Hey again! We have made it back home to the states safely from our week long trip to Trinidad. With the extensive research and discussions over the past few months in anticipation of our travels, the long awaited journey provided so much more unforgettable and transformative experiences than I could have ever expected.
Day one, our group tackled bumps in the road from flight delays, lost luggage, airplane passengers getting sick, not being able to exchange currencies, and knocking on windows at 5am in the morning. We embraced the series of events with positivity and laughter. As I reflect, I admire the dynamics of our group for being able to establish authenticity as a team from the beginning of our trip, in which we made the best out of every good and not so good situation that occurred.
Once we were settled into the villa we were staying at, we met Susan, an amazing individual that is a substantial part of NatureSeekers who welcomed us into the country and gave us an informative orientation about the nonprofit. Later on, we met Tiara and Johnathan who took us through the process of tagging leatherback sea turtles and gave us detailed knowledge on their species. There were several concepts and skills about their work with the turtles that I was impressed by, such as the survival rate for leatherback sea turtles are 1 and a 1000, and the level of sensitivity that leatherback sea turtles obtain. Their shells, although seemingly durable, are actually very soft and protect all their internal organs under the surface. Having the opportunity to learn from them allowed us to begin grasping the tone of NatureSeekers mission in alignment to the importance of their work. We then again had the special opportunity of meeting another member named Anderson who took us through nature trails and stopped periodically to talk about different trees and animals. He focused on how the natural habitat is lawfully protected in Matura and the value it brings to Trinidad’s environmental culture. We made the hike through Matura’s forest to reach a river called mermaid pool, which is well deserving of its name given how serene it was.
The same day, we went out to the beach in hopes of encountering a turtle preparing to nest and test our newly learned skills. Unsuccessful, we tried again the next night, but unfortunately there were no turtles as it was just too early in the season. We stayed both nights at the beach till after midnight, so instead we utilized the time to connect with each other in our group as well as with the NatureSeekers team. There were plenty of photoshoots, laughs, and deep conversations that were had that made it worth wild. Some of the conversations that we had in only a few days of knowing each other were amazing and would normally take me much longer to have those same conversations with folks back home. We shared personal traumas, childhood memories, and similarities. What I took away the most was realizing although we might come from different countries, backgrounds, and languages, we all share similar commonalities. For me, this really puts into perspective the universal love that we all share.
What has stuck with me the most by Trinidadians are their unparalleled hospitality and unwavering welcoming. There is a special spirit that Trinidadians all share, that I believe cannot be found anywhere else in the world. No matter who you were, locals would greet you, humor with you, and where happy to speak to you about their communities and culture. Something that was validated from being there was the importance of carnival. Since we traveled during Trinidad carnival week, we got a glimpse of the event’s energy and learned that no sleep occurs during those days, and even a couple days after carnival was over, locals were already planning for nexts year’s celebration. It was easy to detect their seamless passion for the work that they did that was admirable, they love what they do and they love to share it with the world. The individualism of Trinidadian people and their community as a whole, naturally maintain their positivity and passionate mind, body, and soul with their traditions and lifestyles. When it comes to connectivity towards others, they value human connection through vulnerability and authenticity with all relationships, skipping small talk and not fearing to break barriers. The level of comfortability was surprising to feel as individuals who have never been in the country and have only been there for a couple of days.
One of the service learning activities that we did with our client Chelsea from NatureSeekers, was making bracelets out of materials from Matura’s annual beach cleanup. So much trash and litter ends up on Trinidad’s beaches that harms Leatherback sea turtle nesting and damaging the overall health of the beach. So, when the community comes together to clean up the beaches every year, glass bottles are saved for NatureSeekers to craft bracelets by making glass beads out of melted glass bottles in order to repurpose trash to profit in a sustainable practice. NatureSeekers also connects greatly with Matura’s community. They created special employment opportunities for single mothers to craft their jewelry and bracelets, ensuring that they are done right in time to pick up their children from school. In which has provided an environment for these mothers to feel valuable and resourceful, aligning with their mission that I admired so much. I realized that Trinidad culture emphasizes prioritization for quality of life in many sectors. They focus on a balanced and sensible lifestyle that is not only focused on money or seriousness, but happily going home at the end of the day knowing you did good for yourself and your community.
On Thursday morning we made our way back to the city of Port of Spain, where we got the chance to be toured around the city and continued to indulge into more of Trinidad’s history. We made our way to the second Villa, where we met Denise and Samuel from AllPeopleBeHappy to continue on the rest of our journey. In Port of Spain, we did our last couple service learnings with Fondes Amandes, learning about their reforestation project and how they mitigate forest fires. We spent a good amount of time there, where their team opened our perspectives on conservation and environmental sustainability. I especially enjoyed getting to relax in the river while we were there, including little fish that were in the water eating away at the dead skin on our feet.
During a class discussion we learned why discovery is critical to success and the importance of creating lasting client relationships. I aligned both these factors to be vital towards our project in essence to discovery being a continuous, never ending fluid and flexible learning. I found this to be profound towards our project with NatureSeekers, as we are constantly learning more about their mission, culture, how individuals can support each other in their own way, and continuing to advance with sustainability. Secondly, developing the client relationship with the NatureSeekers team has been of substantial importance to supporting them at maximum optimization. As a team we are a stronger partnership because of the efforts made in support of getting to know each other on a personal level. Allowing us to seamlessly collaborate towards the project with confidence and gearing for a mutual, long term relationship.
Coming to Trinidad and physically experiencing their community and business reshaped a broadened understanding of their culture and imprinting that would not have happened otherwise. I am incredibly grateful to have had the privilege to be a part of this program and travel to Trinidad. This experience has been entirely rich and invaluable towards my personal and professional development. I hope to continue carrying pieces of Trinidad that I embraced back home. Increasing meaningful connections with the people in my community and working towards a career academically and professionally that I am passionate about. From this journey, I can confirm that I will be going back some day, possibly experiencing carnival and being able to immerse myself in their communities once again. It was undoubtedly one of the best experiences I have ever had and will never forget.
