Volleyball + Sand + Friends = A Guaranteed Good Times

The volleyball crew (for lack of a better title for all my random friends that I've been playing with for the past year) spent a beautiful afternoon on Grand Anse playing beach volleyball, swimming, and having a great time together...and not taking ourselves so seriously. :) I love these people and don't know how I would have coped without them. It's been just over a year since that first night I happened to run into a girl with a volleyball and discover that not only do people play on the courts 5 minutes from my house, but that volleyball was making a comeback to Grenada! I feel so blessed to have found such wonderful people who I can share one of my passions with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we volunteers cooked our own feast at Brady's house (the proud owner of 2 forks and one spoon) and thanks to Lauren, we had every traditional dish on the menu. And it was DELICIOUS! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a turkey coma!

Apparently, I can play netball

Tonight I went to my friend Lisa's netball game to support her and she (without my consent) signed me up for a Shoot-Out Competition before the game. For the record, this is some strange British sport that I have never played before and have only seen played once. And I've never touched a netball before. And I have to do this in front of about 100 people. And I'm pretty sure I'm the only white person in the stadium. But thank you to high school basketball because I won! They even interviewed me on TV. My favorite part though? I won a SCALE for my grand prize! Not a free dinner, not a million dollars...a scale. :)

Happy Birthday Lisa!

My friend Lisa turned 28 today! We celebrated with cake (my banana and chocolate specialty!) and drinks after volleyball training, and it doubled as a great excuse to get all the volleyballers together at the same time...and end the night laughing, rather than arguing over the score. :)

Obama-rama

I'm sure you are all aware of how involved the rest of the world was in the United States Elections this year. Well, that doesn't exclude Grenada by any means. In fact, some Grenadians were far more excited about our elections (aka Obama) than theirs this past July! It cracked me up when I saw Obama bumper stickers, Obama hats, elderly women wearing oversized Obama t-shirts, and even a bus named Obama...it felt just like I was back at home. Well, today at the Limes (my after-school class) the kids were all talking about how excited they were that Obama won...surprise surprise. I thought this would be an interesting opportunity to discuss politics with young minds (all under the age of 12, mind you) and the conversation went something like this:

Me: "You realize that Obama isn't your president, right?"
Them: "Yes, but he will be someday when I come to America."
Me: (without the slightest bit of sarcasm) "Oh, I didn't realize you were getting your visa and moving to the States in the next 4 years."
Them: "Yep!"
Me: "Alright. Well, what do you like about Obama? Can you tell me 3 policies of his that you support?"
Girl #1: (spoken with a sassy flair) "He's a natural, strong black man."
Girl #2: "He talks good."
Girl #3: "He's cute."

So there you have it. From the mouths of babes. :)

Happy Halloween!

This was my 2nd Halloween in Grenada and yet another testament to how resourceful Peace Corps Volunteers can be. I was a stereotypical Grenadian woman...complete with headscarf, string vest, baby powder (which the women put all over their chest, apparently to keep cool), pregnant belly, and baby in tow...and Lauren was my Rasta (at least one of my baby's daddies). **Sidenote: This was not intended to be offensive to any Grenadians. In fact, our local friends thought it was really funny.