emt036 (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} emt036) wrote,@ 2005-06-20 16:32:00 |
|
My "Vacation"
Yesterday I took my single weekend that I am allowed to be off the island to travel to St. Vincent with some friends in order to secure housing for 5th and 6th term (which in reality is only 4 months). Yes, that's right after being in Grenada for a year and a half, we have to uproot whatever semblance of a life we have here, and move to (and get all of our stuff to) another Caribbean island for all of four months.
My "vacation" started off by getting up at 5 AM. This is never good. However, someone wanted to get to the airport the recommend hour-and-a-half before our flight at 7 AM. Obviously they have been hanging around my father too much, since he has a penchant to 1) book flights at 5AM, and 2) get to the airport waaaaaaaaaay too early. In any case, check-in, immigration, security screening, and paying the $20 "departure tax" all went smoothly, so we had time to spare. Point Salines International Airport now has plasma screen TV's with flight information, which listed every single flight as being "on-time." As this is impossible for a Caribbean airline/airport, closer inspection revealed that our flight's scheduled departure time had simply been moved back 45 minutes, but it was still "on-time." :roll:
The 20 minute flight was uneventful, except for the fact that some other SGU students traveling to SVD for the same purpose were puzzled by the fact that despite having assigned seats, people really just sat wherever they wanted, since the air shuttle service was more like a bus than an actual flight. Again immigration and customs were no problem upon landing (woo hoo, another stamp in the passport), and we were met by our landlord, who took us to a house he was renting. The upstairs was a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment with 2 baths, complete kitchen, and living room with cable TV and Internet. Unfortunately, that is not where we will be living. The landlord was confused, and didn't realize that we were not living with the people renting this apartment, whose deposits we were carrying.
Luckily though, he had another place he was renting out. It is a new house, right on the main road/bus routes, and only 3-4 minutes from the campus. The upstairs has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, and there is a single apartment downstairs. Since we have 3 people right now, we are thinking of making the 4th bedroom into a "study room." Since the place is new, it doesn't have all the furnishings yet, but we were assured that it would have all of the same furnishings as the first apartment we looked at, including stove/oven, microwave, A/C, washer/dryer, cable TV, and Internet. It also has a nice patio for hosting barbecues. The landlord seemed very willing to accommodate - he even promised to put in a spring "American-style" mattress for my back (screwed up lifting too many heavy patients) instead of the more usual foam mattress. The floor plan/structure was nice and amenities sounded nice (and based on his other beautiful apartment), we decided to take a leap of faith and sign a contract and put down a deposit. The monthly rent is only $400/person, but that includes all utilities which means we can run the A/C as much as we want. Other places were going for $700+ plus utilities, and electricity is reportedly very expensive (adding hundreds of dollars a month), so our place is a pretty good deal. The landlord has 6 months to get the place furnished, and he seems reliable, however we are still planning on going back in November (flight tickets are cheap) to check on the progress, and if we are not satisfied, we will annul the contract and get our deposits back. At that point, another place or on-campus housing (either as an RA or paying customer) is an option.
After securing housing, the landlord dropped us back off at the airport, so we could pick up our rental car (the office wasn't open yet when we arrived.) The reservation was in my name, and since I had a real Grenadian license, I got to be the default driver. :-) We had reserved a compact car, but got a free upgrade to a 4WD (Toyota RAV4). The catch? The tank was at 1/4, and no discounts would be given for returning the vehicle with more gas than it went out with. So we put in a few dollars worth in at the gas station, and ended up being fine fuel-wise.
First we headed to the capital city to explore a bit. We found the KFC (what is it about this being the only fast-food in most Caribbean islands?), and the IGA, which is the chain of the better, "Americanized" supermarket in Grenada. However, like most things in St. Vincent, it wasn't as developed as Grenada, so many of the foodstuffs that we have been accustomed to getting in Grenada are not available. Hmm, I might have to actually learn how to cook (not just throw frozen foods in the microwave or oven, like I do now), or it will be a rough four months. We also found/briefly toured the hospital where we would be rotating. Seemed to be a little bit more advanced than Grenada General, which is good. Actually we found the hospital by first spotting the huge cemetery next to it. I wonder what their mortality rate is like?
On the way out from town, we noticed the passenger side rear tire was pretty low on air (possibly due to the number of potholes that I couldn't avoid hitting). Luckily, we found a gas station that 1) was open on Father's Day/Sunday, and 2) had a free air pump. (Or at least I hope it was free - we filled the tire and drove off before anybody said anything.) :-)
The next few hours we spent in the "resort area" (all of 2 or 3) at "The French Veranda" restaurant overlooking the ocean. I highly recommend their French Onion Soup (creamy-style, like at the Outback), and the chicken in a spicy Thai peanut sauce. Both very delicious.
After lunch, we stopped by the seemingly only dive shop on the island. First off, the receptionist was rude, and then she had the gall to demand $110 for a two tank dive (it's $63 in Grenada). Hmm, diving prospects aren't looking so good in SVG.
The rest of the day was spent driving around exploring the island. We didn't find any really good beaches, so we spent some time relaxing in a grassy field on the windward coast. The only exciting things: 1) encountered an ambulance running red light (yes, singular) and siren (I even managed to remember to pull off the road to the left! :grin:), and 2) I got so excited when I heard Green Day on the radio (radio stations in Grenada don't play anything after the 1980's), that I pumped up the volume, which blew out the last working speaker. :-(
Soon it was time to return to the airport, since someone still hadn't gotten it through their head that you really don't need to get their that early. We returned the car without incident, and tried to check-in, but we were so early that no one was manning the counter yet. So we retired to the airport bar for a few drinks (non-alcoholic for me, since I was battling a nice headache). Finally, we checked in, cleared immigration, security, and paid another "departure tax." There were no plasma TV status displays here, so they didn't have to pretend about being on-time. The plane, which was an hour-and-a-half late, didn't even bother pulling into the "gate." Instead it stayed on the taxiway, in some sort of vain effort to make up time for the next two stops.
The flight and re-entry into Grenada were uneventful, except for the fact that I decided to use my German passport instead of my American one. I didn't have any visa stamps in there, so I figured I would at least use it for something. Now I am legally in Grenada on all my passports. :-)
Yesterday I took my single weekend that I am allowed to be off the island to travel to St. Vincent with some friends in order to secure housing for 5th and 6th term (which in reality is only 4 months). Yes, that's right after being in Grenada for a year and a half, we have to uproot whatever semblance of a life we have here, and move to (and get all of our stuff to) another Caribbean island for all of four months.
My "vacation" started off by getting up at 5 AM. This is never good. However, someone wanted to get to the airport the recommend hour-and-a-half before our flight at 7 AM. Obviously they have been hanging around my father too much, since he has a penchant to 1) book flights at 5AM, and 2) get to the airport waaaaaaaaaay too early. In any case, check-in, immigration, security screening, and paying the $20 "departure tax" all went smoothly, so we had time to spare. Point Salines International Airport now has plasma screen TV's with flight information, which listed every single flight as being "on-time." As this is impossible for a Caribbean airline/airport, closer inspection revealed that our flight's scheduled departure time had simply been moved back 45 minutes, but it was still "on-time." :roll:
The 20 minute flight was uneventful, except for the fact that some other SGU students traveling to SVD for the same purpose were puzzled by the fact that despite having assigned seats, people really just sat wherever they wanted, since the air shuttle service was more like a bus than an actual flight. Again immigration and customs were no problem upon landing (woo hoo, another stamp in the passport), and we were met by our landlord, who took us to a house he was renting. The upstairs was a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment with 2 baths, complete kitchen, and living room with cable TV and Internet. Unfortunately, that is not where we will be living. The landlord was confused, and didn't realize that we were not living with the people renting this apartment, whose deposits we were carrying.
Luckily though, he had another place he was renting out. It is a new house, right on the main road/bus routes, and only 3-4 minutes from the campus. The upstairs has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, and there is a single apartment downstairs. Since we have 3 people right now, we are thinking of making the 4th bedroom into a "study room." Since the place is new, it doesn't have all the furnishings yet, but we were assured that it would have all of the same furnishings as the first apartment we looked at, including stove/oven, microwave, A/C, washer/dryer, cable TV, and Internet. It also has a nice patio for hosting barbecues. The landlord seemed very willing to accommodate - he even promised to put in a spring "American-style" mattress for my back (screwed up lifting too many heavy patients) instead of the more usual foam mattress. The floor plan/structure was nice and amenities sounded nice (and based on his other beautiful apartment), we decided to take a leap of faith and sign a contract and put down a deposit. The monthly rent is only $400/person, but that includes all utilities which means we can run the A/C as much as we want. Other places were going for $700+ plus utilities, and electricity is reportedly very expensive (adding hundreds of dollars a month), so our place is a pretty good deal. The landlord has 6 months to get the place furnished, and he seems reliable, however we are still planning on going back in November (flight tickets are cheap) to check on the progress, and if we are not satisfied, we will annul the contract and get our deposits back. At that point, another place or on-campus housing (either as an RA or paying customer) is an option.
After securing housing, the landlord dropped us back off at the airport, so we could pick up our rental car (the office wasn't open yet when we arrived.) The reservation was in my name, and since I had a real Grenadian license, I got to be the default driver. :-) We had reserved a compact car, but got a free upgrade to a 4WD (Toyota RAV4). The catch? The tank was at 1/4, and no discounts would be given for returning the vehicle with more gas than it went out with. So we put in a few dollars worth in at the gas station, and ended up being fine fuel-wise.
First we headed to the capital city to explore a bit. We found the KFC (what is it about this being the only fast-food in most Caribbean islands?), and the IGA, which is the chain of the better, "Americanized" supermarket in Grenada. However, like most things in St. Vincent, it wasn't as developed as Grenada, so many of the foodstuffs that we have been accustomed to getting in Grenada are not available. Hmm, I might have to actually learn how to cook (not just throw frozen foods in the microwave or oven, like I do now), or it will be a rough four months. We also found/briefly toured the hospital where we would be rotating. Seemed to be a little bit more advanced than Grenada General, which is good. Actually we found the hospital by first spotting the huge cemetery next to it. I wonder what their mortality rate is like?
On the way out from town, we noticed the passenger side rear tire was pretty low on air (possibly due to the number of potholes that I couldn't avoid hitting). Luckily, we found a gas station that 1) was open on Father's Day/Sunday, and 2) had a free air pump. (Or at least I hope it was free - we filled the tire and drove off before anybody said anything.) :-)
The next few hours we spent in the "resort area" (all of 2 or 3) at "The French Veranda" restaurant overlooking the ocean. I highly recommend their French Onion Soup (creamy-style, like at the Outback), and the chicken in a spicy Thai peanut sauce. Both very delicious.
After lunch, we stopped by the seemingly only dive shop on the island. First off, the receptionist was rude, and then she had the gall to demand $110 for a two tank dive (it's $63 in Grenada). Hmm, diving prospects aren't looking so good in SVG.
The rest of the day was spent driving around exploring the island. We didn't find any really good beaches, so we spent some time relaxing in a grassy field on the windward coast. The only exciting things: 1) encountered an ambulance running red light (yes, singular) and siren (I even managed to remember to pull off the road to the left! :grin:), and 2) I got so excited when I heard Green Day on the radio (radio stations in Grenada don't play anything after the 1980's), that I pumped up the volume, which blew out the last working speaker. :-(
Soon it was time to return to the airport, since someone still hadn't gotten it through their head that you really don't need to get their that early. We returned the car without incident, and tried to check-in, but we were so early that no one was manning the counter yet. So we retired to the airport bar for a few drinks (non-alcoholic for me, since I was battling a nice headache). Finally, we checked in, cleared immigration, security, and paid another "departure tax." There were no plasma TV status displays here, so they didn't have to pretend about being on-time. The plane, which was an hour-and-a-half late, didn't even bother pulling into the "gate." Instead it stayed on the taxiway, in some sort of vain effort to make up time for the next two stops.
The flight and re-entry into Grenada were uneventful, except for the fact that I decided to use my German passport instead of my American one. I didn't have any visa stamps in there, so I figured I would at least use it for something. Now I am legally in Grenada on all my passports. :-)
