Operation Grenada Child

As many of my readers know, I was heavily involved in the Limes After School Program during my year in Grenada.  And I think it has become completely obvious to people that I miss the children I worked with terribly.  But in the past week or so, I have had some friends inspire me to continue to try and make a difference in this world as well as remain active in these children's lives, even from a distance. 

I may no longer be in Grenada, but I still have tools in the form of public media and lots of friends and family that have been touched by my journey that I can use to help the Limes kids.  With the help of last terms Significant Other's Organization President Sarah and the current Limes coordinators in Grenada Julie and Laura we came up with the idea of Operation Grenada Child.  Our goal is to get 60 shoeboxes filled with Christmas goodies for these precious children who quite honestly might not receive anything on Christmas day.  In fact, last year I specifically remember asking one child if they were excited for Christmas and Santa and he responded despondently, "Miss, Santa doesn't visit Grenada."

If you've ever read my blog and wondered what you could do to help the Limes program, or if you've wanted to find some type of program that you could help make a difference in, here is your chance.  Please go to THIS  link and sign up to send a child a shoebox full of presents for Christmas.  It's only $20.00, but that $20.00 will go a long way.  All the way to the island of Grenada in fact!

If you don't have time for shopping, or it just isn't your thing, monetary donations will be accepted to help with shipping via a pay pal account on the website.  Or, you can send me a check and I will put a box together for you.  And lastly, if money is tight and you just can't afford to make a box, please pass the word along to your friends and family.  Help us spread the news!  You will be helping to make a significant difference in these children's lives.  And it really can't happen without YOU!

Feeling a bit nostalgic...

...what else is new?

Today, my good SO friend Sarah (whom I've now lived near in 3 different countries) and I went to a restaurant in Redlands called Dhat Island, Caribbean-Creole Cuisine.  Yup, "daht."  We were both aching for a touch of island in our lives and any place with the word "daht" in the name is most definitely islandish. 

The food was great, a lot yummier than some of my island food experiences.  Who knew that seeing plaintains on a menu would make me both happy and sad at the same time? 

It's always nice to have someone around that understands the life you've lived for the past two years as the spouse of a medical student and who's living a similar one now.  Someone who's trying to deal with transitions just like you are.

I don't want to live in the past, I want to seize hold of the here and now.

But of course, I couldn't help coming home from lunch and looking through old pictures of the Limes kids and watching videos of sweet Kyla, sassy Shanika, and silly Miguel.  It's impossible not to miss children that made perhaps the biggest impact on my life thus far.

I'm saving my pennies to go back to Grenada for a visit.  Anybody want to pitch in? :)

Last Day at QE

Monday was a fun day and a sad day at the same time.  Fun, because all the kids got balloons, sunglasses, icecream, and cookies.  But sad, because it's the last time I will see these 13 children for a long time.  Lots of pictures were taken and even more hugs were given.  I think I'll let the pictures show you how the day went.

Oooooo "G"

Back away from my icecream Miss Allison!

"K"

Miss "S" & "S"

Miss Victor, Jessie, and I

Miss Laura and her "K"

Photo by Miss Allison Gray

Photo by Miss Allison Gray



Photo by Miss Allison Gray

I'm going to miss these kids so very much but I feel lucky and blessed that I got to be part of their lives, even for a short time.

Sand Dollars, Star Fish, and Significant Others

I've been trying to soak up every last ounce of "island" life that I can before we leave.  However, the weather apparently hasn't heard that I'm leaving soon and so it's been particularly uncooperative the past few days.  The 7 day forecast says "chance of thunderstorms" every day.  Boo. 

But on Saturday, a few of my best SO buddies headed over to Grand Anse for some fun in the sun.  The water was the clearest I've seen it with hardly any waves, perfect for snorkeling around to look for sea goodies.  And since I'm one of very few of my friends who are willing to dive for sea treasures, I hit the jackpot in "dollars."  Too bad these won't buy me anything!

Thanks to Mrs. Kara Manis for all my beautiful pictures from the day.

I had at least 3 or 4 more, but I accidentally crushed them before making it back to my towel.

And then I came across something I'd never personally found before.  A beautiful orange starfish!

Kelsey would be so proud of me.

Jessie also found a little baby starfish that happened to be missing a leg. Don't fret, I hear they grow back.

Look at that water!

It's not helping me any that Josh is so very excited to be done here in Grenada.  I guess it's not really his fault.  His year here and my year here have been completely different, a tale of two island lives if you will.  While I've been enjoying the sunshine, waterfalls, beaches, pools, and volunteering, Josh has been locked in the house studying.  This year has made me look more like a local, while he is paler than when we got here last June and about 20lbs lighter.  Poor guy, I guess I can't blame him for being ready to leave.  But his eagerness to get off this rock just makes me more depressed.  Maybe he just needs a few weeks away from it to help him appreciate it more.  I on the other hand...don't.  I know how special Grenada is and I don't want to let go.

Turtle Watching

Last weekend, the SO's took our annual trip up to Levera Beach on the Northern side of the island to watch the Leatherback turtles lay eggs.  There were about 25 of us who braved the 2 hour bus ride along windy roads and luckily there were no vomiting episodes.  Although people were popping Dramamine like it was candy along the way. 

A bus full of SO's...and SOMEBODY doesn't look too thrilled to be on it!

The Leatherback Turtle is the 4th largest reptile on the planet behind 3 crocodiles.  It is critically endangered and a research program called OCEAN SPIRITS has made it their job to help keep these beautiful reptiles around.  Grenada is home to one of the largest nesting grounds for Leatherback turtles in the world. When I asked the researcher how many turtles they have come up to nest per season (a season is from April-June) he said on average they have about 900 nests!  Each nest can have about 100-120 eggs but unfortunately only 1 out of 1,000 Leatherback babies will reach adulthood.  No wonder they are critically endangered!  The researchers from all over the world spend almost every night out on Levera Beach counting eggs, tagging Momma turtles, and keeping egg poachers at bay.  Talk about a cool job. 

Of course, we took this trip without knowing for sure if we would actually see a turtle, but we were in luck.  We got to see the whole process of a Momma turtle laying her eggs, covering them up, and making funny swirling things in the sand to ward off predators.  On our way back to the bus, we saw two more turtles coming up onto the sand.  What an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience this was!
**We couldn't use flash photography and only red lights were allowed.  And a special thanks to Laura Conley and Emily Vacek for some of these great photographs!

Big ol' Momma Turtle!

Researcher catching and counting the eggs.

See I was there!

I'm so glad that I got to go.  This is definitely an experience I will never forget.  Do I really have to leave this island in a week and a half?

Spring Fun Run

Two weeks ago, the SO's in conjunction with OSO (Orphanage Student Organization) hosted a Spring 5K Fun Run to raise money for the local orphanges on the island.  It was at 7:30am on a Saturday morning and I think there was some question as to how many SO's and students we would really attract that early in the morning, but it was hugely successful.  We raised almost $2,000.00EC that we then used to buy supplies for both Bel Air Home and Queen Elizabeth Home. 

I hadn't run in a 5K race/run in a long time and even if you run on a regular basis like I do, races always make you push yourself a little harder than normal.  I hope that the SOO/OSO continue to do runs like this every term.  It raised a lot of money and was fairly simple to put on.  And on top of that, it was a lot of fun! We even had a banana run in the race!

And we're off!

Coming in for the win...haha jk.

Some red faced SO's!

Part of the Spring 2012 SO Board

Group shot, including BANANA!

One day at the Midterm Social...

...I almost died.

I actually didn't know how close I came to dying until I saw the pictures. 

But let's set the scene.  Three amazingly tan SO's at the SO midterm social decide to go for a tube ride on beautiful Grand Anse Beach.  The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear.  Julie forgot to take off her perscription sunglasses but we figured the ride would be fairly mild, she could hold them in her hand.  What could possibly go wrong on such a perfect day?

We set out on our tube screaming with glee as we were drug around the Caribbean water.  It was so much fun!

That is until the last few seconds of the ride, when Mr. Boat Driver thought it would be really fun to whip us around right at the end and failed to correctly judge the distance of the tube to the sand.

This picture is titled:  Three Girls Hold on For Dear Life

But don't worry, we didn't flip out backwards.  Although we definitely felt like we were going to!  And Julie somehow managed to hold onto her glasses and stay in the tube.  I think Mr. Boat Driver realized this particular ride was a bit of a close call.  I didn't see him whipping anyone around after that.

Babes and Boats

I spend many of my Saturday mornings at Grand Anse Beach participating in OSO (Orphanage Student Organization) beach days.  Each week they rotate between Queen Elizabeth Home and Bel Air Home and a few weeks ago I was there with the QE kids (I know, I'm a bit behind in my posts).  These are the same kids that the SO's visit on Monday afternoons and I love that we get to see them again every other Saturday for a bit of fun in the sand and sea.

But this specific Saturday was extra special because it was the annual Grenada Workboat Regatta.  It's a good thing I was at Grand Anse Beach for OSO or else I would have competely missed it!  It was such an experience to see all of the boats racing through the water.  It looks like a lot more work than I would have thought and some boats even capsized. They had lots of booths set up with local food and drinks for sale as well as souveniers.  It was definitely worthwhile to check out all the action.

And they're off!

The wind "snapped" the sail and it scared me!

  What I want to know is how I got so lucky that I get to spend my Saturday mornings like this?  :)