Spent the day doing a Behavior Change training session in IST. Though it sounds like we were having this session because we were doing something wrong, this wasn't a session to change our behaviors. The session looked at ways to encourage behavior change in our work sites and communities. We focused on developing strategies for developing behavior change in regards to HIV/AIDS awareness. The session went really well and Stephanie did a wonderful job facilitating.
After we ended, I ran to Bryden Minors to pick up some crayons and a birthday card for Samare. The kids came over in the afternoon while I was getting ready for football. We were coloring with the new crayons, listening to music and playing with the puppies when Katie called. She said that Mack and her were coming to the fort tonight for the Soca Monarch Groovy Semi Finals. This was fine with me because I was planning on going myself, but she said they were going to come around 6:30pm. Looks like I was going to miss football practice yet again. The kids came with me to the supermarket so I could pick up some Carib to put in the fridge before my guests arrived. I still wanted to get a workout in so Zookie showed me this huge staircase that ran from the road below my place in front of the prison up to the road I lived on. It's a brutal workout and my new go-to spot. As soon as I was done the girls reached my place and we continued to play with the puppies while having a few beers waiting for the concert to start. The concert was a lot of fun. Since it was the Semi Final, there must have been at least 400 people up at the fort. The night was filled with great music, great food, and great friends.
The next day of IST was a Grant Writing session with Val who did our PACA (Participatory Analysis for Community Action) sessions during PST. I was looking forward to this session along with the rest of EC83 because grant writing is a big part of our work here and none of us had any experience. I realized half-way through the session that writing or applying for a grant is a lot like writing a history paper. GAME OVER. I dominate history papers, I eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The reason the two are similar is because you are trying to prove a point or sway someone's opinion in each situation. That, and the organization is very similar. The session after grant writing was on protocol training. Some of if was similar tips you pick up from etiquette classes stateside, but there were also things that applied to Grenada. Such as, how to address parliamentary and government officials, proper greetings, and vote of thanks at gatherings. Next on the list was to a grab a beer in town with Matt and Casey. When we showed up at the watering hole a few other volunteers were there as well. After exchanging pleasantries and drinks with the rest of the gang, the three of us decided to head over to a different bar so we could play dominoes and pool. We headed home to drop off our stuff from training and change to get ready to go to Jab Jab Fest.
Jab is the French Patois for Devil. The idea is that people dress up like the Devil for Carnival symbolizing the old slave masters. Typically, they cover themselves in motor oil to get black and greasy. Then, they carry around chains, whips, horns and whatever else makes them look devilish. Jab Jab fest is a big concert where artists who sing Jab Jab Soca songs compete. These are Jab Jabs:
On the way done to Casey's I called up my big brother, Porter Case, to wish him a happy 25th birthday, it was good to talk to him and hear that he and Rebecca are doing great. Casey and I headed into town to figure out how we were going to get to the concert and we met up with some of the other volunteers again. We found some of our local friends who said they were going to the concert as well and we could ride with them. I knew it was going to be a wild night because on the bus ride over there the locals in front of my were still pounding beers and smoking weed like it was no big deal. The concert was a blast and there had to be at least 1000 people there. We had a great time with one minor incident. Now, you know me, I like to get my dance on. However, one place this probably isn't a good idea as a white guy is at q crazy concert like jab jab fest, especially up by the stage. It's not because I don't have the moves, trust me, I've got the moves honey. It's because there are crazy people at these concerts and I had a run in with one of them while dancing. It is highly possible that I made a wrong assumption, but I think my instinct was correct in believing this guy was up to no good. I was up by the front, running around and dancing, having a good time, and this guy was doing the same except he was bumping into everyone and when he would bump into me it felt like he was brushing up against my pockets to see what was in there. Now, if it had only happened once I wouldn't have thought twice about it, but he did it at least 10 times. Luckily, I had nothing in my pockets, but I didn't like the cut of this guy's jib so whenever he would come around I would push him off me and yell at him. I went back to find Casey and Sean to let them know to watch out for the guy and I went a little bit closer to dance some more. Well this yahoo came back over and kept up with his routine, which got me real vex. So I shoved him some more and told him off. His drunken ass didn't like that so he pushed me a little bit and tried to slap me? I don't know, he wasn't throwing punches, it was like he was a monkey trying to slap another monkey. But because he was drunk he was moving slow and I just grabbed his arms to stop him and push him away. He was a bit relentless, probably mad that I caught him trying to pick pocket, and he kept trying to "slap" me. Sean and Casey came over to separate us and scare the guy off some more. It was good that they were there because it doesn't look good when a white guy in a crowd of locals is having issues with a black man, and I was getting pretty pissed off. I was smart to not try and escalate things during the little "fight" because I knew if I did anything wrong then I would probably get jumped by all the other locals there. In the end, everything worked out fine and we had a great time, but come 2:00am we decided to head out and find a way home even though there were still artists performing.
The ride home proved to be just as interesting as Jab Jab Fest. There were no buses running back to town and the place the concert was held at was probably a 2 or 3 hour walk to town. We were going to have to hitch a ride, which isn't easy for white guy, even more so at 2:00am. We walked for about 20 minutes and ALMOST got a ride from a truck passing by, he stopped to give a ride to some locals but as soon as we reached the vehicle he drove off. That's cool, I'm sure it wasn't because we are white. Vexed, Casey, Sean and I soldiered on and about 5 minutes later a guy pulled over to take us to town. Victory. Patrick, our driver was a cool guy and works in pharmacy so he was interesting to talk to. Finished the hike home from the PC office after Patrick dropped me off and hit the hay at 3am.
So excited for Carnival.
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