My Hair Elsewhere

[myhairelsewhere]

What I Wish I Knew (Trini Carnival)

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged anything but this is information that needs to be shared- especially for you “I want to go to Trinidad Carnival 2020” folks. Strap in ya’ll. We’re going for a ride.  First of all, it’s March 2019- start planning now! Get that group of 20 friends into the ichat/whatsapp chat bc I can guarantee that the list will drop to 5 people by summer 2019. That’s perfectly fine! You’ll make it happen if you really want to go.

We started with the lodging because sleeping on the beach only sounds cute in the movies. We did a fairly cheap AirBnB about 30/40 mins outside of Port of Spain. You get what you pay for but honestly, we slept for about 3 hours each day so I wouldn’t invest much there (just remember safety and cleanliness are important).

My 2 girl friends and I arrived on Carnival Saturday. Supposedly, it would have been best to arrive a week earlier but the way my sleep schedule misaligns with the partying spirt of Trinidadians- I think I made a safe call (I’ll explain later). We left Carnival Tuesday but I’d suggest staying a bit longer- maybe until the Thursday or Friday after Carnival. The party really doesn’t stop until Wednesday night on Maracas Beach. Thursday could be a good “Chill in Tobago” day.

If you’re going for the fetes (Machel Monday, Kes Tuesday, somebody else Wednesday, Army Fete, etc…..) then def arrive a week before Carnival. I literally only went to play mas (and happened to sneak in some unplanned fun in between).

The best direct flight prices I found from JFK to POS were in July/Aug. If you find a flight for 700-800$US, TAKE IT!! I tracked prices for a literal year and that was the best I saw. I also tried the whole “oh, the price dropped one day so it’ll keep dropping” foolishness. Don’t be me. That was a dunce move. If you see the drop, BAG THE DROP!!

I booked in October 2018 when prices started to get bad. Again, don’t be me. Some folks also tried to game the system with in-direct flights – apparently that doesn’t work either. *Caribbean Airlines in Trini accent* “Gyell, I must look like I born yesterday. Schhhuuppppssss”

Once you have your room, flight and travel from the airport booked, you’re good to go. Thankfully, my Airbnb hooked us up with a local taxi driver who chauffeured us around each day for a fee per ride. They also have their own “Uber” like service (droptaxiservice.com) but what good is it if you’re nowhere near wifi and aren’t trying to use your data internationally? I also considered renting a car- which is fairly cheaper than taxi service but the whole driving on the right side and tailgating like there’s no tomorrow situation deterred me from that.

Sunday- felt like a good day to go to Maracas beach to hang out so I’d highly suggest it. Get yourself a bake and shark from Richard’s with all of the fixings.

Sunday night- J’ouvert- Unlike J’ouvert in NYC, you can’t just find people in the street and party like no other. I mean you can, but people actually pay to join J’ouvert bands in Trinidad. I guess the good ones run about $100US +. We didn’t get a great one but every experience is what you make of it. Was my pre-party corn soup watered down? Yes. Did the DJ play maybe 10-20 songs in rotation all night from 4- 8am? Yes. Did these 10-20 songs prep me for what to expect during actual carnival? Yes—since I didn’t study my soca before I left. Yes… I wanted to study my soca before I left. Sue me. I like chutney soca, reggae and RnB. Come to think of it, I didn’t hear much chutney soca- but boy did I learn a JAB JAB! PUT JAB JAB ON MI TOMBSTONEEEEEEEE!! Arrived back home at 8:30/9 am

Playing Mas- I could make this a whole other post but I am THAT lazy. I played with Paparazzi. They were good. Good size to switch around music trucks (4) if you get bored easily. Yet not too big where you’d get lost if you did decide to leave your friends for a bit. Like Tribe. TRIBE IS HUGEEE! HELLA FUN, but soooo large. I’d do it the next time I play but def not as a beginner with no clue of what’s happening. My Paparazzi package came with Monday wear, Tuesday Carnival costume, Monday and Tuesday Lunch (rice and stew meat and veggies/mac pie), non-stop drinks (beware of the puncheon), snacks, Tuesday breakfast, mobile bathroom, lunch stop glam area, and a bit more that I can’t recall. 

Carnival Monday- be there by 10:30 am. Now, remember I said I got in from J’ouvert at 9 am. I AM INCAPABLE OF THIS LIFE STYLE! So we got there after 1 pm lol. Which was fine because they used a “find my band” app. Monday was probably the best day. There was madness (some organized and some not) but so much fun. Everyone just had a really good time- especially once we crossed the stage. BE THERE! This ended around 9/10 pm

Carnival Tuesday – be there by 6:30 am. I BECAME CAPABLE OF THIS LIFESTYLE. So I got there on time ish. On time enough to find my band with stragglers along the way. Remember, both carnival days and J’Ouvert- you will be WALKINGGGGGGGGGGG like Jesus through the desert. So wear your sneakers. You can try to act cute but if your feet aren’t comfy, what’s the point? Maybe you can handle that- but I (for 13+ hours) can not. Tuesday is a bit more organized because you have to pass at least 2 sets of judges while with your group. I didn’t experience sun burn in my ENITRE life until this day. It’s a real show so you need to wait your turn like good lil kiddos so the judges can see you perform. But it’s all worth it in the end because once you get passed judgment, the party starts!!

Carnival Wednesday- again, I left Tuesday night (I was KNOCKED on that plane) so I didn’t experience this first hand, but supposedly everyone goes to Maracas beach on Wednesday to finish up their real partying and celebrate the fun they during the past weeks. Next time, I’ll stay for this.

All in all, I didn’t expect much of this trip. I’m not the biggest soca fan. I knew the trip was a bit too short. I love sleeping more than partying. BUT MAN DID I HAVE A GREAT TIME. I’d 100% recommend this trip to people not just because it’s carnival but the vibes were just unmatched. Thank you, Trinidad, for the memories.

And advanced apologies for how poorly written this is. I’m still recovering. But you know what I’m saying… I hope.

Chau.

[myhairelsewhere]

Officer Melanie to the rescue.

I used to have to knock on people’s doors, investigate underage drinking/ marijuana use and document it.

My name is Officer Lewis and my ward was called D-Block. (I joke, I was just Melanie…. Of D-Block)

Since you won’t read the whole thing, here’s my point. Police: get to know the communities you serve so respect can be built. Communities: let the police get to know your people so that they can see that you are indeed, people.

 The meat.

I spent my senior year as an RA and I loved it, but the job really got me thinking about what police do every day and their relationship with the communities in which they serve.

If documenting the “irresponsibilities” of college kids dropped the hearts of RA’s when we knocked on doors, I can only imagine what it’s like for police officers. We had a solid 2.5 weeks of non-stop training to become RAs; that training included role playing of what to do if you catch kids drinking, smoking pot, dealing with academic stress, family stress, relationships, death, suicide list can go on foreverrrrrr.

My point is that we were the ones who had to keep everything as controlled as possible without disrupting everyone else.

Folks seem to be under the impression that our only job is to go out and get people in trouble, but it wasn’t. My job was to act as a source for people who needed a confidant and to build community among my residents.

More than anything, I had to get to know them.

Now, I’m not saying I was scared when I had to go do the “un-fun” part of the job, I felt well prepared/ well trained. But it made it a lot easier on both parties when we had already established a relationship, because now we can talk and really figure out what the problem is, instead of you just being another person, doing something that I have to report.

So I’ve been thinking about solutions to the relationships between Blacks and the police since the riots started after Eric Garner. Everyone’s upset, but no one knows what to do. The reality is that at this point, after seeing and hearing everything that’s been going on, blacks don’t feel comfy turning to the police as a support system and police are scared for their lives because… well, you just never know.

They say “if you want them to stop killing your people, you should police your own areas”… yea, that’d work if we all wanted to work in law enforcement. We don’t. We too have dreams beyond our neighborhoods.

Honestly, thinking of how awkward or frightening it can be for some RA’s to just knock on a door because they smell weed coming from the room, I can only imagine how it must feel to stop someone that “looks” like a criminal. You can make so many assumptions about folks when you know nothing about them. When you are enforcing the law, as an RA or an Officer, at D-Block or on Da Block, you have to use a lot of interpretation of the scenario. Is it a big party that can get out of hand or are there just a few friends enjoying a beer to celebrate the end of the longest project ever? Is he carrying that gun because he is dangerous or because he finds others dangerous? Should he be carrying that gun? Should I be carrying one?

You can’t know the answer to these questions ,my fellow law enforcers, if you’re patrolling areas that you don’t know, with people you don’t know. I’m well aware that New York is huge and you probably can’t get the same people to patrol the same areas all of the time, but you can make an effort to gain the respect of the community, as a police force. Go out there and get to know them and let them get to know you so everyone can have that understanding that we are ALL HUMAN BEINGS. So the next time you decide to press a gun in one of their chests, you’ll actually give a slight fuck.

Leaders of the community, it’s your time to let the police in if you really want to quell the tensions and lessen (eliminate) the injustice. The problem really is that there is fear on both ends, but honestly, society can take a lesson or two from Villanova Res Life; because although there is that stigma that RA’s suck, the majority of residents actually have reported that they like their RA’s and thus respect them. RESPECT. So necessary to quell fear, to quell tension, and make everyone feel as if they actually belong in the community.

If no efforts are made, then I feel like it’s fair game to assume that neither or 1 party doesn’t care as much as they claim in order to create peace and provide protection. So let’s see how this goes.

[myhairelsewhere]

#AmericanFails

There are 2 points to take note of here:

1.      We are all human. Therefore, should anyone point anything toward you, that could potentially take your life, you will try to:

a.      Move to avoid it

b.      Protect your life

                                                    i.     There are people in this world I wouldn’t even trust to wash their dishes properly enough for me to eat from them; so WHY you think I would trust any person (despite your hours of training) pointing a gun to my head,, is beyond me. There are people who have been washing dishes for years and still miss spots, so you can shoot for decades and still mess up. Difference is, when you miss a spot on a dish, you can re-wash. Lives don’t just return.

2.      There is a breaking point. There is a psychological toll being taken on Black minds. If you always see people like you die, you no longer feel traumatized, because it’s so normal now.

3.      Those who haven’t been desensitized are outraged to the point where they are starting to talk about a civil war. CIVIL WAR: A WAR WITHIN A GROUP, WHERE SUBGROUPS KILL ONE ANOTHER. When you see no progress, you start to wonder what else is there to do.

4.      Yes, all lives do matter. But it still seems like some lives don’t.

My proposal: Know, with confidence, that the people you give weapons to (since no one wants to get rid of the right to bear arms) are able to handle those weapons and that THEY HAVE THE FULL UNDERSTANDING THAT THE WEAPON THEY HOLD CAN TAKE A LIFE SO THEY SHOULD NOT USE IT LOOSELY. I mean, if you have to threaten someone and they can’t get to harm you as quickly as you can harm them, at LEAST, aim for an arm or something. Do they teach you to shoot to kill? Do they?

Ok. A bit more than 2 points.