Oi Oi Oi

The music scene on this island is very interesting, to say the least. When we were in Praia, at clubs and stores near the American base, they played music that we were familiar with, but I noticed that it was a lot of crowd participation songs, like the Cupid Shuffle and Soulja Boy. In Angra, we have found that clubs play a mix of techno and house music with a random sprinkling of American music. Even this music is mixed and sped up until it is barely recognizable. Last night, there was even some Michael Jackson! It’s interesting because in the grocery store, Guarita, we are walking through the aisles of cereal and canned vegetables to the tunes of Lady Gaga and Usher, songs that one would usually hear at places like Players and East End in Chapel Hill.

A few of us have actually begun to like songs in the Portuguese clubs. We have heard this one song everyhwere- on the radio, in stores, and basically anywhere else that there is a gathering of Azorean people. The chorus consists of the sounds 'oi oi oi', and we always scream along the lyrics excitedly when we hear that part. When I don't know the name of a song that I hear on the radio in the U.S., I can easily figure it out by googling a few of the lyrics, but it's a little more difficult to do that when the lyrics are in Portuguese. Yesterday though, someone googled 'Portuguese song oi oi oi' and we actually found it! It's called Vem Danzar Kuduro; here's a link to the video that we found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuBD_GZGAYY

I really like the unique beat that the songs have here, even though I was complaining about the lack of American music initially. Next year, I'm a co-captain of a Bollywood fusion dance team, and I think it would be really cool if we danced to something with a beat like this. It seems like I spend all my time thinking about the team; every time I hear any sort of new music, the first thing to come to my mind is- Can we dance to that in Chalkaa?

On the topic of music, we have officially begun the tradition of singing UNC's alma mater obnoxiously loudly everywhere we go. The sound of Tar Heel voices rings clear and true even in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! Coming here validates the fact that I really love my school and the people in it. One little song can bring us together, and even though the Azoreans look at us like we're insane, we are so drenched in school spirit that we don't even notice. Here's to all the Tar Heels born and bred!

Aisha