There are moments where all I want to do is lay in bed under the sanctuary of my mosquito net with the fan blowing directly on my face lost in the land of daydreams. Have a day of nothingness and be content with it. But then the days would pass slowly, and daydreams would be just that – dreams. It has been a short (and long) two weeks I have now been here in Linden. Each day I find myself content with small accomplishments and enjoying simple (and amazing) moments, each day I feel blessed this is my home.
It is difficult to explain everything that happens in the day by day here. For the most part it isn’t exciting, isn’t anything special, but at the same time when those moments come along it is so fulfilling. My friends and I were walking through the market the other day, enjoying the rarity of a cool afternoon. We had no particular destination or item to buy. As we wandered we started to get random hellos and conversations with the few people we had met in our short time here. In the walk home the hellos and conversation continued, in addition to a random vegetable drive by drop by a neighbor. Walking to our house we hear a honk and a ladies ladies, to our surprise a neighbor hands us two huge bags of vegetables from his car and says enjoy. Finally arriving at home we found ourselves in a wonderful mood, smiles adorning our faces, the few people we do know so far want us to be here and make sure we are fed, happy, and welcomed.
Our feet after trekking through the creeks, mud, and mush!!
Occasionally our day to day is interrupted and moments to remember come by. Yesterday, my friends and I (for those who don’t know there are three of us volunteers all right next to each other) embarked out on an adventure with the family of a coworker. We were unsure where the destination was and really how we were going to get there. We took a car out to one of Linden’s outlying neighborhoods, and began a pleasant hike. Walking along we veered from the beaten path to an overgrown trail, continuing on mud began squishing under our feet. We then came to a creek crossing with a less than stable bridge. One person makes its through, then two, third man down, fourth man wet…all we could do is laugh and push on through even thicker squishier mud. It oozed up over our feet, flung up our legs, and provided entertainment as we slipped and slid. Coming out of the trees, mud, and unknown, there is a row of houses lining a beautiful river. The hot sun beating down on us made the water glisten, making it an irresistible oasis. We took a quick dip rinsing off the mud and refreshing ourselves before continuing up the river to some coconut trees and fresh coconut water and jelly to get us ready for the trek home.
On our way home we stop by a local farm and got the grand tour, seeing the most enormous pig I have ever seen. We then find our way back to the coworkers home, where we have dinner and fresh lime juice waiting for us! We inhale the plate full of okra, fish, rice, and dahl, washing it down with the thirst quenching juice. They drive us home tired and exhausted where we soon find our beds and fall asleep with dreams of the adventures Guyana holds.
Discussion
Comments are closed.