Superbowl Dip Downer

If you know me, you know Im really not that into football, but I love parties- so this weekend is supposed to be awesome: Beach Friday and Saturday,Superbowl Sunday, Independence Day Monday...

It sucks having a best friend that cooks really well because my already mediocre culinary skills are amplified to a solid "poor culinary skills", by comparison at least.  But I was excited because I was going to make Rhona's famous buffalo chicken cheese dip (Karli made it over Xmas, too, so between then both I think I ingested a pound of cheese this holiday season).

Me and Danielle finally found our rhythm with the grocery store, arriving thursday afternoon when the place is pretty much stocked.  But this saturday evening we were there on a mission:

8 oz franks red hot
8 oz ranch
8 oz cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 chicken breast

Easy enough.  Im waltzing down the isles, picking everything out... Then I get to the cream cheese and my two options are 1.) an 8 oz tub of pineapple cream cheese, 2.) a KILOGRAM of regular cream cheese for $25.  Ummmmmm....

I stood there for a solid 10 mins "should I just suck it up and BUY the kilogram of creem cheese?" at one point danielle almost convinced me to quadruple my reciple to accomodate for all the cream cheese.  I didn't think giving all of my friends a heart attack was very fitting of a doctor to be...

So as the sad trombones played in the background (Wahhh wohhh), I returned every item to it's place and said "F*** this, Im bringing popsicles."

Only in Grenada.

New Island. New Adventures.

Location: London, England

Plan: Arrive in London for 5 week research project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine(LSHTM)

Background:

I did some research about being a visitor in the UK.  Do visitors need a visa? No.  Do students need visas? Only if you are there longer than 6 months...welp that's not me...so I guess I don't need a visa.  But at the suggestion of my supervisor at the LSHTM, I thought I would get a letter for immigration from SGU to let them know what I was doing in the country...

Ok, so now I only needed to find a place to live... I had a friend in Grenada from London and he recommended a few websites like Craigslist...but I ended up finding a website called Roomster.com and a lovely woman named "Laura Vaughn" with a beautiful 3 br flat, and she wanted to let me lease one room there for a reasonable price...

She seemed a little strange, but how can you really tell over the internet?  We exchanged about 20 emails, including a 10 page tenancy agreement, etc.  She wanted me to make a deposit and first months payment of rent before I got there to secure my place.  I admit, I was a little nervous about doing that...but I didnt want to be homeless when I got to the UK. So I sent her an email with my concerns, and she responded reassuringly... So I decided to wire her 800 GBP, or about $1300 US....and I just prayed that it wasnt a Somalian scam artist on the internet.

After that, I didnt really hear from her again...well I KIND of did...but like "oh im so busy, blah blah blah".  She was supposed to send me a signed copy of the tenancy agreement...never did...supposed to send me a scanned copy of her passport...never did... So I asked my Practicum supervisor to give "her" a call on the phone number she provided me with to figure out the details of how I would be meeting up with her, etc.

Isolde gave "her" a call...and it was a distinctly African man..."WHO is this?! Why are you calling?!?!?"  Very paranoid...Isolde was like "Im leila's supervisor and I just wanted to figure out the logistics of her arrival".. "YES! the American! We know, we have already discussed details with her!"  then he hung up.

So Isolde told me...don't meet them at the airport, come meet me at XYZ restraunt when you arrive...we will go from there.  At this point, I was fairly certain I had been scammed, but was hoping for the best...who knows, maybe Laura just had a really hostile boyfriend?

So I said to myself...let's just take this one step at a time...

6:00 AM, London time, just arrived after a 3 stop connection flight from Cleveland to NYC, NYC to Boston, Boston to Heathrow...After traveling for 20 hours...Im exhausted.  But extremely excited, to say the least!

Waiting in the immigration line was torture...I was starving, I missed the "breakfast" on the plane because I was sleeping... but after 30 mins, I was finally at my immigration officers booth.

Immigration Officer (IO): "Hello, so what brings you to london?"
Me: "Im doing some research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
IO: "How long will you be staying?"
Me: "5 weeks"
IO: "Do you have any documentation with the details of your stay here?"
Me: " Yes, my school provided me with a letter for immigration.." I pulled out the letter...
IO: reading....making faces "hmmm...it says here you are conducting an internship?"
Me: "Yes, well, its actually research."
IO: "well why would they call it an internship?"
Me: "Well, I guess its just a generic word for what my experience is"
IO: "can you please wait over there while I go ask my supervisor some questions?"

So I waited for like 45 mins...then he comes back

IO: "Im sorry, we are going to have to detain you for further investigation"
Me: "OK....is there anything I can help you with?"
IO: "we will be interviewing you shortly"

They bring me to a room...just like you see on TV...Isolated, one window to the hallway... nothing to read. UGH. Im starving, tired, and im supposed to meet Isolde at the cafe in 30 mins...how long is this going to take?

the IO comes back and interrogates me for about an hour...Documenting everything we say by hand... He then takes me to another room where I am fingerprinted and photographed (see below).  Then I was searched....my coat, backpack, everything. 
IO: "we are going to need to search your bags.... lets go to baggage claim together...."
we get to baggage claim only to find out that MY BAGS NEVER ARRIVED.
 IO: "well im sorry, but we may have to deport you back to Boston because your bags didnt arrive"
Me: "Im sorry, why is this?"
IO: "well, as a part of letting you land, we need to search your bags"
Me: "Well I can wait here until my bags arrive"
IO: "lets give it some time...let me speak with my supervisor"

He puts me back into the holding room... and I wait for what seems like an eternity...
He comes back
IO: "ok well im going to have my supervisor ask you some more questions"
Me: "yes, sure, absolutely"

So they interrogate me for another 45 mins...once again, hand documenting the whole thing...SO inefficient...
then they leave me for a little and come back.
IO; "good news, we had called your supervisor at the school, and she verified your story, and we are going to let you land this time"
Me: "wow thank you!"

By this poit it was 11:30...and I had been in immigration holding for 5.5 hours! 

I couldnt reach Isolde with the payphone...because I literally couldnt figure it out...So I decided to just show up at the school...bagless...starving...and go from there.

1:00 PM  Arrive at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
 Isolde: "Wow im so glad you made it here! They never called me back to tell me that you were being landed, they just told me they may have to deport you!"

I told her how my bags didnt arrive, etc...and we decided to call "Laura Vaughn" together...To see if I could just go home and rest for alittle... No such luck...The same man answered. then hung up on us.

Welcome to London: Homeless, Penniless, Bagless.
My only consolation-this classic immigration photo:

You know you live in Grenada when...

* ...you missed going to the grocery on thursday, so sorry,I guess you wont have chicken this week.
*...your favorite perfume is 30% Deet.
*...WALMART is now what you would consider to be a luxury
*...You spend $8 on a diet snapple for an extravagent afternoon treat
*...You will get cell phone service "if it pleases the lord".
*...Seeing a tomato is more exciting than a UFO sighting
*...You or someone you know has vomited after their wild ride in a reggae bus.
*...Blackouts last for whole days...not just a few hours
*...Drinking water scares you...but you have to just get over it.
*...Jerry Sienfeld's 2007 flop "Bee Movie" just came out at the box office.
*...Professors arrive to university events in a kayak.
*...You fill up your water bottle with warm water from a drinking fountain
*...You know how to respond to someone that yells WHAGUAN at you.
*...When someone yells "electrical fire", you turn off the lights and continue with class...with the lights off.
*...You love it when you see spiders because you know they eat mosquitos
*...You say things like "omg what I would give for a reasonably priced can opener".
*...You smile and wave when someone TOOTS their horn at you.
*...You progressively become less and less sanitary when washing dishes and preparing food because...meh, whatever, it's grenada.
*...Karaoke at a bar is done with a microphone and YouTube
*...You know what leaf to stand by to catch the bus off campus...there are no official bus stops.
*...You walk around paranoid about Dengue, but have no issue with the clouds of toxic smoke wafting from people burning their trash.
*...Straightening your hair is futile...it WILL become an afro on your walk to class.
*...you buy food from random strangers on the beach, on campus, in town...even though there is no FDA here.
*...University events provide alcohol because its cheaper than food.
*...A thunderstorm isnt just a thunderstorm...It's a borderline natural disaster.
*...It's totally normal to have a crab cross your path on the way to class.
*...When you get a sunburn, you use an actual aloe plant...
*...Stray dogs dogs and cats are friendly....but they WILL give you fleas. (wahhh ;) ).
*...VIP at a club costs $24 US dollars. and that includes all you can drink.
*...Everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you a spice necklace.
*...You are severely anemic and you bruise like a peach.
*...A cab ride for 8 people costs 8 bucks total.
*...You are surrounded by water but the fish is all imported and ONE PIECE of sushi costs $2.
*...There are cows on the beach.
*...You find yourself strangely into Soca music all of a sudden.
*...You continue to swim in the ocean for hours even after repeatedly being stung by baby jelly fish.
*...Radio stations are in shacks off the beaten path.
*...A 30 min wait for fast food is EXCELLENT!
*...Your chicken fingers never came out because they "couldn't catch the chicken". No joke.
*...At least 3 times daily you look around and go...wow. I live here.

Professor Faux Pas

Danielle and I were leaving Lime (mobile phone service store in Grenada) in Grand Anse and headed for the bus stop.  As usual, we ran into one of our professors in the context of his personal life(which is always very odd).  We made small talk for a few minutes then bid eachother good-weekend, and started toward the bus stop.
 "you dont have a ride?" He asked us.
 "we were just going to take the bus" we said.
"well if you need a ride, I can take you to campus"
"no it's ok, thank you though, we will be fine on the bus"
"no really, im going to campus, if you need a ride, just hop in"
"Are you sure?"
"of course!"

Danielle and I changed directions toward the professor's jazzy hunday (it was top-notch for Grenada).

"you're sitting up front with him" I whispered to Danielle
"no way, man, you are"
"FINE" I said. 

I then proceeded to open the door to the front seat and climb in....
Yes.  You guessed it... I had climbed into the driver's seat of my professor's car... OOPS.

They drive on the opposite side.

Nervously giggling and beat red, I hoist myself out of the driver's seat, and go around to the other side.
He just stared at me, much like someone would stare at you for stealing money out of a charity jar. 
"no, this is a right side driver car" He said.

I gathered as much.

Im sure I made a great impression.
I will never make that mistake again.  I also will never be driving here.

Addendum to the Previous Post: That's no banana.

So the "bananas" I bought have stayed green for a week now... And tonight before class I decided I would just eat a non-ripe banana.  When I go to peel the "banana", the stem SNAPS off, not allowing me to peel said "banana".  So, treating it as a normal banana, I decide to just try to peel it without the stem as an aid.  Then a layer of fibrous material is peeled away, but still the banana is not peeled.

So I get a knife, of course....This is ONE TOUGH BANANA. I don't care though, because Im hungry and a banana is the "perfect fruit".  I cut it open...but the skin wont peel away from the "banana" inside...so I cut it away...of course... Im determined to eat this banana, ripe or not.

I bite into the "banana".  This is no banana. And don't even patronize me and say "it's a plantain".  No. This was no plantain. This is some sort of cucumber/potato-ish vegatable disguised as a banana!  How do I eat this? WHAT IS THIS!?

So I take it to class to ask the professor what this is... Because he is Grenadian.  "Dat ees a Plugo" he says... "you cook it in soup or fry it up in a stew"...

But when I google Plugo... or anything like it (because let's face it, I may have not have heard him correctly), Google has nothing.  And even when I search "vegetable that looks like a banana" Google insists that this is a plantain.

Like I said. This is no plantain...and That ain't no banana either.

I will give $10 EC to the person who correctly identifies the following vegatable, and gives me a method of preparation (with cited sources):

Market, St. Georges

Today me and Danielle got up at 7 so we could get to the Market at St. Georges as it opened to get first pick.  As one of our professors said, the public transportation here is some of the most efficient in the world.  For 1 US dollar, the busses will find you.  They will back up on a highway to let you on; they will off-road it; they would fly if they could to get you on the bus. 

So as the bus was barreling down the windey, narrow roads, I couldn't help but just look and be like "wow, I live here now, and I absolutely love it".  Don't get me wrong, it is not the US.  Expect delays, expect tampons to cost $30 US, dont expect chicken cutlets, or fresh eggs every day at the store... As they say here "eggs are finish"... Everything could be "finish".  Copy machine could be "finish"; after a long walk, legs could be "finish".  Love it. 
Anyways, the market is just as you would expect it to be: bustling, fresh, packed.  It was amazing though.
I brought $25 US with me and here is what I got (including my trip to the grocery nearby, and bus fare):
 Dozen Eggs
2 large cucumbers
2.5 lbs of tomatoes
Saffron
Orregano
Curry
2 ears of corn
2 bushels of snap peas
a giant avocado
onions
loaf of bread
3 fresh Banana-ish fruit (not plantains, not bananas)
and out of necessity: Instant coffee.

It was AWESOME.  I didnt take pics at the market because I wanted to get good deals and I didnt want to look touristy...even though I am.  I will take pics next time.

In conclusion, you CAN eat cheap here.  You just have to get up very early saturday morning and get to the market... Get there too late, and all da tings is finish.

Welcome to the Blog;Disclaimer

If you are reading this blog, you either
A.) Know me and are interested in my adventures throughout the world for the next couple years of my schooling
B.) Accidentally stumbled upon this link, and have been intrigued enough to stay
C.) Don't know me but want to live my adventures vicariously through this blog

Whatever the case may be, just remember: these are MY experiences, MY journeys, MY opinions.  Please don't be offended if they differ from yours, but I welcome all opinions/comments!

BACKSTORY:
I am a student at Saint Georges University, in Saint Georges, Grenada, West Indies... I am persuing my Masters in Public Health and Medical Degree for the next 3 yeasr on the island before I return to the United States for clinical rotations.  If you have no idea where Grenada is, take a look at Puerto Rico on a map, follow the Carribean Island chain all the way down to the right to the very last island off the coast of Venezuela.

I arrived here in the early morning of August 11th...but we will get to that later. 

Welcome to my blog.