Fashion was always difficult for me. I'm taller than most girls (women) ...sigh... 25 and still can't come to terms with the fact that I'm no longer a kid, I have a 19yr old sister and a 16yr old brother and prefer their company to most others in my own age bracket but I digress.
I'm thick set, always have been and I figure I always will be. I've only recently come to "like" my body in the sense that I'm comfortable being the way I am and I want to dress it up and show it off (dressed up of course). Out of health reasons I recently lost 15lbs on the P90X System and am no longer overweight but still fatter than the rest. P90X is great, 1 whole hour a day with constant moving and sweating all in my own living room and if I followed the routine properly I would be even lighter and stronger but I get lazy most days :P
Finding clothes that fit has always been an issue, if it wasn't too small it was too big so for most of my teenage years and earlier 20's Jeans and T-shirts were the "real scene" since I wouldn't draw any stares from anyone. At age 21 into 22 I lived in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK for about 11 months and absolutely fell in love with the fact that people there wore absolutely anything they felt like and no one gave a damn about whether it was "in-style" or not and no one minded any one else's business at all, especially not what they wore and how many piercings they had on different facial components. Plus in the UK the clothes fit! I finally found an appropriate size for myself.
My entrance into style (aka anything other than jeans and t-shirts) began there, at Primark (kinda like an English Westport but way cooler) since my student's budget couldn't afford Mark's and Spencer etc. I got skirts and knee high boots and wore them together with brightly coloured socks poking out the boot tops. Off the shoulder, brightly coloured and patterned sweaters and extra long tops that I could wear leggings under with boots or even sneakers. Some other Trinidadians commented that I was "trying to look like dem white pple or wat?" and maybe I was by trying to use their clothes and their styles but I absolutely loved it and couldn't care less what the few Trinis there thought.
That was fashion in England for me. Then it was time to come back home. Honestly I'm cautious of wearing the "wrong" thing here. I mean even when I see a girl waltzing down Frederick Street with knee high boots and leggings I stare and wonder if she's not dying in that in this heat but secretly I think I'm just jealous that I don't have the guts to wear that myself.
Even though I limit my love of European style while in Trinidad, this year I've found that I'm a little less inhibited. Since I know what sizes to wear now I have a collection of dresses from straight and short to long haltered to short and frilly skirted. I traipse around in these things with ballet flats in all colours with big bows to no bows on the toes (I prefer flats since I hate being the tallest one there...something I need to get over since I've got a couple girl friends who are 2 inches or so taller than me and they rock 4-6inch heels wherever they go).
Then came the makeup phase. I wear glasses, can't see without them and I have a dry eye problem that restricts me from prolonged contact lens wear. You can hardly see my eyes behind these things so I never found it necessary to wear eyeshadow or eyeliner and all that stuff. I could never find a shade of foundation to match my skin colour 'cause I'm not brown, not white, kinda yellow but more pale, got pink areas around my nose so I always thought maybe I need someone to mix colours for me to get something that actually matched. Then I hate lipstick, it's sticky....my hair's always messy and falls about my face so it sticks to lipstick if I try to wear it and somehow most lipsticks are red and red just makes me look old I think.
After some pushing from my "professional colleagues" I began experimenting so that I might look more like the young professional woman that deserves respect rather than the young girl everyone thinks is a law clerk and not a lawyer. I went to Sacha for some professional advice and was told that I didn't even need foundation except for maybe some concealer to make the redness go away and she gave me a shade that actually matched, well at least camouflaged a tiny area. Happy about not needing to paste my face over I bought one of those 3-shade eyeshadow pots and the girl told me about putting the medium shade over my whole eyelid then the dark shade in the corner and the crease of my eyelid then the lightest just under my eyebrows. Easy enough. I refrained from eyeliners since I couldn't draw clean lines on my lids with those pencils (and stabbed my eye ball a couple times).
The unfortunate part was that my glasses still blocked my eyes so the eyeshadow never showed anyway. So I googled it :D <--answer to everything.
And I found her : Michelle Phan :D . She's a professional makeup artist who makes those cool professional looks seem so easy! This is how she describes herself on her youtube channel : I was born an artist, a self taught painter for 10 years and went through an additional 3 years at Ringling College of Art and Design. Makeup is another medium to me. Like Michelangelo once said "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. " . Instead, when I see a face, it's a canvas and I want to paint a masterpiece on it.: This is what really got me interested in makeup. I still don't wear foundation but I've gotten so into the eyeshadow art that I've gone out and bought all different kinds of brushes and colour palettes.
Other than Michelle Phan I love Klaire de Lys. She brings an even more artsy side to eyeshadow than Michelle plus she does tutorials on nail art and some hair styles.
Since getting into makeup and dresses I've branched out to accessories. I flaunt extra large earrings every chance I get and I even paint my own nail art (when I'm in the mood). Maybe sometime I'll put some pictures up here.
Honestly, even though I know makeup and girly clothes are not essential for a female to feel good about herself I believe that these things have made me feel more confident and comfortable with myself, regardless of how anyone else may view me. Of course none of my clothes, makeup and accessories, although girly, seem to be the socially acceptable norm...but I've discovered that love being extravagant, so who cares if I get stares :).
At the same time I'm still not as carefree as I'd like to be, I want to wear the European styles to their fullest here but I'm too chicken. Maybe one day ;)
Kai
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Return to the proverbial Roots
Sometime in September this year a friend of mine and I submitted an application to participate in a program called the "Know India Program" (KIP). In short it's basically a three week long trip to certain states in India organised by the Indian Government and their respective Indian High Commissions in countries all over the world. The trip is open to all persons of East Indian descent between the ages of 18 to 26 who are either studying an undergraduate degree or already hold an undergraduate degree. The Indian Government pays for practically everything! All you have to do is pay for your return flight to India and after the program is completed they refund you 90% of your plane ticket. Of course you do have to participate in lectures, seminars and other "learning forums" wherever they take you but it is a wonderful and cheap way to see parts of India.
Kai
More information on the KIP can be found here: www.knowindiaprogram.com
After months of waiting not so patiently I finally received an email from the Indian High Commission in Trinidad this morning stating that my application was successful and that I should make arrangements to get to Delhi, India on the 5th January, 2011. My friend didn't make it though. He's pretty disappointed but the four persons chosen were all female so we're wondering right now if they only wanted to choose women this year or if he just wasn't "Indian enough" (<--jokes).
In fact I think I'm probably not "Indian enough" for this whole thing. I draw reference to a friend of mine who participated in the program last September. She's completely engrossed in the culture of our East Indian Immigrant Ancestors. Not only is she a practicing Hindu but she also sings Indian Classical music (and beautifully as well!) and she's always taking part in whatever's going on out there to promote Indian Culture. From the way she spoke of the Program and the other people who went with her on the trip it seemed to me that everyone there either actively practiced the various aspects of their ethnicity or at least passively did so but still had immense knowledge about all things deemed "Indian".
This made me think that maybe this was the type of understanding you were expected to have of Indian Culture in order to qualify for this Program...but I'm practically the opposite! I was born into a Hindu family but as my siblings and I grew up we never practiced much of it save for some prayers once a year until eventually all of that stopped altogether. I don't even know much Indian type music even though it's played on a daily basis at full volume by some of my neighbours. I'm completely Trinidadian (Trini 2 d bone!) This makes me a bit worried that I may be at a loss for much of what might be taking place on the Program and whether I will "fit in" well with the other participants. I suppose I will cope with the apparent culture shock and hopefully learn a lot more about my ethnic culture and history. Maybe learning more about India will lend a better understanding of Trinidad culture, after all, half the population here is of East Indian descent. Well we'll see how it goes.
This made me think that maybe this was the type of understanding you were expected to have of Indian Culture in order to qualify for this Program...but I'm practically the opposite! I was born into a Hindu family but as my siblings and I grew up we never practiced much of it save for some prayers once a year until eventually all of that stopped altogether. I don't even know much Indian type music even though it's played on a daily basis at full volume by some of my neighbours. I'm completely Trinidadian (Trini 2 d bone!) This makes me a bit worried that I may be at a loss for much of what might be taking place on the Program and whether I will "fit in" well with the other participants. I suppose I will cope with the apparent culture shock and hopefully learn a lot more about my ethnic culture and history. Maybe learning more about India will lend a better understanding of Trinidad culture, after all, half the population here is of East Indian descent. Well we'll see how it goes.
This January's trip begins in Delhi and I'm told will take us to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. I'm also told that they make sure to take all participants to the major land marks so the Taj Mahal is definitely on the list. Also apparently Bihar is the state from which the Indians who Immigrated to Trinidad came from (the Beharry's?) so I'm definitely looking forward to learning more about that place. The complete Itinerary is in the process of being compiled but the trip is carded to be completed on the 26th January, 2011.
I can't wait!
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| (c) Kai 2010 I may not know much about Indian Culture but I am in love with Mehndi Art. I can't seem to control that cone thingie properly but a pen works wonders ;) |
Kai
Monday, 1 November 2010
Kid's Halloween Party
Halloween is a pretty foreign concept in Trinidad. It isn't part of our culture and most of the population over 50 years of age have no idea what you're talking about if you mention it to them. For example: I mention to my grandmother that my uncle's having a Halloween Party for the kids and she looks at me confused and says "de pumpkin ting?" to which I shake my head and reply "doh worry ma".
When I was a child growing up in south Trindad I hardly heard any mention of Halloween Parties and Trick or Treating was a thing only done on TV, I mean if the neighbours wouldn't give you candy if you came begging on an ordinary day, why would they give you any if you went in costume at night? In my opinion, back then you'd be lucky if they didn't set the dog on you or come chasing after you with a broom...that's if they even open the door after "peeping" through the curtains at you.
Well the times definitely have changed since I was a kid and quite frankly I would have loved to dress up in sparkly costumes and get free chocolate like these kids did yesterday.
Here are some pictures from my neice Haylee's Birthday/Halloween Party last night:
Kai
When I was a child growing up in south Trindad I hardly heard any mention of Halloween Parties and Trick or Treating was a thing only done on TV, I mean if the neighbours wouldn't give you candy if you came begging on an ordinary day, why would they give you any if you went in costume at night? In my opinion, back then you'd be lucky if they didn't set the dog on you or come chasing after you with a broom...that's if they even open the door after "peeping" through the curtains at you.
Well the times definitely have changed since I was a kid and quite frankly I would have loved to dress up in sparkly costumes and get free chocolate like these kids did yesterday.
Here are some pictures from my neice Haylee's Birthday/Halloween Party last night:
Kai
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Tropical Storm Tomas
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| TS Tomas (2010) Satellite Image |
The first time, for me that is, was way way back with TS Bret (1993). I remember taping up all the windows, tying down everything outside, boxes of canned food and Crix in the bedroom in case for some reason we couldn't leave the room, then we waited. I stayed up all night with my dad waiting to hear or see some "action", some lightening and rain and maybe even some heavy rain. It did rain, but I've seen more rain than that on a regular afternoon in Trinidad, some wind but that was mostly it. Kind of disappointing for an 8 year old who's already watched too many Natural Disaster flicks.
TS Tomas has proved even more disappointing for Trinidadians in anticipation of some "action". We secured everything. I even brought the dog inside. Then sat at my laptop checking the satellite imagery every half hour. The system initially was right at our backs at 11 degrees N Long. and 54 degrees West Lat. at about 6:00p.m. yesterday and then by 7:00p.m. it begun to veer Northward. No rain, no wind, just stillness. It felt like the whole island just held it's breath for a few hours. Notifications came in about events being cancelled for this weekend, one promoter sent me an email saying the PM had shut down all events for the night and a friend joked with me about the Prime Minister cancelling parties. The ODPM still held its ground with its warnings of torrential rainfall and sever flooding and despite the lack of any physical signs of storm I kept thinking about how huge TS Tomas looked and that we Must get something from the feeder bands.
I finally went to sleep at about 2:00a.m. and all was quiet. I woke up this morning to clear blue skies and the sound of birds singing. We are still officially under a Storm Warning but I have my doubts about any part of Tomas affecting us again.
Despite my complaining about our lack of rain I am still thankful that we were spared. Currently Tomas is unleashing itself over Barbados and the local reports indicate it's bad.
Local reports as it happens from the citizens of each island can be found at the Caribbean Hurricane Network.
I hope the other islanders get through it safely.
Kai
Friday, 29 October 2010
Maraqueet Bay
Off the north coast of Trinidad, a little before you cast eyes on the popular Maracas Bay, lay a very small, secluded bay called Maraqueet. I've Googled the name in many other forms and spellings in an effort to find a proper description or location for this bay but unfortunately my internet searches have been in vain. Instead I will try my best to offer up my own description of the place here.
Last Sunday I went on a hike with my mother and a few of her friends from the hiking group Caribbean Hiking Adventures. The email I got from the group said we would be going on an easy to moderate hike, lasting approximately 45 minutes one way to Maraqueet Bay.
Maraqueet Bay is one of those little Bays you see when you look down the steep, tree covered slopes into the sea below while driving along the winding road to get to Maracas.
My attempt at writing directions to the Bay:-
Drive along the same route as if you are heading to Maracas. As you pass the part of the road that offers you a sea view on your left and you're approaching the bend that takes you around a bit of mountain/rock that blocks the sea view (about 2mins before Maracas Bay itself), stop. Remember that bit of mountain/rock that blocks your sea view on your left? that's the spot where the hiking trail begins. You'll see a path leading up the bit of mountain big enough for a vehicle to drive up but you don't want to drive there. Instead, park your car (if you've paid for a security guard to stand by) and get out and start walking up. This is as close as I can get to giving directions to the trail without actually being in the car next to you and pointing it out, lol.
I won't go on to describe the entire path as it took us well over 45 minutes to complete the first half (more like an hour and a half I'd say) but I will write about the more interesting parts.
The Path started out fine, a little uphill at first then a bit down hill and a bit flat but always surrounded by "bush" (grass, trees and other unnameable greenery). About 3 minutes walk into the path, which was uphill up to this point, we stopped at an amazing, panoramic view of Maracas Bay, with all the huts and cars and people so far off in the distance that they looked like dots scattered on the wave hugged shoreline. This was one of the best views seen on this hike.
After the sightseeing we continued on the path which began to slope downward slightly, but not unmanageably. A few seconds into the downward slope we came across a natural cave-like structure made completely out of tangled grass, branches and leaves. This "cave" was about 8 feet deep and 3 feet wide, we got through it pretty quickly only to be met with another similar one right around the next corner. This one was about 5 feet deep and of the same width but a little less fun than the first :).
Onward we went, mostly downhill now, avoiding tree roots and vines and grabbing hold of anything hanging or growing nearby to support ourselves so we wouldn't trip and roll down. Coming back up would be the hard part. I joked about calling a taxi to get us out of there when we reached the bottom but but what I didnt know then was that the only taxi that could even access this Bay was the Water Taxi!
Finally, hot, sweaty, tired and over an hour into the trek, we heard waves. We'd almost reached the Bay but before we could set foot in the water the path led us through some rock climbing. Now this rock climbing didn't require anyone to be an expert at it but it definitely wasn't for those of us lacking a medium level of upper body strength (or who couldn't be lifted and carried e.g. kids). The hike leaders guided and helped us over minor gaps in the rocks and we had to climb up a 6 foot tall cliff (with nice footholds so it was easy). After climbing back UP a few rocks we had to go Down one last time. This time the Leaders had some rope secured to a sturdy tree with persons at both ends to aid us in grabbing hold of the rope and repelling down the short distance to the shore below. The drop was perhaps a mere 10 feet but the sandy footholds made climbing down rather treacherous hence the use of the rope. Finally a walk through the water, about 3 feet deep at this time, around some rocks then finally we reached the Bay itself.
That was the Easy Part!
We enjoyed the bay throughly. Ate lunch while taking in the secluded beauty of the place. Almost untouched, the Bay itself is gorgeous to look at. It seemed to be surrounded on all sides by mountainous land from where I stood. I couldn't find the opening of the bay that lead into open sea so it gave the appearance of being more like a wave filled lake. Sea bathing or swimming, however was a problem. The area just off the sandy shore is very rocky and hazardous, especially with rough waves pounding against you every 5 - 10 seconds. I got quite a few bumps and bruises on my feet, legs and knees while trying to keep upright in the water and avoid the huge rocks just below the surface. It seemed like it would be a great area for fishing though.
The Uphill journey was tough, for me at least, in my not very fit shape.
First thing was the fact that we were all wet and had shoes full of coarse sand and tiny stones which every wave seemed to bring more of every time we washed it out. Then came the rock climbing again...pulling yourself up a steep cliff of rock by just a piece of rope is difficult if you're my level of fit. No matter how short the distance is. Thankfully my arms stood up to the pressure and I didn't need much help at all. Back up the mountain I took many short breaks as I had become dehydrated (all my drinking water was used up) and short of breath as I climbed up. A hike leader gave me some chocolate as he noticed that I was becoming pale and thought my blood sugar might be low. That actually helped a lot :)
We finally made it back up and out, me dying for water and everyone else for a shower! I think I've got to get me one of those water pouch backpacks, they seem to hold a lot of water.
In conclusion, this was an amazing hike. This is what hiking is all about, twists and turns and a path that constantly changes. It definitely was not your average nature walk. I think I would describe it as a mild adventure.
If you want to hike to Maraqueet Bay or anywhere else in Trinidad in fact, just remember that our forests are of the Tropical Rain type so take plenty water, wear long pants as you will get scratches on bare skin and spray on insect repellent :)
Kai
[Posted on the go with iBlogger and my iPhone]
Last Sunday I went on a hike with my mother and a few of her friends from the hiking group Caribbean Hiking Adventures. The email I got from the group said we would be going on an easy to moderate hike, lasting approximately 45 minutes one way to Maraqueet Bay.
Maraqueet Bay is one of those little Bays you see when you look down the steep, tree covered slopes into the sea below while driving along the winding road to get to Maracas.
My attempt at writing directions to the Bay:-
Drive along the same route as if you are heading to Maracas. As you pass the part of the road that offers you a sea view on your left and you're approaching the bend that takes you around a bit of mountain/rock that blocks the sea view (about 2mins before Maracas Bay itself), stop. Remember that bit of mountain/rock that blocks your sea view on your left? that's the spot where the hiking trail begins. You'll see a path leading up the bit of mountain big enough for a vehicle to drive up but you don't want to drive there. Instead, park your car (if you've paid for a security guard to stand by) and get out and start walking up. This is as close as I can get to giving directions to the trail without actually being in the car next to you and pointing it out, lol.
I won't go on to describe the entire path as it took us well over 45 minutes to complete the first half (more like an hour and a half I'd say) but I will write about the more interesting parts.
The Path started out fine, a little uphill at first then a bit down hill and a bit flat but always surrounded by "bush" (grass, trees and other unnameable greenery). About 3 minutes walk into the path, which was uphill up to this point, we stopped at an amazing, panoramic view of Maracas Bay, with all the huts and cars and people so far off in the distance that they looked like dots scattered on the wave hugged shoreline. This was one of the best views seen on this hike.
After the sightseeing we continued on the path which began to slope downward slightly, but not unmanageably. A few seconds into the downward slope we came across a natural cave-like structure made completely out of tangled grass, branches and leaves. This "cave" was about 8 feet deep and 3 feet wide, we got through it pretty quickly only to be met with another similar one right around the next corner. This one was about 5 feet deep and of the same width but a little less fun than the first :).
Onward we went, mostly downhill now, avoiding tree roots and vines and grabbing hold of anything hanging or growing nearby to support ourselves so we wouldn't trip and roll down. Coming back up would be the hard part. I joked about calling a taxi to get us out of there when we reached the bottom but but what I didnt know then was that the only taxi that could even access this Bay was the Water Taxi!
Finally, hot, sweaty, tired and over an hour into the trek, we heard waves. We'd almost reached the Bay but before we could set foot in the water the path led us through some rock climbing. Now this rock climbing didn't require anyone to be an expert at it but it definitely wasn't for those of us lacking a medium level of upper body strength (or who couldn't be lifted and carried e.g. kids). The hike leaders guided and helped us over minor gaps in the rocks and we had to climb up a 6 foot tall cliff (with nice footholds so it was easy). After climbing back UP a few rocks we had to go Down one last time. This time the Leaders had some rope secured to a sturdy tree with persons at both ends to aid us in grabbing hold of the rope and repelling down the short distance to the shore below. The drop was perhaps a mere 10 feet but the sandy footholds made climbing down rather treacherous hence the use of the rope. Finally a walk through the water, about 3 feet deep at this time, around some rocks then finally we reached the Bay itself.
That was the Easy Part!
We enjoyed the bay throughly. Ate lunch while taking in the secluded beauty of the place. Almost untouched, the Bay itself is gorgeous to look at. It seemed to be surrounded on all sides by mountainous land from where I stood. I couldn't find the opening of the bay that lead into open sea so it gave the appearance of being more like a wave filled lake. Sea bathing or swimming, however was a problem. The area just off the sandy shore is very rocky and hazardous, especially with rough waves pounding against you every 5 - 10 seconds. I got quite a few bumps and bruises on my feet, legs and knees while trying to keep upright in the water and avoid the huge rocks just below the surface. It seemed like it would be a great area for fishing though.
The Uphill journey was tough, for me at least, in my not very fit shape.
First thing was the fact that we were all wet and had shoes full of coarse sand and tiny stones which every wave seemed to bring more of every time we washed it out. Then came the rock climbing again...pulling yourself up a steep cliff of rock by just a piece of rope is difficult if you're my level of fit. No matter how short the distance is. Thankfully my arms stood up to the pressure and I didn't need much help at all. Back up the mountain I took many short breaks as I had become dehydrated (all my drinking water was used up) and short of breath as I climbed up. A hike leader gave me some chocolate as he noticed that I was becoming pale and thought my blood sugar might be low. That actually helped a lot :)
We finally made it back up and out, me dying for water and everyone else for a shower! I think I've got to get me one of those water pouch backpacks, they seem to hold a lot of water.
In conclusion, this was an amazing hike. This is what hiking is all about, twists and turns and a path that constantly changes. It definitely was not your average nature walk. I think I would describe it as a mild adventure.
If you want to hike to Maraqueet Bay or anywhere else in Trinidad in fact, just remember that our forests are of the Tropical Rain type so take plenty water, wear long pants as you will get scratches on bare skin and spray on insect repellent :)
Kai
[Posted on the go with iBlogger and my iPhone]
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Hi!
Welcome to my blog and my first post! I have no idea how to start this. Maybe introductions are in order at this time so here's a bit about myself:
I'm Trinidadian, I'm female, I have brown eyes, hence the title "Brown Eyed Gyal" (Gyal=Girl for my not so Caribbean familiar friends ;) )
Other than that I'm an avid reader of almost all genres of literature, "almost" since the closest I come to reading romance is an Anne Rice Vampire Chronicle; I'm adventurous; I love all things outdoors and lots of things indoors; I'm extremely energetic although my body type somehow doesn't show it which is the one thing that puts a damper on my self esteem; I have a "hot-foot" (can't stay in one place for very long) and have this need to travel at least three times a year ("you flyin plane like is taxi" as I've been told) and I love my culture both national (Trinidadian) and traditional ( I am of East Indian descent and to me "traditional" means East Indian culture).
This blog is a window into my world. A recording of my experiences and thoughts during my travels abroad as well as my adventures at home. This is the world as I see it.
Happy reading.
Kai
I'm Trinidadian, I'm female, I have brown eyes, hence the title "Brown Eyed Gyal" (Gyal=Girl for my not so Caribbean familiar friends ;) )
Other than that I'm an avid reader of almost all genres of literature, "almost" since the closest I come to reading romance is an Anne Rice Vampire Chronicle; I'm adventurous; I love all things outdoors and lots of things indoors; I'm extremely energetic although my body type somehow doesn't show it which is the one thing that puts a damper on my self esteem; I have a "hot-foot" (can't stay in one place for very long) and have this need to travel at least three times a year ("you flyin plane like is taxi" as I've been told) and I love my culture both national (Trinidadian) and traditional ( I am of East Indian descent and to me "traditional" means East Indian culture).
This blog is a window into my world. A recording of my experiences and thoughts during my travels abroad as well as my adventures at home. This is the world as I see it.
Happy reading.
Kai
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