Christmas Breakfast

On the 21^st of December (Happy Birthday to my brother, Stephen!), our Toshao (chief) hosted a breakfast for his area of the village. (The village is divided into small sections for organization and governance). Though I don’t live in his area, a few people invited me. So, I showed up with a little food and they let me stay.

Thank goodness!

It was a lovely Christmas feast. It felt good to be sitting at a table, surrounded by pots and happy people. It felt a bit like Christmas. Well, except for the fact that it was 6am. That was unusual. But nonetheless, I left with the fullest belly I’ve ever had at 7am. Everything was delicious.

The whole table:

Sneaking coffee from the pot:

Hadashia brings her bowl of food:

Toshao checking out the food:

Toshao in his Chief's hat:

Christmas Dinner – Part 2

• Eggplant
• Bora (stringy green beans)
• Garlic and onion
• Sweet pepper
• Yard chicken
• 2 pounds fresh fish
• Farine (local staple)
• Eddo (ground provision – like a potato)
• Snap peas
• Chives
• Limes
• Mangoes

…. That is what the ladies found and brought for the Ladies’ Dance Group Christmas Dinner. We decided to cook together for our holiday party. We set ourselves a few guidelines:

• Avoid frying
• Find local, fresh food
• Avoid MSG and ‘cubes’ (bullion containing MSG)
• Prioritize fruits and vegetables
• NO carbonated drinks

So, the day of the party, ladies started showing up with whatever they could find, and we piled it on the table. Quite an assortment. Now, what to cook?

We came up with a lovely menu:

Curried chicken, eddo, eggplant and bora

Roti (Like a flour tortilla/nan bread - We used flour from the shop! Oh the shame…)

Fish damoriti with fahrine (Local food – boiled fish with fresh hot pepper)

Steamed vegetables

Limeade

Mango milkshakes

Mango cobbler

… And it was amazing! I love how fluidly and fluently women here cook. I have a feeling with that variety of ingredients and no plan, it would have taken American women any number of hours to produce a meal that effectively used them. But my ladies had dinner on the table in about an hour and a half.

Healthy, mostly local, and a lovely variety.

Sisters

Roti maker - you must clap the dough after cooking, while it is still hot!

I can roll roti!

Renata makes excellent greens:

So glad we found fresh fish!

Thanks to Eustace who went into the Savannah to the Rupununi River to get it.

I’m so proud! Now, if I could just merge my knowledge of nutrition with their cooking skills, I’d be so happy!

Christmas Dinner

Here's a sneak peak of the Christmas Party/Dinner we had this week with the Ladies' Dancing Group. We got together and make a meal with two things in mind: Nutrition and Local food. So, we tried to cook without frying, little salt, no beef, and no shop food. We almost made it. Menu and more pictures coming soon!

Santa hats were a big hit with the little ones:

I've never even thought to actually put my stocking on my feet, but that was the first thing Ashley did!

I miss the cold. Sure, the rain makes it chilly here, and we really rejoice if we are cold enough to put on long sleeves or get a second sheet for the bed. But, I miss the COLD. Needing a scarf, wearing cute coats, socks and shoes, eating soup to warm up, wanting hot chocolate, not to satisfy your choco-addiction, but because it’s cold! Needing your husband to keep you warm….

My friend had a picture up on Facebook of a snow hike. The same time, last weekend, we hiked. We don’t often ‘hike’, because hiking isn’t like back home. Hiking in the savannah is like wandering in the dessert. The savannahs are open grassy plains, and under the Guyana sun (we’re 4 degrees from the Equator, if I guess from the map) it is HOT. So, hiking is more like baking. But, we did it Saturday. That was all I did for the whole weekend – Saturday night and Sunday I just rested to recover from my exhaustion. We climbed the Aishalton mountain, or hill as it should rightly be called. It does give you a nice view, of the Savannahs, the village, and the Kanuku mountains in the distance. We went up with our neighbors and friends. Suffice to say, the 7 year olds fared better than the 18 year olds, and the 18 year olds fared better than us 26 year olds. And, the 26 year olds barely fared better than the old mamas. We ate a full breakfast, and started off with the clouds as our friends. We reached to top, had a full lunch – rice, beans, fahrine (local staple made from cassava), beef, and limeade. It was on the way back down, after noon, that the clouds broke and the sun started to bear down. I had sweat trickling in all kinds of new places. The water bottles finished, some people’s sandals broke, and our clothes started to soak in our sweat. We made it home, went promptly to the creek, and bathed. Lovely cool, creek water. We are recovered now, with the help of some foot massages, more limeade and water, and hammock naps on Sunday.

It is so hot here. I have no weather channel and no thermometer. When I talk to people back home, they ask how hot it is here. They’re wondering if it is 85 or 95. If I had to guess, upper 90s most days, but it doesn’t seem to matter to me anymore. I used to check weather.com every morning before school or work. I loved planning a cute rainstorm outfit with my rain boots or planning to wear my scarf or a short sleeve shirt with a cardigan. Now, you just wear your high-tech performance clothing or linen. Everyday. I can't wait for a real winter....

The changing times

We understood that by signing up for Peace Corps, we might be living a rural, electricity-less village life. And, thankfully, that’s what we got. (Plenty volunteers have electricity, refrigerators, fans, lights, TVs, running water, the whole 9 yards…) We, however, are one of a handful of volunteers in Guyana who are living in very remote villages, complete with difficult transportation, no phone service, and no electricity. So, that leaves us relying on kerosene lanterns and flashlights after 6pm. It hasn’t been bad… It feels a bit natural and woodsy to be in sync with the spinning of the world and the cycles of the moon.

Back in March, our building was finally wired to be powered by the generator that was running from 6pm-9pm each evening. That felt like a blessing, because that huge generator is right across the street from our home and was spewing it’s loud rumbles AND diesel pollution right into our house, but we hadn’t been getting any of the benefits. So, for a blissful week and a half, we were wired. We plugged in our computers, charged our rechargeable AA batteries, and played music. We sat in the lights, with the newfound freedom to cook after 6pm! Then, a week and a half later, the loud, stinky generator quit. And, for the last 9 months, various parts have been brought in attempts to fix it.

The part is coming…

The part is being calibrated…

A back up is on the way…

Various excuses we heard for 9 months while the hospital, school dorms (100 children, no lights), police station, and we sat in the dark.

Then, last week, a glorious new generator showed up. And, hallelujah, it’s being housed in a different location. So, we get all the benefits – lights and electricity – and none of the stinky pollution. We are in our second and a half week of having electricity here in Aishalton. Only 4 hours, 5pm-9pm, but it is amazing. We no longer have to beg shop owners and others to charge our things. We can watch movies! (Only in May did we attain a laptop that shows movies – thanks Parents-in-law!) We can cook dinner in the light! Such a nice surprise to come along, we had pretty much given up on it.

Now, I hate TV. I hate television shows, I hate the way people latch on to television shows. I think it is just a massive conspiracy to keep us all stupid and shopping. Now, I make my one exception for The Office, which my mom has been so sweet to send us seasons 5 and 6 that we’ve missed, Congrats Jim and Pam! We just saw the wedding…..

Mostly, we were watching movies, as they are quite cheap here in Guyana. But then somehow we picked up the first season of show from several years back – Prison Break.

Oh

My

Gosh.

I can’t sleep. I dream Prison Break. Sleep Prison Break. Think Prison Break. I love it. It’s a pretty terrible show – the acting weak, the plot line unbelievable. But, it is incredibly addicting. The drama is through the roof. I got hooked. Never heard of it? It’s about a man wrongly accused of murder and sitting on death row in a max security prison. His brother, a genius architect, gets himself thrown into prison just to Break His Brother OUT. It’s crazy. Anyway, we’re addicted. Like hopeless television addicts. Ugh…. No more TV shows for this girl.

Lord help me if I ever become like this over The Bachelor, Lost, or Grey’s. No, no, no.

Mangos!

They're here.

The trees are HEAVY with mangoes. I just had my first one of the season two days ago.

My photo is not great, but if you squint, you can see just how many mangoes are on the trees!! And there are... nearly a hundred trees around the village!

I can't get my kids to come and read after school anymore, they're too busy throwing sticks, mangoes, and bottles into the trees to knock out the ripe ones!

I love mango season!

Culture Wednesday

Every Wednesday, the youth of the CRS Course have Culture Day. Learning self-confidence, especially about their Amerindian heritage is a large part of the course. So, every Wednesday, we learn how to weave baskets from ite palms, and how to shoot bow and arrow.

This photo is our leader, Eustace, who is most highly skilled in every traditional activity I can think of. He teaches Joyce to weave:

Curt and Silvio working together:
Joanna is a bit shy, here she's hiding behind the ite palm: (The thatched roof you see in the background is also made from the same ite palm, it's just been dried).
James advices Elenie:

Thanskgiving's Pumpkin

We tried! We tried to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, but this is the pumpkin we found:

And it was full of hard little bits, we couldn't use it :(

UPDATE: We tried again with the large, round end of the pumpkin, and made two delicious pumpkin pies last night! Even though they were in loaf pans. :)

Visiting Aishalton - Part Two

After an intensive few days from Roanoke > New York > Georgetown > Iwokrama > Lethem > Road to Aishalton, we finally reached around 10pm Friday. That left us with only 4 days in Aishalton. Chris and I felt really good about sharing where we live, our work, and our experiences with family. It was nice to have someone see the well where we pull our water from, to eat the pizza we made in our little brick oven, and to meet our neighbors, coworkers, and friends. It was funny to watch them washing their clothes in the creek and see mom teaching 10 kids how to play Spoons, the card game. Honestly, we just had a good time together and completely forgot to take out the camera. I realize now that was a mistake. How nice it would have been to have a momento – a snapshot of mom in the creek, or Stephen with his new friend, Dell, or all of us eating dinner for our neighbor’s birthday. Whoops.

On the other hand, I have been thinking about cameras and photographs. And, I think they can really remove you a layer from a situation. A camera keeps you (on some level) from experiencing the moment and puts into documenting mode. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be. So, I am sorry I don’t have more pictures to share. But, I am a little glad I just enjoyed my time with mom and Stephen without being too worried about documenting it for all to see.

When it was time to leave Aishalton, there was more disaster. As I’ve said, transportation here is… Awful. Terrible. No good. Very bad. All I’ll say is that mom and I were sitting inside an old vehicle that no longer worked, which was being taken back to Lethem inside of a gigantic Bedford. So, we faced out the back in old vehicle seats. And then the rain started. Our little old vehicle offered some protection, but there was no back window, so we got wet. Bless Stephen, who was standing in the back of the Bedford, and got soaked. Then, the river was high and we couldn’t cross. It was a long day and a long night. It was expensive and uncomfortable, but we got ourselves back to Georgetown in time for mom and Stephen to make their flight.

Did they have a ‘good’ time? I think you’ll have to ask them. Are they glad they came? I’m sure of it. They saw a part of the world few Americans see. They got see their amazing daughter and son in law. They also go a bit more of an adventure than we had planned on. When I tell people how crazy the trip went they say “Oh, but look at all the stories they can tell.” Ugh…. A bit like telling someone who’s been through a horrible experience that “It all works out for the best.” Not exactly untruth, but not exactly the most relevant response. All I can say is, Thanks to mom and Stephen for coming. Thanks for putting up with all the mishaps and not once complaining and not once getting stressed out. It was great to have you here. Excited to see you when we get home. J

Nursery School Kitchen

The Nursery School (grades Pre-K and Kindergarten) have about 70 students, many of whom walk over a mile to come to school each morning - some several miles! So, the nursery school has been building a kitchen for the last several years, a little bit at a time, so that they can prepare snacks for the students to have each day. Within the last months, they were able to secure a grant to finish the building and now the students are being fed!

Nursery students are my favorite! Here they are, eating their snack.

Some of the nursery boys on the outside slide:

I'm 26!

Last Sunday (21 Nov 2010), I turned 26! It was a fun day. I am so thankful to have a husband who, despite being a vegetarian, loves to grill. So, we BBQ'ed chicken and beef, I made a coffee-flavored cake, and we chowed down. My favorite guest:

So lucky to have a vegetarian husband who still likes to grill:

The ladies sang me happy birthday, 3 choruses long, Guyana style:

Another group blew balloons and noise makers:

And these girls took a fabulous photo with me:

Visiting Guyana

Mom and Stephen came for a visit

I live in another country. I haven’t seen my family in over a year and a half. I’ve been living sans electricity, cheese, and makeup. I wash my clothes in a creek and ride the 70 miles/6-10 hour journey to Aishalton in the open back of Bedford trucks. I live further away from Georgetown, the capital and only major city in Guyana than any other volunteers. When mom said she wanted to come for a visit, I was so excited. But, also quite terrified. “Visiting” Aishalton would not be easy, and especially not in a two week time frame.

So, in my newly acquired desire to be organized, I began meticulously planning our trip. After landing in Georgetown, stay in a decent hotel with a pool, so they can enjoy ‘the tropics’. Come down to region 9 slowly, with a few nights stay in a lovely eco-jungle lodge, Iwokrama. Once reaching Lethem, take a hired vehicle to Aishalton for a few days. Then, leave in another vehicle – back to Lethem, back to Georgetown. It seemed like the best plan of action. I had spreadsheets, calendars, and documents with all the information written down – phone numbers, addresses, transportation times, hotel bookings.

Then they arrived! Seeing mom and Stephen in Guyana made my heart just soar.

My family!

Experiencing the travel I adore, the areas of the world I love to see and live in. Ahhhhh… and after so much time. Well, they were a bit less than thrilled; they were getting off a long overnight flight and a couple of layovers. So, to the nice hotel with a pool we went. We talked and ate and slept and swim. We talked about what I was missing back home, what their first impressions were of Guyana, what we would do with the suitcases full of stuff for us that my mom brought.

Soon it was time to leave cushy Georgetown hotel with its hot water and A/C. Plans dissolved – transformed from organized to haphazard. Of course, I expected this. I knew plenty things would go wrong. I knew they were visiting a Peace Corps Volunteer in a country with hardly any tourism or infrastructure to support travelling. I knew a few things wouldn’t turn out as I had planned.

So, after our flight to Iwokrama, in Guyana’s interior, didn’t work out, and the bus didn’t run on the dates we needed, we finally worked out a plan B, plan C, and plan D. We went to Iwokrama on an overnight bus – left Georgetown at 8pm, arrived and 6am the next morning. And first on our itinerary? A ‘robust’ hike to the top of Turtle Mountain at 8am. Which, we all somehow managed to complete like troopers. It was a beautiful view – many, many miles of untouched rainforest. (Which, Guyana just might have the largest stretch of unspoiled rainforest in the world!) Here we are looking a bit more chipper than we really were. After some night time caimen (crocodile) spotting and some good meals, we crashed into bed for a long night.

On the Essequibo in the rainforest:

Mom on top of Turtle Mountain with the forest behind:
Stephen on Turtle Mountain:

I cannot really explain all the things that went wrong next. Suffice it to say, transportation has been our biggest challenge in Guyana; much more so than the lack of vegetables, cultural awkwardness, or no electricity. So, a number of arranged transportation options fell through, leaving us stranded here and there in Guyana’s interior. Finally we reached Lethem and had to stay a night longer than planned in a hotel. The next day, we set off for Aishalton.

Now, rainy season is supposed to end in August, but we’ve still been having storms every few days and the roads and rivers are still wet and high. So, what should’ve been a 5-6 hour trip in a comfortable hired vehicle, was actually a 10 hour trip complete with crossing the river on the pontoon. Stephen and Chris helped push it across the water!

We left Lethem and noon and reached Aishalton at 10pm. 70 miles. 10 hours. Stuck in the water, vehicle breaking down, no dinner.

They were absolute troopers. I had warned them about everything, so they came prepared. Stephen loved it as an adventure and mom it is the ultimate - she doesn't stress, she doesn't mind the heat, she can eat the crazy new food. I'll finish the trip from Aishalton and back to Georgetown in a next post. Thanks to mom and Stephen for making the trip! Love you both.

New project!

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been sponsoring a young adult training course in Aishalton since July. The course is designed to help prevent young people from being trafficked. Human trafficking is a problem in Guyana, particularly for the vulnerable Amerindian populations. I am working with a local staff, Renata, to train 12 young people during an 8 week course. The course will run repeatedly for different groups for almost two years. We are hoping to train over 90 youths in our region. In the course, young people are learning a variety of skills: professional skills, business skills, time management, job skills, computer skills, and language skills (Wapishana and Portuguese). They are also learning about their rights: human rights, indigenous people’s rights, labor rights, and about self-reflection, confidence, and public speaking.

Here are a number of fun projects we are working on during the course:

Bow and arrow shooting

Making a resume and bringing it to a practice ‘job interview’

Group presentations about power and rights

Typing speed competitions

Writing short stories in Wapishana

Weaving local palms into baskets

Setting up an email account and learning to chat

Making a plan for a small business and learning to keep its ‘accounts’

Learning Amerindian history

We are currently in our third course, we have 11 trainees, they are pictured below.

This particular group consists mainly of youth from other villages, so they only knew a few other people when they came. They were a little hesitant at first, but after the first two weeks, their personalities are starting to shine and friendships are blooming. The course demands quite a bit of group and partner work, unlike school here. For many, it is the first time they are learning their own history, their rights, and their potential. It has been a very rewarding project for me to work with. Not only have my own computer skills and time management improved, so has my own self-understanding. In addition, the course provides such immediate and visible improvement in people’s lives. This, in my experience, is not a customary occurrence in development work. So, to go along with the thankful theme, I am thankful to be working with this course and for its impact on the young people.

Thanksgiving

Every year Thanksgiving comes, and with it comes the turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and pies. Everyone says they are thankful for loved ones and their good fortune. We eat and watch football (well, in my family, we went to hockey games). We pile into bed, feeling content and warm.

This year, I’ll work all day – training young adults on the computer, reading books to children, dancing with ladies. There will be no turkey, no hockey game, no big family expressly giving thanks. Late tonight, Chris and I will eat rice and beans yet again. Nonetheless, like last year, in a lovely coincidence, I’ll spend Thanksgiving with Native Americans – Amerindians, as we say in South America. I’ll still be giving thanks for the bounty of the rainy season – our ‘summer’ – as ground provisions, bananas, and fruits are currently plentiful. And, as a personal exercise, I decided to make an articulated effort at ‘giving thanks’. So, here are the things I am thankful for this year:

1. 1. Bananas. I used to hate bananas, now I cherish them. They are the one plentiful fruit in Aishalton.

   2. Rain. Rain used to mean I had to carry an umbrella and got to wear my super cute rain boots. Now, it means we have water to drink and to clean with. It makes the earth green, waters the crops, and my personal favorite – cools the air.

   3. Friends. My friends here really aren’t other 26 year olds freshly married and decorating their homes. They are 30 year old women struggling with drunken husbands, 40 year old women trying to get a date, 50 year old women with 4 year olds, and 18 year olds with crushes. I love that friendships here are not bound by age and status.

   4. Brick oven pizza. After 2 weeks of rice, beans, and potatoes, we give in and treat ourselves. Chris has made us a brick oven on our porch. And in it, we can make pizza! Milk-powder cheese, tomato paste sauce, onions, and garlic never tasted so good!

   5. Children. Mind you they do drive me crazy some…most of the time. But they are so inspiring, so full of promise, and so darn cute.

   6. Indigenous peoples. After living with Amerindians, I am really grateful for their gracious lifestyles. They live with the land, preserve the forests, and grow their own food. The world would be a better place if more people lived like them.

   7. Aerobics. For the past 4 months, I have been meeting with a group of ladies twice a week to dance, exercise, and talk about healthy living. I had no idea how much the ladies would enjoy it, how much it would help them, or help much it would renew me.

   8. Children’s books. Who doesn’t love them – wonderful stories with beautiful illustrations, bringing smiles to children, along with literacy skills!

   9. Faith. In a world as wrought with problems as our own, it is faith and hope in a better tomorrow that keep me going.

   10. Normal colored Friday. No black Friday pressuring me to run out and spend money on plastic junk molded into various shapes that I just don't need. No holiday shopping season encouraging gross overconsumption. Hallelujah.

   Thanks.

Giving Thanks

I've been travelling alot (Mom and Stephen came!) and internet has been rough here in Aishalton, so the blog was neglected. Here's my New Year's Resolution to revive it.

Thanks again

to all who donated and helped spread the word. I really appreciate it! I was able to pick up the check and go shopping! It was too much fun. To buy lovely children's literature, supplies for the teachers, and some learning games: Splendid good time! Now, my supplies are sitting in Lethem, waiting to be transferred to Aishalton. You see, the rainy season still hasn't really quit, and we are just waiting for the river to go down for vehicles to cross. Then, I'll get my goods!

So, even though Thanksgiving won't be much this year - we'll probably eat rice and beans late tonight, I realize how much I have to be thankful for!

Love!

Grant is funded!

Thank you all for your help and support on the grant. We received confirmation earlier this week that the grant is funded. I hope to be able to start the project soon!

Here's more information in case you missed it:

http://ourvalley.org/peace-corps-volunteers-seeking-help-from-home-to-stock-guyanan-learning-centre/

Love,

Kristin

Waka Waka!

I am so very proud of our dance and exercise group: “Happy Dancers”, they named themselves. We just performed at August Games, the local week-long celebration of culture and sport. For 3 weeks, we practiced most afternoons, mastering fairly complex choreography to Shakira’s “Waka Waka” song.

Each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon about 20 of us meet for an hour, some young ladies still in secondary school, a number of teachers, some farmers, and several grannies! We alternate between the two local bar/shops – utilizing their dance/catering halls. I crank up music that they love – Brazillian forro, Akon, Caribbean soca, and some reggae for cool down. We dance a crazy mix of aerobics that I make up on the spot, try to complete a rousing set of pushups, crunches, and lounges, and sometimes attempt a little yoga or breathing exercise. We go home feeling warm and energetic. Amazingly, they come back to do it again!

We have been going strong since the beginning of June; some ladies have even come to EVERY class. I knew this would have been a very fun project for me, but I didn’t start it right away because I was afraid the local women would be too busy to come. Most local women are farmers and get plenty of exercise walking miles to their farm in the bush, farming, making farine and cassava bread – their local staples – which are quite labor intensive, hauling water, and maintaining their gardens and animals. But in May, I talked to other volunteers in Amerindian villages who were successfully starting exercise groups and I was inspired. So, I came back, put up some posters and many women came out.

In addition to our exercise, we share a health tip with each meeting – might be about weight loss, nutrition, or stress relief. A few weeks after I shared the importance of drinking water, especially clean water, I had several ladies share that they were no longer having headaches! Soon, we plan to start addressing gender and women’s issues.

Back to “Waka Waka.” We were asked to share a dance for August Games. The other villages were coming with their sport teams and traditional games competitors for the week. We danced in the opening ceremony alongside a number of traditional Wapishana and Wai Wai (tribes) dances, songs, and skits. Our dance was based on the choreography from the video and our aerobics. We had movement all over the stage, partner dancing, flying fabric, and a moving circle – fairly different from the traditional dances. The ladies did a great job making my crazy choreography a success! I was so nervous when the time came – would everyone remember where to go on the stage, how many times to walk back forth, or how the dance ends? But, throughout the dance, I looked around and saw the ladies smiling, dancing, and really having fun. I even looked into the audience and saw the same. When the song finished and we all raised our hands, I waited for the normal half-hearted clap Aishalton audiences tend to give performances. But, my eyes found our chief in the front row and I heard him: “YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” and I saw him jump up and cheer with the audience. We were so happy to walk off to a proper roar. I heard the MC compliment and congratulate us, and I collapsed into a hug with my dancers. We were asked to do at another concert during August Games, so we danced a few night later. With one performance behind us already, we danced even better! Check out the pictures, courtesy of James.

Anniversary

This blog is a bit late because it’s been a hectic week. I started a new project, there was August Games (mini-local-Olympics), and I was running a fundraiser. That doesn’t often happen. Normally, things move at quite a slow pace here in Aishalton, allowing plenty of time for all sorts of work and play. In the middle of this crazy week was our three year anniversary. Knowing that all sorts of things would prevent us from having a normal anniversary, I tried doing some internet searches last week for creative ideas. I didn't find much creativity, but I found many typical, re-hashed, and, of-course, implausible ideas. Why is it with so many I thought I’d share a few I found comical and why they just wouldn’t work for Peace Corps Volunteers in Aishalton.

Make Each Other Melt
You can’t get sexier than sharing strawberries (use chocolate-dipped ones -- they’re an aphrodisiac) and champagne in bed.

I can’t! I’ll be covered in ants by 3am - you can’t leave a trace of food around. Also, I have no strawberries, no chocolate, and no champagne.

Get Limber for Later
Get up early on a weekend morning and take a hot yoga (Vinyasa or Bikram) class. Sharing a new experience together will bring you closer. Bonus: Your bodies will be primed for a hot “private” session later.

I have no access to yoga classes. And more importantly, I spend far too much of my time being ridiculously hot without any effort. It’s not sexy at all.

Steam up the Kitchen
Cook dinner together using erotic ingredients that stimulate the libido, like oysters, figs, and avocados (to name a few). Light candles and open a bottle of your favorite wine. Chances are you won’t make it to dessert.

Oysters? Figs? Avocados? Wine? How about something I have access to? Rice and beans. I can check, but I don’t think beans are libido-stimulating. And candles? I have dinner every night by kerosene lamp, so it has lost its sexy appeal.

Sizzle at a Spa
Treat yourselves to a day of double relaxation. You can book almost any spa treatment together (hello, hot stone massage!). Want a recession-proof spa day? Here’s how to get a steamy massage going at home.

A nearby spa? The closest I can recreate is a mud bath. Already Chris and I spend each evening applying a variety of ‘oils’ and ointments. Hydrocortisone for the bug bites, aloe vera for the burns, baby powder to soak up the sweat, or coconut oil to keep away the bugs. It is a bit more pragmatic than relaxing.

Feel Warm and Fuzzy
Get your butts off the sofa and do some volunteer work together. It’s a great way to bond while doing something worthwhile. Carry that euphoric, feel-good vibe home and get charitable between the sheets.

Do some volunteer work together? I don’t know, maybe Peace Corps is a bit different than an hour at the soup kitchen, but we can get to feeling a bit worn-out rather than euphoric.

Create a VIP Club
Who needs a bar to dance? Load your iPod with sexy tunes, from Kanye to Katy Perry, and hook it up to the speakers in your pad. Bonus points for hanging a disco ball (find these cheap at Walmart, Target, or your local party store) to get a club-like vibe.

Wow. I think the neighbors would be a bit weirded out by the lights of a disco ball and Kanye blaring from our house. And I wonder how I could possibly power this party in a house with no electricity….

Share a Hot Shower
Who cares if you can only fit one person in there? Lather each other up with some vanilla bath gel and you won't mind being in such close quarters.

I’d be so happy to have a hot shower! Running water!? Now, we could potentially take a bucket bath together…. If you throw a cup of water over my head, I’ll throw one over yours.

Create a Cozy Retreat
We all made blanket forts when we were kids -- now re-create it with a sexy twist. Line the floor of your living room with mountains of pillows and watch a sexy flick together.

Mountains of pillows on the concrete floor of my living room? We only have 2 pillows. A sexy flick?! To watch on what TV?

Bundle Up (and Take It Off)
Challenge your mate to two-person strip poker. It’s guaranteed to be hotter than the group version since you’ll be in the buff in no time. Add a twist: Whoever keeps their clothes on the longest gets to call the shots during the postgame (wink, wink).

I don’t think I’ll be stripping now. There are enough mosquitoes, sandflies, and kaborahs now to keep me covered.

Suds It Up
Make a date in the driveway and get dirty washing down your cars. C'mon, you know the car could use a fresh coat of wax. Plus you + him + soap suds + water = sexy.

Oh, where do I start? Cars? Washing them in the driveway? Whenever you pull your water bucket by bucket from a well, the amount of water needed to hose down your car (or each other) seems absolutely ridiculous. Besides, who would spend an anniversary washing cars???

After a disappointing search for creative ideas, we decided we would do it true Peace Corps style and abandon all hopes and desires for material goods. Why try to meed that desire, then risk being disappointed at the end of the day? We swore off gifts, fine foods, and physical comforts. We said we would truly focus on each other and just enjoy the little time we had in the day together. We would be completely pragmatic.

The morning came and I couldn't help myself. When I got up to make breakfast, I cut the biscuits into heart shapes, put a beer glass with some parrot feathers (bouquet?) on the table, and served up special vanilla coffee for Chris. When I came back for lunch, Chris had hunted down a chicken and cooked it over the fire for me. After dinner, Chris gave me a small gift – a purse knitted by a local lady.

It was a busy day, as many will be for the rest of our lives. We thought we could do without the small things that make the ordinary extraordinary, but it turns out those are the things that help make our lives bearable. Thank goodness I have Chris here. I don't think I could do this alone. Not only does Chris open my stuck bottles and kill the roaches, but he understands my frustrations and joys, massages my feet, and makes the house a 'home-y' place to come to each evening. So, if you have a bottle of wine or champagne, open it and enjoy a toast to Chris. Chris, I love you!

Beef. It's what's for dinner.

Aishalton sits in the middle of hundreds of miles of Savannah - dry grasslands perfect for raising cattle. We are about 15 miles (2 hours) from a huge cattle ranch, Dadanawa Ranch, once the largest in the world (currently 8,000+ heads of cattle). Here in the village, we also have plenty cows. The rainy season brings them into the village, supposedly to escape the bugs in the Savannah. So, cows roam, unfenced, where they please. We have a number of issues with the cows - they like to eat the food in our garden, breaking down fences. They bring plenty of flies when they come around. They poop EVERYwhere. And in the rainy season, it doesn't dry up and turn to manure, it just.... stays. Big, wet piles of.... poop.

But, they're here for a reason. Most people here eat beef almost everyday. Today's pictures aren't for the squimish. But, I'm squimish and I managed to take them and look at them. So, Aishalton's slaughter....

Carrying a quarter to be hung from a tree limb.
The dogs wait for whatever little they get.
No one is squimish at all - intestines are getting ready to be emptied here.

It's not often I catch a slaughter, so I thought I'd document.

10 for Tuesday

10 things i find ridiculously romantic:

outdoor eating

wildflowers

love letters

old lovers

anything handmade/homegrown

proper beds (see below)

woods/forests

long hair

twigs and flowers

white dresses

10 desires of my heart:

an off the grid home

unfailing faith

live music

a really, really good book

a comfortable bed (see below)

to live without career ambitions

an outdoor dining table

world peace

a simple life

a big, happy family

10 elements to the perfect bed:

bamboo sheets

fluffy pillows

has my husband inside

doesn't require a mosquito net

queen-size

a variety of blankets

doesn't squeak

has a view

hangs from the ceiling

comes complete with breakfast