One of the highlights of my research was learning about the celebrations involved in the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. The most prominent example is called "Carnival" and it's a 4 day ritual type celebration. It combines the diversities of French, British, and African histories. It officially started after slavery was ended and is one of the biggest party type celebrations in the world. Studying about just this one part of the culture showed the extent of variance in origins of these islands. It's not something that someone would expect to find associated with this remote region.



The biggest challenge that I faced while doing my research was finding more than the main few things to write about the islands. All of the websites and sources gave the same three or four things that represented the islands. All that's really known is that the islands are the largest producers of oil and gas, have beautiful bird sanctuaries, the type of music, the Carnival celebration, and of course the beaches for the tourists. These things definitely represent the islands in the proper way and show the immense diversity, but those are the only traits of the Caribbean get away that anyone seems to be able to talk about. Everyday life of the locals aren't discussed at all and that's something that I would have liked to include in my first blog entry.


The previous paragraph leads to what I'd like to find in further research of Trinidad and Tobago. I would really like to change the view and be able to find more intimate details of the islands. What goes on in the everyday streets of this breathtaking Caribbean escape. I have definitely found plenty of things about the music, but I want to include more about the food especially since there are so many different cultures that contribute to everything else about the islands. I'm sure there's amazing things that happen behind the scenes of the tourism and I want to find them.

Trinidad and Tobago is a dual-island nation in the Caribbean with distinctive Creole traditions and cuisines. Trinidad’s capital is Port of Spain, known to host a carnival featuring calypso and soca music. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean due to petroleum and natural gas production. Trinidad and Tobago has one of the highest per capita incomes in Latin America and the Caribbean. It's economy is heavily dependent on their oil production, accounting for 40% of GDP, 80% of exports and 5% of employment. It also produces manufactured goods, food products, and beverage products. As well as producing cement to the Caribbean region. Tourism, agriculture, information and communications technology, and shipping also contribute to the national growth and financial stability. The islands offer beautiful resorts and natural phenomenon to draw their tourism. They are known for their bird sanctuaries that have several species inhabiting them. The larger island of Trinidad is known for the Main Ridge Forest Reserve that shelters hummingbirds while the smaller, Tobago, is known for the immaculate beaches that draw people from around the world to enjoy these Venezuelan neighbors. 

 

The majority of the ethnicity of the population of Trinidad and Tobago consists of East Indian and African. While the country's main language is English, it produces a diverse selection of languages throughout including, French, Chinese, Spanish, and Caribbean Hindustani which is a dialect of Hindi. They also provide a variance of religions within the country expressing the wide diverseness in its culture.