A Day in the Life

Hey everyone, just checking in again. Every Sunday I come to the airport for the air conditioning and wi fi, the perfect storm to do a little more blogging.

I realized that while I showed you a bunch of pictures you all don't have a very good idea of what I'm actually doing out here. Every morning I wake up about 5:30am and I go for a run with another volunteer, Mark. We usually run until 6:15ish then head home to get ready for training. I go home and hang out on the porch for a little and dry off since by that time I'm sweating up a storm since it's usually around 70 degrees by that time. Then I take a cold shower and have a little breakfast, usually some fruit and toast with juice. After breakfast I brush my teeth, spit off the porch, and head out for the day.

The training area, called Red Ground, is an interesting place. It's some old, wooden bleachers attached to a small building consisting of two rooms, an upstairs and down. The bleachers overlook a large dirt field covered in red dust, hence Red Ground. Kids usually come and play soccer here after school which conveniently coincides with the end of our day. There's also a small canteen nearby that serves snacks and cold drinks that are a nice treat after training.

Training consists of a range of topics. A lot of it is working within Peace Corps and Guyana, basically how not to be a loud, crass American. Some of it is technical information like how diabetes and hypertension work as well as topics like breastfeeding and gardening. That takes up a majority of the day right there and were usually done by 5. It's all fairly mundane and routine right now.

We're all focused on our permanent assignment right now. On June 13th we'll know where we'll be for the rest of our tour. It looks like I'm destined for a more coastal region that is generally a little more developed than an interior hinterland region. Initially it wasn't my first choice but since I've gotten here I've realized that its not necessarily about where I end up but who I end up with. I decided I'd really prefer a smaller community than a larger one and that's really been the only thing I've asked for. Another volunteer, Allie, from the group before ours told us about her placement. She said she lives in a community of about 400 people on a lake and the health center she works at is right next door.

I'll admit the novelty has worn off and my zeal is starting to flag a little. I was doing laundry today and got really annoyed with how long it was taking, it usually takes about 2 hours. Then I looked up and could see the thick jungle in my backyard and realized that I'm in South America, I've only known this family for 3 weeks, and I've only known all my friends for 4 weeks. This is truly an epic and unparalleled experience. I'll probably never have this experience or this moment ever again and I should truly treasure it.