A Day of Rest

Lloyd wasn’t feeling that great today and, as a result, for the most part, we rested. Dr. Cheryl Cox-Macpherson, the coordinator of the Bioethics Course in which we are teaching invited us to brunch. We were picked up by our driver and taken to her house from about 10A-1P and enjoyed communion with all the other Visiting Professors in the course and their families. Her house overlooks Grand Anse Beach, and has an amazing view.





Despite the breeze, it was very hot and so understandably all the children (five in all) enjoyed playing in her pool.


The children miss our animals! Harrison bought a turtle necklace in the market yesterday in honor of Lucy, our box turtle living in our back yard. He and Grayson both have a love for animals that goes beyond what one might consider “normal”. For example, each saves part of their dinner for the kittens living just beyond the restaurant at the University Club. Each night, they are concerned more so with feeding the kittens than feeding themselves.
And, everywhere we go we are looking for the stray “beach dogs” that Lloyd promised they could adopt (I don’t think he cleared this with customs!) So, when we arrived today at the Macpherson’s to find 2 guard dogs, Grayson couldn’t have been happier. Check out her immediate relationship with their ½ Rottweiler ½ Doberman(some guard dog!)!



Grayson also caught a gecko lizard by the tail with her bare hands by the pool. The others apparently couldn’t do it themselves, and Harrison and the other children at the pool kept running around calling out Grayson’s name, as if she was the lizard catching expert, and she with some magical power could catch other reptiles for them.


Another animal they’ve grown fond of are the ground crabs, which are everywhere here. I think crab holes are as plentiful as anthills in the States. Yet, they are probably a little more burdensome, since they destroy lawns due to the fact that they burrow holes anywhere from five inches wide and up to five feet deep in size. Although edible, Harrison hasn’t tried to catch one since he has a healthy respect for the animal from an earlier pinching experience this year (hermit crab). As long as none of them bring home a centipede, Mommy will be okay. In Grenada, the centipedes bite and are quite legendary both in the pain they cause and their resilience (can't kill them with human force). Our neighboring room had one in the bed with them last night (I'm still awake, can't bear the thought!)!

We are thinking of everyone as hurricane Gustav approaches the United States. We hear that every hotel room in Memphis is booked up secondary to the evacuation of New Orleans. Harrison announced that he was worried about Mandy’s parents, who’d been staying in Memphis this past week at our home. Grayson agreed. Hope all of our loved ones are kept out of harms way. Our prayers are with all of you at home.

A Day in St. George's (the City, not the School)

The University bus system runs back and forth from the hotel to the beach and the school, so, there hasn’t been a need for us to take public transportation until today. The tourist guide books refer to the Reggae buses as something to do if you are seeking vehicular audacity. My, how that seems to be an understatement. You are crammed in a tiny minibus like sardines (with 14 to 20 other people) and driven at high speeds through the city streets (with no air conditioning by the way) barely missing pedestrians with each turn. There are hand signals that one must learn before taking these “taxis”, in order to wave at the young person that sits by the door of the van. His sole purpose is waving and yelling at passersby, determining who and who does not need to cram further in his bus.

St. George’s open air market is like nothing I’ve seen in the States. It’s an authentic, close contact experience with local people. The Grenada population is about 100,000, mostly of African descent, and I think all of them decided to go the market this morning! Fruits, vegetables, spices, clothing, and hand made jewelry can be found in this market place.


Grenada is known as the “Isle of Spice” because there are more spices here per square mile than any other place in the world. Cloves, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cocoa, nutmeg, and mace grow in abundance. Interestingly, nutmeg is the country’s biggest export and accounts for one third of the world’s supply! Exotic fruits like the bread fruit and sour sap were interesting to the kids, although, they mostly complained about the heat. Although only 90, the humidity was extremely high and both kids were dripping by the end of the brief walk through.

After the market, we enjoyed visiting the Grenada National Museum, which is Lloyd’s favorite place to pop in. Still no air conditioning, but, Grenada’s rich culture is displayed with hand written comments about each piece contained there. Grayson and Harrison enjoyed learning about the Grenadian national colors and flag while Lloyd enjoyed Josephine's tub(the bathing tub of Napoleon's wife).



It’s a normal experience to be approached by vendors (and pandhandlers) of every kind. After all, our fair skin does stick out (just a bit) as being a little different here. At the Carenage we met a local sea Captain who offered to give us a boat ride to Grand Anse Beach. Who could refuse such an offer from such a colorful character?



We enjoyed the scenery from the opposite side of the beach with the wind blowing in our faces rather than taking another hot and crazy Reggae bus home. The kids each took a turn at driving the boat. Our Captain didn’t seem to mind at all.

We spent yet another afternoon at the pool without complaint from anyone. Even Lloyd enjoyed the “free massage” offered by the waterfall at the pool. Off to dinner now and then to do laundry!

Hot Days and Green Sunsets

You may be wondering about the weather. Since Grenada is at 12 degrees north of the equator, the average temperature is in the low 80s pretty much constantly. We are in “the rainy season” currently (hurricane season to most Americans) and we actually had several big squall lines that came through in the middle of the night last night plus another one this afternoon. Regardless, the sun is very hot, and we’ve all gotten a little more sun than the sunscreen protects us from. But, don’t let us fool you. We love every minute of this!

Lloyd and I taught all day today. It’s more small group facilitation than anything else, but today there were some required lectures in the afternoon. Our groups for the most part have probably challenged us as much as we have challenged them, and for that, we’re so glad we have come. It’s been a great experience. There are Visiting Professors (VPs) everywhere! We are forming friendships with people from San Francisco, Seattle, Florida, and Pennsylvania. (In case you are wondering, we are the only ones from the South.) Our children are making friendships with their children, and have enjoyed spending time with everyone at the pool. This is a picture of the kids with thier new friends in the hot tub at the top of the waterfall (in the fabulous pool).

The kids have a nanny (Leanna) from Sweden that was recommended to us by a Professor here, and she stays with them while we teach. They love her! She takes them swimming either at the beach or at the pool each morning. Plus, we’ve asked her to help the kids with the homework that they’ve been given to complete while we’re gone. She is wonderful. I don’t know what we would do without her.

Since we've been teaching, we haven't had much exploring time over the last 2 days. But, that will change soon enough (tomorrow). I leave you today with a picture of our sunset view from The University Club, the hotel where we are staying. The sunset picture may not reflect “the green flash” that I saw tonight as the sun went down, although this is a true phenomenon. Green flashes occur just after sunset, when green rays shoots up from the sunset point. The area around the entire sun was green tonight, and I felt like I’d seen something really special. And, special, this trip is!

Olympians, Starfish and Sandy Beaches. Who would complain?

Yesterday was the longest travel day I’ve ever experienced. Overall, the kids did very well especially considering all of the waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

Our flight out of San Juan was late (island time) and while trying to entertain ourselves the kids met some athletes who were traveling home from the Olympics in Beijing. They were runners from the country of St. Kitts and did not medal, but, competed well. The older runner, who was the more friendly of the duo, gave Harrison and Grayson each an Olympic pin from St. Kitts. The kids proudly wore their pins on their shirts for the remainder of our day. We finally made it to Grenada after about 20 hours of travel. Were we glad to sleep in this morning!!!!


Our hotel is on Lance Aux Epines, which overlooks Prickly Bay. It’s a hard life waking up to the ocean’s breezes, I must tell you. (I know you can’t be jealous!) Located in the Southern Carribean, the tri-island state of Grenada lies at the southernmost tip of the Windward Islands. We are on the largest island, Grenada, which occupies 120 square miles. Twenty miles to the north are the smaller Carriacou and Petite Martinique isles. St. George’s University has a bus that runs from our hotel to other places on the island, and we decided to spend our day at one of the island’s 40 beaches (but who’s counting?), Grand Anse Beach. Lloyd says that it’s rated one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. All I know is that today was the coolest swim I’d ever taken. The kids and I found beautiful starfish, ranging from the size of your palm to a dinner plate. Everywhere you swam, you could find another one or two, and we attracted many other kids who were just as curious as we were with our newly found treasures. The water is crystal clear and turquoise. I’m certain these pictures do not give justice.




Tomorrow, Lloyd and I will teach our first 2 classes and the kids are staying with a young lady who came highly recommended from one of the professors down here. She teaches at a sailing school for 3 to 7 year olds. I ask you, could anything be more perfect for our little guys?


I leave you today with my favorite soft drink in the Caribbean. To Kelly, Mandy and Andy, and the Campbell’s… I’m having a Ting for you!!!!! Love to all.

The Morning that seems like evening

We've been up since 3:30 this morning. The kids barely slept, full of excitement, ready to leave. Yesterday, we traveled to Nashville to spend the night with brother Andy. The fact that he and Lloyd played music until the wee hours of the morning could have contributed to the kids barely sleeping. Or, it could have been the rain (remnants of Faye). Or, the fact that I kept waking up scared we'd missed our flight. So, even though it's just 10:30 in the morning, I feel like it's afternoon or evening! We're in the Miami airport now, and will board in about an hour our flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. After another 2 hour layover, we'll finally reach Grenada (hopefully) by 9:45PM.

The travel agency that St. George's Medical School used to book our flights actually had reserved 2 tickets in Lloyd's name, rather than one for him and me. An hour into discussions and a large monetary sum later, I finally was awarded a ticket. So, in typical Finks' fashion, no good deed goes without drama in our family.


This morning (in flight to Miami) before the sun came up, Grayson remarked that it looked like we were in China. I don't know if it was all the lights, or simply the "Bird's Nest" View, but, it certainly feels like we're traveling all the way to China. Mommy needs some sleep.

Family Finks Blog Creation

Well, the time has come. Out with the old (scrapbooking), in with the new (blog). We're leaving in the morning for our trip to Grenada (West Indies, not Mississippi) and I thought I would give blogging a try. That way, all of you loved ones can just check in on us at your convenience. I don't quite know how successful this project will be, but, I will try to post things daily from our trip.

Lloyd and I are participating in a Visiting Professorship program where we will be facilitators in a Bioethics course at St. George's University (The best medical school in the Caribbean. Lloyd says the best medical school anywhere.). We're so excited about this opportunity, plus not to mention our love for the Caribbean. It has the potential to be a once in a lifetime experience.

Grayson likes to remind us that we are not going to the islands. The islands are for sailing, and since we will be on land (even though Grenada is the southeastern most Windward Island) we are not going to be in the islands! I can't wait to see her face when we arrive.

We leave you with a family photo from Memphis, TN. More to come as we travel. Love to all.