Grenada first week

Grenada
The Spice of the Caribbean

Fall 2007

Happy Birthday Peter!

Bono makes a special appearance in Grenada.

Dinner at Prickley Bay Marina.

As I drive to campus one fine day, I find a utility vehicle with two people busy at work: one operating the truck's crane, and the other trying to manage the business end of the crane. They are erecting a new utility pole. The truck was parked on the left side of the street, and it was erecting the pole on the right hand side of the road, with the crane boom stretching across the road. The only possible passage is right under the boom. As I approached, the pole was swinging freely in the air, with one fellow trying to control the flailing thing. There is no one directing traffic through the narrow causeway where one vehicle might pass. Did I mention the truck was parked on a curve in the road? See the image below...and realize that just beyond the truck, the road splits in two, with the main road veering to the left and another nearly main road veering to the right. As you can see in the photo below, the crane is holding the pole in the middle, so when the pole flies around, it will fly directly into the only path available for traffic.

Note the orange safety cones.

I waited for a bit, trying to judge when to make a dash for it. (While madly fumbling for the camera to document this extravaganza.) Eventually, the fellow on top of the crane had mercy and decided to wave me on when he judged it was clear for me to go. Note that different cultures can have very different ideas when this occasion may come to be. Happily, Crapzilla and I made it through unscathed!

This sort of happening is very common in Grenada: in addition to avoiding pregnant dogs, reggae buses, chickens, pedestrians, cows, oversize trucks with 15 people standing up in the back, goats, unprotected drainage ditches and potholes, the observant driver must navigate around broken cars, people stopping vehicles suddenly to chat with passers-by, and various construction and improvement projects. A few weeks after the above photo was taken, I experienced...for the very first time in Grenada...someone directing traffic with a sign! I nearly fainted and caused an additional, unregulated road hazard. I was driving on the (only) main road between Grand Anse and St. George's when I happened upon the constuction project blocking an entire lane (while only maiming the open lane.) I've passed by it before, and there had not been traffic direction in the past. But there he was: one gentleman actually assigned to direct traffic. He operated a white, handmade, hand-held sign, which read, in black sticker letters, "stop" on one side, and "go" on the other. Talk about innovations!

Thanks be for that clear sign, as the variety of ambiguous hand gestures displayed by Grenadians: from security officers, to police, to drivers flapping away, and even to pedestrians, has been a truly baffling experience for me.

September 18: Peter's Birthday!
Once again, Peter's birthday falls during exam week. This time, he doesn't have an exam on the actual day of his birthday, but neither can he spend much time celebrating, as he has to study for the next test, which falls the next day. Peter came home for a dinner of...fabulous fajitas!

El Chef-o.

Peter displays the beautiful shirt his mother gave him; then he displays his poor fiddle judgement while calling his parents to thank them for the gift. Here I divulge one of Peter's personal habits. [That is, until he reads this and asks me to remove my commentary.] Peter has an amazing habit of fiddling with every little thing, especially if he's not actively engaged in a productive activity. Perfect example: talking on the phone (and often in person for that matter if there's not much else going on): If you're talking to him on the phone and he is forced to sit in one place on a stationary phone, he's almost certainly taking apart small mechanical objects like pens, cel phones, or remote controls and putting them back together (over and over again.) Anything within reach will do. He gravitates toward sharp objects, too, and if there isn't something to take apart, he'll try taking himself apart with something sharp. I took the above while he was talking on the phone, stuck sitting at the computer. Since it was his birthday, I refrained from forcing him to stop until he started using the leatherman to cut bits off one of his feet. Jeez.

Being married to a spouse with a website can really be a drag.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Girl-drink dreamy.

Jonathan and Christina are celebrating tonight, too: it's their ten year anniversary!! Congratulations to the happy couple!

Josh: another closet girl-drink sot. Refusing the acknowledge his "metro" side, Josh forces me to order his "Pussy Willow" for him. I'm only human. Who among us can resist it's sweet, frothy siren song? Not me - mine's in the foreground!

Peter ATTACKS his dessert: "The Bomb."

Peter and Jacqueline.

Eran and Noga and Peter.

Josh, Heather, and Peter.

Heather displays the appropriate expression when her fabulous dessert arrives: the "Chocolate Surprise!"

Peter's gorgeous baked apple.

Heather's birthday wonder-hubby.

After our wonderful meal, we migrated to True Blue for a festive get-together.

Peter and Nicole.

Heather and Jeeven; Dave and Shivana.

Eric and Matteo; Jacqueline and Peter

Jacqueline and Peter.

I was mortified when he sent the photo to Peter, who promptly turned it into his desktop background. Did I mention that Peter sits in the front of a 350-person lecture hall?? I'll never hear the end of it. Thanks Jonathan! What a pal!

Jacqueline takes her first juicy bite of a...gummy...hamburger. Mmmmmmmm!
Then it's off to the Coyaba for some dessert and good times.

Elegant Ave.

Jonathan is happy with his banana split...then suddenly protective...and finally he puts down his guard to dig in!

Beauty.

There is one thing about THE STAR. It is very territorial about its space in Crapzilla. Passengers who choose to ride with THE STAR do so at their own peril...

Won't you take me to...ROTI TOWN?

Mmmmm. We often find ourselves indulging in the wonderful world of veggie rotis at the "Sugar Shack," an eatery on campus. Rotis are fabulous, soft, double skinned Indian wraps with mystery crumbles between the layers. The insides are typically a curry flavor, and can be had with veggie or various meat fillings. We get the veggie, which at the Shack means it's full of potatoes. It is, therefore, very, very filling and one of the few very, very cheap items in Grenada, at $8 EC (about $3 US.)

Peter-style roti, with tons of Indian hot sauce.

Peter-size bite!