July 2009
16 posts
{Adam}
Charlotte and I had the privilege of attending a pretty intense meeting the other day. And since I know everyone is itching to hear about it, I am going to outline the day here. Last Thursday, Charlotte and I get a phone call from our supervisor, David Williams, inviting us to the (re)swearing in of the Mayor, Adrian Cabralis. This was a formal affair, so after a frantic, sweaty, trip...
serias?
{Sheena}
Here is the second installment of the basic guide to Trini culture: local lingo! Though we’re all speaking English, we’re not all speaking English…here, a little guide to what some common phrases/words mean:
Lime. Adjective, to chill. Noun, a kickback. I’m going to a lime in South. or You limin’ tonight?
“Oh shocks” = basically another way to...
"Whooooa...we're half way there!"
{Steph}
Today officially marks the 15-day coutdown till we return to the States! Woop woop! With such a short period of time left in Trinidad, I’ve began thinking about all the things that have made this a one-of-a-kind experience for me.
The group. My groupmates are all personable characters in their own rights: full of personality, jokes, and just pure greatness. Though we’re...
{Adam}
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to have my parents come visit me. In between taking them to the local hotspots, my workplace, and Tobago, some discussions began about the different things that I am hoping to accomplish here.
One conversation in particular has stuck with me for the remainder of the weekend and has forced me to do some serious thinking about my work here. At dinner, my...
{Charlotte}
Last week, we finished making our slides based on the report we wrote. The PPT contains about 50 slides, which is far longer than we expected, but we indeed have much to say about the project. As our work going on, I realized that there are more issues within the market than I expected. At the beginning, I only observed the sanitation, security, illegal vendor, and size issues of the...
A Local Now?
{Sarah}
Yesterday was the first day I ran into a local that I knew on the street. He was really sweet and walked out of his way with me all the way from the maxi stop to drop me off at a taxi (he actually said he was doing this to show me he was a good guy haha). But it also made me realize that after 6 weeks here I really feel like I am part of the community. This morning I took a taxi from the...
{Adam}
Charlotte layed it out pretty well. We are finishing our report, and gearing up to present it to the Arima Corporation Council. The report has ballooned since we first started, and if its length is any indication (the first single spaced document I’ve ever written over 10 pages), we have done some serious work. Our suggestions for market improvements seem simple enough, and we hope...
{Charlotte}
Last week, Adam and I started to write our report after we had finished all the interviews and surveys. We edited our project proposal according to the comments of our OTGC and wrote our report based on the project proposal. Our report includes the project goal, sub-goals, background information, the results of the surveys, discussions, and conclusion. After giving out the outline of...
{Lisa}
In the Port-of-Spain, glistening skyscrapers and brilliant feats of architecture are rising out of the sparkling sea, pulled out by the able hands of a government obsessed with development. The people of this country demand cars and Internet access and everything else the first world has gorged itself upon. This country is intent on having all the trappings of the first world, and there is...
fast food nation
{Sheena}
Now that we know a little more about Trinidad, I thought it’d be fitting to give a little rundown of Trini culture and life from an American perspective. This post: food, and in particular, fast food. Some of the other group members have already talked about roti and doubles so I won’t go too much into that except to say that they are delicious, cheap, and undoubtedly terrible for you....
The Fourth of July in Trinidad
{Sarah}
When the Fourth of July came around, rather than celebrating with fireworks or parades, Sheena and I got up at 6 am to go into work and interview illegal vendors. We we in charge of approximately 10 people and all 12 of us went to different illegal vending hotspots in the city to interview and compile information about the vendors. We ended up finding about 75 illegal vendors, though...
{Lisa}
I had always thought that the worst you could do when confronted with a request for help from another was nothing. But, over the past four weeks, I’ve learned there is indeed a far worse response—it is perhaps precisely the response I have been giving—the sprinkling of false hope.
Whenever I am asked what I am doing in Trinidad or what the purpose of these interviews my colleague and I have...
{Lisa}
Taking public transportation is the easiest and quickest way to get to know the heart of Trinidad. On the maxi taxis—small, cheap 10-passenger vans—you’ll see why Trinis pride themselves on being a true melting pot; the passengers on the maxi can range from the very young—children getting off from school, still in their uniforms—to the very old and there is always a mix of...
{Adam}
Surpassing the halfway mark of our trip, it seems like a perfect time to reflect on what it means to be in Trinidad (in all honesty, it’s not just the timing inspiring me to write about this…add in the fact that Charlotte pretty much summed up our entire work week in her post, and I’d say I really don’t have a choice). After being here for 5 weeks, I feel like I’m finally starting to get...
{Charlotte}
I have been here for about 4 weeks and have gradually got used to the accent and culture here. During the first week I could hardly understand the local people’s English, but now the situation is much better. I have tasted the delicious roti, bake and shark, double and coconut water. I have watched local sexy and passionate dance. However, as Sheena said, people here have a racism...
just deal with it?
{Sheena}
Almost every day that I’m out in public, I get called out for being Chinese. Sometimes, it’s in an almost observational way, like “Oh, look, a Chinese person,” but other times it’s just a tiny bit harsher than that. Two of the more memorable occasions:
Case #1: Tunapuna Market Sarah and I are walking around the market trying to familiarize ourselves with...
June 2009
18 posts
Halfway Done?
{Sarah}
As we are nearing the halfway point in our time in Trinidad and Tobago, I felt that it was time for me to reflect about my overall impressions of the country. Honestly, when I applied to this Duke Engage, I knew next to nothing about Trinidad and Tobago. Now that I have lived here for a month, I am so glad that I have been able to learn about the vibrant spirit of this country. Soca,...
{Steph}
Lisa and I are still in the process of meeting with local villagers to talk about community issues and concers. This past week, we had the opportunity to meet with the “movers and shakers” of the California Village Council. They echoed many of the concerns that the villagers we’ve spoken with have voiced thus far: drug use within the community, idling youth, and a lack...
{Adam}
The continual stream of vendor and customer surveys was broken for Charlotte and I this past Tuesday as we traveled to Chaguanas to visit their more modern market. With a population of roughly 75,000, Chaguanas is roughly the same size as Arima, yet their markets are vastly different. At 400 vendors during the week, and a massive 800 during the weekend, the Chaguanas market is much larger....
The Village of California, as documented by... →
{Lisa}
Stephanie and I spend a lot of our work time talking to local men and women. That’s why we created another tumblr to showcase the photos of the community members we have met. These photos convey the strength and character of the people we have met, in a way that mere words cannot. We’ll try to update this tumblr with more faces as we speak to more people.
cipriani
{Sheena}
So far, Sarah and I have worked here at the Cipriani College of Labour and Cooperative Studies. One of the premier tertiary education institutions in Trinidad, Cipriani has seen tremendous growth and development in recent years, from renovating the building itself to expanding the number and variety of degree and certificate programs that the college offers. Part of this process has...
{Adam}
As Charlotte just discussed, we face a unique set of challenges in working with the Arima Borough Corporation. Their market, started in the earlier 1960s, has failed to grow in physical size with the influx of new citizens. This growth has caused numerous problems within the market setting, as vendors try to jockey for the best selling positions within the building. Yet, a simple size...
{Adam}
This weekend’s excursions included one to quite possibly the weirdest “lake” that I have ever seen. After about an hour drive through cities and towns down the West Coast of Trinidad, our esteemed taxi driver Roger pulled the car onto a driveway leading to what looked like, really, a natural parking lot. This site was the Pitch Lake, a naturally occuring deposit of pitch,...
Natural Fun
{Steph}
On Saturday, the group enjoyed an outing to some of Trinidad’s natural beauties. With Charlotte’s arrival on Monday, the entire group of six was finally reunited. Lisa and I traveled down from California to Arima. We had an outing to Maracas beach planned for Saturday, but had to quickly change our plans due to the rainy weather. Womp womp. Nonetheless, we traveled uphill to...
The First Week
{Charlotte}
After a 24-hour flight, I finally arrived at Port of Spain Int’l Airport this Monday. During the first week, I gained a lot of new experiences and learned to adjust myself to the new environment. I met new people, traveled to interesting places and ate local food. I had cocnut drinks, “doubles”,and Trini rotis. I stay in a host family in a town alled Arima, which is...
{Lisa}
I was walking alone back from a grocery store when I heard a middle-aged woman shout out from across the street, “You! What you doing here?” I wasn’t really sure what to reply, so I didn’t say anything. “You Chinese come here and you don”t even learn English!” She shouted at me. I was tempted to stop, turn around, and ask her to repeat what she had...
Local Music →
{Sarah}
One of my favorite things about Trinidad is the music that is constantly being played in homes, transportation, bars, and even worksites. It gives the impression that music is a vital part of everyday life which is something I love! I have been surprised that so much American pop music is played on the radio, especially when the local music scene is so amazing. I have grown to love local...
The New Job
{Adam}
Today was the day, I got to start my job researching possible improvements to the goverment provided marketplace in Arima, Trinidad. Working with Mayor Adrian Cabralis, I get the opportunity to speak with both vendors and government officials to find the best route toward a cost effective expansion of the overcrowded market. The market, housed in a roughly 50 year old building, is...
New Friends!
{Sarah}
Last Wednesday we were able to meet with the awesome Student Guild of Cipriani College. We instantly hit it off with them sharing stories about life in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago. After several hours of laughing, sharing stories, and getting to know each other the students spent the rest of the day shopping and having dinner with us. It was amazing to me that these student...
3 tags
What are we doing here?
The six of us will be working at four different sites in Trinidad. Charlotte and Adam are working in Arima to assess the conditions of municipal retail market stalls in order to develop a report for the vendors’ expansion and improvement. Sheena is working in Tunapuna-Piarco to assist with summer youth programs by providing speakers’ forums for youth to gain exposure to entrepreneurship...
May 2009
1 post
DukeEngage →
The DukeEngage homepage for more on the program that sends over 300 students to various civic engagement programs.