On the Reggae Bus

5/27/08

The country of Grenada is made up of 3 islands: Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique.

The small, red dot at the Southern tip of the largest island is where we live, in the neighborhood called True Blue.

To get an idea of where we are in the Caribbean, take a look at this map:

Grenada is in red, just North of Venezuela, and just South of St. Vincent.

On the three islands of Grenada, there are a total of about 100,000 people. Because there aren’t enough job opportunities on the island, many young people leave after completing high school or college, and it is estimated that almost 100,000 Grenadian nationals live abroad most of the time.

The majority of Grenadians here live on the island of Grenada, and a good number of them live in the city of St. George’s.

Grenada gained its independence from British rule in 1974, after hundreds of years of European control. They are still a Protectorate of England, but they have an independent Parliamentary system of government. People here are very knowledgeable about local politics, and there are a few very popular political talk shows on the radio where people can call in that are fun to listen to sometimes. Just like anywhere else in the world, they get a range of interesting people and cranks on the phone, and an amazing number of people who still don’t know that you have to turn your radio down when you are on the line with the host of the show.

I am trying to start learning more about local politics, because there will be an election this year. This is a big deal, because elections only happen once every 5 years. There is no regularly scheduled Election Day here, so everyone is waiting for the Prime Minister to “call it” (announce when it will happen). Just after we got here, a big scandal broke when a someone from one political party was discovered spying on a rival political party. This is illegal, and so he was arrested and now is being tried in court as we speak.

For a number of reasons, Grenada is still not a tourist attraction to many people from outside of the Caribbean. Most of the people that come here on vacation are well-off Europeans, since it still costs a great deal to get here from anywhere in the world, and most of the hotels here are quite expensive. There is some cruise ship traffic, but only a few days a week when a ship docks for the day, and usually only in St. George’s. So I make sure to stay out of town on those days, because it can get a little crowded, and the local people who sell things to the tourists are out in full-force.

“No thank you, I do not need any mangos.”

“No thanks, I don’t want any coconut water.”

“Thanks, but I don’t need a spice necklace today.”

“No, I won’t need my hair braided today, but thanks for asking.”

“Thank you, I really don’t need a ‘ladies foot massage’. And you are kind of creepy; could you please go away?”

The ladies who braid hair on the beach were beside themselves when Breck got here, wanting to braid his hair. But he shaved it all off at the beginning of May, so now they concentrate on me. They can forget it, though, because they charge at least 50% more than it would cost to get my hair braided anyplace else on the island. I am nothing, if not a comparison shopper.

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