First Week

Getting accepted to a grad school in a foreign country with three weeks notice can be a stressful situation. Not only did I have to get last minute doctor's appointments, I had to say goodbye to my friends, family and everything I knew and move to a place where I knew nothing and no one. I packed two suitcases and a backpack with all of my belongings and got on a plane. Getting to Grenada was a nightmare! I flew from LA to New York, but my flight landed late and caused me to miss my flight to Trinidad. After six additional hours and the stress of flying standby, I got on a plane and headed for Trinidad. Little did I know that was going to be the worst part of my trip. I landed in Trinidad at 10:30PM and had to go through customs. I was granted a one day visa and had to collect my bags from baggage claim because the third flight I was going to fly demanded that I check them AGAIN with them.

So off I went, dragging 130 pounds of luggage with me and a backpack on my back. The restaurants in the Trinidad airport were comprised of Subway, KFC, Church's Chicken, and Royal Chicken. The only thing open that late was KFC, but chicken looked like it was really my only choice anyway. I waited in a line that should have taken about five minutes to get to the register, but since I was now on island time, it took me nearly twenty! I ordered one piece of chicken, one side of mashed potatoes, and a drink. She told me my choices were "Pepsi or Red." I chose Red and it was tasty. But then when the total was over $30 dollars, I couldn't believe it! It turns out the Trinidad currency is called TT's and one TT is worth 16 US cents. It wound up being very cheap.

After I gagged down KFC, I sat around the airport until I was supposed to fly out at 6AM. I stood at the ticket counter for two hours and they said they didn't have record that I was on the flight! I had to wait again until 2:30PM to fly out. By then I was exhausted, hungry and I needed a shower! I finally landed and went through Grenadian customs.  I had to declare my laptop and get taxed on it just for bringing it to the country. I owed $25 USD, so I handed her two twenties. She said she didn't have change in USD or EC (the currency in Granada). So I asked to pay with my credit card, but the machine was down. I had three ones in my wallet and she said that if I didn't produce two more dollars she was going to keep my laptop. Thank goodness other students in line were able to give me two dollars!

Representatives of my school met me on the sidewalk and we took shuttles to our dorms. First of all, they drive on the left side of the road here, which I have never experienced. The streets are very rutted and narrow and the drivers speed down the street and swerve. It is terrifying! When crossing the street it's as if you're playing a real-life game of Frogger. You have to look both ways a bunch of times because you're not exactly sure which way they are coming and then you have to run!!! There are no stop signs or street lights so when approaching an intersection it is typical to expect catastrophic crashes, although I have yet to see one. The drivers here honk at EVERYTHING! They honk when they turn corners, when stopping, when going, to move around a car, to say hi to the person walking on the street. It is a constant, endless honk-fest.

I got to my dorms on Grand Anse Beach. Grand Anse was nominated the 7th most beautiful beach in the world in 2002. It is amazing. I met my roommate, Maegan, who is from Maryland. She is a vet student and very nice. We immediately went to the beach and swam, which felt so good after such a long travel! The awesome part is that I put on my bathing suit, walked down stairs, out the gate and to the water. Not too shabby. The actual inside of the dorms are very old. They have two twin beds, a small fridge, two desks and chairs, a shelf, a small closet and a bathroom. The hot water doesn't work in the shower. There is also a crack in our bathtub that has been repaired with stucco. There is a communal kitchen downstairs with four burners, a microwave and a fridge/freezer. These dorms aren't great, but they are on the beach and right across the street from the grocery store. The people living on campus have to take a bus to here to get groceries. All in all, I'd say I got the better dorms.

This week I have had to go to orientations all week for my program. It is nice to see the school and meet professors. It was also nice to walk around campus to find things. The buildings are very nice on the outside so they present well in pictures, but on the inside they are usually pretty old and look like a typical college hall. The sidewalks are very uneven and cause all of us to trip dozens of times a day. I have yet to fall down. The worst part is that since it rains so much, the water has to go somewhere so the solutions to drainage aren't exactly the safest. There are open ditches everywhere, including the campus, where water is constantly draining. Chances are, there isn't a bridge near by, so you just have to step over them carefully. The sidewalks are typically slatted so that the water can run through them into ditches under them. Not only can you catch your toes in the holes, but the pieces of cement from slat to slat are not always flush, so it is a huge trip hazard. When walking across grass and dirt, it is typical to have puddles. The problem is, it is not always easy to tell how deep the puddles are and yesterday I stepped into a seemingly shallow one and it went above my ankle!

Yesterday I went to a bazaar that was hosted by the school. They had local food and crafts for sale. I tried some shrimp and rice and a pineapple smoothie (with fresh pineapple!), but no one I know, myself included, has been brave enough to eat the popular local dish. It is called oil down and it's chicken and salted beef in oil with some other weird spices and stuff. Not only does it look gross in person, it looks bad in the pictures where it's supposed to look good! We will see who will be brave enough to try it first. Grenada is also known as the Isle of Spices, so there are spices for sale everywhere! Their main export is nutmeg, which is unfortunate because they put it on everything and I don't particularly care for it on much except pumpkin pie. Their second common spice is cinnamon.

At the bazaar I found some natural bug repellent with citronella. Thank goodness! I have been eaten alive by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes down here carry dengue fever, which causes you to be very sick, so hopefully I don't get it! Yesterday I counted and I had 45 bug bites below my knees. No exaggeration. I have more above my knees and on my arms and body, but I didn't have the heart to keep counting. I'm not sure I can count that high anyway. In my room I have a citronella candle and a bug net around my bed. I take every precaution I can to not get bitten. Not only am I bitten everywhere, but every time I walk outside I sweat to death because of the high humidity. This has lead to heat rash on my legs. Hopefully I get acclimated soon.

Speaking of climate, the weather here is about 85 degrees everyday and stays that way nearly all day. It doesn't get much cooler even at night. The humidity is the worst I've ever experienced, but I am getting used to it more everyday. I am nearly on the equator, so I guess it's to be expected. The most inconvenient part about the weather is the rain. It clouds up in no time at all and then there is about a 10 second warning where about five raindrops will fall. And then it pours! I have had to run several times to find shelter because it started pouring on us and we only had a few seconds notice. But usually after about five minutes, it stops raining and then everyone goes about their day. Unfortunately the rain is followed by even worst humidity. I've just learned to always carry an umbrella and water.

I have met some interesting people in the dorms. Most of them are from the east coast. A few are from the Midwest. There is a guy named Bucky who is from Oklahoma. I checked his passport. That is his legal name. There is a guy who is from South Africa who took 40 days and sailed here. I am by far the youngest; most people are around 26 but I've met people who are 38. I am the only one so far who is from California and I have not found a single person who has been to Disneyland!

This transition has been extremely difficult, but with every day I get more used to it. It is definitely culture shock to go from the US to a third world country where everything happens so slowly and I have to depend completely on public transportation. I guess I have to get used to living on island time.