Sunday, January 13, 2008
Thank Goodness for Italian food
Mmm supper was good, spaghetti with sauce, steamed bauk choy (hope I’m spelling this right, I LOVE this vegetable, must find more!!)… and fruit salad for desert. I am super frusterated with my phone because the company didn’t put the right number of minutes on the phone. I’m going to have to go and see them tomorrow… I’ve figured out that if you actually shut the window by my head (closest to the frogs in all the long grass behind the apartments it is a lot quieter (less chirping!!) Also, if you talk out the window they stop for a few minutes and if you yell at them, shut the window and turn on the fan, with some ear plugs it’s almost like home☺ I’m not quite ready for bed yet so I’m about to start up my “blue planet dvd” for those who haven’t heard of it, you should see it –it’s amazing videography (is that a word?) for all kinds of underwater animals… G’night!
Daily update…
Tired after a buy day☺ Slowly but surely I am getting more confident talking to the locals and more confident in my surroundings. Today started off early again, I swear it must be the time change but I can’t seem to sleep in even though I have every opportunity to. Unfortunately I learned that you can’t keep any food out on the counters, even if it’s sealed in a plastic bag. I had the misfortune of leaving some buns in a bag on the counter and woke up to ants swarming all over. I was also surprised to find out that since I’m only staying at the apartments short term I get maid service (so cool!!). It’s a good thing I woke up when I did because 5 minutes later, Mary was knocking at my door wanting to come in. She was slightly older then me so I took the opportunity to swamp her with questions ie: where’s the best grocery store. She also got some raid to get rid of the ants –bonus!
Todays mission was to go and find myself a cellular phone and get to campus to look around a bit. Luckily, my transformer I purchased yesterday works wonderfully and I had a charged camera to work with. I also managed to find all the cords needed to download photos and my flash drive so that I could download all my entries to take to school and post. I was just heading down the driveway when I heard someone calling my name. Alexandria and David offered to come with me and so after a great breakfast of peanut butter toast and fresh bananas –yumm (they taste completely different down here, thick and creamy like you wouldn’t believe) we set off down the street. The apartment has an amazing location, it’s far enough away from the main towns to feel rural and yet it’s only a block away from urban Grand Anse (for those looking on a map, the apartments are right between Lanse Epigne and Grand Anse areas. I bought a cell phone from B-mobile, it’s actually a pretty great deal. They have a student pay as you go phone where you purchase a phone (3 to choose from with increasing prices) and then you get the equivalent of the phone purchase in free minutes. So essentially, you get a free phone with as many minutes as fits into the amount that you purchased. So I got the 199ec phone so roughly 60-70 can $ but I get a rate of 20 cents ec (roughly 7-10 cents can) to call Canada or the us =almost 955 minutes for the full amount I paid for the phone. I was pretty impressed. For locals to have a phone with the same company, if they were to call the US or Canada it would be at least 90 cents a minute. I also found out a bit about internet so once I move into my dorm next week, hopefully I’ll be all dialed in!
Next on the agenda, we went to find the RTT bank in downtown St Georges. It was really neat to see the town, it’s a lot bigger than I thought it was and it has a really upbeat energy to it. The reggae bus to and through town is also really fun because the streets are super windy, bumpy and steep, add a little reggae music and a back seat =you might as well be on a roller coaster. We checked out a couple of the malls and small shops there, had subway for lunch (so far the only American fast food places I’ve seen have been Subway and KFC) we learned that you have to be really careful to watch what people charge you because if you’re a tourist they try to take advantage of you with extra costs that aern’t listed on the board.
I set off on my own halfway back to hit up the campus. It was my first afternoon officially on my own in this new place and it was a lot easier to navigate then I would have thought. The school buses are wonderful. They’re completely free, run every 15 minutes and run past a block away from the apartments right to the doorstep of the school. Everyone on campus is super friendly, I got there around 4 so I had roughly an hour to try and catch up on email, facebook and msn. Thanks to all of you that have written☺ It was so awesome to hear from you and honestly you’ve made my evening. I don’t feel nearly as lonely as last night! I’m on my way over to my new friends place two apartments over for supper… last night was the best chicken curry I’ve ever tasted and today I bought some fruit for fruit salad… yumm…
Todays mission was to go and find myself a cellular phone and get to campus to look around a bit. Luckily, my transformer I purchased yesterday works wonderfully and I had a charged camera to work with. I also managed to find all the cords needed to download photos and my flash drive so that I could download all my entries to take to school and post. I was just heading down the driveway when I heard someone calling my name. Alexandria and David offered to come with me and so after a great breakfast of peanut butter toast and fresh bananas –yumm (they taste completely different down here, thick and creamy like you wouldn’t believe) we set off down the street. The apartment has an amazing location, it’s far enough away from the main towns to feel rural and yet it’s only a block away from urban Grand Anse (for those looking on a map, the apartments are right between Lanse Epigne and Grand Anse areas. I bought a cell phone from B-mobile, it’s actually a pretty great deal. They have a student pay as you go phone where you purchase a phone (3 to choose from with increasing prices) and then you get the equivalent of the phone purchase in free minutes. So essentially, you get a free phone with as many minutes as fits into the amount that you purchased. So I got the 199ec phone so roughly 60-70 can $ but I get a rate of 20 cents ec (roughly 7-10 cents can) to call Canada or the us =almost 955 minutes for the full amount I paid for the phone. I was pretty impressed. For locals to have a phone with the same company, if they were to call the US or Canada it would be at least 90 cents a minute. I also found out a bit about internet so once I move into my dorm next week, hopefully I’ll be all dialed in!
Next on the agenda, we went to find the RTT bank in downtown St Georges. It was really neat to see the town, it’s a lot bigger than I thought it was and it has a really upbeat energy to it. The reggae bus to and through town is also really fun because the streets are super windy, bumpy and steep, add a little reggae music and a back seat =you might as well be on a roller coaster. We checked out a couple of the malls and small shops there, had subway for lunch (so far the only American fast food places I’ve seen have been Subway and KFC) we learned that you have to be really careful to watch what people charge you because if you’re a tourist they try to take advantage of you with extra costs that aern’t listed on the board.
I set off on my own halfway back to hit up the campus. It was my first afternoon officially on my own in this new place and it was a lot easier to navigate then I would have thought. The school buses are wonderful. They’re completely free, run every 15 minutes and run past a block away from the apartments right to the doorstep of the school. Everyone on campus is super friendly, I got there around 4 so I had roughly an hour to try and catch up on email, facebook and msn. Thanks to all of you that have written☺ It was so awesome to hear from you and honestly you’ve made my evening. I don’t feel nearly as lonely as last night! I’m on my way over to my new friends place two apartments over for supper… last night was the best chicken curry I’ve ever tasted and today I bought some fruit for fruit salad… yumm…
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Bless the lord
Today was amazing. It started kind of roughly but flipped around 180. What surprised me most about last night was that not only did I sleep like a stone (there are lots of noisy critters that squeak and chirp all night, and the fan I have going to keep me cool in my no A/C apartment hums loudly) I slept like a log on one of the most comfortable mattresses in the world with only a sheet! I was also surprised by the fact that after pulling an all nighter and having every reason in the world to sleep in, I woke up at 8:30 am Grenada time. I woke up with a sinking gut feeling, I was feeling completely overwhelmed at what I had to accomplish for the day and doubting myself for shipping off half way across the world from not only friends and family but places where I knew I could provide for myself (food clothes etc.) It’s surprising but in a new country you are sooo vulnerable. You know where nothing is and I am absolutely blessed to have the apartment owners and fellow students to help me out –more on them later. I was also ravenous after going for 24 hrs with no food but orange juice (stupid I know but there wasn’t anything at the airports open when I had layovers due to awkward hrs and the flights only had overpriced limp soggy sandwiches. I meandered around the apartment for a bit, found no edible items, and tried to decide what to wear (cool but not revealing –-who knows how conservative these people are?) I tried to get my camera out but the battery was dead…
Task 1: find out how to charge the batter from a 220 v plug with a crazy looking plug shape. And so I spent a good hour reading through school brochures and travel magazines and luckily pieced together that I needed a transformer that was at least 1500 W (to work hair dryers etc..) as well as a surge protector (for the islands crazy electrical currents) and lastly some adapters (apparently some NA items built for 110V will work with 220V if it says on their label that they can.) So now I know I can accomplish anything, after all, knowing nothing about transformers and having to read about them (boring!) and figuring them out is cool. Next I went up the hill to the owners (Neville and Rita) house as they had requested last night. They were so incredibly generous and offered to take me out on a tour of the city. The family I met last night accompanied us. David ( 36 y/o who is in pre-med with flow into med classes next year also a Catholic minister), Alexandria (30 y/o teacher who is now making the switch to stay at home mom, also Catholic) and their adorable little girl (1.5 yrs). We were shown the main streets around the apartment, we saw the best local place to buy fish (my empty stomach churned at that stop) and we visited the grocery store. The store is in a mall just like we have at home complete with small food court) the store itself was also surprisingly similar to a Canadian one, the only difference being that not all the products are recognizable brand names (the ones that are =usually significantly more expensive). I bought a few items to make pasta, cheese sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and yogurt. My most exciting find was a full shelf of cat litter. I’ve been warned that once the students start getting here in a week it will be nearly impossible to find. I bought 2 jugs! I was told by Alexandria and David that when they were at that store the day before several items either were or weren’t in compared to todays visit which goes to show that you should shop frequently for things you need and stockpile them when they look decent. Food can also be pretty pricey here so it is crucial that you shop around until you find where the best and cheapest of everything can be found. Weirdest grocery purchased so far: Alexandria told me about carton milk on the shelf, I have to say I was super skeptical but it actually tastes better then the stuff from home. Definitly have to stock up on that
Neville showed me where several of the banks are, I was disappointed to find that my atm card from home didn’t work to take out EC (local currency of Eastern Carribean dollars) like the school brochure said it would. Luckily the tellers could convert some of the US fund I had brought with me and assured me my card would most likely work at one of the bigger banks on the island (which coincidently is closer to wear I live). Next was a trip back to the apartment to check on fig. He is digging the island life, I have rarely seen him this content. He spends the day napping around the apartment basking in the heat and laying on the tile when he’d like to cool down a bit, eating delicious fancy canned food and getting water out of the faucet when he requests. He is also enjoying being the spoiled only child again. I am so glad that I could bring him with me, even as I type he is sleeping on the bed beside me keeping me company. That is probably one of the biggest things getting to me right now. Because I don’t have internet (and the café down the street is broken) or affordable international calling yet, I feel really isolated. Once I’m not hanging out with Alexandrias family, It can get really lonely really fast.
I went to david’s apartment and because he was going to campus to find out some information I got to tag along. We took two kinds of buses, the local reggae bus and the school bus. The roads here are variable they are either like ours or CRAZY bumpy and full of potholes. Because the roads are also windy and twisty it is super fun to go bumping down them with the (no joke!) reggae music blaring. I havent’ seen many rastefarians yet but everyone has the carribean accent and moves really slowly or on island time. The campus is better than in pictures –it is absolutely breathtaking/stunning take your pic. After a quick meet and greet with some of the vet med counselors I found out that I can register next Friday morning (Jan 18) at 8:00 and that I can move into my dorm sometime after this Friday (I’ll be moving on Jan 13). Then we explored just a bit more and there was the most gorgeous black beach I’ve been to in my life! For those of you who I’ve shown the big pict of SGU on the point, it was looking the opposite way into the horizon, the water is transparent blue, the sand was black and glistening, and you could just see the cliffs of the point with lush vegetation framing the whole thing. I will have to take my camera and post it –it makes you speechless. I can only hope I make it to Grand Anse beach tomorrow (the big tourist beach near where my dorm is supposed to be). It’s supposed to be even better… So I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted to today, taking the bus was super easy and they actually stop and ask you if you need one rather then you having to flag them down (and it’s only 2.5 EC –that’s like 1$Can), I now have a transformer, surge bar and adaptors so I am set for anything and everything electrical, I visited the bank and got my first EC and I’ve seen the campus briefly and met some people. The only pressing things left are to hit the library at school tomorrow so that I can use their internet and to organize a cellphone. Alexandria was telling me about this student deal they found yesterday where you buy a phone for 35 EC (roughly 15$ CAN) and you get a 35$credit (which basically pays for the phone.) With the package you get 200 free minutes and to call in Canada/USA it’s like super cheap (7 cents approx?) so I am going to go hunt that down and find out more about it. I was also relieved to learn that even if your dorm doesn’t come with internet (I’m suspecting it doesn’t) you can buy interenet as long as you have a phone jack (which every room has to have.) You can even get DSL which means that I should be able to use my webcam /ichat **jumps for joy. But now it is time for a shower and bed. I am so lucky to have found such amazing hosts, Neville and Rita who have taken me under their wing and given me hints and tips as well as an amazing rate on my room (anyone who comes to visit me should stay here –cheap, amazing, uber comfy) as well as David and Alexandrias family. They have all made this transition so much easier and as they would say “I’ve been blessed by the lord” to have been so fortunate. G’night!
Task 1: find out how to charge the batter from a 220 v plug with a crazy looking plug shape. And so I spent a good hour reading through school brochures and travel magazines and luckily pieced together that I needed a transformer that was at least 1500 W (to work hair dryers etc..) as well as a surge protector (for the islands crazy electrical currents) and lastly some adapters (apparently some NA items built for 110V will work with 220V if it says on their label that they can.) So now I know I can accomplish anything, after all, knowing nothing about transformers and having to read about them (boring!) and figuring them out is cool. Next I went up the hill to the owners (Neville and Rita) house as they had requested last night. They were so incredibly generous and offered to take me out on a tour of the city. The family I met last night accompanied us. David ( 36 y/o who is in pre-med with flow into med classes next year also a Catholic minister), Alexandria (30 y/o teacher who is now making the switch to stay at home mom, also Catholic) and their adorable little girl (1.5 yrs). We were shown the main streets around the apartment, we saw the best local place to buy fish (my empty stomach churned at that stop) and we visited the grocery store. The store is in a mall just like we have at home complete with small food court) the store itself was also surprisingly similar to a Canadian one, the only difference being that not all the products are recognizable brand names (the ones that are =usually significantly more expensive). I bought a few items to make pasta, cheese sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and yogurt. My most exciting find was a full shelf of cat litter. I’ve been warned that once the students start getting here in a week it will be nearly impossible to find. I bought 2 jugs! I was told by Alexandria and David that when they were at that store the day before several items either were or weren’t in compared to todays visit which goes to show that you should shop frequently for things you need and stockpile them when they look decent. Food can also be pretty pricey here so it is crucial that you shop around until you find where the best and cheapest of everything can be found. Weirdest grocery purchased so far: Alexandria told me about carton milk on the shelf, I have to say I was super skeptical but it actually tastes better then the stuff from home. Definitly have to stock up on that
Neville showed me where several of the banks are, I was disappointed to find that my atm card from home didn’t work to take out EC (local currency of Eastern Carribean dollars) like the school brochure said it would. Luckily the tellers could convert some of the US fund I had brought with me and assured me my card would most likely work at one of the bigger banks on the island (which coincidently is closer to wear I live). Next was a trip back to the apartment to check on fig. He is digging the island life, I have rarely seen him this content. He spends the day napping around the apartment basking in the heat and laying on the tile when he’d like to cool down a bit, eating delicious fancy canned food and getting water out of the faucet when he requests. He is also enjoying being the spoiled only child again. I am so glad that I could bring him with me, even as I type he is sleeping on the bed beside me keeping me company. That is probably one of the biggest things getting to me right now. Because I don’t have internet (and the café down the street is broken) or affordable international calling yet, I feel really isolated. Once I’m not hanging out with Alexandrias family, It can get really lonely really fast.
I went to david’s apartment and because he was going to campus to find out some information I got to tag along. We took two kinds of buses, the local reggae bus and the school bus. The roads here are variable they are either like ours or CRAZY bumpy and full of potholes. Because the roads are also windy and twisty it is super fun to go bumping down them with the (no joke!) reggae music blaring. I havent’ seen many rastefarians yet but everyone has the carribean accent and moves really slowly or on island time. The campus is better than in pictures –it is absolutely breathtaking/stunning take your pic. After a quick meet and greet with some of the vet med counselors I found out that I can register next Friday morning (Jan 18) at 8:00 and that I can move into my dorm sometime after this Friday (I’ll be moving on Jan 13). Then we explored just a bit more and there was the most gorgeous black beach I’ve been to in my life! For those of you who I’ve shown the big pict of SGU on the point, it was looking the opposite way into the horizon, the water is transparent blue, the sand was black and glistening, and you could just see the cliffs of the point with lush vegetation framing the whole thing. I will have to take my camera and post it –it makes you speechless. I can only hope I make it to Grand Anse beach tomorrow (the big tourist beach near where my dorm is supposed to be). It’s supposed to be even better… So I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted to today, taking the bus was super easy and they actually stop and ask you if you need one rather then you having to flag them down (and it’s only 2.5 EC –that’s like 1$Can), I now have a transformer, surge bar and adaptors so I am set for anything and everything electrical, I visited the bank and got my first EC and I’ve seen the campus briefly and met some people. The only pressing things left are to hit the library at school tomorrow so that I can use their internet and to organize a cellphone. Alexandria was telling me about this student deal they found yesterday where you buy a phone for 35 EC (roughly 15$ CAN) and you get a 35$credit (which basically pays for the phone.) With the package you get 200 free minutes and to call in Canada/USA it’s like super cheap (7 cents approx?) so I am going to go hunt that down and find out more about it. I was also relieved to learn that even if your dorm doesn’t come with internet (I’m suspecting it doesn’t) you can buy interenet as long as you have a phone jack (which every room has to have.) You can even get DSL which means that I should be able to use my webcam /ichat **jumps for joy. But now it is time for a shower and bed. I am so lucky to have found such amazing hosts, Neville and Rita who have taken me under their wing and given me hints and tips as well as an amazing rate on my room (anyone who comes to visit me should stay here –cheap, amazing, uber comfy) as well as David and Alexandrias family. They have all made this transition so much easier and as they would say “I’ve been blessed by the lord” to have been so fortunate. G’night!
Bless the lord
Today was amazing. It started kind of roughly but flipped around 180. What surprised me most about last night was that not only did I sleep like a stone (there are lots of noisy critters that squeak and chirp all night, and the fan I have going to keep me cool in my no A/C apartment hums loudly) I slept like a log on one of the most comfortable mattresses in the world with only a sheet! I was also surprised by the fact that after pulling an all nighter and having every reason in the world to sleep in, I woke up at 8:30 am Grenada time. I woke up with a sinking gut feeling, I was feeling completely overwhelmed at what I had to accomplish for the day and doubting myself for shipping off half way across the world from not only friends and family but places where I knew I could provide for myself (food clothes etc.) It’s surprising but in a new country you are sooo vulnerable. You know where nothing is and I am absolutely blessed to have the apartment owners and fellow students to help me out –more on them later. I was also ravenous after going for 24 hrs with no food but orange juice (stupid I know but there wasn’t anything at the airports open when I had layovers due to awkward hrs and the flights only had overpriced limp soggy sandwiches. I meandered around the apartment for a bit, found no edible items, and tried to decide what to wear (cool but not revealing –-who knows how conservative these people are?) I tried to get my camera out but the battery was dead…
Task 1: find out how to charge the batter from a 220 v plug with a crazy looking plug shape. And so I spent a good hour reading through school brochures and travel magazines and luckily pieced together that I needed a transformer that was at least 1500 W (to work hair dryers etc..) as well as a surge protector (for the islands crazy electrical currents) and lastly some adapters (apparently some NA items built for 110V will work with 220V if it says on their label that they can.) So now I know I can accomplish anything, after all, knowing nothing about transformers and having to read about them (boring!) and figuring them out is cool. Next I went up the hill to the owners (Neville and Rita) house as they had requested last night. They were so incredibly generous and offered to take me out on a tour of the city. The family I met last night accompanied us. David ( 36 y/o who is in pre-med with flow into med classes next year also a Catholic minister), Alexandria (30 y/o teacher who is now making the switch to stay at home mom, also Catholic) and their adorable little girl (1.5 yrs). We were shown the main streets around the apartment, we saw the best local place to buy fish (my empty stomach churned at that stop) and we visited the grocery store. The store is in a mall just like we have at home complete with small food court) the store itself was also surprisingly similar to a Canadian one, the only difference being that not all the products are recognizable brand names (the ones that are =usually significantly more expensive). I bought a few items to make pasta, cheese sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and yogurt. My most exciting find was a full shelf of cat litter. I’ve been warned that once the students start getting here in a week it will be nearly impossible to find. I bought 2 jugs! I was told by Alexandria and David that when they were at that store the day before several items either were or weren’t in compared to todays visit which goes to show that you should shop frequently for things you need and stockpile them when they look decent. Food can also be pretty pricey here so it is crucial that you shop around until you find where the best and cheapest of everything can be found. Weirdest grocery purchased so far: Alexandria told me about carton milk on the shelf, I have to say I was super skeptical but it actually tastes better then the stuff from home. Definitly have to stock up on that
Neville showed me where several of the banks are, I was disappointed to find that my atm card from home didn’t work to take out EC (local currency of Eastern Carribean dollars) like the school brochure said it would. Luckily the tellers could convert some of the US fund I had brought with me and assured me my card would most likely work at one of the bigger banks on the island (which coincidently is closer to wear I live). Next was a trip back to the apartment to check on fig. He is digging the island life, I have rarely seen him this content. He spends the day napping around the apartment basking in the heat and laying on the tile when he’d like to cool down a bit, eating delicious fancy canned food and getting water out of the faucet when he requests. He is also enjoying being the spoiled only child again. I am so glad that I could bring him with me, even as I type he is sleeping on the bed beside me keeping me company. That is probably one of the biggest things getting to me right now. Because I don’t have internet (and the café down the street is broken) or affordable international calling yet, I feel really isolated. Once I’m not hanging out with Alexandrias family, It can get really lonely really fast.
I went to david’s apartment and because he was going to campus to find out some information I got to tag along. We took two kinds of buses, the local reggae bus and the school bus. The roads here are variable they are either like ours or CRAZY bumpy and full of potholes. Because the roads are also windy and twisty it is super fun to go bumping down them with the (no joke!) reggae music blaring. I havent’ seen many rastefarians yet but everyone has the carribean accent and moves really slowly or on island time. The campus is better than in pictures –it is absolutely breathtaking/stunning take your pic. After a quick meet and greet with some of the vet med counselors I found out that I can register next Friday morning (Jan 18) at 8:00 and that I can move into my dorm sometime after this Friday (I’ll be moving on Jan 13). Then we explored just a bit more and there was the most gorgeous black beach I’ve been to in my life! For those of you who I’ve shown the big pict of SGU on the point, it was looking the opposite way into the horizon, the water is transparent blue, the sand was black and glistening, and you could just see the cliffs of the point with lush vegetation framing the whole thing. I will have to take my camera and post it –it makes you speechless. I can only hope I make it to Grand Anse beach tomorrow (the big tourist beach near where my dorm is supposed to be). It’s supposed to be even better… So I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted to today, taking the bus was super easy and they actually stop and ask you if you need one rather then you having to flag them down (and it’s only 2.5 EC –that’s like 1$Can), I now have a transformer, surge bar and adaptors so I am set for anything and everything electrical, I visited the bank and got my first EC and I’ve seen the campus briefly and met some people. The only pressing things left are to hit the library at school tomorrow so that I can use their internet and to organize a cellphone. Alexandria was telling me about this student deal they found yesterday where you buy a phone for 35 EC (roughly 15$ CAN) and you get a 35$credit (which basically pays for the phone.) With the package you get 200 free minutes and to call in Canada/USA it’s like super cheap (7 cents approx?) so I am going to go hunt that down and find out more about it. I was also relieved to learn that even if your dorm doesn’t come with internet (I’m suspecting it doesn’t) you can buy interenet as long as you have a phone jack (which every room has to have.) You can even get DSL which means that I should be able to use my webcam /ichat **jumps for joy. But now it is time for a shower and bed. I am so lucky to have found such amazing hosts, Neville and Rita who have taken me under their wing and given me hints and tips as well as an amazing rate on my room (anyone who comes to visit me should stay here –cheap, amazing, uber comfy) as well as David and Alexandrias family. They have all made this transition so much easier and as they would say “I’ve been blessed by the lord” to have been so fortunate. G’night!
Task 1: find out how to charge the batter from a 220 v plug with a crazy looking plug shape. And so I spent a good hour reading through school brochures and travel magazines and luckily pieced together that I needed a transformer that was at least 1500 W (to work hair dryers etc..) as well as a surge protector (for the islands crazy electrical currents) and lastly some adapters (apparently some NA items built for 110V will work with 220V if it says on their label that they can.) So now I know I can accomplish anything, after all, knowing nothing about transformers and having to read about them (boring!) and figuring them out is cool. Next I went up the hill to the owners (Neville and Rita) house as they had requested last night. They were so incredibly generous and offered to take me out on a tour of the city. The family I met last night accompanied us. David ( 36 y/o who is in pre-med with flow into med classes next year also a Catholic minister), Alexandria (30 y/o teacher who is now making the switch to stay at home mom, also Catholic) and their adorable little girl (1.5 yrs). We were shown the main streets around the apartment, we saw the best local place to buy fish (my empty stomach churned at that stop) and we visited the grocery store. The store is in a mall just like we have at home complete with small food court) the store itself was also surprisingly similar to a Canadian one, the only difference being that not all the products are recognizable brand names (the ones that are =usually significantly more expensive). I bought a few items to make pasta, cheese sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and yogurt. My most exciting find was a full shelf of cat litter. I’ve been warned that once the students start getting here in a week it will be nearly impossible to find. I bought 2 jugs! I was told by Alexandria and David that when they were at that store the day before several items either were or weren’t in compared to todays visit which goes to show that you should shop frequently for things you need and stockpile them when they look decent. Food can also be pretty pricey here so it is crucial that you shop around until you find where the best and cheapest of everything can be found. Weirdest grocery purchased so far: Alexandria told me about carton milk on the shelf, I have to say I was super skeptical but it actually tastes better then the stuff from home. Definitly have to stock up on that
Neville showed me where several of the banks are, I was disappointed to find that my atm card from home didn’t work to take out EC (local currency of Eastern Carribean dollars) like the school brochure said it would. Luckily the tellers could convert some of the US fund I had brought with me and assured me my card would most likely work at one of the bigger banks on the island (which coincidently is closer to wear I live). Next was a trip back to the apartment to check on fig. He is digging the island life, I have rarely seen him this content. He spends the day napping around the apartment basking in the heat and laying on the tile when he’d like to cool down a bit, eating delicious fancy canned food and getting water out of the faucet when he requests. He is also enjoying being the spoiled only child again. I am so glad that I could bring him with me, even as I type he is sleeping on the bed beside me keeping me company. That is probably one of the biggest things getting to me right now. Because I don’t have internet (and the café down the street is broken) or affordable international calling yet, I feel really isolated. Once I’m not hanging out with Alexandrias family, It can get really lonely really fast.
I went to david’s apartment and because he was going to campus to find out some information I got to tag along. We took two kinds of buses, the local reggae bus and the school bus. The roads here are variable they are either like ours or CRAZY bumpy and full of potholes. Because the roads are also windy and twisty it is super fun to go bumping down them with the (no joke!) reggae music blaring. I havent’ seen many rastefarians yet but everyone has the carribean accent and moves really slowly or on island time. The campus is better than in pictures –it is absolutely breathtaking/stunning take your pic. After a quick meet and greet with some of the vet med counselors I found out that I can register next Friday morning (Jan 18) at 8:00 and that I can move into my dorm sometime after this Friday (I’ll be moving on Jan 13). Then we explored just a bit more and there was the most gorgeous black beach I’ve been to in my life! For those of you who I’ve shown the big pict of SGU on the point, it was looking the opposite way into the horizon, the water is transparent blue, the sand was black and glistening, and you could just see the cliffs of the point with lush vegetation framing the whole thing. I will have to take my camera and post it –it makes you speechless. I can only hope I make it to Grand Anse beach tomorrow (the big tourist beach near where my dorm is supposed to be). It’s supposed to be even better… So I have accomplished a lot of what I wanted to today, taking the bus was super easy and they actually stop and ask you if you need one rather then you having to flag them down (and it’s only 2.5 EC –that’s like 1$Can), I now have a transformer, surge bar and adaptors so I am set for anything and everything electrical, I visited the bank and got my first EC and I’ve seen the campus briefly and met some people. The only pressing things left are to hit the library at school tomorrow so that I can use their internet and to organize a cellphone. Alexandria was telling me about this student deal they found yesterday where you buy a phone for 35 EC (roughly 15$ CAN) and you get a 35$credit (which basically pays for the phone.) With the package you get 200 free minutes and to call in Canada/USA it’s like super cheap (7 cents approx?) so I am going to go hunt that down and find out more about it. I was also relieved to learn that even if your dorm doesn’t come with internet (I’m suspecting it doesn’t) you can buy interenet as long as you have a phone jack (which every room has to have.) You can even get DSL which means that I should be able to use my webcam /ichat **jumps for joy. But now it is time for a shower and bed. I am so lucky to have found such amazing hosts, Neville and Rita who have taken me under their wing and given me hints and tips as well as an amazing rate on my room (anyone who comes to visit me should stay here –cheap, amazing, uber comfy) as well as David and Alexandrias family. They have all made this transition so much easier and as they would say “I’ve been blessed by the lord” to have been so fortunate. G’night!
Beach chairs and orange juice
It is 6:59 AB time or 8:59 Boston time. I’m now sitting in the Boston airport. My bags have been checked all the way through to Grenada so I am happily checked bag-less. It is much easier to manoever around the airport with just my carry on and the cat. This airport is really weird, small with 80’/90’s music and instead of the typical chairs to sit in in the corridor there are white beach chairs. I saw the sunrise from the plane this morning it was SPECTACULAR! We took off from Toronto, popped out of the clouds and there was this cherry glow spreading everywhere –very cool. All the airlines have reverted to a pay as you eat type of system. I had a muffin and milk for breakfast at the food court in Toronto because snack mix, cookies, and meat sandwiches wasn’t appealing. There has also been a lot of orange juice… So I am counting down, second last flight.. can’t wait to be done mostly so that I can give Figaro a break. I don’t think he’s slept a wink yet. I’m holding up ok, it was a challenging morning, when you’re tired it is super easy to get into the self doubt “what am I doing?” mode. Keeping an open mind and kind of excited to see Grenada in person.
It is now 7:28 Edmonton time or 10:28 Grenadian time and I have arrived and settled into my new apartment for the week. It is really cute, a tiny little cottage run by an older couple from Calgary if you’ll believe it. I am SOOO GLAD to be done flying and I think the cat agrees. He was such a trooper it is unbelievable, I thought he would have howled the whole way but sedation wasn’t necessary. Getting through Grenada customs was a bit harry because in Boston, the stewardess confiscated my one carry on bag. She said that I was only allowed the cat and I barely had enough time to grab my laptop out before she was sending it down to be loaded into checked luggage. As a result I didn’t have my letters from the school. Luckily, I talked my way through it and after some discussion went through customs found a porter/taxi driver. I overpaid him by Grenadian standards but I think he worked pretty hard lugging my HEAVY bags both out of the airport and into the hotel. It is gorgeous and warm out tonight –makes me a tad nervous to know what the heat of the day is like. There is also some kind of squeaky critters outside my window, I’ll have to ask Rita and Melvin about it tomorrow. They are so sweet, they offered to give me a tour tomorrow to find groceries etc. and they also let me phone home as soon as I got in to let mom know I arrived safe. They have this thing “Vonage” that I will have to research =free long distance calling –sweet! Anyhoo, cat is already asleep on the bed and I think it’s my turn… Still a little homesick but hopefully I will settle in alright.
It is now 7:28 Edmonton time or 10:28 Grenadian time and I have arrived and settled into my new apartment for the week. It is really cute, a tiny little cottage run by an older couple from Calgary if you’ll believe it. I am SOOO GLAD to be done flying and I think the cat agrees. He was such a trooper it is unbelievable, I thought he would have howled the whole way but sedation wasn’t necessary. Getting through Grenada customs was a bit harry because in Boston, the stewardess confiscated my one carry on bag. She said that I was only allowed the cat and I barely had enough time to grab my laptop out before she was sending it down to be loaded into checked luggage. As a result I didn’t have my letters from the school. Luckily, I talked my way through it and after some discussion went through customs found a porter/taxi driver. I overpaid him by Grenadian standards but I think he worked pretty hard lugging my HEAVY bags both out of the airport and into the hotel. It is gorgeous and warm out tonight –makes me a tad nervous to know what the heat of the day is like. There is also some kind of squeaky critters outside my window, I’ll have to ask Rita and Melvin about it tomorrow. They are so sweet, they offered to give me a tour tomorrow to find groceries etc. and they also let me phone home as soon as I got in to let mom know I arrived safe. They have this thing “Vonage” that I will have to research =free long distance calling –sweet! Anyhoo, cat is already asleep on the bed and I think it’s my turn… Still a little homesick but hopefully I will settle in alright.
Across the known world
So I am writing this update while sitting at the Toronto airport. It is 2:00 a.m, I have been here for 2 hours. I have sooo much luggage –I definitely look and feel like a homeless person. As we speak I am camped out waiting for the American airlines check in to open at 3 a.m. (who knew that Toronto airport closes – how inconvenient and bizarre!). I am hiding behind one of the baggage turnstiles with a grumpy cat in a pop up dog crate sitting beside his traveling cat bag, two HUGE red duffle bags (both are the absolute max of 50 lbs and sad to say I can’t lift either of them;) ) a blue rolley carry on and a yellow backpack. I am sitting on the dirty floor quite smug that I have come this far already without becoming lost or ending up in the wrong city. Once my baggage is checked through customs the worst should technically be over and I have only got to sit on a plane all day tomorrow. It was difficult saying goodbye to everyone earlier, Mom, Dad, Tom and Keith all came to see me off. I was not going to cry until my dad started giving me the “I know you can do this” speech… I was almost done for after that. I already can’t wait for mom and dad to visit in 3 weeks. Hope I can make them all proud!
Going through security was fine… everyone seemed more concerned about cuddling with the cat then all the junk I’m carrying –haha. Figaro I have to say is the best traveler. He is being absolutely awesome and has not made a peep the entire time. I was a bit concerned with bathroom breaks for him etc and have his cat bag all outfitted with absorbent liners but he has accepted that a litter liner on the floor with the tiniest pile of litter sprinkled on top is an awesome litter box –whew, what a relief! I am also extremely grateful that mom and I found the pop up dog kennel (his “playpen”) now I don’t feel so guilty that he is in a bag for 24 hrs, he can stand up, walk around or just get comfy. Only ½ hr to go and the adventure starts again. I am definitely out of my comfort zone but it’s kind of nice to stretch myself a bit and see how independent I can be. Now if only I can get me and this mountain to the next gate…
Going through security was fine… everyone seemed more concerned about cuddling with the cat then all the junk I’m carrying –haha. Figaro I have to say is the best traveler. He is being absolutely awesome and has not made a peep the entire time. I was a bit concerned with bathroom breaks for him etc and have his cat bag all outfitted with absorbent liners but he has accepted that a litter liner on the floor with the tiniest pile of litter sprinkled on top is an awesome litter box –whew, what a relief! I am also extremely grateful that mom and I found the pop up dog kennel (his “playpen”) now I don’t feel so guilty that he is in a bag for 24 hrs, he can stand up, walk around or just get comfy. Only ½ hr to go and the adventure starts again. I am definitely out of my comfort zone but it’s kind of nice to stretch myself a bit and see how independent I can be. Now if only I can get me and this mountain to the next gate…
Monday, January 7, 2008
The Big Day
And so the excitement begins and after today my life will never be the same:) I'm still madly packing up last details to try and get ready for tonights flight. It's crazy insane trying to guess what I'll need and what I won't... My flight leaves at 6:20 tonight and I'll be getting into Toronto slightly before midnight. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some sleep during the layover...
The last couple of weeks have been absolutely amazing... I've been fortunate to catch up with mostly everyone on my list and thanks to all of you that made the extra effort to get together.
The last couple of weeks have been absolutely amazing... I've been fortunate to catch up with mostly everyone on my list and thanks to all of you that made the extra effort to get together.
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