Black Wizard

Today we had to wake up very early to go visit St. Georges University. Apparently Dr. B is trying to set up an affiliation between St. Georges University and Northeastern University, so we will have access while we are here to all of their facilities and services that students have access to. We met our contact, Wendy, today who showed us around campus. When I first heard about the school I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It is a really popular school for Americans to come for medicine, but I wasn’t expecting it to look so nice and groomed. The campus was beautiful, surrounded on both sides by water and beautiful views. It reminded me of a very nice college you would find in America, which for some reason surprised me a little to find on such a small random island. The place was crawling with Americans, something I haven’t really experienced since being on the island, so I felt weirdly at home.

We saw things like the gym, restaurant, student center, etc that we can use. We also have access to the free bus system with our IDs that we received, which will be very convenient for when we want to go into different parts of town. We got to see the room where our final presentations will take place and then we sat down to talk to Wendy about a few things. She told us again about the history of Grenada and also about different cultural traditions. She discussed “island time” where relationships are more valuable than money. Grenadians are never in a hurry and always will stop to talk to someone even if they are running late. It’s funny because I experienced that in Italy but definitely not to the extent that it happens here. I even find myself just being so laid back about the time which would never happen in America. I always know what time it is back home, so to have no concept of time is a very bizarre and new feeling.

After our tour to SGU (St. Georges University), a few people took the free bus to go to the supermarket to stock up on food in an attempt to save money. It felt good to buy things like chicken and pasta so that I can start to cook my own meals again. The prices here are very expensive, maybe even more than back home, but I figured it would be cheaper to try to make food rather than eat out all the time. When we tried to catch a cab back, we noticed that the cab drivers were really trying to rip us off and charge us absurd amounts to go five seconds down the road. I really do feel like people will try to take advantage of us here in St. Georges just because it is so touristy and they assume we have a lot of money. I’ve already experienced it a few times and I already don’t like how rude some people are here; it’s very disheartening.

We unloaded our groceries and relaxed for a bit, working on some homework, etc. Then we all had to meet before traveling to the “Black Wizard.” At this point in our trip I never really have any clue what is going on because the schedule is constantly changing, so again I started walking with the group to see this “wizard” without a clue of what to expect. We didn’t have to walk too far before we were all invited into a small, hot room with tiny chairs and a small chalkboard in the front. In the front of the room stood a tall black man who looked older by his graying hair but youthful in spirit. He welcomed us into his classroom and introduced himself as the Black Wizard, or master calypsonian on the island.

Black Wizard gave us some history of calypso music, including how the word came about from a mix of French words. I learned that soca music is more of a contemporary, more upbeat version of calypso that many young Grenadians like better because of the faster rhythm. But he also reinforced the various tricks that calypsonians would use in their music. It is not okay to publically sing songs that went against the government, so calypso music would be full of “double entendras” or double meanings. They had to be masters of creativity and language to devise phrases that were clever and had meanings that subtly commented on political issues. Calypso music is also very strongly tied to Carnivale, because that is when the country expects to hear all of the new calypso songs premiere. So, around the end of August, there will be multiple new calypso songs to add to Grenada’s collection. Black Wizard, who has won Grenada’s calypso competition many years, even sang a few of his own songs, which was really impressive to watch. He sang for us while school children ran around outside the window, and I felt like I was actually in a neighborhood for the first time since being in St. Georges.

The session ended and as we were walking back it started to pour so we ran through the rain to our apartments.

Today was one of my favorite days while being in Grenada so far. We actually had nothing at all planned for the day, so Karla and I slept in late and then met up with everyone to go to the beach around noon. The weather was absolutely perfectly sunny outside. The beach (Grand Anse) is only a ten minute walk from our apartment and is known to be one of the prettiest beaches in the Caribbean! It definitely lived up to those standards. We got some chairs and laid out by the water, going in every once in awhile to cool off when it got too warm. The sand was beautiful, soft with no rocks or any debris, and the water was turquoise crystal clear and warm. There were barely any other people on the beach too! This island as a whole is so unspoiled by tourism that it’s actually refreshing. We were even right next to a resort, but still no one was really by the water. It felt like we had the whole beach all to ourselves.

After spending a few hours and starting my tan for the first time, Karla and I got a bite to eat and then headed back to the apartment. Now it’s just time to relax before we go out for the night. Happy weekend everyone! Thanks for reading.