Wishful Thinking

            During one of the first weekends of this amazing journey in London, my new friends from the program and I went to the Notting Hill Carnival.  Before embarking on this outing, I did not know what to expect from it.  I was thinking that there would be food stands and rides for kids to go on because in the United States, when you hear that there is going to be a carnival, it is more like a fair, which has rides and booths with games to entertain the crowds and fattening food to keep the people happy. 

            The Notting Hill Carnival was a bit different than a carnival in the United States but it has some similarities as well.  The similarities are that carnivals here and in the United States both have food booths and some sort of entertainment.  At home, carnivals have entertainment such as game booths and rides like a farris wheel and roller coasters.  The entertainment at the Notting Hill Carnival was quite different.  Instead of rides and games, there were a few stages scattered around that had different DJs and bands that were playing Caribbean music.  Everyone was packed into the streets dancing and having a good time.  Everyone was really loose and care free while dancing and I think this to be true because of the amount of alcohol that was available for consumption as well as the amount of marijuana that could be smelled in the air.  Everyone was definitely having a good time and it was very fun to be a part of it. 

            Along with the music as a form of entertainment, there was a parade that went through the other streets that were part of the Carnival.  Many people were crammed on the edges of the streets to get a view of the people that were prancing down the street.  Everyone in the parade were dancing to the music while they made their way down the street, blowing whistles and showing off their unique outfits.  Many of the people in the parade were wearing the same shirt and then they were all covered from head to toe in melted chocolate.  It looked like they were all in a mud-wrestling tournament.  We had to ask one of the women that were in the parade what they had all over themselves, which is when we found out that it was chocolate.  We never found out why they had chocolate all over themselves though. 

            Seeing all of the people in the parade made me see how happy they are about their heritage and where they came from.  They were proudly displaying that and it made me happy that they were able to celebrate themselves.  I had a great time being there to help them celebrate.  I wish in America we could have a carnival like that, where we can run wild in a neighborhood, buy alcohol on the street and be able to drink it outside and have fun listening to music and dance with my friends and other people who want to enjoy the same thing without getting in trouble!     


by Adrian Maroney