A Sad-Face Post

My mother just left.

Its a sad thing to realize that the visit from your mother that you have been anticipating for a whole year, is now a thing of the past. What will I have to look forward to now?

But we had a great two weeks. Mom's plane landed in Suriname at night. That next morning, we got up bright and early to get on our bus and then our boat to the interior. Mom got a pretty sweet deal, and by that I mean that she didn't have to pay for her ride out, because I had chartered the car and the boat in order to bring three sets of solar panels back out into my village. (And, it made me feel good, because my mom got the impression that I was working very hard. Double win!)

Once in my village, we were confronted with a plethora of ceremonial stuff revolving around the recent death. I had known the guy that died. He died while I was in the city during the lessons we were getting on how to set up solar panel systems. So every night that my mother was there, my villagers were "breaking the day," which is to say that they played loud music all night and at least a handful of people were guarding the body throughout the night. Someone has to guard the body, or else Jaguars will steal it, as I was told. Seriously.

Still, mom got a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness ceremonies that few people get to see, so she was incredibly lucky! We never did stay up long enough to witness the young hoodlums and their dirty dancing, which was something mom was always curious about, but really, we all know what that looks like, and it's not pretty. On the other hand, I was being told that my lack of attendance at the ceremonies was being monitored and that I might be asked to pay a fine of soft drinks or rum if I didn't show up at some point. I got out of that this time around, but I think I'll have to start going if there are any more deaths.

On day one I took mom around all of Tutu and showed her the highlights. The school, the soccer field, the landing strip. We had to stop every ten seconds for me to introduce her to people and to have a quick chat about her marital status. We were tired by the end of that day. I also took mom to Gunzi and we met the captain there. We checked out the tourist camp and chatted with some people. Mom saw her first Koni-koni, which is a rodent with legs like a rabbit. Another day, a lady from my village took my mother and me with her to grounds. We helped her cut a little patch of rice. Then we carried things on our heads on the way home. A highlight. I'm sad we never took a picture of mom with the piece of wood on her head. Mom witnessed the processing of rice from start to finish, and she saw half of the process to make cassava bread. She saw people in Gunzi pounding Maipa seeds but I don't think I pointed it out to her.

Meanwhile I was working on stuff for the solar panels and going to the shop with some women that sell things to tourists, and had meetings with people who came from the city, and even got word that a project of mine was funded. A huge number of outside things were going on. Needless to say, mom got the wrong impression of how active I usually am in the village. But hey, it made me look good, so I can't complain.

All too soon, (and I was admonished for taking her away from the village before she knew everything), it was time for our trip back to the city. On the same day that we traveled, we went directly to a party at the American Ambassador's residence. My mom met the Ambassador, my PC Country director, and various staff. She also got the chance to meet some of the volunteers. The next day, we did our best to tour the city, not getting very far because of our meandering pace. She got to experience the enormous market, and the grimy Saramacca Straat, where all the people from my area hang out when they come to the city. On the next few days, we saw some of the prettier areas of town. Among them the presidential palace, the tourist area, and the palm garden. We were taking the little ferries across the river and we got very familiar with some of the bus lines during this time. I even took her to a meeting with one of the partners I work with in the city. We did a day trip to see the butterfly museum in the outskirts of town, we went hiking in a nature reserve, and we hung out with the dolphins (pink underbellies!!) that live in the river.

And now that it's all over, I can't believe that it is. It will be one whole year before I see mom again. But I'm glad we had a good time and I hope that she will remember her trip fondly. All of you people that opted out of coming to see me, I hope you see that you royally missed out.

I'm posting some more pictures as well. Ta-ta!

Yeah...

First, I believe an apology is in order. I seem to have fallen victim to the disease most blog-writers eventually succumb to. I have not written for a really long time. Forgive me. Things are interesting to talk about when you're new to them, but as you get accustomed to your surroundings, talking about them becomes boring. Telling newcomers the same stories over and over again is no longer interesting. Instead, I want to talk about my work relationships and my every day problems, much like you want to talk about yours. And I know that stuff is less than interesting. And maybe this blog is not a good outlet for me to rant about those kinds of topics.

In other news, my mother is visiting me right now! In fact, she motivated me to write this blog, so we should all thank her. In an effort to update about life here, I would like to say that my friend Milk really did die. I would like to think that I did not jinx him with my previous blog about his narrow escape from death. So no morbid jokes please. I now have another cat. Her name is Godio (boots), and she had already had two previous houses before she came to mine. Sadly she will probably stay in Suriname when I leave, so that will make a total of four homes in her life. I hope we are not damaging her mentally by shipping her around so much. As an American, I worry about these things. Saramaccans would probably not waste time on these ideas. Even if Godio was a human. They like to go with the flow. It's a good way of living. Anyways, Godio and Milk are very different and I am getting used to it. Milk was pretty reserved around people but when being petted would be very into the experience. Godio is a very friendly cat, very cuddly. She doesn't like you touching her ears, however. Or you touching her much at all, unless she is the one that approached you. She does not like to wrestle like Milk used to. (I admit, I may have caused that. I just couldn't help bugging him until he would swat at me.) Godio will just get up and go somewhere else. It is very disappointing.

Some other things that are in my life right now:
I just got three separate groups in my village solar panels
I am going to be involved in a group of trainings being offered in my village. How to fix your own sewing machine, how to recycle materials and make profit off them, simple business skills, etc, all part of one huge grant we recently got awarded.
I teach English. (ugh, I hate this one)
I teach computer skills.
I help 6 women with their store full of hand sewn goods.
And I am trying desperately to interest the women's group in my village in working with me to help them start an income generating activity. ( I think I want this more than anyone else in the village, so it probably won't happen.)
I'm also a part of an attempt to begin selling solar lanterns in the villages. They don't use batteries or gasoline, and are thus a climate-change-conscious choice.
If I can interest people, I'd also love to start some kind of waste management in the village. Still in the concept phase.

But as you can see, my life in Suriname has changed. I am no longer just observing. I have become an active member of society. It feels good to be able to say that.

Stay posted for loads of pictures.
Cheerio!