Grenadaversary

Today marks exactly one year since we stepped off a little plane onto the runway of Grenada's international airport. We've been through a lot in that one year. Like, A LOT a lot. More than I can begin to put into a blog post, especially with seven minutes until midnight and Jared trying to get some sleep next to me (yesterday was his first day of fourth term--FOURTH). So instead, I will make a brief list of some things I experienced and saw in Grenada today, just to give you a taste of what normal life is like here:

(1) As I drove some new friends downtown, we saw a man sprawled out in the middle of the road. At first I thought he must've passed out drunk (yesterday was Grenada's biggest national holiday/party: Carnival). But then there was blood all over his face, so...we were pretty sure he was dead. I pulled over so we could maybe help, or at least call someone. After a minute or so, he gained some consciousness, moved his arms a bit, and then stood up at the sound of an approaching ambulence. We still have no idea how he got there.

(2) There's been a rotten smell lingering in the air around our house over the past few days. We think it's seaweed rotting on the coasts, but whatever it is, it smells like the most rank rotten eggs you could ever imagine. It's enough to keep me inside, avoiding my evening walks and dusk veranda sessions.

(3) Rats eating rats. We get to enjoy this scene when we drive late at night.

(4) I left the door open for 30 seconds this afternoon. Mosquitos have been munching on me ever since.

(5) Dinner was a delightful stir fry of ramen, local cabbage, and canned chicken (made by Jared--I'm the luckiest). It was pretty good, but we eat more college-y here than we ever did in actual college, since the food prices are astronomical.

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(6) A lunch of tropical sugar apples--something I may never taste again in my life after Grenada.

(7) A smoothie binge followed by a wave of lethargy and a lengthy mid-afternoon nap.

(8) The most gorgeous sunset seen from our backyard. Although I miss Utah's vibrant sunsets over the mountains, the mellow sunsets here are an entirely different kind of beautiful.

(9) A double date at the quaint Excel Plaza theater--beloved for its air conditioning, cheap popcorn, and Grenadians who treat the theater like their living room and make hilarious comments throughout the movie.

(10) After our date, we came home to a sky full of bright, beautiful stars. The kind  only visible on a cloudless night on a beautiful tropical island.