Sorry for the delay. We were busy, and then we lost our internet connection, then we went to Eleuthera for 2 days, and now we're getting really worn out by the work this summer. But things are going well.
Sadly, Jonathan had to leave for home on July 12, since he got sick the sunday before that after playing basketball. He sat home in our house for 3 days without getting better before we decided it would be better for him to go home and get better before the few weddings he'll be attending at the end of the month. It ended up that he had 2 ear infections, is on antibiotics, and is just now getting better.
Jason and I are wrapping up, with only a few things left to shoot on Friday and Saturday. Saturday afternoon, we'll relax with some Bahamian friends from Taylor, and then Sunday we'll do more relaxing, including attending and probably filming Manuela's concert at the New Providence Community Church.
Now Jason is wrestling with the washing machine that doesn't want to start, and since i've written the past few blogs, i'll make him write a better recap of what's happened over the last week or so.
Later,
Tim
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
Here you go mom...
So I'll tell you up front that this is Tim writing this time, at the request of my wonderful mom who will probably know a bunch of this already having talked to me on the phone today, but here goes. Sorry to everyone else who's been tuning in daily (or thereabouts, I for one have no idea how often you guys are checking this...).
Well, it appears that last time we wrote was Thursday when Jason enlightened you guys on a chemistry lesson. On that note, the sink has also been draining a bit slow, and though I know there's no toilet mint in it, I've got the urge to dump another can of Junkanoo(R) brand Champagne soda down it. Maybe I will later tonight.
Friday we got to go shoot the program again. It was a good day, with more of a focus on basketball and drills, including some fun one-on-one moments. Afterwards, we were planning on going to see a movie either Friday night or Saturday with Manuela, so we were trying to decide what to do when Mark called and needed a ride to visit the parents of a student from CH Reeves, where we shot for a bit, who died in a car / pedestrian accident on Thursday night. Jason went along and shot a short interview with the boy's mother. Since he didn't get back till late, he was quite tired, so Jonathan and I went over to Manuela's place for a leisurly swim in the pool. While we were there, we also talked with Chris, owner of the house she's in, who is the treasurer of the Bahamas International Film Festival. Jonathan and I may be submitting our film Dependence to this festival, and we may be able to deliver the copy by hand to the president of the festival, which would be great. After the pool, we stopped by Bamboo Shack, where we got a late night snack at 12:30 or so.
Saturday, we slept in a bit later and took a lazy morning. After lunch, Jonathan and I went with Mark to film some extra footage of him in his old neighborhood to use to show him remembering how things used to be. We made a quick microwave dinner back at our place and went with Manuela to see "Live Free or Die Hard", which was quite fun with lots of action (although some details remained extremely unrealistic, it was still a good film to watch for fun).
Sunday we went to church with the kids, which was good, as we could shoot some footage of that aspect of the ministry. We also took pictures of the kids individually to put on the website as profiles to aid in finding scholarships for some of them. We grabbed lunch at Wendy's and then relaxed for a few hours, napping, sun bathing, etc. In the evening we went to see the kids play basketball outside under the lights as a final hurrah for the program before we leave, since Mark is leaving for Eleuthera tomorrow. We played in the final game, which was only to 30 points by ones, but lasted 1.5 hours. Afterwards, Jonathan got hit pretty hard with a heat stroke, so he's taking it easy today.
Jason and I went to get groceries and get our flat tire that showed up overnight taken care of. Then in the afternoon, Mark got a flat, so I had to take the jack and spare to him at the airport and go to get another tire changed for the day. Quick note- a lot of places spell tire here with a y - TYRE - which throws me off a bit every time. But our tire changers used the familiar I in tire, which was notable, to me at least.
Now we're flipping between Seinfeld and Cash Cab (great show, check it out on Discovery some time). Jason's tending the Mac and Cheese, while I write to you, our adoring fans. Tonight we're ready to watch "The Lot", a show kinda like a film version of American Idol. From there, who knows what'll happen. Heck, it's the Bahamas.
Trying not to get arrested again,
Tim
Well, it appears that last time we wrote was Thursday when Jason enlightened you guys on a chemistry lesson. On that note, the sink has also been draining a bit slow, and though I know there's no toilet mint in it, I've got the urge to dump another can of Junkanoo(R) brand Champagne soda down it. Maybe I will later tonight.
Friday we got to go shoot the program again. It was a good day, with more of a focus on basketball and drills, including some fun one-on-one moments. Afterwards, we were planning on going to see a movie either Friday night or Saturday with Manuela, so we were trying to decide what to do when Mark called and needed a ride to visit the parents of a student from CH Reeves, where we shot for a bit, who died in a car / pedestrian accident on Thursday night. Jason went along and shot a short interview with the boy's mother. Since he didn't get back till late, he was quite tired, so Jonathan and I went over to Manuela's place for a leisurly swim in the pool. While we were there, we also talked with Chris, owner of the house she's in, who is the treasurer of the Bahamas International Film Festival. Jonathan and I may be submitting our film Dependence to this festival, and we may be able to deliver the copy by hand to the president of the festival, which would be great. After the pool, we stopped by Bamboo Shack, where we got a late night snack at 12:30 or so.
Saturday, we slept in a bit later and took a lazy morning. After lunch, Jonathan and I went with Mark to film some extra footage of him in his old neighborhood to use to show him remembering how things used to be. We made a quick microwave dinner back at our place and went with Manuela to see "Live Free or Die Hard", which was quite fun with lots of action (although some details remained extremely unrealistic, it was still a good film to watch for fun).
Sunday we went to church with the kids, which was good, as we could shoot some footage of that aspect of the ministry. We also took pictures of the kids individually to put on the website as profiles to aid in finding scholarships for some of them. We grabbed lunch at Wendy's and then relaxed for a few hours, napping, sun bathing, etc. In the evening we went to see the kids play basketball outside under the lights as a final hurrah for the program before we leave, since Mark is leaving for Eleuthera tomorrow. We played in the final game, which was only to 30 points by ones, but lasted 1.5 hours. Afterwards, Jonathan got hit pretty hard with a heat stroke, so he's taking it easy today.
Jason and I went to get groceries and get our flat tire that showed up overnight taken care of. Then in the afternoon, Mark got a flat, so I had to take the jack and spare to him at the airport and go to get another tire changed for the day. Quick note- a lot of places spell tire here with a y - TYRE - which throws me off a bit every time. But our tire changers used the familiar I in tire, which was notable, to me at least.
Now we're flipping between Seinfeld and Cash Cab (great show, check it out on Discovery some time). Jason's tending the Mac and Cheese, while I write to you, our adoring fans. Tonight we're ready to watch "The Lot", a show kinda like a film version of American Idol. From there, who knows what'll happen. Heck, it's the Bahamas.
Trying not to get arrested again,
Tim
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Chemistry 101
Let me explain a little chemistry to you. A bar of toilet cleaner/freshener is more of a base on the pH scale. Junkanoo soda is an acid on the pH scale. When a base (bar of toilet cleaner/freshener) is clogging up the toilet, and it needs to be disintigrated, you need an acid (can of Junkanoo soda) to help with the chemical reaction. Well, as you may have already concluded, there in fact was a bar of toilet cleaner/freshener that clogged our toilet, and we did, in fact, pour a can of Junkanoo soda into the clogged toilet...well...2 or 3 cans...to help speed of the disintigration process. Did it work...well...we like to think so. We also found a plunger which didn't work too well with the frame of the toilet hole, not much suction. But, I got it to stick a few times, I also like to think that contributed somewhat to accelerating the process. Anyhow, a few more flushes a little later, and walla! Clog free toilet. Don't attempt such a feat at home unless there is an experienced chemist, such as myself, present. It could have dangerous results. I believe that was Tuesday.
Sunday was kind of slow to my memory. We had most of the day off, but I believe we went around that evening in Kennedy Sub and interviewed some of the kids that he worked with before. Monday we were there, and he played ball with some of the kids and we interviewed a couple. Tuesday he was palying again with a lot of his original group of kids who are a lot older now, and we were out there for a little while. Wednesday, the fourth of July, we were at the courts in the morning getting some closer shots of people handcuffed going into the courts, and we saw a kid Mark worked with from Eleuthra who was paroled and flew back to Eleuthra. We saw about three fireworks...well, the tops of them, and a few more flashes on the fourth of July. The 'forest' behind our house blocked the rest of the fireworks. I don't know why they lit off fireworks here though, their Independence Day is on the 10th of July. Today we were at the church where the program was going on again. It went really well today. Brother Penn was there also with Mark working with the kids. He hasn't been able to drive the bus a lot lately because his mother has been in the hospital. He was supposed to drive tomorrow too, but his mother has to go back in the hospital. But hopefully all goes well tomorrow, and then Sunday should be the final day, where all the kids go to church and there's a large tournament. Then Mark is off to Eleuthra and we'll try to tie up some loose ends here before we go back for a few days.
Tim is losing his farmers tan little by little, it's even making his Bob Marley tattoo fade. It's been very hot down here since it hasn't been raining. We've been going through a lot of water. We've got Omar's car to drive pretty much permanantly now, for the rest of out time here in Nassau. It's a nice right hand drive, Honda Civic, doesn't die everytime we stop. Much safer. That's a lot of what's been going on. If you want to know what else has happened...well too bad. I'm not writing anymore right now, mainly because I can't remember too much more, but also because it's getting late and other responibilities call before slumber.
I hope this has been a valuable lesson when dealing with toilets. Goodnight folks!
-Chuck Norris-
Sunday was kind of slow to my memory. We had most of the day off, but I believe we went around that evening in Kennedy Sub and interviewed some of the kids that he worked with before. Monday we were there, and he played ball with some of the kids and we interviewed a couple. Tuesday he was palying again with a lot of his original group of kids who are a lot older now, and we were out there for a little while. Wednesday, the fourth of July, we were at the courts in the morning getting some closer shots of people handcuffed going into the courts, and we saw a kid Mark worked with from Eleuthra who was paroled and flew back to Eleuthra. We saw about three fireworks...well, the tops of them, and a few more flashes on the fourth of July. The 'forest' behind our house blocked the rest of the fireworks. I don't know why they lit off fireworks here though, their Independence Day is on the 10th of July. Today we were at the church where the program was going on again. It went really well today. Brother Penn was there also with Mark working with the kids. He hasn't been able to drive the bus a lot lately because his mother has been in the hospital. He was supposed to drive tomorrow too, but his mother has to go back in the hospital. But hopefully all goes well tomorrow, and then Sunday should be the final day, where all the kids go to church and there's a large tournament. Then Mark is off to Eleuthra and we'll try to tie up some loose ends here before we go back for a few days.
Tim is losing his farmers tan little by little, it's even making his Bob Marley tattoo fade. It's been very hot down here since it hasn't been raining. We've been going through a lot of water. We've got Omar's car to drive pretty much permanantly now, for the rest of out time here in Nassau. It's a nice right hand drive, Honda Civic, doesn't die everytime we stop. Much safer. That's a lot of what's been going on. If you want to know what else has happened...well too bad. I'm not writing anymore right now, mainly because I can't remember too much more, but also because it's getting late and other responibilities call before slumber.
I hope this has been a valuable lesson when dealing with toilets. Goodnight folks!
-Chuck Norris-
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Rain
Well... It's been a few days, so here's my best memory of what's been going on.
Thursday morning we woke up what we thought was an hour late (I accidentally set the alarm for 8, not 7), and we all took really fast showers to be ready to go out with the program. But it was raining, and since kids didn't want to wait outside in the rain, the J&E was cancelled for the day. (Note - in the Bahamas, people don't really want to do anything when it rains, whether the activity is inside or not.)
So instead we had a more relaxing morning. Then, in the afternoon, we went with Mark and Maggie to drop off groceries to a family affected by the SeaHauler mail-boat crash. The man now has a spine injury that has left the left side of his body partly dead. He is in constant pain and has to use crutches to walk. He can no longer work, so he is forced to go out begging for money for food. 4 of his 8 children live with him in a house smaller than our living room, which costs him $420 a month to rent plus utilities. He was very greatful for the groceries, even though he realizes it is only a temporary help and cannot meet his permanent needs.
After that, we went with Mark to meet with parents of some of the kids who used to be a part of the ministry. It was a really good chance to see how Mark involves the parents as well when working with the kids. After that, we got Wendy's to go and ate back at our place before going to bed.
Friday, we got up to go out with the program. The rain held off long enough that we didn't have to cancell, although all the kids got dropped off in the rain. There were about 45 kids this time, which was great. We did have a bit of trouble getting hold of the bus driver, so it took a bit longer than usual to get back. We picked up a few odd items at a grocery store before getting Bamboo Shack for dinner and heading home to watch footage. We have about 20 hours of tape to wach and log what is on them, which will be difficult to get caught up on. But we have Saturday and Sunday off, so we should get some of that worked through. As long as we can watch more than we shoot on average, we'll be ok.
This is Tim, signing off for now.
Thursday morning we woke up what we thought was an hour late (I accidentally set the alarm for 8, not 7), and we all took really fast showers to be ready to go out with the program. But it was raining, and since kids didn't want to wait outside in the rain, the J&E was cancelled for the day. (Note - in the Bahamas, people don't really want to do anything when it rains, whether the activity is inside or not.)
So instead we had a more relaxing morning. Then, in the afternoon, we went with Mark and Maggie to drop off groceries to a family affected by the SeaHauler mail-boat crash. The man now has a spine injury that has left the left side of his body partly dead. He is in constant pain and has to use crutches to walk. He can no longer work, so he is forced to go out begging for money for food. 4 of his 8 children live with him in a house smaller than our living room, which costs him $420 a month to rent plus utilities. He was very greatful for the groceries, even though he realizes it is only a temporary help and cannot meet his permanent needs.
After that, we went with Mark to meet with parents of some of the kids who used to be a part of the ministry. It was a really good chance to see how Mark involves the parents as well when working with the kids. After that, we got Wendy's to go and ate back at our place before going to bed.
Friday, we got up to go out with the program. The rain held off long enough that we didn't have to cancell, although all the kids got dropped off in the rain. There were about 45 kids this time, which was great. We did have a bit of trouble getting hold of the bus driver, so it took a bit longer than usual to get back. We picked up a few odd items at a grocery store before getting Bamboo Shack for dinner and heading home to watch footage. We have about 20 hours of tape to wach and log what is on them, which will be difficult to get caught up on. But we have Saturday and Sunday off, so we should get some of that worked through. As long as we can watch more than we shoot on average, we'll be ok.
This is Tim, signing off for now.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
well, we took Stefan to the airport and saw him off. We talked with a couple of people in the mailboat accident that are disabled and in need Mark and Maggie are trying to assist. We interviewed one today and will one tomorrow probably after the program with the kids is done in the afternoon. We interviewed an inspector of police today after getting the run around from some judges just like everywhere else we get the run around (we were supposed to interview a magistrate). We ate at Wendy's...big surprise. We stopped at ZNS to try and get some news footage. enjoyed the coolness from the rain. Gonna go to sleep now. Welp...night.
-JZASON-
Note - This is Tim updating for Tuesday since Jason didn't know he was supposed to write for two days...
On Tuesday we had a nice late morning (Stefan slept till 11:30 or so) and then we went out for our meeting with Mr. Controversy at 4:00. He talked to us about some legalities and is also going to try to get us in touch with several former gang leaders from the past. He is also getting us in touch with victims from the Sea Hauler crash, which Jason wrote a bit about. Then Stefan grabbed the rest of his clothes from Mark's house and then we came back, ordered Pizza, and watched a movie.
-JZASON-
Note - This is Tim updating for Tuesday since Jason didn't know he was supposed to write for two days...
On Tuesday we had a nice late morning (Stefan slept till 11:30 or so) and then we went out for our meeting with Mr. Controversy at 4:00. He talked to us about some legalities and is also going to try to get us in touch with several former gang leaders from the past. He is also getting us in touch with victims from the Sea Hauler crash, which Jason wrote a bit about. Then Stefan grabbed the rest of his clothes from Mark's house and then we came back, ordered Pizza, and watched a movie.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
A home-cooked meal (Thanks, Jason)
Monday was another fairly lazy day for us. This is partly due to the fact that we still don't have our car back. We just woke up late (for me, 8:45 has become late) and hung around until about 2:30 when Mark came and picked us up to go check on the car. We got there only to find out that he still hadn't had a chance to look at it yet. We're supposed to come back later this afternoon (Tuesday) to see what's up.
After that, we hit up the grocery store. We now show at a place called Solomon's, which is the closest they have to a Walmart here, but with mostly groceries. We even got a 3lb box of Honey Nut Cheerios for the hefty price of $12.99. We came back home and put our groceries away, and I was suprised at how little we brough home for the money we spent. So is life here.
After that, Manuela picked us up and took us to the Grocery store (again) where we got some food to cook a dinner at her place. Jason actually cooked the chicken and fries, put together the cesar salad kit, and made the Daquiri's (unleaded) which was wonderful. *edit* My mistake, Manuela did coock the fries and arrange the salad. */edit* Of the four of us, only Stefan actually likes eating out all the time. Jason, Jonathan, and I prefer to eat at home on plates, which is part of what made the meal so great.
Afterwards, Manuela played a few songs for us that she'll be recording in the next month or so, which was quite a treat. Hopefully we'll be able to get a copy of the CD before we head back.
We then jumped in the pool for a while. It was nice and warm, helping us cool off from the hot days we've had with heat indexes well into the 105-110 range. It was actually wierd, though, to swim without the added boyancy of salt water, but nonetheless, it was great.
We headed home and (can you tell I'm losing steam?) went to bed fairly soon after. Thankfully, the night cooled off enough to allow another good nights sleep.
After that, we hit up the grocery store. We now show at a place called Solomon's, which is the closest they have to a Walmart here, but with mostly groceries. We even got a 3lb box of Honey Nut Cheerios for the hefty price of $12.99. We came back home and put our groceries away, and I was suprised at how little we brough home for the money we spent. So is life here.
After that, Manuela picked us up and took us to the Grocery store (again) where we got some food to cook a dinner at her place. Jason actually cooked the chicken and fries, put together the cesar salad kit, and made the Daquiri's (unleaded) which was wonderful. *edit* My mistake, Manuela did coock the fries and arrange the salad. */edit* Of the four of us, only Stefan actually likes eating out all the time. Jason, Jonathan, and I prefer to eat at home on plates, which is part of what made the meal so great.
Afterwards, Manuela played a few songs for us that she'll be recording in the next month or so, which was quite a treat. Hopefully we'll be able to get a copy of the CD before we head back.
We then jumped in the pool for a while. It was nice and warm, helping us cool off from the hot days we've had with heat indexes well into the 105-110 range. It was actually wierd, though, to swim without the added boyancy of salt water, but nonetheless, it was great.
We headed home and (can you tell I'm losing steam?) went to bed fairly soon after. Thankfully, the night cooled off enough to allow another good nights sleep.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Lazy Sunday
Today we went to New Providence Community Church (NPCC), which was where the program was run yesterday. The service was very nice and we enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting that at one point, all nine people on the stage were wearing jeans. It's very relaxed and comfortable, but the atmosphere was great.
Afterwards, Manuela, who is an intern working at the church, took us home since we didn't have a vehicle while the Kia is in the shop. We decided to go out for lunch at Johnny Canoe, which was kinda like an island version of Applebees. It was great. We got conch fritters, which were like hush puppies with conch inside. Stefan still wouldn't try them since he doesn't eat seafood. It was great to relax and enjoy lunch with someone else our age. Not that we don't like each other or get along, but sometimes it's nice to change things up.
In the afternoon we just kind of did nothing, enjoyed some time off. Then we went to "The Tracks", which is an old airstrip that they ride up and down on motorcycles and cars, doing wheelies and burnouts. This is the place where lots of people go to hang out on Sunday evenings. Manuela went with us too, since although she's lived here for four years (before going to college in Canada), she had never been.
We came back and cleaned up a bit, eat PB&J sandwiches, and are currently watching "The Last Castle" with Robert Redford. I suspect that we'll go to bed shortly after it ends.
Tonigh is our second consecutive night without our beloved mosquito coils. We realized last night too late to go buy some, and since today was Sunday, nothing is open. This means that we'll probably be covered in bites tomorrow, but getting more of them is one of our top priorities.
Until next time,
Tim
Afterwards, Manuela, who is an intern working at the church, took us home since we didn't have a vehicle while the Kia is in the shop. We decided to go out for lunch at Johnny Canoe, which was kinda like an island version of Applebees. It was great. We got conch fritters, which were like hush puppies with conch inside. Stefan still wouldn't try them since he doesn't eat seafood. It was great to relax and enjoy lunch with someone else our age. Not that we don't like each other or get along, but sometimes it's nice to change things up.
In the afternoon we just kind of did nothing, enjoyed some time off. Then we went to "The Tracks", which is an old airstrip that they ride up and down on motorcycles and cars, doing wheelies and burnouts. This is the place where lots of people go to hang out on Sunday evenings. Manuela went with us too, since although she's lived here for four years (before going to college in Canada), she had never been.
We came back and cleaned up a bit, eat PB&J sandwiches, and are currently watching "The Last Castle" with Robert Redford. I suspect that we'll go to bed shortly after it ends.
Tonigh is our second consecutive night without our beloved mosquito coils. We realized last night too late to go buy some, and since today was Sunday, nothing is open. This means that we'll probably be covered in bites tomorrow, but getting more of them is one of our top priorities.
Until next time,
Tim
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