It's Beginning to Look Something Like Christmas?

Well, as I write this blog I am once again sitting in the academy with construction workers working. There are only two hours left before classes start for the day and the academy is a total mess right now. I am looking forward to all of this construction being done so we don’t have to deal with this anymore. I received a phone call at 7:45 this morning telling me that the workers would be here at 8:00. None of the teachers were up so we all sprang out of bed, threw on clothes, and ran over to the academy to move stuff. Well, the workers did not arrive until almost 8:30, but they showed up. They have finished putting mesh up on one side of the building and have now started on the other side. We are still waiting for a new sink, more mesh, some window repairs, and the calking of the windows to get rid of the big gaps between the windows and the walls. There are some minor things at the house to be done still too. Construction work in Guyana is very different than back home. We recently found out that it is normal for construction groups to come in, do the job (while making a huge mess), and leave. This leaves the homeowner/whoever is supervising to clean up the mess before opening for business/class/living. It is kind of a pain seeing as we are on a time crunch right now and they probably will not leave for class until half an hour before we start if we are lucky. Oh well, once it is done we (hopefully) will not have to deal with it again.

Things have been pretty quiet this week other than the construction. This past Sunday we went to church in Georgetown with the Ebenezer Luther League for youth service. The teachers acted as the musicians and then spend the afternoon with the youth of both churches. It was fun, and I got to talk to a few people and just spend some time getting to know them better. The bus ride was a little crazy, but that seems to be all transportation here.

Our concerts are just a few short weeks away! We went out and bought a Christmas tree earlier this week and put it up in the house. It was a really strange feeling for the three of us to adventure  around town looking for Christmas stuff in shorts/skirts, short sleeve shirts, and sandals. It was strange for many reasons; 1) we haven’t been adventuring like that around New Amsterdam as a three person team since we first got here, 2) we aren't used to sweating while trying to shop for Christmas, and 3) Christmas decorations seem really out of place here to the three of us. We continue to go looking for ornaments to put up on the tree because it looks a little sad right now, but you can tell I am my father’s daughter with all of the lights we put on! We are thinking of starting a tradition of having a yearly ornament to put on the tree signed by the teaching team. That’s something that is really fun as the first teacher. We are able to say, “this is going to be a tradition.” We have come up with some interesting ones.

Please stay safe in the snow, ice, and cold everyone! I will try not to rub in the fact that I am melting in 80-90 degree weather every day.