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.
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