The Travelling Nutmeg: Soy estudiante? II

 The aim today was simple. Peruse the UWI Campus. When I was coming to the end of my teaching stint at my alma mater, I applied to UWI Mona Campus. I was ready to pursue this food science thing. The acceptance was quick but the funds, not so much. Once China came into the picture, it was such a fluid thing, that Mona became a thing of the past.

And although I visited St. Augustine, during my TAMCC days, this was my first solo adventure. I woke very early, Honey Bunches of Oats in my stomach, and heading down from Sir Arthur Lewis dorms. Thanks to google maps, I was able to connect some of the landmarks I barely glimpsed yesterday.

I could truly feel the legacy along the paths and see the history in the walls. I passed familiar signs and halls as I pressed towards to my appointment, which surprisingly I was on time for. The whole meeting was God-breathed, but we'll get into that another time.

After that, I headed to the food court. Pita Pit much to my surprise had an outlet in Trinidad and was reminiscent of my time in NZ. But Rituals had my full attention. All I needed was my chiller and my laptop and suddenly I found work to do. 

After writing and reading severalll articles, like the good student I was😜, I conceded to a take away chickpea and quinoa lunch from Subway. As I eased onto the other side of campus, I was so shocked to see the sign, Confucius Learning Institute.

A couple years ago, when I wanted to upgrade my HSK certification, I found out that there was a Confucius Institute on UWI campus. So of course, I rushed into the building and up the stairs just to realise I couldn't find the office. After speaking to a secretary nearby, come to find out, they disappeared after Covid and didn't come back. But she was such a rich resource for books and self- learning of Chinese, which was my current journey.

The joy of that must have really topped me up, because in no time I found myself walking the streets of Tunapuna. After circling most of the street and seeing many closing shops, I circled back to the one with the friendly cashier. She didn't convince me to purchase 3 boxes of Fruta for TT$30 but we totally across that the morbid smell slipping through the door was more than a dead animal.

The rest of the evening was spent in my room, chilling and taking in my tiny student bed. The dorm is really quiet without the usual students around, which I appreciate. It's a similar set up to NZ but a larger bathroom to room ratio, like undergrad. There's also a melting pot of ethnicities so I could imagine the pots they be throwing down. But I won't let my imagination run away from me. I am going to be home pretty soon.