Are Trinis the friendliest in the West Indies
elizabeth aqui-seto
Trini living in Toronto. I work for a large international insurance
company and work with colleagues from many ethnic backgrounds, including
many from the Caribbean islands. Recently, an Italian-Canadian colleague
who works in the Travel dept. mentioned that she was going to T'dad for
Carnival. Immediately, I started questioning her on whether this was her
first trip, where she would be staying, etc. etc. mainly because a) I am
a caring person and b) I'd like to ensure that she has a good time.
She was delighted that we had chatted; but more importantly she commented
that in her opinion Trinidadians are definitely "one of the friendliest,
if not THE friendliest bunch that she's ever met." She then related
stories of all the other Trinis who had volunteered to give her names of
friends and family down there so that she could visit with them or have
someone to call on if she got bored. She was overwhelmed at the kindness
and generosity of all the Trinis that she knew.
SO, I have a couple questions to all those who'd like to help me in my
informal mini survey:
1) Are Trinis in fact as friendly as some of us believe or is this just
pure coincidence that we happen to have a great deal of friendly ones
living in a certain part of Toronto?
2) Assuming that Trinis are the friendliest of all among the other
Caribbean islands, what do you suppose accounts for this?
I am very interested in getting your thoughts on (2). I have personally
talked to many others from other islands and really have to agree with my
colleague that West Indiands from the other Caribbean islands are just
not half as friendly as Trinis. I think generally speaking that West
Indians are probably friendlier and warmer than say Canadians or
Europeans, but for this exercise, I'd like to compare Trinis with other
West Indians.
Many thanks.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
Tru trini
>pure coincidence that we happen to have a great deal of friendly ones
>living in a certain part of Toronto?
>2) Assuming that Trinis are the friendliest of all among the other
>Caribbean islands, what do you suppose accounts for this?
First of all You _know_ these questions are flame-bait, but I'll answer it
anyway
I think that expatriates - no matter what island they're from, tend to be
friendly toward (for want of a better word) foreigners. Partly because we
miss home and partly because we want everyone to think that where we come
from is the greatest place on earth. When I was in Trini I didn't exactly
have a love for tourists, but I think I do more promotion now than the
Tourist board.
To answer the second question, compared to the way people are in the
_cities_ in North America, Caribbean life is just better. I mean, imagine
this scenario
You get into a taxi to go to work
you say "Good Morning" and everyone else in the taxi replies likewise.
where else do you find that?
I tend to think that Trinis are less friendly that people in other islands
I've visited, but that might be a result of our 'progress'
It's all subjective I suppose....
Kerryn, A Trini In VA
---------------------------
Doh Dig Nutten.....
Sysop
EA>2) Assuming that Trinis are the friendliest of all among the other
EA>Caribbean islands, what do you suppose accounts for this?
I think our development as a nation has a lot to do with it...since
Trinidad and Tobago as an independent country, never needed to develop
tourism to suatain its economy, we developed and attitude of little
concern for wether or not tourists came to visit. Thus we have always
welcomed visitors, but as just that...visitors, not customers...hence
any antagonism, and tired arguments of 'service vs. servitude' didn't
develop....
The relative size and wealth of the country also must have addedd to
the lasck of insularity...
..just a few thoughts....I await comment..;-))
- peter wimbourne
OPUS NETWORX
www.opus-networx.com
rockvax.rockefeller.edu.
far? One persons opinion and experience is definitely not enough to make
a law
jan...@cc.helsinki.fi
>
>
>
> EA>2) Assuming that Trinis are the friendliest of all among the other
> EA>Caribbean islands, what do you suppose accounts for this?
>
> I think our development as a nation has a lot to do with it...since
> Trinidad and Tobago as an independent country, never needed to develop
> tourism to suatain its economy, we developed and attitude of little
> concern for wether or not tourists came to visit. Thus we have always
> welcomed visitors, but as just that...visitors, not customers...hence
> any antagonism, and tired arguments of 'service vs. servitude' didn't
> develop....
>
> The relative size and wealth of the country also must have addedd to
> the lasck of insularity...
>
For starters, IMHO it's hard & perhaps really uncool & unwise to ponder
about such a topic...Any opinion about how "friendly" the people of certain
place X are has to be based on several BROAD generalizations and assumptions,
as well as limits of one's own personal knowledge. For example, how a person
is received in a country depends greatly on what race, religion and culture
that person is/comes from to start with. Then there are aspects of education,
personal ways & behavior etc. etc. that all influence how the individuals
representing country X see him/her and how they respond to his/her presence
and willingness to perhaps go & see their country. As for personal knowledge,
it would for instance be hard for me to compare the friendliness (a term that
also means different things to different cultures & individuals) of say the
people of Barbuda to that of the people of Trinidad to that of the people of
Tobago (yeah, same country but two set of people I think). Why? Well, I
never met anyone from Barbuda! Doesn't mean they ent too friendly down there,
does it now? As for Trinidad and Tobago, I have met a LOT more Trini's than
Tobagonians; So again, the comparison is unfair. As someone said, is a good
way to start flames for sure, asking this kinda stuff....
OK, after having the satisfaction of being a bit of a smart-alec about this
topic ;-) , I think that many Trini's I have met abroad have been very positive
about tourists going to see their country. There's a lot of pride obviously,
as I have heard many such individuals refer to T&T as paradise etc. But I don't
think Trini living IN Trinidad are as thrilled about tourism in general. As
there was oil, Trinidad never had to seriously ponder much about developing
it's tourism; Not as much as many other nations in the Caribbean. This may be
a blessing or not, depends on how one looks at it. At the same time theres
not so much of the "business as usual"-attitude in Trinidad towards tourists -
What I mean is a certain "coldness" towards visitors. But at the same time
a tourist coming in may experience an attitude of "neglect" or even certain
degree of hostility, depending on where they go and how they themselves
behave - expecting to be treated & SERVED (something I would
NOT recommend to anyone going to ANY country - Drop arrogance all together)
in Trinidad by Trini's is a BIIG mistake. The society does not cater for the
demanding tourists - Take it as it is or buss it!
As for T&T being a paradise, it certainly has all the natural richness that a
country in the tropics can possess to be called a paradise. Somehow though
I ent see too many Trini's IN Trinidad call it no paradise....People work hard
and try and make a living just as elsewhere!
Still, the closest to paradise I feel I've ever been was at Blachisseuse,
sitting on the porch of Uncle Sonny's, sipping some cole Carib and looking at
the scenery opening in front of me....Ahh, memories of better days!
Mika from cole ole Finny-land, several thousand miles de wrong way from
Trinidad....
some...@shadow.net
that Trini's are the friendliest people in the Caribbean .
As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the region.
Regards,
Ron
Tony Rajakumar
Caribbean.
The Trinis are more famous for the carnival and lovely women ;)
--Tony
Janine N Smitlener
The Trini men are also famous for hitting on as many of those lovely
women as possible.
--
Janine N. Smitlener
jan...@mindspring.com
Aly Laurent
>Most Caribbean people are very friendly indeed.However I do not belive
>that Trini's are the friendliest people in the Caribbean .
>As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the region.
What stupid thing to say! Did Jamaicans buy the monopoly on being nice?
This whole concept based on exclusive rights is so dangerous and ridiculous!
I wonder which country is the most stupid...
Watch this....
Aly Laurent
SENSUAL ELEMENT
>ON SOUTH AFRICA<
How
Can You
Untie Your
Brothers' Hands
If Your Hands Are
Tied?
Aaron Brand
: Most Caribbean people are very friendly indeed.However I do not belive
: that Trini's are the friendliest people in the Caribbean .
: As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the region.
I would disagree with you there.
If you had said that Jamaicans are the most ignorant and dotish then I would
agree as most of the contact I have had with them (lots considering for some
strange reason they are attracted to England) has left me wondering if it's
something to do with the water supply in Jamaica that makes them the way they
are.
TT limer
on this potentially devisive issue, as campuses down here have hundreds of
caribbean students.
I would tend to agree that Trinis are in fact among the friendliest if not
the friendliest. From my experience, the number of Trinis actively
involved in Caribbean student activities on campus is much larger than any
of the other islands. This shows the willingness of Trinis and also how
easy it is for them to be friendly with others.
Many Jamaicans, Haitians and Bahamians who make up a substantial amount of
the Caribbean student population tend to stick to themselves.
Ian.
Darius A. Lecointe, Ph.D.
>some...@shadow.net wrote:
>: As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the
>: region.
> would agree as most of the contact I have had with them (lots
> considering for some strange reason they are attracted to England) has
> left me wondering if it's something to do with the water supply in
> Jamaica that makes them the way they are.
Warranted or not, Jamaicans have reputation for being aggressive, and
most have heard of the story that the more unruly slaves were put off on
Jamaica, but it is only a story. If Aaron had wondered a bit more he
would have discovered that for a long time Caribbean ties with Britain
were all that mattered, even though we were so close to America. He
would have discovered a period of intense migration from the Caribbean to
Britain. Then he would have wondered about the relative sizes and
populations of the Caribbean islands. Forget about "some strange reason
that they are attracted to England."
Me? I'm from Dominica. I have lots of family in England. And I have a
number of Jamaican friends who do not fit the stereotype.
--
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Darius A. Lecointe, Ph.D. dlec...@chauncey.com
The Chauncey Group, International (609) 951-6118
(a fully-owned subsidiary of Educational Testing Service)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No Weapon Forged Against You Will Prevail . . . Isa. 54:17
don...@inforamp.net
>In article 4g68o7$4...@bud.shadow.net some...@shadow.net wrote:
>>Most Caribbean people are very friendly indeed.However I do not belive
>>that Trini's are the friendliest people in the Caribbean .
>>As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the region.
>What stupid thing to say! Did Jamaicans buy the monopoly on being nice?
>This whole concept based on exclusive rights is so dangerous and ridiculous!
>I wonder which country is the most stupid...
>Watch this....
>Aly Laurent
Aly , although i know how difficult it is to resist commenting on what
the above article had to say,next time ignore such ignorance and move
on.As my dear departed grandmother use to say, NEVER ARGUE WITH A
FOOL, PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW THE DIFFERENCE.
DIANE ISSA
Iain Adams
>some...@shadow.net wrote:
>: Most Caribbean people are very friendly indeed.However I do not belive
>: that Trini's are the friendliest people in the Caribbean .
>: As a matter of fact I belive Jamaicans are the friendliest in the region.
>I would disagree with you there.
>If you had said that Jamaicans are the most ignorant and dotish then I would
>agree as most of the contact I have had with them (lots considering for some
>strange reason they are attracted to England) has left me wondering if it's
>something to do with the water supply in Jamaica that makes them the way they
>are.
I would like to comment on the Jamaicans but am afraid they would send
some rude byoys to shot up me bumba claat. However, I have one comment
and that is I think that Trini women are the most flirtitious. They
would come on to you but "Dey ain' diggin' nothin'". Comments please.
Iain