Suriname New Year’s Eve

When I returned to Guyana after an incredible trip back home, I was only in the country for a few hours before setting off to my next adventure – celebrating the New Year in Paramaribo, Suriname!

The New Year’s Eve or, as they say, Old Year’s Night festivities in Paramaribo are known around the world for the fireworks and celebratory atmosphere.

Suriname is a neighboring country to Guyana, and the villages where I live and work are actually right on the border. I see Suriname daily across the Corentyne River on my way to the hospital or health centers. Fellow Peace Corps Volunteers Catherine, Robin, and I opted to take the ferry over this river to get to Suriname for our long weekend.

 

We were warned that the journey on the ferry wasn’t the greatest (as opposed to flying), but for the cost of approximately $20 USD round-trip that was a chance we were willing to take. And I’m glad we did! It was far from my worst travel experience. There was some inefficiencies and waiting but with good company it wasn’t an issue.

We stayed in a very cute boutique hotel right in the city called Hotel Palacio. There were cheaper options, several guest houses that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend, but just for the long weekend I’m glad we treated ourselves to a nice hotel in a great location- easy walking distance from all the festivities but with enough distance that we had some peace and quiet when we wanted.

Paramaribo is a nice little capital that is very clean, safe, and surprisingly-despite everything being in Dutch-easy to navigate. In other words, it’s pretty different than Guyana’s capital Georgetown! Although the two nations are next to one another geographically, they seemed worlds apart to us volunteers who had become accustomed to Guyana. The difference ultimately comes down to remnants of colonization. When Guyana became independent, the British left entirely and rather quickly, not leaving much behind in terms of infrastructure- something Guyanese are still struggling with today 50 years later. Suriname seems to have been a different story. Although they are recently independent like Guyana, the transition to independence went more smoothly and a lot of the European practices remained- a significant example is that the national language to this day is Dutch from the Netherlands.

It was very interesting to see the ways that this South American capital differed from what we had become accustomed to in Guyana. We enjoyed walking around, seeing the sights, and on the morning of December 31^st, joining in the party on the streets!

We bought souvenir t-shirts, drank beer, and enjoyed the most extensive street-firecracker display I ever hope to see. Prior to experiencing it for myself, I knew Old Year’s Night was known for fireworks, but naturally assumed they would take place at night. I was surprised to find long trains of firecrackers that were lit down every major street. People were desperately seeking cover from the debris while also getting close enough to get a good photo and video!

After the excitement of the morning, a group of us wandered around a little, discovering a beautiful park of palm trees and having a late lunch before heading back to our hotel for a nap. The city was very quiet that afternoon, as everyone was resting up for round 2 of the celebrations later that night.

After a nap and getting ready we set out once again, this time to a hotel with a rooftop bar that had been recommended to us by volunteers who had gone last year. We were surprised to have to fight through a crowd of what seemed to be the population of the entire city to get to the hotel- everyone had rested up and returned to the streets.

Blurry photo, but a great group of Guyana PCV’s

At the hotel we enjoyed a nice dinner with accompanied by music from a lively band. The rooftop had a great view of the city below as well as fireworks-this time in the sky-going off all around. There wasn’t a big countdown, but a group of volunteers toasted to the New Year as the clock hit midnight.

 

Once it was officially 2017, the group headed downstairs, expecting the party to still be in full-swing, to find the streets completely deserted! It was a cultural difference we hadn’t anticipated. In the United States, typically if you go out on NYE you’re out for the big countdown at midnight. Apparently in Suriname, you’re more like pre-gaming the New Year, but head home before midnight to be with your family and pray for blessings in the New Year.

We were surprised to learn this cultural difference, but didn’t let it throw us off. We followed some music to a place called Zus & Zo where we had actually eaten lunch earlier in the day. It is a unique space that is in equal parts guesthouse, tourist center, restaurant, and that night- a party! It seemed like every foreigner in Suriname had congregated in one of the few spots in town that were still celebrating. It was all open-air, with a busy bar, live music, and dancing. We spent our first few hours of 2017 celebrating and thoroughly exhausting ourselves.

New Year’s Day was our last full day in Suriname, and was very relaxing. We wandered around the mostly empty streets and enjoyed our last delicious food experiences.

The next day we journeyed back via the ferry once again and before I knew it I was back “home” in Guyana. It was so strange to be back, and juggling so many conflicting emotions. On one hand my vacations were officially over for now, and homesickness started creeping back in. On the other, I felt a great sense of familiarity and in many ways was happy to be back and excited to see many people.

It was a big help when I could pick up my furry friend from the home of another volunteer who had been caring for him while I was gone – Thanks Lori! Dieren had a great time socializing with other cats, but I was pleased that he came running when he first heard my voice. I had missed the little guy!

Now I’m settling back into my old routine in many ways, but also taking the opportunity to re-invest myself in many others. I’m already making progress with some personal goals (sticking to an exercise routine, reading more, hopefully blogging more!) and goals with work- expanding on my counseling I had begun at Antenatal and Non-Communicable Disease clinics, as well as beginning some new ventures at a local NGO and secondary schools.

I know that the New Year is an arbitrary construct of time, but I love the idea of a fresh start and new beginnings- especially as I’m rounding the corner of one year in Guyana. I’m so happy that I could spend the end of 2016 at home with my family and that I could begin 2017 with fun experiences in a new country. I have much more planned for the year in terms of travel and life changes- so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, and a belated Happy New Year to you all- cheers!

End of 2016

Hello! Once again, it’s been awhile between posts- sorry! I have a lot to look forward to in the New Year, but first I wanted to catch you up on what went down in the remainder of 2016.

I’ve now been living in Guyana for a little more than 11 months- nearly a year since I arrived February 2nd 2016, can you believe it? For the most part things have recently been what has become my usual…

Working at the hospital and health centers, holding babies, and sweating always.

But in between there have been some occasions to note since I gave my last update. The following are all of the highlights:

• Psychosocial Support Training
  • For several weekends in September I attended a training held by the Guyanese Red Cross with support from the World Health Organization. The primary focus of the training was Psychosocial Support, something that is desperately needed in Guyana which has one of the highest suicide rates in the world for the population. Though it wasn’t a perfect training, I really enjoyed that it was entirely run by Guyanese, and I was the only non-local participant. Amidst the foreign volunteers and aid in Guyana and it was inspiring to see something motivated completely by local people with a location-specific issue.
  • 

 

• Training Host Family Visit
  • If you’ve been reading along you’ll know by now that I’m still really close to my host family from training when I first arrived in Guyana. It is one of my favorite things to go visit them for the weekend, play with my host brothers, and talk with my host mom Marcel while eating her amazing cooking. I don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like anymore since it’s an expensive day-long trip each way, but it’s always worth it.

• Snake
  • This little guy slithered through a space around a pipe right into my bedroom where I found my cat circling it one afternoon. I ran and got an Auntie to help me and she fearlessly smacked it with a stick and sprayed it with insecticide until it went outside and we watched it die. I asked her if it was poisonous and she said “aren’t all snakes poisonous?”. The hole has since been filled in hopes that the experience isn’t repeated.

• Duck Curry Competition
  • This event happens every year and is a big celebration for the greater community at 63 Beach, which is just a short walk from where I live. The event is exactly what it sounds, a competition on who can make the best duck curry around! There was music, lots of food, and good times on the beach.

• First South American Parasite
  • In October I had my first (known) run-in with a parasite. I had what they call a chigger (I understand they’re in the US as well, but I think they’re a little bit different?). They’re essentially little bugs that live in sand, and they often burrow under people’s skin and lay a sac of eggs that grows and becomes very itchy and painful. Somehow I got one right on the knuckle of my thumb and I didn’t realize what it was until it got pretty bad. Our Peace Corps doctor removed a good chunk of thumb with a scalpel to get it all out (nothing for pain I might add), but it healed incredibly quickly since it was all healthy flesh and now you’d never know it was there.

Before

After

• Diwali
  • Diwali is a Hindu festival of lights and a celebration of good over evil. I was lucky enough to be present at two celebrations, both in my own community and in the capital Georgetown. Both were motorcades (what they call parades) and incredibly beautiful- I couldn’t capture photos that really did it justice.

• Auntie Paro’s Birthday Jhandi
  • Auntie Paro is someone I have known since I moved to my site. She’s an in-law of my host family and lives a couple doors down in a house that is entirely her favorite shade of lavender. She’s very generous and friendly and I always enjoy talking to her as I pass by on my evening walks or see her at her shop in the market. A few weeks ago she celebrated her 60th birthday with a jhandi – a Hindu prayer ceremony and celebration
  • Every close female friend and family member gathered together and seamlessly prepared and cooked more than enough food to feed everyone Auntie Paro knows. I’d been to such events a few times, but had never had insight into everything that goes on behind-the-scenes into making it happen. It was such an incredible experience and a good time. I learned so much and all my Aunties, who know I’m not into cooking, got a kick out of teaching me and watching me attempt things that are second nature to them.
  • The icing on the cake was when Auntie Paro gifted me some “Indian wear” from her shop to wear to the jhandi. That’s how generous this woman is, giving me a gift for her birthday.
  • 

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

• Water Filter
  • I filter every drop of water that I drink and finally got a new ceramic replacement. It was overdue. New personal goal: replace when filter reaches a Donald Trump shade of orange.

• Thanksgiving
  • Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, so I had to go to work at the health center just like any other Thursday. But I also got to FaceTime my family from my Grandma’s house in Michigan- it was so nice to still be a part of the day in some small way. Then on Friday I traveled about an hour to another Volunteer’s house where about 20 people (Volunteers and Guyanese) shared a potluck-style Thanksgiving. I provided StoveTop Stuffing, corn bread (both of which I found as box mixes in the capital a few weeks before), and homemade apple crisp from my mom’s recipe. It was a very successful Friendsgiving with a lot of food and fun, just another reminder of how thankful I am for my fellow volunteers throughout this experience.

• HIV/AIDS Task Force World AIDS Day Activity
  • In my last post I mentioned I had been accepted to the Peace Corps Guyana HIV/AIDS Task Force and we have since been very busy planning and implementing events and activities.
  • We just recently wrapped up our World AIDS Day activities and competition. It’s one of our initiatives to spread HIV/AIDS awareness and education throughout Guyana and to do so through utilizing the help of our fellow volunteers. We asked that they teach lessons we provided at their local schools and have their students create a poster on what they learned to be entered into a competition. The Task Force selected 12 winners whose posters will be featured in a 2017 calendar that their school will receive copies of.
  • More than 500 students were reached through this initiative in nearly every region there is a PC volunteer! The participation was phenomenal and our feedback is that the messages of awareness and stigma reduction were well-received by the students. Here are some of my personal favorite posters.

• My cyat completed all of his shots!
  • Dieren and I are so happy and relieved that he now has everything he needs to become an American cat when it’s time to return home- and that I don’t have to travel with him back and forth to the vet in the capital any more! When he’s not sitting on my lap or using my mosquito net as a hammock, he can be found hunting elusive lizards, eating spiders bigger than his head, and battling the occasional snake. He is my best little friend and a constant source of comfort.

• Prince Sighting
  • I definitely didn’t expect to encounter royalty during my Peace Corps service, but Prince Harry was doing a tour of Caribbean nations and I saw him walk past during his stay at the Marriott in Georgetown. He can be seen below as the red-haired blur adjusting his tie. I can be seen below accidentally taking a video of my own face while frantically trying to flip my camera. I did not succeed. Thankfully another volunteer snapped this pic that I happened to be in as proof.

And that’s a wrap on 2016!

That was a lot, but hit on all the major events in my life in Guyana. As many of you know, I ended the year with my first visit home to the US since leaving for the Peace Corps nearly a year ago. It was the longest I’d ever been away from home and I was relieved to find that, although many things had changed, I still had the same sense of home and joy from my family that nothing else can bring. Endless thanks to my family for an amazing visit and for continual love and support throughout this journey!

In my next post (coming soon) I will recap my return to South America via a New Year’s Eve trip to Paramaribo, Suriname! 2016 was one of the most challenging and rewarding years of my life, and there are so many great things on the horizon for 2017- I am grateful and excited!

Thanks for sticking with me through it all!

Overdue Update – 6 Months In, Family Visit, and More

Hello! I’m sorry it’s been quite awhile since I’ve written. Initially it was because nothing too exciting was happening.  June was going along uneventfully, which was actually a good thing. I was starting to feel at more and more at home, both at work and with my family. Time was passing peacefully and quietly, until July hit in a whirlwind of activity.

At the start of the month my Peace Corps group GUY28 reunited for the first time since we swore in as official volunteers. It was for an aptly named conference called Reconnect, and was so much fun to see the whole group again and catch up on how everyone has been doing since moving to our various sites.

I was also accepted onto the HIV/AIDS Task Force with these lovely people!

It was an incredible week, after which I had only a few days back at my site to prepare for a little visit…

I took this as a practice photo at the airport but missed the actual moment of arrival..

My entire family and Faiz came to Guyana for over a week! It was so good to see them and show them everything I’ve been doing and everywhere I’ve been.

Getting picked up in the Peace Corps Land Cruiser                          *Dad not pictured

We had a blast in the capital, Georgetown

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

With a day trip to Guyana’s Kaieteur Falls

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I showed them around where I live and work

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We wrapped up the trip with my original host family from training where we celebrated my 23^rd birthday in true Guyanese style

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I am thankful beyond words that they were able to come to see me and share a piece of my life here!

The people I love most in the world 

Saying goodbye to them was no easier the second time, but shortly after they returned home I hit my 6 month mark in Guyana! Half a year down.

Since then I’ve had a touch of illness that turned out to be a nasty virus, so I’m just preparing to get back to work on some new initiatives:

• I plan to continue health talks at antenatal clinics
• Start a young women’s empowerment club at a local secondary school
• Continue work on the HIV/AIDS Task Force
• Begin a healthy lifestyle changes initiative at the Non-Communicable Disease clinic
• Reach out to assist and support local NGOs

Exciting things are on the horizon in terms of work and upcoming travel plans: meeting other volunteers for Thanksgiving, coming HOME for Christmas, Suriname for New Year’s Eve, and Trinidad for Carnival!

This guy always keeps things exciting as well! He’s growing quickly and becoming an excellent hunter of all kinds of bugs

I am going to be busy, but will do my best to continue updating those of you who have stuck with me! Thank you for reading and for your continued support.

 

 

50 Years Independent – 4 Months My Home

Today I celebrate the completion of 4 months living in Guyana. One week ago on May 26^th, the nation of Guyana celebrated its 50^th Independence Day Jubilee.

The jaguar is to Guyana what the bald eagle is to America

To celebrate this momentous occasion I joined a group of volunteers who departed at the crack of dawn on a mini-bus to Georgetown, the capital, for the national parade.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be surrounded by Guyanese people and celebrate the occasion. They will often be the first to tell you that Guyana can be a difficult country to love; a lot of older Guyanese often say things were better off before the British left. It is a young independent nation with a lot of structural issues, and while that can be difficult to live in, that is why the Peace Corps is here.

Have you seen the new logo? The Peace Corps revealed the update just this week. 

During a speech in our Swearing-In Ceremony, someone said that if it what we were here to do was easy then it would have been done already.  Amidst the many challenges this young independent nation faces, in my 4 months I have also been able to see so much potential in Guyana. This 50th Independence Day Jubilee was an incredible opportunity to celebrate a beautiful and lively country, and to reinforce my goal of helping to bring some part of that potential to fruition.

100 Days of Growth

Today is my 100^th day in Guyana.

It has seemed so fast and so slow at the same time, and has certainly been a whirlwind of new experiences, both good and bad- not leaving a lot of time for blog writing! And this one isn’t really about the Peace Corps. I’ve been spending a lot of time in my own head lately so here’s a look at what’s going on. In a previous post I talked about why I joined the Peace Corps (and it is something I have to remind myself, quite often!), but now as I’m still settling into my new position and work environment (another post to come soon) I’d like to talk about some other motivations I have and things I have started working to achieve personally and will continue on throughout this unique experience.

Many of my fellow volunteers agree that we approached Peace Corps service partially selflessly, and partially selfishly, meaning the developmental work is important to us and we also had personal reasons for leaving our homes for 2 years and living in developing nations.

For many of us, we go because we are looking for something: a break in the monotony, a new adventure, an opportunity to travel.  For me, I was at a point in my life where who I was and who I wanted to be felt really far apart. I was coming close to finishing up 4 of the most amazing and challenging years of my life at Kalamazoo College, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next.

Good thing I always had the support of these people

I thought college was supposed to be where you found yourself, and I found myself feeling more lost than ever. None of the things I had planned for turned out to be what I wanted. I experienced tremendous growth, and I had changed.

I considered my options and quickly the Peace Corps came up for consideration. I had long thought of it as an incredible experience and now I could do it! Wait, could I? The decision to apply alone was one I agonized over for months. Finally, I thought of the person I wanted to be: what would she do? And then it was clear. Despite the fear of the unknown, anxiety of moving away from home, and every reason I could think of not to go, the person I want to be would do it anyway.

She would do it for all the people whose lives she could touch with her presence, she would do it for herself, to get some space to figure things out and put life into perspective. She would do it even though it terrified her.

I hope to get closer and closer to who I want to be every day with the understanding that there is no end goal. I won’t wake up one day, regardless of Peace Corps, and be the perfect human. But it’s a good start to a lifelong process of personal growth and exploration.

 

Already I am different from the person that got on the plane 100 days ago.

So, what are some of my goals?

Career/ Life Direction – at first I was hoping to simply have time to figure out a new career direction, but now I’m already experiencing changes in perspective that I know will reach far beyond that.

Health – from the ground up. I let my health fall to the wayside in college in lieu of both stress and enjoyment, and it is high time I get that back on track.

Self Confidence / Independence – every day I show myself that I can do this, that I am doing it. Even though it’s hard to remember sometimes, that’s pretty amazing. For the rest of my life I’ll remember this accomplishment that is Peace Corps service.

Personal – want to be more patient both with myself and others, more flexible, and more open to other people.

Education – I want to be a student of the world, to learn by experience. Meet new people, eat new foods, and have time to read lots of books!

Ultimately, I keep coming back to this:

Even though this has been incredibly challenging, and sometimes I feel more lost than ever, I also feel as if I am where I am supposed to be- and this is what I needed. It’s a transformative experience to say the least and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes in the future. It’s a process, it takes time. But if you’re ever feeling down, just take my host-Nanny’s advice and dance!

 

This woman is 84 and I have to re-introduce myself to her every day, but she loves telling me about her life stories. She’s an incredible reminder that each day is a new opportunity to decide to be happy. I hope to continue to find inspiration in my next 100 days and beyond in Guyana.

 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Since swearing in over a week ago, my life as a Peace Corps Volunteer has been full of changes. With training complete, it was time for the Peace Corps newest volunteers to disperse throughout Guyana to our permanent sites where we will be living and working for the next 2 years. It was very difficult to leave the people that have become my second family, and the village of Huis’t Dieren that has become my home. It was also last-minute determined that I would have to leave my kitty behind, and I am so grateful that my amazing host mom promised to care for him- he’ll have a happy home with that family and those two boys 🙂

After some slight delays on the journey, I arrived in my new home Number 64 Village. It is located in Region 6 on the Corentyne River- I am living in Number 64 Village and working in Corriverton at Skeldon Hospital.

Corriverton is located right across the Corentyne river bordering Suriname, which I see on my way to work everyday

My new home is in what the Peace Corps calls a compound- where I live in an apartment with all the amenities needed to live independently on the lower floor of a house where a family lives. Auntie Pam and Uncle Roy are an incredibly sweet couple who own the house and welcomed me as a daughter from my first day. With them lives Auntie Pam’s mother who we all call Nanny. She is 84 years old and has dementia so she has yet to remember who I am, but when she strikes the right mood she enjoys telling me stories from the past and singing songs from old Indian movies. I go upstairs every evening after I return from the hospital and sit with them on the veranda and enjoying the company and delicious cooking!

I have a very nice home by any standard, let alone for Peace Corps service. It is a far cry from the mud hut that we tend to think of as Peace Corps. But even so, it is not immune to the many creatures of Guyana. This past week alone I have seen to the end of approximately 20 cockroaches, a handful of hand-sized spiders, and a multitude of mosquitos. Also due to the rainy season there have been several froggies- some small ones falling from the kitchen faucet, some rather large ones lurking outside my front door.  It has been stressful dealing with the pests, but I hope to develop a coping system that works- I certainly have the time!

This little fella came right out of my faucet and has been the least of my worries!

It’s dead. And it’s not the largest I’ve encountered

It has definitely been overwhelming being all on my own for the first time, with all new people and places. I feel good and bad every day while trying to find my footing in the community and at work. Experienced volunteers say the first 3 months at site are the hardest, and I can already see why. It really hits you that you’re out here…for 2 years! But the good continues, I can keep on handling and learning from the bad.

I’ve just got to hold on to this feeling!

I appreciate all of the love and support from home now more than ever. Now that I have consistent access to internet, I hope to keep you updated on every step of this wild journey! If you’d like to reach me in a more traditional Peace Corps fashion, please see my updated contact information for my new mailing address- I would love to be your pen pal!

I will write soon about starting out my work at the hospital and getting to know the Corriverton area! Until then- thanks for reading 🙂

And so it Begins…

Margaret Rice, Peace Corps Volunteer.

It’s official, I have sworn in as a volunteer for Peace Corps Guyana and my 2 years of service have just begun. It is an indescribable and surreal feeling; I am excited, anxious, sometimes sad, but mostly happy. What a strange sensation to know I’m taking the first steps of what is sure to be one of my life’s greatest adventures and greatest challenges; to know it will be the most difficult thing I have ever done, but still feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Here’s to the next 24 months of growth and experiences, and to the country that has already started to feel like home. I hope that by April 2018 I can return at least a small fraction of the impact that Guyana has already begun to have on me.

It was truly an honor to have sworn in next to 28 other members of my training class that I am proud to call my PCV family. The next 2 years are a lot less daunting knowing they’ll be by my side.

I also want to thank my family and Faiz, who have supported me every step of the way in pursuit of this dream of mine. I already can’t wait until I see you all again and show you Guyana!

To you and everyone else reading this, I appreciate your love and support now more than ever.

Let’s do this!

Celebration

One thing I’ve learned quickly after moving to Guyana is that there are a LOT of holidays. Days of significance in each of the major religions– Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam –are recognized as national holidays, which I recently learned is in effort to promote equality among each of the groups. It is amazing- everyone gets the day off of work, and many people join in the festivities of other religions. In the short time I’ve been here I’ve already been able to see how this approach to significant times in each religion promotes acceptance and understanding among the people. The past week included 4 days of significance: the Hindu celebration of Phagwah, and Christian observance of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday. Time spent in training last week was minimal, and I had one of my best weeks in Guyana so far.

Phagwah is also known as Holi, and is a festival of color, a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, and a time of forgiveness and new beginnings. I joined in the tradition of “playing Phagwah”, throwing and smearing colorful powder all over, along with the occasional splash from a squirt gun or bucket. It was such a joyful celebration, and I had some colorful skin for the rest of the week to remind me of all the fun.

Then there was the Christian holy weekend of Good Friday (which I accidentally spent at church for 3 hours), Easter, and Easter Monday. There was not an Easter egg to be found, but I enjoyed the Guyanese traditions of flying kites at the beach! Apparently the beach right across from the house I am moving to is a happening place during the Easter holidays, so next year 63 Beach it is!

Also exciting is a new furry friend in my life. During a walk with some fellow trainees I saw a cat lying by the side of the dirt road. I thought it was dead and was startled, which frightened my friends, and we all scared the daylights out of the kitten, who turned out to be sleeping. It took off in the other direction right into the trench! I thought for sure he could swim and be fine, but it turned out he couldn’t get himself out! So after a terrifying rescue, Huis’t Dieren has a new friend!

He currently lives in a cardboard box outside under my host family’s house. He (we think he’s a he) has some health problems that I’m working on addressing, including fleas, ticks, and I suspect some worms. He’s also really afraid of humans when he’s standing on his own 4 paws, but when held he is the biggest snuggler and purrs like crazy. I’m trying not to get too attached because it’s been 2 days and we’ll see how things work out, but if everything goes well I might have found a long-term Peace Corps friend.

There is so much to come as training comes to an end and I’m preparing to begin the actual 2 years of service! As always, thanks for coming along on this crazy ride.

Visiting my Future Home

I’m back! Not back home, but to my home away from home on the Essequibo Coast of Guyana. If you’ve been following along, you know that I received my site placement for my 2 years of service once I swear in as a Peace Corps Volunteer (in 3 short weeks!). For the past week I have been visiting my site on the Corentyne River on the Eastern Coast of Guyana, near the town of Corriverton.

It is a full day’s journey from where I am living for training, but after a beautiful drive last Saturday I arrived at my new home. The site visit is integrated into the Peace Corps training process to give us an idea of where we will be living and working for our service prior to actually moving there. I appreciate the opportunity, but it was a strange sensation, knowing you are seeing places that will become familiar and meeting people that will become your friends, but be at the starting blocks of a 2 year experience where the future still so ambiguous.

While it felt strange, I definitely had a positive experience. I’m joining the ranks of some awesome Region 6 volunteers who went out of their way to welcome the new trainees with brunch on our first day. From the moment I arrived, my new host family welcomed me as a daughter and were telling me they love me from the first night. I am living on the lower level of their house in an entirely self-contained apartment. I am lucky that it is entirely furnished with a full kitchen and bathroom. The rumors are true, I will have wifi during my 2 years of Peace Corps service *spoiled*. While I was prepared to go without it, I feel like I personally will be a better Volunteer being more connected. Staying in touch at home will help alleviate any homesickness I’m sure to feel, and good old Google has already helped me so much generating ideas and knowledge for my work.

Speaking of work, it sounds like I certainly will not be bored! During my visit I got to know my primary site at Skeldon Hospital, as well as the local health Health Centers and various NGO’s in the community. I’m really pleased that I’ll have the opportunity to be involved with and experience a wide variety of approaches to public health. My work counterpart is a Rehabilitation Assistant at the hospital, and fulfills a role that we in America would call a Physical Therapist. Her position allows a unique perspective on the healthcare system in Guyana, and has shaped her approach to community health issues. We are both passionate about and have agreed upon focusing on preventative health education and personal health empowerment. I have heard many times and experienced for myself that Guyanese people in general aren’t informed or involved in their own health and well-being. Many Guyanese people enter the healthcare system due to symptoms they are experiencing and get a medication that they don’t know what it is or understand. Since they don’t know why their problems began, or a basic level of how their treatment will help, there is a big problem with compliance of treatment. I am really interested in looking at the cultural and environmental contributors on why this is such a problem in Guyana, and looking at ways we can address it together.

There is a lot to come, both in the near future, and while this crazy journey continues to unfold. Thanks for being along for the ride! I really am sorry to disappoint you with the lack of pictures. I know some of you are anxious to put a picture to where I will be living for 2 years, but I made the personal decision to leave my camera behind for my site visit. I am typically a very avid photographer during my travels, but really wanted to enter my community with the mindset of it being my future home, and avoid feeling like it was a temporary trip. I am so optimistic about the roots I’ve begun to plant in my new home, and am excited to see what my future will bring!

I am going to try to maintain that attitude as training comes to a close. It will be incredibly difficult to leave my current host family, it felt so good to fit back into their familiar routine when I returned, but I know I will always have a relationship with them and plan to visit several times throughout my service. I also have some awesome books and toys to give them to remember me by because…I got my first care package! It was lovingly sent by my mother at the end of February, and I finally had the opportunity to pick it up today! I am really feeling the love with some essentials I requested, but also some treats to remind me of home, as well as enough fun things to keep my host brothers occupied for long after I am gone.

I have reached the point in training where it will be a stretch for packages or even letters to arrive at my training address, but luckily I have my new one ready! I won’t be moving there for a few more weeks, but if you are ready to send a letter or package, please feel free to do so- keeping in mind that I haven’t received anything there just yet. This will be my permanent address for 2 years! Wish list to come in the “Contact” tab for those of you who have been asking. Thank you lovely people!

Please send to:
Margaret Rice, Peace Corps Volunteer

Lot 17 “B”, Number 64 Village

Corentyne, Berbice

Guyana, South America

Site Placement & Upcoming Visit

The big news has been revealed…my permanent home in Guyana for the next 2 years will be a town called Skeldon! Despite the slightly ominous name (a rarity in Guyana, where towns are literally named Friendship and Adventure) it looks like an amazing site! I will be working at Skeldon Hospital and living on the lower floor of a duplex home with my new “host family” on the upper floor. I will allegedly have “the works” when it comes to amenities, including electricity, running water complete with flush toilet, and even rumored AC and wifi! I am not counting on being able to use all of these amenities all the time since I doubt the Peace Corps will bankroll this life of luxury in terms of my electricity bill, but I am excited regardless.

I will soon be able to see for myself, because this afternoon my training group is departing from the Essequibo and journeying to Georgetown, the capital. We have a few days of touring there and then a short conference with our work counterparts that we will be working with for the 2 years at our site. We will then journey back to our sites with our counterparts and remain there for a week for our site visits! I am anxious and excited to “meet” my new home and work environment for the next two years. I can’t believe we’re at this point in training!

I can barely believe it has been over a month since I arrived in Guyana, and I am halfway to swearing in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it has been the strangest warp of time I have ever experienced. On one hand it feels like I just hugged my family and got on the plane. On the other, I think of all I have experienced in that short time. And then I go down the dangerous path of “One down, twenty-six to go”. It has been impossible for me to comprehend that amount of time. It both frightens and excites me, and I ultimately always come back to taking it one day at a time. I will focus on my longer-term goals for my service in the Peace Corps once I have reached and settled into my permanent site.

I will have more details to share about Skeldon and my future position at the hospital after my site visit! I will be back in Huis’t Dieren around March 20^th, and have 3 short weeks until I swear in as an official volunteer! Thanks for catching up! More posts- and hopefully pictures- to come soon!