Trinisms

There are so many things that Trinidadians, or Trinbagonians say that takes a bit of time to get used to, but I can never think of them when I'm ready to write about them.
"Again"--anymore. "You were so late coming to the party, I didn't think you were coming again."
"Short pants"--shorts
"Ears"--one or two ears, it doesn't matter. Like, "I'm hearing better in my right ears."
"Van"--pick-up truck
Luckily, there really are no vans here, and VERY LUCKILY, there are no minivans!!! That has been a wonderful thing here. However, they have the same stereotype here that women can't drive. It's funny, though, because all the motor vehicle deaths are from male drivers.
"Slippers"--flip-flops

One thing that has been really strange is the cultural "acceptance" of infidelity. It is very obvious in the vocabulary they use to describe this, and it is very different to the American way of describing cheating, all using negative words. Here are a few:
Horner man/woman--the man or woman you are cheating with
Horned--to get cheated on
Outside man/woman--ditto

One day, while stuck in traffic in my car (surprise!), a man, who was sitting in the back of a truck with a group of men, asked, "are you married?" I replied, as always here, "yes," and he asked, "do you need an outside man?" I said, "No, thanks." The whole concept of cheating is kinda like that...it's almost expected and accepted. I say, "No, thanks."

Patient's [patience] Stories

I told one woman, "we're going to start the hearing test now," and she responded, "The urine test?" She seemed like she would have consented to anything.

Another woman asked, when learning where I was from, "Why are people from Boston so snobby?" I had to explain to her that it's not that we're snobs, but that we have a different way of relating to people, and that it's just how we are. I was certainly offended at first, as any New Englander would be when asked to defend your personality, but I had to remind myself that it's been hard for me to adjust to being touched by all of my patients and been told, "God bless you," by most of them mostly due to my "Snobby" New England upbringing.

Still waiting

I'm on my second week of a "forced" vacation. My work permit expired last week, as well as my contract as a student extern. I have been told that I could work as a volunteer, but I refuse to work without a contract. Of course, personally, I feel awful letting these patients, who have been waiting 6-8 months for an appointment, wait longer for services, but I want everything done "above board" in regards to working in the country. Also, the board has been aware of my position on continuing with them for about 6 months, and I believe it is a little disingenuous of them to wait until my contract expires to try and resolve this problem. I was told last week, "Brandy, in the world of work, sometimes this happens," by a board member. Maybe in Trinidad, but it is not the way to do business properly, and it is not a way to treat a professional (they only one) that you depend upon to provide services to the population.
I received a copy of the contract on Monday, but there are some changes that need to be made. There are many things they have left out, and I don't want any holes. I have legal counsel here, and I like the proposed changes they have suggested. I will be returning my revised draft by next week.
Meanwhile, I am trying to enjoy my time off, but it's very stressful not knowing what's gonna happen, and I'm not able to make any money while I'm not working, so I'm not able to do too much on my time off.
BTW, I am negotiating a 2-year contract so, if I want to renew/renegotiate, I won't have to do this process again for at least 1 1/2 years.

Back , Online

Finally have internet at my new place. Dial-up at work was killing me!
Update: Still in negotiations for a new contract...working on Trini time. My current contract is up on the 22nd of this month (4 days from now), so I may have to take some time off from work while the board meets my demands. In reality, they haven't even given me a draft of their contract, and I honestly think they will present it to me at the 11th hour in hopes that I'll sign.
Tried to finance a car, but after 3 weeks of whatever they do here, they told me that they can't finance a loan for longer than the length of the contract, and I can't afford to pay off a new car in 2 years (which is the length of time they would like me to sign for).
So, I'm now looking for a used car. Banks do not finance cars older than 5 years, so I'd just have to do a personal loan.
This car stuff is very discouraging and frustrating after coming from the very easy process that exists in America. Also, you don't know who to trust when dealing with used cars, and there's no such thing as a Kelly Blue Book here. Also, it's really amazing how expensive new cars especially are. You add on at least $10,000 more than a US listed price. Talk about sticker shock! And, if you want to test drive a car, you have to schedule it because they have only one model that they test.

HEAT

It's wicked hot in Trinidad now. I don't know the temperature, it's just really hot. Having the AC on full-blast mid-day does not cut the heat that comes through the windows. It's supposedly rainy season now, but it's been very dry and there are spontaneous fires on the side of the highway and on the mountains.

I love Carib!

So, what is it that I do when I'm not working? Drinking Carib at 6 in the morning, obviously! A friend had a surprise party for her boyfriend last weekend. The surprise was supposed to be at 9. I didn't get there until 10, and then waited until 11:30 for her to pick him up for the actual surprise. I actually saw some people leave because they had waited too long. Gotta love Trini Time. The house party was fun. A DJ played music WAY TOO LOUD (and I forgot my earplugs), but once the ringing in my ears started, and the scotch kicked in, it didn't feel so loud. An audio on Monday did not show any shift in hearing thresholds. There was also lots of good food, and lots of laughs. The party ended at a bar at about 9 a.m.

A Score to Settle

In the 2006 World Cup, England beat the T&T "Soca Warriors" 2-0. In a "friendly international" match between the two teams, dubbed "A Score to Settle" on June 1st, England smoked the Warriors, 3-0. It was the end of a long weekend (we celebrated Indian Arrival Day on Friday), and everyone partied before and after the game despite the defeat. Oh, and Beckham was here. Here is a picture of the Laventille Rhythm Section, a group of percussion/brass musicians keepin the beat for the whole game.