May 1-3

We’re all alive! After a lengthy travel experience involving a nine hour layover at JFK, we arrived in Guyana! While we were flying over the country, it became apparent that we were no longer in the U.S.—trees covered every piece of land in sight. A rainbow was there to greet us when we landed in Georgetown, in addition to our host/protector/guide/superhero, Roop.  We made it through customs with no lost luggage and a blast of hot humid air hit our faces as soon as we stepped outside of the airport. The 17 of us piled into a small bus that took us to Roop’s house, which was about an hour drive away.  Driving on the left side of the road, passing bikes that were just a few inches away, and seeing houses of every color was a fascinating welcome to the country. After unloading our luggage and setting up our beds and mosquito nets, we had the afternoon to catch up on much-needed sleep and adjust to the climate change. Most of us slept away the afternoon, while others enjoyed getting to know our host family. Much to our dismay, we may be gaining weight while we’re here. Roop’s family cooks amazing food—Guyanese chow mein, curry chicken, roti (an Indian bread), and chocolate cake complete with 22 candles and singing for Austin’s birthday! It cooled off quite a bit in the night so sleeping was pretty comfortable, except for the mosquitoes that happened to make it through the net. As of this morning, the highest mosquito bite count on one person is 44. We started off today with a delicious breakfast of fresh fruit and are excited about our plans to visit the zoo, shop, and check out the seawall.

By Claire and Shea