42 sleeps + 60

Have you ever heard of Caribana? Growing up around Toronto, I associated it with a bunch of people dressing up in silly costumes, forcing their musical tastes on everyone, effecting road closures and causing traffic jams.

Then, in 1992, my parents took us - all of us - to Trinidad for Carnival. As Carnival takes place two days before Ash Wednesday, we had to be taken out of school to attend. My brothers were thrilled. I was horrified - missing two weeks of school while doing OACs for university entrance was simply unacceptable. I wasn't allowed to not go, so I brought my homework with me. I didn't touch it once.

My parents flew a week ahead of us. The four of us - me, the Prez, Big A and Big E - flew BWIA (but will it arrive?) on our own. We fought with each other the whole way. We changed seating arrangements about 47 times on the flight down. Musical chairs between the four of us. Big E had an earache, which made him absolutely miserable (fair enough) the whole way. We looked positively feral by the time we made it through customs.

Then we started the pre-Carnival festivities. It was the first time I have seen an entire country completely embrace a cultural event. Everyone was involved in carnival. I almost fell out of the car when I saw a police officer directing traffic while drinking a beer and grooving to Soca music. Such is life in the Caribbean.

We went to the Silver Stars panyard to watch my dad's friend play the steel drums. We tried to do Jouvert where the goal is to body paint yourself and each other then dance in the street. We ate shark and bake. We discovered what 'hot sauce' really is. We ate coconuts straight off the tree for the first time. We did Carnival. We managed to squeeze all six of us into a small sedan and barrel from one end of the island to the other. We fell in love with roti. We got attacked by a swarm of bats at dusk in Blanchicheuse at the summer home of the Trinidad Governor General where we stayed after Carnival. Then we accidentally burnt a section of it down. It was probably one of the best vacations I have ever had.

My brother, the Prez, got married there in 2004. A whole bunch of us flew down a week before the wedding. My dad and the Prez had organised a week of 'activities' for us to do before the wedding. We had a blast once again. I am determined to do Carnival one more time before I am forty. I loves it! Loves it!