10 Clues that I'm Still Trinidadian

Some female expat bloggers in Denmark are currently challenging each other to share 10 traits that identify them as still binding to their mother land. While I'm a faithful reader (a.k.a blog stalker), but don't really have an expat-oriented blog, nobody tagged me, so I tagged myself!! :) Here goes! :

10 Clues I'm still Trinidadian!

1. I'm polite. Maybe it's because our islands were colonized by all these European powers: French/Dutch/British for Tobago; Spanish/British for Trinidad. However, Please, Thank You, I'm sorry and the time of day just pop out of my mouth like exhaled air. In Denmark it irritated me when people would just brush past me without an apology, or would stand hovering behind me rather than asking to get past. I Malta, it's the opposite. They say sorry for both 'excuse me', and to apologize... oh.. and also to get someone's attention.
2. I have a diverse palate. Remember I mentioned the colonizers? Well.. they brought their cuisine with them, and of course the slaves had to learn to cook it just right. Plus there were the nuances that the slaves added. Then there were the folks that were lured over when slavery ended: Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrians, Chinese, etc, and they eventually settled on the East Indians as suitable indentured labourers. These folks ALSO brought their dishes with them, and a couple of centuries later, our local cuisine is as varied as ever. The two main groups are the folks-of-African-descent, and the folks-of-East-Indian-descent. However, the other groups' gastronomy play a very critical role. Furthermore, we can basically all cook each other's dishes!
3. I'm used to religious diversity. There are some churches in Trinidad that are not far from a mosque, which in turn is not far from a Hindu mandir. I'm used to hearing Friday evening prayers from the mosque on my way home, and despite a coup led by an islamist extremist 19 yrs ago, I have never felt threatened by the average Muslim in my midst. I'm used to seeing women in saris and hijabs, and really towering head-dresses. To each his own. We celebrate each other's festivals, too (great excuse for eating each other's FOOD). End-of-year is terrific with Eid-Divali-Christmas so close to each other. And the child with Muslim grandmother, Hindu grandfather, Catholic mother and Protestant father enjoys the season(s) imMENSEly!!
4. I have a thing for RHYTHM! In terms of international carnivals, Trinidad's is probably the most inclusive. Unlike the Rio carnival, participants don't need to belong to any particular dance school, nor have any special training. It doesn't matter how big, how small, how tall, how short, how pretty or how ugly, how rhytmical or how many left feet you have, you can participate! That said, having had a conservative religious upbringing ("Carnival is devilish", and all that), I steered clear of the festivities. However, the RHYthm is an innate thing! I can't hear jumpy music (NOT rock music, folks) without wanting to bust a move.. and LIKE the average Trini, it doesn't really matter where I AM!
5. I have a limit to how much rain and sun I can tolerate. Trinidad as two seasons: rainy and dry, with the dry season seeing more sunny days, and the wet season seeing more wet ones. To wake up to a grey sky is no big catastrophe, and hopefully means that the day will be COOL! However.. something that irritated me in Denmark was that sometimes there would be DAYS of grey skies, and not a DROP of water would fall. Oh... I also love thunderstorms. Being south of the hurricane belt, Trinis can enjoy the hurricane season without feeling any real THREAT that we'd be hit by one! :)
6. I have a Trini flag made outta red-white-and-black hay bales on my Farmville FARM!! lol!
7. I speak Trinidadian creole. Now.. a creole is NOT the same as a dialect, although there MAY be different dialects of Trini creole (North vs South, etc). Going back to our history, a Creole developed when different linguistic groups bunched together and some kinda communication HAD to take place. In our case, it was slavers and plantation owners/overseers, trying to get the slaves to do their dirty work for them. It got even more complex because the slaves were often separated from their tribesmen and other family members to ensure that they couldn't overthrow the landowners. What was a 'pidgin' in the early days, developed into a European-lexicon-based 'creole' as time went by. In Trinidad we had a French creole that got replaced by an English creole over the last century. I neither speak, nor understand French creole, but I've heard that it's mutually intelligible with the French creoles spoken in St. Lucia, Dominica, Haiti and French Guiana. Tobago also has a creole, but because of their Dutch heritage, there's is more similar to the Guyanese and Jamaican Creoles.
8. I'm Americanized. Now.. prior to my move to Denmark and subsequently Malta, this is not the sort of admission that I would have made! "Trini to de bone!!", and all that. However , once faced with the pathetic offerings of Danish cable tv, and at Danish supermarkets, I fast realized how Americanized I was! Entertainment wise, Hollywood blockbusters were common fodder. Ditto for music. Food.. well.. need I say more? I had to start from scratch, cuz the only American brand at the supermarket was Kraft (maybe cuz it LOOKS Danish?) As for MALta???? It's either British or Italian TV, and i SWEAR they're lamer than Danish tv! Ditto at the supermarket. The brands are either British or Italian, and I'm learning from scratch once again!
9. I'm used to more than 4 seasons. Now I may have mentioned that there are only two seasons in Trinidad and Tobago: wet and dry. And the Danes moan about how they NEED their seasons.. two is just too LITTLE. However.. Who's to say two CLIMATIC seasons mean that that's all you have? We have other seasons based around ACTIVITIES so.. there's the Ramadan season followed by Eid, Divali season (when Hindus clean up, and light up), Parang Season, Christmas season, Carnival season, Lenten/Easter season, kite season, Jazz Festival season, Great Race season, and on and on. In Malta it's pretty much like in Trini.. just that there's no diversity of beliefs, so ALL the celebrations (and there're a lot of them.. 1 per week during the 3 mths of summer) center around the Catholic church). There's always something happening, always some procession or something. I've even seen a FUNERAL procession with the mourners carrying along the casket and being followed by the band/orchestra and scores of others.
10. I'm used to seeing different-looking people. Probably obvious, but it got stale being stared at by seas of blonde-fringed blue eyes! We've got ALL the skin tones and shades covered, so basically ANYone could pass for a Trini. The husband nearly passed out the first time he heard a blonde blue-eyed girl open her mouth and out came the Trini accent. Poor soul thought she was a tourist! With the large waves of Africn immigrants trying to get to Europe and either making landfall here (or being forcefully escorted here), I've been told that Malta has become more xenophobic in recent years.. just my luck! But I've never experienced any personal nastiness... maybe cuz I walk around with ole blue-eyes by my side, and we've got the cutest little caramel bambino who just happens to be named after the most famous POPE!