Time to lime

We all know the old saying — Trinis are like salt, they in EVERYTHING! And I can personally say that this is true, that Trinis are indeed everywhere, even where you would least expect to find them….

This afternoon I’m meeting up with some Trini friends of mine whom I met not long after I arrived in Hong Kong. They are really great people — she is from Bacolet, Tobago and he is from Belmont, Trinidad, and they live about 20 minutes away.

I never expected to make Trini friends all the way in Hong Kong, but it just happened. A lot of Trinis who go to Canada, the US or the UK to work and study are so homesick that they surround themselves with a strong network of Trinis and, quite often, never make friends outside of the Caribbean community. I’m guilty of the same; when I was going to university in Toronto, I had a strong crew of Trinis, both on campus and downtown, we spent many a night feting in the Joker, and even my boyfriend was a Trini! But, when I moved to Tokyo, I never sought out other Trinis, and only met one Trini during my whole year there.

In Hong Kong, however, there are a surprising amount of Trinis, and for some reason many of them live close by. They are all incredibly successful and bright people who work for some of the biggest and most prestigious companies in the world and are really doing well for themselves.

There is even a Caribbean Association in China with headquarters in Shanghai, comprising members from all over the West Indies who are living and working in China and Hong Kong. Imagine that! Once in a while they have these social events, and a Trini girl I know here sends me an invitation, but that’s not really my cup of tea. While I am grateful to have good Trini friends here, I’m not flying all the way to Shanghai to lime with a set of strangers who just happen to be West Indians! That, to me, is going a little too far.

Anyways, even though I did not purposefully seek out Trini friends here, I am glad to have them. It is always sort of a relief to be able to lime with people who talk like you do, who understand the stupidness you say, who know what the word ‘stupidness’ means! Being overseas gives you a great opportunity to meet lots of new people from all over the globe, but I still have to admit, it warms the heart to hear a steups now and then…..