Take a hike

This week I was invited to go on a short hike with one of the other teachers at my school, Anthony, and his daughters.  Anthony has talked about this hike a couple of times and it really piqued my interest. 

It's a hike up in the hills north of an area called Diego Marten (here it's pronounced Dago Marten).  The hike has two paths, one for the old men and one for the real men, as Anthony has put it.  And the paths are continually watched by "Claws".  Claws is the guy who lives in these hills and maintains these little shrines along the paths and also does various carvings in the trees along the path.  Claws is named as such due to his extremely long fingernails.

We decided for an early Saturday morning hike and Nick and his girls also joined in on the fun.  the day was overcast and filled with sprinkles.  We met up around 9:30 and drove off the the entrance of the path.  Of course, not being men to back down from a challenge, we took the path for real men, which essentially was hiking up a river, climbing on rocks, occasionally the bank of the river, and often through the river.  The most challenging part of hiking up this river, which really was mostly rocks and some knee (sometimes waist) deep water was making sure the girls stayed dry and didn't freak out.  Fortunately, all 4 of these girls were very adventurous and didn't mind getting their shoes wet or slipping and stumbling here and there.

We began the trek and it quickly opened to this small clearing where all these painted, wooden statues stood.  I have no idea what they mean, if anything, but it was very cool to see these things in the middle of the rain forest, which can be a very tranquil place.  After taking a handful of pictures and looking for Claws, looking at us, we decided to venture on.  Unfortunately we did not get to see Claws, so we'll have to continue to imagine what he might look like.

Shortly after the little shrine, we came across this thin path, covered with wet leaves.  It was getting kind of slick, but what caught our attention more than the wet and slippery path was the many butterflies flying about.  There is one particular butterfly that always catches my eye.  I believe it is called the Blue Monarch.  On the top side of it's wings, it is almost an electric blue color.  On the bottom side is it's camouflage to protect it from it's predators.  We found one giant Blue Monarch attached to the side of a tree, obviously a little scared of us because it's wings were closed and all we saw was it's camouflage.  These wings had to be a little bigger than the palm of my hand.

After the photo op, we continued down the slick path to the first of many river crossings.  Here we climbed on wet rocks, covered with moss.  It was extremely slippery.  And blocking our path was the largest spider I've ever seen in the wild.  This thing had to be about 2-3 inches long.  Fortunately, the web was kind of high and we were able to duck under it.  However, it was low enough that if we didn't see it, it would have been

 right in one of the adult's faces.  It was a little creepy, but that's what you get in the wild.

Shortly after the spider, I had a slightly scarier moment.  We were crossing this relatively shallow part of the river and walking across rocks that were slightly bigger than our feet.  Sometime when crossing wet rocks you have to be quick, sometimes you have to take your time.  The trick is to know when to do what.  This time, I didn't choose properly.  I lost my balance, fell on my butt and into the water.  Now I can take bumps and scrapes - not a big deal.  But the scary thing was my camera was in my pocket.  Fortunately, it was in another pouch inside my pocket, which absorbed most of the water and it didn't get in or on the camera.  That would have sucked big time.  So the next time we had a challenging rock to cross, I tossed my camera to Nick and he took some pictures of me trying to get across the rocks/river. 

We continued down the river and finally came across our final destination.  There was this big waterfall pouring into this pond.  The water was a little dirtier than usual because the night before we had a lot of rain, so there was a lot of sediment in the pond.  But Anthony said that usually the water is a clear blue.  We stayed at the waterfall for a bit while behind us three Shouter Baptists were doing some kind of baptism or spiritual cleansing.  Contrary to what you might think, they were a very quiet trio.

After our stay at the waterfall, we took the old man path back to our cars, which took us barely a 1/4 of the time as the river route.  But it definitely would not have been as exciting or adventurous if we took that path up to the waterfall.  Then we went to the northern coast of the island, which was only a short 10 minute drive.  Here all you could see was the vast ocean.  Apparently there is a great path that it about 3 miles long and goes to Chagaramas, an area that we frequent quite a bit for other small hikes.  We didn't go along to trail because Nick and I were starting to run late for an Ultimate Frisbee game.  

For quite possibly the first time...

...in my life, I can say that I am proud to be an American.  Now don't get me wrong, I have always felt very privileged to be a US citizen, more so now than ever as I have started to travel to new countries and see how other people live and other governments govern.  But there is a quote from a song from one of my favorite bands, Endpoint, which probably most people reading this have never heard of before.  The quote goes "I love my country but I won't close my eyes."  And that is how I have felt for most of my life.  I'm not going to ignore the faults and injustices that I see every day.

The United States of America is a great nation, but it far, far from perfect.  But now, with the election of our new president, I, like millions of other US citizens, have hope that we can chip away at those imperfections.  That we can rebuild our reputation and status across the globe, that we can come together as a people, as a nation, and do what is right.

People don't like to believe it, but there is still a considerable amount of racism in the US, both on an individual level and on a systemic level.  Think about if you clutch your purse a little tighter when a black man passes you on the street.  Think about if your heart beats a little faster if you approach a group of black male youths when you are out alone.  Visit an inner city school and look at the conditions of the school vs. the conditions of a suburban school, or talk to the students and families and see if they truly get the same opportunities and are treated the same way as you are treated as a white person.  

I'm not necessarily that if you feel different in these situations if I replace the word "black" with "white" that you are a racist.  But I am saying that our society has not created this equal state that we are lead to believe it has.  There are things, images, ideas, that are so ingrained in our subconscious by our upbringing and current media, that we still do treat people differently based on the color of their skin, what religion they adhere to, or their family heritage.  However, this election is one step in the right direction to close that gap.

As I was typing this and trying to post it, still glowing in the election of president-elect Obama, I saw the results of a handful of propositions that were being voted on across the US, banning gay marriage and banning adoption of children by gay individuals and couples.  All of these propositions passed, thus restricting the rights of citizens of the United States who want equal rights to love and care for each other and for children in dire need of a home.  So while we have progressed to the point where we are not trying to intentionally discriminate against people with different color skin than our own, we as a nation still find it OK to publicly discriminate against gay people.

Well at least I was proud for about 20 minutes.

The Year of Reconciliation

Every year, the United Nations puts out themes to raise international awareness of those themes and to try to bring the different nations of the world a bit closer together.  One of this year's themes, and the theme that we used at the school was the Year of Reconciliation.  Our goal was to incorporate the theme into what we were doing in our different classes, celebrate the diversity of our student body, and come to a close with an international food festival.  

Unfortunately, I did not bring reconciliation into my classroom.  I wanted to come up with something a bit political and things to really make them think about their perceptions on things and take them out of their comfort zone.  But every topic that I could come up with seemed forced and I really try not to squeeze things into my class subject matter if it doesn't fit with what we are doing.  Authenticity and honesty with my students is pretty important to me and I think if I used some of the suggestions that I was given, they would see right through it and they would easily tell that I didn't buy into it.  And that is an issue as you are building and maintaining a culture in your classroom.  I know, I know, mathematicians and people have to reconcile bank accounts and what not all the time.  But I felt that was too obvious for my kids and again they would see right through it.  

But this is not the reason of this post.  The real reason is the ending celebration at the international food festival.  At first, I really didn't want to go.  It cost me $30 TT (which is only $5 USD) and I heard you only get little portions of food.  I also envisioned that there were just going to be these little booths like at a county fair or carnival or something and you just went up to them and tried something new.  I couldn't be further from the truth.

The food festival took up the entire gym.  The school parking lot was filled and cars were parked on both sides of the street all around the block near the school.  There was not much room to walk once you got inside and every country that was represented had their tables decorated with native fabrics, decorations, pictures, etc.  All the people working were wearing traditional clothing from their country and the vibe in there was electric.  You know how people always gather in the kitchen at parties and that's really where the party is at?  Well this kitchen was the size of a gymnasium, so it was a good party.  Lots of smiles on people faces, lots of full bellies, and if there were alcohol there, I don't think anyone would have left.

It actually was a really good thing that you only got little samples of things.  I ate so much in the 2 hours I was there, I thought I was going to burst.  I had food from Pakistan, India, Costa Rica, Panama (you have to try the Sopa de Amor if you're ever in Panama.  It's a dessert that may have won top prize in my informal dessert competition), El Salvador, Venezuela (the Tres Leches cake running neck and neck with the Sopa de Amor for dessert first place), Syria, Lebanon, Canada, Russia, China, West Africa, and of course Trinidad.  There were also some other places that didn't have vegetarian options and a couple that I found at the end of my tour of the world (the US, Indonesia, France), but there was just no room left in my tummy.  

So the theme was the year of reconciliation and at times I think some of these countries were at war in my stomach.  But after having some time to rest and think things over (a nice long nap), I think they all found peace.  If only it were that easy.  Get everyone together and share food and drink and see each other as people, not as images of ignorance, hate and anger.

I think the Hash I just tried could get addicting.

One of the other teachers told me about it when I first got here and I was a bit intrigued.  She mentioned it to me a couple times since then, but we were never able to get together for me to experience it.  So yesterday, Katie, Aaron and I decided to try the Hash with a few other people that we know from playing Ultimate Frisbee Thursday afternoons.

We were a bit apprehensive, but curious at the same time.  It sounded like kind of a crazy idea, maybe even a bit stupid, but intriguing at the same time.  The Hash wasn't in Port of Spain, so we had to travel to Toco to do it (Toco is at the NE corner of the island - about a 2 1/2 hour drive.)  There were supposed to be a lot of people there doing the Hash too - kind of a big party, but we were a little early, so we played in the ocean a bit.  About a half hour later, people started showing up, a guy gave some quick instructions, we handed over our keys (so no one would get lost or left behind while we were doing the Hash), and we were on our way.  Allow me to explain the Hash experience a bit more...

A Hash is something that I thought was created in Amsterdam, but after doing a quick check on Wikipedia, it appears that it was actually created in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.  In a nutshell, when you're doing a Hash, someone runs goes out and creates a path either in the woods, in a rain forest, in a city, or wherever.  They leave small markers along this path (which may or may not follow along an already created trail) and you try to find your way from the beginning point to the end.  The Hare (the person laying the trail) will also leave false markers along the way to confuse people, which you then have to double back and find the original trail again.

The Hash that I was on went into parts of the rain forest on the island; went up hill and down hills, through the mud, through and up a river, and over many a fallen branch or tree.  I was part of the front of the pack, trying to find & follow the trail, until we found a false trail.  At that point, I ended up getting stuck at the end as everyone turned around and went the other direction.  I then got stuck behind a girl who was sliding down every decline on her butt.  After a while I was able to get past her, but one other girl and I were kind of on our own for a bit because we fell so far behind the pack.  We eventually caught up with a few other people and we slowly started catching up with other people.  (Don't worry, people who helped lay out the course were picking up the rear, helping the people who were really struggling).

We found our way to the end, wet, muddy, sweaty, and with grins on our faces from ear to ear.  It was so much fun.  Afterwards, most people partake in a lot of drinking (a common Hasher phrase is that they are "drinkers with a running problem").  I enjoyed a carbonated apple juice.  These apparently happen every other week in different locations across Trinidad and I have a feeling I know what I'll be doing next Saturday afternoon.  For those who are interested, there are Hashers in pretty much every country - just look them up online and you'll probably find one nearby. 

Wait, what did you think when I said I was trying Hash down here???

Viewing TT football is a "contact" sport

After the crushing loss Trinidad received at the hands of the US a few weeks ago, the much anticipated re-match was at hand.  However, this was not just a rematch, this was kind of a clutch game for TT.  For TT to get back in the running for passing this first round of World Cup qualifiers, we had to beat the US and Guatemala had to lost to Cuba.  That won't seal it for TT to pass through, but makes it much more likely.  I could get into the why's and how's, but anyone who follows sports knows how confusing these different scenarios get, and I will spare us all of that.

The game began on a beautiful, clear evening with an enormous full moon over head.  The TT fans came out in much larger numbers for this game, in comparison to the Guatemala match last month.  We got there a little later than the last time, so we weren't in the midst of the really rowdy section.  This time we were in the equivalent of the "end zone" and across from the party section.  However the crowd in our section was still quite lively.

I won't go through the play by play, because quite honestly, I can't remember when the goals were scored.  I do know that we (we being TT - I was rooting for the underdog tonight) scored and shortly after, the US scored with at 3 on 1, the 1 being the goalie.  As expected, the crowd went wild, throwing beer in the air and down to the field, and the crowd was subsequently silenced.  Later in the 2nd half, there was a penalty by a US player near their own goal, which resulted in a penalty kick for TT.  We scored and were once again in the lead.  The minutes were ticking down and the crowd was going wild anticipating the win.  Over the loud speakers, the announcer announced that Guatemala lost to Cuba, thus nearly ensuring our advancement to the next round of qualifiers.  The Soca Warriors managed to hold off the US as the game ended and there was much celebration.

There is often talk about how crazy people get at football/soccer games outside of the US.  I kind of expected it here, even though we are a smaller country.  But everyone was in good spirits.  So there were no fights or anything of the sort.  I guess the most contact that we had was from the buzz that we all got from everyone smoking marijuana in the stands.  I swear, if there wasn't a slight breeze that night, there would have been a cloud hanging over the stadium.

The Quest To Save Some Turtles - Part III: The Return

After the turtles and another walk down the beach, we went back to the guest house, had some food (turtle soup anyone? - just kidding), and chatted about what to do the next day.  There was a waterfall that we heard was near by and was supposed to have some fresh water pools that we could swim in and all were in agreement that that was what we should do.  Unfortunately, it's about a 4-hour hike and you need to start at 6 AM if you want to do it, so you can beat the heat.  We found out these minor details around 8 AM, before we even started eating breakfast.  So that was out of the picture.  Plus it was supposed to be really crowded as this was all happening over the holiday weekend.  It was suggested by the folks at the guest house that we try it again another weekend and we all agreed to do such.

Instead, they suggested that we go to a slow flowing river nearby and wade in that for an hour or two.  Not really wanting to go back home already and having our minds set on a refreshing swim on a hot day, we all agreed.  The lady running the guest house said it was only a 10-minute walk from where we were staying.  After about 30 minutes of hiking through some rather thick brush and wooded areas, being led by a guy with a machete, we came across an opening and a beautifully tranquil river.

The water was cool and refreshing and perfect after our hike.  We spent a couple of hours here, just relaxing and talking and letting the little girls explore a bit.  The rest of the trip back to the guest house and to Port of Spain was pretty uneventful.  But there was definitely a bond that was created amongst all of us as we went through this journey.  These are some good people and I'm really glad that I'm getting the opportunity to get to know them.

The Quest To Save Some Turtles - Part II: The Rescue

After all the excitement, we all got back to the guesthouse in time to check in and catch the truck that was taking us to the beach.  This picture is looking down the coast of Matura Beach.  Where we ended up finding some hatchling turtles was behind me.

We all go to the beach and started walking along it, not really knowing what we were looking for.  The guides split up to use their "professional" eye to find some hatchlings.  The guide who was wandering with us, got a call on his walkie-talkie and said that the other guides found some lost hatchlings and they needed our help, stat!  Ok maybe he didn't say all of that, but he did find some and we were off to do our duty.  We hiked back down the beach and found this disgusting pool of water that was an outlet for water from the mountains near by.  But apparently there wasn't enough water in it to make it up and over some of the beach hills to get out to the ocean.

In this disgusting pond, we saw little turtle heads popping up and down.  The guides were trying to get the turtles with this long, fallen tree branch, but were not having much luck.  The little girls looked a little despaired by the situation, so Nick (now dubbed the "Hero Dad") climbed into the pond to start gathering up the little turtles and handing them to his daughters saying "girls, can you take this one for me so we can make sure he gets back to the ocean?"  "Yes papa," the girls would respond with joy and excitement.  This went on for a couple passes and fortunately for the Hero Dad, no appendages fell off as a result of wading through this pond and to date, no additional unwanted growths have been reported.

We gathered up the hatchling turtles in a small bucket and the guides began to tell us about the whole process of the mothers laying the eggs, predators of the hatchlings, where their food is stored, etc.  These things were so cute and they were just barely bigger than the size of your palm.

After our lesson on leatherback turtles, we took them to the beach by the ocean and set them on their way.  Apparently they need to feel and smell the sand, so they know where to come back in 20-30 years to lay their own eggs.  We had 22 in all.  I guess during the actual hatching season, you can find a couple hundred on a tour like ours.  But there go our 22 little friends.

I think we were told something like 1 in 500 of these hatchling turtles actually make it to adulthood (which is a staggering 1-1.5 meters in diameter), so chances are, our rescue will still end in death for all of them.  At least it was a cool experience.  And who knows, maybe one of these 22 little hatchlings will beat the odds and grow up to be president one day.