goodbye st. cuthbert's, hello mashabo

The hardest part of coming to Guyana to serve in the Peace Corps was saying goodbye to everyone I know and love at home. I experienced the same sadness and feeling of loss when I left my host family this morning in preparation for the big move to my site on Thursday. They really have become my family. I now have families on 3 different continents- I have my actual family in the States, my family in Italy, and now a family in Guyana. I feel so overwhelmingly loved and blessed. Traveling in and of itself is great, but nothing compares to the experience of becoming a part of a family abroad. I have been showered with constant love, affection, support, and appreciation over the past 8 weeks. Anita refers to me as her first-born American daughter- she says that even if/when she has other PCTs stay with her in the future, I'll always be the first and most special :)

I've had countless wonderful experiences over the past two months of training, but this weekend has by far been the most memorable time spent in St. Cuthbert's. We held a Family Appreciation ceremony on Friday night. I was in charge of all of the planning and organizing for the event- I quickly fell into my old role as caterer :) Along with a few other friends, I made pineapple salsa that was to die for! So tasty! We didn't have tortilla chips so we just ate it with cassava bread, an Amerindian staple. It actually turned out to be more reminiscent of bruschetta once the cassava bread soaked up the salsa and it got a bit softer. Family Appreciation was followed by Culture Day on Saturday. The highlights were our group singing the national anthem in harmony (it was actually quite good), a feast of delicious food shared by the entire community, and a rousing game of cricket that was kicked off by yours truly. That's right, I was first to bat! I was apparently quite entertaining to watch- the entire community was rolling with laughter :) Anita told me afterward that she had never seen me smile so big, laugh so hard, or make such funny jokes (Casey and Lisa, are you guys reading this? See, I did come to the Peace Corps and get funny!). I'd call it a successful day :)

Yesterday was my last day with my host family. Anita took me to the landing along with Robern, some other family members, and a few of the trainees. We spent the day gaffing, drinking Banks, grilling chicken, frying plantains, swimming in the river, making jokes, and soaking up the sun. It was the best picnic ever :) And no one worry, I didn't eat chicken (although it was tempting...)! I don't think that I've ever consumed so many calories in one day. Anita made me a huge lunch before we even went out to the landing. It was probably the best meal that I've ever had- daal and rice with curried pumpkin and bok choy. She also roasted some peanuts... Oh, and we had guava, grapefruit, and homemade guacamole! Needless to say, I've been detoxing today and have only eaten fruit.

I had no idea just how much my host family loved me until today. Robern had huge tears rolling down his cheeks when I told him goodbye this morning. He was so upset that he couldn't even look at me. I asked him if he was crying because he was going to miss me and he just nodded his head. I wish that I could've packed him up and taken him with me. Anita wasn't much better. I found comfort in knowing that I'll see her again on Wednesday for the swearing-in ceremony. That't the only reason I was able to hold it together. All of our host families walked us into the Mission to see us off. Somehow all of us managed to cram inside one truck. Let's just say that I've never been so uncomfortable in my life. I got a call from Anita a few minutes ago. She just wanted to make sure that I had made it to town safely and that I had been fed a proper lunch :) What am I going to do without that woman?!

The first part of my journey is complete. Training is over. I survived, I flourished, and I thrived. I can't wait to start my service! I almost forgot to mention, the village council in Mashabo decided to build me a new house! Life is sweet (pineapple is sweeter :)).