On the right is a picture of the most beautiful tree in Grenada. The Flambouyant tree. This tree produces the national flower. It is in full bloom now and is seasonal, which surprises me because I assumed things bloomed year-round here because of the weather.
On Saturday, we had junior national boys and girls practice. The teams are selected now for the most part and both teams are impressive. Each have good athleticism and the girls have good size. The boys are very athletic and i would consider the team of average size at best. However, they make up for that with very good ball-handling skills and powerful, controlled hitting. Practice was from 9am to 12pm. Of course it began raining at 9am and we were forced to find shelter until about 9:30. We swept the court when it stopped and began practice at around 10am. Today, we focused on position specialization, switching, play calling, and team play. It is difficult because we had both the boys and girls team together and only one net. But practice went well and the boys are really starting to understand the switching concept.
They have a big practice match against the Men's National team on wednesday that we hope will be televised live. I think it should be a great match, however, I expect the Men's team to win. They are a bit more advanced and have been practicing longer. But there is a lot of talent on this junior team and actually four of the young men will make the senior national team (three may start!!).
After practice, Nanan and I took a drive to St. David to eat. The day before he bought a string of live crabs (6 on a string) and took them to a friends house to cook. She made Calilou soup with crab, breadfruit, yams, and dumplings. It was incredible!!! The crab tastes almost like lobster and the soup was delicious.
After that, he brought me home and of course I prepared to go to the beach. It was about 4:15pm when I arrived at the beach and it was crowded. I like my morning trips better because of the privacy. But, it was cool and very beautiful. The sea seems even more calm in the evening and I watched the sun set. The water seemed much cooler as well. I walked home and spent the evening relaxing.
Sunday, I plan to go for a morning swim in the sea, return to my house and clean a bit (sand and these little worms/bugs everywhere), and then I will cook. I've been marinating lamb and plan to either make a mutton soup or mutton and rice. I'm actually looking forward to preparing it.
Then I need to work on my Volleyball report. Time is passing quickly and my report must be be of the highest quality.
Revelations:
I actually feel healthier than I have in years. My weight is down and I feel very comfortable. Actually I feel 15 years younger. I've decided to write about the "Grenadian Diet" Not that's it's actually a "diet" per se...but more of a lifestyle. But it works and is partly how everyone here maintains their youthful look. Here is what I have learned:
- They eat two big meals a day and one light snack/meal. They eat a big breakfast and big lunch. For dinner (their light meal), they have porridge, cereal, fruits, or something light.
- They eat fruit all day and even use it as a source of water. The fruit is always fresh and right from the tree.
- No junk food...since I have been here, I've had only a few pieces of chocolate and that is it! No junk food period! I really haven't missed it at all. (except ice cream....I love ice cream!)
- Soup, Soup, Soup! I have eaten more soup since I've been here than in my entire life. The soup always has vegetables and meat (pork, chicken, fish).
- No red meats (I will not be able to sustain this because I LOVE red meat!)
- Fish - I eat fish at least five times a week for one meal (yesterday I had a fish sandwich for breakfast)
- Cook - There are not many fast food restaurants so most people cook for themselves every day. I find this very healthy, enjoyable, and it helps you eat right.
- I don't have a lot of food in the house - mainly because I don't have frig space and food doesn't stay fresh long in the heat if left out, so I simply don't have much food around to snack on. I found this tough at first, but now don't even think about it.
- Get a tan - a tan hides many flaws and tightens the skin or something. It makes a big difference
- Show some skin - going to the beach and wearing a swimming suit makes you aware of how you look. Once you start looking good, you want more!
- water - I only drink water and juice...only 1 soda in 6 weeks. (and maybe a carib or two :) I'm not a big soda drinker anyway, so this was easy, but it makes a big difference. That includes NO diet soda!
- Be outside and active - I find being active and working outside keeps you busy and I am not as hungry. The more I lay around and relax, the more I lay around and eat.
- Heat - It is very hot here and that influences my appetite I think...sometimes it's just too hot to eat much
- Go Liming - Not really....I threw this in there for fun :)
- Eat pig tail and snouts - Ha Ha!!....because I really don't like either, it kept me from eating a lot on many occasions. So put some in your soup, and grab a smaller bowl!
- Don't eat late - I'm not sure if this theory is accurate, but because I typically don't get home until after 8:30pm every evening, I have not been eating dinners. I'm guessing this has helped quite a bit. Or, it is helping simply because I am really only eating two big meals.
- Go for walks daily - my walk to the beach is approximately 3 miles round trip....not much but a lot of hills. I actually enjoy this peaceful time now.
- Some of this may sound like you could only do it if you lived here, but I have learned "lifestyle" is the most important part to being healthy. Anyone can adopt a healthy life style. It is a choice. I need to simply stop making excuses about "why it is hard" and "how it cannot work" and begin to look positively at things and Make things happen. Life is short, it's time to stop wasting my days, and time to start enjoying.
Respect and Love.
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