Goodbye Grenada

Sunday was our last night in Grenada. It felt strange waking up knowing that we had finally come to the end of our journey. It hadn’t really hit any of us that we were about to be done. Fortunately, we had planned a really exciting snorkel trip to end the trip with a really nice memory. We were so lucky that we had some extra funds in our program account so we were able to get the trip free for everyone. The snorkel trip was set to visit three sites, including one to the Underwater Sculpture Park!

We arrived at the resort around 9:30am and were given the snorkel gear (masks and flippers). I was kind of expecting a big boat, but instead a small speed boat pulled up on shore. We all piled on and set out towards the first site, which was the Sculpture Park. From what I remember being told, the park was built to commemorate certain historical events, including a memorial to slaves that were thrown overboard during the journey to Grenada. It was so amazing to see the art! I couldn’t believe I was getting the opportunity to see actual rock sculptures underwater in the warm, clear Caribbean water. The view was breathtaking and the fish were really interesting to observe. They were all brightly colored with yellows, turquoises, etc. I even was one of the few that dared to dive down to see the sculptures up close while holding my breath. My favorite sculpture that I reached was the one of Jesus. Yes, I touched Jesus.

The second site was more general observing coral and other tropical fish. By the third site I was feeling really nauseas from diving down so deep too many times, but I convinced myself to go for a few minutes because I didn’t want to miss out. I loved the third site, because it was really shallow so we were really close to everything. I can’t even explain how interesting and beautiful it was to see the coral and fish up close. I could just reach out and touch the fish. It was an overall amazing morning, and I’m so glad we were able to go.

Snorkeling took up the majority of our day, but then we had a final dinner planned. We got bused to the top of one of the mountains to a tiny café where we had our last meal. I enjoyed some tasty chicken stew with other typical companion side dishes like pumpkin, rice, and plantains. And of course I topped it with the hot sauce that is seriously blazing hot, but I could never stop eating it because it tastes so good. I was still pretty tired from the snorkeling trip, but it was a nice casual way to say one last goodbye to Urias and Dr. B. We all said our final thank you’s and parting words about the trip. Everyone was so grateful for their time in Grenada and for everything that Urias had done for us while being there. This trip has been truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I could not have dreamed it would go any better than it has. I feel like I made the right choice and I’m so glad I took a chance. It paid off and I learned so much about myself and about music and Grenada culture. I will never forget these memories and the people I spent this trip with, because they were all a part of the experience.

All of us had tried to plan out last night so that we would all stay up the entire night; however, only a few people made it until the morning. I had to get a few hours of sleep, so I did cave in, but I’m definitely feeling the effects of no sleep today as I write this on the plane half asleep. Thank you all for reading my blog and for supporting me while being in Grenada. I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences, and I cannot wait to touch down in America to see everyone that I’ve missed so much while being away. I hope to go abroad again sometime soon, maybe next summer, so I have a feeling this will not be the end of my blogging experience right here. So, until next time J

Final Presentation Drum Video

Presenting To Grenada

Yesterday was the day of our presentations! My group woke up early and spent the day finishing our video, perfecting our speech, and nailing our drum parts. It was probably one of the most last minute presentations I’ve ever put together as a Comm major, but we made it happen. We finished just in time and ran onto the bus to go to SGU. I think that a lot of group projects at school require compromise, but this is one group project where I’ve really learned to work with different personalities. All four of my group members really had a different way of working and it required a lot of effort to make the group function. I’m really proud of what we were able to achieve, even if there was some frustration down the road. This whole trip has been an enormous learning experience personally and culturally. Our next challenge will be to finish and edit our paper together, which is a whole different game in itself. I have only had to write two group papers in my whole life and it is definitely not an easy task.

Arriving at SGU, we had a little time to relax and enjoy the view from the room we would be performing in. It was on the top of the hill so we had a great view overlooking the ocean. I started to get a little antsy as people starting filing into the room. For some reason, I was expecting close to 100 people to show up (I think that is what Dr.B said was the max), but luckily only about 30 showed up so it was a little less nerve-wrecking. I saw faces that went back to our very first days in Grenada, including the Rainbow Inn and Grenville. People travelled from all over the island to see our performances; it was really sad when I came to the realization that this is probably the last time we will be seeing some of these people. There was Krumah, Urias, and all of the people that we interviewed all sitting to watch and witness what we learned during our time.

The first group to go was the vocal group. They did a great job opening the show because their performance was really high energy and everyone enjoyed it. Their presentation was focused on calypso music in Grenada, which is a dying art form. They presented some of the history of calypso and then sang their very own calypso! It was so creative and definitely must have taken them a long time. The crowd really got into it because it was so fun. It kind of reminded me of an old school Caribbean rap. The second group to go was the folklore group. They presented some stories and characters that we’ve heard about during our time in Grenada. With Manni as the narrator, they went through two different folk stories while acting them out. It was so comical with Chris dressed as the grandmother with a fake baby made out of a pillow and Kyle dressed as the La Diablesse with a long skirt and white hat. The audience definitely got a kick out of it, and it was hilarious and a great performance over all.

My group, the instrumental group, went third. We had decided to take a more serious route with our project because we made a very informational documentary, highlighting things that we will be discussing in our paper. It ended up being about 15 minutes long with voice-overs and clips from different interviews. We went into the history of the drums in Grenada and the impact that they have had on culture. We worked so hard on the video, long hours writing the script and finding the clips. I know my group was really proud of what we were able to accomplish. I’m not sure how people in the audience felt about it, because we didn’t get too many comments on our video, but I hope they agree that we did a good job and that all of our information was correct.

After our video came the drumming portion of our presentation. It’s funny to think back to when we decided on our presentation, because the drumming part was kind of an after-thought, a way to fill time. We weren’t expecting it to be the part of our presentation that would get the crowd the most excited about our topic. The four of us set up chairs in a row facing the crowd with our drums, donated by the Tivoli Drummers. We had practiced playing four different drumming rhythms that one of our interviewees showed us on video one time. There was the pique, bele, bungo, and kalinda (probably all spelled completely wrong), which were all dances that we have learned while being here. Kassie and I pretty much stuck to playing the bass while Nathan and Drew played the more exciting parts, because they were way too fast and complicated. I’m not that good at the drums yet, so I was happy to stick with the easier parts.

Before each song Kassie gave a brief introduction to what we would be playing. Once we started playing the first song, the crowd went wild! Everyone was so excited to see us play and the mood in the room instantly changed. We were all shocked at how well-received our drumming was by the Grenadian community. We could tell everyone was getting into it and singing along with us. I had so much fun playing, and I’m so glad that we had decided to stick with our initial idea. Enjoy the video of us playing! (p.s. we do mess up one of the songs and start over, but it’s only because it was incredibly difficult)

The final group to go was the dance group who actually danced versions of all the songs that we drummed, and added their own soca arrangement. After the presentations, we all went outside for some light refreshments and got a chance to talk to the audience members about our performances. My group received a lot of positive feedback from the community which was so exciting to hear since we had spent so long on preparing it. We got to say our final goodbyes to some people we’ve been friends with the entire time we’ve been on the island. It was a bitter sweet ending.

Today I woke up and immediately went right to the beach to celebrate. Although, I might have celebrated a little too hard because I am looking even more lobster-esque right now. There weren’t many clouds out today and it was a little brighter than I was expecting, but that’s alright since that was will be my last beach day until I go home! A few of us wandered off after we had had enough of the sun to go to the Spice and Craft Market. There were a lot more booths set up because it was getting closer to the cruise ship season, so there was lots to look at. I bought a nice necklace with a heart made out of driftwood from the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan from one man. We also bought smaller presents and gifts like nutmeg syrup, which I can’t wait to try. They are really big into nutmeg in Grenada! It’s used to often and sold everywhere, it would be a shame not to buy something nutmeg related. Although I still do have my spice necklace. 

Tonight will be spent celebrating one of our final nights here on the island. 

Crunch Time

Wednesday was a bit of a stressful day. It’s seriously crunch time with our presentation on Friday and our paper due. There is definitely no time to go to the beach, which is really the saddest part of all seeing as it’s only a few minutes walk from where we are staying. This morning we were supposed to meet Urias for a historical tour of St. George’s, but because of the tropical storm it got cancelled. We did however still have to go to the US Embassy midday. We walked about 15 minutes to get there and had to go through security to be let in. Inside the building was pretty small, but it was strangely comforting to see a large picture of President Obama on the wall right next to an American flag. It reminded me that even though we’ve been pretty emerged in Grenadian culture, there is still home waiting for us on a foreign land. After looking around for a few minutes, the US Ambassador for Grenada showed up and sat us down at a large conference table. He told us a little bit about what he is currently working on in Grenada as well as some of the hopes and aspirations that he has for the country and America’s role. It was really interesting to hear him talk about what it has been like for him to live in the country. I don’t know what it would be like to live here full time since it is so different than the US so it intrigues me to hear people’s stories. He was also interested in us and what we were studying in Grenada, so we got to share a few of our favorite moments here on the island so far.

After the US Embassy we headed back to the apartments to get to work. The rest of my day has been spent editing papers and working on our final presentation which is slowly but surely getting to where it needs to be. Last night we went for the last time to Dodgey Dock, a bar right on the water, which was a little sad because it was a reminder that we are leaving in four days.

Today I slept in for one of the last times and went to the beach for an hour. The beach was awfully disappointing today since it was windy and the sand kept blinding me the entire time. And on top of that it was pretty cloudy. So, overall not the best beach experience that I’ve had here thus far. Returning back home meant more work all day. I did get to take a quick break to make some chicken and potatoes with Maggie tonight, my sous chef, but then right back to group work. Tonight we worked on our final presentation for tomorrow including some drumming that we will be doing. Our goal is to finish a 15 minute documentary by tomorrow and then drum to four different songs. We’re getting close, so hopefully we can pull it all together by tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll have a video to post to show our final product (unless we fail miserably, then I might not want to post that anywhere).

The rest of the night will be spent relaxing and preparing for tomorrow’s adventure. Wish me luck! Let’s go Celtics J

My TV Debut

Sunday was a nice relaxing day at the beach. I laid out for a few hours, going back and forth to take a swim in the warm ocean. I can't get over how beautiful the beach is here. The sand is perfectly smooth and void of any rocks or debris. The water is so warm and crystal clear. It's almost like swimming in a hot tub. And, the beach is so unspoiled by tourism. We are one of the only groups of tourists on the beach at any time; the rest are all locals who usually do not bug us unless they want to show us their jewelry. The other day I actually had one of them carve me a necklace out of drift wood. It was so amazing to see them take a piece of wood, cut it down, shape it, and the polish it to make into a necklace. I'll always be able to look back on it and remember my time here (as well as my spice necklace of course).

I decided that I hadn't really gotten tan yet, so I went a little too hard and am looking a little red (not terrible though). It doesn't hurt, but it's enough that everyone noticed I got a little too much sun. The rest of my Sunday night was spent back at the apartment working as a group on our outlines. It's starting to be crunch time with our final presentation on Friday. It makes us all a little on edge to think about it since we are trying to compile a video documentary AND learn drums to play for up to a hundred local Grenadians. Every person that has helped us throughout our time here is going to be there plus government people and people from the Ministry. We're all a little nervous since we are presenting things about their culture to them, so we are all working on making sure there are no mistakes at all to avoid embarrassment.

Yesterday was a very productive day that did not involve any more sun. I met with my group in the morning to finish our outline and then I went to SGU for a few hours with Karla. It was nice to be back in a campus setting because it motivated me to get work done on a paper we have to complete for Wednesday. I felt surrounded by American students again, so it was a little comforting. I still can't get over the thought that American student would actually come down here for four years to go to college. I love this island, but it's so small and there isn't much to do. I just cannot imagine living here full time, especially coming from Boston where there is so much to do. However, I have heard from a number of people that SGU is a very good medical school so it makes sense why some Americans would be interested in moving down here.

After finishing a good amount of work, I went to the market and then met up with my group again. We worked on our video for about five hours straight (just the outline), so all in all just a clearly productive day. Last night we celebrated Kyle's 21st birthday in our room, and this morning I woke up to a gecko being eaten by ants in the middle of our room, so that was fun.

Just when I finished fully waking up I was quickly told to get ready because our group was going to be on TV. Apparently Urias had called up the local news station and told them about what we were doing here in Grenada for our project. They were interested in our story and before we knew it we were meeting up outside the apartments as a camera crew rolled in. Dr.B was the first to get on camera and then he was supposed to pick the next student to interview. He chose me because of the nice dress I was wearing, so I got the lucky chance to make my first television debut! Of course no one will see me except all of Grenada, and I probably said some stupid things, but I was so excited. I got to talk about my experience here in Grenada, what we've been up to, what I think about the country and the people. It felt pretty natural to speak out since I've been writing my thoughts down everyday in this blog. I felt as if I gave some pretty convincing answers, but I won't know until I see it for myself! Editing can make the most intelligent answer look completely stupid out of context.

After my interview a few other people in our group got onto the camera to share their thoughts as well. Then, we were asked to perform something that we had learned from being in Grenada. From one of the very first people we met in Grenville, Lauren, we learned a song called "Xelia." Ever since we learned the song we've been singing it throughout the entire trip just whenever we have free time or are waiting for something. It's kind of become the anthem for our trip while we're here. So of course we had to perform the song, but this time we couldn't mess it up. Half the words are in Creole, which means half the time we kind of make up what we're saying. It was a very hilarious performance. We messed up pretty badly and probably looked like pretty stupid singing this song all wrong that I'm sure a lot of people in Grenada know very well. I can't wait to see how goofy we must have looked when it comes on TV. It was a blast though.

The rest of my day was spent catching up on sleep and working on our final project. It's getting to be crunch time with our final presentation and paper quickly approaching. We're all a little stressed out as it gets closer. Tonight we went out again for Kyle's birthday at a restaurant on the beach that we have all grown to love. It was a beautiful walk to get there as the sun was setting. Gorgeous oranges and reds filled the sky. It really is paradise living down here.

Beating The Steel Pan

Thursday we woke up for another steel pan lesson in the pan yard. I was all ready to play and excited to learn the rest of the song, “One Love.” However, my mood quickly changed once we actually started learning some more. While I had already mastered the very basic intro part, we had yet to learn the main verse which was a lot harder. Our teacher had to go around to each instrument and show them specific notes to play. He got to the tenors last and by that time we were already rushing. So, he tried to speed teach us our part which was so much more complicated than any of the other instruments. I was having a really difficult time since I’ve never really played an instrument and I wasn’t picking it up very quickly, but luckily I wasn’t the only one. We were all struggling a bit that day and our session went very long as he tried to get us all to play in harmony (which never actually happened). Also I’m conveniently next to the door when I play so people often come in and like to harass me and ask me questions while playing (which doesn’t help with my lack of understanding). Overall, it was a very frustrating day trying to learn the rest of the song. I left feeling a little defeated and just hoped that the next day it would be a little easier and less stressful for me.

My research group was all set up to interview our pan instructor after our Thursday session, but we ran out of time and he seemed a little flustered by our lack of performance that we had to reschedule. We did, however, stumble upon another interview last minute with a principal of a local elementary school. We weren’t sure at first how it would relate to our topic, but once we got there it was very obvious. Ronda (our student helper from SGU)  helped us get to the school in St. Georges, and it was unlike any other school that I’ve ever been inside. We walked in and the kids were running around everywhere in the middle of the day. Usually all school children in Grenada wear school uniforms, but today was a special fair day so they had a half day and could dress down. There were no individual classrooms. Instead, the school was comprised of a large, open room with large chalk boards on wheels to separate desks. I can’t imagine what it would be like to see different lessons going on at the same time with everyone all in the same room, but I guess they were really working with what they had available.

After spending some time in the classrooms, we finally met Mr. Degale who was the principal of the elementary school as well as the creative director for the Tumda Drummers in Grenada. He spoke about Grenada and the drumming culture here. He was so passionate and a really great guy to interview, so easy to talk to. One thing that was really interesting was when he spoke about drumming and spirituality. He talked about how he often will get in a trance with his music and won’t be able to stop playing until he comes out of the trance. The drum captivates his body. He also spoke about how he is trying to teach all children on the island how to play drums. He believed that Grenada will soon be the drumming capital of the Caribbean, which is so interesting to think about since I had never heard of Grenada before this trip. We left in good spirits with an invitation to come back and watch his children perform sometime soon.

The rest of the night was spent at a restaurant on the beach. We felt like being tourists for awhile and getting some American food while enjoying the nice weather at night. Just a quiet night afterwards.

Friday was our second to last steel pan session. Before we left we had our last group reflection where I expressed some of my frustration  with Thursday’s speed session. I was actually dreading going to the steel pan yard again because I had gotten so lost on Wednesday trying to keep up with the lesson. I also expressed my confusion with the people here in St. George’s. While it was really easy just to greet everyone on the streets of Grenville, St. George’s has proven to be a little more difficult. People here are ruder and don’t expect you to always greet them. I’ve gotten some pretty strange looks for trying to be friendly here. I’m not sure if it’s the tourists who look like me who come here that give people that look like us a bad reputation or what. It’s so much different than the Grenville experience. It’s also hard to tell people’s intensions when they start to talk with you. In Grenville it was mostly genuine but here it seems that a lot of time they have a motive or intention, kind of similar to Boston. But, there are still people that we encounter that are nice and friendly and proud of their country.

Even though I was very apprehensive about going to the steel pan lessons yesterday, it turned out to be a really good day. I had remembered more from the day before than I would have imagined and he took the time to re-teach us everything slowly. We really started to get the timing and the notes down and it all came together to start to sound like an actual song. After our session while we were still all in a good mood, our group actually set up an interview with our instructor, Mr. Edwards to learn more about the steel pan drum. We have done a lot of interviews revolving around skin drums, but have not really heard much about the steel pan drum and how it fits into the culture. He was really excited to talk to us and tell us about his experience working for the Ministry of Culture and starting his school to teach the drums. He talked the differences between the skin drums and the steel pan, specially mentioning how the steel pans were uniquely Caribbean. He mentioned how the skin drums are a direct reflection of African drumming which came with slavery, but steel drums were created in the Caribbean. At a point in history when skin drums were banned and instruments like tamboo bamboo came out, steel pans also started to take shape. But, steel pans have always had a very negative association, because the people who used to play them were drop outs and ex-prisoners. But, Mr. Edwards said that today steel pans are more a symbol of national pride and of Caribbean pride and that many school children are learning to appreciate the music. Culture, he says, is something that many people in Grenada take for granted, but it is something that he is trying to instill among the youth today so that they can finally appreciate it.

After our interview, we took a much needed break and went to the beach for a few hours of tanning bliss. We couldn’t stay too long though because we needed to get back in order to leave for the Gouyave fish fry! The fish fry was a mandatory event, and we had no idea what it was exactly, even Dr. B. We loaded into the van and drove an hour to the town of Gouyave, which is also where we were for the dance lessons not too long ago. Once we finally got there it was completely different than I expected (as usual). There were about ten different booths set up selling all sorts of fried fishes, bread fruit, bread, and juice. There was also music playing and there was a very upbeat and party-like atmosphere surrounding the event.

Jahjah showed us her family’s favorite booth, so I decided to try it. I got a plate of fried mahi mahi, fish cakes, and bread, which was all delicious and freshly made. And, of course, I paired it with some passion fruit juice which is pretty much the most addicting drink you will ever consume. It makes me sad that I only have a week left to drink it. Then we all just hung out and enjoyed the experience while eating our food. Ironically we watched a steel pan group play that might have been a little better than us. I found the little girl who was playing the double tenor, my instrument, who just looked so bored while playing. She didn’t even have to look at the pan that’s how good she was. It made me feel a little bad about my pathetic pan playing. They were really fun to watch though especially because we could all appreciate them a little more now that we knew what it takes to learn the instrument. It’s definitely not an easy instrument by any means.

After enjoying the experience for a few hours, we made our way home and a few of us ventured out to the beach to do some night swimming. It was gorgeous outside, as always, and we swam out and admired the view. Everything was all lit up. It was a crazy experience, knowing that we were swimming in the Caribbean Sea at night in the warm water looking out over the side of the island. The night would have been a perfect end to the day if it weren’t for the broken water pipe that I came home to afterwards. Water was spewing out everywhere and the entire room was flooded with an inch of water. So, the rest of my night was spent sweeping water out of my room and fixing pipes, but other than that it was a great day.

Today was our final steel pan lesson, which was actually very sad! I really started to look forward to the sessions, especially because we started to nail down “One Love.” You can see one of our final performances of the song below in a separate post with a YouTube video. We still sound a little rough, but it’s not bad for learning a new instrument in five days as well as learning how to read music and memorize the notes on the pan! I’m impressed with our final song. Then, once we thought that was the end, Mr. Edwards surprised us all by teaching us a second song in 15 minutes. He made the point that learning the first song would take a very long time, but learning a second song would be a lot easier. He was definitely correct, but it was still a little difficult to learn a completely new song when I had just nailed “One Love.” But, I don’t think we sound half bad considering the amount of time that was spent learning the notes. The second song we performed can be found in the post below “One Love.” I’m curious to see if someone can guess what it is just by our (slightly off-beat) performance. Comment with your guesses!!

One Love on Steel Pans

2nd Steel Pan Song: Can You Guess It?