Greetings readers. I know it’s been a while since my last post after the roadtrip, but your neighborhood friendly LareDevil is back! I’m not really going to reiterate the last couple of months, but let me just say, they have been simply wonderful. Living at the speed of life as I like to say. Anyhow, I’m gonna try to continue writing about my adventures here in Grenada. If you didn’t already know, I have been away at school, pounding away at a medical degree. Before I left though, I had a blast with friends, family, brothers, and loved ones. Here are few snapshots if you happened to have missed out on the festivities.
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| Boys, Men, Life, Death, Rydiz |
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| Surrounded by Beauty |
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| HOW STRONG??? CHI RHO OMICRON!!! |
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| "Pap Smear" -You had to have been there... |
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Magsama-sama at malakas, magwat-watak at babagsak.
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| Leaving on a jet plane... |
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| East Coast Connection |
Well, I’ve been here on the rock for about a month now. My classmates and I have pretty much gotten accustomed to the area and surroundings. Let me just say though, as soon as we landed, I knew things down here were gonna be different. I stepped out of the plane, directly onto the tarmac, into 80-degree heat…at night! If you have ever been to the PI, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Since I had just left a snowstorm in New York City, I was still wearing long jeans, wool socks, and a hoodie. In an instant, I was sweating in the sticky humidity. Nevertheless, I collected my bags (thankfully none got left behind or lost), and headed out into the unknown of my new Grenadian home.
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| Welcome to the Jungle |
Outside, after about 2 hours of customs and declarations, I was greeted by a slew of taxi drivers and loud reggae music. Luckily, I noticed the SGU student greeters who checked my name on their list and sent me off in a taxi to the dorms in Grand Anse. I surveyed the countryside, looking at the streets and infrastructure of the surrounding area and was instantly transported to my family’s hometown province in the Philippines. This is gonna be just like Pampanga, I thought. Not bad, not bad at all.
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| My backyard |
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| Grand Anse |
Speeding through the logistical stuff, I checked in with my RA and met Stephen, my roommate for the next 4.5 months. We exchanged pleasantries, and got acquainted as I unpacked. I found out that Stephen is from North Carolina, close to the same age as me, a world traveler, a cyclist like myself, and one who loves to cook. Perfect. I knew right from the get go that we would get along just fine. He had arrived a day earlier and filled me in on stuff I had missed from orientation while I unpacked.
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| Dr. Hawk |
The next few days breezed by, as we got oriented with the campus, bus routes, grocery stores, and local culture. On the last day of orientation, rather than sit in a stuffy lecture hall, listening to admin give us a mundane lecture on how to fill in a scantron, Stephen and I, with our new friend, David, decided to let loose and took a taxi to the Capital of Grenada, St. George’s.
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| St. George's University |
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Serio? iPhone4 to this?!?
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| Fort George |
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| Grand Etang Lake |
As we drove through winding road up the coast to St. George’s, about 6 miles away, I took in the beauty of the hilly countryside. On one side, I was treated to the vast blue of the Caribbean Sea and on the other, the lush tropical rainforest. Although I greatly missed home, I was also filled with excitement for what lay before me. Monday would mark the start of a new life and I was anxious to get it under way. Never in my life had I wanted to start school so bad; seemingly, it was like the night before the first day of kindergarten. I was in a new land, with strangers, and maybe even scared, but the hunger for more superseded these feelings. It was time to lubricate the cogs of knowledge. It was time to dig in and stand my ground. Although we were in paradise, i knew what I had to do. During orientation, we were told something which stuck a chord deep within the recesses of my mind, “Do the work, and claim your spot.”
I was ready.
