Sunday, January 10, 2010

Homestay Weekend!!!

I just arrived back from my homestay in Chaguanas, Trinidad! I had such an AMAZING time & I have so many stories to tell just from one weekend! I first arrived on Friday afternoon & had lunch at Mr. Hyland's house. It was there where some of the group & I met up with some of our homestay families. Each of us got our own family to stay with. I had my first homecooked Trini meal there & I had some SUGAR CANE! (:

Nina, Me, & Max eating Sugar Cane!

That night, along with our host families we went to the Pan Yard to watch the steel pan practice! It was amazing! The young girl who was assigned to show me around, Sulyn, plays in the band & she showed us around. I also got to try & play for a little bit as well! Players ranged from all ages, it was so awesome to see a small town come together in this band.

Video I took of the band practicing!





Sulyn trying to teach me how to play!

On Saturday, some of the group was brought into Port of Spain which is the capital of Trinidad. The younger people who were assigned to each of us showed us around the city. We went to the museum, the zoo, & various look out points with great views. We also got a chance to go to the beach! It was so funny because there was actually a KFC right on the beach! I wish I had taken a picture of it! They just LOVE KFC & I can't blame them! (: That night, Sulyn took me to her house for a family party. There was loud music, lots of people, & TONS of food! She showed me all types of food that I hadn't tried yet & they were all delicious! Everyone was dancing from the young to the old. Her whole neighborhood was at her house & you could just see there was such a strong sense community. Sulyn told me how everyone always greets eachother all the time & how if you had no food at your house, you can always visit a neighbor & they could feed you. I loved the idea of her neighborhood & how everyone basically took care of eachother.


Me, Kristen, Max, & Amy at the Performing Arts Center.


The Scarlet Ibis at the zoo. The country's bird!


The view from Fort George overlooking Port of Spain.


I love the sunset in Trinidad!

The elderly lady I stayed with was named Ms. Reid. Ms. Reid is the sweetest lady who lives by herself & has all grown children & grandchildren. She told me all about how she grew up, her time spent going to school in England, & introduced me to many new fruits! Have you ever heard of a Portugal before? & I am not talking about the country! It's a citrus fruit that basically looks like an orange but it is green on the outside. It was delicious! I also got to visit an Anglican Church with Ms. Reid. It was actually pretty cool to visit another church different from my own. I was surprised I knew most of the songs & I participated in the communion with the rest of the group. What caught me off guard was that it was actual wine & not just grape juice like back home! Ha, that was a surprise!


Ms. Reid & I at a church party.


The only thing that was not very fun during the homestay was that I got ATTACKED by mosquitoes in Ms. Reid's house! I slept with a blanket on & the only part of my body that stuck out happened to be my right elbow. Let's just say... it's RIDICULOUS how much I got bit. Hopefully it goes away soon. I think out of all 13 of the group, I'm the worst off right now.


It's actually WAY worse then how it looks in the picture :/

Overall, it was such a great experience! I'm so glad I got to meet new people from Trinidad & had a chance to experience the day to day life someone in Trinidad lives. Tomorrow we leave for Tobago for a whole WEEK! I'm not quite sure what we are doing there yet, but I know we'll be discussing some reading for my J-Term class, get to relax on the beach, & I believe visit the rainforest! I'm excited! I shall be back in one week with more updates & TONS of pictures (:


1 comment:

  1. everything looks amazing & sounds like a blast. but dude.. those bites, good thing you got all of your shots! i mean my first reaction was DAMMMMMN!! haha bug spray dorko its your friend apply alot! they like the light skinned haha

    cant wait to see more (: hey we gotta skype soon. just twitter me or something and i'll be there in a second!

    PS! your better come back with one out of sight tan lmao soo serious haha

    - i miss you & love you!!
    <3 dorko j

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