PCV Visit

What an adventure!

Just returned back from PCV visit. I was at Shai's cite along with KC. It's all starting to become very real now. I spent the nites sleeping in the hammock, rising and resting with the sun. It's sooo intensely, fiercely hot out, that there is not much you can do during the peak hours other then try to stay out of the sun. We arrived early afternoon on cite. And met the Basitgon (village second in command, Captian is the first in command, but he wasn't in the village) The Basitgon at Shai's cite is 81 years old and completely functioning and with it. We took a bottle of rum over to him as an offering. He performed a ceromony for us and passed along a shot. Seriously, I can usually drink with the best of them.....that rum burned my throat on up to my ears, I couldn't speak for two minutes! We stayed with him for awhile as he told us stories and Shai translated.

Women wash in the river (clothes, dishs, bodies...) and are traditional and modest. Men wash either before the women, or after -- never during the same time. The village pop was about 100 or less.

The river was breathe taking. (the bugs and their biting.....I wanted to cry!) It's a lush tropical rainforest. Everywhere you looked it was goregous.

We met ALL the childern, as they were the first to come and greet us. They swarmed in and climbed all over us....bringing us fruit right off the trees. My red hair was a hit, they loved to braid. The children spoke a slight amount of English, (due to Shai's English classes) and I feel in my village will be a great source of help learning Alcwan.

The people are bueatiful. Everyone is curious and welcoming - it's rude in their culture if you don't greet. When you do greet it recieves a full on converstational reply. Something I think is slightly lacking in the States.

We spent a lot of time yesterday with a family across the creek. The husband is Alcwan, the wife Dutch. He has an amazing garden (he chopped down coconuts for us to drink the water straight from...delicious!) he takes the fruits and veggies to the neighboring city by bike - to sell. She teachs at the boarding school up the street. She was able to speak broken English, and while he strummed the gutiar she told us about the civil war in the 80's (with some translation help) What an amazing story, the history of Suriname is something I look forward to learning more about.

Every nite a young guy (I thought at first he was 14, but was told he's at least 20) would stop over and bring us treats from the bush. Forms of work and getting money are soo different. He wakes up early (around 5-6ish) heads into the bush to gather fruits, nuts - plant leaves....sells them on the road or in the closest town - and saves that money to get into the capital.

We head out to our homestays on Sunday - so this is the last of cold showers (changing those over to bucket, river washing) and any form of computer access. I'm excited to hear how everyone else's cite visits went. This is the last of our time together....as homestays we all live seperately.

More soon. Sleepie mooie!