What is a Trini?


Trini is the shortened version of Trinidadian, used to describe a person who is from the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

So where are we?

Trinidad is located a mere 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela, with Tobago some 20 miles north-east of Trinidad. Check out the Caribbean map below.





























Who are we?

We have quite a population mix. It’s a little like London. There is a majority (some 70%) comprising people of African or Indian descent. In addition to these you have a sizeable Mixed Race population, Whites, Chinese/Asian, Syrian/Lebabnese, Spanish (Latin American, mostly from Venezuela), along with a sprinkling of Jews and Native Americans (called Caribs).

What are we like?

Well, we are known as party people. There’s a saying that come hell or high water, Trinis will party. We believe in enjoying life. So you find certain things are important to us – socialising, food (serious variety), drinking (we have some of the strongest rums in the world), education, jobs/working/status (an unemployment rate of only 5.8%), property/housing, nice cars, vacations/travelling, sports (football & cricket in particular), even beauty pageants. We are also very patriotic. Doesn’t matter if you were born in the US/UK, and never visited TnT before, as long as you had a Trini parent, or even grandparent, you’re a Trini till you die. Or as we like to say “Trini to de bone”.

Our economy is mainly based on oil, natural gas and various other petrochemical products, resulting in some of the largest industrial plants in the western hemisphere. Other major economy contributors include the finance sector, manufacturing sector (food & household supplies) and most recently the tourism sector.

What might you like about TnT?

First, there’s carnival. Two months of parties and festivals, music, food, drink and people. All major religions are recognised in TnT, so there are lots of festivals to celebrate (there are 16 national holidays on the calendar). Our people are some of the friendliest, warmest people you’ll meet. There are loads of places to go socialise, whether you’re into the club scene, malls, cinemas, restaurants, concerts, theatre, sports / fun days, cricket & football matches. Then there are the usual island things, like going to the beach, hiking in the rain forest, rivers, waterfalls, kayaking, bird watching, scuba diving, snorkelling….or just lazing around.
Now, we all speak English. Very well in fact. But given the population mix, and our previous history as a Spanish/French occupied colony, some of those languages have been kept. Throw in the sizeable Indian (or as you say “asian”) population, and we mix in a bit of Hindi as well. We have our own dialect, which involves mixing some words from these various languages in with normal English sentences, as well as shortening words and phrases.

For more information on Trinidad and Tobago, check out the tourism website:

http://www.visittnt.com/

Trivia: Did you know that Trinidad and Tobago is the number one supplier of natural gas to the US, supplying them with some 80% of their total natural gas imports?