6 months on...

So, 6 months have come and gone in a flash, we've now been in Trinidad for more than 6 months.












We arrived to a lovely house, pool, garden, neighbourhood and have been very lucky to have been welcomed so warmly. They have taken us down the islands, invited us and the family for poncho creme, limes, making pastelles and invited me to exercise with them in the mornings!

Life is great, Dave loves the weather and social lifestyle, the friendliness of the people and willingness to include us in their lives. 'Liming' has become a household word and it just means to spend time with friends, usually with alcohol involved, food, snacks and just enjoying each other's company. Of course I do not drink much, if any, so stick to soft drinks and providing the food..... Kids have limes too at their friends, but no alcohol as yet.

I worry about the kids at times, that they are indeed missing home and their friends, and the freedom that they had. They show this in a variety of ways, most obviously by telling us, or their behaviour changes and they are just plain unhappy. We had a phase of this after their Aunt Karen and family and grandma left after having spent 3 weeks with us over Christmas. Alice and Jasmine shared a room as did Dave and Mitch and when they left, a huge chasm seemed to engulf them both.
Being children, and resilient by nature, they have both bounced back and are reasonably happy, but my instincts tell me, that they would be far happier back in the UK. School work is progressing well, Mitchell is a shining star and all his teachers love him, he is producing excellent work and is motivated. He's as sporty as ever, taking up table tennis and rugby here, going mountain biking. Football has fallen by the wayside as has tennis. As for the violin, that has been forgotten.

Jasmine too has finally settled in class and has begun to contribute more and be more chatty at school, starting to fiddle and sometimes letting her mind wander, but is producing great work and continues to progress. She is trying very hard at PE and loves art and goes to pottery after school which she loves. Music wise, school teaches her recorder, and she has said that she misses playing the french horn.
I feel really guilty for the sacrifices my children have had to make because we moved out here. Obviously, they are getting something in return for those sacrifices but I am unsure if it's like for like. They are getting an invaluable experience living in another country and all that entails but are missing out on all the things they could be doing back in the UK....I guess I should try to replace those experiences by involving them in sailing, Trinidad being an island steeped in sailing tradition, and surrounded by seas, it being an island and all LOL.

The one thing that has helped the children tremendously is having some pets, Lola , the kitten being the main pet, and the turtles Tato and Soup. Lola has brought much joy to our lives and we will endevour to bring her home with us, or take her to where ever we go next.

One of our objectives when Dave accepted this posting was to try to reduce our debt back in the UK, we seemed to be living beyond our means, despite us both earning a decent wage, we were still playing catchup for the 1st 2 years we were in Nottingham where we took a huge pay cut. Well, it has not happened, 6 months have passed, we have not saved a single penny! In some ways, we are worse off financially! We makes up for this is this is the lifestyle we now have, a 4 bedroomed house with a pool in the garden, my lovely big kitchen, a cleaner once a week for 4 hours, me, not working, well, not working for pay anyhow, being at home with the children, cooking elaborate meals, having peeps round for a lime etc etc.......

Dave, my darling lovely husband has come into himself out here. His self- esteem and confidence have boomed and about time too. I think he is enjoying his work just about as much as the lifestyle here, though as with most people, he could do with more time to do all he wants and has to do. I think he gets more job satisfaction now then he did previously. The stress levels do run high but this is counteracted by the good weather that we have here. This of course is all relative, for me, I'd sooner be cold than warm, and it's hot here. Dave though, loves the heat and sun, having grown up in England and where warmth and sunshine are lacking. Being white also has brought a lot of attention from the local female population, he's hot property being white and loving it..I have reminded him that he is mine though, not a possession but still mine! LOL.

Why can't I put pics where I want them to go instead of all at the top? Going to try something here, oh well it didn't work. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. I have posted pics where I wanted to before in my old blog, I wonder why this one won't do it????

Dave's at the cricket today, 20/20 Zim V WI, at the Trine Posse stand, he will be having a ball, he's gone with Debbie, Malcolm, Rob, Jennifer and Enrique.... all inclusive ticket, fun to be had by all!