August 20, 2001
| Hey Everybody- It's Venimai and Venipai just droping a line to let you know that we're alive and well down here in Suriname. I just returned from a two week adventure in Peru with my mother -- wow what a different place. We started our travels in Lima, but then went to Cuzco, Macchu Pichu, Lake Titicaca, and the Nazca Lines. We also had a chance to spend a few mornings in Martincitos, an adult day care center just outside of Lima. Jungle life has really made my blood thin, and I nearly froze my tookus off. Fortunately wool hats, sweaters, gloves and scarves are inexpensive and plentiful, so I didn't loose any limbs, but I am a bit nervous about our first winter back in NE or the Midwest. The touring we did was amazing, but some of the more interesting moments came when we were helping out at the adult day care center. After doing some basic warm up exercises and serving breakfast, the group of volunteers helped the women paint their fingernails and the men shine their shoes ... it felt so good just to give, and not to worry about "sustainable development" or "teachable moments," stuff which we obsess about as PCV's. Anyway, I could go on about Peru, but I won't. If you have questions, write and ask. The only other thing that I will add is that it was terrific to see and travel with my mom. As long as you're willing to travel on a shoestring and bargain hard for your souvineers you can't ask for a better travel buddy. While I was freezing in Peru (can't you hear the violins?) Scott was finishing up the school year in Brokopondo. As is to be expected, the school year in Brokopondo ended about 2 weeks before it ended anywhere else. Rumor has it though that Scott was not frustrated by the early close of school, but instead decided to have a little fun and taught Judy Blume's "Freckle Juice." The kids were hooked on the story, go Venipai! After finishing up the school year Scott welcomed his dad to Suriname for a 10 day tour of the tropics ... I'll let him tell you about that bit though, since I was out of town ... Boy, what fun! If Peace Corps wasn't crazy enough, inviting people to come stay with me was the solution... and I mean that in the best of ways. My father and I had a blast traveling to Brownsberg, the country's nature parks that looks over the great dammed Affobaka Lake, and up the Suriname River to Abenaston, Pamboko, and Pokigon with my host father Ernie and my neighbor Ripi. (Ripi had kindly agreed to drive us everywhere for a fair price.) Out of all the extraordinary sights and cultural experiences, one of may father's comments rang true in my ears. "These people [the Maroons] are the friendliest people I've ever been with," he explained after our journeys South and a few days in Brokopondo. I'd agree, and hearing that has helped me find a greater appreciation for where and with who Kerry and I were placed for our Peace Corps services. One of our greater accomplishments of his trip was fantastic filming of all the parts of Suriname that are important to us: friends, villages, awful roads, Paramaribo. All in all Kerry and I have had a pretty good mid-service vacation. We're ready to head back to 'Pondo to help out with a Farmer-to-Farmer peanut production project in the Brokopondo District. A farmer from Georgia is heading down to do workshops with the peanut growers in our area. I think we'll learn a lot, and do a lot of translating. Goodbye for now. We'll be back in three weeks... so we hope to hear from you all. Kerry and Scott P.S. - Kerry says Miami airport is a great cure for the longing for American culture. She was happy to be back in Suriname. . |
| You'll never guess what your crazy friends in Suriname have done! We just finished Suriname's half-marathon. 21.1 km of pure, unadulterated longevity... especially considering we just found out about it last Friday and hadn't trained for it. The longest we had run in Suriname was 11 km. We finished with a respectable time of 2 hours 13 minutes. We were pretty far back in the pack. However, we soon realized that there are very few recreational runners in Suriname. Those recreational types play soccer I guess. The entire race was comprised of only about 50 to 60 people. But here's the big news: Kerry finished 3rd in the women's bracket. Yeh Kerry! Me, well, I just finished. We ran together and had a great time. Take care everyone! Scott. P.S. - the winning time was 1 hour 15 minutes. Some young man, a soccer player I think. |
July 5, 2001
May, 2001
| Forest night frogs sing In all colors as rain takes Time to the river. - A haiku by Venipai Well, what a day. Our usual Thursday would send us to school for an hour of English with the MULO 2 class (sophomores) and then back to the house to work on the garden or some other small project. Not today though. No, today we arrived to school to find out that the bus drivers are on strike throughout the country for not getting paid. This comes after only a half a day of school yesterday, a holiday the day before, and no school on Monday. And we just had two weeks off for the Easter holiday. Ugh. These poor children. "So, is this day shot?" I ask myself. Actually, no. As has been proven in the past, our Peace Corps service is governed by a strong-willed set of Ying and Yang. As we walked home slowly after school. The district secretary, Efna, stopped us to chat. What ensued was most likely the beginning of a new chapter of our service here Brokopondo. Our Peace Corps predecessors in Brokopondo, Lynn and Ballard, worked with Efna to bring a new day-care center to the community. Unfortunately, the project lost its funding through the Dutch Embassy. Now Efna wants to try again. This time with a different funder, Microproject. The total cost of this day-care center is approximately $10,000. Not much, but a lot to this interior town of Suriname. The project proposal is already written. Dates and numbers (because of inflation) need changing, but not much else. There are already blueprints drawn up and a site for the building has been chosen. And, to make things even better, Efna has already contacted Microproject and discussed the feasibility of fundings the project. She says it's a "go" if we can help her redo the project proposal that Ballard and Lynn wrote last year. Three hours and done. Now it is back to her. A project that is not even ours. I like it. One other project that may come to fruition is a computer training center for the town. A non=profit called EduCons is setting up computer training facilities throughout the more populated areas of Suriname. Brokopondo and Muengo are vying for the next center. Kerry and I have been approached by another PCV that woks for EduCons in Paramaribo to assist in collecting demographic stats on Brokopondo and the surrounding towns. EduCons is trying to decide whether it is feasible and productive to put a training center here. It is a great deal for Brokopondo and the surrounding because EduCons will provide the computers, a printer, air conditioning and security. I am hoping Brokopondo's government doesn't let this pass by. There would be not Internet access, but plenty of software and hardware training. What a great opportunity for the young people of the area! Other updates for projects? Well, the basketball court still has one more to go. We have to wait for those stars to align again I suppose. School is finally back after a five week hiatus. The garden is beginning Phase II. We're enlarging one bed for herbs, leafy greens, peppers (hot and sweet), and cucumber. Another bed is in the process of being created and located between the house. Up until this past week, I could never dream of planting behind the house. Remember all the garbage there was there when we first moved in? It was awful. But now it's beautiful. I think I will plant long beans there. The other bed in the front yard still has eggplant in it. They are the healthiest, least productive vegetable plants on earth. We're keeping them out of spite. They gotta produce one fruit at least. (And they have. As of June 3 there were nine fruits!) The last front worth writing about is our relationship with the community. In general, it has been very good. However, the longer we live here the more we think about who we are to the community and to ourselves; lately we've decided we're not happy with it. We seem to be living another life here. No surprise-we're in another culture, speaking a different language. We have different name though (Venimai and Venipai). We dress differently. We do things differently. I'll admit it's difficult to live so drastically different from our life in America, but that's not the issue here. The issue is how will anyone here learn about us when we're someone else, when we're more white Saramakkans than Americans living in Brokopondo. It is a situation that calls for a slow transition. We don't have a plan, but we've started thinking and doing. I've put my earring back in. It caused a stir with the older folks for a bit, but I'm still the same Venipai they knew before. It's funny to see their reactions when I tell them I've had what my mother thought of it. Don't worry, Mom, I told them you loved it! They're used to it. All the women hate my beard. But Kerry always chimes in saying she love it. They love laughing at this. Anyway, the identity thing has been an emotional roller coaster. We just can't neglect our own needs (based on our own personalities) for two years. That's not what we are here to do anyway. It's only another 15 months. Kerry and I just can't tell whether we should be happy at the speed or sad. Dumundu, Scott and Kerry . |
Letter to Kingswood-Oxford faculty
| Hey y'all. I thought I'd fill you in on the daily life of two displaced teachers from independent schools in Connecticut. So, with that, here's what's on my mind: veggie omelet, potatoes, bacon extra crispy, and a cup of coffee a la Quaker Diner. Hey, say hi to Diane when you're in next. Is Thursday still happenin'? I must admit, it's not the food I miss. We usually have sweet rice (rice, powdered milk, sugar, cinnamon, raisins cooked like oatmeal) or oatmeal with a cup of Starbucks in the morning after a run. I can't complain. Although, I miss the people. Everyone at Quaker, or some of the faculty in the Suffield Academy dining hall early in the morning, of Cory Flintoff on Morning Edition on NPR, or maybe yelling at the copier with Krugman. The familiar rituals are tough to evacuate from dreams, day or night. The friends are irreplaceable. Kerry and I just completed our seventh month in Suriname (I feel like I'm on Survivor.) We are very excited about this because everything in our training suggested an „early termination‰ was on the near horizon. The food, the transportation, the forward culture. They were all jagged horse pills that we somehow managed to swallow (and pass!!) We also just completed our first In-Service Training. It was a wonderful reunion with our fellow volunteers. Because we went through training and homestays side by side with these people, and experienced the same high highs and low lows, the bond between everyone is amazingly strong. The Peace Corps staff did their best to execute a well intentioned „Project Design and Management‰ workshop during the week, but all we thought about was playing volleyball afterwards and shooting the sh--. Exchanging stories of village life is wonderfully therapeutic. You wouldn't believe all the goofy things we've done in the first months of service all out of naiveté. One couple found out they were burying their trash on sacred land reserved for washing the dead. One man accidentally burned down an enormous tree in his village while he was burning brush in the yard. One woman ran out or lost all her tampons and was forced to use socks until she could get into Paramaribo. One couple was asked to take pictures of a woman naked. One man fell out of a coconut tree and broke his toe after trying to cut a coconut off. The coconut fell on his head just like in the cartoons. Another man was carrying cassava back from a ground (i.e. a rainforest garden) and ran into a low branch of a tree with his head. The same man, two weeks later, hit his head on a bus stop shelter roof. One woman, after being advised by the other village women not to wash so late in the afternoon, went to wash at the creek anyway. As soon as she had stripped herself down to nothing but her glasses, all the village men appeared at the bank to wash. Oh, the follies of being a Peace Corps volunteer. Just think of all the good things we're teaching the people of Suriname about Americans. You should be proud. Speaking of wildlife, we've had a lot of interactions of late. The ants continue to amuse, and bite, and infect us. Hey, it's a rainforest. The small toads and chameleons like to fall on our heads from the ceiling. We like to say they occasionally lose their „magic.‰ Several bird-size moths have invaded and dive-bombed us during our evening card games. Three small black monkeys called Koosies watched us return from the neighboring village today. One the way we saw (with the help of some kids who pointed it out to us) an iguana in a tree. A large gray owl flew over our house with a baby chick as we were working in our garden. The kids killed a four foot red snake in our neighbors yard last week. Beyond that, our life is filled with chickens and itching children. So, what's the latest triumph in our lives? Well, besides the 7 month thing, I guess teaching the second of three trimesters for the school year. Although we didn't really know it was the end of the term until we showed up to school and the headmaster asked us for our grades and told us we have a faculty meeting the next day. I guess that's what happens when we speak no Dutch. The real triumph, I believe, is getting our septic tank and drainage system fixed by the government workers. The five week project cost us two bottles of rum and 100,000 guilders (approx. $40). Oh, and a bunch of baked goods from Kerry, and too much unearned gratitude. The politics in this town are enough to drive me into the jungle. But we do have a lot of friends now, and prefer to be at site than in Paramaribo. A good sign. Take care everyone. Don't let the chiggers drag you down! Dumundu, Scott and Kerry . |
May 18, 2001
| Dear All- It's May 18th here and the weather is, well, not too much different than it was April 18th, March 18th and February 18th. We're in the midst of the big rainy season, but since the dry seasons here are not particularly dry and the rainy seasons are not overly rainy, there's really not a whole lot new to report from the weather department. From what I gather from your letters, the weather back home has changed. This is a good thing. Now when your letters come they won't make us jealous or homesick for good old fashioned New England or Midwest winters. From what I hear the days back home are getting longer and the nights shorter. When we arrived in Suriname I though it remarkable that sunrise and sunset occurs at the same time every day of the year here. Now, I think, it would be wierd to see the sun any time after 6:30. Our lives out at site are pretty routine, and when I think about it, much of that routine is determined by the sun. We're up and running (literally) by 6:30 every morning, resting when the sun is hottest between 1:00 and 3:00, playing volleyball or basketball at 5:30 and inside getting ready for the next day by 7:00. As far as seasons go here, we can plant pretty much any time of the year (except June when the rains are too heavy) ... and we can buy any of the locally grown veggies or fruits any month of the year because, except for locally grown rice, everything grows all year every year. How exciting your lives all with seasons ... In just this last batch of letters there were references to noreasters, thunderstorms, migrating birds, crocuses, spring smells, melting snow, and shorts weather. But I guess you're all more interested in what's going on in Suriname than about my ruminations about weather patterns back at home. It was Scott's birthday last week (he's 28) and, as far as I can tell, it was a good day. The classes didn't riot, we enjoyed a nice run, the rains kept the regular afternoon crowd of kids at bay and we took a nice walk to Tapoeripa, a neighboring village, to visit a PCV friend. While in Tapoeripa we enjoyed rum and Cokes and sundried tomato bread that she had made over the stove earlier that day. (The sundried tomatoes were sent from the States.) For his birthday Scott received a Hawaiian print shirt, handkerchief and Planters Cheese Curls. (You can find just about anything here in Suriname if you're willing to look hard enough.) Mother's day was also last week. And, if you received my last email, you know that we were in town just 10 days ago buying presents for Mother's day ... an event here that is as significant to shop owners as Christmas is to Walmart back at home. Anyway, we bought lots of rip off perfumes and flower hankies for all of the mothers in our lives here. The wrapped gifts were presented at church, and even I received a gift from Scott since, after all, in Brokopondo every woman who is, was, or might someday be a mother gets to take part in Mother's day. Scott wrapped a skirt that I had already bought myself ... I think we're just sort of superstitious and didn't want to push our luck since pregnancy at this point in our lives would be, well, rather inconvenient to say the least. Speaking of mothering ... the latest in farming news is the hen who has taken to laying her eggs in a waste paper box that we have sitting on the balcony outside the door. She's produced at least 6 eggs so far (all tasty) and we've yet to find out whose chicken she is ... so until then we're eating truly free range eggs. Other domestic matters ... The cook house that we had a "family" friend construct in January still has not been toped with its tassi leaf roof. Rumor has it that the guy in Buslanti (a village down river from Brokopondo) who tied the tassi for us sold it to someone else. Oh well. So for now we have the most elaborate clothes hanging system in the district. So let's see ... School is going well, or at least as well as school goes in Brokopondo. Classes resumed three weeks ago following a three week spring break, but of the 40 classes that we should have had in those three weeks, we've been able to meet with only 20. And to think, I used to get bent out of shape when I lost a class to photo day or parents weekend. Makes me sort of wonder what school was like on the American frontier. Oh yes, and then there's adult education. Scott has taken to translating love letters from Saramakkans to English for our friend Clarence who then sends the letters to a Swiss tourist he met last month. He is also trying to piece together the complicated system by which folks here acquire land, build houses and open businesses. This is what he has discovered so far: A)The first thing a prospective land holder must do is request the papers for the land from the government. B)This request is free, but can take up to five years to process. C)In order to get a loan from a bank to build a house the prospective builder must present government papers which show that he or she is approved to build on the land. D) The preferred collateral for acquiring a loan is a house. I think he'll probably have to leave the solution to this problem to the next volunteer. While Scott's been writing love letters and attempting to figure out the circular logic of land rights and ownership in Suriname, I've been holding phantom adult ed English lessons. At least three times a week we are asked when we are going to begin teaching English lessons to adults (something which, incidentally, I think is a silly waste of time). Anyway, about every other week I attempt to hold these adult English classes and not once has a single student showed up for class. I'm sure there's something cultural going on here. But to be honest, I don't mind the phantom classes. The classes give me an excuse to leave Scott with the kids at the house and to read a Newsweek alone in the Zaal (meeting pavillion). It's sort of nice, but kid of wierd. And then there was the meeting that the community held three weeks ago ... the first meeting the community has held since we've been living in Brokopondo ... it was a meeting that was called by the soccer team, led by Venimai (that's me) and was about how Brokopondo needed to build a soccer stadium that could seat at least 1000 people. Oh yes, they ball players want the stadium to have changing rooms, electricity, water, a meeting room, bar, and 12 foot high walls ... When I asked how they planned to fund the stadium, one bold local said that I could just write home and have my friends send money. Whatever. When I told them that that is not what Venimai ku Venipai are here to do, they sort of shrugged and continued to count how many pieces of zinc it would take to cover the seating area. Oh well. Ok, this is a long letter that doesn't need to get any longer, but here's one last story before you get on your way to do whatever it is you're doing today. For those of you on our mailing list who are returned PCV's I'm sure you understand what I mean when I say that the typical PCV has a very tortured relationship with time. There is not a day that goes by that Scott and I don't wish that we could press the fast forward button and to a moment sometime in the future when we are driving down a smooth paved highway, playing catch with Casey, eating pizza, buying Cheerios, going to Quaker Diner, etc. etc. etc. At the same time, however, we are daily tortured by the fact that our service is nine months gone, will soon be at the half way mark, and doesn't seem like it's even begun. Given our problem with time here, it seems rather ironic that my mother has sent no fewer than eleven calendars to us since the new year. There's got to be some meaning behind this gesture, or at least behind the irony of the gesture, but I'm not quite sure what it is. Well, I guess that's all the news that's fit to print. The next batch of volunteers will be arriving in country on June 4 and most of the volunteers who came the year before Scott and arrived will be leaving in August. What this means is that in just a few weeks we'll no longer be the rookies around here, it's kid of like graduating from the freshman to the sophomore class ... a bigger deal for us than really anyone else around here. Hope all's well. We're thinking of you! Love, Kerry and Scott . |
April 25, 2001
| Hey Everybody, Again! Here's an expanded version written by Kerry about our trip up the Suriname River, up "Samakka Konde." Greetings again from sweaty Suriname. It?s the week after Easter here, and for us that means a week of travel, rest and relaxation. Last Saturday (that would be the day before Easter) we and the rest of Brokopondo headed up the Suriname River to pass the holiday in Botopasi, a Saramakkan village of about 4000 people. The journey entailed several hours of land travel via DAF and just as many hours of water travel via motorized dug out canoe. There were two DAF trucks full of people and lai (luggage), and if ever there has been a time in my life here in Suriname that we were afraid for my life it was while we were traveling via DAF to Achoni to catch our boats. By now you?ve heard about the trials of DAF transport. Now imagine two DAF trucks, each heavily burdened with cargo racing on a small dirt highway through the Amazon Rain forest. Need we mention the maintenance records of either vehicle ... or the fact that last year a safety inspection found that nearly two thirds of the DAF trucks on the highway did not have adequate brakes. Enough said. The boat trip was more relaxing, but for an ex-river rafter (Kerry, not Scott; he's afraid of white water!), was quite interesting. As we headed up river in our motorized canoe (full, of course with people and lai) Kerry could only wonder what her guiding days might have been like if the rafts she worked on were equipped with motors ... or could go up river. What is particularly handy about the motors, and about traveling up river, is that any miscalculation can easily be remedied by simply cutting the engine or gunning the engine. Kerry also decided that running rapids backwards is a whole different can of worms than running them front words. Sadly, however, the Suriname River is just as merciless as the Arkansas or Kennebec. Boat flippings are a fairly regular occurrence, and drownings are as regular as motor vehicle fatalities are in the states. In fact, as we were feasting in Botopasi a Saramakkan man died when his boat capsized in one of the sulas (rapids). What is interesting is that many people who live on the river don?t know how to swim, and very few, if any, have ever seen, let alone worn, a life jacket. We Americans live in a very safety oriented world -- a luxury which economic plenty has afforded us. But enough of this depressing stuff ... on with the fun. Our weekend at Botopasi was great. We had the most fun in church on Easter Sunday. Our Brokopondo friends are accustomed to half hour church services, twenty minutes of which is usually spent singing a handful of Saramakkan favorites very loudly and off key. Thus it was with good humor that we watched the Brokopondo Easter pilgrims squirm through a two and a half hour service during which two unfamiliar hymns were painfully sung. Saramakkans are not good at dissembling their feelings and we were highly entertained. We also enjoyed talking with many of the older Saramakkans who had never before in their lives seen white people (bakka) speak Saramakkan. How funny it was to hear people whisper as we passed ?they speak Saramakkan and not Dutch, isn?t that strange!? Our journey on the Suriname brought us also to New Aurora (our host mother?s village), Abenaston and Pokigron (other Peace Corps sites). Each village was a little different, and each beautiful in its own way. What struck us as sad was that, compared to our government town of Brokopondo, the leadership and pride among the people of these villages was so much greater. Their schools were beautiful and the homes well maintained. The people of Brokopondo are wonderful people, but they take little pride in their town and as a result the town is, as people say here, ?broken? or ?broko.? Because Brokopondo is a government town, people are of the mind that it is the government?s responsibility to maintain and oversee it. It?s kind of like an American suburb in that people don?t necessarily know their neighbors, and that people really come from all over the interior to live and work there. People live in Brokopondo because their jobs take them there, because they need to live there, or because they have nowhere else to go. Very few, if asked, call Brokopondo home. Anyway, we?ll be in town until Friday night. We hope to meet with a the geography teacher to begin work on a school map project that next year?s Mulo kids will work on, and then with the head of the school to talk about repairing the broken Mulo school. Like we said, we?ll be in town, and what that means is that we?ll be near computers. So keep the emails coming. So many of you are wonderful letter writers. And just in case you?re feeling guilty about not writing once a week, don?t, we read your letters over and over and over again, so it doesn?t really matter if you wrote once or a hundred times. We?re thinking about you all, and glad that you weathered the winter. Think spring and drop us a line to let us know what?s up. Kerry and Scott . |
April 22, 2001
| Hey Everyone! We just got back from a up-river exploration to 'Samakka' for the Easter holidays with most everyone from Brokopondo. What a blast. We took a 3.5 hour boat ride up river to Botopasi. We went thru 4 rapids with 20 meter dugout boats powered by 40 hp Yamahas. It was nuts going up rapids, weaving between rocks in such a large vessel filled with over 30 people and their stuff. We stayed in Botopasi for three nights. The days consisted of church and soccer. The nights were spend watching Samakkans theater (what a blast, very Shakespearean with men in drag and all in Samakkans) and dancing. Unforunately, Easter Sunday festivities were hampered by news from downriver that two children died in a house fire. The trip was great because we were able to see everyone we know from Brokopondo in an entirely new element. Some people were so used to the suburban rainforest life in 'Pondo (with running water and government housing) that the village life scared them a bit. And it was obvious. Some people weren't too eager to wash in the river and were frantically looking for drinking water and a place to poop. So were we though. It was also nice to go to a village that has never seem a Peace Corps volunteer before. "Look, a white person who speaks no Dutch, but only Saramakkans!" It was worth the trip just for that. After the celebrations, we broke from the Brokpndo group and headed to Abenaston to visit two PCVs (Jeremy and Bridget from Portland, Maine) for a night. Their place is heaven. The house is quaint and cute like a cottage on a Maine lake. They have a great clean creek nearby and their garden is very nice. My favorite part of their hasienda is the pee path for daytime privacy. The worst thing is their outhouse situation, but they've vowed to motivate the village lumber man to get them the wood to build a new one. Their village seems motivated as far as Saramakkans go and their spirit is jovial. Jeremy and Bridget served us up a spankin' meal of pesto bowtie pasta. Thank goodness for Knorr spice packets. From there we went to Pokigron with them to visit two other PCVs (Pete and Alison from Pennsylvania) for three nights. Their house is cute as well, with a nice creek nearby. They have chickens and a great garden. Jeremy, Pete, and I turned the compost Wednesday and layed some on a new bed they hope will grow all sorts of yummy leafy greens. Their village is not so motivated, so they get a bunch of time to themselves to work on projects. My favorite thing about their pad is their outhouse. It is of superior quality engineered by the daring SUR6'er Patrick of Tapeoripa and the sensible Pete of Pokigron. The thing that sucks about their site is the infrequent visitors. Really infrequent. Now we're in the city for until Friday to get some programming done until school starts back up from break next Monday. So, please email back ASAP. Anyway, take care everyone. We hope everyone is in good health and spirits! Love, Scott and Kerry. . |
April 7, 2001
| What's the latest in Suriname? Well... it's been seven months in-country for us and it's only getting more exciting. As our service progresses, we have begun to realize why Peace Corps service is a two year commitment. It's taken a while just to get our feet wet... and get the local skin fungi. After Jen and Erin (our first visitors from home!!!) left, we had an in-service training in the city for a week. We head back to Brokopondo Sunday to teach a week, then on April 14 we're headed deep into „Saramaka‰(what people call all the villages up the Suriname river, south of the Affobakka Dam and Lake). We'll be heading to a village called Botopasi to celebrate Easter. The price is 40,000 guilders per person ($20) for bus and boat transportation and all the food! What a deal! All we need to bring is hammocks, a spoon, a plate, a cup, and cameras. It's a three day trip with probably 50 to 70 others from Brokopondo. Not exactly a relaxing time - culture, culture, culture in our faces - but it will be fun. We hope to stay in Abenaston and Pokigron with two other PCV couples on the way out for a few more days. It's fun to get together with other volunteers. We share our war stories and get to see how common and uncommon our experiences are. The volunteers who live in Taporipa - right down the street about a half an hour walk - are having a completely different experience than us. They even speak a different language. They don't teach „full time‰ at a school, but they do small English lessons twice a week at the elementary and are involved in a school expansion project and a latrine project in a village across the river. Taporipa is kind of a cowboy town with a teen and „20-something‰ male population that works gold. Brokopondo, one the other hand, is a government center. It's houses are all government houses for gov't employees. Some two stories, some one story. Taporipa is a relocation village from the Affobakka dam project it the Œ60s. All (or most) of the houses were built by the government. All are one story and are very close to one another. Any roads in the town re just wide enough to pass a small car through. Brokopondo is wide open with houses set many yards apart and from the street. A main dirt road runs through the town and parallel with the river out to Taporipa and beyond. As you can tell, not only are the towns different in design, but the cultures are dramatically different too. So, when the Taporipa volunteers and Kerry and I get together we sometimes wonder if we're in the same country let alone the same river. Let's see . . . school is going well. It's tough though to deal with the old Dutch, colonial educational system. It is truly a system designed to teach rote learning, not to teach problem solving skills and independent thought. It is a disempowering system. After having to correct the geography teacher about the „52 states of America‰ and to explain to the Spanish teacher why American school don't teach Dutch to students, I begin to understand how septic educational systems can be. I would love to see some reform, but I am in no position to criticize. We'll have to settle with „single classroom reform‰ within our English classes. We're trying to get the kids to do more that write down what we write on the board. Working in groups and answering open-ended questions is difficult for the average 16 year-old here. It is clear that the educational system has hampered the people's ability to govern themselves, to led themselves. Simple projects requiring simple leadership are unexpectantly difficult to execute. Take the basketball court for instance. We began a restoration project of the local derelict basketball court with the town police in December. After waiting a month or so, one of the policemen finally bought the cement. We had pulled the backboards that had fallen over without sufficient anchors the clay soil. The children were excited when the project began, but after waiting so long for the cement, their flare had been diminished. After another month of pestering, the local children finally got enough energy up to carry buckets of sand and gravel from the river to the court to mix into the cement. With the holes dug, the supplies at hand, and a new excitement among the kids, we waited for another four weeks (and about three missed meetings with all the kids ready to work) to get an adult with cement mixing smarts to the court. Now, after a minor miracle, we have one backboard up. One more to go. We may have to wait for the stars to line up just right again. On a totally diffierent topic... we wonder if we'll go home with a sweet tooth. The jungle fruits here are yummy. There are fruits like mangos, papaya, and bananas here all year round. But what's really cool are the smaller fruits that act as substitutes for delicacies such as raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Two good ones are in season now: awwaas and mipaas. They are both palm fruits and are delicious! Erin and Jen sort of liked the creamy flavor of the mippaas (when they don't have worms in them), but don't like the stringy nature of the awwaas. Anyway, time with Erin and Jen has flown. We've had a great time. They didn't end up going to Galibi, the sea turtle reserve near French Guiana. They spent a majority of their time in Brokopondo with plenty to do. We came to ŒPondo on Wednesday (via DAF!) and introduced them to the village. We took a trip to Tapoeripa to visit Bobbie and Patrick (the PCVs there) and then headed off to Brownsberg. We stayed for three nights and saw a ton of monkeys, parrots, snakes, and frogs. We even smelled (but never saw) a bunch of wild pigs. On Monday morning we came back to ŒPondo to teach. Anyway, the last two days here have been fun. We (Kerry and I) taught and then adventured everywhere with Erin and Jen. Jen got to wash clothes with Kerry in the river and Erin was able to go fishing. Unfortunately, the washing (and carrying the wet clothes back to the house on her head) was hard work, and the piranha weren't biting. They did get a chance to have one of our favorite rainforest treats: dulu-dulu (a tea made from a tree-like vine that tastes like chai). What is been the best part about having them here is to have two worlds mix. It makes me believe that home is not too far away. Having them here has really opened our eyes to how far we've come in the 7 months in Suriname; we've really assimulated and come to tolerate a lot... like the DAF rides. Also, Elsje (our host mom) was very kind to them. She gave them cuyaas (calabashes) and a stitched kosu as a thank you for visiting. It was out of no where. She and her family are some of the kindest people I've ever met. That's the news from the bush. Until next time, stay away from slithering vines. Dumi weki, (Sleep & Wake) Scott and Kerry . |
Ground hog day email
| Greetings all and happy groundhog's day! So, do you think winter will end soon? As far as I'm concerned, I hope not, as I've really enjoyed listening to all of the familiar bird songs down here this January. Believe it or not, birds really do fly south for the winter, and they're all here! It's really neat! Anyway, we're back in town to stock up on life's necessities. Believe it or not, Scott and I polished off a 10kg bag of rice in a little under two months. For the locals in Brokopondo this is nothing to write home about (they all think we're nuts for not having polished off a 25kg bag of rice!), but for us it is quite an accomplishment. I don't think I've eaten 5kg of rice in the past five years! Anyway, we also ran out of laundry detergent, flour and cooking oil, so we're in town to stock up and get some essential programming needs taken care of. As many of you know, Scott and I were to begin working with the local Mulo school this January, which we have done. Though to use the word "work" is a bit ambitious, as for the most part just spin our wheels. The text books that the kids have are quite useless, and school meets less often than it doesn't meet. Students don't have school if the roads are bad (they're bad when it rains), if the DAF trucks are broken (they break frequently), if the teachers don't show up (which happens also happens frequently) or really if there's any other reason not to have school. As a resuly, Scott and I have found that if we plan a solid lesson plan for Monday, that single day of lesson planning will often not have been executed by Thursday. This does not mean, however, that Scott and I do not attend school every day. We, and a few others, are faithful attendees, but often return home shortly after we arrive. It's quite a change from the 6 day a week boarding school routine. Oh well. We're trying to keep a sense of humor about it all, and realize that anything we do is a help ... "anything" I am begining to believe, incluces setting a good example of what teachers should do every morning -- namely go to school. We've also started working with elementary school kids every Wednesday afternoon. We play simple math and English games, and generally have a blast. My favorite games are Bingo, Simon Says and Memory, though singing the Hokey Pokey is worth a few good laughs too. The young kids are great, and attendence at these after school sessions are 100% ... makes me wonder if we should hold all the Mulo classes in the afternoon. And as if we weren't busy enough, we've also started working with a group of teens to rebuild the basketball court. One of the local police officer sorts (now there's a topic I should write about ... I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the police and the ner do wells in town) is willing to provide the cement and paint for the court if the kids are willing to provide the people power to get it reparied. Progress is slow with this project though ... expect more in May. On the medical front, Scott continues to have far more jungle adventures than I. Just last week a local medicine man extracted a 3 inch long worm that had found its way into Scott's arm via a mosquito. We thought about preserving the worm and sending it to our World Wise Scool connections, but were afraid that it might not make it past customs. Our garden is doing well. We initially spaced our eggplants about 24 inches apart from one another, but were forced to move them when the local agriculture "expert" told us that they wouldn't grow unless they were at least a meter apart. (I can't think of anything other than saplings that I would plant a meter apart!) But there are some battles in this world that I am simply not willing to fight, and the spacing of my eggplant is one of them. At any rate, the plants were moved and continue to grow well. Though we're seriously considering inviting in an agriculture specialist to talk a little bit about more intensive growing methods. Mother, you asked about the fate of the cut down trees in the photo I sent to you? Well, believe it or not, what you see there is a Saramaccan garden plot. Saramaccans have "grounds" or farms in the heart of the jungle usually several kilometers away from their homes. To make a ground one must cut down all of the trees in August, burn the ground in September or October and begin planting in and around the charred trees in November and December. The process is long, back breaking and terribly ineficient, but that's the way it's done. I believe this method of farming comes from the fact that, at least initially, all Maroon people were fugitives and under constant threat of discovery/ invasion. So to keep the food stores at a safe distance from the village was a way of always insuring food, even if the village were to be attacked by slave hunters or government officials. As far as I can tell the reason why the tradition of keeping ground continues today is a matter of pride. Grounds, by the way are usually about an acre large, and it is not unusual for one woman to have 4 or 5 grounds that she rotates through the course of 4 or 5 years -- as the soil is not particularly good. Just a thought (from Scott) about intensive gardening, or the lack there of. We are trying to keep a small garden in our front yard, but the soil is pretty awful. So, we have begun to compost all the grass cuttings, egg shells, vegetable scraps, and leaves we can so after two years we can have a fair yield. Unfortunately, we do have to do with local experts as Kerry mentioned. One of the experts landed in our compost pile last week. He is a over-aged rooster that is both deaf and blind. I believe he flew out of his nightly roosting spot inour pumerack tree and into our compost bin. We found him there in the morning unable to get out, and probably unable to understand what was keeping him in. Even after I opened the wire, he remained in there. There has to be a metaphor in this story somewhere. Anyone?... Anyway, as you can see, we're quite happy here. Life is good. We've enjoyed reading all of the letters that have come our way; indeed, some of them have been read multiple times! We have both decided that the hardest part about Peace Corps is being far away from the people who we love the most. So keep those letters coming! Scott & Kerry . |
February 3, 2001
| Anyway, like I was saying about Kerry and her bread making...people are asking her to teach them how to make bread. This is big because people in Saramaccan village who are not members of the primary families are generally ignored. Even if a man or woman has a real skill. They are generally purposely overlooked if they are not a blood relative of the village. The same goes for spouses. It's a shame in some cases because the village may suffer while they have the solution to the problem in their midst. So, as you can see, people asking Kerry to teach them her skills means she is very well accepted into the village. Other good things, hmmm. There are plenty. One of the finest times in our day is the runs we take every morning. We usually begin before the sun rises so watching the light creep through the mist through the trees is unbelievable. We frequently see pakia, pingo, armadillo, conconi and other bush meat (and snakes) on our run. It's great medicine for relaxation before a busy day. Well, it's time fore me to finish this up. We have a billion things to do before we head out tomorrow. Take care. - Scott . |
January 17,2001
| I thought I'd write a letter while I'm thinking of my time here and what it means. This letter will probably span a few days so we'll see how my opinions change. The one thing I've had difficulty dealing with is how my feelings ebb and flow. And it's not even day by day, it can be morning I can't wait to complete my bloody service and then in the afternoon I want to stay for three years. What influences my feelings of doing Peace Corps in Suriname? Many factors come into play and then sometimes nothing will spark a longing for life as I knew it. Let's see, when I have a good day, maybe in the classroom with the MULD 3 students (Juniors), I feel right at home. The simple, well-known equation of hard work=happiness (because of my desire to be productive...can you say "American"?) feels so wonderful when it comes to fruition. Sometimes I realize why we're here when I can verse with my neighbor about America or about some of the problems the community of Brokopondo faces. I am slowly realizing that merely listening to the people here empowers them to ward change (or the desire to develop). I also am told, maybe once or twice a week, that people here are happy we have learned their language. Respect has been earned through our interest in how they live. Even some of the elders who have remained tightlipped in the first few months have opened up, chatted with us along the road taught us some of the older, rarely used Saramaccan word and phrases. I think I will continue listing the factors that make me feel this experience is worthwhile; it's making me feel good! One big factor that doesn't seem so big on the surface is the "asking to be taught." Kerry has turned into the bread making expert of the greater Brokopondo region. She has probably taught over then different women to bake bread in the past month. Why is this peculiar you might ask? Well, western comforts aren't exactly new to some of the people in Brokopondo, so ovens have been around in households since the late 70's and early 80's. They are simple gas ovens with a four burner range and they are economy sized; tiny compared to the standard GE. However, ovens didn't start popping up here because of need; they simply come with the four burner range and represented a move toward greater wealth. In fact, as far as I can see many of the "timesaving" household appliances here are merely status symbols and don't enable people to be more productive to get more done. Because, simply put, there is nothing much else to get done for many peop.e here besides cooking, cleaning, etc. The refrigerator and freezer has helped people keep food, but the clothes washers, the handheld mixers? Ha, you should see the clothes washers here! You have to put the water in yourself; it does a wash cycle; it empties from a hose; you have to put two more lads of water in for the rinse cycles; then you have to stick the clothes in a separate compartment to strain/spin.Time saving? Not a bit. - Scott . |
Letter 1/9/01
| It's Jan. 9 now and the holidays have finally past, thank goodness. Only one more Christmas to miss. Holidays are tough. Life here is cruise' by, but our teaching is still in a holding pattern. Between Peace Corps and the Suriname education ministry there's enough red tape and hoops to jump through that I feel like I'm working in the Pentagon. We sit here waiting with the students and other teachers. However, we're not exactly sitting. We've been doing a ton of work on our yard. Tight now we've been cleaning up probably seven to ten years of garbage from our backyard so we can make room for a cookhouse, a chicken coop, and a compost pile. The people here have a real problem with what to do with the garbage they produce. The plastics, glass and metal cans are a real issue because they don't burn well. Most people just throw trash into the jungle in their backyards. Our neighbor is probably the village's worst offender of litter. Their house is surrounded by garbage, barrels, broken down cars, needless to day, we have a rat problem. But you got to love chemicals that are available in developing countries. We do, however, find some pride in living next to them because people comment how lovely our yard looks. Right now we have a ton of veggies (eggplant, longbeans, pumpkin, antroea, sweet cassava, pineapple) growing in front, as well and some great flowers. . |
Part of an email 12/28/00
| We're in for two days btw holidays. Christmas in Brokopondo was interesting... I'll write later about it. As an aside, two people were shot in separate events on the highway we take in to the city. Hmmm. Anyway. things here are great, nonetheless. Scott. . |
An email to KO friends 12/8/00
Kerry tells of Scott's seca:
| Just when we thought life could not get any better, Scott and I were brought back to reality this morning when, not five minutes after we woke, Scott discovered a seca in the bottom of his foot. What are secas, you ask? Secas are funny little critters that live in sandy places, and like to burrow into skin to lay their eggs. They really like dogs, but will settle for people feet in a pinch. After a seca finds its way into, say, your foot, it takes three days to even know that the bugger's there. You know it there when your foot hurts or when you see a little black dot (its egg sac) just beneath the surface of your skin. The only way to get the seca sac out is to cut it out -- a process that is a cross between surgery and popping popping a zit. . |
Friday, December 8th email:
| We're in Paramaribo for a night because of a school conference we were asked to attend. It was basically an informational meeting for students, parents, and teachers (!!!) about how the school system works, how a student progresses from school to school, and what grades they need to score if they plan to progress on a particular track. . |
From a December 4th letter:
Part of a letter, end of November:
| Life here is good. We're heading out tomorrow, and we're all set. All our things, and I mean ALL of our things, are packed up and ready to be stuffed into the dreaded DAF truck. It's hell on wheels. No shocks and a shitty road. It's funny too... you ask a Surinamer how great it would be if the Afobakka highway was paved, or even regularly maintained, and they say no, it wouldn't. Humph. They tell you that if the road was better, people would drive too fast and people would get killed.Strange. It is so strange to hear people's distrust in their own judgement. . |
| Here's the speech made by one of our fellow volunteers Cindy Downs (from Montpellier, VT) at our swearing-in. She gave the speech eloquently in the local creole language of Sranan Tongo. She's left a few snippets of the Sranan in there for everyone. "I am pleased to represent and speak on behalf of the Sur 6 volunteers to all the people here today. When I look at all the people who are a part of the swearing-in ceremony, I understand how the support of Peace Corps program comes from many different places.I see - Peace corps acting director and office staff, language and culture trainers, current and past volunteers, NGO agencies in Suriname, gov't programs, host families members, dorpu counterparts, American Embassy officials and host country nationals. One group is missing from the audience. Of course, I must mention also the important support we all get from our friends and families in America and whom we miss very much. But don't worry - No broko yu ede nanga dati - because if you ask Peace corps office, we have been getting a lot of letters and packages from America. Much thanks to Juno for bringing them to us. The year 2000 is a special year throughout the world. Great anticipation and celebration marked its entry. I am thinking for BOTH Peace Corps and for Suriname , the year 2000 is a bigi yari. Of course, Saturday, Suriname will mark its 25th anniversary of independence from Netherlands. This is a very big step in the history of the country - Suriname. The volunteers look forward to see how the Surinamese will celebrate this milestone. And for Peace Corps, the year 2000 is the 40th bigi yari since it was first started in America. Surinamese people and the people in the Peace Corps can both take time to think about its past - to think about the successes , struggles, and challenges - but more importantly, we must take the time to think about the future. What do we want for the future? How can we impact the future? So what has brought us all together at this point to make this reflection? 40 years ago, President John F Kennedy asked the now famous question - "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?" Many volunteers here today were not even born yet when Kennedy spoke these words, but if you ask them - this question is why they are here. Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country? This question brings us here - to help our country of many resources to help other countries develop their own resources. And so , here we are in Suriname. We have traveled a long way both physically and emotionally (which translates with all our heart which I thought was nice)from our homes in America. We all come for many different personal reasons but in the end, we all believe in the 3 basic goals of Peace corps. 1 -share our skills 2- learn about host country culture and bring that knowledge back to share with America 3- share American culture with the host country These goals are stated in a very simple way but each volunteer will translate the into special plans and projects that will change the lives of individuals, families, and communities for a better future in their daily living. And finally and most important, I want to thank everyone who helped us. Without you, we would not feel comfortable living here. Together, we have learned much and have come to love living here in Suriname.Wan bigi g . |
From an email, end of November, 2000
November 25, Independence Day ----- Scott writes...
| Everyone's preparing for Suriname's Independence Day. There's a lot of national pride here. It's only been 25 years since the Dutch left, but to be honest, they still haven't left completely. Suriname needs them too much. Indepence has been a rough deal for the country. There's been two non-democratically elected govenments. Those who haven't used the military to come to power have been ousted by coups or voted out quickly because they tried to take drastic measures to turn the country around economically. Cutting subsidies near re-elections is not a good way to bolster the constituency. However, the new government (as of May 2000) seems to be doing pretty well. They just slashed the national subsidies on fuel and food products (flour, rice, sugar, etc.) and the country didn't go into a tail spin. Of course higher prices hurts, but there is general feeling of of willingness to see what will come of this action. Now, they need to cut the over-staffed government payroll. Thank goodness they understand they can't do everything at once. The other thing the current government has going for them is the investigation and potential arrest of Desri Butresi (sp?), the former leader of the latest coup. He is accused of ordering the killings of 17 politcal leaders form opposition groups. The Suriname people seemed to really want to know the truth. Many seem to believe he is responsible for the deaths. (FYI - there was an article in the Sunday Boston Globe on Oct. 22 or 23 describing the investigation.) Anyway, what does the city look like? Well, there are a lot of buildings being painted and covered with Christmas type lights as I type. Fountains are being repaired and parks are being cleaned. Beautifying activities like this make me believe this country is not too far from getting back on it's feet. It just looks like people are starting to care about where they live. When the Dutch were in power, Suriname was one of the three wealthiest countries in South America. Now, Suriname is the poorest. The second poorest in the hemisphere, just above Haiti. But it's clear that Surinamers know what productivity and wealth are, and they want it back. A military coup and one interior war later, they have a lot of work ahead of them. . |
email, Mon., Nov. 20th
| Here's a blurb about what's happening in our lives currently: We're being sworn-in by the American Embassador the day before Turkey Day. Then, on the 27th, we're off to Brokopondo, our home for the next two years. I wrote this in my journal and to others, but it's really funny to say THAT (2 years) because I think this week is the first time I've actually believed I could stay for the entire 2 year commitment. Training has been so difficult. Learning the language, acculurating to the Saramaccan way of life, adjusting to eating so much rice... it's been more taxing than I'd like to admit. The romantic in me has been waxing philosophically about all the wonderful things that can be accomplished and how much I, as well as the Surinamers, can learn. The realist in me has been feeling inadequate, useless, and incompetent in this culture. It's amazing how much I've felt like an infant because of how dependent I've had to be. But this is Peace Corps, and I wouldn't be here unless I was willing to live within a completely different set of cultural rules and try to be a productive member of the community. And I am willing to try and do. So, in nine days I will put myself to task with Kerry to teach and learn in Brokopondo, Suriname. We will see. We will keep you up to date. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone! Ee I tja di oofangi fii, i abi njanja.(If you carry your machete, you have food.) Scott. . |
Timeless Letter of Nov. 17th
email text, Friday, 11/10/00:
| Well, we're heading to Brownsberg tomorrow (11/11). It's in one of the National Parks. Supposed to be fantastic with all sorts of waterfalls and hiking trails. The howler monkeys are supposed to be amazing in the AM. And toucans and parrots are all over the place (but they're in Brokopondo too). Then Sunday we'll be back in Brokopondo for our last four days of training in the interior, then it's back to Paramaribo for the last 10 days of training. Chat with you later. Scott. . |
A letter home 11/7/00:
|
I hope you voted the right way-unless you want us home sooner. George "W" would love to take the Peace Corps budget and put it toward a nice, new missile defense system I'm sure.
Affabakka is the name of the town, lake, and dam to the south of us. (by the way, it's tough to get used to the river flowing north and still be living north of the equator) When the dam was built in 1963, it displaced hundreds of people. Some of the people moved further into the interior, but many moved to relocation villages built by the government. Two of these villages are Topripa and Bushlante. Both villages are primarily Auccanes speaking (we speak Saramaccan, as we live in Brokopondo; Balansula is also Saramaccan speaking). Topripa is down the road about 2 km from our house in Brokopondo. It's a very crowded place with some public water taps that infrequently deliver water. Topripa is quite a bit from the river. It has two creeks and that is where people clean clothes, dishes and themselves. They also pee in the water. And these are creeks; slow moving, small volume water ways. It's not a good situation. I now understand a little bit about why 5 people died there in the month before we arrived. Bushlante is further down the river and the small pasi (road). It's people were relocated there because of the dam and got the better deal, I believe. While they have no running water and only a generator bringing them electricity (the other villages receive Affobokka electricity like the city), they are right on the river and there are only 70-80 people living there. It's clean and quiet. To get there, you have to paddle across the swift river. Yesterday, incidentally, a fellow PCT (trainee) named Patrick went to Bushlante. He was paddled over by a 60 year old woman using a plate as a paddle. The craziest things happen here. "Is this dangerous?" we ask ourselves. "No, it's just Suriname" we conclude. Last Saturday (November 4) Kerry and I arrived in Brokopondo from Paramaribo for our five day site visit. We were supposed to stay in our PC house across the way, but the house needs some repairs before anyone without a hefty life insurance policy steps foot in there. The previous volunteers left last April with the evacuation (PC evacuated volunteers because of violence on the Affabakka road...don't worry it's plenty safe now). Since then the house has been consumed by the constantly encroaching jungle. A plethora of bats have taken residence in the wash house and termites have chewed on many of the upstairs floor boards. So, instead of risking our lives by living there now, we've arranged to stay with Ernie and Elsie for our site visit while we repair the house. It puts us in a tough situation though. With the site visit, we have to go out and meet people in the village and in other villages, However, Ernie and Elsie are so protective that it's hard to go anywhere without them. So, when we took off to Balensula Saturday afternoon (it's an hour walk), we wanted to stay the night so as not to have to walk back at night. Currently, there are Peace Corps volunteers living in Balensula and they wanted to have us over for dinner and said we could spend the night if needed. Ernie and Elsie said we could go, but wanted us back that evening. Ugh. No spending the night. But no surprise. So we went anyway knowing full well that we'd end up walking back in the dark. It was nothing like we expected. On our way to Balensula we chatted with the other PC volunteers, Ari and Erika, about their experiences so far and what they knew about Brokopondo. I don't know how they deal with our questions. We ask the most ridiculous questions sometimes. On our way, we had one of those rare "Wildlife Kingdom" hour long walks through the jungle along the river. After identifying several parrots and toucans, we watched a monitor lizard trot up the road ahead of us. It's long feet and it's short quick strides make the beast look like a two foot snake with flippers. After passing the orange and pampamoose plantation, I almost stepped on an unidentified species of snake about three feet long. Snakes are difficult reptiles to live with in Maroon villages. The people believe that all species of snakes are to be killed except the boa constrictor, which is deemed to be so dangerous you don't! even go near it! Actually, it's not a boa, but the anaconda. It's been known to constrict people and swallow them whole. Fun. I'm just glad this snake I almost flattened didn't find me attractive. A little bit before Balensula, we were struggling to cross some large puddles in the road when we spotted three small heads pop up out of the water. Frogs? Nope. Three adolescent caimans (crocodiles) at about one foot each. How cool! Not dangerous though. We scatted them into the bush before a Rover comes and squishes them. The road is a one-car wide, two-rut pass; there's no avoiding a puddle. And if two cars come head to head, one has to back up until there's a clearing or just drive into the bush. It's fun to watch. So, we have made it to Balensula. Ari and Erika made the first spaghetti we've had in this country. Amazing! Straight from Italy. Yeah, right! So after spaghetti and a Pa bo, it was 7:15 PM. An enormous thunder cloud was closing in and it was getting dark. Hmm. Ari and Erika lent us their high quality Dutch made bicycles to ride back. Luckily, we thought we had a half moon lighting up the way. But after getting down to the pasi (road), we realized that while the bikes afforded us a quick passage, the road was nearly impossible to navigate at night on bikes at any speed. Hence, we walked...all the way back...in the dark with nothing but one headlamp and two bicycle bells to ward off preying beasts. Can you say "TERRIFYING" boys and girls? I thought you could. Needless to say we were walking swiftly and intently ringing our bells, and talking about anythi! ng to keep the monsters out of our heads. I refused to believe we saw caimans, snakes, and large lizards just hours before in this very same place. It's probably safer than an alley in NYC, right? Right. Having arrived at Ernie and Elsie's place safely, we thanked our lucky stars and laughed at all the images that kept creeping into our heads. We didn't thank our host parents for the curfew, however. Well, that's all for now. We have to head to Tapripo to chat with the PC trainees, Patrick and Bobbie, who will be living there. We need to make arrangements to get into the city tomorrow with them and two fellas that live there run a taxi service to Paramaribo. It's between 10-15,000 guilders ($1=2,900 S.G.) to go to the city. But Kerry and I think we'll be taking a bus that comes from the city each morning though. It leaves to go back to the city around 11 am and it's only 8,000 guilders. It leaves much later than the Tapripo vans, but vans go to Affabakka first, then head to Paramaribo. They usually pick up a few people that need rides from Affabakko to Paramaribo. These people are usually gold miners carrying gold to sell in the city. And, as you can imagine, this situation is similar to the set of a stage coach robbery. And the scenario is frequently played out on t! he Affabakka highway. The van heads south to the city, a masked man with a gun jumps out into the road, shoots once into the air, the van stops. Two more people jump out of the bush to order everyone out of the van. Gold, jewelry, and money are taken, everyone goes back into the van and the thieves take off. Fun. The thieves target Brazilians mostly. They are the majority of the gold miners and usually go to the city only to sell what they've mined. It's not too scary though if you take buses that don't come from Affabakko. We've heard that there are people who tip off the thieves when a person with gold is on his way down the highway. Ah, the beauty of cellular technology in developing nations. So, like I said, there's really not much for us to worry about because (1) we're not going or coming from Affabakka, (2) we're not Brazilian or gold miners, and (3) we have no money, gold or jewelry. So, have I made you scared? Good, I hope so. But life here is really pretty safe. People watch out for us and we watch out for us. That's why we're taking the city bus and arriving late to our meeting with PC. I'd rather not head to Affabakka. We send our love to you and everyone else. . |
email text, Friday, 11/3/00:
| Greetings All! Things continue to go well here in Suriname. The weather continues to be hot, and rice continues to be a staple. I suppose, however, that you'd like a more detailed account of our lives here, and maybe even a story or two, so here goes. [Amerindians and Maroons are very different ethnic groups within Suriname.]
Sooo, . |
A letter, posted 10/13/00:
A letter home Oct. 6: