No one likes a thief

It's hard to believe I have already been home for a little over a week...but then again at the same time, so much has happened that it seems like I left the island weeks ago.  The week since leaving Grenada has been filled with many ups and downs. We have been reminded of how hard distance can be, how fragile life is, and learned the hard way that not all people are nice.

A major stress over the past couple of days has been that Nick's computer was stolen from the 3rd floor of the library last Thursday afternoon. Talk about a horrible time for him and a horrible phone call to get for me. Ugh. There was pure panic, hurt, and frustration in his voice and I was instantly so upset for him and so mad that people really can be that cruel. Really, you are going to steal his computer, from the library, on the Thursday before he takes 6 exams... you are a mean, selfish, and horrible person. We did everything we could to track the computer, and Nick reported it stolen to both SGU Security and the police, however unfortunately so far it's still MIA.  And due to it being finals, we are trying our best to move forward, focus on the time at hand, and he has vowed to rally and still kick major butt on his exams.   Well he is doing that, I still have the iCloud tracker tab open at all times, waiting and clinging to that tiny ounce of hope that the robber will make a wrong move and the computer will pop up with a location... yes, probably unlikely. But, I can hope. Word of advice- never leave computer unattended, even if you think you will be quick and other students will watch it. Computer thefts have gone up recently, and whoever is stealing them is quick and if I had to guess experienced in the stealing business. Grr. It really grinds my gears.

So yes, that's a major bummer, but on the positive side, Nick has seen the outpouring of support from so many people since that happened. One of our friends had both a computer and iPad in Grenada and since she really only uses her iPad she has loaned Nick her computer for the remaining couple weeks of the semester. Talk about a kind and oh so much appreciated gesture. I can't even imagine how much worse this situation could have been if he had been stuck on a tiny island during finals without a computer... gah, nightmare. And like I said, in addition to her act of kindness, he has also received dozens of messages from other classmates (some of which he knows and some he doesn't, or didn't prior to his computer incident) offering to lend him iPads, tablets, help him print off notes, etc.  Honestly, this brings tears to my eyes. Despite being so angry at the person who stole the computer, I am so touched by the kindness of so many others to help my guy hold it together and make it through finals. It is so nice to know (and be reminded) that there are so many kind, and wonderful people out there, especially when you're so mad and think the world is ugly because of one person's greed.

In other news, the main reasons I came home a couple weeks early was to attend my little brother Joey's first communion and for my sister's birthday.  Well my sister's birthday is still a couple days a way, but Joey's first communion was so wonderfully cute.  He was so excited and so proud.  I just love the excitement of little kids making their first communion, and it reminds us that we too should always be that excited and anxious to participate in whatever our church service may be.

I could just eat him up he's so cute! 

The family :) 

J-dawg with all 4 grandparents :) 

Joey with his proud Godparents <3 

My boy!

yayyy siblings, and cousin Sean! Love this one!

2 exams down- 4 to go. He has Genetics and Immunology on Wednesday, physiology on Friday, and an exam to test everything he has learned in his first year of medical school on Monday. So some extra prayers and/or positive thoughts over the next week would definitely be appreciated :) We are both definitely ready for the term to be over and for him to be home!

Limes my loves :)

Yesterday was my last day at Limes until fall. Waaah! Gonna miss those kids so much!! I was hoping to go today as well, but by the time I finished errands and made some food, there was just no way it was going to happen. Not to mention I am trying to finish up everything around the house today so that I can relax tomorrow and for the most part just enjoy my last day here for a couple months.

Anyways, as always, the kids were cute and hilarious and to make it even better everyone was really well behaved... even Miguel one of our more rambunctious kids got a sticker for good behavior!! It was seriously a big day! I knew there was a chance that yesterday would be my last day, so I was just trying to take in as much cuteness as I could, and of course get some pictures of their silly faces - especially the little ones, who I feel are going to grow a ton over the next 2 months and not be so "babyish" when I see them next.  I just want them to stay little FOREVER!!! I asked Jada if she was going to get big while I was gone, and she said "nope." If only that were true. But I know they will always continue to be super cute sillies- just with extra sass and opinions on everything...

I also asked Jada if she wanted to come home with me and she said "yep" and that she was wanted to play in the snow. That would probably be hilarious. These kids know nothing other than heat and Laura, one of the other volunteers said they get super excited over the AC in her car... so I can only imagine their reaction to snow. I told her it wasn't winter so there would probably be no snow in Michigan anyways, but she was not convinced... she said to bring it back as a present. Yeah, we'll see about that Jada girl... how about a necklace instead. 

One heartbreaking but bonding moment was when Tammy was coloring with one of the girls and telling her about how her daughter was going to come and visit because she loves playing with kids. The sweet little girl looks at her and asks "does she even like playing with little black kids?" So precious and cute, but so heartbreaking that even at 8 years old they are aware of the differences and discrepancies in race.  Tammy did an excellent job explaining to her that we love all children and that we don't pay attention to skin color. While explaining this Tammy used crayons as an example pointing out that the white crayon did not match her own skin, and asked her if the black crayon was a perfect match to her own skin. The little girl said no, and this led to further discussion about the topic and how everyone looks a little different and it isn't just black and white. I thought this was a very creative and touching way to explain it and immediately following the explanation the little girl cuddled up to Tammy with a smile on her face. So sweet! How could they not melt our hearts?? Great job Tammy! It's moments like these that really warm my heart.

I will miss them sooo much over the summer, but am thankful I know I get to come back and spend another year with them. I am definitely not ready to leave for good yet, and my heart goes out to the volunteers who are at that point. The SO organization does such great things for these kids and the SO coordinators work so hard to keep it running smoothly. Sadly this semester both of our coordinators are leaving, but I know they will forever be in the hearts of these kids and we see that every day as the kids ask about old teachers who showed them so much love! 

Oh Jada girl.... I need to take her home with me I think. I just love her too much. 

Isn't he so cute? He loves to color, but not  by himself.  

So silly all the time!!! I was so happy to have a smile out of her though... now just gotta work on the eyes open... at the same time... <3 

Yay! Probably the most she's ever cooperated for a picture! She was busy telling me to bring her back lots of "tings" so she must have been trying to butter me up. It worked.  

Need to take her home as well. LOVE THIS FACE! Seriously, it does not get any more cute than this. 

She's so sweet, I can't even stand it. 

Melts my heart. Over and over and over again.  

Skippin' 

I literally laugh every time I look at this picture. What a goofball. 

My boyfriend. Add him to the list that are coming home with me. I can't get enough of him. 

I already can't wait to come back at the end of June and squeeze them!! 

Midterms are done, time for some fun!

Not only did Nick survive midterms, but he absolutely rocked them!! All the long days in the library/study hall, and immunology making him want to bash his head into the desk- paid off, because he did great on all his exams! Needless to say, I am very proud, and enjoyed having him around for the first time in 3 weeks! We celebrated St. Patties Day, lounged at the beach, went to The Owl, and simply relaxed. It was much deserved- and fabulous. 

Friday night while pretty much all of SGU hit up Bananas (a bar located right outside of campus) we hit up The Owl- my personal favorite bar and in my opinion a million times better than Bananas. Anyways, it was dead and we were pretty much the only non locals there.  Fridays there is karaoke, and so the locals were tearing it up-- seriously, they were SO good. Naturally, we had to join in, and literally cleared he few people who were in the bar out... Apparently our 5 person version of Aladdin was less than stellar. Our night was full of adventures, and I'll let Nick's Facebook status tell the rest...  "just to recap tonight... sing aladdin song karaoke at owls with Marty and Chelsea and clear the place out, check; walk 3 miles with Mark having only one sandal on, check; take a grenadian taxi home and have his radiator blow in a back alley, check; smash the whole pizza by myself that Lindsey had me make for her but then she fell asleep, check; all-in-all i'd say tonight was pretty dece..."  


Yes. True Life Grenada. :) 

Saturday was Sandblast, which conveniently fell on the same day as St. Patrick's Day.  St. Patrick's Day however is not celebrated or even that well-known about in Grenada, so many locals were a bit confused by all our green attire, and shamrock get-ups.  When Nick's sister came to visit she brought us TONS of stuff- beads, stickers, buttons, and stick on tattoos, so we were very prepared to celebrate in style, and definitely got our green on! Although it didn't quite feel the same as St. Patrick's Day at home- it was perfect. We hung out on the beach, had some green beer, and the medical school students with their pale skin from living indoors, actually got to enjoy this wonderful island we call home... and most ended up quite sunburned.

Sunday we went snorkeling which was super fun! We went to the little beach by our house, so it wasn't the best snorkeling spot around, but was still fun! Then afterwards we got Prickly Bay pizza which is always so yummy and was such a treat for me because I was simply thrilled to not be cooking!

And of course, there was plenty of cliff action over the weekend. They kept the tradition of jumping immediately following midterms, and then we jumped again when Chelsea was here! Whenever you get to jump the cliff twice in one weekend you know it was a nice relaxing weekend! 

Midterms, midterms, midterms

Midterms are quickly approaching and man will it be nice to have Nick back in a week! The guy has been living in the library/science hall.  The number of hours he puts in studying everyday is seriously amazing, and I am so impressed and proud :) Can't wait for Friday when he can have a weekend off to relax and hang out! Extra prayers as midterm term week approaches are always welcomed and appreciated!

All his hours in the library have left me pretty much riding solo on the island for the past 2 weeks and I have to say it's been a mix between being busy and being bored. I've been to campus a lot more in the past couple weeks because I take Nick his dinner instead of him coming home to save time, so that has added an extra bit of planning and running around to my life, but otherwise...  I really haven't done a whole lot.  The weather here has also been ridiculously rainy so there hasn't been many opportunities to go to the beach or pool, so I've just kinda been hanging out at home. Although, I've been productive, and continue to volunteer, and completed the empathy training program I was working on, I have to say the past 2 weeks were the first few times while here on the island that I have actually felt lazy. I don't think I really have been, but definitely been lacking a bit of stimulation some days, so maybe that is it. 

Bottom line, I am ready to have midterms over so that Nick and my friends are freed from the library. However, as ready as I am to have them done, I'd say they are all about 348985739 times more ready to be done themselves! One week!!!  Oh, and I did splurge and buy Nick Tropicana orange juice for his breakfasts for midterms. It's the small things.

Saturday mornings I babysit the little boy across the street and today we spent time wandering around Grand Anse.  The intention was for him to go to soccer practice with a friend, but he is in a new phase where he has been getting rather shy around people he doesn't know so once we got there he was all of a sudden "too tired to play soccer today" but was sure to assure me that he is "really fast." I think he was legitimately torn about whether to join in or not, but no amount of encouraging him to play worked, so instead we watched a couple of the drills, then decided to just wander around, and stop for a break and get a chocolate chip muffin :) Here are some pictures of our morning :)

The cow we passed walking to get our muffin. No  big deal. He was thirsty. 

He was 100% covered in sand within like 2 minutes... love it! Nothin' like some sand for a little bit of fun!

A little update on what's keeping us busy these days...

I was recently asked if I could put together information on empathy training for kids for one of the nearby Montessori schools, and was very quick to jump at the opportunity.  I am really excited to put together a fun little "program" for kids that will help them explore/better understand their own feelings, the feelings of others, as well as highlight similarities and differences among them in order to help them build the skills necessary to be empathetic as well as to learn to be more understanding and compassionate.

The fun thing about working with kids is that simply talking to them about "empathy" and what it means to be empathetic, would be pretty boring and pointless to them. After a minute or so they'd lose interest and be off doing who knows what. So instead I've found several really fun and engaging activities that will do the job much better than a long-winded speech ever could :) 

This has been my main project the past couple of days so I am really looking forward to either passing along the program curriculum or presenting the training myself soon! Even though they are young kids and I am not sure I will be able to use a powerpoint presentation here, I've started to make one up (a short one) mostly to organize my thoughts and help with the sequencing of activities, but figure it is also a good way to potentially be able to use it again in the future right?? And, lets be honest... it doesn't hurt that it's a good resume builder either! 

Nick update- with mid-terms quickly approaching Nick has been putting in long hours on campus studying. And when I say long, I seriously mean long! He leaves around 7:20 am every day and gets home a little after midnight. Nothin' like a 15 + hour day on campus eh??

Stumbled across this picture in Nick's tagged pictures and thought it was pretty awesome! Thanks for the picture Kelsey!  I'm assuming this is on a study break one day... not a bad way to unwind for a bit eh?

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!