¡Olé!

To celebrate the new volunteers and Karla's birthday, we had a Mexican Fiesta...complete with an awesome homemade piñata (courtesy of crafty, new Nicole), tacos y salsa, una bucket de margaritas, sombreros, multiple games of flippy cup, and of course, the annual chocolate cake fight (it's not Mexican, but it's tradition whenever we have cake at Nicole's house).

Welcome New Volunteers!

The new batch of Peace Corps Volunteers were officially sworn in today. Because of budget cuts, it's a smaller group of only 7. And because God feels sorry for the current male volunteers, they're all girls! :) Regardless, we're very excited to have them as part of the Peace Corps family and know that they'll accomplish a lot for Grenada!

Passing on the legacy with the peace cake

Katherine, Rana, Lizzie, Karla, Nicole, Alyssa, & Liz

Goodbye Dr. Szauer!

Tonight I went to a farewell dinner for Dr. Marianne Szauer, one of the incredible and dynamic women I started working with when I first came to Grenada. I met her through my community partner Ann Hopkin, who was like her other half (I like to think of them as Laverne & Shirley). Dr. Szauer has been living here for a few years, working at the medical school and starting all kinds of programs like HIV Peer Counseling in the Prison, Boys on the Block (outreach to poor communities to educate them on safe sex and STI's), HIV Puppet Shows for Kids, and free mobile health clinics around the island. And all of this in her "free time." She's touched so many Grenadian lives and will be impossible to forget...not only because of her selfless service, but because of her unique and dynamic personality. I laugh whenever I think about how she would just march right up to men on the streets and lecture them on their unsafe sexual behavior and all the nasty STI's they could contract if they continued (and then proceed to show them descriptive photos). :) We'll miss you Dr. Szauer!

Lilly does Grenada!

My good friend Lilly, one of the Peace Corps volunteers from St. Lucia, finally came to visit the Isle of Spice! She stayed for 2 weeks (which still wasn't enough time), so let me tell the story in frames, since we like to think of the vacation as one big photo shoot. :)

You can't come to Grenada without seeing Grand Anse Beach.
We shared everything, except the same SPF.Fish Friday and karaoke in Gouyave with the other volunteers.

We were pretty excited to frolic together once again.

There was a face-off with the village goat in Victoria.
I taught Lilly the art of "The Little Mermaid" impression at the swimming hole...she's still learning.We walked to the gorgeous Levera Beach, where the Caribbean and Atlantic meet.
We did some jumping.
We met a Rasta named "Wooden Balls" with locks down to the ground who showed us his newly born goats.
We took a much-needed break from the sun at the St. Patrick's Street Jam.
Being the good little housewife that she is, Lilly baked cinnamon rolls one morning and we managed to eat the entire batch within hours.
We caught a Carriacou sunset on our way back to Dan's house.
We rented bikes (us girls got a discount!) and went for a long ride across Carriacou.
Our off-roading led us to discovering a hidden beach called Anse la Roche.
We did some jumping there too, of course.
One of our many photo shoots at Paradise Beach...this one's entitled "Hey Big Spender!"
Lilly is a workout Nazi so we had to squeeze in some exercise on the beach, and Lilly's signature handstand.
I got dressed first one morning and Lilly liked my outfit so much that, well...
And one of my favorite things to do, jumping off the Seven Sisters Waterfalls (without a guide). Lilly wasn't very happy with me when we got to the big falls.

Easter Egg Dyeing

This was the second time dyeing eggs with the Limes kids and it was again a hit. Although I'm pretty sure they still got more excited about eating the eggs afterward. :)

Goodbye Sarah & Drew!

Sarah and Drew have done so much for the Limes Program the past 3 months and I don't know how to properly thank them. From the first time they came to help in January, I was worried the chaos and drama would scare them away, but I soon realized they were not afraid of a challenge. They came every day after that and not only been a huge support and encouragement to me, but also impacted so many of the children's lives while they were volunteering. Unfortunately, they have to leave Grenada for now (although Drew will be back in August to take over for me...yay!). Thank you again ladies for everything you've done for me and these kids. You will not be forgotten!

Being a tourist on my island

Molly, one of the Peace Corps volunteers from St. Vincent, came to visit Grenada and her family met up with her as well. They're so cute (they all got scuba-certified and go on dive trips together) and I had so much fun spending time with them. I also loved playing tour guide and getting to share the Isle of Spice culture with them. And getting a delicious dinner at a nice restaurant...thank you Okuneffs!

Using the opportunity to take pictures of my everyday surroundings...





Hiking and jumping off the Seven Sisters Waterfalls (even her dad made the plunge!)...


Taking advantage of the hotel beach chairs (it's rather sad that this is a luxury for us)...
Some of my students found me too...

Sparkle Sparkle Little Teeth

I've been so fortunate to have 2 regular volunteers at the Limes After-School Program these past few months, Drew & Sarah (wives of medical students down here), so I've taken advantage of the extra hands to teach the kids some basic life skills:

Washing our hands and preventing the spread of germs...
Brushing/flossing our teeth and avoiding too much sugar...
A nature walk that opened up discussion about the environment and how to treat animals...

Grensave's International Food & Drink Festival

One of my community partners, an NGO called Grensave: Save the Children Agency, had their annual fundraiser today with vendors from all different countries selling their food and crafts. I was in charge of organizing the Children's Village again, so I recruited all the Peace Corps Volunteers for another crazy day of the Bouncy Castle, face-painting, and raffle prizes (and psycho mothers). We had a great turnout, raised a lot of money, and no one was seriously injured on the Bouncy Castle...it was a good day!

Don't count your chickens before they hatch...

...and don't crack your eggs over your cookie dough mixings until you've checked for dead ones.

Tonight, one of my childhood nightmares just came true. I was teaching my little neighbor girl how to make cookies when she cracks one of the eggs and says, "Rachel, I think this egg is bad." So I turn to look and see something dark inside the half-cracked egg as she calmly says, "I think it's a chicken." By now I'm in hysterics and safely on the other side of the apartment, while this brave 13-year old verifies...there was indeed a dead chicken fetus in the shell!

Happy Birthday Nicole!

I'm so glad Nicole was born 26 years ago, not only because we love her, but because it gave us the excuse to have a crazy night of dancing and then a really fun picnic on the beach.