To my people,
April 11th I went to the Asa Wright nature center with the UWI hiking club (pics on facebook). It was a great hike with some beautiful scenery. Later that night my mom and Charlie came to visit. They arrived on Saturday night and we went to this great bed and breakfast with this man named Matthew who was one of the nicest guys Ive met here since arriving. He knew one of the my friends from Canada and told me he runs tours which was nice to find out.
The next morning we went to Tobago and met one of the Brittany’s and her family at the airport. We checked into the hotel and went to a glass bottom boat tour/ snorkeling/ sandbars in the ocean. Later we went around and checked out one of the beaches called Store Bay and I introduced them to some Trini food (Roti). That night we went to Sunday School which is a like a big outdoor party type thing with no religious aspect even though it was Easter.
The next morning we went to Argyle waterfalls which is the nicest waterfall Ive ever been to. Later in the day we went to Pigeon point which is the other main beach in Tobago. We hung out there for a while and went out to dinner again at this nice called Pelican Reef restaurant except practically everything was out of stock and they had lost their liquor license. It was a typical Trini dinning experience for our families.
We returned to Trinidad on Tuesday morning and I introduced my family to many of the people that I know here from Milner. I then took them to drink fresh coconuts and eat doubles (another popular Trini food). I showed them campus and around the area I live and then they went to their hotel which is up on a mountain. I went to class and then met them for dinner which was amazing and we sat with the guesthouse owner who I know and is really really nice.
The next morning we went to Maracas bay with Evan, one of the guys from Wisconsin. It was as amazing as they had hoped it would be and they enjoyed the beautiful landscape and waves. That night my mom took me and Charlie out to dinner along with some of the girls (Alisha, the other Brittany, Stacy and Katie) out to dinner at this Italian restaurant. After that we went to Zen which is night club in Port of Spain that has free admission and drinks for all UWI students on Wednesday.
Friday I got some grades back finally and although they were a 71 and 73 the grading system is different here and those are both considered A’s. The teachers are much harder graders here which is why they do it and my teacher even said she gave a 95 on a paper which is the highest grade she has EVER given and the paper was well, well beyond her expectations.
Because of the Summit of the Americas that occurred in Trinidad this past weekend there has been a ton of military everywhere. Highways and shops have been closed and there are constantly helicopters flying overhead. As we drove around yesterday there were military on the road and on campus there were guys with huge guns just chillin', its kinda crazy as you wouldnt have that on the Eastern Campus or I-84 unless we were at war,
Yesterday we went to Narvia swamp which is a protected area of land about half way down the East coast of Trinidad. We woke up at 5 to get there and Matthew was our tour guide (he told me to say hello and got your email mom). We went into the swamp and parked the boat and went onto this island in the middle for a while. We saw tons of cool wildlife including millions of blue crabs, snakes, monkeys and porcupines and we might go back to see manatees. After the swamp we went to Manzanilla beach for a while which was really nice.
love and miss you all
-Pat
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
To my people,
Even though nothing very eventful has happened since my last post I am sticking true to my word of trying to write a new entry about every week.
First I was able to watch UConn’s disappointing Final Four performance. The championship game was equally disappointing but I still watched it b/c it’s the championship. On a more pleasant note the Red Sox season started and although they lost their first series to the Rays its still exciting that the season is underway and I was able to watch a game already.
Last Sunday I went with the two guys that are here from Wisconsin into some woods on campus. We were on a mission to find dried bamboo in order to make these instruments called tamboo bamboo. We brought a machete which was fun to use and got some huge chunks of bamboo and brought them outta the woods and banged em around for a while. It made me miss my didgeridoo but we hit the bamboo against the ground for a while making different sounds and stuff and it was real fun.
Ive been keep on going to class obviously and have been going to the pool which is outdoor and on campus. Im killing three birds with one stone as I am killing time, getting exercise and getting a nice tan so I’d say it’s a pretty constructive use of time.
Today I went to the mall for the first time since Ive been here in TT. It is similarly constructed to a mall in the US except the stores don’t really display the variety of clothing styles they do back in the US, its really just urban/ designer and athletic. At home there is skater, goth/ punk, prep, designer, urban, athletic, etc. It is also interesting to see how much more imported goods from the US cost for instance I have flip flops that retail for USD $46 at REI and EMS and I saw them for 500 TT here (USD $83). In addition, food items that imported from the US sold at grocery stores are much more expensive here than they are in the US which makes sense its just not something I really thought about before I came here or was prepared to see. I also got BK at the mall which was great cuz I have been missing greasy fast food hamburgers from places like McDonalds/ BK/ Wendy’s.
I am extremely excited for two days, Sat night, when my mom and Charlie are coming to visit for 4 days. We are going to Tobago for the first two days and then I will show them around Trinidad and where I live for the following two days. I am also extremely excited to get my hands on some of the goodies they are bringing- sunflower seeds, baseball glove, dvds and some other things I have been missing.
Love and miss you all
-Pat
Even though nothing very eventful has happened since my last post I am sticking true to my word of trying to write a new entry about every week.
First I was able to watch UConn’s disappointing Final Four performance. The championship game was equally disappointing but I still watched it b/c it’s the championship. On a more pleasant note the Red Sox season started and although they lost their first series to the Rays its still exciting that the season is underway and I was able to watch a game already.
Last Sunday I went with the two guys that are here from Wisconsin into some woods on campus. We were on a mission to find dried bamboo in order to make these instruments called tamboo bamboo. We brought a machete which was fun to use and got some huge chunks of bamboo and brought them outta the woods and banged em around for a while. It made me miss my didgeridoo but we hit the bamboo against the ground for a while making different sounds and stuff and it was real fun.
Ive been keep on going to class obviously and have been going to the pool which is outdoor and on campus. Im killing three birds with one stone as I am killing time, getting exercise and getting a nice tan so I’d say it’s a pretty constructive use of time.
Today I went to the mall for the first time since Ive been here in TT. It is similarly constructed to a mall in the US except the stores don’t really display the variety of clothing styles they do back in the US, its really just urban/ designer and athletic. At home there is skater, goth/ punk, prep, designer, urban, athletic, etc. It is also interesting to see how much more imported goods from the US cost for instance I have flip flops that retail for USD $46 at REI and EMS and I saw them for 500 TT here (USD $83). In addition, food items that imported from the US sold at grocery stores are much more expensive here than they are in the US which makes sense its just not something I really thought about before I came here or was prepared to see. I also got BK at the mall which was great cuz I have been missing greasy fast food hamburgers from places like McDonalds/ BK/ Wendy’s.
I am extremely excited for two days, Sat night, when my mom and Charlie are coming to visit for 4 days. We are going to Tobago for the first two days and then I will show them around Trinidad and where I live for the following two days. I am also extremely excited to get my hands on some of the goodies they are bringing- sunflower seeds, baseball glove, dvds and some other things I have been missing.
Love and miss you all
-Pat
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