The Count Down is ON!!

Our Peace Corps service is quickly coming to a close.

In just 3 weeks from today we leave our village.

In 4 weeks from today we leave Suriname.

It's both heart breaking and super exciting. What a situation to be in!

Little Saramaccan Ryan

 If you follow Ryan on Twitter, you already know that he now has a Saramaccan namesake. That's right, folks. After we leave, Suriname will still have two Lindsays and a Ryan to carry on our legacy.

Twaylingay! (Twins!)

"Twaylingay" was probably the first Saramaccan word that Todd and Moka truly memorized. That's not a surprise since as soon as any of our villagers saw Todd and Ryan together that is all that they could say. That's right! Our second and last pair of visitors were none other than the San Francisco branch of the Dapremont fam and we had a great time!

First, we showed Todd and Moka around Paramaribo for a day or so. The most exciting part of this for Ryan and I was crashing at their fancy hotel and taking hot showers! Although, we did take them to the Butterfly Park which is pretty cool.

Morpho Butterflies (see the bright blue on their wings)!

Next, we set off for what they really came for- the jungle! In our village, they met a lot of our friends,

they saw the beautiful river (it's really high right now),

they celebrated Lefurny's 6th birthday (more on this to come),

they helped wash dishes in our creek,

and we put them to work in our English lessons.

  

After a few days in our village, we headed upriver in a dugout canoe to see more of Saramaka.

Ryan and I have been wanting to visit the Saramaccan Museum (another item on my bell list) that is in the second largest village on our river- Pikin Slee. Since Todd has done his own research on Saramaccan culture, we thought he and Moka would enjoy it as well. It was small but very nice.

We slept in a nearby village at another Peace Corps volunteer's house and walked the 20 minutes or so through the jungle to Pikin Slee for the day. It was a lot of fun!

Thanks to our fellow volunteer Evan for being an excellent guide.  From Pikin Slee we went straight back to Paramaribo by boat and then van to send Todd and Moka off. I think they were a little tired from our jungle adventure...

Todd & Moka trying to sleep in the van on the way back to the city

Thanks so much Todd and Moka for taking the time and effort to come all the way to Suriname. We know it is not an easy trip and genuinely appreciate you two sharing in this crazy adventure with us. For the rest of our lives, we'll always have Suriname!

To check out the rest of our awesome pictures from their trip, click here.

Lefurny Goes to the City

Ryan and I decided awhile ago that we wanted to take our neighbor girl, Lefurny, to Paramaribo before we end our service. As many of you know, she holds a very special place in our hearts. Anyways, she is almost six years old and has been outside of our village of 300 people maybe three times. Most likely, even when she went to Paramaribo before, she did not experience any of the western/tourist activities. In other words, we wanted to give her a sort of Disneyland experience that she could remember us by.

She and Ryan arrived in the city (I was already there) at about 1pm. Ryan opened the door to our hostel room and she timidly peeked inside before walking swiftly into my hug. She immediately started inspecting the room- pulling back the curtains to look outside, crawling under the beds, etc.

 First things first- I got to work putting beads in her freshly braided hair. Then I informed her that we were going to a swimming pool. This kid loves to swim. She used to beg her grandma to go to the river so she could "wash". However, we live on the opposite side of the village from the river and her grandma either washes with rain water or goes to the creek, which is much closer. Anyways, she LOVED the pool. For never seeing a pool before (I'd say that's a safe bet), she was not the least bit hesitant or afraid. We had a lot of fun. Special thanks to our Administrative Director, Summer, for donating a swimsuit that perfectly fit her!

After the pool, we walked back to our hostel to shower, get dressed and then head to Pizza Hut. It is too far to walk, so we took a cab. She was pretty excited to ride in a car. I showed her how to put on a seat belt. She could not stop staring out the window at everything. She was pretty confused that we were all going to the restaurant because the only restaurants she has been to are basically stands where the food is already cooked and you take it to go. She was so solemn, just taking everything in. In answer to Ryan's prompting, she said she wanted chicken (of course!) on her pizza, so that's what we got. She liked it a lot.

While at Pizza Hut, she also learned how to flush a toilet, use a soap dispenser and a hand dryer. When I hit the button on the hand dryer, those big eyes and mouth popped open and her eyes darted back and forth from me to the dryer. For dessert, we all split a slice of raspberry cheesecake (Lefurny's pick). She liked that, too. The playground at Pizza Hut was closed for construction, so we had our taxi drop us off at McDonald's so she could play at theirs. Unfortunately, there were not any other kids there when we arrived and she wasn't sure what she should do. So....it was up to me to show her.

Pretty soon she was having a great time, racing around. At one point she tore out of the play area. I was on her heels and discovered that she had spotted a large TV playing cartoons.

After playing at McDonald's, we walked back to our hostel, showered and then we settled her in with a brand new copy of Beauty and the Beast in Dutch before she fell asleep.

The next day we headed straight for the Paramaribo Zoo. It was so cute! She was pretty confused at the whole concept. She has seen a lot of the animals there but either dead in a pot or as a pet (not in a cage). After a little while she got into it, although it was a hot day and she's not used to walking around in the sun.

There was also a huge playground with a ton of kids of all different ethnicities. This was also new for her (both playground equipment and different ethnicities). She was so somber, just looking at everything and everyone. The first thing she went on was the swings and she did not want to get off!

After the zoo, we went to Burger King (don't judge us on buying her unhealthy food; we just wanted her to be able to play on the playgrounds). From there we went to the Peace Corps office and brought her around to meet the staff and other volunteers that were in the city. She did so well practicing her English with everyone!! She just knows the basics ("Hi, how are you? What is your name?") but we want her to get practice carrying herself well and speaking clearly and confidently, etc.

From the Peace Corps office we headed to Paramaribo's only (and pretty new) mall and movie theater. Lefurny's first movie (and 3D movie at that!) was The Lorax. She was super excited about the popcorn. Unfortunately, she had a cold that has been going around here and about three quarters through the movie told me that she was really tired and wanted to sleep (it was about 6pm). I gently told her that we wouldn't be coming back to the theater so if she went to sleep that she would miss out on the movie. She rallied and watched the rest.

Then we walked around the mall, which has all sorts of little things for kids... like face painting!

And cotton candy!

Grandma Barb wanted to make sure that Lefurny got the royal treatment so she got to pick out a toy and a book from the bookstore (in Dutch). Unfortunately, options are limited as far as people who can read it to her in Dutch, but I'm going to have her take it to her teacher. I wanted her to get the message that books are worth spending money on. Hopefully, it will be a tiny stepping stone in helping her Dutch. This toy microphone was the perfect choice as this girl LOVES to sing!

There are lots more pictures of Lefurny's trip here. And yes, I have had most of them printed to put in a little album for Lefurny so she can think back on this trip long after we are gone (*tear*). We had a lot of fun with this cutie. She really is great kid. Seriously has the most energy I've ever seen in a child (and I've looked after a lot of kids) but truly adorable. Ryan and I were both exhausted but happy we made this happen.

Special shout out to my wonderful husband who I know will make an amazing and patient father one day (that day has not come yet, Doc, don't get too excited). I already knew that he was great with Lefurny but he surpassed my expectations which brought my heart lots of joy.