Nassau

The Charity: Disaster Relief in the Pacific Islands

The nations: Samoa and American Samoa

As you may know, a devastating tsunami struck the pacific and much of the American Samoa, and Samoa were all but destroyed. Through my trip to Samoa and teaching in Hawaii, I've developed quite a connection to these islands. Please help.

Two for Tuesday on Wednesday

For all you anti-establishmentarians… here is a we hate the police organization.

The Charity: The Brenton Foundation

The Girl: Brenton Hector Smith’s Sister

The late Mr. Brenton Hector Smith was shot close range by a Bahamian Police Officer, and his family has been pushing for some answer. The government is pulling the old “wait until they forget about how we shot their son” routine, but the Smith’s are not standing for it- and I say good for them. Down with the man, fight the system, end the corruption and all that.

www. Thebrentonfoundation.com or Brenton Hector Smith on facebook. Video of the protest.

Top Five things to do in Nassau:

Honorable mention: Get your hair braided, go to the beach, and go to the DD.

Five: Lose all your money at Atlantis, beg for quarters on the street.

Four: Eat some Conch and Grouper at Junakoo (or something) or Arawak (or something) Cay.

Three: Fort Charlotte and the surrounding parks.

Two: Check out the Government House, or the Queens steps.

One: Rent a Moto-scooter (for too many dollars) and attempt life defying stunts while exploring.

Things I passed on: Anything that cost money which was everything.

Good places to stay: Nowhere. All places are too expensive.

Nassau’s Ratings. On a scale from 1 to Boston: 6.7

Nassau has a place called paradise island- that about sums it up. Gambling, beaches, great weather, anything money can buy.

Nassau doesn’t have mountains, or anything that is reasonably priced.

The story: Nassau is like Orlando for richer people. Or richest people. Hey Zeus is this place expensive. Totally touristed out, but there are ways around that. Anyways, I paid lots for a cab (I would say too much, but it wasn’t like I was getting ripped off- the entire island is getting ripped off) to get to a hotel that charged too much, so I left and found solace at D&D’s with free wifi and coffee. From there I found a slightly better value hotel though still am missing to appendages. Anyways, I checked in and was under-whelmed with the hotel, but it wasn’t too bad. I started my quest to find a motoscooter to be independent from the gouging buses and taxis. The motoscooters were way too expensive, but worth it. I got out of dodge and fast. I explored the real Bahamas, that is to say I did a self-guided tour of the area’s that they don’t want you to see. There is some real poverty on the island, though I must say it doesn’t seem as bad as the rest of Carribean. Anyways, I was definitely riding around past the tourist-don’t-get-shot curfew. A group of kids tried to knock me off my bike, and I contemplated turning around and running them down, when I realized I had a lot of cash I need to give to the Atlantis Casino. So I did that instead. That was fun. Then I woke up the next morning, and did some more exploring. Including a trip to Fort Charlotte, getting my hair braided (just 10 little ones in the front so I look extra ridiculous- it was expensive and I didn’t have time for the rest of my head.) I also managed to take a quick dip in the Caribbean and watch a protest against a police shooting. All in all, it was a good trip, but I might need to sponsor myself as a charity if I plan on returning. In the end, it costs too much money to go to the Bahamas.

Honestly though, donate some money. The Pacific Islands desperately need you. (I taught pacific islands history for two years, and they needed support before this, I can't imagine the devestation now.)