Peace Corps:The Final Exam, Part I

I live two hours outside the main town in Region 9. I live an average of 15 hours bus ride outside Georgetown, the capitol of the country and port to the rest of the northern world. So, going into this travelling escapade, I knew it would be vigorous. I knew I'd have to prepare for it, stretch for it, lower expectations for the travel.

It all started with Kien's farewell party in Lethem. Kien, my PC buddy, who fell in love with the Rupununi just as I have, who was having a hard time saying goodbye, just like I would be if I were going home right now. He and all our mutual friends, PC and HCN alike, were gathering in Lethem Saturday night for a party in his honor. How could I not go to that? Especially with easy vehicle transp from Chris Li, and my roommate, Jess, attending, too. I knew I should probably pack, and I knew this party could turn into something greater than anticipated, but I didn't have the heart to not go.

So, we took off, Saturday afternoon, with the understanding that we'd be back Sunday, if I could pull it off, Monday if I couldn't. My flight from Karanambu to Georgetown was Tuesday morning. K/bu is closer to Yups and so that's where PC booked me (because of rainy season and the road being washed out, I got to fly instead of ride a bus). Kien's party was good, I had fun dancing, then spent the entire Sunday watching movies at Lily's place, not really expecting to hear from Chris, but ready to go if I did. So it wasn't a surprise when I heard that they went to a different village and would be back Monday.

Monday, around noon, I went up to the main liming location, and ran into Mike, who was just returning from Town. We waited together, until 6 p.m., not hearing a thing until around them. As boys played cards, one lets it be known that Chris hurt his foot on a motorbike and they were waiting for Leroy to go pick them up and bring them back into Lethem. More cards are played and Mike brings up that Chris won't be in any position to drive, and that he couldn't drive, either, he was sick and sleep deprived. How would I get back? More cards were played as my gears are grinding and I'm trying to either 1) fling into problem-solving action, or 2) unclench and let this normal Rupununi flow of life just work itself out. I wavered between the two, initially amused at what seemed to be the norm for down here, knowing how to work the situation and not get too worked up. But it got later and later, and the guys made no move to stop playing cards and figure stuff out...

Finally a motorbike was brought up. But it needed a part to function. We could get the part, but it needed a driver. Most of the guys were with Chris. "Wait until Chris gets back, and then we'll see." Umm.... ok... in the meantime, there was one guy we knew, who we called, and said he could take me and he'd come check out the bike; he never showed. I didn't want to ride on a bike during rainy season with a casual acquaintance, anyway.

How would I get back? I needed to pack, I wanted a couple days to say goodbye and relax... I was throwing out these 'extravagant' needs and wants, right and left, trying to be patient, but failing. "This sucks!" I vent to Mike. "I know," he says. Doesn't change anything, though, does it? Some friends called a guy who works with the airline, seeing if they could delay my flight til the next day - see, my flight out to the US wasn't til the end of the week, so it wasn't like I'd miss THAT flight. They also tried to see if I could board at Lethem, since I was already there.... but I didn't have my bags or passport....

Chris came in at 10 p.m., foot busted, but the first words out of his mouth when he saw me were: "You ready to go? I said I was taking you home, so let's do it!" I was too selfish to tell him to stay off his hurt foot and find an alternative way. He said, "Let's just lime for a bit first." Again, no going against the flow, plus, at what he was about to do, I figured he deserved it. But there's no such thing as "for a bit" down there. An hour or two later, we pulled out of Jai's, to go get gas. One station was closed, another was out of gas.

"I wasn't counting on that," Chris says. But, he has another plan: he knows who works at one gas station, and we went to where the guy hangs out to ask if he'd sell us some gas off hours. The guy initially said no; he was playing pool and hanging out with friends. Chris points to me and says something like "See that girl? She's a Peace Corps Volunteer, and I promised her she'd make it back to Yupukari to get on a flight back to the States." The guy said yes, and Chris told him no rush; that's how things work down there. Chris reports to me that we'll give him an hour, let him finish his game, then go. That turns into 3 hours.

We get gas, finally, and get on the road, taking it slow because of the bad road and Chris's bad leg. Took almost 4 hours, and we reached my house at 5:45 a.m. I had to be checked in for the plane by 7:30. Chris, Jess and Mike collapsed on beds and couches as I packed my bags, they said we'd leave by 6:45 to get there in time. No one had a watch, we left at 7:05, according to the car clock. Got there by 7:45! And ended up sitting there in the sun for almost 3 hours until the plane came at 11:30.

Chris said he'd get me there, and he did. As I thanked him for this, for pulling strings and trying hard, he does point out that he wouldn't have to have done all that if we left when we were supposed to. True. But I have learned this: Stuff happens - a lot - down here, some within our power, some not. But as much as we get disappointed and have to amend our plans/ideas because things don't go by the books, good things happen, too -- because things don't go by the books; we do get taken care of when it counts.

I got on the plane to see a familiar face already on board - PCV Nick - and once we picked up Kien in Lethem, celebrated with some Surinamese beer on the plane, and then I was faced with a challenge of a whole other sort - holding it when you have never had to pee so badly in your life and of course there's no bathroom on a 12 seater plane. Happy to say I passed that exam, too -- barely.

I did it

One epic car ride, 4 plane rides, 36 hours of airports.
After my two years Peace Corps service, I am Home.

26 months.
6 school terms.
104 malaria pills (give or take).
73 books.

I did it.

:) :D <3

Ok. Onward.

How do you use your food?

When you go to a shop or restaurant and order a snack or a beer or a meal, they'll ask you:

"For use or carry?" as in: "Eating here, or to go?"

Um, yes, I plan to use my food as sustenance and eat it - now - not carry it to another location, even if it wants a change of scene.

Knock, knock

When coming to a person's house or a small shop, it's habit to call "Inside!" to get the people's attention. "Inside, inside!" If you wanna be a jokester, you might respond "Outside!" to signify you've heard the summons.

Alternate form of getting a home's attention: clapping. No verbal greeting, just clapping. At a clap, you're expected to come running to see what's up.

Oranges

They're green here.

Development: Outreach to Parishara (53 photos)

I'd like to share my Walmart Digital Photo Center photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.


This album accompanies/complements the preceding post called "Development."

Development

Background info: Outreach is something I'm involved in through RLI; we bring books and other supplies, trainings, ideas, designs to other schools in the area, more or less. RLI, remember, stands for Rups Learners Inc., and is a Guyanese NGO (non-government organization) made up of Guyanese board members, all living in my village of Yups. RLI has an American counterpart, RLF, RL Foundation, that Alice is the head for, as well as other Americans, some who are Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Alice has just come back into the country after almost 3 years away. Never having met her before, it definitely changed things around CH when she arrived in March. It's interesting to realize how I became so used to the lack of American presence in my life, not to mention female/maternal. But that's another story.

Alice had arranged a self-help session for Parishara Nursery, a village about 40 miles away. At first, I sorta sulked that I wasn't included or at least made aware of this, as outreach and interactions with these villages have been work of mine before Alice got here. But I realized that if I want to be involved still, I need to assert myself into the work, be more pro-active. So I lightly conveyed my desire to still be involved in outreach, and I became part of the team that went to Parishara a few Saturdays ago: Alice, Felix, Hamzad, Mark, Combrencent, Lucy and being driven by Bryan and Maisie.

At face-value, the day was very satisfying. Fun assortment of people, clear-cut tasks at hand, beautiful trek into Parishara, visible results in the end, then light detour to Lethem with the group.

"Self help" is a concept widely used down here, a Makushi term for it is "myu." People are gathered to work on either village clean up or village projects, or personal projects and jobs. Those asking for the help will usually provide a meal, or at least some cari/rice wine or shebay (farine and water) to sustain the helpers. You'd be surprised how fast a job can be completed - what with the diligence of the Amerindians and the sweet drive of the cari.

Self help is something that helps the world go 'round down here, everyone helping everyone. Volunteers come to clean the school, cut down grass in the main part of the village, help re-thatch roofs, etc. We've tried to convey to the kids that you all are volunteers (just like Miss Sarah) and that's a beautiful thing. It's used to get work done within CH and within the village, though Alice still asserts that people don't appreciate working for free, so a lot of work is stipended by her... Beneficial for all, but brought about, planned and led by her.

We have mixed views on partnerships and collaboration within the village. I, while admitting to a potential naivety brought about by noviceness, maintain that the process should be shared by all, understood by some at least, and contributed by all (planning and executing). All need to have the opportunity to understand and agree/disagree with the plan, even if the plan is a good one that they'll thank you for later. Things may go slower that way, but I think there'll be more ownership and passion there. Alice feels that going slow while there are still children who can't read is an immoral act, she feels that people can't know they want something if they don't know it exists - so you might as well tell them they need it while giving it to them.

I seem to have a more laissez fare approach, as do others at CH, where, sure, you illuminate, and foster, but step back to let others step up. Much slower, less accomplished, sure. But comprehension? Buy in? I think it's there. Lack of perfection? You bet. Petered out energy, corners cut, ill used equipment? Yep. (S'all part of it.) Much physical progress has been made since March, more so than myself or others at CH or in the village could have done/ would have done/ did, I can say that, at least.

Anyway, I don't know how much of this was actually planned by those in Parishara Nursery, I don't know how much knowledge was passed on for them to continue in the same regards later, but I didn't take on that stress. I appreciated being a follower, and not having to be a leader. Perhaps this relief keep me from critiquing our leader's ways, but, for the day, it was a nice reprieve from both - leading and critiquing.

I got to paint, and the fun kind where you don't have to worry about drips, smears, evenness. Alice planned a savanna scene for the reading area; I painted the green for grass, then got to climb up a ladder/tower to paint some boards blue for sky. Some boys sketched the details for the mural, Combrencent, an artisan in Yups, drew mountains at the skyline, Hamzad and Mark set to work on making the rain-gutter style bookshelves Alice promotes for all libraries she creates, and Lucy led some ladies in cutting and sewing cushions for kids to sit on in the story area. Books, shelves, cushions and painting are all typical stuff Alice has done for our schools in the past, and some things I've carried on to an extent since doing outreach here.

How much did Parishara have to do with the work this day? How much say in it did they have? How much tutoring? Parishara ladies helped with the cushions, men helped with the painting... I guess one could argue that .... well wait - did she pay these workers from Yups? I don't know. I was going to say that it at least we now have Yups people working to help another village and show them how they've done it (per Alice) in their own schools, but then, yes, were those people paid for the day? Hmm. Oh, the facets of development...

I used to think development was more like building a structure. Building blocks. You set the foundation, and work your way up, or you start with the frame and work your way in. You can physically see the missing pieces, the additions, etc. You see when the product is finished. A step by step process. But I found this to not be so with this sort of development. It's more tornadic/tornadesque. Chaotic and uprooting, sure :D, but I mean more cylindrical, going around, back and forth through different components, until you get closer and closer, more concentrated, intense - and then finally reach the Touch Down Point, your goal. Which may or may not be where you anticipated it to land.

Because the road to Parishara was so high, Bryan decided to, instead of going to Lethem them coming back to pick us up and go back on the same road, he'd wait for us then carry us to Lethem with him and go around the longer, dryer road. He and Maisie helped with the painting, too, and Maisie designed a fun table pattern with different colors and numbers on it. Like Alice, the morning was frenzied and productive. We finished by 1 p.m., ate a lunch they cooked for us, then headed onto Lethem, pockets packed with oranges and some golden Parishara farine HM Jean slipped in my hands. :) Hardly anyone brought money, and Bryan mostly only needed fuel, so the trip was very short, with only a few stops here and there, a quick break of beer and buns, then we headed back. Got back by 6:30, tired, but content.

Another positive (and by positive, I mean a simple lack of upfront negativity) experience with development, with Alice and development with Alice.