This week was the observation of two religious holidays in Guyana, Youman Nabi (Muslim) and Phagwah (Hindu). I celebrated Phagwah with another volunteer’s host family. Phagwah is a Hindu celebration of rebirth and spring where water is thrown on people and then they are covered in various colored powder. “Playing Phagwah” as they say is great fun, but quite a mess too! I scrubbed in the shower over and over and I am still stained orange, kinda like a fake tan! Early in the morning I went for a run and a family and group of young boys having parade, yelling and banging pots and pans, got me! They dumped buckets of water over my head before I could successfully save my ipod (don’t worry, it dried out). Then hey rubbed pink and red powder all over my face and kissed me saying “Happy Phagwah!” Then I had to run through the next village and home all phagwahed! My family laughed at me when I returned home!


On Tuesday a large group of Volunteers, families, and Peace Corps staff went to Lake Mainstay to swim in the black water. The water is actually very clean and the color of Coca-cola. The vegetation releases tannins into the water making it a dark reddish-black color and very good for you skin. It was very cool. My host mom came along with a few other moms from my village. They packed great food for us and we had a picnic. We had chicken curry with dhol pori (which is like roti- an amazing Indian flat bread but made with split peas too), channa (chickpeas cooked with onion, garlic and spices), Guyanese baked mac and cheese, chowmein (similar to Chinese), and bora (Guyanese string beans- like ours but skinny and really long!). My mom taught us how to play some games. We had a human tug-o-war (no rope) match and the girls beat the guys! HA-HA! We also played bog and bone, which is similar to steal the bacon. It was a nice day away from training that’s for sure!!!

Just Now

The Guyanese have a phase they use...."just now." That is used when they say that they are going to do something. For example, "Jenny, when will you update your blog?" "Oh! Just now." Just now can mean 5 minutes, 5 days, or 5years. So, now my answer to people's questions back home about when something will occur here will be... "Just now!" I can't beleive that I have only been with my host family for a week now, It seems like forever. They are so nice! It is just me and my mom and dad, no children. However, my mom and I can sit and gaff (chat) all evening long. This is great because there isn't anything else to do right now. My living conditions are very nice. I have a nice room and my family provided me with a TV, VCR, and DVD player. I haven't used them though becuase I do not want to get accustome to using them and not have them for two years in my site. I have electricity, running water and a pretty nice shower too. The bugs aren't too bad and I only have little lizards in the house, like in Florida. The food is good too. My host mother took me to her gym...yes...her gym! It is like a little barn with a group of woman only. They have some equipment and we do a mix of aerobics and yoga....it is a lot of FUN!!! It reminds me a of home! Who would have thought I would be going to the gym three times of week in a rural village in Guyana!?! We are told that our training is in the safest region in the country. This is a great feeling for now as we adjust, I just hope that Im in a good area for my 2 year site assignment. I started work at my training school on Monday and got to go back today. The students are wonderful and VERY well behaved... but I would be too if the fear of lashes was put into me! We observed on Monday and today two other volunteers and myself gave reading assessments. The results were pretty much what I expected, a few on target, most a bit behind, and a few drastically behind. However, you will find that in the US schools too. I get to teach next week and I will try to let you know all about it. I attempted to include a video of the school students signing their school song during the morning assembly that they have every Monday and Friday, but it wasn't uploading. Hopefully I will post it soon. I haven't seen anything too crazy, except for all the farm animals all over the roads. When I find something crazy... I will post it!:)

IN GUYANA!!!

Hello Everyone! I am now officially a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT) and here in Guyana. It is absolutely beautiful. It sure has been a whirlwind! Our staging in Philly was quick, but fun. I got to meet all the 33 members of my groups Guy21. They are all exactly what I expected and more than I could hope for… a great new family! When we arrived in Guyana we were greeted by Peace Corps Staff and current volunteers from Guy19 and Guy20. They immediately gave us bottled water, a coconut with a straw to drink from, and a necklace with either a Guyanese flag or “I love Guyana” on it (I got the Flag), what a great welcome! We checked into our hotel and had a full and long day of introductions and training. Today we had more training and got to tour Georgetown and the Peace Corps office. It was beautiful! We had dinner and limed (hung out) on the seawall. We are going to meet our host families tomorrow and we get to spend the whole weekend with them to integrate before training on Monday. I was excited to find out that my host family is in walking distance from the training site, this means exercise and no hassle of minibuses!!! I am both excited and anxious about meeting my host family. However, I think it will be a great experience. Oh yeah, I got my first round of shots and malaria meds. The nurse gave me the good malaria meds that don’t make you have crazy thoughts or dreams, so I am very happy about that! Other volunteers have already gotten woozy from the meds, but they are adjusting.

On another note, I will no longer be posting my address for security reasons. I know I told everyone here that you would be able to reach me that way, but NO worries! Just send me an email requesting my address and as soon as I can I will forward it on to you! Also, I will have internet cafes to go to during my 2 months of training. However, I am not sure how often I will be able to go or how expensive it will be. So I apologize if it is a long time between updates, but just keep checking! PLEASE leave comments or email and I will write back!

Guyana….OK, Freak out NOW!!!!

2 days left......ENOUGH SAID!!!!

As ready as I'll ever be

It is not what you do or what you have in your life that matters…. It is who you are and who you have to share that with!

As my time at home draws to an end and my departure to begin my journey quickly approaches, I feel truly blessed. Thankful to all of my friends and family for everything that they have done and will continue to do for me! Family, friends, and co-works that have been my little cheerleaders and freely support my crazy aspirations, however, it is at the same time that I cannot help but feel selfish. By venturing away, I leave the people who support the most me behind. Meaning I will not be there support them at work or be apart of those most important events of their lives (you know who you are!). Thank you for your giving spirits!!!

I have five days left… Are my bags packed? No. Do I feel ready? Not really. Am I prepared? No, but I have prepared myself for the fact that there is no possible way to actually be “prepared” for this adventure. I am simply prepared for “not being prepared.” Am I excited? More than words can express! Am I scared? Not at all. Am I anxious? YES!!! Mostly because of all of the unknowns…What puts me at ease? Knowing that I will be with a great group. They will feel the same way and we will all build great friendships off that horribly unprepared, but ready to help each other feeling!!! Bring it on!!!J

they grab for my hand , but touch my heart...goodbyes

Today was my last day of school. Wow! That was difficult. However, it truly hasn’t sunk in yet. As I sit here at my desk at school and type this entry, it seems like any normal evening, but then I stop and realize…I will not see my boys again. I can feel the lump in my throat and the tears well up in my eyes. Not really because I am sad, more because I am proud! I begin to reminisce about what it was like when each of them came here, some not too long ago, others it seems like forever. Nonetheless, they have all come so far! Academically, behaviorally, and socially! Each one with such distinct personality all their own… not a single one even close to another! That I love! That I will miss!!!! (tears on my keyboard…I am such a girl!) I start to wonder “will my students in Guyana be anything like my students here? Will we form the bonds and see the growth? Will I make a difference in even one child’s life? Or parent’s life for that matter?” There are so many questions that I can’t wait to seek the answers to.
The staff here is wonderful and they all threw me a little goodbye party! Thanks guys! My kids and classroom staff made me the best gifts to take. A shirt they signed with hearts on their back (because one of my students told his grandma “I give Ms. Grigsby my heart”… goodness he melts me!!! ) They framed a picture of us being silly like we always are (see below) and made me a school bag with all their hand prints so they will be my little helpers always! A special thanks to Miss. Sarah for all of her patience!!! You are a gift from god! This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make and I hope that all my dreams come true!!!



I am such a dork!

Guyanese Creole... what I know

Guyana is the only English speaking country in South America. As a teacher, I was very happy to discover that I would not have to teach in a whole new language. However, Guyanese Creole is different from American English and it can even sound like a whole separate language at times. As far as teaching goes, Guyana follows the Bristish system. Therefore, it may take some getting used to the different spellings of words. Here is what I found so far…
English taught in the schools of Guyana are based on the Queen's English (Britain) compared to the American English spelling of words; e.g. Americans spell the word as "Labor", while in the Queen's English it is spelt as "Labour".
Guyanese people speak English/Guyanese Creole while learning the English system of writing and reading in schools. It is a slightly different system of communication from the standard forms. This is the main reason why many Guyanese and outsiders say that Guyanese Creole is basically English. Words that end with er for Ex: Water, Teacher, Better, change the word er to a. Translating Guyanese language to English or the opposite way are basically the same. The vowels are a bit mixed up and as a result Guyanese Creole language was formed. Guyanese people use simple words, which they fuse with other words, this creates a faster speech rate from the original English.
*HAHA- I should fit right in as I speak extremely fast when I am excited (and sometimes when I’m not). My boss says that I am “hyper-verbal” and everyone seems to agree!
Examples of the English in daily use in the Caribbean include a different set of pronouns, typically, me, meh, or mi, you, yuh, he, she, it, we, wi or alawe, allyuh or unu, and dem or day. I, mi, my, he, she, ih, it, we, wi or alawe, allayu' or unu, and dem, den, deh for "them" with Central Americans. The so-called "dropping the 'h'" or th-stopping in th- words is common.
It is common in Guyanese Creole to repeat adjectives for emphasis (as if saying, very or extremely). For example, "Dis wata de col col" translates into "This water is very cold". "Come now now" translates into "come right now”
For a list of common phrases, check out Angie’s blog!
Here is a great link that gives some common differences between American and British spellings… however, who knows if they will be the same in Guyana!
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm