Trini [ˈtrɪnɪ]
n pl Trinis(Social Science / Peoples)
Caribbean informal a native or inhabitant of Trinidad; Trinidadian
[a shortened form of Trinidadian]
Yesterday I was talking to a British dude, who told me his parents had retired to Spain because they hated England. No...loathed it. His dad did not associate himself with being British and was all too happy to escape the place. He does not support England's cricket team, even with their recent trouncing of the Aussies, nor does he support their (overrated) football team. He is not a fan of the UK and he does not boast of being English. Now while I am no fan of the weather, which is disgusting at best, to totally disassociate oneself from one's native country is really foreign to me.
Trinidad and Tobago is far from perfect. With rising crime rates and a new breed of ridiculous politicians, I often shake my head at the place. It really saddens me to see how much it has changed from when I was a wee lass. But...I
love the place. I love the little mad twin-island republic with all my heart and that will not change any time soon. The RWB runs through my veins. My heart is RWB.
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Photo by Donald Michael Chambers
via Getty Images |
The spirit of a Trini is contagious. For good or for bad, you cannot really hate a Trini. lol. Some of the most ridiculously amusing people on the planet. God knows they made my daily existence, and the most mundane activities, a unique and fun experience. And being here makes me appreciate so many things that we take for granted back home and which really, in some ways, debunks the longstanding Western constructs of First World and Third World. A lot of the systems here are as bad or worse than the systems back home. God knows, and I can only speak about London, the people here can use some manners. I have met non-Londoners who are awesome and so friendly and warm but goodness...London is another story altogether. I definitely miss the warmth and exuberance of the people back home. Maybe it's the sun because to be brutally honest, the weather here makes me grumpy as well. lol.
And from a country where our PM is not only of Indo-Trinidadian descent but a woman, where we have an Indo-Trini boxing champ, a white swimming champ, and the Prince of Port of Spain, it's a great mix of everybody and everything. Not to mention 33 degree Celsius weather. lol. And better beer and food. Not to mention the best Carnival in the world. Brazilians will say it's Rio, but no Trini will ever agree with that. C'mon.
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A small sample of the awesomeness that is Trinidad and Tobago
Top left, and moving clockwise -
Sir VS Naipaul, Nobel Prize winning author;
Richard Thompson, silver medallist, 100m, 2008 Olympic Games;
Dwight Yorke, former Man U and TT striker;
Janelle 'Penny' Commissiong, first ever black Miss Universe, 1977 - breaking so many barriers of beauty;
Brian Lara, world record holding batsman and one of the best batsmen the cricketing world has ever seen;
Machel Montano, soca artiste and my fave soca artiste ever (lol)
Nicki Minaj, rapper - Barbados has Rihanna, we have Nicki. |
But there are a lot of great things about the UK I imagine. London alone is arguably one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. It's hard to be bored in London. Why anyone born here would not want to be passionate about their country is beyond my understanding. I can only hold on to my own passion - the passion for the RWB.
So no matter where this journey takes me, my heart will always be in the southern Caribbean, and I will always be a Trini. Proud, beautiful and strong.
Soca - the energetic and fantastic music of Trinidad Carnival.
I can see myself in the party.
I am missing the Carnival (sob)
