Taking a Passion Abroad: April 2015

Many people, when I first told them I was coming to Guyana, had a lot of questions for me. I could answer some, but not all of them. I decided that writing a blog post dedicated to all of your questions would be a great idea. I collected questions from social media. All of them that I could find I have answered in this post. I hope this makes the picture of my life in Guyana here a little clearer for all of you.

What is the average temperature?

The average temperature seems to land somewhere between 24-32 degrees Celsius (75-89.6 degrees Fahrenheit). It has been really hot lately and seems to stick close to 30 degrees. It has been as hot at 36 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). It is also at 90-100% humidity every day which makes thing feel super-hot and sticky. When we are in Georgetown there is usually a pretty good breeze since it is right on the coast. New Amsterdam is about 5 km from the coast so we don’t get the breeze quite as well.

Is there a rainy season?

Yes, technically there are two. December-January and May-June. However there has been lots of rain this past week, so I am wondering if the May-June rains have come early. Everyone says that those rainy seasons are shifting a lot lately and you really don’t know when the rainy season is going to get it.

What are the most popular foods related to Guyana?

The national dishes seem to be pepper pot and cook-up rice. Pepper pot is a food that is beef and peppers and spices in an au jus of sorts. Cook-up is rice with meat and other spices and veggies in there. Besides those fried rice, chow mein, curried anything, and roti are very popular.

What is the native language?

Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America. Several people speak Creole English which was a little confusing at first. Now I am much more able to understand things people are saying to me, and I have picked up a few Creole phrases that have worked their way into my everyday language.

Is it dangerous there like in other parts?

I don’t feel like it is dangerous. I am very comfortable traveling all over Guyana. I mean, we still need to be smart. I’m not going to go walking around downtown Georgetown last at night by myself as a white female. There are a few times that the teachers have been warned to stay away from certain places at specific times in the year because of the likelihood of riots or something happening. (Election times gets rather heated here).

What are living conditions like there for the average person?

It’s kind of hard to say. It seems to be that most people live fairly similar to each other. Many homes are made of tropical hardwood with opening where the walls and ceilings meet in order to have ventilation in the houses. Many of the homes that are made of this wood look like they are run down, but they aren’t. The wood does not take kindly to paint. Living conditions for many seem comfortable. Most Americans probably do not consider it comfortable, but I have realized just how much I have taken for granted back home. There are also house made of concrete. Our house is one of these. Several of the concrete houses are huge and sealed with air conditioning. Ours does not have air conditioning, but we have mesh on our windows so we have way less bugs (I don’t sleep under a mosquito net anymore at our house). It is also really interesting to me because in the states you usually see really nice parts of towns and the really sketchy parts of town. That really doesn’t happen in Guyana. You could have a really nice house surrounded by run down homes next to businesses. It’s crazy!

What kinds of jobs do people have?

There are all sorts of jobs. People work at schools, banks, and stores. There are a lot of people that work at the estates working with sugar cane and rice. There are a lot of people who work by having stands in the market or out on the street. They sell anything and everything. There are some places that I can pick up fruit and a canoe if I wanted!

Would you live there again? Why/Why not?

Yes, I would live in Guyana. I really like it here. The people are friendly, and I really enjoy the environment. It is really hot, but there are ways to cool down. Also, I feel like I have been much healthier here because of all of the access to really fresh fruit as well as walking all over the place. I haven’t been sick here other than a couple 24 little bugs (knock on wood). I have friends here, and anywhere I have friends I feel like I could live. I also think that I could live here on my own though. I have been really happy in Guyana, and the longer I am here I think I could live comfortably.

What is the most common animal you see?

Stray dogs. They are everywhere. Besides that you see a lot of cows roaming around. Driving between New Amsterdam to Georgetown you never fail to see horses, goats, cows, dogs, chickens, donkeys, and sometimes pigs just out walking wherever they please. That happens a lot.

What is the most dangerous animal there?

Guyana is a country that is mostly covered in rainforest. As far as the most dangerous, I don’t really know. I do know that there are anacondas, Parana, jaguars, and many other rainforest creatures out there.

Are there gunrunners at every corner?

No.

Is there a lot of snow?

New Amsterdam is roughly 6.25 degrees north of the Equator. It is rather hot, so no. There is no snow. I would actually be a little concerned if I came across snow while in Guyana.

What is your favorite kind of animal that you have seen?

My favorite animal that I have seen here are some of our friends’ puppies. Most of the dogs you see in Guyana you can’t pet because you don’t know them or if they are okay. Many of our friends have dogs and all of us enjoy being able to hold and pet them. There are lots of cool birds here too. I like the Kiskadee, the Yellow Plantain, Parrots, and Macaws. There are many birds that I can’t identify and wish I could get some good pictures of them in order to send to Steve to identify for me.

Is the pay good?

I don’t get paid, I have a living stipend which allows me to live comfortably as an American, but still living modestly like most Guyanese would.

What kind of restaurants are there?

There are a lot of Chinese and Creole restaurants. Especially in New Amsterdam. Georgetown also has Mario’s Pizza, Popeye’s, DQ, Church’s Chicken, Royal Castle, Quiznos, among many others. It is fun to go to town every once in a while and branch out our food options. Right outside of the Lutheran compound is Sue Brother’s which a Chinese restaurant is. Our neighbors run that one. We also have a student who owns a restaurant that we like to go to every once in a while.

Are you having fun?

Yes! This was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. I have learned a lot, grown in my teach abilities, and discovered more about myself.

Have you met anyone as cool or attractive as your awesome friend Jordan?

Haha. Jordan you set the bar pretty high. J I have met quite a few awesome people here in Guyana. Guyanese people are very friendly, so that is pretty cool.

What kinds of fruit are there?

Everything! There are the normal fruits like mangos, pineapple. There are some other ones that are new to me from here, but I don’t have pictures of them right now I will try and get pictures of them and tell you more about them in another post.

Do you swim every day?

I wish. We have actually only swam three times since we came to Guyana. The first time we swam we went to a family fun center. It was okay. The pool was tiny and there was a lot of loud music. The second time we swam was in the ocean at 63 Beech. Finally we also swam in Suriname in the Suriname River which feeds out of the Amazon River. That was pretty fun.

Will you teach there next year?

I will not be teaching with GLMA for the 2015-2016 school year. I have to return to Waldorf for one more semester so that I can student teach and be a licensed teacher in the state of Iowa. I would really like to be back next year, but my schooling is important to me, and I need to get it taken care of.

Have you done any sightseeing?

We have done a little sightseeing in Guyana. I wrote a blog about our trip to Kaietur Falls. I have been able to explore Georgetown, and can get around there on my own pretty well. Claire and I were able to go up to 63 Beach which was fun.

How many holidays do they celebrate?

I don’t really know the answer to this. There are three main religions in Guyana; Christian, Hindu, and Muslim. Many holidays celebrated by these different groups are national holidays where people do not work or have school. Many of them we find out about just a few days before hand. So, I guess I can’t really answer this question fully. I just know there are lots!

What is your favorite meal?

I think my favorite meal is bologna choca. This is roasted eggplant with garlic. You eat it with roti. It’s pretty good and super easy to cook!

Do you have any pets?

We do not have any pets. At one point there was a dog that kind of adopted us. We named him Mango. He was pretty cool, but he wasn’t a pet. We haven’t seen him for a few months. We aren’t really sure what happened to him, but we have our own hypotheses about what happened.

What do you miss most from home?

I don’t exactly know what I miss per say. I guess I miss the choices. When we were in Suriname we went to a grocery store and I went down the drink isle and it was crazy! I forgot how many different choices there are. When shopping in Guyana you take what you get and there are very few choices. So I look forward to being able to have a variety again.

What does a typical day look like?

It depends on the day. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays we have classes from 3-8 pm. Tuesdays and Thursdays have classes from 4:20-8:20 pm. Saturdays we have classes 9-11 am and 1-5 pm. We have a weekly Skype meeting with Eric, planning meetings, and tennis lessons each week. Sundays are usually a day for us. We all go to different church services most of the time. Sunday is our one day off, so we try not to schedule anything to happen, but that usually doesn’t work well. During the day we have time to plan classes, practice different things for performances, write/arrange music, make copies, go shopping, and all of that stuff. Basically, the things you do on regular days after work are what we do during what most people consider a normal working day, and then we go to work.

How did I do? Did I answer all of your questions? If you think of any other questions you are dying to have answered just ask! I would love to continue to share my experiences with everyone.

**Update on April 30, 2015**

What will you miss the most when you leave (besides the people)?
I will miss how fresh the fruit is. I mean, in Iowa we have some fresh fruit, yes. But pinapples, mangos, and the sorts have to be shipped in whereas here I can go outside and pick a mango off my tree or go to the market and pick up a pineapple that was harvested that morning.

Would you go back after you obtain your license to teach in Iowa?
Yes! I would really like to come back after I have my license. Granted, I now have the teaching abroad bug, so I would really like to try other countries as well.

What are the children you teach like?
I don't have all children. My students range in age from 13-72 (yes, I have the oldest student in the academy). The kids are all like any students you would find in the U.S. Some days they are crazy, and other days there are very chill. It depends on what has been going on with schools and what holidays are coming up.

How many students do you have?
In the academy we have 140 students. In my specific classes I have a total of 34.

**Update on May 06, 2015**

A while ago you mentioned ice cream and jello. What is that about?
It is a typical dessert in Guyana. You get a scoop or two of ice cream and then a scoop of jello on top. It is pretty good, but don't put it back in the freezer and forget about it! Frozen jello is really hard to eat!

De afgelopen week zijn we naar Suriname. Het was een geweldige ervaring, en een leuke kleine pauze van onze normale schema in Guyana. Je hebt waarschijnlijk geen idee wat ik zeg. Ik denk dat ik moet stoppen met het typen van Nederlandse en eigenlijk spreken Engels, zodat je niet klikt u gewoon van mijn blog en niet lezen over mijn geweldige week in Suriname. Laten we het nog eens proberen dit ...

This past week the four of us (Eric was here) headed East to Suriname. For those of you who don’t know, Suriname is the country directly to the East, looks very similar to Guyana, and the official language is Dutch. Also, in case you didn’t know, none of us speak Dutch. We were taking a week off as a Spring Break of sorts and also would be doing a few days of music workshops with kids and adults who are members of the Lutheran church (known as ELKS, kerk is Dutch for church).

In the mornings we have about 12 kids ranging in age from 6-16 which was rather interesting. That is a pretty large age group for a music class. We ended up pulling out people for different instrument lessons based on their age. We only had students interested in percussion, keyboard, and general music. Claire would take out the older students who wanted to do keyboard at the same time Dan would take out the students who wanted to do keyboard which left me with 7 kids all under the age of 9 for general music. Those of you who know me and where I prefer to teach may have already figured out I was slightly terrified. General music is not my strong suite at all. It made for a great learning environment for me, plus it felt like I was back at Camp Tanglefoot as a counselor in TW with all the Chick-a-dees! Boom Chick-a Boom was even done during these workshops! These kids were all wonderful and I really enjoyed getting to know them all and playing games with them. It was hard for me to say good bye even though we had only spent three days together.

During the evening hours we had about 14 adults come to work with us. We started with a situation very similar to academy class at GLMA and then broke up into different instrument groups. Claire would go with the keyboards, I took guitar, and Dan worked with the singers. After about a half hour we would all come back together and Dan would take the percussionists while Claire and I did other things with the rest of the group. We decided to work on “Sanctuary” for one of our songs while I accompanied on guitar. We decided to do the refrain, first verse, refrain, and end with the refrain in Dutch. Thursday night I asked if we could record it to send back to Eric and they agreed. That was the best I had heard them sing. I got goose bumps as I played and sang with them. It was a very cool experience to hear them sing and praise the Lord together. Yes, I even sang in Dutch!

We were in Suriname for Easter. Having three musicians arrive just in time for Easter made it pretty obvious that we would be playing at Easter services. There were two. One was at 6:00 am about an hour away from where we were staying and one at 9:00 at Martin Luther Church which was our main stomping grounds. Martin Luther is a beautiful church with great acoustics, so if anyone is looking to do an international tour somewhere this would be a great place! It was fun to hear real pipe organs, viola, trumpet, and voices echoing through the sanctuary.

This trip was not all about teaching or playing music, however. We got to do quite a bit to allow us to feel like we had a little bit of a vacation. We went to a river resort where we got to swim in a river that feeds out of the Amazon and into the ocean. Claire and I went to an art gallery. We went to Nieuw Amsterdam, Suriname which is a former fort that was at the mouth of the river heading towards Paramaribo. We toured a museum with lots of history of Suriname and was another old for. We spent time in the oldest part of the city. We found the I <3 SU sign and took the obligatory pictures. We watched NCAA March Madness games (sadly the team we were going for lost the championships). We listened to baseball. We went to a choir concert for a choir from a college in Trinidad. We took naps. We broke into laughter at a supermarket. Celebrated birthdays. Most importantly we played with puppies! Okay, so that isn’t the most important but you would sure think it was had you read the conversations Dan and I were having about a specific puppy.

Yes, I said we broke into a fit of laughter at a supermarket. The first night in the city a friend took us to a supermarket to buy some things. Now, this was no Walmart or CostCo, but it was about the size of Bill’s in Forest City. The first isle we walked into was the beverage isle. That is where the laughter happened. There was nothing unusual for Americans to see in that isle at all, but having lived in Guyana for eight months we were extremely surprised. We have become acostumed to not having many options when shopping and if we found something we wanted we would buy them all. The first thing I noticed about this isle is that there were about 5 different types of Coke. Woah! The supermarket was also much bigger and had brighter lights than we have been used to. A little culture shock for us.

In a way in makes me really bad that I am going to be back in Suriname for a few days prior to leaving to return home to the States, compared to Claire and Dan. It will be a good transition set for me. Plus, I really enjoy the people there so it will be fun to return to visit with friends one more time before heading home. There is a whole album on Facebook with pictures from our Suriname trip, so make sure to check it out.

My next blog I would like to answer your questions, so please ask away! Ask as many as you would like!