While I did a great job keeping up the blog in Italy last semester on my own free time, I actually am required to keep one for this trip in order to get credit for one of my classes; therefore, things will be a little bit different this time. First, my professor will be reading this by the end so a quick shout out Dr.B and I hope you enjoy reading about my experience (and that I get an A!). Second, because I am not writing this blog completely for pleasure I will have to include certain things that I would never have normally included. This might involve the sounds of Grenada, things I am learning, and everyday encounters I have with the locals. I will be going more in-depth talking about how I am growing as a person, student, and a researcher. BUT, of course I will try to make it entertaining for all of you reading.
We were told that this will be a complete immersion into the culture, including talking to every single person that we encounter. Grenada is a small island of only 100,000 inhabitants with some very friendly people who will expect that I at least say hello to them at all times. I am really looking forward to meeting locals, hearing their stories, and seeing where this experience will take me in terms of personal growth.
Our group officially leaves this Friday from Boston at 11:30am. From Monday-Thursday of this week we will be taking classes at Northeastern to prep us for what to expect before going. Today we met everyone going on the trip (14 students of all ages and backgrounds), and Dr. B went over our itinerary for the days that we will be on the island. Right when we arrive it seems that there will be lots for us to do including classes in the morning and musical experiences and excursions in the afternoon. For instance, one day we are visiting a chocolate factory and another four afternoons we will be learning and practicing steel drums. I think personally I will have a difficult time at first trying to learn music, since I have never been a musical person, but I am willing to give it everything that I got. I don't want to leave the island feeling as if I didn't try my best to learn. There was one exercise that he had us do today where we were required to hum his tune after he sang it to us. It was a quick exercise to see if we could pick up the rhythm, in which I completely failed. Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Dr. B assured me before accepting this Dialogue that I didn't have to have any musical experience, so I'm taking his word for it for now.
We learned that throughout our experience on the island we will be working in groups going out and filming locals in the music scene to research a very specific topic. Our final project will be presented to the Grenada community, so it's very important that we take this class seriously and do the research correctly to gain an accurate understanding of the musical culture of Grenada. I can tell that the course will definitely be intellectually challenging but also a life-changing experience at the same time. Also, I really got the feeling that I could learn something from my classmates. It seemed that everyone comes from different backgrounds and has had different experiences with music, so I think I could actually learn a lot from working with others. Some students were good musicians, some were good singers, and some were good writers like me. It'll be interesting to see how everyone's talents and specialties come together to assemble the final product.
By Wednesday we'll have our final groups and will come together to practice filming techniques. Throughout the next few days we will be learning basic videography and music concepts to best prepare us for our departure on Friday. I hope you all can stick with me for a month as a write about my experience in Grenada!!
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