BTV to GND

"The brightness of a new page, where everything yet can happen."


-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Hi Everyone!

I hope this post finds you safe and warm wherever you may be. I made it to Grenada and am settling in quite nicely to life here on the "Spice Isle." I live in a suite with two women, one from Hawaii and the other from Toronto, both in their second year of medical school. There was a small housing mix-up, so I will not be rooming with first-year medical students, but on a more positive note, I have a single room!

So far this week, I bought a cell phone, opened a bank account, and registered for classes. I've also toured the capital city of St. George's, bought my textbooks, and and visited a nutmeg factory. Ahh, how exciting! Later this weekend, orientation begins. Besides learning how not to fail, become an alcoholic (Grenada has three rum distillaries), or want to jump off the breath-taking (hehe) cliff that borders campus, I will take part in many social events and nerdy (cue snort) lectures.

It's been a lot of fun and I've met so many people from such interesting places! Of course, "interesting" to me means San Francisco or Atlanta, but I've even talked to a few people from as far away as and India and Singapore. I haven't met anyone from Vermont or BC yet, but I'm still holding out hope.

Let me tell you about the thing I love most about Grenada. You might think it's the sun, or the happy people, or the fancy drinks with little umbrellas. Well, you're wrong. It's the rain.

Yes, your first-grade reading skills are correct. The rain.

It was raining when my plane landed on Tuesday and every once in a while (say every 15 hours or so) it pours for about three minutes or so. Just enough to wet the pavement and leave that dewy scent in the air. After traveling for what felt like half of my life and stepping out of the plane and into a brick wall of humidity, it was sheer relief to feel a few drops falling on my head.

There's a saying here that the Grenadian people will run away from the rain, but run towards a bullet. It doesn't make much sense to me, but it's nice knowing that if Grenada doesn't have to be perfect all the time, then neither do I.

That's the update for now! It's time for me to slather on another layer of sunscreen and head out into the sun.

Lots of love,
Meg