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My site visit to New Amsterdam was amazing! My host family, Linda and Robbie, are great and Lindsey, the PCV that lives in the apartment below the house and who I will be working with, is also fantastic! LD and I will be overlapping our time at site by about 3 months which is unusual in the Peace Corps world, but I think it is very helpful and has eased some anxiety for me. Once LD is finished and COS's (close of service) I will be able to move downstairs to have the apartment to myself. It is a cute, clean, and open space with two bedrooms, a large kitchen and a washroom with a shower and toilet!
The neighborhood
The apartment
Playing beer pong at the Region 6 welcome party!
Lindsey and I at school celebrating Easter
Oh hey! NBD. It's just the President and First Lady.
The school is very large with about 700 students grades 1-6. My room is next to Mrs. Surya's office (the Head Mistress and my counterpart) and the staff seems to be very nice and accepting. The students are super cute and sweet and are constantly wanting to help with things and play with my hair. There is no entitlement that you sometimes find back home and the parents are supportive in most cases. I am also apparently LD's sister, mother, cousin since we are both white! It's so cute.
After our week, it was back to the Essiquibo coast and Suddie to finish our training; 4 weeks left! These 4 weeks at times felt like the longest of our life, but also some of shortest. While I love my host family in Suddie, I, as well as others, were ready to start our journey.
During the last 4 weeks, we sat through more medical, safety and security, and health sessions. We celebrated Phagwah, Good Friday and Easter which included kite flying on the beach. Molly and I attended a wedding with our families as well as got up early to watch the sunrise over the ocean and finally, our swearing in ceremony.
Phagwah is a Hindu celebration of the triumph of good over evil.
Phagwah with my Suddie Gyals
The swearing in ceremony was a nice outdoor event under a tent. There were PCV's from around the country there as well as the US Ambassador, Minister of Health, and the Interim Region Director of Peace Corps. After the ceremony, we went to a bar for drinks before we all said our final goodbyes to each other and went our separate ways. The Suddie crew had a dinner party thrown for us by our families at the NOC club with drinks, dancing, and karaoke!!!
Suddie Crew
Suddie Gyals
Kristina and I
Antonia and I
Gabrielle and I
Stephanie, Jamal, and I
Momma Vanessa, Dad Lance, and I
The parents at our party
The next day, most everyone left to move to their sites, but I stayed one more day to finish packing and surprise Angel for her birthday. That night, we hung out with friends, I gave Angel her present, and Molly and Jackie came over. I also dyed part of my hair purple!!! It was a nice and unexpected night and I'm glad it happened. The next morning we were up and running and on our way to our permanent site.
I will update more on my site in another entry but I am so excited to be here. The house/apartment is super cute and my family is fantastic! We watch CNN and BBC World News everyday so I know all about Trump and the election and I also hang out downstairs with LD in the apartment that will be mine in a few months.
