Guyanese Zoo Outing

This week, a good number of us got to step off the conference compound and take an impromptu trip to the Guyana Zoo! Pretty much any outing is exciting after staring at a computer screen all day, but the zoo was an especially wonderful diversion. The Zoo is actually really close to the conference office, so we were able to walk over and get back in about an hour and a half. 

My super awesome roomie has connections! 

It was actually my amazing roommate who organized the trip and got a Guyanese guide to take us out. What started out as just a few of us turned into a major outing with almost everyone walking with us!

We were SUPER excited to be going off campus!

The zoo has lots of paintings outside on the wall

Didn't see all of the animals on the wall inside

Our amazing Guyanese guide!

We found a super cool fountain

The birds at the zoo were especially fabulous! 

Largest snakes EVER! They even had a live chicken running around in there for dinner

They were HUGE

Harpy Eagle - Favorite bird I saw in the zoo!

The Harpy Eagle is the national bird of Guyana. Our guide told us that these guys can actually pick up people! I don't know, I was skeptical, but I still wouldn't want to meet one in the wild, just to be safe!

I felt really bad for this big guy. Such a tiny cage.

She had fun making new monkey friends :)

Guyana - living the life

I wish I could capture in a single photo how much it's actually raining! This one doesn't do it justice!

There is no doubt in anyone's mind at this point, it is definitely rainy season! We were leaving our windows open 24/7 to catch the lovely breezes, but that stopped when we came back from our morning meeting yesterday to find everything near a window (which in our room is quite a lot) was damper than usual... The plus side is that the rain is heavy and short, providing a great backdrop to study sermons by!

Speaking of rain and damp things, our shower curtain has the unruly habit of falling at least once a day, if not every single time it's touched. Its antics wouldn't be complete of course without a deafening clatter and every single ring needing to be restrung on the curtain rod. Oh well. We're learning to live around these little quirks!

Some of my new Guyanese money

Converting from US Dollars to Guyanese Dollars is just about the easiest conversion I've ever encountered! The exchange rate is exactly US$1 to G$200. So my 1000 dollar bill is the same as a US 5 dollar bill. (Carrying around thousand dollar bills does make me feel rich!) So all you have to do while shopping is move the decimal over two places and divide by two. Piece of cake! (which is incidentally the first thing I bought with my new monopoly looking money! YUM!)

My supper yummy coconut finds from the "survivor" store

Yummy things are never in short supply here! We have fresh fruit juices every day that are full of wonderful fruits like pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, and guava. I'm convinced I'm drinking way to much of the stuff, but it's so good! For breakfast, we've had a thin cream of wheat like porridge that doesn't look too appetizing, but it's the perfect example that looks can be deceiving; it's really good! I love the chick peas, fresh fruit, and unpronounceable dishes!
There are definitely some food oddities too! It seems like the Guyanese really like to put mustard with their cheese. They've given us a lot of cheese spread, and I even had baked mustard mac and cheese on Sabbath!

Typical breakfast food minus the porridge

Sabbath lunch

Home sweet home!

Last minute travel plans - Guyana!

Who knew exercise had so many benefits? I went to meet my friend at the gym last Sunday (three days ago) and today I'm currently sitting in a very nice breeze conditioned room on the third floor of the conference office in Guyana! Last minute doesn't even begin to describe it! My choice of treadmills that fateful day was providential because Dr Martin, Shameless promoter of summer evangelism trips, was coming back to claim his spot to my left. I was wearing my blue Choose to Serve t-shirt very much by choice (I had chosen it over another t-shirt in my gym bag). Dr Martin stopped me and began to explain that a girl had gotten mono at the last minute and would not be able to go to Guyana leaving an opening available. He offered me the spot of the trip leaving on Tuesday (remembering of course that this is Sunday). All of the sudden my plans (or lack thereof) were up in the air. My one obstacle was a wedding gig, but before the end of the afternoon, God supplied not one, but TWO potential violists to take my place.

After securing my last minute spot on the trip, procuring malaria pills (which I think are currently messing with my stomach a little), and packing my bags (apparently I'm getting good at this international travel thing - my bag only weighed 41 pounds even after stuffing if full of giveaways! Time will tell if I'm just that good, or just that unprepared!), I'm finally in a third world country about to preach 19 sermons and write a 10 page research paper! Whew!

Call me crazy, but I'm loving this no AC thing! Nothing beats a cool breeze and wearing season appropriate clothes indoors! (no sweatshirt for those freezing buildings needed!)

Roommates! 

They drive on the left side of the road. Definitely different!

My laptop and projector: AKA "Anna" in all her glory.

Anna and I got to be real close airport buddies! 

My room. Isn't it lovely?!

LOVE these windows!

We have a private bath in our room. Not too shabby!

A taste of my view

Out my bedroom window

I'll try to keep updating photos throughout my trip. It will be a little more challenging later on with more time commitments and technological hoops to jump through, but I'll try to keep you guys updated!

Asheville Visit

Well my summer has started out fairly slow. After everyone a lot of Southern students left, things definitely quieted down around town. Due to increasing boredom and a decreasing desire to start on my research paper, I decided to join my mom on a short trip to Asheville, NC.

The trip definitely started out on an interesting foot! I got an allergy shot on the way out of town, and about an hour later we stopped to get some Benadryl because I was having a reaction. Researching Kenya and Benadryl don't mix...

The view from The Sunset Terrace

We arrived safely in Asheville mostly because I wasn't driving! We spent that night with close friends at the Sunset Terrace at the Grove Park Inn. The majority of the conversation was about Kenya, as our friends had recently returned from two mission trips to the Maasai Mara. 

Menu options

The baked brie was amazing!

me and my mom

After enjoying our old hometown, we went to grandmas to plant some flowers and fix up her place for mothers day. We spent our time picking out flowers, planting them, picking up more flowers, and messing up the beets grammy just planted! Oh well. Sorry, but I forgot to get pictures of our finished project... (this is a turning into a pretty serious habit!) 

So now I'm back in Tennessee, getting ready to tackle that research paper this coming week (sans Benadryl!). Here's to quick trips, mothers day, and soaking up family and friends while they're still near by!