The Southern New Hampshire University women's soccer team traveled to the island of Bermuda for a week-long trip that will include site-seeing and soccer matches against local competition. Senior Paige Salmon (W. Hempstead, N.Y.) will provide first-person accounts on the trip with daily blogs. This is her third entry.
"Wopnin?" is slang for "What's happening?" and is a standard friendly greeting on the island. To learn more about "Bermy slang," click HERE.
Wednesday, August 16
Today started off with a nice surprise – a recovery day! After breakfast, we headed down to the beach for a recovery session to give our muscles some rest. The session ended with a little plank arm wrestle competition. After a few rounds the finalists were Courtney Benson ('18) and Hannah Chick ('20). Chick put up a good fight, but Benson took the crown, making her senior class proud! Returning to the Barracks, we had an hour and a half of down time, where most of us caught up on some sleep.
Following lunch, we packed the vans and headed to the Royal Naval Dockyard for some shopping and water activities. After splitting up for a little while, we all happened to find each other at Calico Jack's Floating Bar. Here, we jumped off a plank on the side of the boat, hanging over the water. After we enjoyed a little fun in the water, some headed off to get their hair braided (I know, basic), others enjoyed some homemade ice cream and a few went mini golfing.
After dinner, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that we were going to a street party in Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. They blocked off Front Street and many came to enjoy live island music and the various venders. We were able to see the Gombey* of Bermuda perform their elaborate dances. The music consisted of drums and a fife, and the Gombey, who were performing were wearing very colorful costumes. The dances were interesting to watch because of the culture behind them. When we returned to the Barracks, we did a little team bonding activity and then everyone fell asleep shortly after.
*A tradition that began when black slaves were first brought from Africa and the Caribbean, "Gombey" is derived from an African word meaning rhythm. They were originally intended to perform only on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day – the two days of the year when slaves were given a rest from their labors. Today, Gombey dance on Boxing Day, New Year's Day, as well as other important events such as football matches, at festivals, parades and holidays, at hotels or guest houses and most importantly Good Friday and Harbour Nights (a weekly market held on Wednesday's during the months of June – September). To learn more, click HERE.
Wopnin?! Women's Soccer Trip to Bermuda: Blog Entry #1
Wopnin?! Women's Soccer Trip to Bermuda: Blog Entry #2
