This is (Almost) the End

Wow! Our sixth week has come and gone in a flash. Our final week has come all too quickly and we were not expecting just how many goodbyes we would have to say during week six.

Ben teaching the side effects of drugs and alcohol.

Our goodbyes began in the classroom throughout the week. Many students are in exams during our final week here so week six marked our final lessons with a lot of classes. While our time in many schools was short, we still grew very fond of our students and are sad to see our time with them come to an end. It has been a pleasure to teach youth who are incredibly enthusiastic learners.

Erin and Vinyas after their final lesson with their Form 1 and 2's at Berbice Islamic School.

Ben and Erin with the Form 3 class from Lower Corentyne Secondary and their Science teacher Miss Sharon.

We also made it into another school in the Blackbush region. This time Ben and Jamie went to Joanna Primary school to teach the kids over their lunch hour. It was a very successful lesson about hygiene and self-esteem. Usually students take at least one lesson to warm up to QHO Peer Educators, but these kids were firing on all cylinders right away. Their participation was excellent and all the students were excited at the prospect of learning new information. We are excited for the 2016 Berbice PE's to continue working in this region with all the wonderful people in the Blackbush community.

We made the most of our final weekend in Berbice, taking advantage of some new opportunities and continuing a few more common occurrences. Saturday was an exciting day with our final trip to the market. It will be a big adjustment getting used to buying our food from big grocery stores again. We have become so used to the abundance of fresh food that is sold to you directly by the people growing it. Since it was our last time at Port Mourant market we got a little ambitious and decided to try buying meat. We went to a stand where the lady diced up a freshly plucked chicken to our liking! It was super cool to have a look at the process between farm to table. That same chicken would later on make a delicious meal of chicken curry and roti (which the girls have gotten very good at making). We also said goodbye to the lady who's vegetable stand we visit each time we go to the market. She sent us on our way with a bunch of new vegetables to try as well as some of her own secret recipes. After learning these new things at the market, it was time to return to Letter Kenny for some of our own teaching.

The Letter Kenny kids came out in full force on Saturday afternoon for lessons on reproductive anatomy, pregnancy, and contraceptives. We were impressed by how many were excited to learn on a Saturday and with all the questions they asked. What a smart bunch. Sunday was also an exciting day. We accepted an invitation from a teacher at Lower Corentyne to accompany her and her family to #63 Beach. This beach is known all around the Berbice region and we were pumped to go check it out. We spent a few hours of our final Berbice weekend enjoying the beautiful Guyana beach and wonderful company of our hosts. We had also agreed to teach the Letter Kenny kids once again in the afternoon, so Erin and Jamie delivered an engaging lesson on HIV/AIDS to an attentive group of youth. We certainly made the most of our final weekend here!

A very small portion of the vast Port Mourant marketplace.

The beautiful view at #63 beach.

Erin and Jamie doing what they do best: learning and having fun!

Our final week in Guyana will be a busy, bittersweet mess. We have lots of reports to finish for Head Teachers and meetings to set things rolling for Berbice 2016. While we are happy to soon return home to our friends and families, it will be tough to say goodbye to new friends. We don't want our time here to end, but ast the same time we are looking forward to the challenges and incredible opportunities our final week will present!

Ben, Erin, Jamie and Vinyas