I'm here in Guyana!!  I'm sorry that I have taken so long to post.  It's pretty hard to get internet access where I am located.  I am living in a remote training site called St. Cuthbert's Mission.  It is an Amerindian community of about 2,000 people.  I am living with a host family. My host family is my host mom, Denise, host dad, Bryan, host brother, Brandon (12), host sister Saballina (7), and host sister Gabby (3).  They have been teaching me to wash my laundry by hand, take bucket baths, cook local food, and understand the rules of cricket.  I'm using the internet connection at the local internet cafe.  Which is a small room with 6 computers used by the entire community.  It's only open Monday - Friday from 6 - 9 pm.  So it's usually pretty crowded.  I'm hoping to write more soon and to add some of the pictures that I have taken!  My mailing address for the next 7 weeks is

U.S. Peace Corps c/o Genevieve Stiles
c/o United States Embassy
100 Young & Duke Streets, Kingston
Georgetown, Guyana
South America

Happy Almost Valentine's Day!

The Last Leg

I made it through Philadelphia and I have graduated from being a Peace Corps invitee to a Peace Corps trainee.  Wooooo! While in DC I was able to meet up with another volunteer who was from Oregon.  We made it to Philly together and found a shuttle to take us to our hotel.  When she and I climbed into the shuttle we were greeted by 4 other volunteers!  Pre-service Training was filled with meeting everyone and struggling through matching new names and faces.  I'm feeling a little tired and a little anxious about arrival, but most of all excited!!  I fly out of New York at 12:35 am and will arrive in Guyana around 7.  It's finally sinking in that I am actually doing this!  Keep your fingers crossed that all of the volunteers and the luggage arrives safely.

En route

As I sit in the Washington D.C. airport awaiting my flight to Philadelphia, I thought I would take a few moments to reflect on the day thus far.  My morning was filled with running around to take care of last minute errands.  I was constantly checking my bags to make sure that I hadn't forgotten this or that.  I was allowed to take two pieces of checked luggage that weighed a total of 80 pounds with neither piece of luggage weighing more than 50 pounds.  It sounds a little bit like a word problem.  As I placed each bag on the scale while I was checking in, I was holding my breath!  My rolling suitcase came to a total of 47 pounds and my backpack came to a total of 33 pounds.  Which comes to a grand total of 80 pounds!  This makes me feel as if my packing, unpacking, and weighing the bags at least 10 times was worth it.  

Saying goodbye to my family was hard to say the least.  We walked around together for as long as possible before I had to go through security.  My little brother hugged my waist tightly and cried and told me he didn't want me to go which was almost to much for me to handle.  But he gave me a little frog stuffed animal that we named Joe Gilbert Stiles to travel Guyana with me and keep me company.  My mom cried a little bit and my dad and I didn't cry.  They have been so supportive of my doing this and I don't think I could have done it otherwise.  Thanks family :-)   Thank you also to all of my amazing friends who sent me on my journey with kind words and well wishes.  

My next challenge will be getting that 80 pounds of luggage from the airport in Philly to the hotel.  Here's to hoping it goes smoothly!

Pre-departure Update

I have packed, unpacked, and repacked my luggage to help prepare.  I am taking a large rolling suitcase and a backpacking backpack. They are both large and I am putting as much into them as the weight limit allows.  This is two pieces of checked luggage weighing a total of no more than 80 pounds, with neither piece being more than 50 pounds.  Keep in mind I will have no help carrying around these monstrous pieces of luggage.  To make sure that I will be able to get them through the airport and to the hotel and to where ever I am going to be living I have been walking around my house with my large backpack on and rolling my suitcase behind me.  So far, so good.  I have gone through everything I am packing and slowly but surely have gotten the clothes down to a manageable amount.  I have printed out a ton of pictures and spent a lot of time laminating them to hopefully protect them from the hot humidity of Guyana. I have made about a million and two checklists making sure that I am not forgetting anything too important.  From everything I have read and the people I have chatted with who are already in Guyana, I will be able to buy almost anything I need there, but I feel more at ease knowing that I already have most of my necessities.

My Backpacking Pack before I put anything in it.

Reading the directions and trying to figure out how all of the straps on this contraption work.

Today I was able to practice Skype-ing with my students from Petsworth Elementary School.  I'm giving the address of my blog to all of the students so that they can keep up with what I am doing.  So, here's a hello for all of the wonderful third graders at Petsworth!! I will miss you all very much and I hope to be able to continue to Skype with you!  Keep working hard and keep passing those Mad Minutes.

Tonight I had a very American meal with my best friends from high school.  I dined on a cheeseburger, french fries, and beer.  Not my healthiest of choices, but man was it good.  I am going to miss the familiarity of being around people who have known me for so long.  On the other hand, I cannot wait to make new friends.

AHHHH!!!

My leave date is rapidly approaching and I am so excited!  I am ready to be on a plane to Guyana! 19 days and the countdown has begun!

I'm going through changes...

To quote Black Sabbath, "I'm going through changes."  I knew when I accepted my invitation to volunteer with the Peace Corps that I would be making some major life changes.  When I first began thinking of these changes they were mere ideas that were seemingly far off in the distance.  Well, let me tell you, those changes have begun happening at an alarming rate.  Here are some of those changes that I have been going through.

1.) Petsworth Elementary School:  I broke the news to my third grade students that I would not be returning after our holiday break. Some students were confused, others saddened, and others showed little to no reaction.  They asked some interesting questions as I did my best to explain to them where I was going and what I would be doing (not that I know very much about either).  We celebrated the holiday season and said our goodbyes as they moved their desks into their new classrooms.  As I packed up my room and bid adieu to the amazing people I worked with it still didn't hit me that I was not going to be coming back.  I saw my classroom empty and I turned in my key.  I did not know how much I was going to miss my students and friends until I was driving home after our last workday before the break.  It happened so fast.  The transition between having a place and a purpose to being thrown into a brand new adventure.  I miss everyone there already.

2.)  My room:  I moved back home (thanks Mom and Dad) in order to get my ducks in a row before leaving.  I have been packing up my childhood room.  I guess I might be a little late in the game as far as this goes (I am 24... I guess it's time).  I never realized how strange it would feel to pack up ALL of the stuff I have accumulated over those 24 years.  I have a ridiculous amount of Rubbermaid bins filled with all kinds of odds and ends in an effort to make sure everything is stored and out of my room before I leave.  So, there's another empty room I'll be leaving behind.

3.)  Christmas:  I had an amazing Christmas this year.  My grandparents from California were able to come for the holiday as were my grandparents who live nearby.  There were a lot of laughs shared and games played.  I was able to see my seven-year-old little brother open all of his gifts from Santa.  He was more amazed as each gift was opened.  How did Santa know him so well? There were some tears and hugs shared between my parents and myself as we realized that this would be the last Christmas we would be spending together for awhile.  I never thought I would find myself saying this because I tend to avoid confrontation at all costs, but I will miss my family bickering.  I will miss people arguing over who is going to sit where and why, what game we're going to play, who's opening the next present, and so on and so forth.  I think I will miss this because even though we bicker and annoy each other we secretly know that, that is what makes us a family.

Continuing with the Christmas theme, I received many essential items to pack for my trip.  These items ranged from electrical converters and adapters to a kindle and sheets.  I'm planning on getting down to brass tacks in terms of my packing list and securing the rest of the items that I will need to take.

Wait, I'm moving to Guyana?

Time seems to be flying by ever more quickly as January 30th approaches!  I have not done much in terms of preparing other than completing my passport and visa applications.  I'm wondering if this is sufficient or if I am being lackadaisical?

My colleagues have been filled with questions about my motivations and goals.  I have not been able to answer all of their questions.  I have found that I am able to graciously accept the unknown.  I am much more comfortable with the vague and undefined.   It turns out the application process is the first step in Peace Corps training.   All of my administration and colleagues have been extremely supportive regarding my decision to leave in the middle of the school year. I spent some time today counting down the short time that I have left with my amazing students and friends.  Only 23 days! Ah, I can't believe that the beginning of this year has flown by so quickly.  I hope that in the half of a year I've been able to get to know them, I have left some lasting impression.  I hope my grade level chair will keep in contact with Skype, e-mails, or letters (depending on my technological capabilities)! Let's make it happen Jes. I will miss them dearly.

I started to panic in realizing how few days I have left here.  I need to start making a list of packing needs and a list of people I have to visit before I leave.  So much to do in what feels like such a short amount of time!  My new adventure lives constantly in the forefront of my mind.  I have found myself waking up the past few days and taking a few moments to soak in my surroundings, I am a very fortunate person.