The last week has been all about carnival. It has been an exciting and exhausting time. I am uploading some pictures on facebook so you can look at them later tonight.
The weekend started last Thursday for UWI Splash. It was a pre-carnival fete, the only one we went to because all the other ones were really expensive and sold out already. It was a little north west of Port of Spain in the city of Chaguaramas. It used to be a military zone, and the party was at The Hanger. I'm pretty sure that it used to be a lot where they kept planes. It was a huge party, with a great stage with a lot of performers. We got in about 10:30, and the performances started around midnight. One of my favorite songs, "Bacchanal" by Destra, was performed lived. It was super awesome!!! We got back to hall around 8am...it was a good night, it didn't feel as long as it should have. We danced the whole night!!!!
Friday night was Soca monarch...the annual soca competition to see who would be the nation's best soca artist for the year. We didn't go to the show because the tickets were pretty expensive, and some people on hall said we might find it boring since it would be a lot like soca star. We watched it on TV, and the artists are amazing performers!!! They are so energetic and get the crowd into the song....it is pretty amazing to watch, even on TV.
Saturday we went to the Panorama finals--which is the annual steel drum competition. We didn't buy tickets to get into the stands. Instead we walked around the Savannah to watch all the bands practice and hear them before they went on stage. Apparently this is the popular thing to do....there were sooooo many people around the bands. The band that won did an arrangement of the popular soca song this year "I'm nt drunk" by KMC...it sounded sooooooooooo amazing on the drums!!! The way the Treble drums (that play the melody) and the alto drums (that play a harmony), and the bass drums worked together to play the song, and how the composer added his own changes and variations, sounded fantastic....I loved it!!!
Sunday was Dimanche Gras!!! It is the combination of the Queen and King of carnival and Calypso Monarch competition. The Queen and King competition is where you can see all the huge, extragvegant, sparkly, and amazing costumes...some of them had to be on wheels so the competitors could walk on stage with them!!!! Calypso is a type of music here that talks about social and political problems. It was really interesting to listen to...especially since 2 different artists had songs dedicated to Obama...and both of the performances started with clips of MLK Jr. "I have a Dream Speech". Some of the songs were more difficult to understand because you needed to know a lot about the politicians in parliament...and besides a few key names, I didn't know most of them....and most of the people I was with had no idea who they were talking about.
Dimanche Gras ended around 1am. We went from the Savannah to where our pre-party was for J'ouvert. We joined a band for J'ouvert, which meant we had a definitive group to follow and had drinks and breakfest. J'ouvert is a celebration to bring in Carnival. You walk around the streets with your band, getting into mud and paint fights until you're completely covered. This is in remembrance of a civil disturbance in Port of Spain, when the people smeared themselves with oil or paint to avoid being recognized. It was another long day....the pre-party started around 2am, and we walked around for about 6 hours through the city. It was a lot of fun...but crazy at the same time.
Tuesday was Mas. Thousands of people join bands for the Mas parades, people are in sparkly costumes (with very little clothing), and they walk around Port of Spain dancing to Soca music. There are just as many people that line the streets watching...and "storm" a band to dance with the particpants. It was sooooo cool to see all the differnt bands themes, colors, and costumes. It was really exciting and there were so many different people that join Mas!!!!!! There are some pretty cool pictures you can look at.
Now it's just getting back to reality, and catching up on the mountains of work I have to do. It's a little daunting to think about how much I haven't been done, and need to....
This weekend we're heading to Tobago. We'll be leaving Friday evening, and coming back late Monday morning. We rented 3 villas, since there are about 20 of us going. It'll be nice to just relax all weekend on the beach!!! Pretty sure i'm going to come back as red as a lobster!!!!
I hope everyone is doing well...and enjoying the end of winter/almost the beginning of spring!!!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Time Flies when you're having fun
I apologize for the massive delay in my posts. I feel like I've been going non-stop for almost 2 weeks, with no down time. A lot has happened....
Last Monday (the 9th), I had my first really trini roti. It was fantastic!!! I'm addicted and I love it. I get the "Buss up Shot", which you eat with your hands. The roti bread would remind you of the texture of the inside of a biscuit, and it has a sweet taste to it....i'm in love!!!! I get the veggie buss up shot...it comes with a type of curried potatoes, the best tasting pumpkin, and a mango sauce....AMAZING!!!! I have also fallen in love with the pepper sauce here...it's really hot but sweet at the same time...I have a whole new appreciation for spicy foods.
I had my first religion class up at the monestary on Wednesday. It seems like it'll be an interesting taste of world religion and the underlying principles in religions. I love the fact that I get to go up to the monestary every Wednesday. It's so pretty up there and the classroom is really open so you get a great breeze and view.
I'm starting to get semi-decent at the steep drum...I'm really considering buying ine and shipping it home. We learned how to play the chromatic scale. It's weird starting from scratch on a new instrument. I've been playing the same one for so long I've forgotten how it can be difficult to start from the beginning.
My research project is starting to really get under way. I attended a planning meeting on Wednesday (18th), where stakeholders in Trinidad cocoa were trying to create a plan of were they stand on sustainable cocoa to present to the international community. This Thursday I'll be going up to the Ministry of Agriculture library to do some research on Trinidad and cocoa. The plan is I will be writing 4 articles before the convention and then some follow up pieces. I have started my research, and honestly I find it fascinating. There are so many facets to a cocoa industry. If Trinidad can find a way to have a sustainable cocoa economy, mixed with the revenue they get from the oil and tourism here, their GDP could sky rocket!!! But there are so many problems they have to overcome first, both here and world wide.
Friday was campus carnival...it was a crazy night of dancing and parading in the streets following large flat bed trucks with DJ equipment on it. It was insane!!! but it was a lot of fun.
Saturday morning I went into Port of Spain with a girl from canada, steph. We went to the national museum. That was an experience. Nothing was dated, and the informational blurbs were photocopied from other books. It was still neat to see some of the native artifacts. Saturday night Whitney and I had a movie night...we watched Twilight (a copy I bought on a street corner) and Cat Ballou!!!!!
This week has been really busy and stressful with getting plans together for Carnival. We went into Pot of Spain to buy tickets for Dimanche Gras. It is Sunday night, and we'll see teh huge extravagante carnival costumes, and watch the king and queen of carnival get crowned. That was an adventure trying to find where we were supposed to go. We went to 3 different locations until we finally found the correct ticket stand. I was coordinating us to join a band for Jouvert. It is Monday morning (pre party starting a midnight sunday leading until 6 am ish, and we'll be going to this directly from Dimanche Gras). It's another huge parade of dancing similiar to campus carnival, except we'll get mud and paint thrown on us. It's one of the best activites of carnival...or so we are told.
Last night was UWI Splash. It was a huge fete (party) in Chaguaramas. It our kick off to the next 4 days of carnival craziness. It was in a large pavement area called the hanger. We got there around 10 pm (we lef around 9), and Danced until 5:30-ish am!!!! We got back on hall around 7:30. We got to see a lot of live performances..and it was really awesome. Soca music (the carnival type music) is so intensely energetic. Check out http://www.socafreak.com/2009-soca-music-trinidad-and-tobago.html to listen to the top songs here now. My favorite is "I'm not drunk" by KMC, and "Rum and Roti"...but I like them all.
Tomorrow we are going to the panaroma finals, Sunday is Dimnche Gras, Minday is Jouvert, and Tuesday is the large carnival parade.
Pictures and stories of carnival will be coming soooooooon!!!!
Last Monday (the 9th), I had my first really trini roti. It was fantastic!!! I'm addicted and I love it. I get the "Buss up Shot", which you eat with your hands. The roti bread would remind you of the texture of the inside of a biscuit, and it has a sweet taste to it....i'm in love!!!! I get the veggie buss up shot...it comes with a type of curried potatoes, the best tasting pumpkin, and a mango sauce....AMAZING!!!! I have also fallen in love with the pepper sauce here...it's really hot but sweet at the same time...I have a whole new appreciation for spicy foods.
I had my first religion class up at the monestary on Wednesday. It seems like it'll be an interesting taste of world religion and the underlying principles in religions. I love the fact that I get to go up to the monestary every Wednesday. It's so pretty up there and the classroom is really open so you get a great breeze and view.
I'm starting to get semi-decent at the steep drum...I'm really considering buying ine and shipping it home. We learned how to play the chromatic scale. It's weird starting from scratch on a new instrument. I've been playing the same one for so long I've forgotten how it can be difficult to start from the beginning.
My research project is starting to really get under way. I attended a planning meeting on Wednesday (18th), where stakeholders in Trinidad cocoa were trying to create a plan of were they stand on sustainable cocoa to present to the international community. This Thursday I'll be going up to the Ministry of Agriculture library to do some research on Trinidad and cocoa. The plan is I will be writing 4 articles before the convention and then some follow up pieces. I have started my research, and honestly I find it fascinating. There are so many facets to a cocoa industry. If Trinidad can find a way to have a sustainable cocoa economy, mixed with the revenue they get from the oil and tourism here, their GDP could sky rocket!!! But there are so many problems they have to overcome first, both here and world wide.
Friday was campus carnival...it was a crazy night of dancing and parading in the streets following large flat bed trucks with DJ equipment on it. It was insane!!! but it was a lot of fun.
Saturday morning I went into Port of Spain with a girl from canada, steph. We went to the national museum. That was an experience. Nothing was dated, and the informational blurbs were photocopied from other books. It was still neat to see some of the native artifacts. Saturday night Whitney and I had a movie night...we watched Twilight (a copy I bought on a street corner) and Cat Ballou!!!!!
This week has been really busy and stressful with getting plans together for Carnival. We went into Pot of Spain to buy tickets for Dimanche Gras. It is Sunday night, and we'll see teh huge extravagante carnival costumes, and watch the king and queen of carnival get crowned. That was an adventure trying to find where we were supposed to go. We went to 3 different locations until we finally found the correct ticket stand. I was coordinating us to join a band for Jouvert. It is Monday morning (pre party starting a midnight sunday leading until 6 am ish, and we'll be going to this directly from Dimanche Gras). It's another huge parade of dancing similiar to campus carnival, except we'll get mud and paint thrown on us. It's one of the best activites of carnival...or so we are told.
Last night was UWI Splash. It was a huge fete (party) in Chaguaramas. It our kick off to the next 4 days of carnival craziness. It was in a large pavement area called the hanger. We got there around 10 pm (we lef around 9), and Danced until 5:30-ish am!!!! We got back on hall around 7:30. We got to see a lot of live performances..and it was really awesome. Soca music (the carnival type music) is so intensely energetic. Check out http://www.socafreak.com/2009-soca-music-trinidad-and-tobago.html to listen to the top songs here now. My favorite is "I'm not drunk" by KMC, and "Rum and Roti"...but I like them all.
Tomorrow we are going to the panaroma finals, Sunday is Dimnche Gras, Minday is Jouvert, and Tuesday is the large carnival parade.
Pictures and stories of carnival will be coming soooooooon!!!!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Its name is....
So much has happened over the last week...wow!!!!
We'll start with the grub concert last Friday. We were fantastic!!! We were a huge hit, especially when we had the 3 exchange guy dance the SNL "Single Ladies" skit. We did a lot of dancing and singing...and Katie, Brittany, Alisha (an exchange student from NY), and I did a rap about our first week on Milner to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. On Saturday, all the grubs had to run up the mountain to the monastery. We started about 5:30am, and got back on hall around 8:30. It was a loooonnnng morning, but it was amazing up there. It kinda sucked going up because it was raining pretty hard core. But when we got to the top, we saw the sunrise and overlooked the entire area...you could see the coast line past Port of Spain!!! I have a hall name, and it is....Dollar Wine!!! I got one of the better ones, and more creative.
Classes are starting to get more intense...but in a nice way. It is nice to have a schedule...even though the schedules are not final yet. I have to drop my ecotourism class because they changed all the lecture times, and now it conflicts with the only class that I need for my major...but I found a Religious Studies class to replace it. It is on Wednesday mornings up at the monestary. I know a girl in the class, someone I met from south block, her name is Abbie. It's an introduction to major religions all over the world. It seems pretty awesome.
I am REALLY getting into my literature class...We're reading a book now by a white west Indian who moved to Britain...most of her books are based off of her personal experiences or observations. Her books have a lot of interesting themes, especially involving women's place in society...Our professor claimed that she could be considered the first feminist writer in the Caribbean, even before the feminist movement started.
I went back up the mountain on Monday with Evan, Brittany, and Isaiha and had tea at the PAX guest house. It was GOREGOUS!!!! We drank with the owner, who is good friends with one of the advisors at the UW. He was a very interesting character. The guest house is the oldest house in Trinidad, from colonial times. It was amazing....and we drank on the veranda, which overlooks a ravine in the mountains. The owner is a birdwatcher, and it was amazing all the different birds that came up on the veranda while we were drinking. It was breathtaking.
Tonight we went to Port of Spain for the "Soca Star" finals. It is Trinidad's version of American Idol. It was pretty fantastic. The showmanship was incrediable...with the dancing, singing, crowd involvement, and costumes. There was a band that has some Milnerites in it, and they took third out of six. The winner, Chynnie, was amazing. He had a oriental theme...and had a lot of chinese culture in it, and the crowd loved him...obviously since he won.
We were going to go to Tobago this weekend, but the plans fell through. I think we are going to go to the beach on Saturday. I'm hoping that actually happens...we'll have to wait and see.
I hope everyone has a good weekend!!!!!!
We'll start with the grub concert last Friday. We were fantastic!!! We were a huge hit, especially when we had the 3 exchange guy dance the SNL "Single Ladies" skit. We did a lot of dancing and singing...and Katie, Brittany, Alisha (an exchange student from NY), and I did a rap about our first week on Milner to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. On Saturday, all the grubs had to run up the mountain to the monastery. We started about 5:30am, and got back on hall around 8:30. It was a loooonnnng morning, but it was amazing up there. It kinda sucked going up because it was raining pretty hard core. But when we got to the top, we saw the sunrise and overlooked the entire area...you could see the coast line past Port of Spain!!! I have a hall name, and it is....Dollar Wine!!! I got one of the better ones, and more creative.
Classes are starting to get more intense...but in a nice way. It is nice to have a schedule...even though the schedules are not final yet. I have to drop my ecotourism class because they changed all the lecture times, and now it conflicts with the only class that I need for my major...but I found a Religious Studies class to replace it. It is on Wednesday mornings up at the monestary. I know a girl in the class, someone I met from south block, her name is Abbie. It's an introduction to major religions all over the world. It seems pretty awesome.
I am REALLY getting into my literature class...We're reading a book now by a white west Indian who moved to Britain...most of her books are based off of her personal experiences or observations. Her books have a lot of interesting themes, especially involving women's place in society...Our professor claimed that she could be considered the first feminist writer in the Caribbean, even before the feminist movement started.
I went back up the mountain on Monday with Evan, Brittany, and Isaiha and had tea at the PAX guest house. It was GOREGOUS!!!! We drank with the owner, who is good friends with one of the advisors at the UW. He was a very interesting character. The guest house is the oldest house in Trinidad, from colonial times. It was amazing....and we drank on the veranda, which overlooks a ravine in the mountains. The owner is a birdwatcher, and it was amazing all the different birds that came up on the veranda while we were drinking. It was breathtaking.
Tonight we went to Port of Spain for the "Soca Star" finals. It is Trinidad's version of American Idol. It was pretty fantastic. The showmanship was incrediable...with the dancing, singing, crowd involvement, and costumes. There was a band that has some Milnerites in it, and they took third out of six. The winner, Chynnie, was amazing. He had a oriental theme...and had a lot of chinese culture in it, and the crowd loved him...obviously since he won.
We were going to go to Tobago this weekend, but the plans fell through. I think we are going to go to the beach on Saturday. I'm hoping that actually happens...we'll have to wait and see.
I hope everyone has a good weekend!!!!!!
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