Cool and Calm: The Trinidadian Way
Elizabeth and "Sheriff" Ramlal are shown with Helene Carter, Devin Randolph, Michael Zeigler and First Lady Alice Carson Tisdale. The group is headed to cheer the Panthers on at the T&T Hoops Classic.
There’s nothing frantic about Trinidad. It’s cool, relaxed, smooth, and calm. It’s one of the myths about islanders that may be true. This calmness is evident in everything, it seems. It’s in the peddlers at the stop lights selling bottled water, pineapple and okra. They don’t forcefully come up to your car. If you want to buy their goods, cool. If not, that’s cool too.
It’s in the way the waiter comes to your table and asks for your drink order. It’s in the way the Trinidadians coast down the streets, seemingly relaxed and free. And if they are not, you can’t tell by looking at them. No, it’s not frantic at all. It’s more like taking in a long, deep breath and letting it out slowly. Smooth.
Many foreigners who visit the Caribbean don’t have the opportunity we have – to live in the heart of the city rather than a tourist location. The downtown area of Port of Spain, Trinidad’s capital, is undergoing a lot of construction projects, with new businesses and hotels moving to the heart of the city. There is a lot of traffic because of that, making the commute through downtown a long one during the day. It took us nearly an hour to get out of Port of Spain on the way to the basketball game last night.
Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
There’s not much of a culture shock. Trinidadians all speak English and their culture is familiar, especially for African-Americans. From the music to the television stations to the people here, the country has a familiar feeling of home.
The recruitment team – First Lady Alice Tisdale, Michael Zeigler, Devin Randolph and Helene Carter – has been privileged to be escorted by the Ramlals, Elizabeth and “Sheriff.” I call them the King and Queen of cool.
The couple are the parents of Letticia Ramlal, a Claflin graduate and Advanced Research Coordinator at Claflin. Mrs. Ramlal has been our eyes and ears here in Trinidad, helping us plan the Recruitment Reception which will be held tonight (Wednesday) to introduce Trinidadian students to Claflin University. She met us at the airport, both the recruitment team and the basketball team, and made our transition into Trinidad very smooth. Mr. Ramlal has been helping us get around the island, taking us from place to place. They have answered our questions and been our tour guides of sorts, explaining where we are and what we see. Both have made sacrifices to make our stay here easy, calm, cool, and smooth – in the true Trinidadian way.
We are all looking forward to the Recruitment Reception tonight. We have received calls from current students like Cindy Lewis and Petrina Phillips, confirming their attendance. We have also received confirmations from Trinidadian students interested in attending Claflin. The event should be a huge success.
