6/17/08

Things that Grenadians Do Not Like

Once again, just some observations by a non-Grenadian, about things that many Grenadians seem not to like very much:

• Cats
• Smoking Cigarettes
• Drinking Coffee
• People who do not return their Carib bottles to the store they bought them from
• People who take their photo without asking permission first
• People who start a business transaction without saying “Hello” or “Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening” first
• Beggars/Panhandlers

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5/28/08

I am a housewife for the first time in my life, and I had no idea at all how much work would be involved with being the only person responsible for running a house. It is a substantial job, and being in Grenada makes it a bigger and more time-consuming than it might be at home. This is not to say that I have a brutal schedule. My days are not hard as long as I stay organized.

So, for those of you that are interested in what life is really like for me down here, please imagine you are a stay-at-home spouse, and your partner has no time at all to help with any of the chores or cooking.

Also, please imagine that:

1. you have no car

2. you have a washing machine but no dryer

3. you can’t mail in payments for bills or pay them online. you have to go to each company in person.

4. you have to go to at least two different grocery stores to get all of the basic shopping done every week.

5. you have to go to the store to buy gas to fuel the stove

6. you have no access to extra cash if you need it because putting more than one person’s name on a bank account is a big hassle

7. you can’t get mail or packages at your house–you must go to the post office in town

8. you can’t make any firm appointments with repairmen–all arrival times are approximate, and sometimes they don’t show up until the next day or so

9. basic things will sell out and you may not be able to find them again for a week or even more than a month (like fresh milk, clothespins, keys, boric acid, etc.)

10. if you decide at the last minute not to cook dinner, you need to have a back-up plan because very few places deliver without a hefty surcharge, and few restaurants are open on Sundays.

But now that I’m used to all of these things, I really do love it here!

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5/28/08

Things that Grenadians Like

Of course, this is just my estimation as a non-Grenadian. But these things seem pretty prevalent to me.

In no particular order:

–Tomato Ketchup

–Uniforms

–Giving Directions

–8 Hour Work Days

–Lunchtime

–Fish Sandwiches

–Cricket

–Regattas

–National Holidays

–Nicknames

–Chicken Roti with bones in the chicken

–Greeting everyone they meet with Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening

–The Radio

–Keeping things extremely clean and organized

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