Here's a link to one of my photo albums on Facebook, it has pictures from a trip to the beach I went on a few weeks ago. Enjoy :)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Heritage Festival at St Cuthbert's Mission
I am writing this post from the air conditioned luxury of the Peace Corps office in Georgetown. I decided to treat myself this morning to a few hours of air conditioning, mostly because the sunburn on my arms, neck, and face is fresh and still painfully pink. I was stopped on my way here by a Guyanese man who told me that he liked how my face and my hair were 2 different shades of red. Wasn't really sure how to respond to that one :) I can't really complain about this sunburn though since, #1 it was my own fault for not wearing sunscreen, and #2 it happened during an amazing weekend celebrating Amerindian Heritage month in the village of St. Cuthbert's Mission.
Here in Guyana September is Amerindian Heritage month so there are tons of festivals and events going on all over the country that showcase the culture and the heritage of Guyana's native people, the Amerindians. St Cuthbert's Mission is a village of about 1,500 people that is located about 2 hours from Georgetown in the interior. Several of the Guy 23 volunteers did their training there so a bunch of us decided to go this past weekend to attend their heritage festival. It was probably one of the best weekends I've had so far here in Guyana.
Our journey started from Georgetown, where I met up with my friends Emily and Ashley, who came in from the Essequibo coast early Saturday morning. We caught a bus from town around 8 am, which was going to take us up the main road the runs along the coast. It was about a 40 minute ride from town to a place called the Suesdyke junction, where the road splits and you can either continue along the coast or take the other main highway in Guyana, which goes into the interior. At this point we switched from bus to pickup truck, since the road into the mission is all sand and dirt and most cars and buses get stuck. We then had a 45 minute ride into the Mission, bouncing along in the back of a pickup truck, hoping that none of the potholes or sharp turns would get us tossed out. The driver of the pickup truck, Bongo, was a host dad to one of the other volunteers, so we trusted him to get us there safely. Along the way we stopped at a small pineapple farm and bought freshly picked pine to snack on for the rest of the ride.
Once we got into the Mission, which is spread out over several miles of open savannah, dense jungle, and blackwater creeks, we dropped our bags off at Bongo's house, and made our way to the town center, where all the festivities were taking place. There was a stage set up for performances and booths selling locally made crafts and food. We walked around and watching some adorable school children sing songs and read poems, and of course, spent way too much money on the beautifully made Amerindian crafts. The Amerindians in Guyana are famous for their straw basket weaving and feather headpieces and jewelry. Warning, all my Christmas gives for people were bought last weekend, and almost all of them involve colored straw or feathers :)
All of the food choices were local Amerindian dishes, such as labba pepperpot and cassava bread. This is what I had and it was absolutely delicious. Pepperpot is a dish that is kind of like a stew, meat is cooked in broth and spices and peppers for a very long time until it gets really tender and the broth soaks up all the flavor. Cassava bread is a hard flat bread that is used to soak up the broth. Labba is wild bush meat and very popular in Amerindian communities. A labba is an animal that is native to Guyana and it resembles, get ready for it, a large rodent. Sounds gross, I know, and I don't think I could actually look at a live labba and then eat one, but it really does taste quite good. And of course, you need something to wash down all that wild bush meat with. Amerindians make their own liquor, which is called Piwari or bush rum. It is made from fermented cassava, which is a root vegetable similar to a potato, and lots of sugar. It is sweet and delicious but STRONG! Depending on what batch you get, it can get you pretty high (Guyanese use the term high to mean drunk, this was very confusing at first lol).
Now, you all probably have guessed by now that Guyana is balls hot all the time. Every single day. But where I live, along the coast of the Atlantic, I get a breeze that at least makes the heat bearable sometimes. Once you get into the interior, that breeze disappears. On Saturday, sitting in the shade in St Cuthbert's, I was sweating just by lifting the bottle of Piwari to my lips. I don't think I've ever been that hot before, ever. We decided that it was probably a good point to go find a place to cool down so we walked about a mile further into the village to this amazingly peaceful and beautiful blackwater creek. The water was cool and shaded from the trees and we were able to swim and relax away from the heat and dusty sand of the village center. It was amazing. After our swim, we headed back to the center of the village to do some more craft shopping and pass the rest of the afternoon relaxing on a random veranda, drinking Piwari and eating pepperpot.
As the sun began to set and round 2 of the festivities began to get under way, myself and my friends and fellow volunteers Kristin, Meghan, and Mark decided to go to a different black water creek near Kristin's host family's house where we were all staying, to bath for the night. Using rainwater or bathing in creeks is a very common method of washing clothes, dishes, and bathing in most of Guyana. So the 4 of us were all sitting in the creek, trying to get as clean as possible with most of our clothes on and no real soap, when all of sudden we look up and a flock of macaw parrots fly over our heads, right as the sun is setting. It was such a cool moment, sitting in a blackwater creek, in the middle of the jungle as the sun is setting, and seeing a flock of colorful parrots fly by. It felt like a very Peace Corps moment :)
After that, we made our way back to the town center, for a dinner of barbequed chicken and plantain chips and, of course, more Piwari. We hung around the food and craft area for a while until around 9 pm, when we were told that we should head over to the primary school where apparently their was an all night dance party going on. At that point, most of us had had just enough Piwari to be totally into the idea of an all night dance party. We headed over to the primary school, which was packed, and preceded to take over the dance floor. The DJ was playing mostly Guyanese music, rap, soca, dancehall, and reggae but at around 1 am he decided to make a switch. All of a sudden, Elvis was playing and a whole bunch of other music that made me think I was in the movie Grease. It was such a fun time and we kept on dancing until around 2 am. Some volunteers had to get a ride out of the Mission at 3 am in order to get back to Georgetown to make the flights back to their sites so we headed back to our respective host family houses to pack and get at least an hour or 2 of sleep.
We woke up with the sun and had a quick cup of instant coffee before piling into a bus that was headed back to Georgetown. I got home around noon on Sunday and was completely exhausted and bright pink from sunburn but incredibly happy and content with life. It was an amazingly fun and crazy weekend. And, of course, I have pictures for everybody at the link below. Enjoy!!! :)
St Cuthbert's pics:
Here in Guyana September is Amerindian Heritage month so there are tons of festivals and events going on all over the country that showcase the culture and the heritage of Guyana's native people, the Amerindians. St Cuthbert's Mission is a village of about 1,500 people that is located about 2 hours from Georgetown in the interior. Several of the Guy 23 volunteers did their training there so a bunch of us decided to go this past weekend to attend their heritage festival. It was probably one of the best weekends I've had so far here in Guyana.
Our journey started from Georgetown, where I met up with my friends Emily and Ashley, who came in from the Essequibo coast early Saturday morning. We caught a bus from town around 8 am, which was going to take us up the main road the runs along the coast. It was about a 40 minute ride from town to a place called the Suesdyke junction, where the road splits and you can either continue along the coast or take the other main highway in Guyana, which goes into the interior. At this point we switched from bus to pickup truck, since the road into the mission is all sand and dirt and most cars and buses get stuck. We then had a 45 minute ride into the Mission, bouncing along in the back of a pickup truck, hoping that none of the potholes or sharp turns would get us tossed out. The driver of the pickup truck, Bongo, was a host dad to one of the other volunteers, so we trusted him to get us there safely. Along the way we stopped at a small pineapple farm and bought freshly picked pine to snack on for the rest of the ride.
Once we got into the Mission, which is spread out over several miles of open savannah, dense jungle, and blackwater creeks, we dropped our bags off at Bongo's house, and made our way to the town center, where all the festivities were taking place. There was a stage set up for performances and booths selling locally made crafts and food. We walked around and watching some adorable school children sing songs and read poems, and of course, spent way too much money on the beautifully made Amerindian crafts. The Amerindians in Guyana are famous for their straw basket weaving and feather headpieces and jewelry. Warning, all my Christmas gives for people were bought last weekend, and almost all of them involve colored straw or feathers :)
All of the food choices were local Amerindian dishes, such as labba pepperpot and cassava bread. This is what I had and it was absolutely delicious. Pepperpot is a dish that is kind of like a stew, meat is cooked in broth and spices and peppers for a very long time until it gets really tender and the broth soaks up all the flavor. Cassava bread is a hard flat bread that is used to soak up the broth. Labba is wild bush meat and very popular in Amerindian communities. A labba is an animal that is native to Guyana and it resembles, get ready for it, a large rodent. Sounds gross, I know, and I don't think I could actually look at a live labba and then eat one, but it really does taste quite good. And of course, you need something to wash down all that wild bush meat with. Amerindians make their own liquor, which is called Piwari or bush rum. It is made from fermented cassava, which is a root vegetable similar to a potato, and lots of sugar. It is sweet and delicious but STRONG! Depending on what batch you get, it can get you pretty high (Guyanese use the term high to mean drunk, this was very confusing at first lol).
Now, you all probably have guessed by now that Guyana is balls hot all the time. Every single day. But where I live, along the coast of the Atlantic, I get a breeze that at least makes the heat bearable sometimes. Once you get into the interior, that breeze disappears. On Saturday, sitting in the shade in St Cuthbert's, I was sweating just by lifting the bottle of Piwari to my lips. I don't think I've ever been that hot before, ever. We decided that it was probably a good point to go find a place to cool down so we walked about a mile further into the village to this amazingly peaceful and beautiful blackwater creek. The water was cool and shaded from the trees and we were able to swim and relax away from the heat and dusty sand of the village center. It was amazing. After our swim, we headed back to the center of the village to do some more craft shopping and pass the rest of the afternoon relaxing on a random veranda, drinking Piwari and eating pepperpot.
As the sun began to set and round 2 of the festivities began to get under way, myself and my friends and fellow volunteers Kristin, Meghan, and Mark decided to go to a different black water creek near Kristin's host family's house where we were all staying, to bath for the night. Using rainwater or bathing in creeks is a very common method of washing clothes, dishes, and bathing in most of Guyana. So the 4 of us were all sitting in the creek, trying to get as clean as possible with most of our clothes on and no real soap, when all of sudden we look up and a flock of macaw parrots fly over our heads, right as the sun is setting. It was such a cool moment, sitting in a blackwater creek, in the middle of the jungle as the sun is setting, and seeing a flock of colorful parrots fly by. It felt like a very Peace Corps moment :)
After that, we made our way back to the town center, for a dinner of barbequed chicken and plantain chips and, of course, more Piwari. We hung around the food and craft area for a while until around 9 pm, when we were told that we should head over to the primary school where apparently their was an all night dance party going on. At that point, most of us had had just enough Piwari to be totally into the idea of an all night dance party. We headed over to the primary school, which was packed, and preceded to take over the dance floor. The DJ was playing mostly Guyanese music, rap, soca, dancehall, and reggae but at around 1 am he decided to make a switch. All of a sudden, Elvis was playing and a whole bunch of other music that made me think I was in the movie Grease. It was such a fun time and we kept on dancing until around 2 am. Some volunteers had to get a ride out of the Mission at 3 am in order to get back to Georgetown to make the flights back to their sites so we headed back to our respective host family houses to pack and get at least an hour or 2 of sleep.
We woke up with the sun and had a quick cup of instant coffee before piling into a bus that was headed back to Georgetown. I got home around noon on Sunday and was completely exhausted and bright pink from sunburn but incredibly happy and content with life. It was an amazingly fun and crazy weekend. And, of course, I have pictures for everybody at the link below. Enjoy!!! :)
St Cuthbert's pics:
Program Design and Management Conference
Two weeks ago, Peace Corps held a conference for all Guy 23 volunteers on program design and management. We were supposed to attend with our counterparts and discuss, plan, and design a project or program that we were currently working on or hoped to work on at our site. Unfortunately, my counterpart, the Medex at the Maternal and Child Health clinic, was unable to attend but I was still able to come up with a potential project.
Since I am doing my Peace Corps service as part of my Master's International program, I wanted to design a project that would not only be something that my health center needed and wanted but that would also be able to serve as part of my master's thesis when I get back. Graduating from grad school seems both blissfully far away and terrifyingly close so I knew I needed to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.
Since starting work at the maternal and child health clinic I've become more interested in antenatal health and I think I want to go into that field when I'm back home. I wanted my project to focus on the pregnant women who attend the clinic and, as I observed the women's consultations with the Medex and spoke to them one on one, I realized that nutrition during pregnancy is a major issue for women here in Guyana. There is a definite lack of education about nutrition, what pregnant women should or should not eat, what makes up a healthy diet, and what vitamins one should take while pregnant. I wanted my project to focus on nutrition education, both in pregnant women and also in community health workers so that they could better serve their own communties.
From that very basic idea, I put together a rough project outline which I hope to begin sometime in early October. I am going to select a group of 20 women who are new admits to our antenatal clinic in the month of October. I will give out an initial survey that focuses on determining their level of knowledge about nutrition in general, how that changes when they are pregnant, and what vitamins a pregnant woman needs in order to have a healthy baby. This will serve as my baseline survey. From there, I will follow these women for 9 months, or the full term of their pregnancy, giving them group and individual health talks that focus on nutrition, at every clinic visit. For women up till 6 months of pregnancy, that will be once a month and for women after 7 months, it will be about once every 2 weeks. I will focus these health talks on different topics pertaining to nutrition. After each women gives birth I will do a follow up survey to see if their knowledge of nutrition has improved. Also, I will check to see medically if they have improved health by taking vitamins during pregnancy, focusing specifically on infant birth weight and other signs of poor antenatal nutrition.
So that, in a very basic and rough nutshell, is my first project as a Peace Corps volunteer. It is something I am excited about starting and I hope that by educating the health workers as well, it is a project that is at least somewhat sustainable. And by doing a survey and generating statistical data on how many women's knowledge and overall health improved, it will be useful for when I go back to school and have to turn all this into a nice, formal paper.
Let me know what you guys all think!! I am hoping to get some feedback from my many followers on whether or not you think this project is even a good idea :)
Since I am doing my Peace Corps service as part of my Master's International program, I wanted to design a project that would not only be something that my health center needed and wanted but that would also be able to serve as part of my master's thesis when I get back. Graduating from grad school seems both blissfully far away and terrifyingly close so I knew I needed to start thinking about it sooner rather than later.
Since starting work at the maternal and child health clinic I've become more interested in antenatal health and I think I want to go into that field when I'm back home. I wanted my project to focus on the pregnant women who attend the clinic and, as I observed the women's consultations with the Medex and spoke to them one on one, I realized that nutrition during pregnancy is a major issue for women here in Guyana. There is a definite lack of education about nutrition, what pregnant women should or should not eat, what makes up a healthy diet, and what vitamins one should take while pregnant. I wanted my project to focus on nutrition education, both in pregnant women and also in community health workers so that they could better serve their own communties.
From that very basic idea, I put together a rough project outline which I hope to begin sometime in early October. I am going to select a group of 20 women who are new admits to our antenatal clinic in the month of October. I will give out an initial survey that focuses on determining their level of knowledge about nutrition in general, how that changes when they are pregnant, and what vitamins a pregnant woman needs in order to have a healthy baby. This will serve as my baseline survey. From there, I will follow these women for 9 months, or the full term of their pregnancy, giving them group and individual health talks that focus on nutrition, at every clinic visit. For women up till 6 months of pregnancy, that will be once a month and for women after 7 months, it will be about once every 2 weeks. I will focus these health talks on different topics pertaining to nutrition. After each women gives birth I will do a follow up survey to see if their knowledge of nutrition has improved. Also, I will check to see medically if they have improved health by taking vitamins during pregnancy, focusing specifically on infant birth weight and other signs of poor antenatal nutrition.
So that, in a very basic and rough nutshell, is my first project as a Peace Corps volunteer. It is something I am excited about starting and I hope that by educating the health workers as well, it is a project that is at least somewhat sustainable. And by doing a survey and generating statistical data on how many women's knowledge and overall health improved, it will be useful for when I go back to school and have to turn all this into a nice, formal paper.
Let me know what you guys all think!! I am hoping to get some feedback from my many followers on whether or not you think this project is even a good idea :)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
You know you're in Peace Corps Guyana when....
When talking with other volunteers in country, inevitably someone will throw out the phrase, "you know you're in Peace Corps Guyana when..." and then supply some random anecdote that, more often than not, universally applies to everyone in the group. Most of them are funny or amusing, often in some ironic way about how poor/sweaty/dirty/crazy we have all become since we began our Peace Corps journey. Here are a few that my friends and I have observed are true for almost everyone:
1. You own a "fancy" pair of Crocs
2. Getting ready to go out usually involves sunscreen, bug spray, or both.
3. Everyone has various tan lines on their arms and legs, depending on how often you wear different tank top/t-shirt/shorts/pants combos.
4. Dressing up or looking nice for something will most likely just mean that you washed your hair that day.
4. At the end of the month you can't afford both peanut butter AND jelly so you stand at the shelf for 20 minutes trying to decide which one to get this month.
5. You answer to someone calling you "white girl" the same way you would if they had said your name.
6. You can tell which pair of shoes other volunteers wear the most by the tattoo like tan lines we now all have on our feet.
7. You can name at least 3 different spices used in making curry
8. A week without any blackouts is considered a good week (hasn't happened yet, so that one is just a guess lol)
9. To save power/money, you walk around at night with your headlamp on instead of turning on the lights.
10. A shopping "splurge" is almost always a food item and is usually some American-brand of junk food that is almost at it's expiration date.
1. You own a "fancy" pair of Crocs
2. Getting ready to go out usually involves sunscreen, bug spray, or both.
3. Everyone has various tan lines on their arms and legs, depending on how often you wear different tank top/t-shirt/shorts/pants combos.
4. Dressing up or looking nice for something will most likely just mean that you washed your hair that day.
4. At the end of the month you can't afford both peanut butter AND jelly so you stand at the shelf for 20 minutes trying to decide which one to get this month.
5. You answer to someone calling you "white girl" the same way you would if they had said your name.
6. You can tell which pair of shoes other volunteers wear the most by the tattoo like tan lines we now all have on our feet.
7. You can name at least 3 different spices used in making curry
8. A week without any blackouts is considered a good week (hasn't happened yet, so that one is just a guess lol)
9. To save power/money, you walk around at night with your headlamp on instead of turning on the lights.
10. A shopping "splurge" is almost always a food item and is usually some American-brand of junk food that is almost at it's expiration date.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Jungle run part deux
This past weekend, I attended my 3rd Guyana Hash House Harriers run, or just hash run for short. For those of you who haven't been obsessively keeping up with my blog and didn't read the 1st entry explaining what a hash is (shame on you) here's a brief explanation: Hash groups exist all over the world and are described as a drinking club with a running problem. Basically, groups of people get together 2 times a month and go on "extreme" runs, so not just a typical jog on a marked path or trail. The point is to have them in some kind of weird or unique or crazy environment, which here in Guyana can mean jungle. Two or three members of the group pick a place, mark out a trail (there are various rules to the club as well), and then everyone does the run, comes back, eats food, and drinks a lot of beer (it's important to carbo-load after a workout, right?).
This most recent run was set in Santa Mission, an Amerinidian community that is pretty isolated in the bush. We had to take an hour boat ride up a black water creek just to get to the village. Once we got there, the run was 6 miles total in almost complete bush, like climbing over trees and wading through creeks type of bush. It was more walking than running but in 90+ degree heat and 100% humidity, it was absolutely exhausting. But cool as hell, walking through the jungle, not being able to hear any other human being or car or any sign of civilization for miles, literally crawling through bush and balancing across fallen logs over creekbeds.
The run took just about 3 hours, since we walked most of the way through the thicker jungle areas ( and took a few wrong turns and almost ended up in Suriname, but that's not my fault, the freaking jungle all looks the same out there). After words we all ate delicious bbq chicken, cook up rice, dahl rice, and drank lots and lots of beer. One of the rules of a hash is that you can't leave any beer behind so you have to drink it all, no matter what. My group usually doesn't have a problem with that :) After the food, everyone forms a circle and the GM of the run (the guy in charge of that particular hash group) gets in the middle and starts calling up different people who, for various reasons, have to chug a beer. If you mapped out the course, you chug, if it's you're 1st run, you chug. If you were 1st back to base, or last, you chug. This time, we had so much extra beer that the GM was just making up rules for people to drink so we would finish all the beer. He made me chug because I was wearing a headband, this is not a typical hash rule :)
The hash runs are definitely a fun way to unwind, relax, and have a good time on the weekend and it's also a good way to meet new people. The Guyana hash group is a pretty even mix of locals and foreigners, mostly Peace Corps or various Embassy people. They love when new people join the group and whatever city or country you were in when you did your 1st hash is considered your "mother hash", no matter how many other hash groups you participate in. After 10 runs, they give you a hash nickname, which is almost always inappropriate and slightly offensive. I cant wait to get my hash name, only 7 more runs to go :) God knows what it will be lol.
This most recent run was set in Santa Mission, an Amerinidian community that is pretty isolated in the bush. We had to take an hour boat ride up a black water creek just to get to the village. Once we got there, the run was 6 miles total in almost complete bush, like climbing over trees and wading through creeks type of bush. It was more walking than running but in 90+ degree heat and 100% humidity, it was absolutely exhausting. But cool as hell, walking through the jungle, not being able to hear any other human being or car or any sign of civilization for miles, literally crawling through bush and balancing across fallen logs over creekbeds.
The run took just about 3 hours, since we walked most of the way through the thicker jungle areas ( and took a few wrong turns and almost ended up in Suriname, but that's not my fault, the freaking jungle all looks the same out there). After words we all ate delicious bbq chicken, cook up rice, dahl rice, and drank lots and lots of beer. One of the rules of a hash is that you can't leave any beer behind so you have to drink it all, no matter what. My group usually doesn't have a problem with that :) After the food, everyone forms a circle and the GM of the run (the guy in charge of that particular hash group) gets in the middle and starts calling up different people who, for various reasons, have to chug a beer. If you mapped out the course, you chug, if it's you're 1st run, you chug. If you were 1st back to base, or last, you chug. This time, we had so much extra beer that the GM was just making up rules for people to drink so we would finish all the beer. He made me chug because I was wearing a headband, this is not a typical hash rule :)
The hash runs are definitely a fun way to unwind, relax, and have a good time on the weekend and it's also a good way to meet new people. The Guyana hash group is a pretty even mix of locals and foreigners, mostly Peace Corps or various Embassy people. They love when new people join the group and whatever city or country you were in when you did your 1st hash is considered your "mother hash", no matter how many other hash groups you participate in. After 10 runs, they give you a hash nickname, which is almost always inappropriate and slightly offensive. I cant wait to get my hash name, only 7 more runs to go :) God knows what it will be lol.
Pictures!!!!
Here are 2 links to 2 different facebook photo albums, for those of you who don't have facebook (aka Mom and Dad) The 1st one is just random pictures taken over the past month or so and the 2nd is from the Amerindian Heritage Festival I recently went to in Georgetown. Enjoy :)
Album #1
Album #1
Album #2
7 months
Well, it is almost the 7 month anniversary of arriving in Guyana and I honestly can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday I was getting on the plane at JFK and now suddenly, not only am I in South America but I LIVE here, this is my home. I have an apartment and a job and a cat and I get to say to people "No I'm not on vacation, I really live here". It blows my mind.
Now that I've been in Guyana for 7 months and living at my permanent site for 4 months, my life has taken on a routine, which is probably why I forget sometimes that I'm not just living in South America but actually in the Peace Corps. During the week I wake up, go to work, come home, cook dinner and then watch a movie or read a book before I head to bed. The other volunteers and I talk about this a lot, that we don't actually feel like we're in the Peace Corps cause everything is so normal for us now. Our houses, our villages, our jobs, it's all just our lives now. I like that though, I think it's a true sign of integration, when you feel like any other person who lives here with a house and a job and a life.
My job is still going well; I am at the maternal and child health clinic at the regional hospital. I only work with pregnant women and children under 5 which I really really like. I get to interact not only with the health care workers and nurses at the clinic but with the patients as well. I do health talks about various topics such as nutrition and breastfeeding (FYI, I am now a breastfeeding expert I've given so many freaking health talks on it lol). I like being able to talk with people one on one and really do grassroots outreach and education. That being said, the schedule is pretty light compared to what I was used to back in DC, with my 12 hour double bar shifts and full class schedule. I definitely have plenty of free time to lay in my hammock and read :)
As much as I am enjoying my time here in Guyana, I am also very excited to come back home for a visit in December. I bought my ticket and will be arriving in the Land of Plenty on December 20th. I may or may not have a panic attack when I walk out of the airport and it's less than 80 degrees but I think the best solution to that is to get me into the nearest sports bar and force feed me fried food and beer :) I have a list of things I want to do when I'm home, both in Allentown and DC, and 99% of them involve food and/or alcohol. And seeing my family and friends of course :) So let the countdown begin....(less than 4 months to go....)
Now that I've been in Guyana for 7 months and living at my permanent site for 4 months, my life has taken on a routine, which is probably why I forget sometimes that I'm not just living in South America but actually in the Peace Corps. During the week I wake up, go to work, come home, cook dinner and then watch a movie or read a book before I head to bed. The other volunteers and I talk about this a lot, that we don't actually feel like we're in the Peace Corps cause everything is so normal for us now. Our houses, our villages, our jobs, it's all just our lives now. I like that though, I think it's a true sign of integration, when you feel like any other person who lives here with a house and a job and a life.
My job is still going well; I am at the maternal and child health clinic at the regional hospital. I only work with pregnant women and children under 5 which I really really like. I get to interact not only with the health care workers and nurses at the clinic but with the patients as well. I do health talks about various topics such as nutrition and breastfeeding (FYI, I am now a breastfeeding expert I've given so many freaking health talks on it lol). I like being able to talk with people one on one and really do grassroots outreach and education. That being said, the schedule is pretty light compared to what I was used to back in DC, with my 12 hour double bar shifts and full class schedule. I definitely have plenty of free time to lay in my hammock and read :)
As much as I am enjoying my time here in Guyana, I am also very excited to come back home for a visit in December. I bought my ticket and will be arriving in the Land of Plenty on December 20th. I may or may not have a panic attack when I walk out of the airport and it's less than 80 degrees but I think the best solution to that is to get me into the nearest sports bar and force feed me fried food and beer :) I have a list of things I want to do when I'm home, both in Allentown and DC, and 99% of them involve food and/or alcohol. And seeing my family and friends of course :) So let the countdown begin....(less than 4 months to go....)
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