Day 14...Calypso is Cool

This morning I woke up around 7:30 to prepare for departure from Hotel Milvia to Casa Calateas. After loading all of our bags onto the bus and finding a seat, we began our four hour journey (which was really more like a five or six hour journey due to all of our stops:). I slept for the first hour and half, read my book for the next hour, and listened to music for the last haul. About thirty minutes out we stopped for lunch at a local Caribbean cuisine restaurant. It was very simple, which made it extremely delicious. Arriving in our third city, we were to be given a short orientation. Before we did so, we were assigned rooms. Sleeping in a room with mosquito nets surrounding the beds, we held our breath nervous about the bugs we most likely would be sharing our beds with. We knew it was going to be hard, but we were ready to brave it.

After finding our rooms and returning to the common area for a brief talk, Willis began discussing our schedule. However, after only having read a sentence or two, Feeney, who was sitting next to me, started to shake. As I peered over, I saw he was trying to open his water bottle. Overhearing a conversation between he and two other girls, Ansley and Meagan, I assumed he was simply upset and shaking from the rude comments made. However as I continued to watch, the shaking worsened and he could not even twist the cap off of his water bottle. One adult ran over, and then another, and then another, and then yet another. Seeing the anxiety on each person's face, I realized he was having a seizure. Not knowing what to do, I simply sat there. The intensity of his shaking scared me to my core. Multiple medicines were looked through until the correct one was found. After he took one pill and walked around for a bit, he seemed to be okay.

As Feeney walked around, the rest of us had some refreshments and finished looking through the schedule of the week ahead. After completing this, we were given some free time, which we used to play some games including Dominoes, Uno, and Mafia. We then had a delicious dinner of fish and potatoes. After finishing dinner, we proceeded to the common area for a live performance of Calypso music. We listened, danced, and even sang some. The song titles varied from "Rum" to "Give Me Some of Your Rice and Beans". This lasted for about an hour or so and many laughs were had.

Watching a seizure occur before my eyes, people rushed to bring help while I sat there terrified. Not knowing what to do, I had the opportunity to observe the actions of others. Seeing everyone drop what they were doing made me realize something. I learned that in the time of need, everyone bands together to get the job done. So today's lesson is that no matter the circumstances, race, religion, sexuality, etc., it is important to help those in need no matter the situation.