ALMOST summer break!

It has been a while since I have written! The days seem to be going so fast! Let’s see, we are in the 7th week of school right now; there are two more weeks until summer break! I know, I know, everyone in the States has been out of school for a couple of weeks now, but this is a big deal for me! This whole week has been testing, testing, testing! I went on Monday and carried out 3 different math exams that I created for grades 1, 2, and 3. This was definitely a challenge, especially because the teachers were not present to help me with the behavior issues that seemed to arise frequently. But, I made it through! These tests made me realize how much extra math practice is needed if not for this year. Then Definitely next year. Issues as simple as the concept of 10 will make a world of difference!
The rest of the week I have spent working tirelessly on my Community Diagnostic Survey (CDS). We have a big presentation and paper due mid July (3 months at site) for the Peace Corps. I have done a lot this week, but I still have so much to do it seems. Most volunteers live in the village that they work in; however, I have to travel about 20minutes to get to my work site. So what does this mean?? I have to do two separate sections of the CDS instead of just one. So, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Alicia and I went to the Democratic Council in our village and asked questions about the community history, infrastructure, politics, etc. We also visited the schools (secondary and nursery…Alicia is getting the information for the primary school since she works there). We have to make charts, create interviews, compile seasonal calendars, daily activities, etc. So after I did some research in Bush Lot, I got together with Laura, another volunteer who also works in Woodley Park Village (at the Health Center). We went around and asked about what concerns the community had and talked about things that interested them/what they liked about the community. This was really interesting because we got to really identify what the people liked about the village and what they would like to see change…that is where we come in! We will be taking what we hear and working within the community and with locals to make these needs a reality! So we still have a lot of data to gather, but we have a pretty good start!
The puppies have been getting really big! We got them collars a couple of weeks ago in Georgetown. Odie had a pink sparkly one and Aldy got a black sparkly one. Notice how I am talking in the past tense? Because…they chewed them off! So we went to the vet and got another one...these ones are sturdier…but it is definitely not as cute as the pink one. Sad news though. Laura’s puppy, Bella, came from the same litter as our pups. She was very adorable, very playful. We got all three pups together last week for a play date and they had a blast. But two days ago, Bella got hit by a car and was killed. It was so sad. I cried so hard with Laura on the phone. The cars drive really fast here and it could have happened to our pups too. Pray for Laura! It was a sad couple of days.
Last weekend, Alicia and I traveled a little farther inland to visit another volunteer, Amber! It was really cool to see what a more rural area looks like. It was absolutely gorgeous and quiet. But man, oh man, it was about 3 hours until we got to her house. We had to switch minibuses 3 times, then we had to cram 9 people in a Toyota size car. This is not something to be jealous of! So here we were shoved in this small 4 wheel car traveling down the bumpiest road ever. The driver was going pretty slow, so mom don’t be worried about safety, but he would still stop really quick when going over any kind of bump on the road…which was everywhere! My face was crammed against the back of the driver’s seat one too many times. Plus, one thing to know about Guyana is that if you are small, they will just think you can be stuck anywhere. So there were 4 people in the back seat…oh wait, let’s shove Chelsea between two of them. When I say put me in between, I mean “Chelsea you can sit half of your one butt cheek on the front section of the car seat.” Yay! Man, it is times like that when I wish I had a bigger butt…haha did I really just say that?! But anyways, it was really fun. I got to try anaconda…tasted like calamari. We also made pine tarts (to bring to the beach) and we had a movie night! It’s funny because I have realized that American movies that I normally would think were dumb and awful, I actually enjoy now! I think it is because I don’t watch t.v. EVER. So then next day we set out early for the beach to meet 11 other volunteers. Even though we set out early, we were still delayed because a big rice truck broke the only bridge out of Amber’s village. Yay! So we waited for about 30 minutes, and then the minibus driver decided to go the long way around because we weren’t sure how long it was going to take for them to get the truck off the bridge AND fix the bridge. The people were saying the bridge would be fixed “just now” but I have been in Guyana long enough to know that “just now” could be years later. So we started going the other way, shoving more people in the minibus than could fit. Then all of a sudden the driver turns around and starts heading back for the bridge! Oh well we got to get a little scenic tour of her village and beyond. And after about 1 ½ hours later, we were finally on our way out of her village! Oh gosh. But we eventually got to the beach and it was beautiful. We all brought something to share with the group and it was all delicious. Fun in the Sun :)
This weekend I am going to two Qui-Qui’s (a qui-qui is like a pre celebration for a Christian wedding. There is food and dancing and fun!) Then, on Saturday, I am going to a weddings with a teacher that Alicia works with (her sister is getting married!) Of course I don’t have anything hott to wear, so another young teacher said that I could borrow one of her dresses and the other young teacher said I could borrow a pair of her shoes! I said, “I feel like you are my fairy god-mothers!” Much appreciated.
Book update. I finished 20 books so far…I only have 80 more books left to finish my Peace Corps goal! I think I will probably pass that goal pretty quickly.
Lastly, I have a skype account now! I got the pleasure talking to Elaine and Heather last week! I am scheduled to have another phone date with Holly this weekend! Let me know if you have skype and want to have a date!!
Hope everyone is having a great summer so far.