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.