Saturday 6/13/2016

A journal entry:

"Today's our last day here.  I can't believe it--it doesn't feel real.  The whole trip feels like a blur, a crazy whirlwind.  This morning, after ackee and sawfish for breakfast, we headed to Port Antonio to visit the shops there.

The shops at Port Antonio

The shops were great.  It was an indoor/outdoor market, with a lot of very touristy stands (many of the vendors were selling the same t-shirts, keychains, etc).  I ended up getting some really neat souvenirs and gifts: 1) A cheap wooden flute, 2) A shaker, 3) A tiny djembe drum, 4) A bracelet for my mom, 5) A keychain for my brother, 6) Leather 'slippers' (sandals) for my sister, and 7) Mixed CD's.

Getting the mixtapes was my favorite part.  We left the main market area and crossed the street to enter a small shop where many people were stannic around, listening to music played by the shipowner.  He was dancing around, really feeling the music.  When we walked in, he started telling us about all the genres of music prevalent in Jamaica today (i.e. dance hall, t-culture), artists (i.e. Vibes Kartel, the most influential Jamaican musician since Bob Marley, who is the leader of dance hall music and is miles ahead of any other artist--he is recording all of his songs from jail because he murdered someone), and the meanings of the songs (some are political, others are just made for dancing).  I ended up getting three CD's for $300J, an amazing price

When we got back to the huts, we went to the fruit stand up the street (I got fresh pineapple) and to the jerk center to get festival bread.  We ate our food in the huts (I saved some of it for breakfast tomorrow).  After packing, I headed down to the beach.  We swam for a while and talked to some surfers, and admired the incredibly blue water.  Later, I did yoga on my favorite cliff (the most serene practice I have ever completed), passed the drum test, and ate curry goat for dinner.

We have our drum performance tonight, then our trip is over.  I can't believe it went so, so fast.  I just stood on the cliff trying to take it all in today because I can honestly say, I've never seen a view so breathtakingly beautiful.  Watching the vast sea from up here is incredibly powerful--it really puts into perspective how small we are; God made an amazing creation.  I can almost feel God up here, and I am awestruck.

Update: the drumming went really well! We took our drums into town and set up by the jerk shops in a  circle.  We handed out egg shakers to the crowd of local families who came to watch--the whole town was there.  We played the rhythms we practiced--Nyabinghi, Dinki mini, Etu, Kuku, Kpanlogo, and Bruckins and sang a few favorite traditional Jamaican songs ('If I had the wings of a dove,' 'Hold 'em, Joe,' 'By the Rivers of Babylon,' 'Mango Time,' 'Solace Market--Fie go buy banana,' 'Go down Emmanuel Road,' and we finished with the National Anthem, which got a lot of enthusiastic applause).  The performance was exhilarating (I played on my brand new, handmade Nyabinghi drum) and it was an amazing way to end the trip."