A Strange Morning

This morning started out like most mornings of my holiday break - waking up at 7 AM.  For some reason, I can't seem to sleep past this point in time.  Granted, while school is in session, I'm getting up every day between 5:00-5:30, so I guess in some respect, it is sleeping in.  But that is not the point of this story.

I had made plans with my friend Aaron to go find a new doubles stand that a colleague of ours claims are the best doubles in the country.  (Doubles are an incredible breakfast that are served only by street vendors and are rampant all over this country.  You usually can only get them in the morning hours and they are usually sold out by 9:30 or so.)  Anyway, Aaron had said that he would call when he got up and we would head out.  Knowing that he probably wasn't going to be up at 7 AM, I read a bit and actually fell back asleep a for a bit.

I woke again around around 8:00-ish and as I was laying in bed, I heard this really big truck drive by my apartment.  I live nearby a fairly main thoroughfare, so it's not uncommon to be awoken or to hear the traffic driving by.  But this was an usually loud truck.  

Then came this weird rumbling and my apartment started shaking a bit.  I thought there may have been an accident, but there weren't any noises of the truck hitting anything.  I ran to the windows and didn't see anything that looked like an accident.  So I thought, maybe there was an explosion.  I have no idea how the oil derricks in the ocean dig for oil and I'm very near the coast, so maybe that was it.  Or it could have been this building that is going up not too far from here (developers are taking out part of a mountain to put up these condos, so maybe they were doing some demo).  But I didn't hear any after effects or noises of the earth rolling down the mountain.

So after all this, I came to the conclusion that there was a small earthquake.  Now there was one in Indianapolis before I moved and thinking back to that, I think that's what this was.  I had no idea that earthquakes occurred down here (or in Indy for that matter), but apparently they do.  I got a call from Aaron and when he showed up, he confirmed that he felt it too (it sounded like a large truck to him also) and that they said something about it on the radio on his way over.  Now that we got that cleared up, we shrugged our shoulders in the manner of "Oh, I guess there's another thing about T&T that we didn't know about."

Ok, learning that there was no need to dwell, we moved on to our short trek to get some doubles.  The directions, which are quite common in Trinidad were as such:

"Go to Valsaynes (a town east of here) and turn left at the light by the drive in theater.  When you take a left, you're going to go up the road a bit and about 2 blocks before the stoplight, there will be a little lady with a doubles stand.  That's the one you want.  Now don't get confused with the orange pedestrian crossing lights, you want the actual stop and go lights."

Directions are given strictly by landmarks and visual clues and never by street names.  This is probably because only half the streets are labeled with street signs.  For a while, this was very confusing, because I didn't know where anything was, but now that I have a number of places committed to memory, I'm getting better at following the directions.  And surprisingly, we found this lady quite easily.

As for her doubles, I wasn't that impressed.  Aaron and I decided to do a taste test and got one doubles (always stated in the plural because you get two pieces of barra or the baked dough/bread that they put the channa or chick peas on) from the lady we were seeking out and one from a nearby competitor.  We both decided we liked the competitor a little better, but the jury is out because Aaron got the bags mixed up when we purchased them, so we aren't really sure which was which.  Either way, I still think I had better doubles at other stands, but these were still pretty good.

Now we were on our way back home - this stand we went to was about 30 minutes away.  And as we were driving down the highway (Aaron driving and me as the passenger) he blurts out "Pig".  I thought there was a cop, but the police in Trinidad don't really do much.  As I looked around, there was a huge pot-belly pig walking down the side of the highway.  Stray dogs are a frequent sight.  You might even catch some roosters and chickens here and there.  But pigs are a rarity.  Especially strays just wandering down the highway.

I can say that the rest of the day was relatively normal and lazy.  But it's not everyday that you have an earthquake, drive an hour round trip for street vendor food, and see farm animals wandering along a highway.  But that's Trinidad for you...once you think you've got it figured out, they throw something like this at you.

Darkness and Christmas

I've heard stories about the northern parts of Alaska, Canada, the U.K., where there are periods of the year when it is dark for 20+ hours a day (or something like that) and other parts of the year when it is light out for 20+ hours a day.  Apparently this can effect people adversely.  People go into long hibernating sleeps when it's continually dark and have intense bouts of insomnia when it is light out.  It's hard to get a bearing on what time of day it is when the days do not change to night or the nights do not change into days.

That's kind of how it is right now for me here in Trinidad.  I have absolutely no concept that it is almost Christmas.  Don't get me wrong, I still see advertisements on TV about the coming holiday.  The Trini's do Christmas big down here and there are decorations out.  But not having any change in the temperature has made this kind of a non-event for me. 

I know that in the states, everyone would say that I am completely nuts to say that being in the caribbean for Christmas doesn't enhance the holiday, but it's true.  I miss sitting in my house, watching the snow, illuminated by the street lights.  I miss being in a house that is dark, but only lit by the Christmas lights and maybe a fire in the fireplace.  I am anxiously awaiting the time when I can be bundled up in a sweater, and not because the AC is on at a ridiculous temperature.  The crunch of fresh snow under your feet...the feel of cold air in your nose and lungs...the joy of being in bed, bundled up under the covers...

All of these are things that we take for granted when we are immersed in them while rushing off to work or trying to get the windows of your car scrapped off or battling the drafts in our houses.  (I blame being born in a blizzard for my love of the cold and snow.)  

But this is also one of the things that I love best about traveling - that you stop taking things for granted and start appreciating what you have and what you are experiencing.  So while I still don't know if I'll truly be able to get into the Christmas spirit, I will be sure to enjoy the warm weather, the beaches, and everything else not cold.  I'll enjoy it enough for those back home cursing the cold.

Local Assistance

Normally I don't really believe in hiring people to do things that you can do yourself.  For instance, you can get a relatively cheap cleaning lady here (and many places abroad) to do your house/flat once a week or you could hire one to come every day and she will clean and cook your meals for you too.  While that would be nice, and as people say, help the local economy, it just feels a bit to bourgeois to me.  Instead I will live in filth until I find it too unbearable to handle and will then go on a two day cleaning and straightening spree (it takes me two days because I just can't clean for more than a couple hours at one time).

But recently it got to the point where I needed to call in the reinforcements.  I have a small strip in front of my house of various plants that were completely overwrought with weeds.  There was actually one weed that nearly reached the overhang above it (approximately 7 feet up).  I knew I was in deep when some pest control people came to spray for ants and they said that I should probably clean it up a bit.  I asked what was a weed, I've never been really good at identifying weeds in my native land let alone a foreign place, and they basically pointed to everything except 2-3 plants.  I kind of knew it was bad, but was just trying to play dumb foreigner.  Now that it was specifically pointed out to me, I realized that I had to do something about it.

There were a number of prickly weeds in there too that they told me to watch out for, so I figured that I would have to get some gloves.  Well, that would take at least a week of me procrastinating before I would be able to get gloves, regardless if there is actually a home improvement center a mere 5 minutes away.

I was finally getting to the point where I starting to get uncomfortable about the amount weeds when a little, old Trini man came to my door and said, "Jou need a bit of cleaning up wit d weeds here?  I work in d complex an can do it for you."  I'm trying to write phonetically so you might pick up a bit on the accent.  I said, "Umm, yeah I guess I do need to get on this.  How much would you charge?"  He said $40 (which when you convert to US, is about a little less than $7).  Being a bit of a miser about these types of things (as previously mentioned) I had to think about it for a second or two.  After thinking about weeding in approximately 90 degree temperatures, I decided that it would be $7 well spent.

In all honesty, even though I can't prove it, I think my neighbor probably said something to him to ask me because that guy is out there all the time cleaning and sweeping  his parking space, washing his car, tending to his little patch of plants, etc.  I guess when you pay as much as these folks are for the apartments, they want them to look nice.  Even though he has a tree that is planted in a cardboard box, which I never said anything about, I'll accept that my space was getting a bit out of hand.

Anyway, the little Trini gardener said that he couldn't do it that day, but would be back next time he saw my car in it's spot.  I week passed and I still didn't see the little guy.  Fortunately I didn't pay him ahead of time and I was about to actually go and buy gloves yesterday (the first day of my Christmas break) and I saw him coming into the parking lot.  I asked if he was going to be able to do my space and he said that he would do it on Sunday.  Whew!  I almost thought I was going to have to do some work there.

This morning I awoke to the pleasant hacking sounds of weeds whittled down to size by a cutlass (a machete of sorts) and the digging of pitchforks into the small swath of land I call a garden.  I feel good about helping out the local economy.  I feel even better that I didn't have to do this work in the heat.  But I feel best about being able to play up all the hard work I had to do to clean it up "from the prior tenants leaving it in such poor condition" when Angie comes down and impress her with my incredible gardening skills I inherited from my mother.  Now, if I could only prevent her from reading this for the next couple of weeks.

Busy, busy, busy

I think I can say with some fair amount of certainty, that I have never been as busy as I have since I moved down to Trinidad.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but I'm going to (hopefully) use it as a solid excuse as to why I haven't posted anything in the last month or so.  Of course, with the holidays, everyone's social calendar picks up a bit, but for me, this was a little silly.

Let's go back about 2 weeks ago, starting on Wednesday, December 3rd.  Normally Wednesday nights are "guys night" where all the guy friends who are down here who are married or living with girlfriends, ditch the girls and get together to play poker, insult each other, make bodily noises, and just do the crass things that guys do when they are together with a bunch of other guys.  This guys night was a bit different from the others because Mark, the guy who began the tradition and usually hosts, was not going to be able to make it.  To make a long story short, he asked his girlfriend to marry him.  Not something that one would typically do on a "guys night" but we all congratulated him nonetheless because Rebekah is an awesome girl.  So to celebrate, we all got messages to come meet them at this wine bar and have cocktails.

Then on Thursday, there is a standing Ultimate Frisbee game, which has become one of my new obsessions.  I love it!  It's kind of a cross between soccer and la crosse.  You try to get into an end zone to score, but you can't move once you catch the frisbee.  Lots of running and trying to get good field position.  But I'll go more into that some other time.  We (well they) tend to top off the game by sitting in the savannah where we play and drink beers.  I of course indulge in water.

Friday was our ISPS staff party.  Normally, employer sponsored staff parties are a little stiff.  But this was off the hook.  Everybody, and I mean everybody - myself included, were dancing and having a blast.  At times, it was a bit uncomfortable, as the local dance (called wining) is...ummm...basically rubbing and grinding on your partner, or whomever is nearby.  Definitely a bit of a culture shock, but when you see people of all shapes and sizes doing it, you see principals and counselors and teachers all doing it to each other, you realize that it is just a dance and that there is nothing implied by it.  An odd concept to get past, but it loosens everyone up because everyone's guards are let down, everyone is invading everyone's space, and you just have a good time.

Saturday rolls around and there is another game of Ultimate Frisbee planned, which is promptly followed by a going away/engagement/birthday party at my neighbors flat.  Going away for a student teacher at ISPS who is heading back to the states.  Engagement for Mark and Rebekah and birthday for me.

Sunday was kind of a lazy day until about 5:30 when I went over to Katie and Aaron's place and met up with Meredith (Ryan was ill) and had a mini barbecue and played a game of Monopoly for my actual birthday.

Monday I got the day off.

Tuesday was the high school staff party.  We went to this place called Sails, which is on a small wharf overlooking the ocean, some of the smaller islands, and as I've found every day in Trinidad, a beautiful sunset.

Wednesday, we were back to guys night.  This one was hosted by me and only went until about 11:00 or so.  But I couldn't fall asleep until about 12:30.  Which kind of sucks because I usually get up between 5:00-5:30 to start getting ready for school.

Thursday was supposed to be another game of Ultimate Frisbee, but I just couldn't go.  I tutored some kids after school and that took me up almost to the point where I had to leave for Ultimate.  Granted since I was constantly moving, I probably could have made it, but I was just too tired.  So I took a nap instead.  I felt bad for letting my fellow Ultimate players down, because sometimes it's hard to get enough people for a good game, but it just wasn't in me.

Then came Friday, which was our last day of school before break.  Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how you want to look at it), it was also the day that I had to go to Immigration to get my multiple entry/exit visa so I could leave the country without having to pay every time.  So I missed a day that would have been pretty low key and filled with parties and good times in my classroom, but I also got the day off of work.  And considering it only took the 4 of us who went 2 hours at the Immigration office, it pretty much was a full day off.

Saturday (yesterday) we had another Hash.  They come around every other week and I am really loving these things.  It's fun to run through the rain forests and rivers and mud and all of that.  It let's you act like a kid, but as an adult.  And it's good exercise too.  I was also invited to go to a party at the Marine's House, which is where all the Marines who guard the embassy live.  But I was kind of burnt from the week and decided not to go.

That brings us to today, which will be filled with a pool party at a friend's place followed by a spaghetti dinner at the parent's of a student's house.  They are also the ones who held the 'misfit' Thanksgiving for all the ex-pats who didn't have someplace to go to celebrate.

I think that takes care of most of my scheduled plans now until Angie gets here on Christmas.  I'm looking forward to just hanging out around the apartment and just relaxing and enjoying my time off.

So was all that a good excuse why I haven't posted in a while?