Why We So?!!!

This post I have to do with some dialect, so bear with me!

Ah love Trinis eh, but oh gosh, sometimes I rellllll doh like Trinis!!! WHY WE HAFTA BE SO SOCIAL?!!!!! Anywhere you go, is “morning morning!” Which is ok by itself, but when a full-on conversation follows?!! Nahhh man!!! Leave me alone!!!!

I’m in the bank now, waiting. I came to the seated area (2 rows of 4 chairs each) and a lady is sitting at the back on her phone. Already, yuck. You’re in a confined space, tell them you will call them back! I sit in front of the lady and of course the entire bank hears the entire phone call, including the raucous laughter every minute! As I decided it’s time to put in my sanity-saving ear plugs, she says her goodbyes. It turns out SHE made the call!

I put the ear plugs in and there’s peace for about a minute until a guy enters the bank, spots the woman, and it’s quickly evident that they know each other. Big, LOUD greetings, and he sits next to her for them to start to chat. Loud laughter again, along with regular conversation. Then she starts playing music on her phone!!! My gosh!!!! She stops the music and the two of them continue to chat. It seems as though the guy is popular because at least two other people hail him out and have a conversation.

This is such a common occurrence in T&T: our friendliness is second-to-none. I love it, but at the same time, it’s excruciating when you have sensory differences and the overload happens very quickly. Sometimes my trusty ear plugs aren’t enough to keep me regulated, and if it’s bad enough, the errand either has to be abandoned or I need a lot of recovery time once I get home!

I ended up at the bank because of the same issue! There are people doing work in my house and in my effort to avoid them (and the noise, but mostly just to avoid having to interact with very friendly, lovely people) I decided to run some errands to get away.

And you know what? It’s not even the friendliness so much, because I truly love how genuinely friendly we are, especially compared to other countries. (Mummy cooked up a pot of pelau for the people working in the house.) It’s more the NOISE, the ANIMATION!!!! When my mother reads this she will either laugh or shake her head because she is a walking example 🤣! Trinis love to talk, sing, dance, move, any and everywhere!!! After the bank I went to get some grocery items. It was quiet but the ONE lady who entered after me and came into my lane started singing to herself!!! You better believe I made a quick exit from that lane!

I don’t think people understand how tiny the social and sensory battery is when it comes to neurodivergence. It’s not that I’m trying to be mean or unfriendly, I really just don’t have the capacity. Even to say hello. Yesterday with the people in my house, I discovered that a smile and wave worked really well in place of saying hi (since in that moment the hello in my brain didn’t connect to my mouth), so I’m going to have that in my toolbox from now on!

Anyway, for today, I had to make an abrupt end to my errands when I nearly bouff up an old man in the same grocery. I don’t think he heard my snarky comment, but I think the cashier did. After that, I knew it was time to abandon everything else and go home. The people were still doing work, but I figured at least if there was noise, I’d be overloaded in the comfort of my room and not in public. Imagine my disappointment when I got home to find they were working in my room! The picture attached is me hanging out away from everyone in my home gym, ear plugs in my ears, but feeling calm at last!

Calm at last after a forced morning of errands!