Fish Friday

So Fish Friday in Grenada... I am not even sure where to start!

I guess we can start with the fact that I have heard stories about Fish Friday from Nick for the past 2 months. He's gone twice already, once they took a taxi and once they took a catamaran. Both times he told me about how much fun he had and how GREAT the food is. So that was exactly what I was expecting.

Let me just say... I would not classify the food as great by any means. It was like carnival food, only made with fish. I was absolutely starving  and had such high hopes, that I was 100% disappointed. Also, with it being parents weekend, there was people absolutely everywhere and it was just madness.

This is not to say it wasn't good for some laughs and definitely an experience. If I had had a full stomach, I am sure I would have been a bit more positive... but hey, live and learn. Next time I'll eat a full meal before going.

SO we took a catamaran there, and it was so relaxing and beautiful! I just sat back and watched the stars and was so relaxed I actually thought I was going to fall asleep. I really wanted to see my first shooting star, but sadly, I did not. Anyways, so we pull up to the beach where the catamaran was dropping us off and it turned out that it was not really a beach after all but more like people's backyard. So that was surprise #1. 

We get off the boat and are met by Grenadian military all dressed in uniform waiting to walk us to Fish Friday. Nice. In order to get there you first walk down this tiny ally that smells strongly of urine. It is dark and narrow and if we are being honest, really just pretty eerie.  Then when you come out of the ally you are on a main street. Much better right? So you can let out a deep breath and think to yourself, okay this isn't so bad.

... well, not so fast. Walking through the little town really just makes you realize that while Grenada is such a gorgeous place, that it really is poverty stricken. The houses are falling apart, and it seemed like the thing to do that night was to sit out on your front porch and watch all the students and tourists walk by. It was awkward. It really made me feel uncomfortable to be basically parading down the street while all the locals watched. It also highlighted the division between Grenadians and us... or at least that is what I felt like.

But anyways, once you get to Fish Friday there are a bunch of tents set up and locals are cooking food. You can hop from one to another trying all different sorts of food. Again, the food is not up my ally, but many people seemed to enjoy it and you really do get a taste for life in Grenada and a feel for their culture.

I am also still not used to being a blonde in a place where being blonde is definitely not "more fun" but rather definitely somewhat of a disadvantage. Having blonde hair is a sure tell sign that I am an visiting and attracts a great deal of attention.  Girls in general there get a lot of attention, but if you have blonde hair you just really, and I mean really, stick out.

The most humorous part of the night had to be getting back on the catamaran. The waves were really intense and people were hopping on 2 at a time. So I look at Nick and tell him "see what they are doing, don't go until I can follow you." He says okay, but the next thing I know he is running toward the boat... sooo I follow. Well it was a disaster. Nick gets on the ladder and as I begin to BAM a wave hits. I am covered in water and floating back in toward shore, when two big arms reach down and yank me up! My feet literally never touched the ladder, I was completely drenched from my neck to my toes, but luckily the guys helping us on the boat were strong and able to just pull me up. So I am finally on the boat when Nick turns around with a simple "ooooh... did you get wet?" No darling, not at all.... 

SO even though at first I said that was my first and last trip to Fish Friday, I think I may give it another go.. we'll see. But if you really want to get to know the culture of Grenada, then Fish Friday would be a good place to go and experience it.

"May your time be filled with relaxing sunsets, cool drinks and sand between your toes." - Author Unknown

My last weekend in Grenada was absolutely perfect. If you looked up perfection in the dictionary there would be a picture and synopsis of our weekend! We spent time at the Grand Resort which was right on the beach and had 3 amazing pools for us to enjoy. Thankfully, due to Family Weekend Nick's school schedule has been less busy, and we able to completely enjoy ourselves.

With Nick being in his first term of medical school and crazy busy and I am busy myself finishing up my master's with 5 classes, 30 hours of field, and a million hours spent commuting each week, we simply vegged out. We were lazy butts to the max... and it was GREAT!

Here's a brief overview of our weekend...
Friday
-We went to Fish Friday (which deserves its own post, so more on that experience later)
-To get to Fish Friday we took a catamaran which was awesome and so beautiful!! We just sat back and enjoyed the  ride, looking at the stars, and chatting with Nick's friend Dan and his parents. It was great, minus that I am still waiting to see my first shooting star, which I was determined to see when on the catamaran!
-When we got back we watched about 100 episodes of scrubs and passed out.

Saturday
-Slept in
-Woke up and had a huge delish fresh breakfast. Mmmm it was awesome! Not cheap tho... 45ec each... soo even in American money that is pricey... like 15-20 each... yikes!
-After breakfast we got water, snacks, and hit the beach. The sun was out, it was hot, and the beach and water were beautiful! After a couple hours a guy on the beach brought a few absolutely delicious drinks and we could not have been happier. Boyfriend, beach, sunshine, drinks, snacks, and a good book to read... what more could I ask for!?
-Got dinner. Yummy burger and Umbrellas on the beach.
-Pushed Nick in the pool in his clothes (not going to lie, was a highlight of my weekend).
-Lounged by the pool and watched the beautiful sunset.
-Got pushed in the pool by Nick... payback sigh.
-Were completely lazy, watched another 100 episodes of scrubs, and ordered cake and icecream.

Sunday
-Slept in and had a repeat lovely breakfast.
-Watched the lions over the computer. I got a taste of how Nick has to watch most games... a crappy connection, that drops whenever something exciting happens, and is very frustrating. A downside to Grenada. The Lions lost which added to our frustration because we suffered for nothing... sigh.
-Made ourselves feel better by cooking a fabulous spaghetti dinner and walking to get amazing smoothies! mmm!

*** okay it is important to note, that we did both squeeze in some studying and homework in there, but that wasn't as fun, so I did not want to add it in to our perfect weekend... but it did take place.. we weren't that lazy...

I definitely appreciate how much fun we got to have during my visit because this is not how our life will be next semester when I live there. Yes, I hope we can squeeze in some fun and beach time together and I am sure we will... but not to this extreme... so I'm glad we took full advantage this time around :)

 Nick doesn't like this one, but I love it! He looks so cute.. under one of the waterfalls in the pool

  In the "hot tub" ... but the water is no warmer than the pool haha but pretty view!

 Really yummy drinks... mango colada = prob the best drink I've ever had

This picture does not lie... the water REALLY is this blue and spectacular!

 How handsome is he?

 Cheers to love <3

 Having an underwater camera rocks!! And clear blue water helps make the pictures even better!

Takes my breath away!

We have a home!!!!

Well ladies and gentlemen it is official we have a home starting January 1, 2012!!! Nick's classmates are currently living in a duplex and the couple living in the other side are 5th term and will be leaving in December, so they encouraged us to go and check it out. Well we did, and we absolutely loved it! The views absolutely sold us on the place. Seriously, I am not sure there is a better place on the island to watch a sunset than our future backyard/down the street from our future little home! It is absolutely amazing and so peaceful! The inside of the house is nice and it has a decent sized living room, which we were excited about. There is also AC that we can turn on as needed, which is a must have in Grenada!

Here are a few pictures! The picture of the house itself is not very good quality because I took a picture of the advertisement in the realtors office. I should have taken a picture of the house but was afraid I'd look creepy to the people currently living there. I was able to get a few of the backyard and down the street though, so those ones turned out great! Hard to believe that is where we will be in just a short few months!!! Who wants to visit?!!?

Oh, and guess I got the walkout onto the ocean view after all eh? And we aren't even living in a box or handmade shack on the beach... score!

 

View of the backyard looking to the right....

  

View of backyard looking to the left...

View of backyard from a distance off to the side... that middle part is our backyard

Gorgeous view from the ridge down the street

Pictures from the top of the ridge down the street.. literally a 2 min walk.. ahhh amazing!

More updates on Grenada! Can't believe I've been here a week!

I love Grenada. I love being with my boyfriend. I love how different being here is from the states. I love the challenges that will be associated with living here. I said it before, but since being here I now know it is true more than ever... this is an adventure that absolutely changes a person. It is an adventure that is going to bring about growth, that will make us stronger as a couple, stronger and more well-rounded individuals, and allow me the opportunity to help children and youth who really need it. You really can't put a price tag on that kind of experience.

Yes, there will absolutely be times that I am homesick. Yes, there will be a lot of stepping outside my comfort zone. Yes, I am sure there will be times when I want nothing more than to be in the United States where life is a bit easier and what I am used to, and yes, I will have a ridiculously busy boyfriend and be on my own a lot. I know all of this, but it is those things that  make this the experience that it is :)

I did not have any expectations heading into this trip and I honestly had no idea what to expect, but still... it was so different than anything I could have imagined.

There is the campus that is really nice, but then there are so many other areas that show obvious signs of being a third world country. Riding the buses is hilarious and an adventure every time. The "bus stops" are not marked, you just learn that a certain tree, bench, or the that the Texico station are places that the bus stops at. Then there are the Raggae (most likely that is spelled incorrectly) buses that fly around and one person drives and one person sits in the back and jumps out randomly to see if people need rides.  Seriously, it is quite a sight to see! Also, honking... goodness do Grenadians like to use their horns! A honk can say "get out of the way" or "hello" or warn another driver about the road ahead, or if you are a girl the number of honks can let you know just how cute that driver thought you were. Oh, the honking.

The longer I am here, the more excited I am about getting involved with the many volunteer organizations that are down here. It all seems very much so up my ally as it is mostly aimed at the children and youth of Grenada. Give me those cute babies!

Also, I got to jump off the cliff that Nick jumps off every week! It was so fun!! It is not a bad jump either, probably 12-15 feet in the air, so you actually have time to realize you are falling! I absolutely loved it. Getting into the water however was easy- one jump and there ya go. Getting OUT of the water was a completely different story. You have to climb up on the rocks while the waves are basically crashing into you... trust me, it is hard. The bottom line is, I need to work on my upper body strength because this girl could not get out of the water. After several attempts and scrapping my leg on the rock a few times, Nick came to my rescue. Oh, the benefits of a strong boyfriend to save you and pull you out of the water... just so you can go up and jump again!! Yay fun!

Not too shabby of a view eh? Grenada sunsets are breathtaking.

Grenada!!!

I am finally in Grenada!!! Ah!! I've been here since Friday night, and time is passing much too quickly! I feel like I just got here and already the time to leave is already breathing down my back. Ugh. Now is not the time to get sad about that however, I've still got several days to soak up Grenada and the amazing guy who is here!

So, I've been a super slacker in terms of documenting the past week or so, so here is a quick run-down.  My flight here went very smoothly. My mom picked me up bright and early (and by bright I mean, pitch dark as it was 3:45 am).   The security line at the airport was obnoxiously long, which seemed very strange, but I learned later President Obama was flying into Metro later that day so security was kicked up a notch. Awesome.. Anyways, I made it through security with a whopping 20 minutes to spare before boarding the plane.  Enough time to book it to my gate and get a smoothie for breakfast.

Once in Miami, I had 7 hours to kill. I ate at TGI Friday's, enjoyed a blue moon at promptly 10:15 am (what a way to kick off a vacation right?) and settled in at a random gate to read my book/sleep.  I was in the airport long enough to see people arrive and board their respective planes THREE TIMES. At one point, a man poked me on the shoulder (because I was passed out) to inform me the plane was boarding and he didn't want me to miss it.  He laughed as I informed him I still had 3 more hours, but hey you enjoy your flight sir!

Finallyyyyyyy, it was time for me to board. My plane was EMPTY. It absolutely rocked! I would say, the plane was literally only about half full.  Now that def makes for a much more enjoyable flight! A few rum and cokes and small talk with the people around me and BAM welcome to Grenada!

Nick met me at the airport with flowers and sign! It was the cutest thing ever. Even better, is that he ran all over the island with his buddy earlier on in the day to HAND PICK the flowers! Love!! He melts my heart. Now, by the time I arrived the flowers had seen slightly better days, but I still absolutely loved them!

Saturday (my first full day here) we all went to Sandblast, which is basically a big party on the beach. It was a blast! I got to meet most of Nick's friends and experience my first trip ever to a Caribbean beach at the same time! Gosh was the water ever BEAUTIFUL. It honestly was breathtaking. The entire day was perfect!  It was so nice to kick back and relax and to see Nick be able to do the same as well. After midterm hell, he absolutely deserved it, and after over 2 months apart... we absolutely deserved it!

Okay, that's all I have time for now, but many more stories and pictures to come :)

One more week!!!

October 7, 2011
This time next week I will be in Grenada. I land around 8pm ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!
One week from today I get to smooch my boyfriend!!!! …And see him in person, and hug him, and my heart will be unbelievably happy <3
One week from today I will visit Grenada for the first time and get to see where exactly I will be living for the next year and half.
One week from today, I’ll get a small taste of what I blindly signed up for when I bought a one way ticket for January 4, 2012 to Grenada.
One week from today, I’ll have confirmation that I am doing the right thing… Because it really doesn’t matter what the country of Grenada is like, it’s the man who will be waiting for me when I step off the plane and eventually clear customs that matters.
One week from today, all the loneliness and challenges that come with living in separates countries vanishes… even if only for 10 days.
Can’t wait for this…



Have I mentioned how excited I am to be there? He always makes me smile.

Whether its the ups and downs, good or bad, hard or easy... Life is a journey, and those are the things that make the story worth reading.

Some days it is simply hard to maintain a positive outlook all day. Today, is one of those days.

I was positive all day. Looked on the bright side and tried to help others see the glass as half full. Assuring them that time will pass quickly and that December will be here before we know it.

Unfortunately, it is now midnight and I am struggling. It is hard to be the strong one all the time. I've never viewed myself as being the typical strong one. Sure, I knew I could be, but I didn't know it would have to become a main part of who I am. Not that being strong is bad, because it isn't. But it can be exhausting. It's hard carrying most negative emotions around to myself, because there simply isn't really anyone around to share those with. You can only share feelings of being bummed or lonely with friends for so long before they are totally over you. They don't want to hear you complain anymore. Especially it seems, friends who are single, and who think I should simply be happy to have a boyfriend. Here's the thing... I am happy. I am thankful. And I am positive about 99.999% of the time. However, I miss him. I am lonely. And things do not always go my way... So yes, there are moments, when acting happy is just too much work because the truth is I am grumpy, or sad, or overwhelmed, or a mix of all of those.

As mentioned last post. It is midterms time. Midterms = everything you expect them to be and more. It's more time spent in the library. More time spent nose in the books. Earlier mornings and later nights. It's more stress. It's just more. More everything.

And rightfully so. There is A LOT weighing on these tests scores. I totally get it.

Right now, I am just worn out. Burnt out. After 5 1/2 years of college... 1 1/2 more than I had planned... A master's program I have not necessarily enjoyed, and well... you get the point...

My head is simply all over the place. And when it is midterms week, there is no Nick to turn to and cry to because I simply don't know how to find the energy to push through the rest of my semester. So thus, it goes into the blog. A place to dump my frustrations and vent, so that tomorrow, when I get a few minutes to talk to him it is about happy things, supportive things, "lets kick midterm's butt things."

Nobody said it would be easy... but, it will indeed be worth it. And when you can't change what is happening, change your attitude.

Those are the statements that will get me through this week. I have a lot to be thankful for. Things really are good more so than bad. The glass really is half full, not half empty. I have a wonderful boyfriend, a great family, and awesome friends. And if school is starting to stress me out this much, it is just a sign that the semester is progressing. If the semester is progressing, it is one step closer to graduation!

MIDTERMS!!!

So holy cow, midterms have officially arrived! Yes, it is true. Tomorrow marks day 1 of midterms for Nicholas! I can, and at the same time, can't believe that they are here!! I am so nervous for him. Not because I lack any confidence in his abilities, but because he is such a perfectionist and holds himself to ridiculously high standards. He has absolutely worked his butt off for the past 8 weeks, let alone the past 2 weeks, in preparation for this week, and I just pray he does as well as he deserves.

Tomorrow's exam is biochem.... 80 questions... 2 hours... of biochem. Talk about ROUGH! He's so ready though. He made this whole map of everything he needed to know. It's absolutely intense. I wish I had a picture of it to put on here for you to all see it's extreme intensity and to really appreciate the ridiculousness that is biochemistry. I'm so proud of him!

Wednesday is his histo midterm, and Friday is anatomy... then BOOM he has successfully finished half of his first semester of medical school... and can let loose for his complete weekend since his first week there... I guess he slightly deserves it eh?? Shesh!

On that note, kinda bummed with the way my timing worked out. SO thrilled that my trip is AFTER midterms, but wish the timing would have worked out that I was going to be there THIS Friday- instead of next Friday. This weekend he is going to do nothing but hangout with his friends and relax, whereas once I am there school will be back up and running and I will have to share him with medical school. Not that I mind that, just compared to a weekend where he doesn't have to study... major bummer. Oh well, I've  learned I have little control over the timing in my life, and to just get over it. I am going to be there in 12 days (well pretty much 11 days now!) so for that I am thankful!

I miss him so much. And am ready for a visit. So ready for a visit. And I think that with everything we've been through and how well we've handled the past 2 months... a visit is MUCH deserved :)