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Published: February 4th 2009
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Golf?
Lovely view of the golf course. January 25, 2009
So it has been a week now, I am holding up quite well. The weather is still hot, transitioning out of the rainy season to the dry season (aka – the hot season). It has rained sporadically every single day. Day to day life is pretty chill here, but people don’t seem to be lazy. Things are more so just less organized. For instance, it took 8 hours for us to register for classes after having been pre registered for them. The girls did not handle that well, I still have yet to get my computer working on the internet. Oh well, there are computers everywhere.
I got a phone a few days ago. 200 TTD ($34) and international on the weekends is 8 cents a minute. So pretty cheap, I dunno how much if anything it costs to receive an international phone call in the states, I get calls for free personally. My number is
1 – 868 – 753 – 4565. Feel free to call.
As far as what I’ve been up to, Friday we went to Maracus Bay again. Crammed 14 people into a maxi taxi for $700 ( $8.33 US per
person). A maxi is a large mini van, usually Toyota or Nissan, with extra high ceiling inside, some chrome rims and low profile tires and usually some more bling. The maxis that I have been in all blare Soca and Chutney, mostly Soca with Carnival coming up. They play the same four songs over and over again, but they’ve all had pretty killer stereo systems in their vans, so it makes for a good time.
Saturday, George took us on a tour of the island. We drove to the Point a Pier wildlife trust and took a tour, check out the pics. It was pretty cool, they breed various endangered birds and maintain the tropical forest and wetland in the area. The whole thing is surrounded by an oil refinery and bordered by a golf course on one side. The view on the course is pretty industrial, with flaming natural gas vents and various other smoke stacks and holding tanks as a backdrop.
Unfortunately, I got an ear infection from the beach last Friday, but no worries. The healthcare here is free, I went to our campus clinic and was out in about 20 to 30 minutes with
a prescription for some antibiotics and pain killers for under $20. All pretty painless, even the ear…I just cant hear out of it, which makes deciphering all the accents a pain.
Other big news, I met a local white the other day…one of the thickest accents I have heard yet. He’s actually from Antigua, a small island a good ways north of here with a population of around 85,000 or so. Nice guy.
Onto some of the oddities of the Trinidad. I have seen small advertisement all over the country for backhoes, apparently a hot commodity. Peanut punch and linseed and sea moss punch are everywhere, both quite tasty…though the linseed and seam moss has a bitter aftertaste. Just like the Midwest, people generally make eye contact when you pass by but instead of nodding down, they node up and usually make big eyes too. Every once in awhile I just get somebody that stares though. For instance the other day, this Indian woman just stared at my sandals as I walked by…apparently they’re not into Birkenstock in T and T.
More topics of interest, beer. The main two are Stag and Carib (short for Caribbean). I’ve
had both, must say I prefer Stag, it is advertised as ‘A man’s beer.’ Compared to Carib, advertised as ‘The people’s beer.’ The brewery is just down the street, maybe they give tours. I’ll get back to you on that one. Guinness is big too, and apparently tastes much different. I haven’t had the opportunity to try it yet. There are plenty more local beers and rums to test out, but I’ll have to wait for a week now that I’m on antibiotics.
January 26th, 2009
Yesterday was the start of school and it went well. I had three courses, ecotourism, tropical forest ecology and management and West Indies prose. I’m also signed up for steel pan, the local instrument but I think that class meets on Fridays. It seems like classes should be on par with Madison if not easier, the only catch is going to be finals week. Almost every final is worth 60% of my grade for each course. Monday was also the first day of ‘Grub Week.’ Grubbin’ is like pledging for a frat, but not anywhere near as gross or dangerous, no alcohol is involved. I guess the only thing I have to
Scarlet Ibis
At the wildlife trust they breed various endangered birds. say about it now is, at least it’s coed. After grub week, it’ll be hall sports week and then campus carnival the next week moving into Carnival…rumored to be one of the biggest and best parties in the world. They take things serious around here when it comes to carnival. Driving through Port of Spain the walking and running paths were packed with people ‘training for Carnival’ and right next to the cricket fields there were organized workout groups which I was told was specifically for getting in shape to dance all day for 2 days straight. Plus whatever fetes come before and after Carnival. More on this subject later.
February 2, 2009
I woke up relatively early Wednesday, about 8 o’clock (that’s 6 o’clock Midwest time, gimme a break, besides, I don’t have class till 7:00pm). I set off with Wayne, an Ultra Super Senior, from north hall to walk/run (mostly walk, he’s got a heart murmur) up a mountain to St. Benedicts, a monastery and church on top of one of the peaks in the northern range, it’s 1500 to 2000 feet tops. The highest point is just under 3000 feet. Somehow I ended up going
More Flowers
There wer all kinds of beautiful flowers, no idea what this one is called. up Thursday and I ran up and down the whole way Friday. Then I found out that Saturday we had to run up as a group for grub week at 5:00 a.m. It was cold and raining, yes cold believe it or not. Probably wouldn’t have been so bad had I not gone up so fast the other day, but I survived. Pretty sure I’ve been up that mountain by foot more than 90% of the people on campus, having been here for less than 2 weeks now.
February 3, 2009
One last blog before I post all this stuff, haven’t really had reliable internet lately. Today I went up the mountain again, this time I took a taxi. Only 50 cents. Three other of my Sconnie companions and I met with the owner of the Pax guest house, the place you’d stay if you came to visit. It’s out of the city, quite and relaxing, 3 meals a day plus tea. Amazing view of the northern range, with the central range on the far south horizon. The guy is big into bird watching and has all kinds of trails through the jungle. He half suggest that we
Bull n' Bird
Somebody had a bull tied up to a tree...a very small tree. It was a very big bull, apparently a very well behaved big bull. come back and help him clear some of the trails out, I suggested we stay the weekend at the guest house and he added in drinking whiskey in the evening. I think Isaiah and I are going to capitalize on it. He’s my roommate and friend from the UW – Madison. I’ll let you know what comes about with all this next time.
By the way my address is:
Evan Schroeder
Milner Hall I Block Room 233
University of the West Indies
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
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