PST, Host Family, GUY 26

I was able to find an internet cafe down the road from where I live. Although I have only been in Guyana for two weeks it feels like a long time. GUY 26 has 34 trainees which are all my best friends already. Everyone is extremely friendly and the PC staff has been helping us transition into life in Guyana. Pre-Service Training will continue until July 3rd where the staff decides if we are capable of serving in Guyana for two years. Every day consists of technical and cultural training and although it is a little overwhelming I am learning a ton of information that will help me down the road. During week one we stayed at a resort on a creek/river and started our training sessions from 8 AM to 5 PM everyday. For the last two weeks we have stayed with a host family and have continued our training. I am not sure of what information I can give because of security reasons and do not want to get in trouble, but I can say my host family is very hospitable and have helped a lot. I live with an older family which has three children in their late 20's, early 30's that live at home. I have learned how to hand wash my laundry, cook a few Guyanese cuisines and catch a minibus to training everyday. I have also started working at a local elementary school, so far mostly observing the teaching methods and applying what I learned in training so far to teaching a class. I am proud to say I conducted my first classroom activity yesterday and it went well, and the teacher and I have started to build a productive work relationship which I am happy about. I have so much more to write about Guyana but it will have to come in my next blog post!

Introduction: Co-operative Republic of Guyana

After months of medical, dental and legal paperwork I am finally on my way to Georgetown, Guyana! On April 28th, I will fly into Miami, Florida for a busy day of staging and orientation, and then on the 29th will touch down in Guyana along with the rest of my Education group. There are two groups going to Guyana: the Education group (which I am in), and the Health Education group. Guyana is a sovereign state located in the northern coast of South America. Culturally, it is considered part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana is bordered by Suriname to the east, Venezuela to the north-west, and Brazil to the south and south-west. The people of Guyana are racially and ethnically diverse. The majority of the Guyanese population belongs to the descendants of immigrants from India, known as East Indians or Indo-Guyanese. The second-largest ethnic group in the country are the Afro-Guyanese, comprising thirty percent of the population. There are people of mixed heritage as well, and aboriginals like the Arawak, Carib, Macushi, Akawaio, Arecuna, Wai Wai, Patamona, Wapixana and Warao constitute ten percent of the Guyanese.The official language of Guyana is English. and used in its schools. Caribbean languages such as the Akawaio, Wai-Wai, Arawak and Macushi are the minority languages. A dialect of the Guyanese language, the Guyanese Creole is also widely spoken. The pre-dominant religion of Guyana is Christianity. The largest denominations include Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Seventh-day Adventists. Almost twenty-eight percent of the people practice Hinduism. There are also a few members of Islam, the Baha'i Faith and Rastafarianism. I have a lot more to write but it will have to come later as I am busy packing away. Stay tuned for more posts!

Best,
Ahad