I talked to my mom for a while a couple of nights ago. She and my dad are back in America and back to the lives they left ten days before. I really think they had a great time. I could not be more grateful for the time, money, and toughness they invested in the trip. It is comforting to know that I now have folks back home that are able to relate, on some level, to what I am experiencing here.
I was in the city for a few days before my parents arrived. All of the Volunteers were in for a conference and trainings. I love when everyone is in the city and I am able to see friends that I don't live close to and don't see as often as I would like. This training was especially great because my friend and fellow Volunteer, Elliott, had two friends from home show up and surprise him at the end of one of our sessions. A few of us kept the secret for the week. Elliott had no idea! We all knew when they were going to come in and surprise him, so obviously we were so excited all day to see the look on his face. A few minutes before they made their debut, I looked at Elliott and started crying. I hid my face behind my pen and paper so he wouldn't see me. His friends walked in, I gasped, and cried even harder. The look on his face was priceless. He could not believe it. I walked over to introduce myself through my tears. Elliott looked at me and laughed. He hugged me and asked why I was crying. I told him that I knew his friends were coming, and that seeing them here and with him was real and so exciting. The next day I was going to see my parents and they would really be in Suriname too. I cried for a while.
The week ended with Peace Corps Suriname hosting a swanky gala for friends of PC in Suriname, as well as members of different development organizations. Peace Corps Suriname is closing after my group completes our service. The gala was a really neat way to showcase all of the projects Volunteers in Suriname are doing and have done. It was also a time for the Volunteers to network with other organizations in hopes that some of our projects will continue after our departure. Not only was the gala a great showcase and networking event, it was also a night for all of the Volunteers to get dressed up and look really nice. Those nights are few and far between, and I could not wait to put on a dress and heels. Seriously.
I left the gala a few minutes early to catch the airport shuttle to pick up my parents. After the hour long ride to the airport (and freezing in the shuttle because the air conditioning was so cold) I arrived to sit and wait for them to walk outside. I waited for close to two hours. They finally walked outside and I hugged my parents for the first time in almost eleven months. Whoa. I cannot recall ever being hugged that tightly. I thought I was going to cry and not be able to stop. I didn't. I must have gotten all of that out of my system the day before with Elliott and his friends. We hopped on the shuttle and we were off.
Our shuttle made a couple of stops at local residences, so Keith and Beth got a late night tour of the city. No doubt the tour would have been a lot more enjoyable had it not been one o'clock in the morning. We finally made our way back to the hotel, where I took my second hot shower of the day, and went to bed.
My last post ended with the three of us preparing to go to my site, so I'll pick up there. Our wagi (van/bus) picked us up at the Peace Corps office about an hour later than the driver said he would. When he finally arrived and my mom looked at the number of people already inside, she was perplexed as to how all of us along with all of our stuff were going to fit in the same vehicle. I smiled and told her to trust that we would. We did, and after about an hour of waiting on the other group of people in our wagi to finish their grocery shopping, we were on our way. Our wagi ride ended a few hours later. After the wagi comes the boat. After about a two and half hour boat ride, complete with rapids and baby ducks jumping out of a box, we arrived. I always have to take a deep breath before getting off the boat. Regardless of how many times I've done it, it's always overwhelming. This occasion required an extra deep breath.
We arrived as I usually do, to women and children washing and playing at the river. My friend, Maki, was at the river and could not stop smiling at my parents. A few seconds later I was wrapped in Beta's arms. She came running down to the river to help carry our things and greet my parents. This was a moment I had been dreaming of. The next thing I saw was my mom wrapped in Beta's arms. No one in my village has taken better care of me than Beta. She is my Saamaka mother, and to see my momma hugging her was awesome. After exchanging hugs and greetings (mostly hugs because of the language barrier), we were finally in my house. My parents sat, I unpacked food, and children stared in through my door.
The next morning one of my neighbors took my dad fishing while my mom and I washed clothes and dishes at the river. Later we walked around the village and talked to lots of folks. My village is larger than some on the river, so that took a while. Everyone in my village went crazy over my parents. Women asked if my dad would take them back to America and lots more people told them to stay and that they wanted me to stay. It was touching. On Wednesday we walked through the jungle to Julie's site. The walk usually takes me about forty-five minutes, but this day it took about and hour and a half. We had to stop and talk to so many people along the way. Julie cooked a delicious lunch for us and we had a good time visiting with her. On our walk back to my site the rain came. The three of us stood huddled under my umbrella and waited for it to pass. It was quite the Kodak moment.
The rain passed and we finished the walk back to my site. We spent the rest of the afternoon entertaining children on my porch. We ate tuna melts and packed our bags to leave the next morning. As we walked to the river and loaded the boat, my parents said goodbye to their new friends and I had to hold back tears. I was overwhelmed with the thought that my parents will never see my village and those people ever again. I could not help but think as we pulled away that one day I will leave my village for the last time.
We spent the next two nights at a resort on the river. It was really nice and extremely relaxing. On Friday we went zip lining through the jungle. What an experience! We returned to the city on Saturday and my parents left early Monday morning. They had to catch the airport shuttle at three a.m. I think I was too asleep to feel really sad. I am thankful for that. I am also thankful they paid for me to stay an extra night in the hotel. I never would have imagined that lying in a hotel bed and watching HGTV could make me feel so close to America.
I have to admit that I was anxious and a little nervous for my parents visit. I cannot remember a time when my parents have relied on me for almost everything. I was the travel coordinator and translator. I was responsible for making them feel as comfortable as possible in not very comfortable environment. However, I do have to say that I am glad some of their experiences were a little uncomfortable and even slightly annoying at times. I think it gives them more perspective into my daily life here.
I feel most days as though I am not living in real life. I am in a state of disbelief. It's still shocking to me that I speak a foreign language and take baths with buckets of water on a regular basis. I was in disbelief that my parents were actually coming to Suriname, even though I knew they would. Now, I am in disbelief that our time together here has come and gone. It didn't feel like it had been almost a year since I had seen them. Fortunately, for the remainder of my service here, I will not be able to say that I have not hugged them in eleven months. I am coming home in the Fall. When I return to Suriname to complete my service, I will be in a single-digit countdown.
I am going back to site tomorrow for a couple of weeks. I don't feel ready. I was so spoiled with my parents being here. It has been nearly a year since I had that many hot showers in such a short amount of time. I am not ready for the readjustment that comes with life in the jungle for this American. I shouldn't complain. I am greeted with hugs and smiling faces every single time I return. I will try and focus on that reality.
I am so thankful for my parents visit. I am comforted by the fact that there are finally people from my life before PC that now know the people and places I have been talking about for the last eleven months. I am thankful they have a better understanding of my daily routine and what it takes to be a Volunteer in Suriname. With that said, if you know that I love you or even that I like you a little bit, come visit!
Momma and Daddy,
Thank y'all for spending more money than you ever thought you would to come sleep in a tiny house in the jungle, in a not very comfortable bed, after you washed the jungle sweat away with a cold bucket of water. Thank you for being patient with cultural differences and moments of awkwardness and discomfort. Thanks for doing your best to speak the local language. I think with a few more days y'all would have mastered it. I hope y'all learned a lot from your trip. It was a joy to experience things for the first time again with y'all. I hope y'all have a better understanding and a deeper appreciation for what Peace Corps Volunteers around the world are giving their lives to support for twenty-seven months. I hope you saw how honored I am to call myself a part of that group. I cannot say how thankful I am for your investment in this trip and in this dream of mine.
More love than the miles between us,
Brooke
