Hey there,

I guess that it has only been since monday afternoon since I last posted but I know that if I don't post today I won't get to it by Sunday. I can't believe that is the 30th of March already. On Monday morning I will have officially been in Guyana for 19 full months. I feel like my mantra lately is "Where has time gone?!".

This week at our house we had an official casserole competition. We normally sit down to make the menu of the week every Sunday. We each pick a night to cook and list the ingredients that we need to make our dish. Sarah decided that she was going to make vegetable casserole and then Audrey said she was going to make egg casserole. After that Sarah said we should just have casserole week and Meg and I followed suit. I made a pasta casserole and Meg made a Mexican casserole. Everyone has made their dish so far except for Audrey, her night is tonight. I do have to say that after inheriting my Grandmothers cooking skills I think mine was by far the best! :) Well... that's what I would like to think anyway! :)

This week was the last full we of school before the end of the second term at school. Starting the week after Easter we will begin the third and final term. Since we were just doing review for the week rather than starting something new my students easily distracted me. I don't know how they do it but they always get me on some side topic discussing or debating one thing or another. The topic that we most often discuss is relationships. The boys at school are always picking my mind asking me what they think is right or wrong in a relationship. It's not because they actually want to know my opinion but rather because they try to sneakily try and pick apart my personal life which I keep very private. We have a lot of laughs though and they teach me a lot about life in all of these conversations. It helps me to remember that how you are raised really does affect your views on the world and that we need to put ourselves in someone else's shoes.

Speaking of shoes I went shopping today to find a nice pair of flats because I am volunteering at a Sweetheart Auction tonight! One of my very close friends Venus is founder of a non profit organizations called RedBandAid Foundation. They are a local foundation that tries to run events for local charities. The event tonight will benefit a local Muslim girls orphanage. They are hoping to be able to buy some computers for the girls with the money raised from the event. Although I am a full time volunteer I always find it nice to do something different for a change. It helps me remember not to get stuck in a rut and gives me new life.

As a child did you ever see your parents doing something that you just thought was sooo stupid and you couldn't believe they were doing that? Or they would have catch phrases that they would say over and over again and you swore on your life you would never say it. I was definitely that child and I said I would never say the stupid saying my Mother said. Now I love my Mother very dearly - and the other day I was talking with my room mates and I realized that I was talking exactly like my mother. I guess they weren't so stupid after all because I am definitely my mothers child. Oh geeze! Reminds me of how often we always say we are never going to do something and ten years later we are doing the exact thing we condemned. I feel like I should take this lesson and apply it to other areas of my life. Never say never because you really don't know what life will throw at you.

I pray that you all have a blessed Holy Week. I will blog again after Easter. I will also make sure to let you know the winner of the casserole competition. :) I know that I can't wait for Mass on Easter Sunday because I as always have missed the Gloria a LOT. God always shows me Himself through music and lent is always a very hard time for me in that regards. :)

Remember we are not Christians of Good Friday rather we are Christians of Easter Sunday. Thanks be to God! :)

Love always,

Ashley Ann


Ps - Here are the reflections from my roommates from our Corps Connections. They write these as reflections to the other Mercy Communities but I thought they were nice to share!!! And hopefully they can give you some inspiration because i'm all out this week!





It started by simply looking around me. On
my way to work, I see the trenches lining
the edge of the roads full of water. This
water is runoff from the rains and eventually flows into the oceans. On its way out,
it is home to frogs and tiny fish. The roots
of trees and plants drink deeply of these
waters to be ever-green. This is a lush
tropical paradise, mostly due to the bounty
of water. Unfortunately, Guyana has a
trash and littering problem. This morning at Mass, Father
said the we are all too indifferent to each other. We say,
that's none of my business. No longer can I stand by and

watch a friend litter Guyana. I am committed to not littering
the waterways and to telling others not to do so as well. Also,
I am trying to be a conscious consumer, buying items with
less packaging. We started buying the giant peanut butter jar
because buying in bulk often leads to less packaging ending
up in the dump. I want the waterways to be beautiful and
teeming with life!  
Next, I started to think about drinking water. Pipe water
(from the tap) is not advised for consumption in Guyana because of contaminates. At my house we have four 5-gallon
bottles of water. Each week we take our empty bottles down
to the water store where they are filled. Then we take a taxi
back to our house with the full jugs and carry them upstairs. It is a process that in the past has been annoying to
me, a chore that I detest doing because it is so laborious. But
this Lent, I am reflecting on it in attempt to change my attitude. There are people in Guyana who cannot afford safe,
clean drinking water. They drink from the tap and have all
their lives. We don't even really know what is in the water or
what the long-term health complications may be.  nstead of
begrudging the drinking water struggle in my life, I am learning to be thankful for what I have. I am thankful not to have
to boil all the water I drink or use purification tablets. I am
thankful not to have frequent gastrointestinal problems related to the water. I am thankful that I grew up in a country
where children are able to drink out of a garden hose on a hot
summer day! Clean, safe drinking water is a basic right, yet so
many people do not have access to it. I am trying to look into
the social justice issues here and get involved.
The other major use for water in the household is for cleaning. We use it to wash our bodies, clothes, dishes, floors, and
a multitude of other things. I am trying to be conscious of my
water use in the house. In Guyana, the water pressure from
the pipe is very low. It is so low that it commonly won't have
enough pressure to get up to a second story. We are blessed
to have a water storage tank and electric pump. In our back
yard we have a water tower.  It is a concrete stand with a 250
gallon black plastic water tank about 30 feet off the
ground. The pipe from the ground is connected to this tank
and when we turn on the electrical pump,
water is pumped from the ground up into
the tank. When it is full, we turn off the
pump. The water flows from the tank by
gravity into our house fixtures. Now we
are lucky because most Guyanese do not
have this set-up. It is expensive to build
the tower, buy the tank, and pump. So
many Guyanese must go to the ground
pipe for water.  This means their actual
houses do not have running water in them. I have seen many
Guyanese bathe, wash clothes, and prepare food right in the
yard because that is where the water is. For other tasks,
buckets of water are carried upstairs into the house. I am becoming more conscious of this and trying to live simply, as a
Guyanese must. We live on a busy corner so no yard baths for
me. But so far, I have given up showers. If you don't have running water, you fill a wash basin (about 10 gallons) with water and bathe that way. I have to say, I like it better and I'm
using less water. I hope to fully convert myself to carrying up
buckets of water that I use. So far, I've been too lazy.  I know
it will make me thankful for the water I use because I must
carry each bucket up the stairs. I hand wash all my clothes in
these same wash basins and this week I noticed how much
water I used in the process. I am still thinking of ways to cut
down on this water consumption, probably my greatest consumption. No ideas as yet. Not all problems have solutions.
As long as I stay conscious of the usage, maybe that’s the best
I can do.
Finally, I would like to share a tale from the bedside this
week. I had a 90 year old woman with heart failure. She was
using a high flow of facemask oxygen, which dries out the
mouth.  I took off the oxygen to give her a drink of ice cold
water. She swallowed it and sighed with a smile. Then she
said, "Water is life!" Water is indeed life and I am grateful for
her words of wisdom.
 
 In Peace,              
         Sarah D Grave



Moving to a foreign land,
Everything is new,
Realizing that the world is a lot bigger than I knew.
Coming to Guyana, saying
Yes to God's will for me, learning
 
Valuable lessons, that helped me to see,
Others in a brand new way, and
Life as a journey towards God,
United in one family of love, our Father does
Not rule with an iron rod!
This experience has definitely changed my life,
Even more than I can believe,
Especially my work at the orphanage, I'll
Really miss those boys when I have to leave!  I
 
Can hardly believe that my time is almost up, This
Opportunity to serve in Guyana will forever be
Remembered, with joy and love, and as a time of
Patience and growth.
So remember to share your love with others, and know that you're doing God's work.

Audrey Marrah




Wow, it's already March and time is flying!  It seems like it
was just a few days ago that I was the new white girl in
Georgetown, overwhelmed by a new culture, new people,
and a new job.  As I have had time to adjust, integrate, and
learn, I realize I am no longer overwhelmed by the newness
of everything, but rather I am overwhelmed by the love that I
have received here.  
When I outlined my purpose in mission before coming here,
it was pretty simple: be present to the people and experiences I encounter and love with my entire heart.  As some of
you may be experiencing yourselves, I feel I have received so
much more love than I am able to give.  Whether it's the Sisters inviting you over and feeding you a LOT of food, a community practicing inclusivity, the random Guyanese catching
a bus for you, or your student staying late after school to
walk the fifteen feet from the school to the orphanage with
you, I am constantly learning what it looks like to love.  The
love that I have felt through Guyanese hospitality is one
thing I've come to appreciate.  
Another thing I am appreciating is the mentality here of "God
will provide."  I've learned that the Guyanese don't like to
show their poverty, but the more I really see Guyana and
have gotten to know the Guyanese, the more I understand
the poverty here.  The poverty here is very real, but the Guyanese attitude seems to be "God will provide."  I don't hear
complaints about what folks don't have; rather, I hear
thanksgiving for what folks do have and hope that God will
continue to provide.  This faith and trust in God's work in
our lives puts into perspective all that I have to be grateful
for.


I continue to enjoy my work at the orphanage and am
becoming attached to my students, although they do have
their moments (like when they bring open jars of spiders
to class or the occasional can of bees).  I am reminded
daily how great children are - they always have a big smile
for you, they accept with an innocent love, and they forgive without holding resentment.  One of the other teachers often comments how the boys at the orphanage go
through so much - rejection that even adults cannot
handle.  Yet, they learn how to cope, move forward, and
embrace life with a smile, and for this, they are teaching
me lessons.

Meg Eckart

Are you excellent?

Good Afternoon!

I just came back from retreat this afternoon and came straight to the internet to catch up on my life. I have had a little to much thinking time and needed to get back in contact with some people other than my roommates :)! We had our retreat in Berbice starting on saturday and finishing this afternoon.

Before I get into my talk about what happened at retreat I guess that I have a few things to share from the week before.

Last saturday was my good friend Joel's birthday, he made some amazing chicken and we all had a grand time hanging out in his yard eating good food and enjoying the night. He is one person that I don't talk to very often but whenever we do talk we have a great conversation. I love meeting people who are free of judgement and loving no matter who you are. I am very thankful for his friendship! :)

This week the Sisters of Mercy had a sister from the states here who was giving two different talks on women in the bible. The first one was about Mary of Magdala and the second was of Mary, the mother of God. I really enjoyed both talks a lot especially because she really helped to show us the common misconceptions about Mary of Magdala which I could write about but that would take me a whole week. :) One of the things that she did talk about was what made someone excellent. There are three qualifications someone has to have in order to be excellent:

1. What you say and what you do must be the same.

You can't just be a person who says you will do something and not carry it out.

2. You must be willing to endure hardships

If you don't understand suffering or don't accepting suffering well you aren't putting your best foot forward. Everyone will encounter suffering in our lives and how we respond to it shows a lot about who we really are.

3. Your outreach is to everyone

Jesus didn't say love everyone except.... No Jesus said love everyone. Simple.

This little lesson really made me evaluate my own life. Could I consider myself an excellent person? Do I talk about helping people and follow through? I feel like these are a set of questions that I should be constantly asking my self because an excellent person is always trying to make themselves better and not just stagnate.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about having an outreach that is to everyone. So often in life we have labels that bind us. If someone is a democrat or a republican we judge them in a certain light according to our own political convictions. If someone is very quiet we may label them as quiet and not allow ourselves to see the other good qualities they have because we have already put them into one category. For example my roommate Meg is often called quiet but if you take the time to listen to her she has some really great things to say. I feel like many people in life will miss out on the wisdom of Meg because they label her and don't take the time to see her other good qualities.

The thing is - Meg is just an example but this will happen over and over again with so many people in our lives. I talk about judging so much because I see myself judging and am constantly trying to work on eliminating it. I've never been born anywhere else, or raised by anyone else yet in my mind I always think I know what is best. The battle never ends. Oh wait, Let me rephrase that, the battle never ends in this life. :)

This week I had a patient that I found myself especially drawn to. His medications were all messed up and we spent about an hour trying to figure out what we were going to do to help him in the best way. When other people were running around figuring things out him and I sat in my office talking about his work. He began to tell me how although he mostly works construction he also minds ducks. I started to ask him a million questions about what he does with the ducks and how he takes care of them. He was telling me how when it gets close to dark all the ducks come up to the pen and let themselves in for the night. I was surprised that he didn't have to round up the ducks but they just went right to same place. They know where it is safe and they always return to safety. We started talking about how sometimes his boss wanted him to work late but he always said he had to go home to mind his ducks. He was telling me about what is the point of minding ducks if you can't take good care of them. You have to take care of the things that you are in charge of.

This situation made me smile in a lot of ways. One because back home at our cabin we always feed the ducks that come around in the summer and anything about ducks always reminds me of life back home. Second because my patient was teaching me a lesson about not taking on more than we can handle. Why have a responsibility that we can't take care of. He understands that it's important for him to mind the ducks because it's his task. I can't complete a million tasks and I can't help a million people but I can help one. So he must take care of his ducks and I must try my best to help him. Not to help every patient in that hospital or everyone I walk across but the rather the people that are brought to me.

Whatsoever you do to the least of my people that you do unto me.

This quote brings me back to my retreat this weekend. We had our retreat in New Amsterdam, Berbice. We left on Saturday and got to spend the day in a hotel. It was one big room with a king bed, a full bed, and a little twin bed. I of course chose the tiny twin bed because I always sleep in a little ball anyway. :) We had a couch, air conditioning and a HOT shower. I was amazed by the hot shower this weekend. Ever since January I have become really sick of cold showers. I just don't want any more cold showers. Anyway we hung out on Saturday and then went over to the church to do some praying. I laid down on a pew to pray a divine mercy chaplet and all of a sudden I saw a man walking past me to go and get a ladder they were using to do construction on the church. I thought that about five minutes had passed by and when I asked Audrey what time it was she told me that an hour had gone by. So instead of spending a holy hour praying, I spent a holy hour sleeping. Sister Julie did say sleep was an important part of a retreat! Opps!

Saturday night we were all asleep by 9:30 because we were just simply exhausted. We got up early on Sunday morning to go down to the church because we were going on a pilgrimage into an area called Black Bush. It is the same area that I went to early in the year to go to a Hindu wedding. It is a farming area with basically trees and rice fields. Very remote and beautiful. We had an hour long drive to the pilgrimage spot where we got out and walked to the church. We held different signs which had the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control) Some of them had virtues too - Mine said Knowledge. My roommates all laughed at me when they handed it to me and said that I got one that actually fit! :) When we got to the church it was good but SO HOT. It was hard for me to pay attention to the two hour long Mass when all I wanted to do was get out of that hot building. I guess that I learned some patience. After communion I felt like I was going to pass out so I ended up going outside until Mass was over. Too much heat for me. After Mass we all went back to the church (in New Amsterdam) and instead of spending the night at the hotel we were staying at the retreat building behind the church this time. It's a really high building so there is a really great breeze. We all showered and took afternoon naps until it was time for dinner. After dinner we spent the night bonding and doing different spiritual activities. It was a night of praying and laughing I would say.

This morning we woke up and went next door to the church where the Mother Teresa sisters live. They run a home for elderly men, a soup kitchen, and a day care. One of the sisters gave us a tour of the place and then brought us to the day care for us to interact with the children. It was a fun morning as the teacher had the students sing songs for us. After that we helped to feed them lunch and put them down for naps. It's not unusual for us to run into the Missionaries of Charity but it was good for once to actually really see what they do. They are such holy and faithful women. They give me encouragement in my own ministry. Also visiting them was on my bucket list of things to do before I leave Guyana so I guess I can cross another thing off.

Well it's back to work tomorrow and I have to go home and do some prep work for school tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing my students tomorrow because I know they will always make me smile.

Love and prayers,

Ashley Ann

Back to work

It's not easy to get right back into the swing of things after having an entire week off. Luckily I also had monday off so I could get all of my final things together. I really didn't do much other than I cleaned up my room, read some and went shopping for a few different things. I always have a hard time taking days off because I would rather be at work getting stuff done, however, I know I needed to take the day so I could finish all my little things without going crazy.

I went back to school on tuesday and one of the teachers was telling me how my students kept complaining last week cause I didn't come to school. As I began to teach them for the week they all asked me where my excuse was since I had been gone from school. This week at school was nice because it was just review for their test next week so it was easy for me.

At the hospital we have gotten a whole set of new employee's because of the beginning of the new PUSH grant. I'm not really sure how to explain the transition and being 100% correct but our money is being filtered through a new organization now, so we have new people and new rules. I think that it is all going to take a while to get used to but at the same time the transition is moving quite slow. We have a new social worker, two case navigators, a home based care worker and a new program nurse. I was laughing with my other co-workers when I said once we had almost no employees and a million patients... now it seems like we have no patients and a million employees. It's kind of hard because we have so little space in  the hospital and we are all stepping on top of each other but we are trying to make it work.

We had a baking adventure at home this week because Audrey has been craving bagels for like the past month. For dinner a few nights ago she attempted to make a set of garlic bagels and a set of honey oat bagels. I was amazingly surprised at how well they turned out for her first adventure. We definitely have to make them again and I encourage all new bakers to try to make them because they are delicious and not as hard as they sound.

I can't believe that we are almost half way through lent. I always feel like lent goes so quickly and I never get finished what I want to get finished. I guess that it's my pride thinking I can rearrange my life in 40 short days. I guess I really need to remind myself that the way to go in life is small steps.

I've been stressing this week because everyone keeps asking me what I am doing when I get back home. I always feel like such a failure when people put lots of pressure on me and expect me to have everything planned out. I then reminded myself that I can't stress and I have to be thankful that my mother and many other important people in my life are support of me no matter what I do. I think the fear comes from the fact that back home who you are really depends on what you do. Here it doesn't really matter what I do because people will appreciate me for my other qualities and how I treat them. I have a lot of fears of coming back to a culture that puts so much emphasis on success and getting ahead. At the end of my life I know I will appreciate having done this more than going and making money, but influence from the outside can always make you second guess your actions.

I hope you all have a really good week. I put up my photo album from Iwokrama up on facebook and even if you are not on facebook you can click on the link here:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101797461125430.3404217.13955389&type=1&aft=10101797550910500&l=6c1cb33099

I put up 500 photos so it's a lot... but I've been bad at placing photos on facebook so I figured I would at least put them all this time. There is also photos from the boys at phagwah and just random adventures while Mary was here.

Remember at the end of the day it's between you and God, not you God and someone else. If you live so He would be pleased with you then it will lead to peace in your life.

Love and prayers,

Ashley Ann

Mary + Rainforest + Phagwah = BEST WEEK EVER

Mary came to Guyana!!!

Wow I've have such a great past week having one of my best friends coming to visit me. One of my friends who met Mary said to me I must really have a true friend if they come all the way here to see me. Guyana isn't exactly paradise! (Although I think it is!)

Mary arrived early Saturday morning. Audrey and I left the house together around six to go and collect Mary and Audrey's family. Our friend Alex drove us and I was very anxious because there had been so many problems for Mary getting to New York. Unfortunately Mary's bags had been lost! :( They told her they would be into Guyana by Saturday night but we knew that the next flight wasn't going to be til Sunday morning. This posed a problem because we were leaving for the rainforest VERY early on Sunday morning. Luckily Mary had packed the most essentials in her carry on bag - but she still needed more clothes! We made the drive from the airport to town and made it to my house. After cleaning up a bit and eating some quick snacks Mary and I adventured to town to find the stuff she needed for the jungle. Now in Guyana there is no target or walmart where you can go and find everything that you need. This always makes things a lot more adventurous.We went to a couple of different stores and then ended up adventuring through the market. We found everything she needed but it was exhausting. I am proud to say that Mary did very well in the chaos and she was impressed at how adapted I've become to living in an environment with no personal space whatsoever! After that we went and got some lunch and took a nap at home! We went to Mass that night since we knew we would be leaving early the next morning. After Mass Mary and I went with Audrey's family to New Thriving Chinese resturant to eat dinner. After dinner we packed up her new stuff and got ready for bed! It was great to catch up and chat yet at the same time it felt surreal that Mary was actually in Guyana!!

Audrey sleeping on the way to the airport

Mary's Plane!!!

The linen pants we had to search everywhere to find!!

Soo... we ended up with a t-shirt a little too small!! Opps. 

Me with Mary's new bright white shoes to go into the Jungle with....

So Sunday morning we all got up at about 5:30 and got ready. The driver was on time at 6:00 am and Mary, Sarah and I got into our 4x4 to begin a seven hour journey! We went up to meet the Marrah Family as they got into their 4x4 so we could all journey together. Let me tell you there was a definite reason we needed a 4x4 because the road was not easy. It was extremely bumpy and it made Audrey and her family very motion sick. We had to cross a ferry right before we reached Iwokrama.

Iwokrama is a forest research and conservation centre at the beginning of rainforest wilderness preserve. It has an eco-tourism department which has about 8 cabins where guests can come and stay and adventure around the preserve. We had a guide, Alex, with us for our full four days their and he had a junior guide, Onika, with him as well. After we reached Iwokrama we ate lunch right away. After lunch we had a brief introduction the the lodge and we learned about all the different types of things that Iwokrama does. We were given some time to rest before we took a small adventure through a trail near the lodge. The trail was about 2 km long. On the adventure we learned about the Screaming Piha which is a bird that is only found in Primary Rainforests. We learned how to recognize their call and were also told that Screaming Piha's only appear in rainforests that are healthy! On the journey we saw tons of different types of trees and vines. One of my favorite vines is called Monkey Ladder because it literally looks like a ladder. We heard many different types of birds but the biggest find of all was a Labaria! Labaria are very dangerous as it is considered one of the deadlist snakes in the world. To survive a bite from a Labaria would mean you are very lucky!! I was lucky to be able to see a HUGE fish in the river because I was standing next to the guide as one of them surfaced! I think my Uncles Bosh and Warren need to come down here to do some fishing because these fish are ENORMOUS! I enjoyed the walk because it was so peaceful to be out of the chaos of Georgetown and finally in some nature. 

Ready to Go!

6 am photo!

Bumpy red dirt road!

Ferry which looked kinda sketchy!

Our 4x4

Lunch at the lodge!

Monkey Ladder

After the walk we had some more time just to hang around the beautiful lodge before dinner. After a nice dinner we got ready to go and look for Caimen and other nocturnal animals. We spotted two Caymen, an Amazonian tree boa and a very large rat. Caimen are like alligators and can get up to 13 ft long. The ones we saw were quite small maybe 2 ft. We did however see the eyes of a Caimen that our guide told us was probably quite large. The Amazonian tree boa was in a tree and our guides brought us right up to it. Mary was being quite adventurous and volunteered to hold the snake. This snake unlike the last one was not poisonous and rather a constrictor. She wasn't able to hold the snake because it kept "messing" as the Guyanese would say. It was not a pleasant smell at all! 

After all these adventures we went to bed because we were all exhausted from the long drive! The next morning we had it easy and hung around the lodge til 10 am. At 10 am we made our way down the river to a camp called Turtle Mountain. At the base of the camp there were some open buildings that looked like large gazebos in which we would hammock camp for the night. There was also a small open air kitchen and dinning area with tables and benches. We hung around the camp and ate lunch. After lunch we began the hike up turtle mountain. The hike took about two hours to get to the top and the top was about 900 ft up. It was quite the climb.  After all Georgetown is VERY flat so by the time I reached the top my "hill climbers" were quite sore! The view from the top of the mountain was breath taking. We were able to sit up there for about an hour and look for different animals below. We saw a ton of different birds including a few different types of parrots. Our guide spotted some monkeys but they moved before we were able to see them. This was probably my favorite part of the entire trip. I loved being up and overlooking the rainforest. We made our journey back down to the bottom and there was dinner waiting for us! After dinner we took showers and sat around talking. There was no electricity so we had to entertain ourselves in candlelight. We took showers in the dark and got into our hammocks to sleep. I had an okay nights rest but I did get really cold throughout the night. I even had two sheets with me and a sweatshirt! It was really damp in the night! Audrey's dad was making bets about who was going to fall our of their hammock first but luckily none of us did!! 

Audrey on top of Turtle Mountain

We made it down!!

The next morning we quickly ate breakfast and headed back to camp. Sarah had been sick the day before and didn't leave the lodge. Luckily when we came back she was sitting out on the porch of her cabin waiting for us. I was so glad to see her! We had a little bit of time to relax and to shower. Around ten am we went to Fairview which is an Amerindian village that is near Iwokrama's lodge. It was just a short boat ride and a small walk. The village was pretty quite but it was still nice to see. After the walk to the village we took a boat ride up the river to see some petroglyphs. This was Sarah's favourite part of the journey because we had to climb up on some rocks to see them. I really enjoyed walking around on the rocks to although I am kind of a clutz so I was worried about falling down.  After that we took a boat back to camp where we ate lunch. 

After lunch we left for the Canopy walkway which was about a two hour drive from the main lodge. Once again we were in the 4x4's and on the bumpy windy road. The walkway was at a camp called Camp Atta. The walk to the Canopy walkway was about 1 km and then 153 stairs. The stairs weren't exactly standard stairs but rather stairs made out of the earth and rocks. It was an adventure to reach the top. The top was definitely worth the climb. The canopy walkway is made up for 4 large platforms and 5 walkways connecting the platforms. The highest platform was about 90 feet off the ground. I don't think my mother would have survived being so high off the ground! :) We were right in the mid to top level of the canopy and it was great to get a different perspective. We didn't see any animals on our adventure but it was still worth it. We were able to be up in the trees and see some really beautiful sights. Sarah and I even had a spitting contest to see who's spit could make it to the ground first. You know that it's quite in the rainforest when you can hear your spit hit the ground. I didn't want to come down from the walk way but we had to. When we were on our way down it started to rain. This was my second favourite part of my trip because the rain came down slowly because it got caught in the trees on the way down. It made for a really beautiful view because it was like small trickle but it sounded like a heavy rain. It's really hard to describe but I wish I could because it was amazing. Also the sun was still shinning so it made everything glisten. 

We had our drive back to the camp after the walkway which was quite as it was dark by the time we reached back. We were able to eat dinner and then chill out for the rest of the night. Sadly our time was coming to an end and it was our last night. 

Our last morning we woke up early and went for an hour long bird watching expedition. On this journey we ended up seeing some really cute spider monkeys. One of them had a baby on it's back and it was an adorable site. We were close enough to them that we could see them clearly without any binoculars. On the trip we also saw some toucans, more parrots and I spotted a huge black winged hark eagle. I might not have the name completely correct but I was the one who spotted him. He was right before the camp and our boat driver was able to get us really close to him. I may have found a profession in life finally!!!! Professional Birder!

It was sad to leave the camp especially because we would have such a long drive back but we had to get back to Georgetown eventually. Our journey went smoothly other than slight motion sickness. When we got back home we all took the time to clean up and relax. After we got all clean Mary and I took a nice stroll along the sea wall. After that we went to dinner at a local Middle Eastern restaurant. This was one of my favourite parts of the trip because it was a great time for us to have some good discussions. Mary and I always have conversations that make us think and evaluate things in life and the world around us. I am very thankful to have such a good friend. It was weird how natural it was to be with her like we hadn't skipped a beat. Once we got home we talked with my room mate Meg and just relaxed. We were going to go out and join my room mate Sarah but even after trying to take a nap both of us were just so exhausted we decided to go to sleep. 

Thursday was Phagwah which is of course my favorite holiday in Guyana. I was so glad that Mary was with me this year. Phagwah is the celebration of spring and colors. It is also the celebration of the triumph of good over evil. We slept in a little bit in the morning and then we up to the orphanage around 10 am to play Phagwah with the boys. To play Phagwah you take colored dye and rub it on others around you. At the orphange we kept handing the dye out to the boys but instead of rubbing it on each other many of them just kept putting it on themselves especially the little boys. It was super funny to watch. It was also great to see the boys interact with Mary - they really love new visitors. 

After being Phagwah'd in the market

Mary at the end of the day!!

Yup... we were veryyyyy colorful!

After that we took a bus down towards the market where we took a long walk to find food. Not much was open and we made quite a loop of our neighborhood before we found one place that was open. Luckily it wasn't far from where we needed to buy the dye for playing Phagwah later in the day. We went to buy the dye and people at the market started to play with us. We bought our dye and walked home. After we got home we called a taxi and went down to the national stadium where there was about 10,000 people playing Phagwah. We met up with Audrey's family and had a great time. We were COVERED in dye by the time that the day had finished. My friend Asiyih joined us for the afternoon and we all had a great time. When the day was finished Mary Asiyih and I took a bus back to town. We had to take a second bus from the big market to our house and it was really funny because we were the only people in the market covered in dye. We got quite a bit of attention! :) After we got home we decided we went by my friend Andrew's house to clean up because his shower had 100x more water pressure than my shower. We cleaned up and spent the night relaxing and watching a movie. My face had a big purple stain from the dye and I was very thankful that it came out by the next morning. 

The next morning I was woken up by my friend texting me and telling me that we were in the papers!! Yes my friends, I have made international news! There was a nice picture of us with Audrey's family and my friend Asiyih. Mary and I went back to my house and got ready for the day. I took Mary into the school with me and all the students were very excited to see my new friend. They all wanted to take their picture with her and it made me laugh. They kept talking really fast and laughing which made Mary a little confused but she just went with the flow. After that I took her on a bus back to town and then we walked over to catch another bus to go to the hospital. While we were in the bus it was circling the block to collect passengers Mary asked me if we were ever going to get to the hospital. I laughed because I sometimes forget how inefficient the bus loading can be. Eventually we did make it to the hospital and I was able to introduce her to my co-workers. I was glad that she got to see where I worked because both the school and hospital are such an important part of my experience here. I showed her to my partner in crime Terese and all my other favorite people at the hospital. My boss told her how I wasn't going to be able to go home because I loved Guyana too much. Some of the clients were asking me why I wasn't working and I said that I was on vacation. One of them gave me a jokingly hard time! :) They make me smile even when I'm just there for a few minutes! 

After all the work adventures we went to eat lunch and look for some souvenirs. We then walked to meet Audrey's family so we could all travel together down to the rum factory. The rum tour was one of my favorite parts of my family's trip here and it was once again a great experience. I learned even more about rum and exactly what happens to the rum that is made here. Did you know that the rum in Malibu rum is made at that same factory. Any rum that is called Demerara rum is made at the factory where I was at. Many different company's will buy the rum fresh and age it themselves or make it into their own product. I never realized this I just thought it was simply made into El Dorado rum. Always learning. 

After the rum tour Mary and I went for another walk on the sea wall and then went to join some of my friends at a local fish shop for fish and chips for dinner. It was a great time for Mary to hang out and meet some of my friends. We ate and talked for quite a while. After that we ended up going to sing Karaoke at a local bar and ended the night at a different fish shop where we sat outside and talked with a different set of my friends. There were also people dancing at this fish shop so Mary got to see a little bit of how Guyanese people whine. :) 

Sadly after that Mary had to leave at 5:30 am. From what I understand they had some problems with the car on the way to the airport but eventually they made it. I spend the day Saturday relaxing and catching up on life. I was sad to see Mary go because it was so nice to have someone from back home with me. 

Life is always best with friends close by! I am so thankful to have Mary in my life and even more thankful to have her be able to visit me. We had many talks about how being in the rainforest reminded us of being back home. We were lucky to grow up so close to the wilderness. I mean as I was on the boat I thought to myself if I just close my eyes I can pretend i'm on a boat back home on farm like. Some things no matter where you are in the world give you the same at home feeling. 

Until next week! 

<3 

Ashley Ann  

Also I hope to get more pictures up of our trip but I am running out of time today! Be on the look out for them! Also I will try and post some on my facebook page!!!

Sometimes people suck!

Have you ever met one of those people who really just tries to ruin your day? It's like someone poured vinegar into their cereal that morning and they have decided to take it out on the rest of the world. I used to really be sensitive and take on what people would tell me. I always cared what everyone thought and it would make me feel bad. Finally the other day I realized how different I have become and how I don't really let other people get to me. Then I found this quote this week that really helped me to remember the importance of letting go of the small things.

This week I had a frustrating incident with some of my students at school. As I was standing outside of the classroom they decided it would be funny to lock me out. So eventually they let me back in and I said to them that I would be reasonable and if the person who had locked the door admitted it I would move on with class. None of them would admit and I said alright well please all come out of my class until you will admit who did it. Eventually they ended up cleaning up the school and doing other work because they wouldn't say. The thing is all the students knew who it was and they kept telling me. So every time I would go up to him and ask him if he did it and he would say no. I said alright well then no one has yet to admit it so you can all keep working. Later in the day they still didn't understand why they couldn't have free time in my class and why I was making them work so hard. For me I couldn't believe that one student has so much pride that they wouldn't admit their mistake. I really understood at the end of the day why they say pride is the deadliest sin. I had a hard time wrapping my mind around why one student would let so many others suffer.

My friend Mary is coming to visit me TOMORROW so my mind is kind of all over the place! The week has also been really rainy and boring. I had a hard time getting out of my house for two days because the water was soo high. I was wearing long boots and had to walk slow or the water would have come over my boots! Not only is it water but its gross nasty infectious water! :(

I keep reminding myself for lent that God is in control and I need to let go. I'm trying to do that right now as Mary's flight out of Madison is giving her problems because of the weather. This is one of those moments in life where you just have to put your hope in God. Whatever happens you still have to make the best out of the situation.

Love and prayers,

Ashley Ann