After flying to Georgetown, and spending the morning exploring the city, the team headed to Berbice. We arrived late afternoon in the village that we will be calling home for the next 7 weeks. Our accommodation is a cozy apartment above a shop owned by a very nice man named Ravi. Omeshwar, who works closely with the Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Sport, has kindly offered his help and assistance for any matter that requires it.
On Monday
evening Cora introduced us to some of the adults and kids that live in the
local village, that she had spent time with last year on initiative. We spent
the early evening getting to know their wonderful personalities. To be honest,
travelling to a new place, where you are used to different social norms, have a
different skin tone, and speak a different dialect than the majority of people,
can make it challenging to feel comfortable. However, meeting these kids
shortly after arrival truly broke down this feeling. We shared interests,
played games, ran around, and laughed. After an hour, we could all agree that
we felt the warmth of this culture.
Throughout
the rest of the week we visited 20 schools, introduced ourselves to the Head
Teachers, and talked with them to try to accommodate our lesson plans into
their class schedules, where possible. We experienced very welcoming
interactions with the Head Teachers, and other school staff, and received approval
and teaching time slots from all 20 schools. The teachers seemed passionate
about health education, and were very helpful in communicating the unique needs
of their students to us. Kindness, and relaxed, down-to-earth nature have been
consistently reoccurring traits of the Guyanese people that we have had the
pleasure of meeting.
Only one
week in, and we are already developing a growing love for this special place!
Looking forward to getting into the schools and teaching on Monday!
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