Coghills in Transition

decisions.

2012-03-04T19:56:00.000-04:00

Life really gets in the way of this blog.
and I can't help but feel like I don't have much that worthwhile to blog about... but I know later on I'll wish I had blogged more about this time of our lives.

Lee officially changed his USMLE test date to March 12th.
He was signed up to take it on February 29th, but the luxury of being a January start at SGU is that the students have a little extra time after 5th term before they begin clinicals in the spring/summer.... so he could easily delay the most important exam of his life a couple weeks. And he got a few weeks off at Christmas before the study marathon began.
I tried to ask Lee for a few tips or pointers that I could share with others preparing for the USMLE, but I guess we'll wait to see how the actual exam goes before we'll start dishing out advice ;)
One thing is that he mentioned is the practice tests out there. He wishes he had taken a practice test a couple weeks earlier than he did so he'd be able to better gauge his progress and/or what areas he was weak in. He's taken 2 practice test, other than the one all the students take at the end of term 5, and I believe he is taking another this week.
He's currently draining his brain this weekend doing as many practice questions as humanly possible in a day.
I would say he studies around 14 hours a day.
my.hero.

enough about him... he'll probably complain or say I didn't say something properly anyway (hi Lee)

I am still loving my job. Lee says that I just get attached to things and people easily... but I really love these kids. 5th graders. Not quite as obnoxious as teenagers, but have great personalities and can carry on interesting conversations... and still think that the new teacher is cool. I can't help but pick out my favorites... and I can't help but take on the hurt in a lot of their lives. In a class of a hundred and some 5th graders there are kids dealing with a whole range of issues from homelessness, recent death of a parent, divorce, learning disabilities, living in poverty, and we are expecting them to be able to perform on a state standardized test. Some days I would rather give them a hug rather than drive the formula for circumference into their brains.

But what do they say? Education is the way out or something like that?

Which leads me to my next point.... I've seriously been considering going back to school.
and not as the teacher.... for social work.
A school social worker to be exact.

Would that be perfect?
Yes I think so. I think that after 24 years I may actually be finding my calling in life.
God led me to Grenada and then to this job in the school so that I would see that I really do love working with children and that my passion is truly for the poor and those needing a voice.

Prayers are accepted while I weigh my options of master's programs, be it online or at a school in Michigan (prayers accepted to us being placed there as well!!) and the whole full time/part time bit because I most definitely need to continue working until my Lee finishes medical school.

I figured if I'm going to do it, I better do it now because let's be honest.... as soon as Lee has that MD behind his name this girl is having a baby :)

40 Reasons I want to go to Grenada March 31st - April 8th

2012-02-28T08:22:00.000-04:00

1. I will be on spring break that week

2. Lee will be finished with the USMLE and will not be busy and he deserves a vacation!

3. I miss Grenada so much it makes me want to cry

4. Limes After School Program

5. Jade

6. The beach

7. Queen Elizabeth Home

8. BelAir Home

9. Easter in Grenada is one of the most perfect times of the year weather wise

10. The kites the kids fly on Easter

11. Rainbows

12. Mango trees over flowing with fruit (I don't like Mangoes, but they are pretty)

13. BJ

14. Shanika

15. CSA Easter choir and baptism on black sand beach

16. Sunshine!

17. Briana

18. I want to see the new Limes structure

19. Ezra

20. Snorkeling

21. Kevon

22. Stephanie Scurlock

23. The Carenage

24. The beautiful colors of the flowers

25. Cantelope smoothie

26. The gorgeous sunsets

27. Miguel

28. Waterfalls

29. Jivona

30. Laura Conley

31. Jada

32. I miss those sweet little accents

33. I want to hear "bus bus bus bus bus!?"

34. Jessie Leath

35. Kyla

36. Laura Lackey

37. I want to hear the little ones say "Miss Kelsey"

38. When will we EVER have a more perfect time to go? no work, no school, no kids, etc.

39. I want to see Deana's new eye!

40. I want to sit in the Limes field and be smothered in hugs :)

Why I will be sitting in Pedro, Ohio March 31st - April 8th.... plane tickets cost an arm AND a leg and Lee and I are poor kids.

boo :(

I am however selling vintage items in my Etsy store to earn some money towards a plane ticket someday :)

Why didn't God make Grenada and Ohio closer? or at least within driving distance?

visit to the great white north

2012-02-26T23:03:00.000-04:00

last weekend I went to visit my Lee!!

he decided to move his USMLE exam back about 2 weeks and is now taking it on March 12th... and I decided there was no way I could go two weeks MORE without seeing my husband and that he could use a small break from the studying :)

his hair is longer, his muscles bigger (push ups apparently are his normal study break), and his brain is crammed with even more knowledge... but other than that he is still the same husband as he was when he left on January 3rd.

the one and only picture we took that weekend..... and not exactly one of our best.

a hair cut is in order as soon as this crazy exam is over.

I did get a picture of myself out in the snow though to prove that I actually was in Canada.
It snowed SO much...

It seriously looked like this when we left Canada and like this when we got to Ohio, notice we aren't even wearing coats!

My Mom made the 10hour trip with me :) and when we stopped for dinner (at a delicious Amish buffet) we saw this guy and needed our picture with him... I think he's actually smiling at the camera!

Also, I want to share this video with you, my sweet husband wrote this song for me for Valentine's Day and sent it to me! and then I went to see him and got to hear it live. I am one lucky lady!

P.S. Hi Stephanie :)

Grenada on my mind

2012-02-12T18:04:00.001-04:00

Some days I seriously ask myself why I am not in Grenada.
I love being home, I love my job, I love my family and friends....
but there is something missing (and it's not just my husband currently)
I just want to be there so bad.

I get phone calls from the kids asking me to come back and it breaks my heart.

I want to save up a bunch of money (ha!) move to Grenada and open some sort of community center where kids can hang out, read, do homework, and play.
I want to have workshops and classes for parents on how to save money and parent and be productive in the community.
I want to have church on Sunday mornings and free lunch for everyone who attends.
I want to have movie nights on Fridays and go to the beach on Saturdays.

I want to adopt about 50 Grenadian babies and I can if I live there.

I think I will spend the rest of my life trying to convince Lee that Grenada is our home and where we belong.

update on life

2012-02-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

Hello friends!
I have not forgotten this blog I promise!
Life back in America has been just as hectic and stressful as I could have imagined it would be as I was sitting on the soft sand, in the hot sun, listening to the crystal clear blue waters splashing..... ah Grenada.
I'm at a weird point where I would almost rather not think about Grenada because it seriously makes me too sad. I don't look at pictures and I don't watch the videos.
My friends in Grenada must think that I have abandoned them... I'm not active on facebook or blogging (obviously) but it seriously is hard for me to do that. I do miss all of you!!!
I realize I must get over this if I want to continue to have Grenada apart of my life and I want those kids to remember me. I must start my letter writing and penny saving for the plane ticket to my home in the Caribbean.

But here I am. in Ohio. It has really been an amazing winter so far. Eerily warm.
I practically never wear a coat and haven't used any of my scarves or gloves.
It's been above 60 practically every single day lately.
I drive through these country roads with the windows down and the music blasting..... in my van.
Surprise! Lee and I are now the proud owners of a minivan.
My oldest brother so generously gave us an offer on his old van that we could not refuse when he purchased a new one and now were are a two car family.
It's in nearly perfect condition, my brother takes great care of his cars, and it will come in handy when we begin the process of moving.... where ever it is we move to. Thanks Brother!

Want to know more about Lee?
me too.
He has been in Canada for a month now and I have been here.
We talk on the phone once a day for about 30minutes - an hour.
If I'm lucky I get a couple emails during the day.
He is so engrossed in studying for the USMLE that he literally doesn't go anywhere except church on Sunday mornings.
How does he do it?
I don't know. I couldn't. I could never be a doctor. this much I know is true.
He studies probably 15hours a day. and exercises and is eating so healthy it makes me feel guilty when I'm inhaling my Little Debbies that I missed so much while in Grenada.
He is a machine!

What have I been up to?
a little of this a little of that.
I have been so blessed with an amazing family and group of friends.
My parents have welcomed me home with open arms and I see my friends nearly every single day.
It's a perfect set up... if only my Lee were here.

I have been substitute teaching for my old school district and it has been an adventure every single day.
8th graders, a boy with severe violence issues, an autistic child.... and next week I begin doing test intervention/prep with what is rumored to be the worst 5th grade class in the history of Rock Hill.

I've also inadvertently started my own wreath business.
I did purposefully begin an Etsy store and I was showing a friend some of the things I have made and she asked if I could make her a wreath she saw on Pinterest and it sparked a few more people wanting them and before I knew it I have over a dozen orders for wreaths!
If you'd like to win one of these said wreaths I am currently doing a giveaway on my other blog Kelsey Inspired, it ends tonight! or if you live in the tri-state area I will gladly sell you one :)

Let see what else have I been doing....
I'm working in the children's department at my church. I can remember in high school and probably college vowing to never work with children and being convinced that it was not my calling and I really didn't like kids other than the ones I was related to.... what happened to that?!
I still am fairly confident that I do not want to be a teacher but as I was explaining to one of my old teachers that I was interested in social work they said that teaching involves a lot of that and you really have a great opportunity to impact a child's life.... but I kinda would like to skip the whole teaching part. lol.

I'm reading the Hunger Games. Finally! Last person in America to do so I'm sure. I've read the first two books in about 10 hours. Could not stop. and I'm only not reading the 3rd one right now because I felt I really MUST blog and then make wreaths :)
Katniss and I are from the same area. Appalachia. interesting that in the future our people are still coal miners.

So yea there it is. I'm basically reverted back to my high school self.
Living with mom and dad, hanging out with all my high school friends, and am husbandless.

If you get the chance say a prayer for Lee as he mentally prepares for his exam!
February 29th sort of determines the rest of our lives... but it's no big deal. no pressure.

Little Deanna

2012-01-20T13:50:00.002-04:00

My friends and I in Grenada have gotten to know this sweet little family - the Coutains through the Limes After School program. You've probably seen lots of pictures of them on this blog.
Deanna is a 1 year old (2yrs in May) who was born without an eye and is in need of an operation to fill the exposed space and soft tissue.
You can read all about the situation and what this little girl needs on this website my friend Amber has set up.
http://deannacoutain.blogspot.com
She has a FAQ section with lots of great information.

Amber has also set up a donation site for anyone who would be interesting in helping this little girl travel to America for the operation. Any amount would help drastically change this little one's life.
https://wepay.com/donations/deannacoutain
Please search your heart and check out these websites and pray for this family.
Thank you to everyone who has already donated and has this little girl on your heart!

I'll be doing an update on my life soon, promise :)

see ya later Grenada

2011-12-12T19:47:00.000-04:00

It's our last night in our little apartment on our little island...

I had a hard goodbye this afternoon with the kids at the Limes.
I haven't left yet and all I can think about is coming back! Accepting donations for a plane ticket now!

Our life is about to completely change. I don't even know if saying we're doing a 180 is drastic enough.
This time tomorrow we'll be in the freezing cold, there will possibly be snow... and right now I'm sitting in shorts and a tank top with all the doors and windows open and I'm still hot.
In a couple weeks I have to start a new job... Lee will leave me to go study for the USMLE and we'll be living with our parents. ugh.

I cannot believe two years has gone by. Seriously the fastest two years of my life.
But here's to the next step!
I'm excited for a new job, new friends, new places, new experiences.

I don't think reality has set in for me just yet. It doesn't feel like we're leaving tomorrow.... and it definitely doesn't feel like we're not coming back.
aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

A Normon potato farmer from Ohio.

2011-12-03T19:16:00.001-04:00

This is for my Mormon friends' reading pleasure.
Ms Celia's brother was over the other day and he was talking to me about how happy he was to see that I loved Grenada.

Him - Where are you from?
Me - Ohio
Him - ooh yea I know Ohio! where the potatoes come from! I had a friend a few years back from Ohio. A potato farmer. He and I would bathe (swim in Grenadian lingo) together on Grand Anse Beach in the mornings. He was a normon.
Me - a normon?
Him - yes, wore the white shirt and went to the church down there.
Me - oooh Mormon?
:)

I'm trying to write down all these silly stories so I never forget!

humph

2011-12-01T22:35:00.001-04:00

Valentine's Day 2010

You know that this picture tells me? In the course of our two years in Grenada Lee got skinny and I got fat.
Dang it.

maybe I'll handle cold better than Lee?
It's my winter weight. For the first time in life I'm prepared early! yes!

either way. I'm so proud of my husband and how amazing he looks!

just spending the evening listening to sad songs and looking at pictures from our first term in Grenada. the good old days....

Get up, pack it in, let me begin

2011-12-01T08:19:00.001-04:00

jump jump jump!

You know how when you get a group of friends together and the only logical next idea for a picture is to jump? that happened to Amber and I about every single day she was here.

Only problem is... I legitimately cannot jump. Ask Lee.
Stephanie may have said something like "is that really the best you can do?!" hahaha coming from the gymnast who can still do a perfect toe touch a million knee surgeries later!

My only move is to pull my knees up and make it look like I got off the ground! ha!

Short Pants

2011-11-30T17:47:00.001-04:00

Today I wore pants to Limes and the girls {Brianna, Shanika, Shania, Ezra, Kaywanna} were all giggling when I walked up
I said "are you laughing at me?!"
Shania said - "Miss we find you look awkward because usually yous does wear short pants"
hahaha I had to write this down so I wouldn't forget it.
Love those crazy, honest girls.

I should do another post on Grenadian terminology soon... short pants mean shorts. obviously.

Limes T-shirts!

2011-11-29T20:41:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted pictures of Limes in forever. what is wrong with me?

We had one of the BEST afternoons a couple weeks ago! We gave all of our Limes kids a bright lime green t-shirt that says Limes After School Program!!
I had the idea for ever that I'd love to get shirts or make shirts with the kids... so Stephanie and I just went for it, googled a company, found an awesome one - Custom Ink. and Steph designed an adorable little shirt!!
We had them shipped to Amber's house and she thankfully brought down 80 shirts in her suitcase!!

All of the volunteers wore one and we handed them out to the kids according to age groups.
One of the sweet little girls asked for "a baby jersey" it was sooooooooo stinking cute. (here)

I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Love these kids so much! Lee and I even got a little family portrait done :)

Thank you Thank you Thank you to everyone who helped!!! I am so thankful we were able to do this while I was still in Grenada to see all these sweet smiles :)

chasing waterfalls

2011-11-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

I'm suddenly so sad that Lisa Lefteye Lopez died.
It was in the Caribbean wasn't it??
anyway. enough sadness around here.

I went with Amber and Stephanie to Annandale Falls last week. Amber had never been! crazy!
It is so beautiful. I wish I had taken my mom there now... (ugh regrets)
This was the day we ~~hated~~ played with the monkey too.

We were hanging out swimming in the water when one of the guys starts throwing some food in and we see like 100 fairly large fish popping up eating it. gross. I did NOT know there were fish in that water. haha.
But I still continued to swim.
It was a beautiful day and I'm so happy I got to spend with my two beautiful bestest Grenada friends.

I like this picture because it was freezing and Stephanie is so short!!! haha. This picture exaggerated it I'm sure... but why are ALL my friends so short?

no love for the monkeys

2011-11-28T20:19:00.001-04:00

I've found out that I really don't like monkeys.
Every time I've been around them here in Grenada I'm squirming.
They are freaking weird.
I decided that since this is my last few weeks in Grenada I'd let one climb on my head... and he was a teeny tiny baby named Jack. How bad could it be?

This bad.

I managed to force out a smile for the camera... but I may have said something like "I'm going to puke!! get it off of me!"

But check out Amber & Stephanie:

They LOVED him!
eesh. thankfully this one thing I can check off the bucket list and never re-live.

thanks for writing on the bus seat

2011-11-25T23:29:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I had sort of a rough night... thinking about leaving Grenada and all the kids.
I'm sad to think about what these kids' futures.
I see the creepy Grenadian men who say atrocious things to women and I pray that my sweet little ones don't turn out this way... but if that's all the see the men in their lives doing, then they will.
A lot of the girls will end up single teen mothers...
They'll having drinking problems and spend their lives living dollar to dollar. not even paycheck to paycheck.
How will we ever know if what we do at the after school program even makes a difference at all? The kids will stop coming when they go to secondary school, just like some I've already known.

I cry thinking about all the kids in the orphanages who don't get held nearly enough. When they are sick they don't have a mommy to hold them and rock them to sleep. They are alone in their bed every single night.
The sweet boy with special needs will be shunned by society and end up begging for money.
The one with sickle cell won't live very long.
The little ones who already sell fruits on the street corner at the ages of 5 & 6 will continue to earn a living that way for the rest of their lives.

I have such a burden on my heart for this kids and yet there isn't really anything I can do. I pray for them and trying to give them as much love as I can while I'm here.

Lee says that it isn't as bad for them as I think it is because I was raised in America... and things are different. He says maybe the kids selling fruit aren't unhappy... maybe the people who sell things on the beach are ok because they don't know a different way of life.
But I know. I know the guilty feeling I have when I drive past people riding in an air-conditioned SGU bus or when I'm carrying sacks full of groceries from IGA past a lady trying to sell fruit and vegetables at a road side stand.

I was feeling a little down but got a great surprise today when I went over to the Limes to pick up a paper from my friend and some of the kids' mother Jill today. The Limes field is set in the middle of several schools. The Grand Anse school is over the hill a few blocks away, but the Special Education school, the pre-school, and the Mennonite school are all set around the field.
Today was field day for the Grand Anse school so they were all in the field running around today! And it happened to be lunch time so all the other schools were outside too!

I walked around the corner and saw 100s of kids and they started yelling my name. First at the Special Ed school I saw 3 girls from Bel Air Home, 3 kids from Queen Elizabeth, and Orian from Limes! Then I saw some little ones at the pre-school. Another SO friend of mine has 2 kids who attend the Mennonite school and they came running over along with some of the other Limes kids... and then the Grand Anse school is FULL of Limes kid so there were dozens of them! It was so much fun. I felt like a celebrity. It was so fun. I never wanted to leave. But the teachers were kinda looking at me like "who the heck are you?" :)

I then walked back across the way and caught a bus to campus and sat down in a seat thinking about the kids and saw this:

Tupac is a legend, but Jesus is alive and he saves.

Not only is it a great quote but it is the same seat Amber and I sat in on the trip we took to Belmont Estates my first term... it made me miss her so much! and then I cried again.

Thankful

2011-11-25T10:32:00.001-04:00

I'm trying really hard to be thankful this holiday season for all the blessings in my life but I find myself feeling guilty.
I'm getting ready to head back to America, land of plenty and excess, and leave behind all these people in Grenada that I love. My kids at Limes and the orphanages will still be here, living their lives exactly the same, while I'm off getting a job, furnishing a house, buying a car, eating out at restaurants, and basically being able to afford anything that I need in the future.
I am so thankful for my experience in Grenada and that I have seen how other people live. No more keeping up with the Jones', not that Lee and I ever lived our lives like that, but even more so now we know what is important... and it's not things.

I know what you're thinking "but Kelsey you love things and your house is full of things"
yes....I may shop at Goodwill and yard sales.... I may still go through other people's trash and dumpster dive.... ok actually scratch the may, I will do these things.
But but I will never again lust over something in a store or feel envious of my friend's cool cell phone or designer purse.
That's crazy.
And remind me to re-read this post over and over again.

Keeping in touch with these kids is my #1 goal. I can't let them forget me! haha. and not just for selfish reasons, I really want to help them. I want to be apart of their lives. I want to send them to college. I want to know when they get their first job and start families. I want to come visit in a couple years and be able to pick right back up where we left off.

I am thankful that Lee and I came to Grenada rather than getting jobs right out of college and buying a house and starting a family and getting complacent with our lives. I sort of like that we're up to our eyeballs in debt and are homeless. It's shaping our character, softening our hearts, and making us lean on God all the more.
I want a baby so badly.... but I know that this waiting period is only increasing the love that I will have for a child. I think that by knowing what it is like to want a baby and not have one will make me love and appreciate that baby when I finally get it all the more. And I don't even mean a biological child... I don't have that crazy urge for my own baby even. My "uterus isn't doing flip flops" as a friend once asked me. haha. But my heart is squeezed every time I get a hug from one of the precious babies at Limes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Patrick the blind man.

2011-11-23T14:09:00.001-04:00

I must blog about this before I forget... and lose the memory forever.

There is man who walks around Grand Anse, Patrick - if you've spent any time here you know him.
He is blind and is always asking for money. Well he is mostly blind, I think he can see a bit.
He isn't the most polite or gracious man to say the least. He's yelled at me and been very rude to me plenty of times.. but I still like to give him food whenever I have it.

Yesterday Amber, Alfonso, and I were hanging out on Grand Anse Beach and I saw Patrick coming.
I had an extra peanut butter and jelly sandwich left from lunch and I said oh I'll give him my sandwich!
So I went off to get it and said "Hi! I have a sandwich for you" he said "put it on my bag." so I did.

About 10 minutes later we're off playing in the water and I hear Patrick yelling "HEY! HEY! Where is my sandwich! What did you do with my sandwich! Don't you know I'm blind!!!"

It was the funniest thing I have ever heard. Maybe you had to be there or maybe you have to know Patrick... but it was so funny.
I went up to him on the beach and said it's right here in your bag sir and he said "I AM BLIND" as if I didn't already know this. And I said yes I know, you told me to put it in your bag. and he kept repeating "Don't you know I am blind girl?!" so I unzipped his bag and handed him the sandwich and he kept mumbling about me.... no thank you or anything.
Patrick may not be getting many more peanut butter sandwiches.

10 things I love about you {week 2}

2011-11-22T21:24:00.001-04:00

I love that you force me to say I love you and kiss you when I'm angry. I act like it's the most horrible things ever but it actually does make me less mad.
I love that you can keep a secret better than anyone I've ever met ever.
I love that you are always thinking about how others feel and how to best handle a situation.
I love that you can admit when I'm right :)
I love that you like my friends and they like you.
I love that you kiss me goodbye every single morning regardless if I'll remember it or not.
I love that you are so darn cute... even if you wear basketball shorts everyday.
I love that you took the trash out today.
I love that you're willing to take millions of pictures with me and don't complain too much.
I love that you think of me during the day and send me messages to let me know :)

Link up with us at Newlywed's Bliss!!
Every Tuesday in November we're remember all the things we love about our spouse and being thankful for them :)

nonstop fun

2011-11-17T23:30:00.001-04:00

Let me just quickly update you about all the things that I'll have to update about when I find time to sit down and breathe.
Amber and I (and Stephanie!) have been doing EVERYTHING.

Grand Anse Beach
Magazine Beach
Downtown/shopping
Movies
Crab Races
Fireworks!
Prickly Bay
Sunsets
Anandale Waterfalls
Monkeys crawling on our heads (aahhhhhhhhhhh)

AND
Queen Elizabeth Home
Limes
Limes t-shirt giveaway extravaganza
Limes Birthday party disasterpoluza

AND
photography/videoing every single move. so many pictures to update.

And she still has a whole nother week!!!
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
I am leaving Grenada with a bang.

As soon as Amber leaves I must pack and sell or giveaway all our belongings asap. esh.

10 Things I Love About You

2011-11-15T18:10:00.001-04:00

Today over at Newlywed's Bliss we are having a link up party! We are asking you each week for the month of November to write a post with 10 things you love about your spouse!
They say that 10% of things about your spouse drive you crazy... the other 90% are the things that you love and made you fall in love with them in the first place, but sometimes we focus on that 10% too much.

To my Lee:

I love that you study and work so so so hard and you impress me every single day.
I love that you are so smart and properly diagnosed my Mom by what little info I relayed to you.
I love that yesterday you said "there are more important things in life than a tidy house"
I love that you think I am the world's greatest cook. and I secretly like it when you say things I make taste better than my Mom's.
I love that you didn't mind that I put up a Christmas tree even though we are getting ready to move and won't even be in this apartment for Christmas.
I love that you offered and slept on the floor Sunday night and gave my friend Amber the bed (long story) and were genuinely happy to do so.
I love that you always, every single day of your life have the very best intentions about everything. You have such a sweet heart and I want to be more like you.
I love that you include me in every single decision you make.
I love that you like to watch football and sometimes get into it so much that you're out of your chair yelling something.... and I love that you try to include me and tell me when they are fighting!
I love that you love the Limes kids as much as me and are taking time out of your busy schedule to come spend time with them.

Want to join in on the fun?? Head over to Newlywed's Bliss and link up!!

Clinical Placements

2011-11-15T09:29:00.001-04:00

Today is the day we put in our choices for clinical rotations!!

Last night there was a meeting about clinicals. I didn't get to go... I was busy playing with orphans, cooking dinner, watching crabs race, and a gorgeous fireworks display on Grand Anse Beach, but Lee of course went. He said it was kind of a waste of time because we have already done so much research on the clinical process he didn't learn any new information but I thought I'd share with you what we through to be important:

1. There are 4 main "clinical centers" - New York, New Jersey, Detroit, and Bakersfield California.
Clinical Centers are places where you can do your entire 2 years of rotations in one spot. When I say New York and New Jersey there are multiple clinical centers within these states, but only 1 in Detroit and 1 in Bakersfield.

2. There are several other places you can do clinicals, but these require moving around from city to city or to different hospitals, not ideal for a married couple or a spouse like me who needs a job! Other areas include: Florida, San Diego, Maryland, and others within New York and Jersey.

3. People who did the GSP NewCastle Program cannot go to New Jersey (I also learned from Amber that you cannot pump your own gas in New Jersey.lol)

4. There are only 16 spots in Detroit! Yikes! That's a lot of competition for Lee and I to get in!! He's in a class of 500some and I'm positive way more than 16 want Detroit.

5. Only people who started in January and/or finish in December can go to Bakersfield and you must have a 3.2 GPA.

5. Detroit and Bakersfield are the only spots that care about GPA or USMLE scores.

6. Things they do give preference for : married couples, kids, where you are from, job options for spouse, family close by, pets, and things like that.

7. They may only give you a 2 week notice before you start your clinicals! They told Lee's class they'd know by April 16th and they may start May 1st!

8. Having all your shots and medical records up to date are important to speed up the process, so is taking the USMLE earlier than other people. The sooner they have all your information the sooner they can place you!

9. The average (SGU) student needs/takes 8 weeks to study for the USMLE.

10. The average SGU student does better than the average US medical student on the USMLE.

11. Last term 26% of the class got above a 240 on the USMLE, which is awesome!!

12. You get to put 3 places down that you'd prefer to go. They now do it by State, not town, hospital, etc.

Lee and I's 3 choices are as follows:

#1 - Detroit, Michigan - St. John's Hospital. Reasons - Lee is Canadian, it is close to the boarder, he could easily cross over if something is wrong medically or a Visa issue, I am from Ohio it is close to Ohio, Lee's family is close by in Toronto, Lee has a cousin in Windsor, I have lots of family nearby in Northern Ohio, we are very financially strapped and Detroit has a much lower cost of living than say New York.
My reasons for wanting Detroit - I really want to work in an underprivileged area and I think that Detroit is the perfect place

#2 - Bakersfield, California - Kern Medical Center. Reasons - we really don't want to go to New Jersey or New York (ok that's not really what we're going to tell SGU but that's the real reason)

#3 - Any Clinical Center, meaning anywhere we can do the full 2 years without moving - SGU please don't send us to New Jersey... but if you do, at least we'll be with lots of friends...

Here is the list of hospitals available to us for Spring 2012

Spring 2012 Hospitals for present 5^thTerm students:

Location	Cores	Comments
New York
Brooklyn Hospital Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	P –Metropolitan Hospital Center FM
Coney Island Hospital	IM, OB, PD, S, P	P - Maimonides Medical Center EM
Flushing Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S	FM – Brooklyn Hospital Center
Jamaica Hospital & Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	FM – Brooklyn Hospital Center
Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center/Brooklyn Hospital Center/Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center	IM, OB, PD, P, S	S – Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center FM – Brooklyn Hospital Center
Mount Vernon Hospital	IM
Richmond University Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	FM – Brooklyn Hospital Center
Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester	IM, PD	FM

New Jersey
Jersey City Medical Center	IM, OB, S	ATYR
Monmouth Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S	ATYR
St. Barnabas Medical Center/Newark Beth Israel Medical Center/Bergen Regional Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	Students should expect to complete rotations at all 3 locations. ATYR
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	FM
St. Michael’s Medical Center/Trinitas Regional Medical Center/St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, P	P – Trinitas Regional Medical Center Ob & PD – St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center

Michigan
St. John Hospital & Medical Center/Providence Hospital	IM, OB, PD, S, P	P – Providence Hospital ( limited availability ) FM

California
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center	S	FM
Kern Medical Center	IM, OB, PD, S, P	PD – Under FM residency umbrella.
San Joaquin General Hospital	IM, S	FM (limited availability)

Florida
Cleveland Clinic/Miami Children’s Hospital/Queens Hospital Center/Lutheran Medical Center	IM, PD, OB, S, P	PD – Miami Children’s Hospital OB & P – Queens Hospital Center S – Lutheran Medical Center

Maryland
Spring Grove Hospital/Holy Cross Hospital	P, OB

UK Start Dates
January 30, 2012

KEY:

IM Medicine FM – Family Medicine

OB Ob/Gyn EM– Emergency Medicine

PD Pediatrics ATYR –Additional Third Year Requirement

P Psychiatry

S Surgery Some hospitalsrequire a 6 week ATYR for both educational and scheduling purposes.

Say a prayer for us that we are sent to Detroit!

Amber is coming!

2011-11-13T15:13:00.001-04:00

deja vu?
yea this girl is messing with my emotions... she comes and leaves. comes and leaves. and then comes again!

I'm so excited to spend the whole week adventuring and picture taking!!

we don't always stand around holding hands.
but sometimes we do.

a small glimpse...

2011-11-12T21:00:00.000-04:00

I think I may have the teensiest bit of an idea what a mother's love for her child is.... and in turn how great God's love for us is - how huge, powerful, and unending.
I never could have imagined loving someone more than Lee, and being as though I don't have children Lee is still #1.... but when I look at these kids my heart swells and I get this feeling that I can't describe.
And seeing Lee interact with the kids is sometimes more than my heart can stand. I need to take them home with me. All of them.

update on life

2011-11-12T10:24:00.001-04:00

I know when I get home I'm going to regret not blogging more during my last couple months in Grenada.
So here's a little update!

Lee just finished his second set of exams - 2/3 finished with 5th term now!! And completely finished with CPD for life! and he is relieved.
We got the list of available hospitals for the spring.... Detroit is still our #1 option and we have no earthly idea about #2 and #3... pray we get Detroit!!

We're still both busy all the time. go go go. I'm looking forward to Christmas and being home relaxing a bit before the craziness begins again in January with Lee back to studying for the USMLE and me working! ah!

Limes is going fantastic! I am so happy. The kids have been behaving, the volunteers have been faithful, and the rain has held out for the most part.
I have a couple of posts to back up and do about Limes so I'll do that soon.

We're still visiting QE every Monday. They got two new little boys that have been quite the handful. It is so sad to see that they way these kids are behaving is a direct correlation to the environment they were in before they were put in QEH. People are disgusting. basically. The things these sweet little children have seen, heard, and been subjected to makes me want to vomit.
Pray for their adjustment and for the staff and counselors at QE and the sweet little ones C. & J.

This week I helped the girls from Bel Air home learn a song and dance to perform at the ICSA talent show last night!! They sang Katy Perry - Firework! They did sooooo good!! It was a near disaster when they arrived and I saw that two of the best, loudest singers weren't there! They didn't do their chores and weren't allowed to come :/ but the other girls stepped it up and they sang their hearts out. It was so fun!! I made ribbon streamers and we have sparklers lit at the end and the crowd loved it :) I can't wait to get the video! I'll post it soon.

Other than that I've been working on growing my sea glass collection, visiting the beach, baby sitting, collecting donations for REACH Grenada, and doing some little crafts here and there.... oh and PURGING this household of stuff so I can pack it all home. yikes. its going to be a chore.

Things I won't miss...

2011-11-08T12:11:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged much this week, and I probably won't next week either because the ever fabulous, fun, and fancy (I needed another f) Amber Elyse will be here with meeeeeeeeee!!
I am so excited to see her and go on adventures and take a billion pictures.

Anyway, I thought I'd do another post about things I won't miss about Grenada just so I'll remember in a few months that life here wasn't all a fairytale vacation as I sometimes portray it because my love for this place often outshines the bad.

Milk - I just got home from the grocery store so milk is a frustrating matter. I don't like boxed milk. I always say "it's not so bad" and make excuses for why it's ok, but it's not. It's gross. I like fresh cold milk.
Sweat - I never feel clean. Always a little grimey.
Stolen Camera
Disgusting men and their horribly inappropriate comments. In America I could and would have you arrested.
Not being able to go out by myself at night. Seriously? I am a grown independent woman. If I want to walk down the street at 9pm I should be able to and I'm not. And it's frustrating.
It getting dark at 6pm every single day the entire year round. Life is so much better when it stays day light longer. See number 5
I miss my Mom and Dad. I miss them so much. I very rarely feel homesick, but when I actually think about it I miss my family so much it's crazy. It is very sad to be apart from the people you love for an extended period of time... I am missing out on so much of their lives. I can't wait to be home and just enjoy their company and weirdness :)
I miss my nieces and my nephew. All 10 of them.
I miss bowling. Isn't that stupid? I probably haven't been bowling in 3 years, but I miss it just because I'm not able to bowl in Grenada.
Ants. Mosquitoes. Giant flying moths. I got hit in the face the other day by a moth. A HUGE moth. Probably 4 inches long. It flew directly into my face at the pool and I screamed bloody murder.
High heels. I am pathetic and shallow and miss my shoes. I will never wear another flip flop again as long as I live. {ok not really.}
Jeans - I really love to wear jeans.

Ok this list turned into what I want in America... back to things I won't miss in Grenada.
Gas stove. I hate my oven with a passion.
Being in charge of things. I love the things I am doing in Grenada but I have learned that I don't really want to go into management or anything of the sort. I don't like being in charge. Lee is ready for a break too. People are mean.
Grapes. Strawberries. I miss cheap(er) produce.
Pop in a bottle. The only bottled pop in Grenada is Coke, Sprite, and Fanta. I want a bottle of Dr. Pepper or Mt Dew. I want to be able to put a lid on it.
My church. I love CSA and our community here. But I miss going to church with old people and I need to get home to my old people before they all die... seriously. :(

Canada in 35 days and America in 45.

P.s. Don't hold me to this. Don't judge me tomorrow when I am crying and kicking about going home. I do love Grenada.

Grenada Friends

2011-11-03T21:31:00.001-04:00

I did a post a couple months ago with links to some new some new people I had met in Grenada's blogs but now it is like everyone I know has a blog! I can't keep up!
If I'm leaving anyone out please let me know and they will be added to the list :)
A list of all the SOs of SGU can be found on the right hand side - including some now in clinicals like Marisa - http://countonme4life.blogspot.com/ who shares some great info and her fiance is currently interviewing for residency! exciting!

Laura - http://lauralackey.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://lauraconley.blogspot.com/
Jessie - http://lovesworthit.blogspot.com/
Kat - http://grenadaguide.blogspot.com/
Nicole - http://nwoody02.blogspot.com/
Cat - http://www.budgetblonde.com/
Holly - http://hols13.wordpress.com/
Marieke - http://marieke-cappa.blogspot.com/
Emily - http://emilysevidence.blogspot.com/
Natalie - http://kingskonquering.blogspot.com/
Taylor - lifeingrenada.wordpress.com
Sarah - http://sarahpalma.wordpress.com/

in 15 years...

2011-11-01T13:42:00.001-04:00

Today I picked up some donations for REACH Grenada from a former professor at SGU. She taught here when the school opened in 1977. Can you imagine the leap of faith it took to move to such a place. The unknown? I thought moving here in 2010 was crazy.
She told me some great stories about when the school was mostly located on Grand Anse Beach and the lecture hall was an open air pavilion and locals would randomly stop by to listen. There was only one TV and her kids and about 100 others would gather around it to watch videos friends from home sent down taped off American TV. Saturday Night Live was a favorite.
She talked about how there was no Subway, KFC, Ace Hardware, or IGA.

She said that while life was simpler and much less "Americanized" the poverty was even greater. Things have improved in recent years and the quality of life in Grenada is improving.
I found that to be very encouraging. Things are getting better. When I come back to visit in 30 years I hope I can say the same.

On Friday WIM held their bi-annual luncheon for the students at PAM, the Programme for Adolescent Mothers, and they talked a lot about goals and where you see yourself in the next 5,10,15 years.
Here is my picture I drew to share with my group about my next 15 years -

I just remembered that I have a web-cam the other day!
It may be the worst camera in the history of cameras, but I have one!

In 15 years I hope that Lee is a doctor finally. I will be a social worker or working with children, families, or those living in poverty in some capacity. We still have a wonderful happy marriage. We have maybe 1 or 2 biological children and if we are earning enough money to provide for our family and are able I would love to adopt several children. I want to adopt children in America {or Grenada ;)} I think it's great that people are adopting more and more, but there are sooooooo many kids in America right now sitting in foster care that need a family to love. I ~~made the mistake~~ started following Bethany Christian Adoption Services on Facebook and every single day my heart is being pulled towards these precious children.
I also drew a globe and put a star over Grenada. I want to travel all over the world and I know there are many places in greater need than Grenada... but I love it here and it does hold a special place in my heart and I hope to return often to this island and bring back supplies to future volunteers and continue to be a part of the lives of those I know now. My wish is to be able to send all these Limes kids to college. Wouldn't that be awesome? I tell them that too. I say, someday when you want to go to college remember Miss Kelsey and let me know and I will help you.... because hopefully in 10ish years I will have some money to do such things. and college is cheap here. as long as they don't want to go to medical school...... haha.
The issue is just staying connected. That is why I must return. Every year! That is my goal.
It will be hard, especially in the next couple years when we have 0 dollars, but I'll figure that out.

Midterm Social - Fall 2011

2011-10-31T11:39:00.001-04:00

Saturday was my 4th and last midterm social! Weird!
We had our party on Grand Anse Beach with water sports! I got to ride the banana boat twice... and it was..... tame. haha. I didn't get a chance to ride the tube which I heard was a bit more thrilling of a ride.
We had 80 people there all wanting rides, quite a switch from last term when I got to ride the tube 5 times huh?
Good job SO board for planning and executing a great party!

thanks Kat for the pictures :)

One time in a Grenadian Police Station...

2011-10-30T19:36:00.001-04:00

it's almost been a week.
my bad.

lots happened this week though.

for starters Tuesday was my friend Stephanie's Birthday!! Yay!
What better way to celebrate than a little road trip to the northern end of the island to Bathway and Levera Beach?
We had the most amazing morning and afternoon relaxing on the beautiful beaches and taking in the sites.
You can see/read about my trip to those beaches this summer here and here.... because I am unable to show you any real pictures from our day... because. my.camera.was.stolen!

here's the story.
Around 1:30 we decided to leave Bathway and go up to Levera for a change of scenery and it is such a gorgeous location. From Levera you can see the island north of Grenada and it is beautiful. I recommend everyone in Grenada get to visit both Bathway and Levera... but read on before you plan your trip.

We arrived on Levera and there weren't many people around. A few locals celebrating Thanksgiving in the parking lot but basically no one on the beach. We walked down to an area away from people and in view of the other islands to the north, the perfect spot, or so I thought.
We hung out in the warm, clear water for a while making random trips back and forth from our towels to take pictures and have a drink.
Our towels were spread out probably about 10-15 feet from the water's edge. Behind our towels the beach backed into a mangrove area, a crawling vine-like plant, and then behind that was a wooded area, basically a jungle since this is Grenada we're talking about.

Well after an hour and half or so we decided it was time to start heading home because we had a Birthday dinner to be at that night for Steph. We walked out of the water to our towels and realized that our bags were gone. The entire bags. 3 of them!
Steph said something about her car keys were in her bag and my first thought was that someone was stealing her car! So I took off running down the beach to make sure the car was still there, thankfully it was, and I began telling the story to some of the local men there. One man was there on the beach playing with his children, he looked nice enough to me and sure enough he was the one to help (the situation was later debated about whether or not he may have been in on it). He went to his car, got his machete and set off through the mangroves. I followed him for a bit to show him where our belongings were on the beach & we found a trail leading from our stuff, through the mangroves and into the woods. The thief crawled through weeds to our stuff.
We were 10 ft away and didn't notice!
The sickening feeling was that he had to of been in the woods watching us waiting for the right moment.
ugh. I still haven't quite shaken that feeling.

The man said he was going to follow the trail up through the woods and about 10 minutes later he returned with our bags. They had been dumped out and toss aside. Our money, cameras, and my friends' phones were gone, but thankfully Steph's car keys, our credit cards, IDs, and other various items were still there.
As soon as we found out that we had they keys we had to go inform all the men standing around Steph's car that their assistance with a break in and hot wire wouldn't be needed. They seemed a little over eager for the job anyway.
They instructed us to go make a report at the police station in Sauteurs and tell the cops that Bollo was in on it. This probably did us no good, but makes for an interesting story. Steph spent her 26th Birthday in a police station in a 3rd world country!
They took down our individual accounts of the incident and said they'd call if anything turned up (fat chance).

While there I saw a man pick up two pistols, a magazine put them in an IGA grocery sack, tie it up, and go walking down the street with it. haha. strange.
I also heard one man take a call over the phone and say "What?! A white man? It was a white man?"

It was probably the longest day in history and we arrived an hour late to Stephanie's dinner party... but it is an interesting story!
Someday once I'm not as sad about losing the camera and the pictures I'll be able to look back on this and laugh...

As for now... if anyone sees Bollo tell him I took a self defense class this week and I'm ready for him!

{see pictures I made on picnik on what the pictures from the day might have looked like on my other blog}

Caribs Leap

2011-10-25T12:38:00.000-04:00

As part of the island tour we stopped by Caribs Leap in Sauteurs for a few minutes. It doesn't take long to see the sites here, so it was a nice break from the crazy bus ride and a chance to stretch for those of us squeezed in the back seat of the bus!
I've blogged about Caribs Leap before when I made Lee go with me as part of our reggae bus island tour. I have the best memories from that trip, it was so fun to just be out without actually knowing where we were going or where we'd end up. I highly recommend such an adventure to others! No matter where you are in Grenada, eventually a reggae bus will drive by and pick you up so you won't be left stranded :)

This day at Caribs Leap was pretty hazy and it was difficult to see the other island to the north, which in my opinion is one of the best parts.
I did get the chance to meet a couple of cuties that crawled under the fence to come see the mass of white girls taking pictures by their house. They didn't have pants on and their teeth were almost completely rotten, but they were full of smiles and as usual loved my sunglasses and camera :)

love

2011-10-24T12:32:00.002-04:00

I had 4 males tell me they loved me this week.

1. My husband
2. My dad
3. The little boy I babysit said it to me out loud for the first time this week. I get it a lot on homemade cards and he's hinted... but the other night he was going to sleep and hugged me really tight and said "I love you Kelsey, you're my best friend.... friend that is a girl". haha. I'll take it. It made me a little teary because I'll miss this little one a lot when I'm gone in December.
4. A boy swimming at the beach. This story is why I did this post, b/c I don't want to forget about little things like this that make me laugh.
I was swimming at Pandy Beach looking for sea glass (what else?) and there were a group of pre-teen/teenage boys by me. I had enlisted their help to find me the elusive pink sea glass. I had on my snorkel mask (super attractive) and was just about to go underwater & one of the boys shouted "Miss! Miss! I... I love you!" I came up and said "you love me? you don't even know me!" and he said "I just met you and I know that I love you. I love your long hair." I asked how old he was and he said "Fort.... sixteen!" haha and I said I'm sorry I am way too old for you and I'm married! an old married lady! After he checked my finger for a ring to be sure I wasn't lying he said... "you're not old, you're 20?" hahaha and then we became friends and I let him borrow my snorkel mask.

Sorry to Lee and Dad you don't have a great story to go along with your love for me this week. Try harder next time!

Fish Friday take 4.

2011-10-20T08:30:00.000-04:00

Last week Lee and I went to Fish Friday with CSA for the 4th time. It was maybe 3 times too many.
Don't get me wrong Fish Friday is great and we had fun... but once you been, you've been.
This time I actually enjoyed the fish though! Fish cakes for $1ec! I'm not even certain that there was fish in the little deep fried concoctions, but it was delicious. And deep fried bread. yum-o!
The drummers sang one of my favorite songs - 3 little birds... it was a good note to leave my final Fish Friday on.

Polishing Sea Glass

2011-10-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

My stockpile of sea glass was looking a little cloudy so I went to the internet to find out how to "polish" it and found that it's pretty darn simple.
Vegetable oil and an old rag is all you need!
It turns white-ish because of the salt that is still on the glass, but the oil removes it and lets the true color show!
I think sea glass is more and more beautiful every single day.

Before

After!

These are all the colors I've found so far... still on the hunt for something red or pink!

See more of my sea glass projects {and this identical post} on my other blog today!

break my heart for what breaks yours

2011-10-17T20:02:00.001-04:00

I have been feeling super emotional lately.
(No, I'm not pregnant)
I think it's a combination of the thought of leaving Grenada is creeping up on me and God has really been putting certain things and people on my heart.

The poverty around me is sometimes a little overwhelming. I try not to think about it too much because if I allow myself to dwell on it then I won't be able to go outside my house, Limes would be torture for me... but there are days where I am just made painfully aware of the sadness and brokenness of this world.

I found myself crying in IGA the other day when I saw an old woman with holes in her shoes trying to decide which things to purchase, probably because she didn't have enough money. I didn't know how to act. I wanted to run over and pay for all of her groceries for her, but would that be embarrassing for her? Would she let me do that or tell me to go away? And as I was contemplating I missed my window of opportunity and I stood there in the aisle and cried.
I wasn't upset for just this woman, but for the man I was going to pass on my way home trying to sell me mangoes, the children in the parking lot begging for change, the drug addict at the gas station, the little girl at Limes who was picking up the other children's discarded cucumber bits because she was so hungry, the thousands of single mothers in Grenada... there is so much hurt and need in this country.

I usually blog about the gorgeous beaches and the fabulous adventures I go on... but in the background of all this beauty is an ugly reality.
I've heard people say that you can't help people who don't want it... but is that really true?
Many of the Grenadians I've encountered don't necessarily strike me as people who want to change, who want to work hard to better themselves, who even see that there is a problem.
But does that mean that they don't deserve help? What about the people who do want to work for change? Those who genuinely need the assistance? Those who just don't know Christ?

In Bible study last week we were talking about Matthew Chapter 9 where Jesus heals the paralyzed man. Before saying get up and walk, Jesus says your sins are forgiven. I think that he is showing us that spiritual healing is the most important. Fix the heart and the rest will follow.
If a time of revival and spiritual healing and cleansing were to sweep over the nation of Grenada so many of the problems would be brought into focus and then we could work towards change.

I am reminded of the lyrics in the Hillsong United song Hosanna

I see the King of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes
I see His love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing, the people sing

Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest

I see a generation
Rising up to take the place
With selfless faith, with selfless faith
I see a near revival
Stirring as we pray and seek
We're on our knees, we're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

That is my prayer for this crazy world.

Fresh Goat Cheese

2011-10-17T16:32:00.000-04:00

A part of the island tour was a visit to Belmont Estate. The plantation is known for their chocolate, but they've also recently started a goat cheese project and I LOVE it!
Maybe I'll be a goat farmer someday :)

Frederick, Matthew, and Alice

2011-10-16T16:07:00.001-04:00

Friday the SOs went on an around the island tour and our first stop was Fort Frederick. You may remember Lee and I visiting there this summer. It was worth a 2nd trip, the view from the top is so incredible!

The group of SOs on the trip!
SO much fun ;)

I got sick to my stomach when I learned that in 1983 the US bombed Fort Matthew thinking Grenadian soldiers were there when really it was a center for mental patients.
why they felt the need to bomb anything in Grenada is beyond me....

The awesome "bar" they set up in the fort. I NEED a chair made out of a barrel now!

you know how I am about old doors...

Our tour guide for Fort Frederick was Alice. She called herself Alice in Wonderland and I promised I'd blog about her and tell all my friends all over the world to come to Grenada and visit her at the fort.
She said that 80% (or something) of the island depended on tourism for income.
Come visit us and buy some spices!!!!

Here is Alice talking about her experience during Hurricane Ivan in 2004. A hurricane that devastated 85% of the island.
It's a little hard to hear because of all the wind, but turn up the volume, it's a cool story!

lessons from an Atheist

2011-10-13T01:45:00.000-04:00

This week has been some what of a tumultuous week for me spiritually and emotionally.

Over the summer I heard this from Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller). It's about 5 minutes long if you have time I encourage you to watch it. Jillette is a known Atheist and in this video he tells a story of a man who gave him a Bible after one of his shows. The man knew he wasn't a believer but said he couldn't go away from the show knowing in his heart that Penn didn't know Christ and that he did nothing about it.
Jillette says :
“I’ve always said that I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all. If you believe that there’s a heaven and a hell, and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life, and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward—and atheists who think people shouldn’t proselytize and who say just leave me alone and keep your religion to yourself—how much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
I mean, if I believed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a truck was coming at you, and you didn’t believe that truck was bearing down on you, there is a certain point where I tackle you. And this is more important than that.”

The part about it being socially awkward got me. That is so true of my life. I do not say things because I don't want to ruin friendships or make people angry. I do not say things because I don't want to look narrow-minded or holier-than-thou. I don't want to go around beating people with my Bible, I don't want to be judgmental.... but I also can't sit by and do nothing.
Right now, this very minute, I have family and friends, of all walks of life and faiths, that I truly believe in my heart are going to Hell and I say nothing because of fear of ridicule or loss of friendship.

So here I am. I am putting myself out there saying that I love you and I would like to share with you what I believe.

I believe with my whole heart and mind that God is real. I believe that there is only 1 God {Isaiah 44:6-8}. I believe that He always was and He will always be {Psalm 90:3, Numbers 23:19}. I believe that God is three in one, the trinity - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit {Ephesians 4:4-7}. I believe that He sent his son Jesus to Earth to die for our sins so that we could know eternal life with him in Heaven {John 1:14, John 3:16, John 14:6, Colossians 1:15-17}. I believe that on the 3rd day Christ rose from the dead, later ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand side of God {Mark 16:19}. It is by our faith alone that we can be called sons and daughters of God. Salvation is free gift of God{ Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8, Galatians 2:21}. I believe in the cross. I believe in a personal relationship with God. I believe in prayer. I believe in the entire Bible. I believe that you cannot pick and chose the scriptures you want to believe and follow. I believe in Hell. I believe that only God can judge, and I believe he will {Matthew 25:41-46}.
I believe these truths to be the foundation and core of Christianity {Matthew 7:21-23}.

I was saved when I prayed a prayer of repentance. I confessed my sins and asked for forgiveness. This does not mean that I no longer sin. I probably sin daily, but I serve a loving, forgiving God. I know that He is greater than anything in this world and I am humbled by his presence. I know that I by myself would never be worthy to enter Heaven, but through Christ in me I am called a child of God and someday I will be welcomed into the Kingdom. No greater love has ever been known than Christ's love for us and for that I am thankful.

If you would like to learn more about Christianity click here and if you'd like to know more about the Church of the Nazarene, the church Lee and I attend you can click here.

Flamingo Bay

2011-10-12T13:26:00.000-04:00

So we are to day 61.
61 precious days left on the island.
I'll have you know I've only missed one beach day since day 77! and it was pouring down rain.

Today (and last week) we went to Flamingo Bay, in the little town of Happy Hill.
It is a protected marine area known for its great snorkeling.... but we went more for the amazing sea glass!

Both days I brought home and entire zip lock bag FULL of sea glass!
I am officially addicted to scouring the ocean for glass.

I think all 50lbs of my suitcase will be dedicated to sea glass..... :/

Royal Mt. Carmel Falls

2011-10-06T07:31:00.000-04:00

I made what may be my last trip (in the near future) to Mt. Carmel falls last Friday.
I went out on a high note, sliding down the falls without injury!

Read more a more detailed post about my first visit to Mt. Carmel here.

Jump! on the on the front back!

2011-10-05T06:00:00.000-04:00

Last week the SOs were busy traipsing around Grenada. We went to a few of my favorite places, with a few of my favorite people, it was a good week.

La Sagesse Beach never disappoints. It is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been. I need to squeeze in about 10 more trips there before we leave.
We spent the morning lounging around, scouring the beach for shells and other things (cricket bat anyone?) and ended the afternoon with some impromptu jumping and silliness.

A few of the lovely SOs there that day.
I am so thankful for the SO organization and all these great women here in Grenada!!

ps. 69 days left.
AND if you don't already know... you can read all about Lee and I's love story over at Newlyweds Bliss today! :)

All Dem Chilren of the World

2011-10-04T06:17:00.000-04:00

These sweet little kids make my heart overflow with gladness.

Newlyweds Bliss: Where the honeymoon doesn't have to end

2011-10-03T07:58:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be apart of an awesome new blog - Newlyweds Bliss.
I was approached by my blogging friend Emily from Scribbles from Emily to be a contributor to this blog and share some of my words of wisdom about the first few years of marriage.
Me? Words of wisdom about marriage?
I guess I do have some insight on the whole moving across the world thing.... and other women who never, ever see their husbands could probably relate to our hectic schedule... and in a few months unfortunately I'll know all about having a long distance marriage.
And if anyone needs some tips for thrifty, crafty, decorative living - I'm their girl.
The first 2 years of marriage for Lee and I has been a time of learning - about one another, about what really matters, and about our purpose in Christ. Thankfully these lessons have only made us fall more in love and has made me truly appreciate him and the commitment we made... being married is the real deal.

What I love about this new blog is that it is 3 women with a heart for God, sharing personal experiences with the intention of uplifting other women and strengthening marriages... not gossiping, not just sharing craft ideas, and not boasting about our own perfect families.
We pick up where some other websites stop, after the official honeymoon.

My Dad has this saying he asks us (me and my 4 siblings) all the time before we hang up the phone... "still on the honeymoon?". It used to make me uncomfortable when I was a teenager, Dad asking people about that?! But then as I got older, even before marriage, I began to appreciate the fact that my parents and my siblings would respond with a "yes!" haha. And I learned that there is a whole lot more that goes into the "honeymoon" phase.

I thought it was so appropriate and funny when Emily chose the tagline
Newlyweds Bliss: Where the honeymoon doesn't have to end.

Because it doesn't. Don't even let medical school get in the way.

go check out Newlyweds Bliss, today is the official launch! And there is a giveaway!

74 days

2011-09-29T23:58:00.001-04:00

no time to blog I'm too busy having an amazing time.

Today was one of my favorite days in Grenada so far.
La Sagesse Beach - and awesome beach finds
Limes Birthday Party
Meeting my friends' new baby boy
Girls night -complete with amazing food, games, and 13 awesome girls

This is all of the update that I have, I just didn't want to forget how happy I am in this moment and how amazing Grenada truly has been to me.

On a sadder note Lee was gone to school before I woke up today and he was asleep when I got home.
How terrible is it that one of my funnest days in Grenada was a day that I didn't even see or communicate with my husband once? :/

77 days of summer

2011-09-27T23:47:00.001-04:00

Today I counted and I have 77 days left in Grenada.
77 precious days.

I decided to go out with a bang and have vowed that I will go to the beach every single day for the next 77 days. everyday. even if it's just for a couple minutes.
even if it's raining.
ha

Tonight I started my tradition by watching the sunset on Grand Anse Beach...
it was gorgeous and peaceful and reminded me of how amazing this place is.

2011-09-25T21:18:00.000-04:00

random but I was just noticing that we get the channel Cuba Vision but not TLC.
TIG.

Can't a girl just watch Sister Wives?

paint the sky red

2011-09-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

Lee is disappointed with my blogging lately and he let me know today.
I should ask him to do an entry for this weekend!
yes! guest post by Lee!
You'll know if it ever happens.

I told him I hadn't updated b/c my family and friends at home don't even read this blog.... it's my friends in Grenada and people who want to know about Grenada and medical school.
I know people at home aren't reading it because when I talk to them they ask questions that have already been answered here. annoying.
Y'all don't really care what we're doing, you want info! and I don't have much of that this week.
{but if you are at home and do care about Lee and I's lives let me know}

I do have some excellent sunset pictures from a bonfire we had for a friend's birthday this week.
Grenada seriously takes my breath away sometimes.

Ohio it's going to be tough to compete with this....

Predicting the Weather in Grenada

2011-09-20T21:22:00.002-04:00

This was the scene today as I was trying to decide if it was going to rain or not.
It wasn't like there was a storm rolling it.... it was just half cloudy, half blue skies.
So what is your guess? did it rain or not?

nope.
it stayed half and half for a while and then the melting sun came right back out in full force.

Crafting in Grenada

2011-09-17T14:31:00.002-04:00

It's about time I do this post.
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me where the craft store is Lee and I could pay for medical school!
ok just kidding.... but I could buy more crafting stuff!

I finally took pictures the "craft" stores where I get my supplies!

I found out about the craft store in CK's Super Value one day when a lady asked about my EC Earrings. I told her I made them myself and she asked if I got the stuff from her store? and I said no, I brought it with me, I didn't know there was a place to buy that stuff here!
She told me where to go, as if it was going to be an easy place to find... and off I went into the city in search of this craft store!
All I knew was it was near First Caribbean Bank.
Well I didn't know where that was either. So being the way that I am I wandered around the city for an hour before I asked a police office where it was.
It is on Church Street.
You know the steep hill with the traffic light you go up to leave the city? 1st Caribbean Bank is on the left hand side at the light.
The craft store is across the street. The sign out front is for a doctor's office. Go upstairs and go through the door on the left, and then you'll see the store, but you have to go through another door. (easy right?)

The outside of the building


Crafts & Crafts etc. It's about the size of my closet at home (ok not really... but it's small)

In this store they sell jewelry making supplies - earring hooks, clasps, wire, beads, etc. Floral arranging supplies, yarn and knitting tools, felt, hot glue guns, balloons, embroidery floss, and lots more.

If you can't find what you're looking for here you probably want to go to Purcell's.
Purcell's is mainly a fabric & sewing store. They have pretty much anything you're looking for when it comes to sewing.
My favorite thing here is the vintage buttons!
They also sell a wide variety of ribbon, contact paper, and in the back they sell home wares.
Purcell's is much easier to find. It is located opposite of the Spice Market! One block up from the Digicel Store and KFC.

check out all that contact paper!

Other places to keep in mind for crafting purposes:

Ace Hardware & Creative Do It Best Hardware - twine, paint chips, spray paint, and chain.
Bryden and Minor's Stationary Store ( in Spiceland Mall and if you want a bigger selection they have a store by the market in St. George's and on on Lagoon Road, just past Port Louis) - they have lots of art supplies, paint, oil pastels, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue, etc.

If you want some ideas for stuff you can craft in Grenada check out my blog Kelsey Inspired & this list of stuff you can make out of recycled goods!

Happy crafting!

Want a free tour of Grenada?

2011-09-16T07:33:00.000-04:00

ok here is how...

Go downtown to renew your Visa (so you can stay in the country) then walk out of the immigration office nonchalantly down the street and when a bus driver honks his horn at you, just hop in that bus. Assume that it's a #1 bus and will take you to Grand Anse.

About 1 minute into the trip you will realize that, no this in fact is not a #1 bus heading for home, it is a #2 bus heading for St. David's.

Calmly inform the bus conductor that you are an idiot and are on the wrong bus.
He will look at you and ask you a question that you don't understand and you will say "I meant to go to Grand Anse"
Driver and conductor will exchange glances and mumble something. Assume they understand that you do not want to go to St. David's.

Whiz around the Grenadian country side, get slightly car sick, and enjoy the gorgeous landscape.
See Hog Island, Woburn, a school yard full of colorfully dressed little children, and the Jus Now Bar.

If the driver stops in the middle of absolutely no where and tells you to get out and wait for another bus make sure he understands that you DO NOT want to go to St. David's.
Once it is clear that you are in fact on the WRONG bus and meant to get on a #1 everyone will have a good laugh on your behalf.
Ask the driver if he will be returning to St. George's at the end of his route and then just get back on the bus and go along for the rest of the ride.

About 45 minutes later the driver will drop you off back in St. George's exactly where he picked you up.
If he feels sorry enough for you he will say "no charge, no worries, find the right bus"

Bam! Free tour!

they are precious in his sight

2011-09-15T17:27:00.001-04:00

I finally have some pictures of Limes from this term! I got my camera yesterday and have been snapping pictures like crazy.
Limes has been going amazingly well! Yesterday we had 15 volunteers!
With this many people we are able to break the kids into stations, things run smoothly, and everyone has fun!
On Tuesday we had a music/singing station and yesterday we had a special dancing station! The kids learned the cha-cha and it was so cute/hilarious! I will post a video soon!
I'm happy to report that all the children were well behaved, engaged, and no one got sent home without snack!
Success!

This after school program has really made me love my time here in Grenada... I don't know what I would have done without it or these precious little kids.
Please remember them in your prayers because once they leave our program at 5oclock they go back into rough home lives and are exposed to all sorts of things that children never should be.
I am thankful for the 2 hours a day that we get with them and a chance to make them smile.

Reading Station

Games Station


Dancing Station

Worksheets/coloring Station.

If you would like to join us the Limes After School Program meets every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 3-5!

More Hashing!

2011-09-11T15:48:00.000-04:00

I did my 6th hash yesterday and realized that I've only blogged about 1 hash - my first! Weird!
They are all so different and worth being talked about. silly me.
read more about hashing in Grenada here.

I'll just focus on the last two, those freshest in my mind #694 and #701.
Before 5th term started Lee and I got to do a hash together! Probably his first and only hash experience in Grenada. But it was a fun one!
It was in St. David's near the government housing scheme that I took clothes and food to with All 4 Christ last year. It was a beautiful hike through streams, mountains, and jungle.... and there was a DOWNPOUR and we got completely soaked, which made the ride home a little uncomfortable and smelly. haha

lots of people in Grenada love to hash!

the best part about hashing is that no matter how tired you are after climbing mountain and no matter where you are in Grenada you can see the ocean from the top!

follow the paper trail!

I made friends with a 3-legged dog

These are pictures I got off of the resident hash photographer on facebook :)

Lee and I deep in the jungle!

Hash #701 took place last night and was one of the most beautiful hashes I've been on as of yet... but also one of the longest! We were "hashing" for well over 2 hours.
It was located on the north eastern side of the island, near Belmont Estates in what I'd call "farm land". We saw SO many fruit trees and cocoa growing... as well as lots of other interesting bits too.

My status last night said :

Went on a hash tonight with Chris, Emily , and Jessie... I picked up avocados from the ground, hit my head on a cocoa pod, then Chris tripped on a coconut, Eden danced in the street with some locals, I found pieces of broken tiles, saw a man burning tuxedos in the middle of the jungle (super suspicious), scaled down a hill holding onto a rope, and emerged from the jungle in the dark to the sounds of Justin Bieber. interesting night.

Haha! It was so crazy and so much fun!

I loved all the bamboo in the area, so pretty!

these pictures were stolen from Becky.... I should be getting my camera soon though!

the super weird man burning tuxedos in the middle of the Grenadian jungle....... why anyone here would ever burn clothes in beyond me unless there is something strange going on... I didn't stop to ask questions.

Cocoa that I hit my head on! haha only in Grenada!

Who wants to hash with me next week?!

an update on Lee

2011-09-07T14:09:00.000-04:00

Let me take some time to brag on my husband if you will.

My Lee is the most dedicated, hardworking, reliable man I've ever met.
He keeps me grounded, sane, and nice.
Without him I would be never be rational.... and I like to think that in turn I keep him from being too serious and too rational... sometimes you've got to do something crazy and sometimes you need to keep your head on straight and look at the future. We've totally got that balance.

Lee is in his 5th term of medical school now. 5th term is no easier than any of the other terms if you've heard the rumors like we did that it is. There are about a billion drug names that he needs to know what they are used for, side effects, and lots of other information that I can't even begin to think about without feeling overwhelmed. And he has other classes that I don't even know about....And he has the USMLE in the back of his mind constantly and squeezes in practice questions to prepare for the biggest exam of his life whenever he can.

Once a week he goes to the local hospital or clinic and see's patients to get experience.
Monday he was in a walk in clinic so he got to see and diagnose a wide variety of patients and he loved it! I'm so proud when he comes home with all these stories about how he diagnosed these people's problems and new exactly what treatment method they should use. He's becoming a real doctor, can you believe it?

On top of medical school he is still the President of the Christian Student Association. Our church is growing and flourishing!! We've had close to 200 people in services recently. Lee stays really busy with meetings and planning things for CSA and he is also a worship leader and leads the music about once a month and does amazing if I do say so myself :)
Along with that he is also leading a men's small group Bible study once a week. They had 20 guys the other night! not that small of a group huh? Lee is so excited about encouraging the men in our church to step up into leadership roles and continuing on after we leave. It's going to be so hard to leave our church behind...

As if that wasn't enough Lee is also on the advisory committee for the charity UHP (Urban Humanitarian Project) which was started by IEA (the honor society at SGU which Lee is ALSO a part of)
This term he is helping plan the Wii Olympics, a huge Wii tournament on campus, to raise money for the famine in Somalia, Mt. Gay Psychiatric hospital here in Grenada, and for UHP's initiatives with children in inner city New York. Last term they raised something like $80,000EC! The tournament is October 8th so they are busy planning and seeking donations from local businesses. Should be a good time, I can't wait!

AND Lee is on an intramural basketball team.
AND he volunteers with me whenever he gets the chance.
AND he has a wife waiting at home for him expecting meaningful conversation and quality time. Praise ye the Lord I'm not the needy type or am miserable in Grenada or we'd have a situation on our hands.

eesh. Are you tired just thinking about his life?? He wakes up early early, is off to school by 7:15 and usually arrives home around 10. He studies allllllllllllllllllllll day. I don't think anyone who hasn't gone through medical school or has been living with someone in medical school could ever, ever understand.
I'm sick of trying to explain to people how busy he is or how necessary it is for him to be studying constantly.

We've come to the horrible, awful, terrible decision that Lee should go to his parents house from January - March to study for the USMLE. No one outside of our SGU community is going to understand the need for him to have like 14 hours a day of uninterrupted studying time... and he just isn't going to have that at my parent's house with me. Our house is small, my sister and nieces are also living there right now, and my parents have satellite internet which kinda sucks.
And when I try to tell people that no he can't just go to the local library to study they think I'm nuts. My parents live in the middle of NO where. 30 minutes to the closest library. It's going to be January. January in Ohio isn't optimal driving weather and Lee won't have a car or car insurance. The Library isn't even open from 7-9 which is what he'd like to be studying.
I can't go with him because I need to be working (Mamas don't let your babies grow up to marry foreigners) So we'll be back to long distance. again.

k I'm done ranting.
funny how this started out all sweet and positive and turned so quickly.
this medical school stuff better be worth it.

Annandale Falls

2011-09-06T11:05:00.001-04:00

I'm posting this from the computer lab at SGU... where they still use Internet Explorer from like the year 2000 and the browser doesn't "support some parts of Blogger" I may experience problems they say...
I'll tell you what problem I'm facing.... no spell checker. what?! My lack of spelling skills can't be blamed on technology... it is deep rooted in 2nd grade where I received my first [and one of very few] C on a test. When I won a school-wide spelling bee in 5th grade my family thought I had to of cheated.... and when I won the award for English in 7th grade my teacher announced to the entire school that I couldn't "spell a lick" but I was a great writer.
So basically bare with me. (should I be tying this out in Microsoft Word just incase?)

I'm finally doing a post on Annandale Falls. I'd been twice before and someone never blogged about it? what is wrong with me?!
Sunday my friend Stephanie invited me to go along with her and her family that was visiting to the falls. I'd been before and knew the way & somehow I am full of random bits of information about this island so it seems I make a pretty decent tour guide. who wants to hire me?!
I'm so happy they asked because it was a fun and gorgeous trip.

Upon arriving at the falls we were greated by about 10 people all wanting to sell us something... pictures with the lady with fruit on her head, pictures with baby armadillos, original songs, and probably just souvenirs and spices.
We gave a few dollars to the man with the guitar who sang a sweet little song and called us all by the name of a celebrity named Jennifer. I got Jennifer Love Hewitt..... surprised a Grenadian man even knows who she is.

It started to rain on our way down to the waterfall, but it is a nice paved path and only takes about 2 minutes to get to the waterfall from the road (this is the perfect waterfall for someone who doesn't hike) and the rain made everything so green, so shiny, and so beautiful!

We took a super chilly, refreshing swim in the pool, went under the falls, and Steph was brave enough to jump off one of the ledges into the water. You can jump from REALLY high up.... but it looked like a death sentence to me.

Baby Armadillos! They're found wild in Grenada... they claim. I bet they were brought in.

Thank you Stephanie for inviting me a long! so much fun!

Back to School Beach Party!

2011-09-03T08:21:00.000-04:00

I am happy to say the Limes Back to School Party was quite successful!
We didn't have quite as many kids as I was expecting... but it was a great amount, around 26 or 27. They were so well behaved I was shocked, not that they are bad kids... but they were great on the walk, in the water, eating lunch, and there weren't any complaints in the passing out of the school supplies!

The only thing that didn't go quite according to plan was that we were about a half hour behind schedule. The volunteers met in the Limes field and...... there were no kids.
I may have panicked a little. I thought oh no! I asked for all these volunteers & told them to prepare for maybe 40 kids and there are NONE.
But slowly but surely they started crawling out of the woodwork a few from every direction. I realized that a lot of these kids probably don't have access to a clock - no watch, phone, computer.... some of them don't even have electricity in their homes, so who am I to ask them to be somewhere at 9:45? and they are Grenadian after all... time is relative.

waiting in the heat.

the kids using Lee for the shade he provided :)

the bags with school supplies and lunch boxes!

lunch!

Thank you everyone for your help!!!
I can't wait to get started with Limes on Tuesday!

time for a change

2011-09-01T19:34:00.001-04:00

I had a really hard time saying goodbye to my previous header.... I really, really loved it and was so proud that I made it. I hope I can have it printed someday and put it on the cover of an album or something. Someday when we can afford to print the millions of pictures I've taken in Grenada.
My "Grenada" folder on my computer has 15,000 images in it right now :/

Onto a new header... what you may call the autumn of our time in Grenada...
and I designed the background too! on colourlovers.com
Lee and I did a photo shoot with our friend Allie and this image of our feet was one of my favorite images.
and here are some more.
oh AND someone stole the road sign for Lover's Lane. jerks.

cold in the heat

2011-08-31T21:53:00.001-04:00

I'm currently recovering from a dreadful cold.
the kind that makes your entire body ache and your head feel like it's full of helium... but without the funny voice.
I am on the mend and excited about the week ahead!

On Friday we are having a Back To School Beach Party for the kids at Limes!
After I got the grant from SGA last term for the program I've had it in mind to get book bags for the kids and fill them with school supplies... and it's going to happen! only even better!
My friend and co-volunteer coordinator Stephanie's mom heard about it & she and her grandma sewed the kids all adorable little bags and sent supplies. So all we had to buy was some notebooks and since we were saving so much money we got everyone a lunch box with a tupperware and drink container inside :)
I also had a ton of stuff that was donated at the end of last term... like fruit snacks, granola bars, and post it notes, etc. (people donate the weirdest stuff I've realized)
I don't know who is going to be more excited the kids or me when I see their faces!

If you'd like to join us (please do!) we are meeting at Texaco at 9:30am to walk to the kids over to the beach for 10am. Playing in the water and sand, starting lunch around 11:30, and then surprising them with the goodies!

On Saturday there is the already the 3rd beach day of the term and CSA's first visit to Bel Air Home for the term. I'm so happy I've been able to visit there as well. There are several teenage girls who are in need of some quality female bonding time and I'm excited to see them.
and there is always the babies. The most precious little ones you can imagine! They are in desperate need of some stimulation too...
If anyone in Grenada would like to join us on Saturday OSO Beach Day is on Grand Anse Beach from 10-12 and CSA will be visiting BelAir from 1-3, meeting outside of Charter Hall to take a bus to the home.

I'd like to apologize for my absence in blogging (yet again). I've found it's really difficult to blog without a camera. Both of my camera's are currently broken, go figure, and probably more about that story later when I'm feeling up to it. But my sweet friend Cat is letting me borrow one for a bit! So I will be taking pictures and doing some actual posts soon. pinky promise. and if not..... go read Stephanie's blog... we do a lot of the same stuff. lol.

better late than never...

2011-08-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

anyone who has been reading this blog for the past year has heard about my frustration with the lack of volunteers from the SOs. I have begged people to help to no avail.... but last Monday afternoon my prayers were answered.
We had our first visit to Queen Elizabeth Home for the semester & as I approached Charter Hall I was welcomed by a massive group of volunteers.... 19 in total!
NINETEEN!
We had 3 returning volunteers from last term and 16 new SOs!
It was incredible.

There are only 14 kids at QE right now so we had more than one adult per child and I was amazed at just how smoothly things went. The kids were engaged and having fun and no one was acting up.

I realize that 19 people each week probably isn't realistic... but if at least half of that group remain faithful to visiting QE each week it will be awesome!

I am getting ahead of myself and daydreaming about how awesome Limes will be this term if we can get that many volunteers....

I heard this quote this week "Delays do not weaken the promise of God"

This past year was a bit of a struggle and wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of Amber Gazo, Michelle Nanney, Adriana Pardo, and Jessi Steinz.
When people were bitter and doubted that we should continue Limes and other volunteer activities we said no. These programs are way to important to these kids to just toss it aside.
And look what is happening! So many people want to get involved and help out and I believe that God has sent the right people for the job and I am optimistic about the future.

2011-08-27T17:00:00.000-04:00

I needed hear this & perhaps so do you....

Proverbs 31:25-26
She is clothed with strength and dignity,
and she laughs without fear of the future.
When she speaks, her words are wise,
and she gives instructions with kindness.

Welcoming.Touring. Bazaaring. Socialing.

2011-08-25T06:00:00.004-04:00

I haven't been the best blogger lately. The one thing people who I have met who have read my blog have all said is "I like how often you post" or something to that effect...... and then they all get to Grenada and I'm MIA! Well here is a whirlwind of the past 2 weeks!

I will blame it partially on my frustration with my camera.... or lack there of. My underwater camera is broken & my cannon is on it's last leg (and after our hike to Concord Falls debacle it may never work again) so I haven't been taking many pictures, but luckily all my friends are new to the island and are picture happy!!
So I will be sharing their images from facebook :)

Last week I took a group of girls downtown St. George's to the market and to a couple other stores that have been helpful to me. It was a fun, but super hot and sweaty day.

playing tour guide downtown and explaining the Cocoa pod

with some new SOs Myra and Laura

Natalie, Laura, Me, and Adriana in the fish market

We also had our Welcome Back Bazaar on campus last Sunday. So many new SOs came by to talk and pay dues! The Bazaar is always a fun time because there is food and music and lots of people buzzing around.

my goal for the term is to make a new SO poster! ha!

our new SO t-shirts designed by the lovely former SO Jackie

Lee and I were BOTH spot on with our weight and won free movie tickets!! Date night soon!

Then I took some new girls over to the conch shell graveyard as I like to call it... and my friend Cat and I had a field day with the tiles!! score!!

totally BFFs... who else would ever drag such a thing home?! it is now a beautiful door stop

Then on Saturday we had the first Beach Day of the term with the kids from Bel Air Home!

Lee dumping water on a child... and they love it!

On Sunday we had our CSA (Christian Student Association) welcome back BBQ! It was a huge success and we had over 215 people in attendance!! God is really moving in CSA and it is growing and will hopefully continue to work in the lives of students at SGU! Lee and I are feeling so blessed and so happy that this term there are a ton of new students and SOs who want to get involved with CSA to move it forward!!

Also on Sunday we had our SO Opening Social! 2 free meals in 1 day! yay! haha
We also had a great turn out of the social - about 110 people! We even ran out of pizza! I think everyone had a great time & got to mix & mingle. I am so happy with the new SO board & the term to come! I think my last term in Grenada is going to great because of all these wonderful people.... although they may make me really sad to leave.....

we ate as many pizzas as Stephanie is tall!!

As you can see we have been keeping ourselves quite busy and Limes, my art class, and my baby sitting job hasn't even started yet! And there is still more to come! I must blog about our visit to Queen Elizabeth Home & our adventurous/terrifying hike to Concord Falls.
soon. pinky promise!

2 years and counting...

2011-08-24T16:53:00.003-04:00

Monday Lee and I celebrated 2 years of marriage!
It is true what they say.... the older you get the faster time flies.
I need time to slooooowwww down. even slower than island time.
I just want to revel in life - spend time with God, love Lee, take in the beautiful nature in Grenada, hold tight to the precious little children at Limes and the orphanages, and just be.
I will say that the past two years have been nothing less than interesting. From our honeymoon in Mexico, to living in West Virginia for a few months, to taking off on a plane to the unknown island of Grenada.
Marriage requires a lot of trust. I have trusted this man with my life and our future, and so far so good :)
My facebook status from Monday read - "they say the first few years of marriage are the hardest, then you add medical school, unemployment, a 350 sq ft apartment, and life on a crazy island thousands of miles away from family and friends to the mix.... and your relationship not only survives, but flourishes then you picked the right one!! Happy 2nd anniversary Lee Coghill! Thank you for this crazy, wonderful life!"

and my Lee's said - "Happy Anniversary to my best friend and partner Kelsey Coghill. 2 years of med school hasn't been easy, but everyday is better when I can come home to you! Thanks for being the best wife a guy could ask for."

I'll admit I almost teared up a bit. He usually isn't too emotional or expressive on facebook, not that the whole world needs to know, but it is kinda nice to hear those words in public setting sometimes... would you agree?

Needless to say from both of our posts medical school + marriages isn't an easy road. You don't get to spend a lot of quality time together and life is stressful. But it is doable! Every single day we along with dozens of other SGU couples are making it work and someday soon it is all going to be worth it.

We had a very low key anniversary this year. No fancy dinner and no dressing up (although I think we will be doing that soon :) AND I did convince Lee to take me to the Tobago Cays by saying it would be for our anniversary)
We were tiiiiired on Monday. Lee spent the morning in the hospital doing examinations (in long sleeves, pants, AND his white coat with no AC) & then class all afternon & I had an SO meeting, spent some time at the pool, and then visited Queen Elizabeth Home (more about QE later!!) & yes the pool is tiring!
We ate left overs and watched the sunset... then attempted to make cotton candy together - Lee's idea and gift of "cotton" to me for the 2nd anniversary. I gave him my homemade pillow case with his name embroidered on it. Read more about our gifts on my other blog here.

I am so thankful and so blessed to have Lee in my life and believe it or not, I love him so much more today than I could have ever imaged 2 years ago on our wedding day... and I think he feels the same ♥

sunset on the beach 8/22/11

301st post!

2011-08-18T09:07:00.001-04:00

I didn't even realize yesterday was my 300th post! boo!
oh well here's to 300 and 1!

Things are getting back into their busy swing around here. Lee and I have both been attending meetings and spending time returning emails and answering questions.
I asked Lee when he'd be home for dinner & he said well I have this from 10-12, class from 1-5, a meeting for this at 5, then one at 6, and another at 6:30, and I have to meet with my small group for whatever.... so..... yea. never.
But he's been home in the mornings which has been nice.

So far 5th term has been a nice relief from 4th term, but I have a feeling that it's going to get bad again and Lee is going to be studying for the USMLE as well this term. It never ends.

I'm really excited for the term ahead for myself and the SOs! We have such a great group of women on the island right now who all seem excited to get involved! I've tried explaining that we can't start our after school program until the kids go to school.... haha. they're so gung-ho! I love it. And once we start 3 consecutive months of Limes is enough to wear anyone out, so let's enjoy this calm before the storm!
We are starting our trips back up to Queen Elizabeth this Monday, I'm excited to see the kids & the progress that has been made on the construction of the home.
Beach Day starts this Saturday as well, with the kids from Bel Air, and I haven't seen them in a long time either!! I'm hoping they bring the babies out and I can just sit under a tree and play :)
And I'm hoping to get involved in a project with PAM, more details about that later.

This term I am also the on-site coordinator with REACH Grenada, on the board for OSO, and leading a women's small group through our church!

I figured I might as well go out with a bang b/c when I get back to the States it'll be work, work, work.

Ohio vs Grenada

2011-08-17T08:49:00.003-04:00

It is no secret that I love Grenada and I do NOT want to leave.
It's not that I want to live here forever... this isn't where I want to raise my children or start a career... but it is where I want to spend my 20s. All 5 1/2 more year of them. But alas I have less than 4 months to spend in this wonderful tropical paradise.
While this is true, Ohio still holds a special place in my heart... but when I say Ohio I mean a OH/KY combo, where I'm from isn't strictly Ohio, but it is home all the same.

Temperature:
Ohio - It's hot in the summer, freezing in the winter, and you never know what you'll get in spring and fall. We have used both the AC and the heat in the same day.
Grenada - constant. HOT & humid.

Landscape and wildlife:
Ohio - where I live is the "foothills of the Appalachian Mountains" so it's hilly and beautiful. So many trees, streams, lakes, and the Ohio river. Wildlife - deer, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, mink, coyotes, frogs, turtles, birds, etc...
Grenada - Mountainous, thick jungle, fruit trees and flowers everywhere, and the Ocean. Wildlife - monkeys, lizards, iguanas, mongoose, manacou, and mosquitoes.

Culture:
Ohio - fast paced. life revolves around work & family. Kids are important - school, sports, camps, hobbies. Divorce rate is high, average family probably has 2.5 kids. Important to have a nice house and car. Football reigns supreme, life in the fall revolves around high school, college, and NFL football games.
Grenada - slow paced. life revolves around having a good time and having enough money to provide for tomorrow. Divorce rate isn't as high b/c people don't get married as much, average woman has probably 4-5 children. Important to have a nice cell phone and clothes. Cricket and soccer are popular sports.

Religion & ethnicity:
Ohio - Christian, mostly protestant, some Catholic, very little else. Majority are Caucasian, followed by African American, then Hispanic, and Asian.
Grenada - Mostly Catholic, but a lot of 7th Day Adventists, as well as protestants. Small population of Rastafarians. People are of African decent, from when the British and French decided to kill all the native Caribs & then bring in slaves to produce sugar cane.

Food:
Ohio - Meat & potatoes kind of people. Eating out is big; fast food, pizza, steakhouses, mexican, chinese, etc.
Grenada - Chicken & rice with local fruits & vegetables. It is the "Isle of Spice" but I find the food to be pretty bland.

Me:
In Ohio: I work, I drive, I run around all over the tri-state, hang out with family and friends, go out to eat a lot, I buy things I don't need because they are cheap, I am comfortable, and I sometimes forget to appreciate the beauty around me.

In Grenada - I volunteer with kids, I go to the beach, I go to lots of social events, I pretend I'm still in college, I stay busy but a fun busy, I only ever buy groceries, I am hot and sweat buckets, and am constantly in awe of the nature around me.

Both places have their pros and cons... but right now in my life, I'll take Grenada.

Jamaican Patties

2011-08-16T22:25:00.000-04:00

remember when I posted about Jamaican Patties?
k well now I have photo evidence of their deliciousness!

Jamaican Patties - available in beef, chicken, and veggie at your Grenadian neighborhood Texaco, IGA, bakery, and random truck driving through Carnival.

Carnival!!

2011-08-14T07:12:00.000-04:00

Last week Grenada held their annual Carnival celebrations.
Jou'vet during the wee hours of Monday morning was a time of partying, covering your body in paint and oil, and probably just general craziness. We didn't participate but I've seen tons of pictures & the paint splattered streets.
Monday night was another parade. I forget what it's called.. something Mas, it was a lot of music and more celebrating.
Tuesday afternoon was Fancy Mas, the traditional costumes and parade. I was so excited to go and experience my first (and probably last) Grenada Carnival!
and it was an experience to say the LEAST!

The costumes were beautiful and fun and the people were insane. I've never experienced anything quite like it... not in broad daylight. I saw so much skin, so much "wining" -which I found out is a word for basically having sex with your clothes on while appearing to be dancing..... yea..... that I could slightly handle/ignore, but what really pained me was the little girls they were encouraging to dance like this. 4 and 5 year olds dancing like girls in a rap video (do I sound super old & white when I say that? haha)
Lee and I were a tad uncomfortable and didn't know quite where to look. and it was 900 degrees. But I am happy we went and got to experience it first hand!

Thanks to my friend Allison for these awesome pictures!! I will try my hardest not to be jealous of her camera..... :/ haha

we found soft serve at the parade!! a Grenada first for me!

SO friends Sherry and Erin

more SOs - Kirsten and Jessica

one I took myself of the glitter covered streets! now this I like!

Been there, done that

2011-08-11T20:30:00.002-04:00

In our time on the island we have been a lot of places and seen almost everything there is to see and do!
Last on my list is Concord Falls! I have 4 months left to get it in!
Here are some I think are worth seeing, maybe more than once :)

Grand Anse - duh. read all about it here.
Conch Shell Graveyard - read about it here, but make sure you read this one too!
Magazine Beach - there are so many posts about this one, its a favorite see them all here.
St. George's - my first trip here, and a few others here and here.
Fort George - here
Fort Frederick - here
La Sagesse - I've been 4 times read about them all here
Grand Etang - one of my favorites! been 6 times! here and here
Anandale Falls - here.
Mount Carmel Falls - first time here & again here
Pearls Airport - abandoned airport with Cuban planes here
Levera Beach - here for the beach and here to see the turtles lay eggs!
Bathway Beach - here
Belmont Estate (chocolate plantation) and Rivers Rum Distillery - both are here
Le Phare Bleu - here
Underwater Sculpture Park - here
Snorkeling at Happy Hill - here
Fish Friday - I've been 3 times, but apparently I've only liked it enough to blog about it once here
Dolphin Watching Tour - here
River Tubing - here
Carriacou - amazing! here

Around the Island in a Reggae Bus - Carib's Leap, Sauteurs, & Grenville mostly here.
Around the Island picking fruit - here
Around the Island with the SOs - oops. didn't blog about it! I need to go back in time and do that b/c it was a great trip!

Is there anything I am leaving out??

Back to school 1 last time.

2011-08-10T09:28:00.000-04:00

Lee started 5th term yesterday!
the final term in Grenada!
It's like we're seniors all over again.
There are so many new people on the island right now and if you're sitting next to someone on the bus or in line at the store they want to chat (this will end soon) and they ask "first term?" hoping that I am & we're in the same boat, and when I say "5th term" their eyes get big & they're like wow! you've been here forever! haha.
1.5 years = forever.

I remember when we first got here though thinking that it was never ending. 5th term really is a lifetime away from 1st.
and now we're here.
I feel like we have lived so much in this past year and half. experienced so much.
and we're not even halfway through with this medical school fiasco!!

While I am looking forward to getting back to real life. jobs, house, car... wait.
no. I'm not looking forward to that.
the only advantage of going back to the States is that we are further along in this journey and closer to being out of debt and closer to starting a family... and closer to having money to vacation in Grenada!

Bonfire in the sunset

2011-08-08T22:29:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things I did when I was new to Grenada was go to a bonfire with some friends on Magazine Beach. My [then] Grenada friends and I had several that first term and it was so much fun... and they were all greatly missed at this most recent beach bonfire.
But one of the facts of life here in Grenada is that friends move on and soon you're the only one left on this island... and you have to make new friends! and then you're the one leaving!
here are my sad goodbyes to some dear friends - Sarah, Amber, and Jessi :(

I'm not ready to leave. not one bit. I'm trying to find a way to sabotage Lee's 5the semester so we can stay a little longer... haha. not really. and he will absolutely kill me if something does go wrong... and ship me back to America and force me to work. ugh.

back to the bonfire.
I wanted to have a get together with some friends and it soon grew into a huge party! I was so surprised that so many people came... I'm used to the SOs not wanting to come out to anything.. and here they all were with bells on!
We met so many new people I'm still struggling with names... but it will all come together soon, just in time for me to board that plane back to North America and kiss my dream life goodbye...

Lee burning all his notes from previous terms!! O happy day

everyone enjoying the party and the sunset :)

gorgeous red sunset. we.are.so.blessed.

picnik :)

Here's to many, many more bonfires with all my new friends!!

same place, new faces

2011-08-07T18:42:00.001-04:00

There are so many new people in the SO organization this term!
The term hasn't even started and I've already met dozens of couples. This is unusual, but welcomed! I'm glad people are coming to the island and wanting to get involved and live real lives here. I know a lot of people who never give Grenada a chance & therefore spend the 2 years here miserable.
Grenada has so much to offer if you'll allow it!

I went through some of my old posts and found some that I thought might be helpful/interesting to those new in Grenada, because even though I'm old news and have been here forever now... I was new once too! :)

3 weeks in... (probably a great post for new people b/c I wrote it when I was new too! haha)
Adventures in Grocery Shopping
Wish List
Eating Out in Grenada : Restaurant reviews
Grenada 101
Back on the rock
TIG This is Grenada
Don't jade me Grenada...
My favorite foods here
Grenada on a budget
4th term
Why I Love Limes

ok that's a lot for now... you can always search for something specific on the right side bar...
if you have a question about something in Grenada I'm sure I've been there, done that & I'm more than happy to help!

Sample Grocery List

2011-08-06T21:06:00.000-04:00

A few people have asked how I save money at the grocery store and what types of things I buy, so I thought I'd show you an example of a weekly grocery list for Lee and I.

Typical IGA Grocery List:
*all prices in EC dollars

bananas - $4 (I buy bananas every single time I walk through IGA's doors)
5lb bag of potatoes - $8
4 Apples - $10
lettuce - $9
onion - $2
cucumber - $3
carrots - $5
Hunt's pasta sauce - $6
pasta - $3-7
IGA macaroni and cheese - $4
can of black beans - $3
can tomato soup - $5 (I am recently obsessed with grilled cheese and tomato soup. in the caribbean? weird)
Carlita salsa - $8
chicken breast - $10-15 (if I am making soup or something I will buy thighs b/c they are cheaper)
hamburger - $7-10
2lb bag of rice - $3
2lb bag of sugar - $3
IGA brand cereal - $10-12 (favorites include : honey oats and flakes, magic stars, and the cinnamon toast crunch knockoff)
IGA frozen peas - $6
IGA frozen corn - $6
Toufayan bagels - $7
local bread - $4
Shoppers Value tortilla chips - $8
NewZealand Cheddar cheese - $4-6
cream cheese - $6
dozen eggs - $9
butter - $3
Toufayan wraps - $6 (garlic pesto is our favorite!)
4 yogurts - $10 (black berry pomegranate is my favorite!)
half gallon milk - $9

Total : $162EC or $60US and usually it is less than this... rarely do I spend over $150EC, averaging out to about $225US a month)

Those are things that I might buy every week.. with the exception of the sugar and a few other things like salsa, rice, & 5lbs of potatoes that last a while.

About once a month I buy other things like peanut butter, cooking oil, salad dressing, laundry detergent, dish soap, paper towels... etc.
And occasionally we buy pop, chips, ice cream, or some other junk.
Its fairly easy to maintain a shopping list like this once you have the basics: spices, condiments, baking essentials etc, and I just never buy the stuff I feel is too expensive.

Typical meals for us are:

spaghetti (I could eat it every single day)
quesadillas
tacos
stir fry
hamburgers
grilled chicken
soup of all kinds & always with grilled cheese
breakfast for dinner (yum! omelets, french toast, pancakes)
chicken and dumplings
alfredo
homemade pizza
mexican casserole (tortillas, black beans, corn, and cheese)
salad
whatever crazy recipe I find online and want to try :)

Basically we have learned to eat less (which is not only good for our budget but great for our health and waistlines) and to be creative with our meals within the range of foods we can afford at the grocery. I like to bake a lot so I never feel deprived of snacks or if I am craving something I will just learn how to make it!

So there it is, no big secrets or tricks....
and I'm usually taking the bus so you can't buy more than you can carry! :)

foods I've only just discovered

2011-08-05T09:49:00.000-04:00

I have become so adventurous in my eating! My Dad is so proud. and so is Lee.

Last week I actually went to the fresh fish market in St. George's and bought fish.
straight from the ocean!
my friend Stephanie was along with me and took some pictures to document the experience b/c I didn't have my camera (which I am having serious issues with... :( the underwater one is done. broken, again. we'll have to send it back again b/c it's still under warranty. and my cannon is just old, probably 3 or 4 years old and it's slowing down and not focusing and the button sticks and blah blah blah)
anyway. I'm borrowing Stephanie's pictures.

"cleaning" the fish. real sanitary huh?

I got Mahi Mahi or Dolphin as they like the call it in Grenada. I'm not sure how much weight it was, but it was enough for 2 dinners for Lee and I and it was only $11EC and I gave the guy who cleaned it for me a $3ec tip.
It was delicious! Lee cooked it for us... I have yet to cook fish. For some reason Lee thinks this is his domain. whatever. I don't like the smell.

Other things I have discovered recently :

Jamaican beef patties - where have I been? why have I not know about these until now?? and suddenly they are everywhere. and cheap! and delicious! they even sell them at Texaco. who knew.
Cheese rolls at IGA Bakery - ok remember my obsession with the Indian lady on campus' cheese rolls. Her's have nothing on IGAs. only $3 and big enough to fill me up for lunch. It's like a cinnamon roll, but with cheese instead of cinnamon. heavenly.
Pizza at IGA - they sell pizza by the slice at IGA. I didn't realize this either. I think the first year I was here I just avoided the bakery b/c it would get me in trouble... but they have great stuff!

Is there anything else that I am missing out on??

Grenada on a budget

2011-08-01T16:35:00.003-04:00

it's no secret that Lee and I are tight with our money (or lack of?)
and I'm beginning to find myself being much more cheap than him.
shocked? me too!

I think its the pressure of having to get a job as soon as I get back to the states and knowing that we'll be depending heavily on me to "provide" for the family.
It honestly makes me not want to ever spend another dollar.

While I often complain about how expensive things are in Grenada, it is possible to get by on a small budget.

1st - forget about all the things you're used to at home.

Air Conditioning - the electric bill will be insane and even though some say "it's worth it to not be hot" it's not to me. If I can sit in front of a fan and save myself literally hundreds of US dollars a month, I will.
Clothes Dryer - another drain on the electricity. Use that hot sun and hang them outside.
Socializing with friends at restaurants - this is something I do all the time at home. If I'm meeting friends it's typically at a restaurant. Here you can go to the beach or pool and not have to spend money.
Shopping - this is an easy one because there is no where to shop really.

2nd - save $$$ at the grocery store.

Brand names - we're lucky to have an IGA here and IGA has lots of great store brands, especially cereal. You can save several dollars by buying IGA brand instead.
Ice cream, pop, chips - so. much. money. We rarely buy it and it is a "treat" as much as I hate that word.
Eat less. haha serious, have you seen how much weight my husband has lost and how amazing he looks? We eat WAY too much at home!! too many snacks and extras.
Cook- I cook every single day. I learn how to make the stuff we see on tv and online and its fun and cheaper. I also bake a lot. bread, cookies, donuts, pretzels, etc. Because if there is one thing that is cheap it's sugar and flour.

3rd - Don't give into the pressure of others.

Medical school is a weird environment. A lot of people already think they are doctors and begin spending money as if they are.
You don't have to go $300,000 in debt. It is possible to do it. Save what money you do have, don't spend foolishly, and remember that you have to pay that back whether you pass 4th term or not.

4th - travel expenses

Lee and I stayed over summer break, saved a lot of money and had the time of our lives. Because we didn't pay to fly home we were able to visit some other islands and have a mini-vacation.
When we do fly we search for the very.best.deal. You won't catch me paying $1000 to get here. So what if you have to fly a different rate or route than you wanted to? We saved $800 last August by coming the day after Lee's classes started. serious.
We didn't ship stuff down. The apartments are furnished, you live in tiny summer clothing, and you can buy what you do need off someone who did pay to ship it all down here really cheap.

Lee and I's budget breakdown. I have no shame in talking about money, mostly because its not really our money. It's some bank in Canada's. and they will only give us $150,000. So we don't really have much wiggle room in this "budget"

Rent - $650US per month - includes water, gas, cable, and internet. Came completely furnished, washer and dryer, AC, and the nicest landlord you will ever meet. And it was brand new. We were the first people to live here, sleep in this bed, use the bathroom...
So it's small. 1 bedroom, 1 bath. My only complaint is something I never even thought about and that's seating. It's a little tough to have people over because there are only 4 chairs in the whole house, but that hasn't stopped me from having a few little parties or what not.
But I can assure you that this is not the norm. Most people I know pay over $1000 a month.
Electric - $80US per month - we are so good with the electric. Like I said no AC, no dryer, and I am always flipping switches. The only thing that is ever switched on for very long in our house is the computers. I don't even leave the microwave or TV plugged in. maybe a little excessive.
Groceries - $225US per month - roughly. There are only two of us and we don't eat a ton and like I said I homemake stuff and we don't eat expensive brands. rice and beans for Lee! haha jk.
Other - minimal. Sometimes we go on trips with the SOs, rarely we go out to eat, and whatever else comes up.
Tuition - ready for this?? $50,000ish a year. sigh. did you do the math?? isn't that more than $150,000 if medical school is 4 years? yep. luckily there is a scholarship, a little Canadian govt. loan, and my hardworking husband worked his whole life and saved every penny he ever made, and I work enough here in Grenada to pay for groceries and the little extras.

Sometimes I wish we could just spend whatever we want because someday we'll have money to pay all this off... but I try to remind myself that the sooner we are out of debt the sooner we can start to provide a proper future for our family (and start a family) and give to all the "causes" I want so badly to help.
oh and a house. I really want a house.

Operation get out of debt in 10 years starts January 1st. When I get a job.
someone please give me a job!

Underwater Sculpture Park

2011-07-31T09:16:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to see the sculpture park. If you live in Grenada for any amount of time you'll hear about it & it was super intriguing to me.
Well... I won't say I was disappointed, but I won't say I was super impressed either.

It is very eerie to see "bodies" under the ocean. and that is what a lot of it looked like.
and it was in deep water, which made my toes wiggle a little bit extra.
and some of the statues had fallen over and were quite corroded.
and it was tough to get to.

Lee and I are cheap. ch.ea.p.
We were not about to pay a boat to take us out to see it when it is "walkable"
We drove up on the other side of St. George's until you see a big sign for the sculpture park and parked at the beach and then began the hike to the bay on the left side of this beach.

If it wasn't for the sea urchins, I'd totally recommend it. It wouldn't have been difficult except for the fear of falling and smashing your face against 100 sea urchin spikes.
But we made it. (I did cut my hand up on one trying to get out of the water though...)

Other than the sculptures it was also pretty great snorkeling. We saw tons of colorful fish, a barracuda (and I was TERRIFIED) and other sea life.

If you're up for an adventure try it out! I highly recommend wearing shoes.
or pay $60US for a boat to take you there. ridiculous.

AND. my underwater camera broke. again. boo.

Carriacou & Tobago Cays Breakdown

2011-07-30T07:01:00.000-04:00

so after seeing my posts of day 1, 2, and 3 in Carriacou and the Cays I know you're all planning your trips!

Here are some things you might find helpful:

Ospry Ferry to Carriacou - round trip $160EC per person. Runs twice daily, except on Sunday. There is no baggage checks or anything, buy your ticket on the spot, very informal, you just get on and go. The trip between Grenada and Carriacou is beautiful too! so many islands to see!
SVG Airlines - if you have money and want to go to the Tobago Cays you should fly into Union Island. Save yourself the extra boat ride. you can also fly to Carriacou, but I liked the ferry just fine.

Green Roof Inn - adorable little cottage/inn close to town but far enough to be secluded. We paid $50us per night, which was a discount after we told her we were poor & that there was no one else going to be renting the rooms anyway. So feel free to barter with them. You could also have breakfast included if you wanted. We did not, but I saw it... toast, poached eggs, corn flakes, and coffee. not worth the extra money.
Ade's Dream Hotel - cheaper hotel but conveniently only had the more expensive rooms open when we were there. yea right. It is located directly in town so you can step off the ferry and into your room in about 5 minutes.

Carriacou Tourism Website
Snagg Tours - offers boat from Carriacou to Tobago Cays. As long as you don't use a man named Clarence you're probably ok.
Things to do in Carriacou

You can also search the travel websites like Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor for other people's experiences and opinions.

About Carriacou:

It is bigger than you'll expect. I thought oh whatever we can walk anywhere we want to go. Not so much.
The people are nice. seriously. I usually roll my eyes at stuff like this b/c I heard how nice the Grenadians are and I haven't found that to be true for the most part. I think they are bitter about the medical school or something, but the people in Carriacou were super nice and helpful.
They have Reggae Buses like Grenada $2.50 each way
Everything closes at dark.
Laurena's might be the only place to eat at night in Hillsborough.
Laurena's might be the only place to get a drink of water after dark too.
Laurena's is cheap! About $15ec for dinner - around $6US

Sandy Island :
We took a water taxi to Sandy Island. We just found a man on the beach with a boat and said hey will you take us? We paid him $25EC each. They will try to charge $25US. don't do it.

Tobago Cays:
We tried to find someone on the beach to take us and couldn't find anyone. So we went to the Ministry of Tourism and they called Curtis at Off the Hook & he called Clarence. If you can go with Curtis it'd be fine, he has a nice boat, but he was full. If they say Clarence... run.
They wanted to charge us $400US for the boat for the day, lunch, and drinks. We ended up paying $600EC, which is about $225US split between all the people on the boat. So about $55US each. It was worth it.
I had some other phone numbers for people but they didn't answer for me for an entire week. :/
Be sure to bring your passport. You're supposed to stop in at Union Island because you're entering St. Vincent, another country, but Clarence didn't bother with this. We would have probably been in trouble if we had been stopped.

Other tips:

We took food with us, but there are grocery stores so you could buy snacks...
Bring/buy water. The drinking water in Carriacou is not quite as good as Grenada because they don't have any source of water other than rainfall. No lakes or rivers like Grenada.
Don't plan on anywhere having AC.
bug spray
apply more sunscreen than you think you'll need & apply often.
There are two banks with ATM machines

So there you go. Start planning your getaway!

Carriacou Day 3!

2011-07-29T16:58:00.001-04:00

On our 3rd and final day on the lovely island of Carriacou we had plans of spending it on Paradise Beach, but our friend Stan was able to haggle an awesome deal for a guy with a boat to take us to Sandy Island, a little spit of sand close to the shore of Paradise beach.
We had been hearing about the great snorkeling there and I think we had all caught the snorkeling bug by this point and were wanting to see more more more.
It was SO worth the money to go. It is the most beautiful little island and the snorkeling was great! We even saw another sea turtle! seriously the highlight of the trip for me because I wasn't expecting to see another one.

amazing snorkeling!

After snorkeling we ate dinner at a local place and we all had chicken platter specials and it was great! 2 pieces of chicken, macaroni pie, salad, and rice for $15ec!
Then we headed back to the Green Roof Inn to clean up and prepare for the 3:30 ferry to take us back to Grenada.
This time we took a much larger ferry and it was such a smooth enjoyable ride. I could travel like this all the time.

arriving back in the carenage of home sweet Grenada.

I'm also going to do a post of how much stuff cost, who to contact and such, so it'll be a little easier for any of you who are planning your own trip to Carriacou or the Tobago Cays!
seriously. go. tomorrow.

Carriacou & Tobago Cays Day 2

2011-07-28T09:49:00.002-04:00

This day was interesting to say the LEAST.
The Tobago Cays is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen with my own eyes.
read about the first time I went here.

I wanted to go back with Lee so badly so he could see it and we could experience swimming with sea turtles together!

Well... the trip to the Cays was definitely an experience. We thought we were doing the right thing and went to the ministry of tourism in Carriacou and asked about a boat to the Cays and they acted like it was a great operation. drinks, lunch, a nice boat...
no.
Clarence arrived to pick us up, an hour late, in a tiny work boat. Which was ok.... we wanted to go so badly and it wasn't far.
Once we got into open water it was a different story!! The motor got wet and wasn't working properly and we were going so sloooooow over pretty big waves and getting splashed the entire time. I couldn't open my eyes because the salt was burning them so badly. esh. it was nuts.

We finally arrived near Union Island and stopped at the Happy Island BBQ so Clarence could mess with the motor.
I was so HAPPY to be out of that boat!

Glass Bottled Coke at Happy Island

Onward towards the island with the turtles!! My only wish of the day!

It was beyond incredible. We were only in the water for about 5 minutes before we saw a turtle and then we kept seeing them!! We saw about 5 at once! They are so graceful and pretty moving through the water.

We stayed on this island for a while and then went to Jamesby Island where we had our own private beach and saw some more iguanas. And the most gorgeous view probably in the entire Caribbean.

Lee and I with the boat we took across the ocean!

Our private little beach

We then went to Palm Island, an island with what seemed to me to be only a resort. Our driver said it was $700 a night to stay there. craziness. but beautiful!

The next stop was supposed to be back to Happy Island BBQ for dinner, but when we stopped they said they didn't have any food! seriously! haha
So to Union we went in search of some food and found hamburgers and fries for $12EC! an amazing deal.
We headed back to Carriacou in the sunset for another incredibly scary journey across the sea.
This time Clarence not only stopped the boat in the middle of open ocean (which Lee said was bad bad bad) to take the motor APART he also asked me to drive the boat while he filled the tank with gas.
ugh. have you ever driven a boat? its not that easy. the motor is HEAVY.
I wasn't happy.

I told Lee I was going to kiss the ground when we got back to Carriacou! haha.

All in all..... it was worth it because the Cays are that amazing, but I would never get into this boat ever again.
Luckily because it was such a crappy boat we paid less! yes!

Carriacou Day 1!

2011-07-25T09:18:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday (almost a week ago already?!) Lee and I along with our friends Stan and Natasha headed to Carriacou for a little mid-week adventure on the Osprey Ferry.

The ferry leaves out of the Carenage in St. George's at 9am and was supposed to take about an hour and half to get to Carriacou... it took a little longer. and wasn't the smoothest ride. haha. We rode the smaller of the 2 ferries and we wanted to sit up top to get a good view of all the islands along the way (SO beautiful!) and we got SOAKED! Even on the top of the boat the waves were splashing us & we were holding onto the rails with a death grip, well I was anyway. But it was a beautiful ride & we arrived at the gorgeous island of Carriacou safely.

We started the search for an appropriate hotel room by heading to Paradise Beach, a place I had read about online & said there were cheap rooms.
they weren't kidding about cheap.
We went to Hope's Inn and I'm not kidding when I say there was a communal shower & the only toilet in the place was downstairs off of the restaurant! haha! and the rooms were JUST bed. no fan no AC. It was about $38US a night.

Paradise Beach

We made our way down the beautiful Paradise Beach to another hotel and it was about $60US a night (much nicer) but they would NOT bargain with us at all. We offered $50 and they wouldn't even consider it. a hotel on the tiny island of Carriacou in the off season with NO guests. and probably no possibility of guests since we were the only tourists on the ferry.
So we said forget it and went back to the main town of Hillsborough via Reggae Bus, just like in Grenada, and asked the driver about the Green Roof Inn where he dropped us and then asked for extra money because he drove us out of his way (even though we didn't ask to be. ugh)
Anyway, the Green Roof Inn was great!! A secluded, quaint little cottage type place with an incredible view and great beachy decor :) you can read about it on my other blog here. and they came down in price for us!

Once we were settled in we headed back to the main beach near town, to snorkel, and I'm so glad we did! There wasn't much to see, but we were quite successful!
Lee spied this HUGE starfish! It was amazing to see under the water b/c everything is magnified and it was just crazy. We soon found out it was dead and I begged Lee to bring it back to shore so I could take pictures of it (and secretly convince him I should take it home)

I also found several sand dollars and Stan drug up a half of a lobster! haha Gross!!

We went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and sunset on the beach and relaxed for a bit in the awesome hammocks. I LOVED these hammocks, so comfortable I literally fell asleep in one Wednesday night.

Our hotel was located about a 5-10 minute walk outside of downtown, or what town there was to speak of. We went in search of a good place to eat dinner and quickly found out that there was only one option. haha. everyone we asked pointed us back to Laurena's or the Jerk Center.
It was ok, but they only had 1 dinner option. Chicken, Rice, and salad. At least it was cheap!

after dinner we were going to go get ice cream and some drinks to take back to the hotel and soon found that Lauren's was the ONLY place open after dark to get anything. haha. so back we went for some water.

That night we played an intense game of Monopoly, which I hadn't played in seriously 10 years, and enjoyed the company of our friends.

Carriacou is such a peaceful, relaxing place. and like everyone said, the people there are so nice! nicer than in Grenada, much nicer.

The next day we were off to the Tobago Cays! and THAT was an experience...

ticket home

2011-07-24T15:14:00.000-04:00

Lee bought our tickets back to North America for good last night...
and I am having mixed feelings.

Part of me is digging my nails into the sand refusing to ever leave this amazing island...
and part of me is secretly happy to be going back to real life. I could actually have a job!

Actually I won't be happy about "real life" until about Apirl or May when Lee gets his clinical placement and we find out where we'll be living for the next 2 years... until then it's back to limbo and living with my parents and Lee studying like CRAZY for the USMLE Step 1.
ugh.

AND we just realized that we bought the tickets to go back to Canada to spend a week with Lee's family before we head to Ohio for Christmas and New Years and.... 4 months or whatever.....
AND we don't have ANY winter clothing there. not a coat, a glove, a boot. anything. hahahahahaha.
can you even believe my life?
Lee decided all of this, I'm just along for the ride... in Canada in December with my flip flops and sundresses.
Lee does have sisters, so hopefully there will be a coat somewhere in the house I can borrow, and I have 1 pair of jeans, 1 long sleeved shirt, and 1 pair of tennis shoes here in Grenada.
all of our belongings and clothing is in Ohio!
woe is me.

update update

2011-07-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Lee and I have been doing so much fun stuff I haven't been able to keep this blog updated!!

I don't have pictures but we went to the most amazing place called Flamingo Bay. It is located at Happy Hill, just about 15minutes past St. Georges & it has the BEST snorkeling!!
Thank you Kensi for the tip!! It was awesome!
Unfortunately that was the day my underwater camera decided not to work. but I can tell you that it was beautiful.
Huge sea fans, tons of colorful tropical fish, squids, so much life.
And the best part is when you swim out kinda far there is this huge drop off and a rock wall with stuff growing all over it.
Afterwards Lee and Stan decided to go find the underwater sculpture park which is located a bay (or 2) over, while Natasha and I hung out on the beach... they came back completely worn out and having only seen 1 sculpture, so we're planning a trip back soon!

We've also had a few more sunset swims, beach walks, and long days relaxing at home watching movies.
It's been an incredible summer so far.

I finally got Lee up to La Sagesse last week too! It is SO beautiful there!

Now I can move onto our mini-vacation to Carriacou and the Tobago Cays!! It was INCREDIBLE!

Levera Beach

2011-07-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

still on that around the island trip we took.... I'll admit my other blog has taken a bit of precedence to this one :/ sorry. I will be better.

We went back to Levera beach, where we went to see the sea turtles lay eggs, because we wanted to see Sugarloaf Island in the day time.
It is so cool! and someone lives on it! amazing.

We just stopped for a quick walk and some pictures, after we had spent a few hours at Bathway Beach.
didn't see any turtles this time ;)

we are so blessed to live in such a gorgeous place.

Guest Posting!

2011-07-15T18:17:00.000-04:00

Today I am guest posting over at The Budget Blonde!!
Cat, the author is getting ready to move to Grenada in a few weeks with her 1st term med student husband!!
He did MPH so they've already gotten a feel for the island, but this is Cat's first time moving down! exciting!
I'm talking a little bit about what to expect in Grenada and crafting here on a budget!
Go check her out!
She has tons of ideas and tips for living a fabulous life on a budget!
and will soon be blogging all about Grenada too!

Bathway Beach

2011-07-14T14:29:00.000-04:00

last week on our around the island trip [where we ~~stole~~ picked all the fruit] we stopped for lunch at the beautiful Bathway Beach.
It is located at the very northern tip of Grenada and was the perfect spot to eat and cool off from a long hot day in the car.


we went left. but just a little bit to the left :)


gorgeous

the boys standing on the rocks... kinda looks like they're walking on water

mermaid rock!

looks like Hawaii huh?

wet season = mosquito season

2011-07-11T19:08:00.000-04:00

Source: sadanduseless.com via Becky on Pinterest

Source: frenchbydesign.blogspot.com via Kelsey on Pinterest

Source: thesecretyumiverse.wonderhowto.com via Krystal on Pinterest

fruit foragers

2011-07-11T11:49:00.000-04:00

Last week we went on an around the island adventure with our friends Stan and Natasha. I was so much fun and I'll have to write about the things we saw later, but I wanted to tell you about all the amazing fruit we picked!

It started when we stopped at an old rum distillery and found a grapefruit tree. You can't feel guilty about stealing fruit when there is some rotting on the ground.
We fill my purse with grapefruits & then found a starfruit tree! and I was hooked. must find more fruit.

cashews! (which we roasted and they were delicious) now I know why they are so expensive! It must take an entire tree to get one can of nuts.

pomegranate

unripe lemons

Mangoes

picking papaya at sunset

oranges

picking avocados while still sitting in the car!

bananas!

It was so fun to find all this FREE fruit!

this is what you call fresh.

want some more of Grenada??

2011-07-09T20:39:00.000-04:00

I have some new SO friends on the island that are bloggers!
yay!
we may write about a lot of same thing because we've been hanging out together, but still from different perspectives & I'm sure lots of different things will come up :)

Stephanie - http://thescurlockscene.blogspot.com/

Sarah - http://www.goingglenn.com/

Sara - http://thewhitsittfiles.blogspot.com/

Michelle - http://robandmichellegreer.blogspot.com/

Fort Frederick

2011-07-08T21:11:00.000-04:00

Last week Lee and I went on a little adventure to Fort Frederick.
The sign said it was one of the few forts that had never fired a shot in anger. I thought that was cute.
The fort is exactly 200 years older than Lee and I, built in 1787.
It sits on top of a hill high above St. George's & you can see half of the island from there.
It is so beautiful and definitely worth the $5EC entrance fee