A Thanksgiving of a Whole New Kind

This week has been rather crazy. We went to Georgetown on Friday morning. As we were locking up the house I got a phone call from the pastor who serves at Redeemer (where we were staying for the weekend). He wanted to inform me that we would have to wade through shin high water in order to get to the house because town was flooded. We got to town just before Eric did, so we all got to wade to the house together. After a while Dan decided to take a nap and Claire and I decided to let Eric take a nap as well so we went out puddle jumping in that same water. It was fun.

We did quite a bit while we were in town. We decided to visit the zoo (which was partially flooded so we waded through that too) and the botanical gardens. We ate American style food and even spent some time in a pool hall (I was thinking of Music Man for a while there). We shopped at a crazy DVD store, ran into a lot of friends, and attended church at Calvery Lutheran and then spent a little more time just hanging out before heading for home. It was fun to bring Eric back to New Amsterdam to host him in his home away from home. We really enjoy having him back.

This week we put on the health fairs. On Tuesday we went to a secondary school that some of my students attend. We were not aware that any of our students attended this school until we walked up to the building and we saw my students name written on the wall in chalk. All three music teachers laughed, because that was very like her. Today, we went and taught in a primary school in Canje. That was really fun. All of the students were great, and it was a wonderful experience to see just a peek into public schools in Guyana. I am hoping that I can get into a school somewhere to do a little volunteer work every once in a while.

Since Eric has been in country we have been doing a lot of meetings and talking about all sorts of things. His to do list has been crazy, but it seems like he is checking things off pretty well. It is great to be able to talk to him face to face without a computer screen in between us. It sounds like the school he is working at back home is doing really well. We are hoping to use them as a sister program, and we are still trying to figure out what exactly that means. Since this is the first year it can really mean whatever we want it to mean.

I just want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving. This is not a holiday in Guyana, but the Lutheran compound will be celebrating tonight after classes. The music house, the Roberts, and Pastor Diana and Rory will all be getting together for a traditional Thanksgiving meal to say good bye to Pastor D and Rory as well as have a small taste of home on this holiday. I am so very thankful for everything that happened this year. I have met wonderful people in multiple countries, found a job that I absolutely love, and have come into a once in a lifetime journey. I am so thankful for Eric, Claire, and Dan and for all of the hard work they do. I would not be able to do what I do without them. I am thankful for my vocation and my professors who helped me truly discover just what that means. Finally, I am thankful for all of you. Yes, you. The people back home in the US who have been supporting me for as long as I can remember. Those of you who have supported me and thought of me since my move to Guyana, and who continue to support me from 3, 500 miles away. Please be safe if you go out shopping for Black Friday, and please remember to reflect on the reason for the upcoming holiday season. Many blessings to all of you with love from Guyana!

Just Another Week

Well, we had a surprise this week. On Saturday we were heading over to the academy to get ready for academy class. On our way there a board member stopped us. He is the one that we go to for house and academy physical issues. He informed us that there would be construction workers at the academy at 7:00 am the next morning. Sunday morning I was up and ready to go at the academy, and I sat there waiting. Finally around 8:30 workers showed up. They were installing new windows that had mesh in them. Hopefully by the end of the week we will have a bug proof academy. The workers finished up around 3:00. We now have to wait for another guy to come in to put mesh on the open air space between the wall and roof. We are also waiting for mesh doors and a double wide sink in the bathroom so that I can actually repair instruments and chemically flush them. We are excited for these changes to finally happen but they always come at the worst times. Sadly, the academy will be a complete mess all week.

Originally we had planned to go to Santa Rosa Mission this weekend. Sadly, those plans have changed. However, we had already cancelled classes on Friday and Saturday so we have decided to go to Georgetown for a much needed break. We will be meeting up with Eric who will be back in country! It will be nice to have him around for a week. While we are there we are planning to go to the zoo and national park. We have also heard rumors that there are matinees at the park that you are able to feed so we will be on the lookout for that. I don’t know if we will try to brave the market in Georgetown or not. Think of it like comparing a grocery store in Forest City compared to shopping in NYC. That might be a little overkill, but you get the picture. It will be nice to have a full weekend for once.

Even though Guyana does not have Thanksgiving we will be celebrating American Thanksgiving with the Roberts (the Canadian Americans). They have invited the four of us over for dinner on Thursday for a traditional Thanksgiving meal after we teach. It will be really weird to be working on the holiday. We will also be putting on two health fairs next week. Valini (the student who has GUYFUSE which I talked about earlier) and a Peace Corps member have been working on these and have asked us to help. We will be talking to 100 students at two different schools about mental health/suicide, nutrition, Diabetes, HIV/Aids, and domestic violence. It should be nice to be able to work with youth in a different setting for a little while.

It is very strange to be seeing all of the Christmas decorations popping up everywhere lately. We are hoping to put together and Advent wreath and get a Christmas tree for the house. I find it strange to have to go out and buy all new Christmas decorations. I have never had to do that, thanks Dad! We aren’t really sure where we will store all of this stuff after the season, but I have a feeling it is going to end up in my bedroom. We really don’t have much when it comes to storage for things like that.

Overall it has been fairly quiet lately, so I feel like there is not much to write about. I will be posting more pictures on Facebook sometime this week. I hope you are all enjoying the cold and the snow. Just remember I have 88 degree weather here! Jealous much? J

An Exciting Week

This week has been awesome. Sunday we took the choir to Georgetown to participate in the National Choir Festival. It was an adventure to say the least. Many people have seen me comment about how time is Guyana is a very different thing than it is back home. When you schedule a bus for 11:00 am they will usually be there five minutes before, and if somehow they are late they will call to tell you what has happened. We had scheduled a bus for 11:00 am, and when did the bus arrive? 11:40 am. When the bus got there Dan, Claire, and I all looked at each other wondering if we would all fit. We had about 30 people, keyboard, bass guitar, amps, a music stand, and a stool to all fit inside. We made it, but it was a tight fit. Once we got to the cultural center there was a group on stage so the people in charge asked us to go sit in the audience while they finished up, and when they were done we would do our sound check. When that group was done the people in charge had us set up our equipment, but then wait so they could finish the stage decorations. We never did get a sound check, and five minutes before the start they came over to us and told us to tear down our equipment and we would set it up again later (ugh, so many wires!) The show was supposed to start at 3:00, and the announcer finally stepped out from back stage at 3:40 (are you seeing a pattern with time here?). The first half had some great small groups. There are some very creative people here! We were supposed to be the third choir after intermission. During intermission I went backstage to set up our equipment again, and I heard the announcer talking with the head of the festival saying that GLMA would be first because the other two choirs never showed up. Great. Once we got the choir all ready to go we waited backstage for the curtain to rise for our performance. The choir did a wonderful job. We are so proud of them for all of their hard work and dedication. It was a wonderful first public performance representing GLMA. We did not place, but it was a great learning experience.

On the way home we had two more choir members riding home with us, so I ended up sitting on the stool back to back with Dan. I was facing the choir. They decided to sing all sorts of songs at the top of their lungs on the drive back. Every so often we would pass by really loud parties happening along the coast. When we did I would start awkward bus dancing as long as we could hear the music. We also made a few parodies to songs like “Party in the USA” is now “Party at GLMA.” J Needless to say the choir saw a different side of Miss Kelli than anyone else in the academy.

Monday we skyped with Eric again. The first thing he showed us when we connected was outside his band room and the snow/ice/sleet that was there. His car was covered. I certainly appreciate having 80 degree weather and not living in that white stuff this year! Anyone want to come visit me now?? We had a great conversation with Eric, and we look forward to seeing him in Guyana in about a week and a half.

On Monday I also go to skyped into Dr. Taylor’s World Music class at Waldorf. I had the opportunity to talk to the class about what I am doing in Guyana, the music and culture here, things I have learned in my few months in country, as well as what classes at Waldorf have helped me the most to prepare for this experience, and some suggestions for them to think about as they prepare to go out into the real world. It was so great to hear their voices again. I miss my Waldorf family greatly. For the first time since coming to Guyana I felt homesick after talking to them.

This weekend Rohan (the ethnomusicologist) will be coming to spend Saturday with us. We will be working on figuring out some stuff for our upcoming trip as well as talking about his thesis. I really enjoyed talking with him that last time he was here, and look forward to being able to do it again. Are current plan is to take a trip to Santa Rosa mission when Eric gets in country. We will all meet in Georgetown and head out from there. That will be a welcome break. Dan, Claire, and I have talked, and if the trip ends up not happening we decided it would be nice to spend a few days in Georgetown as a team trip and go to the museum and zoo. It would be a welcome small break and out of New Amsterdam to recharge for a few days.

Everything has been going great. Christmas decorations are starting to appear all over the place. It is an interesting site to see evergreen garlands with plastic fruit hanging from them. I don’t think I will ever be able to get used to that. Enjoy your snow up North, and know that I am enjoying my 80 degree weather down here!

Learning a Life Lesson

“Dear Lord, grant me patients to get through xyz.” This is a prayer I have said numerous times in my life whether it be stuck in rush hour in the cities when I am already half an hour late for SR practice, working with someone I really can’t stand, or no understanding how to do something. This prayer has been uttered too many times to count while I was in the states. I think the Lord is finally teaching me a lesson in patience while I am in Guyana. Things happen in a very different way here, and my to do list? Ha! Those things happen in a very roundabout way to say the least! Eric had pointed this fact out to me when talking about his to do list before he went home, but I really did not think much of it until some of that list came to me. In order to get some of these things done I have to call someone, who calls someone, who calls the workers, who, may or may not, show up and do the work after the first call. This means that things on my to do list can take days. Many of you who know me well know that it drives me crazy to have things sitting on my to do list for days on end. It once took us three days to get water delivered to the house and I sometimes called multiple times a day! I truly feel that this is a teaching opportunity about patience for me. It may be a hard pill to swallow, but gosh darn it! You better believe I will swallow that pill down by the end of this year!

Today (Wednesday) was a very interesting day. I started out the day by going with Valini (one of my guitar and Dan’s choir students) over to her other house on West Bank Berbiece. Her gardener picked fruit and cleaned the yard while she showed me around the garden and then we sat and talked. She put up her hammock for me to try out. It was really comfortable. I may have to buy one to bring home with me. We ended up talking for over two hours. It was really fun to get to know her better. She is retired and has started her own non-profit organization (in Guyana they are called NGO or Non-Governmental Orginizations) called Guyfuse. She told me all sorts of things about her group. Guyfuse is Guyanese Families Unite in Service and Education. Let me tell you, I think I have found my volunteer work! I also learned that Valini really likes drama and writes several plays. She asked me to participate in some! After the gardener was finished she showed me around her home town. It reminds me a lot of Lake Mills. We also went and spent some time on a farm. While there I almost got hit in the head by a coconut falling from the tree. Now that would have been a story to tell because had it hit me I would have lost balance and fallen into the irrigation canal that was next to that tree. While we waited for the farmer to pick some produce for us we found a bench in the shade and sat down for a little while. It was really peaceful. I barely made it back to New Amsterdam in time to teach! The Berbiece Bridge closes every day with the tide so that large ships can pass. We were the last car allowed over the bridge before they closed it. Had we been two minutes later we would have been stuck there for over an hour! I came home with a bunch of different fresh herbs, fruits, and vegetables that I can’t remember the name of.

I am currently writing this blog while sitting in the pitch dark at the academy. The percussion class is trying to use any daylight left outside before they call it quits. We are in a blackout right now. Yes, we have a generator installed and it is set up to be able to run the academy so we can continue to have classes in a blackout. Why don’t we have it running you ask? Well, we did. For all of two minutes and then it died. Our gas had evaporated because the lid had a huge hole that was covered with a flimsy piece of paper. So I went out with a gas can on the hunt for gas. Come to find out Guyana is in a gas crisis right now and both gas stations in New Amsterdam ran out of gas yesterday. We have to go over the bridge in order to get gas, and I am not doing that by myself in the dark. No thank you! We will be making a trip over the bridge tomorrow to get gas now.

Yippie! The lights just turned back on! Now we will be able to have classes! This blackout only lasted 45 minutes. That’s not too bad! Here is to hoping that we don’t have another blackout in the middle of this class. We had to let the brass and keyboard students go home because no one could see and the keyboard students had nothing to play.

**If you want to learn more about Guyfuse you can find them on facebook! www.facebook.com/guyfuse**