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Although she doesn’t like to concede it, Emily has turned another year older. This is where she and I differ; I’m perpetually telling people I’m older than I really am, and she is telling them that she is younger than she is! j/k
It takes months of preparation. Everyone is involved. The entire school comes together once a year to host a banner bonanza of Bahamian boutiques, beats, and barbecue. There is loud loud music, ribs, chicken, and shish kabobs; we have a prize table, hoopla, games, and a mini-store – there is even a stand for conch salad and conch fritters.
All of these things were overshadowed by the freezing cold weather that kept people home in their beds sleeping this past Saturday. All our attempts at cracking up the music, spewing the fragrance of cooking meat across the settlement, and posting our most entertaining students to run the booths couldn’t get the numbers of people to the fair that we really need to make a profit.
However all was not lost as we did take in about 1/2 of what we hoped for. Yet this sacrifice came at a cost… because we were all so so cold. It was 59 degrees with a 30 mph wind blowing straight off the ocean. I know it sounds self-servingly trite to complain about the weather when you live in the Bahamas, but the truth is that no one here has adequate preparations for keeping warm once the temp drops below 65. Any household would recognize the low 60’s a being cold enough to start a fire or crank up the furnace, but we don’t have either of those accessible here. Your only hope is to start the car and turn on the heater… which too is crazy.
Despite the cold wind and rain, we did have a of fun at the fair, we even had a biker gang show up – amazing! Micah won a lego police car and a mini balsa wood airplane. We did get some barbecue chicken and for the few who did come out it was pleasant and enjoyable to mingle in the entertainment of wholesome fun (although the bouncy house came down in the wind, to Micah’s horror).
Emily was in charge of the hoopla table, which I think is also my favorite booth to be in charge of. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the ring toss, and the fierce winds only made it all the more fun and challenging. The rest of our staff did a great job of keeping their spirits warm in the midst of the blistering cold (can you sense the hyperbole), and everyone lent a hand when necessary to make the fair as successful as the weather permitted.
Pray that our next attempt in May ends up with blessed weather and a crowd ready to support the school and eat a lot of chicken!