before, on the way to tobago, i noticed that the chairs by the window laid back. I WAS DETERMINED TO GET ONE OF THESE SEATS ON THE TRIP BACK TO TRINIDAD. lol. it just so happened that dr.turley wanted a window seat too, so i followed her, and we ended up getting two good seats with plenty of leg room. the only thing i didn't like was that it was FREEZING on this ferry. i could feel the cold air just blowing on me. it was so cold, and i had on a little sun dress. i brought my legs up to my chest and stretched my dress over my knees and down to my ankles... and then i took the scarf off of my head and covered my arms. it wasn't much, but it was enough for me to go to sleep for most of the trip back to trinidad.
when we arrived in trinidad, i had to go pick up my checked-in luggage. checking in my luggage was pretty much a waste of time. i had to basically hunt down my luggage with the rest of the people who had checked in luggage. they had put all the checked luggage on these tables in a cage-like fenced in area. so, you have all these people... in a cage... trying to find their bags. and it was a waste of time because the guy at the door who was supposed to check and make sure that the people who came in there picked up their luggage and no one else's (by checking the little sticky note).... DIDN'T EVEN REALLY LOOK AT MINE. and i dont think he really looked at anyone else's either. he was too busy chatting. so.. really, anyone could come in there with an old ticket and take someone else's luggage.
when we got on the bus, we were informed that we would have to make-up the old rapso class that we had missed because the professor never showed up. i was not happy about that at all. i was so exhausted. i did not feel like making up something i hadn't actually missed... i had sat in that classroom for almost two hours waiting. but, what was i going to do? i had to go. so... i went back to my dorm room and quickly fell asleep. i'm not really good with naps though (even my kindergarten teachers couldn't wake me up from nap time). i just get so deep into them. so, when i had to wake up for class at 1pm, i was not happy at all. luckily, the lecturer was there and on time.
our lecturer was omari ashby and the lecture was over the old rapso tradition. omari was a rapso poet himself and even had a hit record in trinidad and tobago in the 90s. he explained that rapso is a musical genre that believes in the power of the word and the rhythm of the word. it acknowledges the meanings behind words but also acknowledges that part of a word's meaning is in how you say the word. words have rhythm, vibes, and power. as someone that uses made-up words and phrases on a regular basis, i knew exactly what he meant ("basidy".. lol). rapso is kind of like "spoken word" is in the states, but it has trinidad/tobago at its heart.. so, i wouldn't go too far with comparisons.
the most impressive thing we talked about was the history of it because it has african roots. are you familiar with griots? griots were storytellers, musicians, and general all-around entertainers in west african societies. they also were keepers of oral history and were responsible for passing down the history of the villages. of course, during slavery, the people who captured and sold slaves weren't asking "now, what was your previous occupation?" lol. so, some griots were spread around through the slave trade and some of them found themselves in trinidad/tobago where they split into three characters: pierrot grenade (who would make games with words and had a kind of tongue-and-cheek way of making fun of people who use big words), ?shanquil? (who was a call-and-response leader and carried the chants. they were important during labor movements/emancipation), and the midnight robber (lyrical battler.. instilling fear in others using words to see who was the baddest!). all of this, of course, reminded me of hip-hop.
you know... it still amazes me how connected we all are. during slavery, people literally tried to strip away EVERYTHING the africans had... physically.. mentally.. all of it. i mean, the goal was to have the perfect servant for whatever you wanted.. so, to have a robot. they tried to turn humans into robots for hundreds of years... for generations. in america, we always feel so stripped, and.. don't get me wrong.. african-americans are DEFINITELY americans. we are very american. but we have some african in us too. when i see all these veins connecting black people all over the world.. and see traces of our past in our present, it makes me really happy. i mean, that's why i study this stuff in the first place. one thing made me really sad though... omari stressed that music of struggle was at the forefront of every social movement in trinidad/tobago. where is that music at now?
after class, i headed back to my room to chat online with friends and catch up on my news (amy winehouse's death has weighed really heavy on me, but i've tried not to let it get me down). i think i ended up taking another nap too. but soon, it was time to go see some turtles!!! i was actually excited about this. turtles are the only reptiles i can actually deal with (lol), and i got to spend some time with them when i volunteered at the tennessee aquarium in highschool. they're pretty chill animals. trinidad is one of the few places on earth you can see leatherback sea turtles nesting. nearly 80% of all leatherbacks nest in trinidad, so it's a really special thing to see. we headed to matura beach... the trip there was very long and the road was like most roads here... narrow, winding, and scary. then shannon made a joke that the driver was taking us into a remote area to kill us (i mean we were driving on a dirt road at that point!). i laughed it off... until the driver tried to joke around and turn off ALL THE LIGHTS, including the ones inside the van. it was pitch black. my heart started pounding so hard. i was thinking... "well.. i dunno who ima dive over to get to the door but i hope i don't hurt anyone.. " lol. he turned them back on and started laughing. we all shared an uneasy laugh.
when we finally got to the beach, we paid (30TT$) and waited for our walk to begin. our guide walked us down to the beach, along with groups of other people, and we followed him up and down the beach keeping our eyes out for any turtles coming to shore. the turtles only nest at night so we had to walk up and down the beach in the dark with only the stars to light our way. it was quite nice actually. i enjoyed myself. the other people in our pack were really annoying though. they were being loud and flashing their flashlights and cellular phones everywhere, which the guide had told us would scare off the turtles. our chances were already slim since the peak season of nesting is in may and june. so, with them making all kinds of racket, it's no surprise that we didn't get a chance to see any turtles nesting.
i did get to see three shooting stars though! and there was a bat harassing us all night... circling around our group. it was so scary. i kept ducking low to the ground so he would get near me. he was attracted to the flash lights. when we thought it was time to leave, our guide went back to where we started and uncovered a bowl full of little baby turtles that had been spotted and caught earlier. THEY WERE RIDICULOUSLY CUTE. i wanted to hold and cuddle one... but once they started going around, i felt so very bad. it's like... this little baby turtle.. first day above the sand... and all these people are holding it.. and passing it around.. poking and prodding at it.. rubbing and kissing it... flashing bright lights in its eyes. and the entire time this is going on, the little cute turtle is waving its little flippers trying to get away. just flapping as hard as it could and getting no where. little kids were dropping them too. it just seemed eerie and a little bit sad. by the time the turtle got around to me, i hadn't shaken the feeling. so, i didn't even touch it at all. all i could think about was "when are you letting them go (traumatized into the ocean)?"
folks were ready to go before the tour was actually completely over, so we left. and, i slept the entire ride back to campus.
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