Letter 8 from Guyana

7/2/09
I’ve finally run out of writing paper, can you believe that I’ve written 350 pages of letters?!
I see that you’ve been getting loads & loads of snow! Craig’s parents emailed us pictures of what it’s like in Aberdeen – looks incredible & makes us all very jealous. Here the rainy season has ended & it is so so so hot! I’d forgotten how hot it was. The water is all drying up, we’re back to using pond water to bathe in & our rain tanks are pretty much empty. This morning we looked in the bucket of pond water we’d collected (& bleached) to discover a tiny, beautiful little fish …that was er, bleached to death.The river goes down by about ½ foot every day. How come the year I miss Winter you get proper ice & snow?
Surprisingly not much has happened since returning from Tobago. I may have mentioned that Mel, a PT volunteer from last year, was here. She left on Friday morning, it was really good to meet her. She was pretty awesome – it was good to find out that all the rumours are completely wrong and blown out of proportion – I can’t wait to hear what’s been said about us 2 living with a BOY to next year's volunteers. Mel managed to find her old dugout canoe & we spent a couple of afternoons, first trying to get into it without sinking – very tricky, takes a good deal of balance - & then travelled down to Coco, 10 minutes paddle down the river, where we went for a walk.
Ollie & I went for a really good walk last Thursday to Mora, an area of Moruca about 40min walk from Kumaka. When we were in Mora a man asked if we’d like some coconut water, so we went to his house. It was beautiful, wooden, built in a secluded place surrounded by all sorts of fruit trees and bushes. He turned out to be the father of my top 1A IT student. We were introduced to his wife Rose. He neatly cut down 4 coconuts & sliced off the tops of 2 so that we could get the water. Compared to Craig his skills with a cutlass were far superior! They then produced a soursup – a green knobbly/spiky fruit about the size of a large pawpaw. They cut up a ripe one & gave us some of the white lycee/melon textured fleshy fruity part. It tasted amazing, like passionfruit/granny smith apple/ lycee. It’s definitely a favourite!
So Ollie & I made new friends! We left carrying 2 large coconuts, this soursup & then as we walked back home various students ran after us carrying bags of Acquero – a fruit about the size of an egg that’s got a greeny yellow skin that has to be cut off to reveal orange stuff around a large brown round seed. You can eat the orange stuff. It takes a lot of effort to get not very much of a fairly tasteless bit of fruit & unfortunately every day students have been bringing them in for me for the last week. Ollie & I returned from our walk laden down with fruit, in fits of laughter at the situation & singing Hakena Matata very loudly – why not?!
I received a letter from Miss Mortimer & one from Abbie Smith last week – nice surprise – they took 3 months to get here! I haven’t heard from quite a few people for a long time, I hope they all got my letters – I’ve replied to everyone who’s written to me. I was especially wondering if Ali ever got my letter thanking her for the books?
Robbie will be pleased to hear that Sophie walked past a bush yesterday that had a sloth hanging in it. This was just off our path to our house – about 1 metre off it so Sophie has some absolutely incredible pictures. She was so close she could touch it.
I went on a really really good cycle ride on Thursday, it’s very uppy downy & the track was not brilliant – had about a foot wide of smooth road the rest was real cut up. So it actually took quite a bit of skill to stay on!
Lots of mangoes around this time of year they are so amazing, mmm. Last week the whole of Moruca ran out of onions! As did the whole of Region 2 also. Guyana was in a massive shortage as its onion shipment didn’t arrive! This ruined our Chicken Tikka Massala a tad on our curry Thursday though it still tasted damn good!
Recently I’ve been dreaming loads about Project Trust, debriefing volunteers, returning etc. It’s weird! Probably because of having Doug & Rishon & then Mel here. We now only have 4 months left in Moruca! How weird. We’re over half way through the term’s teaching (remember that no teaching happens in the last 4 weeks) & we’re over half way through the teaching overall! By the time you get this we should be over half way through the year. Time has started to fly by. School is very busy at the moment. I don’t even have time to read! Miss Bernie has gone on a months leave leaving Ollie, another teacher – Miss Rowena - & I to take over integrated science to forms 1 & 2. So I now am teaching 8 more periods a week. Tuesdays also I’m teaching a few kids to read, Mondays I’m helping 2 boys with maths, Thursdays I’m teaching extra Biology to the Form 2 students who’ve recently been moved up to Form 3.
In the last week I’ve marked 250 assignments, so I’m very busy. I’m actually quite enjoying it. Last week I learnt 1A, 1C & 1D’s names FINALLY. 1C is very naughty, they now, recently, have been getting lines – in an attempt to try & get them to work/behave. I feel like I know the students better, I even got invited on a bush cook with some of my Form 3s for this weekend, overnight at Waramuri – unfortunately I couldn’t go, also not sure how appropriate it would have been – I think it was just a group of boys. I’m feeling completely settled. I would never have been satisfied if I’d had to leave after 6 months – it’s taken until now for me to really feel completely comfortable. So I now look forward to the last bit of this experience, it’s going to be very different to the first ½.
We’ve got a couple more Red Cross trips coming up & of course seeing as we’re the official cooks & hot drink makers, Ollie & I will be going! We also have Valentines Bingo as a fundraiser next Friday.
There are loads of Public Holidays to look forward to, such as Mashrami – republic day – weekend after next. It’s a long weekend so we’re going to go visit the 4 New Amsterdam girls Saturday & Sunday & then go check out the carnival in town on Monday & then go to a T-pain & Seranni concert (2 very very popular pop artisty people). 2 weekends after that it’s a weekend, then Monday then 2 holidays – Phagwah – (?) where everyone in town throws dye over everyone/thing & then water …very colourful. So we’re going to try go to St Cuthberts (Ian’s project) & then to town. We then have Easter & rodeo to look forward to down in Region 9 – need to organise everything. THEN Peazy comes out for June (at the end of May so that she gets to experience Moruca day (independence) – another holiday) which is so exciting. So there’s so much going to happen & I reckon it’s going to go so fast.
Life in Moruca continues to move on, it gets much busier now that it’s dry. We continue to bear/bare (?) the noise/ screams/ smoking coming from next door, strange children appearing in our house, guests appearing unannounced & the cockroaches & students excuses. We continue to go on regular walks, students continue to tell me that ‘Miss Miss you getting thick.’ Ooo & Ollie started a Channa Challenge! Channa is cooked (soft chickpeas seasoned & with pepper sauce, garlic etc. It’s the cheapest snack here. She’s bet another volunteer: Declan (St Cuthberts) that she can eat Channa for 3 meals everyday for a month – he’s competing & the prize is 10yr old rum. She’s doing very well so far – she’s got fairly experimental adding honey, jam, peanut butter, mayonnaise, sweet corn etc.
Hope all is good. Keep up the contact! If you ever get too cold just pop over to visit.
Love to all,
Lots of love
Emily
Xxxxxx
PS Next time I write I’ll probably be 19 …eww what a nasty age to be!
Mmm …galaxy & Terry’s chocolate orange (HINT)