Brokopondo

Tonight was terrible! This new room with the new bed is horrible! It’s too hot, too small, it doesn’t smell all too good and lying bed feels like sleeping on a wooden plank! Needless to say I was a zombie when I woke up this morning…
Because it’s almost vacation and it’s the end of this period, we start Monday with going to church. Nothing like going to church in Belgium. The second and fourth grade teachers lead the ceremony and we talked about Christ, his death, Easter and sang songs. An hour after we started the ceremony was over and the kids could go back to school. Mr Paulus (our principal) wanted us to meet the people of the A.M.E.C. first (A.M.E.C. is African Methodist Episcopal Church, or something like that).
Because the fifth grade teacher had left before I had even finished the day last week, I didn’t get the chance to ask her if there was something she wanted me to do this week. I had prepared myself for this and made myself useful making stuff for and organising the library again. Not a very productive day, but at least I did something.
Glenn, Marij and Ellen are on shopping duty this week and Glenn had promised us he was going to cook for us today (yay, less cooking for me to do!). it wasn’t haute cuisine (just cooked potatoes with sausages and apple sauce), but it was good!
After dinner I took some time to relax before I went to bed.

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And again a very sleepless night… Dunno if I can keep this up for much longer.
At school Marij and I had the worst day ever so far! It was the day the kids had to come to school with their parents to pick up their report cards. The two of us just sat there, doing nothing, listening, walking around, playing with the kids, being bored, …By 12 o’ clock Mr Paulus finally gave us permission to leave and it didn’t take us long to get ready and go. We stopped at the bike rental to pay for the last month and head back home.
Today Marij, Ellen and I took Glenn out on a trip to the Paramaribo Zoo. Animals to be seen: Kwata monkeys, ostriches, snakes, parrots, tigers, more monkeys, pigeons (yes, ordinary pigeons are kept in cages at the zoo…), a wild snake that scared the sh*t out of us and an invisible American alligator (the animal had too much waterplants to hide under :()
It’s not a very large zoo, but it’s nice to do something else than sit around at home all day.
Just like at the Palmentuin there was a nice “recreation area” for the kids and again, we had a lot of fun there.
At 6pm the zoo closed and we called a taxi to take us into town to grab something to eat. From there out, we left to the Orange bar, together with the students from the other house, because there’s an information meeting about Blanche Marie. I was exhausted and was glad it was over around 10pm. Back home I didn’t even take the time to smoke a last cigarette and just went straight to bed (very unlike me!)

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Today’s Wednesday and Marij and I have to get up early because we’re leaving on a trip to Brokopondo with the teachers. Most of our fellow house mates could enjoy their first (unofficial) day of relaxing and doing nothing because of the Easter holiday.
By the time all teachers had arrived and were ready to go, it was 8am (I can still hear the principal saying: Whoever isn’t here by 7.30, can walk to Brokopondo)…
The road was still exactly the same as when we went to Brownsberg: hobbly bobbly jump-on-your-seat…
Even the van thought this way and we had to stop to tie the exhaust back in it’s place…
By the time we finally arrived, it was 11am already and time for a swim! The water was refreshing and more than welcome. After that, time for lunch! The teachers had all brought something and we had delicious bami and nasi. In fact it was so good, we all had to lie down and relax a bit before doing anything else. Too bad the weather didn’t like our “anything else” plans and dark clouds forced us under a small hut. Just in time, because the typical Surinam Rain showers had arrived. There go our team building games… But no worries, we had hammocks, food, drinks and each other, so it did turn out to be a wonderful day. The sound of the rain was so relaxing, that I even fell asleep… By the time I woke up again, it had almost stopped raining and it was time to get dressed and go back home.
Yet again the hobbly bobbly hit-your-head-against-the-roof road which had now turned into a mud pool because of the rain.
We weren’t very lucky… half an hour after we had left, we got stuck in the mud. Luckily there was a pick-up who was willing to help us out (well, not the pick-up, but the driver). An hour later, we got forced out of the bus again, because of a flat tire… It was already starting to get dark, and with the help of some flashlights, they finally got the job done. No more incidents after that, but I don’t think anyone will complain about that!
Our principal, who was our driver, was so kind to drop us off at home and I was so tired (damn bed!) I could hardly keep my eyes open. still took a shower though, to wash all the sand from uncomfy places.
Glenn is sleeping in my room tonight, so Marij can have her bed to herself as well for a night. Two people in a crappy bed, let’s hope it’ll last the night…

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Didn’t take me long to fall asleep last night. And the bed has survived the weight of both of us (yay!) And today is the first official day of our 2.5 week lasting vacation, which is supposed to mean: sleeping in! Wishful thinking, cause at 7.15 my phone woke me up… (who the hell even thinks about calling at this hour???) I did eventually fall asleep again, but it was more a nap than getting sleep… At 10.30 I gave up trying and climbed over Glenn and out of bed.
Took a long, refreshing, relaxing shower and when I got out, Marij came to tell me they had decided to go swimming today. Even the kids from our street were invited and we were off to Parima. Because I had worn my bikini all day yesterday, I didn’t really feel like putting it on again today, so no swimming for me, but I did get to enjoy the wonderful South American sun! And the kiddy pool was shallow enough for me to walk around in :p
At 3pm the pool closed for maintenance and we went back home.
Today we have steak with veggies and French fries on the menu. Not exactly very Surinam cooking, but that doesn’t mean it’s less tasty! (well, I actually only had the veggies and a sandwich, cause I don’t eat steak and I didn’t feel like fries either…)
After dinner we all got ready to go out to Havana Lounge. Glenn stayed home because he had a head ache. An entire night of dancing, drinking, enjoying and having fun and by 5am we all were so tired we finally decided to go home again and go to bed.

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The next day I slept in. by the time I got up, everyone was up already. Today is Glenn’s last day (he leaves at 4) so he was busy packing and I subtly put some of my stuff next to his for him to take home already.
When he was all ready to go we played a few games of UNO and then it was time already to say goodbye. The taxi was there to pick him up and take him to the airport (we had decided that it was a bit silly for us to go with him, since that would just cost him more).
Marij, Ellen and I played a few more games and then had dinner. I made macaroni and cheese and everyone thought it was delicious! ^^
After dinner it was time to pack. Tomorrow Ellen, Marij and I leave on a four day trip to Blanche Marie. It’s a 15h ride, so we have to get up early… VERY EARLY!! Let’s hope I fall asleep fast...