J-Ouvert/Carnival in Grenada!

This past weekend we joined in Grenada's Carnival celebrations. This was my first time being here for Carnival and let me tell you, it is quite the experience!

Jouvert festivities started at midnight on Friday and I think we walked in our front door around 8am Saturday- yes, it is literally an all night country-wide party! We'd heard stories, but this being our first time were not completely sure what to expect, but were told "wear clothes you don't like, cover your hair, drink lots of fluids, nap, and be ready to be covered in paint and oil." My thoughts were pretty much "what in the world kind of party is this" and "what am I getting myself into?"

The answer?! We were in for hands down the most ridiculous night ever and would come home completely covered in paint and oil. And yes, 2 days later, still be trying to get it out of our hair.

Basically, the gist is that people get together and start to party and head out to St. George and continue to party until 4 am when the more formal celebrations begin. Students were given goodie bags which consisted of rum, a monster energy drink, red paint, a water bottle, a bandana, and a fireman hat. Once you have all these things, you run around and throw and smear paint over each other for hours while loud music begins to blare, dancing starts in the street, and Grenadians in bright colored costumes roam the streets. Like I said, it was bizarre, and nuts!

It was definitely not completely my scene, but I am glad we went. It was fun to participate in something that Grenadians do every year and that is such a great tradition in their culture.

Some of the dancing and outfits were definitely a bit inappropriate and slightly uncomfortable, but it didn't phase me too much because I was expecting it. For those who went in completely blind, I think it was a bit shocking! But what was hard for me was seeing all the kids who participated and roamed through the packed streets late into the night/early morning. Parents held babies on their shoulders and hips and didn't let them stop them from having a good time and basically if you were over the age of 3 it was apparently okay to wander about unsupervised... there were 3 adorable brothers we saw at one point and the oldest must have been 8 or 9 and he was holding on to his youngest brother's shirt as tight as he could so he didn't get separated. SO heartbreaking. They all looked overwhelmed and scared and so we gave them our fireman hats and chatted with them for a few minutes- but really I was ready to swoop them up and take them home away from all the madness.  Definitely a different kind of living here.

All in all quite the Grenadian experience and a really fun night! I was exhausted for 2 days after, but when will we ever get another chance to participate in something like that?

BEFORE being covered with paint

AFTER being covered in paint

The following pictures I did not take but gathered from other people because I thought they were awesome and showed off the costumes and crowd well!