Island Life in the windies
Thursday, July 1, 2010
No longer in the windies
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Toronto here we come
So, off to the Canadian High Commission, VISA needed as again, I hold a passport that requires a VISA to visit. Why oh why, did I hang on to my Malaysian passport, why oh why, did I not get British Citizenship? 2 reasons, one, Malaysia does not allow dual nationality status, so I would have to give it up to have a British passport. I don't really want to give it up as my parents are in Malaysia still. 2, a silly reason born out of my insecurities. Let me explain... when Dave and I first met, he had told his family about me being chinese Malaysian, and one of the comments his brother made was, 'Oh, be careful she's not just going out with you in order to get a British passport, so she can stay in England!!!' He probably said it in jest, but it rankled me all those years ago, and I remain Malaysian to this day.
There must be a more efficient way to obtain a Visa for Canada... I made 4 trips to the High Comm in order to obtain it. I waited longest at the first visit, where I had to hand over my application form,passport, supporting documents and receipt for payment of Visa. I was very fortunate that day... we were in the queue waiting to get in, and the queue snaked round the pavement to the entrance of the immigration department. I chatted to other people in the queue to while away the time.. an elderly woman and her friend walked up and tried to jump the queue... we were all very polite and said to her, there's a queue. She had bad knees and needed to sit,she said, so edged her way forward in the queue to where there was a culvert where she could rest her painful knees. We carried on talking, her friend was very apologetic and embarrassed but we just said, it's OK, no worries. The said lady then moved her was up the queue and now was at the front, and others were beginning to get irate at her behaviour as they had been waiting a long time to get in. I made light of it and said, let her go, she's in a rush, her knees are hurting and she's elderly... some sucking of teeth were heard but we let her be. When I finally got in, I was told that I was lacking one form they needed, and also a photograph!!! The photo was unforgivable, I could've kicked myself for forgetting the photo! The website wasn't very clear about the forms. I had already been in the queue for an hour and a half and so was feeling down and stupid for not having the right documents and the required photograph, when someone behind me said, I have some extra, would you like it!!! I could have kissed the man... but that would have shocked him, so I refrained, hehehe. The security guard told me I had time to get some photos taken around the corner... luck was on my side, I was already mentally preparing myself to return another day to queue up again! I did get my photo and returned to sit and wait to hand in my application. I felt that a good deed had been repaid, letting the lady with the bad knees go first, I was showed kindness myself, loving kindness does really work. Moving along, went back the next day, shorter wait, no Visa, needed supporting letter form Dave's employers and also bank statements, they think I have no money, and they would be right, and want to go and stay in their country illegally- they would be wrong! I wouldn't be going if we weren't asked to go!!! So, another trip to hand in letter and a week after it all began, I queued up for the fourth time and got my passport back with the Visa in it, multiple visit Visa but only valid for 18 months.... it cost CAD150, TT- 955, £110 for an 18 month visa, the US Embassy granted me a 10 year Visa for less money...............seriously considering becoming British!!!!!
We are now leaving Trinidad, a week earlier than expected. We have nearly packed everything apart from clothing, the laptops and paperwork. Shippers have come to assess what we have to ship, school have been informed in writing about kids leaving, landlady and estate agents told about our imminent departure. Told the gardener yesterday and he said, Awww, hope the next tenants will be as nice as you.... Our housekeeper too is upset about us leaving, we have really got along well, and I will definitely miss her help, we have interesting discussions and she has become a friend....
I went to the supermarket this morning to pick up a few items, the queues were long.... I have learnt to be very patient in this country. The pace that people do things is painstakingly slow. Laid back pace, no need to rush, hurry or be stressed about anything like customers waiting. I wonder if the population of this country has the lowest rate of hypertension in the world???? Customer service almost doesn't exist here. Perhaps their point of view is this... we get paid on average £1.50-2.00 and hour... we get paid this no matter what our productivity.... the customers want what we have.... if they have to wait, they wait because they need us to get what they want! Perhaps I am being cynical...... let me illustrate this with something that happened at the supermarket checkout today.
I was nearly at the front, a French lady was in front of me, she had arrived in September, accompanying her husband who works for the UN here. She had some items that needed weighing at the till. The scales were not working. The girl at the till was flummoxed and had a fed up expression on her face, luckily she had an assistant helping her, a bag packer who also was senior to her. She carried the bananas to be weighed at another till. She said to the girl at the till, TT6.76 and enter it as food produce. Girl at till... no reaction whatsoever, still looking at the broccoli and cantaloupe melon on the conveyor belt that needed weighing. Meanwhile, queue behind us getting longer, everyone patiently waiting, or impatiently, I could not tell. Girl at till still clueless. Assistant comes back and said, you entered the 6 something I asked you to? Girl, 6 something? I piped up and said 6.76 for the bananas. French lady says, you know in Europe, if scales not working, you would just be given items for free so as to not keep customers waiting.... I said, that would be nice, she said, perhaps they will do that here, and I said, they wouldn't we would have to be patient! So girl enters 6.76 and says there's 2 other things to weigh... assistant says, we'll move tills after this customer. I persuaded the girl to cash my items as none of them needed weighing. This is one thing I will not miss about Trinidad........ poor customer service.
Monday, May 24, 2010
SS Uprising
practice makes perfect: Members of the cast rehearsing for the show. -Photos courtesy Lilliput Theatre |
Out on the open ocean, in the middle of nowhere with a seemingly mad captain and a sense of trouble brewing, the crew of the SS Uprising shipped out thinking themselves whale-hunters, but are now about to discover the rest of their surprising story.
When their captain finally reveals himself after days in seclusion, the crew is already uneasy; at sea since hoisting anchor with no leadership beyond an unstable first mate, they need direction. The captain appears, but the sight of him in this state does nothing to calm their fears.
Tensions already run high with the third mate jockeying for a more elevated position and the first mate on the edge of losing control. Lower down the ranks are whispers of trouble, of dark forces threatening to capsize the Uprising if on-deck battles don’t sink her first. This motley crew of wanderers, warriors and fugitives may depend on each other for life and limb on the water, but each brings personal baggage on board, even those trying desperately to leave it on land.
When the wild-eyed captain tells this crew what they’ve truly shipped for, what his secret desire is, what their mission is, will the first mate press mutiny?
Does the crew know enough of their fearless leader’s shrouded past to foresee their future if they follow?
Does the captain offer enough reward that drunken sailors don’t care?
As they close in on their elusive prize, the last thing the SS Uprising needs is the storm rising around them
Lilliput Theatre’s SS Uprising brings different histories together, placing traditional sailor mas at the centre of a classic story. The young performers inhabiting this crossover world tell tales of dreams versus obligation, expectations versus reality, exploring what drives them and what it takes to make it on the sea.
-Elisha Efua Bartels
Mitch and Jas came along, and Mitch was prepared to be bored, but he amazed himself by enjoying it so much he posted something about it on FB! The sound and light effects were good, thunder and lightning and the music. The musicians made the play come alive....
It's also election day here today, Vote for Change, I hope the Trinidadians vote wisely and that true democracy rules!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Eating mangoes in the pool
We went to Maracas yesterday, taking every opportunity to go to the beach before we leave Trini at the end of June. It also stops us from lazing around all day doing nothing. The plan was to have bake and fish for brunch as we had left without having breakfast. We had all got up a bit late as we had been at Mariele's son's birthday party the day before and had stayed til 10.30 pm. That was a lovely afternoon and evening, the kids were happy playing games and swimming and the adults were liming. A lot of Spanish was spoken as Mariele and Javier are from Bolivia and their friends came from other S American countries- Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. One of the friends even recognised Dave and started to talk to Dave in Spanish and Dave looked up blankly, until he was reminded about the meeting they had attended together nearly a year ago! The beer was flowing, the barbecue lit and kids were having a go at the chocolate fountain.
Back to the beach- we got our bakes and sharks, Mitch and I had potato pie and shark for a change, sat in the car, and it could almost be a scene out of any English coast side, sat in your parked car, eating your packed sandwiches and admiring the view in the rain! Of course, we weren't in England, it was far too hot for that, and the rain was a torrential downpour and we were having bake and shark with pepper sauce... hehehehe
The rain abated and our stomachs full, we strode off to the beach, the waves were great, about 1.5-2m high and we had a lovely time jumping the waves and body surfing, til Dave was overcome by a wave and managed to do some acrobatic antics in the water that left him with an injured knee! No more waves for him.. out he hobbled, trunks nearly revealing a builder's bum, not that he was in any state to care, and me, chasing after him saying, what's happened, what's happened, I asked Mitch and and I heard him say Daddy's got to pee! What he actually said was, daddy's hurt his knee...... sigh, guess we're not that young anymore and every tumble we take, we fall hard as we're not as flexible as we used to be. Actually, I woke up this morning with a strained neck, and it must have been when the waves crashed over me and I was pulled under, but thought nothing of it at the time.
Dave out of the sea, ice on knee, he was happy to read his book. Kids and I still in the sea and Mitch spotted some friends of ours, Sam and Harry, Matthew and Adam... so, Trisha and Iain, Cathy and Alan, Dina and Jeremy, Becky and Sean and another couple we didn't know were there too. We soon joined them and the kids all had a great time till it was time to go, as Mitch still had some homework to complete. It was the longest I have ever stayed in the sea, and had gone back in several times and I think I may have overcome my fear of the sea, another thing to be thankful for!
We got home, and as usual, went to the back yard to shower all the sand off and jump into our pool, not ours for much longer. We had taken some mangoes to the beach, but not eaten them, so we tossed them all in the pool, for a game of dive and find a mango. Jas found many and put them on the side, and Mitch threw them all back in! I just found some and started eating them! Soon we were all eating them, again the juice making orange beards and moustaches. It was sheer bliss. I said to Dave..... why do we have to go??? Never having eaten so many mangoes in one go, in a pool and they were free mangoes too, life seemed all too good to be true!
Today, I finally got the car's certified copy of registration, and whilst I was waiting, I caught the eye of another Chinese girl who was also there last week. I was about 6 places in front of her in the queue. I was seen in 30 minutes, and after another 10mins, I walked out with my precious piece of paper. As I passed the Chinese girl, she asked me, did you get through? Hahahahaha, I knew what she meant, unlike 9 months ago, when I did not know what people meant when I was asked, you getting through? I had visions of me being a ghost and getting through object and people LOL. So, I told her, yes, I got through, and it was only our 5th visit!!! LOL.
I saw the girl again, about an hour later, as I had gone home to discover that I had left my novel behind and had to go back!!!!!! She was still waiting and I hope she managed to get her cert too.
I had a very productive day today, I did part of the housework before the school run, did the car thing, home for breakfast and more housework, back to the car place for my book, off to the bank to pay the Canadian Visa fees, had lunch with the lovely Jill, bought a dress for Jasmine, a top for myself,picked up kids from school, came back, finished off the housework, and cooked up a storm.... I could get used to being a housewife........
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Life is a changing
So, what has been happening? Not a lot, I was minding my own business, helping out at Moksha, even managed to drag Dave to a couple of classes which he didn't enjoy, unfortunately, but did feel some benefit from. I continued to play receptionist at Mamatoto, being mum, wife, children's taxi, going to Yoga, walking with friends and neighbours, enjoying the life I had adopted since moving to Trinidad.
Then about 10 days ago, I had a call from Dave, who was at work, and I could tell he had something important to tell me, he started the conversation by saying, how are you? how's your day going? what you been up to? BUT I could hear an edge to his voice, I could also hear that he was outdoors. I replied, doing the housework, mopping the floors, had cleaned at Yoga and then did a class etc etc. Then he said, they want me to go to Canada! Wooooahhhh boy!!! Steady on.....
So, my life is about to change again. I should be used to this, after all, I am MRS Change, the poltergeist in the house, I would change the furniture round in the house at a whim, not consulting anyone, changed the colour of the walls if I got bored, so much so, that Dave would swear that there was a poltergeist in the house. I would move things around when he was at work or asleep and he would return to find his favourite chair in another space!!! Once I even changed our bedroom, we were at the front of the house, and when he got back from work, we were sleeping at the back LOL.
I guess this time round, I had set my mind on being in Trinidad for 2 years, even though I knew that it was not guaranteed, I didn't think that I would be moving before the 1st year was up. It's another upheaval for the kids, we are now fairly settled here, I have been made to feel so welcome by the locals, forged many friendships with my neighbours and also the girls from the asian ladies group. Not to mention the friends I have made at Moksha. I feel so at home here, despite disliking the heat and humidity, the mossies and cockroaches. I am not ready to go, but go we will have to come the end of June.
At this point in writing, nothing is finalised and we may not end up in Canada, we may well be heading home or somewhere else. It's all very unsettling and my heart is heavy. I am stressed, as much as I like change, I also like stability. I am a creature of contradictions!!! I feel tired at the thought of the forthcoming move, I fall asleep and awake after 3-4 hours, staring into the darkness and finding it difficult to get back to sleep and drift in and out of sleep til the dawn breaks, feeling unrefreshed and wondering what the future holds......
Part of me feels excited, another move, another country, more opportunities for the children and for me to return to work. Part of me doesn't want to give up my neighbours and friends I have made here.... who will always be my friends and I will endeavour to keep in touch with. I am dreading the thought of having to make new friends and networks, but I am sure I will be fine and will take this into my stride once I know exactly where we are heading to.
So, this Monday saw me down at the Vehicle and Transport office trying to obtain a certified copy of my car registration with the above mentioned office. When you buy a car in Trini, you have to transfer ownership and pay a fee, then pay another fee for the copy of the registration stating the vehicle is now registered under your name. We bought the car in Sept, 09, it is now May 2010, we still have no certified copy. Not for want of trying , I might add. We have been to that office, queued and got to the front to be told, we can't find it, comeback in a week and we will have it ready. We leave it 5-6 weeks, go back, first thing, 8 am, queue, I'll let you guess what I was told when I got to the desk.... any guesses? Did they have the cert???? Did they heck! It's not here, let me go and ask my supervisor what to do..... comes back, you need to see the chief clerk, take a number and wait to be seen, vehicle on the system, you need to see clerk to get a copy printed out....I seeee.... luckily I brought my iPod, but should I really be listening to it in public? Should I let others see I have an iPod? What if someone tried to rob me the minute I left the office to get to my car???? Reports of recent burglaries is making me paranoid... but those thoughts did run through my head. I overcame them and watched my best of YouTube podcasts, it helped me pass the time.... I also spent some time talking to a pleasant man, also on another visit, waiting to see the clerk, doing a favour for a friend and it wasn't his 1st visit either .. hahahahaa. We had an interesting conversation and the conclusion was that it could only get better, the systems are out there, to simplify processes and one day, Trinidad would have them, it's not happening soon, but it will happen one day!!!
Before I got to see the clerk, there was some confusion about the order the numbers were being given out, never mind I thought, I have only been here 2 hours, and I know I will be asked to come back again, as they have nothing for me, just as they had nothing for Dave 5 weeks ago. The chief clerk was very apologetic, and said, it has not been done, I am sorry, come back next week and it will be done. it's on the system you say? Just needs a copy printing? Can you do it now? Oh, No, we do not print now, we have other people who will do the printing when the office is closed and I promise you, you will have your copy in a week, just come back to see me. Ok, I said. Well?? What else could I say??? Thank goodness I am not working, and do not have to take time off to do this kind of thing, which most of the people in the queue did in order to be told to return, take another morning off... to be fair, some people did walk away with what they came for.
There was a sign there that tickled me, it said, research clerk counter will be closed at 2pm in order for us to do more research!!!! Had me in fits and giggles. Oh well... I have a strange sense of humour.
Will I get this certified copy next Monday? Will we be going to Canada???? Till the next blog......
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Asian Ladies Lunch Club
In all my years of being abroad, this is the first time I have had so many Malaysian and Asian friends. I had lived in the UK for 20 years, and had 3 friends from Nursing from Malaysia, Shan, who is still in the UK and living in Essex, we were flatmates for 2 years and got quite close, Jan who left for Australia many years ago and June who lives in Cardiff. I have lost touch with all but Shan. They were friends from home that I had met in Bristol. In Nottingham, I chanced upon Jeannie, the most wonderful of people, also from Penang and was a colleague at the Out of Hours service that we worked for. We met and became really close in a short space of time after the initial testing the water with the toe stages, but once the water was fine, we dove in deep and long! I taught her how to knit and improve her techniques and she cooked and fed me til I was the size of a baby hippo. She cried when I told her I was leaving the UK to come to Trinidad, and I felt so guilty for upsetting her, even though I cried too. It will only be for 2 years....
I was introduced to the ladies club by Ima, a fellow Malaysian, married to a Brit called Dave who is a fishitarian, what a coincidence, similarities end there I am afraid, she's Malay, I'm Chinese, she's petite, I'm a hippo, she's soft and gentle, I'm a bull in a china shop, she's shy, I'm loud and brash LOL. In any case, my first lunch club was nice, I didn't really know anyone, but it was all very pleasant. They are all camera mad though, and just love taking pictures with their cameras. I, on the other hand, am not so photogenic and shy away from the cam at all costs, declaring that taking a pic of me would break their camera, so take at your own peril!
Through Asian ladies I have met and made many friends, some close ones, and feel so privileged. We are all in a foreign country and it is so lovely to be with friends from home who share the same language, cultural background and quirks and sense of humour and love for food!!!! Being in Trinidad has given me this wonderful opportunity and I want to thank the person who started the Asian Ladies club, she has since moved to better pastures, but the spirit of what she started is very much alive. It is great to know you have friends from home even in a strange country. If ever you feel homesick or frustrated, there is someone who will truly understand and help you through tougher days... I did not have this in the UK, just did not mix in the correct circles I guess, or perhaps I subconsciously stayed away from any clubs of any kind, for whatever reason. It's really great, though I do not think I would search for a club should I return to the UK. I truly believe in Karma, and I guess Karma dictated that I meet up with all these wonderful women.
Thought I'd better mention that we come from many asian countries and will attempt to list them all - Burma( Myanmar), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand. Hope I've listed them all, Evy, the current co-ordinator will correct me if I've missed any.
Anyway, we had a great lunch at my house today, and everyone who came brought a dish and we had the most amazing spread. Ima and I had invited some of our friends and neighbours and they brought their dishes too.... far too much food, but who cares, we all ate and enjoyed each others company and had a blast.
There are 4 Malaysians who attend the lunches most months, Ima, Chik Mee, Mahani and I, and boy oh boy, when we get together we get raucous and loud and just can't help fooling around and laughing til our bellies ache. Mahani is such a scream, she should start a blog or even write a book! We apologise for our rudeness should we descend into ourselves and start talking in Malay, or Chinese, reassuring those around us that we are not talking about them, well, mostly we are not, sorry , norty , norty ... seriously though, we are not hahahahaha
To all my Asian Ladies Club friends, thank you so much for accepting me into your group and sharing with me, it's so very refreshing and I hope we will continue to be friends, even when we leave Trini .
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Being with Dave
Thought I'd take a break from NYC, and write some mushy stuff down as Dave and I will have been married 15 years in 6 days time. Some would say you'd do less time for murder LOL, a life sentence.... why does it have to be negative? People joke about it, but are they really joking or is there a grain of disappointment in their comments? Being with the same person for years and years? For a person like me, that thrives on change, can it work? Will it work? Will I be bored? Get bored? Will we last the test of time?