Mt. Qua Qua to Concord Waterfall Hike

Another volunteer and I went on a hike yesterday and I had such a good time! Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day activities that need to get done, that I forget about how beautiful this place really is. It is so green and lush and mountainous! I really enjoyed all the wonderful views that I got to see on this hike.

So, we started in the middle of the island at Grand Etang (about 2000 ft. escalation). From there we took a trail to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. The Grand Etang lake is right next to you on the trail and sets a nice and calming atomosphere for the hike. On the way up to the top you are able to look back and see the town of St. George's. You can see where the airport is and we even saw the cruise ships that were docked in town! When we got to the top we saw various other mountain tops and also saw Grenville on the east side of the island. It was an amazing view.

From there, we took another trail that lead us off to the west. We were hoping that this trail would lead us to the 3 Concord Waterfalls. And after a little more than 2 hours of hiking, we proved ourselves right. The hike was a little wet and muddy in places, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't fall flat on my butt a few times, but I really enjoyed the time in the outdoors exploring a new place I had never been.

I really enjoy moments when you get some time away from the city and all the busyness of life to just be able to enjoy the simple pleasures....like hiking in the woods.

New Volunteers

I was contacted by a trainee from the new group (EC81) yesterday! I am really looking forward to their arrival! There are suppose to be 8 or 9 of them in this coming group (which will be more than doubling our number of volunteers here in Grenada!) They should be arriving here at the end of February. I can't wait to see their assignments and to see where they will be placed.

yay!

Winter Break

Over the 3 weeks of winter break this christmas season a lot happened; I got open water scuba certified, my family came to visit, and Lizzie, Nicole and I celebrated our birthdays! It was an amazing break. Here are some photos so that I can share it all with you!

Finally scuba certified!

Took my family to St. George's


then to Mt. Carmel Waterfall

played in the natural water slides

enjoyed the sun at the beach

took them to see the wonderful Peace Corps office

and my work site PAM

then we toured the Rivers Rum Distillery

drove past Lake Antoine

and finally toured the Belmont Estate

Celebrated Lizzie's Birthday at the beach

And then celebrated my birthday by having dinner at Patrick's

I wish all of you could have been here to celebrate the holiday season with us. Best of wishes to everyone in the new year.

"Keep your coins. I want change."

Something I wanted to share from another Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ghana, Africa.

"I entered the Peace Corps assuming that I would spend the next two
years in a distinctly different world, full of people unlike me in
every way. Over the course of my service in Ghana, however, I learned
to see this world as one where those differences are primarily
superficial. When we define people based solely on factors such as
language, nationality, social status, or culture, we cheat ourselves
from seeing that the essence of what makes us human transcends all
borders. I am defined by many categories: I am a woman, a Native
American, and an American citizen. But, my time overseas has shown me
that first and foremost, I am a human with six billion relatives." -
Praya Baruch (RPCV, Ghana), Choctaw Nation

The good and the bad

This past weekend I found out that the burglar who broke into my friend's place (while I was there) was caught. He was caught breaking into another house and they were able to identify him. So, the police found him and made him turn in all the things that he had stolen. So my friends were able to get their computer and camera back. As you could imagine, we are all very happy about this news. Karma can really come around to bite you in the ass!

On another note though, I officially found out yesterday that one of the students that I have been working closely on reading with is pregnant again for the third time. And she is only 16. And to make matters even worse, the reason she became pregnant is because she was sexually assaulted. I wish that I could do something for her, she has had such a traumatic life already. PAM has this policy that requires girls who have second pregnancies, while in the program, to drop out. I hope that they make an exception for this girl. She was just starting to really open up socially and also starting to get the hang of reading finally. I know that if she isn't able to continue here at PAM that she will struggle with her lack of education. I hope that she will still be able to persevere and turn her life around after all this.

Giving up my rights

After hearing about the Peace Corps' mandatory vaccination for H1N1 and the flu this past week, I have become more than a little unsettled with the fact that I have apparently given up the rights to my own body by joining the Peace Corps. I contacted our Medical Officer to see if I had a choice in the matter whether I would like to receive the vaccine or not, and I was told (in summary) that yes I had a choice, but if I opted to not recieve the vaccine that I should start packing my things to go home...

I realize that my health is a matter of concern for the Peace Corps, and that if anything were to happen to me, that it would be on Peace Corps' medical tab...HOWEVER, I am pretty unpleased with the fact that I am unable to decide what injections are going into my body. This new H1N1 vaccine is brand new and scientists aren't able to know if there are going to be any lasting side effects....correct?! And yet....it is inside my body now. Thanks.