Goodbye Grenada

As my time has been winding down here, one of my favorite things I've heard has not been "we're going to miss you" or "don't leave," but rather the confidant words spoken by my friend Lisa..."You're sure gonna miss us." :)

And most likely, I will miss Grenada more than it misses me. After all, the only thing that will change for them is my absence, yet I feel like I'm losing a whole island.

Things I will miss most...
my Peace Corps family, Junior, playing volleyball until midnight with my local friends (sometimes even through the rain...unheard of for Grenadians), the kids at the Limes, Grand Anse Beach (one of the prettiest I've seen), sour sop smoothies, tannia log, street meat, and having a year-round tan

Thing I will NOT miss...
mosquitoes, catcalling, and public urination

Things that might be difficult while readjusting to life back in the US...
being on time, the rain not meaning meetings are canceled, and all the white people!

At our final Peace Corps conference, they asked us to think back on our 2 years of service and share our proudest accomplishments with everyone. I felt a little strange "tooting my own horn," but then realized it was a good thing to look at the big picture and be encouraged by what I had done...
developing strong friendships through the common passion of volleyball, breaking down stereotypes of Americans, expanding the Limes Program, facilitating an HIV workshop, obtaining a PEPFAR grant to run a summer camp, coaching 2 volleyball teams, training with the National Volleyball Team, finally getting along with my difficult landlady, feeling secure in my neighborhood despite the druglords down the street, and earning the respect of the scary village Rasta named Shabba.

There are a million things going through my head as I'm dealing with the emotions of saying goodbye to an island that has been my home for 2 years. Instead I'll keep it brief by ending with a favorite quote of my Peace Corps group.

"A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."
-D. Elton Trueblood

I love you Grenada!

Carnival 2009

Jouvert at 4am...Lauren, of course, was the only one excited about being doused in oil

Jouvert at 8am (but felt like 3pm)

Fancy Mas with the other Peace Corps girls

Grensave Summer Camp

I helped with Grensave's Summer Camp again this year and we had many great field trips...

St. George's Fire Station

They didn't need to ask me twice to slide down the pole

Learning about the history of the Carib Indians at Carib's Leap in the northern point of the island

Fort Frederick

BBC Beach

Camp Tufton

Every year, the Peace Corps Volunteers in Grenada put on a week-long camp for the boys at the Father Mallaghan's Home. It's a time for boys to be boys, and we do all sorts of activities like football, ultimate frisbee, swimming in the ocean, a scavenger hunt, hiking, crafts, making kites, having a talent show, and going on an overnight camping trip to Bathway Beach. We were absolutely wiped out by the end of the week, but even just the smiles and hugs from the boys every single morning when they see you, makes it worth every drop of sweat and every hour of lost sleep.

Scavenger Hunt with my group "The Upstreet Kings"

me and Shakel making kites

The volunteers did the Thriller Dance for the Talent Show and the boys went wild!Bathway Beach

Josh, my boyfriend for the week
Nicole and me practicing our kung-fu moves

Group picture on the last day

They have mud pie in Grenada!

Junior took me out to dinner for my birthday and the restaurant had Grand Etang Mud Pie! I almost wet myself with excitement.

Blackstock Does Grenada

I consider myself extremely lucky when I have friends come all the way here to visit...or should I say extremely thankful that they have airline hook-ups. Jessica Blackstock, my dear friend from college, came to visit for 5 days and went as far as bringing special cake supplies with her so she could make her infamous Flag Cake for my birthday (or maybe it was really just to celebrate America's independence). We had a wonderful reunion together...showing her around my home for the last 2 years, taking her to the beach since the poor thing is land-locked in Oklahoma, making her jump off high waterfalls, teaching her the art of the mermaid impression, and eating at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that she read about in the Times. I love her to pieces and hope it's not another 4 years before we travel together again!

School's Out for the Summer

Today was my last day at the Limes After School Program and it was very bittersweet. I can't believe I've taught here for 2 years already and that now I have to say goodbye. It's especially difficult when I don't know if I'll ever see some of these kids again...or of they'd even remember me when I came back. But I'm so glad the program had such a positive response from the kids and their parents, and I'm looking forward to seeing them grow under the help of another volunteer.

Ann Hopkin, the founder of the Limes After School Program and my community partner

Our last free trip to St. Lucia

Since the Peace Corps in the Eastern Caribbean is spread out over 6 island nations, they flew all the EC 77 volunteers (the 77th group in the Eastern Caribbean) to St. Lucia one last time for our Close of Service Conference. The purpose was to have a time of reflection and prepare to return home, which I initially thought was premature since we aren't leaving til August, but I didn't realize how much there is to think about: wrapping up our projects, giving constructive feedback to the directors, if our projects have been successful, saying goodbye, re-adjusting to life in the U.S., relaying our experience to people back home, and most importantly, how to gain medical clearance to leave (a very lengthy process that involves 3 stool samples). It was quite a whirlwind of emotions. I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye to half the people I know. And I hadn't even begun to think about how to tell my story when I go home, especially to the people who just want a one-sentence answer, because how do you sum up 2 years in a foreign country? I know I keep this blog, but the highlights I write about here sometimes skip over the day-to-day details that make up my experience here.

This trip was also our last time to have fun together as the group we came in as...or what's left of us since only 51 out of the original 70+ survived (and you thought the Caribbean was paradise). Team Grenada took this opportunity to show the other islands how superior we are, and the only island not to lose any volunteers from our group! "The family that plays together, stays together."

Team Grenada!

Everyone that survived

The Fabulous Four of St. Vincent & Grenada

I also visited my homestay family in Mon Repos (Mo Po), whom I lived with for 3 weeks during pre-service training. It's crazy how much the little girls have grown and really shows you the time that's passed! Mikayla & Tremahni were just as adorable as I remembered them. I also had a great time with my mom Brenda and my older sisters Sharalee, Shara, and Emily, and feel like I got to know them better than when I was living in their house. It's actually neat to see how much more comfortable I felt all-around. To see what a difference 2 years makes not only on the relationships I've built with their family, but also how much more in-tune I feel with the cultural norms. Of course they still speak French Creole/Patois (the 2nd language on St. Lucia) when they want to talk about me without me understanding. :)

There was one instance where there was a huge communication gap though. We spent the afternoon driving around and running errands, and then stopped at the house of their friend. She welcomed us in, offered us drinks, and we sat down. After a few minutes, more people started trickling in and sitting in the living room as well. I turned to my sister Shara and asked her if this woman was expecting a lot of company or something, and she replied "Rachel...this is a WAKE. I thought you knew." :) Anyway, all this to say that I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my Lucian family again and getting to say a proper goodbye to Mo Po...my first Caribbean home.

My homestay sister Mikayla

Emily & Trehmani whining their hips...like mother, like daughter
My homestay twin sisters Shara & Sharalee at a football tournament

Honeymooning with Lilly one last time...and protecting ourselves with a cutlass

Rock D' Spice Weekend

This was my 2nd time hiking to Tufton Waterfalls...a combination of walking, hiking, creek walking, boulder jumping, and then climbing up at least a dozen waterfalls to get to the actual Tufton Waterfall. Having done it already didn't necessarily make it easier, but it was just as magical and I didn't fall on my tailbone this time. The fact that I couldn't climb stairs the next morning was worth it too.




This weekend was also Grenada's "Rock D' Spice" (3 concerts, 3 days, 3 towns) and most of us went to the 2 free shows...surprise surprise. After a long day of hiking, it was awesome to see the fireworks, listen to live music, and just chill on the grass.


The 2nd show was a reggae concert on the beach where Third World performed (apparently a pretty huge Jamaican band that started in the 80's). But who cares that you don't know the songs when you're dancing to classic reggae with your friends in the front row? :)

Nobody likes a litterbug

Walking to The Limes After School Program every day, I always notice an abundance of trash in the drains and all over the field. And to be honest, I wondered if they kids ever noticed as well or if maybe it never bothered them. So today in class we talked about the environment, littering, and recycling. I thought when it came time for action, I would have to bribe them to pick up garbage, but they were so enthusiastic that I ran out of rubber gloves within seconds. The kids raced around the neighborhood to see who could fill up the most garbage bags first and had collected 15 bags within 15 minutes! It warmed my heart, and not to mention, set a great example for all the neighbors watching. :)

Sandy Island

The name speaks for itself. There's no better way to spend the day than with with friends on a secluded island with crystal-clear waters, white sands to roam, and reefs to snorkel. And only a short (yet thrilling) boat ride away from Grenada. We had a great cookout of oildown, watched our local friends catch fish with a harpoon gun, and found an abandoned shipwreck to play
"Titanic" on. Good fun in the sun!