Trinidad & Tobago Travel Seminar - Week 1

Monday, Jan 10th -

We had a final pre-trip meeting in Stotts Hall to pack up the books that we donated to St. Andrews Theological College and went over final pre-trip details with Professor Whit Bodman. Each of us took, as our second checked piece of luggage, a box full of books for the seminary library that we would be visiting.

Tuesday Jan 11th -

Our group met on campus at 8 am and got the boxes of books and carpooled to the airport. We flew from Austin to Houston and then from Houston to Port of Spain. We were all excited and our group, who all knew each other, but not necessarily well, quickly bonded. Several had brought along study materials for the Bible Content Exam that will be taken in early February for those of us that are seeking ordination in PC(USA). There was chatting, studying, reading, sleeping and listening to music during our long day of travel.

Once in the Port of Spain airport we made it through customs without too much difficulty. In the airport it was quickly apparent that 11 white people stand out a lot in T&T. Most people that we see are either of Indian or African descent. We were met at the airport by Collins and Carlos in a Maxi Taxi and a van. The van carried our bags and the 11 boxes of books and we all piled in the Maxi Taxi. The Maxi is sort of like a VW Microbus and they are all over the island. It is a cross between a taxi and a city bus. Collins and his Maxi have been chartered to transport our group to all of our sites. We are all glad that we don’t have to drive here. The cars are all right-hand drive, they drive on the opposite side of the streets, the streets are very narrow and the traffic patterns are unique. (After a week, someone in our group joked that if we had been driving we would still be waiting to make our first merge or turn out of the airport). Despite what appear to us to be many near misses and organized chaos, the drivers appear to be very courteous towards each other and there is a sense of etiquette that I wish we could bring back to the states with us.

Once we arrived at Morton House and got settled we were in need of dinner. We piled back into the Maxi Taxi (behind our group in photo above) hoping for some local food, wondering what that might be and ended up at KFC. It was comical, a bit disappointing and a bit difficult for our vegetarian and vegan classmates, but we were happy to eat and excited to be beginning our two week adventure.

Wednesday -

We had breakfast and then met for the first time with the Rev. Everson Sieunarine. “The Rev”, as we have taken to calling him, gave us a brief history of T&T and specifically the Presbyterian Church and John Morton (who built the house that we are staying in and is largely responsible for the high regard that the Trinnies have for the Presbyterian Church to this day). The Rev has been ordained for nearly 50 years and he is of Indian descent. He is quite a character.

Carlos (right) is our trip coordinator. He went over our schedule for the trip and gave an overview of the things that we will be doing and seeing. The Morton House is next door to Aramalaya Presbyterian Church, which is next to a Presbyterian primary school. After Carlos and the Rev spoke, Kristi asked if we would be able to see the school. The Rev was about to go meet with the acting principal (ministers also serve as chaplains to the schools within the denomination, so his visits are frequent) so he took us along. Eleven white people following the Rev through the elementary school caused quite a stir. My tattoos seemed to be pretty interesting to the children from what I could tell by their reactions and from what I heard as we walked through. The school is two stories and they have “open” classroom settings. One floor holds four classes separated by movable chalk boards or bulletin boards. When we got upstairs, they removed the dividers and the room quickly transformed from 4 separate classes into one big assembly. We were introduced to the teachers and students and then treated to several hymns, recitations of prayers, and the singing of the national anthem.

Aramalya Presbyterian Church

Morton House (Home Sweet Temporary Home)

Wednesday night we went into Port of Spain to a club called the “Mas Camp Pub” for a review of the new Calypso songs for this Carnival season. Every year there is a competition for the best new Calypso song(s). The songs were not what I had in mind when I hear the word calypso, but it was very interesting. They were a form of poetry on culture, politics, social commentary, humor, and life in general performed with a backing track of beats and music. Not rap exactly, but an earlier form of it in my observation. We got to try some T&T beer and see local people out for a night on the town and entertainment. It was a lot of fun.

Thursday -

We focused on Hindu and Indian culture. We drove to Waterloo and saw the Temple by the Sea first. This is a Hindu Temple that actually is out in the water a good ways with a path along a bulkhead to reach it. It is small, but really beautiful. We talked to a man who appeared to be a caretaker who explained (along with Whit) the various idols, icons, and worship elements that were in and around the temple.

We stopped at the Indian Cultural Museum and learned about the “East” Indians that came to T&T and how that has impacted the culture of the island.

We also went to the Hannuman Murti, which is a 85 foot tall statue of one of the Hindu deities. As we approached the statue I noticed a door opening in the base of the statue and out stepped a priest, bringing with him a waft of incense having just performed puja (a Hindu prayer ritual). I struck up a conversation with him, explaining who we were and the purpose of our trip. The others soon gathered too and he explained to us that all the Hindu deities were not an indication that the Hindu are any more polytheistic than we Christians are when we speak of the Trinity. Both faiths are describing different aspects of the One God by using analogical language. It was a fascinating conversation and he was a holy man with views on faith and the world that we could easily relate to despite our different traditions and beliefs.

The Rev also showed us around his home town and we stopped at his uncle’s jewelry store. His uncle and other artisans had a shop in the back were they made and repaired jewelry, mainly gold. The Rev is very proud of his Indian heritage and he glowed with excitement at the opportunity to show us his roots and tell us of his family history.

Friday -

We started out with a visit to Hillview College (which is a Presbyterian High School). We met the principal and vice principal and they ushered us into the conference room and brought us all lunch, despite it being mid-morning. We had just had breakfast not too long before, but we didn’t want to refuse their hospitality. Everyone has been extremely gracious hosts and almost everyone tries to feed us.

In the afternoon we made the trek down to San Fernando to visit St. Andrews Theological College, which is a Presbyterian Seminary at the undergraduate level, a four year program. We packed into the Maxi with all the books that APTS is donating to their library. We got to meet the students there and quickly recognized that they were kindred spirits. They were a small group (only 15 students) but it was great to be on a campus with other Presbyterian seminarians in a foreign land. We joined them for worship and then all participated in a seminar on interfaith marriage and interfaith families. Whit, the Moderator of their Synod, and the president of St. Andrews planned to meet and talk about this topic, but the folks in T&T decided it would be a shame to have such a conversation only between those three. So they assembled a panel that included Hindu, Muslim, and Christians and spread the word. The assembly hall was full and the discussion was broadcast on the radio. It was a fine program and we were all proud of Whit for his presentation and happy to see the Presbyterian Church in T&T being as open and interested in reforming and interfaith dialogue as our own PC(USA). After the program the seminary students informed us that they wanted us to lead the prayer service on Saturday morning. We were quite surprised, but quickly went to work planning our service and assigning parts.

Saturday -

Saturday started very early with some unintentional “Cowboy Coffee” when coffee grounds were mistaken for instant. We lead worship and the student body president, Shirvan, played the piano for us. He was so warm and welcoming and wanted to know if any of us were on Facebook. We spent the rest of the morning visiting with the students and participating in their classes (which became a continued discussion from the program the night before). We had lunch with them and several of us will be going back down to visit with them again this Saturday at the end of our trip. We are all hoping that they will come to visit us in Austin and that this will be the beginning of a long relationship between our two schools.

In the afternoon we went down to La Brea to visit a Spiritual Baptist school. Spiritual Baptists are Christians who have incorporated many of their African cultural influences into their worship. We met for a while with Teacher Hazel, who explained their faith and practices to us before giving us a tour of the school and introducing us to the classes. After the formality of being introduced, she had all the classes come together to give us a taste of what their worship is like. With no instruments except their voices, hands and feet they quickly had us clapping and dancing along to hymns that were both familiar and very different at the same time. We left knowing we would be in for quite an experience on Sunday when we were scheduled to worship with them. The service that we would attend was a Thanksgiving Service celebrating the anniversary of a local congregation.

Sunday-

The Spiritual Baptist service did not disappoint. We tried to sit in pews towards the back, but were quickly ushered to seats that were front and center. The sanctuary was set up so that the aisles formed the shape of the cross. The bulk of the pews faced forward like most churches, but the front two sections were perpendicular to them (and to the altar) and facing each other. We had the front row of each of those sections. Much of the “action” occurred right in front of us. The preacher(s) – because of the anniversary, there were 6 or 7 pastors on the altar - would walk up and down in front of us, people would dance up and down the center aisle, and there were worship elements in the “pole” (where the aisles crossed). There was a vase with flowers and a candle, two large bells, glasses of water with flowers in them and other candles alone. Some of the prayers were done there, the bells were rung during songs whenever the spirit moved someone to ring them, the vase (which was brass) would be lifted up and carried around the room, and people would take the glass of water and use the flower to fling water around the congregation. There was no bulletin, so things seemed to be done with a very loose idea of the structure. They started around 10 and our driver was there to pick us up at 1. They didn’t break for lunch until 1:30. We tried to leave, but they insisted that we stay for lunch (and told our driver he would just have to wait). After lunch and saying our goodbyes they told us to wait just a minute longer so they could give each of us a “Thanksgiving” bag that everyone would get at the end of the service. This was special for the anniversary. So we each got a bag full of snack food (fruit, cookies, candy bars, chips, a drink, bread, cake, gum drops, etc). It was all pretty amazing. I recorded audio of some of the service with my iPhone.

We will be trading and sharing pictures when we get back. I don’t know if anyone got any during the service. I felt awkward trying to do that. I wanted to capture it, but it was such an experience that I really just wanted to worship with them and not be a tourist…but I hope someone got a photo or two…

After a quick stop back at Morton House to change, we drove up and over the Northern mountain range to get to the beach. The views going up and and over where amazing although the switchbacks and narrow roads made for an exciting drive. (My friends and family who have been white water rafting and have taken that bus ride up from the Yough will have a good idea of what this ride was like). We got to the beach in the late afternoon, got to do some swimming and saw lots of Trinnies enjoying themselves. Then for dinner we had a local favorite - Bake and Shark. It’s basically a fish sandwich on locally made rolls. They have a fixings bar that had lots of great condiments, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pineapple and some other things that I didn’t recognize. It was delicious, although the sauce I chose was really spicy.

Monday –

We went to the capital city for some touristy stuff, but 4 of us got to accompany Whit for a pretty neat experience. He, Alex, Barrett, Sudie and I were interviewed on the radio for a program about religion and faith. I have no idea how widely broadcast the station is or how many people actually listened to us, but it was fun and I think we did a good job of representing our group and the school. I think our Theology professor would have been happy with the answers we gave to several of the questions.

The rest of the group went to some shops while we did that. We joined them for some lunch and then sightseeing around Port of Spain. We saw the parliament building (site of the coup attempt in 1990), a couple of churches, government buildings of one sort or another and then drove up the coast a bit. Unfortunately we weren’t able to participate in the evening Vespers at the Benedictine Monastery in the evening as planned. But it was nice to relax after a lot of walking in the heat and sun. My leg is holding out OK. Today was a big walking day though so I was happy to sit for the entire evening.

Tuesday -

We had a teacher and priest from the Orisha tradition come to Morton House to speak to us this morning. Orisha is the umbrella term used for various African traditions that have come to the Caribbean, sometimes referred to as Voodoo. His presentation was very interesting and it was surprising how much I was able to relate to in the theology that he described, although the vocabulary was extremely foreign to us. We hope to get to visit the “yard” where they perform ceremonies later this week although I don’t know how likely it is that they will be able to add it to our schedule. It may be something that future trips to T&T get to experience.

After lunch we went to a Mosque which was located inside a compound which included a pre-school, a primary school, and secondary schools, one for girls and one for boys too. We met with six gentlemen who told us about their group, the schools and their faith. They had many questions for Whit and were interested in the purpose of our trip. They were happy to be reassured that we were not coming to convert anyone, that we disagree with extremists in the Christian world as much as they do with those in Islam, and that we want to combat stereotypes as much as they do. We got a brief tour and posed for pictures with them and Barrett and I made arrangements to connect with the youngest of them on Facebook (the tool of international and interfaith networking….of course).

We returned to Morton House for dinner and to prepare for an evening of viewing a Mas Camp, where Carnival costumes are designed and made as well as a steel pan rehearsal for Carnival. Unfortunately before we were to leave, we received word that the Rev had collapsed at a bus stop and was rushed to the hospital unresponsive. We have spent the evening praying and awaiting word on his condition. When speaking of her time in India, Sudie talked to us about collecting honorary grandparents. Several days ago we decided that the Rev was an honorary grandfather for all of us. We hope he makes a full recovery quickly. Knowing he will not be able to accompany us to Tobago on Thursday is quite a disappointment. He is an entertaining and informative tour guide and the experience will not be the same without him. Keep him and his family in your prayers, please.

Wednesday -

We were very pleased to find out in the morning that the Rev was awake, alert and knew where he was. He isn’t allowed any visitors and we are hoping that he is well enough to be released before our trip is over.

In the morning we went to another town, to a Hindu shine that is used for yoga twice a week. We got to practice yoga with the people of that town for over an hour.

This afternoon we were visited by a Muslim of the (?) sect which is not considered Muslim by most other Muslims. It was a difficult visit. I will hold the belief that he did not necessarily represent his faith totally or accurately. He insulted two of our classmates before he even started to talk about religion, so we were off to a bad start. He then proceeded to tell us what was inaccurate about our faith and how his is the only religion that accepts and loves everyone regardless of faith. He was full of conspiracy theories about US foreign policy and many other things which did not help the dialogue. We parted cordially, but I do not think that either of us gained much from the exchange.