Driving...........

Driving on the left hand side of the road can be daunting enough.  Luckily, the team does not have to drive.  Our host families and other Rotarians move us around.  It did take a few days of getting used to riding in a car.  Of course, getting into the left hand side of the car was also a challenge to remember, as we are not the driver.  There are not many traffic lights for all of the vehicle traffic moving around.  Round Abouts are the popular way to move a lot of traffic through intersections.

The most interesting thing is the communication between the drivers. Yes, they communicate between themselves with the slight beep of the horn, flashing of the head lights, and their turn signals. It is all done with courtesy. Rarely did we see the horn of the car used in anger.

An example is put the turn signal flasher on while you are on a two lane road to make a right hand turn (remember, we are already on the left side of the road), and the oncoming traffic will slow down, flash the lights to tell us to go, and after our turn, we give a slight honk to say thank you.

This courtesy continues all the time as we drive around.  It makes driving around delightful, with plenty of time to let the other car into your lane with you, or let the oncoming car turn off the road, and still say thank you with a slight beep of the horn.

Off Roading and Underground Adventures!

On Monday we had an exciting day, it began with an island safari.  We toured the West, North, and East coast of Barbados.  We saw the only functioning windmill left on the island, experienced the 9^th wonder of the world (an anti gravity hill), and saw amazing Atlantic Ocean views.  We learned that swimming on the west coast of Barbados is quite deadly and not encouraged, although the surfers brave the danger.  Our driver was consistently supplying us with rum punch & jokes.  On occasion, we questioned his off roading skills but we all survived and made it back in one piece.

After the safari we had a tour at Harrison’s cave where we learned about the history of the island, how it was formed and that it is the only non volcanic island in the Caribbean (Barbados is really in the Atlantic Ocean). We took a tram through various rooms in the cave and ventured 160 feet underground.  I cannot express in words the beautiful views above and below ground in Barbados,  I don’t believe that the photographs do this island justice. 

On Tuesday we had our respective vocational visits which were quite educational and were much appreciated.  After vocations, we visited George Washington’s residence where he stayed while visiting Barbados with his ailing brother.  While in Barbados the contracted small pox and survived to return home, begin his military career, and become our President!

One of the team member’s going to our district, Tamara, has been spending time with us.  She is looking forward to her time in Florida, we have been sharing plenty of tips and information so she will be prepared!  Later this week we have more vocational visits, a night out at Harbor Lights, & a visit to a local Rotary project!

Harrison's cave with Suriya's "brothers"

 Our safari guide with rum punch!

 Sara & Tamara

Farewell Suriname, Hello Barbados!

We would like to express our gratitude to the Rotary Clubs of Suriname.  We had an amazing time that we will never forget.  Leaving Suriname was bittersweet, we met amazing individuals, learned about the culture and our vocations, and experienced memories that will stay with us forever, yet we were thrilled to head to our next destination, Barbados! 

We had an early morning flight, we rose at 2 am to make it to the airport in time, with a quick layover in Trinidad, we were in Barbados before lunch.  A wonderful group of Rotarians greeted us at the airport and whisked us away to our respective host families. 

We are spending Easter with our families and beginning to explore the island, which is amazingly beautiful!  Tomorrow we visit Harrisons Cave and have an Island Safari Jeep Tour!

We have a pink problem….

We had a fun filled day on the National Holiday of Holi Phagwa.  It began with a visit to a butterfly farm.  The tour guide taught us all about the lifecycle and process of exporting the butterfly cocoons around the world.

After the butterfly park we headed to Jungle Camp Carolina, a beautiful campground with a few homes on the land.  We were able to escape the heat a bit and enjoy a swim in the “coca cola” water.  The water is a very dark color due to the leaves that fall into the water and dye it, very similar to what the mangrove leaves do in the Everglades. 

On the way back to Paramaribo we made a stop at a Flamboyant Park where there was a Holi Phagwa celebration occurring.  As we entered we were handed a pink powder we were a bit confused as to what you do with it.  Ed & Ine our hosts immediately started pouring the powder all over us! As the evening went on people would walk up to you and spread an oil based color on your skin or spray a colorful powder on you!

Holi is a festival that commemorated good harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring's abundant colors and saying farewell to winter. It also has a religious purpose, commemorating events present in Hindu mythology.

Upon returning to Ed’s house (where Bob is staying) we began to wash the powder off, which came off just fine, we soon realized the oil based product was not rinsing off….there was a bit of a panic since we all had blotchy red stained skin!! We moved onto scrubbing our faces with soap and rubbing alcohol!  The majority has been removed, but as I write this, my hands, face, and hair (I now have a few red highlights) are stained a light pink color!   

Staatsolie and the Vice President of Suriname?!?!

On Monday we all took on a new vocation, Pumpers!  We visited Staatsolie, the local oil company, which produces 16,000 barrels of oil per day.  We had a wonderful presentation where we were educated on the goals of the company and then were put to work in the swamps.  An airboat took us to see an oil rig that was in the process of moving locations and then went to a functioning oil well.  We got to pump oil from a well that is approximately 90 meters deep, the oil has a very pungent scent!

Over the weekend we were introduced to the national dish of Suriname prepared by Mavis Muller, Pom.  Pom can be described as a chicken casserole and Mavis did a wonderful job, it was delicious!

We had another day of vocational training, Bob was viewing a construction project for the Vice President of Suriname and the VP, Robert Ameerali, himself was there!  Bob was able to have lunch with him and spent several hours chatting and sipping rum! 

Today, is a national holiday, so we are going to Jungle Camp Carolina, a butterfly garden, and participating in the Phagwah festivities!

Rotarian Siegfried, Vice President of Suriname, & Bob! (left to right)

 Pumping Oil at the Oil Well!

 Pom!

Monkeys, Dolphins, A Sloth, and More!

Our hosts and Rotary Clubs planned an amazing weekend.  We began with a trip to the interior of Suriname to the Amazon Basin.  We were incredibly lucky to be able to spend the day at Bergendal Resort, it began with a hike in the rainforest, followed by a wonderful boat ride on the Suriname River where we were thrilled to see a pack of monkeys leaping from tree to tree. Sara, Suriya, and Kendra were the thrill seekers and participated in a zip line excursion (Bob was too scared!).  Kendra got a glimpse of a sloth right before the guide sent her down a zip line and Suriya did great conquering her fear of heights! On the way back to Paramaribo we were able to stop at Afobaka dam and appreciate another amazing view.

On Sunday we rose early for a dolphin boat cruise.  It was lead by Monique Pool with the Green Heritage Foundation, Sara being very interested the research Monique does with the dolphins basically got an extra vocational training day!  We were able to see many, many dolphins as well as beautiful Scarlet Ibis, which have a stunning red color.  During the boat cruise, we stopped at the local beach where fisherman work and spent an hour taking photos & speaking with locals.  Sunday afternoon we were able to sample delicious Indonesian cuisine (they are feeding us well) and had a tour of a walking museum in New Amsterdam, where we were educated on the history of Suriname and saw the first Suriname jail.

Stay tuned, later today we are touring the state oil fields and this week the Holi Phagwa festivities begin!

 

Travel to Suriname!

We made it safely to Suriname! Our Insel Air flights were uneventful, on time, and arrived just before midnight.  We were graciously welcomed into our host families and promptly prepared for our first full day in Paramaribo!

Today we dove right into the GSE program with vocational visits. Suriya had an amazing experience visiting with the only youth prosecutor in all of Suriname and getting a tour of a courtroom.  Kendra was able to job shadow a Remax Realtor and showed a few properties that were available for rent.  Sara was able to experience learning about environmental regulation in Suriname.  Our fearless Team Leader, Bob, was able to delve into the world of construction and visit some job sites.  

This evening we did a walking tour of the historical downtown Paramaribo. We heard plenty of stories on the history of Suriname, saw the oldest wooden structure in the Western Hemisphere, (a catholic church) & witnessed a peaceful demonstration by the youth of Paramaribo regarding eliminating racism. 

So far we are having a wonderful time and have already learned a lot.  Tomorrow we venture into the interior of Suriname for an adventure filled day! 

Our Layover in Curacao!