Grocery Shopping -Alllmost Rained Out

Thursday Ross and I decided to make a trip out of it and get some grocery shopping done. I can't believe that Christmas is in less than a WEEK. And that we were doing shopping for Christmas dinner. I have been so excited for Rissa to get here that I have kinda forgot that Christmas is so soon.

So Ross and I headed downtown on the reggage bus to get some shopping at Foodland. My friend Tammy gives me rides to the grocery store and we usually hit up Foodland. This particular Foodland is probably my favorite store on the island, thank goodness for Tammy introducing us. That isn't to say that I had never been here before, but Tammy knows where to find all the good stuff on the island. Oh, and did I mention it has a great clearance section?

A bit random, I know

Most of the students shop at IGA, because it is school bus route accessible and has lots of American brands. But because students are crazy, the selection is random, and very often, actually probably every time, if you have more than 5 items on your list, at least one won't be in stock. Anyways, Foodland is always stocked. It's like.... AMERICA.... almost. Haha. Nice try. This is the same place you can find iguana and squid.

One thing I think is pretty cool about Grenada is that they get pretty decked out for the holidays. Check out this nativity scene on the top of Foodland, getting pelted with rain.

The deli here has tons of fancy cheeses, so I hit it up for the traditional Petersen Christmas Eve Picnic!

Afterwards we headed to IGA to pick up the remaining items on our list. I think we were pretty successful. Although most of the students are gone, the country is currently flooded with rich people vacationing - on their yacht, in their mansion, at resorts. And they like to buy up food like it is going out of style. Lucky for us they like to buy wine -well, any and all manner of alcoholic beverages, and meats and cheese. Don't drink, check, and check!

The best part of the whole day was (of course) waiting to catch the bus. Twenty minutes later, when we were ready to give up that it wasn't coming, a drive bustles by us and asks where we were going. He tells us to get on the bus now. Seriously, I looked around to see if I was in imminent danger because... being rushed or in a hurry is not a Grenadian thing to do.
...
That driver. FLEW. That was the quickest, reggage buses included, I have ever gone in this country.



It was awesome. We got back to our apartment about the same time as if the bus would've come on time. AND we made a pit stop at campus. Haha!

Grenada Carnival! Monday Night Mas

Even if the hangovers haven't, Carnival 2013 has now come and gone from the Isle of Spice!

Last year I came into Grenada right after Carnival so I missed everything entirely. This year though, I was determined to watch at least some (more tame) parts of it all.



I just grabbed this picture off the internet, but the "Respect the Nutmeg" makes me laugh, maybe CeCe and Katie can pin down why exactly.

In order to get the full effect of this post please pick one or more of the following inappropriate soca songs. Turn up your speakers, plug in some larger speakers, multiple sets if you can, and place your ear on the speaker. And maybe hide your children, grandparents, and parents. -UNLESS it is carnival. In that case everyone get up and DANCE!

Lizard & Madlock Ft. Jentle - Washie You Know (Grenada Soca 2013)
Boyzie - Drink (Party Up) (Grenada Soca 2013)
Sheldon Douglas - Touch Me (Grenada Soca 2013) 

Monday night was an event called "Monday Night Mas."  Which upon first listen sounds like a nice quiet, tame worship service in a beautiful church.

Au contraire!

Travelgrenada.com offers this definition of Monday Night Mas for us:

"Carnival Monday ends with the Monday Night Mas' street jump-up, where party goers in brightly coloured T-shirt bands wave fluorescent wands and dance through the streets into the wee hours of the Tuesday morning." 

It was late Monday night and I wasn't sure if the parade would already be over. After 15 seconds of contemplation I laughed at myself. Blame it on only being back for almost a month, but I had already almost lost all memory of how Grenada works! Not only would they have started late, but of course the party would still be going!

My amazingly incredible friend Jillian offered to chase the parade with us and drop us off. So Ross and I jumped in her escudo and zoomed along towards Saint George's until we caught up with it. Jillian must've given some shimmies and winks to the Police Officers because they kept moving the road blocks for us. Sweeet!

Soon we caught up (Thanks again Jillian for the ride!)! Backin' the pack we had this mobile bar in the back of a pick-up. Business was good.

You can see the streets are packed! Ross said, "it's pretty much like a mobile rave." Ross must know from his younger college days.

In the distance of the above picture, you can see a big double-decker party truck with HUGE speakers and insane sound. I know this from my younger college days. And don't forget varying levels of drunken dancers on the top of the truck!

Every once in a while the DJ/ emcee would turn down the music and shout things like "point to the sea! Saint's George's! Sea! Saint George's!" (at least as far as I could make out). Here you can see everyone pointing with their light sabers.

This is one of my favorites. As everyone was heading down the hill towards Port Louis, you can see the masses in the streets and a river of glowing florescent color! 

Just in case you still don't feel like you were there, here is a video. In the end you can see a beer truck. It had huge kegs as well as glasses of bottles. People would hand up their cup or water bottle and get it filled. 

Ross and I didn't stay the whole night, but I am glad that I went. It was really fun to see some Carnival festivities! 

Holiday Break Wrap-up

Well, it has taken me long enough to catch up on posts of all the adventures the Petersens Beyond the Sea had over the month break from medical school.

Still I can't believe all the things I didn't write about in the blog. I realize that I have been blessed with amazing friends that can make anything and everything fun. Flexible friends, spontaneous friends, friends who always have space in their car no matter how many children and adults are already in there!

One of our first adventures after midterms was to hike to Hog Island. We went with some friends and just explored. It was great to finally get out! The island is just  small with some fun hiking trails and a cool little beach. It is kinda funny because during break I ended up hiking to Hog Island 3 TIMES. The second time with some SOs on a morning walk, and the third time on a New Year's Day hash with some other med students.

Photo compliments of the talented Brandon

On the way home from Seven Sisters with the Fergusons we saw my favorite guy.

Brandon pulled up beside him and asked him if he was selling. 

SNOW CONE MAAAAAN!

Of course! So we both pulled to the side of the road and he whipped us up some snow cones. We got to talking with him and he made this contraption and brought it over from Guyana, where he is originally from. This time I got my snow cone "Grenada Style" = half yellow, half red with a green strip going across it. Haha. 

Photo compliments of Brandon, yet again!

When Brandon went to turn the car back on the brakes were out. Someone was looking out for us though, because we were right across the street from a gas station and we maneuvered in to figure out what needed to be done. A guy saw us struggling and he came over and helped the Fergusons bleed the brakes. It was just the thing because we were able to get back on the road and pick up their son from school in time. Thank goodness for the Brakes Samaritan!

Break also involved one or two trips to one of my favorite places... The Merry Baker!
It is a neat little bakery located in the ever fancy Port Louis.

The owners moved here not too long ago from South Africa. They are super friendly and they always recognize me and Patty. I guess you could say we are regulars. Haha.

Anyways, on Fridays around lunch time they do a $10EC burger bar! You can get a ground beef patty or a fish patty and Nigel, the owner, has a tiny BBQ grill and cooks up a patty for you. Then, inside, you can layer on the toppings! The best part is the homemade bakery style bun. :)

Last time I was putting some pineapple on my burger and this chap comes up to me and exclaims, " I have NEVER seen anyone put pineapple on a burger!" *laughs and walks away*
Us silly Americans will layer anything on a pile of meat! What a spectacle to see!

Break was awesome! It was so much fun to hang out with friends and play games and eat desserts and just be lazy. Ross had the great opportunity of going to the beach multiple times! How often do you get to swim in warm crystal clear waters at this time of year?
The weather has cooled down so much from when I first arrived in August. It is more temperate and there is a nice breeze. I can actually see myself enjoying living here. :) I wish it was like this all year!