So a lot of people ask me what kinds of foods I eat here….and being a fat kid and all, I decided to write an entire blog dedicated to FOOD describing the foods here Bon Appétit!!!
To the Market!
Banana!/green bananas
Okra
Soursop: tastes like softbrown sugar, soft like a ripe mango
Tamarind
Sorrell
Coconut
Golden apple: yellow ! kinda tastes like a sweet pea , but you eat it like an apple
Breadfruit
Bora : long green stalks, kind of the extra large green beans !
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Bolongie(eggplant)
Pawpaw(papaya)
Awara: orange hard sweet, kinda tasteless fruit that makes you look like you just at a bag of cheetos and have it all up in your teeth
Guinep: soft, little green balls, break the outer covering with your teeth, and pop it in your mouth, very soft, kind of taste like the ocean, and has a pit
Mami: orange shaped, sweet like apple, grapefruit and orange combined! YUM
Pine(Pineapple)
Plaintain
Callaloo(like spinach)
Pumpkin: not like the pumpkin back home, although its orange! Its sweet, chop up and simmer with sugar
Mango= heaven on earth…
Melon
Pear(avocado)
FiveFinger(starfruit)
Edo: starchy potatoe that is purple!
Sweetpotato not like a yam, but is very sweet, looks like a regular potatoe
Squash; green!
Guava
Cassava
Baked Goods:
Salara(red cake) made with layers of coconut and sugar
Dahl puri: soft tortilla base with crushed/fried split peas in the middle
Phulouri: little splitpeas fried dough balls
Cheese rolls; pastry with cheese in side
Cheese sticks: butter and cheese…not my favorite even though im from sconnie
Pine tarts; pastry with pineapple
Roti: kinda like a tortilla, fried and has layers from “clapping”
Black cake
Typical Guyanese Dishes/Seasonings:
Fried Rice
Chow mein
Curry
Pepper Pot( spicy potroast type of meal…served around xmas!
Porridge( oatmeal)
Saltfish and bake (friend bread and baked saltfish with seasoning
Beans and rice
Macaroni and cheese(with lots of mustard!)
Seven Curry
Achar---MY FAVORITE! Green mangoes fried with seasoning and pepper=spicies up any dish!
Pepper Sauce-Hot sauce
Marrymans Pork(basil)
Dhal-splitpea sauce
Mango Sour- put on a lot of things..like plaintain chips! YUM
YUM!!!
Peace, Love and Deliciousness!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Phone Ninjas!!
A couple nights ago A few volunteers and I decide to chill with some rum( have I mentioned that el dorado rum here is some of the best in the world..or so its claimed) and play cards…and afterwards go out to dance for a bit.
On they way to dancing my friend Jason told me to finish his text he was sending to a friend and handed me his phone…when…out of nowhere came the PHONE NINJA!!
As he was pedaling towards me on his bike…he snatched the phone outta my hands and continued to pedal his getaway!! However, he lost his bike seat in the process and was a bit wobbly if you ask me the first few pedals after he took it!!
Standing there stunned at what just happened, Jason turned to me and said “did that really just happen?” then as I was about to answer the Cops came driving by!(fyi cops here are not like the idea you have of cops)
We ran out to their escalade and tried to explain what just happened..They put their lights on, never to return….
We continued on our way to dance…with bike seat in hand….waiting for the phone ninja to return and make the trade back….He never showed up…
Peace, Love, and Ninjas!!
On they way to dancing my friend Jason told me to finish his text he was sending to a friend and handed me his phone…when…out of nowhere came the PHONE NINJA!!
As he was pedaling towards me on his bike…he snatched the phone outta my hands and continued to pedal his getaway!! However, he lost his bike seat in the process and was a bit wobbly if you ask me the first few pedals after he took it!!
Standing there stunned at what just happened, Jason turned to me and said “did that really just happen?” then as I was about to answer the Cops came driving by!(fyi cops here are not like the idea you have of cops)
We ran out to their escalade and tried to explain what just happened..They put their lights on, never to return….
We continued on our way to dance…with bike seat in hand….waiting for the phone ninja to return and make the trade back….He never showed up…
Peace, Love, and Ninjas!!
One of the main reasons I am here!!
Professional Development Program: Inclusion= What I’ve been talking about and creating for Region 6 of Guyana!!!!!
Let me explain:
To be a teacher in Guyana all you need is a high school diploma….however, if you do go to college to get training, you will get paid more. Sooooo people do go to college, however, at the college level currently there is ZERO training for Special needs education. That means, that even at the special schools in the country, teachers have had little exposure to any disability education.
Me and a VSO want to change that.
So we created this Professional Development Program, that focuses on different disabilities as well as inclusion for all students. A program like this has never even been thought of , so we had to start form the ground up.
First we had to come up with a Proposal, which basically explains the logistics, goals, target area, focal study etc. Then once we submitted that to the REDO(Regional Education Department Officer) we had to wait for its approval. IT was approved, so now….we had to see if teachers in Region 6 were interested in being the leader and having a model school for the entire course. We sent out letter to the school clusters, and got quite a few applicants.(mind you this means more work for the teachers, without any incentive expect being a better teacher and creating a better school….no monetary incentive= more work, same amount of money…have to find people who are dedicated!!)
Sooooooo we have our applicants, now to the budget…the actually module/workshop production planning, scheduling a venue, food, travel expenses, creating teaching aids, getting resources etc…..
Which is what I have been working on all summer long!! The program starts September 21st!!
This is just a general overview of the process and how things sorta work! It might not sound like much of a big deal…but AHHHHH Im so excited!! How great would it be if teachers knew how to teach all of their students? And if they could focus more on active learning instead of blackboard copying?!?!
oh and recently we found out that after talking to the REDO that they worked into the budget a 10,000 stipend starting in 2011 for each teacher per month! (That’s 50 US dollars!!! = a large sum of money for here!!) OWOWOWO(unfortunately it doesn’t apply to me ..haha)
Anyways, just wanted to explain the program a bit more, I mention it a lot because its one of the bigger projects I am doing here, if not the biggest!!
YAY education!!!
Peace, Love and Inclusion!!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Bring on the babies!!
SOOOOO I miss my sisters baby soo mucho that someone offered me their baby….Well it didn’t go down exactly like that, here is the full scoop:
Annie, Jason and Kirsten (other volunteers in my region) all decided to chill in New Amsterdam. For the day….with tacos and a few beers….butt The few beers turned into a few more…and after doing a special Cherokee performance to the “thong song” we decided we needed more…So we went to a nearby rumshop to buy a little more…grande idea in Guyana…heat + alcohol=worst hangovers ever, even if you just have one…anyways..After Jason walked inside to see what the situation is. us girls stayed outside(its not good for a woman to buy booze here) and as we were outside, A woman was sitting outside with her twins and offered to let us hold them, and of course we couldn’t resist…so we started playing with the babies…as Annie and Kirsten were holding them..because we were taking turns..the mom pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted one….Seriously!?!?! ummmm I know I just had a few beers, but is that really what you asked??? I was confused, so I blamed it on my misunderstanding…but… it wasn’t..The woman told me that I could even pick which one I wanted…WOW….I am really excited about being an Auntie…but not sure how I feel about being a mother…to a baby that was offered to me as I was buying beer……Oh Guyana……you have so much to offer me…including babies….
Peace, LOve and Free babies!!
Annie, Jason and Kirsten (other volunteers in my region) all decided to chill in New Amsterdam. For the day….with tacos and a few beers….butt The few beers turned into a few more…and after doing a special Cherokee performance to the “thong song” we decided we needed more…So we went to a nearby rumshop to buy a little more…grande idea in Guyana…heat + alcohol=worst hangovers ever, even if you just have one…anyways..After Jason walked inside to see what the situation is. us girls stayed outside(its not good for a woman to buy booze here) and as we were outside, A woman was sitting outside with her twins and offered to let us hold them, and of course we couldn’t resist…so we started playing with the babies…as Annie and Kirsten were holding them..because we were taking turns..the mom pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted one….Seriously!?!?! ummmm I know I just had a few beers, but is that really what you asked??? I was confused, so I blamed it on my misunderstanding…but… it wasn’t..The woman told me that I could even pick which one I wanted…WOW….I am really excited about being an Auntie…but not sure how I feel about being a mother…to a baby that was offered to me as I was buying beer……Oh Guyana……you have so much to offer me…including babies….
Peace, LOve and Free babies!!
Friday, August 20, 2010
KEEP it on the DL!( that means down low dad)
So I made my blog private on account of PC policy because:
1. There have been quite a few instances when blogs became a safety and security issue and volunteers were moved---------I LOOOOVE where I am and never want to move..EVer...except maybe in 2 years: )
2. I dont have internet access except at local internet cafes and you never know what can happen on an open machine in Guyana...i've seen some pretty wacko stuff.
3. Its cool to be part of club!!!! and maybe now people will be jealous of you because you have access!!!
OWOWOWO
Peace Love and Secrecy
1. There have been quite a few instances when blogs became a safety and security issue and volunteers were moved---------I LOOOOVE where I am and never want to move..EVer...except maybe in 2 years: )
2. I dont have internet access except at local internet cafes and you never know what can happen on an open machine in Guyana...i've seen some pretty wacko stuff.
3. Its cool to be part of club!!!! and maybe now people will be jealous of you because you have access!!!
OWOWOWO
Peace Love and Secrecy
Transportating in Guyana= THRILL RIDEEEE
Ohhhhh Guyana....There are soo many things I love about you......especially fearing for my life anytime I get in a minibus or car to get around!!
Let me break it down for you. You have two options(sometimes);
Its HOT!!!!!!! humid,mosquitoes everywhere, smell of dead dog in the air, no breeze, and there you are, waiting to get on a minibus A line of minibuses are parked...you approach the one that is most full. If there are only 4 people in it, I usually wait to get on, but if there are 13 i usually just get on right away...Soo its hot, you are sweating...and then you get to cram on to a mini bus and sit next to what looks like a cracked out version of Mr. T, and a mother with 4 babies on her lap, or a teenage lovers being all PDA and an extremely overweight woman eating chicken and throwing the bones out the window while hitting you with pieces of fried rice. Window seats are always the prefered option...SO 13 people on, you would assume that you are going to get going soon.....depending on the driver you may sit there until about 18 to 20 people are in(this minibus is like a glorified caravan by the way, 3 rows of seats made for 12 people) in which case you have no breeze and the arm sweat of the people next to you starts mixing with your own...or the driver will decide to start what i like to call, "the hunt"
He will drive up and down the same roads yelling, sipping, stopping rapidly trying to find people to get on the bus....its a fun game,and usually I want to play that rather than waiting...I'd say it takes a minimum of 20 mins to actually get going on your way...and thats if your lucky.......sooooo this is why I prefer to take the car......but for that, you have to go to the place of HUSTLE.
The car park!!!
Its where you go to catch a car to wherever you are going. You walk up to it and 30 feet before you approach drivers are already yelling at you, trying to get you in their car...trying to take your bags...telling you all sorts of nonsense. I usually go with the quietiest one. If only they knew that.
Its so fun if you are the first one in, because usually that means waiting another hour before you get to leave, but you dont have anyone elses sweat all up on you, so its not too bad.
So i sit and watch my driver try to convince other people to ride with him. Its all about the Hustle...usually anywhere from 10-15 cars are waiting to get full..I enjoy all the yelling/its a little scary!!!
Sometimes i sip at people to get them to come to the car i am in...the driver likes me most then..and then once its full...i cram into the backseat with 2-3 other people to drive 2 hours dodging cows, goats, and dogs...stopping completely for a 2 inch incline and fearing my life because no one goes the speed limit and if they do we pass them...
and these are your two options...what would you choose???
Peace,Love,and Thrill Rides!
Let me break it down for you. You have two options(sometimes);
Its HOT!!!!!!! humid,mosquitoes everywhere, smell of dead dog in the air, no breeze, and there you are, waiting to get on a minibus A line of minibuses are parked...you approach the one that is most full. If there are only 4 people in it, I usually wait to get on, but if there are 13 i usually just get on right away...Soo its hot, you are sweating...and then you get to cram on to a mini bus and sit next to what looks like a cracked out version of Mr. T, and a mother with 4 babies on her lap, or a teenage lovers being all PDA and an extremely overweight woman eating chicken and throwing the bones out the window while hitting you with pieces of fried rice. Window seats are always the prefered option...SO 13 people on, you would assume that you are going to get going soon.....depending on the driver you may sit there until about 18 to 20 people are in(this minibus is like a glorified caravan by the way, 3 rows of seats made for 12 people) in which case you have no breeze and the arm sweat of the people next to you starts mixing with your own...or the driver will decide to start what i like to call, "the hunt"
He will drive up and down the same roads yelling, sipping, stopping rapidly trying to find people to get on the bus....its a fun game,and usually I want to play that rather than waiting...I'd say it takes a minimum of 20 mins to actually get going on your way...and thats if your lucky.......sooooo this is why I prefer to take the car......but for that, you have to go to the place of HUSTLE.
The car park!!!
Its where you go to catch a car to wherever you are going. You walk up to it and 30 feet before you approach drivers are already yelling at you, trying to get you in their car...trying to take your bags...telling you all sorts of nonsense. I usually go with the quietiest one. If only they knew that.
Its so fun if you are the first one in, because usually that means waiting another hour before you get to leave, but you dont have anyone elses sweat all up on you, so its not too bad.
So i sit and watch my driver try to convince other people to ride with him. Its all about the Hustle...usually anywhere from 10-15 cars are waiting to get full..I enjoy all the yelling/its a little scary!!!
Sometimes i sip at people to get them to come to the car i am in...the driver likes me most then..and then once its full...i cram into the backseat with 2-3 other people to drive 2 hours dodging cows, goats, and dogs...stopping completely for a 2 inch incline and fearing my life because no one goes the speed limit and if they do we pass them...
and these are your two options...what would you choose???
Peace,Love,and Thrill Rides!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
ooooode to pumping water
Water is essential to living!....being healthy!....and being CLEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(which not gonna lie, I haven't been lately....=attractive, i know.
Where I live I pay 500 Guyanese dollars for water each month($2.50 US)
I have a huge black water tank which I pump the water into from the city water lines once every 3 weeks or so. I have to hook up the pipes to the pump, which is OH so fun!! and then flip a few switches to make sure it is pumping into my tank and not my neighbors.
The city water lines are on from 6-8 or 9ish in the morning, and from 6-9 ish at night so those are the time I can pump it. It takes about 2 hours to fill my tank, and depending on my schedule , I usually don’t have enough time to fill it all the way and because it is up so high, I can never see how full it actually is.
Well last Tuesday i pumped for an hour and a half and just assumed it was pretty full.
Lesson learned: Never make assumptions.
It's never good to find that out on a Saturday afternoon at 12 after you just get done working out…thirsty and dirrrtyy...i've never felt so attractive in my life
oh and did I mention that sometimes this water just doesn’t come on? Yeah not so good to find that out on that Saturday evening…...
:) gotta love the simple things in life....i know i'll never take running water in my house for granted ever again.
Peace Love and Running Water!(and the ability to be clean!!!)
Where I live I pay 500 Guyanese dollars for water each month($2.50 US)
I have a huge black water tank which I pump the water into from the city water lines once every 3 weeks or so. I have to hook up the pipes to the pump, which is OH so fun!! and then flip a few switches to make sure it is pumping into my tank and not my neighbors.
The city water lines are on from 6-8 or 9ish in the morning, and from 6-9 ish at night so those are the time I can pump it. It takes about 2 hours to fill my tank, and depending on my schedule , I usually don’t have enough time to fill it all the way and because it is up so high, I can never see how full it actually is.
Well last Tuesday i pumped for an hour and a half and just assumed it was pretty full.
Lesson learned: Never make assumptions.
It's never good to find that out on a Saturday afternoon at 12 after you just get done working out…thirsty and dirrrtyy...i've never felt so attractive in my life
oh and did I mention that sometimes this water just doesn’t come on? Yeah not so good to find that out on that Saturday evening…...
:) gotta love the simple things in life....i know i'll never take running water in my house for granted ever again.
Peace Love and Running Water!(and the ability to be clean!!!)
I heart SKYPE!
I don’t know who invented Skype, but I would have his babies….assuming it was a male.
For those who have never used it, it’s a website where you can make calls from a computer to a computer for free( or from a computer to a phone for 2 cents a minute) If you have a web-cam whoever you are talking to can see you!! So its a face to face conversation…for free, from hundreds of thousands of miles away= my new favorite way of keeping up to date with peoples lives!
I don’t have access to it very often…but when I do I enjoy making hotdog faces at people im speaking to and my voice apparently sounds like a chipmunk so that’s pretty sexy…who wouldn’t want to get in on that?
Skype name: jillianashjohnson
Its free, kinda silly, easy to use and reallllyyyyyyyyyy awesome! Join so we can talk!!
Peace Love and Skype
For those who have never used it, it’s a website where you can make calls from a computer to a computer for free( or from a computer to a phone for 2 cents a minute) If you have a web-cam whoever you are talking to can see you!! So its a face to face conversation…for free, from hundreds of thousands of miles away= my new favorite way of keeping up to date with peoples lives!
I don’t have access to it very often…but when I do I enjoy making hotdog faces at people im speaking to and my voice apparently sounds like a chipmunk so that’s pretty sexy…who wouldn’t want to get in on that?
Skype name: jillianashjohnson
Its free, kinda silly, easy to use and reallllyyyyyyyyyy awesome! Join so we can talk!!
Peace Love and Skype
oh my goodness!! LITTLE BABY QUESO!!!!
AHHHH im an Auntie! My sister is a MOM! And My parents are GRANDPARENTS! Haha SUCKAS!!!
My sister texted me on Wednesday August 4th telling me that her water was ruptured….She wasn’t due till mid September and for the first time here in Guyana…I wanted to be home :(
She was induced Friday night and baby Darius Lymen Lloyd Gayle came into this world Saturday evening…weighing 5lbs 3 oz! A little chub for 7 weeks early! He would have been a size of a plump butterball turkey if he had waited any longer! Jesse is doing well and little baby Darius is also in good health!!! YAY!!!!!
The first time I saw the picture I never thought I could love something so mucho….and I haven’t even met him yet…Im so thankful!!!
And so excited to hear Jesses momma stories!! She is going to be a great hot momma….just like ours :)
Congrats Sissy!!!!!! Im sooooooooooooooo happy for you! Miss you all soo mucho!!!!
Peace Love and Baby D!
My sister texted me on Wednesday August 4th telling me that her water was ruptured….She wasn’t due till mid September and for the first time here in Guyana…I wanted to be home :(
She was induced Friday night and baby Darius Lymen Lloyd Gayle came into this world Saturday evening…weighing 5lbs 3 oz! A little chub for 7 weeks early! He would have been a size of a plump butterball turkey if he had waited any longer! Jesse is doing well and little baby Darius is also in good health!!! YAY!!!!!
The first time I saw the picture I never thought I could love something so mucho….and I haven’t even met him yet…Im so thankful!!!
And so excited to hear Jesses momma stories!! She is going to be a great hot momma….just like ours :)
Congrats Sissy!!!!!! Im sooooooooooooooo happy for you! Miss you all soo mucho!!!!
Peace Love and Baby D!
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