Today started off with a first-time experience today, hiking
to a waterfall. In the morning we had our favorite bus driver, John, pick us up
at the Inn and we met Urias at the beginning of the hike to Mt. Carmel Falls.
It was only about a ten minute hike through the rainforest before we got our
first glimpse at the beautiful falls. Half of the group decided to hike up a
very steep part to get to the top, but the rest of us didn’t waste any time
going right to the waterfall itself since it was so hot out. Once we made our
way over the slippery rocks, we reached the part underneath the falls where we
could sit and enjoy the stream of water comfortably. We sat there for awhile
and I just breathed in and enjoyed the beauty of nature. Grenada is such a
spectacularly gorgeous island, and it felt so real to come to a spot where few
tourists would ever think to visit. We haven’t even gotten close to the
touristy area of the island yet (we will on Wednesday when we go to St. George).
I think we’ve all come to appreciate city life because it has been a bit of an
adjustment to live here in the countryside. The nearest market is quite the
hike and there really isn’t anything within walking distance for us to do
nearby. 
After we enjoyed the waterfall for awhile, we hiked back up
to the van and got driven back. A few hours later we did have to meet back for
class. Today we discussed rapport, which is an interesting topic because it’s
something that is completely intangible sometimes. It’s not always an easy
formula to develop rapport with our potential interviewees and sometimes they
expect us to pay them when we don’t have money to. We haven’t encountered any
problems just yet but next once we get to St. George we will be in full research
mode. Some of these issues may really affect us and our research.
After class we got picked up again and traveled to a village
past Tivoli to see a Shortknee performance. Once we had seen the JabJab
performance, I was expecting another similar show where it would be in the
community and unofficial, and my assumptions were not off point. We drove again
to the middle of a local village and were dropped off in an area that seemed to
be in the middle of nowhere. Everyone in the nearby houses, including all the
children, were waiting for us, and we watched as a small clan of one Shortknee
group performed on the street. We were told that the Shortknee performers come
out during Carnivale, clad in bright outfits with long poofy sleeves and pants
that fall right below the knee (hence the name). They often sang songs that
would have something to do with current events or their African heritage. One
of the first they sang dealt with the current unhappiness with the prime
minister. We witnessed that ourselves when we walked into town yesterday and
saw a protest. Many people are unhappy with the current prime minister, and the
Shortknee took it upon themselves to make a song to address those feelings of
resentment. They were a really interesting group with a lot of energy.
Once the Shortknee performance ended we came back and had
some time for ourselves. Manni, Drew, and I decided to go down to town to get
some dinner (I am getting quite bored of the ramen and soup that I brought from
home). As we were walking down we decided to try to switch things up and try
out somewhere different. We found a little Chinese food place which looked
pretty decent, so we just went for it. Luckily the food was absolutely amazing.
It was also the first time we have encountered Asians in the Caribbean. We got
a kick out of the fact that we were at a Chinese restaurant in the Caribbean as
Americans. It was a pretty funny situation. But we had a great, delicious meal
with food none of us have eaten in awhile. On our way back we even felt
ambitious enough to stop for ice cream at another place, which wasn’t as
successful because the chocolate I ate tasted very strange. But we strolled back
saying “goodnight” to everyone we saw. It’s been weird getting used to saying
hello to everyone you pass on the street, but maybe even weirder is the fact
that people here say “goodnight” in the same way that we would say “good
evening.” Small culture things that I’m started to become accustomed to.
On that note, “goodnight” everyone and thanks for reading J
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