auto service

I am at the moment sitting in the "waiting room" while our rattle trap is having the breaks fixed.
First off it's one of the largest dealers on the island "Steele's Auto Parts", (yet it's a dealer). But when I drove up it does not say "Steele's" ANYWHERE... in Grenada I've learned that if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck, (even if it's purple or blue) then it's probably a duck. This turned out to be true as I finally confirmed I was at the right place when seeing "Steele's" on a placard stating "Best Service" above someone's desk on the wall.
It's interesting as I am at this dealer, but it's nothing like the dealerships in the US. The big sign outside resembles a us auto dealer sign pretty well... but I entered into what looked like the official entrance only to find the largest most prominent room is the parts department. This department is usually tucked away in a dark corner in the states but here it's apparently one of their biggest businesses. I've been told "everyone's a mechanic in Grenada" so apparently few people come here for servicing but MANY come for parts. Also there is no "Car lot", I am at a dealer but I don't see any new cars.... yeah that struck me as a little odd. I think they have a few around back, perhaps you tell them what you want and they order it.... really not sure but it's nothing like the US that's for sure. Besides the peeling dented paint, mis-matched tile, and slightly funky arrangement of everything, it seems to work alright. It's also interesting that this is a Toyota, Suzuki, Volvo, and Kia dealer all in one. I chose to go here simply because I didn't trust a backyard mechanic with my brakes... brakes tend to be kind of important.
It's currently been two and a half hours and I am still waiting on the quote...
Update: so I asked just a bit ago what the status was of my quote and the reply I got was that the car was almost finished, as in they were almost finished doing the work. So trying to roll with it here they just do the work and you pay for it after, no quote. It's a little worrisome but it shouldn't be too bad.
The politely turned the TV on with BBC world playing. Now that i've been here for ... five hours i've seen BBC's entire news real many many times. ahh so much fun. :)

It's a dog's life

Recently our two furry footed children have been the topic of many correspondence, so I'd like to take a few quick moments to say a word or two about them. As I am sure you're quite aware, we brought our two Miniature Schnauzers with us to Grenada. Jasper, the king of the household (he'd like to think so anyhow), and Felicity, hunter of all things living and small (especially lizards), are quite happy here. They both eagerly look forward to every walk, but show the most enthusiasm for the morning Lizard chasing walk. This walk is usually pre-breakfast while Megan and I are still half asleep. The dogs on the other hand are at 110% alertness. They dart for everything that moves. We do our best to keep from falling over as they dart all over the place scattering the lizards in every direction and wrapping the leashes around our ankles. We've only suffered one fall due to the lizards (with a large helping hand from a pothole), Megan crashed a month or so ago and sprained her ankle. Considering the number of lizards they are chasing I figure we're doing pretty good. Below Jasper watches for lizards out the window...

The dogs are also especially good at assisting us while studying. Both of them don't seem to understand why I don't let them sit on my chest while trying to work on the computer. They are quite happy being the center of attention and make working on the computer quite a bit more challenging. The following photos show how hard the puppies try at assisting us to study, especially Jasper...
Above jasper resorts to his least favorite spot... below the lap he wishes to be on.
Above, Jasper got his way. He stretches his neck as far as he can so that it rests on the table next to his mom's arm.

Above, now Jasper's in heaven. This is his favorite place to be, in the middle of everything.


Now on to a much more entertaining topic... for us humans anyhow...
Above, Jasper "Yes? What is so entertaining?" .... me. "BATH TIME!!!!"
Above, Jasper "Oh God... what did I do to deserve this!" If you look closely you'll see the whites of his eyes along the bottom of his eyes, he's giving me the "Woe is me" look, he points his head down and looks up through his bushy eye brows with big brown pleading eyes...
And when he thinks that fails....
Above, ... he hides... Felicity jumps up to take his place. Ever happy-go-lucky (aka sweet ditsy blond), she doesn't have a clue what I just said. Jasper on the other hand can be seen hiding behind the curtains in the background. The puppies HATE getting wet, seriously hate any little drop of water on them. This means bath time is a bit of an interesting adventure. We have a nylon leash which is tied to the shower wall so we can keep them in one place while bathing them. They do their best to ensure I too get a bath by shaking every couple seconds sending showers of soap and water all over me and the shower walls. A switch flips though the second they get out of the shower. At this point they sense FREEDOM!!!! Both puppies are as hyper as can be and run around like lunatics rubbing against everything trying to dry off....
Jasper is smart, very smart. He knows that when he's fluffy a bath is usually followed by a hair cut, another thing on his least favorite activities list...
Above, Jasper knowing what is coming next... "Dad, I swear I am not here! Nothing to see but a big fluffy comforter..."
After a couple hours of brushing and clipping he looks practically show ready! It shouldn't take THAT long but I tend to be too detail oriented so it takes me forever, but isn't he good looking now?!?!What the pictures don't show is the coat of fur I am wearing at this point or the layer of fur covering most the apartment... oh well it's worth it, they look great. Hair cuts also can't be put off too long here due to the high heat. I've quite enjoyed learning to clip them, I am far from pro but i manage a pretty decent job.

Now after all that stress it's time to take a nap...
Weekend naps are one of my wife's favorite times, as well as Felicity's and Jasper's. It's all about laying down for an hour or so and getting some quality family cuddle time in...

If Jasper isn't splayed full spread eagle like above, then his usual napping spot is to be found at mom's head.

... or even more likely to be found wrapped around mom's head... :) She lays down then he finds his way up to the pillow and carefully lays down around her, while Felicity can usually be found wrapped in Megan's arms.


After a nice restful nap it's time to of course jump up and find the nearest lap to occupy! (below...)
Notice how he sits like a human? I didn't place him like that. He jumps up sits down and then rolls back up against me. He's completely convinced he's supposed to sit like any human does.
It's rare that the dogs are allowed on the couch when we have food in our hands, it's even more rare that they get to sit next to us much less ON us... needless to say jasper was in heaven here. As his mouth was positioned directly below Megan's fork, ensuring any crumbs had an express route to his tummy!

Weather... or lack there of

A common question I get in emails or phone calls is "So how's the weather down there?". The weather here is nice, very nice. If you don't mind high heat and pretty high humidity it's great. The funny thing is the weather never changes. i figured as a good example i'd show today's weather...As you can see from the above weather forecast for today, it doesn't change... at all. This is obviously the hour by hour for today. As you can see 78 is about as low as it gets with a high of 83. "scattered showers" meaning wear shorts but be prepared to get drenched even with blue skies above you when you least expect it.
Everyone thinks of CA as a temperate climate zone, but it's nothing compared to here with a max of 5 degree change. Anyhow it keep us in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals every day all day and night.
.... ahh ok so my lovely wife just pointed out one large discrepancy in the Grenada weather pattern. There is a strong arctic breeze that focuses just inside each lecture hall dropping the temperatures to a sub-freezing 72 degrees. This of course requires students to bring blankets, electric heating pads, hooded sweatshirts, and jeans! This may sound like an exaggeration but I am actually not joking... at all! The students put up with sweating like crazy in jeans to stay warm during lecture. A large part of the problem or cause of them getting so cold is the interesting way in which SGU does the lectures. Unlike most everyone's undergrad classes where you scramble from classroom to classroom, at SGU the vet students stay in the same classroom (lecture hall) for three to four hours straight and the professors simply change. It's an odd concept but since everyone is taking the exact same classes at the same time it works pretty well. Why have 60 students run around when you can have three or four professors run around instead? :)

Perfect timing, as I've been writing this I've been noting the pretty blue sky, then in the last 30 seconds the blue sky has been replaced with gray clouds and it's down pouring gallons by the second. Needless to say you don't have to worry about washing your car very often here. :)

Grenadian Rattle Trap!

Megan and I are now the proud owners of a Grenadian Rattle Trap! AKA an old beat up, rattling, worn out, car! After exactly two months of being on the island we decided to purchase a car. I've been walking 15-20 minutes each way to the store 3-4 times a week (only able to buy what I can carry home). Laundry also requires the same hike, and let me tell you 30lbs + of laundry on your back in 80+ F weather is not any fun. We waited long enough to see if there were easier ways around this and there just isn't, without some sort of car life requires a LOT of walking. I've enjoyed the walking... just not the very heavy loads of groceries and laundry.
So we started looking around... cars here are a completely different story then in the states. To import a car you are charged 105% tax, so you buy a $20K car, pay 5K to ship it here, then pay $21K in import tax. Your $20k car now cost you $46K. (no we did NOT pay anywhere NEAR 41K!) The "normal" state of cars here is also pretty shabby. I thought being on the ocean and with all the rain all the cars would be rust buckets but surprisingly most cars only have a tiny bit, nothing like MI where paint keeps the car from falling apart due to rust. Looking for a car here we decided a couple things were important, it must be able to roll down hill AND uphill (I know were picky), and 4x4 was preferred. 4x4 is VERY common on this island as many of the inland roads are in pretty bad shape and I hear they get a lot worse in the rainy season. So we set our targets on a tiny 4 dr suv. We found exactly what we were looking for... and in our price range we couldn't be too picky. We've got a four door Suzuki Escudo, (known as a Chevy tracker, or Suzuki Vatara in the states). See below for some shots of us and our new Escudo...

Above - Notice the hump on the right side of the dash? This is a "Right hand drive" car, we drive on the Left side of the road down here... yeah it's taking a little getting used to, but I'm getting the hang of it. Megan has yet to get her license so she'll be out experimenting this weekend!It actually looks a lot nicer in the photos then in person but hey! It gets us from point A to point B, and with 4x4 it will get us over the bumpy ass roads in between.

Now at first glance I called our car "Black". I have been corrected by my ecstatic wife when she looked closely and found it to be "Peacock Green"... uh OK if she says so. :) The below photo is an attempt to show the green, try to imagine the thick layer of dirt not being there...


So what are other Grenadian/student cars like? well the Escudo is by FAR the most common car for all students, there are hundreds of them zooming around, (occasionally on the wrong side of the road). There are also a number of American cars down here (left hand drive). One of the people living in our condo complex has to win the award for the car with the most ... uh... personality! This is Dave's car... it's quite a looker!

Ain't she a BUTE!?!?!?!

No windows? NO problem!

If it looks like the camera is at an angle, it's not. This top-notch pure bread Land Rover has a nice lllleeeaaannnn to it. You should hear this thing PUUUURRRR!!! (like a sickly lion!). Dave said it only has a 4 cylinder engine in it, but there's enough room in there to put a 400 cubic inch engine under the hood.

For any of you who know my good friend Bill, this has his name ALL OVER IT!!!

Hash Harriers

THAT'S ILLEGAL!!! ... Contrary to initial impressions his is not about vertical take off jets loaded full of pot... I am now technically a "Hasher", and although to become a hasher did involve a LOT of weed...s.. there was no smoking to be had. So what the heck is a "Hash Harrier" anyhow? It blends a lot of different things, starting with trail running. Now add some sense of adventure.... in fact a HUGE sense of adventure, with a bit of connect-the-dots infatuation. Finally and most importantly you've got to be slightly crazy, this is absolutely necessary, (otherwise why in the heck would you subject your self to this...). What all this adds up to is a trail run through the rain forest up and down an unknown "path" made up of blobs white shredded paper spread every 10-30 feet... or so. As a hasher you have no idea where the trail is going to lead, it's a large-scale game of connect-the-blobs. There are often (but not always) two trails, one for running and one for walking. The idea being the walking trail is shorter so everyone ends at about the same time. There is one LARGE aspect of hashing I've yet to mention, and that would be the main goal of 99% of hashers, BEER! The end of a has run is all about lots of beer, and on occasion food too. If you're wondering why would you want to exercise only to drink a lot of beer, "why not just drink or just run"... then you need to think of it in terms of this Acronym D.W.A.R.P.! Drinkers With A Running Problem! Unfortunately for me I'm not a beer drinker, i suppose i need to find a running flask... do they make such a thing? I've been told this is a world wide phenomenon, I can't speak for hash runs in other countries, but for the Grenada Hash House Harriers it's all about the rain forest ...and Carib of course. (Carib is the local Grenadian beer). Another quick note about the runs, the routes are determined the day of by one or two "Hares" who grab a machete, a big o'l bag of shredded paper, and head out into the rain forest hacking a new path for the day's hash run. Each has is different and unique. The trails also usually have at least one or two false trails. If you find a big white X then you've been running down the wrong trail, back to the fork (if you even saw it), and try again. As if you needed anything more to get your self lost in the rain forest.
So how did I get involved in this uh... "sport"? I started asking around about trail running in Grenada as it was one of my favorite things to do (besides cycling) in CA. Immediately everyone responded with "OH you've GOT to do a hash run!" This past Saturday, the 8th was my hash run, and by no means my last.
Saturday I hopped on a reggae bus heading north to the Carinage. Seeing a group of about 12 or so people of all odd shapes and sizes ALL wearing tennis shoes (odd phenomenon in the Caribbean), I knocked on the roof knowing this was my stop. The reggae van BLASTING music came to a screeching halt and I jump out. Approaching the group I ask "is this for the hash run?" I received a warm smile and a slightly mischievously look when the guy responded "Yep! Your first hash?" , "yes", "ahh a Virgin". I had read up on hashing a bit so luckily for me I was prepared for what was to come later and what his mischievously look meant. Signing the log book there is a separate column "Virgins", man they take this seriously... This meeting spot was simply an easy to get to gathering location where everyone carpools together to the start of the run. I'd like to say we headed north but we made so many turns i swear we spiraled around at least six times so I have no idea where on the island we were. On the ride up I found my self next to four Peace Corps. volunteers, they were all doing misc. services for Grenada from after school programs to setting up special education classes for the disabled. They were very friendly and lots of fun.
SGU provides a bus directly from campus to the hash start location, when that arrived the population about doubled. In total at the start there were probably about 50 hashers there, and a good 30% or so were all Virgins as I found out by the starling raising of hands in the beginning of the run. Skipping the inaugural speech stuff... the run started out as about every other race I've run has started. With the slowest walkers in front of course so all the runners have to squeeze around everyone as quickly as possible, no biggy. Seeing the first blob of paper I set it in my memory.. "DON"T forget what that looks like!" I'd been told not to worry, that there will always be someone behind you or someone in front of you to follow but when I was running at a good clip straight into the rain forest self preservation topped anything anyone could have done to assure me. The run started out hard, short steep up hill then LONG, STEEP, and completely rutted dirt "road" down hill. About this point is when I start thinking "for every hill i go down there's another one I must go back up... oh god..." a quarter mile later my thought was granted and we started up a very steep hill, only to go around a bend and have it get steeper yet...
another corner and even steeper. It wasn't quite vertical but at this point every single "runner" was walking and totally out of breath.
Right past here is where the split for the walkers and the runners divided. I am thinking to my self, I am a hell of a lot more out of shape then I thought, can i really take a whole lot more of this?... My plan had always been to do the longer running trail so even feeling like i was about to blow a few gaskets i headed down (thank god) the runner's trail. It VERY quickly changed from a road, to a path, to uh well a search for blobs in the jungle.
(above) although it may seem hard to believe the "trail" went straight though the middle of this photo. The grass your seeing is about two to four feet high. Note the goat! (look left side next to the log).
Running slowed to a jog and then to walk and then to an agile leaping over roots creeks, under trees, over logs, through brush, over bamboo, through bamboo.. WHACK! ... into bamboo. For all of you who've been on Indiana Jones at Disneyland, you know the huge "fake looking" bamboo that is all over the line area? Well in Grenada it isn't fake. I was quite surprised to see 4-6" diameter bamboo all over the place. (Below) check out this photo, this is looking straight up in the middle of a bamboo patch that i was "running" through.
All the funky angled bamboo throws off the perspective but if you notice only the green live bamboo faces straight up. This gives you an idea though what lies on the ground under the tall grass, LOTS of unknowns.
I I ended up following a local for a while (see below photo) who seemed to know his way around pretty well, until of course he pulled ahead and i lost him.
I found my self alone a number of times for periods of about five to ten minutes at the most. Five minutes in the rain forest "running" on some funky goose chase to who knows where is a bit nerve racking alone. Needles to say I was happy when I saw white flashes such as the shirt in front of me here...... and here...
The photo quality isn't quite what I usually post as I was using my four year old point and shoot digi cam. I wasn't about to risk my new Canon Rebel on this adventure. The fact that I was either running, hoping, or in motion of some sort with all photos is another big factor but hey you get a good view of what it looked like to me.
The laws of physics didn't seem to quite play out in this run, I SWEAR we ran UP twice as much as we ran down... But eventually we reached the peak. When you're on a 12 x 22 mile long island and you reach about a 1000 ft peak, you can see about a quarter of the entire country from one spot.
From this point on it was finally all down hill and easy going. The usual passing through people's yards, through farmer's "fields" of something, and eventually onto a dirt road leading back to Madi Gras, the start/finish.
After the run was completed there was a slightly crazy Scottish guy there auctioning off a three walking sticks for charity. Students really got into it and each one sold for average of 300 EC. (about... $125 USD). The guy with the "Sex Nice"... aka the school bus driver... lol :) The crazy Scottish guy in the background in mid auction.
Now to the finale. As a Virgin I was gathered with all the other Virgins just a ways away from the experienced hashers. We were read our doctrine of entrance to being a Hasher and no longer a Virgin by the Hash Master. Then we were told to receive our certificates would require us to meet him on the other side of the experienced Hashers... Since I was IN this I don't have my own photo so i borrowed one from the Grenada Hash Harriers website...
The Grenada Hash Harrier's website puts it best... "Newcomers to the hash (known as virgins) go through an initiation ritual (it is a secret ritual so let us just say that they end up reeking of beer) and are given a baptismal scroll welcoming them to the Order. Some are never seen again; the more extroverted (or is the word perverted?) become addicted."
And here is me after this nice baptismal...
It may not look like it but I am dripping from head to toe in beer... I REEKED!!! I'll update this in a day or two with a copy of my "Loss of Virginity" Certificate...
Overall Hashing was an absolute blast! I came home with only one cut (about three inches long down my leg), from a run-in with a cactus like plant thing and lots of mud all over the legs, calves, shoes, etc.
If you ever get a chance to go on a Hash, put on some old grungy shoes, expect to get dirty and smelly as can be, and go for it!
By the way, about half if not more of the Hashers walk the whole thing. Being the first back is frowned upon. Take a look at the website for more details... www.grenadahash.com

UPDATE: Below is my Official Loss Of Virginity certificate.... lol Note the weird grammar? that's about the way the locals usually talk, no wonder i can never understand what the heck they are saying...