Halfway In

This week is my halfway point in Diitabiki. When I first arrived, about a year ago, I was struck with the beauty of this place, but I felt isolated. Though I’m normally independent, being surrounded by people of a new culture, none of whom I had known two weeks before, made me quite lonely. I had to learn how to cook, sometimes ending up with embarrassing failures as using salt instead of sugar in my pancakes. Dengue fever forced me to come to the city after only three weeks in Diitabiki, but this was a good thing, as I had lost about twenty-five pounds, and needed to eat and rest.

Because of various Peace Corps and Red Cross trainings and other important events in the city, I never spent more than three weeks at a time at home before January. People in Diitabiki started calling me “city man.” My major project in 2008 was a food security assessment for Red Cross and the subsequent distribution of planting materials, which provided many adventures all along the river.

My parents came to Suriname for Christmas, and we flew to Trinidad for about a week. At seven months, this set the record for the longest time I had not seen my family. That record has now been broken again, as I have not seen them since. Our week in Trinidad will probably be the only time I leave the Guiana’s until my close of service. From January until April, I stayed down country, grew my Peace Corps beard (every male Peace Corps volunteer should grow a beard once during their service), and probably set the Suriname record for the longest time at site. Fishing for piranha became a new hobby for me. I encountered some fascinating cultural experiences, including accompanying a special delegation to protest poor development practices. Within the last few months, my work with the radio station has occupied me with projects I both enjoy and consider beneficial. I have made new friendships and developed those I have had for some time.

While I have learned some fascinating things about myself, for the most part, I do not feel that I have changed as much as I expected before I came. It is impossible to tell, however, until I return to the States and have some frame of reference with friends from the past. I do know that I have become more flexible and resourceful, though I still may not enjoy disruptions from everyday life. I now consider air conditioning, refrigeration, and washing machines as luxuries. I have not felt hot tap water for over seven months, and since I bathe in the river, I have not had a shower for over two. I paddle my dugout canoe just about every day but have not driven a car in well over a year. With a Caribbean climate of constant heat and nearly 100% humidity, winter sounds like wonderful reprieve. When I arrived in Diitabiki I wrote that I wanted to grow to love the place as home, and yet be ready and excited to return to the States when the time came. At this point, I do love and consider Diitabiki my home, but I have a lot more to do and learn before I can leave.