4 Things I Miss About Growing Up in Trinidad & Tobago
And why I will likely never return.
Trinidad & Tobago. A pair of small and relatively insignificant islands cast away from the mainland of South America. This funny boot-shaped Caribbean island may not mean a lot to most people. However, during my childhood, it meant a lot.
T&T isn’t just an exotic country in the south of the Caribbean. It was the place I longed to return to every summer holiday. It represented family, and it was also my second home. It was me, part of my identity, a place I loved.
My connection to the twin island nation is through my mother, who was born in a town near the country’s capital, Port-of-Spain. We spent almost every summer break there for at least 5 weeks at a time every year.
Those times were idyllic, memories so vibrant and happy, that the very thought of them brings a smile to my face. However, my days in Trinidad are long gone, so these memories are almost bittersweet in a way, as though they bring warmth, I also mourn their passing.
Here are the things I miss most about Trinidad & Tobago:
1. Trinidad & Tobago = Family
4369. That is roughly how many miles there are between my extended family and me.
The lead-up to summer was filled with the same excitement every single time. Each waking moment felt like an eternity, as I counted down the days to our annual migration. Those days, hours, minutes and seconds dragged by painfully, but the excitement kept me going.
However, the prospect of devouring doubles and swimming in the sea paled in comparison to the main reason for our visit: Being with family.
Of all the 365 days that make up a year, I was lucky enough to just spend 40 of those days with my family. These were some of the happiest days of my life.
We spent our days liming* at the beach, eating out at restaurants, and going on holidays to neighbouring islands. We played games after dinner, watched movies, and entertained distant relatives at dinner parties. Nothing was out of the ordinary per se, but those times were perfect on reflection.
Trini Slang Breakdown*- Liming is essentially the art of hanging out with friends and family.
My favourite moments, however, were spent relaxing in the living room after a good meal. The conversation was usually between my mother and Grammy, as they sat gossiping about people I didn’t know, nor cared to know. They would also often reminisce about days long gone, way before my time. These anecdotes for some reason always stuck out to me, even after all these years.
Looking back on those 40 days a year is almost surreal now, but I am eternally grateful for those moments.
My Grandfather, or Grampy, as we called him, was an incredibly generous man and made many of our annual trips possible. He was the reason for my ever-so-fond memories, the source of the joy that filled my summers. Grampy is no longer with us, and it saddens me that I never got to express my gratitude to him.
As I sift through my blissful memories of family, the one person that stands out is my Grammy. She was great, everything a grandmother should be. Her sense of humour, warmth and love for her family made her the best grandmother a young boy could ask for.
It was the time spent with family that made Trinidad feel like home.
2. Trini Food: A Diverse Banquet in the Southern Caribbean
My love of food was formed in Trinidad.
Trini food is diverse, much like the people. You will see culinary influences from India, West Africa, Venezuela, France, Syria, China and many other far-reaching and exotic places. These influences may even be on the same plate!
Some of my greatest memories take place in my grandmother’s kitchen, helping prepare the evening meal. Ethnically speaking, my family are of mostly Chinese heritage on my mother’s side, which was often reflected in the food we ate.
However, this was not exclusively how we ate. In fact, Trinis eat a wide variety of dishes, whether that be Indian-inspired food, like the doubles pictured above or creole offerings like callaloo and ox tail stew. We even share other Caribbean nation’s cuisines, like Jamaican Jerk Chicken.
Here are a few of my personal favourites:
- Doubles: An Indo-Trinidadian street food dish consisting of two fried flatbreads, topped with curried chickpeas. Make it your own by adding tamarind sauce, chadon beni, mango chutney and pepper sauce (the lifeblood of all Trinis)
- Bake & Shark: This is a controversial food item, however, it is something I ate when visiting Maracas Bay and Las Cuevas Beach many times growing up. Fried bread, is served with marinated shark fillets, which are battered and fried. All the common condiments, like tamarind sauce, chadon beni and pepper sauce are available, along with pineapple slices and coleslaw. Fried shrimp is a common substitute.
- Coconut bake and Saltfish: This was something I was introduced to in later years. Hearty coconut-laced bread, sandwiching a savoury mix of saltfish, tomatoes and bell peppers.
- Dhalpuri Roti: This roti is stuffed with seasoned yellow split peas, which are ground into a powder. The roti is then wrapped around a curry of your choice, whether that be the veggie option of chana (chickpea) and potato or meat options like chicken or goat.
- Buss-up-shut: Another variation of the roti. Simple and delicious, this roti is beaten and torn to break apart the layers of this paratha-like bread. It is served with a variety of curries.
- Trini Sunday Lunch: The Trini version of Sunday lunch that we eat at home usually consisted of roast meat (either chicken or pork usually), rice and peas, macaroni pie, fried plantain (or plantain pie if we are extra lucky, we borrowed that from the Venezuelans) and Yorkshire puddings (not a traditional Trini side, but one I like to include).
- Aloo Pie and Pholourie: Another fried bread dish, aloo pie is fried dough stuffed with a spiced potato mix. This is usually cut open and served with various chutneys, chadon beni and chana curry. Pholourie, yet another fried dough dish (yes I know, it is a wonder I wasn’t a large child). These bite-sized dough balls are used as a vehicle for various sweet and spicy chutneys.
- Corn Soup: Comforting and filling, corn soup is the best on cold days (not that cold days exist in T&T, there are plenty of cold, drizzly days in the UK though). This thick coconut milk and split pea-based soup is chockfull of corn, carrots and various other veggies. Hearty, doughy dumplings are also added.
3. The Sound of the Steel Pan
The slightest tap of a steel drum brings me back to T&T.
The joyful sound of this iconic instrument casts away any sadness from my head, whisking me away to a simpler time.
The instrument is Trini to its core, one of the country’s many offerings to the world of music. An enduring symbol of the working class in Trinidad, the steel pan was created by the impoverished, who used everyday items as instruments to make music. It didn’t take long for these inventive musicians to start using disused steel drums, transforming this industrial item into the characterful instrument we know today.
Both melodic and vibrant, the sound of the steel pan is in the heart of all Trinis.
4. Being Surrounded by Wildlife
As a child, my love for wildlife was at its peak. Growing up in the suburbs of Stoke-on-Trent there wasn’t much in the way of wildlife, apart from the odd visit from the local fox or a scattering of pigeons in Hanley town centre.
Trinidad on the other hand is a nature lover’s paradise.
My grandparents lived on the side of a small mountain so there was a great deal to see without having to leave the front door:
Busy hummingbirds zipped by, only stopping momentarily to drink from my grandmother’s bird feeder.
Giant, creepy caterpillars invaded our trees by the hundreds. Turning once flourishing trees into bare skeletal frames.
Dread-inducing vultures flew overhead, circling above in a torrent of death. Morbid curiosity consistently got the better of me, as I sometimes played dead to get a closer look (it did not work for those wondering).
However, my favourites were the Green Parrots that would slowly fly past the house in the afternoon, their delicate chirps still resonate with me today.
We spent a lot of time swimming in the sea. It was these emerald-green waters that sparked even further curiosity within me, and a healthy amount of fear too.
See, every time we went to Trinidad it coincided with Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. So my paranoia about what lurked beneath the water’s surface was at a high each and every summer.
With bloody good reason too. An old friend of my mother had her entire calf ripped off by a Barracuda! I believe it was attracted to her shimmering anklet. So you could imagine my all-consuming fear when I came face-to-face with one during a morning snorkeling session. I would have put Michael Phelps to shame with how quickly I swam ashore.
Besides the brief moments of self-induced fear, I loved being around such bountiful wildlife in Trinidad & Tobago.
Why I will likely never return to Trinidad & Tobago
Everything comes to an end.
Unfortunately, as time goes on, people pass and relationships strain. I will always love Trinidad & Tobago, as these islands encapsulated such great memories for me. Playing backdrop to some of my happiest moments.
The way I see it, to preserve these blissful memories I must let go of Trinidad. As the risk of tarnishing what I have left is far too great.
Thank you, Trinidad.
