News, Weather, Sports

NEWS
People here, in Trinidad, seem at least as concerned about the swine flu as they are in the United States. There have now been 4 deaths from the swine flu now in Trinidad. In fact, some schools have closed down because of the swine flu, just as they have in the United States. The principal has been fairly clear that no one should come to school if they have any sort of symptoms of the swine flu. The other day, someone in my class came to school with a runny nose, and was sniffling all day, and the principal kept telling her she was going to send her home. She didn't, but she wouldn't let the girl share a textbook with anyone.
At school, we get free lunches from the government. People call them box lunches because they come in little white boxes. I think they are much better than the lunches that you have to pay for in the U.S. Well, people sometimes trash them all over the place and that sort of thing, and yesterday someone threw one at someone else. Then the principal used a lot of time and energy to figure out who it was, spending most of yesterday afternoon and I'm not completely sure she figured out who it was. But, anyway, so today, they made a rule that each person has to write his/her name on their box lunch, so they can find the culprit easier if that ever happens again. Personally, I think that is very funny.
~Olivia

WEATHER

Another hot day! We have found it harder to keep track of the month here, and there is no varying weather to act as a clue. It is hard to believe that it is nearing the end of October and still this hot! The all-time low in all recorded history of Trinidad and Tobago was 51 degrees Fahrenheit. Today was hotter than sometimes, with no rain. There is rain almost every day (this is the wet season) and while sometimes that can make it cooler, it can also make the whole day muggy for just one small bout of rain. But they are rarely small. However, as hot as I have found it, a couple days ago another girl in my class asked the teacher if she could please close the window because she was getting cold! I don't think I will ever be truly cold in Trinidad!
~Roxy

SPORTS
While sports fans in the U.S. are looking forward to the beginning of the World Series and are midway through football season, all attention here is on the nation's two favorite sports: cricket and football (what Americans know as soccer). In 2006, T&T became the smallest country to ever qualify for the FIFA (soccer) World Cup. This time, however the team had a disappointing showing in the World Cup qualifying round as they failed to win a single game over the last couple of months.
Right now, everyone's attention is on the national Twenty20 cricket team as they head into the finals of the Champions League T20 tournament in India. (Twenty20 is the shortest of the three versions of cricket played on the international level. A match is usually completed in a mere 3-4 hours.) The matches are carried live every morning on 2 of the 5 TV stations that we receive. They are then replayed in their entirety on both stations again in the evening for those who were working. This afternoon, I went to the supermarket just as the semifinal match ended. The TV screens that usually play ads were all tuned to the post-game show; and people were standing in the aisles all over the store watching it. No doubt TVs all over the country will be tuned in tomorrow as T&T takes on the New South Wales Blues for the championship. Hopes are high, as T&T already beat the Blues once earlier in the tournament!
~Richard