Happy Republic Day

Today is Republic Day in Trinidad & Tobago--not to be confused with Independence Day, which was celebrated a few weeks ago. Independence Day marks the day in 1962 that the islands gained their independence from Great Britain. Republic Day is the celebration of the day in 1976 when the parliament met for the first time under a new constitution that, among other things, created the office of President to be the head of state. This means that, unlike many other former British colonies like Canada, Australia and Jamaica, Queen Elizabeth is not queen over Trinidad & Tobago. The nation is, however, still a member of the British Commonwealth. In fact, in just two months, the biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will take place in Port of Spain. The prime ministers and leaders of more than 50 countries will all be here, including Queen Elizabeth herself. Many people here are quite proud of the fact that this small country is hosting both the Summit of the Americas (attended by President Obama and many other leaders in April) and the Commonwealth Heads of Government in the same year. Others, however, are concerned about how much it is all costing and the strain that it puts on an infrastructure that is already stretched quite thin.
~Richard

Yes, this is the second holiday this week. The girls had Monday off school for Eid, then 2 days of classes, then today off for Republic Day, then class tomorrow. Since neither of the holidays fell on our teaching days, we still our full class load this week. However, our numbers of students were down. I only had 5 in class last night instead of my usual 8.
As our lives melt into routine here, there is perhaps less interesting to write about. Here are some random thoughts.

• One nice thing about being in Trinidad is that Richard's sense of chivalry seems greater here with him opening my car door more often than at home. However the longer we are here, the less I find him unlocking my side of the car first.
• The ICC tournament is going on here, so we can watch lots of cricket on TV. Why are they running back and forth?
• We prepared our first batch of chana aloo this week to go with the leftover buss up shut that was given to us when we were invited over to our neighbors' for a Trini pumpkin cooking lesson earlier in the week. I'm anticipating roti lessons soon.
• The school lunches here are free to everyone even in private schools. And, the girls report that they are better than the lunches at home - imagine replacing the pizza and processed chicken pieces in various shapes with chicken and rice.

We are so grateful for our time here, but still treasure all of our relationships with you at home. We love you and are thankful for your prayers and e-mails.
~Barb

If you are wondering what the buss up shut that Mommy mentioned is, it is a kind of roti. It apparently comes from the words bust up shirt, see the similarity? Apparently, you eat so much of it , you bust up your shirt, or something.
The other day at school, I mentioned that I play piano, and people were very excited about that. There is a keyboard at the school, and in the morning before classes, we have chapel. During chapel, there is lots of singing, so the principal invited me to play piano during that time and I said I would. So, then, yesterday morning, she had someone carry it up the hill from the office to the classrooms. When I saw it, I asked if there was any sort of sheet music, or if I just was supposed to figure it out by ear. Apparently, I was supposed to figure it out by ear. When I told the principal that I read music, and not play by ear, she seemed surprised, but said she would try to find some sheet music. People were very disappointed that I wasn't playing piano, and seemed to think it was a little strange to read music.
~Olivia

PAWI High School is actually on the campus of WIST, West Indies School of Theology (not where my parents teach, that's WITC, West Indies Theological College) and I think the college is pretty good sized...all of our classes are in one building (which is not used by the college at all) but the Technology classes have to be in the lab, which is in a building where the lab is the only room we use and we're not allowed to be in any others (but people are all the time). The campus is built on a hill, and so the main building is up the hill from the office, the cafe, and the building with the lab. And the basketball court scares me! Because it is on a hill, but the basketball court has to be flat, when the basketball court starts, it is even with the ground around it, but on one side, there's a drop off of about 3 feet! So when people are running really fast near the edge, they have to jump off sometimes and it's scary! Many schools here in Trinidad aren't co-ed, but PAWI is, and EVERY school in T&T has a uniform! Even public schools.
The main building has 5 classrooms--3 on the bottom floor, and 1 on the top that has 2 huge whiteboards in the middle, and so is used as 2 classrooms. You can't get from any one classroom to another without going outside, except the 2 with the big whiteboards in the middle.
~Roxy