little tobago

as part of our second trip to Tobago we took a hiking tour of Little Tobago, a small island off the northeastern tip. A protected bird sanctuary, it was just an incredible place, isolated wild and beautiful.

helen's rainbow

one of the advantages of being in Trinidad during rainy season is the incredible rainbows. A photo can't begin to do justice to this horizon-spanning double layered beauty, with a 3/4 moon trapped inside, but at least you can see how it springs right out of helen-pot-o-gold's head

Yoko is a boy!!

Full confession time: I'm a huge liar, or at least a dissembler of the truth. For the six of you who read my I'm Pregnant post earlier in October, remember me writing that I was 51/49 for a boy? What rubbish! Yesterday when the ultrasound technician wielded her magic wand and revealed that the fetus did in fact have a 'piggy' (her word people, and she said it twice), I screamed and writhed and clapped with pleasure. Clearly the reaction of someone who had been hoping at minimum 75/25 for a boy. And Grey was pretty darn excited, too, but he had never hedged his bets publicly like I did. He quite openly dreaded being outnumbered in a house of women (as if they still won't be).

So Yoko is a boy baby. Helen Dekker decided a few weeks ago that the fetus is to be called Yoko, and that's been the in-house nickname. It's going nowhere near the birth certificate, but it's cute for now. Watch us call that poor child Yoko until he's ready to start school.

So that's the latest news. One of each and we're done adding to the population of the world.

Love from all of we.

Divali

yesterday was the Indian holiday Divali, the festival of lights. We took Helen out (past her bedtime, hence the pajamas) to a Hindu centric neighborhood and toured the decorated temples, watched the lighting of the deyas, and even played around with some fireworks. She'll be missing both Halloween and Thanksgiving this year, so she needed her holiday fix.

Asa Wright Nature Center

we took a brief tour of the center yesterday, exploring the winding trails and enjoying the almost-rainforest scenery, spotting wildlife where we got the chance. Highlights included the biggest ant I'd ever seen, the smallest praying mantis, a termite snack (they don't taste like carrots, fyi), birds of all size and color and fresh water springs. Definitely a place to return for a longer visit and the full tour.

Tobago

We just got back from a long weekend in Tobago, Trinidad's beautiful sister island. The weather and beaches were perfect, the curry crab'n dumpling a bit of a challenge, and I got stung by jellyfish . . . but the highlight was a 3 hour glass bottom boatride. We stopped for snorkeling over the coral reefs, and made another stop at Nylon Pool, a sandbar far offshore that creates a shallow swimming area surrounded by breaking waves (reputed to have strong mojo when it comes to . . . mojo).

And then there were four.

Now I'll know for sure how many people actually check in on this blog because I think what I'm about to post should at least elicit some comments, please? That's been the hardest part about writing - not knowing if anyone reads these little rants. But here's the big news: I'm 12 weeks pregnant with number two! Some of you have known this for various amounts of time, but this is the public announcement of Thornberry Fetus Two. We're thrilled and excited and Helen Dekker loves to rub my burgeoning belly, but there have been bumps not had the first time around. First trimesters and Caribbean heat do not mix at all, at all. For HD I had the luxury of a mild UK autumn in the Midlands with long country rambles over meadows and vales, for real. This time it has been non-stop heat wave, ninety degree plus weather action. Not nice at all. But then, I haven't had to work too hard and Grey has been awesome, and the townhouse is air conditioned. For a while there I was convinced that I was having twins, but this morning, the lovely and gracious Dr. Haqq (pronounced Hack, I kid you not) announced that there was only one little heartbeat and that it was healthy and strong. Now, I'm convinced it's a boy because the experience has been so very different from carrying Helen.
Anyhow, you'll be the first to know in a few weeks when we do the gender scan.

Love from all of we.

America

We have just returned from a 6-day jaunt to Tampa, FL. That's the big cheat. After considering which other island to visit in honor of Grey's 40th and deciding that only Cuba would do for any real difference, and realizing that it's very illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba, we decided to go visit the extended Thornberry clan (Grey's brothers, mother, niece, nephew and sister-in-law) in Florida.

All in all, we didn't have a bad time. Our trip mostly consisted of eating. Steak was a priority for me, and I consumed a variety of cuts including fillet, ribeye, and Delmonico. Grey's family has an affinity for the faster foods in life so we also had pizza from Dominos and Pizza Hut (alas, no Franny's in Tampa), and burgers from FiveGuys (way better than any of the more junky outlets at least), Dairy Queen (for real), oh and Chillis at Miami airport, both ways. We are detoxing big time for this indulgence.

I also got to go to Target, where pushing that big old red shopping cart was therapy for me. I didn't buy that much, but man I cruised up and down every last single aisle, marveling at the abundance of well, things for sale - little Halloween things and early Christmas things, and Thanksgiving turkey things. Helen couldn't believe how much candy there was and that she could try out all the toys without fear of reprimand (Trini shop clerks don't like the children to touch the toys on display, and you know we touch every single toy until they tell us to stop. but, none of that in Target).
Grey I think was in kind of shock for most of the trip. There's the whole turning 40 deal (which he's actually pretty thrilled by), and just that Tampa exists and it's where he spent a chunk of his life and now he's in Trindad for a spell, and it just sure does seem like New York is fast claiming its dominance as the place where we belong.

Helen had the best time. Her two uncles doted on her and she loved her Uncle Riley's house on the river and the fact that she was guaranteed to see snakes and frogs and alligators in his backyard, and turtles and fish in the front. He has ponds and water features and his house is on the Hillsborough river and from his dock one can find a kind of tranquility I have yet to find in Trinidad. Uncle Riley also has several collections: about a thousand turtle shells, minerals some of which glow florescent under black lights, chilli peppers real, plastic and of other you'd never suspect materials, and something else I forget but I'm sure Helen can remind me, maybe the alligator-shaped letter openers? How many of one thing does one have to have before it's a collection?

We had a good time, but it's good to be home again. Tonight we're having fresh fish and a green salad.

Love from all of we.

Cheaters!

So we're about to cheat on our Trinidad adventure, and I'm not revealing how until it's all over. How come no one told me that keeping up with a blog is so hard? Mentally, I'm writing new posts all the time - about strange Trinis, the baby girl, the heat, my new hairdo and how unsuitable ten pounds of braids are for the heat, but this is all mental. I've committed nothing to screen for a whole month and this is not for lack of happenings down here.
I'll make a vow then - to be a better blogger when our little adventure comes to an end. We're away from our computers until Thursday October 8, and upon our return I'll reveal where we were, share some news, and blog about life in never-dull Trinidad an-a-bagel (as Helen call this place).
Oh, oh, oh, wish Grey Happy Birthday! His 40th (!) is on Saturday October 4th.

Love from all of we.

Emperor Park Zoo

We spent the holiday (today is Republic Day) at the Emperor Park Zoo, a small but well-maintained facility in central Port of Spain. Some of the enclosures were pretty cramped for the animals and the zoo itself is small overall, but it made a nice day out for the family. The ocelots were awesome.

shotgun sub

seriously, don't screw around at Subway . . .

University of West Indies

a few shots of UWI campus: local flavor architecture, northern range mountains in the background and great, sprawling old trees - not a bad place to study

Trini drivers

this post has been a long time coming, how do I characterize the drivers and roads of Trinidad to someone who's never been here? Imagine the narrowest road you've ever driven on, barely enough room for a horse and cart, deep gutters on either side, potholes and broken pavement . . . just enough space for a cautious driver to maneuver. Now call that road a highway, give it two lanes of traffic in both directions and park cars along either side. Add pedestrians jumping out to cross at every blind corner.
You're beginning to get the picture.
Now, make those drivers reckless and aggressive. Don't get me wrong, we're used to that, we love our NYC taxi drivers and their penny-saving swerves, slices and cutoffs. But add a bit of, for lack of a better description, suicidal stupidity to the mix. Cars that swerve without warning, pull into high speed traffic and brake, hop their lane and aim right towards you with no hope of result except head on collision.
Not enough? Add blinding sun, freak thunderstorms, and a complete absence of traffic control.
Mix and serve . . . you almost have an idea of what driving to the local market for a quick bottle of milk is like. I can honestly say I've never seen worse drivers in my life, absolute white-knuckle lunacy, every day is an adventure.

Pretend it's September 01

The students I'm working with have arrived and not a minute too soon. Grey and I can now attest that the maximum amount of time one can spend on a tropical island without a sense of purpose before going mad is 30 days (hence you're pretending to read this on 9/1). After the initial Woohoo, we're here! No more Brooklyn for a long, long, time. Yay! And, so long subway, you suck and smell like pee in the summer anyway! And we're off to the beach on a Tuesday morning, and we're in the pool and it's mid-day Wednesday - I'm here to report that after all of that will come, huh, so what do you want to do today? Dunno, what do you want to do? It's amazing, at least it amazes me, how quickly that time came. I thought for sure we'd be here months before any kind of malaise set in, and that by then my students would be here and I'd be too busy with them to notice. But it (boredom, ennui, heat paralysis) arrived and as soon as the students started to come in I felt a huge relief that now I could stir myself and begin to work.

This happened once before. In winter 2006 I was in Carriacou researching my mother's side of the family. We were supposed to be there for just under a month and had been anticipating the trip for about two years. Massive mental hype. The actual work consisted of finding surviving relatives from my maternal side and chit-chatting with these octa- and nonagenarians, not especially taxing work and there was plenty of time left over for swimming and exploring the rest of the island. But it turned out that the rest of the island was about the size of Prospect Park with a hill rising in the middle that gave you a scarily water-bound 360 of the rock you were resting on. That's not reassuring to a New Yorker (and guess what, I am a New Yorker, you can't live for eighteen years in a place and not be of it. I've made my peace with that fact in the last few weeks, too).

I'll tell you what happened in Carriacou and what started happening here as well: I decided, quite irrationally, that I wanted to give up writing and academia and become a Producer. I have not a clue what being a producer entails, I can't specify what the heck it is I want to produce, but it always just seems like such a vital, energetic profession, like you're a mover and shaker and you get things done and you have to be at your job by 5:30 a.m., dressed sharp with a blue tooth-thingy and a big cup of Starbucks and multiple people to fetch and carry out your orders. So by the beginning of last week, I was back to wanting to be a producer.

It hasn't been just me, either. About two weeks ago, we're all sprawled in the gallery and Helen Dekker gets up with an incredible sense of purpose, puts on her sandals and asks me to do the buckles, puts on her hat and begins to walk down the front steps. When I ask, 'Hel, where're you going, babe?' She says, 'to a restaurant, to meet some friends.' This is followed the next day by her taking to her bed, blanket drawn up to her chin and announcing, 'Poor Helen Dekker. I have no friends.' Her daycare has righted that situation, and now she's with the big kids, about to get a uniform and having a great time.

And so the students have all arrived. They've started their classes this week and are eager to explore Trinidad and I have so many activities planned for their spare time that hopefully they'll not have the time to be bored. They are quite a bright bunch, probably future doctors and engineers and lawyer and I'd hate to have to be on the telephone with one of their parents explaining why their child came back from Trinidad wanting to be a producer.

Love from all of we.

Pepper Sauce Taste Off, market edition

a roundup of homemade sauce found at roadside stands/open air markets don't be fooled by the kind smile of the woman at this well-maintained stand (on Warren Street, about two blocks north of the East Main Road, Tunapuna - she also sells the areas sweetest mangoes, hands down) - the yellow sauce is the hottest I've ever had. Hot hot hot, burned through my food, my tongue, my lips - I drank water, milk, iced tea and chewed on ice chips for 15 minutes before it faded. HOT. I can't comment on the flavor or anything else, just HOT. Score: 8.75 ('cause I like that)

this stand outside the main market on Hollis Ave in Arima sells the closest thing to perfect yellow pepper sauce I've found. If I was going to be picky, and I can since this is my blog, the color's a little orange (probably pumpkin), and there could be more floaty bits of pepper inside. But the flavor's excellent, it's hot as sin without destroying the food, and it has a nice linger that burns just enough (i.e., doesn't force you to drown yourself under the kitchen tap). Good stuff, Score: 9