Momma Cliburn Visits Suriname!

A few months ago I asked my mom if she would be interested in coming to Suriname to visit me. I had seen other volunteers have family and friends visit and how much it helped their loved ones understand what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. My mom has been one of the biggest sources of support throughout my service here and I really wanted her to be able to experience life down here. When I asked her if she would be interested in visiting she immediately said "Absolutely!". So the trip planning was a go! Everyone (mainly my very cautious and protective big brother) was very nervous about Mom coming to the jungle but she was determined to have her adventure! Tripped was planned and tickets were bought.

After having to deal with a difficult name change issue, they had her first and last name flipped on her ticket, flight delays and even one flight cancellation Mom made it to Suriname! Only 12 hours later than originally planned. She was a bit tired but she made it!

We spent the first day of her visit resting in the hotel. I was truly okay with just being lazy since I had access to HOT WATER, AIR CONDITIONING, TELEVISION and MY MOMMA!!! The next day I took Mom to get a massage, her first massage ever! Every once and awhile a few of the volunteers and I treat ourselves to a relaxing massage so I wanted Mom to get a chance to rejuvenate from traveling. After the massage, I took mom to the Peace Corps office to meet the staff and volunteers. Once the tour was over it was time to go grocery shopping for site. Another volunteer accompanied Mom and I to the store where we usually buy our food for site. It's an American style grocery store so us volunteers love it. Jessica (fellow volunteer) and I told Mom all about the foods that are best for taking to site and what the best splurges are, cake and cheese! We packed up all our groceries and were ready to leave the next morning.

Mom standing in front of our "wagi"

 At 9:30am Thursday morning our "wagi" (van) picked us up at the Peace Corps office. Luckily the wagi wasn't too full. Most of the time I am crammed in the wagi with at least 8 other people but there were only 5 of us traveling with this wagi that day. Mom and I had a whole bench to ourselves! I was excited to tell Mom about Suriname as we were driving through parts of it. I remembered what it was like seeing everything for the first time two years ago.

Mom and I on the road to Atjoni

 The trip from the city to the village of Atjoni went really well. Mom did great! I was nervous she might get car sick but nope she was a trooper. The trip from the city takes about 3 hours. The village of Atjoni is the hub of the river. If you are headed to the river it is where you will catch your boat and if you are headed to the city it is where you will find a wagi going to the city. There are several small grocery stores in Atjoni where we usually buy bread, eggs and cheese to take out to site. I shared with Mom the miracle that is sealed cheese, since it's airtight cheese stays good for sometimes weeks without refrigeration! Cheese is a huge treat to volunteers out on the river. So I told her we'd buy A LOT of cheese to make something special for the volunteers.

Safety First!

 We loaded all our stuff on the boat and then it was time to go. I think Mom started getting nervous once we were on the boat, it was really happening! It was a beautiful day on the river so I was thrilled Mom got to see it when it was really beautiful. We also got lucky and didn't get rained on while on the boat. The boat ride took about 2 hours to get to my village. One of my best friends in the village recently gave me a "koosu" (a plaid piece of fabric women wear as a skirt) for my Mom. She wanted me to send it to her, she didn't know my Mom was coming to visit. In fact, I only told one person about Mom's visit in the village. On the boat, we put the koosu on Mom when we were a few minutes away. Mom and I got real nervous since her visit was a surprise.

Taking it all in.

 As we were pulling up to my village I could see that a lot of people had gathered to meet me when I arrived. I helped Mom off the boat and had to go back to the boat to sort out our luggage and paying the driver. While I was dealing with that Mom took off up the steps to hug my counterpart Theo and my best friend in the village Woi. Mom called them both by name and they were beyond thrilled that she knew who they were. I think Mom was very emotional and so were they. It was a very special moment. As we walked through the village everyone came out to greet her. Saramaccans are very welcoming and were incredibly excited to see my Mom. Everyone hugged her and said how happy they were that she came to visit them.

The first evening in the village was spent visiting with everyone who came by my house and getting Mom settled in. I showed her around my 10 by 13 foot home and showed her the latrine... Little did I know that Mom would have quite the phobia of the latrine. We went to be early since she was exhausted and we would be waking up early because several volunteers from surrounding communities would be coming to visit the next morning.

Peace Corps Volunteers hanging out with Mom!

Five other volunteers came to meet my mom and visit for the day. They were all able to catch boats in the morning so everyone got to my village early. It also happened to be Caroline's birthday (one of the other volunteers) so Mom and I had planned a special lunch menu for her birthday. Mom had a great time laughing with the volunteers. We're a weird bunch but you kind of have to have a special sense of humor to do Peace Corps. Mom and I had bought groceries to make a Mexican food feast, which included LOTS of cheese! A way to a Peace Corps Volunteer is through cheese, at least in Suriname it is. After stuffing ourselves with chilli, quesadillas, refried beans and cheese, we baked a delicious cake for Caroline's birthday. It was fun getting to show Mom how we cook and even bake out at site. After the volunteers left that afternoon, Mom and I just tried to relax and stay as cool (it was well into the 90's) as possible the rest of the day.

The next day started early because my mother does not sleep in much to my annoyance. I tried to explain to her that it is really fun to sleep in but nope, she wasn't having it! So we got up at 7am because she is hardheaded. I took Mom to the river to give her the real experience of washing clothes at the river. She said it was exhausting which it was and always is. Hand washing clothes on a cement step or rock in 90 degree weather is not fun but it is part of my life here so she had to experience it. We rested after washing a lot of laundry, resting is HUGE in down here because the sun is just too intense so you need to rest a lot, and made a tasty lunch of rice and cabbage. In the afternoon, my best friends in the village took Mom and I out to their farm lands. They loved showing Mom everything they grow and how they harvest the different fruits, vegetables, nuts and rice. I was so nervous to have Mom walking through the jungle but also really excited to see her doing really awesome with it! Mom is tough as nails so she adapted to life out here quickly and jumped right in to work alongside the women.

Mom and my friend Marlene at her peanut grounds

Add caption

Woi and Marlene showing Mom how to cut rice

Once we got back from doing a little work at Marlene's grounds, my friend Alua came by my house to show Mom how they carve bowls out of calabashes. A calabash is similar to a gourd and is used as bowls, spoons and drinking bowls. They pick the calabash off a tree, it grows kind of like an apple but much much bigger, then cut it in half, scoop out the insides, boil it and then carve beautiful designs in it. It is pretty difficult to carve them mainly because you are carving the inside of a bowl with a broken piece of glass. Your hand cramps and you're always paranoid of cutting yourself with the piece of glass. Alua was determined to show Mom how to do it though. Mom is very artsy so picked up on the carving process very quickly. All the women bragged on how smart Mom was and that she picked it up faster than I did! Mom carved a butterfly on the inside of hers. Later that evening she noticed she couldn't feel the tip of her finger, where she was holding the piece of glass, I told her not to worry because the same thing happened to me and the feeling would come back in about 2 weeks. :)

Learning to carve calabashes with Alua

The last full day we had in the village was spent napping in the hammock, a Peace Corps MUST, and visiting with everyone in the village. My Captain's wife (village leader) had given Mom a beautiful "koosu" and my best friend in the village, Woi, gave Mom a bandana-like cloth called an "angisa" that is worn around the mid-section of you body to signify you are married. Mom and I dressed up in our "koosu's" and "angisa's" and walked around the entire village. Everyone LOVED seeing Mom dressed as they do. She got lots of hugs from everyone. We made sure to take lots of photos and here are a few:

Mom and I wearing out traditional outfits

Mom and I standing in front of my house

The last evening in the village was spent with my closest friends in the community and my village counterpart, a man named Theo. Everyone was very sad to see Mom go but was incredibly happy that she was able to come visit. My counterpart even sent one of his own "bandja koto's", a traditional man's garment worn as a shirt, with Mom to give to Dad when she got home. 

Mom did a fantastic job catching onto the language while she was here. It meant a lot to the community that she was trying so hard to be able to speak with them.

The next morning we caught a boat and then a "wagi" back to the city. I think it was very emotional for Mom to say goodbye to everyone in my village, especially my close friends. Mom made sure to tell them all how thankful she was that they had taken care of her daughter for two years.

View of the river from the boat ride

Boats in the village of Atjoni

After a long day of travel, we arrived in the city and headed straight for Burger King!!! Yes, we have a REAL Burger King here in Suriname! I explained to Mom that one of the best parts about traveling back to the city after being at site for awhile is getting junk food your first day in. After indulging in some Burger King, we went to the hotel to relax for the rest of the day. I took Mom to do a little souvenir shopping over the next few days but mainly we were just lazy in the hotel room. I was more than happy to just be lazy in the company of my mom. 

Dinner with Mom and a few Peace Corps Volunteers

I have to say that I am so very proud of my Mom that she had the courage and determination to come down here and be a Peace Corps Volunteer for a few days. I am the woman I am because of my parents and I don't think I could ever thank them enough for how they have always supported and loved me. God blessed me with an incredible family and I thank Him everyday for it. 

Momma - Thank you for coming to visit me. Thank you for being so open to a new culture. Thank you for being patient. Thank you for having an awesome sense of humor. Thank you for being courageous. Thank you for being tenacious and passing that characteristic onto me. Thank you for loving your "pain in the butt" daughter. 

Daddy - Thank you for letting Momma come visit me. Thank you for supporting my choices even though they may have been terrifying for you as my parent. Thank you for always encouraging me in everything I attempt. Thank you for being a source of wisdom and knowledge. And also thank you as well for loving your "pain in the butt" daughter. 

Here's a little quote I saw on another friends blog and I thought it would be quite fitting for this one. 

"There are two things children should get from their parents: roots and wings". ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe