Greetings from Georgetown!

Everything is going great here! We have gotten our first taste of the rainy season that doesn't officially begin until December. Although, the locals say that the weather has been unpredictable for the last few years, much like at home. The rain here starts almost as soon as it gets dark and seems to rain through the night. It rains so hard that it almost sounds like someone is continually emptying buckets of water outside the window. Apparantly it normally stops during the daylight hours as the hot sun burns the clouds away. In some respects the overcast days of the rain are a welcome relief from the heat. On Thursday night however, we woke up to the rain and our sheets were soaking wet from the humidity of the rain. We actually had to turn off our fans that are always running as we were shivering! I also ended up having to take a cab to work because the rain hadn't stopped by the time I had to leave. I am still pumping myself up for the 41/2 mile biking commute during the rainy season. I am confidant that I will be able to bike rather than catch a cab, minus the most severe storms, even if I have to leave a dry change of clothes at work to change into! It's like a personal challenge.

We have been to 2 dinner parties this week in which local Guyanese women have offerred to cook us local Guyanese cuisine. One woman is the downstairs neighbor of some of our VSO friends, Cecelia, who says that she loves taking care of VSO's when thye come and has been working with them for years and years. She does tons of laundry for 500 Guyanese dollars (about $2.50) and mends clothes practically for free. We are lucky enough to have our own washing machine, but about halfway through filling and lugging buckets of water to the washing machine, don't think I don't think about Cecelia! The other party was catered by one of the local Guyanese staff at the VSO office. These parties are great ways of getting familiar with the local foods and some vegetables that we have never heard of. There are many staples in Guyanese cooking; potatoes, cassava, yams,rice, and curry. These are often mixed into salads or casseroles. Cecelia has offered to give the VSO's cooking lessons if we are interested and we are both very keen to learn more about it. There is also alot of chicken and fish included in the meals here. We have been a little hesitant to buy and cook fish ourselves at home as we are a little wary of the freshness factor. There is a man who walks up and down our street with buckets yelling, "Fresh Fish!" We are not quite sure whether to believe him or not, although we have been told that the fish in the buckets are not only fresh but still alive!

Blake starts work at the VSO office tomorrow morning and is very excited about the new challenge. He will be working closely with the program director of VSO Guyana and will be able to use his marketing skills and business degree. He will even have his own desk. As a perk at the office the staff makes fresh fruit juice everyday; cherry, pineapple, guava, passion fruit! Delicicious! I have to admit I am a little jealous!

We keep very bsu thorughout the week with Monday night, yoga night. (or for Blake and the other boys Monday night football.) and Thursday night sign language class. In January we will sign up for free Spanish classes at the Venezuelan institue which will take up 2 nights a week. With cooking classes from Cecelia on the way we are very busy here. With all luck we will come back home, flexible, tri-linguial, and culinary geniuses!

The house is great and we are settling really nicely into our daily life here, with the definite moments of missing people, places, and AC back at home. We love all of the updates and checking in everytime you write, so please keep the E-mails coming! Our pidgeon holes are still sadly empty, so if you feel inspired to compose a letter, poem, or picture it would be most welcome! We will write again soon and post more pictures of daily life here in Georgetown.

VSO Guyana
CO/ Jessa and Blake
PO Box 12199
Georgetown, Guyana
South America