Trini to de bone - Life in "foreign"

the Great Metaphor IV

2010-04-21T14:31:00.001-04:00

I had to put some thought into choosing what to write about this time around... I don't particularly want to write about ultimate dejection like the first post, but then again that's life: you win and you lose, you put out the effort and get nothing back; another day everything goes perfectly. Then there are days when it's just such a tough time but you keep plodding on and you do get something out of it... when somebody actually notices you're laying it all out, proving yourself... when you can come out of it and look back and truly feel accomplished, whether it be a private satisfaction or if there be some public reward. I have to say though, there is nothing like a mix of the two.

I had arrived late, because of school, to join up with the team in Costa Rica. We had actually been afforded time ahead of the Olympic qualifying tournament to go and have a couple warm-up games. I arrived having had a fever the past 3 days. Fabulous. It seemed to go away though after traveling but I was of course run down. Made it through practices well enough. But I had to do it in the friendly game to earn my starting spot for the real thing.

The thing about any team, whether that team be a sport, your friends, or your family, you need to take a moment sometimes to see if what you're doing benefits the group, or your ego. For me that moment came in the friendly match during an injury stoppage. I knew I was doing good, but the moment we had to stop playing that long... talk about adrenalin draining away.... Ok so let me just quietly wonder away over here and throw up. It was a great moment hehehe. Truly once in a lifetime! I have no idea if anyone noticed, nobody ever said a word. But from there I knew I had it in me to push on and not let down the team. And the next game I started on the field, not on the bench, so I guess Coach noticed SOMEthing.....

the Great Metaphor III

2010-04-04T16:10:00.000-04:00

Sometimes there are things that show up in your life that prove to be huge obstacles, things you need to fight through, overcome... long term events that you wonder when will you get through it, when will things go back to "normal"; how do you even know? For me one such event was my knee surgery, rehab, and the annoying brace i wore afterward. Of course the whole thing started playing football..I lunge...knee goes to one side..there ya go, torn ACL.

Then comes the being brave, the going through the surgery, the starting the rehab with a severely atrophied leg, getting rid of the crutches, getting rid of the whole leg brace that kept my knee straight, going on to the one that was supposed to let me be fully functional. Although really... it was less of an issue of function - in fact it was sometimes an encumbrance - and more of an issue of psychological security to feel that I had some support, something keeping my knee together until I had recovered my strength. Thing is... you need to take it off to know if you have recovered your strength.

Summer comes around and I try to start playing again...but everything is SO tentative..so unsure. Its like you're out there having a good time and then it all goes wrong... then you're not sure how to go out and have a good time again. It all comes to a head one evening at camp, coaches scrimmage, co-ed of course. I'm chillin, wearing my brace, getting into the game, things going ok.

Here comes the pass to me... its short... this is going to be a 50/50 with one of the guys closing in fast. I am NOT going to stick my leg in there. So I lunge forward to fake as if I would challenge for it. Hopefully he does the same and misses, its rolls by and I get it. Noooo. He apparently read my intentions and comes sliding in as the ball gets to me. Sliding. In all honesty its a beautiful tackle. He gets the ball lodged against my shins and his momentum takes him past me. I'm now airborn as he slides under. I land on my feet and recover the ball, which managed to stay in front of me, and kept on playing.

"whooooaaaa! are you ok?!?!?"
"yea...I'm totally fine" (surprise in my voice)
"thats what you needed!"

Yep, sometimes you just need a good hit to figure out you'r ok.

the Great Metaphor II

2010-03-20T22:39:00.004-04:00

It hadn't been that much time, we were still getting to know each other...of course we had similar interests..football, foreigners, going all out for the team... but it was a somewhat closed environment...train, train, train, play, meals together, alot of free time tgether...and now it was supposed to click on the field... some people say we both wore our emotions on our sleeves, i don't know if that was a good thing or not...

Here we were on what would be one of many hot afternoons on the damn hot turf chasing so many overweighted passes. Dammit I wish I didn't have the speed and the expectations that were attached to it... and this game was our first..how many more useless runs... was this going to improve? Jeez... but we kept going, every one they played we chased it... I guess it was part of the relationship.

The ball played down the right...just inside the box, of course its running away fast on the turf... we better not play on alot of turf fields every week, i'l die... but i get to it before it goes out, the defender right on me... one touch, look up... next touch I play it across the six... here she comes! always making the runs, always supporting! my strike partner! right foot finish with the defender all over her...it was a great goal... lunging and getting it in under the goalie... our first goal... i rush across to hug her even as she is still on the ground... it was a majic moment we celebrated as if best of friends.

Yep sometimes relationships happen when you'r not looking.

Football, the Great Metaphor - part I

2010-02-22T20:41:00.005-05:00

Football has put me in and gotten me through so many random, unexpected, expected, planned, unplanned, exhilarating, depressing, awkward...you name it, situations since i was a child learning the game, growing up playing on the field up the street with only boys. It has been the real constant in my life, has taught me much, took me to high achievements, and brought me to my closest friends, and is now forming the path i walk on. I have often used football as analogy for life in general and have yet to find a situation that couldn't in some way be related to a game. I choose to share some of my own game clips here. Make of them what you may; as with anything else, we form unique interpretations based on our own experiences.

I check in to the ball...the pass comes...its heavy...defender coming in on my back. I step over it and let it run, spinning off my man. As I turn to get sight of the ball again, there is a second defender approaching. Damn it was so heavy, its running away fast...can I get there before she does? Slight hesitation maybe only in my mind... because I'm going full out for it now...I know I have the speed. I get to it one step early..poke it to one side, run around the other side of her. Third defender right behind, no choice but to use the same move...just to try and get into some space...but now i'm getting pushed away from goal... Ok so look up finally and two more defenders in the box, one shaping to close me, the other trying to stay with my strike partner. I take a push to goal...angle is tight...the adrenalin really pumping now, we'r down 1-0... make a decision! Maybe it was a matter of confidence, maybe just my style... I'v never been much of a goalscorer ...to this day i always look to put in the service.... But here's my forward bearing down on the center of the goal, great finisher... so I slide it across the box...only to have her completely plowed over, cleared out, cleaned up, by the defender... no penalty...Only then was I aware of the silence as I was taking on defenders... and then there was nothing... nothing but disbelief ... dejection...my efforts had yielded nothing but injury to my teammate, my friend... and we were left there, she bent over in pain on the verge of tears and i trying to comfort her as the ball was cleared in the opposite direction...

My Carnival Weekend

2010-02-17T13:39:00.002-05:00

Aright so ah hope everybody had a nice time in all de fetes, on de road, pan, etc.. fuh spite i eh read no papers to see if anybody dead or anyting so... but yuh kno news does reach back. One piece ah good news was a teacher and now good friend design monday mas for Silver Stars, pan winners, and had a ball wit it. She always up to try someting new =)

But i only studying while ppl palancin, i here bundle up half de time, and shovellin snow de odder half. An to make it worse, when ah tryin to see a lil ting on de internet, it stickin stickin. ONLY TO FINE OUT was fleckin C with a setta assness an dey "broadcast rights"!! When is C who should haul dey ass when dey make ppl pay an den tief ppl money cuz de stream wasn even wukkin. Dey ha to scramble to say well ahmm yuh could get a refund or watch a nex event. An wha happen when dat stick too? crapaud smoke yuh pipe.

So ah tryin to make a lil CD, if ah could fine enough songs ah like dat sound like soca and not dancehall...or dat not "on ah riddim". Pressha. It jes hit meh dat ppl on de beach all now... while i here wit meh space heater... but ah have one up: ah hear my CT crix cheaper dan Trinidad crix ... an lemmeh tell yuh, de Vital Supplies does come een REAL good in dis winter! ;-)

Til nex time...

What would you do...

2010-01-30T16:57:00.003-05:00

What would you do if everything around you collapsed
As if battered from a violent storm
Everything that was real to you, now no more
Only the foundations left struggling to hold together

What would you do if you saw a light,
Went towards it, pulled yourself from the gloom
Then realised the night still comes
And you have to fight the fears that come with the dark

What would you do if the music stopped
The song that always played in your head
Taking you through the day, making you smile
Is it possible to find it again? Would you want to?

What to do if you run out of energy
Draw on the strength of the foundation...
...the glow of the light
...remember the melody
Find some extra stores you have somewhere
And hope those don't run out before the end.

Dear Carnival Jumbies, ...

2010-01-21T00:58:00.003-05:00

Hello to everybody clicking thru from over by Saucy!

This blog is prob not what yuh expect, yeh i get lil sidetrack... But anyways, hope allyuh Carnival shaping up nice. I still stick up in de cold, missing yet another Monday and Tuesday. But my time will come!

So to all who go be home palancin this year, give thanks and stay safe!

Till nex time...

"I got more than I could ever ask for..." - One Year Later

2010-01-02T18:16:00.003-05:00

The last note read "maybe this calender will be a tradition"...maybe... oh the things we wanted to happen but never did...the so many things that we can still hope for that still have all the chance in the world...the things that can still become traditions...

It's been a crazy year. Big-sisterhood has been a challenge, treading new ground, figuring out how to handle new situations. Of course its gone both ways: there have been difficult times - school has certainly been a challenge, for both of us; guys, for both of us haha; and yes soccer, again for us both; there's been getting through family shit; and sticking with it when one of us was the problem. But its been rewarding just as well - learning more about each other, giving more, being patient, understanding better, having someone looking out for you, trusting more, finding theres someone who can always make you smile, the connection proven undeniable.

So many moments...from track meets to parking in reverse, from planning colleges to planning to head my wedding party, getting back on the field at last, switching roles between spectator and player (that was fun), Chips, comparing notes about PT, middle of the night txt messages, encouraging words, sharing our deepest thoughts and experiences, anonymous flowers, inappropriate convos haha, beach!, boys!, moments of incredible tension tempered by those of real affection, missing the exit on the highway, just chillin out talking, a hug...

I'v said before it was an unequal relationship. I know now why I said that and I now want to withdraw that statement and confirm that you dont need the same things on each side of the scale, as long as it balances then you'r good to go. To be more accurate, I should say as long as you'r aware of the balance and appreciate whats going into it then...
...then when things happen that would threaten to throw it off, like people smoking, people being overbearing about it, overprotective, like surgery, like prom drama, like people being bitchy, The Decision, like not seeing each other, like Aunty saying shit, or even like accusations of physical abuse when it was clearly a fish ...then when things happen you figure out what you need to do to restore the balance. I have to mention there were the times when I just didnt get it, and I benefitted from displays of maturity and wisdom beyond the average 17 yr old.

And now we are in the most difficult period thus far; one where we will keep looking to the future standing on what has been built in the past; one where you just have to believe; one where appreciating things will take on a whole new dimension; one where if I was to look down the road to writing another "one year later" I have no idea what it would be; one where everything will be challenged and tested; one where we will learn even more about ourselves and each other; one where we will enter new chapters in our lives; one where I will keep looking forward to the next dinner when I will once again most skillfully steal that red velvet desert off your spoon.

I guess i decided to write this again cuz its always good to stop and look ...and to follow the advice a certain lil' sister gave me recently:

"just remember your past, live in the present, and look forward to your future"

unconditional...

2009-11-27T18:10:00.000-05:00

some things are unexpected
and the way you react to them
speaks volumes of the way
you approach your life

some things are truly amazing,
touch you in unexpected ways
change your life to the extent that
your approach changes

some things you look forward to
in ways you never expected
and when the possibility is taken away
it affirms how much it truly meant

some things inspire you
to go beyond yourself
and to grow into a person
you never thought you were

some things are unconditional
come from the heart
are ongoing, undying
and you can expect to outlast

some things are frozen in time...

alrighty then....

2009-11-23T14:12:00.002-05:00

Ok so i'v taken possibly my longest break yet from posting anything here. If only i could spend some of the time I spend IM'ing, writing here instead... While I HAVE been doing some writing, it has been in quite a different format than this and quite surely needs to be edited before any thought of publishing can happen...unless I want people to know my deepest darkest thoughts...haha

Life? Since my last post things have been up and down, busy, not so busy, lazy, hectic, fun, challenging in every way possible. How tired can one person be mentally (and emotionally)? Seems I am on the ultimate quest to answer that. Doesn't help to flip the pages of the calender and look at the different images at the top of the page reminding you of the seasons going by, while you are stuck laboring at the same tasks forever.

Once again, soccer has been the haven providing some sanity and normalcy in my life. Another Fall season, another group of new people to get to know, new teams to coach, new parents to navigate, girls making me laugh, having silly practices, the great goals, the not-so-great games, and the new team I got to play on, yep I gotta keep playing too! Try to have my own bit of fun!

So keep pressing on, even though theres that something thats missing, gotta keep looking for that bit of enjoyment wherever it might come from. Its the only way to do it!

2009-01-03T03:08:00.005-05:00

"i got more than i could ever ask for, a big sister"

Kinda didn't see that coming... or did I ... Nobody really stops to think where things are going in a relationship until you reach some kind of turning point or epiphany... I suppose that was the moment from a 16yr-old.

I had coached her in summer, week long residential camp. Great kid. The next summer I got her again; and what a fabulous team that was! It was good preparation for her; entering high school and being all nervous about try-outs. In hindsight I probably didn't appreciate the significance of her asking my advice all the time, telling me how nervous she was, telling me how tryouts went every day, how team lists were being posted on the wall, how she made Varsity as a freshman, how the season was going; then later on how different it was with her club team, club tournaments, going to regional championships, how she's learning to take her penalty kicks like mine, looking forward to camp again...

It's so far beyond football now....

Hey how was your day today? I have sooo much homework. Oh I have an exam on a Tale of Two Cities, know anything about it? ooo one of my favourite books! Great! I'm still reading and its tomorrow. Tomorrow?! yeh help? ok ok And i got sucked into helping her, and in the long term trying to correct her dislike of reading. Still working on that by the way... Now I'm given unsolicited progress reports, so to speak: which classes she likes, which ones are easy, some drama that happened that day, when she had a test, how it went, when she has a project, can I help?... Alot like myself, keeps high standards for academics so I appreciate when she's working at something; and now I'm back in school again we share that focus and understanding.

So there's this boy... ha ok...? I get the history, the background, what's going on, what she thinks what she feels, when there's another interest entering the picture, whats happened with that, the exhilarating moments, the unsure ones, the lows, trying to teach her how to "play the game", trying to help her get over the last one, advising on the new one. Oh so how's MY lovelife? Well seeing as I've been with the same guy forever even though we are apart alot, I've somehow managed to now be a good example of how to work through difficult situations with guys and it makes my advice more real to her.

What's in this really....?

I'v pointed out so many times that we have such a unique relationship...for two people of such different backgrounds, experiences, ages, cultures... to have found that we have alot in common and could get along so well... It is an unequal relationship of course: she looks for my advice on most things, I do ask her advice on some things, she gets all worked up over things, I don't, she looks up to me, I feel protective. I'v gotten involved in a way that she comes to me with her most personal thoughts. I'm happy to keep them in confidence, she appreciates every moment.

All the hypothetical questions, conversations, looking at her reactions and responses.... going from talking online and having the "security" of the screen to actually preferring to talk in person...from going to watch her play every now and then to sitting in traffic for 7 hours on our way to Six Flags... from being her soccer coach to her driving instructor... from having a laugh and talking at camp to now sharing an affection that she so aptly defined above.

It is quite alot to take in, to think back on, to think of where it's got to, how special she has become and her significance in my life. Helped a whole lot with the cultural aspect of my coaching education I can tell ya that!! And that in no way trivialises anything. In fact makes it even more significant because I know she would like to know that she helps.

I suppose i decided to write this cuz its good to stop and take stock sometimes...but like a certain person said recently:

"theres so many aspects to our relationship that i couldn't possibly kno all of them at this given moment could i?"

six months later....

2008-12-19T18:46:00.003-05:00

no the title has no further meaning than it has been nearly exactly 6 months since I last wrote on here. And what an eventful time it's been. Makes you wonder why I didnt write about it in here doesn't it....

I have realised that things tend to take over my life in a way that time away from those things are spent in rather mundane ways such as...hmm...watching tv? haha Or randomly surfing on here (there again another reason i could have been blogging more, i was actually ON the internet) It is amazing when I think of it how much time I can kill just randomly searching and reading about things on here. Last week my connection was down for lets say 2 and a half days. I was the most irritated stressed out person ever!

Anyways...small recap of the 6 months? Coaching, Coaching, Coaching. Coaching takes over my life...i think about planning the next session, how the last session went, and what tomorrow is going to be like. This is during summer camps when i'm on 12 hours a day. Yes they'r residential camps so I have to entertain adolescents for alot more time than 3 sessions a day. Yes three. In addition to meals and other off-the-field time.

After that was day camps. Less hours but now they are on top of you every minute and there is no time in between to truly assess and tweak your next session, plus I have to drive there and back which contributes to the exhaustion. Plus make my own food....

After that was preseason. (did anybody notice any break time here?) I ran a preseason camp for a school that has come to residential camps every year I'v been there. I was working in the afternoons and chatting almost overnight. In fact I remember chatting one night until friends in Europe started signing on and saying good morning, until I saw light in the window. But I digress...coaching.

High school season, travel season, Oh and one more new thing: school. Yep it was back to school for me. Exercise Science and Kinesiology. A most interesting major; added to the stress of Fall coaching but I'v absolutely loved those classes. Thought it might be a good thing to actually have a degree related to what i'v decided to do in life: become a coach.

Ah yes NOW we really get down to the crux if it. In the time since my last post I have decided, or some may say accepted, that this is what I am doing with my life. For all i enjoy it, it wasn't an easy decision/realisation. Maybe it was the magnitude of the decision after having been kinda just going with the flow for so long. Or maybe it was, as one friend put it, the realisation of how much I influence I have on those kids' lives. There I was being told how good a coach I was, how much the kids like me, how they learn so much from me bla bla bla, all stuff I'd heard before. And then here comes one girl who tells me she "was expecting camp to be horrible but [I] made it fun and comfortable", tells me I "ooze ease", I was "personable, no other coach was like [me] at camp", she "enjoyed the sessions", and I "pushed [them] when [they] needed it". She had known me for not even 5 days. To think that this was the effect I can have on people was profound. And to think, in hindsight, that this is the effect that I HAVE HAD, made it all the more intense. During the high school season I became even more sensitised to it looking at the way the girls would react to things. The way some of them would seek not only my advice but also my confidence.

So here I am finally on Christmas break and hopefully I will have some time to reflect on all that. And also to think about my next post which should in fairness be about another huge focus in my life: a lil sister =)

till nex time....

R.I.P George Carlin

2008-06-24T01:49:00.002-04:00

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately"

- George Carlin

Mars again

2008-05-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

I'm sitting here watching the "major coverage" of the Pheonix landing thing and recalled my Mars post and it STILL blows my mind how much money is being/has been spent on such a venture: $420 million (all of which could go down the drain should anything go wrong). What surprises me even more at this point though, is that I haven't heard any presidential candidate talk about this cost. Umm do people realise its taxes that pays for this? While there is pollution, crime, poverty, unemployment, and war, should the American sense of adventure and willingness to showcase technological advances take precedence? Seriously, this is beyond me. Maybe I dont have my priorities right....

"new" dog food

2008-05-01T11:58:00.001-04:00

Ahmmm... yuh know how long my dog eatin rice and peas? and a lil mango for dessert. When they comin out with a fruit someting?

Today a funny thing happened....

2008-03-28T00:58:00.002-04:00

A little girl asked me why my skin is brown.

It was one of those moments when the kids are getting to know you, you're actually having fun coaching them, you can tell they like you, and then boom they start asking personal questions. My spurofthemoment answer? Cuz people are different.
Seemed to work.
Follow up question: where are you from?
The Caribbean, how about that?!!
Wooow

This was during a water break. So the session continues and later I only had to deal with more innocuous inquiries such as what was my favourite colour. But it really makes me stop to take stock of how much of an influence I have on the kids I work with, the things they pick up from me other than soccer, the things they might think of me as a person, how I make them think of things.... New team for Spring, it's gonna be an interesting season.

Welcome to Spring

2008-03-21T11:34:00.003-04:00

SO happy it's brighter and warmer and soon I'll be outside kickin' some ball! ;-)

International Seed Bank

2008-03-03T20:50:00.002-05:00

I know i'm a bit behind with this one: the Global Seed Vault located on the Spitzbergen Island territories of Norway located in the Artic Circle. The vault was built to house, supposedly indefinitely, plant seeds and samples for species from around the world in an effort to avoid permanent loss of these species. While I applaud the idea and the fact that it was actually implemented (there are in fact many smaller "repositories" around the world), it does make you think about the fact that we are gradually losing crop species. Plant, fruit, and vegetable species are gradually becoming less diverse, and even becoming extinct. Yes extinction is not reserved only for animals.

Not surprising its the fact that such an endeavour would be undertaken by Scandinavian countries, the nations with the best living standards in the world. Those Prime Ministers took part in the ceremonial "turning of the sod". But guess what? Norway paid for the whole thing! Millions of dollars. And countries can place seed deposits for FREE. Other international organisations help in fundraising etc. for countries to prepare their contributions. The Norwegians are also paying for the upkeep of the place. Where do they get all this money.......

Anyways, Trinidad should get it together right away and send up some of our own specimens. I feel like the fruits I was so used to as a child (not THAT long ago), seem to be less and less common. Or even fruits my parents would talk about, that only on a lucky day would I see now, far less have the chance to try them. Topi tambo, chataigne, pommecythere, peewah, pommerac, series (sp?), so many different mangoes, sour cherries, dongs! wow the memories haha. The list goes on... Its sad really but at least we know theres a global effort to save such things.

On the topic of seeds: maternity leave in Norway is 10 months, 100% pay. And you can come back to your same job after. Just some info i picked up in conversation....

...and you wonder why soccer isn't taken seriously

2008-02-19T14:15:00.004-05:00

While Major League Soccer languishes in their off-season and you hear nothing of their teams, the action rages on in other leagues around the world, as well as the prestigious UEFA Champions League. Well actually, it's not "nothing" in the news, we have heard about David Beckham a bit, the touted saviour of American soccer. But really, in what way? And has it been any good for the sport in this country?

I think it can all be summed up in a comment made by Alexi Lalas, President of the L.A. Galaxy Beckham's current club, in a telephone interview on the Fox Soccer channel. The presenters contended that Beckham professed to want to promote soccer at all levels in the U.S. but has so far been largely absent from the soccer community and would like for him to come on their show. Response from the great Lalas? "if there was a choice of whether to have him (Becks) do an interview with you or go on 60 minutes, I would have him go on 60 minutes."

Admittedly I was somewhat shocked that he would say something like that after the presenters made quite a good case that soccer fans here just want to talk to him, to know that he is here for soccer not for Hollywood, and that he is in fact interested in giving back to the fans. But a few seconds later (yes it took only seconds) I thought well, there you have it! Here is a man who has played at the highest level possible, now president and GM of a club, saying you know what? We would prefer to reach more people who care about Beckham's celebrity couple status, life with Posh, how much money he makes, his tattoos etc, in other words "the drama", rather than those people who actually care about him for what he is, and what he is primarily known for worldwide: being a professional soccer player.

Sorry to say that Lalas became speechless after taking calls from listeners, average fans who wanted to know why Beckham isn't even IN America at the moment, who wanted to know more about his football/soccer life as opposed to seeing him on "E! True Hollywood Story" or "Fatherhood" and the like, and who seconded having him be on said program for even 10 minutes. Apparently Lalas felt that the presenters were full of BS until people called in to back them up, and eventually could give no good reason for Becks not making himself available.

How do you like that...as if you didn't already have enough egg on your face from creating such a hype about how much Beckham would do for American soccer, a player who from the start was injured and never figured in but a few minutes of the season, a player who from the start was speculated upon whether he was coming here for soccer or for Hollywood fame (why not join an east coast team?) Now here you go feeding the critics by having Becks seemingly make a larger proportion of non-soccer related appearances, and then by making a stupid statement like that.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Beckham is a good player, certainly not at the top of his game anymore though, and that he can indeed improve the visibility and popularity of soccer in the U.S. He's not the best but if people here are excited about him then great! But at least be here so those people can see you.

However! It is certainly NOT all Becks fault. I have indeed heard about him recently, and it was during his bid to regain a spot on the England team, training with one of the top clubs over there. When asked why Becks was not in the U.S. Lalas said well it's the off season and there is nothing club-related going on at the moment. Umm, does anyone else see a problem with that? MLS must be the only sport in this country that COMPLETELY drops out of the news in the off season. But all is not lost. At least this year we have the Spice Girls Reunion to entertain us in the meantime.

the old guy, the black guy, and the woman

2008-02-08T12:57:00.000-05:00

The old guy says "here I am risen out of the ashes," the black guy says "Yes we can!" and the woman...well, maybe the woman wishes she could speak as well as the black guy so she got a willing attack dog to do it for her and when that doesn't work she cries.

Now believe me I am completely impartial, I've said before that I find this race most fascinating. By the way, anybody watch Glenn Beck? You don't have to agree with him, but he's interesting, unless this stuff really gets your blood boiling and you want to get up and punch the TV. Of course you can always change the channel to... let's say FoxNews maybe? haha

Anyways it seems like people aren't sure if they like the old guy even though he is the supposed front-runner. Is it that the "donkeys" are shooting themselves in the foot by running the black guy and the woman? Can you actually picture either of them in the oval office? I mean would it be better if he was called something like, O i don't know, Brian Ogilvie? And she if she didn't have her attack dog? Or if she stopped tearing up? Of course it seems the dog has been kenneled of late, but the waterworks, jeez. Does it help them now that the Mormon has dropped out?

Is it in fact coming down to choosing the lesser evil? To the innocent bystanders like myself, that's what analysts seem to be saying. Are people going to choose the black guy or the woman? And THEN: who would they choose if it happened to be the old vs the black guy, or if it was the woman vs the old guy? Some say that party lines may not matter after a while.

Whatever happens I'm certainly learning alot about alot.

stuck in a mental rut

2008-02-05T18:02:00.000-05:00

Here I am Carnival Tuesday spending a cold, dreary day in Connecticut. But its OK, I mean...when people was jumpin in Panorama, I was snowboarding in Pennsylvania after all. And when some of those same people going Champs in Concert, I plan to be snowboarding again (before I forget what I learned) in Massachusetts. Unfortunately I didnt have my camera so I am waiting to be sent action shots from said trip haha. While I had a good time in the fake snow, the weekend also contained disturbing highlights of the narrow thinking processes of some of my fellow Trinidadians.

At some points I thought "wow trinis too full of themselves"; at other times I thought "o you poor things"; others "ok now that is damn stupid!"; or "how small-minded can you be?". It became quite exasperating after a while, as you might imagine. Now I might generalise in writing this post however I am very aware, and warn any readers, that my comments do not apply to all.

Many trinis have this sense of false pride, they like to think they are above things, that they are better, condescending, if you like. But it plays itself out in the most trivial ways: they are fighting over material things in an effort to prove themselves, things that have become comoditised to the rest of us. Like fighting over whose cell phone rings louder, or showing off the perceived prestige of the store where they bought a pair of jeans. Damn fools. I'll take the exact jeans from the "cheap" store thank you very much.

I have to say the thing that really topped it for me was finding out that men wear winter jackets in Trinidad, the ones with fur on the hood no less. Can you imagine?!?! Music videos must have a HECK of an influence. And here I had someone asking me for a light jacket I was going to give to Salvation Army: "I could wear that at night! People will wear that in Trinidad!" I was in shock. Response? "I don't care if people wearing it, I won't be the one to give it to you to encourage that nonsense"

For some reason I thought that in general we were becoming a more enlightened people. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, being fanciful. I hereby state that I was jerked back down to earth by observing people wanting to come to AmERica to say they were "in the cold" but not actually wanting to experience all that that may entail, people waving their fingers in disdain at certain cell phones but then not knowing what an iPhone is (or even walkie-talkie service for that matter), people who just come here to "take out PITures" so they could go home and say they went AmERica.

Damn! I'm anonoyed.....

Election 2008

2008-01-11T01:02:00.000-05:00

Aright I'm sitting here watching a republican debate on Fox (it's the middle of the night and there's nothing else on) I must say it is quite a marvel to take in everything, all the campaigning, debates, the drama! To be honest I didn't pay this much attention '04... I'm trying to remember if I had a TV back then.. hmm. Anyways, it really is enthralling especially when I think of the recently-concluded elections in Trinidad: such a circus!! Elections are called, the date set and then the mudslinging begins! Complete with the town meetings/campaigns, the ridiculous ads on ALL the media, the election songs etc etc. I tell you, I stopped listening to the radio streams from home because of the elections, these calypsoes would come on and I'm thinking "what kinda dumb song is this?!" lo and behold as I naively listened on, "Damn is ah election tune!" I understand there are quite a number of TV ads taken out by said candidates here in America that I have somehow managed to avoid, though I assume they would be more dignified than the ones from my own country.

It makes SO much sense to have "round one" so to speak, to decide on who the best candidate for the party would be. That's great! They get to air their views on relevant issues, people get a fair chance to size them up, and most of all, the election isn't stuffed down your throat. You don't get fly-by-night candidates who say things in the moment to get your vote in a few days; you get candidates who must take a stance and defend an opinion over a period of time lest he discredit himself by stating contradictions because he didn't have a firm position to begin with.

The next thing that fascinates me is the actual process by which a candidate, and ultimately the President, is selected. I am referring here the "the primaries" or "caucuses", which have the potential to be somewhat complicated when translated to the National Committees of both parties. I have to say though, this process is a precursor to the Presidential election. After doing a little research I would say the primary/caucus is to the national convention as the electoral college is to the Presidential election. There's that "electoral college" phrase first highlighted (for non-americans anyway) during the 2000 Bush debacle. What the hell is it? And how can a lower popular vote have similar weight to a higher one? And in the case of caucuses, how can you send unpledged delegates to the Convention after having the caucus? Some things, I have to admit I just don't get it.

One thing I've settled on in watching the election drama: down with Huckabee, a President with a lisp would never do, just drives me up the wall.

Firsts

2008-01-01T02:28:00.000-05:00

First of all Let me wish you a most productive 2008 (whatever that may mean to you), stress free and full of enjoyment.

The First person I thought about for the New Year was Johan, my other half, although I had spoken to him only an hour earlier when Trinidad was ringing in the new year. He makes me laugh.

The first out of the ordinary thing I did for the New Year was to pee outdoors, seeing as I couldn't find a port-a-potty in a place where there was a large number of people (quite a strange occurrence in America), it steamed. Trinis might find this hard to get their heads around but thats what happens when it is cold.

The first thing I ate in the New Year was Crix when I got back home. (for any non-trini readers, this is like our National cracker haha) It was quite satisfying sitting in my chair with some crix and hot tea.

This first annoying thing to happen in the New Year was to realise my internet was screwy. COULD NOT believe it! (Don't worry, it came back pretty soon and I had my crix to pacify me in the meantime)

My first act on the internet for the new year (after checking tomorrow's football schedule) was/is to write this post. I do believe in making resolutions. After all why celebrate the new year if some part of it isn't celebrating a new beginning. So I resolve to revive my blog in 2008.

I also resolve to worry about things less, to lime more, and to learn to snowboard.

Happy 2008!!

Seriously....how misguided can people be?

2007-10-19T12:50:00.000-04:00

Life in Foreign can get QUITE incredible at times, when I try to think about what might have happened at home given the same circumstances. I mean, the things people try to do here for the sake of being forward-thinking. Imagine some place in San Francisco providing a facility, with clean syringes, and staffed with nurses, for drug addicts to go shoot up! All under the premise of supervision preventing deaths from overdoses! You know? If anything "goes wrong" there's nurses on hand. It's also meant to provide a clean environment to prevent spreading disease by needle-sharing.

Check out this article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/16/BA78SQEG7.DTL

Umm... forgive me if I'm thinking too much ahead here but aren't drugs of that sort illegal? And isn't anyone thinking of using this funding (cuz this stuff certainly can't be free) for additional rehab/detox centers? Maybe I just can't wrap my little mind around this one... or maybe I shoulda waited to write this one, cool off and think. Maybe there are benefits. Maybe they do prevent OD's. Maybe they do get addicts to come in to detox after a while. Maybe, well no, I CAN see how it actually would prevent passing on diseases through dirty needles. But still, this is really the only avenue our great minds could have found to combat this problem?

C'mon now...

is there nothing better to spend money on?!?

2007-10-09T23:58:00.000-04:00

Ok so its been two months since my last post and its been REALLY busy and at the same time alot of time wasting around here without the structure of school in my life any more. So I dont suppose this was the post I expected to mark my return to blogging but this is what happens when you end up wathcing history channel late at night:

Does anyone realise how much money is being spent on MARS EXPLORATION?!?!?! BILLIONS AND BILLIONS and may I say BILLIONS of dollars!! Now I don't mean to be cliche but there are still in fact starving people on THIS planet that maybe deserve some attention.

"well you know, there may be some water on there that may support life"
"in the future when we get there, we plan to make it more like earth by warming it up with greenhouse gases"
Yep thats what the man said: "we're doing it here right now!" go warm up Mars with carbon emmissions.

All the while I'm thinking all this money being spent on a fantasy, a theory, for the sake of curiosity! Following in the wake of Galileo, trying to touch the thing in the other end of the telescope. yeah sure its one of THE unique traits of human beings to be curious, but seriously! how we prioritise sometimes............

Reflections

2007-08-10T18:31:00.000-04:00

This post has obviously been long in coming but it's one that i have been thinking about for quite some time. My perspective on things has inevitably changed soemwhat since graduation as I look back on my "life in foreign" and how i've developed as a person, my likes, dislikes, skill set, aspirations. Moving from Vermont to South Dakota (god bless those people) to Connecticut. Getting into coaching. The most striking thing for me is noticing how i have managed to let go of things that , previously, I would have felt set me back when compared to others; things I would have tried to keep to myself, or even those which i felt may reflect badly on my own character. I got here playing football and these revelations I must owe to football as well (coaching included). To think the girl who used to play football with the fellas in aranguez savannah went abroad to play on scholarship, completed her MBA, and is a decent coach on the side is a nice little story....

Reflecting on how how far I have come, places i've been to, people i have met, the wonderful friends i have made, I realise life is so much about what you make of yourself, your ability to keep moving forward, and to let go of hang-ups. People won't judge you for things you can't control, or for your past, or having a different background if you are positive, give your best, and show good character. I remember times back home when we were really scraping through at the end of the month; I would no longer be ashamed to share that. Here I am coaching kids who live in 6-bedroom houses with a couple acres of backyard and a pool, they care that i have developed myself in the field and am a good coach to them here now. It would be quite a change of environment and culture shock but I would love to bring some of my european friends on a visit so they could see where i grew up, on a street without a sidewalk and with cows at one end and the field where i learned to play at the other (especially after having visited some of them in their well-coiffed neighbourhoods hehehe)

I also realise that in my case I have been fortunate for people to get to know me in a vacuum so to speak, because people do judge you. No I wasnt about to write a blind, feel-good post. I've experienced the side glances some coloured folks still get, the impression people have about west indians being backward, about my accent, the education system, the annoying caribbean people and wannabe's who create a less-than-savoury stereotype. So anyways, the vacuum: I've had the chance to have people get to know me for me and what I was able to share with them about Trinidad, without too much negative influence. And the many people i've met who know another trinidadian have only had good things to say. I suppose we might be a rare species, us Trinis, I wont call names of other islands hehehe

So five weeks of summer coaching over with now and I cant wait for Fall season to start. I have people asking for advice about their game, about their playing future, I have kids who I coached in the past running up to me, happy to see me. Its the best feeling ever.

Here's to the next chapter!!

Till nex time...
(i'll try to get back to more regular posts now)

i'm not dead

2007-07-31T13:14:00.000-04:00

...just realising that's the name of Pink's last album...
anyways, thanks to those people who have been checking in now and then, and to the couple of new visitors I have had. I do apologise for not having written in so long. Things have certainly NOT gone half as smoothly as they did last year when I worked at this same camp. Here I am into the fourth week and I only just got internet in my room. But thats the least of my problems. This morning I slept in last being told I had the morning off and my assistant would take care of things. Only for her to call me at 8:25 to say ummmm we're you told it's not this morning it's tomorrow morning you have off?
well fuck me. And thats kinda how its been since the first week. Just not run correctly for days in a row. Thank god last week and this week the kids have been great. Definitely going for a couple of drinks tonight!!

Back online!! woohoo!!

Vermont

2007-06-29T13:29:00.000-04:00

What does Trinidad and Tobago and the state of Vermont have in common? The outsider's perception that everybody is smoking weed all the time. Isn't that great? Thanks alot Bob Marley. Other than that, I cant think of much more there is... it woodsy? Well its not quite the same look, plus that would be vermont in general, and only a few parts in Trinidad, maybe tobago would be a better comparison.

On the other hand there are MANY things which are immensely different:

1. FRESH air!! In case you didn't know, Ver-mont comes from french for green-mountain. When you go up there and everything is open and green, you KNOW and FEEL the air is fresh and clean. And not just away from the towns that its cleanER, but that its clean throughout. Meanwhile, as I said here, Trinidad is right up there with countries producing the most carbon emmissions. Lovely!!

2. Big dogs and Pick-ups. Everyone in VT has a big dog and a pick-up truck haha, no kidding. BUT these people actually need these things whereas trinidadians just playin de ass. Huge vehicles to show off, and big dogs? also to show off. steupssss....

3. Huge properties and wildlife. Who thought I would ever say that sighting deer would be an almost mundane occurence LOL Well!! The fox I saw bounding across my friends property with a crow cawing in the background, was quite exciting! All I needed to top off my visit up there was for the elusive moose to come meandering out of the woods, as I was told they do ever so often. You have to be real living in the bush to spot any such wildlife in trinidad (manicou etc don't count, lest I get into all the racoons and skunks I see right outside my building).

4. Surely I must mention driving at the speed limit. Of all the states I have been to, I don't think anyone sticks as close to the speed limit as they do in VT (highways not included) Kudos to them :-) In the meantime people exceed the speed limit just in getting out of the driveway in Trinidad, so stupid it makes you laugh.

5. The "hippie" culture. Self-proclaimed hippies. It's a different sort of laid back than in the Caribbean. Must be the weather. Difficult to describe... like wearing nice "home clothes" to go out...or sitting wherever on the street/in a park as long as it looks dry and it's sunny out. LOL I guess you have to know a Vermonter to know.

All in all it was a great few days I spent up there, DEFINITELY one of my favourite places to visit. I need to track which seasons/months I haven't been yet and plan a trip then.

Till nex time....

Hail!!

2007-06-17T11:26:00.000-04:00

No not hail anything or anybody, the thing that falls from the sky hail. Supposedly there was a hail storm not too far from here yesterday. Did I see it? nope. Was hail forecast for here? Yes. There was spectacular lightening. There was wind. There was some rain. No hail. Again disappointment. I live too close to the sea, but thats only now. What about the other years before now? Can you believe I've never seen hail? And it's even funnier to think that people only a few miles away say "oh yeah it looked like it snowed yesterday!" I'm like "damn!!" Even small hail I think would fascinate me, not tiny like freezing rain, although I think technically freezing rain is a type of hail. And even THAT fascinats me anyways! lol Watch how it'll be my bad luck to experience a really bad hail storm the first time I actually do see it (shaking head). What a waste of time that year I lived in South Dakota....

i'm baaaacckk!

2007-06-15T11:19:00.000-04:00

No I have not abandoned my blog, as someone so pointedly asked me. The problem has become my time/coaching schedule: it is weird being able to now sleep in (the mornings the dumpster doesnt wake me) and then coaching/playing in the afternoons and nights. That is just a recipe for laziness, when other people being productive, I home playin de ass, and when is time to relax in the evening I now heading out. Well you know who will never have a shift job.

What makes it worse is that since Memorial day weekend I have had to get up early on the weekends to go coach, this will include this weekend. This getting up early unfortunately spread to other days of the week. Thus I get up early, lie around trying to go back to sleep, and eventually get up horribly late. I tried telling myself its good practice for getting up early at camp, but really, I DON'T need to practice from all now :-S

On a good note, my u-11 girls team won their league! Moving up a division in the Fall! Guess who is a hero of a coach?? Yes yes they are all going to kiss my feet at the end-of-season party LOL It's been a great time with this team, I feel quite proud of them :-D A few are even coming to residential camp so that'll be fun, I've been threatening making them do chores for me anytime someone makes a smartass comment LOL They're great kids tho, such a good-natured and enthusiastic group. And the parents have been nothing but keen and appreciative.

Ok I'm going to try to be active now seeing as I managed to be up at a reasonable time today. Hopefully I will get some more inspiration soon, probably after my trip to Vermont next week :-)

Till nex time

so what happened to the bike?

2007-06-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

*taken with permission from the blog of said friend

"....At night, when I came back, all that was left was the cut-open lock. My bike was stolen!!! I was too tired to get mad, but I just thought “blæææææææææææææææææææ” Frick-it! I figured I’d never see my bike again..

I went to the police and reported the crime (yes we do that here in Norway…). The police lady said I’d receive a letter in a couple of weeks that said that they’d left the case.. Oh well.. I checked with the insurance people and started moving on from my loss. Still cursing the stupid people who stole my ride…

BUUUUUUUUUUUUT!

Yesterday as I was walking to school I saw a man riding MY bike I’m BROKE and want my bike back, so I called out to the man (in a smiling, friendly tone)

“Hi! Excuse me?!”

- uhmmm, yes?

- I just wondered, where did you get that bike?

- Uhmmm…I borrowed it from a friend in Skien..

- Humm.. that’s weird..That is actually my bike… It was stolen last week..

- Oh.. woops..

- Can I have my bike back?

- …

To make the story short: He, an old “druggis”, gave me my bike back!!! ! I thanked him for his cooperation and he walked away.. expecting a few hits in the face from his “friend” in Skien!

I got my bike back!!! And! The best of the story: The thief had brushed off all the stickers (okay, that’s not cool) but he also brushed off the rust, tightened the loose breaks, putting on new “dirt-stoppers”, and putting “5-56” on the rusted nails and such!!!! LOL! MY win! "

See what I mean? I need to go live over there for a while!

falken sykkelregister

2007-05-30T08:42:00.000-04:00

I've been meaing to do this since the scandinavian post as I was chatting with one of those friends and this came up:

Her: ....and took the bus home from [ ], just to discover that my bike was stolen!!!
Trini to de bone says:
your bike was stolen?!?!?!
people steal things over there?
her: yes
Trini to de bone says: damn
BUT
been lots of raids of East-Europeans having large trucks and just stealing every bike, so it must be one of them
so u mean u can get it back somehow?
I'll report it to the police
they left the lock, so I'll bring it as evidence
i'm sorry but this is hilarious!
u live in a country where u report a BICYCLE theft to the police
thats fucking AWESOME!!
and then each bike has a registration-number, so I'll report that and they'll look for it
a registration number!!!?
it gets better and better!!
the suck-part is, that I've been thinking about getting an extra insurance on my bike, but I postponded it until [we moved] so i wouldnt have to go through the address change

WHAT?!
of course we do
it's a theft
u MUST see my viewpoint on this?!
i guess....
but still
we put an whole lot of money in it, soo...
this is just amazing
you skiped that extra insurance part?
yeah i was laughing too much
you get a sticker on your bike and it will be registered in an official thingi..
a registar for bikes
no way!
heck yea!
this is killing me!
seriously: can I blog this one?

Can you imagine?! I couldn't stop laughing through this whole conversation LOL She have de lock as evidence! LMAO!!! I jes picturing myself goin in the police station in trinidad an tellin them my bike get tief LOL LOL LOL And the insurance!! She have insurance! I wanted to be a smartass and ask if it was collision insurance HAHA But i can understand how annoyed she must have been so i didnt push it.

I was so completely amused by the thought of such a system, I was thinking "MAN! I GOTS to go spend a whole year over there!" Another friend, when I asked her, said O yeah if you see a bike you dont touch it in case its evidence or something. Somehow I thought of getting on the trams via ANY open door and people going automatically to dip their farecards at the boxes throughout the tram. Its the idea of doing the right thing I htink...having such a different mindset... knowing that small things can have a ripple effect. And expecting quite rightly that good will come back to you if you do your part. Planning with confidence to report your stolen bicycle!

I just realised i never got an update on this... i hope she does get it back after i laughed so much!
Till nex time...

What's next?

2007-05-29T09:40:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello!

It seems like now that I am OUT of school I have LESS time! hehe, nah its just more sleeping, more taking it easy, more doing things on my own time. But I must apologise for not including blogging in the "things on my own time". I even got ideas for topics but havent gotten around to sitting here and writing.

Since graduation, the inquiring masses want to know "so what are you going to do now?" Well that is my own damn business!! just kidding ;-) Ok, as an international student, I have to apply for "Employment Authorisation which enables [me] to accept employment in [my] field of study and commensurate with the degree level completed." All dat to say I cant take a job e.g. as a pharmacy clerk or something. So i'm waiting for the INS to complete that, suppose to take a couple months. In the meantime, I am enjoying the free life :-D

Planning to visit some friends/family in the next couple weeks. Also a concert, a soccer game, and of course still playing. Too bad you can't travel overseas while that application thing is going on (I'll have to get a visa all over again to come back). Looking forward to summer camps again. By the time that's over I should have the Employment thingy. So yep... just floating along at the moment hehehe....

In the more immediate future though, I'll try to blog some more.
Till nex time....

Obituary

2007-05-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately my "return blog" has to be about my dog Toffey, who sadly fell ill and passed away last week. Soundin nice eh? haha. He "passed away". De damn dog dead. The story is he get sick, stop eating only drinking water. Then I suppose they (my mom or my nephew) found him on the side of the house not moving and realise he dead. I was happy to hear they didnt throw him in the river which runs maybe a 150 meters from my house. Instead a friend who come all the time to lime by me, dig a hole in the yard and bury the dog. Apparently they had a lil service an ting, my nephew cry, awww. I'm sorry but I had to laugh when my Mom say they light a candle! LOL Somehow she is always the one there when the dog dead (my father is visiting in NY at the moment). The one before was the same thing: come and put her head through the burglar-proof in the front and stay there and dead and my mother was all sad. So the nex summer when I went home I get a nex dog, Toffey, to keep them company as I up here. He was truly a fun and happy dog, yuh know the dogs with the smile? And he had a lil dreadlocks, two strands, one on each side coming from just behind his ears, it gave him character. Unlike the previous dog, he would never run out when the gates was open, and would furiously guard each one, having his own lil way between the plants to get from one to the other. And most of all, when I started goin home only for Xmas, he would remember me :-) He DAMN WELL better had after I keep him in my room in de night through the cryin when he was small! So here's to my dog, now I feel sad as I'm writing this and reflecting....

I wonder if I should really get them another... I could probably arrange it from here, but then is them who go have to take it if he/she cry in the night in the beginning... and then the nex time I visit, the dog eh go know me! Pressha! Hmm...I have to think about this one...

Till nex time

The Scandinavians in my life

2007-05-15T20:50:00.000-04:00

ok as promised, I am back after the hectic week last week, all graduated and everything now :) Now I've slept late for 2 mornings and have a bit of focus back now to do this, not to mention the pressure is on as some of the following people are actually looking out for this post:

a small sample

Hanna, Aase, Maria, Jennie, Anne, Stine, Sandra, Lilja, Rut, Hildur, Tove, Amanda, Erik, Andrea, Annika, Sara, Thora, Sigurros, Therese, Johanna, Sofia B, Camilla, Maja, Sofia H, Linda, Cecelia, Malin, Pernilla, Sofie, Hilmar, Hans, Siv, Henning, Magnus.

Isn't that cool?! A small paragraph! Consisting of Swedes, Icelanders, and Norwegians, in the ratio of 10:3:3, I suppose reflecting the general ratio of swedes. Over the years there has been varying levels of intimacy, which is just a fancy way of saying I knew/know some of them better than others :-) And to be honest I wish I had gotten to know more of them alot better. Anyways, they have all in some way had some influence in my life, again some more critical than others but I will proudly claim the ability to recall a moment of fun, a laugh, a drink, a smile, with each of them.

From the beginning, its been good. Really rough at times but that is to be expected with any new experience: my coming to school here and then rooming at close quarters with a Norwegian. Turned out to one of the best things ever to happen to me. What a great friend! Took some figuring out, but then... they all kinda take some figuring out. In my first year there was also a Swede: a most non-typical swede as I came to realise after another couple years, she was real impulsive, and wasnt too level-headed. Later on I met another who had some of the same qualities but not as pronounced. Still good-natured though.

Second year two more Norwegians and two more pleasant, friendly, and thoughtful people. Then I got to Bridgeport (current location) where began the cascade of Swedes and Icelanders, starting with my coach who happened to be another non-typical swede. Although I can't quite explain how, even though I know another 30 of them now, I know he's just different, maybe too Americanised or something, I still find it amusing to hear him speaking swedish.

So what's "typical"? well I already touched on a few characteristics not the least of which is being good-natured, they dont go around being aggressive or in a bad mood. In general, if you see that then theres a problem. More or less straightforward in their approach, they say what they mean. BUT the thing I MUST really mention is that of those that I have met: these must be the most patient people in the world! Probably a function of the above, they take alot of shit from people, yet seem to always take their time to try to figure things out, not necessarily letting things slide but always keeping cool. Amazes me. Also good listeners.

Such a level headed approach to life must be difficult to maintain, but as I mentioned, I have also met some that didnt fit the mold. They say variety is the spice of life hehe and damn sure! the 2 or 3 exceptions provided entertainment and stress alike. Impulsive decisions, statements, and unexpected actions (all of which were magnified since none of these are associated with nordic people therefore unexpected x 2) brought laughs as well as uncomfortable moments. All part of the experience I guess.

I remember covering different cultures in an International Business class, one of which was the Scandinavian. Theoretically, they are supposed to be quite a reserved people and I think they would agree to that description...to some extent...with a big HOWEVER at the end. Like anyone else, they like to have fun, and most can drink like Vikings of old, a trait which most are proud of. lol. And you know what else? After you get to know them, and they you, quite an affectionate people in their own way, not all cold like one might think. In fact I consider some of my closest friends Scandinavians.

Ok well its pretty late now, and I've covered the major traits. I know some would have liked me to do a separate post for each group but really, what does it matter? unless I was going to get into a description of each person. I love you all! Never met one I couldn't get along with.

So here's to a great people, good friends and most of all to my next visit! skål/skál!

All blogged out....

2007-05-08T20:06:00.000-04:00

After Lime challenged me to post for 5 days straight (which ended a week ago) I haven't been able to get any focus on here, I haven't even been reading that much. I'm in the mad rush now to get prepared for Graduation on Saturday, just got my new hood today after I thought I had had the right one all along, that could have been most embarassing. Damn I need to get on top of things! Hopefully I can get in a post I planned for this week...but not tonight.

In the beginning was Mapquest....

2007-04-28T15:46:00.000-04:00

No excuses but I really was just to busy to do my post yesterday, I had a good one planned too; I'll save it for Monday. In the meantime, I stumbled on this thing and couldn't help but post it:

Back in the day there was mapquest. You needed directions? just type it in mapquest, many people still believe in it and use it exclusively. Me, I got turned on to yahoo maps. It was a phase where I could say "I yahoo": mail, news, chat, weather, music, maps. BUT THEN! then came Google maps, ok I'll try it. What I loved was the uncomplicated layout of the directions and the map alongside, and moreover, the ability to simply drag and zoom the map instead of having to click the desired function and wait for the page to refresh. So I started using google all the time since I'm good with maps and liked being able to browse it in this way.

Now with the advent of google earth, I'm wondering if they got ahead of themselves. Next weekend I may have a clash between playing and coaching. Being in denial that I may not be able to play, I proceed to look at how far it is between the two locations. First I enter Danbury ct (playing) and then drag it around to see for myself how far I might have to go. DAMN it's a long haul.... but still let me see just how long it would take. Search terms now amended to Danbury ct to Colshester. Results are below:

Drive: 3,920 mi (about 29 days 10 hours)

1. Head west on West St toward Deer Hill Ave
2. Continue on Lake Ave 0.6 mi
3. Turn right onto the I-84 E/US-7 N ramp to Waterbury/New Milford 0.4 mi
4. Merge onto I-84 E
Partial toll road
Entering Massachusetts
5. Take the exit onto I-90 E/Mass Pike/Massachusetts Turnpike toward N.H.-Maine/Boston
Partial toll road
6. Take exit 24 A-B-C on the left toward I-93 N/Concord NH/S Station/I-93 S/Quincy
7. Merge onto Atlantic Ave
8. Turn right at Central St
9. Turn right at Long Wharf
10. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean 3,462 mi
29 days 0 hours
11. Slight right at E05
12. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto E05/Pont Vauban 0.1 mi
13. Turn right at E05
14. Take the exit onto A29/E44 toward Amiens
15. Take the exit toward Dieppe/Amiens/Calais/A151/Rouen
Toll road
---abridged directions---

How intuitive is google?!?! WOW!! just freakin amazing!! Colchester in England. SWIM across the Atlantic and then continue on my merry way taking a slight right onto the E05. THe whole thing shows I'm taking a lil detour through France too! Oh and by the way, I start swimming from New England Aquarium in Boston. How do you like that?

I HAD to go see what happened if I entered the same on Mapquest. Unlike google it gave me a choice of possible Colchesters, all within the U.S. because it simply doesn't have, i suppose, any other directions.

Should I be going back to using Mapquest?

"real" roti

2007-04-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

I titled this "real" roti, not that I think Trini roti is fake, but that I have now seen roti being made by Indians from India. THis was pretty much what we would call sada roti in Trinidad and the method was quite similar.

That's one thing about living in such shared housing, and as a matter of fact going to a college with one of the most international student bodies: interacting with other cultures.

There I was minding my own business waiting for my rice to boil when two indian girls come in the kitchen with all their stuff. So I was htinking they were going to take a long time preparing things as they usually do (cooking seems to ALWAYS be quite a social occasion for them) But not this time! The dough was already prepared and one started rolling while the other put what would be equivalent to a tawah on one burner and a wire grill on another. Now the tawah had a handle and was slightly concave. And the bilna was basically a non-descript stick, near uniform thickness throughout, slight taper towards the ends.

The speed of the whole business was what really fascinated me. Each roti (she did refer to it as roti to a friend who came in to look) was only about 6 inches in diameter but still, they must have made 30+ while my rice was boiling and they were still in there when I left. The one girl rolled out the dough, each starting out about golf ball size. Then straight onto the super-hot tawah. That lasted about a minute, including turning. Then it was moved over to the grill, almost touching the burner (we have electric). Immediately it puffed up, the entire thing, like a balloon. It was enthralling, uniform, each one like the one before. And it was at this stage that the roti acquired the colour we are used to. Of course, this demanded the undivided attention of the cook to ensure the initial tawah stage was just right to allow the puffing up stage which also demanded deft handling of the thongs to turn and turn the roti over the grill to avoid burning.

I was thinking they probably making roti like that since they small to be that skilled and nonchalant about it. I guess it's like me making stew chicken now. LOL yeah whatever. I just thought of the fact that I have never made stew chicken in Trinidad hahaha. But here? ooohh there have been a couple that were magic! Could you imagine if I make a stew chicken ONCE home? It would be the end of "eating for free"
;-)

It's late in the day but I really had no time today, still I'm in under the wire: my 4th consecutive day posting! woohoo!

How big is your Carbon Footprint?

2007-04-25T12:01:00.000-04:00

In layman's terms, your carbon footprint refers to the amount of stuff or resources you use up e.g. if you have a car, your footprint is bigger than someone without (you use gas, oil etc. AND emit more fumes in the long run) Of course carbon footprints are calculated as a country average.

I thought I would do this post due to all the recent resurfacing of the global warming issue. Is the earth really getting warmer? Is it just a natural cycle? Is human activity really responsible? Time magasine had quite an interesting issue April 9th with a cover reading "The global warming survival guide" and included "51 things you can do to make a difference". The subsequent letters to the editor were varied: some complimentary, and others making you think about the writer "you just don't understand, do you?"

Wikipedia has a nice little entry about carbon footprints along with a world map which gives an overall view of the worst offending countries. Immediately you see North America highlighted. I was a bit surprised to see Australia right up there as well. Guess what? If you click to enlarge the map, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO is also guilty. In fact, according to this Trinidad is worse off than the U.S. However, this map shows carbon emissions per capita, not that that makes it any better but explains why the United States comes under fire from environmental activists. These statistics show the U.S. being way out ahead of other countries in terms of total carbon comsumption. The Kyoto Protocol was drafted in an effort to have governments worldwide take steps towards reducing levels of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, emitted due to industrial activity. The U.S. has come under fire for not ratifying the protocol but admittedly it isn't as simple as it seems.

Part of the problem is that Americans are perceived to be a [lazy] people who go around using things up without regard to others or the effects of their actions. I always say stereotypes are born out of some grain of fact. Let's go back to those letters to the editor. One person said "...it is not a question of whether we will kill the planet. It is a matter of maintaining a survivable habitat for ourselves." OK so let's just do whatever we feel and if it comes to that we can build a bubble to live in? On the other hand another letter said "We can give up the feeling of entitlement that pervades our society, we feel entitled to use a disproportionate amount of the world's resources...As the greatest nation on earth, we should be leading by example." Some people see a true reflection in the mirror. I will put my own meaning on "greatest": for a country with such international political and economic influence the world community expects the U.S. to "do the right thing" and so far it seems that the policy is to get away with as much as possible until.

THe 51 things suggested by Time included many that we as individuals can do now while the government decides what to do later. I do subscribe to the view that every little helps. Here are a few: ride the bus or carpool - yes some transport systems aren't up to scratch, try carpooling; say no to plastic bags - why do american supermarkets put like 2 things in each bag? you leave with 10 bags carrying stuff that could have fit in 3; and the #51 on the list

"consume less, share more, live simply"

How big is your carbon footprint?

Class etiquette... and other things

2007-04-24T10:22:00.000-04:00

I will never forget how teachers in high school in Trinidad would make sure everyone greeted one another at the start of the class. And you better had say "good morning" or "good afternoon" if you walked in late or everything would stop till you did loud and clear. So engrained was it that I used to do it when I just got here 6 years ago until I realised there was a reply only 10% of the time. Also, people come in and have small picnics in class. I can understand having a coffee or a soda etc. but salads and Subway? the class smelling like a food court? I mean jeez.... or how about the continuous chatter when the professor has arrived and is trying to start the class? or worse: the little conversations that pop up DURING the class?! I wouldn't even say these are "pet peeves" in my mind they are simply a matter of respect. I've posted before about a professor who was doing his small bit to improve discipline among students. He greets people if they happen to come in late, and pull up people who start talking during the class. Good for him. At least there are still a few who care.

Which brings me to the "other things": plagiarism. I read somewhere, and can attest to the fact, that graduates plagiarise more than undergrads. Isn't that funny? According to Plagiarism.org:

A national survey published in Education Week found that 54% of students
admitted to plagiarizing from the internet; 74% of students admitted that at
least once during the past school year they had engaged in "serious" cheating;
and 47% of students believe their teachers sometimes choose to ignore students
who are cheating.

The site further states that clearly instructors know what is going on but aren't about to do anything about it. "55% of faculty 'would not be willing to devote any real effort to documenting suspected incidents of student cheating'". So many professors just let things slide. I would love to see comparable statistics for Trinidad. To be honest I think at least people's conscience would kick in, I'm not saying it would stop them but I think Trinis would at least feel bad. On the whole I think the international students really try, but then we get sucked into the culture :-/

You know what? at this point I am just counting down the days, the final I cheated on is in the past. I can proudly say though that I have never done the "cut and paste" bit, that is just plain laziness. I was supposed to have a presentation this evening but my group couldn't get it together in time, I know there's going to be some cutting and pasting for the paper itself which pisses me off but hey, the professor likes me. Just picked up my graduation packet, I was invited based on GPA to join an international Business Society, so now I'm just waiting to see if I graduate with honors.

2 down... till tomorrow!

Radio shows

2007-04-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

No I'm not going to talk about Imus or whoever else there is. Fact is I've probably only ever listened a handful of times to any radio talk in this country, even the couple times i've listened to stations from New York or Tri-state area, they tend to be either boring or over-the-top. Thus after I happened to be awake last Thursday to listen, I confirm or re-affirm The Morning Drive with Paul & Nikki on 96.1FM (Trinidad& Tobago) to be my favourite radio show ever!

According to Wikipedia 96.1 is thought of as "young people ting" which may or may not be true since I wouldn't consider the presenters to be of that age group. I must agree with the assessment that they approach all issues with "a level of fairness" and make listeners aware of pressing issues. They have been accused in the past of being partisan; personally I feel this is because of entertaining calls from certain regular callers who were clearly for or against a certain political party.

So since last week I have been inspired to try to get up early and listen in, it was a great start to the day, good laughs. Its great to have a hearty laugh at 7:30am. Reminded me of back in the days at home, getting ready for school, and later getting ready for work, listening in. Then hoping the maxi I got had 96.1 playing (until i got my discman w/ radio hehe) Allyuh remember when Nikki used to just have the lil 5-min "nikki says" thing before the 7:25 news? That was when I started liking her, she seemed to really think through those segments as it was going on national radio lol. She has really matured as a comedienne since (notwithstanding the forays into soca, lawd) and she and Paul make for an entertaining duo.

The day I listened, I'm not quite sure if there was any specific topic: callers talked about Akon of course, the policeman who has missed 25 court dates to prosecute a child abuser/molester/murderer, the widespread water shortages. But for me the hit of the day was the new Prime Minister's Residence which is being constructed at record speed (while the Grand Stand remains untouched) on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens at a cost of TT$148mill. A man calls in and talks about it and requests a song for PM Manning. Well they certainly had it in for him!

"and now we have a special selection for Manning..." Of all the songs to play, they put on "It's my House" by Diana Ross LOL And you bet they are singing along:

It's my house, and I live here
(so hall allyuh tail)
It's my house, and I live here
(one four eight Million)

Cuz it's built with looooooove
(taxpayers money)
An it cuttin thruuuu
De botanical gardennnss

Let me tell you, I had to catch my breath laughing!! That was the funniest thing in a loooong time. I miss listening to them I realise...listening to my own accent, the jokes, the "pong" LOL I just might start getting up a bit earlier to listen and have a pleasant start to the day.

Till tomorrow...

(yes "till tomorro", i have taken a challenge from Lime to post for 5 consecutive days, who tell me do dat :-/)

Trini on wikipedia

2007-04-21T00:54:00.000-04:00

Through the maco-machine Facebook, I found this link while browsing some trinidadian groups (i find these enjoyable as many people write almost exclusively in creole, MOST amusing LOL )

List of Trinidadian English Terms

It's quite a long list, some of the definitions I don't quite agree with... but you can draw your own conclusions.

Take a look!

The weather

2007-04-16T21:01:00.000-04:00

Unless you really completely outta it, you must know that the Northeast US has had terrible weather the last few days: snow, sleet, rain, flooding. And it was unseasonably cold even before all that started. UUUGGGHHH!!!

Yes I know I've come to enjoy the different seasons and for once I am actually getting out of spring in a good mood which I attribute to changing the clocks earlier than usual so the dark afternoons ended sooner. But now this is getting just a tad annoying. Yesterday I sat here and watched the rain, and along with that, watch the park slowly flood. Couldn't it be like home where the rain is warm? even when its windy as hell?! DAMN! Times like these is when you miss the wet and dry season life. I can't even imagine how those people who are getting snow must be feeling, and is not a lil snow, is PLENTY snow. Meanwhile flood like mad closer to the sea where it is "warmer", and it might go on for a couple days more.

Hear nah, is really time to stop being cold now man, geez. This cold is crippling, I gone with my fas' self and pack up my winter stuff. Now I only have a few long sleeve things, 2 or 3 sweaters, and a light jacket. Thank god I thought about keeping my underarmor for late-evening coaching on those damn windy fields. Why they like to put fields on top a hill in the back of the bush? and when is time to go home and it gettin dark you have to make sure you eh bounce no deer in the road?! Lawd my poor old car if I bounce a deer...

ok clearly I am annoyed and rambling. But seriously is the weather. I didn't even work out today because I was cold. And then to make it worse there was no heat when I came home, better I had go to the blasted gym. Can you picture those people running the Boston marathon today? Torture. Somehow I think it would be easier when it is hot and just keep drinking than having your joints freeze up as you try to run.

For all the times I've said 60'sF (teens celsius) was "nice" and for all those people who were thinking something must be wrong with me as a Trini: I WISH IT WAS WARM!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody pray to the Sun Gods.

Till nex time...

If I get sick...

2007-04-12T23:40:00.000-04:00

it is because I ate a whole can of vienna sausages
because I didnt feel for anything else since I am getting a cold
because I didnt want to get up and close the window last night
because the sleep was going sweet at the time.

maybe nex time I will get up an close the window

Pet Food

2007-04-05T22:38:00.000-04:00

Sorry to all those people affected by the "national pet food recall" but I couldnt help being a bit surprised by how far-reaching it has become despite knowing how some americans love their pets more than people, having the dog in they bed and kissing them and all that. I see big people come on CNN and bawling down de place cuz they dog or cat dead. I understand it sad and unexpected and is a shitty way to go but oh gosh!

It never crossed my mind how huge the pet food industry must be over here. Now when I tell my friend dogs in trinidad eat rice, she in shock: "it doesnt do anything to their stomachs!?" Well clearly not. And by the way, I see some rice in the supermarket here that eh look too far from trinidad pet rice, probably only one grade better. I swear there are people that would eat what my dog eats, at least it smells REALLY good while being cooked. Usually it's just the rice cooked up with entrails etc from preparing our own meals, but we season it and everything as if the dog cares HAHA. At one point when I was at home, I used to buy packages of chicken liver to cook for the dog (it was dirt cheap). Another time I bought some dry dog food to mix in with the cooked food to make it last longer. Guess what? the dog ate around the pellets! LOL Now bear in mind this is equivalent to eating only the peas out of the peas and carrots. That was hilarious, we were in shock but almost died laughing. I must point out that this is the same dog that would "eat" mangoes (don't ask how he got them) and bananas (again dont ask) Crix is always a hit, and how about some scrambled eggs?

All kicks aside, I wonder how many trinidadians buy the so-called "cuts and gravy" style pet food? It only occupies a small space on the shelves, the dry food seems to be much more popular, and pet rice is always available. One of my cousins used to buy it(dry food), but again, she would mix it with rice. Those Trinis that do buy the "gravy" stuff probably still happy happy buying it cuz who bothering to check labels and dates and all that? If the dog dead it dead.

One more question: what do cats in trinidad eat??

Bus Travel

2007-04-03T12:16:00.000-04:00

sorry no pics with this one.

Although we had a couple friends who drove us around a few times, buses were the way to go during spring break especially since students of USF ride for free. So there we were checking schedules and making plans, where to get off, how much time we have in between each bus or even the trolley. Sound like a foreign concept for a Trini doesn't it. Well this is because there are schedules that are actually followed, maybe give or take a couple minutes, as opposed to Trinidad where the bus may or may not come and has now been more or less reduced to rush-hour-only service when everyone is in one place at one time so little can go wrong in terms of being "on schedule", just go at rush hour. Stark contrast with being able to pull up times online and plan a trip. The only bit of hassle was with the Beach Trolley which somehow didnt seem to be on time but we somehow managed not to miss getting back to our bus stop to get home (although there was one VERY close call) Maybe the trolley was a bit lax because of being by the beach? LOL The ultimate in public transport though is in Europe. My trip last year to Norway/Sweden demonstrated an efficiency that must be maintained because of the demand for and widespread use of public transport. You get to the stop one minute late and you literally "miss the bus". The stops for the trams, in addition to having schedules posted, had timers displaying the number of minutes till the next tram arrived, now THAT'S planning.

The other most noticeable facet of bus travel is the demographic. Want to see some wayward or eccentric or MAD people? Those considered to be on the fringes of society, either economically or socially? Take a bus in America. Warning: bus travel is NOT for you if you are in any way skittish. Because when some random person ask you for a light and then strike up a conversation like if they know you for years, you may feel a tad uncomfortable. Me I take it as entertainment. Then there is always the person talking to themselves, nicely dressed, decent looking, and at first you thinking they have a bluetooth on the other side of their head, but no. I have also met some genuine people on buses, nice people who can't afford anything else like myself. Or old people who aren't allowed to drive anymore (that was another time on Greyhound, not this trip) Of course the people-watching starts at the bus terminal/depot, whatever it's called in the U.S. but here you are more vulnerable to unwanted advances from said people. It occurs to me though that bus terminals seem to attract such characters even if they are not there to catch a bus. Is it the public nature of the place? I am open to other theories. No such observations from my time in Scandinavia since it is a preferred means of travel for a mainstream population, so different....

Well I am at the office and keep getting distracted. Thats all for now.

Till nex time...

Sun Tan and Cold Water

2007-03-29T11:18:00.000-04:00

Post title provided by my other half ;-) Some observations from spring break in Tampa FL

What a lovely day that was during Spring Break. Indian Rocks Beach. There we were on the Gulf Coast of Florida, sun beating down, on a more quiet strip of beach so not at all crowded, perfect! eh heh?!? Ever swim in a river/stream when it rain the night before? Sea water in a temperate country, now I know. It was one of those where you had to make up your mind and just run straight in otherwise no way you going in that cold water. It turn out to be refreshing after you got into it but not to stay too long, thank god it stayed sunny. I feel like a alligator coming out to heat up in the sun just to go back in the water.

There is a Beach Trolley that goes constantly up and down the length of the coast from St Petersburg to Clearwater so we managed to see a few beaches. The second was Clearwater. If the person naming Clearwater was naming it after the sea, they were sorely misguided, poor thing. While the water was nice it certainly wasnt clear, it was like Trinidad water with the sort of greenish cloudiness than like Tobago where you can keep walking out and still see your feet. Anyways, I have NEVER seen that many people on a beach in my life. I have also never been to Maracas Bay on Ash Wednesday but still, I can't imagine Trinis lying on their towels one step away from the water's edge. That was people! We didnt even think about bathing with that crowd though the sun kept beating down and the tanning continued as well as the accusations of now being a "white girl" because I have gotten into the habit of wearing sunscreen hahaha.

Clearwater Beach

Another day at the beach wasnt so great, it was NOT sunny, fairly windy, and yuh gyul was COLD. No chance of even trying that water without the reheating properties of the sun. But you know how this deceptive tanning still happens right? So I lay there and napped - minus my sunglasses lest I develop a "tourist tan" - while my boyfriend walked a couple miles, I would think, to some jetty thing at the far end of the beach. It had to be far cuz I had a good sleep. Eventually we picked up and went to another beach on the trolley. The sun had started peeping through and I thought ok this is my last hurrah before heading back up north so Jump In The Water!!! (location of pic in my previous post) It turned out really nice and I was sorry we had to leave so early to catch the bus back. (buses will be the topic of my next post)

Now that I think about it, this was the first time I had swam in U.S. water hehe. I can only imagine how perfect it must be in summer down there when the water really warms up. The beach itself was decent and there were facilities and an array of rental things. Maybe in future I can do another post called Sun Tan and Warm Water? That would be fine!

Till nex time...

Talk 'bout CUSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-18T19:40:00.000-04:00

Spring Break...

My return from Spring Break...

...cleaning the beloved Strippalingur >:(

better ah didnt hope for good weather when ah come back

STEUPSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

my lovely car

2007-03-11T23:08:00.000-04:00

His name is Strippalingur

Now that I am in the safe warmth of Florida, I can afford myself a moment to talk about my now far-away HEATLESS car. Yes heatless. I drive a car that has no heat, in the winter, in the northeast United States. Can you imagine?!?!? Its a bitch to be broke. Above is a picture of him in better times (yes its a "he") And the name? its icelandic meaning "one who strips" (correct me if I'm wrong) The previous owner(s) were Icelanders, my very good friends, and they named him due to the fact that people often stripped in there i.e. changing clothes mostly, myself included, but by the time it was my turn he had already been named. I always wondered if cars are usually male in Iceland, given that they are usually referred to as female in the U.S., and generally neutral in Trinidad: "it" is just fine.

Anyhooo, Strippalingur was on loan to me one summer when he had his little mishap, I will never forget the smell of coolant, nor the sight of the bright green running into the gutter. When the owner returned, she drove it around until the following spring (still heatless), whereupon I was again loaned and eventually sold him. The deal was cut for one hundred american dollars. Yep one hundred. What great friends huh!? or maybe what a crap car? LOL LOL LOL!!!! Well it worked out well for everyone, they got rid of the car easily, helped me out, I got a cheap car, and now a couple years later he has WAY outlasted his expected lifespan...

...notwithstanding the heating problem hahaha. It sometimes amazing to think that there is this big ass hot thing right in front of me yet inside the car like the artic circle. I fully dressed in the car, mittens and all, driving down the road, "smoke" coming out my mouth, American Airlines blanket on my lap, turning on cold air to clear the windscreen. LOL! Its classic!! If the bitter cold spell keeps up I am going to have to get more of those instant heat things for my hands and feet so I don't have to stop at every rest stop to warm up. My sense of humour must be seriously twisted!! Or maybe its the cold getting to me hehehe

Strippalingur has been quite loyal to us all over these few years, lots of good times, a few not so good but still memorable ones ;-) I still keep his old plates in the trunk, along with the Iceland sticker on the back, which is now kept company by a Trinidad one. It'll be a sad day when I eventually have to say goodbye to him but for now he's going strong! and I look forward to the warmer days again when I can drive him in relative comfort.

Note to self: first coaching paycheque, go to Valvoline for the Radiator Service.

Till nex time.........

life in school

2007-03-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

I am now only one class away from completing my MBA! Isn't that great?! I am thoroughly fed up of being in school. I realise that most other blogs I read, where I find other people studying, they also have full time jobs. Sometimes I feel like some part of my life is slipping by having been away from the corporate world for so long now. Makes it sound like I would love to be “working for the man” doesnt it. Well thats not totally it. There is something about only studying at my age that is....maybe its simply not what I had envisioned. Getting to class and seeing so many people in the MBA program that have clearly just come straight from work, I think “ya know, I really should be working by now.” Sometimes I'm disappointed in not replacing a class or 2 with an internship, but then I am already a graduate assistant, which by the way pays my entire tuition, so no time for an internship. While I'm rambling: a lot of this comes from the fact that I am micromanaged at my graduate job and ultimately relieved (by said micromanager) of some jobs, responsibilities, and maybe even projects, which makes the hours utterly boring and NOT the job-like experience it is supposed to be.

Can't wait for spring coaching to begin. I'm SO excited!! Already planning stuff in my head...what I want to teach the fun team and how to take on the sucky team haha. AND playing again! With a TEAM! YAY! I even have options of teams (which reminds me I have to write some emails when I'm done). This means that I have to intensify the workouts which were getting left behind in the push to complete 2 classes last week. Now its all ME and football, what could be better? I think I am meant to be a coach... hmmm... maybe after playing in the spring, I can see how much I am meant to still be a top level player. But lets take one step at a time, up next, spring coaching.

I can just see it now: my one remaining class getting left in the dust LOL, me as usual doing a 15-page paper the day before it's due hahaha, anything to make things exciting. As a positive step, I am going to try to do my 3-pager during spring break YEAH RIGHT. Operative word there was “try”. Hey I'm already being productive and writing this in the airport. Yes i'm en route between negative and positive temperature readings. Hopefully by the time I make the return trip it'll be positive again in the northeast. Anyways..about to board in a few so

till nex time........

Georgian Jubilation V

2007-02-24T17:20:00.000-05:00

Finally they have some pics online...I find some fetes the week before Carnival taking long to come out. This is from the now fifth annual fete at my alma mater, St George's College:

On the left.....

then on the right...

Two of the best teachers in Trinidad :-)

Here's some friends...

Shurwayne performing...

more of the crowd...

And it look like this tassa group was leading people home.

I hear the bar run out of a couple items but otherwise it was a cool fete for the price. (maybe it would help if more alumni e.g. myself would donate $ if not attending heheh, I eh shame jes poor)

*pics from www.trinijunglejuice.com

Encore for Lime ;-)

2007-02-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

Lime,this is REALLY the dance this year as far as I can tell, the Jumbie (also Road March)

Hear nah Lime, yuh really need to organise a visit soon eh, jes now yuh might forget how to stop a maxi LOL

Saucy WOW

2007-02-22T09:19:00.000-05:00

Out of all of them, this HAS TO BE my favourite bicycle wine video, I can watch this one over and over HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! it shoulda be longer LOL!!!!!!!
Imagine somebody making a living from wining! And she wearing a bicycle helmet too LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Port of Spain webcam

2007-02-19T11:33:00.000-05:00

maybe I might see a lil costume Tuesday LOL!

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/Webcam/web2.html

outta body, back to yuhself now!

Cold like a fridge...literally

2007-02-15T19:15:00.000-05:00

It eh snow? It snowin'? It have any snow? That is all they ask when you call Trinidad. There is an eerie silence when I say well no, no snow but is -5*C, wind chill around -15, which is close to the same in the freezer compartment. As I write this, it is -16*C wind chill.

Well OK it finally snow a bit now, and sleet too (which actually starts off as snow but melts and freezes again by the time it lands, looks like fine sno-cone by then) Being close to the sea, we also managed some rain in between so now there's also ice.

But way before all that it was already quite cold for a sustained period, hence the name of this post. Trinis tend to have only the "christmas card" notion of snow, and really, how could they have a much different impression? I don't know if I had such preconceptions when I just got here; I think I cleared my mind especially as I started out in Vermont so snow was expected. The reality is that it looks nice when it's falling and a little while thereafter. But then it gets all slushy and brown because we don't live in a christmas card after all.

Nobody seems to think of the cold needed to facilitate and sustain snow when they are asking if there is any snow. Nor does it cross anybody's mind that snow is not the only thing that the sky produces. Or that there are other conditions that affect the "lovely snow" and the whole winter experience, including wind (important one) and sun, yes good old sunshine. I took this picture from my window showing the streetlamp (lamppost in Trini) reflecting off the ICE that formed on the grass during the day today. In spite of the temperature, the sunshine along with a constant wind created this smooth surface. One of the best things to experience in winter is the crisp sunshine that you often get after it has snowed. Everything is bright even with the slush and you don't feel quite so cold even though it is damn freezing. But don't you dare go out without your hat on, anyway your ears will soon remind you something is missing.

So for now it's easy keeping my lunch cool at the office, I just keep it by the window we leave ajar for fresh air. One day I even got ice forming in my water heheh I kid you not. It's like a giant walk-in freezer and we're insulating ourselves inside it instead of the other way round. Frankly I'm getting a bit tired of having to dress all the time for this. But like I said in my previous post, it was a waste being so cold without some snow, so now i'm a placated for the while, moreso since the University had a snow day ;-)

Here's a thought: one of my Swedish friends thought a "heat day" might make more sense than a "snow day". Better not let too many Trinis hear that suggestion honey

till nex time...

don't let globalism fool you...

2007-02-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

... I STILL get homesick!

here I am, just out of my International Issues class, thinking in exactly one week it will be Carnival Tuesday las lap in Trinidad, and I will be here, in the cold, in class...

Globalism. Part of 'globalisation'. The increase in exchange and availability of cultural ideas and experiences. Should we say connection between cultures? I think I would like to focus on availability and access part. The proliferation of different types of entertainment media, communications and of course trade has brought about an international trend of culture swapping umm sharing that has in turn made it much easier for those of us "away from home" to get by through having acces to various items: food, music, even communities (e.g. blogs)

One can go to the supermarket and look for the now ever-present "international aisle" for foods from other countries. Personal example: Crix (yes crix) and Matouks Mauby. Also there are many specialty shops popping up all over, be they Mexican, Indian, Caribbean etc where you can get other food items. One can also easily get their favourite radio stations streaming live via the internet, or the daily newspaper, even TV. Ah yes that wonderful thing the internet...ANYthing you want, its on there, I haven't found it yet but soon you may be able to order a chicken roti on the net. In the meantime, there's caribuy, trinifoods, and others, and a ton of places to buy music and other souvenirs like the 3'x5' flag on my wall. And well doh talk about instant messaging and VoIP programs, where would we be without them?!

Still these things provide only a respite. It is only a brief solution to the need for the real thing. Visiting Trinidad Carnival Diary most every day is a constant source of amusement not only because of the sheer numbers of visitors there and their comments written so sweetly in my own tongue, but the sheer excitement they express about their carnival experience and their love for home. Such anticipation and exhilaration at the thought about making the pilgrimage to Trinidad for Carnival, one of the pillars of our culture. I must add that I am quite amused at myself as well for going there i.e. to that blog, just to know whats going on even though I am NOT going home for Carnival. All part of the community thing I mentioned before I suppose.

It's always a search for some kind of connection, something tangible, especially when you know you're in it for the long haul. Its supposed to be snowing tonight but it looks like the weatherman lied to us, I would actually like if it snowed, waste of time being so cold without the white stuff. Think I'll go have some sorrell, can you believe I still have some? Talk about homesick...

Till nex time...

Be the ultimate maco!!

2007-01-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

*Maco (pronounced mah-co)- eavesdropper, busybody, a gossip (also a verb)
*Macocious - adjective or adverb describing such a person or behaviour
*"Maco" is also available in whatever other parts of speech you may need

Ok, so they finally got me to join Facebook, which, after really going through the website now, I consider to be the ultimate macoing tool. It is interesting how you can't get too much in depth info on the FAQ or whatever they have unless you REGISTER. Trap trap trap. I must note, however, that they have fairly detailed privacy settings applied to who can see your profile/pictures/ etc. But again, you have to click around and set up everything. Hell, just to register I thought was a bit much.

A bit of background if you are not on it, or have only heard of it: IT IS MACO CENTRAL! So you go and set up your profile listing whatever personal info you want to be posted including a picture, you have the option to join networks which revolve around your school or job or where you live. You can join multiple networks

Maco opportunity #1: even if is not yuh friend, yuh could see all these people around by you who on de same network.

Then you start adding "friends", you can do it by automatically (facebook does it for u) inviting people who are in your email address book. Then you get to see who belongs (macoing) and choose which ones you want to invite. And voila! you build a friend list as these people reply.

Maco opportunity #2: yuh could click on yuh friend profile and see all who dey is friend with. AND click yuh friend friend too, and yuh friend friend friend once dey in a network you in.

Alright so those things may have taken a bit of exploring, let's move on to some built-in stuff, things they put right in front of your face (why its called facebook right?) The first thing you see when you sign in is what they call a "news feed". Its a chronology of happenings on your account AND YOUR FRIENDS' accounts, including their new friends, if they deleted friends, messages everybody wrote on each others' "walls", and what they are doing (if they chose to update that bit)

Maco opportunity #3: dat one was self-explanatory, ah mean..."news feed"? MACO FEED!. An all yuh had to do was sign in.

Moving on... you click on "my profile" and you see the details that pertain only to you i.e. your picture and other personal info, who you "became friends with", and all the stuff people wrote to you, and if you were "tagged" in any pictures that you or others may have in their accounts.

Maco opportunity #4: yuh could see all dat fuh other people too includin all dey messages doh matter if you eh know all de writers. (a nex network trap)

I'll add one more although there's lots of little things that add up, I have 2 in mind but I'll go with the pictures since they can be so damning. I mentioned being "tagged" above. Similar to "labels" I suppose for blogging, you can tag people by attaching their names to a photo you have uploaded. Funny thing is: you can see (via the news feed) when OTHER people (possibly complete strangers)tagged your friends, and see the picture too!

Maco opportunity #5: dat one kinda self-explanatory too. An if somebody tag you in a bad picture, well crapaud smoke yuh pipe.

There are several other ways to maco on this thing, one of which is the "social timeline". Doesn't that just have the ring of a "macoing journal"? I didn't write about it because I must have deactivated it somehow as mine was empty. It lists details you have entered over time about your friends, AND AS PER USUAL, you can also access your friends' or other people on your network.

They say its a good way to "share", to "keep in touch", to see whats going on in your friends' lives, and thats where it starts going downhill: too many prying eyes.

So there you have it! High speed! Efficient! Far-reaching! If you are a maco, facebook is the thing for you! What are you waiting for?! Join now!!!!!

till nex time...

p.s. if you are NOT a maco, and a more private type, make sure you go through and select all the "my friends only" that you can find ;-)

but I digress...

2007-01-27T20:49:00.000-05:00

I realise I have strayed a bit from the original focus of this blog which was to compare/describe/comment on my "life in foreign"...
Did I mention that I have class ALL this weekend? i.e. 8-4 saturday AND sunday? Back next week with a more relevant subject...

Nex time...

Creole

2007-01-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

FOllowing a comment from Triniobserver, I decided to do a small thing about creole languages. In the Caribbean, we mostly think of creole as the language spoken in Haiti. Personally I think people give it recognition as A LANGUAGE. Well surprise! It's the same with English speakers, we have our own language. Readers can go here for a fairly comprehensive explanation of what is creole, and see that in fact there are many such languages around the world. In summary, creole is a language developed to facilitate communication between speakers of different languages e.g. slaves. Sometimes there is a parent language, in our case English. Things are kept simple so they can understand one another. As subsequent generations come along, the language structures become standardised and voila!

Clicking one of the links regarding Ebonics in the U.S. I found that that situation had some similarity to ours in that some people would like to have Ebonics recgnised as its own language and not just a dialect, where it can be used, similar to the suggestion from Merle Hodge, as a tool in teaching standard english where users can be taught to recognise the equivalents in both languages. But proponents of Ebonics experience the same "fight down" attitudes that we in the Caribbean sustain as we keep telling ourselves we speak broken english, or as Triniobserver put it "a perversion" of english.

I'll say it again: I love my language! so very expressive, full of subtleties, words and expressions drawn together from various other languages. It's part of what makes a Trini a Trini. What do you think?

small milestone :)

2007-01-20T15:34:00.000-05:00

Aye I jes realise I actually make it to 50 posts. Never thought it would get tihs far. But now I beginning to have some fun with it. Nice lil distraction blogging...
Thanks to the people that come by and comment. And thanks to all the lurkers for coming by, a comment once in a while would be nice, let me know if I should shake things up a bit hehe. I hope all those that I read keep it up, it's most entertaining, and reminds me that I do have my own blog that maybe I should write in every now and then ;-)

Wha it is yuh say dey?

2007-01-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

OK I'm back, I am supposed to be doing homework but here I am. Lime would really appreciate this one:

This post has been long in coming and now that I’ve spent a few weeks at home and truly "gotten back into it" although I have relatives here to talk to, I realise I just LOVE the Trini language. This has also been helped in large part by reading other trini blogs and finding amusement in how people write and express themselves in a way that no other would understand.

I’ve frequently gotten into discussions/arguments with people (sometimes Jamaicans) about the fact that Trinis speak their own language and not just a dialect or broken English as some would like us to believe. Yes most of the WORDS are English, but many are not, and certainly our expressions are not. And yes there is a set structure, which makes it indeed a language of its own; everybody says things in the same format, its not broken English helter skelter like we don’t know the right thing to say.

How many times have we switched from speaking “properly” to speaking “dialect”? Its unfortunate that we have developed this concept of what is proper and what is not as opposed to which language should be used in which situations. I would like to reference a most interesting text written by Merle Hodge, “The Knots in English”, which expounds on the fact that "the majority of us are not English-speaking; we are a Creole-speaking. We have a language of our own and English is another language we have to learn." The text touches on the circumstances around which we grow up and learn to speak and our trouble with learning English. It outlines very specific examples of structure of Trinidad Creole and contrasts it with Jamaican Creole (we all know that we DO NOT talk the same) in a way that you can clearly see how we use certain words, and frame thoughts and sentences. Most enlightening reading about something you take for granted e.g.

"Double Negatives : Creole is one of those languages which uses more than one negative marker at a time...this cannot be done in English.

English - I DON'T want any. NOBODY here smokes any weed.

Trini - I DON'T want NONE. NOBODY here DOESN'T smoke NO weed.

Jamaican - Me NO want NONE. NOBODY here NO smoke NO weed.

In English a negative sentence can only have one negative marker"

Quite an interesting text containing examples, comparisons, and explanations about different parts of sentence structure and how "we" would say things. It is quite comprehensive in its own right but doesn't/cannot get into the intricacies of "nah", "eh heh" and "eh eh" LOL. I wholeheartedly subscribe to one statement from the preface that "it is hoped that Caribbean users [of the text] will gain a greater respect for their mother tongue as a language in its own right."

Till nex time...

Another sign...

2007-01-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

just cuz i haven't posted in a long time (and I still haven't unpacked yet) here is another sign courtesy a friend of mine, used as her MSN display name:

"why trinis does put 'beware of the dog' on dey gate when when dey have one scruntin, tired lookin pothound in dey yard?"

hehehe

Till nex time...

Back for the new year

2007-01-05T11:22:00.000-05:00

Well it took a long time but here is the picture of the kitchen, this was taken christmas eve (wow the flash make the doors look extreeeemely white boy...) Sorry for those who were looking forward but no ham was on the counter yet hehe We were still obviously in the process of cleaning. Even now there are some small things still to be done but I would say we beat the deadline :-)

For the first time this christmas though there was no traditional breakfast, after working so hard and then wrapping presents in the middle of the night I woke up at...drumrollll.... 1pm. Yes one in the afternoon, it wasnt all that bad, somehow my doing that threw off EVERYone, so there was no christmas breakfast, oh well...

Things have been great otherwise, went to the beach a few times, saw some friends, eating of course, and YES! working out! OH! I just saw shurwayne winchester with live band on a truck in the Croisee, is a good thing I get out of town early cuz it looks to be a big CT105 friday afternoon lime (the truck was heading down the main road to town) The only thing i havent done this holidays is go a fete...yuh believe it?!?! And yuh know why? it too DAMN EXPENSIVE. As a student i certainly can't fete after I pay my own flight here.

Well I now have only six more days in paradise, I have to go make a list of things i need to take back: red mango, chinee prunes.....

Till nex time..

2006-12-31T20:28:00.000-05:00

Happy New year to all. Here's to wishing everyone a productive, healthy, and happy 2007!! Hope everything works out the way you would like in whatever you may be pursuing. Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trini Christmas

2006-12-20T20:52:00.000-05:00

A la Lime's post Christmas renovation is in full swing at my house, we are having our kitchen re-done (finally) But its SUCH a hassle, right now the function of a kitchen is located in several areas. Fortunately alot more has happened since I took this pic so we're well on the way, I can't wait to pull the ham from the oven and put it on the new counter.
Also had a chance to go shopping, its CRAZY in port of spain but I love it, especially walking down the middle of the road on charlotte street heheh. Didnt so much enjoy paying $4 for a apple J, I could get 45mins at the cybercafe for that! Some of the prices... :-/ Every year I tell myself you can't go around converting $US but then my dad says "a dollar is a dollar" and its true! When you hear some ridiculous number, you eh studyin to divide it by 6, you only saying LAWD LOOK AT MONEY!!
Anyways, I got sorrell on charlotte st. and a great jar for setting some wine I am going to take back for my other foreign friends (non-americans) for our planned "mini christmas in january" when we get back from break.
And guess what?!?!?! I flew american but my boyfriend flew bwee and stole me a blanket!! woohoo!! I welcomed him to the blanket stealing club. I always wanted a bwee blanket for the collection :-) And to besides when I offload the gifts here, I will need some padding for the bottles that i'm taking back hehehe

Till nex time... (this slow internet drivin me up de wall)

2006-12-14T07:24:00.000-05:00

I'm leeeeavinnn on a jetplaaane....
pastelle sorrell black cake ponche de creme ham parang homemade wine here i come :-)

Stay safe for Christmas!!

2006-12-11T12:52:00.000-05:00

"Mr. gentleman, you is to drink, I is to drive, yuh understand what ah sayin?
but yuh tellin me drink, doh frighten you go drive, and TWO AH WE drinkin!
I am de designated drinker, you is de designated driver!
If yuh know yuh cyah take de pressure, drink, I go drive,
but two ah we is not to be de same ting
because one ah de ting go put de two ah we in TROUBLE!"

-- Sprangalang

As requested: Christmas in NYC

2006-12-11T11:12:00.000-05:00

What better way to start it off than with Santa in Macy's windows:

Just turn around, look up, and there's a Christmassy-looking Empire State...

Of course we have the ever-popular giant Christmas ornaments...

With Radio City Music Hall across the street

Snowflakes coming down in the background

And now the one you've been waiting for...

The Rockefella Tree

Its 80something feet tall and from Connecticut. Represent!

Just so you know, these pics took quite a bit of walking through thousands of people in 0*C. They are also unedited since I am still working on my class projects. Enjoy!

Why Wednesday - WHY?!?!?!?!

2006-12-06T19:01:00.000-05:00

this post is SOOOO late...cuz I MAD busy and blogger was down for a while during the day:

WHY I HAVE TO LEAVE EVERYTHING FOR LAST MINUTE?!?!?! WHY?!?! I in a mess now to finish 3 projects in a week cuz I ALWAYS leave everything for last minute! But this time I think I reach a new level. PRESSHA!!

I have my own theory on an answer for this week's "why" but it would be funny to get some suggestions heheh

Anyways, thanks for stopping by to all the folks who have been checking out this blog. Sorry I don't post more often, I hope to get more organised after I get through the next 7 days.

till nex time...

a lil update...

2006-12-05T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hi, just a few lines to say I'm still alive and haven't abandoned my blog. While I read every morning with my coffee (SOOO enjoying reading all the Trini blogs) I can't find time to write. With end of semester on top of me and final papers to write, plus shopping before I go home (I startin to look like flickin santa claus, it was suppose to be 2 lil gift for my nieces but yuh know how trinis stop when they know somebody travellin, jes so I come a mule) so blogging have to take a side for now. I have a request to post a picture of the Rockefella Xmas Tree so I suppose I will make a trip to NY for that plus some other errands in the city (and maybe a lil club while I'm at it hehe).

Till nex time...

Christmas Kickoff!

2006-12-01T02:23:00.000-05:00

Yes yes I'm really getting in the Christmas mood now! Parang on in the car, lights up in my place, and my flight to Trinidad inching ever closer!! Over thanksgiving weekend I went up to Burlington, VT. I was a college freshman there, Its just a lovely place year-round. So they had their tree lighting ceremony and this is it! The tree is at the top of a cobblestone pedestrian mall called Church Street (note the steeple in the background), cozy shops and restaurants and now the tree to cap it off! Christmas is finally getting in full swing here with people decorating, there's wreaths and bows all over. All we need now is to have some ponche de creme over the weekend to relly get in gear!

Till nex time...

Why Wednesday - paid to kill

2006-11-29T12:02:00.000-05:00

Let's get straight to the point:

Why do police officers get put on paid leave after murdering people??

By now you should have heard about those undercover police officers in Queens, NY shooting some guys outside a strip club. The men, just having been in an argument and seeing people in plain clothes pointing guns at them, understandably try to drive away. Claiming to have seen a gun on one of the men, the officers proceeded to fire 50 rounds at the group in their car. One of the officers yelled "he's got a gun" although he never saw it, nor was one ever found, thus prompting the spray of bullets. Of course the officers were too busy firing to notice that nobody was firing back or had EVER fired on them for that matter, although they would term the incident a "fire-fight". All this is happening while the suspect they could positively identify as having a gun in the club is running away. Why didnt they get HIM?? And why is that police in this country should be accused so regularly of using excessive force? Do they really feel so threatened? Or is it a power trip? A bit of both I think.

So many questions on this...

Why Wednesday - reflect...

2006-11-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

Let me say up front that I actually DIDN'T think of this in the shower:

Why do people think about life and reflect and come up with ideas in the shower? Is it we're really so busy we have no other time to? Seriously I'm looking for suggestions here...

Happy Thanksgiving!

new ting

2006-11-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

Change of template just for a friend who had trouble reading the old "white-on-black" text. This is a good one...what with all the beach talk, its appropriate to where I live...see? harbor/lighthouse/sky theme -> Lighthouse :-)

I miss Trinidad....#2

2006-11-19T00:36:00.000-05:00

Las Cuevas
I am reading so many other blogs with people talking about working out so they could look hot in they Carnival costumes. I could just imagine the gyms and 'round de savannah, PACK! Me, I more the beach-conscious type, I SOOOO miss the beach, and it doesn't help when your college is on NASTY Long Island Sound, the "beach" is 1 minute walk from here but the water remind me of by the Lighthouse in P.O.S. Eeek! Can't wait to hit the north coast...

I miss Trinidad....

2006-11-16T11:13:00.000-05:00

Actual sign posted somewhere in San Juan earlier this week:

"This driveway does NOT belong to the doubles man"

How yuh like dat? LOL LOL LOL!!

Only in Trinidad...

Why Wednesday - Are we stupid or what?

2006-11-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

Ok I know in my first why wednesday I said I was really much into politics but hey current affairs affects us all and you should have SOME idea of what's going on in the world. My question for today is:

Why do politicians and public administrators purport to insult our intelligence by making statements contrary to or severely downplaying current news reports? Or making statements that completely bypass the core issue?

I can understand to some extent the need to try to seem in control or avoid any public outcry or hysteria, but come on now... what is a "phased redeployment" of troops? Are we meant to think it's a withdrawal or are they really just putting the same troops in another area of Iraq? And are we really supposed to believe that no more urgent action is being taken to deal with the nuclear bomb-building religious fanatics out there?
And on the homefront (Trinidad), National Security Minister, on the issue of unauthorised prisoner comminication with media houses said that prison regulations stated that prisoners were forbidden to use cellphones to communicate with those beyond the prison walls. Now tell me why prisoners have cellphones in the first place? Are they calling each other WITHIN the prison walls "aye boy wha goin on over by your cell block? I comin' over to lime a while so we could plan a lil' riot"

Sometimes you really have to ask yourself...

A question of dress

2006-11-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

I met one of my professors in the hallway last week and for some reason we start discussing life lessons for students, you know, things professors teach you thats not on the syllabus. The School of Business Dean held a faculty meeting, and one of the things that came out of it was students' dress code. Fortunately I had class with him later on so I was dressed nicely (not that I am a sloppy dresser if I do say so myself, and anyway us MBA students tend to think of how we dress).

Being an hour away from New York, and having many students from the suburbs, we inevitably have a large body of students that follow the stereotypical African American thug-style dress code with oversized clothes all over the place. In fairness I should also mention the athletes who go to class in slippers and tank tops, and let me not forget the ones from further north who think pyjama pants are appropriate. So, said professor will henceforth no longer allow the wearing of caps in his class, will more actively discuss attire with his students, and as an added bonus will no longer allow students into the class who are more than 15 minutes late. How does the late thing tie in with dressing? Are students taking longer to dress sloppy and therefore arriving late to class?

Of course not. It's all a matter of discipline he is trying to underline. And I completely agree. I have been meaning to do a post about school uniforms for a long time, not that we necessarily wear "uniforms" at this level but I think the wearing of school uniforms instills a certain level of discipline and self awareness that certainly comes in handy later on in life. Why uniforms in ""? Because most of us comform, we wear what is considered appropriate, follow loose guidelines; all similar to the concept of a uniform.

I for one am all for uniforms and all the stuff that goes with it, the discipline, belonging blah blah. The opposing views about freedom of expression is bull-crap! There are so many other ways to express onself. But let us stay with the question of dress: how is it better to allow this freedom when it leads to teenagers dressing like bums to go to class? Does that not say "I don't care"? or "I don't know better"? There are no enforced standards in the name of freedom of choice/expression (mind u we are talking about pre-teens and teens) but then later on they are criticised for the way they dress and are suddenly expected to change. However there is no sense of what is appropriate, no sense of neatness, just wear the same "comfortable" (as opponents of uniforms would say) clothes all the time.

At least in Trinidad, where all schools enforce uniforms, when people get to university/college and they can wear whatever they choose and they wear the huge shirts and the baggy jeans, when the time comes for it they still do know how to wear a shirt and tie with pants that fit. Unfortunately there are some students here that you don't know if you want them at a school function or dinner because you are afraid of how they will dress.

So I applaud, and fully support, this professor in having the concern and courage to take a small step in repairing the damage.

Till nex time...

p.s. I wanted to add a pic but blogger playin de ass

Why Wednesday - dogs

2006-11-08T11:44:00.000-05:00

Photo from today's Trinidad Express

And for my second installment:

Why do Trinidadian photographers, and cameramen for that matter, like to capture photos/film that include dogs? and POST them??!!

Albeit I think it's hilarious, ( Trinidadian dogs have a distinct personality heheheh) in light of the fact that these images are now available worldwide, one must wonder if it's the most professional approach to take in covering Trinidad news events.

Flying with Bwee - PRESSHA!!!

2006-11-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

A post inspired by Manicou....

Now in my 6th year of school here in the U.S. (wow can't believe its been that long already), this is the first time I have a full-fare, confirmed seat, no standby ticket to Trinidad for Christmas. Alas it's on American Airlines. I shouldn't complain since I've travelled with Bwee the last 5 years using rebate tickets, but with some of the things I've seen people go through with Bwee....

Let's start at the start: the last time I flew American was 2001 on my way to Vermont to start college. Why American? it was cheaper in that it allowed a stopover in NY to visit with my family before going on up to school. One-way ticket paid for out of my own savings. So what happened when it was time for a visit to Trinidad? Enter my cousin, then a purser with Bwee. MANY of us know how it is to have family who work with an airline: rebate tickets! BUT you will always be a standby passenger. PRESSHA!!!!

It was jump seat fuh so! Even when my cousin was still flying and I would come back to NY when she was working the flight so she would get me on, it was still jump seat in meh ass! Jump seat in the galley. I remember once it was so busy in there, they put me to sit on some container in a corner while they moved the trolleys in and out. PRESSHA!! A couple times I got a seat in the cabin though, guess where? the exit row ones that don't recline. I doh know how those flight attendants get used to sitting straight up so whole time, well I suppose because they're NOT sitting whole time. But to be sitting facing the back of the plane...

Once I got to go in the jump seat in the cockpit. I'm sitting there looking at the instruments while the pilots tell me how against the rules it was that I am there LOL. "if anyone from the FAA comes in here, you are my niece." LOL How's that for a Bwee pilot? HAHAHAHAA SO funny looking back on it. Turned out that was one of the times I got a seat in the cabin, they realised there was a space when boarding was complete. Then there was the time my cousin got me in first class POS to JFK. I was at a window seat, nobody next to me and she bring a doubles she got by the vendor in the airport. A man on the other side of the aisle notices I eating doubles. Next time she came back, he asks how come everybody in first class not getting doubles? LOL Ah yes....good times....

Of course I have to talk about being stranded at the airport, JFK to be specific. Cuz let's admit it, you can't really be stranded at Piarco, Trinidad too small for that. But when you have to be crossing the Whitestone and paying tolls, and it taking long going through traffic...PRESSHA!!! I have thus spent a few nights well at JFK, talk about wanting to go home! Last year I think I spent TWO nights...they kept adding flights to try to get rid of all the overbookings (a great Bwee trait by the way) so we kept staying to try to get on. We? Yes yes, if you've ever flown standby, you know that you make friends with the other stand-by people. So it turns out several of us stayed overnight. I got there for the customary morning flights, didn't get on. Stayed for an additional afternoon flight, no luck. Still there were people who were overbooked left over. Then look! ANOTHER extra flight, hope on the horizon. Turns out it was a charter flight simply using a Bwee plane. What happened next was quite the spectacle for us stand-byers: Bwee put their overbooked on the charter, and BUMPED OFF people who pay dey good money for a charter flight home. Well I never see people cuss so! I surprised they didn't call security. In the meantime, we enjoying the entertainment; I mean we're flying for next to nothing so we get bumped, its expected, but these people....PRESSHA!!!

I hope the new airline has more strict standards about baggage, or maybe I should say ENFORCES the standards. It was always amusing to watch people open up their suitcases and repack on the floor by the check in counter. You ever see that happening at any other airline? I swear, the things people would pack to take to Trinidad, as if you can't get those things at home, soap? really now... And where does the stuff go that these people unpack to get their check-in pieces the right weight? In plastic bags they conveniently brought with them!! Now as far as I could tell, said plastic bags then go as carry on! so all the stuff is getting on the flight anyways! So much for the weight/no. of pieces restriction. Only Bwee....

Fortunately my cousin got outta there way before the true end came, so last year's ticket was the last "free ride" for me. And what a ride (or rides) its been! I have to say thanks to her, with all the nonsense, I've still been able to go home every year, sometimes twice a year. And with all the nonsense, in my Trinidadian nature, I will miss Bwee.

Till nex time...

Why Wednesday

2006-11-01T11:24:00.000-05:00

In the fashion of my favourite morning radio show from back home, where callers are invited to express opinions in the form of a "Why..." question. e.g. "why do politicians make such STUPID remarks?" accompanied by a short summary of what provoked the thought. (SENATOR KERRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!) But seeing as I am not much into politics, and only gave that one as an example... ;-)

I decided to start off this week with a somewhat frivolous "why", but one which caught my attention the last couple days even though its been right in front of me for quite a while:

Why do some ziploc bags have a "date and contents" label on them? I would think if you cant remember when you put something in there or you can't recognise what it is, THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T USE IT!!!!

till nex time...

maybe this will ensure that I post at least once a week haha

Cricket Lovely Cricket

2006-10-28T19:18:00.001-04:00

The ICC Champions Trophy is currently being played in India and I have found a LIVE STREAM online through which I can watch our beloved West Indies team play in the tournament. Yes I repeat: LIVE STREAM.
So far, I have been able to watch 2 games, one being the nailbiting victory over India, where in classic 1-day international style we were counting balls vs runs at the end. But as was well as Samuels slapped Agarkar for a boundary to produce the winning runs. Not so today as West Indies batted first, posting a solid total of 272 which they were unable to defend. Yes this is what they are good at: inconsistency. Oh well....

As I was watching I was wondering how many Indians on this campus were watching as well (they also I have heard have a gift for finding streaming sports). They have formed a cricket club and had an intramural tournament, which I was never able to attend, but really wanted to!Don't get me wrong! I think it was a good move considering the number of international students here. Through that venture I also found out that Canada is sending a team to the Cricket World Cup, which will be held in the Caribbean next year. Yes Canada has a team.

So in spite of inconsistency, the West Indies has managed to make it into the Semi-Final round of the Champions Trophy. As defending champions one would hope they advanced to a respectable stage. But to win it all again would be legend. Not that they were in any sort of consistent form when they won 2004. So who knows...I somehow don't think the punters will be too aggressive this time around.

I could just imagine all the talk back home: "well dey get thru to de nex rounds" "yuh eh see how Lara throw way he wicket?!" "how dem fellas could loss to England?" "doh study dat, dem fellas lookin good" ... I miss that...

What a boost it would be for West Indies to win this thing going into the World Cup next year, especially since we are hosting it. But I think having gotten to the semifinals, we would, maybe I should change that to "I" would, settle for a respectable showing going forward from here: if we lose please don't get disgraced, at least make it a close one. Good luck fellas!!

till nex time...

Timeless

2006-10-23T10:41:00.000-04:00

Since I'm on a music thing these days, I thought I would post another song, one of my favourites these days. Its from the aforementioned CD produced by Sergio Mendes, Timeless sung by IndiaArie. Enjoy!!!

Get music codes at Bolt

Chutney? huh??

2006-10-13T10:19:00.000-04:00

no not the stuff you eat!! It's MUSIC!

Regarding my previous post, a couple people told me "chutney" would NOT be readily understood by all. Duh...I shoulda thought about that! damn.

Ok so in Trinidad we have QUITE the mixed population, of which about 40% are of Indian descent (Indian meaning from India). Arriving in Trinidad as indentured labourers in 1845, they have thus contributed much to the Trinidadian culture, festivals, food, and music, having passed down customs and songs from generation to generation. The name "chutney" I suppose gives a hint as to the flavour of this genre: generally hot and spicy. It basically follows the rhythm of Hindi classical music but has come to incorporate the flavour of other ethnic groups, and music on the island. It is sung in Hindi or English and can cover any topic you like. I just found this link from Wikipedia, you can read more and explore on your own if you like, but I wasn't too far off the mark myself.

Here's some samples of chutney music in Hindi, English, or you can try some Chutney-Soca if you like. I had a hard time today finding Chutney-parang samples. Maybe for a future Christmas/parang post I'll upload something.

Enjoy!

*music samples from Toronto-Lime

My non-trini habits

2006-10-11T11:05:00.000-04:00

Of course in the last 5+ years, I have inevitably picked up some things that the average Trini would find decidely "weird" or "crazy" or "like white people" hahaha. For example, I know no Trini would find eating pizza straight out of the fridge 'normal', or how about apples and peanut butter? Sweet relish on a hot dog? Or putting chips INSIDE of your burger. The frequency with which people eat pasta is kinda unusual. Otherwise known as macaroni, I have never actually seen "macaroni" at the supermarket like there is at home, there's 20 different shapes and sizes of pasta but no macaroni.

My family finds it funny the way putting on my seatbelt has become second nature (like if accidents don't happen in trinidad). I know how to pump my own gas now! People don't believe I didn't know how to do that all along: "you didn't know how to pump gas?" nope sorry, they do it for you in Trinidad.

If I was home, think I would be listening to Joss Stone, Pink, or (dare I say it) PussyCatDolls?? Hell No! PINK?!?! White people music! So you have to expand your horizons, appreciate other things. I certainly would not have discovered one of the BEST albums i have ever listened to: Timeless, produced by Sergio Mendes (discovery courtesy Costa) So yep I go home and I'm listening to the most unlikely music, people looking at me funny but who cares. On the flipside, I have SUCH an appreciation for calypso now, I'm looking for and downloading stuff (don't tell anyone). Also chutney, I just got some Adesh Samaroo, and I have plans for a chutney/chutney-soca CD hehe.

I couldn't end this post without talking about my damn vocabulary. It's becoming so limited! 'sup, reply: 'sup. Thank god I have family here I can talk to, and finding trini websites and blogs :) I can go to so as not to lose my trini tongue. THAT would be a tragedy!

Till nex time...

What a great coach I am!

2006-10-03T11:31:00.000-04:00

wow this'll be 2 posts in 2 days!

Part of the reason I am so busy and backed up with school is that I am engulfed with coaching! or is it that I am engulfing myself... sometimes I truly feel like I spend more time planning my sessions than on my homework. And with kids tryin to get me to come to their games (admittedly I also promised during summer that I would) I am also running into scheduling problems - I missed half of a class to go to a game, and probably will do the same again in a couple weeks. My grades never suffer from this though, all I need is to pull over-nighter to catch up on my projects ;-) But in the meantime it's good PR for myself as a coach: the parents like me, the kids ask for me, and some of it gets back to the coaching director which makes me look good :-)

SO back to the game when I missed half my class: talk about parents liking me, I'm invited to dinner (for the second time from these people). So I'm hanging out with the parents, we're talking about the team and the season blah blah blah, then about camp: this kid (senior, goalie & captain) tells her Mom about a conversation at camp where the coaches were talkin about getting her to supervise the dorm for us so we could all go out to the bar! LOL Fortunately she also said that I would never let that happen. Now I'm REALLY in the good books right? I'm looking at the mom telling the story, laughing along, while thinking "if you knew that me and your daughter took a shot together..." What a great coach I am!!!

p.s. Great player, good head on her shoulders, and WELL above the drinking age in Trinidad ;-)

i'm still alive

2006-10-02T11:04:00.000-04:00

Hello Hello!!
Just writing a quick one to show I'm still in existence and I haven't abandoned my blog :-)
School is gettin to me with having to do group projects, which I should be working on right now instead of typing this and chatting with people on MSN.
Update: after following up and asking one my soccer kids about Jewish holidays, I am still waiting on some info/explanation/enlightenment from her. Maybe when I see her on Wednesday.
That's all for now....

another sensitive topic

2006-09-18T23:15:00.000-04:00

Ok so one of my teams that I coach seems to have a small preoccupation with Judaism (did I spell that right)...that sounded completely wrong. I'll try it again: several kids are Jewish and it takes priority over soccer practice, and rightly so. I'm not complaining about it, I suppose my complaint is that it annoys me that I don't know more about the religion and the culture in general since there is still somewhat the attitude of "THOSE Jews" and it's not the most common topic if you know what I mean. Just an opinion folks, just an opinion. I'm actually trying to figure this thing out:

It appears that I am having to rearrange my practices and/or cancel due to upcoming Jewish Observances. But what are they?? What do they mean?? I've only heard of a couple of them so today I went online to research. Now at least I have some inkling of the significance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I've posted about holidays before and how this would probably a public holiday in Trinidad. And again I have to say I do think that it gives an opportunity to get involved in knowing whats going on and finding out about other people's observances and what they mean, instead of each group doing their own thing.

So now my new "project" is to find out about Judaism, should be pretty easy...I have a bunch of 12-yr old girls who talk all the time that I can ask. I also just found out what Hebrew School is, maybe I'll ask the ones that go to that. Another thought: do they teach kids here about others' religious observances? Or is it some # amendment violation? :-/

Positive Discrimination

2006-09-13T10:18:00.000-04:00

....as they say in other countries.

Is it normal for a college soccer team in New England to have probably 90% black (or maybe I should say non-caucasian, some of them are mixed) guys? Some people think not. One day one the sideline, I heard someone say "what is this? affirmative action?" And it was kinda funny in its own way but I really don't know these days if people are still truly sensitive to these things and whether they are offended. I know I'm not. My friends aren't. I make comments about white people; some of my closest friends are as white as they come, no big deal, I say to them "you damn white people!" And I'm as mixed as they come so I guess I have no say hehehe.

Now of course I don't consider myself naive but sometimes it strikes me when people are so race-sensitive. Once in the airport with a friend, I felt there were some strange glances and I had to ask her if she noticed. And I don't usually feel affected by these things but I had to wonder if people thought it strange to see a white person and a (relatively lol) black, let's say "coloured" person hanging about in the airport. I experienced that a bit on my Scandinavian trip as well but then that was different, I guess I looked "exotic". But this really shouldn't be happening at JFK airport.

Then the other thing is my sister-in-law. I'm telling her about soccer camp, coaching in general, my girls' teams I have now, and somewhere in there she often manages to ask "so it does have any black chil'ren?" I have never said anything to her about it, probably because I only think about it afterwards, but why ask that?? I don't even see that anymore. Does she want to know if black kids also play soccer here? If the opportunity is equal? If there is interest? Or if I only interact with white people? Am I being influenced by white people !?! ...GASP! I've gotta remember about this next time...

damn i gotta post more often...

Back to class

2006-08-29T21:37:00.000-04:00

So what class am I taking where the professor says "at some point everyone in the world is a minority"? Philosophy class! Sociology? come again?

An MBA class at U Bridgeport. I think I counted, excluding myself, Mongolia, China, India, Puerto Rico, Pakistan, Jordan, Nepal, Greece, Bosnia, Taiwan, and CT USA! Yeah we went from international to as local as you could get. And one of the 3? Americans family is Columbian. Its awesome though! But unfortunately this doesn't happen as much with undergrads and it is usually mostly the athletes that are the foreigners so that not as many American students as one would wish benefit from having us around.

But back to class...I sat there thinking, looking... are there any Americans in this class? Well I met one I knew at the beginning, so I'm htinking besides her..hmmm...yep it was 3. Then I started thinking if this happens to my boyfriend at U of south florida. Certainly wouldn't happen on this scale at U of the West Indies...well now...maybe I should take that back, how many other islands are there..? But its not the same though. So now I'm in a team with at Mongolian and an Indian. Will be fun to follow the accents.

Ok this post is rambling, I'm gonna stop

Coaching kids

2006-08-23T13:30:00.000-04:00

I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF KIDS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I swear I'm about to shoot myself! just cuz I can't shoot one of THEM instead!! Smart-ass kids, ADD kids, kids seemingly with speech impediments, wimpy kids, kids chattering all the time, they're doing my head in!! All this out in the sun too!!

Thankfully there's also the small cute ones whose ball reaches knee height to them, there's the intelligent ones you can talk to, the older ones you can laugh with, the ones who are serious about learning stuff, and the ones you might actually have a good relationship with.

What a summer! only two more days to go. And then what? MORE KIDS! fun. The life of a coach. Well I guess nobody held a gun to my head and told me to go be a coach. It's in fact a good experience for me, I'm only venting now because I've been doing this EVERY DAY for the last 7 weeks, but to be honest I like it. I've had a couple EXCELLENT weeks where I miss the kids later on. Then there's weeks like this one where I want to squeeze their necks, but we'll just leave that alone. Yet I hear we're getting good reviews. THere's nothing like when you complete the week and the kids want to make sure you'll be there the next time they come to camp, or they make sure they come to say goodbye, give you a hug, introduce you to their parents, ask for your screen name (bad idea to give that out). Yep, the end of the week, the end of the week, end of the week....end of the week......

5 Questions from Lime

2006-08-01T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well this took a helluva long time!
Ok here we go... I needed some focus since I'm still at soccer camp, there's alot to write about but I can't settle on one thing till i get home and organise my thoughts. So I got these questions from Lime to keep my posts going till then:

1. You are from Trinidad but studying in Connecticut. What made you decide to study in the USA and do you plan to return to Trinidad upon completion of school?

I actually came to the U.S. because I was bored and football gave me the opportunity to leave and get a degree at the same time. I have known many people who come tp play for one year just for the experience and go back home. Its the question of my life: to return or not to return...and I keep putting off answering it until I ABSOLUTELY have to. When I completed my BS it was there, then I got accepted to do my MBA so I put off thinking of that for another 2 years (still have one to go) Then what? well after that I apply for Optional Practical Training (thats another year I can stretch it out for hehe) Maybe something else might come up after that. Or maybe I might grow up by then and actually decide...

2. The Northeast USA is said to be a very 'cold' place, not just the climate but the people as well. I loved the warmth of Trinidad's culture when I lived there and found this a very difficult place to return to. Do you find 'cold' to be an accurate description and even if not, how do you cope with the cultural differences?

One of the biggest things I miss about Trinidad, especially my neighbourhood, is the people on the street. And I don't mean like what you see on TV with unemployed people on the corner. But the open doors, the WALKING down your street and saying good afternoon to people as opposed to driving, the way you can just drop by someone's house for a few minutes without calling in advance, "lime" by the front gate. I always thought it noticeable how you hardly ever see anyone on the street even in the more residential neighbourhoods.

It is a bit difficult to make a comparison of the Northeast since my experiences here have been filled with people who have also come from other countries. Somehow it usually happens that the "foreigners" gravitate towards one another, I never put thought into whether it was a Northeast thing or simply an American thing.

3. If you were taking a friend on tour of Trinidad, what spots would you be sure to visit? This may include but is not limited to obvious tourist places....(oooh, i feelin' fuh an Aptee's roti or some doubles from by de airport......)

Been thinking about this one since I finally visited my european friends. Definitely they would have to take a ride in a maxi taxi, a main road one at that, not a bus route one. Port of Spain, from the President's House to the Light House; of course Maracas Bay, as much for the scenic drive and the beach as for the bake and shark; Invader's Bay, Chaguaramas, great sunsets; Chaguanas to experience the hustle of street shopping; West Mall for mall shopping and Trinidad White people hehe; Aranguez savannah where I learned to play football and fly kites; Smokey and Bunty, bar and grill (more bar); east coast leatherback turtle-nesting-watching; Asa Wright nature centre; La brea, pitch (asphalt) lake; University of the West Indies doubles vendors; ferry to Tobago: then Charlotteville to pull seine; Store Bay/Pigeon Point, beaches; Buccoo Reef/Nylon pool (clear shallow in the middle of the reef); Fort King George, history, great view;o and we would have to choose a couple good nightclubs ;-)

Those were just a few off the top of my head, but I definitely think its important to experience the daily culture and not only the tourist spots .

4. What do you enjoy most about living in the USA? What cultural traits or opportunities/experiences will you miss if and when you return to Trinidad?

Cultural traits... I feel that in spite of the American influence on caribbean society, our way of life and approach to things in general, have quite a British or European flavour. I have always had more in common with other foreigners than Americans. I really don't know what can be identified as an American trait...hmm, you drive everywhere? You like to claim your heritage e.g. Portugese, Irish etc even if you don't know much about it? You like to have parades! That's a good one! Oh and processed food!
I will miss most the opportunity to meet so many different people of various cultures. Many Americans marvel at the fact that I left Trinidad on my own, but there are in fact many like myself and such people have enriched my experience here in indescribable ways; great friends. I enjoy the ability to drive for hours and not reach the other end of the island; New York City; visiting my Grandmom; in some ways I enjoy being the novelty, the caribbean girl; coaching, coaching girls; I will miss things being open in the middle of the night e.g. Dunkin Donuts; there is so much more to do here, things to try, I guess thats why its big; I will surely miss skiing (I plan to learn to snowboard this coming winter); sometimes I am afraid I will get like one of my Uncles and be bored back in Trinidad but I know things have gotten very different in terms of nightlife and liming spots in the few years I've been away; as long as I can travel i'll be OK.

5. Now for the question I was always tickled to have asked when I lived in Trinidad....What yuh mix, gyal?

I always say I'm as mixed as they come, the only thing I am yet to discover in my heritage is some Chinese. But i've got the European/African/Indian thing goin on ;-)

Americans and accents

2006-07-11T13:20:00.000-04:00

I'm at summer soccer camps now and it's ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!! I'm here with the Brazilian women's national team coach, a Scot, a New Zealander, a Zambian, 4 Brits, and 7 americans (two of whom were born in Portugal and are fluent in Portugese). A great mix huh?

so why is it Americans have such a hard time following our accents? But they are strangely intrigued by them? Don't Americans realise they have an accent too? And a pretty weird one at that? It's funny the way Americans expect other people to talk like they do and can't appreciate the fact that a T is a T and not a D. We all went to Friendly's for dinner one night and we had such a hard time ordering a glass of waTer with our solid T's and flat R's. The waitress kept hearing ... well who knows what she thought we were saying.

Yet on the other hand, the foreign coaches always draw the most attention, all we have to do is talk, hehehe. The parents are most enthralled as they meet us when they come to drop off the kids: "I notice you have an accent, where are you from?" all excited: "oh REALLY!" You'd think they'd be a little more sensitive to picking up the nuances of accents and try to avoid asking over and over "what was that?"

What's notable is the fact that the kids are fine, I have no problem with my Rec practice kids or my U-11 and U-12 teams, or any of the kids who come here. It's the adults that have somehow developed a filter of some sort and are only able to follow their own accent. Unfortunate really. One reason why people think Americans are not "world citizens." In my opinion it's a comfort zone issue: although interested, they are also intimidated, having lost the curiosty and fresh brain cells of youth.

Oh well...more later, I'm sure there'll be plenty to write about from this whole camp experience. Cheers.

Iceland Norway Sweden Norway Iceland

2006-07-03T21:54:00.000-04:00

That's the macro view of my intinerary. So of course, at each stop, everyone wanted to know what I thought of the place/people. This was because at the first stop for my connection in Iceland, I thought everyone looked strikingly alike. So have I come away with the same opinion at the end of the whole thing? Here goes:

We have to consider that I only saw one city in Sweden, many in Norway, and Iceland is small to begin with hehe. Sweden had the largest variety of people in the largest numbers. Response to that from a 'rival' country: well they have the most immigrants. But it was nice to see different kinds of people, not that I felt at all self conscious after having spent a year each in Vermont and South Dakota. It was an interesting mix, and the white people didn't all look alike either, though I was warned to expect that all girls are blond and look the same. But I beg to disagree. In 5 years I've learned to pick up on the differences. Also I have to say that Goteborg was my favourite city: bicycles, trams, the architecture and open atmosphere were awesome for a major city, 180* from the grind of NYC. A la NYC, there's also a huge public park, but it blends in rather than being an oasis in a concrete jungle.

In Norway, thanks again to Aase (LUV YA!) I got to see different sizes of cities/towns. Oslo, Bodo, Porsgrunn, Korgen, large to small in that order. Less of the mix of people but more Japanese-&-cameras. Still I got the feeling sometimes that a coloured person was a bit of a rarity, especially in little Korgen hehe, although there it was probably the combination of stranger AND colour that drew the stares. Interesting that Porsgrunn had this International festival thing going on; one day there was a Middle Eastern or Indian dance troupe, and I somehow got the feeling as if they were somewhat of a curiousity, not part of the community. Of course the people I met were great, easy-going and fun. Oslo had a bit more of the city-bustle, the congestion, and buildings of the "modern city" but parks etc. are never far away. You can always grab a coffee or maybe a 0.6L beer ;-) So Norway was the most beautiful in terms of varying landscapes, fjords, lakes, snow-capped mountains, streams, cows in front of the car, absolutely breathtaking views from aboard my 4 within-Norway flights. The weather was not the best while I was there but that brought its own charm and sometimes bewilderment to the experience. It leaves me something to look forward to when I go back, the Midnight Sun. Best view with feet "on the ground": from atop the jump tower at the Oslo Ski Museum. How do these guys decide to ski down and jump from this thing?!

Back to Iceland. "Back" because it was the first 'taste' I had of what was to come. And I was challenged to trash or uphold my initial observation that they were all alike. Comment on that: but they're all related, of course they look alike! Ok so they don't REALLY all look alike, they just look more similar than one would expect. Can I bullshit or what?! They are less unlike people in the other countries? Ummm...more of them share more features? Enough of this, like they said, alot of THEM think all black people look the same so there! hehehe Iceland was interesting to say the least, around the airport looks like the moon, some of the coast has the most amazing colours, then you will see the brightest green lush grass amidst bare rock. It is a place of contrast, bare cliffs then beautiful waterfalls, near featureless landscapes that are enchanting in their own way: maybe you are waiting for something to happen, maybe it's a calming nothingness.

There is no saying where I enjoyed the most; you simply can't make that kind of call. Each place you visit has unique traits and will hold special memories, they all contribute to the overall experience. Even the socks and sandals...

universal phenomenon

2006-06-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

ok say it with me now: phe-no-me-non, take your time, it'll come ;)

Considering now I've experienced some of Scandinavia, and thinking of a couple other countries I've been, I think there are some things you'd likely see in most parts of the world:

* the people who are dressed like "what the hell is he/she wearing?!"
* the British or American tourist with the shorts and bright white sneakers
* the stalker guy at the club
* the weird guy at the club (as distinct from the stalker)
* the grumpy service employee
* McDonalds (except in Trinidad, we got rid of them)
* the Indian taxi driver
* the harmless drunk middle-aged man (very entertaining)
* the group of boys having fun messing around
* football fans
* street/road construction
* cute toddlers
* droves of Japanese people with cameras
* people who don't know the meaning of "personal space"
* helpful people
* great food
* a good laugh :-)

Of course I'm sure I'm forgetting a few more but...

A journal of 18 days

2006-06-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

Finally I'm back on here :) Here's my trip in a very tiny nutshell, pay attention!

Greyhound - Boston Logan - wait for hours - flight 1 - Reykjavik - delay - flight 2 - Oslo - airport train (surreal, I'm actually 'there' now) - Anne! - bus 1 - Gothenburg - Annika! - now been travelling for 30 hours - tram - Kallebacksvagen - best salmon dinner ever - "catching up on old times" :) - stay on your side of the bed - lakeside breakfast - Swedes tanning on cliffs - Jitex 3 Billdall 2 - Liseborg, Trinidad v Sweden VM 2006 - kebab - Goteborgs-Posten photographer - match drawn! - pre-party - club - home 5am - "beach" 10am (more tanning on cliffs) - my picture in the Gothenburg Post! - finally relax a bit - Hanna! - Liseborg, Balder! - BBQ - more catching up :) - football - day out with Hanna - hjort, balls - dinner - football - head out :(

- bus 2 - Oslo - Aase! (finally) - Sigrid - flight 3 - Bodo - Hans! - Siv - rain :( - midnight clouds - flight 4 - Mo I Rana - Korgen - freezing my ass off, 5*C - Mira :) - fiskeboller - lakes - mountains - waterfalls - Kibsgaard cabin - awesome! - outhouse - cows - flight 5 - Bodo - Trinidad v England - loss :( - Saltstraumen - Kjerringoy - yellow houses - ELK stew - whale - smoked cod - pants down, legs up hahaha - coffee house - Hans' new house :) - flight 6 - Oslo - train - Porsgrunn - BBQ - clarinet - explore Porsgrunn - international festival - Henning cooking - 'student house' - weird sculptures - Grandiosa - circus - train - Oslo - Anne & Stine - Andreas - Trinidad v Paraguay - loss :'( - Viking Ship museum - Kon Tiki museum - Ski museum - apple pie - Oslo Royal Palace - Aker brygge - more rain - game and beer, ein ol til - breakfast @ Stine - souvenir shopping - meatballs! - game and more beer ;) - head out :(

- airport train - flight 7 - Reykjavik - Hildur, Lilja, Hilmar! - Thora! - alcohol - the boob - Rut! - lamb dinner - hot tub - alcohol - club - alcohol - guys - almost getting lost - helvete domu bindi - 6601947 - hangover - Gardabaer - Valthor teasing me - burger with egg - grilled banana - horses - sheep - afvelta (its a sheep thing) - Althingi - Geysir - Gullfoss - attack of the spray - practice - dried fish - hung meat - getting a cold? - yes :( - eve-online - penis mall - time to go :( - delay - skyr - flight 8 - Boston Logan - Greyhound, and here I am.

This doesn't even come close to telling half the story. I'm tired as hell (I got a really bad cold) but it was a fantastic trip. Thanks to all my wonderful hosts, love you all!! ... and see ya soon

More on the Beautiful Game...

2006-06-19T04:09:00.000-04:00

Here's an article appearing in Trinidad Express drawing on a National Geographic publication which samples the views of various journalists regarding the World Cup.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_sports?id=160969068

Enjoy!

T&T!!...We want ah goal!!

taking a break

2006-06-17T18:26:00.000-04:00

Hello to any potential visitors!

i'm away for a while, but I'll have SO MUCH to write about when I get back. I'll have to sit down and categorise it before I start. Can't wait!

T&T!!!... we want ah goal!!

American footballer in Norway

2006-06-04T01:14:00.000-04:00

This is an interview excerpt sent to me by a friend in Norway, its the observations of an American guy playing in one of the pro leagues there:

He says:
- Vi hadde like mange tilskuere på kampene i USA, men de kom bare for å være tilstede. Her er det intelligente supportere som forstår spillet og som er med og heier oss fram under kampene. Det er veldig inspirerende og morsomt, mener Borchers.

-We had just as many people watching our games in the US, but they just showed up to be there. Here there are intelligent supporters who understand the game and who are with us and cheer for us during the matches. That is very inspiring and funny, says Borchers.

To follow up on a previous post: ESPN have been airing some great commercials about the passion and unifying influence of the World Cup. Gatorade should have a look at those.

T & T!! WE WANT AH GOAL!!

Football Fever

2006-06-02T20:58:00.000-04:00

I'm writing cuz I haven't in a while and I don't want this to become something I gradually forget about. So I've been visiting my Brasilian friend Costa (of course we talked about football and who's gonna win the World Cup) and she got me to join a fantasy game on Yahoo. And now I've had a visit from
Fortress Guiness talking about football again so... I guess I can ramble on for a bit...

THE WORLD CUP STARTS IN ONE WEEK!!!!!! Can u beleive it?!? All of a sudden we're in June and here comes the one month we, the people who play football with the foot and the round ball, look forward to with such expectation and excitement ;) So of course Costa thinks Brasil can do it, but thinks they're too laid back, maybe even cocky. I like Holland, and of course Brasil. NOT England, never been an England fan. And it's not helped by the fact that Trinidad are playing against them. As for Trinidad, there's no point in being the stupid fan and saying "TRINIDAD WININ' DE WORLD CUP!!" no sorry, I'm not unpatriotic, simply realistic. As long as we don't go and get completely disgraced i'll be happy. Altho things dont look so good right now as we've lost 2 warm up games...hmmm, that's happened to other teams too though... One of the African countries might surprise, as have happened before with Cameroun and Nigeria, that'll be fun.

So now I'm just waiting for my Trinidad & Tobago scarf to arrive in the mail so I can wave it at the sports bars hehe, there's a huge lime in Manhattan (new york) for the Trinidad v Sweden game, and I'm sure there'll be more after that, no lime like a world cup lime :) So I'll have my scarf and be a proud TRINI! regardless of the result. I love football for that: yes the passion causes fights and stuff but everybody appreciates a good game. You english hooligans need to cool down! someone keyed my uncle's car in London when he put on a Trinidad decal, geez.

I need to go finish picking my World Cup fantasy team. Much strategy involved you know. You get points based on the players stats so I'm gonna have to look at the groups carefully. e.g. I picked the Trinidad goalie I guess he will be pretty busy making saves lol (again realistic) and therefore more points. hehe Maybe I should find a player who fouls alot, I'll collect points for tackles HA..but then i think they minus for fouls :/ This can be figured out...

Till next time... T & T!! WE WANT AH GOAL!!