What a Difference a Day Makes

Woke up this morning feeling completely panicked about my living situation. And then I got a phone call. It was my good friend from Connecticut. You know him as Generous Laptop-Refurbishing Guy. We spoke for an hour, and hearing his voice and kind words totally grounded me. And made me cry.

Then I got a surprise phone call from my mother’s friend here in Trinidad, and she dropped the most amazing gift in my lap – she was coming to ‘rescue’ me. She’d decided that I was going to stay with her, for free, until I got all my ducks lined up. I couldn’t believe it. She literally swooped in to save the day. And I started to cry again.

The only thing I needed to do now was talk to my drum instructor’s wife, who’d gotten in late last night, after I’d gone to bed. I dreaded telling her that I wanted to move, because I didn’t want to disappoint her. But the conversation went amazingly well. She was very understanding and supportive, and even gave me my security deposit back, which now meant that I could eat again.

And then I cried for the third time this morning.

So my mother’s friend picked me up a couple of hours later (about an hour and a half later than she’d told me she was going to arrive, which I’ve quickly learned is Standard Trini Time, and which, incidentally, happens to go very nicely with Standard Giovanna Time) and told me to bring something formal, as well as my swimsuit, because we were going to the theater tonight and the beach tomorrow.

Course, I don’t have anything formal with me and I balked at the idea of being seen in a swimsuit in public, but no matter.

When we got to her apartment I nearly cried again. I walked in, and the first thing I noticed was the ocean. The second thing I noticed was the air conditioning. The third thing? Flat screen television (which meant cable television to my sadly media-starved brain). And lastly, but perhaps most importantly – wireless internet. In two weeks I will once again be able to connect to the world I knew, whenever I want. Sigh.

Later, while standing on her balcony staring at the ocean, I was introduced to my first taste of Carib Shandy, a soft drink with a little bit of beer added to it, that serves to cut the sweetness. Seriously delish.

Then we went to see a performance at the brand new, and controversial, sixty million dollar Performance Arts Center that just opened up this week. Part of the controversy stems from the fact that all the construction work was done using Chinese labor, as opposed to hiring local labor.

Before the performance I tried another first – a traditional Christmas drink, made from the sorrel flower, with some spices, particularly clove, added to it. Very different and yummy.

Now, this was the first time in a week that I’d been around other Caucasian people. During the week prior, when I was the only one around for miles, I never once felt odd about it. And that is, in part, a testament to all the Trinidadians around me, who didn’t seem to care. So it was actually quite a shock to see other white people at the theater. In fact, it was kind of disappointing. Shit, I could’ve stayed at home and seen that.

The performance itself was meh, but during the show my mother’s friend’s driver kept explaining to me the meaning behind several of the inside references that everybody but me was laughing at, so I learned a lot.

But by far the coolest part of the evening was that the freaking Prime Minister of Trinidad was in the audience, and in fact nodded to me on his way in to the theater, before I realized who he was. And he sat about six rows in front of me. I’ve learned since that he is quite a controversial figure, as are all politicians, but at the time I was definitely a bit awestruck.

Later on as we were driving home I was informed by our driver that there was nothing you could get in the States that you couldn’t get here. Naturally I took that as a challenge and proceeded to quiz the hell out of him. Turns out the only thing I could stump him on was Taco Bell. Obviously, no big loss. Apparently you can even get canoli’s here.

First chance I get, I’m gonna eat one of them for you, Mom.

So I woke up this morning thinking I was about to starve to death in a foreign land, and went to bed having just spent the night at a brand new multi-million dollar world class theater, in the company of the prime minister of the country.

Huh.

Words I learned today:

Lime – to hang out, socialize

Hash – a cross country foot race, involving drinking and socializing
Mark – to trim one’s facial hair

Mash Up – to break up