As I was chowing down on popcorn (my new favorite food) and rocking out to Jackie Green, I realized that once again, I've been a total slacker about updating my blog. Sorry for the delay folks, I'm sure life feels empty without regular updates from me, but worry not, life will go on. Here is some sustenance to last you a while...
I don't know if everyone has heard the latest news, but I'M ENGAGED!!! Haha! Just kidding (sorry mom and dad)! But I was proposed to. Three times in one day, from three separate men, none of whom I have ever met before. One of my suitors told me that he owned McDonalds. I couldn't figure out why the owner of McDonalds would be working knee deep in a trench, but that's besides the point. The point is, I'm a hot commodity over here. And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that people see me as a first class ticket to American citizenship. No way Jose! It is true, unrequited love. So ladies, if you're looking for a man, Guyana is the place to be! Come one, come all, to your one-stop-shop for happily ever after!
If you thought that story was a little ridiculous, just wait 'till you hear this one...
A few weekends ago, I was visiting my friends Jillian, Jason and Kirsten in New Amsterdam. After eating tacos (yep! TACOS) for lunch, we decided to chase our meal with a few brews. The few brews turned into a day filled with drinking games and dance parties. After running out of beer, we decided to walk to a nearby rum shop to buy some more booze (because that's always a good idea). As Jason walked inside to check out the selection, us girls stayed out front. A woman was sitting outside with her twins and offered to let us hold them. We couldn't resist, I mean who can say “No” to twins!?! As we were playing with the babies, the mother pulled Jillian aside and asked her if she wanted one. Jillian wasn't sure what she meant, and considering the state we were in, was sure she misunderstood. The woman insisted that we take one of her children. She said we could pick which one. As we stood there in shock, Jason came out with the necessary goods and we left immediately. We returned to the house with a bottle of vodka and NO babies.
On a more serious, and completely unrelated note, I have officially started doing work that I am actually excited about! I started an after-school program for girls a few weeks ago and it has been going well thus far. Attendance is low, but I think that can be attributed to the fact that school is out for the summer. The good news is that the girls who have been coming come every time and seem to really enjoy it. I'm thinking about turning it into a leadership program and doing community work with them. We'll see how it turns out once school is back in session. I'm crossing my fingers I'll have more participants than I'll know what to do with.
Besides the GEM (Girls Empowerment Movement) after-school program, I've started working with a few other volunteers on developing an organization dedicated to working with sufferers of domestic violence. There are no resources for women in abusive relationships in my region, and the hope is to write a grant to attain funds to build an organization modeled after other NGO's in Guyana dedicated to a similar cause. The organization would offer counseling and outreach to victims of abuse. The hope is to eventually also build a safe home for our clients. In order to make this project sustainable, we need to recruit Guyanese people to work with us. We are currently setting up meetings with possible partners hoping to get them on board. Unfortunately, everything takes three times longer in Guyana than it would in the states, so this project is going to take a long, long time. But I'm extremely excited about it and can't wait to get it up and running.
So that's what is new down here in Good Banana-Land (there is actually a town called Good Bananaland not far from here). Hope everything is going well in Delicious Beer-Land!
Peace, love and popcorn!
Annie
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