We’ah in dah Bahamas mahhn and we’ve been busy. I’ll try and post a few pictures of last week when I can—but I’ve a feeling it’ll be a while before I can even post this as I don’t have access to dah internet heah on dah island—specifically Grand Brahma Island in the town of South Bahmia-Grand which is near the city of Freeport—Freeport isn’t controlled by the Bohemian government but is owned by a private organization- -thus no taxes and thus a “Free Port.”
AM: Two 45 min performances in front of screaming teens (about 1200 in each show) in a dimly-yet gorgeously- lit room. Lunch; Two Flash Mobs in the cafeterias. PM; sore shoulders stiff from toting around giggling monsters after weeding/clearing fields at a local farm, swimming in the sea by starlight and philosophical moonlight discussions. That was last Wednesday in Vero Beach FL. That’s pretty much how every day has been for the past couple of weeks. I’m not sure where all of our energy or time comes from—but day after day it seems to appear!
A quick definition: Flash Mob; a group of people walk into a highly populated area such as a cafeteria or mall, freeze in funny poses such as proposing or dancing for several minutes and then break out into dance. It’s often used to promote performance-based groups.
If you have questions or things you’d like me to write about, please let me know. There are so many interesting things I cannot possibly write or take pictures of them all. But if you ask I can attempt to answer!
In a shadow filled room gymnastic like mats cover the floor. Pink and red splotches scattered like Jackson Pollack paintings drape themselves over shoulders, shins and sleepy eyes still warm from the summer like sun. There are 98 of us crammed in a community center waiting for our 5 am bus to depart toward Ft. Lauderdale and the Discovery Cruise ship waiting to take us to our next stop. We huddle together for warmth in the bizarre cold and blanket less community center. Squeaking footsteps, stiff shoulders and the cold that seeps through our patchwork blankets of jackets, towels and t-shirts interrupt sleep.
I’ve two new roommates. Shawna is from Pennsylvania and is on staff as a Promotional representative. She’s been in the Bahamas for the past 6 weeks getting the island ready for the cast! My other roommate is Philippe from Belgium! He has a fantastic French accent that the girls adore.
… Its now February 25th and I’m on the deck of Discovery Cruise an hour or so after dusk. The stars are dancing in the sky above as we churn toward Ft. Lauderdale and our next city. It was an amazing week in dah Bahamas. When we arrived we lugged our luggage along a winding road under the warm Caribbean sun. Sweat trickled down backs and we winced as we walked watching cars wander toward us on the “wrong” side of the road.
Our first afternoon commenced immediately after disembarking. It was spent watching “Dis Weee Bahamian Ting” a musical and dance performance exploring the history and developing culture of dah Bahamas. From the tribal and heart wrenching African dances capturing the violence of the Africans early immigration to the sweet melodies and smooth movements eloquently expressing the new beauty and culture it was a wonderful introduction to our new home. One of the most exciting parts of the performance was discovering that one of the performers had been accepted to travel with UWP in the July 2011 cast! Ricco hosted Peder, our guitarist, and spent the entire week volunteering with us when he wasn’t performing. To our delight we discovered that not only is he a joy to watch on stage he’s a joy to be around! Sadly most of us won’t get to see him next year!
Before meeting our host families we had a brief talk with our sponsor, the general manager of Pelican Bay Hotel. He told us he had brought us there because he wanted something for the community to rally around. The Bahamas are made up of a number of distinctly diverse groups—ex-pats (Brits) ‘true’ Bahamians (African decent), Indians and the snowbirds, which include many others of various nationalities, as well as those snowbirds that have permanently migrated to the island paradise. While it is gorgeous island nation it is also poverty-stricken. It’s immensely difficult to combat as their poverty looks like paradise. Yet they all love their country and are immensely friendly. All they need is for someone to help them to see their potential… and thus here we are. And now… after spending three days working in the communities and performing for them we hope we have helped them realize their potential.
Despite the facility we performed in it was one of the most uplifting performances yet. Simply by having us there and performing we brought together a community of peoples whom had never been united before. It’s mind-boggling.
We spent three days working at 7 different community service sites—such as the Humane society—see my pictures of puppies for more personal details—the red cross, the YMCA (where we painted a mural) and we also rebuilt hurricane damaged homes with the Harvest Foundation—a local org fighting poverty. We also had a bonfire on the beach, dinner in a boathouse and a morning at the beach riding banana boats to visit dolphins. Not a bad week.
I should take some time to write a bit about the food but as I’m a bit hungry and I fear I’ll eat my hand if I go into to much depth. It’ll suffice to say I’ve never had such tasty fish in such quantities before… I feel a bit like Forest Gump—Fish Stew, stuffed fish, fried fish, fish salad, fish n’ grits, boiled fish… all with wonderful flavors and full of bones!
Soft sunlight slides along rich feather-shaped leaves as easy shadows drift along the white concrete walkways of a schoolyard filled with the greens and reds of ferns and other tropical plants. Little lizards scamper up the gray and brown flecked chiseled trunks of palm trees as laughter bounces along the pink granular concrete walls. A gentle breeze dances in the leaves, whispering “welcome” to the students and staff assigned to super crew—a special team that will be setting up for our show at a park in Boca Raton tomorrow. We’re in Fort Lauderdale Florida and today is a host family day. However, because of our early set up we’re without hosts for the moment— luckily for us, as long as we’re together we will never be without family be it a sister from Mexico or brother from Belgium.
In the seven weeks since we’ve been together we have become a family. We’ve slept on floors together, spent countless hours sweating in the sun while doing various community projects and in rehearsals. We’ve shared tears and fears. We’ve heard one another’s stories and dreams and many are discovering what their dreams are. Everyday we have new revelations about why we are here.
Annnd now I’m sitting at a Ti Kwan Do gym where (15-20 of us) spend the night before our show That’s all for now! Check the UWP blog soon for more updates as I’m editing and writing intros for most of those as well!!
Annnd because I just got Internet here in Boca Raton Flordia (Our show saturday is in Fort Lauderdale but some of us are living in Boca Raton) An update on our living situation. I’m now living with a lovely couple in Boca Raton with three roommates. Daniel from Sweden, Pernille from Denmark and Oukje from the Netherlands! Much love from far away! Pictures coming soon! ~d
