Stay to Get Away

Trinidad is truly a blessed nation.

If you’ve ever visited Trinidad, or even know a Trinidadian, you’ve probably heard the saying “God is a Trini”. And its true God really must be a Trinidadian because there is so much enjoyment to be had here in our little twin island nation. Why? Because there is never a dull moment here in Trinidad. Never, never, never. There is ALWAYS some sort of “bacchanal” going on, whether it’s the next-door neighbour’s cousin’s ex-boyfriend or another Manning/Panday saga. Big, small or usually both - It doesn’t matter. Trinis love a little drama (I’m convinced this is why The Young and the Restless is so popular here, but that’s beside the point). In fact, when Shakespeare said, “all the world is a stage” I think he was talking about Port-of-Spain on any given day. There is always something happening in Trinidad and that’s because Trinidad is one of the most diverse, chaotic and vibrant societies that you’ll ever encounter! We’re a mix of well…everything! We’re a nation of a French and British plantocracy, black slaves and Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, and “poor white” indentured labourers. Oh, and I nearly forgot, the indigenous Carib populations and the Syrian immigrants. Phew! It’s a mouthful and so are we.

We are a microcosm of the world’s population in one tiny island. Some would say that this is a recipe for disaster, but I think time has proven that this is a magical combination. Of course I have a theory on why it works and what makes us so theatrical. Long ago when we were all brought to this special place we bonded over the same thing that continues to hold us together to this day – Carnival. I think enough has been written about Carnival to revisit this topic at length. Of course, it is a culturally and visually beautiful festival for many reasons, the costumes, the Mas and it doesn’t hurt that Trinidad has some of the most gorgeous people in the world… However, it has to be mentioned as it is a crucial, if not the most crucial aspect of our society, because of what Carnival does to us as a people - it joins us in harmony. Not to be a little rude and to quote Jeremy Taylor, but I suppose you could liken Carnival to “make up” sex. We fight and toil all year long and arguably still put on a bit of a show, but at Carnival time none of it matters anymore, as we’re all joyous and “in love” again.

Well that is for everyone except me. Call it the “British-ness” in me, but Carnival hurts my feet and I don’t have the stamina for more than one day (to the genuine dismay of some of my friends). My ideal would be one day of fun and one day of quiet. I like to escape from it all if you will. And this is where I can talk about what I really love about Trinidad – it’s natural diversity – because I can ”escape” if I want to. It’s almost as if our diversity permeates from our people to the earth below us. We have everything. We have the chaos, but we also have quiet and peace in our natural surroundings – beaches, rainforests, green mountains, flat savannah lands, you name it, we have it! I will never understand why more schools don’t offer field trips to the Asa Wright Nature Centre as it is certainly a natural and educational resource, but again, that’s beside the point. Trinidadians can escape to the quiet of the countryside if they so choose and because it’s such a small space, I promise you the drive won’t be more than one hour (OK, maybe two) no matter where you go.

Trinidad can be a country of balance, if only Trinidadians knew where to look. We have the potential to be a joyous society. We, as a people will never stop offering up our own individual and collective excitement, and our natural environment will never stop cooling us down, whether it be in the form of a light breeze, a heavy torrential downfall or even the shade from a coconut tree…this is the Caribbean after all. We should appreciate that we live in paradise.