When I prepared to travel to Trinidad and Tobago I didn’t quite know what to look forward to. What I did not expect to encounter was a culture so rich in history and people who are perfectly content to live their own “Trini” lives.Too many of us walk around in the United States in a narrow-mind state and do not even realize it. We are brought up to believe everything that is great occurs in the U.S. or comes from an American. This is simply not true. There are other countries, including Trinidad and Tobago, whose people are living amazing lives.The mindset Trinis carry towards Americans, or ‘Yankees’ as we were called a few times, is that they do use some of our products, but that does not necessarily mean they have the same values, ideas or even want to be like us. They are more than content with their own religions, foods, etc.We listened to a man and his two sons play all the jazz instruments you can think of, however they hand-made them from the surrounding forest. He told us people all over have lost their organic connection to the world.That statement really made me think and I realized that is exactly what happened to the U.S. People are so focused on making money that we have forgotten our natural instincts, which we were originally provided. A Trinidadian invented the only instrument made in the 20th century- the steel pan. Trini people take more pride in that steel pan than most African-Americans do in Black History month, or inventions by others blacks. This is part of the history and culture we are missing out on.I do realize that we were getting an official tour and with that comes some history. But it struck me ironic that during that short week, I learned more about that their previous Prime Ministers than I know about the past U.S. Presidents. I experienced more of their history than I ever have in the U.S. Part of the reason behind that, I believe, is because in Trinidad the people have general well wishes for their fellow Trinis, whereas many American people are solely worried about themselves.My objective in writing this is not to say one country is better than the other, but to make any comparisons between the two. I was guilty of thinking in an “American” mindset too.But when I was in another country, experiencing the culture from the outside looking in, I could not help but to see how the life I have been used to living is the polar opposite from Trini’s and the same as well.This trip helped me realize that when visiting another country and learning about other cultures, in order to fully appreciate it for what it is and isn’t, it is compulsory to take off the American hat. To stop comparing how others live to the way people in America think. Different places mean different people, mindsets and values.

• Jasmine Johnson