Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

Steelband - T&T Toursim website Carnival -  T&T Tourism website I get asked this almost every time I meet someone new. The answer, like the question, is not as straightforward as it seems. When I get asked this question, the person is usually asking more than where I am from. They usually want to know about my ethnicity and heritage, in addition to where I was born. Why I speak the way I do, and in some cases, am I American/am I here legally? For my friends, old and new who only have part of the answer,  I'll try to answer the questions implicit in "Where are you from?" more completely.  I've included a few photos from the T&T Tourism board website to give you a flavour of where I am from. Cricket - T&T Tourism website Pigeon Point, Tobago - T&T Tourism website Where were you born? I was born in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies (specifically Trinidad) and lived there until I was an adult,...

Before I went on my trip back home to Trinidad in April, my doctor told me that my cholesterol was too high, even though I am underweight for my height (or perhaps that is exactly why I have high cholesterol?) Anyway, I was supposed to go back to the doctor after I had..ahem..modified my diet. Well, if you look at the pictures of the food I ate while in Trinidad, you'll understand why I haven't been back. (Thanks to Teddy, my brother, for finally sending me the pictures.) I'm not sure how long the strategy of not going back to the doctor will work, but so far, I've been doing well using that approach. A nd here we have the very versatile doubles - good for breakfast, lunch and dinner; which is how often I tried to eat them. Made from flour that is fried with curried channa (garbanzo beans) inside and some pepper. What it looks like on the inside, revealing said channa and pepper. A bit of trivia - it used to be two separate baras making the doubles, now some ve...

I've been in the US now for over 10 years and in all that time, I think I've made fried plantains maybe twice. Once when my dad was visiting and then two days ago - for the first time in years. Why fried plantain? I'm not sure, maybe because I will be going back to visit Trinidad and I felt like some "home food". It will be my first time back in 6 years come April, Liam's first time but Lucas' second time (he was there when he was 11 months). We immigrated to the US because of the possibilities - both for ourselves and our children. But this doesn't come without a price. I see it in my own children who won't eat the Trinbagonian dishes I still make and they have never eaten..fried plantain! It is the loss of culture, history, family...things that I feel they can never truly understand. Not only are they losing their West Indian culture, they are also losing their German heritage as well. While we knew that would be the case when we moved here...