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.