Jasmine Wanders

My initial fears were many: the left-hand driving and the utter lack of road signage were a bit nerve wracking. Add a speed limit that seems to be a mere suggestion rather than a hard-fastened rule and the fact that someone dies via traffic accident every two days, not to mention the fact that I hadn’t driven in almost a year and a half…

You know the story – they were promised jobs and a free ride home in India, and then when they landed in the Caribbean, they were essentially enslaved, forced to work in subhuman conditions and paid measly wages and in some cases, paid in rum.

We chat about life in Colombia and the difference between there and here as we inch through immigration. I watch as my worlds collide, a seamless transition between the two countries thanks to my new friends.

It’s just some of the things that I’ve been fantasizing about since I left Trinidad & Tobago in late February 2010, after dancing around in sparkly bikinis for 48 hours straight with my sister in downtown Port of Spain.