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.