It's too hot to tan

I’m going to be honest here I thought I would be a lot tanner by now.  I thought oh hey I’ll be in a Caribbean country, on weekends I can lay out and catch some rays…  It is literally too hot to tan here.  Being in direct sunlight is like lighting yourself on fire and just standing there not trying to put it out.  And because there is no AC anywhere you have a hard time cooling off when you come in from the inferno that is outdoors.

Before I came other PCV’s told me to always carry an umbrella, but I did not realize it was for the sun rather than the rain.  It is so hot here that if you venture out without an umbrella to protect you, random concerned citizens will yell at you. I was even told that my umbrella was too small once.  I didn’t know that was a possibility, but I guess if any part of your arms are exposed it’s too small…

There is a “beach” here with sand and all.  I’ve been, but it was weirdly windy, and the wind wasn’t coming off the water, it was coming from the side so the sand just constantly pelts your body.  It is the worst exfoliating treatment you could get.  And the water is not really clean looking.  Also to get to it takes a few hours in a minibus with 18 people and few windows. So tanning on the beach, yeah that’s out. 

So if you’re wondering why I look so pale after spending 27 months in a Caribbean country… The simple answer is that living like a vampire is really the way to go here.   (And yes I do realize this will save me from getting skin cancer in the future)

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.  

The art of shopping

Grocery shopping here takes some amount of skill and a lot of strategic planning.  Back home I would just hop in my car, drive to the store, and pick out food I wanted for that week.  The first thing I have to do here is meal plan.  This is especially difficult for me as I generally don't like to eat the same thing everyday.  So this means at least two options for breakfast and something for lunch and dinner that can be changed by adding rice, or other spices, normally some sort of vegetable soup.  I also have to decide if I am going to want meat at some point that week.  So once I have my meals picked out I make a list.  Then I have to figure out what items to get a what store.  We have about 5 or so grocery stores here and each one had cheaper prices for certain items.  So this week I am making Taco Soup.  This is what my list will look like:

J's Waterside                 Supermarket                  Lavi's                       M. Ali's                     Market
Sour Cream*               sandwich meat                meat                         Gatorade                    fruit
                                            milk                     canned corn                                                   eggs
                                            Chips                canned tomatoes                                              onions
                                                                        canned beans                                                 tomatoes
                                                                                                                                              cucumber
                                                                                                                                              hot peppers

* Sour Cream is hard to find and if they have it it might be too pricey or almost expired

Now to figure out where to go first.  The market, J's and the Supermarket are all near each other.  So I will probably do the supermarket first then the market then J's, but that order doesn't matter as much.  Since I only want Gatorade at M. Ali's I will skip that and look for it elsewhere.  That makes Lavi's either my first or my last stop.  This trip I will probably carry a back pack and a green bag to carry everything.  Don't forget that I don't have a car so I will have to lug everything to each store and then to the other side of the town to get to Lavi's, then catch a taxi home (with 4 other passengers).  Then finally home, soaked in sweat because none of the stores have AC. You will notice this list is only food, that is because last week I had to pick up things like TP and cleaners, and laundry soap.  That is normally a separate trip out! Oh and I will probably forget something so I will have to go back out later in the week! The struggle is real.