February 6th-14th

It’s host family day!!!!  We got up early, had breakfast, then continued on with our training at Lake Mainstay Resort.  After lunch, we loaded up the vans (I’m kind of getting used to them at this point) and headed to Affiance for host family orientation.  As we walked into Bacchus Library, a lot of the host families were there waiting for us.  We clambered in and found seats at the tables that were set up in the middle of the room.  There was a light-hearted get to know you activity before we delved into the meat of the orientation.  After this, we discussed Creolese and what certain words mean and the different family types and ethnic groups you find here.  Then it was time to find out who our families were!  To do this, we were all given a lyric from a folk song.  In return, the host families were given the corresponding song which they had to stand up and sing.  If our lyric matched the song they were singing, we were a match!  It was actually a little hard to figure our but in the end, we all found our families.  Luckily, mine was the 2^nd family that stood up so my anxiety was relieved pretty quickly. 

This was also the time where we were reunited with our luggage!  Oh how I have missed my luggage.  We loaded up the car with everything (which was a lot) including the medical kit, bug net, and water filter they gave us as we left and we were off!  My family lives about 15 minutes from Affiance in the village of Onderneeming.  We live across the street from Suddie Primary which is where I will be doing my practicum training when I’m not at Bacchus Library.  The house is pretty big with a gorgeous veranda in the front (which is where I spend most of my time).  There are three bedrooms in the house, with a nice sized kitchen and living room.  The washroom is not really a room at all.  They are stalls placed at the end of the hallway next to the kitchen.  One stall for the toilet and another for the shower.  Outside of this is a sink and counter.  Speaking of toilet and shower…I do have indoor plumbing (Yay!) but since the dry season has lasted longer than usual, the rainwater that is used for the two is low and therefor will not flow through the pipes.  So…instead of flushing the toilet and it all going down the pipes, you have to fill a bucket with water from the shower and pour it into the tank of the toilet every time you want to flush.  In addition, instead of showering, I again have to fill a bucket and wash from there.  This is called a bucket bath.  I take the water in a cup and pour it onto me, soap up, then pour more water on me to rinse off.  On the days I wash my hair, I have to flip my head over like I’m washing it in the sink.  AND, since it is rain water I am using, it is cold!  A hot shower and taking a bath are all distant memories.

Sunday was relaxing.  I slept until 10:30 and would have slept longer if my host sister Angel would not have walked in to check up on me.  I think she was anxious to spend some time with me.  We pretty much sat around, washed clothes (which is a process in itself, and got to know each other.  Later in the afternoon, Mom (Vanessa), Angel and I went for a walk around Suddie.  This was no ordinary walk because there were sheep and cows and a rogue bull that almost ran over me!  No joke...mom had to move me over because I was just staring at it.  That doesn’t happen back in Nashville!  They showed me where to catch a car to get back to Affiance where we were having our training.  We then walked down the street to find dad, who was at a club (bar), to catch a ride home since the Cricket match he was watching was over. 

My home!

Mom and Angel

Goats on my walk home from training

(Suddie Primary is straight ahead)

Group shot on the way to Georgetown

Speed Boat! The only way to get to and from Georgetown from where we are living.

Training Time!!

February 3^rd-6^th

As I stated before, we are here!  When we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away to a hotel about an hour away.  We loaded up into two vans and as I crawled in the back seat (the only seat left), I realized the seats on the aisle had another seat attached that you had to lower down like the desk tables in middle school!  I WAS TRAPPED AND HOT AND FREAKING OUT!  I just tried to breath and have conversations with my bench mates and as we started driving the wind made it cooler.  It was actually a pretty pleasant ride even though it was so dark we couldn’t see anything. 

At the hotel, we were assigned new roommates.  I was assigned to room with Chantelle which was awesome!  She is so funny and energetic and positive!  I seriously don’t know of one person that could ever dislike her.  After our assignments, we signed the papers for the room and went to grab a snack the hotel staff had for us.  I was famished (seriously…there was a lack of vegetarian food on the plane) so I was really excited about getting to eat.  We were served fruit and cheese straws…I love cheese straws!  A waiter tried to take my last one as he was clearing but I was able to take it off the plate before he could dispose of it.  As he looked at me with a confused expression, I explained I absolutely LOVE cheese straws!!  A minute later, without me even asking, he came back out with another plate of cheese straws for me.  How nice!!!  I was blown away!!  It was late and we had an early morning, so we went to our rooms to get some sleep!

The next morning our training began.  To say we were all exhausted would be an understatement and the exhaustion wouldn’t go away until Sunday when we would have our first opportunity to sleep in.  More on that later though.  I took my last hot shower that I will have for 27 months before our first training session in Guyana began.  We had initial training on security, money (we got paid!!), and Guyana overall.  We met our trainers and some PC Guyana staff members.  After lunch, we loaded up the buses (yes, those tiny metal death traps) and were on our way to Lake Mainstay Resort where we spent 4 days training.  To get there, we had to take the buses to Parika, get on a ferry (1 ½ hour ride), then drive another 45 minutes to Mainstay which is a beautiful resort on the coast.  The little cottages we were assigned to had 2 bedrooms, an ac unit, and living area with a refrigerator, and a bathroom with running water (rain water so it was cool but water none the less.)

After dinner we all retired to our rooms and Chantelle and I began our debriefing sessions in the dark with our headlamps before we crawled into our bug net covered beds.  This was my first time sleeping with a net and for some reason I was really nervous.  Maybe it was because the owner of the resort told us to keep the lights out and windows closed at night so bugs won’t get in as well as sand flies which can bite you even though you are under the net (hence the headlamp debriefings).  Scary!  He also warned us about the Jaguar that just casually roams around the island and told us not to worry about it.  WHAT???!!!  A Jaguar!!!!  Wow…

The next few days were filled with breakfast, training, lunch, training, dinner, then beers while downloading movies from other volunteers.  There were also snacks during training and a plethora of fresh juices.  One of the days we had to take a water test in the lake.  Because of mineral deposits, this lake was black…yes, you read that right.  On top of that (those of you who know me) know my hesitant nature of getting into open water!  We had three tests…swimming, floating with a life jacket, and canoeing.  My friend Molly was a doll and held my hand while we went into the water since I was having a mild freakout…I mean the water is black!!!!  Once we got to the marker though, everyone went swimming and I was left to fend for myself.  I eventually reached the shore and promptly got the hell out of the water!  Molly was also my canoeing partner which was awesome since she used to be on a rowing team, then floating was fine except for having to get back into the water and touch the pagas (what they Guyanese call the slimy stuff on the bottom of the lake).  Needless to say…I earned my dinner that night!!!

Our last day was spent touring around our training site (Region 2) and seeing where we will be holding our trainings (Affiance at the Bacchus library) and living (I’m in Suddie).  That night, we had our dinner outside on the beach with a bonfire and the residents of Mainstay (the Ameridians) came to share their culture with us.  Children danced and sang and the Toushau (the village leader) and his wife sang as well.  It was a good last night and a great way to end our training away from the public.  Tomorrow, we meet the host families we will be living with for the next 10 weeks!!!!!

Waiting for the ferry in Parika

The view from the side of the ferry.  These are speed boats.

Me!!!

Our home for three days!

The beach at Lake Mainstay Resort.  So peaceful in the morning.

First beer in Guyana...yum.

The following pictures were taken on our tour of the training site.

A jaguar a business owner caught

Chelsea (a quarter of her face), Allycia, Steven, Amber and I taking a selfie on the seawall with the Atlantic Ocean behind us

First monkey sighting on Capoey!!!!

Travel Time!!

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve updated this because of the lack of wifi but here I am! 

My experience began with a 5:00am wake up call after a Sunday Funday (and very Sunday Funday).  Getting up was a little rough!  Needless to say my wonderful sisters (and Adam) were there to help me as I freaked out about the weight of my luggage.  It was like I was in a movie in which a frantic girl is throwing things out of her suitcase and over her head!  Very comical.  Anyway, finally made it to the airport, got checked in and then into the long line that awaited me.  This is where the tears fell again…and again…and again.  I think most of you have seen the pictures on FB.  I got through security pretty quickly, got a coffee and bagel from Starbucks and waited to board.  Miami here I come!

In Miami, as I was at baggage claim trying to figure out how I am going to carry everything and I ran into Sia.  My first Peace Corps buddy!  We caught the shuttle and within 15 minutes we were at the hotel.  I had enough time to get to my room change meet my roommate Chelsea (from South Carolina) and get down to registration.  I was extremely tired as I went down to registration but eager to meet everyone!  Afterwards, I had to eat quickly before our meeting started (which was hard for this vegetarian in a Cuban neighborhood and I don’t speak Spanish.  Elise!!!!  Where were you??!!).  We met until 7:30pm then a bunch of us ordered pizza and gathered in the conference room where we had our training.  I found the bar so was able to grab a glass of wine and bring it with me to complement the pizza.  There was a lot of talking during the pizza gathering and we were able to get to know each other on another level.  After we were finished, Molly, Kristina, Margaret and I all went to grab a drink at the bar.  Other’s went out, but I was so tired and we had a semi early morning that I wanted to get a good night’s rest.  Little did I know that it would be my last one for the next week.

The next morning, we woke up early and went to the airport.  Thankfully we got there early because it took forever for us to check in!  In fact, the TSA line was WAY faster than the check in line.  When we finally made it to the gate we had just enough time to grab a coffee (last Starbucks for 2 years!), a bagel and eat before we boarded our flight.  I was sat on the aisle…YES!...with Caitlin and Gabrielle on the inside.  These ladies were wonderful to sit by (and we were all vegetarians and only ate a roll because there was nothing for us to eat) and 3 hours later we were in Trinidad.  For some reason, people cannot figure out what they would like us to do so we are told a couple of things before we actually knew what is going on.  We de-boarded the plane, went through another screening (good lord!), then had to wait for about 1 ½ hours before the next flight started to board.  While in the Trinidad airport, there was a liquor store so a few people bought liquor.  I ended up buying a beautiful dress which I can’t wait to wear!!! 

On arrival at the Guyana airport, we were let out on the tarmac and walked right into a welcome committee of Peace Corps staffers.   After passing through customs we picked up our bags and met more staffers and volunteers outside who were cheering for us and had a banner!  We said goodbye to our luggage, took a picture as a group, then were on our way to the hotel where we were spending our first night in Guyana.

Since I have limited wifi, I am going to try my best to get an update out once a week for now.  Hopefully I’ll be able to keep it up!

Sunday Funday with the Ladies!

It's go time!

We have arrived!

Caitlin and I at the Guyana airport

Group picture!