Since I know most people will not look at my old entries, I pasted my finished draft of my escapade in Grenada during Hurricane Ivan, as the warning says at the top it is long, so if you are not interested in reading how a bunch of med and vet students got through days without common luxuries that are in the United States... I wouldnt read it.
Hurricane Ivan hit the island of Grenada as Category 4 Hurricane (scale is 1-5). The natural disaster damaged 90% of the island, and estimated 1 billion dollars to repair.
I want my own day by day biography of this hurricane so this will be rather lengthy.
The Hurricane through the eyes of Vivek M. Mehta:
Sunday September 5th, 2004:
In the Real Value Supermarket, Ramin (my roommate), Nichole (friend) and I found out that there is a major hurricane, Hurricane Ivan, is coming towards Grenada. But since there is a hurricane warning almost every week, and no hurricane has hit Grenada for 49 years, we didnt worry that much. We just got some extra water on top of the groceries we bought.
Monday September 6th, 2004:
Pretty much a regular day for class on the island, not much worries going around. At 1pm before lecture we find out that class is cancelled after 3pm today and classes will be cancelled on Tuesday (Tuesday class made up on Saturday) because of the hurricane warning. At 2:30pm, even though classes were cancelled, our Histology professor still gave a hour lecture. Students left class, some got water and almost everyone just went back to their regular routine. Actually studied for diligently because there was going to be class on Saturday and quiz on Monday. I actually the most studying done since I have been there, by the end of the night I was pretty much ready knew all the material for more than half of the material on the quiz with a week remaining. We were given updates by the Adminstration and National Weather Service about Hurricane Ivan thoroughout the night.
Tuesday September 7th, 2004:
In the morning there still was no sign of the hurricane, so the three of us tried to study in the morning/afternoon, but we really we didnt get much done compared to the night before. Around 12-1pm it started to get dark as if the storm was coming. All the students from Grand Anse campus were moved to True Blue Campus since they are right on the beach and were in more danger. Around 2:30pm the electricity went out. Most of the dorm started observing the storm from the entrance to our dorm or from our lobby. Soon the winds started to pick up and we closed the doors, but one of the doors could not be closed properly, so it continued to swing. People, not realizing and moreso not knowing the severity of this storm continued to observe the storm near these doors which had plastic glass between each frame. In our dorms we have large vents that span the entire building which entered each hallway. The rain seeped through and you could also each hear each thunderous wind blast. With the large amount of rain, the hallways flooded. The strength of winds gave my roommate and I enough assurance that we should protect our own window, so we sealed it with our mattresses. During this time of the storm, some students were still in our study lounge reading, our RA (Resident Assistant) went upstairs to force them to their rooms, because the lounge which is on the top floor was not safe. As our RA proceeded downstairs to the Ground Floor (where I live) a gust of wind came through our door and started to shatter that glass, where there still were people standing. Luckily with no one injured, my roommate, myself and the RA screamed to everyone to get to their rooms with haste. As screams of fear continued, one girl screeched so loud which was clear to everyone, her window had shattered. She was so scared that she huddled onto the wall next to the vent which was shaking outside her room. With obvious danger present, our RA ran to her and escorted her to safety. For about 15-20 minutes these strong winds were persistent. After there was of course "the calm before the storm"... which portion of the storm which just occurred was the "eye of the hurricane"-which meant the worst was still to come. Knowing that we had some time, our RA and some students got some tools and removed the doors. The wind currents were so strong, the waves of ocean water from the beach were climbing up the cliff of our campus onto the soccer field in front of my building. Knowing that soon the destructive part of the storm is about to come, the RA demanded that everyone go to their rooms. With danger imminent, students on the bottom floors started to move their valuables to higher floors, I myself did not. Finally the storm appeared for about 30 minutes showed its presence with mass destruction. During the hurricane, everyone stayed in their rooms for their own safety. The storm passed, all the students went out to observe with still light out, saw Hurricane Ivan. The Vet Building which was on the other side of a hill, the roof appeared in front of our building, easily a 500-1000ft trek. A water tank from a building we are not sure, appeared at our doorstep. Roofs, shingles, trees, branches, etc. were found all over campus. I have never seen such damage in my life. My room was still fine, some leaking of water from the ceiling, but that is about it. Darkness creeped in and students prepared their candles and flashlights. Because of the rain everyone stayed inside. Almost everyone used the pay phone to call home to say they were safe, as I did. Some students continued to study their anatomy and biochemistry by candle light or flashlight. Rumors spread like fire, the possiblities of moving to New York, cancelling the semester or even resuming classes on Monday. Some students went out into the rain with their flashlights to see the damage around campus, they came back with reports of the histology lab, Bell and Bourne Hall and Glovers being destroyed. My friends and I decided go see the campus but the rain was too hard for us to go out. As the night waned a couple of students decided to throw a party on the 2nd floor of my building. Students took out their laptops, candles and drinks and celebrated that they were still alive.
Wednesday September 8th, 2004:
Nichole, Ramin and I tried our best to sleep in the dire heat. I actually the best sleep that night, since I can almost sleep through anything. The three of us got up hoping that the electricity was back on but to no avail. As I was preparing some kind of breakfast a girl asked me, do we have class today? What could this girl be thinking, did she look outside. This same girl also asked Ramin later. We went up to the top of the hill and saw all the buildings and all the devastation. In the morning we heard more rumors, but the major one which was true, that Grenadians were looting all the markets and stores. Which makes sense to me, if your entire house was knocked out, what would you do, I would steal water and food for family in order to survive. Ramin and I then thought about our friends off-campus who are first termers who live close to where most of the looting was occurring. Also we didnt know if they knew anything, since we heard some rumors. So the two of us decided to walk out there. We knew the danger which was involved and we were intimadated as travelled to Grand Anse. We could see what Hurricane Ivan did to this poor island, houses destroyed, people injured, it was devastating to me.... at that point I had further evidence of how my life is very good and I should be thankful for it. As we got half way, it started to pour and we were travelling wit looters at this point, so we ran the rest of the way. We got to their place, Ryan, Joe, Shams, and Rahul were there chillin. They had internet access so they knew actually more than us, but we told them the about the damage that occurred. After some random and odd comments by one of them Ramin and I decided to leave. One the way back as we reached Bananas (a bar), the Dean of Students, Dr. Rao, picked us up and took us to campus. They told us they were holding a meeting at noon, so we attended. Some 1000- 1500 students packed in or around Bell Hall, where water was leaking it was hot and most people did not shower. The adminstration gave us as much information as they knew which was not much. The radio/phones down, communication was not easy. They told us one body was found on the beach this morning but it was not confirmed that it was a student (later discovered it was not). Not much was accomplished during the meeting... students of course were worried about their education, but made numerous comments which were not constructive. Complaining about preparedness, if I leave will I get my money back, just comments out of anger which was not helping the obvious priority... survival. After the meeting the student government, where I am representative of the First Term Medical Class. Vip, Christina, and Amrish, for the most part took charge telling us members what to do and how we are going to do it. Most important was secruity, the island of Grenada is fairily small, with looting occurring there will eventually be a demand for supplies which is plentiful on campus comparable to the rest of the nation. Vip made us all go to our respective dorms and get people to arrange secruity for the entire night. Next concern getting all the off campus students onto campus where it is safer. Food, another priority, was dealt with by using Glovers (dining hall) to serve the food. Students, including Ramin and myself, went to go clean it. After that we went up to the top of the hill to start clearing up debris and within an hour or so, hoards of students were there to clean up the campus. Student were doing everything, cleaning via hands, mops, brooms, shovels, cutting down trees with machetes. Stash (friend) was driving around in a truck picking up piles of garbage. By the end of the day the campus was cleaned fairly well, but most surprising, these students did the work by leading by example. Some students started and the rest of the campus followed these altruism acts. This first recovery day was especially hard on the off-campus students and they were allowed to eat first. But around 2 or 3pm, a few students from my dorm collect some branches and rooftops and started a BBQ. Since the refrigeration was lost, all the students around campus wrote their meats and perishable foods to cook and served to whomever was hungry. Somehow our dorm also gained a truck, my friend Stash (he loves the beach) was running trips to Grand Anse to pick up students and picking up garbage. That nite there was no party because of the lurking danger of Grenadians coming onto campus. Secruity was ready and in place, even though a few students thought it was futile since they (Grenadians) had weapons. But these people arent dangerous they just wanted food, not to hurt people. Nonetheless, students armed themselves with sticks, machetes and were ready for anything. We also had Grenadian secruity guards who were working around the clock to protect us, so hats off to them. A curfew was instilled to all the students to make secruity even easier. Most students stayed up that first night because of fear. Around 10pm there was word that Grenadians were found on campus, so the fear was raised. That night, with the addition of Stash we had four people in our room. Stash lived in Grand Anse, he was one of three students who decided to stay there instead of evacuating. Luckily, together, the campus survived that first night.
Thursday September 9th, 20004:
After getting probably the best sleep of the week, woke up, went hunting to find some food before our recovery meeting at noon. Before we got to the meeting we found out the generators for each of the buildings were up and running. At the meeting we found out all the phone lines were down leaving campus. The good news was given by the officer of US Embassy, Bob Fritz, that they are preparing an evacuation of the students who wish to leave. Also the airport will be open later today. That put a huge smile on Nichole's face. Jeanette Davis, another officer of the embassy, allowed as many off campus students to stay at her house and any students to make phone calls from landline. After the good news, Tanzi (friend) wanted to go to the embassy and see if he can find any other information about anything on this island. Since it would be dangerous to go by himself, I decided to go plus I could make some phone calls. Eventually, 6 of us went along for the "quick stroll"- Tanzi, Ehsan, 2 other guys I dont remember, Ramin (on his bad ankle- idiot) and myself. As we walked down the road for about a mile, a car of students stopped and said the militia is here saying there is a 11am curfew and you need to get off the road. And they were saying this with M-16s in your face, so at this point we contemplated whether this was worth it. Most of us decided with some hestation that it is, so we continued on. Another 2 miles passed, Ramin struggling on his ankle in the relentless heat, we finally get to the US Embassy. With the greatest reserve an officer at the embassy cracks open the door and peaks his head out and says "Yeah, what do you want?", prolly not the best response to US citizens who are students who just survived a hurricane. Anyway, we told him that we wanted to know anymore information, if you had it, and we were promised that we can make phone calls here. Finally, Bob Fritz and Jeanette Davis came and gave us some answers. First they had to make a phone call with White House, found out Mr. Bush will not help (thanks) then Ms Davis walked us over to her house. Another mile later we get to her house and do what we gotta do. Ramin finally got in contact with his parents, which was a good thing. I called my parents... their response- Mom- are you eating, have you gotten skinny, make sure you eat and come home. Dad- these are the list of people who called to find out about you, in order. My pediatrician turned out to be the first non-relative. Well after all the phone calls, it was getting close to curfew and we still had a 4 mile trek ahead of us, so we bounced. After about a mile on the road, Ramin was really in pain, so we started looking for people we could hitch a ride with. We found this one guy in an empty Geo Tracker, we told him we'd pay him and all he wanted was stogs... so he took us. When we got to campus, they ran out of food... nothing left. So I made pasta and some instant Indian food for about 5 of us, Ehsan, Nichole, Stash, Ramin and myself. That night I did a bulk of the secruity, till about 4am. It was a chill night, but still most people felt in doubt about the whole evacuation situation. I got to know a couple of chill people, especially Perveen.
Friday September 10th, 2004:
At around 6am Stash and Nichole woke up and went to the airport. It was easy to travel around the island for Stash cause he somehow inherited a truck. So a bunch of students went with Stash and tried to get on a flight. Ramin and I woke up a couple of hours later to the banging on our door by Ehsan. To tell you the truth I dont even remember why he came to our room. As we left our dorm, we saw Nichole sprinting towards us, telling us that she might be able to get on a flight later today. So she grabbed her stuff and we made sure she got on a bus to the airport. Ramin and I went to the recovery meeting. Since I'm an Student Representative of the First Term Medical School Class, I was up on stage supporting the students who were keeping this school together. During much of the week, much animosity was given to these students which was unfair because they were working as hard as they could. There were also reports that about 300 students were just standing outside the airport waiting for the next flight. They urged students to wait until we tell them to go to the airport. The staff that works there does not want crowds. Since the evacuation was ready, the students arranged how and who will be leaving, pretty much first families, females and lastly males. The US embassy would take all the US Citizens and only them, and Chancellor Modica bought a few planes to get all the Canadians and non-US and non-Canadian students out. Around this time, Austin, my fellow Social Chair member (we run parties for the SGA-which is now irrelevant b/c we're not in Grenada), asked for my help at the airport. I told him if we need more help I know people but he just wanted SGA members. I told Anik (friend) what my job was, so we demanded Austin that Anik help. After the meeting adjourned, there was a report that a helicopter just landed on the soccer field. Austin urged us to go out to the field and in case they are supplies to make sure students dont flood the chopper. Anik and I ran down there, but there was no need for that, no students came near it nor were they're were supplies. It was a Med-Evac (evacuation b/c of a medical emergency). So Anik and I grabbed some kicks, food, water and went to the airport with Austin. We get to the airport and there were tons of students with their bags just waiting to get on the next flight. There were arranging each flight by signing lists to make a waiting list onto who gets on the next flight. Also we saw that a coward of an RA (not Nalin- he's the man) was getting on the first flight, he was just about to get on a flight when we got there at 1:30. SO FINE FUCK EM, he'll prolly have to answer to a discplinary committee when everything settles down. Austin's job was read off the names on the list to who will be on the next flight. Anik's job was to write down the names of the students who were there to hear they're name. My job was secruity, to make sure students stay the hell away from Anik and Austin, and I did a damn good job. We tried to get these students on the plane as soon as possible because soon bus loads of families we're going to come. In the niddle of making the roster of the flight, one pilot came out of the terminal and said that he has 3 empty seats. Anik and I quickly grabbed a couple of our friends and got them on flights. I grabbed Nichole and hastily got her on a flight, which made her and myself happy, I knew she really wanted to leave. THEN ONE STUDENT who I knew tried to tell Anik dont let that girl (the girl this student brought to the airport) on the plane, put me on it. Anik laughed and got the girl on a flight. After we had the roster ready, this same guy tried to cut everyone and get on the flight, he pushed me out of the way to try to get through, didnt work (Later Anik tried to give that guy a pound, and he cursed us-- wat a DICK). Half the roster was on the plane, then all these families were put on the plane, while the students were told to go home (they got preference the next day). So that flight and the next flight was filled with families and children. The day ended and we left the airport, but since it was so late (~6pm) we didnt get much food at Glovers. Then at Glovers I saw another episode of selfishness, but I can't explain it (SPRITE- its a reminder for me). Anik and I then went to go make more food. Actually Ramin and I made pasta for about 7 guys... Of course this was going to be the last night where everyone was still in Grenada before the evacuation this upcoming weekend, so everyone had a big party, especially at our dorm. After Anik and I ate, we went to the SGA headquarters (the student governement) to try to help out everyone, especially Salman (and no not Khan). He had the job of creating the list of students who will be leaving in the upcoming weekend, what order and which flights. He had help but it was large task they worked on the whole night, they had till 5:30am the next day, roughly 8 hours. They had to organize all the students that were still on the island, all the US citizens (because the US embassy can take them and only them), all the Canadians, and all the Non-US, non-Canadian students and get them on flights. So Anik and I passed the word about what to do the next day, where to find your information. We also found a landline so we made our respective calls. I think that was the first time I told PK that I'm coming home, her excitement gave me some energy and enthusiasm to continue working. We reported back to headquarters and then went back to our dorm. And we chilled, the party was kickin and loud that people started complaining but we kept going strong. But once the main guys of the SGA came, we shut it down.
Saturday September 11th, 2004:
Today was Evacuation day, Anik woke me up at 5am to get to the top of the hill. He was up there all packed and ready to go, since he was a non-US, non-Canadian he had to be out on one of three flights that Chancellor Modica was arranging. As we were talking about it yesterday I mentioned again what day it was to Anik, 9/11, not one of the best days to fly I guess (I know there really isnt anything wrong with it, but as a New Yorker its just not right). These three flights, were going to be organized by Anik and myself, so we decided who got on the flight. We had guidelines, preference was given to Non-Canadian, Non-US citizens, then families and lastly anyone else. We met up with two more volunteers for the airport and Austin, so more people we would have to show the ropes to, since Anik and I were veterans. We get to the airport and it was quite muggy at 6am and since the airport was not open yet, we had to wait more than 200 yards away from it. Today also was the first day that the US Embassy was arranging flights for the US citizens, so we the students and Bob Fritz (US Embassy Officer) had to work in conjunction to determine who gets to go on each flight. As we got to the airport, about 100 students were already waiting there to try to squeeze their way onto a flight. And because of of miscommunication between the some of the students, Bob Fritz, being very non-compliant with us, put people on a flight to Trinidad who should not have been at the airport. As students were filing in to get on the flight, as it usually does during some parts of the days, a terrantial downpour came over us, everyone starting sprinting into the airport. At this time, about 300 people were jammed into a small terminal, and in complete disorder anything could have happened and the only flight to leave at 7am (the current time) was the US Embassy flight. During this time Stash came through to help out, but he was also contemplating to leave the island. So Anik and I, in charge of the Non-Canadian, Non-US citizens, took them all to one part of the terminal. Once they were in order, we tried our best to create order in the rest of the terminal. At about 8am the first flight got off the ground, the Trinidad flight. But as the flight went up in the air, a friend of mine, Vi, came to me and said someone just cut me and took my seat. Because he didnt get on that flight, there was no way he could get on another flight that day, since he was a guy and an US citizen. So I told him no worries I'll get you on a flight. At around 8am we started taking names down for the first flight to Barabados, the flight I was in charge of. The flight was suppossed to get off the ground at 8am, but was delayed 2 hours. At this point, Anik decided he should get on this flight, I told him I can handle the other two flights no problem and plus Stash was there to assist. So for the hours that these people on this flight would wait, they would come to us asking when are we leaving (this pretty much happened the whole day, leading to my voice becoming hoarse) and I would answer I do not know, all I know is that you will be on it, when it leaves. Students disgruntled with waiting, found alternative flights which were available, but were costly, you needed cash, compared to Modica flight which was completely free. So the plane was ready and I went to the flight attended, told her who will be on the flight. I actually helped checking in students onto the flights (seriously I could be a flight attendant now). Since other students found alternative flights, I would have to find others to fill up the seats, so I would find people and get them on. Time was an issue because this one plane needed to make three flights from Grenada to Barbados (flight time is about 60 minutes each way). So Anik and Vi were off onto their flights, glad to see them getting home. So after that flight, two more needed to be arranged, thank God, Stash came because not only Anik left but another volunteer left. Which left myself, Austin, one volunteer and Stash managing this whole airport, which had about 300-400 students at any given time. So Stash and I arranged the list of students for the next flight. This flight had an abundant amount of British citizens and there was word that British Airways had just opened up in the airport. So all the British citizens got on the flight, which allowed another bus load of people onto our plane. We had to make a whole entire list because there were so many edits. Stash and I now were bothered with question after question. At this point seeing how busy the airport was, Stash decided to stay and help out, knowing it would be hard for the three of us to do it on our own. Very comendable I'd say. I brought some food and water for the day, but we were in the airport for about 7-8 hours by now and we were tired. Luckily students from campus came and brought us some food. The second flight was arranged by Stash, he went to the counter and assisted the flight attendant. At this time I would escort students getting on buses and put them in their proper place in the terminal. Also numerous medical evacs were coming in, so I aided them too. Finally the third flight, this one was interesting. Stash and I started arranging who would be on the flight, and at this point most the Non-US, Non- Canadian students left which left US citizens. At this point students were coming in based on whether they were females/males, married children, no children, but for the last three flights out on Saturday (two US embassy and 1 Modica flight), any student could have came, first come-first serve. Now its about 3pm, this last flight is going to come in about an hour. Actually that was ahead of schedule because the Grenadians at the airport realized that the 2nd flight would not be able to fly to Barbados and fly back to Grenada and still get another flight off the ground before the curfew at 6pm. So they arranged the plane to land in a closer airport and come back for another flight out of Grenada, thank God for those Grenadians. So we started to arrange the 3rd flight, but were interrupted when we realizied some students have a preference where to go because of certain connecting flights in either Barbados or Trinidad. So everyone was split into where they want to go, either Barbados or Trinidad. Most students knew that the Modica flight to Barbados was free so that was the obviouse choice, so there was a large line for our flight. Stash and I saw that our friends were there, Chris and his friend (Stashs' friends) and my own, Aaliyah, Arun, Ehsan and Manny. We had to get them flights it would suck if they had to go back to campus after coming all the way to the airport. So with no avail, since we were running the airport we made spots for our friends, they didnt even get on line. About 50 people got stuck at the airport and had to stay in Grenada for one more night, but they were given preference for the next day. Without the plane arriving the airport wants the students to check-in, so Stash and I together for the first time aided the flight attendant, both of us rather experienced at it. At 4:45pm we started to check in the students for the flight. At this point Stash and I arent helping too much, just getting each student prepared for the flight attendant because she can only see one person at a time. About 5-10 minutes later the airport gets a call saying at 5pm is the curfew, no more flights will be allowed and the plane is not expected to arrive into Grenada until 5:30pm. He tells this information to me and I demanded him you call whomever he has to and get this flight off the ground tonight. Now with time really against us, and flight atttendant moving too slowly, I moved her aside so Stash another flight attendat and I checked everyone in. We checked in 49 people in 15 minutes (just for comparison the other two flights took 45 minutes). We were doing everything, issuing boarding passes, checking passports, weighing bags, handwriting the list of people on the flight... everything. Somehow at 5:15, even though was not here but he had everyone checked in they just had to go through immgration. Again it was good to see my friends on their way, since they knew they probably werent going to get on another flight they thoroughly thanked me, which they really didnt need to do. While we were checking students in, the airport was given a 40 minute window to get the planes off the ground. I sincerely thanked the airport for doing so much for us. There were problems with the Trinidad flights, some actually had to turn around back to Grenada because of weather, so he had to wait at the airport until all flights were confirmed. We get on a bus to go back to campus after a 12 hour day at the airport, which was as stressful and tiring as you can imagine. Every student coming and asking where is my flight, is there a flight, when am I leaving? Every student putting trust in you that you will get them on their way home, something that seems so far away for them. Being on that island for three weeks of studying and 1 week of aftermath of the Hurricane Ivan was very draining on everyone. Their frustrations were layed onto you and you had to suck it up and help each person individually, because at this point every student was left with no trust at all. On the bus back to campus, all of us who were left in the airport were on it, except for Austin, he had his own car. Austin, just FYI, has worked very hard in order to organize these flights, corresponding to the Bay Shore office to find out information, has been instrumental in the post Ivan era of St. Georges. As we just arrived to campus, we hear on the radio Austin saying that he went back to his car and it wasnt there, it was stolen. So we went back to the airport to pick him up. We got back to campus, they stopped serving food, so Stash and I so Mrs. Patel (a Nun who sells food) and grabbed some food. The campus was empty you can feel that everyone left. An estimate of 700 people left on Saturday... so the only people remaining on campus were guys, people with pets and students who didnt want to leave. I spoke to my family, they were surprised why I didnt leave on Saturday... there was no way I could, I had to help out, my conscience wouldnt let me. I felt bad enough leaving and not helping Grenada, but my family demanded that I come back to NY. And most importantly I wanted to see PK. That night I packed and moved my bags into the rooms that were designated for med students. There was a meeting at 9pm, but I was too tired to go up that hill, but I got the word from our RA- Nalin- what was discussed. Pretty much to get the bags and stuff of students into a couple of rooms and try to clean as much as possible. Also I was told that Anik and I were given a round of applause for our efforts at the airport... Stash should have got his dues too. But I didnt care that much, I did what I can do, only wishing that I could have done more. This night was also the first day I was able to take a shower, there was minute water pressure, with cold water, so I took advantage, it felt so good. That night we didnt really do anything, Ramin and I packed and cleaned that room. I was dead tired so Ramin actually did most of the cleaning. The bunch of us who were left, Stash, Ramin, Ryan, Shams, Rahul, Paul, Dan and myself all decided to get up early and just get on the first flight out. And since Stash and I worked at the airport we have the pull to get it done.
Sunday September 12th 2004:
We woke up that morning and made our way to the top of the hill at about 5:30am. As we walked there Dan, after working so hard cutting firewood the last couple of days, using a machete repeatedily steps on a nail and is in severe pain. Ramin since hurting his ankle can barely walk, because now both ankles have swelled like balloons. We get on the bus and everyone knows their respective number to get on a flight except me. We actually got on the bus for people who were at the airport the day before who didnt get on a flight, so these students were heavily checked to be on this bus becasue they had preference. So Salman (the one who made up the list for the evacuation) is the one reading writing down students' numbers. He gets to me and Im the only one who doesnt know his (I only say his because there were only men on this bus) number, so he asks me my name and he is about to say why are you on this bus, and as he hears my name he says "Ohh Vivek, you're ok." We get to the airport and again, we're about 200 yards away from the terminal and again to some capacity Stash and I are aiding in the organization. Our group was going to be the second Trinidad flight out of Grenada. Ramin at the airport finally turned off his cell phone, which was an important marker. If I didnt mention earlier, Ramin had a Cable & Wireless cell phone, the only company phone that was working during the hurricane. So he gave out his number to every student he could find and would end up being the connection between tons of students and even more parents. After filling out forms in Grenada and what not we got off the ground. Got to the very humid and very hot Trinidad. We spend a couple of hours in the airport and get our flights arranged for Monday, because we all decided to enjoy one night in Trinidad before we go home. So we got a hotel for the night, only Dan and Paul didnt stay with us they already paid for a flight to Miami that afternoon. Once we got to the hotel, we ate at the buffet lunch, we tore it up. The whole week we didnt get any fresh, well cooked food, so we had a hearty meal. Stash after seeing the bill of 1500 TTs (Trinidad and Tobago dollars), he shouted "1500 TTs I better get some more cake", we had one of the best laughs of the week. We knew that we were half way home and away from a very diffuclt situation. The bill actually wasnt too expensive, just seeing 4 digits was a little odd. After we relaxed, watched some Week 1 football, Ramin fell asleep, most of us went into the pool and of course HOT SHOWERS. We tried our best to forget what we left and make the next step forward. The cab driver that took us to the hotel from the airport told us of some chill places we can go at night. Since it was a Sunday, there wasnt much to do so the guys decided to go to a casino and a select few wanted to go to a strip club. I personally didnt want to, but it didnt matter to me, as long as I got to my flight on time the next morning. So we went to the casino, it was fair for most of us, a couple of people did lose a lot, but it was chill nonetheless. We played blackjack the whole night. I personally lost $80 in the first 60 minutes. Then I played with $60 more and I won back most of the money that I lost. The cab drivers got us into the casino with some membership they had and also stayed with us the whole night, which we all found odd. Since some guys wanted to go to a strip club the cab drivers took us there. This place was not a strip club it was a straight up whorehouse. Some of the girls touched us, I went to Ramin and we both felt like we contracted some kind of STD. So I decided to go outside the "club" and chill. I spoke to the bouncers for a good amount of time (about religion and stuff because Trinis have descendants from South Asia), they were mad chill. I enjoyed what I had to say, they asked us about our experiences in Grenada. We also were getting to know our cab drivers very well since they have still been with us. One of the drivers liked me so much that he called his physician at 12am so I could talk to him, about what I'm not sure, but since I'm a potential doctor the cab driver felt I would benefit from it. Finally at 1am the night was over and it was time to go home. We get to the hotel and we ask him how much for the night and he replied dont worry about it you can pay tomorrow when we take you to the airport. And we said well you spent 4 hours with us today, let us pay you something so he says $100 and we reply ok, we're about to give him the money and he says for each cab (we had 2). Bluntly we laughed becasue of the gall of this guy to make us pay such an outrageous amount. Everyone angered, started to yell and curse them for trying to take advantage of us. They felt by escorting us the whole night they deserved that much, where we told them you can easily go and make your money and we will call you when we need you. Ramin and I, being the only calm ones and having good repor with them lead the discussion. For just that night they wanted a total $160. We thought of a compromise, all we care about was getting to our flight on time the next morning, we will give you half now and half if you are here tomorrow morning. They felt that was unfair because of the possiblity of us leaving without them, which I can understand. But there was no way we were going to pay over $100, in total for the night. They were trying to make us feel bad by saying if you dont pay $160, we dont want anything. So we gave them $100 and called it a night. We asked the desk clerk if that was a fair amount and he said yes it was, so I felt a little better about the way we left the situation.
Monday September 13th, 2004
We got up and literally left as soon as possible, we all felt horrible, whole night, almost no sleep and of course that whole week of little food and no sleep. We got to the airport just as they were boarding the plane to Miami, great efficiency. I tried my best to sleep on the plane but I couldnt, I just thought about the whole week and what we went through. We got to Miami, Stash, Ramin and I, the only ones left going to the East Coast. In Miami we had lunch and split our own ways. Stash to Boston, Ramin to Cleveland and myself to Newark. At the terminal, oddily enough I find Aaliyah and Arun, two of the people I got on the Barbados flight two days prior. I talked to them for awhile, again they overthanked me, a sincere and genuine blessing. It made me feel good, but I was glad to do what I could for them and everyone else. Arun and I both were on the same flight so we talked about the whole experience in Grenada. What we went through, how we got through and what we learned from it. As we arrived into New Jersey, it felt good to see the polluted skies but I felt guilty in leaving Grenada that way I did. As leaving the terminal I saw Arun's parents and saw the joy in their eyes when they saw their only child come back from an island where they had no idea of what he went through and what he had to do to make each day easier. Maybe I'm being a bit overdramatic but for a spoiled American child this was an ordeal, and his parents not to mention my own could see it. Speaking of my own I waited for about a half hour from them at the airport, to see my mom in tears, happy that I'm alive and well. My parents were under such assumptions of me carrying weapons to protect myself, scavenging from some food (vegetarian of course) and a list of unorthodox procedures to get through the day.
And of course it was great to hear your voice, nothing was more calmer, smoother and peaceful than hearing you. It overwhelmed me with joy even thought I didnt have enough energy to eat, I felt replenished when I heard you. And of course in my best interests, you made me go to sleep...
Saturday October 9th, 2004
Finally I finished this episode. Since that day when I arrived in New York, a lot has happened but that experience in Grenada has left me wiser and more appreciative of people, my friends, you, my family, this world and God....
I will never be able to thank any of them enough...
I just hope they care that I'm trying my best...
Recent Comments