Settelin' In... but me na speak no creolese mon

I'm slowly feeling more and more comfortable here. I have bonded with some of the other volunteers and am feeling quite at home with my host family.
Training has been interesting. Today we learned about all sorts of different creatures that can bite us at night and cause some serious vector-bourne illnesses, worms and infections (yum!). Thank goodness for mosquito nets (and anti-malarials). We also learned about the goals the Peace Corps and other non profit organizations have set for improvin the health of the Guyanese people. It is inspiring and exciting to see the ambitious goals they have set and know that I can somehow be a part of it, even if it is in a small way.
I've realized that they Guyanese people are very in to American pop-culture. I watch Oprah with my host family everyday after training and am constantly hearing hip-hop blaring out of the cars that pass by. On the drive in today, my driver was rocking out to some sweet 80's tunes, singing at the top of his lungs. I couldn't stop laughing. The people here are so full of life, and are constantly smiling and greeting me. It's good to know they want me to be here and welcome me into their community.
I found out today that the way people dispose of their garbage is by throwing it into the ocean. Full bags of garbage just dumped in with no thought of where it is going or the problems it could be causing the ecosystem. I just keep picturing that island of plastic bags growing. I'm hoping once I get to my actual site to have my secondary focus be on reducing waste and increasing compost and re-using containers they normally throw into the water and am hoping to set up a community garden. There are so many things here that need improvement, I think I'll be plenty busy.
It's finally the weekend, and I look forward to playing cricket tomorrow with some of the local boys. I might even bring my discs out and have teach them how to play ultimate.
I'm still missing home alot, but am feeling more and more established everyday. Please keep commenting and e-mailing. It's great to hear people's imput on my new life! I should be updating this pretty regularly because I found an internet cafe a block away from my house.
I hope you are all happy and healthy! Love and miss you all:)