A Note on Updates

I have been in my remote site of Diitabiki in the interior of Suriname and completely out of touch for about the last month. Usually I will be out of touch for up to three months, but recently I came down with dengue fever, so I have some time in the city. I type up blog entries in advance, however, and publish them whenever I get the chance, modifying their date stamp to the time that I wrote the article.

Pictures can be found here at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/michael.brannagan/Suriname

Dengue Fever

For the past week or so I have been out of commission with dengue fever. This is a rare disease for the interior, but my Surinamese counterpart got it too. I was able to take care of myself, partially out of necessity, for the first three days, but on the fourth day, the care of one of my neighbors, Heni, was greatly appreciated.

On the first night, last Friday, I had a 102 something fever, but I felt a little better during the day. I rested for two days, but got stir crazy by the third, and I tried to work, as much as I was able, on my house. Just after talking to my parents on the phone, however, I fainted. It actually must have looked pretty funny saying, “goodbye,” going to hang up the receiver, and collapsing before it landed on the hook. Then I decided to go to the clinic.

Fainting made many of my neighbors worried, and they insisted that I go to the city. The Peace Corps Medical Officer thought I should too. For a week, I get to recuperate in the city, reading books on African history, watching international news, and eating food not prepared by me. I also have used my time to talk with UNICEF and PAHO people about potential projects in my area, and I’m planning on helping organize the Peace Corps library if I can.

How to Cook

Before I say anything about my experiences of cooking in the jungle, let me recommend that one should always make sure that what appears to be sugar is indeed sugar and not salt. Not checking makes for very bad pancakes indeed…and even worse syrup. In my last few days in the city I went on a desperate search for food in an attempt to purchase all I would need for three months. At one market I grabbed several unmarked plastic bags of what I assumed to be flour and sugar.

The truth came out. I decided to make pancakes on Saturday, in keeping with an old family tradition, for the first time on my own. After a long hour of gathering all ingredients, meticulous, measuring, careful mixing, and intense cooking, I arrived at the table with a plate of pancakes, a small pitcher of syrup, a cup of tang (in place of orange juice), and French-press coffee. When I tested the syrup, however, I found to my surprise, that I had concocted an excellent mixture of highly concentrated salt water. Alas.

Other attempts to provide sustenance for myself have met with success, such as baking bread on a stovetop, which I thought was tricky, and Tuna Alfredo a la Macaroni, dined to Mozart, of course, which I thought was classy. I have not yet resorted to hunting, but with the roosters continuing to crow at 3:30am, we’ll see how long that lasts.

The Posh Corps

So I sign up for the Peace Corps and they assign me to…paradise? I found myself sunbathing on a smooth, warm stone in the middle of lush Amazonia, surrounded by the sound of the swift-running river on all sides, later seeing two wild red macaws soar overhead. Talk about a tough post.

My house, to make up for it all, is actually only one room, and it does need a bit of work before I can live there, but in the mean time I’m staying in a very comfortable guesthouse with a kitchen sink, 24-7 electricity, and a shower, which has been very welcome.

The flight to Diitabiki in a Cessna was the most exciting plane ride I can remember, and I’ve been on a few. I sat just behind the pilot, so I could see out of the front of the plane as well as all the instruments. At one point the clouds seemed to fly by (I think they were flying, actually), and I saw that we were cruising at over 160 knots. This Cessna peaked at 172. The pilot, however, knew what he was doing. We took a very sharp U-turn almost immediately after we passed the landing strip and touched ground purposefully but smoothly.

Off To Work!

Soon I will begin my journey towards the very heart of Suriname on the long road…er, river to Drietabiki. Wednesday afternoon, I will actually be flying by Cessna, but normally, the five of us in the area first have a three-hour bus ride to the coast of the Marowijne River (Maara-way-na), which separates Suriname from French Guyana, and continue by canoe about two-thirds of the way through the country. The name of the river, at its best, sounds barely legal, I know, but I can assure you that Peace Corps drug policies are very strict. Given the great amount of water in the country, it’s no surprise that the far side of the river can barely be seen on a clear day, and is often mistaken for the ocean. Even on maps, the river looks very broad indeed, with large, populated islands. Since the dry season is beginning, though, it can take three days by boat because more rocks are closer to the surface at this time of year, making the rapids more challenging to navigate. There are plenty of these rapids and a few waterfalls to keep the journey exciting. My map marks no less than nine of the longest, and most intense, series of cataracts. Unlike many those we have in the States, the rapids on the Marowijne have encouraging and helpful names once translated, such as: “Pedro Sunk Here Falls,” “Screaming Men Rapids,” “Pull the Goods Out of the Boat Rapids,” “Go Away Rapids,” and Big Hole Falls. As you can see, the very names of these rapids lend helpful historical information, warnings, and even instructions on how to proceed. For Big Hole Falls, the two of us who go beyond must portage every time we go by boat because the river is virtually impassable. Fortunately there is a mine cart on a railroad track for us to load all of our gear in and push. It still will take a lot of trips, as I may be transporting food for a full three months on a regular basis.