My sit spot was the first place I found upon my arrival in St. Augustine in Trinidad. It a bench on the back courtyard of the residence hall where my room faces.  This courtyard faces the north side of the town I’m in, and in the distance I can see 2 main mountains off into the distance, where many houses and buildings all converge into these giants in the sky. The mountain I’m most familiar with is called Mount St. Benedict, which is a Catholic monastery and is one of the largest buildings on the mountain painted in red and white. When I was able to visit this mountain a few weeks ago, I could see a great large part of the western Island and all the colorful buildings and trees that  constitute my surroundings. On my bench, I see various tropical deciduous trees I know not yet what they are called, but the most marvelous thing about the trees here is that they all have fruit, which is incredibly rare in the States. I notice brightly orange-colored hibiscus bushes, harkening to my mind the delicious tea that we make of them.I see rows of small chartreuse-yellow birds flying above me (which one of my friends have informed me are called kiskadees!) that always sound like they are laughing. Under the shade of the tree, I can hear the mechanic sounds of the cars whirring by on the Priority Bus Route and the Eastern Main Road right past the fence of my residence hall.

As I enter my fourth week living in Trinidad, things and people here feel eerily familiar to what I’ve seen before, yet placed in a locale that feels like a combination of recognizable places so that it is quite distinct to anything I’ve ever experienced. The mountains and the rolling foothills I see everywhere brings to mind of those from back home in North Carolina, yet they’re a bit different because on these mountains they are warm and not as chilly. The stark 180 to go from snowy Boston to sunny, warm, and humid Trinidad has been a thrill in all aspects but also has been a lot to get used to physically. It has been so long since I’ve lived in a climate with consistent warm weather and sun all day, so there’s sometimes where, before I know it, I feel so exhausted by the sun and need to rest.

Before I arrived, I did not know what to expect my life here to be like. But now being here for 4 weeks, it has been a marvel to embrace the natural wonders Trinidad has to offer even in day to day life. One of the things in nature that instantly triggered childhood memories when I came here were these species of small pink house geckoes that I used to see all the time back at home; what nostalgia it brought me to see them. Another thing that was surprising, although to the detriment of the natural environment, is the island’s problem with the giant african snail, an invasive and destructive yet fascinating creature. I remember going for a rain walk with my friends and I accidentally stepped on one, and my friend told me about the fairly recent invasion there are of these snails due to them being smuggled on the island. It was such a marvel to see them because I remember when I was little, I loved to learn about this specific species of snail and to see them in the flesh was so amazing. Yet it is upsetting to hear the havoc that it wreaks upon the natural environment, as it a pest replicates quite remarkably and eats almost 7000 species of plants including banana, papaya, and other plant species, competing with natural wildlife for these resources. My friend told me about a plant and insect museum in the Biology Faculty at the University that contains hundreds of preserved specimen of insect and animal wildlife endemic to the island, and I plan to visit this museum soon because I am truly fascinated by all the animal and plant friends I’ve been seeing during my time here. It feels like my world is now littered with all these new and colorful animal and plant species that make me so happy to see because I’ve studied them for so long but never have seen them in the flesh.

But all that aside, it feels very comforting and nice to see so many things that are familiar to me in this new place. And the with people I’ve met and knowledge I’ve picked up so far — it makes this place feel all the more easier to call home for the next 3 months.