Going Interior

March is the month of adventures for me.  First I went to Region 9 with Mom, and most recently I went 75 miles up the Canje River to visit my counterpart’s family.  The boat trip took about 8 hours, which we spent the time drinking rum and gaffing (talking).  We got in very late and didn’t do much besides fall into our beds.  The next morning I had my first opportunity to really look around and see what I got myself into.  Firstly it appeared I was staying in a tree house.  It was actually a house on stilts but it felt very much like a tree house.  There was no door and a very uneven frightening set of steps attached to the house to which I went down backwards every time ignoring the teasing from the family!

  The scenery before me was breathtaking.  There was nature for as far as the eyes could see, and the only thing you hear is nature sounds, bugs and howler monkeys.  This was such a change from the city life I was used to.  I wasn’t given much time to setting as we were on a working farm and there was stuff to do.  Firstly was brushing teeth in the river, then off to gather food for breakfast. 

After that it was hammock time and then off to fish for a late lunch early dinner.  Before we could fish we needed to make the rods.  This consisted of cutting down bamboo and tying a string onto it.  Naturally I didn’t catch a fish, but luckily the others did and we had plenty to eat.  It was an early night as we were planning a big hike the next day. 

The hike was more of a brisk walk through the forest and into the Savannah.  Now as a naturally clumsy person I am accustom to tripping over everything but it did seem to worry Delva (Lucie’s mom), who repeated the phrase “take your time” repeatedly to me.  Little did she know I would have tripped over a blade of grass if given the chance.  I managed to make it through the hike unscathed.  We reached the river in the Savannah that we were going to fish in and it was basically hidden under algae.  But this didn’t deter the boys from hopping in and setting up a net to catch the fish.  After that was set up, they got out and walked up (down?) river a bit then hopped back in and essentially herded fish into the net.  The whole process took less than an hour and we were headed back fish in hand.  It was decided that we did not have enough fish so we stopped to do some traditional fishing.  This time I did catch a fish and promptly gave up my pole.  Fishing isn’t really my thing.  That night we had a feast of fish, and wild rabbit that Pops caught earlier in the day. 

We had some visitors the next day, some neighbors stopped by to hangout.  I took the kids and a parent to the waterside to go over how and when to wash our hands, they seem to enjoy it!  Then we had another neighbor come by and let us play with her son Mighty.  He was a cutie and loved to eat fresh fruit.  We went out and picked some produce for home and started packing up.  I found out that red beans grow in large pea pods this kind of blew my mind, but to be fair I had never really thought about where beans came from.  

Beans!

I’m sure mom would be disappointed if I didn’t mention the bathroom situation.  There was two bathrooms, and I use that term lightly.  They consisted of a structure with three walls and no door.  The bathroom that you went poo in had a lovely board across it with a hole in the middle you squatted over.  The other one just had boards on the ground and you just sort of squatted down.  Now what made that situation unique was that area also doubled as the shower if you didn’t want to bathe in the river.  Also it had no door and was in the middle of the camp…  Nudity was not an issue there but I was a little concerned that I would blind the locals if they saw my white butt.  I somehow survived the bathroom situation and will be eternally grateful for my flush toilet and closed shower!

The next day was bittersweet.  I was happy to go home but I knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I had such great experiences and did things I never imagined I would do. I think that is was Peace Corps is all about, to experience a different life, and to step out of your comfort zone. And now it’s back to my normal routine of school, workshops and maybe planning a vacation that doesn’t require a mosquito net.