Events / 2 Weeks Before Carnival

As we get closer to Carnival we have been going to a lot more events.

We went to a Calypso tent which, for me, was one of the most boring events so far. Then again, all the singing is about the country's politics and I am not interested in that. Some of the students enjoyed it. One of the main factors in some of these events though is their length. We were at the Calypso tent for 5 hours with a short intermission. We sat right in the front which made it harder to hear since the speakers were aimed right over our heads. Still, it's an experience of Trinidad.

The second event I didn't enjoy as much was Panorama. It is the steel pan semi finals. It's like a big party in these wide tiered stands next to the stage. However the speakers are really loud and I wish I had earplugs to help with the noise. Also, we had the option to pay a fee for drinks and meals provided. I thought I would be fine with just a sandwich and water; bad idea. It would have been worth it for a variety of food and free liquor. That event was 7 hours.

The next event was stick fighting and was not at all what I expected. Stick fighting is when two men with sticks whack each other with a few rules. It is outdoors in mid Trinidad; about an hour drive away from Tunapuna. There is a rectangular ring and officials keeping the fight from being too brutal. Some people got bloody but we couldn't really see form where we were sitting. As a non violent person this made me happy; from Candice's description I was expecting something a lot more violent. It was pretty impressive to see the precision they use in fighting and strategy; it is an art form.

On Thursday we went to the Kings and Queen's preliminary. These are the giant Carnival costumes that can have three wheels for support and are 20+ feet tall. There were about 50 queens and 50 kings so we only stayed for the queen's competition. Half way through we got to go walk around backstage and see the costumes being set up as well as got to take pictures next to them. I think this was my favorite event so far.

Friday morning we went to a Parliament session. There are a lot of rules about sitting and talking and when you can and can't stand. It was a good session, though, an amendment was passed unanimously with both sides agreeing. We now have a break for the weekend before we are busy every day next week leading up to Carnival!