Living in Trinidad: a "foreigner" gets used to life in T&T

I have now been in Trinidad for just over a month working at MEP on Caribbean Beat (look out for the exciting redesign in our next issue!). And as with anywhere, there are pros and cons to living here. I will give you a list as I have seen them...so far!

Pros

• Getting around: So I knew before moving here that living in St. James would be ideal but I didn’t realise exactly how ideal. Getting to and from work takes me literally five minutes and three of those minutes are taken by the walk to the corner to catch a taxi. I’ve even managed to befriend one of the unlicensed guys who ply the Long Circular Road route and always look out for his car on my way. It’s also reasonably priced – costs TT$3 / US$0.50 each way.
• Shopping: This one should really be under the cons as well since I am unused to living in a consumerist society with plenty all around. It’s wonderful to be able to get almost anything I need at any time since I have Long Circular mall in walking distance plus many shops along the Western Main Road. At the same time, having a six-year-old whose sole shopping experience comprised going to the grocery every month now seeing all of this "stuff" for sale and having temper tantrums when Mum won’t buy her everything she asks for, makes me wish for slightly less.
• Internet: I have a brand new toy at home and being used to slow, intermittent internet at exorbitant cost on the island I used to live, it is a pleasure to have fast, reliable service at a reasonable charge with no installation fee. The man who came to install my broadband modem was wonderful and even gave me his personal number in case I had any problems.
• Electricity and cooking gas: I am amazed at the cost of electricity compared to where I came from. Here the bills come once every two months and they are very moderate. I know Trinidad has oil, which is why they are able to keep the price so low, but I am not afraid to run my air conditioner at home like I used to be. As for the cooking gas, there is a truck that passes by my house once a day where you can buy a small tank of cooking gas for TT$25 / US$4 (including delivery charge). That is half of what I was paying before and there are rumours back home that the price is going up again.
• The food: From doubles to gyro to roti to Chinese to fast food, it’s all available. Everyone has his or her favourite doubles seller and Chinese restaurant. I have been trying each of the different Chinese restaurants along the Western Main Road (and believe me there are plenty) – I already have a favourite. Plus between fast food and coffee chains, there’s always somewhere open. Eating out is not cheap, however. Even the fast food joints are pretty pricey but yum, it’s easy to see why everyone raves about Trinidadian food. The downside of course is that it’s hard to pass up all of this wonderful grub and so even though I walk a lot, I’ve still managed to gain a few pounds!
• The birds. Every morning I wake up and hear birds singing everywhere. I’ve also seen green parrots flying around. Somehow, even though I’m living in a concrete jungle, it doesn’t feel like one thanks to the birds. Even sitting here in my office I hear the birds all around and it really makes me realise that I’m living on a tropical island – most people’s dream!

Cons

• The rain: I know it’s the rainy season but I keep forgetting to bring my umbrella to work. Every morning the sun is shining and I don’t expect there to be rain, but like clockwork, around 12pm or 1pm, the rain starts to fall. I’m not talking a light drizzle here either. It’s torrential rain! The nice part about the rain though is that there everything is green and there are plants growing everywhere.
• Schools and childcare: We had a really hard time finding a school for my daughter before we came here. Eventually we got her into an Anglican-run government school which is hopelessly overcrowded – 38 children in her class alone and her teacher in charge of two classes! The private schools we tried either had no room for her or were unaffordable. Luckily we have since found a place in a really small private school for her to start next term, where she could get more individual attention. My other problem is that schools seem to finish early and close for unscheduled days, which you don’t find out about until two days beforehand. Luckily MEP is very understanding and flexible but I know a lot of others aren’t and I have no idea how other working parents manage. Finding reliable childcare is also really difficult. I have not been able to go out with my husband since we cannot find a babysitter.
• The cost of food: I cannot believe how expensive even the basics are, and inflation is high! Things like cheese and meat and bread are ridiculous. A pack of two small chicken thighs costs over TT$20 / US$3. Even the cost of vegetables in the supermarket is super high. Luckily there are at least three green grocers within walking distance so I can buy locally grown produce. But even that is not cheap and the price goes up seasonally since Trinidad experiences flooding in some areas during the rainy season which destroys crops.
• The crime situation: I grew up in South Africa, so being crime vigilant is nothing new to me. Unfortunately having lived for the past 12 years on another Caribbean island where violent crime is much less prevalent, I’ve gotten soft. I have not yet had anything negative happen to me, but I see and hear sirens constantly and reading the papers sometimes makes me wish for a simpler time. The government is cracking down, however, so hopefully I’ll be able to rest a little easier as time goes by.

Since I started working basically two days after I got to Trinidad, I have not been able to get out and see much of the island. MEP closes for Christmas and I am hoping to take some of that time to get out and about and see some of the amazing sights all around. If anyone has any suggestions for "must sees" in Trinidad, let me know!