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!

What Unites Us All

About a week ago or so I was talking to a Grenadian and she asked me,

"Do you find it hard to understand us?"

Umm, you mean like to understand Grenadians? The answer, was no, not really. But sometimes, sure. I can't say that even after a year on the island I can understand every conversation that is ever being had. Surely not.

But the most interesting thing to me, is learning all about how to say what I want to say. Because in Grenada, people speakin' English, but maybe a little too English.

Like down here, you don't throw your trash in the trash can. You throw it in a litter box can.

"Sick, why is she taking a picture of a dirty trash can?!"

It's subtle things, but sometimes they make all the difference in understanding people. You get soda from the icebox, not the cooler. And when the Limes kids fight, they pelt, they don't hit. And when you tell the Limes kids to go play, they do so in the pasture, not the field.

When you go to the store, you push the trolley, not the shopping cart.

When you are shopping in the store they ask, "ya gettin' by miss?" And if you haven't finished something, you haven't "finished as yet."

Papaya is called paw paw, unless you are a local trying to talk to a white girl in the market downtown and you can't quite remember what those white folks call it. Then it is called a "paw paw...ya."



If you see, "No posting bills of any kind" stenciled on a wall downtown, you may ask the British chap on the bus what it means. He'll look at you kind of funny because how else can you explain it? No posting bills... like, "A public notice, such as an advertising poster" (thanks dictionary.com) When this American girl was thinking no posting pieces of legal paper money on these walls.

And if a random guy on a bus wants to have sex with you, he asks, "Do you want a friend?" Not exactly exchanging BFF necklaces.

It can be a bit confusing at first, you may even feel like you are in the Land of Oz. Especially with signs like this on the road.

Closer.....

But you aren't...

You're just in a foreign country. And the good news is, you don't have to look very far before you find something familiar. Something to remind you of your old home in America, maybe even a trip you took, strolling down the aisles of Walmart with some lovely members of your community. 

Because let's face it, curlers and atrocious panty lines unite us all!

Island Life

In case any of you have forgotten, I live in Greanda, West Indies. Everyone calls me lucky because I live in "Paradise." But let me tell you about said, "Paradise," or a tiny rock in the middle of the ocean, whichever you please. I live a very weird life.

My weird life is now my normal life.

What do I mean?! Well, let me tell you just a few weird/normal things.

At work a while back I found a crab INSIDE the building, just chillin. How long had he been there?! That's weird.

But weirder than that, a woman in the office simply grabbed a coffee mug, caught it, and released it outside like it was nothing, like she caught crabs inside the building all the time. That's weird.

We get traffic here in Grenada - usually a herd of goats on the road. That's weird.

Thanks for the picture Tammy!

Recently my friend sent me this package.

That's a swimsuit and some spiced apple cider. It's November. Don't worry though, I used them in the same day. That's weird.

Sometimes I need to hop on a local bus to get downtown. That is pretty normal, but does your city bus have this awesome airbrushed flaming heart on the ceiling? That's weird.


















Last week I went grocery shopping with my friend and she took these two pictures.

Exhibit A:

I guess this might not be too weird. Right dad? You see this all the time at your favorite Asian market!

But this, this.... Exhibit B. Definitely the first time I've seen this sliced and diced, fresh for sale.

Iguana eat that really bad!!!

Just for you Tay.

(Not really) But like I mentioned to my friend after she posted the pics, my second thought after "interesting," was to check the $/lb.

I did that. I seriously checked to see if it was a good deal, which pretty much means that I considered eating squid and/or iguana. Maybe in a nice "surf and turf" stir fry?  Yeah, that is pretty weird.

Speaking of weird food. This tropical "Paradise" (yep, still in quotes!), has lots of tropical fruits. Some are good. Some are ... volatile, in the sense that it's easy to get a "bad" one. Your window ripeness is often slim. I don't particularly care for most of them. But on an average trip to the local fruit stand my friend picked this up once.



This is called a sugar apple. It smells awful and feels and looks creepy. It reminds me of this baby alien:

It used to be weird, but now, sugar apple, now you are just normal.

You've Been ACCEPTED (now how do I get there?)!

My first question (since I have HOARDS of readers) is, when your Significant Other was accepted into medical school, how did you respond?

Did you cry?
Did you laugh?
Did you panic?
Did you cheer?
Other (super exhaustive list, I know)!?

Or did you do all at once resulting in a crazy epileptic break-dance of joy and fear?

Did you feel like you were in the movie UP?

ADVENTURE IS OUT THEEEERRRREEE!!

^I can almost promise you watching that clip will be the best four minutes of your day!

Grenada is in the West Indies, it's like India, BUT WEST! :)

After you are done being excited about moving your clubhouse and saving blank pages for all the "Stuff I'm Going to Do" you will wonder, just like Ellie,

"Only, I just don't know how I am going to GET to Paradise Falls Grenada!"

And although it would be awesome to ride in a blimpe, or float up comfortably suspended by balloons, most of us just take an airplane.




When you are booking your airfare and looking at airlines and itineraries, here is a good expectation to have.



You have American Airlines all the way to Grenada or you might find routes that includes Liat or Caribbean Airlines.

You may get lucky and have a good experience, I hope you do, for both of us!

Caribbean Airlines: Is what I call Caribbean Luggage roulette. But instead of spinning a barrel with a bullet, you put your bags on the belt at the concierge and as it rolls away, you gamble ever seeing it again in the next week, or month.

Liat Airlines: Is where you should bust a hole in the window and dive off the plane with some awesome luggage and float to Grenada because you'd get there faster, and your luggage would be guaranteed.



And America Airlines is just a pain. They like to raise prices around when students enter and leave the island and they also like to randomly cancel legs of your flight, maybe they will tell you, maybe they won't. Also maybe they will charge you for the second bag, but also maybe not.

Delta also flies to Grenada.

Generally, I stick to American. And I avoid long layovers in the icebox Trinidad and Tobago Airport. I never thought I was so close a chilly frozen death than when I was in that airport. And that is coming from a Desert Rat who lived in Utah for a spell. Yeah.

Buying your fare is always an unfortunate ordeal. Here are some suggestions from other SOs (Significant Others) that I shamelessly took from the SOs of SGU Facebook page.

-Use sites such as these to find a good deal, and don't forget to compare different days if your dates are flexible:

• Booking straight from the Airline can sometimes be the cheapest, and it also often makes it easier to make changes and adjustments. 
• Kayak
• Priceline
• OneTravel 
• CheapOAir

-Try splitting up your trip by booking separately. For example, fly to New York, and from NY to Grenada. Or fly to Trinidad (Port of Spain) and from there to Grenada. Might be worth it, might not. But worth a look.

-Pay attention to travel embargoes and your luggage amounts so you can pack accordingly.
When I landed in Trinidad for my layover, I had to collect my luggage, go through customs, leave the airport, and walk back in to re-check my bags through Caribbean Airlines. Although AA allowed me to have two checked bags no problem, Caribbean Airlines kinda hassled me about it, but in the end with a smile, wink, shimmy, and wide-eyed I-barely-understand-anything-because-of-your-accent look I got the second bag on without problems.

Good luck with your travel itinerary and remember:

Grena- WHAT?! (.gif packed action!)

When my dearest husband told me that he was going to apply to a medical school in the Caribbean, I laughed. I think I was conscientous enough to laugh on the inside, and my outward manifestion of desperation was masked by wide eyes.

"Huh?"





I mean, I knew he wanted to have options... but I wasn't about to sign up for some crack-pot-voodoo-magic-med-school.

*ahem*

The days went on and I began to think, "lounging in the sun for a couple years couldn't be THAT bad!" 



Then I used my debit card to pay for the application. And things got REAL.



So like any self-respecting, self-proclaimed Social Scientist would do, I got to work researching. I attacked the information with ferocity! I found the Significant Others web page, I read blogs, I took notes (nerd alert!).

And I cried.



I'm not afraid to admit that. Plus, that was in my younger and more vulnerable days.

And then came the move back in with my parents, the acceptance letter, the crappy buffer jobs, and all of a sudden, we were packed and sitting in LAX for the world's most anxiety packed trip.

I must have been in a fugue state or something. Because almost a year later, here I am!

All jokes aside (because honestly, a fugue state might've been better ha...ha...ha).

My intention is to write a series of GRENADA posts to help my fellow SOs, ex-pats, and adventure-lovers -pack, arrive, and adjust to the adventure of living in Grenada! :)

Welcome.

Getting Settled

A few weeks into my new life here in Grenada I wrote this post and wanted to gather some pictures for it... so I bring it to you now!

A couple days ago I had a visiting SO ask me... what is the biggest adjustment for you?

And even though I have been here for a few weeks now. I think I kinda cocked my head and stared off into the distance. Granted, maybe it was the heat exhaustion, or just plain exhaustion that set me in a trance, but it took me a couple minutes to try to sort it all out in my head.

The heat & humidity.

Which is legitimate. Lots of people have trouble adjusting to the heat and humidity. Sweat pours. And on your face and arms and neck there is this mixture of sunscreen, sweat, soap, and perfume. Perhaps we should recall the Facebook status update I provided about these things:

My friends claimed they were a necessity, so I bought some (obviously not the expensive fancy ones). And in my first few days here I used one to try to absorb the oil on my face.

It got stuck. And ripped.

Looks like I'm going to have to upgrade to microfiber cloths and a sham-wow.

BUT

More than the heat, I wondered why I didn't answer with something else, anything else. Hanging out with SOs and reading blogs it is interesting to see what other people have to say.

I could have said those dang reggage buses.

I tried to take a sneaky shot... didn't turn out so well.

Here is how you get a reggage bus driver/ money collector (cobrador?) to harass you:
Walk. Anywhere in this country. And they will call at you, or flash their lights at you, or honk at you, or get out and follow you around and try to convince you that, yes, actually, you DO want to go downtown, so please drop everything you thought you had to do and get on this bus. right. now!

Lots of people here cannot get used to that, and it bothers them.

Last Saturday I was walking with a group of SOs to the Limes beach day when a reggage bus guy was calling at us to get on. The van slowed down and he was asking the usual, "ladies, pretty ladies! Saint George's? Saint George's?" I shook my head no. But then he asked, "playboy? want a playboy?"
Umm, good sir, fortunately I cannot imagine all that your potential service offers ... but I can assure you that, even more than I do not need to go to Saint George's, I also do not need a "playboy." Thanks though. Nice to know variety is out there.
We just shook our heads and I turned to my friend as he drove away, and just had a "What?!" moment. Love it.

I could have said those wonderful kind young men around here.
Who act like, despite the huge population of medical students, they have never, ever seen a white lady. They cat-call, whistle, stare, honk, and hang out their car windows and yell.
Last week I was waiting for a bus and this guy stumbles over to me and starts leaning in, too close for comfort. He rubs his chin then blows me a kiss. It was so odd and creepy at the same time that I had to turn my head to stop from just laughing so hard! Love it.

The scene of the crime!

I could say the lack of fast food, or convenience, or not having a car, or the high price of groceries, or "island time," or even never getting to see my husband (nah, doesn't bother me!). ;)
But for whatever reason or another, I chose the humid, sweaty, sticky body that I now permanently live in!

And I think a big part of my ease in adjusting here I owe to my wonderful parents and family. My parents who walked us down skid row, past the man in the mumu. My parents who took us to BBQ places in Compton. My parents who rode the train and buses with us down to Union Station walked us down Olvera Street, and the back alleys of Chinatown where a woman chased us, offering us the duck special. My parents who patiently rolled up the window as a bum fight occurred across the hood of our car. My parents who conversed with those in need, and not having millions themselves, and gave some change without questioning where the money might be headed. My parents who took us to Tijuana, Mexico and let us experience "chicle? chicle?." My parents who remain in the same neighborhood, even if our neighbors had an old toilet on their front lawn. My parents who supported me traveling and living abroad, although I am sure they were quite worried and terrified.

Momma and Poppa!

My parents who pushed me out of the nest when I while I was young and taught me that I needed to make my own path. My parents who didn't tell me how, but taught through example, the principles that should guide my life. They showed me how to deal with uncomfortable situations. They taught me that not everyone is the same, and that diversity in circumstance or appearance is a fantastic thing! And best of all, leave the porch light on for me to come back when I need.

I will love them forever for that.

But maybe they could have taught me how to deal with humidity a little better.

New Address

I keep forgetting to write my new address!

Here in Grenada there is no home mail delivery! Students are allowed to have a mailbox on campus where mail is delivered directly to their box*. So without further ado, here it is. I am not sure how imperative it is that you put Ross's name on the first line (because I want mail too!).

Ross Petersen, 3089

St. George's University

P.O. Box 7

University Centre

St. George's

Grenada, West Indies

*I know everyone is dying to send us packages ;) and pay their first born child to ship it! Just a word on that, I was told that if you send it DHL or FedEx the package will ship directly to the school and we can pick it up there. If you send it USPS, we will still be grateful and happy, it will just go downtown and we will have to catch a local bus to go down there and pick it up. The mail here is kind of random that way. I have also heard FedEx sometimes goes to the FedEx office downtown. Who knows. 

Also, depending on the day we get to pay taxes and customs on whatever they have deemed important when the package comes and they rip it open and go through it. Haha. Not U.S. kosher, I know! I overheard the mail room manager telling someone all the different rates they have for items. Like a certain percent if the clothes are new, or nothing if the clothes are used. :) 

The cool thing though is that students/ SOs have family visit. And everyone is so nice about getting the word out so if you need something you just have it shipped to so-and-so's mom and they can bring it down for you. Super helpful! 

There is the address! Feel free to write away, right away (couldn't resist)!

Quote Wednesday #1

I have decided to do Quote Wednesdays!

I am a person who is really big into quotes. I have a quote book where I collect quotes. I love finding new ones and thinking about the meaning and how I can use them in my life. Some are deep, some are funny, some are cliche. But I like collecting and filling my mind with things that continually keep the wheels moving and turning and make me change something in my life for the better. I'm never static for long. It's a good thing, and a bad thing.

What I want to try and do is every Wednesday post a new quote and talk about it a little bit. Feel free to share your own thoughts about it!

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind"

I found this cute little nugget on Pinterest.

I like it because it is kind of a promise of what we can have, if we choose correctly.

I read into it like this: 

"There can be, far, far better things ahead than those that we should leave behind." 

We don't always choose to move forward in positive directions. Often, we might leave good things for poor choices, or poor choices for even worse choices. I don't encourage, but I hope that we have all made at least one bad choice, sometime in our lives. 

Because we can always return and move forward for better things. No matter how far we think we fall, we can still move forward for better things. But, it requires leaving behind something (sometimes someone) for something better. 

It is up to use to make this quote true.

*Obviously* I just made a huge change in my life, leaving behind lots of people, things, and ideas for ... hopefully something better. But it is up to me whether I have left all those things behind for the worst two years of my life, or two great years of my life!

I can choose to move forward and make my days count or not bother.

,

In the Beginning

This is a big deal for me! Three weeks living in Grenada!
So it is appropriate to write a long overdue blog post!

A day, three flights, three countries, 7 hours worth of layovers, countless hours spent in customs, dozens of forms and two airplane meals later.... we made it missing only one bag!
I was expecting the worst, I mean really terrible things so I was pretty pleasantly surprised at how far my patience and flexibility got me!

Ross's 50 lb checked bag!

Mom, Dad, Kyle, Ali, and Cassie packed in the cars to drop us off at the airport. Everyone helped to lug our bags down and get them all checked in. I was really happy at how quickly we were able to get it all done. Then we sat and mad dawged our bags until we saw the cart with them move out to be put on the plane. Haha. Not sure if having them out of my sight was a good thing or a bad thing! :/

With my mom & dad. Miss them already! :(

Siblings! Rissa, Ryan, and Jen were there in spirit! :(

Shout out to Ali for the pictures, totally stole them from her! If you think I look tired at this point in the trip -you have no idea! Obviously I deemed this not to be a make up worthy day(s).

The thing I can't stand about having to check in 3 HOURS early is just sitting in the airport thinking about all the things you forgot or errands you could be running when not but two hours before you were running around trying not to forget your toothbrush. Ugh. So instead I watched people get off planes and guessed where they were coming from or where they were going. Also, I helped I girl from the Dominican Republic who was trying to talk to Ross in Spanish. And wow, I am rusty. She might have been better off talking to Ross!

At midnight ish we boarded the plane -Miami bound- in the sweet comfort of First-Class. I kinda felt guilty watching everyone walk past... but I was still hungry for my First-Class meal. Can you tell from the photo?

They give you a fancy warm dish with mixed nuts! Yes, I am a dork for taking pictures.

Our fancy little meals we had, with mini salt and pepper shakers that really cracked me up. 

It was a pretty good flight, we got pillows and blankies but the seats were kinda uncomfortable so we couldn't sleep much. We arrived bright and early in Miami, ready to board our next plane to Trinidad!

We rode business class from Miami to Trinidad and they had incredible seats! We could lay totally flat! Also, they had great movies like The Avengers. It was a really hard choice... sleep... or The Avengers. But since I couldn't get those huge earbuds in my tiny ears, I fell asleep after a little bit of watching. The plane ride was too quick. We also got fed but you know, that whole being treated like a princess thing gets old fast. Hehe ;) I loved looking out the window and our plane had a screen that showed the path we were flying! So I kept updating it to see us flying over Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It was really pretty cool.

My favorite part was when the pilot came on and said we were preparing for landing and I couldn't see any land!! All I saw was a funky strip of land that I can only figure is the weird top part of Venezuela. Like, I just saw South America out of my window, no big deal. 

And we landed in Trinidad. Sad to say my experience with the country was mass confusion. Ross and I were trying to figure out what the heck we needed to do with our bags since we were changing airlines. Everyone told us something different and our heads were spinning. When we originally checked them back in L.A. the lady said they would go straight to Grenada. Long story short... we collected our bags, went through customs and immigration, left the airport, had paid a porter to haul our bags for about a 5 minute walk back into the airport. We waited in line again to re-check them and I about passed out when the lady asked me how many "additional" bags, beyond one each, we had to check and pay for. Luckily we cleared up that confusion and got all of our bags, fee free, checked in again.

*HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF* 

And then waited for a few hours in the airport to board our plane to Grenada. All around the airport they have these posters warning people to not carry drugs in their luggage and how their families will be hurt if they do. I know it isn't funny but the posters were all super dramatic and it reminded me of sixth grade drug prevention classes we had. 

I read some of my new book The Poisonwood Bible (funny timing?) and looked through some of the 2007 Caribbean travel guide I bought for $1 back home. It was funny to slowly see the airport fill up with students. We knew exactly what plane they were getting on.

(wow this post is getting long)

When it was time to board we went out on the tarmac to board (first time I had ever done that -I felt like a president or something and I just wanted to wave once I got on the stairs). It was so tiny! And I fell asleep right away and before I knew it we were already landing in Grenada. It is only about a half hour flight.

This picture is actually taken after the fact -it was too dark when we arrived, but this is taken with creeper zoom, from Saint George's campus, the airport is that close!

The airport is complete and absolute chaos. There were students everywhere and it was getting late so everyone was cranky. There were lines going every which way and everyone was clueless. Three hours later, 1 lost bag form filled out, a passport entry stamp, and $120 dollars in customs later we exited the airport relieved we made it and embarrassed that our poor friends Amber and Peter had been waiting so long for us.

But honestly, the biggest blessings of the day were Amber and Peter. I cannot thank them enough for what an instrumental role they have played in helping us get an apartment with a fridge... AND a full size bed (better than a twin!) AND hopefully an oven. Amber has been there, emailing me and comforting me every step of the way, answering my millions of questions and just being absolutely the most helpful person I could have ever hoped for! She even got my keys to my apartment!!!!

They live in the same complex so they gave us a mini tour on the way to our new home and gave us the keys and made sure that our internet worked and even outfitted us with some toilet paper! Woo hoo!!! It was a long day but having smiling faces to greet us made it all worth it.

I'm excited for what new adventures will make the trip even more worth it in the long run, (two-years and beyond)!

**Be Smart Travel Tip: Pack a few days worth of clothes in your carry on and sheets so you can make up your bed quick when you arrive. Also a towel, some travel size toiletries, and a shower curtain and hooks! Oh, and apparently some toilet paper**

***We only ended up missing one of our bags! Because when you fly on a tiny plane like Caribbean Airlines, not all the luggage flies on the plane with you, so it takes a couple days to arrive at the airport for pick up!***