Making Moves!

Hey Guys!

This week flew by as every day was packed full of teaching and lesson planning! We we're happy to jump right back into things after our week in Berbice, and started by planning lessons on puberty and anatomy as well as STI's, contraceptives, and HIV/AIDS. As we were walking out of the Chase Academy on Monday morning, we happened to strike up a conversation with the coach of a table tennis team in partnership with the Red Cross. He was very excited about the topics we cover, and began asking if we could come in to talk to his athletes who often travel for the sport. After continuing meetings with him, this week we are going to begin teaching during after school practices, focusing our teaching on topics such as peer-pressure, goal setting, stress, and time management. We are excited to be partnering up with a new organization that is community-based in addition to teaching in schools.


On Tuesday, we taught our first classes at Reyaz Business Institute. This was an especially interesting class as it was our first on mental health, depression, and coping. We had the entire school divided up into two classes, so it was a new experience teaching to so many kids of all different ages. Many of the children at this school come from an orphanage nearby. Reyaz, the head master of the school, has organized time for us to go to the orphanage and cook dinner with them and spend time getting to know each other better.

This week was also our first time teaching on the National Television Network. Maddy and Anna taught a lesson on healthy diet and nutrition, while Jesse and Ali taught on physical health and fitness. We are really happy that we have this weekly segment to reach not just our peers, but to reach out to the rest of Guyana as it creates the ability to reach people in communities that we are not based out of.

Friday at Ruimveldt was the most wonderful mayhem. We brought a new basketball and soccer ball as well as two buckets of sidewalk chalk. The kids were so excited to draw and play. By the end of the afternoon, there were chalk drawings on every outdoor surface and the chalk had been completely devoured. It was so amazing to watch and see how happy and excited all of the kids were, it always rubs off on us in the best way!

We were also excited to have the Berbice team join us this weekend in Georgetown for a little bit of adventuring and taking in some of the natural beauty that Guyana has to offer. It has been a very busy and fulfilling week and we are excited to have so much in the works for this coming week!

Big hello's to everyone at home, stay tuned for more adventures!
Jesse, Ali, Anna, and Maddy

Getting Into the Swing of Things

Hello again from Berbice!

After a break from teaching due to school closures, we are happy to report we have completed our first full week of teaching! Jamie and Ben began the week on Monday with a lesson at Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School while Erin and Vinyas started their week at Berbice Islamic on Tuesday. We have now begun our curricula in almost every school we have planned to teach. After meeting with the Headmasters, teachers, and other members of the community, we have shaped our teaching plan to include a focus on mental and sexual health. Our first lessons have covered an introduction to mental health and stigma surrounding mental illness. Thanks to training provided by the Jack Project, we entered classes prepared with a variety of activities helpful to develop students' understanding of the potential negative impacts of stigma on the individual and the community. Through our anonymous "question box" (a method used to receive feedback from students at the end of each lesson), we have witnessed wonderful growth from our students' regarding awareness of their own mental health. We have also learned the most effective methods to engage our students. Their participation in our activities and enthusiasm for learning health continues to surprise us each day.

Jamie and Vinyas with a few students from their Lower Corentyne class! 

Jamie and Erin taught QHO's first lesson of the year at the Letter Kenny Youth Space to the kids of the local community. After speaking to the youths in the community, we have developed some ideas for topics to cover over the remaining weeks. It has already proved interesting to adapt our teaching to such a diverse group of experiences and interests. We look forward to the coming lessons with them!

On Tuesday, the community members surrounding the Letter Kenny Youth Space organized a birthday surprise for Jamie's 21st. We learned the Guyanese tradition of each guest feeding the guest of honour a bite of cake. This event emphasizes the incredibly warm and welcoming hospitality we have received from the members of the community. Whether it involves a game of cricket, being invited to a ceremony at their local temple, or participating in extra lessons at the youth space, it is humbling not to be treated merely as visitors, but to be so seamlessly integrated into the community.

Surprise Jamie!!! 

After a nice visit with the Georgetown P.E.'s this weekend, we are excited to see what the next week holds! 

That's all, folks!!!!

Erin, Vinyas, Ben & Jamie

We're back from Berbice!

Hello Everyone!

Wow time has flown since we last posted, yesterday marked our two week anniversary in Georgetown- we can't believe it!

Last Saturday we left for Berbice making the two hour car journey through the beautiful countryside to the rest of our team. We spent most of our week there while we waited for elections and the results to be finalized and released- the opposition is now the new party in power, We find it very exciting to be in Guyana while the country is experiencing it's first regime change since 1992.


It was so lovely to meet some of the Letterkenny kids that the Berbice team spends their time with. Last Sunday they took us all to the seaside to show us their beach, we had so much fun trying to race them through the sinking clay sand that afternoon! Through the rest of the week we lay low and spent lots of time together lesson planning, and preparing an agenda for our upcoming workshop on Mental Health. We will be partnering with the Guyana Foundation to train a group of young professionals from Georgetown on how to talk about and teach mental health to their communities. We're super excited about this project, as it allows us to pass on the resources we have to continue the conversation and break the stigma that surrounds mental health. In helping to initiate a support system here we hope to contribute to the sustainability of the QHO Guyana initiative during the rest of the year when we are not present.

On Friday we made it back to Georgetown in the early afternoon, just in time to experience the beginning of monsoon season in the city. We witnessed our first major rainfall in Georgetown, and since then it has become quite a frequent yet spontaneous occurrence! No amount of rain could keep us from Rumveldt though, it was so wonderful to see and play with the kids on Friday. Even after such a short period of time, we feel so strongly connected to them, and are happy to be back to our regular schedule.

This upcoming week we will be focusing on puberty on TV and in many of our classes, so we are lesson planning the day away in preparation for classes that will starting up again tomorrow. Looking forward to a busy week ahead, and being reunited with the Berbice team next weekend for our day trip to Kaiteur Falls!

Happy May Long Weekend to all of our friends and family back home!

Anna, Maddy, Jesse & Ali

Back In Berbice For 2015!

What an exciting couple of weeks it has been! We have finally arrived in Berbice and found our home away from home in Letter Kenny. All four of us arrived last Monday with Ali at our side. Our first day was spent getting settled in our new surroundings and meeting the local kids in Letter Kenny. On Tuesday, we explored our new surroundings and were invited by one of our local contacts to visit a celebration for the Guyanese holiday Indian Arrival Day. We viewed some traditional Indian dances and music, while also meeting our local contacts in Berbice.

Home sweet home! 

As Wednesday rolled around, we were busy visiting schools and discussing with Headmasters where we can be most effective teaching over the next few weeks. Thursday was more of the same, which made for two persistently busy days. With most of our schedule solidified by Thursday, we were able to begin teaching on Friday! Vinyas and Jamie visited Lower Corentyne Secondary and Vrymans Erven Training Center where they delivered introductory lessons in general health and mental health. Ben and Erin were able to contact a few new schools and develop weekly teaching times there. In the afternoon, they taught a different class at Lower Corentyne. The Berbice crew was very excited to get in classrooms and in front of students! Unfortunately on Friday we had to say good-bye to our wise and endlessly patient Program Director Ali as she headed back home to Canada. She left us with so much wisdom and we are eager to carry on the Berbice initiative!

The PE's from Georgetown have been in Berbice for most of this week because the majority of schools were closed due to elections. We have enjoyed each other's company and have been hard at work on a few new projects. We are hoping to develop a training day for Guyanese volunteers to instruct mental health as well as a commercial to promote mental health awareness. These projects have provided an opportunity to stay engaged in our work here while schools have been closed.

On Wednesday, the Berbice PE's were glad to be able to resume teaching. Ben and Erin headed to Skeldon for a full day of classes at Massiah Primary, Tagore Secondary, and Number 59 Primary. Vinyas and Jamie also had a busy day as they instructed a class at Lower Corentyne and solidified their curriculum for Rose Hall Primary.

Today has been a rainy day with schools closed again, but spirits are high amongst the Guyana PE's as we look forward to a new beginning next week and developing a steady schedule. We have had brief glimpses of our teaching impacts and are looking forward to what future weeks will hold!

Ben, Erin, Jamie, Vinyas

QHO Georgetown: First Week Flying Solo

This week marked a lot of firsts for the Georgetown team. Our first time without Colleen, without the Berbice kids, our first classes, our first time ordering roti by ourselves, and our first time being on TV. We've spent the week acclimatizing to the heat and learning our way around Georgetown and into the different classrooms. This week alone, we've taught in 5 different classes in 3 different schools. We focused our lessons on introducing ourselves and gauging what each of the different students knows about health. So far, it has been a very eye opening process as we've taught a broad age range, from 11-21 years. Many of these students are interested in learning but have not yet has access to the resources that we are here to provide. We have been in many positive meetings with the head teacher from St. Pius public primary school as she would love for us to provide our services to her children. This is a groundbreaking experience for the Georgetown team as we are hoping to set the standard for years to come and permanently open the door for teaching in public schools. Just another on the list of firsts this week! The approval process has meant dealing with the Ministry of Education, which has taken longer than we would have liked, largely due to the upcoming election. The city has been abuzz with activity, and while it is a super exciting time for Guyana, we will be heading to Berbice to take advantage of the national holiday for Election Day on Monday and the fact that schools aren't in session until Wednesday. In other news, we've spent lots of time dedicated to making new friends, both through playing with the kids at the Rumveldt Children's Aid Centre and playing/feeding the manatees at the national park. We're excited for a second week of new firsts, wish us luck on our journey to Berbice today.

Georgetown out,

Anna, Maddy, Ali, and Jesse

QHO Guyana 2015 is Underway!

We have touched down and gotten settled in Georgetown, Guyana! Our flight arrived at 8:00 am on Saturday and we were all greeted by our two excited Program Directors (Ali and Colleen). A short bus ride later and we arrived at Rima's Guest House in the heart of Georgetown. The Berbice and Georgetown crews have spent the weekend bonding at Rima's and acclimating to the somewhat warm weather.

Over the weekend Ali and Colleen have shown us the ins and outs of Guyanese living and we are all extremely excited to get started with teaching. There has been fresh fruit galore and we sampled some of the local cuisine at Shanta's, which consisted of roti and a feast of delicious curries. We couldn't get enough and all love the food down here thus far. We also toured the town and familiarized ourselves with some of the major landmarks.

Jesse, Ali, Maddy, and Anna are all planning for their first lesson, which is tomorrow at Chase Academy. The Berbice crew (Ben, Vinyas, Erin, and Jamie) are heading out to Berbice tomorrow to get settled with their permanent accommodations. We will be sad to split up, but we are eagerly anticipating helping each of our communities wherever possible. We cannot wait to continue the proud tradition of QHO Guyana.

More to come soon!

Ali, Anna, Ben, Erin, Jamie, Maddy, Jesse and Vinyas

The Guyana team at the airport, ready and excited!!

Goodbye Berbice: Things We Learned!

"If you're not learning from your students, you are not a teacher"

This quote was brought up over lunch with a head teacher of one of the schools we have been teaching at. The sentiment really resounded with out past 7 weeks here and we would like to take the opportunity to share exactly what it is that we have learned with all of you!

From our Friday morning classes at Lower Corentyne Secondary School we learned to make the most of every opportunity, no matter how short lived. We only had three sessions at Lower Corentyne but that didn't stop us from engaging with material in a meaningful way- if anything it made us focus more on what the students really wanted to learn. Thank you to the Form 3 and 4 students of Lower Corentyne and especially their teacher, Ms. Odetta for creating such a positive teaching and learning environment.

Eric and our Lower Corentyne class

The remainder of our Fridays were spent with the well organized Smythfield Drop-In Centre and Vryman's Erven Training Centre in New Amsterdam. The young adults at VETC taught us how to make many of the topics we covered relevant to Guyana, whether it be popular contraceptives or common attitudes towards suicide and mental illness- thank you all for your knowledge and willingness to share!

Ali and our Vryman's Erven Training Center class

We have also learned the meaning of hospitality from both the Berbice Islamic School and Corentyne Comprehensive. Our interactions with both schools have resulted in wonderful participation from students, and immensely inclusive staff. Last weekend we were invited to the Miss Compri pageant where we were able to watch some of our students compete for the crown- the experience really made us feel a part of the community. Our relationships with both school staff have exceeded expectations and we really appreciate all of the efforts extended our way. 

Ali and Eric with the Head Teacher from Corentyne Comprehensive at the Miss Compri 2014 Pageant

On Wednesdays we spent our day working at Massiah Primary, Tagore Secondary, and 59 Primary. Head Teacher Bhoge at Massiah has been immensely welcoming and helpful- providing us with opportunities like parent sessions and connecting us to local like-minded organizations, we cannot thank him enough. We have loved teaching the primary students both at Massiah and 59, taking advantage of the smaller class sizes to get to know our students' names and unique personalities!

Our class from 59 Primary after our self esteem activity

Tagore Secondary and Port Mourant Secondary have also been schools we have thoroughly enjoyed teaching in! From condom step demonstrations to discussions about abuse, both have been so engaged and inquisitive; all around pleasures to teach! From them we have learned that questions are the key to knowledge- question box was great with these classes. Thank you to the schools and respective administration and teachers who supported us throughout. 

Half of our Tagore class- the rest were already in exams!

Our Monday morning Port Mourant class

Our largest class all project was hands down the Form 3 J.C. Chandisingh Secondary class. There were between 80-90 students and both of us were always borderline hoarse at the end of a session, but what we learned there was one of the most important lessons: what we had been working towards was worthwhile. Being approached by the Form 4 students and asked to talk to them about the material we were discussing with the Form 3 students really showed that the information and activities we planned were relevant and that the time and effort put into project was absolutely paying off. So thank you for your initiative, eagerness, and constant appreciation.

A few of our Form 3 students and evidence of the beautiful thank you card from some of the other girls in the class!

Some of the Form 4 students we had the pleasure of meeting

Our Form 1+2 Islamic School students after a tiring fitness class

Even though the quote at the beginning of this (extended) entry pertains to students, we also learned invaluable lessons from youths and adults throughout our weeks here that must also be given a mention here. The young women and children at the Camal shelter taught us the skill of flexibility; the amount of participants in activities and lessons was always fluctuating as people moved in and out of their daily responsibilities around the space. We want to thank them for graciously inviting us into their home and loved getting to know some of the wonderful people who live at Camal!

Some of the Camal group!

Some of the people we have gotten to know the best are the Letterkenny kids we saw many afternoons each week. From them we learned the meaning of community. They taught us how to receive people not as guests so much as friends, a lesson we will both take with us forever. Most of our best moments outside of the classroom involve the kids from Letterkenny whether we were playing on our trailer, enjoying a game of soccer, or adventuring out to the beach. Thank you all for being so unbelievably hospitable, warm, and welcoming. 

The Letterkenny gang

Finally we want to thank members of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for being wonderful partners, and helping us establish our presence across Berbice Region 6.  A special thank you goes out to Geeta, who helped us form contacts with Massiah (71) Primary, 59 Primary and Tagore Memorial Secondary School.  We would also like to thank the Ministry of Education for granting us permission to teach in the public school system in Berbice.  This was an exciting new opportunity for the Berbice project and was a tremendous success.  We hope next year's project will continue to build on our fruitful experience so far.

A much deserved thank you must also go to Omeshwar, our primary contact throughout our trip.  Without his help we would not have been able to have had such a memorable experience.  He has shown us tremendous hospitality and has helped integrate us into the Berbice community.  His endless hard work continues to amaze us and we look forward to working with him again.  A special shout out is also needed for Shivanie, our 7 week adopted mother, who cared for us as if we were her own.  Thank you Shivanie!

A huge shout out must be given to our wondefrul QHO family, whom supported our efforts for the past 9 months.  We would first like to thank our wonderful, beautiful, talented (sparingly) project directors

- Kate and Janet.  Although Janet was not directly associated with the Berbice project, she provided amazing guidance and always brought a smile to our face during fundraising events and meetings.  Kate, we cannot begin to thank you enough for helping us through the year.  You made our transition to living in Guyana seamless and we cannot wait to share so many wonderful stories with you next year.  Another thank you is needed for the wonderful executive members of QHO, especially our co-directors Liz and Fab.  From our day of hiring to the moment we left for project, we never felt uncomfortable or helpless.  The support we've received cannot be understated and we cannot wait to give back to next year's group of peer educators as members of exec.  We also want to thank our fellow Guyana peer educators, the Georgetown project, consisting of Steve, Marni, Colleen, and Casey.  Although they lacked the good looks and wit of the Berbice project, they were amazing people to work alongside with and we are so proud of what they have accomplished in the past 7 weeks.

A final thank you (finally finishing the blog post, thanks for sticking with us), must be given to our family and friends, who have supported us tirelessly over the past year.  We cannot wait to get back home and share all of our stories from our wonderful experience.

With love,
Eric and Ali

Seven Weeks, Come and Gone

To Our Followers: One Last Time...

We cannot believe that we are sitting here writing our last blog post and staring at our packed suitcases on the floor. Looking back at these past seven weeks, they have truly been a whirlwind of the most memorable and eventful experiences and we will never forget our time in Guyana.

On Tuesday, we combined our two classes at St. Pius Primary School for our final lesson on bullying and abuse, followed by fun and games. The students were full of energy, it was a sight to see! We will miss the students at this school dearly. It was such a pleasure to create such a great relationship with St. Pius as we welcomed them as apart of the QHO curriculum for the first time in Guyana history. We can't wait to introduce next years group to this energetic bunch of kids!

The St. Pius students with their Queen's Health Outreach certificates. 

On Wednesday, unfortunately due to exams we were unable to have our final classes with Chase Academy. We are sorry that exams prevented us from saying our goodbyes, but we know the students will do great on their final exams and wish them all the best! Following this, Marni and Steve taught their final class at Adult Education Association where they were surprised with a celebration held by the school where kind words were exchanged.

Steve and Marni with their AEA class (unfortunately Steve's head got cut off)

Unfortunately due to cricket matches, we were unable to have a final session on NTN This Morning. We will definitely miss the awkward close ups while we try to stay professional on television. Thursday morning, Casey and Colleen had their last class at Adult Education Association and made delicious and nutritious fruit smoothies with their students.

Casey and Colleen on their last day with their AEA class. 

Thursday afternoon we said farewell to our Reyaz Business Institute classes with fun games of jeopardy and chocolate prizes. We were all amazed with how much information the students knew and have taken away from our lessons (Whew!).

Marni and Casey with their RBI class.

Steve and Colleen with their RBI class.

This morning we taught our last class at Sophia Training Centre and enjoyed playing basketball and having mini lessons with the students. We wish the students all the best in their final months at the training centre and the best of luck in the future. Later on today we visited one of our favourite places, Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre for our final visit with the kids. We could not wait to show the kids what surprises we had for them today! We brought soccer balls, basketballs, colouring papers and markers, skipping ropes and books. They had a blast playing with their new toys!

Our last day at Ruimveldt.

It is hard to believe that our project is already over! We have had the most amazing time in Guyana and have appreciated every experience we have been given. Thank you again to the Rima ladies for the making the guesthouse our home away from home for the past weeks and to all of those we have met along the way. Guyana will always be in our hearts and we wish the best of luck to the future projects- we hope you love it as much as we did!

We would like to take the opportunity to thanks everyone who has made our stay in Guyana so amazing and special. The students and teachers we worked with as well as the individuals we met along the way who added to our experience, it would not have been the same without you!

All our love,
Marni, Casey, Colleen and Steve

Last weeks in Georgetown!

Hello at-home followers,

It is hard to believe that we are on our FINAL week in Georgetown! Before we get ahead of ourselves though, we can't wait to share with you last weeks adventures that have brought us to this point in our journey. It has been a hectic yet eye opening week as we finished up our teaching curriculum and began to wrap up the classes.

Tuesday was the first sunny day we've had in a long time since rainy season began. Luckily the nice weather continued for the rest of the week and we were able to take in the glorious Guyana sunshine. Tuesday afternoon we taught at St. Pius Primary School and had a successful class on drugs and alcohol. Later on in the day we joined the children at Ruimveldt for a fun time reading books and playing games.

Some fun and games at Ruimveldt!

Our Wednesday's we spend most of the day teaching the various grades at Chase Academy. This week Marni and Colleen focused on contraceptives and safe sex practices by challenging one of the classes to a condom relay race in order to practice the steps of condom use. It was a good effort put in by both teams but Marni's team came out victorious. Meanwhile Casey and Steve focused their lessons on substance abuse where they also had a challenging quiz game for the students whereby they divided the class in half to see which team knew the greatest amount of facts/myths about drugs.

Colleen and Marni's Form 2 class doing a condom relay!

Thursdays are one of our favourite days! We start off our mornings with our weekly television segment on NTN This Morning. Before our segment this week we were interviewed for a newspaper article in the local newspaper in Georgetown-- so be on the look out for the new stars of Guyana. As always, RBI is such a pleasure to teach at because the students there are so well behaved and eager to learn. Next week we have exciting jeopardy games for the classes which will review all of the material we've covered-- we can't wait to put the students on the spot!

On Friday morning we taught at Sophia Training School about serious topics including depression, suicide, self-esteem and stress management. The class was very keen on this lesson in particular, it seemed as though they understood the severity of mental illnesses and took a lot away from the lesson. Later on, we said our first (of many) goodbyes to the beloved Tricia, our favourite waitress at our favourite restaurant, Steppers. She has fed us delicious black eye and potato stew almost everyday for the past six weeks and we still can't get enough!

Some of the students from Sophia Training Centre

The girls and Tricia at Steppers 

Casey and Colleen headed to Berbice for the weekend Friday afternoon while Steve and Marni stayed in Georgetown. Marni and Steve had a productive weekend here as they wound down from the past week's stress and started to organize things for the final week. Casey and Colleen had a fantastic weekend in Berbice with Ali and Eric. Not only did the girls get to meet all the wonderful children at the youth spaces in Berbice, but the group was also invited to a high school pageant show (where Ali and Eric teach). The group had an unforgettable night filled with laughter as they kicked back and watched the hilarious performing acts and the raw talent and effort put forward by the pageant contestants and staff. Afterwards the group reminisced over the great times we've all shared over the past 6 weeks of project and the great deal of progress we have all made. Before heading back to Georgetown, the group went to the beach in Berbice with some of the local Letter Kenny children where they experienced sinking sand (or what seemed like it). As Colleen likes to say "This is what the people on Naked and Afraid deal with everyday".

The group visits the Miss Compri Pageant in Berbice, here are the contestants

One of the many fantastic performances at the Compri Pageant

Now that the Georgetown team is back together again we are beginning to dread this upcoming week as we know it is filled with goodbyes. We plan to make the most of our time here and can't wait to show the students what we have planned for their teaching lessons this week (GAME WEEK)!

All our love from Georgetown,

Casey, Colleen, Marni, Steve

A Whirlwind Week in Berbice!

Triumph and Success may be the names of towns along our almost bi-weekly drives to Georgetown, they are also notions we are left with at the end of this whirlwind week! Our project is shifting gears towards the last stretch as students (especially the Form 3's whom we primarily teach) enter their exams. Even though the end is near our momentum has not yet slowed- with new and exciting opportunities unfolding just this week! 

Eric leading push-ups at #59 Primary School

On Monday we taught our usual class of Form 3 students at J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School. We wrapped up sexual health and answered the numerous questions from this class of about 80 fourteen year olds. Managing a class of such size means we both have to belt out our lessons. It was either our voices carrying or just word of mouth that led one of the Form 4 students to approach us as we left our lesson and ask if we could come into their class and give the Form 4 students the run down on sexual health too! We immediately agreed and started an hour long impromptu discussion on sexual health and contraceptives, ending with a girl talk/boy talk separation for discussion that we borrowed from our Georgetown counterparts. We were very excited to teach such an eager group of students in such a casual setting where we were asked to speak by those we taught! It really confirmed for us a lot of the reasons why we are here and doing this work!

Getting ready to present skits on Peer Pressure and Bullying!

After answering some of the questions that the Form 4 girls had, one of them mentioned that she was the President of health committee but that the committee was struggling to find people to come talk. Varsha asked if we would be interested in coming to speak and if so they would love to have us! We hope we can set this up in the next week and half because it would be a great opportunity to talk about health with youth here who are also passionate about the topic!

Ali discussing skits with a group of girls

Our whirlwind week continued on Wednesday as we made our usual hour long trip east towards Skeldon. Wednesdays are a special day for us as it is the only time we teach in primary schools. It's a great change of pace in the middle of our busy weeks, as we get a chance to loosen up a bit, and pretend we are kids once more. 

Eric discussing Health Relationships

Over the past two weeks we have been teaching the primary students about healthy relationships, as well as peer pressure. Along with these topics we have addressed questions about bullying as well as drugs and alcohol. The students have been very engaged, and they have loved some of the activities and games we have shared. One of the student's favorite activities is our "Left/ Right" peer pressure game. As the students line up single file, we offer two choices (i.e. to visit the beach - step left, or the market - step right). As students make their choices, they are often looking around or changing their mind when they see their friend's decisions. The game is an excellent way to learn about some of the preferences the class has as well as reveal how peer pressure can work as a passive influence. 

Eric leading one of our favourite Peer Pressure activities!

This past Wednesday offered us more excitement than usual as we were asked to speak at a monthly Parent-Teacher Association assembly. We spoke along side 3 other guests who addressed a group of 80+ parents and teachers. It was an excellent opportunity to engage with the community that we have taught in for the past 6 weeks, as well as collaborate with other educational resources. Being Thursday, today marks the start of our last week here in Berbice. Time has flown by, but we have enjoyed every minute of our time here so far. We are thankful we still have another week to teach and spend time with all our friends! 

More stories to come, 

Eric and Ali