Chicken and Rice

So, I have offically finished one week of training. 8 hours a day of language, lectures and other fun stuff. One day was full of telling us about health issues we will proably face- giardia, dengue, cicia, botfly (where a fly actaully lays a egg sack under your skin. o m g), yoou know, fun stuff. And then the afternoon was all about bugs and snakes and animals to watch out for. Exciting stuff!! Last week was very busy and long, and finished it off on Saturday with our first visit to the capital, Paramaribo. Walking through the market was an experience, we certainly got some looks, and plenty of people asked if we were Dutch (they were early settlers here). Felt sick (shocking- it takes quite a while to get adjusted to everthing here- thinking it was dehydration) and fell asleep with some others on the deck of a restuarant, woke up pink from the sun- it really is a lot hotter here! It's nice to get a little color though- everyone kept saying how white my legs were( if only I had my Mystic)- thanks!

Tomorrow we leave for a site vist where we will be until Friday. We get to practice our language, mine is Saramaccan. What- you haven't heard of it? Thinking I'll be pretty limited on using that when I get back. And unfortunately, I'm not picking it up very quickly. Found out were I will be in August, village of 150-300 called Gangestone.

We've all been getting to know each other, and have all bonded as a whole. But I still miss my bffs from back home. Atl least I've got everyone's picture in my scrap book! It's been supper fun- like summer camp, until now. We kinda break up a bit starting tomorrow, but will get together every Friday the rest of the summer to go over stuff.

It only took 3 days to get tired of the food. Meals consist of hod dog buns and maybe cheese and PB for breakfast, and the chicken and rice for lunch and dinner. Every day. Chicken and rice. But I'm not talking chicken breasts- it's random pieces of meat on a bbone and kind of possible fried ( I'm not sure about that). I have never had so much chicken and rice. UGH! Needless to say I have been eating granola bars after almost every meal bc I'm still hungry.

Grandma you will be glad to know that we get to have our own gardens here- if only I had a little elf to help me!

Hello everyone! Suriname is amazing! It's so wild to think that I'm actually here- it's hasn't really hit me yet.-- It's so pretty and green. It's pretty hot and humid, but not nearly as bad as I expected. Don't worry my hair is still frizzy! We got into the airport at 1 am Saturday and all the other volunteers we there to meet us. It was so exciting! Since then we have all been getting to know each other. The whole group is awesome, about an even mix of guys and girls. We've all got roomies- kinda like the typical college dorm life excapt for freezing cold showers and mosquito nets- and roomies who I actually get along with! We're having interviews for our sites tomorrow- Still not sure where I want to be; some of the projects are quite a bit different than I expected. And I think it's be nice to be close to some other volunteers, so those are a few factors. We're supposed to find out Thursday where we will be going, and in a month or so we visit there. We had a field trip yesterday (bumpy mud roads= motion sickness!) and saw some of the villages. It's amazing how different everything is from the US and how the different people live. We should be getting cell phones after we swear in in August- I can't wait! I miss you all terribly and can't wait until I am able to call you all! Right now everything has been so busy, so there's been a lot to think about during the day, but it's still hard not being able to call. Someone mentioned calling cards so I am going to look into that. I love you and miss you! NJB I hope you had a super fun bday and I want to see pics of you in your sassy dress!

The Time Is Here- What!?!?

So today is the day! I'm so many emotions it's rediculious, (Nic and Beth I spelled it that way just for you). Nervous/excited/anxious/sad/scared and wondering what have I gotten myself into. After getting to Miami on Wednesday and two days filled with info, lectures and icebreakers, we are heading to Suriname. It's crazy to think that in less than 1 day (and 8 hours on a plane) I will be in another country- and a third world one at that (who would have ever thought- CS in Suriname). There's 24 of us volunteers in 2 programs, Business and Health. I think that I am the least well-traveled considering the only time I've been out of the States is for a trip to Cancun. Many of the other volunteers have been involved in similar programs, like hurricane relief or ESL. This is my first attempt! The amazing thing is how well everyone in the group is getting along. Each volunteer has their own little story (which we got to learn during the first session thanks to a wonderful icebreaker), and we are slowly learning about each other (we do have 27 months together so we can take it a little slow).

There's been a lot of talk about everything to expect, from sickness to loneliness to depression, so it's a little intimidating to walk into a situation where they're telling you it's not all fun and games. But then they remind us that this is "the toughest job you'll ever love", so hopefully it will all be worth it. It's hard to be away from my friends and fam and to not know when I will see/talk to them again. But the helpful thing is that I know they support me and love me and that is really helping me make it through. There are so many things about this situation that are difficult, but I keep reminding myself that it will be worth it. For some reason, a year into this looong process, I still want to be here, so I know somehow it will be worth it.

Well, it's time for me to pack up my stuff- all 85ish pounds (I'm a bit over my limit- 80 was so restricting!)-not including my massive computer bag which left my back sore from carrying it around Wednesday. Probably should have tried to pack it a little lighter- but it's too late now! So, I will talk to everyone when I can and I love you and miss you already and thank you for all the support! And thank you so much for the comments and good wishes! I got teary eyed reading them (big surprise)(Because he's wonderful Uncle Marty!)

Slight Panic Mode!

Well, the date is getting closer! In less than a week I will be on my way to the next 27 month stage of my life- in a third world country! Definitely a bit different than what I would have pictured a few years ago (like maybe a nice corporate job in a big US city with cute little apartment)- but I can't wait, even if there are plenty of mosquitoes and 80% humidity waiting for me. The last days here are going to be super hectic and stressful, and of course will be very emotional (anyone who knows me is I'm sure expecting lots of tears!), and I'm sure will be filled with lots of visits and dinners. For some reason when you leave the country for excessive amounts of time, everyone wants to take you out to eat(which I L O V E)- I'm on my 12th day in a row of eating out with someone that I won't see for a while! Maybe it's the concern that I will be eating mostly rice with a few veggies for the next few years that makes people want to feed me pizza and country fried steak (delish). Ok- enough for my first post- I am officially a 'blogger!'