Happy Thanksgiving!

While you all are at home cooking, watching football, planning your black Friday shopping and sleeping off a turkey induced coma, I’ll be trying to finish up the last of my class material for the term, preparing for end of term exams, and grading a mountain of papers. However, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the holiday in spirit and think about the things I’m grateful for.

1.       Running water

As you all probably remember, the first couple of weeks I was here the water pipe that runs to our house was broken. As a result, we had to connect the pipe manually every time we wanted to fill up our reservoir tank…and on a few occasions we had to go find a spigot at the school so that we had water to bathe and wash dishes/ clothes. Needless to say, it wasn’t too great to arrive to New Amsterdam for the first time after a long afternoon in a hot minibus to find that there was no water at the house. However, our water was fixed a couple of weeks after we got here, so I’m thankful for no bucket showers or toting water to the house to wash my clothing.

2.       A working fridge

The lack of a fridge was almost as frustrating as the lack of water, because it meant that a lot of food was wasted. We had to make trips to the market every couple of days because our vegetables went bad, and we had to eat everything we cooked immediately. The problem, as it turns out, was not the fridge itself but the electrical wiring in our kitchen. The electrician finally solved the problem a couple of weeks ago, so now we can enjoy ice, dairy products, and leftovers for our lunches.

3.       A french press

Coffee is one of those little things that I didn’t realize I would miss until I got here. A Peace Corps volunteer shared some of her coffee with us shortly after we arrived. However, we’re too poor/ cheap to buy a real coffeemaker, which would probably be imported from the U.S. and cost double the regular price. We ended up making coffee with a funnel, some coffee filters (an upgrade over the paper towels we started out with), and gravity. Mom mailed me the french press that my friend Amy gave me, and ever since then my housemates and I have been extremely grateful that it doesn’t take 20 minutes to make one cup of coffee.

4.       Miss Ingrid and the kids that live with her

Miss Ingrid is one of the security guards for Multi, and by extension, us, and she’s been really helpful ever since we got here. The children who live with her, Stephan, Julius, Tenesha, and a couple of her grandchildren, have also been great. From helping us to identify and cut up strange vegetables to showing us where to get our bike tires filled, they’ve frequently rescued us. In exchange, we help them with their homework from time to time, share our American treats, and lend movies to them. I’m grateful that we have friendly neighbors to help us and watch out for us.

5.       My housemates, Corin and Colleen

I’m grateful that I have other people here to talk to who are dealing with the same issues we face day to day, and who can relate to the unusual or ridiculous things we’ve experienced so far. While I could try to describe them here, there are some things you just have to see or experience in order to believe. The Peace Corps and VSO volunteers all have their own places, which has its own perks, but I’m glad that I’m not alone at school or when I get home at the end of the day.

6.       Rainy season

Rainy season seems to have officially arrived here in Berbice. While this means that my clothes get rained on when I hang them up to dry, and I occasionally end up biking home in the rain (which is probably my least favorite thing besides walking to my dorm at midnight in sub zero temperatures), it’s wonderful to not arrive to school drenched in sweat or continue to sweat all day in the classrooms. Plus, sometimes I’m actually too cold at night to turn on my fan while I sleep!

7.       Christmas in Tobago

My white Christmas this year will be in the form of white sand beaches! I’m grateful that I’ll be able to see my mom next month and have a vacation on a real beach (I realize that this comment is coming from a Floridian, but the local beach is very muddy and inadequate). In addition, I’m thankful that this year I won’t have to bundle up in order to go outside; I can honestly say that I don’t miss the snow or the cold.