One month down

At the guard house in Port Loius

A month ago we landed in Grenada! So how have we adjusted?

I think we're doing alright.

First the boys-

Aiden, who I was most worried about being homesick, has been adventurous and has a try everything attitude I wasn't expecting. He really likes all but one of his teachers and is sort of picking up
Spanish. Aiden loves looking out to Port Louis, he gazes at the yachts and loves going down for walks to see what new boats are in. He makes Lego yachts at home and is constantly deconstructing and reconstructing them. So all in all, very well adjusted.



Another reason to like Port Louis- gorgeous bathrooms!
 

Owen now has a stuffie "Nemo" (clown fish) and "Skipper" (dolphin) and he seems a bit more settled. There are still days when he puffs his cheeks and gets angry but it passes like the storms that roll through here. Owen's teacher "Miss" has been off with the chikun for almost two weeks so that has also been unsettling for him as there has been no consistency in the classroom. They were supposed to be put into houses for gym so he could buy the uniform and that just happened on Monday. So I think with "Miss" back and Owen in a house (red) there may be a bit more stability at school.

Owen making the most of a rain shower

At home Owen is taking to his Kobo. He read Diary of a Wimpy Kid in less than a day and reads Magic Tree Houses in an hour. I am having trouble downloading books from the library fast enough to keep up with him!

Brent is finding the day whizzes by with just getting groceries, getting me, being home for when the boys get home, getting laundry and dishes done. Unfortunately it doesn't leave much time for fun. I think he also had Chikungunya when we first got here, he had really sore ankles and wrists and was feverish one day. We just didn't realize the symptoms and because he didn't have the rash didn't put it together. And then this week he has been taking care of me, for which I am so grateful. Hopefully this month he will get out to the kiteboarding areas of the island.



But still some time for fun!

Brent has really become part of the neighbourhood. He will go and hang out across the street with the neighbours and last night I had to do something I never thought would ever happen- I sent Aiden to get daddy from the bar so he could make supper! Brent had just popped over but ended up staying longer, so I know he is well liked in our little community.



As for me, apart from the Chikungunya, I love it. I am still crazy hot and sweating all the time, but I love my two jobs, I love going to the market or the MNIB. I am a little less freaked out by the buses everyday and having my co-workers as company on the way home gives me people to talk to which takes my mind off of... well all of it. I love being able to go to the beach after work and finding new things and new places. I even feel OK driving, it just takes a moment to remember which side to be on when I pull out of the driveway.

Before moving to Grenada I had never known a Catholic nun, or priest for that matter and I had no idea what a "brother" was. The only nun I had ever seen was in the Sound of Music! Now I know two nuns and a brother, Sister Margaret, Sister MaryAnn and Brother Saul and would be proud to call them my friends. Hopefully by the end of my time here they will see me that way, as I already think of them this way.

I have also moved from "me" to "them" this month. When we first got here it was all about what we didn't have. No sharp knives, no bath mats, it was a very long list. And my amazing family and mother-in-law got right on sending us a barrel of all the things we lacked. But then it became so obvious that while we didn't have a coffee maker (gasp) NEWLO didn't have textbooks for their students or laptops for teachers. PAM doesn't have a toy lending library for moms and their babies. So then you stop focusing on what you don't have and you start focusing on what other people need.

And now at October 1st we have a small army mobilizing computers for NEWLO and books for the library. I have always known that deep down people fundamentally want to help other people. When people know there is a need they step up.

So a huge thank you to all the people who are supporting the education of Grenadian youth. It was a big part of why I started this blog, I knew one person can only do so much, but a bunch of people... well they can fill libraries and classrooms and transform a generation!