My first day in Trinidad has been soooo tiring! We landed in Port of Spain around 12am Monday night, went through immigration (which took forever!) and got our bags which all together took us about 2 hours to get through. At the airport, Candice, a Trinidad native and one of PLU's program directors for Trinidad and Tobago, welcomed us as soon as we exited the airport. We put all of our luggage in a bus and then they took us to the Caribbean Lodge which is our home for the next 4 months. Once there, Candice gave us the keys to our rooms and a quick overview of the place and the plans for the next day. We all have our own rooms here at the lodge and the building is shared with other Trinidadian students that attend the University of West Indies where we will be taking classes as well. Once in my room, I unpacked a few things just to get a little comfortable then went to bed by 3:30 am (Atlantic time). I was exhausted from so much flying and hauling my luggage around but I couldn't fall asleep right away because of everything that was running through my head!
The next morning, breakfast was ready by 7:30am but was optional. I woke up early enough to go down to the kitchen and have some. I was greeted by Yazmin, the kind woman that will be making our food for the next week & helps out around the lodge. She was excited to meet and greet everyone that came down and enjoyed the food she made us. We had to be ready and in the lobby by 9 am for an orientation so those who ate, went back to finish getting ready then met with the group. Candice introduced us to two men that have worked with the program for many years, Kenneth & Norvan. They all gave us some simple rules about safety, transportation, and even a little motivational talk. We left the lodge and toured a small part of Tunapuna, the city we live in. We went down the main road and familiarized ourselves with the Tunapuna Market, the shopping center, the bank, cosmetic store, the police station, pharmacy, the post office, and a few restaurants and bars- all the important places we need to know while living here. I love that everything is walking distance! The roads were pretty narrow and crowded with people and cars. They drive on the left ride of the road here which was so weird to see, especially when we needed to cross the road haha. While walking, we got many stares and catcalls from the locals but nothing that made me too uncomfortable. It was actually pretty funny because sometimes we just don't know how to respond so we just laugh it off haha.
The directors let us roam around on our own for a couple of hours to do whatever we wanted so our group split up into smaller groups. Me and a few others went to the bank to exchange our currency, then we went to the shopping center to get a few things we need for our rooms & got some food to go. I ordered this thing called "Bodi Potato Channa" which was a wrap type thing stuffed with potatoes and spicy peppers. It was really yummy & very spicy, just how I like my food! ;) After eating, I went up to my room to finish unpacking and put things away then took a nap.... a much needed nap haha. I woke up feeling pretty well rested then headed downstairs for a scheduled meeting with the group then enjoyed some dinner together. We had BBQ chicken with rice, potato salad & noodle salad. Now I'm hanging out in my room, about to take a nice shower, read for my first homework assignment, then call it a night.. Tomorrow is our first day of our Religion class with a professor from PLU so I gotta be prepared for that! Overall, it was a great first day! I am in love with the place already & I know I'm going to love everything else we have planned! I'll try my best to keep this blog updated! Hope everyone reading this enjoys it! :)
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