Shopping for Treasures….

This was another day of preparation for the final presentations on Friday.  The students did a great job putting together business ideas and a mini plan in 2 days.  They also practiced their presentations and received peer feedback.  And finally after our work was done….

…I walked over to a couple of stores not far from the hotel and found some savoury treats and fun items to bring home.

Hand printed batik, nutmeg jam, pure cocoa powder, tamarind marinade, nutmeg, a flag for my office, and local rum.

 Chocolate to share when I get home.

 Mace - apparently putting a little of this pure mace in oatmeal is delicious.

Nutmeg products that is supposed to help with joint pain and aches.  We met the business owner last week.

A key chain for C's collection.

Would you like an update on the tennis match?  Well, let’s just say I was better at looking after refreshments.  Fun times!

Classroom time :-)

This week is classroom time and to be honest, I am not as excited about this part of the project.  I have been mentoring the students as they prepare their reports and final presentations.  This is a definite change of pace from last week.  Students remain engaged and interested in discussing their learning in their reports.  The presentations have an entrepreneurial theme based on music or home remedies.  On Friday, the presentations will take place and there will be a large(ish) audience. 

What is great about this part of the project is the student interaction.  Everyone is very comfortable and relaxed with each other.  We have a better understanding of personalities and strengths so this makes the classroom experience more dynamic.  I know that there are a lot of tired minds and bodies, but we only have a couple of days left in Grenada.  Knowing that our time is closing we are longing for some beach time and more Grenada experiences.  Snorkelling has been mentioned as a Saturday activity, and I know there is a beach cook-out planned Friday night.  I hope to find some time to pick up a couple of items as souvenirs.  As mentioned, there has not been a lot of opportunity to shop or find treasures to share with everyone at home – sorry!  I’ll do my best!

Tonight we are having a tennis tournament - students against faculty.  Hmmmm could be interesting!  Wish me luck!

Jus Now...

What does this title actually mean?  That's a good question.  One of the ice breakers last week was to share some of our slang and language differences with the group.  As the Canadians had fun sharing some "double double" explanations, the Grenadians told us about the "jus now" concept.  We have experienced this comment on quite a few occasions.  

To recap, last week we were meeting and interviewing people who are focused on preserving Grenadian traditional music and practicing using herbal and home remedies for illnesses.  So when the appointments and times were set up, there is never a real guarantee that everyone will be on time - for many reasons.  So if you ask the person when we will be able to meet, they might say "I'll be there jus now"....which, as it was explained to me, could mean in a few minutes, an hour, a day or even a week or more.  So if a Grenadian says "yes, I'll be back jus now" that doesn't mean right away.  So we have been having fun enjoying the fluidity of the schedule.

Can you see the name of this boat?

Monday was a day to visit a few more interesting people as we approach the final stages of gathering and documenting stories and culture.  I was only able to be with one practitioner of herbal medicine in the morning.  He has a doctorate in botany, and spent most of his career educating.  

We sat in the middle of his farm among swaying bamboo, listening to his ideas and philosophy on education, climate change, symbiosis, Grenada culture, generational differences, apathetic teachers, applied learning, marijuana usage and the list continues.  This man was inspiring and we filmed for 45 minutes.  After the end of the interview, I felt I had completed a full 45 minutes of shavasana in yoga.  I was relaxed, calm and ready to tackle the world.  It truly is important to listen to "elders" - they have an amazing ability to find simple methods of solving problems and understanding life.   The students were as mesmerized.   If I have a chance, I hope to share some of this educator's video with colleagues and friends.

His farm is on a very steep hillside and is not in neat and tidy rows. His farm is a natural growing series of native plants.  He cultivates and maintains every plant and has a specific use for each one.  There were tons of fruit trees, spices and herbs, plants used for medicinal purposes, plants for specific pest control, and plants that are just pretty to have around and enjoy.  He told us how the plants are at the bottom of the food chain and unfortunately humans do not respect the plants for this reason.  As I looked around, I realized I was sitting near a nutmeg tree.

 Nutmeg Tree

Nutmeg fruit - the red part is mace, and then under this is the nutmeg.  The fruit (yellow flesh) is used to make jams and jellies.  I have been enjoying the jam on toast every morning.

So overall, another amazing day with so much learning it is hard to describe in a blog.  The rest of the week I return to being an instructor as I prepare the students for their final presentations on Friday.  

Grenada fact of the day...

There are over 90 unique species of mango in Grenada. 

A Short Visit to Carriacou

Carriacou is a very small island (37 square kms) north of Grenada.  We took a ferry to the island on Saturday morning. We arrived in the town of Hillsborough, which consists of about 10 streets.  The place was packed with cars and people waiting for the ferry.  I suspect that this was the highlight of the day.  The ferry brings foot passengers and parcels, along with supplies from Grenada.  Once the passengers disembarked and found their packages and visitors, the town was quiet again.  The big event was done!

Carriacou is a very slow paced, local kinda island.  It is not congested with traffic and people.  In fact, this would be a true taste of what Caribbean Island living is like.  No tourist areas, cruise ship shops or huge resorts.  Our purpose for visiting the island was to document the unique music on the island.  Each village has its own “superstar” that contributes to maintaining the culture of Carriacou – musicians, drum makers, dancers, singers, actors, and great entertainers.  We went to the local hotel and people started to arrive.  Unsure of what was going on, I stood back and watched as various people started to perform and then tell the ever growing crowd why the culture is important to pass on to the youth of the community.  I would never be able to express in writing the honour we all felt in being a part of this event.

We stayed overnight and had some time to tour the island – see the true Caribbean living.  Goats and sheep roam the streets, people gather in each village at the local bar, a mixture of big and small houses (some were very well maintained, others not so much), ocean views are everywhere, and historical evidence that this was an island of plantations with slaves working the fields and crops in the 1800’s.  Our guide, Linky, was extremely kind and informative.  He knows the history of this island.  I asked him to take me to the village of Windward (adjacent to the village of Dover), to see where the traditional craft of wooden boat building was still being practice.  He explained the process of boat building and the significance it still has on tradition in the small village. 

The main agricultural crops are corn and pigeon peas.  The island only produces enough to feed the residents.  Outside of this, fish, chicken, goat, mutton, lambi (conch) and iguana are the protein foods.  Rice is in abundance and there is a bakery making bread.  Fresh wild fruit trees are everywhere and people all have their own gardens growing other vegetables such as squash.  What we had time to do on Sunday was to swim and watch the children play freely in the streets and in the water.  There were adults around, but none that seemed to be keeping a close eye on children and their whereabouts.

One of the main tourist draws is the quaintness of this town and the sailing community.  Beautiful sailboats dot the coastline.  A couple of the businesses we saw were actually owned by non-residents catering to the sailing crowd.

Time for a few photos:

Long, busy and rewarding days!

I missed yesterday to update this blog, but for good reason!  The last 2 days have been early mornings (8am) and late arrivals back to the hotel (6pm).  I really don't have a lot of time to update fully. but Thursday, I spent part of the day in St George's - the main city.  I have included a few photos for descriptive.  

The meat market is on Melville Street (equivalent to Water St in Halifax).  The abattoir is next door to the market.  So imagine the animals being brought to the abattoir, processed and then moved to the market where people buy fresh meat.  It is definitely not a practice we see in North America!

Meat hanging ready to be butchered.  As a customer you come in and request your cut of meat.

 Walking along Melville St.  It looks calm but I guarantee that this was a fluke that there in no traffic.

Can you see the Scotiabank?

The next set of photos were taken today (Friday).  We travelled to Grenville (east side of the island) and then north.  The beach is the Atlantic side, with beautiful cool breezes and waves.  We also visited a gentlemen who is producing a home remedy and is exporting it internationally.  He also processes cocoa beans.  We were extremely fascinated by his stories.  

This photo is taken from the top of a volcanic mountain in a rain forest 

- our hotel is on the strip of beach.

This is the cocoa tree pods.  They are not ripe yet.  They need to be yellow.  Notice how the pod grows from the tree trunk?  This is a unique property of this plant.

 Bags of cocoa beans ready to be shipped.

Beach on the Atlantic shore.  It smelled like home to the Nova Scotians!

As I mentioned before, we are heading to Carriacou Saturday and Sunday  We are going to learn about the Big Drum ceremony and the Shakespeare Mas.  For info on the Shakespeare Mas, check out this link:

Shakespeare Mas

Until later!

Interview Day 1

Holy crap this was a long day!  We spent the morning at TMACC and then hit the road to start interviewing some notorious musicians from Grenada.  We didn’t finish until close to 7pm!

For people who have been to the Caribbean, you would appreciate the windy narrow roads where anything and everything travels on it – kids, scooters, bikes, people of all sorts, goats, dogs, roosters etc. So imagine driving up and down these roads on the edge of cliffs with lush greenery on either side.  Then the driver takes a right and we are on a 45 degree incline straight up the side of the mountain, avoiding pot holes and missing the edges of houses and cars.  We stop and pull in front of a small building, and a man greets you at his door – it is King Ajamu!  Now, that name will not spark any huge crowds in Canada I am sure, but his guy is a very famous and accomplished international musician.  His website describes his accomplishments a bit more than I can:

Ajamu Website

He welcomed us into his recording studio and the students immediately started working.  They set up their video cameras, nominated an interviewer, started taking notes and listened as King Ajamu told his story.  This was a very surreal experience. 

We had a similar experience 2 more times with other musicians…so hard to explain in words. Nonetheless, the students were experiencing a type of applied learning that really can’t be duplicated.  I learned so much today as well. 

I had a fabulous chance to get to know our faculty hosts better today.  I heard stories of when they were children and how they experienced the US invasion in the 1980’s.  I also connected with Louisa and found out that she has a big interest in Vinland (the Viking settlement in Northern Newfoundland).  She and I will be sharing contact info so I can send her information and photos from my trip there a couple of years ago.

The next 2 days will be full days of interviews and connecting with Grenadian culture.  On the weekend we will be travelling to Carriacou.  Lorin grew up in Carriacou, and her parents still live there.  She wants us to experience the island and meet some musicians from this island.  Here is a website to provide some insight:

Carriacou Information

I am exhausted and ready to get some rest for the next part of this adventure.

I will leave you with some random photos and a head shot of Elwin “The Black Wizard” McQuilkin – another insightful gentleman who we met today: