SOME THINGS FROM GUYANA


I loved moon there, I'm sure it was because there was not a lot of city lights to distract for it's beauty:) I really did love to just sit and look up at the sky.


I love sunsets!


Here is a really pretty catapillar


I Loved to see the monkeys, this one is a spider monkey I think...they are really funny. A lot of people have them as pets, I saw some people get "attacked" by one of these guys in an outdoor restaurant ,he just wanted their fried rice..


DONT love these guys...ok so the tarantulas are just really slow so you have the advantage. They usually don't bother you too much, just crawl on the ceiling.


There are these little guys everywhere, you have to watch out cause they will spring up out of no where. I didn't mind them too much though. When you can't sleep at night you just watch them crawl on your ceiling..then you start naming them so they are your friends.....


I loved the flowers they have...


My friend Chris with a pet parrot..tons of parrots everyone had them as pets and would feed them oreos:) yummmm


This is a coconut after you get done drinking the water from it. I didn't like it very much, kind of a bitter taste, then you eat the jelly after...


I think this picture is funny cause I wasn't supposed to be the focus...Just shows you that you need to pay attention when people are snappin some pic pics.

Here is a link to see pictures I put up on facebook....
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2135218&id=193302556&l=293b456dc0

A fly on a wall?....Not my wall

This is the best picture I could take but there have been so many flies in my house lately.. SO, somedays when I come home from work, take off a few layers:) and grab my coconut tree fly swatter and go at it. Either I am getting good or guyana flies are slow. I think this day I killed about 10 and a mother fly that was HUGE.. Flies are so gross..

HEy everyone~
Sorry it's been awhile for my MASS emails. I just moved into my house on Monday. It has a bed that I sleep on and that's about it right now. I am going to try and do some art work for my wall. Hopefully use some of the trash that is floating in the trenches here. ITs a nice place, it has two tiny bedrooms, like my double bed could barely fit in small, and a shower and toilet inside. That was what I was excited about. My job is going well, I go to the Vreed-En-Hoop Health Center around 8, because if I am there on time I am the only one there, so I leave around 8 and walk to the center. It takes me about 5 minutes to walk there. I do a lot of weighing babies and pregnant mothers. It sounds easy but when there is a screaming baby that you are making sure will not pee on you while reading the scale, it can be difficult. The best is the fact that I STILL try and use my sarcasm humor with the mothers. Guyanese people don't really get sarcasm, so they will step on the scale and I will just be like " I bet this is your favorite part of the day getting weighed by me." I get NO response. It's really weird how things go at the health centers cause they are given a number when they come so they are only known by their number. I also do admissions, so when they women come in for the first time I will ask them sometimes inappropriate questions on the form like, what is your religion?, was this a planned pregnancy and if no then why not? It's not too bad, I had two women yesterday that didn't know how to read or write. I have to ask them if they are literate. IT was so sad that they had two kids and couldn't read to them. I only work from 8-12 then have been working on my house, bit by bit. I have discovered a gang of cat size rats living by my house. It's like in Princess Bride...I believe its R.O.U.S.

I was trying to think of some good stories to tell. They have only chinese resteraunts here so Ihave been to a couple. I have a problem being too nice to people so they are always asking me for money. I was being so good at this chinese place with 3 other volunteers and an old homeless man came up with a cup and kept puting it in our faces. i was like NO, and kept talking.. I guess he though that I shouldn't have said no so he grabbed all the chicken from my chicken fried rice and ran. It was a run by chicken snatch. I was so stunned but yet thought it was really funny. I swear the chinese places are so crazy. I saw the menu and was so excited to see other things than egg rolls but when asking the owner about them he said they didn't have any...I asked "EVER?" and he shook his head. So they were only on the menu to make it look good.....it's awesome. I do enjoy some ice cream here and put recreos in it. It's amazing (Recreos are the fake Oreo).

I haven't gotten used to the heat yet, I sweat so much. The sweat here is vicious too, it goes through everything. Back sweat will go through your shirt, through your backpack, and making your notebooks with minimal water damage. ha ha that is so gross but that's just how it is. I have gotten used to the transportations here, to get to Georgetown from my house I ride a speedboat. It's a huge speedboat that has a cover on it and made completely out of wood. ITs' cheap though, only 100 dollars so U.S. 0.50. Riding around town on the bus is 0.30. So things aren't too expensive but when I don't make much it can kick you in the pants.
Things are going well, just going one day at a time. I hope everyone is well. Please keep me updated. . Love you all

K

Hey just so you all know I got to Guyana today. I am so tired, we haven't slept for about 36 hours..Not a big deal. We got here from a red eye flight from NYC this morning around 7. Getting off the plane was interesting, there is this tiny airport with this HUGE plane parked in front. It was like stepping into a greenhouse. No mountains but so so green, I love the palm trees and we were received with a huge Peace Corps sign. I am re-thinking my packing situation, so heavy. The staff from Guyana gave us all coconuts (they didn't look like coconuts, they were green) but they had a straw in them. It was coconut water, not very sweet at all, but I was sweating so bad that it was refreshing. They took us to our hotel here in Georgetown and we were on little mini buses that only had windows that were down. It was interesting driving through these little villages and seeing the houses that some people actually live in. But then there will be a pepto pink house and minty green one..Awesome colors...One thing that was surprising is that they drive on the wrong, or different, side of the road here. So I sure did get a weird look when I was trying to get in the "drivers" side of the car.. Everyone drives crazy, super fast and so close to random people walking on the side of the road. When people see us they just wave, i'm not sure if it's cause we are white or just nice looking people:) I have my guesses. Everyone is super friendly and have that jamaican accent. We haven't done anything besides get shots and listen to what we are going to do. I don't have any too crazy of stories yet, it rains so hard here though. We were in a room doing our pre-training orientation and I thought the AC was just getting louder but soon realized that it was the rain outside. But super pretty flowers and palm trees everywhere. We have a guyanese dessert tonight...JELLO and ice cream.. It was so good. There was watermelon pieces in the JELLO and the ice cream was super creamy but didn't taste like regular..But lots of rice, chicken, fish:), and the same vegetable salad every night. I have to go make sure the bed bugs are swiped off my sheets in this hotel that we are staying at. It's a new experience and the adventure hasn't even started yet. My group that I am doing training with has about 33 people. Everyone gets along because we are all in the same situation so that is nice. The closest one to Idaho is colorado though, so I have to represent alone. Whatever, I can do it! I have been the most homesick today but being so tired does not help at all. I miss all of you and want to thank you for your support. It is going to be a crazy week but good temperatures, you all have fun in the snow:) ha ha jk. I will try and post some pics ASAP. Wrte me back and let me know what is happening in your neck of the woods. 

This article was in the Blackfoot Morning News on the front page...Yep I am a rock star..JK It is a bit cheesy but it's ok. Some of you wanted to see it so here it is.  Blackfoot woman headed for jungle of Guyana BLACKFOOT — Krystal Keller has never been out of the country, but on Sunday she leaves for the jungles of Guyana. The Blackfoot High School grad was accepted to serve in the Peace Corps for two years, an adventure she said she  looks forward to — even if she doesn't know exactly what kind of work she will be doing. “I will probably be working in a clinic or a school,” Keller said. “My job will be as a community health promoter.” That suits her just fine, she said, since she graduated last year from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a health sciences degree. Keller’s mother, Cheryl, said her daughter was at a point in life where she wanted some help making some decisions. She had graduated  from school, worked for a year and wanted to do something to help other people, she said. “My mother suggested I look at the Peace Corps,” she said. “And I've always wanted to do something to change the world, even if it was  just a small part of the world.” Keller said her family has been very supportive of her decision to serve in the Peace Corps. "I think my dad has been the most worried." she said. "But I tell people I'm not in the Army. I'm not in any kind of danger." While Guyana is part of South America, it is considered by most of the world as part of the Caribbean. The nation located just north of  the equator is bordered by Venezuela on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. "It is more associated with the Caribbean or Trinidad and Tobago,"  Keller said. "It's hot all the time, so I won't need to take warm clothing." "There are two seasons there," her mother said. "The dry season and the wet season." While she has yet to learn exactly what she will be doing, she said said she will likely be working with health care in the area. "She is a little anxious," her mother said. "Just because it is so different." "I look at this like a job," Krystal said. "After I graduated, I really wanted to do something to help people. I thought it was really cool that we  send people from our county to help other people in other countries." The Peace Corps sends volunteers to travel all over the world at the request of countries to make a difference in the lives of real people. President John F Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship. In return for her service, Keller will have her living expenses paid and will receive about $2.50 per day for discretionary spending. Keller will spend about eight weeks in training before she is assigned to a job. She said she will live with a family for at least the first few weeks to better learn the culture of the nation. "The speak English and Creol," she said. "Although the English they speak is probably a lot different than I'm used to." Krystal is the youngest of Michael and Cheryl Keller. She has three older brothers all of whom have served LDS missions. Krystal Keller will leave on Sunday. Her family extends an invitation for her friends to wish her well by attending an open house 7-9 p.m. on  Wednesday at the Keller home, 1046 E Walker Street, Blackfoot. Last Updated ( Sunday, 15 February 2009 )

Going to Guyana

Well after a long 15 months the time has actually come. I am flying to Philly (the city of brotherly love) for orientation on Sunday Feb. 22 and then on Tuesday Feb. 24 early morning I head out of JFK airport to Georgetown Guyana to start my world changing. I am going to try and keep this blog updated with all my pictures and hopefully funny stories. AND amazing stories. I am feeling excited, obviously nervous too, but mostly excited. I am packing things and getting my chacos worn in this week. Everyone has been so supportive and it's helped so much. Oh and if you don't know why I'm going to Guyana, I was accepted into the Peace Corps. and no I will not be on the front line with my 22 ( so they use way more powerful guns but I don't know the names and I don't want to look like a Moron) pumped and ready to fire. I will be teaching young mothers the importance of breastfeeding and why people should NOT have "sexual relations" with others that have AIDS. Maybe even why Q-tips are such a wonderful invention. Who knows but I will keep everyone updated. Love ya

Popcorn straight from the source.....Grown in Nebraska