It is so hard to come back to MN and its cold weather and snow after being home in Trinidad for the past 2 weeks. I came out of the airport to a blast of cold MN, winter air…brrrr.
I have been asked countless times will I go back to Trindad to live and my answer is always no. Never! It took me 20 years to get out of there…no way am I going back there to live. I truly believe I live in the land of oppertunities with its cold weather, its 3 months of Summer and its snow! I will gladly take it all rather than going back to Trindad to live.
Why you ask will I give up the lazy island life with its 30 something holidays, its steaming hot weather, the food, the beautiful music, the beaches. Well there are pros and cons to living on an island. The pros, obvioulsy the sun, the food, the relaxed living, the holidays, the close neighborhood living, the close proximity to the beaches, the party life just to name a few.
The cons, in order to have a good lifestyle there, I am sorry to say this but you better dang well have a good income! And to get that good income it does not matter how much education you have, its who you know and how can they get you in. The roads are terrible for driving, everything is far away, its like a day trip just to go to the mall or to the town, the uncleanliness of the streets and beaches, the mean, arrogant attitude of the people who work in the restaurants or public buildings there is unbelievable…the crime. And this is to name a few as well.
So yes there are pros and cons to living on an island. Its which one you are willing to tolerate the most. I do love going back for vacation mainly because I still have friends and family that I do enjoy visiting with. But I can only handle a few weeks at most. I will always love my Country as that will be home forever. No where else can I go and get my roast pork, my fish broth, my cookup rice with pigtail, my street side BBQ, and most importantly my doubles and my Bake and Shark! So I will always have to return home for these.
Here is a closeup of my Bake and Shark from Maracas Bay…delish! I will be back in full swing this weekend with a new recipe, in the mean time enjoy drooling over this!
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Like reading some these blog article with a story behind it and or a Caribbean connection. Its not just you who get asked “Will you ever go back” i theorize its likely everyone from the Caribbean who meets someone who isn’t from that region and likely never has been there. Having lived in the U.S for the last 20 years now, i still don’t have a good answer for every time I’m asked the question. Deep down I wan’t to believe there is some compelling reason to maybe one day go back for some very good reason, but it will always be HOME! The reality of today the island Economy and Politics in the present don’t make it worth entertaining, but who knows the future no one knows. So when I’m asked…. I always pause and think to ponder my thought at that time. And even if my answer is eventually NO i won’t right now…. I do at least think about it. It will still always be HOME! My Family will still always be there and they will still always welcome me back HOME! Even if i’m choosing not to go back.
It took me the longest to realize what we call Johnny Cakes in St.Kitts is what some further down in the Caribbean call Bakes. I kept wondering for the longest what this Bake was i’d read about and see in some youtube vids. Some Saltfish would look and taste really good in that. Can’t remember the last time i’ve seen Shark at any my local Grocery Store.