Police Station Excitement?

On Saturday we went to the police station so I could get a temporary license to drive in Grenada so that we could rent a car for our island adventure on Sunday. The process itself was very easy although my Michigan license which expires when you turn 25 years old (so for me that will be at the end of June) really confused the police officer working with us. We assured him at least 20 times that we were literally just renting a car for ONE day and are leaving for good on May 18th so if he wanted he could just make the temporary license here in Grenada good until Monday... but this was too common sense and after looking at the calendar and talking to other policemen a lot... I was finally given a Grenadian license that is good until June 22nd ... so I can legally drive our now invisible car until then!

The main story however was not about the issuing of my license, but rather was the fact that our lives could have ended in that police station. Yep, you read that correctly. We could have died.

Okay so maybe I am being slightly dramatic, but here is how the scene unfolded... you be the judge: In order to look at the calendar and check the dates the police officer had to stand up. Thus while debating the dates of my Michigan license he was standing and shifting something in his pants/back pocket. Both Nick and I later agreed that at this point we figured it was his phone. Wrong. He then pulled out his gun! Not in any threatening manner, just simply like it was no.big.deal.  So, whatever we saw that he had his gun but he put it back in his pants and although a bit weird, everything was fine.  But then, as he was writing up my license he pulls it out  again (& again non-threatening, but just in a nonchalant, oh hey I have a gun sort of way) and was literally twirling it around in his hand, fiddling with the safety and I swear at one point it was pointed directly AT ME! When this happened I calmly took a few steps back away from the counter and looked over at Nick to be like "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT!?!?" only to see that he too was taking a few steps back away from the counter with the same astonished look on his face and clearly on the same page as me. All the while the policeman finished writing up my license completely unaware that had his finger slipped he could have shot one of us!

Apparently, gun safety in Grenada is slightly different than that in the States. And waving it around like a toy in front of people is just fine. I can officially cross off "being uncomfortably close to a loaded gun-with the safety off- pointing in my direction" off my bucket list.

TIG.