The Definition of Irony
On Saturday, I took a tour of St. Georges (the capital, not the school) with some friends and a number of 1st termers here from school. We walked throughout a great deal of the city, taking in the daily vegetable market, Fort George, the local parliament building, the 'tourist mall', the fish market, and two destroyed churches. I updated a number of photos regarding this tour and want to explain a little about the pictures that I took.
It seems, in 2004, Hurricane Ivan (I've been assured that Grenada is below the hurricane belt numerous times) destroyed 90% of the roofs in the entire country. The country responded with force and have repaired and rebuilt many of these structures, bringing back the beauty and showing the resilient spirit of the Grenadian people. Despite Grenada being a tourist destination for the cruise ships and for the many tourists who fly in daily from other various Caribbean islands, there were two churches on our tour which remained destroyed from this hurricane.
One of the many interesting juxtapositions on the tour was seeing two cruise ships docked outside one of the poorest neighborhoods, while the city found the money to erect a large mall for the cheesy, tourist crap that one can buy, they can't feed many of the citizens and have to deal with silly foreigners walking through their city and asking stupid questions, clogging the streets and just acting foolish. So, some of the pictures I think represent the interesting irony of the massive cash flow of these ships dwarfing the local economy.
Anyway, I also posted a picture of a woman who cooked one of the best barbecued dinners that I think I have ever eaten, which happened on Friday night. But, on Saturday, I think the most ironic event of the week took place. The entire student body was invited to the semi-annual 'AMSA Party.' This takes place at the beginning of every term, and for the low price of EC$35.00, one has an open bar available from 10.00pm until 2.00am. It is held on the Grand Anse campus of the school and has a beautiful beach.
This doesn't seem ironic until one considers the student body which attends St. George's University. Generally speaking, many of the students at St. George's are here for the simple fact that they partied too hard in their undergraduate years and here they were, partying like there would be no tomorrow, on a beach in a tropical paradise, much like many of their undergraduate years. It was certainly a fun time, but I can't help but wondering about some people's motivation. Most of the older students said that it is the only party of the term, which makes me a little more comfortable.
Regardless, I'm just about to pack my things up and go to bed with my last few hours of normalcy. Everything will change in the morning. I'm extremely excited, but I cannot begin to explain the nervous feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach. Everyone around me has a background in biochem, anatomy, some are PAs, some are research assistants, etc. Although I couldn't be more proud of my time at St. Michaels, I can't help but feeling like everyone else is a step ahead of me in terms of the sciences which we are about to learn.
I've said this before, but in the morning I officially begin the rest of my life.
It seems, in 2004, Hurricane Ivan (I've been assured that Grenada is below the hurricane belt numerous times) destroyed 90% of the roofs in the entire country. The country responded with force and have repaired and rebuilt many of these structures, bringing back the beauty and showing the resilient spirit of the Grenadian people. Despite Grenada being a tourist destination for the cruise ships and for the many tourists who fly in daily from other various Caribbean islands, there were two churches on our tour which remained destroyed from this hurricane.
One of the many interesting juxtapositions on the tour was seeing two cruise ships docked outside one of the poorest neighborhoods, while the city found the money to erect a large mall for the cheesy, tourist crap that one can buy, they can't feed many of the citizens and have to deal with silly foreigners walking through their city and asking stupid questions, clogging the streets and just acting foolish. So, some of the pictures I think represent the interesting irony of the massive cash flow of these ships dwarfing the local economy.
Anyway, I also posted a picture of a woman who cooked one of the best barbecued dinners that I think I have ever eaten, which happened on Friday night. But, on Saturday, I think the most ironic event of the week took place. The entire student body was invited to the semi-annual 'AMSA Party.' This takes place at the beginning of every term, and for the low price of EC$35.00, one has an open bar available from 10.00pm until 2.00am. It is held on the Grand Anse campus of the school and has a beautiful beach.
This doesn't seem ironic until one considers the student body which attends St. George's University. Generally speaking, many of the students at St. George's are here for the simple fact that they partied too hard in their undergraduate years and here they were, partying like there would be no tomorrow, on a beach in a tropical paradise, much like many of their undergraduate years. It was certainly a fun time, but I can't help but wondering about some people's motivation. Most of the older students said that it is the only party of the term, which makes me a little more comfortable.
Regardless, I'm just about to pack my things up and go to bed with my last few hours of normalcy. Everything will change in the morning. I'm extremely excited, but I cannot begin to explain the nervous feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach. Everyone around me has a background in biochem, anatomy, some are PAs, some are research assistants, etc. Although I couldn't be more proud of my time at St. Michaels, I can't help but feeling like everyone else is a step ahead of me in terms of the sciences which we are about to learn.
I've said this before, but in the morning I officially begin the rest of my life.
posted by Patrick at 20:09
1 Comments:
I can completely relate to your crack at the cruise industry. Each city we stopped in was a set up tourist trap...sure it was a nice little immersion, but annoying also. One more example of how commanding a dollar bill can be.
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