Well, I'm rounding off my first full work week, which means I've observed and encountered nearly a week's worth of writing material...

It took me until Wednesday to realize that I've made it all the way to 30 without ever working a "9-5" job!  Great, okay, so what?  It is ironic to me that my first one would be in a developing country then, as a Peace Corps Volunteer.  And if you've ever spent much time overseas, you realize that most places move at A MUCH slower pace.

My point is that, although I know things will pick up when school starts next week and I've observed that I am indeed placed with a passionate and responsible organization that carries out their mission (every Guyanese child has the right to a safe and stable family and community), I've still had to be pretty creative to keep busy and productive, in one place, for 7 hours.  Every day.  I've been doing a lot of reading through the materials the staff has on hand, regarding working with kids and teachers and parents.  And there's a lot, which is really good.

I also had the opportunity to accompany some of the ladies to a DVD filming project their doing as a campaign to promote areas of a healthy child's life.  This one was on education and since September is education month here, their hoping to get it aired on the national TV station.  It seems they have a good relationship with areas of the government responsible for a child's welfare and today I went to a workshop which paneled about 6 different agencies (government related as well as NGOs), which was also helpful.

Education DVD filming with kids we serve.

My role is to help strengthen the capacity of the staff in different areas of counseling, through one on one meetings as well as with small presentations and workshops which I will put together, once I figure out what exactly it is they'd like to learn.  So, over the next month, I will continue to observe and document what it is they already understand and research what's up to date pertinent information regarding working with an abused or neglected Guyanese child.  I think it will be challenging, while strengthening a different set of skills, which will help me become a better social work practioner at the same time.

The weekday goes pretty much like this:

 Wake up by alarm between 6:15-6:45, snooze for about half an hour and finally get up about 45 minutes after that.  Intentions include doing a little yoga, journal writing, shower and coffee and packing up to be out the door by 8:40 at the latest.

It feels about 95 degrees with 95% humidity by 8:40 am, as I bike to work, dodging traffic and pedestrians and bikers, dogs and goats.  After 4 days of trial and error, I have a pretty good route to work.  I undoubtedly arrive to work soaking wet.

Around noon, we break for lunch and I'll either eat with the ladies or run a couple of errands.  Today I went to the bank and post office and mailed 4 letters and bought $8 worth of stamps, so hopefully I'm good for a while!

Saw this on a walk around on of the neighborhoods.

From 1-4:30, it's reading or writing or discussing projects or maybe an outing.  But next week, people will be in and out of the office a lot more, from what I'm told.

It gets dark by 6:30, so I try to get in as long of a run as I can after work, before that.  Maybe I'll stop at the market on the way home and grab some veggies.

After that, it's shower, dinner, relax.  Living alone in a foreign country is very different for me because I'm pretty social, but I have a downstairs female neighbor about my age that I see sometimes.  Last evening I went on a run with a fellow PCVR and tonight I was invited to a going away dinner for another PCVR couple.

The nice thing about living in the capital is that there are lots of potential PCV get togethers and pot lucks.  I'm hoping to have a house warming party next weekend and invite my co-workers and new PCV friends.

On a separately strange note (writing about living in a different culture isn't strange enough), yesterday morning, I saw a tiny frog hopping around my bedroom.  I have no idea how common they are or how it got in, but I figured it could also get out on it's own.  I was wrong.  When I got home, it had, well, croaked.  I found it belly up behind my dresser.  Then, today, when I pulled in from work, a giant black butterfly had wedged itself in the corner of my stoop.  It was so big, I thought it was a bird and startled me.  It finally found its way out and fluttered away.  But it's been a long time since critters have found themselves in my presence, out of their elements and so I looked up the symbolism.  Both the butterfly and frog have been known to symbolize change and transition and emergence to a new being.  The black butterfly has also been known to symbolize death of someone close to someone who lives in the household.  I'm going to take the change and transition one, thank you.

Cute?!

Finally, even though you shop at the supermarket, you may not get what you expect.  I bought packaged salt off the shelf and put in the salt shaker that came with the house.  I knew it was salt because there was a sign on the shelf, even though the package was just an unmarked plastic bag.  I've been seasoning my hot cooking with it ever since, but then I wanted to salt up some raw veggies, which is precisely when I discovered I was shaking sugar all along...



xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox  Love you guys.

All Four Guyana

I was a freshman in high school when my family packed up everything in my childhood home and moved into a town home apartment.  It was a big adjustment for me and my entire family, but it probably wasn't as big of an adjustment that our next door neighbors, another family of four, was about to make.  They were moving to Guyana, South America as missionaries.  It was the first time I had heard of two things: the country of Guyana, and "blogs".  It was 1995 and I remember my mom being very excited to follow their blog because I think we had just installed dial-up for the first time in our family's history.  Their blog was called "All Four Guyana" and you'd better believe it was the first thing I searched when I found out I was moving here, too.

View from the road

I never found their blog, but in my research I discovered Georgetown, the capital of Guyana is 6 meters below high tide, thus not known for their beaches, but rather the "sea wall", literally a wall build in the 1700s by the Dutch that allows GT to not be the Atlantic Ocean.  (I'll post a pic ASAP).  I also found out that the British took over a century later, bringing with them East Indians and West Africans as slaves, which is why, today, they drive on the left and the population is so diverse.  With less than a million people in the country, 95% resides along the coast, 50% of them being East Indian-IndoGuyanes (Hindu and Muslim), 30% black Africans (Christian and Muslim), 5% Native AmerIndians (living inland) and 10% mixed, including Chinese and European.  Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America and most of their exporting resources include sugar and rice, fish and tropical fruits and veggies, mining for bauxite and logging for wood.  Guyanese dollars translates $1,000 GD to $5 USD.

Sugar cane fields.

While there are several similarities to my experiences in Gambia (unwanted attention and cat calling, coastal, British colonization), I can already infer that this post is going to be very different.  For example, the infrastructure in Guyana is much more developed.  Roads are paved along the coast and there is electricity and running water, as far as I can tell.  I met with a fellow co-worker last week and even though it's still much more relaxed than the States, working hours are roughly 9-4:30 and I have a somewhat specific job with ChildLinK, which strives to give every child in Guyana the opportunity to live an abuse-free and opportunity filled childhood.

My "training" as a Peace Corps Response has been much different, as well.  Instead of 3 months of living with a host family and learning the ins and outs, I had an extremely intense and inclusive 4 day training, in which me and a fellow PCVR were shuttled around for banking, counterpart meetings, lease agreement signings, shopping, etc, and basic introductions of culture, safety and security and background of the country, by our PC supervisor.  Basically, now I know everything and nothing.  My biggest fears were flooding in the rainy season and hurricanes, which apparently begin north of us, on the coast of Venezuela.  I am convinced that everyone should own a boat, but our safety officer assured us that the next major flood won't happen for at least 2 more years (the last one drowned Georgetown in 2005).

Front view of my apartment.

I was told via email that I'd have modern amenities in my apartment and based on my Gambia experience I was preparing for developing country "modern amenities", thinking that my electricity and water may or may not be functioning 24/7 and maybe I'd splurge on a fan.  Maybe it would still be best to have a pit latrine in case the water decided to be faulty?  I remember having culture shock at least twice, with regard to my living arrangement in Gambia and this time was no different.  When I was finally dropped off at my apartment, I continued to look around my apartment in disbelief that I was set up with even MORE amenities than I owned in the States, including a TV and landline.  Of course, everything electric still costs money, and I'm on PC budget of bare minimum (about $200/month).  Now I'm adjusting to living like an AmericGuyanese with Internet, a washing machine that is really quirky, fans, a fridge, a fully furnished apartment with amazingly generous landlords that frequently travel to the States, expensive grocery stores (I actually saw Braggs Amino Acids, which I intentionally packed!!, as well as many other US familiar items which I will most likely NOT be purchasing due to my minimal budget...friends and family back home, now you might understand why I'm so "frugal") and 2 open air markets.  Transportation is also apparently more reliable, although I have a bike with a basket and a helmet and lights (which I purchased and attached myself, Mom).  That said, EVERYTHING still takes a lot longer than planned, which is probably why I've slept about 10 hours the past 4 nights.  My new bed time is 9:30-10pm.  I am just exhausted by the end of every day...

Fully functioning kitchen! Universally my favorite room in the house.

I'm being introduced to all the right people, it seems like, including past PC Guyana volunteers who now work at the International school as teachers, fellow PC Response volunteers, Guyanese co-workers and PC admin, to name a few.  It also seems I may have been pre-destined to serve here, as the PC Country Director and his family own a home in OKC.  He is also from Dallas.  The world keeps getting smaller and smaller...

Anyway, I will still gladly accept care packages, although they will take a long time to get to me, so send them ASAP!

US Embassy Guyana

100-101 Young & Duke Streets

Georgetown, Guyana

South America

Attention : Peace Corps / Courtney Gilman