In the land of tropical heat and mosquitoes---buzzz

I made it safely to Guyana at 6:30am Tuesday morning :)

The flight was ok in standards of flights but I am just not a fan of red eyes

My first impressions of Guyana are hot, humid and very very tropical. Palm trees are everywhere and the sky can be clear blue accompanied by dark clouds when when the short rains start. The nice thing so far is that all of the roads are paved in Georgetown which helps to cut down on any possible mud streets. I have been staying at a hotel very similar to Mammys (a Togo shout out!) but the non-existent mosquito net hasn't helped with the bites I have already gotten. Malaria isn't present in Georgetown but I still take the lovely Malarone just in case I travel to malaria areas.

Today was a crazy day with a meeting with my supervisor and counterpart (I'm trying to not say homolouge) and a visit to the school that I will be working at. I will be working with the head mistress at the Sophia School (said like So-fia) and the Disabilities directress at the ministry of education. The school has about 150 students but dependent on the day could be less. The students are placed at the school due to behavioral issues and learning disabilities. The school is in disrepair and due to the lack of funding for schools for children with disabilities, will not get much help.

As for my living situation, my house with the washer and maid is no longer! :(

Due to the fact that the host family will be leaving for 3 months, the Peace Corps decided that it would be better if I lived with another volunteer here in the capital. It hasn't been finalized yet but I should know something in the next day or so. It is a election year here in Guyana so I will being spending it here in the capital. No worries!

So far my first couple days here have been good and busy!

Miss you all and thanks for thinking of me! :)

2 days of goodbyes and hellos!

These past 48 hours have been a whirl-wind of fun activities with

some amazing friends and family!

Saturday night was a fabulous dinner with friends from all points in my life! We went to a upscale southern fusion restaurant which was great. My fried pickles and chicken n' dumplings were super yummy! I am blessed to have all of them in my life and it was such a wonderful chance for some of my friends to meet each other.

Saturday, my friends Trish and David welcomed their 2nd child,

Lucas Gray Christie born at 1:17pm at 7lbs 4oz. I was very fortunate to be able to visit them in the hospital today and mom and baby are happy and healthy! To think that he will be 6 month old when I see him next.

Friday was a girls night out at Arcadia Fitness in Raleigh. It's was such

a great workout and just a lot of fun:

Thank you to everyone who shared time with me this weekend. I know I will carry all of your good thoughts and well wishes to my next adventure!

Packing is finished!

Even thought I have been sick for the past week, I have been able to get the last things on my packing list. Packing for 6 months is considerably easier then for 2 years. I also just found out that I will have to take a swim test in the black water that is common in Guyana. Thank goodness I am a good swimmer but the black water is sort of creeping me out! I am guessing it will be during my 3 days of training with the Peace Corps staff and then I am on my own working at the school. I can't wait to meet the children as well as the staff that are working at the Sophia School.

I am getting more and more excited about this new adventure and am looking forward to touching down in Georgetown, Guyana on March 29th at 6:41am.

And the date is...

March 28th I am leaving for Guyana!! One day before I thought, but it's all good :)
I have an extended 6 hour layover in NYC but I doubt I will be able to do anything but people watch in the airport.

Counting down the days~

Just a few more weeks until I "ship out" to Guyana! I'm really looking forward to seeing a new country, tasting new foods, meeting my counterparts (I have to get rid of the word homologue!) and getting to work with the kids at the Carol School.

People have been asking about my address. This is the address that I have from my paperwork but I am not sure if it will change or not.

Here is additional information about the mail service in Guyana.

Mail service between the United States and Guyana is fairly reliable. Airmail letters from home usually take two weeks to arrive in Guyana and four to five weeks to arrive in the United States from Guyana. Surface mail may take months.

Right now my address in Guyana will be:

Jocelyn Friedman, PCV-PCR

Peace Corps

PO Box 101192

Georgetown, Guyana

South America

As for packages, I am responsible for paying import duties on items mailed to me from outside the country. The customs process for obtaining sent items is often lengthy, although the duty on items is generally minimal. Customs will notify me directly if I have been sent a package.

Small padded envelopes are recommended over boxes.

One alternative to shipping packages through regular mail is to send items through a service such as DHL International or Federal Express. Both companies have offices in Georgetown, but their services are expensive.

You can have items sent through these companies to the Peace Corps office in Georgetown, but you must provide the street address and phone number. (The street address for the Peace Corps is 33A Barrack Street, Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana. When calling from the United States, the phone number is 011-592-225-5073. Another alternative is a local company, Laparkan that offers relatively inexpensive air freight service to Guyana from New

York, Toronto, and Miami. Surface mail for packages takes four to six weeks.