This Is Grenada

'This is Grenada' has become the phrase we use to describe anything that happens to be unique to Grenada. There seems to always be something new that happens in Grenada that makes us use this phrase. For instance, because we are on an island, everything is much slower paced. This means that waiting for food at a restaurant can take up tons of time. Just yesterday, it took about 15 min for my sandwich at Subway to be made when I was the only person in line. The workers would chat a bit and then just take their leisurely time. After this, we reminded ourselves that, 'This is Grenada' and we just have to accept the fact that stuff like that will happen. Customer service is not exactly their forte here. There are also no speed limits in Grenada, at all. People drive as fast as they wish or as slow and because of that, people are always driving around and swerving in an out of traffic. We went to Carnival last night which is actually a 3 day event that is HUGE here. I've never seen an entire country stop and close down for a full 3 days like Grenada does. Although we don't understand what exactly Carnival is celebrating, I do know that it is a big deal. The first night, called J'Ouvert, which is essentially a dancing parade where the locals throw paint and motor oil all over each other......very weird concept. The second night is another parade with lots of glow up lights and the third night is a costume parade. Me and some friends opted for the 2nd night because we didn't want to ruin our clothes. I put some pictures below but it was lots of fun actually and it was cool to take part in a local tradition. Today I went to the store and got some of the things I needed still since the stores have been closed the past few days. Spending money in Grenada is very odd because it feels like you are spending so much money. The exchange rate is: 1 USD = 2.66 Eastern Caribbean Dollars. Therefore, a typical lunch is 20 EC.....but that really is only about $8 USD. The Spiceland Mall, which is next to the Grand Anse Beach, is actually pretty normal. They have many stores (not the stores we have in the US) and the grocery store was pretty typical too except because of island time, the lines were ridiculously long. This is Grenada. Not sure if I talked about the Grand Anse beach in my last post but it is simply amazing.....I love it so much. We have been going there everyday because once classes start, there goes any free time. Orientation starts tomorrow and we have events going on every day until the weekend. I'll probably update this weekend after its all over with. Thanks for reading!