Our First Week in Guyana: Reflections

As we hurtled across the Essequibo river, the widest in Guyana, on our bumpy, splashing speedboat, we wondered what our host family would be like. Guyana is such a diverse country, in terms of the types of people and geography, that your experiences can vary depending on where you are. Mainly Guyanese people are either Indian or African or native American Indian by descent. Within these racial differences, Guyanese adhere to a diverse range of religions, mostly Hindu, Christian and Muslim. Your experience of a “traditional” Guyanese family would vary depending on what their socioeconomic status was and where in the country they lived. With all these factors unknown to us, we had a lot to imagine as we whizzed by islands on our 45 minute speedboat journey to the coast.

By now of course, we have been living with our host family for four nights. They are amazing people. We live with an Indo-Guyanese family in a small village on the Essequibo coast. Our family is big, busy and welcoming. They have hosted one Peace Corps volunteer before so they have been through some of the hilarious adventures of teaching us how to live in this wild country. Our host mother has three grown sons. She and her youngest son live with us in the house. She runs a general store out of the front of the house. Our brother works at a bank as a small business loans coordinator and is a very active volunteer at the local branch of the Lions club. Our yard is connected to a back house where the middle brother lives with his wife and two young girls, ages 6 and 3. They are busy people as well. This brother has his own business selling fowl, like baby chicks and such, and birdfeed and his wife works at a large appliance store in a neighboring village. The oldest brother and his wife live a few houses down the road from us and he also owns a business in transporting and selling farming supplies. Because our family is so industrious there are always people coming into the yard to do business. It has been, and will continue to be, a great way for us to be introduced to the community.

Our Guyanese family is doing a great job of teaching us how to adapt. They answer all our questions and bring us out with them when they go out on business or leisure. So far we have met many neighbors and know our way around the coast fairly well. Our host mother is teaching us how to cook, mainly she is teaching me, Chelsea, since women do most of the cooking around here. But Tim gets his butt into the kitchen too. Our mom  makes great Indian food. So far I have learned how to make chana (spiced boiled chickpeas), chicken curry (with a whole chicken that I was shown how to prepare by chopping it up with a machete) and saada roti (a puffy bread type item). I don’t know how to spell any of these things and my success when I cook them by myself next time is doubtful. However, it is really fun to learn. We have both been shown how to do our laundry by hand. Even though we have a washing machine, it is unlikely that we will have one in our own home so we have to learn how to do it by hand for when we go out on our own. It is hard work but results in nice, clean smelling laundry when we pull it off the line.
 

In addition to the in-house learning we’ve learned many thing via the Peace Corps. We’ve done intensive cultural studies on the Guyanese including their etiquette, social norms, and gender roles. The lessons are too many to mention and we’ve only been here a little over a week, but needless to say we’ve also focused sustainable project development and integration in to the community. The Peace Corps has also provided us with texts to support their in-class learning, and I think we have more on the way. I (Tim) am super excited; I love books and I love learning new things and community development is definitely something I’ve never tried my hand at.

Last Saturday (the 13^th) our host mom took us for a walk around the community. We met so many neighbors, and everyone is so welcoming. We’d go to house after house sometimes being invited inside where they plied us with food and drink and other times we’d just sit and “gaff” (or chat) out by their main gates after we were introduced by our host mother. It is a wondrous culture and everyday we’re learning something new.

But, of course, it is not all stuffy studying (not that I’m complaining) we’ve had so many experiences and one happened “just now” on Valentine’s Sunday.

We woke early Sunday morning after a great night hanging out with our middle brother, his family, some friends, and another PC Trainee. We were laying in some hammocks, taking some breeze, with a mug of coffee in one hand and the other behind our heads, watching the eastern sky turn from orange to blue, when our middle brother came out from his house in the back. The night before he’d mentioned he might be going fishing next morning, and with nothing planned we said,  “Sure, sure.”  So he came out front and queried if we were still interested. As the Peace Corps recommends, we accepted the invitation as another chance to learn about Guyanese culture. 

After making some calls our brother organized the trip with his uncle, who is taking care of another PCT, to come down to the trenches away from the beaten path. We piled into his big yellow truck he usually uses for deliveries of his feed with Chelsea, his wife, and him in cab, while I was in the open truck bed with his two daughters and a cousin who is visiting in town from Trinidad, where he works and lives presently. We made our way down the Public Road and picked up the other Trainee and some more cousins then turned off of the road to the rice fields in what we call here the back dam.

Field after field bumped by. Some were green with vitality, while others were dead and fallow. It has been a bad year for rain, so many fields aren’t blooming as they should, but this did not subtract from the beauty of our surroundings. Coconut trees lined the border of the fields, twisting and turning on their quest to find the sun (not a hard quest here in this country). Cows pastured and long-necked, white birds perched in the verdant paddies. Dragonflies whirred in our wake sometimes coming in swarms, other times only few buzzed behind us. A pall of dust, kicked up from our truck, only enhanced the magnitude of the scene. By the time we’d finally arrived at the end of the road I was covered, head to toe, in wondrous white particles (Chelsea just said I looked filthy).

We walked to the edge of the trench, which, like the fields, was low on liquid. We picked our way through bushes and razor grass and then began to fish. Well, us white kids watched, while our host families used the nets to capture fish. They pulled up a variety of Guyanese local fish, including a pirreye, or piranha (not edible, in fact it will try to eat you), some edible fish, which will no doubt be on our plates any day now, and we even snagged a small alligator in the net but it swam away before we could get a good look at it. After some time the fishermen forgot about the net and just jumped in and began fishing with their bare hands, feeling the water for the fish, then, when they’d get one, they’d toss it to shore where one of the little ones picked it up and tossed it in the bucket. It was an experience and very impressive.

Another great experience we were lucky enough to share with our host family was a Hindu holiday at their church, or mandir, celebrating the original form in which the god Shiva appeared to mankind. We had planned ahead to join our youngest brother and host mother last Friday, the 12^th. So, when we got home from school they had laid out some appropriate Indian garb for us to wear. Both of us looked pretty dashing in our bright, colorful outfits. We spent the evening chanting and singing in Hindi and, later, enjoying a snack of fruit, puri and sweet rice with the rest of the devotees in our community. We felt really welcomed and it was a nice way to relax and spend some time in meditation and prayer. All in all it was really enjoyable, I am sure we will go again sometime in the rest of our two month stay here.

In the next few weeks I imagine we will be really busy with work but there is a national holiday coming up next Tuesday, the 23^rd called Mashramani, or Republic Day. Most PCTs plan to head out to a nearby lake for some swimming, water sports and learn how to play cricket. We are really looking forward to it. So, we will try to get an update up sometime after Mash.

We miss you all at home and hope that all is going well. Let us know how things are or just send us an email or letter, old snail mail style. We’d love to hear an update from home. Sending lots of love!!!!

C&T

Strangers in a Strange Land

We are strangers in a strange land, but we are learning.

Since the minute we arrived at Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana we have been in training. Our mission: to integrate into the Guyanese culture enough to accomplish the three main Peace Corps goals: to use our skills to help Guyana meet their needs for trained manpower, to help promote a better understanding of American culture abroad and to promote an understanding of Guyanese culture in America.

Guyana is an amazingly beautiful country. Our first view was spectacular. As we descended from the sky, a large river loomed into view, snaking through the hazy, green jungle. The airport, so minor compared to those in States, rose to meet us with its open arms. We shuffled off the plane and the heat was such a relief from the blaring cold of New York. But then the humidity smacked us full on; and it was only 7 in the morning.

The staff and some current volunteers of PC Guyana met us at the airport and escorted us to a nearby resort (a.k.a. a popular hotel with a man-made lake, a destination spot for water activities) where we immediately began our information sessions. Many of our trainers are from Guyana so we have to traverse the Guyanese accent (think Lady Cleo) and catch on to Creolese (basically grammatically improper English). Some of our favorite new sayings are, ‘Small up’ which means ‘scoot over and make room for me’ and ‘walk wit’ which means ‘bring along/take it with you’, as in “Always walk wit your water bottle so you don’t get dehydrated”.  Sorry Dad, we will probably return with very poor grammar.

Yesterday and today’s lessons included Safety and Security, Water Safety (we had to show we are competent in the water by putting on a life vest and floating, kayaking, and swimming a few meters. It was truly hilarious to watch, as many of our trainers did, the 35, mostly white Americans splashing around in three feet of water), Medical Orientation (where we got shot up with yellow fever and rabies and were issued malaria pills), a tour of Georgetown, and an overview of the schedule for our two month training. We also opened a Guyanese bank account and toured the PC Headquarters in G-town.

Tomorrow our community based training begins. We will travel, by bus and speedboat, over the river and through the jungle to the Essequibo Coast. There we will meet our host family!!! Although we will miss the A/C here in the hotel, we are excited to begin orienting ourselves to the real Guyana; the Guyana where, they say, we have to wash our own clothes by hand, cook our own meals (with our families of course) and interact with Guyanese other than our trainers and the staff at the hotel.

We are very tired but we are writing this blog in our hotel room before we turn in with the hopes that we will have a moment tomorrow to upload it when we stop by PCHQ before heading to the coast.  We don’t know when we will be able to post again, or when we will be on Skype but we will keep you posted. The good news is that phone service here is fairly affordable and if we get a GT&T plan we can text any AT&T people in the U.S. We probably won’t do this for the next two months because we are waiting to see if our permanent site has satellite service.

Oh, and as a matter of business, if you plan on sending us any packages please write us an email first so we can give you tips to get it to us with ease. PC staff told us all packages are inspected and we have to pay tariffs on any items inside and there are ways to make this process easier, so email us ahead of time. Thanks!

Now we will say goodnight, which as we found out only after much confusion, is also the common way to say ‘hello’ when you are passing someone on the street at night in Guyana. So ‘goodnight’ and goodnight.

Goodbye San Diego, Hello Peace Corps!

We woke up this morning around 5am and said our good-byes to San Diego. Our dearest friend, Emily, drove us south down the 5 and waved at the concrete complexity of the freeway system and said good-bye to Clairemont Mesa and Pacific Beach. We nodded farewell to the 8 and to Sea World, and blew a good-bye kiss to the San Diego downtown cityscape.

Officially, our Peace Corps adventure begins.

We felt quite foolish lugging our bags through San Diego airport. We had our travel backpacks on our backs and our personal bags on our fronts. We each had a rather large duffle in our right hand, and I had my guitar in the left, while Chelsea had a heavy bag of books in hers. Shuffling through San Diego Airport we checked in and meandered to the gate.

The flight was fairly uneventful filled with fitful naps and crinked necks, but eventually New York came into view and we landed quite softly.

Again, we gathered our things, ridiculously looking like tropical campers in 30-degree weather, then made our way through JFK airport. We took a train to the front of airport then took the shuttle to the hotel. On our entrance to the hotel other volunteers spotted us immediately. The bags were a dead give away! It was great to finally meet some of our future companions face-to-face and our excitement swelled. It is definitely real now.

Our room is pretty spectacular with its king sized bed, flat screen, and computer desk. However, I am not too attached to it because we’re only here for one night. I will mention though, that our fellow PCVs are pretty awesome. We’ve met about half of them so far after the first evening where we had to fill out paper work, get H1N1 shots (our arms are still throbbing), and get our stipends for the first few days. We’ve talked of our possible jobs, of our expectations and anxieties, and simply about ourselves in general. It has been pretty surreal experience, but one I am eager to continue.

We have so many more days with all of these volunteers and we’re looking forward to them. It’s our last night in the States, but I am not sad. I am ready to move on to our next adventure. We have been planning and talking about the Peace Corps for so long now, that it will be a pleasure to describe our moments in the present, rather than future tense.

Dear HSHMC

Dear HSHMC,

Happy Monday! For Mr. Tibbs and I, this Monday is a little sad since it is the first Monday that we are not there at Health Sciences High and Middle College to see your smiling faces. As we sit in Starbucks, preparing last minute paperwork before we leave for our Peace Corps service in Guyana, we imagine all the students and staff at HSHMC are finishing up fourth period, going on with their teaching and learning in the normal HSHMC fashion; like a family, with all the joy and drama that families normally have. We were inspired to write a blog directed especially to you to say how much we will miss you and also thank you for all the good times.

When we applied for the Peace Corps, neither of us were working at HSHMC, so we didn’t know that we wouldn’t just be leaving a job, but a family. Through all our experiences as teachers at our wonderful school we have had so much fun, learned so much and become so close with you. It is much harder to leave than we imagined but it is not in our nature to quit something we started over two years ago. We wish we could take you all down to Guyana with us, hidden in our suitcases. However, since that is impossible, what we will be taking with us are the lessons you have taught us, memories we have made together and the knowledge of how much you support and care for us.

At HSHMC we have learned how to be better teachers because of our students. You were so honest, sometimes brutally so, with us about how you deserve to be treated and how we can best facilitate your learning. You showed us that it is okay to be the kind of teachers who get to know their students on a personal level. You have shared with us so many stories of your lives and we feel blessed to have gotten to know you. We hope that you will continue to share your stories with us, especially you seniors who will be going off to college (we want to know what your future holds).

Thank you all for the amazing memories. Though there are too many to recount, we are especially grateful to have shared in a range of fun times with you. The first annual HSHMC play, Taming of the Shrew, was hilarious, amazing and such a blast. We know that this year’s play will be just as, if not even more, awesome and we will miss experiencing the production of it but can’t wait to see the DVD when we get it in the mail. We will always proudly remember our summer school Government and Economics classes. You guys have such great ideas, are so smart and will be excellent entrepreneurs in the future. You blew us away with how much money you raised for breast cancer awareness at the Movie Night and HSHMC Bazaar. We loved being a part of so many wonderful field trips with you; crying at the Museum of Tolerance, cheering for Team Tibblets during the first four days and rallying for UCLA at the USC/UCLA volleyball game. Believe it or not we have enjoyed reading your essays, correcting your tests and urging you to do your best, even when you would rather eat a slug than go to Academic Recovery. Each one of you has such amazingly unique talents that you bring into the world and we know that if you continue to uphold the pillars of HSHMC in your life you will go great places and do great things. We are very proud of you. You should all be wildly proud of yourselves. 

And to the staff of HSHMC, everything we needed to say about how wonderful you are has been said in all of our rock speeches. You guys are rad! You are inspiring educators, super people and have become some of our best friends. Basically, GO TEAM!

We don’t know what the future will hold for us. Two years is a long time. Some of you will be graduated and moved on from HSHMC but we sincerely hope we can keep in touch. And for those of you who will be in San Diego when we return, we can’t wait to see you and catch up on all our adventures.

So, goodbye for now. Keep in touch. We love you and are so grateful for all you have given us.

-Mr. and Mrs. Tibbs

Moving, Rain, and Ramblings

Above is our life's belongings for the next two weeks. Below is our life for the next two years.

We’re inching ever closer to that day when we depart San Diego for good. It has been a hectic few days packing up our house, loading boxeonto the U-Haul then unloading them, saying goodbye to friends and families and celebrating weddings showers for weddings that we’ll miss.

It has been both fun but also very busy. We’re so happy just to put our feet up and finish out our time at HSHMC.

The weekend was long. It all began on Saturday: we finished packing up our house then loaded our stuff into the moving truck. We had a wonderful brunch with two of our favorite friends (thank you so much Ed and Emily!) and then hit the road.

Driving a 10-foot truck is not the most relaxing thing, my heart raced, my shirt stuck to my back while sweat seeped from my forehead; fortunately, though, traffic wasn’t too bad.

We rumbled into Oxnard about 4:40 pm, we had just enough time to buy a padlock and head out to our friends’, Llewellyn and Tom, Bridal/Groom Shower out in Fillmore, about a 40-minute drive away.

The night was great we said some more goodbyes, talked about our upcoming adventures, drank some amazing home brew and received a “going away” package from the newly fianced couple filled with Mountain Dew, Ritz crackers, cheese whiz, and of course Flaming Hot Cheetos—all the things, I am sure, we’ll sorrowfully miss while abroad. (Note from Chelsea: As I have never eaten most of the things in the care package, it is likely that I will not miss them. But the thought of stuffing us full of traditional “American” snacks was so thoughtful and funny it made me cry).

Sunday rolled around and we unloaded our truck. We then drove up to Ventura for a delightful breakfast of waffles and bacon with mom. It was great.
 
It’s been hard for my parents to come to grips with me leaving. And we haven’t really talked much about it, but at breakfast we conversed quite candidly with mom.  And we have her full support, which is amazing because all the things we’ve been reading mentions how important familial support will be, especially with those early months.

After brunch we set up a Skype account for mom and then went to my dad’s house where we had another discussion.  He’s still wrestling with the idea, but I am almost positive he will come around in time.

We had dinner that night with my brother and sister-in-law at an old Oxnard family Italian restaurant, all rustically dim-lighted and wooden inside. After dinner we went to my brothers house and as we were chatting I felt this thrill of excitement course through my chest. I couldn’t help but smile. It was the first time I truly was excited for this adventure.

The next morning we took the train down to San Diego and went back to our now empty apartment. We cleaned a little bit then went to a co-workers house to sleep for the night. The rest of the week we have been staying at another co-workers house. It’s amazing. We have a whole floor to ourselves, a bedroom, bathroom, living room, TV, and it’s right next to the beach! We’ll be here until the last day of work on the 27th.

All week the skies have been gray and heavy with moisture. Rain has been constantly falling making all the kids a little crazy at school, and making me really happy. I love the rain. Unfortunately, out of those of us in San Diego, I am in the minority. They all want sunshine, but I say let the rain come down. Let us frolic and run around admiring how rare a treat this storm really is. (Note from Chelsea: I do not share Tim’s enthusiasm. Although I know the importance of the rain, I have packed most of my cold weather clothes away. This includes all my closed toed shoes. Needless to say, storms are not fun when your feet are wet and cold).

But now as Saturday dawns, I see blue skies. I feel a slight chill when I step outside. I think the storm is finally past. I mourn its passing, well only a few tears, since in Guyana we’ll have plenty of rain. 

However, I will say, I am so glad that last night, as there was a break in the weather, I went for a run around Solana Beach. It was twilight, that confusing time between darkness and light, and everything was beautiful.  The air was crisp with cleanliness, biting wind cut through my windbreaker, and there was only a tinge of dampness. I wanted to document this moment in time, not knowing when I’ll be in San Diego at dusk after a storm again, so I took my camera. I huffed to a beach off the old 101 to a place called Cardiff-by-the-Sea, then switched the camera to it’s low light setting where the shutter speed slows down, and snapped a few shots. As I finished, it was pretty much full darkness, so I turned and ran towards our shelter. Along the way, I saw some interesting perspective shots that I wanted to try my hand at. I don’t count myself a photographer by any means, but I wanted to practice. I found out that in order for a good, non-blurry, slow-shutter shot one has to pretend it’s like shooting a rifle. One has to exhale, and then click the shot as almost all the air escapes their lungs. This way the shot is steadier, and the slight movement of air passing through the lungs doesn’t affect it. Or if one has a tripod that would probably be better so there is no movement whatsoever. Anyhow, I hope to have more tips as I snap more shots of both San Diego and Guyana.

But anyway, that is enough. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining

and it’s time to enjoy, proper, sunny San Diego.

Travel Reservations, Mailing Address and Other Items of Business

We booked our plane tickets through the government travel office and now have firm plans to be on our way!

We fly out of San Diego on Thursday, February 4th at 11:30 am and arrive in Philadelphia, PA at 7:30pm.  The Peace Corps is putting us up in hotel for two nights during Staging. However, check-in with the Peace Corps isn’t until Friday evening so we can hopefully enjoy exploring Philadelphia that day. We want to check out the Liberty Bell, run up the “Rocky” steps and get a Philly cheese steak. Any other suggestions?

The only problem is we will be packing to live in the tropics for two years. Our packing plans did not include cold weather jackets or scarves. Unless anyone can think of any better solutions, we will buy cheap coats at the Salvation Army in San Diego and give them away in Philadelphia or just tough it out with layered long sleeved shirts and the raincoats we are already bringing. Sort of a hassle but what can we do?

We, along with the rest of the Guyana Groups 22 PCTs will have a day-long information session on Saturday. Then we all hop on a bus from Philly to JFK and fly out on a red eye direct to Guyana. By Sunday, February 7th we will be in Georgetown.

We are SUPER EXCITED!!!!

Here are some items of business:

Our mailing address during training:
Chelsea or Timothy Tibbs, PCT
Peace Corps Guyana
c/o U.S. Embassy
100 Young & Duke Streets
Georgetown, Guyana
South America

We will let you know when we get our site assignment and this address changes.

Getting Our Blog Updates:
Contrary to what I have told many of you, you will not get an email update by simply becoming a “Follower” of our blog. We just learned that “Following,” means that when you log into Blogger you will instantly be able to see any update we have made without going to our blog directly. Unfortunately, Blogger only lets us email update 10 people when we add new posts so we chose to email people who don’t have Facebook accounts. This is because we were able to set up notifications on Facebook any time we post a new blog. That’s the best we can do to keep y’all connected. If you are more tech savvy than we are then I’m sure you have already found your own way.

Welcome 2010: New Adventures Await in a New Year

Mom said she has, “A good feeling about 2010.” There is something in the air that makes me think she’s onto something.

Tim and I spent the last days of 2009 hanging about with Mom and Stephan, visiting family and enjoying their company. Nana hosted a delicious lunch of arroz con pollo, Panamanian style. I imagine we will be eating similar food in Guyana and got very excited at the prospect. Another “goodbye for now” was said and my sentimentality began to leak out. The next day we drove up to San Francisco for a trip to the DeYoung Museum and a look at the King Tut exhibit. After lunch at the Greens Buddhist Restaurant and a blustery walk along the shores of San Francisco Bay we said farewell to Oma and Sampa. More tears.

I am trying to understand why I feel so sentimental when I know that we are about to embark on a grand adventure with the love and support of our family and friends behind us. Peace Corps service is something Tim and I have been wanting for so many years now and I try to be rational and remind myself that two years is a relatively short period of time. Nonetheless, I got weepy at every goodbye. When I think about not being able to be in physical proximity of those I love, hug them and hold their hands, for extended amounts of time, the waterworks begin. Tim is ever supportive of my sentimental meltdowns, although I don’t know if he fully understands them either. ☺

Tim and I welcomed the New Year in Santa Cruz, at his family cabin with our dearest friends. The evening was filled with games and laughter. We took a walk down to the beach and burned away representations of what we do not wish to carry into the New Year with us. We left the smoldering pieces of paper to be washed away by the Pacific Ocean. Mom and I spent the first day of 2010 doing things that we want to welcome into this new year. We welcomed our personal physical health by walking with Dia on the beach. We welcomed spiritual calm and relaxation by getting pedicures and a massage. We welcomed family, good food, friends and laughter.

I have a good feeling about 2010 too.

Now we are back in San Diego. We survived the first week back from break. I stepped in for an injured coworker and taught 9th graders art history and was reminded how much it sucks to be a freshman in high school. How any of us navigated that social and hormonal labyrinth I will never know. Now we have two and a half weeks left of work at HSHMC and then it is off to Guyana! We have so many things to do before we depart but staying busy keeps my mind away from sentimental mushiness so I don’t burst into tears at the thought of leaving the students and staff that have become a second family to us.

Nonetheless, we are constantly sent reminders from the universe of the value of our future as PC volunteers. For example, today a coworker brought her brother, a Foreign Service Officer, in to speak to our students. He told a story from his experience as a diplomat in Vietnam. He mentioned that before the tsunami hit Indonesia on Christmas of 2004, 90 percent of the, predominantly Muslim, population claimed to distrust and dislike the United States. The nation was rapidly becoming a center for radical extremists. After the disastrous tsunami left most of the coastal region of Banda Aceh with devastating casualties and virtually no drinking water, the United States rushed to their aid. Our nation’s Navy pumped millions of gallons of fresh water to survivors and sent relief workers to aid a country in need. After the water receded and things began to stabilize in the region another survey was conducted. 90 percent of the population now respected and liked the U.S. Without their base of support, the growing terrorist threat was effectively quelled and the extremist group was disbanded. This was not the intention of our foreign service officers. Rather, it was a domino effect of reaching across international and cultural barriers to help other human beings in need.

We were deeply struck by this story. Tim and I are reminded of our goal to use the skills, such as our education, that we have been lucky enough to have gained as Americans to promote global cooperation and peace. It is with this in mind that we prepare to take a leap into a new year and new adventures.