Of Walks and Breads...

So I've gone on a few walks over the past few days. Actually, I make it a point to go on a long walk every day if possible, even if it's too hot (like yesterday). I've been trying to identify a smell that I associate with Trinidad. I know that in Jacksonville, I associated the coffee factory smell, or the smell of burnt coffee from the Maxwell factory or the smell of stale river. Here there is often a baked, curry smell, but I need to contemplate more on this...

Sounds are easy -- lots of honking, soca music blasting from cars, roosters crowing, steel pan chimes (from the man who plays for money in front of Hi Lo most days)...

I wanted to show off a few pics from along a walk yesterday.

Here is the university, I believe this is the main admin building.


This was taken from the car park (parking lot) of the university bookstore. I just liked the backdrop with the cool-looking clouds and coconut trees in a row.


This is my most visited building, oh Hi Lo, wondrous provider of food. I expect it to be a madhouse in coming days because of Carnival.


Today I walked in a different direction (without the camera). Kids were just getting out of school and a lot of them had sparkles and paint on their faces, having clearly had a Carnival party at school. I ran into Elspeth again and we had a brief meeting before she had to pick up her nephew from school and we went to the bakery. I got a delicious half-loaf of coconut bread. It's sort of similar to banana bread in taste.

A short haiku et al

The sun burns so hot.

A trip to HiLo beckons.

Maybe food can wait.


Seriously, why do I feel so lazy today? I did say that I wanted to try something new every day. Well, I haven't been quite as good as I'd like about expanding horizons this week. I am already falling into patterns. Well, I doubt I'll do too much exploration until after Carnival. The whole island shuts down for a few days next week to partay, so yeah. Things won't be back to "normal" until about Thursday of next week, I think!

Weirdness

Mmm...one of life's pleasures -- salt and vinegar crisps.

Last night was weird. I slept badly. The fan blowing on me kept giving the impression that someone was shaking my shoulder. The phone rang at about 3 a.m., which totally disoriented and freaked me out, but it was an unknown number, so it wasn't anyone I know. And whoever it was didn't leave a message. So probably a wrong number. But it disturbed my sleep the rest of the night. I kept dreaming about cats stalking my little Stardust.

This morning early at like 7 a.m. there was a woman somewhere nearby screaming at her husband/boyfriend in hysterical anger. I don't know what the problem was exactly, but I heard the f-word and the word "womanizer" a few times, so I guess I do know what the problem was.

So I started with sort of edgy energy, and it makes me want to change my writing schedule a bit. I'm still working on my schedule, as far as when the best time is to be on the internet verses writing verses walking verses running errands verses other things.

Kiddie Carnival!

Hi, all!

It's a peaceful Sunday morning here in the tropics, and all week the high is supposed to be about 87 F. I have little Stardust on my shoulder, and I'm still excited that I have internet at home. The electricity went off for just long enough for me to utter a curse, and then it came right back on. Yay!

So...yesterday was an exciting adventure. I went with H. (Girlblue) to Port of Spain. First we stopped at a sushi place and had their buffet. This is what was on my plate.


And of course we went for several trips until we were stuffed. Next we thought we'd go up toward the Queen's Savannah Park to see if the Kiddie Carnival was happening today. H. wasn't sure, but thought it might be, and we struck gold! Sure enough, we got there in time to see some of the most elaborate and beautiful costumes I've EVER seen in my life.

Check these costumes out:















All I can say is that I can't even imagine how people drink rum and keep dancing during the actual Carnival because all we could do is keep drinking water because it was so hot out there and we weren't even out there for that long! :D

Anyway, we also tried some vendor food, and let me see if I can get this right. There were these little dough balls (savory, not sweet) with chutney sauce on them that start with a P. Ah, wait. I shall look it up in the new book that H. got for me just afterwards -- Cote ci Cote la, a Trinidad and Tobago dictionary. :-)) Phoulorie balls, that's what they're called. :-) Anyway, we had those, AND I got a snowcone that had the usual syrup sprayed on ice, but also had condensed milk, which made it very rich and sweet. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but I did. But I couldn't finish it, it was too rich.

On the way out, we saw a lot of steel pans being set up. We stopped and got a bit of an education.



They look a bit like garbage cans, and these, as I recall, are tenor-bass pan.

The ones in the following pic that the young men are playing are tenor pan. Notice how much smaller they are:



After that, we went on a quest to find a purple t-shirt for H's daughter. That quest was unsuccessful, but we did go to the bookstore, where that famous dictionary was gotten and I also got a book on Trinidad and Tobago folklore, which believe me is going to be very useful in my researching for my book. Anyway, we soon headed home after that, and I can say that it was a really fun and fulfilling day!

I have internet!

oh happy day happy day, Flow came today. We now have internet and television (er...or we would have television when the television that we bought yesterday arrives by delivery today at some point...in theory). This means that I am getting nothing done on my writing list for today because I'm too busy reveling in the internet and starting to go through the mountain of emails that I need to get to answering.

Tomorrow I'm going with Trinigirlblue and her daughter to Port of Spain for sushi and to walk around.

Yesterday Elspeth and I ran around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get this application turned in so that we can be a part of a writing workshop here.
It turns out that we have to be evaluated and accepted to "get in" so I'm crossing my fingers. It really sounds like a good course. We stopped and got food at a Caribbean restaurant in a mall. I had callalloo, which is sort of like spinich and coconut and other spices mixed. I liked it, but it's not my favorite thing to eat, I think. Anyway, between riding in the heat in the car and walking around a bit yesterday and going to the mall in a cab in heavy heavy traffic to buy this television and all and spending WAY too much time there, I was completely wiped out by 8 last night and couldn't even hold my eyes open to read.

AND we have a new baby...



Welcome Stardust, so named because of the dots all over that look like a galaxy! She's only a few months old, so just a baby. She's very tame and sweet. Her favorite activity? Chewing on books...

A quest...

Today I have a quest. My quest, should I choose to accept it, is to buy a lamp. The part of this quest is to take a maxitaxi for the first time. Elspeth talked me through what I do so I don't look like a fool. So my plan for now is to hang out with my one hour of internet time, get a snack (probably a roti), and then go to Tunapuna by foot (not far at all from here) and get a lamp and come to think of it, a cutting board.

I ran into Elspeth on my walk here. What amuses me in a warm, fuzzy way is that we ran into each other quite accidentally and she said she somehow knew we were going to run into each other. Also, while I was talking to her outside the bank, she saw her mom, sister, and dad at separate times. To go along with that, I'm starting to recognize familiar faces and people as I walk around.

The evenings can be strange. We don't have a television or cable yet, nor do we have internet. All this is coming by Friday, yay. So after dinner, everything is so quiet. In some ways, it's nice. I've always maintained that I'd be perfectly happy living without a television. But in other ways, it makes me a little melancholy and I start thinking about my birds (with them, it was NEVER silent) and my friends back home, etc. I think once things will feel more "homey" with the television going and me on the internet all evening, that evening melancholy will fade.

It rained this morning on my walk, and as I was coming home, it had gotten light and the rain had faded, and there was this ethereal mist over the mountains behind us over the forest.

whee, hello

Sorry for my silence. It's really hard not having internet at home. I'm really twitching for it and then when I come here to the cafe, I only have limited time.

I'm trying to do my hunting and gathering for the day before the heat of the day, but not so much. It seems warmer today than yesterday.

I've finally gotten my writing schedule underway. Because I make myself get up EARLY (five:thirtyish) to get to the university and walk before it gets too hot, I am home and sitting with my coffee by seven. That gives me a lot of time to get in some good writing before anything else has to happen. So I got a lot done today and I'm proud. I made myself push through things that normally would make me balk or distract myself with other things. But no fooling around, yes? My biggest fantasy forever has been to live on a tropical island and get to write. Well, guess what. I'm here. And it's now.

I made a really good curry last night. I don't think I'll ever get tired of how potent and delicious the spices here make things.

Also, I just want to say that from now on, if you comment and I can answer, I'll do so by writing another comment under yours...:-) I like the give and take of conversation here , and I WILL get caught up on that when I have my own internet access at home.

Rain

Yesterday it rained hard a few times. Okay, so it's supposed to be the dry season, and the rainfalls were brief. But I loved the sound of the rain just pounding on our roof for those few minutes.


Yesterday I walked a LOT. My legs throbbed from it, but this is good since when I"m at home, I'm often just at the computer not moving at all. The road that goes up to where I live is on a slight incline and I'm really feeling that in my legs now.

I'm debating whether to take up running again. Part of me says naww...I really don't need to, between the running up and down our huge staircase here at home and all the walking I'm doing, I should be getting plenty of exercise. The other part of me thinks that it would allow me to eat all this new and exciting food without worrying about it. Then again, the fruit and vegetables are so good here that I find myself eating a lot of healthy stuff anyway.

Yesterday I found the big market, a huge spread of fruits and veggies, much like the farmer's market back home. For you Jacksonville peeps, pretty similar to that farmer's market near to downtown, er, I forgot the street name even though I used to drive it every other day or so to go to one of my daycare centers...Actually Elspeth had suggested I try it since it's cheaper than HiLo (our local grocery store that is thankfully a five minute walk from my house). So I got mini bananas, cucumbers, a few other items. That will be a near daily thing for me, I think. In general, the food just tastes so much better here. The spices are more potent, the veggies and fruits taste real, things are overly sweetened or chemicaled (unless you get processed food).

Ack, I'm without regular internet again. Six more days until Flow comes to fix me up with cable internet.

Mount St. Benedict

Today was ying and yang, good and bad. On the bad side, I think I have to let go of bringing Tico here. It's FAR too complicated and expensive and stressful and ultimately I just have to know when to give it up. I can't think too much on it right now.

On the good side, I got to meet the lovely Elspeth! She picked me up, and we drove up to Mount St. Benedict's: (note: I didn't take this picture; I was too stupid to remember my camera)




We ate a snack, sat in a quiet courtyard that was cool and breezy, and then explored the nearby guest house: (again NOT my picture):




I could have sat here for hours. This was such a beautiful spot, with so many different shades of green, exotic birds (a perfect spot for birding), and a nice breeze. Luckily this area is quite near where I live, so I think I'll be back!


They make yogurt up here, and I just have to say that the strawberry yogurt is the best yogurt I've ever tasted, thick and creamy and flavorful without being too sweet.

Mmmm...roti!

Anyone here in Trinidad know what kind of bird that is? I think it makes cat-calling sounds and has a beautifully yellow belly.

Okay, so I finally tried my first roti today. Heaven on food earth for me! Roti, in case you have forgotten: chicken and potato and chick pea and curry covered in a tortilla-like bread (only thicker and doughier)) Okay, here's a puzzle...if rotis are supposed to be one half of doubles (two rotis together, yes?) then who in the world can eat a double at one sitting? I could only eat half of my roti, and I was hungry!

So...yesterday we almost opened our bank account. Now you Trinis who are reading this can laugh at me for this, but we encountered our first cultural misunderstanding in a most unexpected manner: We needed to go open a bank account since M is going to be paid at the end of the month. So when we went in, we asked to open a checking account. After all, that's sort of the "generic" account that one would open in the US upon settling in a new city, yes? Well, as soon as we asked, the bank lady looked very puzzled, nearly suspicious, and asked, "Why do you want to open a checking account?" M and I just looked at each other. Then she seemed to realize that we were dumb foreigners and said in a very apologetic way, "We don't open checking accounts until you have a savings account for six months." Ah! The dumb foreigners (that would be us) nod. Also, apparently very few places accept checks, if any, so the savings account sort of acts like a checking account would in the US -- comes with a debit "check" card and everything, so it's really not necessary to have a checking account. So then after giving her two i.d.s each and a letter from the University telling them that M is employed there, they still needed a utility bill or something with our addy on it. Of course we don't have one yet, having just moved. And that was one unbending rule. Apparently there is so much attempted money laundering there that they have to have every single thing in place to open an account. M has to get a note from the housing office saying that we are in fact living there.

I am feeling a lot more settled in than before, finally. I just need to get my writing schedule underway and be very strict about it. After all, that's why I'm here, without a job of my own, to finish this novel!

ack, internetzzz gone!

My lovely readers... I can no longer log into the wireless that I was snagging before, and it will take about a week or maybe more to get a phone line so that I can have my high speed internet at home, so I am in an internet cafe right now. I plan to come daily, but if I am not as wordy as usual, that is why!

To Girlblue: I'm not sure if that was an aloo (the potato pie) I will have to look carefully next time at the label. I am very eager to see the Carnival itinerary!

To S: Still hitting brick walls with darling Tico. Apparently the electricity thing is somewhat regular, but it's only happened once so far! I hope it doesn't happen at night before I'm able to store up some candles! :D

Today...

ugh, well, hitting more and more brick walls with getting darling Tico here. My last real hope is using one of these pet relocations but nobody is contacting me back. I was actually really looking forward to Amy being able to come, even if it was just for a very short visit (already was thinking of all the places we could go that I haven't explored yet) and I had bought some cheap Trini rum. The real problem is that the international flights from the US airlines (Delta, Continental, American) come in after customs for live animals already closes. Anything earlier (American Airlines cargo is the only one) can't come in because of temperature restrictions (can't be 85 or above for cargo of live animals). Ironically, the import permit has been going smoothly.

So, cross your fingers and toes for me...I'll need all the birdie luck I can get!

In other news, it is hot here. Is that a shock? :-) I'm reading about snowstorms in the northeast of the US and it seems like a totally different world to me. Not that we ever got snow in Florida -- but there were definitely cold nights in the winter. Not so here.

Food I've tried: I LOVE the potato pastries. I know this is not a particularly Trini food; they have these all over Europe, I know, but I will never grow tired of delicate pastry that wraps spicy potato inside. I'm drooling thinking about it! Fresh mango? Niiiice...In general the fruit tastes tastier here.

Coconut/pineapple Fruta juice is a big thumbs up. Very refreshing without being overly sweet. I notice that in the ingredients that local foods do not seem to cram everything with fructose corn syrup. If it calls for sugar, then it uses sugar. Not that sugar is so great for you if you eat too much of it, but it's better than eating the fake sugar.

AND I started writing last night for the first time since the chaos of just before the move. Go me!

I will try to take some fresh pictures soon. I keep forgetting to take my camera when I leave the house...

No electricity most of today, that means no air conditioning or fans!

Big news of the day (yesterday): I got a phone! Actually both M and I got cell phones because they were half price. SO basically it was like getting two for the price of one. Annnnnd…we can take pictures with them! Ah, technology…We took an adventure to the Trinicity Mall because there were things we needed. So we took a taxi (As long as you don’t look at the road, you won’t be scared gray). How deftly the taxi driver wove on teeny-narrow roads avoiding other cars and pedestrians with fine precision! (*is in awe*). Anyway, the mall is like almost any in the US, although with mostly different stores, with some exceptions like Radio Shack and Payless Shoes. Also, KFC is king here. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve seen more Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants than anything else here. Interestingly enough, no McDonalds…lol! Other American chain restaurants that seem to be plentiful here are Subway and Popeye’s Chicken. Anyway, we avoided that altogether in the food court and found a roti shop at last!

Let me explain roti to the uninitiated. It is a combination of curried chick peas, potatoes and veggies in a pita-like doughy bread. That being said, I didn’t even get one at the roti shop. We got curried chicken and potatoes with curry gravy and rice and some really spicy sauces to put on it. M was not fond of his (too spicy for him) but I loved it and the very doughy naan bread that came with it.

I’m trying very hard to develop an ear for the accents here. They are very musical and very difficult to understand. If I really focus, I can hear individual words and get meaning in context. For example, on the way home, at a red light, the taxi driver said something to us. This is what I heard: “blah blah blah open blah blah.” We nodded and smiled, and he grew more animated and then reached back and opened the window and this time I heard something about “blah blah open blah breeze blah blah.” So of course we figured out that without air conditioning in the car, that opening the window might give us a nice breeze. Thank goodness it wasn’t: “Open the door and get out because something’ s on fire!”

We also bought a coffee maker. Oh boy, we had taken that little piece of technology for granted. For the last two days we have been forced to put filters over individual cups and pour hot water gradually into them. After an excruciatingly long time, our coffee would be ready. However, it’s rare that we only want just one cup and so the excruciating process would begin anew. So now we have a wonderful Mr. Coffee and all is well in the world.

Also purchased were two large fans. Things not yet dealt with? A phone line, television. Those things will follow eventually. Also don’t have a bunch of kitchen stuff, although we still managed to make a mean curry this evening.

So Amy is possibly going to come next weekend, almost for sure, bearing our darling Tico Goldenwings. (Khalil, for those of you who might not know, has been fostered with a new family with lots of other cockatiels and he seems to be doing well.) Anyway, I’m a little stressed since I still have to get the import permit. I just hope it goes smoothly. Amy will only be here one full day. Hopefully we can get to Maracas (sp.?) Beach, which is supposed to be stunning in beauty and try the Bake and Shark there that is world famous. Right now just need to be able to get through tomorrow which will involve trying to find a place that will fax for me and talking to the import permit guy again...

Here

Okay, I'm here in Trinidad! We arrived late late last night and after a minor delay at immigration during which time the immigration officer entertained us at length about steel pan. The above picture is where we are living for now -- I guess this is transitional housing via the university. Okay, it's really warm here (hello, the tropics!) and the air conditioning really only works in the upstairs rooms and even there not so much in the master bedroom! It works really well in one of the smaller bedrooms so will be sleeping there tonight.

Today I tried a fish patty and vita malt, as far as local fare. I really wanted to try a roti but I couldn't seem to find it yet. Vita malt is difficult to describe but I suspect it's something for people with really weird food tastes like me. It has a malty flavor, sort of gingery. I wasn't sure if I liked it or not at first, but I think I do now.

It gets light early in the morning here. It was just after six this morning and the birds were chirping (and they were birds I'd never heard before) and the sunlight was bright.

I have very fluky internet service right now because I'm borrowing a wireless from somewhere nearby and don't have my own yet.

Hello, everyone! (ack, I'm sorry Elspeth is without internet indefinitely...hopefully she'll be back soon!)

Getting Closer...

Below you will see the two devil-spawn birds that have been the bane of my existence during this whole preparation for the move. Just look at them looking oh-so-innocent. In reality, they are plotting various ways to drive me insane...



And here is one very lonely room. Not that this room was ever really used for much, but now it is all suitcases and boxes.


One thing that is going to feel strange about this blog is that a lot of different people from different aspects of my life could be reading this. Some of my former coworkers, some friends from various stages of life, some online writers, some family, etc. So I don't know about you all, but I know that I tend to adapt a bit to whoever I am talking to/interacting with. This is going to be a bit strange because I'm not really going to be thinking so much about speaking to a particular audience. I think maybe that it will ultimately make my voice more genuine...we shall see!

Less than a week....

In less than a week, we will be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, heading for the island of Trinidad to live for three years, maybe even more. My husband will be teaching at the University of West Indies. So my profile is technically inaccurate in that it says I'm already there, but I am just making sure I know how to set this up and get it started before I arrive.

Today was my last day at work (*waves to Brightstart! crowd*), and never have I worked with a more fun, lovely group of people. I will miss them and the work that I did there.

We are still facing glitch after glitch in getting the birds to Trinidad. I am researching all kinds of options as far as pet shipping services, and hopefully something will pan out! My good friend Amy here in Jacksonville has offered to help as far as taking them to the airport at a later date and just knowing that is very nice.


Things I will miss about Jacksonville, FL:

1. My beautiful neighborhood by the river with its bohemian flavor and big trees dripping with Spanish moss
2. My good friends, especially Amy with whom I have spent many lovely evenings sipping wine, having dinner, and watching various movies, television shows, etc.
3. Restaurants (Casbah, Cool Moose, Sushi Cafe, to name a few)
4. My job and coworkers
5. Being in the same country as my friends and family.

Things I won't miss about Jacksonville, FL:

1. too big and spread out for me
2. absolute need for a car
3. weird upstairs neighbor
4. Messed up educational system
5. too conservative
6. expensive

Later!