Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Happy Holidays from Suriname!
Hello everyone! I hope things are going well back home. Things have been very eventful since the last time I have written.
When I was in the city last time, the water committee was in the process of collecting all the materials to bring the tanks back to site. Instead of helping the men with every detail and task, I decided that a more sustainable role for the members would be to make the decisions themselves, such as exactly what materials to get, figuring out changes when the prices of materials had changed from our earlier budget, how to make the stands, how to get the tanks back, etc. I believe that since this is the village’s project, and if they intend to do future projects, they need to be capable of running things on their own. So, I took a slight step back and left all the major decisions to the village. After helping with the proposal writing, budgeting, and funding, I wanted the members to feel confident enough to take charge.
We brought the tanks back to site-I rode separately-and I was amazed at the sight of what I saw when my boat pulled up to the village. Everyone down at the river, washing the red dirt from the Afobaka road off the tanks. People everywhere, everyone smiling, the water committee tired and sweaty from all the work of unloading the materials. It felt so good to know and see what we had accomplished. All the women telling me how ‘pretty’ ‘big’ and ‘strong’ they are. And everyone telling me thank you, when I would reply, “Everyone worked hard. A lot of people helped to bring the tanks, not just me.” It felt so rewarding to see everyone so happy and the thought of having a tank, a place to store clean water. But that was just the beginning.
Two men are in charge of the stands, and I am impressed at how quickly they have been working, and also at all the other men and boys they have recruited to help them. They are essentially huge blocks of cement stones held together by bricks, dirt, and cement. Once they are done, it only takes a short while to put up the tank, cover it with netting and secure the gutter. When the first tank was completely installed, the owner was so happy. It is humbling to see people so ecstatic and thankful for something we back home take for granted. Clean water.
The first round went so well, we are planning to bring in a second batch of tanks. Originally we had 58 tanks, now because of the success, and villagers finding extra money for their part of the contribution (equivalent of $40), we will be bringing an additional 10.
The welcome signs are up and in place. They were delivered by WWF, and again everyone says how pretty it is. Now finally the village has made its mark. People traveling on the river will finally know who they are passing and what village they are seeing. The Life vest project is here- there have been so many problems getting the money. It was put in another village’s account, and it has been nearly impossible to track down the signers on the bank account, allowing the money to be put in my village’s account. And the bank keeps changing the form they need to sign, so this has been going on for literally 5 months. It is out of my hands, and I have to wait until Peace Corps sorts the mess out. But hopefully soon.
In addition to the projects- things have been going well in the village. A few women have had babies recently. My friend has taught her 2 year old niece to say my name- or what she can manage. She is the cutest, Pop, and such a smart girl. It’s so nice to hear my real name. My close friends call me Cristin, but the rest of the village still uses my village name, Bendefolo (loose translation: long/curvy flower). I still keep my toes painted and have been having ‘pedicure parties’ with my friend and her little sister. They love it!
It’s mango season here which means everyone is getting their fill. One night, it was so windy when the rain was coming; my zinc roof was flapping around where it’s come loose. Next morning, I went over to my neighbor’s house and see her bent over a pile of mangos, probably 15, eating them. I start to laugh, then she goes to her cook house and pulls out another rice bag full of mangos, probably another 20. She gives me a bunch and head back to my house to eat them. Eating a mango here is not usually cutting it into small neat pieces. The kids here cut of a chunk and suck every last bit off of the skin and pit. So, that’s what I did. You know, just trying to fit in. And it was a mess. So many mango strings in the teeth! The next day, my mouth feels puffy, my lips are so dry they feel crusted (gross), my eye is red and puffy, and my ears itch. I’ve dubbed it the ‘mango rash’, because there are 3 other volunteers who have suffered from this! Evidently, the skin of a mango is in the same family as poison ivy. Clearly, I will be cutting up my mangos from now on-no more eating off the skins!
One morning, I was helping my neighbor bring sand to her house for a new floor- her’s is dirt and she is getting cica- bugs that bite and lay egg sacks inside of your feet that you have to cut out. (Which is why I wear sandals 24/7!). So, she would bring the bags of sand up from the river, carrying them on her head. When she got to me, she would tilt her head and I would catch the sacks and carry them the remainder to her house. (She didn’t think I was strong enough at first to help-they are heavy bags!). She was so excited that I was helping her and glad that I was ‘tanga’/strong that she brought me cassava and peanut butter to thank me. It was delicious!
Everyone came into the city for thanksgiving. The day before, we got together at various staff’s houses and baked pies, then all got together and had Pie Night. I loved it-because I do love to bake! And it was so nice to all be together, as our group of volunteers gets smaller as some volunteers decide it is time for them to leave. We all then went to the Ambassador’s for Thanksgiving Dinner- potluck style. Last year I was a bit disappointed because I really don’t consider it a holiday without Green Bean Casserole- and this year it was there! I’m not sure who brought it, but they made my holiday complete! A few days later, we all got together for a poker tournament and a staff’s house. This happens every few months and I decided to try my luck (for the first time ever). I only lost the $10 I put in so I considered it a good learning experience. And his wife made sushi. Which you can’t really get here-so it was definitely worth my money!
Aside from the village and projects, things have been going well here for me personally, which I feel really good about saying. There has been a lot of time for reflection and I have had plenty of realizations over the past few months. Before I was constantly questioning why I was here, what good I was doing, why did I feel compelled to do such a random thing like joining the Peace Corps. But after seeing the work I’ve done, I’m getting answers to those questions, and am feeling satisfied. I have also had time for some personal reflection which has given me a lot of insight into my personal events that have happened over the recent months. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and have become aware of a lot of things that I had blocked out, overlooked. But being here alone has helped me see those things more clearly and to understand them. I have also had to deal with the passing away of my grandfather. This has been very difficult for me, being so far away from my family, and the last time seeing my family I was not in the best of spirits, which I deeply regret. But it has been my family who has helped me find my second wind, helped me realize I am here for a reason, I made a commitment to do this, and while it can be difficult at times, things could always be worse, and you deal with it and move on. It’s a part of life.
I hope you are all well! I’m headed back home in less than three weeks for the holidays and am so excited. My schedule is already filling up! And there will be plenty of baking. I will be home for both x-mas and NYE this year which means twice the fun.
I miss you all so much and can’t wait to see you. Grandma I love you. Grandpa I miss you. See you very soon.
When I was in the city last time, the water committee was in the process of collecting all the materials to bring the tanks back to site. Instead of helping the men with every detail and task, I decided that a more sustainable role for the members would be to make the decisions themselves, such as exactly what materials to get, figuring out changes when the prices of materials had changed from our earlier budget, how to make the stands, how to get the tanks back, etc. I believe that since this is the village’s project, and if they intend to do future projects, they need to be capable of running things on their own. So, I took a slight step back and left all the major decisions to the village. After helping with the proposal writing, budgeting, and funding, I wanted the members to feel confident enough to take charge.
We brought the tanks back to site-I rode separately-and I was amazed at the sight of what I saw when my boat pulled up to the village. Everyone down at the river, washing the red dirt from the Afobaka road off the tanks. People everywhere, everyone smiling, the water committee tired and sweaty from all the work of unloading the materials. It felt so good to know and see what we had accomplished. All the women telling me how ‘pretty’ ‘big’ and ‘strong’ they are. And everyone telling me thank you, when I would reply, “Everyone worked hard. A lot of people helped to bring the tanks, not just me.” It felt so rewarding to see everyone so happy and the thought of having a tank, a place to store clean water. But that was just the beginning.
Two men are in charge of the stands, and I am impressed at how quickly they have been working, and also at all the other men and boys they have recruited to help them. They are essentially huge blocks of cement stones held together by bricks, dirt, and cement. Once they are done, it only takes a short while to put up the tank, cover it with netting and secure the gutter. When the first tank was completely installed, the owner was so happy. It is humbling to see people so ecstatic and thankful for something we back home take for granted. Clean water.
The first round went so well, we are planning to bring in a second batch of tanks. Originally we had 58 tanks, now because of the success, and villagers finding extra money for their part of the contribution (equivalent of $40), we will be bringing an additional 10.
The welcome signs are up and in place. They were delivered by WWF, and again everyone says how pretty it is. Now finally the village has made its mark. People traveling on the river will finally know who they are passing and what village they are seeing. The Life vest project is here- there have been so many problems getting the money. It was put in another village’s account, and it has been nearly impossible to track down the signers on the bank account, allowing the money to be put in my village’s account. And the bank keeps changing the form they need to sign, so this has been going on for literally 5 months. It is out of my hands, and I have to wait until Peace Corps sorts the mess out. But hopefully soon.
In addition to the projects- things have been going well in the village. A few women have had babies recently. My friend has taught her 2 year old niece to say my name- or what she can manage. She is the cutest, Pop, and such a smart girl. It’s so nice to hear my real name. My close friends call me Cristin, but the rest of the village still uses my village name, Bendefolo (loose translation: long/curvy flower). I still keep my toes painted and have been having ‘pedicure parties’ with my friend and her little sister. They love it!
It’s mango season here which means everyone is getting their fill. One night, it was so windy when the rain was coming; my zinc roof was flapping around where it’s come loose. Next morning, I went over to my neighbor’s house and see her bent over a pile of mangos, probably 15, eating them. I start to laugh, then she goes to her cook house and pulls out another rice bag full of mangos, probably another 20. She gives me a bunch and head back to my house to eat them. Eating a mango here is not usually cutting it into small neat pieces. The kids here cut of a chunk and suck every last bit off of the skin and pit. So, that’s what I did. You know, just trying to fit in. And it was a mess. So many mango strings in the teeth! The next day, my mouth feels puffy, my lips are so dry they feel crusted (gross), my eye is red and puffy, and my ears itch. I’ve dubbed it the ‘mango rash’, because there are 3 other volunteers who have suffered from this! Evidently, the skin of a mango is in the same family as poison ivy. Clearly, I will be cutting up my mangos from now on-no more eating off the skins!
One morning, I was helping my neighbor bring sand to her house for a new floor- her’s is dirt and she is getting cica- bugs that bite and lay egg sacks inside of your feet that you have to cut out. (Which is why I wear sandals 24/7!). So, she would bring the bags of sand up from the river, carrying them on her head. When she got to me, she would tilt her head and I would catch the sacks and carry them the remainder to her house. (She didn’t think I was strong enough at first to help-they are heavy bags!). She was so excited that I was helping her and glad that I was ‘tanga’/strong that she brought me cassava and peanut butter to thank me. It was delicious!
Everyone came into the city for thanksgiving. The day before, we got together at various staff’s houses and baked pies, then all got together and had Pie Night. I loved it-because I do love to bake! And it was so nice to all be together, as our group of volunteers gets smaller as some volunteers decide it is time for them to leave. We all then went to the Ambassador’s for Thanksgiving Dinner- potluck style. Last year I was a bit disappointed because I really don’t consider it a holiday without Green Bean Casserole- and this year it was there! I’m not sure who brought it, but they made my holiday complete! A few days later, we all got together for a poker tournament and a staff’s house. This happens every few months and I decided to try my luck (for the first time ever). I only lost the $10 I put in so I considered it a good learning experience. And his wife made sushi. Which you can’t really get here-so it was definitely worth my money!
Aside from the village and projects, things have been going well here for me personally, which I feel really good about saying. There has been a lot of time for reflection and I have had plenty of realizations over the past few months. Before I was constantly questioning why I was here, what good I was doing, why did I feel compelled to do such a random thing like joining the Peace Corps. But after seeing the work I’ve done, I’m getting answers to those questions, and am feeling satisfied. I have also had time for some personal reflection which has given me a lot of insight into my personal events that have happened over the recent months. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, and have become aware of a lot of things that I had blocked out, overlooked. But being here alone has helped me see those things more clearly and to understand them. I have also had to deal with the passing away of my grandfather. This has been very difficult for me, being so far away from my family, and the last time seeing my family I was not in the best of spirits, which I deeply regret. But it has been my family who has helped me find my second wind, helped me realize I am here for a reason, I made a commitment to do this, and while it can be difficult at times, things could always be worse, and you deal with it and move on. It’s a part of life.
I hope you are all well! I’m headed back home in less than three weeks for the holidays and am so excited. My schedule is already filling up! And there will be plenty of baking. I will be home for both x-mas and NYE this year which means twice the fun.
I miss you all so much and can’t wait to see you. Grandma I love you. Grandpa I miss you. See you very soon.
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