Alyssa's Host Volunteer Visit

The Peace Corps gives all volunteers in training the opportunity to stay with another volunteer actively serving for one week to get an idea of what a volunteer does and how they live.  Paul and I were split up for the week in order to give us each different experiences so that when we came back, we could discuss and start the process of choosing our site for the next two years.  For those of you wondering about site placement, it is competitive and we had to write essays with our top 5 sites and stating why we are best fit for them.  We'll find out Friday where we will be going.

So, back to my host volunteer visit.  I, along witha noother trainee, Kirsten, vusuted a health volunteer, Shannon, that lives just up the coast a bit in a small Amerindian community.  Coming off the boat ride, we were greeted by kids playing Phagwah, throwing colorful powder at one another celebrating spring.  We spent most of our week in the health center which is a traditional Guyanese building with walls that do not go all the way to the ceiling.  It's a small center with few supplies that are locked away in a small room.  There are three other exam rooms, and a waiting room displaying educational posters on healthy pregnancies, eating a balanced diet, and protecting yourself from HIV.  It was a slow clinic and we were able to learn a lot through questioning Shannon.  She was awesome.

We saw the school as well which has nursery, primary, and secondary combined in one.  Unfortunately, like many schools, it is short on teachers and many students spend their day without instruction and guidance.  Only half of the students enrolled in school generally attend, many having family obligations that keep them back, not to mention the fact that many have to canoe themselves to school each day, even the little ones.

I learned how to play cricket, how cassava bread is made (cassava is a staple in many Amerinidan villages), watched small children climb trees to knock down coconuts (very impressive might I add), and found out how delicous pumpkin curry with roti can be.  Don't worry.  I'll make it all for you when I come home.  It's amazing.

Me make joke (i.e. I'm going to tell you a joke)
One night, a bat started flying around Shannon's house.  Normally, this would be a problem.  In Guyana, you're thankful it's not poisonous and you move on.  However, when it starts to fly toward your head, you duck, and maybe scream...which I did.  The only problem with ducking is that you are not sure where the bat has flown too.  That is when Kirsten came running up to me, also screaming, thinking it was in my hair or on my back.  I ran forward thinking she might be right only to almost squish the little guy that had taken refuge by the kitchen sink directly in front of me.  Shannon is laughing; did I mention that?  Yes, Shannon is laughing because she knows where the bat is and that I'm about to squish it with my butt.  Thankfully, the bat jumped into the sink at the last minute, saving both itself and me.  Neighbor kids came running to make sure we were okay.  Silly Peace Corps trainees we were screaming over a bat. 

1 Down and 34 more to Go

A few weeks back we officially lost our first member of our Peace Corps Guyana 22 group. Matt apparently had a small cut on his hand that either had some sort of infection which apparently led to a more severe infection. Because they were not sure of the root cause of the infection he was required to go into George Town and it was then decided that he needed to be medically separated. He still has hopes of returning if they can discover what happened. Good Luck to you Matt!!!

Apparently it is extremely rare for an entire group of PC trainees to complete training. In fact, most groups lose at least 3 people. Which means we have two more to go to keep up with the average. It is my belief that we will lose at least 2 more by next week, lets just say they are making bad choices, and probally at least 3 more before the first year is up. Its my hope that everyone would have as great an experience as Alyssa and I are having, but people have different expectations and attitudes which could negatively shape their experiences. We shall see.

Sport and Music

We have been in training now for 3 amazing weeks. Life is begining to normalize and become routine. And the relationships within our community are truely taking shape. Throughout training they have drilled one specific and important concept of community development, INTEGRATION!!! The better you can integrate into your community, the faster you can recognize the needs of that community and therefore mobilize the community to take action.

Nothing I have found increases the speed of cultural integration like sport and music. And because as most of you know that I couldnt play a full song to save my life I have fallen back on football (soccer). The town we are currently living in has a daily soccer match, more like a kick around. At first I was just the white boy who was invading their town for a few months. Within the first three days of playing my name quickly changed from "hey white boy," to Paul and respect was passed around like the ball.

I am constantly reminded of the true clash of our cultures when im on the pitch. Me in my kangaroo leather cleats, my neighbor in one shoe the other which is on his best friends foot. The constant cow or goat that interupts the game along with the multiple patties I step in. The language, which I am slowly begining to understand. Gender roles. Are all but a few the differences I experience. But none of that matters once you sweat with the local rum shop dealer or slide tackle the rastafarian that lives on the corner. Instant integration.

The white boy who can actually play football has been a topic amongst the village gaff line (gossip line) and its strange when you pass someone on the street who you have never met and they tell you they want to try to defend you the next day. But im connected and integrating.

When a counterpart tells me they are having a hard time connecting with their community I advise them to grab a guitar or kick a ball and they will instantly connect!

Sunset

I'm sitting on a bench on the veranda and I am content.  The sun is starting to set behind the house and the breeze is blowing.  This is the time of day I stop sweating, until I try to fall asleep.  The kids are playing in the trench, which is really quite gross if you know what goes in there.  They've taken several rice bags filled with empty plastic bottles, and tied them together to make rafts.  They're having a good time pushing one another off of them.  It's good to hear kids laugh.  Paul got a couple of pictures too. 

Today has been slightly rough.  We've both had our first experience with diarrhea, which is a loose term around here.  It makes you nervous even though there are numerous reasons you can get it, most of which are harmless.  I spent most of the afternoon reading about health issues we might face while here which only led to more frustration and feeling like I had a fever.  I keep telling myself this too shall pass, whatever it may be, from the rashes I get from constantly sweating to the favorite topic of volunteers - diarrhea.  While being sick is something we're all anxious about, it's inevitable.  I'm glad I have Paul to make sure I'm okay, and to comfort me when there is little else that does.

Alyssa

(Taken from an earlier journal entry.  We're fine, in case you wanted an update)

S.U.P.S. (Stand Up Paddle Surfers) eat your heart out

This is a picture from the local drainage cannal right outside our door. These kids play on this make shift raft everyday and it makes me long for a clean six foot wave. Enjoy the Pacific friends!

Sunrise

I woke up early today to sit on the veranda overlooking the ocean and watch the sunrise.  The sun has yet to come up over the orizon, but it is beautiful and peaceful.  I'm sitting in Vesta's chair next to her bowl of mangoes.  She likes to sit out here in the late evening and cut open a few.  A tiny gama (salamander) is searching the bowl for breakfast.  Very peaceful indeed.

The breeze is blowing which is the only thing keeping the sweat from dripping.  Birds are singing a sweet song, but they are drowned out by the roosters telling us it is morning.  A fisherman is chest high in the ocean collecting his nets.  The goats, sheep, cows, and horses have yet to be led out to the seawall for the day.

I feel peaceful, not only because the morning is quiet, but I am feeling more at ease.  I have successfully done laundry by hand on several occassions, and bucket baths are quite satisfying.  I'm learning to cook and talk like the locals.  They may speak English, but that does not mean I understand them.  Thankfully and "Hello!  Good morning!" is generally enough for those not patient enough to repeat themselves for me.

Alyssa

Community Health Initiative

We have had a long week of training. Not only are we learning about a lot of Peace Corps policies and procedures but we have been looking at our project plans within our individual sectors of health and education.

After reading through the Peace Corps Guyana Community Health project plan and visiting a local clinic on Thurday I thought I would share some of my thoughts and information to give a certain context to my project and a few of the challenges that will come our way.

Guyana's health indicators are noted as the worst in the region after Haiti (that's really bad). Basic health continues to be a major priority issue in the country. The under-five mortality rate was 7.2 %, which means that that percentage of Guyanese children died before the age of 5. The under-five mortality rate is used by the UN and most nations as a good indicator of their health systems because it encompasses health risks faced by both adults and young children as well as by infants. This extremely high rate is caused mainly by diarrhea illnesses and acute respiratory infections that are primarily caused by poor sanitation and a general lack of knowledge on proper health prevention techniques. Animals poop freely around villages, drinking water is taken from trenches and canals that run through town and if foods and vegitables are actually washed, which they rarely are, they are washed by the same untreated water.

Add a HIV/AIDS infection rate of over 2.5% of the total population and a health project seems extremely daughnting.

But theres hope one person and one community at a time. We may not be able to change the system but we can and will work within the system to make a difference.

Thank you for your continued prayers!!!

Urgent!

Chelsea King went missing in Rancho Bernardo this week while running through Rancho Bernardo Community Park.  She is the daughter of a very dear friend of mine at the dermatology office.  If you have any information, please contact authorities.  Thank you!

Alyssa

http://www.findchelsea.com/

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/26/search-continues-for-missing-poway-teen/

http://missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet

Nah Take Worries

Means, "don't worry about it", in creolese. While English is the officially language of Guyana you would not know it just by walking around town. I know just about as much creolese as I do Spanish, which is to say that if I were listening to a conversation between two friends I could pick up a key word, maybe a sentence (or two), and attempt to put everything into context.

Creolese essentially is spoken phonetically, but with all of the articles left out. They also use certain, more proper words, in the place of everyday words we would use. For example, instead of saying someone is fat, they would say sturdy. Or if they want to know where you are staying they would say, "where are you stopped?"
Here are a few creolese phrases. See if you can figure out what they mean:
-lef it
-small up

-just gelin

-cutting teeth

-glut

-Me nah no

-Al be nah play wid al yo dese

-how yo day guh?

-taking a five

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!!!!

MY LITTLE SISTER IS 21 TODAY!!!
SOMEONE BUY HERE A DRINK!!!