May 3rd, 2010 Culture

I thought I'd write a little about my cultural experiences so far. To the right is a Cocoa tree, where cocoa for chocolate comes from.

Grenada is a fascinating place. It is a poor country compared to the US, but the people seem happy and content. It is a simple life here.

In Grenada they use European Currency (EC dollars). The conversion rate is 2.67 EC to one US dollar. They refer to money here as dollars, so when you buy something you need to as "EC or US?" Items are fairly priced, unless you go into the tourist areas. Then they are overpriced.

It is not always easy to get many things we take for granted. I wanted to buy a small CD player to have in my room. I could find only one in the entire mall and it was $75 US! No thanks. I am currently having trouble finding a notebook as I have nearly filled mine.

My second day in Grenada, the water in my guest house went out. No water in the morning or afternoon. Interesting situation. I showered using a drinking water bottle.

I will post pictures of Grenada today or tomorrow. It is a beautiful country. I've learned they have 'two' sections of Grenada. The Country and the 'City.' The Country is truly beautiful. The Country is closer to the interior. It is mountainous and at higher elevations than the City. They are still 10 minutes from the beach, but it is a completely different lifestyle. Everything is green in the country. They have been getting rain and the crops and plants are healthy. There is always a cool breeze in the Country. You don't need air conditioning. The people are different too. It is more of a community there. People work together, hang out together, it reminds me of our small town living. I really like the Country and if I lived in Grenada, would live there...in St. David's province.

The City, which is where I am staying is different. It is much hotter. Houses are grouped together much closer. People are not as friendly, although they are still friendly. The City is more hustle and bustle and where people work. The road's are wide in the city, plenty of room for traffic. That means it is a two lane road with no shoulder. In the Country, there are a lot of 1 lane roads and if you meet an oncoming vehicle, one must give way. Grenada is experiencing a severe drought, since October '09, and the City is very brown and dry.

There are fruit trees everywhere you go. You can stop on any street corner and buy fresh bananas (which taste incredible), mangos, french cashews, plums (different than ours), buy pure can sugar juice (amazing), coconut, etc. My favorites so far are the mangos and bananas.

There are also bars on every corner. not like our bars, they are more similar to our storage sheds you keep lawn equipment in (only slightly bigger). They all sell beer (Caribs) and rum and some essential food items. They are typically owned by a family, that has passed from generation to generation.

More to come on the culture of Grenada and it's people. And I'm a Lime-man! I'll explain later. Respect!