Happy 4th of July!

Well, I'm winding up my 4th of July weekend in Georgetown. We went to the US Ambassador's house on Saturday, swimming in his pool and getting baked in the sun. Basically, it was reunion of my training class, GUY17. It was fantastic to see all of my friends who I have not seen for the past two months. Of course, talk centered around work and how useless we feel a lot of the time. People are working only 15 hours a week at a lot of places, just like me. Lots of us are hitting the same barriers to working effectively. Some people have worse situations than other, of course, but it was good to compare all of our experiences so far.

It also made me realize how much I like the Essequibo Coast, where I live. The coast has just one road that drives along the coastline, with all the towns on the main road. With the taxis or mini-buses, the conductors are nice and not too pushy. But wow, the contrast is amazing to Georgetown. In the capital, there are seemingly millions of people. The conductors are pushy, grabby, and often rude. The relative hustle and bustle (I mean, this is nothing compared to a US city) makes me feel like a country bumpkin. But I like it. I like the relative quietness and slow pace of the Essequibo Coast. I like the safety - I feel fine being out late at night, whereas I don't want to be anywhere but inside after dusk in Georgetown. I just really like the coast. That's one of the reasons this weekend has been good for me - it make me realize how lucky I am with my site placement. The freedom we have out there, coupled with the beauty of the coast and the friendliness of the people, has got to make the Essequibo Coast one of the best places in Guyana.

Anyways, it's been a good 4th of July weekend in Guyana. I think we might try to do a BBQ tomorrow for the proper holiday. And maybe we can get some explosive materials and try to make some fireworks? That sounds like a good secondary project.