Never see come and see

[fari]

 plenty of us living outside T&T now.  some of us are acheiving in all fields of human endeavor. big wuk and ting, two cars in the garage...but i know some of us when we first came, were sort of...country bookieish (sic)  i want to know what is the most never see come see thing you did when you first arrived at wherever you live now??

i have 2- the first one was when i first came on a visit to the states in 91, i was so amazed at the prices of stuff i kept saying 'waay sah' and "oh guuuud" until i made my uncle embarrassed infront of his wife.
   the second one was in the second semester of freshman year of university, almost all the trinis had never see snow before so when a little bit of it fell, we ran outside in thick jackets and take pictures in it lol, the snow must be was barely one inch, you could see the grass still but we didnt care.  the next year it was the next batch of trinis turn to be amazed...and our turn to coast on them.

[Rastaman]

First bit of cold in NY '95 ah was outside playing with my cousins in short pants and meh big coat down to meh knee    You know the long blue ones they use back home to work in cold storage...

[WestCoast]

after de fus snow fall of de year my brother's room mate used to bring he pan onto the front yard and we would all have a good time.....i wonder what the neighbours were thinking? 

ah HAD to come back an add that during dat fus winter and walkin home from the bar and there was fresh snow on de ground, I just hard to write meh name............

[TriniCana]

Everyting happened my first week in Canada...

First one was KFC, 10 piece for $9.99. Talk bout bawl in dey people place. Second one was not one pot hole on ah stretch ah road. Third dey coldness in meh ass, as ah never came to Canada during winter.

Dis one wasn't never see come see, but it sure was ah eye opener dat I was really in another man's country.

Ah hadda go to work.
Nobody tell meh it ain't have PH car and ya cyah walk out by dey pavement and hail out Taxi in London. So see me in meh little high heel, jacket in arm and bag standing up by dey pavement wondering why dey ass not one taxi stopping even when empty. Ah little old lady passin ask meh if ah waiting on dey bus..and say no ah taxi. She said NO NO dat is ah offense, people would think ya hitch hiking and police go lock ya up.

She gimme ah "call ah taxi" phone number and ah hadda leave dey pavement, go in somebody yard and call for dem to come pick me up.

Welcome tur Canada

[cocoapanyol]

I have ah chicken an chips story too.

First...ah call it chicken an chips which was meh fus mistake. Chips?  Ah had tuh learn fas tuh say FRIES.  But den yuh know how de bag ah chips home small, small and yuh used tuh sometimes order two?  Well, I gorn by KFC my first time in Canada and ah order extra fries.  Neeless tuh say, ah couldn't finish it because when ah get de box, one alone was de size ah two back home.

Meh favourite though is when ah tell de girl behind de counter ah doh want de gravy dat used tuh come wid de selection (daise ah while back) and she ask meh if ah want tuh substitute something else.  Substitute?  wha de arse is dat.  Yuh know any place in Trini dat would substitute?  Anyway, my mouth drop open fuh a couple seconds before ah find meh voice tuh ask fuh some odder ting instead.

An ah kinda went crazy wid de junk food because dey used tuh taste so good and it was so cheap.  Dem was de days.

[pecan]

Everyting happened my first week in Canada...

First one was KFC, 10 piece for $9.99. Talk bout bawl in dey people place. Second one was not one pot hole on ah stretch ah road. Third dey coldness in meh ass, as ah never came to Canada during winter.

Dis one wasn't never see come see, but it sure was ah eye opener dat I was really in another man's country.

Ah hadda go to work.
Nobody tell meh it ain't have PH car and ya cyah walk out by dey pavement and hail out Taxi in London. So see me in meh little high heel, jacket in arm and bag standing up by dey pavement wondering why dey ass not one taxi stopping even when empty. Ah little old lady passin ask meh if ah waiting on dey bus..and say no ah taxi. She said NO NO dat is ah offense, people would think ya hitch hiking and police go lock ya up.

She gimme ah "call ah taxi" phone number and ah hadda leave dey pavement, go in somebody yard and call for dem to come pick me up.

Welcome tur Canada

so dat was you standing dere ... ah drive pas wondering wat dat gyal doing ..but before i cud turn around to help, yuh gone.

[Dutty]

1987---My first winter up here
Back in dem days ah use to be into hair and dem chupidness and would grow out mines   & use to wear in ah 'de barge' style  (keep in mind I is one ah de rare trinis dat cold doh bodder me, I like winter)
 
...so anyway ah trackin dis ting and finally talk to she for de first time in de lunch room, so de next day ah want to come to school like ah saga boy  

Keep in mind, its my first winter so usually it cloudy and temperatures averaging -1 to -3C (small ting)....so anyway next day ah get up de sun BRIGHT..sky BLUE
ah say "righto...NICE day" (for those who livin de cold know dat is de sign of death for a winter day)
 
Yuh boy put all kinda mousse and gel to make the 'de barge'  look better than EL and chico self...but too much products make it kinda greasy and jerry curlish..products actually leakin off mih hair onto mih sweater, but as far as I concerned it lookin good
 
Anyway ah step out side and start to walk to school (high school grd. 13) and realize dat SUNNY BRIGHT day in winter..did mean -20C.  

ALL de drip and grease/gel chit FREEZE UP in mih blasted hair
Ah touch mih hair it HARD LIKE HELL...walk in de school lookin like ah greasy soul train dancer WITH long greasy hanging icicles all over down mih forehead, ears and back
 
 it had woman involve so i eh sure if was neversee comesee or bazodee  

[cocoapanyol]

1987---My first winter up here
Back in dem days ah use to be into hair and dem chupidness and would grow out mines   & use to wear in ah 'de barge' style  (keep in mind I is one ah de rare trinis dat cold doh bodder me, I like winter)
 
...so anyway ah trackin dis ting and finally talk to she for de first time in de lunch room, so de next day ah want to come to school like ah saga boy  

Keep in mind, its my first winter so usually it cloudy and temperatures averaging -1 to -3C (small ting)....so anyway next day ah get up de sun BRIGHT..sky BLUE
ah say "righto...NICE day" (for those who livin de cold know dat is de sign of death for a winter day)
 
Yuh boy put all kinda mousse and gel to make the 'de barge'  look better than EL and chico self...but too much products make it kinda greasy and jerry curlish..products actually leakin off mih hair onto mih sweater, but as far as I concerned it lookin good
 
Anyway ah step out side and start to walk to school (high school grd. 13) and realize dat SUNNY BRIGHT day in winter..did mean -20C.  

ALL de drip and grease/gel chit FREEZE UP in mih blasted hair
Ah touch mih hair it HARD LIKE HELL...walk in de school lookin like ah greasy soul train dancer WITH long greasy hanging icicles all over down mih forehead, ears and back
 
 it had woman involve so i eh sure if was neversee comesee or bazodee  

Daise ah good one Dutty..dat bright sunny day fool meh arse too back in de day.  How de hell sun could be shining to big and bright and yet it so blasted cold is beyond my comprehension!!!

[grimm01]

boy i have real stories yes. i remember driving on the interstate and wondering why de highway doh have no traffic lights.

first time we were on the downtown connector in Atlanta, ah rember thinking ah never see so much lanes in a highway before in meh life. ah thought round de savannah had plenty lanes.

i went to ah all black college and de first time ah man call me dawg, ah get confused and ah stand up there wondering what de hell i do to this man for him to call me ah dog.

[TriniCana]

1987---My first winter up here
Back in dem days ah use to be into hair and dem chupidness and would grow out mines   & use to wear in ah 'de barge' style  (keep in mind I is one ah de rare trinis dat cold doh bodder me, I like winter)
 
...so anyway ah trackin dis ting and finally talk to she for de first time in de lunch room, so de next day ah want to come to school like ah saga boy  

Keep in mind, its my first winter so usually it cloudy and temperatures averaging -1 to -3C (small ting)....so anyway next day ah get up de sun BRIGHT..sky BLUE
ah say "righto...NICE day" (for those who livin de cold know dat is de sign of death for a winter day)
 
Yuh boy put all kinda mousse and gel to make the 'de barge'  look better than EL and chico self...but too much products make it kinda greasy and jerry curlish..products actually leakin off mih hair onto mih sweater, but as far as I concerned it lookin good
 
Anyway ah step out side and start to walk to school (high school grd. 13) and realize dat SUNNY BRIGHT day in winter..did mean -20C.  

ALL de drip and grease/gel chit FREEZE UP in mih blasted hair
Ah touch mih hair it HARD LIKE HELL...walk in de school lookin like ah greasy soul train dancer WITH long greasy hanging icicles all over down mih forehead, ears and back
 
 it had woman involve so i eh sure if was neversee comesee or bazodee  

 
<looks at ah recent pic of Duttiness and wonders>

[Dutty]

ah go hadda scan ah old pic of mih 'don cornelius'  and show 

[pecan]

ah go hadda scan ah old pic of mih 'don cornelius'  and show 

Dutty .. dat too funny ...DeBarge ... dem was cool boy.

Made me remember a LP ah had by some of the young Debarge before dey form De Barge ...

Dutty ... where did you do Grade 13?  Remember "Soul Dances" ...

[trinindian]

well the first time I camr to states was freshman year, unlikemost people who parents drop them off at school, I went brave flying into to Ny crash for two week by a firend of teh family on eatern parkway thinking I could fly into where the school was. Little did I know the the school was in a small town and flying in was not an option. So i was forced to tak a greyhound bus for 17hrs that was experience I would encourage others not to have. So during the trip we stoped for dinner so I went to the KFC in teh terminal and with my meal I requested 2 portion of fries, imagine my disgust when I goit back on the bus an saw wedges for th efirst time. 

Then there was this time a hurricane was going to hit Sc so meh boy was going to check his girl in MS and since i did not want to sleep on no gym floor I hoped a rid thinking I could jus hop a bus to Lafayette Lousiana which was only a couple of hrs away from his destination.  Hmmmm never again that bus stopped in ever small twon on the way dwn. By tthe time i reach all i had was time to sleep and head back up to catch my ride back to school.

Then there was the first thanksgiving sale that was an experience. fari I still have them pics in front the dorm, remember how much people decide that they want to grow dreads even man who was starting to bald and others with receding hairlines.

The good old days

[Dutty]

Dutty ... where did you do Grade 13?  Remember "Soul Dances" ...

Don Mills Collegiate

Sure as hell didnt have no 'soul dances' at THAT school back then...but trinis adapt well to any kinda culture shock

The demographic has changed now however

[pecan]

Dutty ... where did you do Grade 13?  Remember "Soul Dances" ...

Don Mills Collegiate

Sure as hell didnt have no 'soul dances' at THAT school back then...but trinis adapt well to any kinda culture shock

The demographic has changed now however

I went to Victoria Park (not to far from you) .. our group organized the first "soul Dance" .. had to lobby real hard to make it happen.  The school admin were concerned about violence.  We only had a handful of west indians (2 Trini, 6 guyanese, 4 JA, 2 st. kitts, a few others from the other islands).  So to make it work, we had to invite other ppl from schools in the area ...but we had it and we opened the doors for the other islanders following our group.  But as yuh said, the demograpohics have changed significantly. Dem chirren doh know what we went through in the early days.

[morvant]

too much to list

peeing on ah tree

drinking till meh belly hurt meh when i find out that when yuh buy at burger king,kfc, and all dem places yuh does get to take out yuh own drink

snow wasnt that bad fuh me i couldnt care less

first time ah went times square ah feel ah little touristish

first time goin six flags too ah feel ah little never see come see too

but ah find iz when ah go to trini i does feel more never see come see especially when ah find out bago have ah mall bigger than long circular

[Organic]

too much to list

peeing on ah tree

drinking till meh belly hurt meh when i find out that when yuh buy at burger king,kfc, and all dem places yuh does get to take out yuh own drink

snow wasnt that bad fuh me i couldnt care less

first time ah went times square ah feel ah little touristish

first time goin six flags too ah feel ah little never see come see too

but ah find iz when ah go to trini i does feel more never see come see especially when ah find out bago have ah mall bigger than long circular

when i was 6 when i first went to nyc....i got addicted to the 25 cents lays potato chips. and use to spend liek 4 dollars at a time in the and eat all.
needless ot sya the salt form the chips cut upd e roof of meh mouth so bad i coulda bearly open meh mouth..lol

[TriniCana]

my question is-

anybody catch dey ass driving on dey oder side ah dey road in Canada, or was it jus me

[cocoapanyol]

my question is-

anybody catch dey ass driving on dey oder side ah dey road in Canada, or was it jus me

Did dat...have de T-shirt.  Thank God it was late at night, so ah didn't run een tuh nobody!!  Lord....now yuh know, ah cyar drive on de odder side no more eh.  When ah go home, ah doh get behind no wheel!!

[TriniCana]

girl i doh drive back in Trinidad cause is mass when i reach back here.
i'm driven in Trinidad, fur my safety and dey public.

but here, my first time driving, girl, transit bus full ah people approaching and i cussing why he on my side. meh passenger had tur hold on tur dey steering wheel and pull yes, cause i certainly wasn't moving (playing brave nah - more like being ah ass).  If ya see dem people face in dey bus when dey pass meh, and i cussing 

wind screen wiper and dey left/right indicator plus staying behind dey white line were my biggest problems

good days yes...ya know how much times i almost give people heart failure and is "never my fault" 

[cocoapanyol]

girl i doh drive back in Trinidad cause is mass when i reach back here.
i'm driven in Trinidad, fur my safety and dey public.

but here, my first time driving, girl, transit bus full ah people approaching and i cussing why he on my side. meh passenger had tur hold on tur dey steering wheel and pull yes, cause i certainly wasn't moving (playing brave nah - more like being ah ass).  If ya see dem people face in dey bus when dey pass meh, and i cussing 

wind screen wiper and dey left/right indicator plus staying behind dey white line were my biggest problems

good days yes...ya know how much times i almost give people heart failure and is "never my fault" 

Oh gorm..ah fuhget bout de wiper ting too.      Ah do dat more time dan ah could count.

[DeSoWa]

when ah just reach..ah tired stand up on the wrong side ah de road for the bus  . For me it was more of a culture shock..here in seattle have a lot of punk rock/rave/gay people...so you could imagine me seeing 2 man walking the streets holding hands and kissing in public do to me  and then the crazy weird dressers in long black coats with ah set ah metal all over it and they face pale like ah uncook bake with black lipstick and eyeliners..lots of piercings and tatoos and mohawks lawd talk about pressure, caught myself staring down the people and them lol.

Big Up!

[Pointman]

plenty of us living outside T&T now.  some of us are acheiving in all fields of human endeavor. big wuk and ting, two cars in the garage...but i know some of us when we first came, were sort of...country bookieish (sic)  i want to know what is the most never see come see thing you did when you first arrived at wherever you live now??

i have 2- the first one was when i first came on a visit to the states in 91, i was so amazed at the prices of stuff i kept saying 'waay sah' and "oh guuuud" until i made my uncle embarrassed infront of his wife.
   the second one was in the second semester of freshman year of university, almost all the trinis had never see snow before so when a little bit of it fell, we ran outside in thick jackets and take pictures in it lol, the snow must be was barely one inch, you could see the grass still but we didnt care.  the next year it was the next batch of trinis turn to be amazed...and our turn to coast on them.

I was always cool...I never did anything like dat

[ttcom]

First visit to the big apple in 81. Cloudy and dark but the next morning was sunny and bright. My family live down surf ave in coney island. to make a long story short, I open the window and almost piss me self. sea breeze hit me. was about -15. That wasn't is when i started school and student ask me where in Jamaica is Trinidad. Ah still laughing over that even today.