Eleven years ago, the powers that be at Linfield College randomly paired me with a girl from Wyoming as my roommate. I was very nervous about this.

I, the introvert, who had never shared a room in her life, would suddenly be sleeping, studying, changing, breathing, all in the company of a stranger? Within in the confines of a very small dorm room?

I was really afraid that this unknown Megan person would turn out to be a weirdo and I wouldn't like her at all.

Or, worse--that she would think I was a weirdo and that she wouldn't like me at all.

Turns out, the random matcher-uppers at Linfield did a stellar job. We're the only freshman roommate pair I know of who not only made it through that first year, but actually became friends. We even chose to live together for another two consecutive years and have remained friends ever since.

So when she up and decided to go to veterinary school in Grenada--and said that her apartment was open to visitors--Eric and I started saving our pennies.

It was well worth it. Meg showed Eric and I the time of our lives in Grenada. Seriously, if the whole becoming-a-veterinarian thing doesn't work out, she could have a future in vacation planning. She gave us tips on where to go, what to buy and where to eat. She opened up her home to us. She cooked for us. She braved the horrors of driving in Grenada traffic to take us around the island, and she sweet-talked a boat owner into giving us a spot on a champagne-and-lobster cruise that we weren't really supposed to be going on.

The trip was, in a way, a total blast from the past. We ate together, we hung out together. Meg studied. I didn't. And at the end of the day we all curled up on the couch and watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer together. It was just like old times.

To those of you who read this blog and are also friends with Meg in real life, and haven't gone to visit her yet, I say: DO IT. Meg rocks. And Grenada rocks. You will not regret it.





Back in 2000, Meg and I traveled to England together. Now, in 2009, we've experienced Grenada together too. Maybe this is some kind of an every-nine-years travel pattern. Who knows where 2018 will find us?