I am turning Guyanese

Last week someone cut the phone cord and we lost wifi for the foreseeable future...

So now I am currently sitting at the airport using their wifi #thirdworldproblems

Lets see where did I leave off…  Well I am still in training in Soesdyke.  Soesdyke is a community about 45 minutes from Georgetown with about 3000 people.  I guess I should explain the community set ups here.  At first they seem very similar to US towns.  Most people live off one main road and that is where all the shops are located.  The main difference is that the town lines are so concrete.  One minute you are in Soesdyke and the next step you are in Tamhari.  It can be a little confusing because it is so sudden.  Sometimes there is a sign letting you know you have entered a new town but most time there is not. Also people don’t really live far from the main road.  That is something that I expected.  It is a common thing among new settlement’s to have the houses and business along one road.  They are also called communities and not towns.  If I say I am in town here they assume I am in Georgetown. 

Training is hard.  Every morning my host mom drops me off at Red Grounds, our training center.  Red Grounds is a community center that has an area we convert into a classroom.  It is open aired and beautiful.  There is a shop next to it where I get snacks almost every day.  Sweet Chili Cheese Sticks are my new favorite thing.    Anyway back to training.  I didn’t realize how intensive it would be.  We are in training M-F from 8 to about 4.  The sessions can be very long especially for those of us who are rearing to go!  There tends to be a lot of restlessness.  Once a week or so we go to the health center and the school to gain more hands on experience. 

After training is over I normally hang out by the road with my host mom Molessa, selling DVDs.  My host family is great.  There is Molessa, Akilu (Mom and Dad) and the two girls Shantelle (15) and Shantavia (10).  Akilu works for the chicken processing plant, driving the truck.  Molessa takes kids from around the town in the morning and sells DVDs from 4-8ish at night.  Most nights we can be found by the stand and playing Dominoes.  On the weekends we clean, and do laundry.  Laundry is interesting since we actually have a washing machine.  I have yet to figure out how to use the machine but that’s ok.  Drying is the real fun part.  We have a line that is outside and it’s really a crapshoot as to when your clothes will get dry.  It is the rainy season after all so it rains quite a bit, hindering the drying process.  I have had some fun adventures recently. 

Molessa and I went to a duck curry cooking competition the other day.  There were about 4 groups, and I did try at least 3 of the 4 curries.  Interestingly enough one of the groups used Laba instead of duck and I ate that too, it was the best of the curries in my opinion.  After the cooking was over, there was a giant party.  We had a great time and it turns out I am a great Guyanese dancer. 

This past weekend I went on a hike with my Host Families youth group.  We started in a town called Kuku Kukurur and walked down the road to a camp.  At the camp we were able to check out the creek with Black Water.  We also picked wild nuts and ate them!  From there we started our official hike, and right at the start we spotted a Baboon!!!!!  It was so cool, he was very shy so I did not get a good picture.  We continued on the hike and walked through some salt mines.  The kids slid down the sand dunes, and then had to hike back up! I declined to participate knowing we had more walking to do.  The walk was beautiful.  And naturally being that I am in Guyana it rained a lot.  We finally made it off the trail about 5 hours after we started the hike.  Naturally I took a shower and a nap in that order when we got back! 

Every day I am here I become more and more integrated into the culture and the community.  My host mom tells me at least every day that I am Guyanese now.  I have actually been chilled one night, not enough to need a sweater, but I wasn’t sweating.  I am also enjoying the local foods, my favorite thing to eat is Bake.  Bake is kind of like a funnel cake but more dense.  I normally eat it with peanut butter or dip it in my food.  I also had pepper pot last night, it was my first time having beef since arriving in country.  Now I’m not entirely sure what part of the cow I ate but it was good.  The pineapple here is amazing. In other news I can now play cricket.  Not well mind you but I have the basics down.  

That is all for now.  The next time you hear from me I should know my official site for the next two years!!!!!
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