SFO ==> JFK ==> SJU ==> GND

Was exactly what I wrote, on both my checked-in luggage bags, in fear of one or both of them getting lost. Guess it must’ve worked. When I got into the airport in Grenada, my bags were already there waiting for me. Overall, I had a very smooth journey. When I needed a hand w/ putting my very heavy (almost 40 lbs) luggage into the overhead compartment, someone was there to give me a hand. When I had to wait over 5 hours in JFK for the flight to San Juan, I quickly passed the time reading a book that my friend had given me. So, even though it was a day’s journey to Grenada, I really enjoyed it.

I arrived in Grenada on the 13th at night, and immediately, I thought “wow, it’s pretty hot here”. At first, I was afraid that I would have to get a taxi by myself to get to my dorm, but the welcome party was there and the driver took me and another girl to our designated dorms. After stepping inside the dorm, I realized that there are no elevators. Correct me if I’m wrong, but out of all the superdorms (SDs), the only dorm that has an elevator is SD6 which is the newest one. And to my dismay, my room was on the 2nd (3rd US) floor. Needless to say, it was not fun trying to carry 2 50lbs luggage up 2 flights of stairs amongst other luggages. On top of that, I was super hungry because I didn’t eat a proper meal at the airport. I had two cups of coffee, scrambled eggs, and a smoothie for the entire day and by the end of the night, I was ready to eat anything that’s edible. I thought about going around campus and looking for edible plants but then decided against it. Figured, I was probably too hungry to be rational. I did get some food that night, though not from wild plants but from an upper classman who was nice enough to give me something to eat.

The next day, I got a new phone, registered for my courses, got a mailbox, and went to the local supermarket (IGA). The phone plans in Grenada are more like pay as you go plans. You add credit to your sim card and depending on where you call your minutes cost differently. During the orientation week, the phone providers (digicel and bmobile) would give out specials like if you buy for a certain amount of credit (EC) then they would double it. So, I got my phone and my double minutes and then went to the library to register. Registration went pretty quickly because I remembered to bring my registration voucher w/ me. I got my ID card, mailbox, the student manual, and my refund check at the registration office. Afterwards, I went to IGA (the local supermarket). When you hear that things are expansive here, believe it! My eyes almost fell out after looking at the price tags. I paid about $3.60 (US) for 2 liter coke that I could’ve gotten in the states for about $0.99, amongst other things.

The realization that I’m in a new country is definitely starting to hit me. I’ve noticed that some of the things that I can take for granted in the states, I can’t take for granted here. For example, back in the states if I get caught eating in a lecture hall (which I have), I would just put the food away after a reminder by the professor not to have any food or drinks in the lecture hall. Here, I feel that things will not be the same. Here, any little rule breaking will get me a ticket and a fine. I feel like I’m back in Burma again and I have to abide by all the rules or else get a sound lashing (in Grenada’s case tickets). And the rules don’t just extend to classroom eating restrictions. Treating others with respects and talking nicely are also rules that you wouldn't want to break. Patience is also an important aspect these rules because if you don’t have enough patient then you lose your temper. And if you lose your temper and teat others w/o respect, you can also get into trouble. You might not necessarily get a ticket unless the person you lost your temper to was a security guard, a staff member, one of the professors or deans. So, in short this past week has been a cultural shock for me. Even though there are a lot of US students here on campus, I think that we’ll all have to change our ways a little bit to get along in this crazy paradise of ours.