Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label immigration

Relinquish

I've blogged before about some of the things that an immigrant gives up to come to this land of opportunity, and I really felt that deeply earlier this year.  My husband had "minor" sinus surgery which unfortunately was scheduled for 6:30 am (with arrival time at 5:30 am).  We don't have family here, and I wasn't able to get my babysitter to look after the kids so eventually a friend of ours took G to the surgery and I went after I'd dropped the kids off that morning at a more sane hour. So a couple of points: "Minor" is in quotes because it required general anaesthesia.  Now where I'm originally from, that's something there is a chance you never wake up from, so any statement about "minor" and "general anaesthesia" is a total contradiction.  I felt so helpless knowing that I couldn't be there for my husband. He totally didn't get why I was willing to completely mess up the kids' routine so I c...

Fried Plantain

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...