Officially In Grenada !!!

I finally have some time to sit down and write about the past few days. I have been in Grenada for the past day and I guess today is my 2nd full day here on the island technically. I left Friday night after having dinner with my family and waiting at the airport until my mother let me go past security. It was definitely bitter sweet leaving Arizona. I am very excited to start medical school and experience everything that Grenada has to offer but obviously saying good-bye to my family for 5-6 months at a time is tough; especially when I have only been 90 miles away for the past 4 years. My first flight was delayed an hour but because I had a 6 hour layover originally in NYC there was no problem. In NYC I met some upper term students who gave me lots of advice and tips about medical school and the island so that was nice. The flight from Trinidad to Grenada was also delayed due to rain so we had to wait another hour before arriving in Grenada. This was also a scary flight because the plane was so small and we landed about 50 ft from the ocean. Once we got into Grenada, we got off the plane on the runway since it was such a small plane. I was immediately handed a glass of rum punch; what a welcome to the island!! Because we took such a small plane, lots of people didn't get all of their luggage but luckily I got both of my bags. Some people are still waiting for theirs to arrive. In Grenada, when you pass through customs, you have to declare any electronics you have that cost over about $200(USD). They force you to pay a tax on these items just to bring them into the country which is somewhat ridiculous. After having to pay for my ipad and laptop, the welcome crew was waiting for us outside the airport and they paid for a cab to take us to campus. The cab ride was probably the single most frightening ride I have ever been on. The fact that they drive on the left side of the road already worries you and then your cab driver decides to swerve in and out of traffic to get to the destination as fast as possible. The ride was very similar to what you see with cabs in India and Africa. After getting to my dorm, there was really nothing I wanted to do more than sleep considering I had been traveling for the past 23 hours and had hardly slept at all. Yesterday was a nice day and because it was my first day on the island, there was alot of exploring to be done. Me and a couple of other guys that are all first termers met up in the morning and grabbed breakfast and then wandered around campus. Lots of the pictures I took (which are on my fb account) were taken during this excursion. We explored for a few hours and then I came back to the dorm, talked to my parents, and tried to get my room set up a bit (pictures later). SGU has a nice and free bus system for students and one of the buses goes to the Grand Anse beach which is about 5 min away. We spent some time there and it was absolutely gorgeous. The water was easily around 75 degrees and the sand was so fine.....such an amazing beach. I'm sure we'll go back today. Later we grabbed some dinner and although I have no idea what type of fish was on my fish sandwich, it was delicious. Last night we went to the local club/bar called Bananas. This is pretty much the only bar hangout for the students here since it is also very safe and close to campus. We had alot of fun and there was even a live band playing on some type of steel drums. Overall everything has been great!! Carnival began today and because of it, lots of the stores are closed today so tomorrow I'll have to grab some of the things that I couldn't fit in my suitcases at the store. All of the people I have met thus far have been extremely nice and everybody who has been here before is willing to help and answer questions. I will register and get my ID tomorrow and then orientation begins on Wednesday! (Sorry that the whole post is one large paragraph....not sure how to change that)