On Monday night, after 12 hours of traveling I
made it to Trinidad. Located northeast of Venezuela and south
of Grenada in the Caribbean, Trinidad is one of the two islands
apart of the dual-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). After getting
off my plane, I sat in line to be checked out of the customs. Before being
called up, my cell phone, which contained the
information I needed to be checked out of customs, completely went black.
Initially, I started to freak out but then I calmed down and thought about what
I could do to get this information. After 15 minutes of thinking,
I contacted Nicole Brennan, a 2015 Smith Fellow, from my laptop and
asked her for help. After receiving a response from Nicole, I
was able to get the necessary information to get through customs. Even before
getting out of the airport, I learned a new lesson! Always have a backup source
for my travel information! Thank you, Nicole! After finally getting
through customs, I was greeted and received by Sr.
Arlene, the manager of the St. Dominic's Children's Home, who was also my point of contact throughout my preparation
and my roommate and new friend, Leigh Ann. Once the two
greeted me, I began to cry tears of joy! It had finally hit me that after months of preparation I was finally here.
After placing my luggage in the car, we drove through downtown
Port of Spain (the capital) to St. Dominic's Children's Home (where
I will be residing for the next six weeks). Once we arrived at St. Dominic's
Children's Home compound, I got to enjoy a caribbean-styled
dinner which included stew chicken, rice and peas, beans, and fried plantains (similar to bananas). I don't
eat fried foods but I promised myself that I would fully immerse myself in the
culture, so I gave up my choice to eat fried foods until I return to the states
and after eating the plantains, I
surely did not regret my decisions! After eating dinner in the convent
where the Dominican Sisters reside, I went to Leigh Ann's apartment behind the
convent, where I would reside for the next six weeks, for the remainder of the
night.
On Tuesday, my first full day in Trinidad,
I spent most of the time resting and unpacking. On Wednesday, I spent my day
exploring the compound and meeting all of the Dominican Sisters, staff,
administration, teachers, and some of the students on the compound. I was
greeted and welcomed by everyone with so much joy and love! After getting
familiar with the compound, Sr. Arlene, Leigh Ann, and another Sister treated
me to a welcome dinner in the city of Port of Spain and it was amazing! Similar
to the dish I had on the first night, I had chicken, vegetable rice and fried plantains, followed by ice cream! Once I
returned to the compound, the Sisters invited me to relax and watch Criminal
Minds while I waited for Leigh Ann to complete a homework assignment so that we
could head home. Today on the compound, everyone observed the holiday Corpus
Christi, also know as the Feast of Corpus Christi (Body for Christ). The
purpose of this holiday is to celebrate the belief in the blood and body of
Jesus Chris and his existence in
the Eucharist. Because of the holiday, many of the Sisters and staff on the
compound, including my roommate,
have started their weekend early, where they have traveled off of the compound
to visit family or to go on vacation. Because my roommate left for the weekend, I will be staying with the
Sisters in the convent until she returns Monday night. Because there was no
school on the compound, I spent the day creating projects that I will be
responsible for overlooking on the compound with the students. As I write this
blog, I am smiling from ear to ear because I still cannot believe that I am
here. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have been given. I
would like to thank the Smith Fellowship Selection Committee for granting me
this opportunity, Fr. Robb and Nicole for assisting me with the preparation for my trip, my mother for her love and
support, the rest of my family and friends who have also supported me through
the process of getting here, and most importantly God for placing me in this
position to apart of the Smith Fellowship Program.
God bless,
Shantal S. Solomon
