issues.. her research. she's really cool. we also watched BET. "barbershop 2" was on. lol.
after everyone got back from the grocery store, we took a bus back to the emancipation festival. tonight was the "pan-african concert" night. when we first got there, there was a 10 year old boy (i think his name is timel rivas) rocking the mic with calypso. i got to sit and talk with his mother too. she was super nice. she had broken her sandal. lol. next, kizzy ruiz performed. and she blew me away! she was really good and she performed a song about helping haiti. i kind of had forgotten about haiti... that's what calypso is though. it's music that deals with social issues.
after ruiz, i marvelous marva performed. she was amazing as well. she sang this one particular song about the killings that were claiming the lives of the young black males of trinidad and tobago. the entire time i've been here, i've felt nothing but safe. i felt more safe here than i did in south africa. but, i kept hearing whispers of bad things happening in certain communities. i didn't really take it in until i heard marvelous marva sing about being a mother and worrying about her son. dr. turley told me that the last year the students were here, there were 500 killings... they were only here for like 3 weeks! the murdering of the black male youth is a really huge issue here.
after marvelous marva, the "african dance theater - wasafoli" performed and they brought the house down! they were so good. it was sort of a romeo and juliet story line but done completely afrocentric style and with no words.. only dance. and it was a long performance. they had to have practiced for so long. but really.. it reminded me a lot of the african drumming class that i took in undergrad. you don't learn a dance with long choreography, per say... u learn a whole bunch of moves and the moves correspond to certain drum patterns. once the drum master drums out the directions and each drum pattern has its own move.
after their great performance, we left and i went back to the dorm to get some rest.
today, i woke up super early determined to go to the grocery store. i needed to go ahead and buy macaroni and extra sharp cheddar cheese for our lime on sunday at the beach. i have.. like.. NO MONEY… so, i wanted to buy that first before i spent another cent. i got up.. walked to the grocery store, the “hi-lo” (which always reminds me of the “bi-lo” grocery store in chattanooga.. lol). when i got there, i noticed the parking lot was empty. the attendant blocking the entrance told me that they opened at 8am… which was an hour away. -_- . so, i walked around to different gas stations. they actually had what i needed but it wasn’t the right kind of cheese (i just don’t know how i feel about cheese that’s not orange. it’s supposed to taste the same, but it never does to me.) so, i figured i could walk back to the dorm and chill out until 7:50am and then go back to the store instead. i came back to my dorm room, talk to my brother in china on skype, and then headed back to the grocery store.
i don’t know what i was expecting, but i was quite surprised by the store. i guess i was expecting the store to be quite small and maybe grimy inside, because it didn’t look like much on the outside. but, inside, it really did look like “bi-lo” or “krogers” from home. i chose some cheap macaroni (making sure that it was “elbow macaroni” because, as i learned in south africa, there are many different types of macaroni. here, they have big macaroni like in south africa and also, they have macaroni that’s just long tubes kind of like spaghetti). there was only one choice for extra sharp cheddar cheese and while i was hoping it would be cheaper, it was about the same price as it is at home.
after i purchased my items, i went back to the dorm, showered (with moths on the walls), put the other ½ of my tuna sub from subway in my bag, and got on the bus for our trip to pitch lake. south trinidad seems very different from northern trinidad. the land is flatter and life looks like it moves even slower there. pitch lake is located in the town of la brea (which is spanish for “the tar”), and is the largest deposit of asphalt (or “pitch”) in the world. and, it’s connected to other deposits around the world (such as the tar pit in los angeles, california) through veins deep in the earth that go underneath the ocean. the asphalt is harvested and sold to companies all over the world. some of the asphalt is even in front of buckingham palace in england. it’s interesting, however, that trinidad/tobago has really sucky streets. it seems that all of the asphalt is being exported to make streets in other countries better.
the guide took us all around the lake. it was very dangerous… because, if you step on the wrong spot, you can fall into the liquid asphalt. if someone’s around, it will be hard to get you out and everything you have on will be ruined. if no one is around to help you, you will die. walking on the asphalt was kind of fun though. we walked on the hard spots. the hardened parts were still really soft because the sun was melting it a bit. so, as you walked along, the asphalt would mold to shape your foot. it felt really good. and i got to see a really weird plant (mimosa pudica) that i’ve never seen before. if you touch it, the leaves instantly turn brown and shrivel up!
^ you hear that man talking about that sulfur water? how could i resist? i brought my bathing suit so that i could swim around in this alleged miracle sulfur water. i don’t know if it changed my skin at all, but it was so relaxing. i had to slide in because it was literally a crevasse in the hardened asphalt where a pool of water had collected. and, there were air bubbles of natural gas from inside the earth rising to the surface. the water definitely smelled like sulfur (like rotten eggs) but it wasn't too bad. it was somehow really relaxing.
after my swim, we headed back to the bus. on the way back to st. augustine, we stopped in a mostly indian community for something to eat. i had already eaten my tuna sub so, i wasn't hungry. kenwyn was looking for roti (it's kind of like a burrito.. but with curry and veggies/meat inside). during his search, kenwyn was nice enough to buy us all some little treats to taste. i can't remember the names of any of them... just that they were delicious. kenwyn has figured out that i love sugar. lol.
i fell asleep on the bus ride back to st. augustine, but not before we passed by a funeral. as a matter of fact, it seemed like a lot of funerals. and there were stacks of wood on fire... i think cremations were taking place. it was kind of beautiful. the dead, surrounded by their friends and families, being burned and the smoke rising into the air... back into the world.
when i got off the bus, kenwyn told me he wanted to meet up with me later so he could get some help for his blog. i said "okay" and went to my room for a sweet nap. a few hours later, kenwyn came by and i went with him to his office to help him with his own blog. i just showed him a few things.... how to change backgrounds and settings. and, he told me that my blog was really good, which made me feel AWESOME. especially, considering the ridiculous blown up drama from the day before. he even told me that i reminded him of v.s. naipaul, a really world renowned trini author! i was like.. WOAH, because i have read some of naipaul's stuff before. he has a nobel peace prize in literature. and, he told me that naipaul, who many people don't like because he's so blunt (lol.), would go on these trips and take detailed notes... not thinking about it really...and years later ended up using them to write travel books and novels. i hope that's me some day.
after a while, kenwyn, yakira, and me headed back to the dorm to pick up everyone else for lavergne's church play. i really liked being in the car with kenwyn and yakira because they remind me so much of being around victor and ashley... or marquez and tashia. i just enjoy the vibes couples in love give off. that silly.. comfortable.. lovey.. joy that two people in love radiate into the air. since i couldn't be around my love, i just tried to soak up all of their vibes.
the church play was amazing. it was the best church play i've ever been to. my church back home needs to step their game up! the costumes, dancing, singing, set design, playwriting... nothing was skimmed over. our social coordinator lavergne and her husband and sister were in the play. constance, lavergne's sister, is so nice. she's not quiet.. but she isn't loud either. she's the choir director and had a solo during the church play though. I COULD NOT BELIEVE HER VOICE. she had some celine dion pipes. i mean, she can really sing.
the church play was about a mother who used to be on drugs but had found god. she had two sons... one who was really bad, who sold drugs and robbed and was an all-around thug... and one who was good, smart, but attracted to that thug lifestyle like all young teen boys are. the mother had cut off the bad son and he had cut her off too. they were "dead" to each other. there were two stories going on simultaneously really (which is why the play was so good). there was the story of the mother and her sons and then a story about the church. old, gossiping women in the church were against the youth choir. the pastor brought in a new former drug addict to do some work around the church and have a job/place to sleep. and the two stories were woven together. in the end, all of the main characters end up in the church. a guy that the bad son tried to kill comes to the church and accidentally shoots the good son in the scuffle. he dies but is revived by god. i have forgotten which story in the bible it's supposed to mimic (i cannot remember for the life of me) , but it was really good. i enjoyed it.
what i found most interesting though was the fact that i was IN A CHURCH IN TRINIDAD/TOBAGO. i think that from now on, wherever i go, i'm going to make it a habit of going to a church there (and i'm really glad i went to church in south africa) because you learn about the country through the church. it astonished me how similar it was to church back home. i don't know many church songs, but they did many of my favorites. there was a steel pan in the church band and they did do some songs with recognizable island flavor, which i really enjoyed, but not many.
as unique as trinidad/tobago culture is... in that church, i saw such a reflection of america that it astonished me. it made me miss my church family too. i especially missed my aunt robin. the church play was just their dress rehearsal.. so, there weren't many people there watching but our group. but... nobody clapped... nobody sang... nobody shouted... nobody did anything but watched. some people closed their eyes and caught a few minutes of a nap. but, i really wanted to stand up and move to the music at least. i at least wanted to hear my grandma's (r.i.p.) voice shout "tell me about it" like she always used to do if the pastor said something she liked. the environment just didn't feel right.. it was missing those real "church folk." so, i just swayed from side to side in my chair and mouthed a few words. i wish my aunt robin was there... i can always depend on her to get crunk for god. lol.
after the play, lavergne gave us to-go bowls of food constance had made. i just saved mine for later. the plan for the next day was to go to port of spain to go shopping. but it didn't really seem like anyone wanted to go. i didn't really want to go either.. cause i mean... why would a broke person go shopping? lol. i know i can't buy anything. so, everyone decided to just not go. on the ride back to campus though, yakira was describing port-of-spain and talking about how when you visit somewhere, you should always visit the capital. i immediately regretted the decision not to go! it was too late though. i got back to campus and crashed in the bed.
about me: i love adventures and not knowing where i am. i like the feeling i get when i'm lost. and, i want to travel around the world and see everything and meet everyone. about this blog: this is just a travel blog.. so my friends and family can keep up with what i'm doing and where i am.
