The majority of our first week in the Caribbean was spent in Charlotteville, Tobago, which is a small fishing village in the northeastern part of the island. After a plane ride and a long and winding bus trip there, we had arrived in a place that is different from any other place I have experienced. It is a beautiful town with incredible beaches and views, but what made it such an unforgettable experience for me was the people who lived there.
Matthew gestures to a palm tree next to the beach in Charlotteville, Tobago. He is explaining to Allison from Saint Lawrence University how the coconuts grow year round from the yellow spikes at the base of the branches.
Matthew was one of the first people we got to talk to there, and here he is explaining to one of the girls in our study abroad program, Allison, how the coconuts in these trees grow. He was very eager to strike up a conversation with us when he saw our group walk into town, and talked to us for quite some time before we had to move on. Our group drew quite a bit of attention wherever we went around town. Which can be expected when a group of 15 girls arrives suddenly in a small village, especially when many of us are white, placing us very much in the racial minority there.
Matthew looks on as his friend knocks down coconuts from a tree next to the beach with some bamboo they had turned into a tool. Matthew cut them open for us afterwards so we could try some coconut water.
On our way back to our cabins Matthew stopped us to chat again, and his friend helped him knock down coconuts for us which he then opened up so we could try the water inside. It was difficult but he seemed very determined that we would all be able to try it. Everyone we met in Tobago seemed to want to make sure that we really experienced all there was to offer. They welcomed us to what they called true paradise, and I found it hard to disagree with that statement.
Miss Lucille tells a story with her Machete while Aline and Fikiswa from Saint Lawrence University listen and smile. Miss Lucille had just chopped up some sugar cane for us after she helped us do some planting in her garden.
Another local we got to spend time with was a a woman named Lucille who bought plots of land in up above Pirate’s Bay in Charlotteville to create a garden for herself and for the children in the village. She has been working in her garden and at a restaurant in town for six years, ever since she returned to Tobago from Canada where she raised her 11 children. The passion she had for all her plants and the work she does in her garden, especially with the children, was inspiring. She not only chopped down some of her best sugarcane so that we could all try it, but also brought food over to our cabins almost every day we were in Charlotteville. She was extremely kind and generous and we learned so much from her about the different backgrounds and uses for all the plants we passed on our hike up to her garden.
Tobago is a gorgeous place to visit, and although I made sure to enjoy the beaches and the views, the pictures I really want to share are of the people we met there. The program we are a part of is focused on experiencing the culture of Trinidad and Tobago, comparing it to our lives in the US, and learning from it. Meeting these people and joining this community, even for a short while, was a learning experience. Strangers seemed more open and talkative than those in the US. They seemed more genuinely curious and interested and were willing to take time out of their day to get to know you. In such a small community, people know what is going on around town and although we were just visiting, they who we were before they even met us. Some would see us at the bar and tell us they were excited to see us the next day at an event we had scheduled with them. We became friends with a woman who worked at a restaurant on the first night we went there, and by the second day she told us to call her big sis. They knew when it was our last night and some dropped by to say goodbye before we left. For 5 days they welcomed us into their community and that was what made this trip so memorable.
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