Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Trini Tuesday-Ants in my iron

When adjusting to life in a different culture it is invaluable to have folks to help interpret various phenomena.

Sometimes a newcomer needs to be warned of dangers they'd otherwise be unaware of.

It's a really bad idea to let Diana sit on that tree stump after the rain. Scorpions live under the dried bark and the rain drives them out...AAAIIIEEEEE!!!!! Thank you very much I had NO idea!

Do not rent a house with no fence or burglar proofing. And get yourself a dog for security.


Sometimes it helps to make certain activities go more smoothly.

City water comes in the middle of the night. Make sure you have a good tank to collect the water to use throughout the day.

(neighbor speaking to us after we'd expressed frustration at jumping through all the hoops to get a secured account and being denied regardless)Royal Bank likes to hassle foreigners. Come to ScotiaBank where I work and I will see to it that you get a secured account.


Sometimes it simply explains things that are confounding.

(Calling on the phone)Um, Steph? I have a question. And if you tell me what I am experiencing is normal, that's fine. I can live with it. I just don't know if this is normal or not.

Yes, Meesh. What seems to be happening?

(very matter-of-factly) Well, it's my iron. I turned it on to press my blouse and as it started to heat up there were about 9 million ants that started to exit from the water well in it.

(much laughter)Oh gosh, gyal! Yes, that is normal. We all have ants living in our irons, they go in after any moisture still in the well.

(very calmly and somewhat relieved)Ok, thanks, Steph. I was just wondering.

(I waited for the better part of the ants to finish their exodus then finished my ironing as I flicked the odd lagger off my blouse.)



For a while I have been kicking around the idea of letting you all ask questions about Trinidad or my time there in order to help structure some future Trini Tuesday posts. I still have lots of things I can come up with but I thought I'd throw the offer out there. If there is anything in particular you'd like to know about just put it in the comments. I'll work posts around whatever you bring up.

Happy Trini Tuesday!

12 comments:

James Goodman said...

Happy Trini Tuesday! I can't think of any specific questions (I haven't had enough coffee yet, but I do enjoy reading about Trinidad on Tuesdays. :D

Breazy said...

Happy Trini Tuesday ? I have three questions . Why did you move to Trinidad? How long were you there ? and Last but not least , What was your greatest experience while in Trinidad ?


Thanks Lime !

Anonymous said...

oooh man, this was a good one, Lime.
Having moved to not only a foreign country with a different culture but also a different climate I could totally relate.
That tropical/subtropical thing is as much of a shock as some of cultural things.
Good stuff.
If I think of anything I will IM, now must have tea...mmmmmm
caffeine

Kyahgirl said...

Hi Lime, just visiting from Ariella's place.

These are amazing and interesting facts!

S said...

Yay! Ants in the iron, too cool! Can I send my ants over? The ones that insist on bypassing the ant poison? The ones that are too smart to fall for that cross this line of Simple Green and you die routine?

Ok Lime, I wanna know about Trini Textiles, clothes, textile arts, weaving, baskets, dying, blankets or quiltmaking, or whatever they are up to... I know there's a lot of Indian influence....but, what about the rest?

ttfootball said...

This was really funny! I've been reading your Trini Tuesday for a couple months now IT'S AWESOME! (i went to all the archives too) I am from San Juan but in CT now. You are really on point with everything, i'm impressed! Great job, keep it up!!

The Zombieslayer said...

Do not rent a house with no fence or burglar proofing. And get yourself a dog for security.

Not just for burglars, but zombies as well.

Stephanie said...

OMG!! I am so glad I ironed the girls dresses this morning before I read this post!! LOL!! (itchy now)

I would love to learn about dance Trini style.

Blueprincesa said...

Sounds like quite an adventure... I didn't realize they had Royal Bank in Trinidad too. We have that in Canada. It's my bank, in fact, and it's a Royal pain in the ass. Maybe it's a vestige of British colonialism.

Bsoholic said...

ants in the irons? how strange is that!?!

Robert van de Walle said...

These Argentinian ants are amazing: they form super-colonies that cooperate rather than fight, and they colonize irons, toaster ovens, dishwashers...

We've had them a few times. When we moved in, I talked them all into the walls. I think they know that we are moving out and our landlady is moving back, because they are all coming back.

Robert van de Walle said...

BTW, Lime, thank you for your gracious comment on my blog.