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Old 26th Sep 2007, 16:34
  #21 (permalink)  
cmwangs
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: USA
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Trinidad

I have spent most of my flying life overseas - West Indies for 8 years - in different communities and amongst different peoples.

The single most important thought process:
You are a visitor in their country. Cultures differ in many ways, what might be normal to the westerner can be seriously offensive to easterners.
Trinidad and Tobago has a very strong eastern culture based on manpower imported from the East a very great many years ago.
It has been my experience that any time spent investigating the country and its people is time well spent.

Remember: Their culture is as a result of many factors, not the least of which is Colonialisation, which leads to the fact that you can represent the negative. That being said, in most cases, they will react to you in the same manner you react to them - And that they are normal folks trying to get bills paid, but, mostly under vastly inferior conditions and abilities. Make as many friends amongst the folks as you can, get to know them as people instead of sources of irritation, be careful of your relationships with the female of the specie, jealousy is a powerful weapon!

Your call to the TT Embassy/High Commission will be the best avenue of information, that added to a modicum of commonsense will be your ticket to a wonderful experience.
CMWANGS.
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