Football, Jamun Trees, Computers and Ants
Once again, I’ve been busy in Paramakatoi lately.
FRIDAY:Miss Odessa had to leave for Town for some reason. Before she left, she called me to the upstairs building and told me I was in charge of the brand new computer lab up there. I spent the day trying to remember everything she told me about the computers, and writing my end lf term exam. I’ve never written an exam before, and it’s actually quite difficult, and very dull. To spice up the experience a bit, I added a few Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings references to it. I then ran home to Skype my parents and ended up on the internet for 2 and a half hours chatting to my friends on Facebook.
SATURDAY: Rosie and I went to play football at Virgil’s Shop with his son and the other children in his family. His son is a hilarious little boy, and is very quick at football! They were very kind and gave us delicious drinks that we rarely have because they are so expensive, and took us into the shop to watch a movie … which turned out to be Death Race 3. Not a suitable film for a bunch of kids (the youngest of which was probably about 4) but it was quite entertaining, especially when the kids pointed out certain characters and shouted “That guy there, that guy’s me!” or “See that girl? She my girl.” We watched the movie and were given delicious chicken (MEAT!!!) and rice and a bottle of coca cola to share, and played with the kids BB guns. Throughout the morning, we did out best to avoid the adorable, but absolutely infested puppies that the children kept dumping on us. If I don’t get fleas, tics or jiggers from that day, I think I will never get them! Then we went to play more football and the kids friends from next door came to play. I was in the goals, and actually managed to save a few without getting knocked out or a sprained wrist, which was a massive improvement from my primary school days. It was pretty hot by this point, so we sheltered from the mid-day sun under the jamun tree and climbed it to pick the fruit. The children were convinced that I would fall, but I think I surprised them by not landing flat on my face in the dirt. Climbing trees and playing football, I decided on Saturday, are two tasks made much easier by going barefoot! After a while we left and I discovered that the sand had given me awful blisters on my toes.
SUNDAY: Virgil’s son came over to our house to give us a lollipop and two mints each and we ended up listening to Queen and Mumford & Sons (he insists on calling this ‘cowboy music’, so I think I’ll play him some proper cowboy music next time!) whilst doing a 500 piece puzzle lent to my by Sister Wall that we still haven’t completed. I also accidentally shot him with his BB gun (which he left in my custody as I told him he shouldn’t carry a gun into church) because I didn’t realise it was loaded. He found this very funny.
MONDAY (now): I managed to get lots of work done in my free periods, which was nice, and also taught a very successful lesson to 11A1 about summary writing. After school, I rushed home, radioed the Chenapau boys (and realised that my bedroom has the same curtains as the medical centre) then ran to Sammy’s shop to grab a snack. I arrived at my Computer Class in the LRC with only 3 minutes to go, set up the projector and shifted some chairs, and was ready. Today we began to look at Excel. It’s amazing how much I could remember from my IT classes four years ago! We did the basics, and looked at some simpler formulas. Teaching these Computer Classes is difficult because most of the teachers don’t have computers, but when we relocate to the upstairs building it will be much easier.
Then I met Rosie and we went to see the dorms ladies who offered us some food – salt-fish and cook-up rice. I then decided to go to the internet to send some emails. There were two donkeys fighting under the mango tree and people probing an earthy mound. Nicky, the girl from the shop, called me over to see what they were doing. They gave me a huge, red, bitey looking, live ant and told me to eat it. It took a lot of persuasion, because I’m a little but scared of big, bitey ants, but after she proved that it was safe, I ate my ant. You eat them headfirst, and crush the head with your teeth to kill them. They taste like the caterpillars we ate last term, but less gritty. I think they are quite delicious! The only problem is that bits of the crunchy exoskeleton get stuck between your teeth. Nicky then gave me a little plastic bag with two ants in to take home – one for Rosie, one for me. She was a bit weirded out, but ate it after a while. I really quite like ants.
I’ve also just had a shower. Now, I may have been in Guyana for six months, but I still haven’t gotten over the horrors of a cold shower. I really don’t see the appeal. Though I have gained a new and deep understanding of why people in the Middle Ages never used to wash. It would be awfully ironic if I got pneumonia whilst living on the jungle.
And on that bombshell, I’m signing out,
Bob
Xxx