School Art Projects!

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!

I even had turkey..although it tasted mostly like ham.However, it was the first Thanksgiving ever I have spent away from family, sweating in a tank top, but nevertheless eating copious amounts of food. SO much in fact that I was in pain for hours, and my Gpas tradition of napping didnt even help!

I made Handturkeys with the kids at my school this week...they had no idea what they were doing, or what it was, but they hand tons of fun doing it!!

Here is a list of things they are thankful for:

Spoon
Bed
Ice water
shoes
clothes
friends
family
God
school
teachers
sun
rain
microwave---how do you use that again?
washing mashine----if only!!
hammocks
pencils
learnings
cricket
and fruit!

HAPPY HAPPY DAY! There are so many things to be thankful for!

Ooochie Walli Walli…Ooochie DIWALI!!!!!!

Fun Fact of the day: you can send me boxed wine as along as you label it “concentrated grape juice” on the customs slip…creativity is positivity!! Especially with merlot!! 


Ahh I can’t believe its November…..where has time gone? In this perpetual summer I feel as if the days are just flying fast enough…hoping for them to come any quicker is a shame…and these last days I’ve really just wanted life to go in slow motion.

Monday and Tuesday I was at school…I’ve began doing art projects with the entire school, and the first one is making ornaments! The kids love being in the kitchen and then decorating their creations glitter! (But believe me, more glitter ends up on their faces and skin than on the actual ornament!) We are going to try selling them at the tea party that’s this month at the school!! The kids are so excited!!!!!!!!! Which makes me even more excited!!

Wednesday and Thursday were teacher training days ….the second module of the Inclusion workshop!! Although the rain and all the firecrackers that were let off were a little distracting (Its always fun when you are in the middle of a discussion and you hear a loud, ear frightening Booom!! (I usually have to feel around my body to make sure I wasn’t shot) …and its equally fun to literally shout at other teachers because the rain is so heavy….needless to say I lost my voice for a bit…but there are no holes in my body  But the teachers were very motivated and open to all the new information! It’s one of my favorite things to teach teachers…its challenging as well as a great learning opportunity for me!

After those four days I was grateful for the day off…because on Friday was Diwali!! And it was the first time I got to experience the lighting up Hindu Holiday….

I had to travel over the bridge, to Shieldstown, which is about a 20 minute drive in a minibus from where I live…but this 20 minute drive ended up being an hour and a half wait at the stelling then the 20 minute ride over the bridge….by a woman bus driver…just wanted to throw that out there, because its not common at all for women to drive here.!!! But I was thankful that the tire didn’t blow out and people had to shift all to one side of the bus…cuz that’s when the bus rides get really fun...
Anywho, I made it safe and sound and met up with a few other volunteers and we went out to explore our first Diwali at night. Houses were all lit up with dias (clay pots filled with coconut oil and wicks), Christmas lights were shining bright, and thankfully the last few days that were filled with blackouts seemed to be outshined by that very moment.
We went to Vannis house where her family were so kind enough to make us some potato curry…..oh have I mentioned that Vannis Jahndi was the first one I have ever went to? Jahndis are a different kind of celebration, more like a party, and at it I was being so awkward that I started crying…and apparently no one has ever cried at a Jahndi before. Needless to say I will never live that down. and the family has not forgotten yet.
After eating the curry we walked over to a Mandir. We entered with bare feet as song/chant in Hindi was being sung. .offerings were being made to the God of the light and there was a bang of a chime and blow of a conch. It was so different than anything i've ever experienced spiritually.(although the little girl rolling around on the floor sticking her tongue out at me while I copied her back was very known to me) . At the end they shared some sweet rice, vermicelli, and persaud. … It was a happy day and night…and ended with some pholourie and sour, which is always a good way to end a day.

In fact it should be a way we end each of our days…with new lessons, with good food, with belief in people.

There continues to be so many new ways of learning and experiences to be had...I hope that wherever you are, you’re seeing life as this too. There is not a simple destination we should be reaching….its the life we live in the meantime…the life of the journey that will be our favorite memories…and the light in those memories that will shine on.

Peace, Love and Light!

“I do not think that light is God. I think it is possible, and it is reasonable to say, that light is the language of God. Light may be the way that Gods speaks to the universe and to us.”- Shantaram

Banana Land

What do you do when you are welcomed to a school with hands grabbing for you, pinches to your skin, smiles to your eyes, laughter for your ears? There is nothing like walking into a school ground of primary aged students all reaching to hug you and hold your hand and know your name. There is no other feeling like it, and least to say, it is one of the best feelings a person could possibly feel. Love of children.

Thursday afternoon that’s all that existed to me. Doing school visits around Berbice (visiting teachers in the Inclusion program), has quickly become one of my favorite parts of the week. Tuesday and Thursdays are days that I leave my own school to do this. I enjoy the travel, meeting new teachers, and of course new students 

There’s a kind of luck that’s not much more than being in the right place at the right time, a kind of inspiration that’s not much more than doing the right thing in the right way, and both only really happen to you when you empty your heart of ambition, purpose and plan; when you give yourself, completely to the golden, fate-filled moment.- Shantaram

Peace, Love and this very moment.


This is what I know at this very moment. Nothing is coincidence. Everything is out there, you just have to be open to receive. Family can be found in a place where you know not a soul. It’s possible to slow down in this life. Having a stranger say “Good Morning” to you really does keep you smiling all day. Sometimes afternoon naps are necessary during work, at least when the temperature reaches +30. Cherish every opportunity to learn from someone. A hammock is divine. People want to do things out of the kindness of their heart. When you put passion into everyday you are bound to make it. Sleeping without any covers is possible. Justin Bieber is a worldwide phenomenon. Music can never be too loud. 5:30 a.m is the best time of day. Withdrawl from Berres Brothers Hazelnut coffee is serious. Faith is powerful. Crawling insects and other bugs can’t control me. A blackout is the perfect time to be forced into stillness. Rum is really quite delicious. Knowing your neighbors makes you feel safe. Hearing a voice from home brightens your day. Walking is great exercise. Privacy in a small place is close to impossible. Laugh with life as much as you can. Cricket is much more exciting live. Belonging feels good. We can always give something even if it is only love.

Today’s forecast: Hot as shit with a chance of rain.

Seems like that’s been the same for the past 8 months…and its pretty accurate.

Oh Guyana, I fell in love with you for so many reasons…as well as battled our relationship countless times in my heart and head.

I got back after a week of conferences for Peace Corps, to a bed herded with ants, black cane dust encompassing my floor leaving my bare feet stained black, and a school slowly becoming a hot mess, again.
.As I taught the class and reviewed what they had learned the week I was gone…which apparently was only the fact that one of them had a birthday and they drew a birthday cake…I heard a bustling about the school. 2 of the 5 teachers had left, students were running around. I passed the computer room, which has also turned into a “vocational” skills room. (The headmistress is currently “teaching” hair…but, not so much teaching as leaving 12 year olds playing beauty shop. I walked in to the room to see one of my girls getting relaxer in her hair. It was everywhere, not at all being put in where it should have been, and from the look on her face I could tell the burning had started and was getting more intense with every second. It is supposed to be put on the root..Not the entire length..and it should be done fast as it basically is a product that burns and uncurls the hair…this was not known to the 13 year old putting it in. I quickly asked for the brush and tried as best I could to sign how to do it as I finished it up and told her to rinse it out. …As I left the room I passed by the bathroom But when I got there my eyes met a new intake. A 5 year old that looks like he is 3, standing there naked with poop all over his body. He looked lost and no one was around to ask any questions. There is no running water in the school so I took him outside to the rain tank and started rinsing the poop off of him…but it wasn’t as smooth as I had hoped..Because the rain tank was empty with half his body done. I called the fire station, to have them come and refill the tank.
The fire station moves about as fast as a pineapple grows. I feel like it should be on America’s funniest home videos. They arrived about an hour later, and at that time I finished cleaning up the boy and got back to the classroom with about 40 minutes left to teach. It was one of those moments as I looked around the classroom that I questioned my being there.
What the hell am I doing?!
I exhaled loudly, but no one heard. Smiled softly at the kids and decided it was them that I was there for. I recalled the mural being put up from the day before and a sense of calmness overtook my fast pumping heart. The school day ended.

My walk home took 2 hours that day. I was a bit numb, and couldn’t take the world in quicker than that.

The day all in all was a pretty good one, but I was set back.
Things here are different, not better or worse, but still different, and I felt at that very moment that it was too different for me to have any kind of impact. It’s always a struggle when fighting for something, you lose your path and road and even destination, and feel barricaded into a mindset that is not helpful for the cause. And it may take days, or weeks or months for some to break through that barricade to find the path again, and to focus on the journey not the destination once more. It’s not as important the length of how long that takes, as so long as it happens.
6 days later I am a foot out of that . Lucky me, lucky to be here, throwing just a little more caution to the wind, step by step.

Oh Guyana, I fell in love with you for so many reasons, and here is just one more.

Peace, Love and Breaking through!


“Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that’s all there is: love and its duty, sorrow and its truth. In the end that’s all we have-to hold on tight until the dawn.” – Shantaram pg. 346

One day at a time...............

Things change..and they change fast.
In the past weeks I have lost my grandmother.Called social services. Stayed in Air conditioning. Experienced 9 blackouts. Fell in love with a puppy. Learned 18 new signs. Missed my family. Taught a kid how to write the first letter of his name. Fell in a pothole. Wrote a grant. Finished the first workshop for module one of the Inclusion program. Visited two schools. Taught a child her first sign. Been attacked by ants in my bed. Been bitten by sand flies. Gave countless high fives to kids that deserve the world.contemplated being here. Lived off of 2 U.S. dollars for three days. Cried. Laughed. wrote lots of letters. Missed my grandmas funeral. Skyped friends and family. Read Shantaram(one fantastic book). Felt like i was going to die in the heat. Had a pina colada.

and Hung up the schools first "Mural"

Really I just took tons of pictures and then had kids create a welcome sign. As i put it up all i saw were the childrens smiles and pointing and giggling and it was by far my most favorite moment of the past two weeks.
Just a daily reminder that it doesn't matter where you are in the world...there is beauty and happiness everywhere.

Peace, Love, and Changes!

ants and chiggers and mosquitoes...oh my!!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never had a creature burrow into my skin until this week. Chiggers are little bug parasites that burrow and nest all up in your skin. They itch like a mofo and its especially not fun when its callused in along with a splinter on the side of your foot. Digging it out was quite a sight to see! Im a bit sad I didn’t take a picture, but hopefully It’ll happen again! Fingers crossed! (fail!!!)

I climbed under my mosquito net about 5 minutes ago, if I don’t see ants all over, I consider it quite a success. I usually smile, giggle a bit, and search under my pillow, journal and random books I have enclosed with me just incase there are some hiding. I would say out of the past 48 days, I have not seen ants one of those days. It happens to be tonight, which is what put me in the mood to write. GO TEAM!

My friend Kira came to visit last week!! It was crazy(in a good way) to have someone from “home” be in a place that I now call home. I realized a lot of the things I have in my everyday life here are not “normal” in an American sense.
For example, even though I am a fat kid, I eat for nutrition not for pleasure. I can honestly say I use about 5 gallons of water a day(including bathing, cooking, toileting, drinking) Im pretty sure one flush of the toilet back home is 2-3 gallons??) I buy things out of need,I don’t itch mosquito bites, I don’t indulge often(except in a fan when the power is on) and I have stopped looking at this way as “sacrifice” but more so how most of the people in this world live, and who really needs more?!!

My 4o minute walk to work has become a time when I contemplate this question most.
When I get to school, and 9+ kids bombard me with hugs and smiles its easy to anwer this. I don’t need more …..this is plenty for me, and for this life.

I have been teaching the sign class. I am still not fluent, but I guess it’s the peace corps experience to teach in an unfamiliar culture and in a language you don’t know either. CHECK
Most days it’s the kids and I learning signs together and even though I haven’t gotten to a place where I inspire much logical thinking, I still am there. And to be honest, that’s what most of these kids need. Someone to be there, to care for them, someone they can trust.
I struggle with a lot of students backgrounds. People with disabilities in this culture are not accepted. The lack of education plays a big role in this. There fore most of the children with disabilities are abused, physically, emotionally, sexually: and being there for them, to listen to their stories is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. There is a student that came here without a name, last term I was taking birthdays and I discovered this. He came to the school from social services. He has countless scars on this face and body, his nails have been burned and ripped off so many times most of them don’t grow and he is still extremely shy around new people. He came without a name, a birthday or an age. He has a name now, and a safe place to live, and I asked him to pick his own birthday.(which he did with a smile as he pointed to his bestfriend and picked it to be the same day as his) There are more stories like this, and
Lets just say this week has been especially tough, mostly because I don’t know what to do. It has a lot to do with the way things are in place here,or rather not in place.
If I knew a student was being raped back home, I would know the steps I needed to take to interfere with that situation, atleast get her in a place that was safe. Here I don’t have a clue. And neither does anyone.
I called neighborhood police…but its not the same...and its hard tosleep knowing that. Its even harder to make that 40 minute walk without knowing what my lie ahead.

Man, I didn’t mean for this to sound so negative..maybe not negative but just not maybe so happy?! Life isn’t always so happy I guess, but its our choice to decide the attitude to which we move toward things, and really what’s even more important than that, is to keep moving and not let these things stop us.

Peace, Love and Just keep swimming!!