My Introduction

I was born in Trinidad and Tobago, the beautiful twin islands of the southern Caribbean. Officially, we are Trinidadians, but affectionately we are called 'Trinis'. If you have never seen, or met, a Trini, I can give you a fair description. First of all, he or she is very attractive, and can be of any race, Caucasian, Chinese, Indian and African, and then everything in between. It is like that in my country, of only 1 million people, because we are just like America, a history of immigrant peoples and of a native regression. It is a mix of European plantation owners, African slaves, indentured servants from India and China, craftsman and shopkeepers from Syria and Lebanon, and lastly the indigenous peoples: the Caribs and Arawaks. While our history may have begun from a divergence, what we are now is a convergence of cultures.

The official language is English but our tongue tells another story. Our voice is the patchwork of different cultures where English is the core but not all of the details. We have that almost proper British accent because Trinidad and Tobago was once a former colony of the empire. But, we most often speak with a laid back, smooth island lilt, which has become familiar to every tourist that has ever visited the English Caribbean. Our dialect has a rich detail to it because we have incorporated French, Spanish, African and East Indian words into it to make it unique and idyllic. Our English patois gives us more pride than anything else, for us, it is a better passport than the one we show at the airport.

Oddly enough, I did have to show my passport at the airport when I went to Philadelphia to attend university. I was only 18 at the time and what a culture shock. I had visited the US before but only under the protective wings of my parents, now I was on my own. I did a super-duper degree, it took me 5 years to get a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Along the way, I learnt a lot about myself( like I had other interests besides Mechanical Engineering....parties, poetry, politics, women). The diversity at this university was a big plus for I became a citizen of the world. Meeting people from different countries and walks of life changed my perspective. Instead of naively thinking that Trinidad was the world, Trinidad became part of it, and I was quite content to proclaim my heritage among the rest. Now with reckless abandon, I was ready to take on the world, after graduating I moved to the south. Louisiana would be become my home and where I started my professional career as an engineer.

It is here in Louisiana that I have really matured as an adult, and have come to find myself. It is where I have recognized my talents and skills, and have made a commitment to hone them. I am a budding artist, poet and short story writer, and soon I will try my hand at sculpting. This blog is great opportunity for me to write and show my work. What I need most as an artist is review and criticism. I lack that right now. Sometimes, I see my work through rose-colored lenses, and then after a while, self-criticism wreaks havoc on my belief. I think some well intentioned and honest criticism can help steward my talent.

While art is my passion; politics, reading and movies are my joys. This year is big for Democrats, too big. Whoever wins the Democrat nomination can and will be able to marshal the democrat and liberal forces for November. The Republicans should be afraid, very afraid. I will from time to time put my 2 cents in about the politics. It is high drama and I am always intrigued. I am also interested in the politics of my own home. Sadly, Trinidad politics has a very shameful component to it and that is race. It is an ugly contest between two ethnic groups for political power. I will go into details about that another time.

I did not always like to read. I can remember my parents putting a book in my hand and sitting me in a corner. I can tell you, it is very hard to read while angry with your parents, but I did it anyhow. In the end, I learned to love reading. The books I have read are varied in theme. I read both fiction and non-fiction so from time to time I will write a review of a book I have read. I am also addicted to movies, expect reviews of what is showing. I watch everything except horror. While I am not afraid of real life, watching the most macabre and disturbing thoughts of others on the silver screen is not my cup of green tea.

This is my first blog, and I hope it was interesting. I want to thank a friend for introducing to this site. Read well. Enjoy. And expect more!

The Inspired Trini