School BBQ and Bonfire

As a sort of celebration for completing the first test in this program, the administration invited all of the students to a BBQ/Bonfire. We were bussed to Taino Beach, which is on the other side of a canal near where we live. There was a pretty nice facility and the beach was really clean and nice as well.  

There is a nice dock that extends thirty feet or so into the ocean, and it provided a very clear view into the water. We spent the first little while there, while everyone else was milling around.

The weather has been a little on the crummy side for the past week, so we actually had to wear long pants! That is only the second time since we've been here.

While we were on the dock, we were able to see this huge manta-ray! It was so cool and speckled. 

I know this picture doesn't seem that cool, but the DJ at this place was something else. He would play and sing everything himself. They were all songs that we knew, but it was quite difficult deciphering what the song was at the time.

These are a bunch of Reed's classmates playing an epic round of volleyball. Apparently it was a very one-sided game, we found out afterward.

There was definitely a common theme with the decor around the facility here. It revolved around beer advertisements. Luckily though, this party did not allow alcohol to be brought or purchased there. It was really nice for us.

Once again, we couldn't get away from the beer bottles...

They had these sweet paddle boats just hanging out in front of the facility. Reed and I really wanted to take them out for a spin. 

For dinner we had traditional Bahamian cuisine. They eat a lot of peas and rice, baked mac and cheese, fish and chicken. It was neat to try their different foods. Everything was pretty tasty too.

For the bonfire, they had a ring of beach chairs set up for us. It was interesting to see that they just dug a large hole and set up the logs inside that. 

When it was time to actually start the fire, it took about 20 minutes. There was no kindling used, but I guess that doesn't matter when 5 or so gallons of gasoline are thrown on the logs...It was a little more tense for us when we realized the guy dousing the logs was smoking with his other hand!

The school administration also arranged for a fire dancer to come and perform. We were excited to see that, but were slightly confused when no one came down by the fire. She did a few cool tricks and singed some hair off of one of the volunteers. She also extinguished the flames in her mouth, which was impressive. 

Performing along with the fire dancer were some of the employees dressed in local ethnic garb...too bad you could see their street clothes underneath. They played the same beat over and over on their drums and were accompanied by a guy with a gym whistle. Quite the headache.