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.

A Blop Hop About Writing

A couple weeks ago Joan emailed me asking if I wanted to participate in a blog hop, and I thought it sounded like fun since I had seen some of these tag posts around before. Thank you Joan for tagging me in this blog hop about writing! Joan and I are actually real life friends, we met in Savannah back in July and spent a great weekend together, we then drove from Savannah to Florida. We hung out at the beach, both had Chik-fil-A for the first time together and then said some sad goodbyes at the airport. Joan is a registered dietician, faithful catholic and a genuinely lovely person. Check out her blog Everything Is Yours

1. What am I writing?

I wrote my first poem, about a turtle, when I was 6 or 7 and I have loved writing ever since. It's my favourite means of expressing myself. My writing includes my journal, this blog,prayers and resume writing for the millions of cousins who love to just call me up because they know I will even if I complain at first.  I am also currently procrastinating over press articles for an upcoming retreat that I am working, as well as a talk that I have been asked to give next week. 

2. How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I'm single, female and Catholic so I write from that perspective I guess but I've never thought of myself as a genre. I do write a lot about being single, but I also write about my Faith, some cooking and recipe sharing and every once in a while some general what's happening in my life.

I am not a picture heavy blog. Since I am usually the one behind the camera I don't get many pictures of myself regularly, not that I mind all that much. Sometimes I also get so caught up in the moment I forget to take pictures at all.

3. Why do I write what I write?

I write first of all for me. When I started this blog I didn't really think anyone or that many people would read it but I needed a bigger outlet than my journal. I write the things that are bothering me, inspiring me, bringing me joy or confusing the heck out of me. I write what I write because I need to see what is going on inside on the outside, whether here on the blog or in my journal. I write because writing it out is how I work it out. I also write so I can look back.

4. How does my writing process work?

Hmmm. Not sure I have one of those.

Something may come to me and I would think that would make a really great blog post so I may write it down somewhere or actually start a post but that may just sit there for a while. A verse, quote or word may come to me that inspires me to continue writing and add to the post.

There are also the posts that I just sit there and just type, whatever comes to me I just go for it, I may come back and clean it up after but first I just need to get everything out.

I don't have the patience to write out my thoughts and then re-type them so sometimes I write a word here and a word there and eventually it all works out. There is no real method to my madness it just depends on the post, my mood and what else I have going on at the time.

So that's it…and now for the fun part where I get to tag a couple of blogger friends of mine! The first is Natalie, who I virtually via hangout for bookclub, and the second is Bobbi, her blog was the first Catholic blog that I ever read. We have commented on each other's blog and I have participated in her link-up a time or two. Both of these ladies have wonderful blogs, and I hope that you get a chance to see what they’ve been up to!

Natalie blogs over at Here I Am about a little bit of this and that. Some of the this includes being Catholic. a nurse and a little bit of hippy and some of that is life as a single lady. In case the blog title didn't give it away, she has a thing for Our Lady of the Annunciation. She recently graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville and enjoys being an amateur cook, runner, blogger, and photographer.

Bobbi is a full time mom to a tween daughter, three rambunctious little boys and two babies in heaven. She lives on the Monterey Bay in California with her amazing husband Brian. When she is not washing dishes, doing laundry or dodging light sabers she can be found outside with her family enjoying God’s beauty or catching a late night movie after her kids are asleep. Bobbi writes about family, homemaking and loving God in the midst of daily life at her blog Revolution of Love.