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May 7th, 2007

I've been extremely lazy when it comes to this thing lately. I intend to tell you all about Christmas but haven't found the motivation yet, so instead...

My weekend: Miriam and Emma, the project trust volunteers, organized a class trip to Moco Moco falls and invited us along. Saturday morning our ride arrived on time, a rare occurrence, as did all the kids. We drove the half hour to the falls and hiked a few minutes up to the best spot. The kids busied themselves jumping off rocks, sliding down the falls, and just playing in the water. Us teachers chilled and enjoyed their excitement. Later in the day we climbed over 500 stairs to the top of the abandoned hydro damn for an amazing view of the savannahs, and also to play in an even better set of falls at the damn. All the kids were really amazing, as was the afternoon. I got home before four made some dinner and watched a movie while the girls went out for the night.

Around 3:30 in the morning I heard the girls come home and tried to go back to sleep. I awoke again a few minutes later and heard them still struggling with the locks and lay awake listening. It began to dawn on me that someone else was trying to get in the house. I crept out of bed, put on a towel, and was about to leave the room to see the person when I heard a huge crash as someone kicked the bottom of door. I yelled out and I heard someone running away from the house. When I got to the living room I saw the door lying on the floor and I felt for the cutlass in the closet. There is no power at this time of night and it was raining hard on the tin roof and covering any noises that might be heard. I found a few candles and lit one for some light, propped up the door, and sat with the cutlass across my knees until Jessie and Dana came home and the light of morning.

It was god damn scary, but everything is OK now. I reinforced the door that afternoon and we are getting some more security for our house this week. Ah, life in Guyana

2 months today until the end of school. I miss all of you.

Back From Break

Plenty photos of Venezuela, the Amazon, and the rodeo here in Lethem. So, go check 'em out here

Shumberg Peak

School is boring and there hasn't been classes for weeks... lets not talk about it.

The project trust girls, Royston (a student, and our guide), and I decided to climb the highest mountain in the Kanakus this past weekend. We set out Friday after school and after a short delay tracking down a fourth bicycle we started our ride through the Savannah to the base of the mountains, and the start of the jungle. Royston biked like a madman and I sweat bullets trying to keep up on Jessie Sue's pink bike (mine is busted). We arrived at the base around sundown and made our way to Kumu Falls, our campsite for the night. I immediately bathed in the freezing, yet amazing, water and lay on the still warm rocks around the pool. Royston built us a fire and put an enormous slab of beef on to roast. I also through some veggies in the coals. We slung our hammocks, drank a cup of rum, and fell asleep in the jungle listening to the hum of creatures.

Next morning at sun up we broke camp and headed for the top. Again, Royston set a fast pace and it wasn't long before I was drenched in sweat and breathing like I was in a marathon. Near the top I had to stop every few metres just to catch my breath. Three hours later near the peak we spotted a baboon in the trees, then a few minutes later we broke from the canopy and stared across the Savannah. Incredible, sublime, awesome, epic? They all apply, pick your favourite. We pulled out the remainder of our food and had a little picnic on the top, and Royston made another little fire to cook the last bit of beef. I was so tired from the climb a lay down and woke up nearly an hour later to everyone else sleeping too. On the way down the mountain one of us managed to disturb a swarm of bees and we got chased through the bush by an angry swarm until we found a different route around. We made it to the bottom around 2 and soon set out on our bikes for home.

Jessie's bike got a flat and we ended up walking most of the way. When we did finally get home around dusk I could barely move and promptly fell asleep until next day.

...When I found my legs covered in tics. Fun!

Photos

Photos of my Shumberg peak trip! Here

Photos!

The fun begins here.

February 26th, 2007

It has been a while...

A few weeks ago on superbowl Sunday I started to feel ill. Monday morning I felt even worse. By the afternoon I was feverish and spent the next 4 days alternately curled up in a sweaty ball under my mosquito net, or freezing outside in the hammock, because I was tired of laying in, and smelling my own filth. Friday I went to the hospital and got tested for Malaria then spent the rest of the day with what I can only imagine a migraine must feel like. Everyone always asumes you have malaria here when you get sick and again I dodged the bullet. The next day I was feeling better... just tired, and spent the next week catching up on everything I missed.

Friday I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself when I began to hear some strange noises like large cracking and popping. I stumbled outside to find that the savannah was on fire and quickly sweeping towards our house. A few minutes later I noticed a bunch of hostel boys coming to the rescue with buckets and bushes. As the fire and smoke got closer we dashed into the house to grab a few things in case the worst happened. It didn't. The kids managed to get the fire out before it got to our house. check out the photos though 'caus it was a close call.

Nancy, my field director, came down a week late because Molly's school was striking over their bathroom conditions. We attempted to woo her with good food and wine so that she would look favourably on our teaching abilities. I wish we could see her more and that we didn't keep her so damn busy.

I came back from a trip to Georgetown to find the outdoor shower burnt down from a savannah fire and began the most amazing week of school yet:

Monday - lost half the day to a fire drill and the kids preparing for a rally the next day.

Tuesday (The Rally) - attempted to organize the kids in the morning and ended up just walking around and hanging out (gaffing) with my students all day. I got into a really entertaing debate/conversation/lesson with my fifth formers about everything from evolution and religion to the solar system and aliens. They are all dedicated christians and creationists but are young enough to talk about it without being to closed off, so that was cool. Those are the moments I enjoy the most when I get to teach them something new without being constrained by stuff I HAVE to teach. So... no school, but a good day none the less.

Wednesday - was supposed to be cleaning day but it got put off 'till Thursday. I tried to teah, but most of the kids didn't bring their books in anticipation of scouring the school. Then, in the afternoon all the kids were called into the auditorium because the Church of Christ wanted to "talk" to the students. Some preacher came in and prattled on for an hour in a very thick southern American accent that none of the kids could understand. Awesome.

Thursday (cleaning day) - I spent the morning harrasing kids and getting them to work. I eventually gave up and went home to get my camera so I could take photos of the madness.

Friday (Mashramani) - The reason for this entire week. Mashramani means celebration after hard work, as you can see we definately earned the day off.

Tuesday, January 23rd

Quick update

Things are going pretty well and scholl in is full swing now. The next two months are going to be really busy with school and some other activities. I have to be done teaching my fifth formers by end of March and then begin drilling them with practice exams for when they write CXC's in May. Right now they have extra classes every day of the week often in the morning and afternoon trying to catch them up to where they are supposed to be. From what I can tell this happens every year and then everyone remebers second term how much work is left to do.

Nancy my field director is coming down for a couple days in february to visit and the same weekend we are having a school fair/fundraiser. Should be a good weekend. We are also planning to go to Nappi for some kind of wilderness adventure... Shirley, the lady who runs the shop by the airstrip is setting it up.

They changed our school schedule all around and now I am teaching 2 more math classes and a science class. And... I am no longer teaching my scary english class. I have mixed feelings about that because although it is insane I also learn the most from teaching that class.

Ok that's it for now

Tobago

There is only one word to describe Tobago. Cliché… In a good way though. It is everything you would expect of a Caribbean country; beautiful beaches, blue water, mountainous jungle, and friendly, laid-back locals. The reason I say cliché is because I find it difficult to write about without sounding like a terrible travel magazine. Anyway, I think you can imagine what I mean (plus, there are pictures). It was, however, exactly what I needed to recharge for the coming six months.

Flying out of Georgetown the power went out in the airport, typical for Guyana. No big deal, they came on not long after, but it does help describe how I felt when I flew over Trinidad and saw all off the lights. It was like being a kid and seeing a city for the first time. I know that sounds a little silly, I have only been here for four months, but it was really crazy to see a country that is so similar to Guyana in many ways appear so different, and so developed.

After braving the chaos of the flight from Trinidad to Tobago Molly and I hopped into a taxi and made our way to the first of three places I stayed, Castara. We arrived, tracked down the owner of the hotel, she also owns a little craft shop nearby, and settled into our home for the next four days. Castara is a small fishing village with a little beach that is surrounded by towering jungle on all sides. I bought fish most nights fresh off the boats and cooked our dinners. Of the three, Castara wins for my favourite place in Tobago.

On the 17th Molly and I left Castara for Black rock Village to meet my folks. Molly left for home the next day and my parents and I attempted to ignore the excavator working on the beach while also trying to find some place to buy food. It is a good thing the diving from Black Rock was good because otherwise it didn’t have a lot going for it.

The 23rd we rented a car and drove up North along some of the windiest roads imagineable to Charoletteville, a much better place. It is also a fishing village and we managed to eat tuna, snapper, and lobster! Christmas day we went diving and I saw the largest brain coral in the world as well as a 7 ft shark from about 10 feet away. I spent the rest of my time drinking rum and cokes with my parents on the deck and reading. Molly came back from the States for a couple more days in Tobago then it was time to go.

Back in Georgetown a few of us volunteers got together and had a pretty quiet Old Years night drinking rum and a bottle of Dom Perignon out of bowls, courtesy of our Peacecorps friend Margret.

Back in Lethem now and ready for the next two terms of school.