And all that jazz!

Our friend and former Peace Corps trainer Eugene put together a huge Christmas jazz concert at the new nightclub in St. George's and asked a few of us to help him out. We took tickets and greeted the guests for the first hour, but then got to sit back and enjoy the music. Just another day in the Peace Corps, right? It was such a refreshing change to hear classical instruments (compared to the Soca music here) and hear some old familiar tunes.

Then this weekend I went camping with some of my Grenadian friends at Window Beach, a gorgeous location on the east coast and right next to one of my favorite spots on the island (the Arch...where I like to run around and pretend I'm Maria from Sound of Music). I also ate SHARK for the first time! Who knew a predator could taste so delicious?

Happy Boxing Day!

Hands down, this was the most relaxing December I've ever had. It wasn't until later that I realized this sensation was due to the complete absence of frantic shopping rampages that take over our lives the day after Thanksgiving. This year, all we bought was food and that was more than enough time spent waiting in line. And due to the lack of public transportation during the holidays, my friends and I spent 4 straight days together (which is actually a long time when you're used to living on your own). We played card games, did crossword puzzles & sudoku, drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, watched movies, read our books, did facial peels, played frisbee, and even did yoga so we weren't completely lazy. Did I mention this was all in 85 degree weather surrounded by palm trees? Your typical Christmas, right? Yet if I had to spend another Christmas away from home, I couldn't have asked for a better way to do it. And no tears were shed!

Merry Christmas from the Peace Corps!

Parang Festival

This weekend, a large group of us volunteers took the ferry up to Carriacou to celebrate Parang...the Caribbean version of Christmas festivities. We relaxed and went to the beaches by day, then partied at the concerts by night and celebrated with the locals. Bands from all over come to play live music and perform their own funny parodies on Grenadian culture. We couldn't understand half the lyrics, but thankfully some of our friends helped with the translation. The most fun was actually just hanging out by the house playing games and spending time together. It was basically one big sleepover at Dan's apartment and was quite humorous considering 16 of us were living together for 4 days straight. It's cool to realize we're already becoming a little family down here though.

Gonna find out who's naughty or nice

I'm not gonna lie...this week has been a test of my patience. It started out great, with a gorgeous hike along the eastern coast of the island where we had to maneuver our way through the tides and scale the rocks a bit...quite an adventure! But then the same day I was cussed out by an 8-year old. Hmmm. Then the next day I had about 15 kids all to myself at one of my programs and just barely managed to keep them from killing one another. Don't get me wrong. I love kids. I just don't have to like them this week. Especially not when the approaching Christmas break is turning them into little devils.

I almost got to star in a children's Christmas play though! My friend Jordan was directing and his lead actress didn't show up so I was on stage and ready to fill in, but of course she had to arrive at the last minute and steal my thunder. Oh well, it turned out to be really funny even without my help, and got all of us volunteers into the spirit of Christmas. It makes me miss my sisters' plays back home, with them waving to us from the stage.

The weekend made up for the rough days. I took my Limes Program kids to Grand Anse Beach for the day and we had a blast! Usually the water is dead calm since we're on the Caribbean side, but in December it gets really choppy so the kids were thrilled with the waves. (Surprisingly, many people in the Caribbean don't know how to swim so I'm slowly trying to teach them water safety and basic strokes.) I was a bit hesitant to let them in too deep since we had a couple close calls with sneaker waves, but those kids were so brave, even after they got knocked over a couple times. I was very impressed with their resilience. Now for my resilience...

World AIDS Day

I love the randomness of my job here...I've been visiting the Richmond Hill Prison (the only one in Grenada) the past few weeks and talking with the men about HIV & AIDS. Dr. Szauer from the university here (a powerful catalyst), one of my community partners Mrs. Hopkin (a passionate woman who I'm really excited to work with over at the Limes After School Program too), and some medical students have been conducting the Peer Educators Program for the past 2 months with about 20 inmates who've chosen to get educated on HIV & AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, so they can then share that information with other prisoners and encourage them to get tested for HIV. It was a huge success as a beginning program and I think almost half of the prison voluntarily got tested. I came in toward the end, but still had some great opportunities to get to know the men participating, hear their stories, and promote HIV awareness among a few I spoke with behind bars. All in all, it was just cool to interact with them because of the obvious stigma they're used to having placed on them, being criminals. Many of them asked me if I was afraid coming into the prison, but surprisingly I never felt scared. I said they were humans who made mistakes like everyone else...they just got caught. Good guys though. Would you pray for the ones I spoke with who'll be released soon, that they won't fall back into their old habits. And the ones who remain, that they will set a positive example to their peers.

With World AIDS Day coming up, my friend Megan and I had a session on HIV & AIDS with some of the teenage girls from my program. Most of them didn't know a thing about the virus, so it was a great opportunity to bring up issues and taboo subjects that are never discussed in their schools. It basically turned into a sex-ed conversation, but it was great that they felt comfortable enough to ask those questions and a great time to share with them about lifestyle choices.

We also had our first EARTHQUAKE on Thursday! It originated up north off the coast of Martinique and was a magnitude of 7.4, but we only felt a bit of the shock and no damage was caused here. The crazy part was how many Grenadians had never been through one, and that some businesses even let their employees go home! But there's an active volcano called "Kick 'Em Jenny" right off the coast so I don't blame their paranoia.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A very gracious American woman hosted Thanksgiving in her home for all the Peace Corps volunteers and saved us from homesickness...and from attempting to cook all that food ourselves. We had a beautiful day of swimming, feasting, watching good old American football, and sharing our traditions with some of our Grenadian friends who joined us. And of course we all ate too much and had a turkey coma afterwards, so why do I still have my eye on my freezer where my tub of ice cream is resting?

Beware of Dengue!

The sad news this month was one of my volunteer friends named Mike Brady became extremely ill and was hospitalized for a week. They think it's Dengue Fever which then complicated into Pneumonia, so they had him medically evacuated to the US to receive more efficient medical care. We’re all praying that he gets well and will be able to come back to Grenada. We miss you Brady!

The exciting news is that I’ve started playing volleyball again! I met with the Grenada National Coach who used to coach when the sport was big in the late 90’s and he is starting up a women’s team again...great timing. We’re still in the process of rounding up some of the old players and training new ones, but practices have already begun and I’m thrilled to be back on the court! There’s a men’s team that scrimmages with us once a week too, so they definitely keep me on top of my game.

I’m also spending more time at the Limes After School Program and trying to work more one-on-one with some of the challenging kids. The other day I pulled aside one particular girl who bullies the younger ones, and asked her to read to me. She replied that she couldn’t read, but I didn’t let her off that easily. Something we’ve noticed here in Grenada is that many of the children aren’t taught phonics so they simply guess when they see a word they don’t recognize, based on the first letter. So she was having trouble at first and wasn’t happy that I made her actually sound out the words. Yet after some gentle prodding and some successful attempts, when I asked her if she was tired, she began shouting “One more page! One more page!” It’s the things like that which make my day!

Bad news is I’ve hit an all-time low…I caved and bought a 1 1/2 gallon tub (not just your average half gallon, mind you) of chocolate ice cream. Don’t ask.

An ode to grocery store strangers.

Never underestimate the people you can meet in grocery stores. My new friends Brad & Petra came into Grenada on a boat about a month ago and fate brought us together in the cookie aisle. They recently got married, bought a yacht, and decided to go on a 3-year honeymoon by sailing around the world. Such a spontaneous and intriguing couple! And Petra & I make a great dominoes team! They have not only been some of the most fun I've had these last few weeks, but a huge encouragement and I've learned a great deal from them. I'm going to miss you guys! Meet you in the Greek Isles when I get out of the Peace Corps!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a testament to all of our creativity. Since none of us happened to bring costumes down from the States, we had to stretch our imaginations. In honor of a beloved phone company that just overcharged me $180 EC (about $70 US) this month, I dressed as a devil wearing a Cable & Wireless nametag. My favorite costume though, was Nicole dressing as Kris (and her greeting him at the door wearing almost the identical outfit!).

"C" is for Baby

My first month of my integration phase has gotten off to a promising start. Every day I've been visiting community organizations and schools where I'll be involved and slowly getting my bearings with how everything runs. Nothing is set in stone during these 3 months of integration as far as where I'll be working, but I'm already interested in 2 of the programs where I've had great interactions with the youth.

The Bel Air Home for Children is for kids taken out of abusive or neglectful families, and there are about 35 children ranging in ages 1-18. From the first day, it was apparent how much these kids just need to be loved. The environment they're coming from has obviously played a major toll on their behavior, and some of them are mentally or physically disabled. I've been spending most of my time in the nursery with the 15 kids under the age of 7, who are are always bouncing off the walls. I do whatever I can while I'm there...sing the boys' favorite song "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" to them, clean up bodily fluids, feed the babies, read books to the attentive ones, and attempt to keep them from killing each other over spilled popcorn. So they always keep me on my toes. One of my favorite stories so far is the day my friends Lauren, Megan, and I were sitting in on the preschool class and Lauren decided to read the Anne Geddes ABC book to them. This is the artist who uses babies in all her subject matter, so every page has a baby dressed in something that corresponds with that letter. But every time Lauren turned the page and asked the kids what it was, they would yell "Baby!" So it became "C is for...Baby!" and the way down to "Z is for...Baby!" It was hysterical. I mean, how could you blame them? That lady is confusing.

The Limes After School Program is held in the afternoons in a large abandoned disco and there are usually 15-30 kids of all ages that come. They get help with their homework, practice reading aloud, draw, or just play around with their friends. It's pretty unorganized so far and I just came to observe in the beginning, but the kids latched right onto me, so I felt like I've been there all along.

Good morning darling!

This is one of the more pleasant greetings I get on my daily walks in town. Let me just say that the Grenadian men are never short for words...or marriage proposals...or obscene ways to shock you before it's even noon.

Well, it's been a month since living on my own and I'm really finding enjoyment in the simple pleasures:
-cooking for myself and finding creative ways to use the leftover contents in my fridge
-reading my 10th book since being here
-learning the guitar...I can play an entire song now!
-being the only one under the age of 50 in the Presbyterian Church choir
-walking on the beach at dusk every week with my hostmom Jessie and having Taco Night at her house

-karaoke nights with the other volunteers, where we're not sure if the locals are laughing at us or with us

-making local friends my age and getting to see a different side of Grenadian culture

Home Sweet Home

I moved into my new apartment right in the heart of town! And it's meant to be because I, Rachel, now live on Green Street (as in Rachel Green from "Friends"). It's very cozy, has a washing machine (glory hallelujah!), and comes already furnished so all I had to do was stock up my fridge!

Come sail away!

This weekend we sailed (with an older British friend of ours) to Grenada's sister island of Carriacou for the Annual Hash. It turned out to be quite the epic hash, traversing the entire island for 4 hours and ending with a sunset swim in the ocean with our clothes.

I've been upgraded

I'm no longer a trainee, but now officially sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer! The past 4 weeks have been full of interesting training sessions and meeting influential community members (including the former Prime Minister George Brizan, 2 famous Grenadian playwrights, Chief of Police, several NGO presidents, and my neighbor George Grant who has his own radio show...and makes delicious Chinese food). Another highlight was learning about the Grenada Revolution in the 1970's-1980's, and how it's still such a controversial topic today and therefore not even taught in schools. The Peace Corps staff said we now know more about it than anyone our age. I was also reminded of how small our world is. During the US intervention in 1983, one of my father's Marine Corps friends was shot down in his helicopter in the field directly across the street from the house I'm living in right now, and my homestay grandmother witnessed the entire thing.

We've also been fortunate to hear many testimonies from individuals whose lives are taboo subjects in Grenada...adolescent motherhood, drug addiction, living with HIV. It's inspiring to meet these people, and also those who've given them a second chance at life. I'm growing even more excited to get involved and see where I can fit into the puzzle. I can't describe the feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself.

I get to live here?

In between Peace Corps training sessions, how could I not take advantage of the beautiful landscape Grenada has to offer...fishing for tuna, snorkeling, swimming at multitudes of beaches, and jumping off waterfalls.





Another thing we've been introduced to is the "Hash," a tradition brought here by the British which is basically a choose-your-own-adventure hike. Locals, expats, and university students meet together every other Saturday to walk or run a trail set out with piles of shredded paper, including false trails which sometimes lead to backtracking. We sweat like animals, but it had some great ocean views along the way and was worth it in the end. And since Hashers are known as "drinkers with a running problems," we got initiated by being dowsed in beer. Sweat + beer = glorious aroma.

Sandflies trump mosquitos

My first week here has already flown by! The 12 other new volunteers and I have been all over St. George's, had sessions on the Caribbean slang language, learned more about the devastation that Hurricane Ivan caused in 2004, walked around town to familiarize ourselves with the local people and markets, visited a Nutmeg Processing Plant (Grenada is the #2 nutmeg exporter in the world), went to the Fish Friday in Gouyave and heard their awesome steel pan band, and all this while being eaten alive by sandflies. They are impossible to catch and then burrow themselves in your skin. In short...they are the devil. Otherwise, I've been having a great time meeting the people I'll be working with and getting to know my community on foot....and building my calf muscles since you can't walk for 5 minutes in Grenada without climbing a hill.