Back In the U.S. of A!

NOW we are for reals.

Knowing that we would most likely volunteer for standby, I guess I never seriously entertained the thought of actually getting on that plane and leaving. We kissed out sweet hotel room goodbye and headed to the airport.

Since we were already checked in we got to stroll right up into the business class line.



Don't mind if I do! My friend Karla checked us in and I almost completely lost it knowing that this meant goodbye forever. Ross and I quickly headed over to security so I could at least cry in front of a dozen strangers.

Ross and I hung out with his cool classmates before we anxiously boarded the plane. I gave Karla one last tearful hug and headed out on the tarmac.

I absolutely love this photo I took of our friend Ida. She is so dang happy to be headed home forever!!



It was on my STBL to take a photo out of a plane. What better time than my last views of Grenada?

I was right over the plane wing, but I still like the pictures.

Once we landed in AMERICA we headed straight for food. Any food. We ended up eating at Corona Beach Bar in the airport. Once we all got our food we took a fantastic photo that I need to track down.

We all look so happy in the photo. I love it. What a welcome to America!

Pack, Clean, Repeat BREAK!

As you can tell from my previous post, packing and cleaning, cleaning and packing has been the bane of my existence. Ross and I are sooo close to being done. I can just feel it. Because Ross and I have a terrible track record of amicably packing and moving, I built-in little breaks. The breaks were designed to help us get some fresh air and enjoy our last moments in this beautiful country. 

After some Friday morning packing we headed to the ever-classic Grand Anse beach. 

The beach is a great photo accessory - it always makes you look great.

I love our tan lines. You can tell we have desk jobs. ;)

I took a ton of photos and a couple videos. I'll miss this being our backyard, but I just have to remember that getting to hang out with Ross in the warm Caribbean waters wasn't every day life, but a nice perk once in a while. 

After some beach time and swimming we decided to get some lunch at Umbrellas, a restaurant on the beach. I ordered a virgin pina colada of course. I got into a bit of a habit of ordering them every once in a while if we went out. I am happy to say I found the BEST one on the island. I am sad to say I found it on my second to last day on the island. Haha. 

As Ross and I were staring out at the amazing view from our table, we laughed to ourselves. Grand Anse was the first beach we went to, and Umbrellas was the first restaurant we ate at. Funny how life so often comes full circle like that. 

Our friend Ethan met us and later we took a classic beach pic with him. 

We will take as much beach time as we can get! But for now it's back to packing. 

Half Way There

It is DONE! Finally official, Ross has completed and passed his first two years of medical school. As his classmates were joking, "We have the "M" of the "M.D." The Basic Science (classroom) years of now a thing of the past. 

I had this plan to meet Ross outside the lecture hall after his last final, but as always I was running late. So instead he found me up at the Office saying a final tearful goodbye to my co-workers. After that awful experience was over we headed down to the 5th Term/ 3rd Year party. SGU rewards the students with beer for purchase.

In front of Taylor Hall, you can see the tent and crowd of people over to the right

Ross and I opted for alternate beverages, but joined the party with big smiles and sighs of relief.



I have never seen a happier group of people in my ENTIRE LIFE. I took pictures with some of Ross's classmates that adopted me even though I'm not in school. Carolyn on the left, Ida on the right.

You could feel the tension from the students just rise up and evaporate into the hot humid air.

Our friend Ethan took some photos of us and I love how happy Ross and I look!



Seriously, just check us out!

Ross with our friend Ryan.

Bye campus! See you again -never!!

Somehow we got recruited to take a picture with some of Ross's classmates. We weren't planning on it though, so we arrived unprepared. I felt bad about it, but I think they were all just excited to be done. No one cared that Ross was in a t-shirt and flip flops.

Lizzy took the photos and thanks to her talent they turned out great!



Best of all, we got a private photo shoot.

Thanks a thousand Lizzy! You are so awesome to share, they turned out great despite our unpreparedness.

These Petersens won't be "Beyond the Sea" for long!

Music Monday #9: Goodbyes

I fly out of Grenada this week. It's a bit insane to think of just how long I have waited for this moment. Of course the implications of this long awaited wish, are the I now need to focus on cleaning, packing, beach trips, and goodbyes.

For Music Monday I present you with two "Goodbye" songs of sorts. Not cute ones, like John Denver. We should know that isn't what I am all about. I'm am terrible at goodbyes. I am, in fact so terrible at them, I have actually mastered them. I don't like to get teary-eyed and weepy and focus on THIS IS THE LAST TIME EVER I WILL SEE YOU. In part because that is very hefty, and in part because I don't believe it is true.

I am a firm believer that life is weird enough that we re-connect with people all the time. Whether it is true or not, I really hold on to that.

Bouncing Souls is a band I never listened to before Ross. And now I am hooked. I seem to always find new gems from them. Today I have two songs from them that are perfect for life right now.

"True Believers" is a short little song. Here are some of the lyrics:

I've met some people along the way
Some of them split some of them stay
Some of them walk some walk on by
I've got a few friends I'll love till I die

 Grenada has brought me close to so many incredibly wonderful people. I've made friendships here that I know will last forever. Just a few days ago I actually got teary eyed thinking about leaving this place. That was a first.

From all of these people I try to learn
Some of them shine some of them burn
Some of them rise some of them fall
For good or bad I've known them all

People are really funny that way. But what a blessing to have friends that teach us. Friends that shine and rise and are influences for good in our life!

The next song is also from Bouncing Souls. Ross sent it to me last week and we both agreed that it was perfect for our life right now.

"Better Things" is a really hopeful song. It's the kind of song we all need after a hard day, or a move across the globe.

The next song I want to share with you is by the same band. But before I debut it, I want to take some pictures of this, my last week here. I might make it it's own post, or I might just update this one.

Stay tuned!

(ha... ha. Get it?!)

Cheek Pinchin' Moments II

Earlier this year I made this blog post. Inspired by the various tumblrs "What should we call..." such as these Med School & Med School Spouses.

As I sit here, merely days away from kissing this all goodbye, I decided it was time for:

The Grenada Experience in GIFs

Term 1:
You are totally excited to get to Grenada! It is Paradise after all right?! You've heard about lots of volunteering experiences, the beautiful beach, and maybe you can even try your hand at all things domestic! So you get settled in, maybe start making friends, and your anxiety of the unknown subsides.

But if you are anything like me, the dream fades. You start to realize that Grenada is a hot, sweaty, lonely experience filled with frustrations that you are doing pretty okay shaking off.

Three months in you hit a brick wall:



All of a sudden "We aren't going home at all in the two years!" or "We aren't going home til next summer." Is obviously the wrong. You break the piggy bank, and find ways to sell your soul to get home to the U.S.A. just to set foot inside a Super Target.

Term 2:
When Term 2 starts, you start to feel like you have a handle on things, that has to mean things will be easier right?! You've heard that Term 2 isn't as bad as Term 1. And you will buy in to that lie all you want. People from home are noticing that you are still gone. Maybe they chat with you about what Grenada is like and how lucky you are.

"You live in the Caribbean?! You live in Paradise"

And you're like:



Once the first month is over and the easy courses finish for your spouse, things start getting tough again. The groceries at IGA are still sparse, you are still missing buses, and your $6 USD bunch of cilantro is still somehow always rotten when you go to use it. You may find yourself indoors more often, less likely to have the motivation to do all those super awesome volunteer projects you were so excited for just months earlier. Because, you know, they require pants:



SUMMER:
You some how, as if by magic, make it to the glorious summer. Summer summer summer! In America. The land of capitalism, cheap goods, burgers, and customer service. At some point though, you have to call American Airlines. You may not even know why. A changed itinerary? A cancelled flight? Bringing a pet? Bringing extra bags? It is inevitable. So you call, and after transfers, holds and talking to the next available agent, you might just hang up fuming"




Term 3:
Maybe you come back late for Term 3/4, like a sane human being. I had a lot of friends saying how much they missed the island. How happy they were to be coming back. I didn't get it. I remember riding home from the airport with Ross and his friend. It was this weird feeling. It was dark outside, and the hot sticky air was settling in on my skin. Like it or not, I was back. The 10 month countdown silently began.

Term 3 isn't too bad. But the whole time you just have this dark storm cloud of Hellacious 4th term looming over you:



Term 4:
Term 4 starts and you are totally psyched in to the evil. That is when a bunch of brand new smiling people enter the island for the first time. Your already entropic trip to IGA has been interrupted by everyone else who needs the same bread, milk, cereal, and chicken:



Term 4 is some how not as terrible as you thought - it is a hundred times worse.

It's like you can see this Titanic headed straight for the iceberg. Being a Leo fan, you know exaclty what is going to happen:



As 4th term is wrapping up and you are still not sure you will make it, you realize that the relief of summer after 2nd term was nothing.

Term 5:
You have a wonderful break. Maybe in Grenada, maybe in the U.S. Term 5 is next. You never thought you would see the day. But you leave the island in just a few months now! Somehow time drags on. You remember that although nothing could be as bad as Term 4. This is still medical school, and not that much ever really changes:



The talk always seems to turn to the next step. That is, studying for The Step and where you move next. Everyone is all abuzz with the most important question:

"Where do you want to go for rotations?":




And then the countdown begins:

#5daysforme!

Leaving Grenada GIFs

As my time in Grenada draws to a close I've been a bit obsessed with tumblrs like "what we should call caribbean med school."

I might marry gifs if I could. But for now I will just post a compilation of some of my favorites with a narrative.

When I asked my brother if he had seen the preview for "Pompeii" And he responded that that movie came out LAST YEAR in the U.S.



Maybe when I return to The Land Of Plenty I can see a movie within a few years of it coming out. Maybe in a movie theater, but I really don't want to push it.

When people ask me how I feel about leaving Greanda:



Then I break out into tears:



Except I do know what I am upset about. And that can be answered in so. many. ways.

When people invite me to playgroup (because they think I am that bored):



Or when people try to encourage me to go to another Girl's Night or SO activity.



When SOs see me daring to leave the island with only a mild tan.



But that's okay. Pretty soon I get to roll that pretty little suitcase into the airport and feel like:



Only to know the baggage handlers at American Airlines be like:



But that's okay because I'm going to be back in AMERICA:



So things will be okay for now.

Life in the Fishbowl

From the social media level, one might think that life in Grenada is FAN-freaking-TASTIC!! Pina coladas, girls nights, hanging by the pool, walks along the beach, beautiful sunsets.

And that can be true, but like anything posted on social media there is a deeper darker side of the Grenada Experience. It's one that is only talked about in the depths and secrecy of your own soul, maybe a one-on-one with your closest friend. Maybe midnight tears with your mom on the phone, stolen texts to your BFF.



I'm not convinced that everyone feels this way, but if I thought I was the only soul on this island that felt this way, I wouldn't be writing this. 

The thing about the Grenada Experience,

is that we live in a fish bowl.

With the added "benefit" of all forms of social media, everyone (every SO) can see every angle and detail if your life, or the ones we choose to share anyways.

When I first got to Grenada I was overwhelmed with how friendly the SOs (Significant Others) were. It felt like I was entering a new family of friends that I just hadn't met yet. But like all shiny things in life, that faded. I realized an important ugly truth in life:

Everything I needed to know about life, I learned in High School.

I'm not talking about the Pythagorean Theorem. I am not talking about a plethora of literary devices. I'm not talking about the dates of important historic events.

I'm talking about the fact that cliques and drama will always be present. The uglier truth is that on a tiny island you CANNOT. ESCAPE. IT.

It can be terribly depressing and frustrating. You can feel alienated and alone.



It has puzzled me. Instead of lifting one another up and commiserating together, it can feel very dog eat dog down here. Sorry for the cannibalistic deserted island stereotype. #notsorry

Maybe this is what "true" married life is like. A huge contest of who is the best wife. 

Who's losing their baby weight the quickest, who's having the most adventures, who's husband is the smartest, who's swimsuit is cutest, who's getting better deals at the corner fruit stand, who's baking the best celebration dessert.

One of the best things anyone ever told me was, "Kristen, it's not a contest." 

You know why that is great advice? Because it's NOT a contest. We're not comparing (or the point is, we shouldn't be).

Part Two of this ever-growing post is called:

"No Place for an Introvert."

Life and friendship in Grenada is a constant and concerted effort to make and maintain friendships. Because the pond from which to fish for friends is so small, friendships can tend to be awkward and forced. Take a second to imagine what a nightmare this would be for an introvert like myself. If you don't edge your way into a clique right off the bat, you have to spend the next two years floating in the ether.

What is worse, you are absolutely replaceable. Said "pond" is depleted and replenished every term. New SOs enter for a swim and others dry off and leave. A new SO comes in that has kids more your age or more of an interest in babysitting? Replaced. A new SO comes in that likes the same team as your hubby? Replaced. A new SO comes in that has a car and is liberal with rides? Replaced. You couldn't make it to the girl's night? Replaced. You don't like to gossip? Replaced.



The concept is simple enough. And it wouldn't even be a big deal except, as mentioned, you cannot escape people on this island. If you have a falling out with someone, if you are involved in shunning or drama, you get to "bump" into them everywhere. You'll get to hear about all the adventures everyone is having. You'll get to hear about how authentic and genuine everyone is.



Replaced. 

So there is your S.O. warning. It's not much different from life in general.
You take things for what they are, and just try to be the best person you can be.