Trinidad Carnival!
My entire life I have fantasized and imagined the first time I attended my first Trinidad Carnival. I dreamt for so long that my entire trip felt like Deja Vu, it happened in my heart and my mind about a MILLION TIMES. Growing up, Trinidad Carnival has always been that magical place my grandmother and family traveled to every winter. It was the topic of discussion for every conversation I overheard my grandmother having. It was aways a BIG DEAL and sometimes a point of contention when family asked to borrow money from my grandmother in February.....I would never forget my grandmother yelling over the phone "She don't have no blasted money, but she going Carnival"....After hearing that I knew this place was so magical and I could not wait until it was my turn to go to the magical place
From the moment the plane landed, my heart entered a different place. I already knew it was going to be the most fun I have ever had, however my heart felt complete for different reasons. Before getting off the plane I reflected on the moment Trinidadian culture was injected into my veins. I felt nostalgic and instantly remembered the first night I walked into my new home as a little girl and met my new culture. I was eight, we had just lost our home and my mother needed a place for my brother and I to live while she figured things out. This women, my mothers friend, opened up her doors and her life to us, she instantly became my grandmother. To this day I can still smell the hot Pelau on the stove and hear Ragga's voice playing in the background, it was the sound and scent my new home and culture.
It didn't take long for me to get over not having my room anymore, within a week I was already falling in love..... AND honestly it was quite hard to concentrate on being sad when the Calypso and Soca was playing every night and all weekend. That summer I had gotten my first pair of pan sticks and practiced each night trying to "roll" so I can be selected to play in Panorama. I practiced wining and moving my waistline just as much as I did my multiplication tables. This women raised me up when my mother was out trying to make ends meet and reminded me everyday why Trini culture is so so so so SWEET. There is nothing else in the world as euphoric and magical like Carnival.... And there is nothing else in the world that can bring out the energy and activate my waist like some sweet sweet Soca!
So for me, walking off the plane to begin my first Carnival experience IN TRINIDAD was life changing. My best friends and I spent the whole year prepping for this magical experience. I was no longer that little girl dreaming about going to Carnival, it was now my TIME!!! My 25th birthday gift to myself was Carnival and it all felt so Euphoric and complete.
Until Next Time!