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.