The Christopher Newport field hockey team is continuing its tradition of international expeditions with a trip to the Caribbean this spring. Rising junior Carol Thompson has been gracious enough to document the trip and share her experiences with CNUsports.com.
 
Day 1: Travel Day
 
Traveling isn't always easy. In fact, the day one spends traveling is often the least favorite day of any vacation or getaway. Some would say we're unlucky. We were packed and ready for the bus at 3:00 a.m. for a 3:30 a.m. ETD (estimated time of departure). To our surprise, 20 college-aged women were packed and EARLY for the bus (shocker, right?). We headed for Norfolk International Airport via coach bus, and everyone seemed eager for travel. Our flight was scheduled to be Miami-bound by 6 a.m. However, despite strategic planning and months of effort from the coaching staff and all parties involved, our flight was delayed and was scheduled to depart at 7:30 a.m. Only in a perfect world would an hour and a half delay not mean missing a connecting flight. The future, we thought, was grim.
 
We waited until about 4:30 a.m. to hear what our new plans were. All we knew at the time was that there was no chance of making our connecting flight (9:50 a.m. departure from Miami) because our new departure time (from Norfolk) meant landing at 9:51 a.m. -- how ironic.
 
The first back-up plan was to catch the next flight from Miami to Trinidad on Tuesday…one whole day later…24 + hours in an airport…running on virtually no sleep. However, other plans were being made. We were told that the airline would fly us to Miami and pay for a one-night stay in Miami to compensate for the inconvenience. However, even bigger plans were in the making for CNUFH. Little did we know, many people, including our airline, our tour guide, and our wonderful coach Marlene, were scheduling us on the next flight out of Miami, TRINIDAD BOUND!
 
A sigh of relief swept through the entire team, and our trip was back on schedule. The glitches in the system were that we completely switched airlines, and that is not an easy task with only 3 hours until departure. After what seemed like forever, it was confirmed that we were on the next flight via Caribbean Airlines. All of our problems suddenly disappeared, and we were once again ecstatic to be starting our final journey to Trinidad!
 
Our flight landed on the island at 7:05 p.m. Customs was an interesting process, because a few of us did not have all of the right information to give to the officers. In any country, customs are an important part of the process of traveling, because it provides a security to those entering the country as well as the natives. Therefore, tensions were a little high, and for many of the players on the team, it wasn't a friendly welcome to the first place that they have traveled to abroad. However, once we successfully made it through the customs process, we grabbed our luggage and felt warm welcomes from anyone we came in contact with. From the door man at the exit of the hotel to a few different cab drivers waiting on their passengers, we were asked many questions such as "where are you from," or "why are you here," and each conversation usually ended with "welcome to Trinidad" or "enjoy your stay!" From that moment on, we knew we were in for a fun trip.
 
We were greeted by our tour guide, Dominic, who is from Barbados. His accent was thick at first, and we weren't sure if he was just some random guy talking at us or if he was trying to help us. We probably looked pretty lost as a group of 20 girls in bright coral t-shirts stood outside of the airport terminal. Naturally, our first reaction to the humidity was shock. Many of us were still decked in our CNUFH hoodies and gear from traveling from 60-degree weather back in Newport News. The weather was 80-degrees, and it felt like 100% humidity, but we were just happy to finally be on the island.
 
We met up with the rest of our team (the graduating seniors and our head coach), who had already been in Trinidad for the day. On the bus ride to the hotel, many marveled at the mountains and valleys that Trinidad has to offer. However, the sun was down by this time, and there wasn't much of a view besides the twinkling lights on the hillside. Still, many were in awe because it's a much different view than what we see in Newport News.
 
We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and headed off to our first dinner on the island. Much to our surprise, we went to a TGI Friday's and had dinner. The wait staff was very laid back and down to earth, which is very different than the fast-paced restaurant environment we usually find ourselves in. It was interesting to see how the staff interacted with us, but it was always friendly. Despite being delayed, we made it to Trinidad safely and soundly, and it's already proving to be a trip to remember.