Staff Goodbye - April 1st Group

So this season is different than it has been in the years past.

Because more people are travelling independently, numbers have gone down, making the seasons on-site shorter/broken up. Therefore, a season that would normally run from the end of Feb to the end of April, now has a two week break in the middle. This causes two seperate staff groups. One group ending on April 1st, and a new team starting on the 15th. So when the kids left on the 30th, we had a staff night out and partied a little too hard.
We started with dinner at the Fish Fry (area of Nassau, and most Bahamian islands, where the dockside fish restaurants are located) where a friend of ours, Bobo, has a restaurant called Oh Andros! (island where he is from). Before we sat for dinner, we had a couple cocktails at another fish shack, Goldie's, where there was Karaoke going on. Oh my. Now, I would put that video up, but it is like torture, so I'll spare you. Plus, the one that is up of Blue doing the Souldya Boy dance is way funnier. After a few ear-bleeding songs, we went over to Bobo's restaurant and ordered more drinks and ate so much good food. Now, Liz, the program director from Freeport, didnt drink in Freeport. I thought she was always dry, but apparently only for that month. Because all of a sudden I hear, "PRITI, TEQUILA NOW!" and I turn around and its Liz, waiting for her shot. Thats when I figured out that she was only on a break and is apparently a boozehound like myself. So we have not one, but two, double shots of Tequila together. She definitely made up for lost time. Food food food. I had grilled grouper, Bahamian style baked mac n'cheese, peas and rice, and plantains. This is a typical Bahamian meal (except usually the fish is fried, but most of you know how that makes my stomach feel). After my multiple shots with Liz, I ran into an old friend of mine, Casey, that bartends at one of the clubs that our kids go to, Cocktails and Dreams. We've known each other since I started coming down in 02, so it was good to see him and catch up.

After dinner we went to Senor Frogs. I made a pit stop with a couple of my staff to Frankie's room to smoke and an hour and 6 where-r-u calls later, we got to Senor Frogs. Then it was time to really party. Several buckets of Dos Equis, a bottle of tequila, and an already plastered staff, we danced and danced and danced. and drank. After that we went to Waterloo where people started to blackout and had to be carried home. Around 4:30am that night we called it quits and fumbled to the cars to get home. People started flying out at 6am that morning. I'm so glad I wasnt one of them.

24 hours in the life of....

So here is a day in the life of Priti:
Today I have to pay vendors. Karen, my roommate decides to come with me for something to do. I have to go to West Coast Grill, Senor Frogs, Hard Rock Cafe and Conch Fritters. West Coast grill goes fine. We get to Senor Frogs and Karen goes into the Straw Market to buy some gifts. I find Joaquin to settle up. Tonna says hello and offers me a drink. I tell him I am waiting for my friend to join me. Joaquin asks for a bit of time because he is really busy. No problem, its the Bahamas, Im in no rush. My buddy Iko is MCing today. Karen eventually shows up with gifts for Gram, Mom, etc. Tonna is ready for Tequila. I say only one shot because I normally dont drink when I am working. We have one shot of 80 degree Jose, yum. Joaquin is still off somewhere. Tonna, "More Tequila." Priti, "No, I am working, but thanks." Tonna, "Ok two tequilas." Karen doesnt help the matter much by egging Tonna along. 7 shots later, Joaquin is ready to go over things, great. Then its time for a karaoke singalong with Iko, and a group contest that I had no business doing, but we totally won (video below). What is going on. Then we have a fun surprise and run into our friends from Freeport (bartenders from Sparky's). They just happened to come to Nassau for the weekend to hang out. We have a shot together and tell them to come to the club tonight. Karen has to get back to the hotel for her shift but decide to make a quick stop by the other hotel to say hi to our staff, not at all on the way back. We pull up to an ambulance, wheelchairs, and a luggage cart full of our kids. It must be Frankie's All-U-Can-Drink Snorkel Cruise. Three kids ready for the hospital. I put my game face on and off I go to Princess Margaret and Doctors Hospital, talking to parents, friends, doctors. After that I go back to the hotel, 15 min drive over the club to drop something off, drive back to the hotel, run, shower, and back to the club. Tonight a NYC DJ that we brought in is spinning, DJ Spinbad. And the MTV personalities that we also brought in will be there, Tricia (pic below) and Isaac from the Real World Sydney (anyone seen it? I had no idea who they were). So we dance, drink, have a shot with our Freeport gys, hang out and then take Spindbad's limo back to the hotel where his sidekick tried real hard to get in my pants, I send him off and go to bed. Finally done with my day.

Shirley's BBQ

Shirley is a friend of mine from when I started going down to Nassau in 02. When I got to Nassau this year we caught up and she invited me to her sister's birthday BBQ over the hill. She said I could bring any staff I wanted. So I invited Karen-my roommate, Eric, and Hunter. We popped some bottles beforehand with some of the staff that had to work that night and then Shirley picked us up an we went over the hill. We got to the BBQ and partied Bahamian style. When Bahamians party they party. Lots of food, lots of alcohol, loud music, everyone comes out. The street is full, the yard, the house. And we partied hard with them. We were well taken care of as Shirley's guests and guests to the island, so we ate loads, drank bottles and before we knew it we were blackout drunk. To the point where I thought drinking straight vodka was a good idea. Then it was time to go. Shirley's cousin Carle dropped us off at Club Waterloo, where Studentcity was for the night event. He almost killed us three times, and made us spill all our drinks all over us and the car when Hunter decided to yell, "Again!" going through a rotary. So Carle floored it and went around at about 40mph causing drinks to go everywhere. I can still smell the rum pineapple on my shirt and pants. When we got to Waterloo we were like a clown car of drunkards spilling onto the parking lot, all soaking wet. But we were empty-handed and ready for our next drink.

Waterloo is one of my favorite clubs on the island. It is in/outdoor, has a huge dancefloor, pool tables, several bars, a huge pool in the middle (usable during the daytime only), and a kitchen for food. Now I wish I could tell you about my time there but, as mentioned before we were all blackout drunk. I have snapshot memories of seeing old friends and hugging them, having shots with Woody (one of the bartenders) at the bar, seeing another friend that, bless his heart, got me much needed water, and buying a beer for one of the security guards that cant drink on duty and sneakily drank it in the ladies bathroom. And then apparently came the drunk eating, also known as my low point of the night. I ordered fish and fries for me and chix and fries for the guys. When my first order came up it was the fish so I dug in. Eric comes up to me, "Priti, what are you doing?!" I replied with an angryface and a "Eating dummy!" Eric-"Priti you are eating chicken!" I look down. "Shit." C'mon, its all fried, how the hell can I identify anything, esp, when I can barely see. But I shamefully gave it to Eric and dug into the other plate. Sorry Krishna, Priti bad.
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St. Patty's Day in Freeport

St. Patty's Day in Freeport was not quite the authentic Irish Experience but we still had a blast.
We had an hearty Irish meal of Gyros and Hummus and then went to the Shennigans for shots. Too crowded, we moved onto Sparky's, our local hangout, and proceeded to drink heavily for the rest of the night. Tracy and I are shots girls, so by no choice of her own, so is Jamie. We had well over 10 shots during the course of the night, mainly due to a buddy of mine, Rico (sticking his tongue out below), who supplied us with most of them. We got the DJ to play some Bahamian music for us and we danced our asses off (see Tracy below). I included a video of wasted Tracy at the end of the night. This video cracks me up, I love you Tracy. We end up at the Pepper Pot, a late night food joint where we house fried food on a pretty regular basis. This video is Tracy laid out in the back seat while we wait for our food. Happy St. Patty's Day!

Freeport, Grand Bahama

I was told that I would spend the first month in Freeport, then transfer to Nassau until July. I had been to Freeport just once before for a weekend a few years back, so I was looking forward to really getting a chance to see the island. And going to a place that I didnt know anyone so I could really decompress from Boston. I would be living in a condo with all the staff. I felt like I walked into the Real World and wasnt sure how it would all turn out. Well, it would have been the real world if that show had ever taken place in a retirement village. But I'll talk about that later. Back to my staff. Take a group of people that couldn't be any more different but all come together by the common traits that brought them here. People who do this job are generally extroverted, laidback, fun-loving partyers. So no matter our differences, we were bound to have a good time together. There is Liz-the program manager who doesnt drink, Eric-a construction project manager from OH that loves fast food, beer, and college sports. Alyssa-addicted to Myspace and complaining, Mike-the resident alcoholic, Tom-awesome, a real lover of life, Jeremiah-who I'm sure didnt know what he was getting himself into, Amanda-from Newport, RI who pops her polos and wear pastels, Xan (Alexandra)-who is a tough field hockey player from NC, Mark and Katie-a couple from NC, and Karen-from NC, Mark's sister. All so different but we partied and lived together for a month without killing each other. And are rather inseperable now. Now to my home. I lived in the Coral Beach Condos in Freeport, aka the retirement village. We were in the penthouse condo of the property and the only people under 50. And it was great, I love old happy people. I felt like Cameron Diaz in "In Her Shoes" except, well, I'm not her for obvious reasons. There was this old guy Jake who used to come out and watch me swim every other morning. He was my cheering section, I loved it. Esp. those mornings that were tough. I didnt make it out until 4:30pm one day, just when he and his wife were headed back in and he missed me, wondering where I was. I think he needed me as much as I needed him. I met another oldie who told me about his pysch background and then gave me a book about boundaries and how I may need to define them in my life. He's pretty insightful for only talking with me for 10 minutes. Everyday I met new people and made it more of a home. My work was definitely less busy in Freeport than it is in Nassau, so I was able to relax a bit more. I swam/ran everyday, laid out, paid vendors, and drank. My month of dryness, was actually a month of straight paryting, because with less work, there is a lot more time for partying and drinking. And when you live with 10 people who all love party, there is no time for rest. And we had a great time together. We popped a lot of bottles, did a lot of shots and got a lot of sun. I had some visitors too! Lindsay coincidentally came to Freeport on vacation with her bro and padre. We had a good time. I got a bunch of my work done before they came in so we could hang out. After my morning work meeting, we loaded up with beers and gas and headed out to the National Park beach with two of my staff Mark and Katie. The beach was amazing. It was where one of the Pirates of the Carribean movies was filmed. You can wade out about 1/3 of a mile before it gets waist deep. An afternoon of crystal clear water, no clouds, great company, and lots ok Kalik. We had a great time. Then we went home and showered up for the dinner cruise I put us on. It was a steak and lobster cruise with lots of white wine. After that, our open bar student event at Club Anmesia. Needless to say, it was a very intoxicating day. The next morning, I felt like I had been hit by a bus, but rallied through to get some work done. We met up for dinner and I went home and slept like a rock. After the Paull visit, two of my Nassau girls came for a visit, Tracy and Jamie. That was a drunken wonderful mess and I'd do over again in heartbeat. I love these girls and I love the time that we spend together. It was so much fun. If I could post video clips, I would, but you'll just have to believe me, this was a great 4 days. We spent our time hanging out and catching up. Walks on the beach, afternoon cocktails, dancing, shots, lots of bahamian music. One night we went over to the all-inclusive for dinner, then took a walk on the beach. We happened upon this tiny sand bar, where we went in, had some tequila, met some bone fisherman and shot the shit. It was a great night. Overlapping with Jamie and Tracy's visit, was Anmol's. Anmol, a friend from Boston, was enroute to Cuba with some buddies, but flew in a couple days early to hang out with me in Freeport. We all partied together on his first night, then the girls left and Anmol and I caught up. Things got hectic before I left Boston, so I was glad to spend some time with him and catch up. I convinced him to take a later flight to Nassau the day he was leaving, so we could hang out more, which he did. We had a great afternoon chatting at the pool bar, but because a monster of a storm came in, his 6pm flight became a 10:30pm flight and he didnt get into Nassau until super late. Sorry Anmol! Overall my month in Freeport was just what I needed. A slower pace, sun, and great memories. From shots at Sparky's, laying out on the huge condo deck, to the Pepper Pot (a late night place where I inhale fish and fries likes its my job), booze cruzin, new friends, and old ones. I was excited to get to Nassau, but sad to be leaving Freeport. Bahamians are a friendly culture by nature, but the further you get from Nassau the friendlier they are. And Bahamians in Freeport were so wonderful and open, that I wasnt ready to leave them. But my old home was waiting. My Nassau friends knew I was coming back to town, and I was looking forward to seeing them and visiting my old haunts. So after a month, just thirty minutes on a 19-seater and I was in Nassau. If only someone knew we were at the airport to come get us....