Grenadian Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Grenada falls on October 25th. Travis and I didn't actually know that until the day before when we saw the shops were closing early... But we learned that on this day in 1983 was the day Caribbean and American military intervened in a communist-leaning government in Grenada. The then Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was killed in an attempt to overthrow the government. US President Ronald Reagan then sent troops along with Jamaica and the RSS to invade Grenada.

We decided to spend this day with some of our new and local friends: Cathy, Markus, and their two children- 3-year-old Kai and 2-year-old Alise. Their boat is also on the hard at a marina just a half mile down the beach from ours. We went to their boat to have a nice curry, rice, and vegetable dinner, and then stayed there for the rest of the evening. Cathy and Markus have been sailing for 10 years- only to return home for 1.5 years when the kids were being born. "Home" for Cathy is Chile, and is Germany for Markus. They circumnavigated the world in 3 years prior to having children, and we spent a lot of the evening looking at pictures and videos from their travels. Their favorite place in the world is the South Pacific. They are here in Carriacou because they bought a 42-foot Catamaran that needs some work, so they are planning on getting back on the water in about a month.

This couple has been so warm and kind to us since being on the island. They have so many interesting stories and they have showed us different cultures. For example, Cathy only speaks Spanish to the children, and Markus only speaks German to them, and then most people outside the home speak English. The kids speak to the parents in their respective languages, and then English to us. We thought this form of raising children was really different, and very impressive that the kids know who speaks English and how to communicate with different people at such young ages!

We spent the evening with laughter and shared stories, and it was amazing for me to see that people with such different backgrounds really aren't all that different. In fact, the kids were jumping all over Travis and drawing pictures with me just like back in the states with Trav's nieces and nephews. It was like being home again even though we were halfway across the world! We all come from different backgrounds, but we were able to enjoy each other's company. And for that- we felt grateful this Thanksgiving. We also have never felt more thankful for the love and support we get from our own families and friends back home.