Rainy season transportation

When we came back out to Aishalton from Lethem, it was the REAL rainy season. Wet, flooded, and a mess.

There is a particular stretch of the road that sits very low, so it has been built up nicely with tunnels put in the the rain water to flow through. However, about 2 hours before we came through, the road washed away. We were in a giant Bedford truck and unable to pass, stuck for the night.

A what ate my what?!?

No way, a what ate my what? I came home yesterday after work. I set my things down and start rummaging around. I hear Chris outside working in the backyard. After several minutes, I go outside to talk to Chris. Soon as I open the backdoor, my eyes find a cow. 2 cows.

Now, many people in Aishalton have advised us that cows will eat your clothing. (Of course, we dont' have electricity, so there are no clothes dryers. Only... solar power. So, we hang our clothes out on the line after handwashing them. I have a full load of laundry hanging to dry on the line.) I didn't believe people who said the cows eat clothing. I live in a Savannah, and it is the rainy season, there is plenty of grass growing everywhere, out of control. Surely a cow wouldn't eat... cotton clothing?

After my eyes found the cows, they looked down to see a black mass on the ground, being chewed on by the cow. NO WAY. "GET!" I started yelling and clapping my hands. The cows took off and I picked up Chris' t-shirt. Ripped to shreds by a hungry cow.

BONUS: Not only did the cows eat our clothes, they left us a number of big, wet, cow pies right off our porch. Thanks.

I am now reevaluating which Amerindian sayings I believe.

We were able to witness the Brazilian-turned-Guyanese tradition of fire walking. Each spring, every Amerindian village has a large bonfire. The night is filled with traditional storytelling, dancing, and singing. Nearing midnight, when the wood of the bonfire has burnt down, one man scrapes the coals out over the ground. The villagers

have about ten minutes to walk the coals. Apparently, the only rules are to walk, not run, and have very dry feet. No wet feet and no sweaty feet, or else the coals will stick to the feet and the firewalker will get burned.

When the time came, we all gathered around the coals and waited for the brave villagers to step forward. It took several minutes; we all watched the glow of the coals. Soon, the villagers, in groups of two or three, stepped forward and walked decisively across the coals. The crowd stood still, little sound escaping as we watched the firewalkers. Here are some pictures of their walks.

I should clarify; Chris and I did not walk. We are quite happy with this decision after seeing the blistered (and infected) feet the next aftern

oon.

Sustainability!

Today we stumbled upon an amazing movement occurring here in Guyana. Guyana’s Minister of Health and several other key government officials were in Aishalton to present President Bharrat Jagdeo’s “Low Carbon Development Plan.” It is the first plan of its kind put forth by a developing country to the developed countries to promote sustainable development by protecting untouched rainforests. Almost 80% of Guyana is unspoiled rainforest, and unlike many of its South American neighbors, it has not practiced mass deforestation to generate much-needed income. Rather, Guyana is choosing a different route.

The LCDP is offering developed countries the opportunity to ‘purchase’ carbon credits for Guyana to keep its rainforests intact and NOT develop them. Developed countries are seeing the benefit of forested lands in the absorption of greenhouse gases which are contributing to global climate change. Because the developed countries have emitted so much carbon into the air, carbon credits allow them to encourage other countries to keep their forests, ‘inhaling’ all the carbon the developed countries are ‘exhaling’. Guyana is one of only 6 countries in the world which still has vast intact rainforests. In exchange for keeping its forests, Guyana will receive money which it will use to invest in renewable and sustainable development for its country. Guyana has vast resources it can tap, including solar, hydro, and wind, to create clean and renewable energy for its people, instead of continuing to import very costly fossil fuels. This plan will allow Guyana the unique opportunity to attain the means to develop sustainably instead of falling into the same track the rest of the world has – developing using large amounts of fossil fuels for energy.

While the prospect of this plan makes me very excited for Guyana and hopefully other countries to follow, I am personally a little leery of ‘carbon credits’, while this system will sustain Guyana’s forests, what will the developed countries be doing to curb their own emissions? Will the carbon credits be a cop-out for the country to keep burning fuels and slashing their own forests? Often carbon credits are purchased to ‘neutralize’ a country/company/person’s own carbon out-put, permitting them to continue to burn fuels.

Similar to the US, Amerindians in Guyana own their land, separate from the government, so they have the option to opt-in or opt-out of this proposal. If they opt-in, will their ways of living be at risk: hunting, farming, and fishing? Currently, the plan is set to permit subsistence level activities for all indigenous peoples, but the Amerindians are still leery.

I hope that as the world looks at solutions to climate change such as carbon credits, we do not overlook our own personal responsibility in changing the way we live, as it is our energy and land usage at the root of the problem. I will close with a remark made by a young Amerindian leader during the meeting, one that made a strong impact on me,

“I am very interested in conserving our lands and forests, but not at the expense of changing how our people have lived for centuries – keeping our land, air, and water pristine, while persons in the developed countries can continue to live their overly consumptive lives, destroying our land, air, and water.”

(For more info: http://www.guyanaclimatechange.gov.gy)

Out to Lethem

After settling in to our site for one month, beginning to feel comfortable, we had to leave Aishalton for a few days. As Peace Corps Volunteers, we receive our monthly stipend deposited into a bank account. So, we travel 5-6 hours to Lethem, where there is a bank. After being on standby (bags packed, waiting for a ride) for about 3 days, we finally found a ride to Lethem with the Jesuits. We rode in style in the cab of a 4x4 truck, arriving just before sunset so we could contact one of our friends to see where we could stay.

It was the end of the dry season, so travel was easy – bumpy, but easy. In Lethem, we ran around for 3 days, picking up our pay, establishing an address with the Post Office, and buying supplies. By the fourth day, we were ready to head home, so we sat in front of the store near the road to Aishalton, hoping to find transportation. We sat with our bags and boxes of goods on a concrete wall with our thumbs in the air (only metaphorically).

No ride. We faced defeat at the end of the day, lugging all our stuff back to the place we were staying and tried again the next day, and the next, and then finally, the fourth day. We were so happy to the see white truck with the blue tarp over the back that rides around Aishalton. Down the road it comes, so we ask for a ride and are granted our wish. Yes! I was beginning to get homesick.

“Oh, but we are full.” But we know this; all the rides going out to Aishalton are full: supplies for stores, schools, hospitals, and churches.

So, we send our things on another truck and load into this one.

Thank goodness I’m a lady. I’m granted a lovely seat in the cab of the truck, along with the driver’s elderly Aunt, Auntie Amelita. In the front seat is the driver and one of Aishalton’s police. So, I didn’t leave Chris behind, well, I kind of did. I left him in the back of the truck, with two other men and a truck bed full of supplies. Sitting high on top of frozen chicken, bicycle parts, industrial-sized bags of onions and garlic, hanging on for dear life.

So, the 7 of us take off for Aishalton. We blasted our Akon music and took off. I should also mention in the week we were in Lethem, the rains started. Rainy season! Yay, for cool(er) weather and a full rain tank (we now have running water – no more pulling from the well!). However, boo for trying to cross the Savannah in the mud. It’s a bit slower, dodging deep puddles in the dirt road, tossing poor Chris and the others around in the back. We reach our nemesis – the Rupununi River. So far all I had seen of it was a small creek. However, we approached cautiously and were disenchanted to see it is now a full-fledged, raging river.  The options are to camp out and hope it goes down, or to pay a pretty penny to take a ‘barge’ across.

In a rush to get home, we pay for the barge. The barge is a pontoon, made by tying empty metal oil containers together and putting some boards on top. The owners live on the opposite side of the creek from the side we begin on, so the Amerindians swim across to get them. I wonder when the little boats are coming that will putter the pontoon and us to the other side.

So, we get the owners and we start to align the boards to drive the truck onto the pontoon. Our driver puts it in 4 wheel drive, drives onto the pontoon and…. Almost over the edge. Like, almost right back into the creek. Thankfully, he does stop in time. Still no boats to push us across. Oh, I realize, all the men push it across. So, I play my key role as a lady and sit at the front of the pontoon to even out the weight of the back of the truck as the men push us across the creek.

Once across the creek, we take a break we watch as two cowboys and a number of dogs herd cattle into the water and swim across. Then we continue our trip home, bump after bump, puddle after puddle. So, I’m starting to feel a sense of accomplishment for crossing the Rupununi in the rainy season when I’m reminded we’re only two days in, and when we have to come out in July, well, we may not be able to. But, we’ll cross that bridge (river) when we get to it. 

Something Like a Rash...

Well now, I suppose that I have been pestered by Kristin enough to actually write a blog yet again.  I suppose in my mental flossing and meanderings I should describe one day in my somewhat remote normal life.  So my job is in a meat locker... I mean a hospital.  There is a usual amount of people coming and going, being looked after by very young nurses that I could only describe as being of another era... maybe World War 2 nurses?  Every now and then we get the occasional 'big deal', which usually includes up to Sting Ray stings, Rattlesnake bites, Scorpion stings (by the way my tally thus far has been 2 scorpions and one 7 inch Centipede).  Today I got to see the result of a Sting Ray sting... well... there is a lot of abcess and chunks of flesh missing.... we'll just say that.  I felt terrible for the poor guy and he was in a load of pain... and thats when I just about lost my breakfast.  

Then the pregnant mothers came today.  We herd them not unlike cattle and then walk around the room and fall silent.  To me this means that we are just building up the tension, but I also suppose that it serves to get some time to talk about something to these mothers (some of whom have already 'dropped' 8 or 9 children).  Then we preceed to talk at them about hygiene or coming in to the hospital to give birth to their babies rather than at home.  After we prod and examine and weigh and do every other form of reduction of privacy and personal decency... its really not that bad.  We do a lot of good.

But really my day starts when I leave from work and go home.  There is garden materials, which I have been working on now for... three weeks?  I guess, I don't know.  The garden is about a 20 foot by 30 foot dream at this moment... there is also a possible peace garden is the brain racking around.... maybe.  There are a lot of maybes right now and a lot of time to do it all in.... I'm sure that something will get finished.... something.

The chickens are pretty great thus far.  They have been supplying some protein for myself (one egg a day!) and there is an idea about a cat and dog, or combination there of; a cog??

Whoop

Meet Henrietta and Cock-a-Doodle, our new hen and rooster!

We got them for eggs. 

Aren't they great??

Carrie and Justin, we'll make you proud!