That means that I have been here for almost 2 whole years. When I started this journey in 2009, 2 years seems like an awful long time, now that I am at the end, I don’t feel like it is enough. Let me explain exactly what I mean by that.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer we have “responsibilities” beyond just our “jobs”. There are three main goals to Peace Corp (I’m paraphrasing here):

1) Provide technical assistance

2) Helping people outside the US understand US culture

3) Helping people in the US understand the culture of people that don’t live in the US

Due to these three goals a lot of emphasis is put on integration into our communities, meeting community members, participating in community and cultural events, etc. This is the biggest focus in the beginning. Our first three months are spent on integrating in the community and less on jumping into projects. The idea is that the more you understand your community and the more they trust you the better equipped you will be to design a sustainable project with community buy-in. This experience differs greatly for every volunteer in Guyana due mainly to the diversity of sites here, there are volunteers in very urban locations and volunteers in the “bush” that requires either an airplane ride, boat ride, or both to reach. Integration is an ongoing process and success is measured in different ways depending on the volunteer. I know for me I really knew I was integrating when the conductors would give me correct change or wouldn’t try to overcharge me on mini-bus rides, when the market ladies started giving me extra veggies in addition to what I bought, or when Colin would worry if I forgot to tell him I was going out of town for a weekend. Successful integration is also measured in the small things you take for granted until you leave for a visit back to the States or you have out of town visitors to point them out to you. For instance, you begin to ignore the animal noises at all hours of the night, the hilariously random things that used to make you laugh out loud aren’t as odd anymore, or you understand the lyrics to the latest dancehall song and wonder why no one else is offended by the offensive and innappropriate lyrics. This type of integration is a constant ongoing thing that never stops, even in your house as you learn to deal with the bugs, mosquitoes, blackouts, and water issues.

I think it takes most volunteers a good 6 months to a year to think that they feel at least moderately integrated into their sites (this is just an estimation). Some volunteers never feel fully integrated and decide to leave, some feel integrated within a few weeks. Once you feel integrated into your community it is MUCH easier to start to develop projects. This whole process worked a bit differently for me. I stepped into a JOB! There had already been not one, but two VSOs who had served in the position I was getting ready to take over, and the second person was on her way out. I spent my first two months in the shadow of this volunteer being completely ignored and watched as teachers, head teachers, and people within the department cried tears of sadness at seeing her go. It took another 3 months to win over the trust of teachers and head teachers to prove that not only was I competent and knew what I was talking about when it came to teaching Literacy, but that I was there to help them in just about anyway possible. Things within the office were a bit easier, but it still took me 1-2 months to understand the politics and policies (Guyana may be one of the most “formal” places I have ever been when it comes to following protocol and policy). I could not understand why workshops had to be approved first, then the proposals written (as opposed to the other way around), I still don’t understand, but I now know how the process works and how to get it done. Over the past two years I have made a complete fool of myself, been utterly frustrated, questioned why I was here, and wondered if I was truly making any kind of difference.

Sometimes you need to climb all the way to the top of the mountain, then look down to see how far you have really climbed. Last week I had my final workshop with the head teachers. I have been working with them for the last year training them on different components of teaching Literacy in order to help them improve staff development sessions and to provide them with helpful resources. It has been a challenging, hilarious, and rewarding experience needless to say. At the end of the workshops we had an impromptu presentation where they sang traditional folk songs with new lyrics written in my honor, speeches, and gifts (and quite a few tears were shed, including my own). It was so overwhelming to me how much gratitude these teachers showed me, when really I feel like it should be the other way around. It took me awhile to win them over, but once I did they embraced me full force. They were honest and trusted me and because of that I was able to learn so much about the education system and culture of this country, and from there I was able to REALLY get some things done.

It took almost two years of hard work, but I finally feel like I have a handle on life here. There is so much that we take for granted living in a culture that we are born and raised in, but once you move to a new place where things are done slightly to significantly differently it really makes you have a new appreciation for adaptation skills. Now that I  feel comfortable and competent with how to get things done at my job, who to go to at the market for the best tasting and cheapest fruits and veggies, how to get around using public transportation, etc it is time to pack up and leave. Last night as I was buying bread at the bakery, one of the Grade 2 teachers from the Primary School down the street who also happens to be my neighbor, stopped me to ask me about phonics and the appropriate way to use it during Literacy Hour. I had a 10-15 minute conversation with her on the street at 7:00 pm while buying bread. The fact that she felt comfortable enough to stop me on the street to ask a work related question shows you how far we have come. It is a quite a proud button-bursting moment and I’m sure I will continue to have more of these over the next two months. All I can say is that now it is time to leave I’m not really ready to leave. I have grown to love and cherish this place and these people. It has been home for the past two years, but now it actually really feels like home. As excited as I am for all the wonderful things that the US has to offer I am also terrified to have to transition back into American life and culture and re-establish and prove myself to myself all over again.

So far 2011 has been pretty spectacular. On New Years Day my Dad and Bro came for a visit. We spent a day at Kaieteur and Orinduik Falls, an amazing and fantastic experience. Kaieteur is the largest single drop waterfall in the world at 741 ft (this is not to be confused with highest single drop waterfall in the world, the term largest refers to the combination of height and water volume)! The best thing about the falls is that it hasn’t turned into a ridiculous tourist attraction. Since it is so hard to get to the only people there are the ones on the tour with you, so we were able to enjoy the majestic beauty of the falls without dealing with massive crowds. Orinduik Falls is located on the Ireng river that is the border between Guyana and Brazil. It is a much smaller falls, which means that we actually had a chance to go swimming. Our guides showed us how we could receive “massages” from the falls, the water was amazing, but the rocks were incredibly slippery so we had to be careful not to fall on our bumsies as we moved around in the water.

The second week in January was our Close of Service Conference. It was the last official time our group was brought together before our departure in April. It was a combination of overwhelming amounts of information pertaining to ALL the things we must take care of before we are cleared to leave the country, as well as advice about how to network, compile our resume, and appropriate interviewing behavior. The last day of the conference we spent at Baganara Island Resort in the Essequibo River. It was a nice, relaxing way to celebrate all that we have accomplished  with each other, and in true GUY 21 style it was neither mild nor boring.

Even though I only have 3 months left in Guyana, that doesn’t mean that my work is slowing down. As soon as I stepped off the bus in town from our COS Conference I headed to a meeting at the Peace Corps Office in regards to Pre-Sercice Training Planning. I spent the rest of the week working on various aspects of PST Planning, then headed back to site to work on preparing for workshops, meetings with teachers, a possible meeting with the Minister of Education, and handing off my duties to the new incoming VSO arriving in February. The next three months will be extremely busy and I can honestly say that I’m not ready to leave Guyana yet, so I will enjoy every minute I can while I’m still here, and remind myself that there will be cable TV, movie theaters, take-out restaurants, and mosquito free houses waiting for me in the US.

Enjoy the pictures!

View of Kaieteur from the plane.

Me and de bro at Kaieteur

No rails. Me pointing to the drop.

Orinduik Falls. (foreground: Guyana, background: Brazil)

Zach gets a waterfall massage.

Bedsheet dinner at Baganara. Katie and I shared the honeymoon suite, she wore the sheet, I wore the bedspread.

Peace Corps Guyana 21

It’s a bit hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it is 89 degrees outside and you are schvitzing to death. I typically associate Christmas with snow, snowmen, reindeer, the North Pole, candy canes, hot cocoa and cider, fresh real Christmas trees and the smell of pine, and a massive amount of commercialism. It’s incredibly different here. The first sign that Christmas is coming in Guyana is the appearance of incredibly bright fake flowers EVERYWHERE. All the stores start selling them and set out “arrangements” in the front to attract customers. The next sign is curtains. What? Curtains you say? Yep, Christmas time in Guyana is the time to buy and put up new curtains. Christmas is the time for cleaning up your house and making it look real nice.  So that means fake flowers and curtains. Don’t get me wrong we have Christmas carols, but they are Caribbean Christmas carols with typical reggae rhythms and lyrics like, “We wish you an irie Christmas, and a dancehall New Year” or “Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the ghetto”. There are Christmas lights and trees (but they are all fake), some people decorate the outside of their house with lights and decorations, and there is Santa Claus, but Caribbean Santa has a bit more flavor than North Pole Santa. In every situation that I have seen Santa, whether it be on television or in person, he is “wining”, a term used to describe the most popular type of dancing here in the Caribbean, that’s right Santa likes to wiggle his hips and grind up on the ladies…….naughty, naughty Santa.

The commercialism is way less in your face here as well. There are commercials from local stores, but they are pretty much the exact same as they usually are, just with a Christmas theme, and no more than usual. People get in the Christmas spirit here, but they talk more about how they plan to spend it and what kinds of foods they plan to eat, and less about shopping, buying presents, and what they want for Christmas. There are no shopping malls with Santa and his helpers with kids sitting on his lap telling him what they want and if they have been naughty or nice. It just feels like Christmas is more about spending time with family and taking care of the home.

As a Jewish kid and adult Christmas has always brought up mixed feelings for me. The month or so before the actual holiday sucks. I hate hearing carols EVERYWHERE I go, having people wish me a Merry Christmas, turning on the TV or leaving the house and Christmas being EVERYWHERE! It’s a bit painful, but celebrating the actual holiday with my family is a whole different matter. It’s the one holiday that my stepdad, Frank, really gets to shine and he does his job as “Santa” with joy and pride. He’s in charge of the stockings and every year he never fails to deliver (and it’s secretly one of my favorite things about the day). My mom usually cooks quite the spread for breakfast that helps to fuel the mid-morning sledding session in the front yard. The afternoon is spent watching ALL the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and napping. That’s not to say that the Jewish side of the family hasn’t infiltrated with some of our own traditions, like watching The Princess Bride every Christmas Eve and reciting every line from the movie, just because we can.

I realize Christmas has become so much more than just celebrating the birth of baby Jesus, it’s become a mix of different religious and pagan rituals, cultural and family traditions, giving and receiving gifts, and let’s not forget my favorite part, EATING!

So this holiday let’s raise our glass of egg nog, cider, cocoa, ginger beer, sorrel and toast to good friends, good family, good health, and good times. This is my last Christmas in Guyana as a Peace Corps Volunteer and it makes me sad to think that I’ll be leaving in 4 short months. So I am going to take advantage of the fact that this Christmas I am living in paradise, will be drinking plenty ginger beer, eating nuff pepper-pot and black cake, sweating my ass off, and loving every minute of celebrating with my Guyanese family and friends!

Happy Holidays and lot’s of LOVE from Guyana!

After receiving my official Peace Corps invitation to Guyana I tried to get as much information about Guyana and what Peace Corps in Guyana would be like. On the Peace Corps website there is one personal account from a volunteer that served in Guyana. The vignette is all about how time is measured differently due to the lack of seasons and the fact that the days stay pretty much the same. She even mentioned that her watch broke her first month in country and she never bothered getting it fixed or buying a new one. I completely forgot about that story until a few weeks ago. I recently celebrated my 21 month anniversary in Guyana, which leaves only 5 months to go. I know that to some of you 5 months seems like a long time, but in Guyana months ZOOM by. Even though it’s the last day of November I still feel like it’s July, I just got back from my visit in the states, and I still have a lot of time to get all my projects wrapped up. In all honesty the weather outside is in the 80s/90s so it feels like July, and that’s the point. Sometimes it feels like the days creep by since they are all pretty much the same, the weather is consistently HOT, except during rainy season, or when tropical storms make brief appearances. There is no daylight savings and we always get 12 hours of sunshine no matter what time of year it is. I am not complaining about this in the least. I’m not the biggest fan of cold weather or snow, so the heat and sunshine make me very happy! What I am saying is that for almost thirty years I told time using seasons. When I was growing up in the south there were four distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall. When I moved to the Pacific Northwest there were still seasons, but daylight savings, the solstices, and how much exposure to daylight were how I was able to gauge the time of year. In Guyana I haven’t been able to tell time the same way, so I pay attention to it less and then am completely surprised when months pass by and I want to know where the time has gone. It’s a strange feeling to know that so much has happened this year, but at the same time I feel it has gone by so quickly. I have found that I measure my time in different ways: the school term, holidays, visits to see friends and family, visits from friends and family, Peace Corps conferences, etc. Trust me when I say that Christmas in Guyana is NOTHING like Christmas in the states, instead of snowmen winter wonderlands, we have colorful fake flowers, more blackouts than usual, and Caribbean Christmas music (which is AWESOME by the way). They recently had a tree lighting ceremony in Georgetown that was shown on local television (think Guyanese version of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on a much smaller scale), they had floats with a dancing/wining Santa Claus, Dora the Explorer, Bert & Ernie, and Minnie Mouse. All I could think was, “I bet Santa is sweating his ass off right now.”

I still can’t believe it is almost 2011 and I can’t believe I have only 5 months. I hope everyone has a fantastic last month of 2010 and Happy Whatever Winter Holiday/Festival Celebration to you all.

One last note before I sign off, my watch broke after three weeks in country and I have never bothered getting it fixed or getting a replacement. It was never necessary.

a little blurry....was in the back of a moving pick-up truck

The girl sat like that for hours....patient and beautiful!

divas laid out at a mandir

playing with sparklers

Diwali divas (pronounced diyas)

House decorated with divas and lights.

Ladies in saris lighting divas.

Mandir

First batch of Diwali pictures. More to come!

Tomorrow is Diwali the Hindu Festival of Lights and the most important festival for Hindus for the entire year. Here in Guyana it is recognized as a National Holiday so that means everyone gets to celebrate. The celebration starts with a motorcade that travels to different parts of the country and consists of about 10-20 pick-up trucks with every inch covered in blinking Christmas lights and children dressed up in the back depicting different scenes from famous stories. The insides of the trucks are decorated to the gills and lights are everywhere! It is FANTASTIC and reminds me a little bit of Christmas parades. I didn’t get to see the motorcade this year, but was in Georgetown last year for it.

Since it’s the festival of lights many people lay out divas (pronounced: diyas), small clay pots that are filled with coconut oil and wicks then lit on fire. They put them in windows, lay them out in driveways, walkways, stairways, and all over the front yard. It is beautiful to see so many lights everywhere. The children and teenagers also set off lots of firecrackers, light sparklers, and spin steel wool (they tie steel wool to a string, set it on fire, and then spin it….totally dangerous, but incredibly beautiful).

In addition, I’ve noticed that Hindus are similar to Jews in that food is a major part of any celebration and no one starves during the festivities. During Diwali it is traditional for families to gather together and share sweets and snacks…..and they share with their non-Hindu friends. One of my absolute favorite parts of any Hindu celebration is parasad. The best way to describe it is dough consistency cake batter with nuts and fruit mixed in. I’ve made it once and it may be the most labor intensive and unhealthy dessert ever invented, but man is it delicious! There are also all kinds of other delicious sweet and fried snacks served……and consumed…..by me. Mmmmmm Delicious!

Like Phagwah the Hindu festival celebrated in the spring with colorful powder, glitter, and water, Diwali is a festival that represents the triumph of good over evil. From a spiritual point of view Diwali represents “the awareness of the inner light”. In Hindu philosophy there is the belief that there is something beyond the physical body and mind that is pure and infiniteknown as the Atman. Diwali is the celebration of this awareness that there is something deeper to us and within us, that we all have this inner light and strength that we use to overcome darkness in our lives (obstacles and ignorance). The idea is that with the understanding of Atman comes compassion, love, and awareness, and that then brings Ananda (joy and peace).

So regardless of how hard this year has been I hope that tomorrow you let your light shine! I know I will!

LOVE to you all and Happy Diwali!

Now let me explain about television programming. It’s a hodge podge of US, Guyanese, and Indian movies, shows, and news. We get CNN, BBC, and Al-Jazeera along with local Guyanese news programming, which is an experience all on its own. Lifetime movies are a weekend highlight and they show ALL day Saturday and Sunday. We also get random History Channel and NatGeo (National Geographic) shows. We also get whatever prime time reality competition show is playing on the major networks, currently it is Dancing with the Stars, but I have watched So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent (Nick Cannon really gets on my nerves), and American Idol. We also get Oprah at 8:00 every night, and Guyanese LOVE her! The highlight of my day is 6:30 when reruns of The Cosby Show come on. It’s like reliving my childhood and I’ve gotten to watch some of my all time favorite episodes, like when they send Theo into the real world, the 49th anniversary episode when they lip sync to Ray Charles, the Stevie Wonder episode, and the episode when Rudy plays football and does her touchdown dance that Theo taught her.  I used to enjoy the 6:00 time slot, but lately it’s been some Indian soap opera melo-drama that is just WAY too intense for me, but prior to that I had the pleasure of enjoying Three’s Company. Before Three’s Company was Martin, and before Martin was Diff’rent Strokes (also another favorite from childhood).

Not bad for the most part, but then you have the Birthday and Death Announcements. You did not misread that last sentence. In a country with only 3/4 of a million people, it is possible to do that. In the US we put those kinds of things in the newspaper in Guyana they put them on TV. They are usually shown on the local channel and run during commercial breaks and for about 30 minutes to an hour in the evenings. They can be super simple with just a picture of the person being celebrated or remembered and then a list of names of every relative of the person scrolls across the screen set to some song. Depending on how rich the family is or how important the person is/was there may be several songs (the more songs the more prestigious the person) with different pictures and sometimes even the music video is playing in the background. I am not making this up. This is real and for many Guyanese it is the easiest way for them to keep track of people they haven’t seen in a long while, as I’ve been told more than once: either they have migrated or they have passed.

Surprisingly it has been easy to adjust to no cable, and only getting to watch cricket and soccer for sports, but I’m still able to keep up with American pop culture and politics, and I don’t really miss the fancy technology. We’ll see if I’m singing the same song in 6 months.