So I am now in Wauna and settling into life in the rainforest.
Although the house was very dirty when we first arrived it is looking much better now as we have cleaned, debugged and put up all our photos and posters.
Shopping
We have to go to a local town near to Mabaruma each Saturday to buy our groceries. To get there we catch a bus which takes about 30 mins. The roads around Wauna are terrible, there aren't just pot holes but massive craters so all journeys are slow. We also get some food from Mick's shop in Wauna where we have our own tab, he's great.
Insects
We have found and tried to remove numerous insects and wildlife from our house including a massive spider which we found in Hayley's bed, it had a dead cockroach in it's mouth! Other wildlife so far has included.
Ants - there are loads and get everywhere and into everything.
Spiders -loads various sizes
Cockroaches -everywhere and very fast, open a cupboard and they scuttle out and away.
A frog -it appeared one day and then jumped back behind the sink so we couldn't get it!
A bat -we were sitting at the table when something started flying around the house, by the time we got the door open it had disappeared.
School
We have started to teach but still have no timetable so just teach any class that doesn't have a teacher. The classrooms are open plan divided up by blackboards but you soon get used to that. I am teaching Science and English and Hayley is teaching Maths and English.
Cooking
We eat a meal at school each day which consists of rice with fish or beans. At home we have so far made pancakes, bread, porridge, potato curry, pumpkin curry, fried egg. There is very little variety so food is getting a bit monotonous.
Hayley and I are getting on well and enjoying our time here, we are looking forward to Christmas as we are hopefully going to Trinidad and Tobago.
That's all for now Tara x
Wednesday 26 September 2012
Thursday 9 August 2012
Only 2 weeks to go now until I leave for my year in Guyana.
I now know where I am going Wauna, Region 1 on the border with Venezuela about an hours flight
from Georgetown. I have also met my partner for the year Hayley and am
looking forward to getting to know her, I think we will have a great time together.
The last few months have been busy with exams and I have now managed to raise
all the money I needed for my year abroad. Thanks to all of you that have so kindly
helped me do this by giving money, buying cakes and supporting my Ceilidh.
If any of you want to write to me while I am overseas my address is Tara McCarter, Wauna Primary School, C/o Mabaruma Post Office, Region 1, Guyana.
I won't have internet access in Wauna but will hopefully be able to get some access in Mabaruma
which is a 30 minute journey away. I will try and update my blog then but if not my mum will update
the blog when she receives my letters.
Next time I update this I will have arrived in Guyana so bye for now.
I now know where I am going Wauna, Region 1 on the border with Venezuela about an hours flight
from Georgetown. I have also met my partner for the year Hayley and am
looking forward to getting to know her, I think we will have a great time together.
The last few months have been busy with exams and I have now managed to raise
all the money I needed for my year abroad. Thanks to all of you that have so kindly
helped me do this by giving money, buying cakes and supporting my Ceilidh.
If any of you want to write to me while I am overseas my address is Tara McCarter, Wauna Primary School, C/o Mabaruma Post Office, Region 1, Guyana.
I won't have internet access in Wauna but will hopefully be able to get some access in Mabaruma
which is a 30 minute journey away. I will try and update my blog then but if not my mum will update
the blog when she receives my letters.
Next time I update this I will have arrived in Guyana so bye for now.
Wednesday 15 February 2012
An update
So it turns out that I am terrible at updating this blog (but from now on I am determined to update more often) and this is when I have complete access to the internet!
Good News I have so far raised about £2,200, nearly half way.
Ways that I have raised money so far:
I have received money from a number of very generous charitable trusts and also just the other day I got a £500 cheque from my dads work.
Every Monday since October I have been holding a cake stall at school, I now hate baking and especially the washing up afterwards but raise about £30 a week so will keep it up.
Before Christmas I also did a bag pack at a local supermarket and raised £80.
In November I organised a Ceilidh with my friend Amelia, who is going to South Africa with Project Trust, and overall we raised £700 in total so £350 each.
Thank You very much everyone that has helped me so far, hopefully it won't be another 3-4 months until I update again. :)
Good News I have so far raised about £2,200, nearly half way.
Ways that I have raised money so far:
I have received money from a number of very generous charitable trusts and also just the other day I got a £500 cheque from my dads work.
Every Monday since October I have been holding a cake stall at school, I now hate baking and especially the washing up afterwards but raise about £30 a week so will keep it up.
Before Christmas I also did a bag pack at a local supermarket and raised £80.
In November I organised a Ceilidh with my friend Amelia, who is going to South Africa with Project Trust, and overall we raised £700 in total so £350 each.
Thank You very much everyone that has helped me so far, hopefully it won't be another 3-4 months until I update again. :)
Sunday 2 October 2011
Intro about me
Hi my name is Tara McCarter I'm 17 years old and live in Cambridgeshire. I am currently studying Geography, Maths and Biology A-levels at St Ivo School. In August 2012 I will be off to Guyana (a country in South America not to be confused with Ghana in Africa) to teach Maths and Science to children between the ages of 11-16.
Guyana is north of Brazil and is very much a poor country with the average annual wage of $4,400US compared to the UK $36,600 US. It is the only English-speaking country in South America, Guyana became independent from the UK in 1966. Guyana is the size of the UK, yet it only has about 1.5% of the population of the UK.
To have this opportunity I first had to go on a selection course on the Isle of Coll. The selection course was 4 days and while on the Island I stayed with one of the local families. I really liked where I stayed and got on well with the people. While in Coll we had to do a number of tasks: The first being that we all had to do a teaching lesson to our group. I chose to do mine on maths (I know very boring!). Also through the week we were given the task of researching and creating a presentation about the Isle of Coll. Other activities included lazy bed digging for potatoes and a beach clean.
Before I go next year I first need to raise £5,100 and am currently in the middle of fundraising which includes organising a Ceildh dance for the end of November and cake stalls at school.
Guyana is north of Brazil and is very much a poor country with the average annual wage of $4,400US compared to the UK $36,600 US. It is the only English-speaking country in South America, Guyana became independent from the UK in 1966. Guyana is the size of the UK, yet it only has about 1.5% of the population of the UK.
To have this opportunity I first had to go on a selection course on the Isle of Coll. The selection course was 4 days and while on the Island I stayed with one of the local families. I really liked where I stayed and got on well with the people. While in Coll we had to do a number of tasks: The first being that we all had to do a teaching lesson to our group. I chose to do mine on maths (I know very boring!). Also through the week we were given the task of researching and creating a presentation about the Isle of Coll. Other activities included lazy bed digging for potatoes and a beach clean.
Before I go next year I first need to raise £5,100 and am currently in the middle of fundraising which includes organising a Ceildh dance for the end of November and cake stalls at school.
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