31 Days of Where I live (day 13) - National Song

Day 13 of write 31

Unlike the National Anthem we don't stand at attention for this song. Like the National Pledge it was written by Marjorie Padmore. There are a few other songs classified as National Songs but this is the original.

God Bless Our Nation

God bless our nation 

Of many varied races

May we possess that common love 

That binds and makes us One.

Let it be known around the World

That we can boast of Unity

And take a pride in Our Liberty.

God bless our isles of tropic beauty rare

Of flaming Poinciana

And shady immortelle

The warm and sparkling waters

That beat upon our shores

Beat out a tune that seem to tell

We take a pride in Our Liberty.

God bless our leaders

Give them grace to guide

Bestow on them thy judgement wise

To rule our land aright

To keep the flag of freedom high that we may sing most lustily

We take a pride in Our Liberty.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 12) - The National Pledge

Day 12 of write 31.

The National Pledge, written by Marjorie Padmore, is known by by every school age child since it is recited at least once a day in all schools.

I solemnly pledge to dedicate my life
To the service of God
And to my country.

I will honour my parents,
My teachers, my leaders and my elders,
And those in authority

I will be clean and honest in all my thoughts,
My words and my deeds.

I will strive, in everything I do
To work together with my fellowmen
Of every creed and race
For the greater happiness of all
And the honour and glory
Of my country.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 11) - The National Anthem

Day 11 of write 31.

The National Anthem of Trinidad and Tobago was not actually written as the National Anthem of Trinidad and Tobago.

Composed by Patrick Castagne, a national, the song was written for the West Indies Federation which only lasted four years (less actually).

So when Trinidad and Tobago gained Independence the words were perfect, instant anthem.

Forged from the love of liberty

In the fires of hope and prayer

With boundless faith in our destiny

We solemnly declare:

Side by side we stand

Islands of the blue Caribbean sea,

This our native land

We pledge our lives to thee.

Here every creed and race find an equal place,

And may God bless our nation

Here every creed and race find an equal place,

And may God bless our nation.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 10) - The Coat of Arms

Day 10 of write 31.

Before Trinbago (short for Trinidad and Tobago) got it's Independence in 1962 a committee was formed to design and create the symbols that would represent the country. The coat of arms was one of those symbols.

Designed by Carlisle Chang and George Bailey to represent and reflect the future of Trinidad and Tobago without forgetting the past.

At the top we have a gold ship's wheel in front of a fruited coconut palm. This was originally the central figure in the British Colonial seals for Tobago before it annexed to Trinidad.

The gold helmet facing front represents the Queen, our monarch until the day of our Independence.

The colours of the shield are the colours of our national flag and have the same meaning.

At the top of the shield we have two humming birds. Trinidad was originally named Iere by the Amerindian, the Land of the Hummingbird for the overwhelming number of them that inhabited the the land. There are more than sixteen species of hummingbird found in Trinidad.

Next we have the three ship. The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. The ships sailed by Christopher Columbus when he discovered Trinidad.

The shield is supported on either side by the national birds. The Scarlet Ibis in it's resplendent red on the left of Trinidad and the Cocrico of Tobago.

Below the Scarlet Ibis we have the Trinity Hill which Columbus saw inspiring him to name the country after the Blessed Trinity. The land beneath the Cocrico represents Tobago.

We then have the ocean waves. The cradle of our heritage and the waters that join the two islands together.

Finally we have the nation's motto. Together we aspire, Together we achieve. These words speak for themselves and promote harmony in diversity for national achievement.

The Coat of Arms can be found on official documents as well as the back of all our coins. It is also found on our paper currency.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 9) - The Flag

Day 9 of write 31.

Trinidad and Tobago is a rather "young" nation in that we only got independence in 1962. At which time we chose our own flag.

Previously we flew the British flag. Trinidad and Tobago used a British blue ensign defaced with a circular badge depicting a ship arriving in front of a mountain.

A red background with white and black horizontal stripes in the centre.

The red symbolises the sun which plentiful and hot here in the Caribbean, the fire of the people. It represents courage.

The black symbolises the earth representing dedication.

The white symbolises water representing purity and equality.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 8) - The Pitch Lake

Day 8 of write 31

Remember when I said Sir Walter Raleigh came to Trinidad looking for gold. Well he discovered what he called "black gold". The rest of us call it asphalt or pitch. He discovered the Pitch Lake in south Trinidad.

The Pitch Lake in Trinidad is the largest deposit of asphalt in the world. It is the only "lake" in Trinidad. Other asphalt lakes can be found in California and Venezuela.

The ashphalt is used to pave streets locally and abroad.

It is "alive" as a few like to say since it burps and hisses and consumes anything that put on it's surface after awhile

Warm Sulphur pools appears on the Pitch Lake in the rainy season when water collects in the cracks and crevices of the Lake. The pools, also known as the “fountain of youth” contain high levels of sulphur, which villagers claim is good for curing anything from skin conditions to joint pain. Visitors should be careful when bathing in the pools as some are very deep.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I Live (Day 7) - Down de Islands

Day 7 of write 31

I've already established that Trinidad and Tobago is made up of two islands. but that should be two main islands there are others.

Here in Trinidad they are referred to as "down de islands". The "de" is pronounced like a hard d and it means the.

One is a jail, some are inhabited regularly but they are mostly used for a day or weekend get away by the locals.

Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande and Gasparillo Island. 

Little Tobago, St Giles Island, Sisters' Rock and Goat Island off Tobago.

Caledonia Island, Craig Island, Lenagan Island, Nelson Island, Pelican Island Rock Island.

Carrera on the left, Cronstadt on the right

Cronstadt Island, Carrerera Island (the Jail), Faralon Rock, Soldado Rock, Saut D'Eau

 

I took these because I can see some of the islands on my to and from work.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 6) - Where Exactly Is Trinidad and Tobago

It's day 6 of write 31!!!!!

So you may be thinking I get T&T is an island and it's in the Caribbean, but where?

Trinidad and Tobago lies just 7 mile off the north eastern coast of Venezuela, it a 58 minute flight to Caracas. We are the most southerly islands in the Caribbean.

Guyana, which is also a Caribbean country but not an island is the only one below us, technicality is a beautiful thing.

Trinidad is surrounded by four different bodies of water. The Caribbean Sea to the north, Gulf of Paria to the west, Atlantic Ocean to the east and Columbus Channel to the south.

When I tell some people that I am from Trinidad many ask if it part of Jamaica, please note how very far away we are from Jamaica.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 5) - Pictures

Day 5 of write 31!!!!

This is actually going to be a picture day. Some pictures of the past and a few of the present

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (Day 4) - Our History Part 2

Day 4 of write 31!!!!!

Remember I said that Trinidad had a relatively peaceful history, the Spanish even gave up control without a fight. Yeah.... Tobago's history isn't like that.

It seems like everyone fought over this tiny island.

Now Columbus saw Tobago as he was discovering Trinidad back in 1498, and he named it Bellaforma, but he wasn't interested in it so he left it alone. He was the only one.......

Now even before Europe started showing interest, Tobago was the scene for battle between the Carib Indians and a few other Amerindian tribes. The Caribs and Arawaks were not the only ones.

Named after tobacco which was grown by the Carib Indians, Tobago was established by the Dutch and Courtlanders (Latvia) in the 16th and 17th century. Then Spain finally decided they wanted it then the British, the France, then Holland again. No one gave up without a fight so it was a vicious cycle with Tobago changing hands about thirty times for almost two centuries in violent clashes.

The British ended up on top in the end. They finally annexed (that word again) Trinidad and Tobago as one country in 1889.

As with Trinidad, the British brought in slave labour. Later they imported Chinese, East Indian, Tamil (Sri Lanka) and Portuguese indentured or free labourers. The free labourers were not under any form of contract and could come and go as they pleased.

Like Trinidad post 1889 had an influx of Chinese and Syrian people, but also German and a few other European countries.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I live (day 3) - Our History Part 1

It's day 3 of write 31 and I'm still here!!!!!


Trinidad and Tobago have dissimilar histories so I'm going to cover them separately. They were two separate countries until 1889. So I'm going to provide brief histories with a few key points in two parts

Trinidad was discovered by Christopher Columbus 0n 31st July 1498 and was named La Trinité. Columbus saw three hills (now named the Trinity Hills) and thought of the Holy Trinity and so blessed us with the name.

Before Columbus the island was inhabited by the Amerindians (think Native Americans), mainly two tribes the Caribs and the Arawaks. The Caribs were a warring tribe while the Arawaks were a more peaceful tribe. One of our local beers and beer producers is called Carib and one of our chicken producers is called Arawak. Just saying.

Sir Walter Raleigh came to Trinidad in 1595 looking for El Dorado, the City of Gold. I remember from school that he found the Pitch Lake and proclaimed he had found black gold. However the area named El Dorado and the Pitch Lake are not in the same area.

During the French Revolution, French planters and their crew migrated to the Caribbean, Trinidad was one of the islands that they came too. The country was still under Spanish rule at this time despite Sir Walter Raleigh's little stint on the island and a little uprising by the Carib Indians some years back.

Trinidad has a relatively peaceful history. Though not totally.

In 1797, General Sir Ralph Abercomby landed, prepared to take the island by force but the Spanish Governor capitulated without fight (as I said relatively peaceful). Trinidad became a British Colony with French citizens and Spanish laws,

The British brought in lots of slave labour but after slavery was abolished East Indian labourers were brought in to make up for the slaves who refused to work.

Trinidad has a very multi-ethnic population thanks to coming and going pre-1889. Post we have the Chinese and Syrian influx but I'll get to that in time.

If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

31 Days of Where I Live (Day 2) - Trinidad AND Tobago

Welcome back!!!!! I made it to day 2.

The and in caps in the heading is not a mistake, I just wanted to make a point. When people ask me where I live I say Trinidad but in fact the name of the country is The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago or informally Trinidad and Tobago.

Another fun fact the "country" is actually TWO islands that are annexed but not physically connected. I may get into that annexed feature in another post since that takes me back to a history lesson or 2 and I'm not ready for that as yet.

Trinidad, where I live is the larger of the two islands. It moves at a faster pace, more indstrialized, big business, etc.

Tobago the smaller island, moves at a slower pace. It's a tourist haven. Many celebrities quietly vacation there. Another fun fact a season of Real World/Road Rules Challenge was taped there, remember that show.

So if you want to party, do big business you come to Trinidad.

Want to relax, get away from it all, fish, etc you go to Tobago.

The two islands have completely different histories, the culture is not very similar but we are one big happy country

31 Days of Where I Live (Day 1) - Introduction

Hello blog world, it's been a while. I haven't blogged since May, life has been hectic and busy and crazy. While I have been tired, overwhelmed and burned out. Yet I miss blogging. I still write, my journal and I have gotten pretty close over these last few months as I struggled to find balance in everything I had going on and it has been a good time for me. Now it time for me to get back to my little corner of the internet......I hope.

To help myself out I've decided to take the 31 Days Writing Challenge. When Bobbi blogged about it earlier this week I thought this is exactly what I need. Then I thought what in the world can I blog about for 31 days. While I'm thinking short daily posts for this challenge I couldn't think of a topic that I cold stretch for a WHOLE month. Did I mention that every post is on the same topic!!!!

Then it hit me...... I live in a country that very few people know a lot about. Raise your hands if you've ever heard of Trinidad and Tobago......

So there is my topic Trinidad and Tobago, where I live. I hope you'll join me as I try to introduce you to this beautiful country of mine.

This is the landing page for the whole series and I'll link back to this page all the post

Day 1                         Day 9                               Day 17                     Day 25
Day 2                         Day 10                             Day 18                     Day 26
Day 3                         Day 11                             Day 19                     Day 27
Day 4                         Day 12                             Day 20                     Day 28
Day 5                         Day 13                             Day 21                     Day 29
Day 6                         Day 14                             Day 22                     Day 30
Day 7                         Day 15                             Day 23                     Day 31
Day 8                         Day 16                             Day 24


If you would like to learn more about writing for 31 days in a row, please visit www.write31days.com and learn more about it. I chose the "Too Awesome to Categorize" category for my own blog this month.

It's Carnival Time

It's Carnival here in Trinidad, that time of the year just before Lent when some people get it all out before they give it all up.

Carnival is this

as well as this 

But it can also be this

People come from all over the world to party through the streets for two days. The kids get Saturday and Sunday, while the adults have at on Monday and Tuesday.

Carnival actually has its history in the Catholic Church, hence the reason it occurs before Lent. Carne - Meat and Val(e)- Festival. Farewell to meat. It was a big celebration to consume all the rich foods and drink that was off limits throughout Lent. Trinidad's Carnival has it's roots in the slaves imitating and making fun of the masters during their celebration of Carnival.

The ingenuity and talent of the people have transformed the time from mere mimicry to the festival of colour and artistry it is today that has people flocking to the islands year after year from start to finish (although Carnival is technically that four day period before Ash Wednesday in actuality it runs much longer).

Old Mass on Friday you get a taste of the past and all those traditional characters like Pierrot Grenade, Midnight Robber and Minstrels.

Saturday and Sunday afternoon the kids take to the streets in their costumes. Some of the bigger bands have their own music trucks but there are speakers lining most streets playing soca music for the revelers in costume as well as the spectators. Thousands of people line the streets or chip along as the kids have their fun.

Steelpan which was invented in Trinidad has it's final competition on Saturday night when the best of the best to emerge from earlier competitions vie for the title of Panorama Champion. These bands have players as young as 5 with foreigners as well as locals. These foreigners are regulars who have been coming for years and are real pan lovers.

Carnival is many things to many people. A time to get away from it all. A time to be "free" and do what you want. A time to experience the beauty of our culture and the talent of our people.

To quote our Archbishop in his message for this "weekend" "It is possible to celebrate cultural events of which Carnival is one, have fun and still be faithful to what God asks of us." Carnival is part of the Trinidad and Tobago culture and it is full of beauty, talent, togetherness and history. 

Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago: The preparations

Whirlwind. Chaos. Calamity.

Words to describe preparation for Christmas in Trinidad. At least that's what I thought my house was growing up. Most Trinidadian housewives "turn down", "turn up" then "put away" their houses before Christmas (i.e make it total inhospitable to the kids who live there) so that it will look brand new for Christmas and it does but I'll get to that.

Schools in Trinidad close for "vacation" a whole week to a week and half before Christmas to give enough time for the children to be home to help their parents, at least that's what parents tell themselves and the kids. If you have a parent or grandparent or great-grandparent like my grandmother that means you have a million ornaments/ornamental pieces to clean and not break anyone because they are all older than you. Glassware, plates, and silverware that has never been used except for decoration and display also need to be clean and once again not be broken because of course they are older than you also.

Painting was fun if not messy because many Trinis paint every year, some every few years but most when painting choose Christmas. We didn't do much painting but I am intimately familiar with furniture varnish because while many Trinis used Christmas to get new my grandmother believed in preserving with I actually like.   If you have a major renovation most people also choose the months leading up to Christmas.

Most Trinidadians didn't actually finish setting up for Christmas until well Christmas. This is changing and many people are finishing everything earlier but as a kid I could go to sleep at midnight Christmas Eve with something still in the oven baking, my mother or grandmother cleaning something, and an assortment of other chaos going on throughout the house, then wake up on Christmas morning to a whole new house. This has always made Christmas magical to me, I have always been the first person to get up on Christmas morning and at 4:30 or 5 everything is still dark out, the house is quiet and you just a whole new world to what you last saw when you went to sleep a few hours ago. The furniture is rearranged, new (or haven't been seen in a few years) curtains are up, the Christmas lights are on, the house still has a faint whiff of baking and a reverent silence.

I was never the kid to rush presents, I always preferred the experience of Christmas and waking up on Christmas morning. It always annoyed my sister that I didn't open my presents until the afternoon but the experience of what I was waking up to was the best present I got everyday. I know what Christmas looks and smells like and that memory is a present that lasts a lifetime.

source

To read the other two post in my Christmas in Trinidad mini series try here and here.