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GSPCA Hash – AKA We Had a Dog for a Day

Our "Family"

Our 3 piece family for the day

Saturday on a seeming whim Tyler and I decided to go hashing. Our decision was based 100% on the fact that it was the GSPCA hash so the shelter would let you walk a puppy if you wanted. Needless to say I made sure we got there like an hour early just to be sure I would get a dog. I am dying without a constant influx of puppy affection and I probably bring it up in conversation at least 3 times a day.

We just barely got there in time before the available dogs were handed out, but luckily I did. I chose a spunky, skinny little rascal whose name was Thor. We bonded with little Thor and we are basically in love with him now. He was particularly fond of Tyler and started getting extremely upset if he walked away while we were waiting for the hash to start. Thor had a sad story as he was apparently tied to a tree and left to die and was rescued by the shelter. He had a bad infection and was finally on the mend and allowed to socialize. He was a skinny little dude, but he was so sweet. He was so excited to get out and about. I was afraid he would be a puller and he would make me run the whole hash, but he did well. After he got out some of that extra energy and decided that half-strangling himself by pulling on the leash wasn’t as fun as walking with us he was much easier. He had a blast. I think we basically gave him the best day of his life.

Thor

He won my heart

The hash this week was an around-town hash. The last hash Tyler and I went on was quite perilous and I seriously almost died. I guess that is what we got for deciding to do the “iron-man” finish. So we assumed that an around-the-town hash might be bit more mellow with less jungle traversing, stream crossing craziness. Of course this was silly to think and even though it was just round St. Georges I don’t think I have ever walked up so many stairs or steep hills in my life. We were so proud of Thor though for making it the whole 4 miles. Some of the other shelter dogs had to be carried. Not Thor, he was still charging uphill all the way to the end. I could have sworn he tongue would fly out of his mouth, but I think he was just so happy.

It was a fun, relaxing day. The GSPCA said the dogs loved it so much they are looking for people to take the dogs out for a day for walks and beachtime now. Hopefully we might get to play with Thor again then! 🙂

Here are some more pics we captured from our day out!

Thor and I He liked kisses Tyler walking Thor Thor and I - bliss!
Inside Fort George Hashing View What Studs!!
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Praises

Our car is alive! Huzzah!!

The prayers seem to have worked and it is fixed. Changing the filters and fluid seems to have corrected the lack of shifting and the over-reving it was doing and the general part where is sounded like it was going to explode It is driving just like it used to.

Not sure how all of that is possible, but we are so excited! Thanks for the prayers. The Children Are Not Well is back to its normal level of wellness.

Lets hope it passes inspection later this month and then we can sell it on to its next owner.

Hallelujah!

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The not-so Silver Lining

There are moments when living here just gets so frustrating.

When I am studying and trying desperately to load some Wikipedia pages and the school’s internet just won’t do it.

When the car decides to not shift in reverse and I am trapped on campus waiting 30 minutes for a bus when all I wanted to do was go home and collapse.

When that mosquito will not stop buzzing in my ear and I can’t for the life of me seem to catch it.

The sound of the tape that is kinda-sorta covering the holes chewed by the mouse in our window screens flapping in the wind reminding me that after 2 months, they are still not fixed. Although they said they came and measured, so I guess that is good.

When the toilet wont flush because the tank doesn’t refill for some odd reason. Or the shower has no water pressure.

When it is so hot outside and so cold inside that I just want to place duct tape over all the airconditioning vents in the room so I can sit comfortably.

Sometimes I want to count down until May 30th and I feel like then I won’t have to deal with this kind of stuff anymore. We try so hard not to complain about here, we do. We want to make the best of the situation and remember we live in the Caribbean and paradise and all that. But sometimes I just want water pressure, and intact window screens, and an absence of mosquitos and internet that can load a webpage.

Tyler always says everyone awe’s over the beautiful picture of the African landscape but the reality is is smells like garbage. These little things, they are the garbage smell to our Caribbean life.

Pray for our patience and our car, our poor, poor car.

Update: The window screens were fixed, but the repair man shattered the window so now we need new glass (um, how does that even happen…good question) and the car’s transmission needs replaced. No Bueno.

Update 2: Tyler had the transmission fluid drained and the filter replaced on Friday and after a day passed, it started working properly again. Please keep praying!

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When a Picture is Worth 1000 Words

I don’t need to say much about the visit with Tyler’s family this past week as we have just one picture that says it all. We loves seeing them again, Tyler is ecstatic to have a new infusion of TJs gluten free pasta, and we are both sportting some new tan lines that prove we do actually live in a sunny country. Miss you already guys.

Our Crazy Family
BTW – we are down to 2 months and 1 week until school is done! Crazy!

 

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That One Time I Ditched Pathophys Studying to Eat Dinner on a Boat

View from the boatWell, the title pretty much says it all. But, Friday last week my brain declared that it had had enough of school, studying, first aid charts, etc. It went on strike and left my body alone in the library unable to concentrate.

Solution – throw caution to the wind, ditch my school work and responsibilities, and go on an impossibly fun date with my hubby.

A few bays over is a boating marina, Le Phare Bleu,  that is actually quite cute and really nice compared to much of Grenada. It was much larger than I expected, I think that was most of it. I can see why the rich boaters spend a lot of time there. But, they have a boat that they serve dinner on a few nights a week and Tyler and I had placed it on our short list of places we wanted to try out before leaving Grenada. Due to a wrong turn, we missed seeing the peak of the gorgeous sunset over the water, but it was still amazing. The place is all light with twinkly Christmas lights, the dinner was amazing, and the atmosphere quaint and quiet. After a slow dinner of drinks, dinner, the most amazing dessert – our spirits and minds were relaxed and refreshed. And, I had a supremely productive Saturday of working 8am to about midnight so I would say I more than made up for my break. Sometimes, taking time off is the most productive thing to do!

My handsome manLove this guy

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Lobster Night

BoatOur daily life here in Grenada is quite uneventful and predictable. We tend to eat all 3 meals within a half-hour of each other everyday, I methodically switch out my study hall scarf every three days to avoid looking like I wear the same thing everyday, and I haul around the same book everywhere I go. In fact, me and my First Aid have become joined at the hip. And it is slowly becoming lovingly color-coded to perfection! Usually the only variable in our day-to-day life is whether we will watch 1 episode of Big Bang or be crazy and watch two.

We tend to feel bad we don’t share more updates, but then we remember we don’t do much. No worries, this is not a sad thing so much as a reality thing. With exams less than a week away (gasp!) we are more hermit-like than usual. I have staked out my seat in the library (although someone clearly forgot that was my spot tonight and I am currently relegated to a corner I only travel to in last resort).

But, a couple weekends ago, we were cool and exciting. We decided that a night off from study halls, AC, and home-cooking was in order and we decided it was Lobster night. Lobster season here is a magical time and even the most pricey restaurants here are still quite affordable when compared to what you might spend in the US. And lobster is gluten free, Tyler’s major selling point. So we went to one of our favorite lesser-known restaurants for a sunset beach walk, some lobster and rum punch. And because ending the night at like 8:30 always causes a bit of a complex we even went and grabbed dessert at one of the big, fancy resort hotels and sat on the beach for a bit admiring the stars. Relaxation at its finest if you ask me.

In other news, Tyler’s parents and sister come a week from Friday so we will be getting to spend some time with them. And I think Tyler is hoping for a restock on the TJs gfree pasta he loves so much. We have picked out some of our favorite new dishes I make for a couple dinners in and are praying the grocery store might actually stock the ingredients I need. All-in-all it will be fun to see them and will hopefully give us an excuse to sit on the beach and get a little sunshine. Although I might have to invite Mr. First Aid – USMLE is less than 5 months away.

Here are some pictures, because we know they are way better than whatever I have to say.  🙂

 

Me

Us

 

Cake

My incredibly colorful dessert.

 

 

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Sir Barnaby Was Born!!

Sir Barnaby (Left) and his baby sister

Sir Barnaby (Left) and his baby sister

Jan 31st, 2013 was a big day in the little Paulson Home. We became kinda parents to our sponsored goat kid! We are so excited and think he is absolutely adorable.

Not sure what we are talking about? Well a while ago we posted about The Grenada Goat Diary which was on Kickstarter. We were glad to support them when we heard about the program. Since the Goat Dairy is closely linked with one of my favorite places on the island, Belmont Estate, which we have written about many times and Tyler and I are also in love with the Goat Dairy’s cheese, we were very excited to see them expanding what they do. With my brand new food blog almost up and running I will even get to share some of my creations! But more on that later.

We are hoping that since we are living on the island that we might be able to go meet Barnaby. I am convinced that it would be way more fun to see him while he is still small. Hopefully soon!

So that is the newest “big” news over here in our tiny Caribbean paradise. We sponsored a baby goat kid. And yes, I totally picked out that name and think it is awesome!

Here are some more pictures!

Barnaby's mom, Cherry, and what we think is Barnaby's sister.

Barnaby’s mom, Cherry, and what we think is Barnaby’s sister.

 

Sir Barnaby getting ready to go to his new home.

Sir Barnaby getting ready to go to his new home. Isn’t he adorable!?!?!

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We Need a Bush Bath

I think the world is out to get poor Tyler and I. It would appear that something does not want us to be productive and/or to feel well.

My eyes have been giving me a lot of trouble. I don’t know if my new prescription is just not correct or if it is a light thing or reading too much on the computer. It seems to be worse reading up close, but I have been noticing a lot of eye strain and things seeming very blurry. I am considering seeing if there is an optometrist here who could actually see me and be helpful. I have the opportunity to be able to order glasses online that could be brought down with Tyler’s parents in March if I can figure out what is wrong.

I have also been having a lot of migraine headaches – like I had one everyday for a week. This is another thing that I was not anticipating getting so much worse so suddenly and randomly. Lets hope this trend ends soon.

And poor Tyler’s tummy has been acting up recently. We think it is nothing more than maybe a normal stomach bug as we are fairly certain he has had no gluten, but we are always on the look-out for when the possibility of food contamination might actually turn into a thing that affects him. Lets hope it is just a garden variety stomach thing and will pass and won’t actually be anything important.

All in all, I have been saying a lot lately that “today is not my day.” My friend today told me I needed a bush bath to get the bad mojo out.

So, prayers for healing and protection would be greatly appreciated. While they are all minor things, they can really damper a day and a mood which makes leading busy lives all that much harder.

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So I Suppose This is When Things Get Real

Alright, so this is one of those posts about school.

Mostly because I keep having the following thoughts like 5 million times a day….

“Holy Moly, I am in 5th term!”

“Wait, I actually survived 4th term?”

“Crap, I have to go to the hospital and know stuff” (p.s. I do know stuff, promise!)

“Oh, Boards…yea lets not think too hard about that one”

“Oh my gosh, we leave Grenada in like 4 months!”

Anyways, the point is – time is flying! It is hard to believe the classroom part of this whole adventure of med school is ending. We are quickly approaching all of the exciting hands-on learning. And in like a year from now I will be researching residency slots and filling out apps and starting to gear up for interviews! While the thought of another round of interviews and applications makes me slightly nauseous and our bank account weep a little, it is still crazy that we are flying through this life stage rapidly barreling towards the next.

The first wake-up call came in the form of an email greeting.

Um, Yea

Yep, that says Doctor. I mean, it is technically premature since I don’t exactly have a degree, but that is clearly not the point. Now this also represents the stupid application for my Board exam (USMLE Step 1) I take this summer which will only be THE most important exam I ever take in my life!!!! No pressure!

Anyways, all of that is to say that I think I am getting excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel showing its (while very dim) head reminding me that there is in fact an end.

This past Wednesday was my first rotation here in Grenada at the hospital. I landed myself in Orthopedics. We spent the morning with an orthopedic surgeon doing post-op visits and examinations. Not only was our first patient awesome (6 weeks post major vehicular trauma with some x-rays that even made my skin crawl) but it was great to be thrown in an exam room with a patient and left to put to good use all that we have been learning and practicing. We still have a lot to learn, but real patients are SO much better than fake patients and textbooks.

This should be an exciting term ahead. Hard, exhausting, but exciting. It is nice to be rounding the final stretch, the downhill coat to the finish line of what I am calling Med School, Part 1.

As always, be praying for us as we spend yet another few months being ridiculously busy and exhausted. But also be prayerful and thankful as we finish this life adventure and move on to a new one.

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First Weekend Adventures

Since we felt like we didn’t get much time to spend together and unwind – a vacation from our vacation as it were – we decided to set aside the first weekend. Tyler was coming off deadline and school was real slow so it worked perfect.

We decided to head up to one of the plantations in St. David which is one parish north of us. It is a very quiet part of the Island and away from everything busy and touristy. We had a delicious lunch in a tree-top balcony overlooking the bay and finished it with the most amazing chocolate dessert ever! We are still dreaming about it.

After our lunch we ended up going exploring at 2 of the local old forts, Fort Matthew and Fort Frederick. I left my camera battery on the charger, so I took some photos with my phone. They are therefore crappy, but maybe you can get a sense of some of the views. The Forts in Grenada have quite a history and the guides that walked around with us had a lot to say. I think they are always taken aback that we are not tourists and spend a lot of time thanking us for coming to the island and we have to remind them that we live here. But that is okay. Nevertheless, we got to walk through some underground tunnels that used to connect the entire Fort system. They are largely impassable now so we were only in a small part, but it was still neat. After our Fort adventure we stopped by Port Louis marina for some sunset drinks on our way home.

Here are a few of the photos!

Fort Matthew The View
These signs are just too funny! View at Port Louis

After our relaxing lunch and fun adventures we came home to enjoy a little homemade gfree pizza night. Using some pizza dough mix we brought back from the states we concocted some delicious pizzas. Tyler was so happy to have his favorite food! I found some good and easy recipes to try on my own once we are back to grocery stores with large and reliable stock, but these will certainly do for now!

That about sums up our weekend. Since then it has been a slow roll back into the swing of things and exams are way too quickly approaching so it is med school madness again in the Paulson home.

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Back into the Swing of Things

So I blame the delay of posting on Tyler, I really do. I really wanted him to post a recap of his trip to Africa, but alas he has not found the time. Maybe in the next few months one might pop up.

We are back in Grenada after a fun but exhausting 3 weeks in California. We are both so exhausted. I think the trip broke us, we just cannot keep our eyes open. We slept almost the entire day on Thursday after we landed and have been taking way too many 3 hour naps since then. Lets hope I can snap out of it as classes begin tomorrow and I need to return to some sort of normalcy.

Our trip to the States was fun and I sadly did not take very many pictures.  I am actually shocked as I was so excited to use my cool new GPS camera to tag all the pictures, and then I didn’t even take one picture while we were snowboarding in Colorado. I know, I should be ashamed. It was beautiful and cold! We enjoyed spending some holiday/vacation time with a good majority of the family on my side and Tyler’s immediate family too!

One specific fun thing was we did go visit the the Ronald Reagan Museum while we were in Simi Valley for Tyler’s birthday. He really wanted to go. I had been several time before during school, but it was cool to see the Air force 1 which was new and this really cool Disney exhibit that was visiting there.

A piece of the Berlin Wall Air Force One Sketch of Disneyland Love!
Jack Sparrow Pirates Black Pearl Old Posters Rock

I did also manage to bring back a few family pics and some of Tyler and I’s adorable niece, Samantha. She is getting so big and so cute and she definitely loves Auntie Stef. Plus I totally taught her how to wave while we were there – so adorable.

Anyways, since I have nothing interesting to say, you can look at these pictures instead!

 

Slater's 50/50

Tyler about to attack his 50% ground beef, 50% ground bacon gfree burger.

 

Me and Sam

Samantha and I

 

Us and Sam

Us with our niece

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Brief Update – Term 4 Madness

I have been a student for a long time. First there was 7 years of elementary school, 2 years of junior high, 4 years of high school, 4 years of college, and now we are just over 1 year into med school and I don’t think I have ever worked so hard or been so busy in my life. And trust me, that is saying something! I have remarkable capabilities for being busy. I have been likening Term 4 to a perpetual state of drowning. I feel like I am drowning and I am just hoping I will be alive by the time the Term ends in December.

I feel like I have always worked a lot since starting school here, but the amount of material we are supposed to master in a week is unfathomable. And quite frankly my brain is rebelling. I am hoping now that the requisite term sickness is out of the way (even if it did plaque me the 2 weeks leading up to exams and during exams) I am hoping that maybe, little by little, I will feel more on top of things and hopefully this next set of exams will go better than the last ones (please no illnesses) and I will have enough energy to keep going until December.

Its been even more tough with Tyler being gone. He is a breath of fresh air to my soul most days, and usually my only contact with a non-med student for weeks on in which is so needed. We all like in this work-filled bubble and sometimes I need him to remind me there is a world outside of the library. And he washes dishes – I hate washing dishes and hate even more having to take the time to do it now.

But Tyler, from what little communication we have had, seems to be doing well and I am so excited for the things he is doing. Its kinda like my heart is divided. I selfishly want him here to keep me company and entertained in my down time, but really want him to go. As he said, he is serving as an ambassador for our family and I am just as much represented in his efforts and he is.

With any luck maybe he will get a chance to post a little more soon. Things should be slowing down and returning to normal and he will get more into a pace of working. If not, I know he will at least have a large follow-up post to write once he gets back.

That’s all for now. Please keep praying for endurance through what feels like an impossible term. And that maybe I will find some time for a little more sleep.

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I’m on my way to Africa!

Most of the you far away probably haven’t heard yet, but I’m on my way to Africa! Right now I’m on a jet plane floating somewhere above the Libyan dessert on my way to Nairobi, Kenya. Tomorrow I’ll be flying to Juba, South Sudan and then making my way up to Tonj.

I’m going to be spending the next three weeks here helping out my friends Sabet and Suzy Kuj. The first class of their 3-year discipleship training program is graduating this week – and I’m so happy to be here to celebrate with them!

I’ll be taking my camera everywhere with me, documenting how life in Tonj has changed and how In Deed And Truth has grown over the last two years. I’ll also be working with the Kujs and Jeamette Lock, their stateside coordinator, to chart out the next year of designs for their website, printed materials and fundraising events so they can more fully communicate the work they’re doing to their supporters all around the world.

And since this is South Sudan, probably a bunch of other unexpected stuff too.

I’m excited to return to Africa for so many reasons, this continent has a mysterious way of drawing one back; but mostly, I’m just excited to see a bunch of people I love and care for so much face-to-face. As months go by, the people you serve with can become chat bubbles and email threads and the ones you’re truly doing this for can become faces in a photograph instead of a handshake and a smile.

Some ways you can be praying:

  1. That I would be filled foremost with the Sprit, and with love for everyone I interact with, especially those whom I don’t share a common language with, and that the Spirit would guide my creativity as I seek to make things that tangibly bless the ministry and further His Kingdom.
  2. For the pastors who are graduating, that the Spirit would be upon them as they go out to start or continue the work at churches across South Sudan.
  3. For my health, thanks to a well timed red-eye to London I feel very well adjusted to the time change already, but I have a propensity to attract stomach bugs and, admittedly a bit selfishly, would prefer to not be puking my guts out during my limited time here.
  4. For Stefanie, she’s in the middle of some of her most work-heavy weeks in all of med school right now, that God would sustain her in my absence and remind her of much I love her when I’m not there to.
  5. For my employers, I’m so incredibly grateful to work for two guys who not only personally believe in the what I’m doing, but are also willing to give their designer three weeks off in the middle of fall to go do it.

The desert had started to fade into jungle below me, I think we’re getting close…

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Post-Exam Fun

So Term 4 is a beast! An unruly, nearly untameable, beast. So when our first of 3 exam weeks (yes, 3!) finished last week Tyler and I tried to make the best of it. We dearly wanted to go to my favorite place on the island, Belmont, but they are always closed on Saturdays. So instead we decided to check a few more places to see off the ol’ bucket list and headed out to the River Antoine Rum Distillery and to the Old Pearl’s Airport. Since we would be driving all the way up to practically the north of the Island anyway, we made it a round trip and had lunch in Sauteurs and then drove back down the Caribbean side.

Pearls Airport

Pearls Aiport

We attempted to go to the Rivers first, but while trying to find the correct turn-off we actually happened upon the old airport. Which was nice since we didn’t know how to get to the old airport anyways. Way back when the school first opened, the airport was actually located fairly close to Grenville, which if you look at a map is quite far away from where we live (you may reference map on the side of the screen). So students used to have to take a bus or taxi the one hour plus drive to get to True Blue. Of course, as travel to Grenada has gone up a new airport was needed, built, and is now the “huge” airport that it is.

But, the old airport still has some old planes, the real reason for wanting to go and check it out. It was actually really cool. They are just there, becoming part of the landscape. No idea why they have been just left there, but one of them we almost didn’t even see since the brush has grown completely through it and around it.Cows

Me unsuccessfully trying to lure the cows

Unsuccessfully trying to feed the cows

I personally was enamored by all of the cows just grazing in the grass, but that is just a ‘me’ thing. I was so sad when I couldn’t get the little babies to let me come pet them. Not even when I tempted them with grass. It was neat to see the old, decaying planes though. I was originally hoping we would be passing by the airport around sunset time hoping to just take a ton of photos, and we could play with all the fun settings on my new camera and Ty and I could even take some photos of us, but as it was high noon and bright, that didn’t quite happen. But I still got a few good ones worth sharing.

Large Jet Wing Small Plane Plane growing foliage
Tyler and the plane Goats Back of the Jet Driving on the runway pretending to fly

After our little airport detour, we got back on the road and headed up to Rivers – we did eventually find the correct turn.

A beautiful church we passed on the drive

A beautiful church we passed on the drive.

RiversRiver Antoine is like the oldest rum distillery on the island, and we are pretty sure the oldest in the Caribbean. They use a large water wheel to power much of what they do which is just so neat. And it is certified organic! Believe it or not, they make around 100,000 bottles or rum that are sold only in Grenada a year! The population of Grenada is only about 100,000 people, and this is the smallest of 3 rum distilleries on the island and they are still making enough for 1 bottler per man, woman and child. Crazy!

We got to take a short tour of the facility and see how the make the rum, the way it is all piped around underground, and how it is fermented. Rivers only makes the overproof rum with their ‘weak’ stuff still being 69%. That is the lowest alcohol content that can legally be imported into the U.S. Their normal strength stuff is 79% which is the lowest that is legally allowed to be flown due to flammability concerns. The Carriacou rum distillery makes their rum at 89% which is just insane! And all of it is drank on that island too because it can only be transported somewhere else by boat.

But anyways, it was neat. We even got a sample. HAHA. The rum itself actually has a nice flavor for white rum, but lets just say that we will be using half of what we normally would every time we put it in our punch.

Rivers factory The water wheel Fermenting Rum Rivers Rum

After our tour we were ready for lunch so we headed up to Sauteurs to this little restaurant owned by this British couple. A delicious lunch while overlooking the northern shores and some of Grenada’s cays made us feel refreshed and relaxed.

Then it was time to embark upon the journey home. This roadtrip around the country we came prepared with a Relevant podcast to listen to, one our favorite driving activities and then of course and excellent CD. With all the windows and down and music blaring, driving along the windy coastal roads is just so much fun! Our little clown car loves it too, we think he is sad he only drives from our house to school most days.

Road 1 Road 2 Road 3 Road 4

MarinaWe did actually make one last small detour on our way home. We really wanted to check our Port Louis Marina as we keep saying we will go, but never do. Sadly, I think for off-season most of the stuff was closed down for renovations for the impending busy tourist season. So we really just walked around a bit and took some pictures. But that is okay, we will have to come again. We have heard rumors of a coffee shop. But it is so nice and right on the water overlooking the Carrenage and St. George’s so it would be a perfect spot to do lunch one day too!

Us

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Grenada Goat Dairy on Kickstarter

So one of Stefanie and I’s favorite things to do when we get some free time is to drive out into the more rural parts of the island and spend the day there. Our favorite stop is Belmont Estate in St. Patrick, we’re their biggest fans and we’ve been so many times they don’t even make us pay to go on the tour anymore. We’ve written about it a few times, it’s home to the plantation that grows the chocolate for the Grenada Chocolate company.

It’s also the home to the Grenada Goat Dairy’s main processing facility. Their cheese is a main ingredient in Stefanie’s delicious and almost 100% local sweet potato soup that I’m sure she’ll be sharing with you all after the fourth term craziness calms down. Grenada Goat Dairy is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to expand and build a interactive goat dairy at a primary school in rural Grenada, so if you’d like to support the development of some local farming here in Grenada, head on over, they’re offering some pretty cool rewards for backers both local and abroad.

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So Tyler’s defective… (I promise he called himself that)

I know, I know. I promised to finally post those backlogged posts from summer – I promise I want to but Term 4 is being mean to me already. But I at least got the pictures on my computer and have sorted through them. Okay, this week/weekend I will totally get on that.

But on other notes, I figure some updates on the Paulson life would suffice for now. Tyler first. We have postulated that he might be gluten intolerant. He has been feeling pretty bad the last month or so, and as he has told me over the last week he feels like he has been feeling off for the last year and half or so. So as with any and all persistent, non-illness related GI things the first thing any good doctor (or med student) thinks is gluten. Okay, that last part is a lie mostly because gluten intolerance/sensitivity/Celiacs is like REALLY hard to diagnose and many people get really frustrated by that. But I am new to the game so I can be on the lookout. But anyways, my first guess is gluten. It is a secret destroyer of people’s intestines. So poor Tyler has been put on a temporary gluten-free diet while we try and determine if that helps. I feel like if he suddenly decides in a couple weeks he feels better, we can feel pretty sure we found the culprit. If not, well, we will move on to theory B.

So that means for now we are on a strict diet. That also means I have to cook like every meal. Grenada is not going to be GFree friendly like back home could be. Restaurants are too risky, especially since he needs to be extra strict so we can feel confident on deciding if there is an association or not. So I have been reading food labels, buying ridiculously priced pasta made of rice, and feeding Tyler tons of veggies! I even made him gluten free chocolate chip pancakes – because I am nice like that. It is way too early to tell if it is working. He thinks he feels better, but I am wary of placebo effects and the like.

Me on the other hand, just life moving in to high-speed mode. And for whatever reason my neck/shoulder area that I have had troubles with forever has come back into being really annoying. I got the problem mostly better with my strict use of bookstands and appropriate posture/reading angles. But alas, pain has returned. Today I even got a massage after class because it was so bad and I was hoping that something would give me some relief for the week. We will hope this is a temporary thing.

So I guess prayers are appreciated for us both. Me for pain relief and Tyler for, well, relief in general. I personally feel like if gluten is it, at least we will have solved the problem. Tyler’s love for bread and pasta and all things gluten-y-goodness might hope otherwise. But I think we can make do. I do love to learn how to bake new things.

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Past 6 weeks in Review

Wow – I can’t believe how bad I have gotten about blogging. You would think considering I had way more free time during the last term I would have blogged more, but I guess our life just felt too boring. Or I took too many naps – I am choosing not to say which one.

The last 6 weeks have been a whirlwind of stuff really. Another term at SGU completed. Another class passed, another step closer to my M.D. Today was the start of Term 4, arguably the hardest term and I have been in a way looking forward to it and in a way dreading it. I mean the workload and that looming 13 credit class are terrifying, but there is always this “right of passage” feeling to hard things. Plus this is supposed to be the real start of learning all of the really cool stuff that you use all the time as a doctor. Sure I have learned a lot, but now we get all of the stuff we need to know to diagnose people and treat people – real medicine stuff.

The last 6 weeks have mainly consisted of one very rushed trip back to Cali for a friends wedding. While the wedding was a blast, it was quite stressful and exhausting and left me really behind in school. But I will say worth it. Then it seemed like midterms came and went and then Tyler’s whole family came to visit. We spent so much time hanging out with them, having them over for dinner, lounging on the beach with them, and of course trying to watch the Olympic games but failing (long story). We were sad to see them leave as we always are. We love when people come visit, gives us an excuse like we are on vacation but we still get to sleep in our own bed. Plus, I wanted to steal the fridge from their hotel room so bad I might have to organize a night heist at some point. They apparently make a whole line of retro appliances that I now definitely want for our future home. I will totally make it work with our modern, eclectic, indie chic style vibes. I may have to smash our fridge with a bat so it “breaks” so I can buy one.

Anyways, enough about that. Pretty much after Ty’s family left it was time for us both to get back to work and catch up and then finals came and the term was over. I swear, 6 weeks have never gone by so fast!

I also got older. A whole year older. My birthday fell sadly on the day before our final, so I studied most of the day. So I declared Friday my birthday Part 2 and did all the requisite celebrating. Massage, made cookies, and went out with friends. Tyler and my dear friend Kelsie put it all together and we had a great night with some of out closest friends here in Grenada. Not a bad night!

The gang.

The whole group at my birthday dinner!

With Kelsie and Tyler - two of my favorite people on earth!

With Kelsie and Tyler - two of my favorite people on earth!

That basically sums up most of the last 6 weeks. Stay tuned for some “belated posts” that were left half-written on our blog for too long but include photos and stories from too many fun adventures to pass on posting.

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Hashing – Round Two

It was a nice and simple hash. Mellow, just a long walk along the  road.

Then we reached the split point for the iron man finish. We asked, unsure. They said it was shorter. Fun, adventurous, not too hard. We believed them. Off we travelled.

At first it was jumping over rocks and walking through actual bush.

Then came the steep hills.

We slid down muddy slopes on our butts, trying to avoid the trees.

Then I almost died while trying to hope across a ledge.

almost dying

Post almost dying and the man who caught me standing behind me.

Then more slidding.

Then the river – it seemed we kept traversing and traversing this stream. We wished for bathing suits instead of hiking clothes. Why did we not come prepared for a swim?

It was harrowing, that is for sure. I think we might think twice about the next time we see an iron man finish.

Major plus side though – we finally tried Oil Down (the national dish) for the first time and it was delish!

Rum Shop View Getting Wet Ty
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Why is it so hot?

Tyler and I were hanging in the apartment the other day and I was sitting on the edge of the bed and he placed his hand on my back and then pulled his arm away. It was because my back was literally wet with sweat. Then the other day Tyler and I were sitting at the kitchen table and we both were noticing seat literally running down us. I ended up switching into a sports top to wear less fabric while I was cooking and change before we left to meet our friends later that day. What do these stories say – it is HOT!

In Grenada, we need the rain. When the rain leaves it just gets hot. I mean we now are in the warmer months where the heat index rises, but we are supposed to get rain to cool us off. But not lately. It seemed there for a bit it was raining all the time, but now not so much. I mean it feels odd to watering my potted plants almost daily because the sky isn’t helping me out at all. But on the plus side, they are growing like weeds. The mint plant has sprouted two babies and the basil plant is as strong and tall as ever. We will be drinking summer mojitos in no time!

Anyways, thats my little blurb for the day. Ta Ta.

 

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Where Are We?

As the final installment in the blogging about all the glorious adventures of Trinidad (read more here, here and here) I want to host a segment called where are we. As there is generally a lot of contention among the students at SGU who are trying to gage how great Trinidad is. I mean is it like Grenada but just a little further south? Or is is better? Of course the Trinidadian students here rave that Trinidad is the best country ever…but they are not to be trusted. So lets just look at these few pictures and see for ourselves how different Trinidad really is.

Coldstone

Coldstone

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut

Coffee Drinks - real ones!

Coffee Drinks - real ones!

Costco - almost

Lastly, remind anyone of Costco? Looks exactly like it on the inside, EXACTLY!

All of this to say, Trinidad is a LOT more developed than Grenada. They have a huge highway traversing across the country, they have so many large grocery stores and malls, real malls, and Costco. I mean you can go and buy all your food in ridiculously cheap ginormous packages. What more could you want? Trinidad was much more like the U.S. than Grenada. It was so developed and we were so shocked to see so many American chains there and everything. We did breakdown and buy some Coldstone and it was heavenly. And of course after we went to the mall to shop for a bit Tyler’s reward was eating Pizza Hut.

I guess in conclusion Tyler and I came out thinking Trinidad was pretty awesome. We will certainly remember just how developed they are from now on. We still love the fact that Grenada has the beauty and the beaches, but all that convenience sure reminds us of why we like our good ol’ US home.

Anyways that pretty much sums up our trip. Hard to believe we are turning around and leaving next Friday for Barbados and then heading to the States for a quick visit and a wedding. Plus school starts in a week – that is so saddening. Summer break where have you gone? I guess that about sums it up for the Paulson’s.