First Day of the Last

I remember being in college, every loved to post about their last first day of school. It's probably not true with the amount of grad school happening, but it is still fun to say. That's why I write this post title with a grain of salt. Ross has begun his final year of medical school.

But then you also have residency.

and fellowship.



But at least it is his last first day of his final year of paying tuition. So I will take that.

It is amazing how much difference a year makes. Here he is 3rd year. And also his first day of medical school and white coat ceremony!

Now he's starting his 4th and final year of school before his earns his MD. You can tell I can't care less cos this picture is all awful and blurry looking.



Just kidding of course. He's so close. I will take this time commemorate how far we have come:



How hard he has worked, forged in the flames of Hell adversity.

And everything he has to look forward to: 

And how good he makes scrubs look: 

Before we know it he will be applying for residency.

When the Tan Lines Fade

Today I decided to figure out how to make those cool little tabs at the top of the text box and below the header. So I did. And it provided me with a nice little walk down Grenada Memory Lane.



I am always surprised by how powerful those emotions can come back. Seeing pictures of our first home there makes me feel excited and anxious. Many of the pictures bring back memories saturated in sun but cooled by the bright hues of turquoise waters. Other memories remind me of darker days of hopelessness and despair.

The last semester there was such a blur of working two jobs and counting days til I left. I didn't blog nearly as much as I should have- considering all the adventures and emotions I experienced. But it is fun too, because at this point those memories rest safely in my head. There for only me.

When my friend blogged about her memories of Grenada, having left a few months ago, she was so eloquent. It filled my mind with all the good memories of Grenada and I knew for sure it was time for a post. I started looking back at pictures and my heart yearned for the lazy days. The days of walking to the beach to watch the sunset over the bay. Laying in the warm sun and swimming in the sea. I think of how lucky I was. I am humbled and awed by my experiences.

Then I slap myself and remember how hard it was too.



It's like celebrating your Nobel Peace Prize and forgetting the pain and frustration that went in to achieving it. And I'm conflicted. Should I feel joy and awe? Or bitterness and sadness?

But I remember that I can do both! Life isn't 365 Days of adventures at a time. Life is hard. But it can be good. And I wasn't lucky, I am lucky. I could want so much more. But right now I don't.

Facebook reminded me that this was 3 years ago today. No better way to celebrate than by paying $491 for a partial PTAL for residency applications!

Indian Dress & All The Rest

I get pretty lonely 'round these parts, even with Ross's relatively nice schedule, I can get down about how few actual connections I have here locally. I love being back in America and so close to so much family that can always be there for me and the crazy adventures I love to have. But coming back to America and family and friends meant that I did have to leave some very near and dear friends behind.



I never wrote about it, but by far one of the most difficult things about leaving Grenada was leaving behind not my colleagues, but my friends. I grew closer to those women than I did any of my neighbors or people in the Significant Others organization. I try my best to keep in touch, but it just doesn't replace 8am conversations, 5 hour shifts, birthday parties, and craft nights.



I always felt loved and cared about. I knew that saying goodbye to the island meant saying goodbye to them. Even after my last day of work, I kept coming back to hang out and say goodbye again.



I would leave Grenada and that experience a thousand more times, but I don't think my heart could handle saying goodbye to them even half of a time more.

You can imagine my joy when a piece of my Grenada friends arrived on my doorstep. Figuratively that is. My friend Anitha mentioned that she would pick up some Indian clothes for me when she was there over the summer. Probably partially because she knows I adore her outfits, but mostly because she loves me. The start of the school year is always insane for her with orientation and all the new students but she still found time to get things together to ship to me. And with the help of my other dear friend Karla, the package was off and headed across the seas to find me.

But THREE pieces of beautiful clothing?! Spoiled rotten.

 I was overcome with love! Not because of material possessions but because of the amount of love that went into this gift. I was pretty speechless, but when words failed and I was frustrated that I couldn't express my gratitude, I remembered one of my favorite Anitha sayings,

"Sharing is the only way we make it through."

Or something to that affect. I have never met another person that has so much love and caring in her heart. Thank you Anitha, I love my new Indian dress and I miss you so much!

Week Wrap Up #10

Life has been a little crazy lately. There is a lot going on and I can't believe that in a few short weeks Ross will be starting school again, but this time at a real deal hospital. Hopefully we will have an apartment in a safe neighborhood that we can actually afford. Hopefully I won't have sold too many vital organs to finance our move and deposit. 

In the meantime, Ross and I still afford time to dream. This outdoor set is going on the blog so that someday I can have something like this. 

But I can't complain, Ross and I bought a mattress set. I wanted to cry tears of joy. Yay we won't have to sleep on our mattress topper! We got a great deal and it is a nice mattress. 

This picture may be one of my favorites this week.

You may be able to get a disposable camera for only $8.69, but no guarantees you will be able to find a place to develop the film. Brings back good memories of begging my mom to get me a disposable camera for summer camps. She compromised by letting me share one with my brother. Haha. 

The next two pictures are just pretties. My bestie Teo told me about this place. It is just up the street from where I'm living so I knew it was a must. The donuts were really fresh! Daylight Donuts is a fun little donut shack. You can't really see, but on the side of the building there is a large display of pez dispensers. Which is pretty much all pez are good for- epically large window displays. 

 It was weird to be up that early but Ross and I had a ton of packing and rearranging to do. Looking back on the week (like so many weeks this summer), it seems like a month. Last week at this time I was up in Ogden, before we had even begun our anniversary trip (when I took a picture of this beautiful sunflower).

Now I find myself back here in Utah Valley, thinking about this next week more than the week that has passed. At the beginning of the summer we thought that we would be well on our way to California by now. And now we find ourselves dragging our feet, albeit filled with anxiety. 

It feels like holding onto a good dream. Trying to remember it and live it before it is ripped away. 

Speaking of a good dream being ripped away, I am already dreading the end of this amazing gelato.

I discovered from my friend Kelli while I was in Vernal and now I am hopelessly hooked.

Speaking of hopeless, I am still sick and it is really starting to get on my nerves. I don't know if there is an operation for new sinuses, but mine are sucking pretty bad and I would like new ones. As a result, I have to sleep with this humidifier up in my face. I never thought I would (have) to see the day when I'd be creating an environment like a hot sweaty room. More proof Grenada has ruined me. 

But maybe that is just because I have bad luck. What employee in good conscious can hand out a smashed fortune cookie? Nothing fortunate about that at all. 

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!

See Ya Lata- Hold that Thought

As many of you know, Ross and I planned on flying out of Grenada Saturday, May 17th. You know, along with every other person in Grenada.

Friday night was really weird; packing up and putting the finishing cleaning touches on the apartment.

Ross cleaning off the top of the closet

All our stuff from the past two years was packed up in 4 bags, 2 carry-ons and a couple backpacks. I was pretty surprised but all the bags were comfortably under weight. In the morning my fantastic friend Erin gave us a ride to the airport. As we were leaving Lance aux Epines I saw a SGU school bus. That wasn't so weird, but it was awesome to think that I would never have to wait for, miss, or ride one of those ever again. As Erin drove down Maurice Bishop Highway, windows down and fresh Grenada air blowing on my face, something so normal felt surreal, "This is it."

Ross and I planned on flying out that day but not really. Long story short, American Airlines consistently overbooks their flights (particularly at this time of year) and they offer vouchers to travelers who "give up" their seat and travel on standby.

I have an amazing, absolutely incredible friend who helped us out. It really could have been a disastrous morning what with my travel reservation made in my maiden name, a couple false alarms, and re-booking our tickets. My friends sure aren't making it easy to leave this place.

Ross and I decided to give up our seats and fly standby. This meant we would stay an extra day in Grenada. It's a pretty sweet deal, they give you American Airlines voucher money, a food stipend, and put you up in a local resort. Also, they provide your transport to and from the airport in a nice taxi van.

I was blown away by the service of the staff at Dodgy Dock, the resort we stayed at. The room was far better than I could have hoped for.



The room had two levels and gorgeous views! I thought the decor was pretty cool too.

The second level had a bathroom with a walk-in shower with jets! And another pretty view.

I think our favorite feature was the AC though! I thought we might go to one of the pools they have, or venture to the beach, but we just relaxed inside. I honestly don't know why we have never traveled like this before. It was awesome to be packed and moved out of the apartment, but have time to decompress and say a couple more goodbyes.

The best part was that our original itinerary had a 24 hour layover in LAX, so we arrived at our final destination in Utah at about the same time had we not taken the voucher. It was a truly beautiful last day in Grenada, and it made the upcoming full day of travel a breeze.

RDR Apartments: Our Home

Now that I am sitting here, not living in my apartment - completely moved out, I figured it would be a great time to post pictures of my apartment. Backwards as always!

I was talking to my sister Jen and she reminded me that I never showed her pictures of my apartment. Since I spent the day packing and cleaning and leaving, I figured the apartment was finally in a state my mom would approve -CLEAN.

Jen, here you go!

This is a picture Rissa took when she was visiting in December.



We live(d) on the top floor, center. We got that romantic Romeo & Juliet balcony.

One of the reasons I love this apartment is that I feel really safe. When you go up the stairs, there is a locked gate to the second level.

Ross in action opening the gate door, and our front door, #8.

Here is the view from our front door. Everything is so dry.

The front door opens up to my small kitchen. To the right is a small couch covered in luggage. The the left is a table and a couple shelves. My least favorite thing about the kitchen is the lack of counter space. My favorite thing is there are 4 windows.

Heading back to the bedroom, you can see the door for the bathroom on your right, the bedroom straight ahead. This picture is from the hallway, looking back at the kitchen/ front door.

Here is the bathroom, empty but clean. The cute towels and shower curtain were all packed up and gone by this point. The best thing about this room is the BATHTUB! It is not very common for apartments to have bathtubs here in Grenada, so this is nothing short of a miracle/ gold mine. Definitely a huge selling point for me. 

The second best thing about the bathroom is this funny little electric razor charger.

Next the bedroom. Once again, all packed up and pretty plain. No more pretty afghan or red sheets. Through that door is the balcony, as you can see pictured on the right. With the awesome magnetic mesh to *try* to keep out bugs. 

Another view of the room from the balcony door. From this angle you can see back down past the bathroom to the kitchen.



It's a bit small, but very cozy. This might be my favorite home I have shared with Ross. The owner/ property manger is the best. Very flexible, super fast to fix things, and even better -pre-emptive. Every once in a while she will send a handyman around to check things out, or a plumber to clear the drains. And at least once a year she sends a guy to spray for cockroaches. I got a little emotional as we left, remembering all our good times in this apartment in the past year.

But alas, it is time for a new chapter, and I am ready. :D

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!