getting close to the 1 month mark!!

So it seems that in one week I will have been in Lethem for a whole month!! This is crazy because I have never known time to fly so fast. It might be because everything is still so new, or maybe because we are so freaking busy. But anyways heres a run down of the lastest!!

School-

So far my kids have been pretty adorable. They say the funniest things, sometimes slightly insulting but most times just sweet and funny- take this for example- one of my students asks while I’m describing something as an ideal situation in biology- “Miss what’s Ideal?” Me-“ something that is perfect, it’s the way you want it”- boy “Miss your ideal” awwww. The girls here really love to touch me (they sometimes tell me Miss you could be my dolly- ok that’s weird), and this petting can get a little annoying as I do sweat in 90% humidity and the last thing I want on a hot day is little Jessica walking up to me, stroking my face and saying “Miss, greasy”. Thanksss They say some other things that I probably don’t want to hear as well, for instance- Miss your shapes uneven, Miss are you growing a beard?, Miss eat some vegetables you lookin fat, Miss can I have a kiss or at least a friendly hug? Funny right?

For the most part I like my classes. The kids in my bio class are great. Butttt there are the little evil ones in my form class (like home room). It’s probably too harsh to say that I hate them but I am getting there. I have already made three of them write lines as a punishment. That’s right I have made three of my students write “I will not disrespect my teacher” 100 times as punishment. You would think this would suck but they still think it is ok to just get up and walk out of class while I’m talking (perhaps I should borrow Umbridge’s Quill to make a point).

Oh and there are also these weridos from the primary school that have taken to hanging out by our house. That would be ok but these kids are strange. Lets explain- one afternoon we walk back to our house for lunch and are sitting in our living room. I keep hearing these weird noses like someone is in my room/ climbing on our roof. So I walk back and look through my window and there are these three kids sitting on our porch EATING our cloths pins (I know what your going to say, oh Emily it’s a third world country, they are probably hungry, NO these kids were off). So I start telling them to leave, I’m like counting and yelling and nothing they just stare, don speak don’t move, just stare and chew. They finally got up and ran (luckily I didn’t have to threaten to throw rocks at them, but I’m not ruling that out as a possibility) But really I do not appreciate children of the corn hanging out by my windows- that will give me night mares.

So sports week starts soon. Sports week is this insanely important thing they do here- so important that they cancel classes for pretty much three weeks (well not really but we miss a ton of school). They split the school into houses (London, Kerry, Cossou- there named after some ppl but I don’t really know who). I’m on the London team which would be fine (actually great as I can borrow a theme song or two from Fergie) but our color is yellow and I think that might be the only color that I did not pack. Oh well guess I’m going shopping. We just found out about all this and the meeting was quite hysterical- mostly because Reve was so confused. Lets discuss. So were sitting there and Sir Orin (adorable teacher that we have code named Nigel so we can talk about him in secret) starts explaining things. Sir Orin- So we’ll need wood for the tents (Reves hand shoots up) “Why tents?? Are we like having a sleep over?” Orin-No, and we’ll need food (hand again) Are we like making them brunch or something? Orin- not exactly. Reve- sooo I’ve never built a wood hut before, is this going to give my team a handy cap?? Ohhhh Reve haha.

I still don’t really know what is going one with this whole thing except for that fact that there is lots of running and the teacher’s participate. This makes me quite nervous as some people here have seen me running and might have the idea that I am fast and would like to participate- I mean I would if the people that I would be racing weren’t freakessly fast. Losing to a 9 year old was never on my agenda. Still I am very much looking forward to sports week (if nothing else I will again have an opportunity to practice all those swim team chants)

Weekend Fun

So our weekends have been pretty busy here, which is weird because I thought that I would have nothing but spare time. It instead seems that there are always new people to meet. Because Lethem is the central big town (this actually completely misrepresents Lethem because although it is the biggest “town”, the number of shops in Plaza Del Mercado outnumber those in little Lethem drastically) with all sorts of little villages surrounding, people are always coming in to get supplies (by people I mean other volunteers) So the last few weekends have been filled with getting to know the people in Lethem as well as all the white people that literally seem to come out of the wood work.

We had our first experience with Karaoke since Bartica (I don’t know if I mentioned this but we did sing a little something in Bartica- a certain someone had a little too much fun with Christina Aguilera Genie in a Bottle and won’t be going near a microphone any time soon. Therefore I guess I should amend that previous statement and say that Michelle and Reve had their first Karaoke experience in Lethem. So this occurred one of our first weekends here when some of the people that we met came and got us to take us out and out happened to be place with a microphone and a Lionel Ritchie cd collection- therefore needless to say Mich and Reve were all over it. They made quite the splash. So much so that the next day while walking into a town, a car slows, drives up to us, rolls down its window, and the driver looks out and sings, “hellooooo is it me your lookinnggg forrrrr” So hmmmm I guess in this small town you will run into people who will remember moments you wish to forget.

Last Friday we spent with our now good friend Pat. She had been talking about this pepperpot thing and wanted to have us over to try this Guyanese tradition- so ok we’ll go we say, I mean how weird can it be?? That’s what I thought until one day sitting next to her while she puts the order in for some curious things- excuse me, can I have 2 sets of feet, heart and tail- WHAT!! So yes I had my first experience with foot soup and that is pretty much what it is. So we went over to Pat’s house (after giving myself a serious a pep talk- yes you can eat a cows tail) and let me tell you about her house. I am thinking that we are never inviting people over- Pat’s house, while it was 2 miles out of town in the middle of nowhere, was so cool. It’s this little hut with a thatch roof and from the outside appears quite simple- BUT in the inside it has all the makings (besides running water and electricity) of some eco lodge that you could find in Arizona. Think brick walls covered with animal hide (cheetah among them), vintage looking horse saddles thrown about (I think I may have seen similar sets in Top Design- the Wild West challenge). So we all (me, Reve, Michelle, Sara (our friend from with the company bush masters)) grab plates and dig in to channa (spiced chick peas), farine (this Brazilian thing) and then head towards the pot on the stove. Now there is no electricity here, so whatever light available is coming form the 2 candles that Pat has lit. I look into the ominous bowl and really I can’t provide many details of what was lurking beneath, but I took a spoonful of the gravy and headed back to my seat. I can tell you that it was brown and it was thick. Still all in all really not so bad. I mean I did chicken out of the meat parts, but I did eat spices that had been circling something that hangs from a cow’s butt- so I officially give myself credit.

So yes that was Pats little get together (although it officially ended with us trying to walk home 3 miles in complete darkness- we probably could have used our lights but were trying to make like locals and walk by starlight, which equals me stepping in way too much cow poop). The next night we got reminded once again that while our house is quite cute and rustic, it really would be nice to live in a house where bathroom shoes aren’t needed from the moment you step from your bed. We went to Sara’s house because there were some peace corp girls in from a town like 24 hours away (actually about 60 miles but that says something for the transportation system) and it was one of their birthdays, so we all got together to celebrate. Sara’s house was amazing. First off she has two little pony’s that live in a little hut in her front yard, but that’s not to say that they don’t sometimes get lonely and simply take a stroll through Sara’s house. But because Sara brings clients of her company to her house, it was very nice (all the same wild west touches of Pats house but plus electricity). Her bed room had a real bed complete with a canopy like mosquito net (next time take note of a Sandals resort commercial- the bed at least- take that put it in Guyana and you’ll get an idea). PLUS she has wireless internet!! So we hung out there earlier in the day- we watched Romancing the stone (I had been craving a couch- weird I know- but Sara actually has one) oh and that reminds me if you have that movie, pop it in because that place is not so far off from what Guyana is like. When everyone else arrived we got pizza and stuff. My fondness of peace corp is slowly diminishing (except for Kristen) as everyone left before 9, but don’t worry we stayed and had a little dance party. I’m pretty sure Mich demonstrated the “Molly Ringwald” to the utmost perfection.

So those are some of my most recent fond memories. I am also doing a lot of good stuff for the world as well haha. We had our first meeting with some people in town to create an adult literacy program in Lethem. One volunteer had already started something like this but was looking to expand and asked us to help. Pastor Ritchie (he is kinda heading it up) is in the process of writing some proposals to get money. We are then working with a group promoting awareness about Domestic Abuse- which is a pretty big problem here. I am also looking to start teaching fitness classes, step, yoga, and Pilates (I’m still in the brainstorm phase but I do have spandex so that’s a good start).

Ok that is good for now more details to come!! xoxo