Meet the family

Most Peace Corps Volunteers in Guyana live with a host family during two or three months of training, and then with another host family for the first six months of service at their permanent site. Peace Corps has pretty strict rules about what sort of accommodations have to be in place to house a volunteer, so sometimes it can be very difficult to find places, even just for six months, let alone for those volunteers who end up living with their families for the whole two years. In my case, there was no family in the area who met all of the criteria, so a compromise was made. I moved right in to my own little cabin, but ate all of my meals for the six months with my host family just down the road.
Despite the fact that I still interact with them nearly every day, I've been terribly remiss in introducing them to you.
So here you are:

I'm going by age, so first up we have my host dad Zico. Zico is an outstanding defender for the Paiwomak Warriors football team, and a shockingly adept iguana catcher.

My host mom is Veronica, and she's actually only a year older than I am, so that's pretty weird for me. I don't think either she or Zico view me as a real adult, because I am not married, have no kids, and have no idea how to do certain things that are just basic knowledge to them (get used to this feeling if you ever move to a country drastically different than your own). She's always looking out for me, though, which is very much appreciated.



Ryiela is their oldest. She goes to the secondary school nearby, and when I moved into my house, she was the first one to work up the nerve to speak to me. Now she teases me like a little sibling: just straight up sass.



Kenecia is actually Zico and Veronica's niece, but she lives with them during the school year so that she can attend the secondary school as well. She's very quiet, but she's the first one to volunteer to help with any task, and if you ask her a direct question, she's the most likely to give you a straight answer. It's hard to believe she's a teenager, because she's the most well-behaved kid I've ever met.



Zena is the one visibly growing up. Since I got here, she's grown so much taller! I feel like every time I turn around, she's gone up another inch. She'll be taller than I am before I leave. She loves football, and playing cards.

Esther has been the baby of the family her whole life, but not anymore! She's shy around strangers, but like a bouncing puppy running circles around you once you get to know her. She sometimes tires on our longer walks, so she likes riding her bike alongside us, until Zena inevitably takes it.



Zendaya was born in February. Her parents were so sure they were having a boy, that when she arrived, they didn't even have a name picked out yet. I got to see her when she was just a few days old, and before I leave, I will probably get to see her first steps and hear her first words. She's always in the arms of one or the other of her sisters, and they dote on her.



So there you have it. My "family" out in Region Nine.