One time in a Grenadian Police Station...

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}

Predicting the Weather in Grenada

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.

same place, new faces

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!

thisisgrenada.com

you heard right there is now an entire website dedicated to the absurd and crazy things that could only happen here in Grenada.
and I'm pleased to say that one my TIGs has been posted on the website too! haha

hats off to the medical students who created this website!!

here are a few of my personal favorites.

Tonight, the bus driver hit an opossum twice, in forward and reverse. He got out and dragged it to the side of the road so that he could retrieve it later for his manicou stew. TIG.

Today, I got a ticket for having an expired piece of paper (a.k.a Island driver's license). When I asked how to get to the court, the officer told me to drive into the city and ask someone on the street. TIG

Today, I was late for lab because a herd of goats held up traffic on the highway. TIG.

Today, I waited in the clinic for 5 hours to have the doctor tell me that I needed an MRI for my knee. There are no MRI machines on the island. TIG.

Today, I ordered a salad at Glovers. They said they didn't have salad, so instead I ordered a blackened chicken sandwich. It had cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce on it. TIG.

Today, I saw an empty box of girl scout cookies in the trash can and nearly cried. I'll never be able to get those at IGA. TIG.

Today, NY Bagels ran out of bagels. TIG.

Today, I used exclamation marks in all of my notes because I thought it would make them more exciting to learn. TIG.



hahahahahahahahaha. these are so funny. and probably only funny to those who have spent time in Grenada..........

when you live in Grenada...

milk is a luxury
sweat is an accessory
the salt shaker is more rice than salt
if you climb to the top of a hill the ocean is always within sight
blondes don't have more fun. they get more harassment
all the restaurants close on Mondays for some reason
IGA is a lifesaver
the mosquitoes are always hungry
you're never more than 20 yards from a fruit tree
you're never more than 20 feet from a lizard
lizards become your friends and you don't mind if they [tiny ones] come in the house because they'll eat the bugs
clothes dry on the line in about an hour, but you may leave them there for more than a day....
you will get sick of seeing spices
you'll soon learn what TIG means
improvising is a must
you'll burn within 20 minutes if you don't have sunscreen on
the sunsets are amazing
and after 9 months of not leaving the island... you'll get island fever.

indescribable.

I never want to be used to seeing the ocean.I want that feeling you get when you go to the beach for the first time in a year every single time. 
The sun warming your skin, the sound of the waves crashing, the feel of sand between your toes, the peace & awe of water as far as the eye can see.

I never want to be used to seeing buildings in a rainbow of colors, street side fruit stands, Rastafarians, and goats roaming.
Palm trees, bougainvillea bushes, cacti, and fruit trees.
Rainbows, iguanas, frangipani caterpillars, and sand dollars.

I never want to be used to the smell of spices and produce in the market, the unknowings of hoping in a Reggae bus, and sweet taste of a fresh smoothie.

I never want to be used to seeing children in stained clothes, without shoes, and wondering around with no supervision.  I never want to grow tired of hearing "Miss Kelsey!"

I never want to be able to understand the Grenadian accent or guess the weather.  It's part of the mystery.

I never want to take a sunset for granted. 


Don't jade me Grenada!

interesting tid bit

people in Grenada do not often mow their grass with lawn mowers... rather weed eaters.
and it takes hours.
and they wait until the grass is almost a foot tall before they cut it.

right now my neighbor is doing this..... and has been since 7:30am when the loud obnoxious noise woke me up.

excuse me, your brights are on

everyone in Grenada drives with their brights on
even when it's not necessary, like on a well lit road
and they could care less about the cars coming at them because they have on their brights too.
lets play everyone blind everyone.

men like to hiss at women
literally
"hiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssss"
"are you seriously hissing at me?  do you think that is going to make me like you??"
........

and they like to pee
where ever they are when the need strikes them
must be great for the ole prostate to not hold it in
my favorite is when a guy says hi or hisses and then proceeds to turn and pee against the wall 5 foot away.... really?

today a man asked me for a glass of water as I was walking up to my house.
it was hot and he was holding a machete and was sweating, obviously he had been working... so I felt sorry for him and sent Lee down with a glass of water. 
turns out he was working for our neighbor.....
cutting their yard.
why didn't he ask them for a glass of water??


these are the things that puzzle me, and yet it's better to not question. 
This is Grenada.

This is Grenada. still

Today I was reminded that I live in a very odd place....
I went to KFC (there is a KFC here! lol)  I have only been to the KFC twice before, once to see if they had biscuits (and they do!!) and once for some orange fountain pop!
Today my friend Chris and I were in St. George's and she needed to feed her baby and I wanted some french fries.... so we went into KFC (and it has AC!)
They have ads all over for their new snack wraps or whatever...a wrap and a drink for $7EC! that's a great deal..... the only good deal I've ever seen here.
I politely ask the lady behind the counter if I could have a wrap without dressing. no sauce. plain. and she looks at me weird and says no.... that is how it's made. 
and I say, oh do they come pre-made??
no we put them together.
so..... is it just a plain chicken strip that you put in a wrap with dressing and lettuce?
yes.
so can you just  skip the step where you put the dressing on?
no. it comes with ranch, bbq, or caesar.
ok....... but I just want the chicken and the wrap. no dressing.
no- it comes with lettuce and dressing and cheese.
ok, but I'll pay the same, you'll be saving ingredients.  save the lettuce, cheese, and dressing. it's actually less work to just put the plain chicken on the wrap. skip the other steps.
no that is not how it comes.... (& she's kind of laughing at me at this point.)
ugh. nevermind. I'll have fries and a biscuit...



seriously. that was our conversation. 
I had a similar issue when I went to a fast food place in Germany and asked for a hamburger with nothing on it. a plain hamburger. impossible.
but they didn't understand because they didn't speak English. 
people in Grenada speak English. sort of.
that is the reason why I spend an entire 2 weeks in Europe eating only french fries because I was sooooooo darn picky that I couldn't possibly try something new or order something plain. not that I am that much less picky now..... I still like my food plain.
why put so much on a chicken sandwich anyway?? it just covers up the chicken flavor. I like the way chicken tastes on its own.

this is grenada....

this is grenada is an adequate response to almost every story, question, complaint possible here... on the message boards for incoming students  they've actually made their own little computer lingo anagram or whatever they're called 'tig' this is grenada.

i'm hot - tig
the store is out of ..... -tig
i almost got ran over by a bus - tig
i had to pay x amount of dollars for this piece of crap -tig
so and so has dengue fever -tig
there are ants everywhere! -tig
that sales person was rude to me -tig
i've been waiting for this for 3 weeks -tig
no one knows who to ask about that - tig
the smoothies are incredible -tig (ok so that one is something probably only I say, but I literally cannot get enough of how good the smoothies are!!!!!!!!)

Other observations I've been making lately mostly have to deal with my appearance.....

1. my face is shiny 24/7. no matter how many times I wash it or how cool I am my face is still shining with a combination of sweat and sunscreen. no amount of face powder and no length of time sitting in front of the fan gets rid of it. -tig
2. it is really hard to not notice the extra 5-10 lbs I've gained when I live in a bathing suit.  -tig
3. I shave entirely too much for my liking.  that's the only good thing about winter, wearing jeans and tights everyday to cover up 2nd day stubble.  -tig
4. my hair actually likes the humidity. probably because it's so long it doesn't get too poofy, it just curls and air dries nicely. -tig
5. when picking out clothes I think of function before looks.  how much do I think I'll sweat in this ? -tig
6. mosquito bites are my new accessories.  it is way too hot to wear necklaces and bracelets like I would at home.  my neck is probably the sweatiest place on my body... I don't understand it but it is always dripping. (disgusting?? tig)  even my wrists sweat, my watch is always covered in sweat... -tig