The Two Week Warning

I am leaving in about two weeks’ time, yet it doesn’t feel like it.  I am busy as always, finishing things up, making the most of my time.  Sleep is starting to become optional.  I’d rather spend as much time with people as I can.  I walk the streets here comfortable, like I’ve been here for a while; I have been here a good while but only a blip in the terms of my life.  I watch people, the woman at the shop tending to customers, children making fun of each other on their bikes; it will all go on when I am gone.  People will continue to do the same things they have always done.  The only difference is that I will no longer be here.  At this moment, I can’t imagine what it will be like to not be coming back here, it hasn’t sunk in yet and I’m not sure when it will.  Actually, I’m a little frightened of that moment to be honest.  I’m at a point where I know it is coming, I know it is going to hurt, there is nothing that makes me want to leave, but still my next adventure is calling me so it is time to go.

I think your eyes are open widest when you are seeing a place for the first time and then for the last time.  When I first got here I was making observations, trying to figure out what it all meant, what people were doing, learning what sights and sounds should be familiar.  Now it makes sense.  I have to keep myself from laughing sometimes because I recognize certain things as “so Guyanese,” things that only really happen when you live here.   Yet I’m still meeting new people and every time I do new doors open to things I haven’t seen before.  And I thought two years was a long time.   We had our Close of Service Conference at the end of January, which was supposed to be a reflective, emotional time to say good bye to each other and hang out. Unfortunately, a crazy stomach bug struck, reminding us that even after two years, life in Guyana is still unpredictable and it still can be tough to get by sometimes.  I think that is another reason why leaving doesn’t quite seem real.  Our COS didn’t really seem like a COS.  I also have been working like normal.  I’m finishing up my courses at school, and will probably work until the last week I’m here.  I am not one to sit around and take a long time to pack.  If I sit alone for too long you might as well buy me boxes of tissues because all I will do is cry for a good portion of the time.  I really don’t like doing that so I try to remain busy and if I don’t acknowledge things too much, it isn’t really happening.  IGNOREance is bliss right?

I was away from site for a bit with a whole set of doctors and dentist appoints you have to go through with COS stuff.  Goodness!  I was pretty ready to get back after my medical appointments and follow-ups kept me out of my site for 6 days.  I ended up getting 8 moles removed, which I would have thought to be a minor procedure, but I was admitted to the hospital for the day.  I went to the OR (Operation Theatre here), got stiches for the first time, and everything.  It did make me very excited that I will be doing nursing in the fall, so I will actually know what things are and proper procedures for things.  It definitely was an interesting experience and I have realized that I will never make a good patient.  It was really hard to let a nurse walk me to a place or listen to her when I should have been lying down in bed.  Normally, I like to take care of people, so it was really weird to have someone assisting me.

Despite trying to wind things down, I feel like they are winding up in a way. I attended a mini-BRO (Brothers Reaching Others) a boy’s leadership camp in Linden.  I was very excited to be a part of this because it symbolizes the start of a next venture for the Gender and Development Taskforce.  We have put on girl’s camps and a large boy’s camp is our next step.  It is just really cool to see something you have thought about and planned for become a reality.  It shows me that we have made some amazing strides in this area.    I also got the GLOW girls from my area together for a little party.  We made pizzas, cookies, and watched movies.  It was just a fun day to hang out, relax, and reminisce a bit about camp.  It also helps to keep our network of girl strong and encourages them to support one another, plus I love hanging out with them and seeing what they are up to.   

One of my most recent moments that really just astounded me (in a good way) was the training I led for the Cancer Society.  We all recognized that the members wanted training so that they too could give health talks about cancer and improve their own knowledge; we just never found a good time to do it.  Since I am leaving so soon, we finally arranged a date.  I asked the President to call the members and tell them I would bring a snack as a somewhat motivator for them to come out.  Normally, we get a handful of members at our meetings and I really expected the same amount.  When I arrive at the meeting, there were over 15 members there ready for the training.  I couldn’t believe it!  I am not sure if it was because I am leaving, because they were threatened (a joke), or what, but I was impressed.   Even more encouraging, all members listened and interacted for over two hours!  I made macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and cookies as a dinner / reward for the hard work they put into the session.  They were all so excited about the information and I think about having the tools now to go help others.  These women are simply community members that care about raising awareness about cancer and their willingness to learn simply humbled me in an inexplicable way.  I had to hide the tears that came to my eyes when we were closing our meeting because I was so proud and touched by each and every member.  One older woman came up and gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek and dashed away in smiles. 

I never intended to make great waves being here, to build anything great, or to be rewarded and praised for doing a whole set of things.  I only brought some knowledge that I learned through my studies and was willing to put the time and energy into working with who ever wanted to learn.  I always remember a slide in one of my lectures that says “health promotion is not done to, on or at people, but rather by working with people.”  This might have been one of my top moments here, working with these women so that they can do something big. 

Two weeks and I will no longer be a PCV, I will embark on a next journey that will surely include finding ways to keep these moments I’ve had in Guyana alive. 

I think I will have one last post before I head out.    Spring better don come out der up North cuz me not able wit all dem snow storms up der budday… :-)

-KB

To Suriname and Back

  

As I mentioned before, I took a very short trip to Suriname for New Years.  We took a ferry across the Coretyne River and found ourselves in a completely different country.  The landscape looked pretty much the same, but language, supermarkets, cars, houses were pretty different.  When the boat reached Suriname, there was a mad sprint to get off the boat.  I had never seen Guyanese move with such speed!  All of a sudden I heard something that sounded like gunshots and saw uniformed officers up ahead.  I froze and tried to make sense of what was going on.  Then I heard cheering and realized the Surinamese border patrol lit off fireworks to celebrate New Year’s and to play a prank on the normal passengers who sprint to get a good spot in the customs line. 

Of course we thought we outsmarted everyone.  We took our time coming off the boat and went directly into the duty free shop to view some of the very inexpensive spirits for purchase.  We were amazed by small cups of wine and meandered around the selection for a while.  We probably entertained ourselves for a good 30 minutes and then decided to go through customs.  Much to our dismay, the line was still incredibly long!  It barely moved and it seemed like our plan completely backfired.  The only good thing is that we did have our mini solo wine cups, so we, being the very end of the line decided to have a seat and enjoy a glass of wine.  Only in Suriname would this be possible.  An hour and a half later, we were officially cleared to enter the country. 

We hopped on a bus and spent 4 hours viewing the scenery or catching a nap while the bus zoomed along towards the capital city, Paramaribo.  We were completely amazed when we reached.  The city was very organized, clean, and reflected its colonial past.  It seemed like we had teleported to one of the historic districts in Boston.  Our hotel was also super nice.  We were dressed for travel, with large packs and t-shirts, not like the swanky patrons of the hotel.  A few of us tried to blend in / disappear because we were cramming about 6 into our two person room, PC style.  We were excited to take a hot shower, check out the hotel casino, and ring in the New Year.  A few volunteers and I decided to forage for some food out in the city.  This is when danger struck.  Normally, I don’t carry much with me walking around in Guyana, or anywhere if I don’t have to.  Since we had just arrived, I had yet to empty my wallet of important items, such as my passport or camera.  We got some chicken and chips and I was on a busy, fairly well lit road a few steps from the entrance of our hotel. 

I feel like I was a bystander witnessing the whole thing, if only that were the case.  Some teenage boy yanked my purse off of my wrist and took off running. I was really angry but decided it was a lost cause.  My fellow volunteer on the other hand took off running, so I followed the pursuit.  When I caught up to him, he had a boy by the arm, but he was not the one with my things.  Luckily there was a police station nearby so I went in and filed a report.  I was more annoyed than anything else, but was determined not to let it get me down.  We joined everyone else back at the hotel and relayed the story to them.   My friends pointed out that I still had the box of chicken and chips I had purchased.  I hadn't even realize that I had been chasing bandits with one hand holding up my tube dress and the other clutching a bag of chicken and chips!  Clearly I have my priorities straight. 

We ended up ringing in the New Year on the roof top of our hotel watching the whole city erupt in colorful fireworks.  One display was right in front of us so the fireworks were bursting at our eye level.  It was really just mesmerizing.  After we went out and danced til 5am.  Overall, it was a fun night and a perfect way to ring in the New Year.  We slept until almost 2pm and then were craving food.  Unfortunately, being a holiday NOTHING was open!  This was also bad for me because I was looking into getting a replacement passport so I could go back to Guyana the next morning.  Somehow we found out McDonalds was the only food place opening at 4pm.  I haven’t been to a McDonalds since High School, but we were SO hungry, anything would do at that point.  It was like a scene out of a zombie horror film.  Hoards of hungry tourists were descending upon the only open food place in the city.  We happily ate our food and I was quickly reminded why I've stayed away from the place for so long, but at least we were full.

 When I got back to the hotel, I witnessed a New Year’s miracle.  An officer was there with ALL of my things!  Camera, passport, phone, everything!  I couldn’t believe it.  I had to go down to the station to make a statement that my stuff had returned but it was all there.  I could have hugged all the officers at the station.  We spent the rest of the night watching movies and drank wine in our comfy hotel room and then headed out the next morning for the bus and ferry back to Guyana.  It was a short trip, a very eventful one at that, but thankfully it all ended well.

I now have about a week until our Close of Service conference (COS), seven weeks left in Guyana, and 3 months until I return to the U.S.  I am going crazy figuring out everything for this move while still trying to enjoy and do work like normal.  It isn’t easy!  I also accidentally spent out most of my money in Suriname so have about $10 to live on for the next 10 days.  That is about $1 a day, which is about the world poverty level.  $1 a day can go pretty far here in Guyana, but only in terms of feeding one person.  Bills, rent, gas, traveling would never allow you to make it on that.  I think it is good that Peace Corps tries to get you as close to what it is really like to be an average host country national but it will never be the real thing.  I can live on $1 a day and say I’m doing an experiment, but that is all it is.  I can maybe “feel” what it is like to live on that level, it can be a “challenge” for me but the key word is experiment.  It is much different to know you have nothing, no one is coming to save you, and you can’t just go back somewhere and work or ask a friend of family member for an extra few dollars.    When you are living in poverty, these options have already been exhausted and you are where you are.  Sure you can try to understand, but you will never really know unless you are in that situation.  In Peace Corps, we might complain about things, how hard it is to get things done, whatever whatever, but at the end of the day, we are going back to a very different place.  Sure we have to deal with things for the two years we are here, but people that live here have to deal with these things their whole lives. 

Alright probably only a few more updates left from Guyana.   I’ll keep you posted!

-KB

The Year of Transition

I’m a planner.  I might not look like it, I might be a hot mess sometimes, but somewhere at the heart of it all, there is a method to the madness.  In fact, I can be absolutely meticulous, as long as I have the time to sit down and focus on things for a while. Unfortunately, in Guyana and most of my life, having extensive time to sit down seems to evade me for the most part.  I like to be busy, to be out there.  If I wake up early, it means I can run or exercise a bit longer.  If my schedule is looking a little thin, I will ask for more to do or plan some sort of activity.  Even if I turn up, sweating, out of breath, with a whirlwind of bags, papers, or food, swirling in the midst, I don’t mind.  It’s pretty typical actually. 

I had gone home to recharge and I certainly needed it.  Especially because this last leg of my journey here is going to require a lot of me to get through to the end.  Two months, that is all.  All I have to finish my projects, to plan my backpacking trip, to finish my Master’s work, to complete forms to finish my service and to enroll in nursing school.  Not to mention grappling with good bye.  I am starting to feel like I am bi-polar.  Some moments I get so excited about my next set of plans and then the next moment I’m almost in tears thinking about all the things I am going to miss.  I want to stand still, just for a moment and find some way to figure out the meaning of this whole experience.  However, I am on slippery footing, likely to wash away at any moment as the tides turn.  My calendar said two years just a minute ago but it seems the words fell off the page and now reads: “months.” 

But alas, I am a planner and somehow things seem to be going on as planned.  In fact, I think I have every week pretty much planned out until the end of next year.  It seems amazing, to know what I will be doing and I have some pretty great adventures planned for next year.  It’s also completely opposite as to how I’ve been living the past two years.  I’ve enjoyed the spontaneity of things here, how every week is different.  The other week I was mashed up in a hammock for 6 hours on an overnight boat ride to help with a camp in a remote village.  I met adorable, curious children, played sports with them, bathed in black water to wash off the day’s work, bonded with the other volunteers at night, entertaining ourselves with the lack of current.  It hasn’t all been like that, but there is always the possibility, which definitely keeps you going.  

I went on speedboats, buses, and cars to go celebrate Christmas with other volunteers and then with my host family after that.  I always feel at home with my host family and it is so nice to stay by them.  We just relax, my host mom is an AMAZING cook, so I end up eating a lot of good food, and we gaff.  

I also visited Suriname for New Years with some other volunteers, which was another great adventure.  I got to know the police there quite well, restored my faith in humanity, and was reminded that even if you have it all planned out, there is always the unexpected.  But that is a story for another day.

2012 was certainly the year of new adventures and change.  2013 I already knew would be the year to set up plans for the future and 2014 seems to be shaping up to a busy year of transition.  I will be leaving Guyana, traveling around South America and parts of the U.S., doing pre-req classes, finding a summer job, then moving to Baltimore and starting a rigorous nursing program at Johns Hopkins.  Who knew moving back home after two years would be so complex!   I am extremely excited for every bit of it and also think I might be a bit mad for piling on so many things.  I know nursing will allow me to do so much in the future, traveling is one of my favorite things, and seeing friends and family again will be nice.  The plan is in place and I am sure I will show up to things as my typical whirlwind self.  The only thing that does scare me is that everything seems so planned compared to this spontaneous life I’ve been living.  I’m worried that when I finally have a moment to realize what has happened, I will find myself in the middle of a road, cars swerving around me, zooming towards where ever it is they are going.  It is a road that I used to look at from a far, with inner conflict as to whether I should be on it too.  Ultimately, I won’t know how I’ll feel about it until I get there.  I have planned a whole set of things before and have somehow made an adventure out of everything, so I think I will be okay.

I hope everyone has had a VERY Happy New Year!  Well wishes for 2014 and I will be seeing you all on a more regular basis in just a short amount of time!

Lots of Love from Guyana,

-KB

P.S. If you are looking to travel in South America, especially the week of March 20-April 5, let me know! :-D

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig…

I was reading a PC blog the other day that included tips about PCVs going home.  It mentioned that we shouldn’t expect other people to want every single detail of our PC experience if we ourselves haven’t been in tune with every detail of our friends and family’s lives.  Admittedly, I find my life here quite different than living in the U.S. but whether in Guyana or the U.S. we all have our day to day occurrences.  Truthfully, no one is going to listen to all of them all at once and I can’t even remember them all anyway.  That is the main reason why I chose to write this blog about my experiences, so I can remember some of my thoughts and feelings about my service here and so that I can share some things more regularly with you. 

Now that I have gotten off track (my mind these days), let me get back to what I wanted to share.  In Peace Corps, I feel like things are always a little more uncertain than life at home.  I expected that I would only come home once during my service.  First of all it is expensive to travel back and forth, we have limited vacation days, and it’s just really hard to be back and forth between two different lives so to speak.  However, towards the end of October, I was realizing more and more that I was starting to feel burnt out.  I had had a packed summer, October I don’t think I was home one weekend, and then I had more activities in November.  Not to mention grad school apps, finishing my Masters work, and the limitless paper work impending for COS. 

I was sitting on a mini bus one day and I just craved being home; I needed a break, I needed to be with my family, I needed to get myself in order.  Luckily, my parents are amazing and were excited to have me home too.  I attended an AWESOME mini GLOW in Linden, which always recharges my spirit here and hopped on a plane the next day.  

All of a sudden I found myself standing on the streets of NYC bleary eyed and freezing searching for a Chipotle before I embarked on the next 4 hour bus ride leg of my journey.  Unlike last time, I barely told anyone I was coming home.  I just wanted to relax and spend time with my family.  Instead of cramming in everything all at once, things happened more organically.  I had no expectations and no real set plans and it was glorious.  I cooked what I wanted, explored some restaurants, and just was completely lazy at times.

My late November arrival put me right in line to celebrate on of my most favorite holidays; Thanksgiving.  My mom has a big family so we all get together and have a big delicious dinner. 

It was even more important to be there this year because it was the first without my uncle.  He recently passed away and Thanksgiving I think was one of his favorite holidays as well.  I couldn’t fathom the idea of my family getting together, remembering and honoring him and not being there.  I missed last Thanksgiving dearly, so I know this year would have been even worse.  It was definitely a bitter sweet day.  I loved seeing all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, but you could tell someone was missing.  The good thing about a big family though is that we are all there to support one another and it is also amazing to see the new generations of our family.  I also realized that a lot more people follow my blog than I thought.  It was really encouraging to hear that a lot of my family follows these posts and I really appreciate it!

As my parents and I drove down from New York, we looked for little off the beaten path restaurants.  I can remember taking lots of these types of long car rides, finding little places, and just enjoying ourselves.  We never really did the big, Disneyland trips, or traveled to really touristy places.  In a way I think this is why I appreciate the little places I come across here in Guyana or anywhere I travel.  I marvel at the small things, like really good food shops, and every so often I feel the need to get out and see something new, even if it isn’t that significant. 

After this past visit home, I feel much more comfortable with the idea of living back in the U.S.  When I visited home the first time, I wasn’t ready to be back; I simply still had a lot left to do in Guyana. I went to board my bus to New York and the bus manager happened to be Guyanese.  She exclaimed “You are going to Guyana?!  I wish I were going there!” I had to smile a little. I have met many Guyanese who want to come to the U.S., and this woman was yearning for Guyana.  I could relate though, no matter where you are there is always a wholesome, nostalgic feeling that compels you home from time to time.  When I touched down in Guyana I noticed any pangs of extreme culture shock were over.   As I stepped off the plane I switched U.S. mode off and Guyana mode on.  Without really blinking, I gave an impromptu speech for the end of our exercise class and helped out at another awesome mini-GLOW.  Somehow I have always hit the ground running here.  The only difference is that now I find myself saying goodbye to a lot of things.  As I was driving out of Black Bush from our minicamp, I realized that that might be the last one I do, the last time I’m even in Black Bush or see some of our campers.  Black Bush was one of the first rural sites I visited when I was first allowed to spend the night out of my own site.  How hospitable the people were and how different their community was compared as my own.  We have had many phenomenal GLOW girls come from that area and while it’s not a place I have visited often, it has made a big impression on me, just as a lot of villages and people in Guyana have. 

I expect to have a lot more moments like this in the next few months.  The next few months are actually all I have left.  It will be a mix of cramming in everything I still need/want to do here, freaking out about what I will do after PC, as well as figuring out how to leave things.  I know you need to have a goodbye in order to go on to the next thing, in which I have a lot of great adventures coming up, but it still doesn’t make saying goodbye any easier.  And somehow no matter what I do, my eyes always seem to be allergic to goodbyes. 

As this is somewhat of a Thanksgiving post, I can tell you I am always and forever thankful for my family and friends that I have all over.  I also am extremely thankful for the opportunity to see so many amazing things here in Guyana, whether it is the beauty of the land, learning about the culture, or watching the lives of people change and grow, my experiences here have influenced me greatly.  Also I am grateful for the perspective to be thankful for the things I have never had to know and for the challenges that have made me a stronger individual.  Finally, I am thankful for the opportunity to know such a great uncle.  He will be greatly missed, but I know I am a better person because he has touched my life and that his memory will always live on within me.

-KB

The Trek to Kaieteur

When you look down below at the lush, mossy green rocks from the top of Kaieteur Falls, two sentiments come to mind; one is that you would never want to fall down so far and the other is incredibly humbling.   You just sit there entranced, in awe, by the beauty and the power of nature.  I put Kaieteur on my list of places to see as soon as I knew I was going to Guyana for Peace Corps.  It is the biggest attraction, a sort of “must see” spot; Guyana doesn’t have too many of them.  It was also something I would eventually tick off my bucket list.  Suddenly, I found myself looking down at those mossy green rocks.  I feel as if this has been a trend lately, many of my “far off” plans have been put into place and I find myself suddenly standing in the midst of them trying to remember to breathe.  October went by incredibly quick.  It was jam packed with Cancer Awareness events, a few awesome parties, a Kaieteur trek, planning for future Camp GLOWs and Bros, as well as holding a film screening for International Day of the Girl.  Not to mention all the normal stuff that tends to happen.  We have a new set of students, we had sports day, we carved watermelons for Halloween, and I managed to find things to say for an hour long TV talk. 

I realize that Kaieteur is one of my last interior trips I will take as a person living in Guyana.  My trips to the hinterland regions have been some of my favorite experiences.  It’s weird to think in a few short months, going on a trek might just mean going to the supermarket in a bit of rain or snow instead of hopping on a speed boat or tiny plane and seeing toucans or vast mountain ranges covered with broccoli like foliage.  Before I delve into a downward spiral of preemptive nostalgia, let me tell you how Kaieteur easily made it to the top of my most memorable moments in Guyana.

A group of 7 of us decided to make the overland trip to Kaieteur Falls. It consists of an 8 hour bus ride to Mahdia, which basically means you can move your legs and arms about an inch and crane your neck to catch a little breeze that might be flowing through the bus.  Once you reach Mahdia, you stay at a hotel there.  We stayed at this really swanky one called Roger Hinds.  We also decided that all 7 of us would stay in one room (hey we had hammocks!) but the staff at the hotel wasn’t too keen once they got word of our idea.  We literally had to beg them to let us stay in the room and even told them we would string our hammocks outside if they had a place.  I think they felt a bit bad and  told us not to break the beds in the room, which was a really odd request.  We ate some AMAZING Brazilian food and cuddled up 4 to a bed to catch some rest.  The next morning we caught a ride to Pamela landing to catch our boat to Amatouk Island.

  It was only a 20 minute boat ride, but it meant we had the whole day on a very remote island with a beautiful waterfall.   The island was absolutely serene and it was ours to explore.  The house that was there was basic but had all the essentials we needed for our time there.   We swam almost the whole day, maneuvered up and down rocks, ate ramen, nasty Vienna sausages, and other goodies over an open fire, and settled into our hammocks for a good night’s rest.  We did almost accidentally blow up the house due to a faulty gas burner, but all ended well.  It was so relaxing just to be out in nature, I could start to hear myself think again. 

The next morning we caught some of the sunrise and drank warm coffee out on the porch.  It is a rare feeling to be cold in Guyana, so I savored the contrast of warm coffee against the chilly breeze.  Our boat captain’s wife Shirley told us we should see the Brazilian dredge which was operating close to where we were.  It is used for mining gold.  We hopped aboard and watched how they caught tiny flecks of gold in these mats.  It didn’t seem as tough as mining, but it looked like a lot of hard work and patience.  The cook on the dredge was extremely nice although she didn’t speak any English.  I spoke to her in a mix of Spanish and was able to practice some Portuguese I have been learning.  She showed us how she cooked, told us how often she goes to see her family, and even gave us some Brazilian coffee for the road! 

After touring the dredge, we packed up our things and headed out across the island to the other side of the river.  From there we took a boat up the Kaieteur National Park.  Once we reached the park, we had to get out of the boat and carry it up to another part of the river.

 

  Mountains towered over us as our boat sped along and we were all anxious to see the real Kaieteur in person.  We met our guide a bit late at the Kaieteur trailhead.  He alerted us that he sighted several very poisonous laborious (Viper) snakes on the trail. 

  I of course was hiking in Chacos, so I stood no chance against snakes, or the other angry soldier ants or tarantulas we saw along the way.  If you ever go jungle trekking, wear boots!  I did walk with a snake stick just in case, but we were fortunate not to run into any live ones.  Our guide somewhat sprinted up the trail and I was thankful I do a fair amount of running here in Guyana.  Some parts were just straight up on slippery rocks, so it was a good work out.  We all were sweating and panting once we reached the top.

The views and the fauna were unreal!  I felt like I had transported to a page of a Dr. Suess book.  We spent a lot of time checking out the different viewpoints and taking a ton of pictures.  At dusk, we scrubbed away the sweat and dirt from our hike as we bathed in the cool waters right above the falls. 

  We also watched as a flock of birds called swifts dive straight down into the falls.  Every evening they gather in large numbers and look like they are preforming in an airshow.  They fly up very high and then dive bomb down into the falls and you never really see them again.  Apparently, they nest in the cliffs of the falls and that is just their evening routine to go home.

 At the guest house where we were staying, we scored some left over chow mein and cooked our own feast.  We played dominos with some other people staying there and danced a little faja.  In the morning we explored a little more and got ready to catch our plane home.  While we were waiting at the airstrip, a bunch of other tour groups came through and had a buffet lunch right in front of us.  I asked our guide if he knew the others guides and could tell them to sneak us the left overs if they didn’t eat it all.  Eventually, we were ushered over and did some severe damage on the left over food.  I think we actually scared the tourists because we were a bit embarrassing in the way we chowed down on all their left over food.  They asked with a bit of hesitation, “Where are you from again?  Exactly how long have you been in Guyana?”  After doing AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, free food is always a jackpot.  Hopefully my ravenous food scavenging will dwindle at some point in life, maybe? 

Content with our adventure and full of delicious food we boarded our small bush plane to take us back to Georgetown.  The pilot steered the aircraft towards the river so we could get a good view of the falls.   As I was looking out, I realized the plane was flowing right along with the river, nearing closer and closer to the large single drop.  It was the best view you could get of Kaieteur.  We went with more speed, nearing to the end and our pilot free fell the plane so that we mimicked the rushing water cascading down below.  We all screamed and clapped with utter excitement.  It was AMAZING!  It was a wonderful end to our adventure and we really couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

I know I am going to miss my weekend adventures as well as my misadventures here.  I’m glad I waited until now to go to Kaieteur.  I think I appreciated it much more than if I had gone earlier.  Living here I have learned to appreciate the process of doing things much more.  The process can be frustrating, but I have improved my approach to things, it has made me find different types of solutions, and if all else fails, let go of things and see what happens.  An 8 hour bus ride now seems like nothing, sleeping 4 people in a bed is standard, making time to gaff with everyone along the way is a must, and of course every once in a while it’s okay to just free fall.  As I get ready to transition to a new part of my life, I’m sure there will be a lot of free falling.  There are going to be a lot of new, exciting adventures and I am thankful for the ones I have had here in Guyana that have shown me to sit back, relax, and really enjoy the ride.

A Visit to America

Whew!  What a mixed bag it was visiting the U.S.!   I imagined what it would be like for so long and now it has turned into kind of a blip on the map.  It definitely turned out much different than I thought it would.  In a way, I thought I’d be running down the streets skipping with joy, but I think I was a lot more dazed and confused.  Luckily I wasn't too confused to eat 5 Chipotle burritos!  

  Everything felt normal or maybe I was just silently overwhelmed.  Home always has a tendency to fit like your favorite pair of shoes, but for some reason it was just a little bit off.  Maybe it was the clash of living between two worlds that both vie for my attention.  I was incredibly happy to see my family and friends.  They were extremely welcoming and excited and absolutely wonderful.  People came by cars, planes, and trains just to hangout and it was amazing.

   In an odd way though, there was some weird gap that I felt hung right between our lives.  I left the U.S., D.C., my friends, and family bundled up inside, away from the chilly East Coast winter.  In my mind, bundled up was where they stayed.  Yes, I heard about big events and chatted away on Skype dates, but in a way everything was just standing still in my mind.  It felt different than coming home from college because everyone’s home life is put on hold when you go away to school.  Everyone picks it back up again when they return.  In this case, I was the only one who had pushed pause and everyone was going about comfortably in play.  So I returned back in a state of fast forward.  It wasn’t too bad, but I could sense that I was emotional and a bit tired from trying to keep up with everything.  I wanted to just dive into things as if they didn’t change and I hadn’t left, which is unrealistic.  It is unsettling when you miss a “home” in your mind that is different from what it actually is now. 

I did have those moments though that I could just breathe in and relish in.  Like riding on the metro late at night with jumbo slice pizza, doing work in my favorite coffee shop, watching the city bustle for the morning commute, eating AMAZING Italian food and crying from laughing so hard, making fun of SLOW MO features, driving and blasting music, seeing my old co-workers from Mary’s Center, sitting and snuggling on the coach with my dog and chatting with my family, crescent trail running, sharing good food and drinks with friends and reliving crazy memories of road trips or studying abroad, and wearing silly hats while hangin out.  

One morning I was watching people get on their way with their morning commute, grabbing coffee and reading the Express and I was envious, nostalgic really.  There is something about being a working person in the city that has always been romantic to me.  The funny thing is that I used to have a 9-5 job, with that same metro commute.  Half the time I wished I could just go travel and live somewhere else.  It is funny sometimes how the grass always seems greener.  But as the saying goes, it is always greener where you water it.  

I think that’s the thing. I have spent a lot of time making a life in Guyana and I can see I’ve done a pretty good job; my life isn’t exactly in D.C. anymore.  I also realized that a part of me has always been there hanging on, boots stuck in the mud like a stubborn little girl throwing a tantrum.  This time when I left, I scooped her up; it was time to take her with me and she knew it.  It is hard to be fully somewhere when another part of you is trying to get you to turn back around.  You have to leave things as they were and maybe they were meant to be left that way, so that years later you can get together and talk about them, like that trip to Spain, or that crazy night. 

I do know that friendship is one thing that bridges space and time.  It was amazing how you can just pick back up with people like old times.  It is truly the love and support of friends and family that have made it possible for me to even have the courage to do something like the Peace Corps, well anything in life really.  Although I’d love to go back and just be, we all have our own lives that have carried us to different places, which is pretty amazing to see.  

  So alas, I am back in Guyana with another 10 months to go.  I have already hit the ground running with Camp GLOW planning, meeting the newbies, among other things.  I think July and August are going to be busy months filled with camps so I’m gearing up for that.  If you don’t hear from me til late August, you know why.  

 

 Overall, I am so happy I was able to go home to visit and I want to thank everyone for their love and support.  I’ll be back jus’ now and in the meantime, you are always welcome to come visit me in the wild land of Guyana! :-)

-KB

P.S. I made in through an entire blog entry without using any quotes….whhaaatt???!

The Whirlwind

A Baby Bush Cow- Tapir wandered into my yard!!  They are endangered!

 

Smallest plan I've ever been on!

Please forgive me but I am just coming to.  My room is strewn with clothes, thermometer strips, and milk soiled towels.  My arms and legs are speckled with red dots from the ravenous Cabora flies of the Irmatan river that separates Guyana and Brazil.  It wasn’t even Cabora season when we went down there.  Looking in the mirror I realize the sun has bleached my hair due to hiking for miles through different Amerindian villages in mountainous savannah and lush rain forests.  Within only a month’s time, a whirlwind of awe, wonder, fever, fatigue, inspiration, and sadness came barreling through my first floor flat in Guyana and carried me to places I could not have ever imagined going to.  Maybe it’s the malaria meds, but I’ve still got this slightly dizzy crazed feeling going on.  Oh and of course pictures, but they really only capture a minute amount of beauty that I was able to see with my own eyes.  Don’t you wish you could take pictures sometimes, simply by blinking your eyes?   

Traditional Amerindian house on the Amakaruru river

Swimming at the ladning

View of Venezuela from Guyana

  I started off with a trip to Region 1 to the village of Wauna.  I boarded the smallest plane I had ever flown in and prayed, practically willed the propellers to carry me safely to my destination.  Within an hour’s travel over bright green tree tops, we landed just over a flock of Scarlet Ibis.  I thought to myself, “Welcome to Jurassic Park.”    Wuana is located in the Northwest portion of Guyana, very close to Venezuela.  It is a small village, but it has a lot of character.  I was fortunate enough to help do some filming and training in bakery that was just opened by the local women’s group of the village.  My friend, another PC volunteer, helped to ensure the bakery would be completed.  It was a very charming building with bright colors and wafting aromas of fresh baked goods.  Although the bakery had just opened, the women had a hard time keeping their delicious items on the shelf.  It was very inspiring to meet the women who had worked so hard to make their dream of a bakery a reality.  The volunteer in Wauna was quite the host.  We took a day long trek into the rain forest, complete with a boat ride on a dugout canoe deep into the jungle to the Amakaruru river, the one that separates Guyana and Venezuela.  You would almost expect to see jaguars and monkeys hiding amongst the leaves.  We didn’t see any but I am certain they were there.  We also climbed to the top of this small mountain where we could see for miles and miles.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  The next day we went to the village of two other volunteers where we ate some delicious food and swam at the landing with many adorable children.  Our final stop on the last day of the visit was to the infamous jumping tree.  It is a large tree that has branches that hang at least 20 ft above the water.  As much as I wanted to be able to, I just couldn’t climb up and jump.  It looked like fun, just not my kind of fun.  I was sad to leave Wauna but I was so happy I had the opportunity to go and visit.  It really was what I had pictured Guyana to be in my mind; quaint villages nestled deep within lush rainforests.  

Bamboo Landing

 

I returned back to my site, but not for long.  My good friend Tara told me she had booked her ticket and would be here in a week’s time.  I didn’t know where exactly to take her.  There are many interesting places to travel to, but we could only really pick one.  Luckily I was able to get a hold of a really remote volunteer in a village called Kato, very far Southwest in Guyana near the Brazilian boarder.  After already having a great experience in a remote site, I knew it would be an adventure going out to Kato.

Making home made bricks out of clay mud

Football Field

Village of Kato

Our expectations were beyond blown out of the water.  Kato was absolutely beautiful and entirely different from any location I have ever been in Guyana.  The terrain was mountainous savannah and it was much cooler than my site on the coast.  The people made their houses out of mud bricks, wood, and thatched roofs.  We went on some very long hikes to areas with waterfalls and vast rivers.  We also went to sit and chat with several friends of the volunteer, in which it is traditional to drink a bowl of Casseri (sp?).  Casseri is made from cassava and it is boiled and chewed and fermented into a drink.  It kind of tastes a bit like yogurt.  I learned that people chewed the cassava in their mouths for the drink about half way through my second bowl.  I wished I had learned that much later on, but sometimes you have to just go with things. It was actually pretty good, especially if you didn’t think too hard about its creation process.  The only problem is that it is really filling and people tend to give you larger bowls if they want you to stick around for a while.  We had some pretty big bowls! 
Everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming. One night when we were traveling back from another village far away, we all busted out into song and sang for most of the way home under the stars.  It was just one of those moments where you couldn’t help but grin.

Pet Bird

 

Guyana Savannah out in Kato

Both Tara and I were so sad to leave in the end and sort of hoped the weather would be too bad for our plane to fly out to get us.  Unfortunately, it came and dropped us off in Mahdia a large mining town.  We had a 5 hour layover there and both Tara and I had become ill.  We must have been a sight lying on the airport (warehouse really) floor bundled up in jackets, long pants, and socks because of fever chills.  This was in a very humid, tropical area mind you.  I really just wanted to get home at that point but even as we landed back in Georgetown, we still had a two hour car ride to endure.  

Mash round 2!

Before we left for Kato, I found out my cat had kittens in my clean clothes closet.  I wasn’t too happy about their location so I moved them into a box and we left mama and babies snuggled together.  When we came back, mama cat was nowhere to be found and the week old kittens were mewing.  Thus began the saga of the dead mama cat and trying to care for her infant kittens.  My fever also shot up to 103 so I was trying to feed kittens, help tutor a student, and still try to be a good host.  I was feeling very downtrodden at this unfortunate welcome back to site.   Luckily, my fever broke and Tara and I were able to go celebrate Mashramani in Georgetown. Mash is kind of like Mardi Gras with floats and people in costumes.  We had a great time but Mash also meant that Tara was leaving.  We said goodbye and I went back to my site to care for the remaining kittens.  I tried very hard with them, but in the end none of them survived.  I was sad about them, Tara leaving, and the stone cold sober shock from adventure high.

Tara and I

So here I find myself sitting in the aftermath of a tremendous whirlwind wondering what exactly just happened.  I still have all of my limbs, my head is still on as straight as it was before, and I’m trying to process all that I have seen and done.  These past few weeks have been amazing, some ups and downs, but amazing nonetheless.  Now who wants to come and visit next? ;-)

-KB




Watch this jungle boat ride!