This is Grenada

This is Grenada. Or as I have been taught here, TIG. This is what you say when things aren't going exactly how you think they should. The grocery store ran out of milk? TIG. You get the picture. Today I got on a bus to go to class and as soon as the bus went two stops, the driver announced he was going to take a ten minute break. We were on top of a huge hill that was much too far to walk to the next stop before another bus came, but now it looked like I was going to be late to class. TIG. Thank goodness I made it to campus with three minutes to spare and wound up being on time to class. Other people were late, probably due to a bus driver break, but the professor didn't say anything.

There is one girl who is in most of my classes and she comes in late every day and leaves early and watches Netflix and takes naps during the little time she is in class. We have dubbed her Stevie Nicks due to her behavior. It amazes me that someone could work so hard to get to be here and then throw it all away. At least I will always have entertainment when she comes to class. I met a guy today who overheard me talking about how I went to Cal Poly. He said, "Oh, Cal Poly SLO?" He was excited because that's where he went. I informed him I went to Pomona and he wouldn't speak another word to me. There are definitely some interesting ones down here. The people I like the most are the locals. All the security guards have good stories. Especially the one across the street whose fingernails on one hand are probably longer than a centimeter each. There is also an old man who works at the grocery store who walks with a cane and his only job is to collect the carts. Because it takes him so long to walk with a cane and push a cart, I attempted helping him, but he was too proud. His name is Mike. I talk to him every time I walk by. All of the locals are extremely nice except for one select group of people; the grocery store checkers. They are all middle aged, overweight women who sit on chairs while they work and scan the items slower than I even though possible. Then when they're done, they just look at you. They don't tell you the price; they expect you to look at the screen and figure it out. The Grenadian grocery checkers are a special breed indeed. TIG.

Yesterday I was walking down the street and a Grenadian woman pulled her car over on the street, rolled down her window and said, "Honey, your legs look horrible!!! You need to go to the drug store and get some hydro cortisone cream for your bug bites!" I thanked her and told her I already did and she went on her way. If a stranger notices enough to pull over on the street, I know my bites are pretty bad. I actually have been looking up remedies and vinegar relieves the itch and redness of bug bites and helps with heat rash as well. I tried it in the shower last night and although it stung badly, my legs seam better today. I have also been eating garlic and taking vitamin B12 as suggested by my research. I apply citronella cream every time I walk out the door. Hopefully within a week or so I won't be getting eaten alive. But, alas. TIG.

Tonight I took a shower and I had hot water the entire time!! It was amazing! The water pressure, as always, was very low, but at least I didn't mind standing under the faucet for what seemed like an eternity to get the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair.

Tomorrow I have to dissect a dog. I'm assuming they will be the feral dogs that run around the island. This will be the first dog I have ever dissected. Perhaps sickeningly, I'm very excited to see what it looks like. The biggest thing I have ever done was a rat, so this is finally starting to correlate with what I want to do. I've got to get really good at working on the dead dogs so that I can eventually work on the live ones! I just joined the Grenada SPCA. With them, I can go around to the different communities and vaccinate, spay and neuter the dogs. It will be a good learning opportunity as well as a good way to give back to the community who welcomes us into their lives as we go through school.

It's about bedtime, as I am four hours ahead of most of you who are reading this. I have school tomorrow and then off to the farmer's market to buy fresh produce and meat. It sounds like a simple trip, but I'm sure there will be some bump in the road, both literally and figuratively. But that's part of the adventure. Because as always, TIG.