Day 2

"Auntie, auntie..." My nephew, R1, was at my door this morning. I didn't answer for the first few times he said it because I'm not used to it. Lol. He genuinely respects me as his aunt although he's 12 years older than me. He made me slammin banana pancakes as he talked to me about his life. He works 7 days a week. He bought this house 8 yrs ago. He's trying to pay it off within the next 10 yrs and buy another house in St. Kitts and/or London. He got up at 7 am after getting in the house from work at 1am. I asked him if he were tired. He said, "I'm a man. I don't get tired." I love him for that. Reminded me of my dad. A lot about Bermuda reminds me of my father. My family has his eyes.

Today was Bermuda Day...think Labor Day meets Memorial Day. Even though it rained most of the day, there was a parade. Majorettes, floats, Gumbay dancers, food, and lots of family. I met my uncle Frederick who last saw me when I was in diapers. He's got to be 70 yrs old not looking a day over 50. Anyway, he looked at me and was like, yep...you look like family. Yay, I pass for a real Bermudian. Hehehe. I also realized that the family likes to use the same name over and over. My dad, Vincent has 2 sons named Vincent. My uncle Joey named all his (3) sons Joey, lol. My uncle Victor named his son, you guessed it...Victor. Lol. Talking to uncle Frederick...I also have another uncle named Frederick, whom we called Freddie (L. Frederick Wade who was the first Prime Minister of the country...the airport is named after him) was so warm. I love nice old people.

I ran into this guy who's from Bed-Stuy. (The guy I was mean to at the coffee shop) He didn't diss me. We'll see how it goes when I get back home.

A lot of the people were complimenting my eye makeup. I didn't even go crazy. My sis was like...see, you should've brought biz cards. She forgets I'm on VA-CA-TION.

Gumbay dancers are Bermuda national icons. They depict African dance, colorful traditional garb and usually two dancers "fight" each other through dance. Kind of like voguing meets Native American culture.

I'm experiencing something I've never had before...true family. Everyone is so kind to me. Out of nowhere my sister gives me her iPod Touch because she has an iPhone. I'm going to guard it with my life because she told me the story of who she got it. We got soaked in the rain...she gave me a dashiki dress she bought from Jamaica.

I feel like a patchwork of my 3 sisters. K (the oldest) is quiet. She listens and observes. M (youngest) used to be wild. She was a bartender, was into cosmetology and was doing hair and makeup for a while. O is generous and knows everyone on the island. Kinda cool.

I still don't talk much because I feel like my accent is ugly. *shrug* Who am I fooling? I just don't talk much, lol.

There's going to be rain tomorrow. On the news, they said it may turn into a tropical storm (picked a great week to come, no?) So pray that that doesn't happen, k?

I attached a pic of a Gumbay dancer in action. I took video...hopefully, I can get those uploaded soon.

Hope you guys are great! Internet is so shaky. When I get home, gonna have a lot of catching up to do...
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