End of week 7 (already?)

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Feb 27^th, 2012

Dear Readers,

This is what I have learned this week:

1. Absence makes the heart grow fonder also applies to TV and refrigeration. We spent the tail end of last week and the weekend in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. The house in which we stayed seemed incredibly luxurious to us because it had both TV and a fridge! I had no idea how much I would love having both of those. Everything we watched on TV seemed genuinely entertaining and amazing. Everything that came out of our fridge was the perfect cold temperature and delicious. It was so nice to have a few days of vacation!



2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder does not apply to laugh tracks. I lied; not everything on the TV was amazing. Having not heard a laugh track in two months, I found it exceptionally annoying to hear one! I have no idea why shows do it!



3. I am making an impact with these kids. I honestly did not know that any of the kids cared that I was here, until I returned after a few days away. They missed me and showed this through much affection and wanting to play. It made me feel so warm and gave me the confidence that I need to continue to succeed in these next five weeks.

4. Even just getting around in Georgetown is different and difficult. There are no stop signs or streetlights and few people use turning signals. I am glad that we were walking around with a local as she helped us to know when to cross the street! The bus system is incredibly cool. Busses are vans with a general direction written on the back of them. There is a worker who sits on the bus, takes money from passengers, asks the passengers where they want to go, and tells the driver. To think I often take the wrong bus after having used travel planner! Women are also treated much differently while walking then we are in Canada. Men make kissing noises and say, “hey white girls! Come here!”. That is definitely the key to my heart…

5. Guyanese commercials are really funny and involve two people fighting and then maybe mentioning a product. They also often include music that I doubt the artist is seeing royalties for. Sidenote: Do you think Eva Longoria knows that she is on the ad for a Guyanese nightclub?

Thank you for reading,

Love,

laura

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