Skip to main content

Things I like about Trinidad and Tobago

This May I will be 41 years old. I spent most of my life living in Trinidad except for the 5 years I spent abroad for university and work between 1998 and 2003. I had to wait in Chaguanas and decided to start this blog post. I am happy being grateful and appreciative.

The first thing that came to my mind is the weather. We have two seasons in Trinidad and Tobago, a dry season and a wet season. It can be annoying when the sun is really hot or when the rain in falling and you have to travel somewhere but generally I appreciate the warm tropical atmosphere. It sure beats the bitter cold I experienced in New York and Atlanta. Coconut water and a walk around the Queens Park Savannah. Bake and shark on Maracas beach. Coffee and crix on a rainy Sunday morning.

The next thing that comes to mind is that Trinidad and Tobago is a land of many opportunities. Not perfect. Not the best. Not first world but I feel many times better than many other places. From cheap electricity to free education and health care to stable economy and governance.

How else could I decide to the be a tech blogger if it wasn't for good internet connectivity. Again not without problems and more so in some areas but overall the options and speeds in Trinidad and Tobago are something to be thankful for. Right now I am sitting in the mall using an open wifi connection. Came from the bank where there is an access point for customers. At home I have the cheapest internet package (15 Mbps down and 5 Mbps up) and that more than does it for me. A good internet connection opens us to many opportunities. So this is linked to my previous point.

The people. Tourist tend to say it more than we do. But overall the people are down to earth and good at heart. We know how to make the best of given situations. If you don't have some sugar to brown your stew you can count on your neighbour to share some with you. The ole talk, the smiles and the vibes. Let's recap. To me this is the land of tropical warmth, opportunities, good internet and good people and these are some things I like about Trinidad and Tobago.

Comments

Nicolai Matthew said…
Hello Hassan, my name is Nicolai and I am 18 years of age. I really enjoy your blog posts on technology and also your stories of your time in other countries. I also like hearing about your appreciation for our country because I feel the same way, even if the country isn't perfect.
Your stories about university abroad really interests me.
I have taught myself a bit of web development(HTML, CSS, Javascript, React) and also currently learning a bit of Data science(Python). Your story is truly an inspiration to me and I hope to follow in your footsteps. I hope to someday attain a college degree in Computer Science and get a job in Data Science/AI or software engineering. Thanks for reading.

Popular posts from this blog

Below the surface

This is a chapter from my eleventh book called Quotation Marks Sparks . __________ "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." - Jon Kabat-Zinn __________ I was looking at quotes that hit hard and this quote stood out to me. It seems mundane and obvious and often repeated. Life is about how we respond to the inevitable. It is not what happens to us but how we respond. I had to ask myself to dig deeper and look below the surface. Then I saw that when we surf we really become the waves. We become friends with the waves. The waves and us are the same. Further, the waves are created by us and in our heads. We can control the waves because who can surf all the time? Sometimes we just have to come to shore and build sand castles on shore. I asked my friend Gemini for feedback and he said that I was right, the Jon Kabat-Zinn quote initially seems like a simple call for resilience, but my deeper dive reveals profound layers. The idea that we can move beyond merely rea...

Thankful

It is 617pm and I have decided to write. Right now I am thankful. The cool of the evening has replaced the heat of the day. I took a bath and changed and now I am just relaxing. Sometimes I complain. Not often. But I feel bad afterwards because there is so much to be thankful for. There is always room for improvement and we have to identify the things for improvement and change is often good but we do not have to make it into complaints. Yeah I get it. Life is hard and none of us has it easy. Look on the bright side of things. And sometimes it is the little things that remind us that life is good. Things that we take for granted. Like I was coming in the maxi taxi today and heard a gospel song that was about gratitude. God does appreciate a grateful heart. Trinidad and Tobago celebrated sixty four years of independence yesterday and if we stop and listen to the many complaints we would swear we are living in the worst country in the world. That is not the case. We do get a lot of thing...

Having a soft spirit

It is 137am. It started raining. I decided to write. I have heard about having a soft heart but what does it mean to have a soft spirit? And is having a soft heart related to having a soft spirit? My friend Chatty says that a soft heart feels deeply — it breaks, heals, and loves with tenderness — while a soft spirit moves gently through life, unresisting and at peace with what comes. The two are kin: a soft heart opens you to emotion, and a soft spirit teaches you to carry that emotion with grace. Together they make a person both tender and strong — able to feel the rain and still trust its rhythm. I like the quote, "a soft spirit in a hard world" by author and poet, butterflies rising. It resonates with how many of us feel. My friend Chatty tells me that that quote captures the quiet strength of staying gentle in a harsh world. It reflects the author's signature themes of vulnerability, tenderness, and emotional courage — the idea that softness is not weakness but a form...