Names in Trinidad and Tobago
The names of the inhabitants of Trinidad and Tobago, but also the names of places, reflect the eventful history of the country. Many first and last names are English. It often happens that English first names are now used as surnames. The former international soccer players Stern John and Kelvin Jack are examples of this.
Other popular girl names are Shanice, Tamika and Alliyah. Boys are called, for example, Aaron, Rondel or Shawn. Common surnames are Mohammed, Ali, Joseph, Williams, Singh, Charles, Thomas, and Maharaj.
Some places have kept their Spanish names, like San Fernando. Others have been renamed. The former Puerto de los Hispanioles became Port of Spain. Chaguanas, in turn, goes back to an Indian tribe. Pointe-รก-Pierre was named that way by the French.
How about living in Trinidad?
Imagine you are a child from Trinidad and Tobago. How would that be? Most of the time you would be nice and warm! Because during the day it is usually 30 degrees warm and also at night hardly colder than 20 degrees. You don’t need winter shoes or jackets! Rain will fall in a few months, but that too is warm and after a short shower it is usually over.
For breakfast you might eat doubles, flatbread with chickpeas. And instead of hamburgers, there would be bake and shark on the street: flatbread with a shark! You would go to school in your school uniform.
You would probably be able to see where your ancestors came from. The likelihood would be high that you either had African great, great, great grandparents or Indian ones. A few people of European descent also live in Trinidad and Tobago.
Take Trinidad and Tobago dollars with you when you go shopping. Doubles at the food stand, for example, cost three dollars. The cars drive on the left here, like in Great Britain. If you don’t have your own car, you usually take a shared taxi. Their license plate number always starts with an H, while private cars have a P. The many power lines that criss-cross the streets are also noticeable in the cities.
Children and School
School in Trinidad and Tobago
At the age of 5, the children in Trinidad and Tobago start primary school. Most children go to kindergarten beforehand, where they already acquire basic reading and writing skills. That is what is expected in elementary school. They then go there for seven years. All students wear a school uniform.
The secondary school then lasts five years. Those with good grades can go to school for two more years and do their Abitur. That means CAPE here, which is the abbreviation for Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations.
Eating in Trinidad and Tobago
What do you eat in Trinidad and Tobago?
In Trinidad and Tobago, different regions of the world have also left their mark on the kitchen. Because in addition to the original population of the Arawak and Caribs, Europeans, Africans and Indians came to the islands. What you cook there, how you cook there and what ingredients you use are very different. Later there was influence from the USA, where many Trinidadian people emigrated to. Fast food, for example, is widespread in the country.
Ingredients already used by the arawak and caribs are cassava, yams, plantains, corn, melons, pumpkin and chillies. If you boil cassava tubers and let the juice thicken, it becomes cassareep. This in turn is the basis for Pepperpot, a meat stew.
Lots of influences
Europeans came to the islands from the 16th century. Spaniards brought pears and oranges, the French brought herbs such as thyme and basil and the British brought tamarind and cabbage. Her fondness for jams can also be found in the country today.
The slaves from Africa, who were brought into the country up to the beginning of the 19th century, also brought recipes from their homeland. From 1845 Indian contract workers came. Indian bread such as roti or curry dishes is due to their influence.
Buljol and doubles for breakfast
The Trinidadian Doubles prefer to eat breakfast. It’s two flat cakes with a chickpea curry on top. There is also chutney, a thick sauce that also originated from India. Doubles are sold at food stalls and eaten on the go. You can eat them not only for breakfast, but also during the day. You can find a recipe for doubles in the participation tip !
Buljol, a salad made from cod, tomatoes, peppers and onions, is also hearty in the morning. On Sundays, people used to enjoy breakfast on Trotter Souse, a stew made with pork’s feet. Today it is less common.
Popular: Callalou
Callalou is the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago, a country located in Caribbean and Central America listed on ethnicityology. This soup is also popular in other Caribbean countries. Callalou is also the main ingredient, a leafy vegetable. In Trinidad you use taro leaves for it, okra pods are also put in and you cook the whole thing in coconut milk.
People like to eat soups and stews at all. In addition to the mentioned pepper pot, it also includes breadfruit oil-down (with breadfruits) and sancoche (with meat, tuber vegetables and peas). Pelau is a rice dish for which meat is caramelized in sugar. There are also pigeon peas or black peas and coconut milk.
Snack
There are a number of typical snacks in Trinidad and Tobago. In addition to the doubles and wraps from Roti, this includes Bake and Shark. Bake is a flatbread, shark means shark and is actually fried shark. Then there are vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce as well as sauces. In particular, Green Seasoning is popular, a cold herb sauce. Incidentally, several shark species are endangered by overfishing off Trinidad.