Crocs for Kiddies!

Reach out. Raise hope. Change Society. That was the slogan I heard over and over while getting my master's in Social Work at the University of Michigan. I must admit, while I thought it was a good slogan I didn't think too much about it while I was there. Of course I wanted to help people and of course I wanted to be a part of change, but mostly at the time I was focused on simply graduating. However, since graduating it has crossed my mind many times. Living in Grenada and being involved with the children here I see first hand the impact that people can have on these children, even with the smallest acts of kindness.  The After School program at Limes is a wonderful program, and a much needed one. It gives these kids something to do after school and helps keep them out of trouble- at least for a couple hours. It gives them something to look forward to and it gives us the opportunity to shower them with love and the attention they are starved for.

Reach Out. Today at Limes we gave out 63 pairs of crocs!! One of the SOs Aunts and their church were super generous and donated the shoes and paid to have them shipped here for the kids. Now how wonderful and thoughtful is that? People who haven't even met these kids, yet have heard stories about them and seen pictures reached within themselves to do something special for these kids. Many of these kids come to class without shoes, or with shoes that are in really dreadful shape, and so this gift was perfect. All the way from another country they put huge smiles on many kiddos faces and made a small(but for the moment, big) difference in their lives.

Raise Hope. Not only do these shoes provide for the kids in the fact that they don't have shoes and need them, but they don't get gifts often and that gesture alone is a gift to them.  They got to feel special and loved, and they have a brand new pair of shoes as their very own. What's the saying... "they won't remember you for the things you gave them, but for how you made them feel." I think that is a key component to "raising hope" and being a positive influence on these kids. While they will most definitely outgrow these shoes, the feeling that people care about them may last. At the same time, Grenada is full of people, and more importantly children, who live in poverty, and who don’t necessarily have basic things, such as shoes. These shoes were a token of love and provided for some of their basic needs, put a smile on their faces, and maybe in the smallest of ways elevated their hope and comfort, at least for the day. 

Change Society. This doesn't mean we want to come in and change the way these kids and their families are living or force our values and beliefs upon them, but rather I think it is our opportunity to use what we have to help those who have less than us. By sharing our gifts, talents, and time, we can help to make their lives a little better and reach out to them with kindness. It is small acts of kindness such as these shoes that do change society, little by little, child by child.  It's the thought and actions that we all have the ability to do, in some form, that can make a difference and lead to change. 

You don't necessarily need the official title of "Social Worker" or to be officially employed as one to do social work. Social work is helping others and striving to make the world a better and more equal place. It is about reaching out, raising hope, and changing society in every day life through our thoughts and actions. So although we SOs (significant others) may only be in Grenada because of boyfriends, husbands, girlfriends, or wives, and we may not get a paycheck every week, working with these kids quickly becomes something we love doing and a part of our weekly routine.  Since it isn’t a paid job, we don’t need to show up 3 days a week, but we do because we love these kids. I think that is what I love so much about volunteer work. We aren’t driven to help because of money or obligation; we do it because we care.  And we get to give the children wonderful gifts because of others in Grenada or at home, whose hearts have also been touched. I've only been here a couple weeks, and I admire all the hard work and dedication that I see and know was put forth before I came here, and am excited to be a part of that moving forward. There is nothing better than the hugs, smiles, laughter, and happiness of kids. Let alone, kids who don’t have much, and deserve every little bit we can give them. 


Before I came to Grenada this term (and even still from time to time being here) I get looks and questions as to what I am doing here, or the popular joke of "oh, so you are just on a 2 year vacation in the Caribbean?" To answer- yes, I am in Grenada for 2 years, and I am getting to spend a lot of time on the beach, but as someone who went to school for social work, I couldn't ask to be in a better place. These kids need us, and I think what the SO program is doing is amazing. Yes, we are going to continue to be broke for many years to come, but we will get a chance to be employed, slowly pay back Uncle Sam, and make money later on. But for now, we get to play, help with reading and math skills, hug, snuggle, and love on some really special kids who need it. Yeah, I think that beats a paycheck any day. 

Waiting for their surprise and being super excited when they saw all the new shoes in all different colors!

She melts my heart. She is just the sweetest little girl.

Couldn't you just eat these cuties up?

Showin' off all their brand new shoes!!

"Miss, I no cranky butt, you de cranky butt"

Miss Julie asked to see their shoes and this is what they did... so silly! 

SO much love! 

"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart, head, and hands, and then work outward from there."

Who needs water anyways....

Despite all the rain we've had over the past couple weeks we are experiencing our first tastes of the effects of "dry season" in Grenada (or simply having maintenance problems.) Either option is very plausible and the true cause is yet to be determined. Anyways, we have no water. And when I say "no water" I don't just mean low water pressure either, I mean no water. Zero. The good thing is we had been slacking on our two water jugs the past week so I spent 45 minutes running water through the Brita yesterday and refilling them- apparently I have a 6th sense because very soon after that the water was MIA. So at least we have drinking water, but no cleaning dishes, or showering, or flushing the toilet. Basically, we are camping in our house. I told Nick if he needs to go number 2 there is a shovel with his name on it! Okay, I haven't told him that yet, but I intend to. At least it is Thursday so I can hit up the University Club pool for a chlorine shower if necessary right? This is Grenada :)

A few pictures from after finals on Monday and Tuesday

Unwinding after his Parasitology final at University Club

CPM final-check. Time to do the celebratory cliff jump!

Bromance

Nick and Marty wrestling

Term 2 Update

I've shared the wonderful adventures that we've done over the past couple weeks and how much I love Limes and am enjoying the children of Grenada, but lets not forget the reason we are here. Nick is currently a couple weeks into Term 2 of medical school. So far, it appears to be going well, and while he has been studying a lot, it hasn't been as crazy as first term... yet.  He is currently taking 2 classes- parasitology and CPM. They are both 1 credit classes and his finals for them are early next week- so very quick classes.  He is enjoying parasitology and finds it to be very interesting, although a great deal of memorization. He is however, not so much a fan of CPM. I have helped to quiz him on parasitology a couple times, and it's a lot of big words, and gross stuff!! Very interesting though. After these 2 finals he starts the other 4 classes (neuro, genetics, immunology, and physiology) that he will have for the remainder of the term.  So I'm sure with finals looming already and the more intense classes about to start the fun of seeing him for dinner and having him come home before midnight are pretty much over. But, it was great while it lasted, and to be fair, it lasted a couple weeks longer than expected so that was a pleasant surprise! :)

Having him around more definitely helped me to ease into a schedule around here, before having him be super busy and living in the library and dry lab so for that I am extremely thankful.  On Monday and Thursdays SOs are allowed to use the University Club pool, which is conveniently located right down the street. I have only gone once, because I somehow seem to get busy doing other things, but I plan to go at least one day next week! Monday is also the day the SOs volunteer at the Queen Elizabeth orphanage, so I am really looking forward to starting that soon as well.  Then Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays is Limes, and I have recently acquired a babysitting job, so I will be babysitting a couple times during the week and on Saturday mornings.  Other than that, my time is pretty flexible, although, I have a new found appreciation for mothers everywhere in that planning dinners every single night and thinking through meals for the week isn't necessarily all that easy!! So although it would appear that I have a lot of down time here, I have actually discovered I do not have as much as I would have thought. Between cleaning, laundry, cooking meals and grocery store runs (which are a much bigger ordeal here) days seem to pass before I even know what to do with myself!  I haven't let us starve around here yet though, and recently found several new recipes that seem easy enough and I am looking forward to trying out!

Also, not sure why this didn't publish until now... so, in more recent news, his parasitology final is this (Monday) morning and CPM is tomorrow! He seems ready to go today and is ready to rock it out! 

Limes After School Program

Well, we all knew it was coming, and now it is official... my heart has been stolen by the children of Grenada. I love them all already!! Limes is an after school program that was started in 2003 in order to reach out to under-privileged children in the Limes area and SOs still continue to work hard to keep the program going today. Limes is one of the poorest areas in Grenada, so it is an excellent program that really reaches out to children who need a lot of love and support. The SOs meet with the children for "class" 3 days a week to play, help them with homework, work on educational skills (such as reading, writing, math) and to help educate the children on more practical/social skills such as: good health/dental hygiene, appropriate behaviors, etc. Each week there can be between 40-60 children who show up for class, which is a lot of kids all running around. These kids just want/need attention, so the more adults around to give it to them the better! Plus, more volunteers allows us to keep a better eye on them all, which reduces the opportunity they have to get into trouble! If you love children, and are looking for something to do here on the island I definitely recommend you come out and experience the program- the kids will steal your heart with their cuteness!


So my first 2 days working with the program were this week and yeah, as expected, I absolutely love it!!! It was exactly what I needed- to play and to give (and get) lots of hugs from these sweet kids! Also as expected, the kids were rather rambunctious the first day back, and were so excited to see the returning SOs that they knew from previous terms and to meet the new SO volunteers.  There were no planned activities for the first day, rather it was just a fun field day to help get the word out that the program was starting back up and to allow those of us who are new to get to know all the kids a little bit. This led to it being a little chaotic, but in my opinion it was a fun sort of chaotic.  Everywhere you turned there were several kiddos of all ages yelling "miss" "miss" "MISS" which I think is the cutest thing. However, it can definitely be a little overwhelming when you have 3 kids hanging on you, a few doing your hair, and several others asking you questions and wanting to take pictures all at once... but again, I was in my happy place, surrounded by kids voices, giggling, and playing.. so I loved every minute of it. There were only a few fights, and mostly it was play fighting (so although not the kind of play we like to see, overall the kids all got along and behaved pretty well). It is amazing how sweet and friendly the kids are, and how much they so desperately just want attention and love.  They were so excited to see all of us, and even without knowing me, they were ready to play immediately and I was greeted with hugs as soon as we got there. It definitely makes your heart melt.

Oh just wearing a cone on his head..

He thought this was very fancy because he framed my face with his fingers... after he took it he showed it off to all of his buddies... so cute!

One of my favs... I mean seriously, how cute is he!?

She's a sweetheart! "Miss can I please wear da shades?" She was also one of my hairstylists

Playin with the umbrella that doubled as a kite!! haha

Absolutely too much cuteness going on with these girls!!

I.freakin.love. her!!! So little and snuggly! I coulda taken her home with me for sure!! :)

Almost immediately I was grabbed by several girls and told to sit so they could play with my hair. Let me say, that is an adventure. I had all sorts of styles done, and luckily I have a thick scalp because it was only painful a handful times. They kept telling me I looked beautiful and hot, although the pictures I saw after the fact may tell a different story... 

They all worked very well together to make sure my hair turned out perfectly

Oh so fancy!! They put my hair exactly how they wanted it, pushed and pulled my face so that it was just how they wanted and this is the final product... I think we have hairstylists and producers on our hands!

And this is the hairdo that they said made me look hot... oooh yeah, next date night... hehe I love it!

I feel as though I was able to make pretty good rounds with all the kids throughout the first 2 days. The first day I got to  hang out mostly with the older girls, and the second day mostly with the itty bitties- with a sprinkling of silly boys thrown into the mix both days, making both days different and fun! Today, we did some activities to learn their names better, which was really helpful. There are so many of them and I am trying so hard to learn all of their names, but it hasn't been an easy task! I think after today I am doing slightly better though :) Looking forward to tomorrow, when we are celebrating all of the birthdays that have taken place since they had the program last term and the start of this term! Which means of course there will be cake for these crazy kids to enjoy, which is really a special treat for them :)  Ready for more pictures?!

Davis showing off his cartwheel skills!

How cute is this? This is how they steal our hearts so quickly/easily.

This shows the impact SOs can have on these children. Kelsey was an SO here until last term and they all miss her so much!

Cutie-patootie  

Such sillies and possibly a gang sign?? we aren't sure. 

love her <3

Sassy pants :) 

Hair time is so much fun... 

mmm snack! "put da apples in ma drink" what a silly girl

So yes, I know, an extremely long post with probably way too many pictures, but I just could not pick out my favorites from these! They are all just too cute for words and so I felt they all needed to be included! Besides, Limes is going to be a big part of my life while I am here so I am sure these are just the first of many! But seriously, aren't they just the cutest?! They absolutely warm my heart for the 2 hours a day I get to spend with them. Every day with them is a blessing, and it is a true reminder to me every day how fortunate I was growing up and how important it is to cherish all children, to encourage play and imagination, and to model good behavior for all kiddos.

"Children need the freedom and time to play.  Play is not a luxury.  Play is a necessity."

~Kay Redfield Jamison

Hike to Hog Island!

Yesterday, we went on a hike with some friends to hog island, and had an absolute blast! The morning started out with breakfast at our friend's/neighbors Dan and Dana’s, which was awesome and so nice of them! They served us eggs, a yummy cranberry thing, pancakes, and more! Who needs Martha Stewart when we have Dan and Dana right next door?! It was delish and such a fun way to start out the morning. Unfortunately, the weather was not quite cooperating with us, so all throughout breakfast we were debating whether or not to actually proceed with our plan to go hiking or not.  Despite the rain and even with no end in sight (which is weird in Grenada) the overall consensus was to go ahead with the hike, and I am so glad we did! The rain made for a much different, and much more dramatic hike, and I loved it! Poor Lani, was in flip-flops though, so her poor feet got beat up the entire time, but that didn't stop her and she continued through the hike like a trooper, soggy feet and flip-flops and all.  By the end we were all completely water-logged, cold (weird for Grenada) and wanting nothing more than to change into dry clothes and put our feet up! However, just as the end was in sight we lost 3 group members! Somehow, they ended up behind the group so when we all went left- they continued going straight. After running into some not-so-friendly Grenadian men with machetes (scary TIG), they did manage to follow our voices to safety! Whew, talk about excitement! After the hike, poor Nick had to quickly hurry home to shower and head to campus to work the campus bazar, so no break for him :/ I however, made dinner, put my feet up and relaxed! hehe. I did make him a smoothie though for when he got home! :) 

Here are lots of pictures from the day. I just couldn't pick a few because I liked them all so much :) 

Our shoes before the hike. Thanks to the rain, they all looked pretty similar after haha! 

Boats in one of the bays that we could see over the trees during the hike... very pretty!

Group shot on the bridge, about half way to hog island & before we really got pummeled by rain. 

Love this guy a bit <3

It was a pretty intense hike!  

Thought this was a pretty cool picture. Again, a tug boat in one of the bays.

We made it to da beach!

Group shot on hog island, picture thanks to Ashley :) 

A few of the many conch shells we found.  I love them all!

This one still had the little guy inside it! Cool but kinda gross at the same time...

Trying to decide which two I wanted to take home, it was such a hard choice!!

Found my two :) Yep, love love!!

And let the downpour begin...

We had muddy fun :) 

The front runners of the group waiting on the bridge on our way back! Fun picture!

In other news, today, was one of those days where everything just goes right in terms of SGU busing transportation!! Crazy right?! These days are welcomed with open arms because in my experience so far, days like today are not necessarily all that common around here.  For those of us on the island without a car, we rely fully on the SGU buses for transportation (or reggae buses, or wonderful friends with cars) and SGU busses are not always the easiest mode of transportation and it require a great deal of patience.  Today however, all the busses I needed to get to and from IGA were on time!! I made it to the Texico station, ran into CKs bulk food store and bought a few things, caught the Grand Anse bus to IGA, then back to the texico where I walked to the fruit stand and finally caught the Lanse Aux Epines bus home, all  in an hour and 15-20 minutes!! For those on the island, you will appreciate what a feat that is! I was so happy I practically skipped home, grocery bags and all! And, although there was not a ton of stuff at IGA- I was still able to get every single thing on my list! It’s the small things/victories—today was a good day!

Tomorrow, is my first day volunteering with the Limes after school program and I cannot wait!! I feel kid deprived lately as my last day at CHM was a month ago!! Gosh, do I miss those kids and still think about them every day, but I am so excited about this new opportunity I’ve been given. There are so many kids on this island who need lots of love and support, so I am very thankful to be able to be a part of the SO (significant other) organization and able to volunteer. Bring on da kiddies!