Leaving Trinidad And Coming To America

 

I was born and raised in Trinidad where the tradition and culture are quite different from other countries.  Different in many ways, for example, the climate is very hot during the year and another example, Trinidadians use a lot of spices in their food which makes it very tasty.  My parents raised six of us.  I was the fifth born.  I was born a breach child which made me feel like I was the odd child in the family, but as I got older, I felt more secure in myself.  I considered myself shy because I always stayed to myself.  However, my family members called me the hot pepper (by this I mean I was quick tempered) as I grew older.  This bothered me throughout my life because I saw things through a different lens.  But as time passed, I began to see myself differently.

My father was a tall, slim man who came from a wealthy family but despite the family’s wealth, we lived in poverty. My father always dressed in a suit, so he was always addressed as Mr. Cummings.  People who knew him well were aware of his family lifestyle, all strict and to the point.  My father was respected by many because he was a very strict man.  My father worked for a Radio Station called Radio Fusion, which was a good job.  He was a good provider and a good father. I always remember him bringing food home when he came from work. 

My mother was a hard-working woman. She was always contently washing and doing all the household chores.  I particularly remembered her ironing the clothes late at night, (in those days we used cold pot iron) you put the iron on some coals until the coals become hot. In the morning, you could see all the effort and time that was put into it, the was so well ironed, folded and pressed.  There were also many sad days in my mother’s days when we were growing up.   My mother was superstitious. As a child, I had no knowledge of what happened in my mother’s days with her family, but it was not a happy time for her.  I was exposed to a lot of different beliefs.  For example, turn your back and walk inside your house.

You must turn around at your doorway and walk backwards inside your home to look a jumbie (spirit of the dead) in its eyes. It is said that when a spirit follows you home, it grabs on to your back like a child so that you can carry it with you inside of your house. Turning around and walking backwards into your home scares the jumbie, it jumps off your back and stays outside.

I was born and raised in Belmont. Belmont produced many residents who made significant contributions in the areas of sports and also arts such as Steelband, Cricket, Music Bands and many favorite eating places.  Let me describe a few of them to you.

Steelband is very famous in Trinidad, especially around the Carnival season.  To name a few is Amboy’s, Belmont Harmonic, Casablanca, Classy Sounds, Pan Vibes, Super Sonics and many others.

Calypso:  Calypsonians who were born in Belmont include:  Lord Caresser, Mighty Shadow, and David Rudder.

Music Band:  Bert Bailey and the Jets, Mas (querade) Bands

Cricketers born in Belmont who went on to represent the West Indies in Test Cricket were Ellis Achong, Ian Bishop, Bryan Davis, Charles Davis, and Andy Ganteaume.

Every year, Trinidadians enjoy the excitement of carnival, a west Indian parade celebrated in February.  Costumes are designed by many band leaders and the people masquerade by showing the costumes and parading the streets and dancing.  Many New Yorkers and many people from various countries attend this festival.  It is a pleasure to see.  I remembered when growing up in Trinidad my parents will cook palau, a menu that consists of rice and beans, sometimes chicken all mixed in together.   The family will all take pride in traveling to the Band Stand where seats are assigned for the spectators.  I enjoyed every moment watching all the people parading in their costumes.

Life in Trinidad could be wonderful but on the other hand could be financially hard.  Such as having to deal with the economy.  Prices of various items are so expensive, which made it hard for our family.  As a child I remembered my mother working odd jobs to make ends meet to provide for our family.  Having both my parents to support the household was a great help to our family.

My parents also wanted a better life for their children. My mom left Trinidad to come to America, the land of opportunity, when I was ten. And one by one, she brought over each child, starting with my sister who was the oldest. During this time my father began to get sick.

When my father took sick, I was responsible for helping him with many personal tasks.  I stayed by his side after he became sick. I was glad that I was there to help him. I spent my teenage years caring for my daddy, and they were some of the hardest years of my young life. As his youngest daughter, I always had a special place in my daddy’s heart, and he will always have a very special place in mine.  My mom, who was living in America, was called home from New York when he became very sick.  

My father died.  I loved my father but there was nothing I could do to help him at the time.  God took him to a better place.  He died from asthma.    No one knows what a person goes through unless that person discusses it, but the Lord has a way of working things out.  

My mother made arrangements to bring me to America after the death of my father.  Maybe if he had come to America, he might have had better medical treatment, but my father did not really want to travel to America.   I believe, being there for my father when he was sick was a way that God was showing me that when you honor your parents, God will always honor you.  I was glad to be able to help my daddy before he died.

My father’s death was very painful for me.  I watched my father as he slowly died. For a long time, I felt hurt, and I longed to see his face just one last time. But I knew deep inside that he was suffering and though I wanted him to stay, God decided that it was time for him to go.

The year my father died, was 1973, my mother filed papers for me and brought me to America, just like she did for the rest of my siblings.  I came to America at the age of 16. Travelling on the plane with my mother was an exciting trip. It was a bit different in a sense, I did not want to sit by the window because of fear, so my mother sat by the window. It was a safe and relaxing flight. All the while during the trip, I dreamt that my daddy was there on the flight with us, and we were all going to America.

New York was the busiest city that I have ever seen. New York City is the place where people from different countries come to make a better life for themselves and their family.

When I arrived, my mother took me to the apartment in which she lived with my other siblings. I had to travel on the train for the first time and it was very interesting and very scary but after a few stops I got used to it. Seeing people from all walks of life. I learnt that riding the trains is very common for the native New Yorker.  When you are sitting down in the cars you cannot look too hard into people’s faces. If you do, they are quick to say something to you.  I’ve seen and witnessed many bad experiences from people who ride the subway.  I quickly adapted how to be a true New Yorker. And being acquainted with THE BIG APPLE.  There were also many yellow cabs to take you to wherever you want to go, unless you were my skin complexion. We had to use gypsy cabs, that were driven by people from the islands.  

Coming to America was not what I expected the country to be.  In my country, the names we know for certain places or facilities are named differently.  For example, we call bathroom, latrine.  (LA-TRENE) This is common for all Trinidadians.  We call tomato, TA-MA-TOE. 

My mother got me into High School.  I started out in High School where the work was much different than in Trinidad.  I started High School in the U.S. at a later age, however, I graduated. It was a beautiful time having my mother and sister attending my graduation with the rest of my friends and their parents as well. But I just wished that my daddy could have seen me strutting across that stage, he would have been so proud to see his baby girl get her high school diploma.

Throughout the years, I have been fortunate to have developed a relationship with Jesus. God has filled all those empty places in my heart that the love of my earthly daddy once filled. I found a greater love with a heavenly Father that loves me unconditionally and promises to never leave me nor forsake me.

You may be reading this, and you have a sick father or maybe your father has passed on. So, I want to encourage you that you have a Heavenly Father that will always be there with you. He will be there when you graduate, and He will be there to walk you down the aisle. Your Heavenly Father will be there through joy and more so when you are going through one of life’s difficulties. And Your Heavenly Father Approves This Message!