Good-Bye

It is with sad regret that I have to inform that because of the coronavirus, all Peace Crops Volunteers around the world were evacuated from site. I was evacuated from my site Sunday afternoon and officially returned home Monday.

Although I understand the importance and significance of their decision, it is still very sad for me. I was only given about 30 minutes to pack up some of my belongings and leave. I did not get to say goodbye properly to my community or my school children. I also had to leave before I could finish and see the project that I had been working on come to life.

Even thought this has happened, I have to take a moment and reflect on the happy times. I was able to have 2 wonderful host families, participate in 2 MASH parades and competitions, 2 years of holi celebrations, learned traditions amerindian dances, planned 2 three day camps for my community and (hopefully) impacted the children that I have gotten to be with these past months. But sometimes, just hearing about a persons journey is not enough. Sometimes, it helps to see. So attached is my 1SEC a day video of my service (videos from 2019-end of service).

Dance is life

It doesn’t matter where you go, I promise that music and dance is an important part of the culture. Since I have been in Guyana, I have been blessed with my school and community being very into their local dance and music. When I first came into the community, I came around heritage time so I was able to learn from the children the local Amerindian dances.

Not to brag but I think I can do it pretty well.

For those that can not travel, videos are some of the only ways that they can learn and share the culture. So, this is a video of my schools pupils dancing traditional Amerindian moves for their recent Mashramani (MASH ) competition in which they placed 2nd out of 11 schools (SO PROUD).

P.S. After watching, I know you will be a fan too

Cassava

It’s been a while since I have posted anything (and I apologize). So, I decided that I should apologize by giving you some treats….well food.

Here in Guyana, the Amerindian community especially, cassava is the traditional food. Cassava is a type of root that the locals will grate to make foods such as cassava bread, cassava balls, and piwari.

Be aware that this is make take off of cassava bread and what I have learned….

Cassava bread is the most common. To make cassava bread you would do the following……

Peel, wash, and grate cassava. Squeeze out as much of the juice as possible, using either a matapee or wringing in a towel (juice can be used for making cassareep). Leave in lumps to dry (slightly) in open air. Pound, sift, and add salt. Heat a girdle pan and a metal hoop to the size of the cake required. Cook until set, using moderate heat. Remove the hoop, level the surface, and press firmly. Turn and cook on the other side. When cooked through, remove cake and sun-dry until crisp. (photos above are of cassava bread)

Piwari is the most common other cassava product. Piwari is a local drink (alcoholic based on time). To make piwari you do the following……..

Peel, wash, and grate cassava. Squeeze out as much of the juice as possible, using either a matapee or wringing in a towel (juice can be used for making cassareep). Leave in lumps to dry (slightly) in open air. Pound, sift, and add salt. Heat a girdle pan and a metal hoop to the size of the cake required. Cook until set, using moderate heat. Remove the hoop, level the surface, and press firmly. Turn and cook on the other side ( you will want to burn the cassava to a black crisp).

Once the burnt cassava is no longer hot, you will break and crush up the cassava into very fine grain pieces. Add in sugar and water to mix together. Then add hot water and put in a bucket to cover and put in dark place to ferment. Over the next few weeks, you will add more sugar until the drink is to the taste and fermented level that you want. (the photos above are of the piwari process).

Heritage- Indigenous Month

In Guyana, one of the six races identifies is the Amerindians or indigenous people. The month of September is deemed Indigenous month where the communities of the Amerindian (and the rest of Guyana) celebrate their culture. Almost all communities will host Heritage days where visitors and local villagers come together to watch performances of traditional dances and poems, do traditional crafts and sports (basket weaving and archery) , and eating local foods. Living in a Amerindian village, I get to see the love of these peoples culture not only at this day event but all while preparing for the day as well as the schools culture day where the children get to express their culture together.

website construction

Please Excuse the website as it is under construction for the net few weeks to make it more user friendly.

Leadership Camp

Hi Guys. Just wanted to update you on life. It is now summer in Guyana which means CAMPS! (well at least for me). Last week, I held my first camp in my community. With a total of 40 children, we held a 3 day leadership camp for the older youth of the village. In the camp the children learned about teamwork and communication skills, leadership styles, and confidence building.

Each of the days had a theme to them. The first day’s theme was “ Teamwork and Communication”. On this day, the children worked in smaller groups to work on accomplishing goals as a team. The children observed how in order to finish faster or produce a better outcome, talking to one another and working together was essential.

The second days theme was “What is a leader?”. On this day, the children learned how, even if they start from a different place in life or have different opportunities, this does not mean that they can’t be leaders. It just means they may have to try a little harder (but they will come out even stronger!). The children also got to listen to a panel of local leaders (Village Captain, Peace Corps Program Manager, and Ministry of Presidency Staff) who talked about the importance of leaders in communities and how, even at a young age, the children can still be leaders.

The final days theme was “I am a Leader”. On this day, the children go to learn about the leadership styles and what style they have when in a group (are they the dominant speaker or the quiet one in the back who assists). At the end of the day, the children all signed a banner with the statement “I AM A LEADER” showing that they know that they are leaders in their community, even though they may be young.

Special thanks to all the people that made this camp possible. To the children who came out to participate, to the 4 teachers and fellow PCV who came to assist, to the Ministry of Presidency who donated supplies and came to the panel, to the Village council for their support, and for the amazing Aunties who assisted in making snacks for the kiddos. The camp would not have been a success with out you help.

Update- Sorry

Hi to all that are waiting patiently for the updates from me. I am sorry for not posting for so long.

I’d like to say that the lack of posts is simply from no internet access and no charge to electronics (which it partially true) but also I have been a bit lazy about typing things up. SORRY. Now that the school year is getting close to it’s end, I am hoping to try and upload some of the posts that are over due. I will try to be better about posts as I head into my second year at site (AHHHHHHH :)

Anyway, just wanted to update you. Hopefully you will hear from me soon.

Holi

In Guyana, there are three major religions; Christianity, Islamic, and Hinduism. Guyana is very respectful of the other religions, going as far as to have religion holidays been official “national” religious holidays. This means schools will be out for the holidays as well as government buildings. Within schools, pupils learn and experience other religions through these holidays.

Phagwah or Holi is a Hindu holiday that celebrates good over evil, arrival of spring, and the blossoming of love. The holiday is also called the “festival of spring”, the “festival of colours” or the “festival of love”. The holiday has no strict date but occurs around March aligning with the full moon of the lunar cycle. My village is an Amerindian village that is mostly Christian so they do not participate in Holi (though the kids do get the opportunity to throw color right at the end of school if they bring it). Since my village does not celebrate, I went into town to meet up with the other Peace Corps Volunteers to spend the holiday with.

For Holi, the night before is usually a fasting day. The next morning (Holi), you attend Mandir (service). After you have the option of going home to change into a white shirt. Once Mandir is over, or even before, you go out with friends and family to wonder the town visiting friends and family houses. While going around, you are given color as a liquid poured on you or as a powder that you rub on their faces. When you rub on their faces you are suppose to wish them a happy Holi and bestow hugs to one another. When you go visit the houses, you are offered foods made by the family or drinks.

Overall the Holiday was super fun. A lot of color (that DOES NOT come out of your skin/hair) and tons of friends. It is very much a holiday of gathering to celebrate with friends and family the color of life.

Mashramani

Mashramani is an Amerindian word which means “celebrating after cooperative work”. This festival is an annual festival that celebrates Guyana becoming a Republic in 1970. Within the weeks leading up to Mashramani, the schools in the Regions participated in Regional competitions including dance, hip hop, costumes, poems and calypso. The groups that get first in the Region then travel to Georgetown to participate in the National Competition. My school participated this year in dance (age 8-10) and calypso (age 5-7 and 8-10). Both calypso groups got second in the Region and our dance group got first. They then traveled to Nationals where they placed second in all of Guyana!

After the competitions, the schools (at least in our Region) participated in a road march where the students and teachers made floats and costumes to perform and dance around in. Our school got first in the costumes of the march for the primary schools. During the actual day of Mashramani (February 23rd ) big towns held parades of their own but of course the biggest parades and celebrations were in Georgetown, Linden, and Lethem.

Suriname

Hi everyone, sorry for posting so late after my trip but we quickly started the new school term and my focus has been on the students. Still, I figured it’s time to tell you of my trip.

One of the ways that Peace Corps Volunteers deal with homesickness during the holiday seasons (if they are not going home) is to travel. This year, a few other volunteers and I decided to hop over to the country of Suriname. Suriname is a South American country that is bordered by Guyana, Brazil, and French Guiana. The country was once a Dutch Colony, so the main language is Dutch and a lot of their architecture is Dutch influenced however just like Guyana, Suriname had waves of immigrants so there are a lot of ethnic groups, religions, and languages. Suriname is smaller in size to Guyana and has a smaller population of only around 560,000, almost all of who live in or close proximity to the capital Paramaribo.

Suriname flag (first photo in country)

While in Suriname, two volunteers and I went on an excursion into the Suriname interior. While there we climbed to the summit of a mountain (240m) and went swimming in two mini waterfalls. We also got to see different types of monkeys and birds.

After the excursion, we met up with the other volunteers to spend New Year’s Eve in the capital of Paramaribo. During the day, Paramaribo has a big New Years celebration in the streets where fire crackers and fireworks were set off by locals and DJ’s could be found on every street. At night, New Years Eve is seen as a family time so there was almost nothing open (just a heads up for anyone wanting to any night activities). On New Year’s Day there is also not much open, as the locals want to spend time with families and close friends.

Overall, it was a good holiday and another country to check off the list. (Still ahead of you Dad, you got to catch up). Hope to post again soon but we will see when that happens. Until then, thanks for reading and have a good year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas.

Before I start, I want to make a disclaimed that my experience if based off of my site location and word of mouth from other volunteers.

Christmas in my village is nothing like in the United States.  For starters, you wouldn’t even know it’s Christmas if you didn’t see the lights and hear the music because (as of today) it is 85 degrees, not a cloud in sight, and …. honestly, I am sweating like a sinner in church. Now for those reading in Texas, this might be normal but at least you are use to hearing about the snow in the north, here not so much.

In Guyana, the Christmas season is also known as the cleaning season. It is when all families do a big clean of the house: putting up new curtains, sweeping (everywhere) and possibly doing repainting to the house. Some families will put up Christmas lights but (at least in my village) it is not very common. The season is much more about family coming home and being together. Most of the males that have been in the hinterlands doing logging and mining come home for the holidays; usually for the first time in about 3 months.

Now like I said my experience is going to be different. The villages, from what I am told, do not have a big Christmas experience but within the towns and the capital there are more lights, rushing around, and even parades. My village, like a lot of villages, was a part of a crusade, meaning now they are of Christian belief. Because of this, the three different churches in my village and families who go out for mass will all be having religious services like you would expect.

I will be spending Christmas in my Village and then traveling for some fun to Suriname. Hopefully, I will get to post about that when I get back. Until then…..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

Ready, Set, GO!!

SUPER SUPER late with this post! I wrote it over a month ago and always either forgot to upload or had no internet. I guess better late than never. I am going to try to be better about posting in the future ( but don’t hold me to that). As my close friends and family know…. social media is not my strong suit but I’m trying. I hope to have a Christmas edition up soon so look forward.

Now onto the late information…..

October is known in the schools as sports month. At the end of September, schools have interhouse competition with the students participating in track and field sport such as relay racing, gaveling, and high jumps. After interhouse, the top athletes compete at a regional level with the top athletes of each schools. The top of these regional competitions go on to participate in the national competition.

To make the experience more fun, the schools place the students into houses (like Hogwarts) and the kids compete for the win of the house. In my school we have Purple Heart House and Green Heart House. Me being a new teacher, I also got placed in a house with the new children (GO PURPLE HEART). In the afternoons for the weeks leading up to interhouse, the students had practice to prepare them for competition. On the day of competition, the kids went all out, decorating themselves in all purple and green.

After a super long day of outdoor activities and watching the kids from the “old” 6th graders to the youngest nursery, Purple House was declared the winners. Within the next few weeks the top children of each event from the school will be taken to compete in the Regional competition and possibly the Nationals.  

Proud of Our Indigenous Heritage

While living in Guyana for the next two years, I will be abiding in the hinterland or interior land of Guyana. In these hinterland areas live the Indigenous people or Amerindian people of Guyana. They consist of different tribes spread all over the country. Because these villages are located farther from the towns and cities they rely on their environment and each other to live happy and full lives.

The month of September is Indigenous Month and during this time the different villages welcome visitors to come and experience a taste of their heritage for a day or two while they themselves get to celebrate their Indigenous culture. This past week was my villages Heritage Day filled with performances from children in the village (my students), local food such as bush cow, bush hog, and cassava bread, as well as local homemade (adult) drinks such as fly and pawari.

 I got to try the bush cow, bush hog, and the local drinks. The kids can have the drink if it has been just made and not fermented yet, but once it has, the adults get to enjoy. I was able to taste pawari, potato fly, and corn fly. 

* warning to new comers, the fly can be different levels for alcohol strongness depending on who made it *

 As you can see, on my head is a headdress that I made with the help of my host mom using local materials. The fellow teachers at my school asked where I bought it and were impressed when I said I had made it.

Although I did not get to perform on stage, the students gave me quick dancing lesson and I am proud to report that several women in the village said I danced like I was born in the village.

Guyana Education System

Hi everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I’ve been adjusting to my site and getting to know my community, so I have not been able to post much. I decided that it was time for a new post and what better time to talk about education than during Education Month.  I just want to reemphasize that what I write is a gathering of my own research, opinions, and do not represent Guyana, their Ministry of Education, or Peace Corps.

To begin, I feel that you should know the basics of the Guyana education system. Guyana schools are run under the Ministry of Education with 11 districts (10 regions and Georgetown) that consist of private and public schools. Primary School is Grades 1st through 6th or ages 6 - 11 and Secondary School is Forms 1-5 or ages 11-16. Tests are taken at the end of the year (just like in the United States) however for Guyanese students, the Grade 6 test is super important because it ranks your ability against all other students and places you in schools for Secondary education. For those families that are super into education and “moving up” in the world, getting a high rank and placing in better Secondary Schools is a big deal. Even though these test rank kids, because of financial reasons, some kids are not able to go to schools with their “level” and instead go to local secondary schools.

When in secondary school, Forms 1 and 2 tend to be basic courses such as English, math, ect but by Form 3, 4, and 5 students have chosen “tracks” to study such as engineering, arts, teaching, business, and so on. The intent is that the student will be able to either continue to college or go straight into the work force.

The Guyana schools have 39 weeks of school with 3 terms throughout the year: Christmas Term, Easter Term, and August Term (or Finals Term). All schools have a Head Mistress or Head Master at the top. After is the Deputy Head Teacher or Assistant Head Master/Mistress.  The rest of the structure is as followed on the image below with Divisional Heads, Head of Departments and Assistant Master/Mistress (generally ranked in how many years of experience) . According to the ministry there are to be no more than 35 children per class, however this is not always possible if there not enough teachers or not enough kids to form another class.

Finally, I want to quickly address the science curriculum since this is what I am going to be teaching for the next two years. In the curriculum there are 9 units covered over the year: Human Body, Animal Kingdom, Planet Kingdom, Environment, Weather, Materials, Earth and Space, Energy, and Forces. During the tests at the end of the year, the kids must answer multiple choice questions, answer short questions and write essays. My hope is that over the two years that I am in my community I will be able to spark interest of science into these kids so that they all go off to do great things in (and for) the world.

Getting to Know Me: Guyana

I have officially been in Guyana for a month and have been loving every second of it. I am currently deciding on what I want this blog to be and have decided on a few different themes that I am going to try out for the next few months and see how they go. This post will be the first of the theme “Getting to Know Me” where you can learn about places, animals, plants, and cultural norms of the land of Guyana (and maybe more). Enjoy!

Hi! My name is Guyana or the “Land of Many Waters”. I am located in South America bordered by Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname, and the Atlantic Ocean. Although I am in South America, I identify (generally) as a Caribbean region and am the only country in South America to have English as my official language: though most speak Guyanese Creole. I am 215,000 km2 with a population of 799, 613 (2013) between all of my 10 regions. My capital is Georgetown, located in Region 4, which is where around 90% of my population lives. I have six races within my borders from historical migrations; the Amerindians, African, East Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, and English. My rich culture allows for many traditional views with inclusion of modern technology and ideology.

My lack in interior development has allowed my geography of coastal waters, mangroves, marshes, savannas, mountains, and tropical rainforest to support a range of species. My more interior lands have minor towns and villages, mostly Amerindian communities, forestry camps, and mining camps. Within the central of my rainforest you can find the world’s largest single drop waterfall by volumes of water flowing over my 226 metres (741 ft) high ledge. Also, within my forest is the protected Iwokrama Forest and Research facility where research and ecotourism are done throughout the year. Along my coast line is Shell Beach which is a breeding and hatching ground to many species of turtles. Within our cities we have the Easter rodeo in Lethem, the Stabroek Market in Georgetown, St.George’s Cathedral which is one of tallest wooden churches in the world, and much more.

I encourage you to research me more or even come visit me, for my people are some of the nicest and most welcoming that you will meet.

                                          “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”

First Weeks

      I have made it safely to Guyana and have started training. Sorry I could not post sooner but being here means not always having access to internet. Even so, I hope to blog about my events and experiences on this Peace Corps journey. I am honored that you wish to share it with me.

For a brief overview so far…..

     For our first 10 weeks here, we are going through training as Peace Corps Trainees (PCTs) where we get to stay with a host family to integrate us into the culture and customs of Guyana. My family consists of my dad (Videsh) and mom (Ashley). During training we go through the basic safety and medical information just like a college orientation (I admit, it was long and very tedious but needed). Now we are onto the training of our actual fields and what we will be doing in the schools and communities.

    Besides training, I have gotten to learn about the area with my family. We have gotten to explore the market, visit other towns with my host parent’s cousin’s family, and learn to cook traditional East Indian Guyanese foods such as roti, plantain chips, and several types of curry. My family likes to joke with me and say that when I go back to America I can open a Guyanese restaurant.

    Monday was a Guyanese holiday so instead of training we had a Cultural Day where we dressed in traditional clothes, made food, and prepared presentations about the six different cultural groups in Guyana; Amerindians, African, East Indian, Portuguese, Chinese, and Europeans. Since my host family is East Indian, that is what I went as.  It was a nice day of getting to explore the different cultures and hang out with the host families. Later that week we got to educate the community on one of our holidays, Independence Day.

     I have also officially learned that I will be staying in Region 2 working in the primary school for the rest of my two years in Guyana. Besides this basic information, not much else has been given to us about our sites. I will move out there officially in August after swearing in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV).

I don’t have much left to say for the moment, so I will leave you with a Guyanese Proverb.

      “One, One Dutty Build Dam”  

meaning.....     

“Every Little Thing Adds Up”

Start

This will be my blog location updating friends, family, and others interested on my adventures in Peace Corps (and hopefully beyond). I hope to talk about the culture, language, environment, and experiences that I will get to have.  For those that do not know, I leave June 10th and will be gone for 27 months. Wish me luck:)