Stefanie & Tyler

Last night was Halloween. We knew it was Halloween because as we were walking back from the study hall we saw big groups of people dressed in odd costumes heading to a big party. Yep, we are so cool that we decided to study on Halloween. HAHA. But since Tyler’s parents were just here last week I am still behind on coursework plus I was sick for another week and it has left we with a lot of studying to do these days.

But anyways, we missed the big bus that stops right in front of our apartment by a mere minute or so. At night, the bus runs only ever half hour so this was quite tragic. And for some unknown reason I have been experiencing some really bad neck and back pain the last couple days so walking home with my heavy school bag was just not what I wanted to do. But as we stood there evaluating our situation, the Grand Anse off-rout bus drove up and since it was not full, we figured we would just take that. The school has these little vans that run only at night to take students straight to their door if they live off of the main bus route so they don’t have to walk up the hills or small roads they normally do to get to the bus stop.

Anyways, we figured that we lived not too far away from school so the bus would pass by our apartment before beginning its “off-route” journey. Not so! We ended up going on a tumultuous, high-speed, bouncy adventure through the back roads and neighborhoods of the little part of Grenada we call home. These bus drivers are crazy the way the whip though little roads and up through these neighborhoods, in the rain no doubt! It was quite amusing as we never drove by our apartment at all and we were the last to get off and had to explain to the driver we actually lived on the route, we just missed the bus. He was super cool though and dropped us off no problem.

It was actually kinda cool to see some of the neighborhoods, even if it was dark. We are excited to think about moving into a more homey, residential area and out of our little studio.

That was pretty much the exciting part of yesterday, our crazy scenic route home through the backroads of Frequente, Point Salines and Limes.

Stefanie and I had a fun time today at a local orphanage with some other people from the on-campus church. One of the orphanage staff members was doing all the girl’s hair so the girls were inspired to do Stefanie’s…and then mine. Here’s some pics of their handiwork! I told them I would come by next time Stefanie and I went on a date so they could get me fixed up all nice 😉

Friday nights in med school often have to be productive nights, but getting ourselves motivated to come back up to campus and work all night after Stefanie gets out of class can be challenging so we’re always looking for new strategies…

Last night we decided to go to Bananas for some pre-studying grub. Bananas is the happening bar / grill / night club down the street from school. We got there at 5pm, about 5 hours before it becomes a happening bar / grill / night club. We grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a pizza and two cokes and spent an hour recapping the day and chowing down.

We’re pretty sure the staff is rather confused by us and now knows us as the weird couple that comes in really early and orders a pizza and no alcohol. Case in point, we were walking towards the bus terminal downtown this morning and one of the bartenders at Bananas came up to us and said “hey, I recognize you two!”

So we’re not sure if it was the caffeine, the spicy jalapeños, or the special treat of having ham and pepperoni; we were both in a seriously hardcore working / studying mode last night. We cranked for six straight hours (mostly) until we looked up and realized it was 12:30am and we should probably head home.

Needless to say – there will be another pizza and coke night coming up soon.

Well, it’s a typical Saturday night here in Grenada for the Paulsons. I’m sitting on the bed reading and Stefanie is playing the Lord of the Rings soundtrack trying to get herself in the zone for some hardcore studying while snacking on the Trinidadian equivalent to Cheetos.

For dinner we had tostadas topped with all the delicious local vegetables I bought at the market this morning (and the jalapeños I found at the supermarket this week!). I think the women at the market are starting to know me as the husband with a list of vegetables to buy that he didn’t know all existed (what on earth is a shallot?) and they’re really nice to me once they realize this.

While I was downtown, I grabbed my first Grenadian newspaper. This week Grenadian runner Kirani James won the gold medal in the 400m race at the World Championships and I wanted to read more about it; needless to say, people are pretty excited here. I hung out at a local orphanage this afternoon with some friends from the on-campus Christian fellowship and two of the girls smiled when I told them I could bring them a picture of Kirani next week. They also challenged me to a race. I have a feeling the American might come in second just like at the championships.

While I was flipping through the newspaper, I found the week’s weather forecast and it was just so funny that I had to post it. Lots of variety here!

When Tyler and I (okay – it was pretty much all Tyler but I helped a bit) designed our blog we used the awesome green tree motif from our wedding and extended it into a 4 tree set and made it so it changes with the seasons. So, every few months the tree and colors change and it is super awesome. And I think it is pretty (Tyler doesn’t like when I say his designs are pretty so I go with awesome for safety).

But anyways, today officially marks the start of fall. That is so weird! Time just flys so fast doesn’t it? But we are officially marking the transition into fall and as I begin to prepare for my first major medical school exam, now more than ever the fact that summer is over is apparent. It is of course funny to think about fall and fall things (pumpkin latte’s anyone?) when Grenada has no fall. I mean the weather is the same everyday, all day, all year long. However, our friends and family in Cali who tend to experience heat waves this time a year are probably not feeling fall thoughts right now either.

So heres to fall and as Tyler and I enjoy our sunny island paradise, you can all enjoy some fall trees and cool weather. And please, drink a pumpkin latte for us.

P.S. If you didn’t actually notice that the tree is now orange and fall-y and no longer a yellow hippie summer tree and that the color scheme changed from yellow to red, then you should be ashamed. But we still love you.

7am on Sunday morning Tyler’s phone rang and the caller ID was, of all people, me. Although, I was in fact still in bed right next to him.

On Saturday afternoon I realized that my phone was no where to be found. After searching high and low, my greatest postulation was that I had placed my phone in my pocket only to have it fall out while on the bus. And likely the fact that I was so exhausted from so much studying and too little sleep, I didn’t even realize.

So back to Sunday, the man on the phone seemed to make no sense to Tyler. Potentially because he had been awake for only 2 minutes or potentially because the man was Grenadian but Tyler was very confused. In the end, we made out that we would meet the guy on the highway near Ace.

We got dressed and left right away and when we stepped out into the early morning sun, only to be greeted by rain. I am still getting used to sun showers, it is just so odd to have it be raining and bright and sunny simultaneously.

Anyways, we met the guy and he did have my phone and he returned it to me. I was so thankful to have my phone back. I was so glad that we did not need to go through the undoubtedly complicated process of getting a new SIM card, transferring credit, etc.

Thank you kind bus driver for picking up my phone and making sure it got back to me. And I will try to refrain from putting it in my pocket anymore.

On a completely unrelated note, I have received a new potential blogging inspiration. I am currently trying to learn how to cook here in Grenada using the local foods and produce that is available without relying on all the expensive imported American food, etc. I am thinking about writing about what works and what I learn and then maybe the next person like me who is looking for recipes and suggestions might just find some help.

Tyler here making my first post on the blog, Stefanie has dived fully into the swamp of her medical school textbooks so you’ll probably be hearing from me a lot more often now.

Starfruit - one of my new favorites

Last Saturday morning I rolled and Stefanie gracefully leaped out of bed at 6:30am to make our way over to the Saturday morning market in downtown St George’s. Needless to say, that place is a little different early in the morning than it is at night, i.e. a little more our style.

4 months ago, the spice collection in my kitchen consisted of salt, pepper and garlic salt. It then decreased to just salt and pepper after Stefanie threw away my garlic salt. When Stefanie moved in with her kitchen ensemble it ballooned to a mass collection of stuff that apparently Grenada is world-famous for producing, so when we got to the market, we headed straight to the lady who was selling that stuff.

While Stefanie and spice lady were chatting it up I examined my two favorite items – hot sauce and cocoa balls. I can’t wait to bring them home in December to make guacamole and hot chocolate with.

We then moved over to the fruit market and started by grabbing the essential stash of mangoes and figs (bananas). I’ve been craving oranges and to my surprise found someone selling them. They are of course not orange here, but green. I was so excited I forgot to ask what the local name for them was, but I’m going to guess it’s not “orange.”

Next was the part I was really looking forward to, the fish market. We heard rumors that you could get fresh mahi-mahi here for a little under US $3 a pound. They were out, but we bought ourselves a nice chunk of sailfish and a whole red snapper. It was all so amusing; fish lady was very stern and had a large dull machete which was not quite sharp enough to cut through the fish. She solved that by whacking it with a sledge hammer over and over again. Not sure what to do with a whole fish, I made my way over to a man I called the fish master whom I gave 2 EC to clean all the scales off and make it a fillet. While I fully expected him to discard the head for me, apparently that’s not the Grenadian way so when we got home I opened the bag only to see four eyeballs staring back at me; he’d given us both our fish’s head and our friend’s fish’s head. It was a fitting end to an excellent morning.

A lot of people ask what I’m doing while Stefanie is studying here so this is what an average weekday looks for me so far:

After I wake-up in the morning, I brew some English tea (or Irish breakfast if I’m extra tired) and pour myself a bowl of Weetabix, my favorite British cereal that I used to always eat in Africa. I operate my own freelance graphic design business so after breakfast I fire up my computer and get started on my work. I’m really grateful that so far people have been willing to hire me from afar and we’re trusting God to continue to provide for us that way.

Around 10am I usually meet Stefanie on campus after her morning discussion or lab and we work / study together in one of the study halls until lunch time. Eating out is super cheap in Grenada, we can usually buy a hot lunch from one of the stands on campus for the both of us for around US $8. In the afternoon I go home so I can take conference calls and such and then at 5pm, Stefanie either comes home and cooks or we meet at Options, a cluster of roundhouses down the hill from campus that serve different kinds of food from all over the world. Naturally my favorite is the veggie burrito from Mr. Chipotle! Then it’s back to campus for some more working / studying.

Being that Stefanie’s a med student and all, she usually has a little more to do in a day than I do. Since she has multiple absolutely massive textbooks, I’ve vowed to read all 500 pages of Alister McGrath’s Christian Theology: An Introduction in my spare time by the end of the semester. I’m also working on learning the complexities of responsive web design.

East coast friends and family – we’re thinking of you as you sit out hurricane Irene tonight. Good night all from Grenada!

** Wife Edit: Tyler grudgingly gets out of bed to shower pretty much as I am walking out the door for class – just want to make that clear and all. My 6am loud-as-all-get-out alarm apparently has no effect on him  😉  **

Sometimes I remember fondly the days where running hot water and I used to hang out. We would laugh together, play together, even dance through fields filled with wild flowers. Okay, maybe that last one is just silly. But hot water and I were always fond of one another. Hot water made getting up early in the morning easier by greeting me in the shower. Hot water helped to soothe my sore muscles after a long day. Hot water was even there to help me while I cleaned my kitchen.

But here in Grenada, oh me and hot water are no more. Well, not that I have given up on hot water, but hot water has given up on me. There just isn’t any. I miss good ol’ America and our running hot water.

Our kitchen faucet and bathroom faucet do not have hot water. In fact, I actually have not been in any public space that actually has hot water.  If I need to wash dirty dishes I have to boil water on the stove first. And our shower, well, it is pretty unreliable. Sometimes you might be able to get a descent warm shower going. But I find that warm water is at the expense of water pressure so you can shower under a warm trickle of water, or a freezing cold waterfall. Needless to say, my 6am wake-up time does not go well with this.

Sigh. Life in Grenada.

Last night Tyler and I were walking back from campus late at night from studying/working. We decided that we would stop at one of the food shacks just off-campus and get a beer. We gave the guy 5EC for a cold beer and kept walking home (no open bottle policies in Grenada). We enjoyed our cold beer as we walked down streets watching the street lights get brighter and dimmer with the constant power surges. We walk around the corner to see a random cow eating some weeds. We are pretty sure said cow escaped from the veterinary school. We are not sure how this was possible. We stare at the cow and drink some more of our beer. We keep walking and walk past Bananas, the most hip and happening restaurant of Grenada. The random mid-week night parties are in full swing and we are perplexed who all these people are (no way these are med students). Eventually we get home to our little apartment only to hear the sound of the loitering Grenadians next door watching TV. This makes us wonder why our cable box still doesn’t work, but we just ignore that fact and call it a night.

Oh Grenada, living here is so strange.