7 weeks out

Hello All! Now that I’ve told you about my first day at site…and I hope you all enjoyed the new pics of me and everyone else from my group…onto the next 7 weeks!

So after the first day…My second day there, a number of the villagers, including the captain and bashas (important influential figures of the village) came over to my house and brought some coconut soup and while they all talked, I tried to listen and pick up anything that I could- which was very little. They presented me with a small wooden paddle that one of the villagers had carved-he makes small items like these and bongis-or tiny little stools that you sit on when you visit people-and sells them at local tourist lodges.

Over the past 7 weeks I have made a somewhat schedule of what I do with my days.
8 am – wake up and take a bucket bath, then make breakfast-oatmeal- or Quaker Oats as they call it. They all know that I eat this every morning and one of the questions you get asked everyday is what did you cook. Now when they ask, they answer their own question and say ‘Quaker Oats?’ and laugh. When I ask them, it is rice, rice and water, or rice and okra.

9 am – Rake the leaves that fall from the huge tree in front of my house. While it is a pain to rake it every day, I have to, or else the women will come by and mention it’s not done, and also it give me something to do for about 30 minutes.

10 am – Walk around and say good morning to people. You go around the village and ask them if they woke up followed by how did they wake. Then, sometimes I sit and try and chat with them; I’m still limited on the vocab, but it’s getting better.

12 pm- make lunch- either a bit of rice and some beans, tuna, or TVP- texturized vegetable protein that’s similar to beans. We are told that in order to stay ‘healthy’ we need to get about 50 grams of protein a day- which is impossible!

1 pm – Sit outside under the tree and read/talk to people as they walk by.

3 pm – Go to the river and wash dishes/laundry/myself bc at this time of day the heat it brutal. I am still amazed at how my I sweat here. Eventually I hope to get used to the heat!

5 pm - write in my journal/letters/read

6 pm – Fix dinner- the same as lunch

7 pm – Sit with villagers when they come over to chat

8-9 pm- Close my door and get ready for bed
Repeat next day

Eventually I will be starting English lessons, probably sometime within the next month. Some of the villagers have picked up a bit of English from previous volunteers but they all want to learn more. I’m waiting until I feel comfortable more with Saramaccan until I start. I get a lot of pressure about what I do and don’t understand and how I’m progressing with it. I finally started to try and help them understand that it takes a while to learn an entirely new language by asking how long they thought it would take for them to learn English. Fluently.
Once December comes, I will begin working on projects; I have some ideas and possibilities in my head, but the important thing to remember is to do projects that the village feels they need and will benefit from, as they will be the ones continuing to work on them when I am gone.

Adjusting to village life is difficult, and when I am asked about it, I am honest. I respond by saying that it’s rough, but I am doing it, hoping that each day gets better. Every day is different and there are many low points, but then at times there are things that happen that boost my morale. I am replacing a volunteer, and it is difficult, as I am compared constantly. I try to help them understand that I am a different person, I live here now, and I’ll be their friend as well.

There are several of the villagers that I have become friends with. Directly across from my house is a 23 year old-I spend a lot of my time with her and her little boy. My counterpart (the person PC has designated to help me if I need it) and his brother have been helpful and stop by most days to see how I am doing. They actually have a business-one goes into the jungle and cuts down trees and brings it to the other who sands and planes it, then they sell it to other people on the river. I mentioned the man who does woodworking. I explained to him that my grandparents do similar things/carvings with wood as well, and he seemed impressed. He also has one of the few fruit trees in the village, so he brings me apacinas aka green oranges. There are also several older villagers that are very sweet and friendly, reminding me and making me miss my grandparents back home. I was a bit concerned-ok really concerned- about all the kids in the village, but have managed to work with them. We play and when I am reading, I give them books to look at or when I am writing, paper to draw on. I tried to teach one tic-tack-toe, but that is going to take some time. I have my favorites, a little boy that is always peeking in my windows, so I ‘look’ for him as he runs from window to window playing a kind of peek-a-boo; a little girl who is always laughing and dancing who I taught to give ‘high fives’, another little boy who has the highest voice, but is always smiling and grinning at me- the main toy the kids have are kites made from plastic bags that they tie string to and run around the paths of the village- and he is constantly running by my house with his little high pitched giggle. 2 other little girls, are always peeking in my windows (it’s a popular thing to do) and I say ‘hey you’ to them, so now whenever they see me, they say ‘hey you’.

So, over all, it has been rough. Peace Corps warned us that the first 3 months was going to be tough and difficult, that they would be lonely and emotionally draining. That has been a major understatement. But I keep in mind that I am new, and it will get better the longer I am here and also once I begin project work. Hope you all are well and that everything is going well. I MISS you all and Love you!!!! I’ll be back in the city around the end of October and will update again then! There are also a few new random pictures on the kodak site!

Pictures! Finally!!

Hey all- I managed to put up pictures through a different album on Kodakgallery.com
You need an email: smith.cristin.e@gmail.com and password: suriname in order to log in. (I've been in the city an extra few days bc I've been sick so I've had some time to mess around with it!) Hope you like them and I will try and put up more soon!

Welcome 'Home'!

Hello all- I have been at my site since the 2nd of August- that's about 5 weeks that I have been living the rugged jungle life. The way to our sites was rough, as it was the day after swearing in and we were all a bit worn out from all the festivities! (And we were all nervous and antsy to get to our villages!) After about 4 hours on the dirty Afobaka road, and our selves and belongings getting covered with about an inch thick layer of red dirty- we made it to our 'drop of spot'. (After a drive on this red road, everyone is always a nice shade of orange that can be mistaken for a nice yet mis-colored tan!) There were boats there ready to take us to our separate villages- I was so nervous- I didn't want to leave my friends and go off on my own! I just kept thinking "This is it!". A lot of us had people from our villages there to help us unload our stuff and load the boats (I should mention when I say boat I mean a rugged wooden boat with a simple motor slapped on the back). So I am in my boat with 2 people from my village on the way to my new home. The ride is short, and pretty, and I just keep thinking "What have I gotten myself into?" The boat pulls up to the village and I am so nervous I kinda feel like I'm going to be sick. A bunch of kids meet me at the river to help me carry my stuff to my new "home" a 25 year old wooden house (zinc roof= one hotttt sauna), about 20x40 feet, two rooms, a washhouse, durotank (no running water in these parts!), a latrine that is unbelievable full (still working on getting a new one built) and enough huge spiders that I have to just let a lot of them be- and ignore them- bc they are endless- Sometime I will put up some picks of them and you will see how hard it is to ignore them!(note- the tarantulas did not get ignored!!!)
I get to my house after walking uphill on little wandering dirt paths that I still have yet to remember- we all know how I am with directions/locations. I've tried explaining this to the village how I always forget how to get place- and my family gets frustrated with me!- so when I was walking around one day and had to ask where my house was, I heard about it from most of the villagers. Haha. Back to day 1- I have bags and bags of groceries/supplies/belongings, and there are about 75 pairs of eyes starting at me though my windows, whispering and talking about me. I pretty much just pace from room to room for who knows how long bc it is so overwhelming to have all these people you can hardly understand looking at you and sizing you up. Eventually I got a lot of my stuff put away in meat buckets- huge tubs that they store meat in at the market- luckily I am replacing a volunteer so I didn't have to clean these out myself. (After watching some other new site volunteers clean theirs out, I can see why they didn't want to eat for awhile after that! ). Some of the women bring me coconut rice for my first meal, about 2 pounds of it- I eat a bit, but it is coconutty, and well, it's not really one of my favorite things-that and coffee. Too bad that it's their main additive in this country! I finally make it to bed and am exhausted. Welcome 'home'!
P.S.-I got your 25 lb box dad, g'ma, and everyone- it was kind of awkward lugging it through the streets of the city- but worth it!! Nic and Beth and Emily #1 and #2- I got all the bday packages from you all- Finally!! I love everything! Thank you for thinking of me!!! I miss you all- Uncle Marty and Aunt Rosemary- have a fun anniversary party and Amanda- have a amazing WEDDING!!! Wish I was there to see you all- less than a year!! Love you!