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

My Grant!

Our grant is live!

I need your help! Now is the time when I call for your support. Here in Aishalton, my Peace Corps assignment is with a Learning Resource Centre. The Centre is currently under-equipped - not enough books, not enough resources. We are a very isolated community, cut off my a flooded river and muddy, unpaved roads. We are very expensive to reach and bring supplies to, so often only the very basics reach. I'm working with teachers, parents, and students to develop the Centre. We are buying books for all ages, teaching aids, and decoration/organization tools. Aishalton really needs a good place for resources - reading material to develop literacy and fluency, informational material to educate students and adults, teaching aids to assist teachers.

Please take a look at the grant, ask me questions, and donate if you can. I would really appreciate your support, on behalf of teachers, parents, and students of Aishalton Village, Guyana.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=504-012

Thank you!

Kristin Adkins

PS: You could also be a great help by passing along information to anyone who might be interested in donating.

My job!

My primary job is at Aishalton’s Learning Resource Centre. It is run by the Department of Education, attempting to be a resource place for students, teachers, and community members. Currently, however, it is underfunded and undersupplied. Few people are able to use the Centre because it hosts so few resources. So, I am doing the best I can – utilizing the books and resources we have, and trying to come up with new activities which require no or few resources.

So, Peace Corps provided me with a book on games. Not just any games, specifically games which require few props, little or no competition, and lots of cooperation. We’ve had a lot of fun with books, playing games in addition to reading each afternoon. Who doesn’t love a reason to play outside (in the shade)?

Animal Charades

Earth Day activities

Playing animal charades

Animal Charades

LOVE having their picture taken

Train game

For the record, I’m finishing up a grant to supply the Centre with lots of resources. Reading books, informational books, literacy teaching aids, and of course, floor rugs for read alouds! (Not only are there hardly any read-alouds here, there are hardly any rugs!)

Good weekends

A few pictures of my favorite children. These are while our cookies were baking. Their momma has an honest-to-goodness oven, which I like to take occasional advantage of.

Finally, I was able to view Aishalton from a new point of view. I hiked/biked to Macawau, a local hill which you can climb for a nice view of the village. I climbed with my good friend, Desiree and a few of her boys, their cousins, and friends.

The view from the mountain - Savannah with patches of trees

Savannah Cacti

The hill was steeper than it looks in this photo

The boys

The Savannah

This is someone's farm. Along the way on our hike. Bless the poor soul who carries their cassava, plaintain, and yams up and down this hill!

Giant plants!

Bicycling is so much easier than walking.

Failure

Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. (Wikipedia).

I figured a blog on failure might be appropriate. We all experience it occasionally. And, if I had to guess, a Peace Corps Volunteer might experience it a bit more than the average Joe.

What did I fail at? Well, some days I could give you a whole list. Other days, I couldn't think of a thing. Today? A whole list kind of day. I don't think I'll give you the list, though.

Just struggling to understand what it is going to mean if I 'fail' at Peace Corps. If you read about failure, you're likely to see ridiculous quotes and inspirational writing geared to the recently failed. But, I have looked at my (potential) failure from many viewpoints, and I just don't see the up side. Where will I go from here?

There are so many things I currently desire for Aishalton, and intend to do, but just don't seem to have happened. It's year 2. All I can hope is that magic happens. A miracle. A major blessing: a little for me, alot for Aishalton.

And, just to make myself feel a bit better, another tidbit from Wikipedia:

The term "miserable failure" has also been popularized as a result of a widely known "Google bombing," which caused Google searches for the term to turn up the White House biography of George W. Bush.^[6]

^{(At least my name didn't come up when I googled it).}

Our House: Kabaun

Our humble abode. Our Kabaun ("House" in Wapishana)

We live in Government housing, which has its pros and cons, like all in life. Government housing means we live in a concrete house with a zinc roof, instead of a traditional mud brick house with a thatched (palm) roof. Pros include: plumbing (flush toilets and sinks!), fewer scary bugs, no lizzards that pee on you, and cockroaches can't live in our roof. Cons include: the zinc roofs are much, much hotter than the thatched roofs, more mosquitoes (septic system), and not feeling... traditional.

Well, we didn't have a choice, but here are some shots of our home. Hopefully this will help you understand our lives a little more. Enjoy your tour.

We didn't have a 'closet', so we hang our clothes off a branch suspended from the ceiling by two pieces of rope.

Our bedside table, housing our kerosene lamps which we use after 6pm to see!

Our king size bed, romantically draped in mosquito netting, complete with a cushy mattress and 600 thread count sheets. (Just kidding)

Our table, custom designed and built by Chris.

The window where we hang our underthings. Notice the 1989 camper-style window slats.

Our little corner tribute to Guyana. Map, arrows, feathers, woven items.

Kitchen with Peace Corps-provided water filter (white buckets).

Cocorut hanger, found in Brazil. (We love it).

Chris cooking on the gas stove.

That's it folks! If you want to see more, you'll have to come for a visit....