Settling in Lethem

The old house which Dayan grew up in was knocked down, with only the foundations and a pile of bricks remaining.  It was the ‘new’ house (which we had helped to build by sending money a few years ago) which we would now be staying in.  We would share the house with Dayan’s parents and three of their grandchildren (Savi, 8, and Ethan, 7, who are Estraline’s sons, and Stephon, 3, who is Czarina’s son).  They had cleared the biggest bedroom for us, in which we made do with an old mattress on the floor for the kids, a hammock for me, and another hammock in the porch for Dayan.  All with mosquito nets, of course.

Mum and dad's house, unfinished composting toilet to the right of the house (above).

Huge mango tree to the far left, which is a wonderful shady place to sling a hammock.

View of the house entering from the street.  Note hammock tied in the porch.

Our room was the door to the left.

Kalen settled in to his new home without so much as a backward glance, whereas Zayna was unsettled and clingy for some time, and disliked us leaving her even for a little while.  This was tricky because we needed to go to Bonfim (the border town on the Brazil side of the river) almost immediately, because we were out of cash.  Zayna cried as we left for Bonfim without her.

Lethem has no ATM yet, but a tiny branch of a Brazilian bank in Bonfim has one.  I made many trips by bicycle in the hot sun – over an hour riding return – only to find the machine was empty or not working.  Anyway, when the machine is working, we can change the Reais into Guyana dollars once we are back in Lethem.  The shops in Lethem also accept Reais, but usually at a disadvantageous exchange rate.  There is a new bank being built in Lethem due to be completed in late 2012, which will have an ATM – and Lethem will enter the era of electronic banking!  Anyway, the need to extract our offshore cash was only a temporary measure till we could find local income.

We stayed at mum and dad’s place for about three months.  I enjoyed being around family, and having the chance to really experience Lethem ‘up close and personal’.  However some of the physical practicalities were challenging for me.  Firstly: no running water.  They have a tank which collects rainwater off the roof, but which tends to run out of water in the dry season.  This rainwater we used for drinking, by filling up buckets and carrying them inside.  Water for washing dishes, washing clothes, and so on, had to be pulled from the well.  I had to practice my dipping technique – at first I would drop a bucket in the well but couldn’t get it to tip over to fill up.  A skill I never had to learn in New Zealand!  I also got to practice my ‘washing clothes by hand without running water’ technique – and for a family of four, I can tell you this takes a considerable amount of time and energy.

Here's a picture of the well.

And me washing.

To bathe, we had a choice of a bucket bath outside (ducking down behind a chest height brick wall for privacy during daylight hours, or out in the glorious open after nightfall), or heading to the creek for a refreshing swim and a wash.  The creek was a big hit with the kids, and Zayna’s swimming confidence grew as she frolicked with her cousins.  Most afternoons the children would beg me to take them to the creek.  A further note about bathing under the night sky:  I generally enjoyed this, even though it could get a little chilly at times.  I just had to be careful, because unlike all the other members of the household, I glow in the dark.  Even on a moonless night, my bright-white birthday suit could be seen for miles around.  I became alert to vehicles in the vicinity, ready to duck down lest I be lit up by passing headlights.

I just had a thought.  Do my readers know what a bucket bath is?  In case you don't: you have a bucket of water, and use a smaller cup to tip water over yourself.

 You can see in the foreground our little bathing area.  OK for guys and short ladies (most Amerindians are quite short) but I had to duck down if bathing in daylight hours!

Note also the water tank with piece of home-made guttering to channel water into it, and nifty outdoor light - a lightbulb attached to a piece of wood dangling from a wire.

You can also see to the left the kitchen door, which is a split door so as to have the top half open for a window and the bottom half closed to keep chickens outside.  But on this day we were doing the opposite (to keep the breeze from disturbing the gas cooking flame).

Another challenge was that the toilet is a longdrop (pit latrine).  Ok, a bit stinky, and BYO toilet paper, but no big deal.  Except at night.  At night, as it’s unlit, it is somewhat scary.  Do not make the mistake of shining your torch into the pit (swarming with large cockroaches).  I made this mistake, and then I had to pretend to the kids that I hadn’t seen anything, and act nonchalant, because they were about to sit on it.  And if it’s been raining, you have to cross the treacherous mud to get to it.  Zayna and Kalen and I took to peeing on the grass at night rather than making the trek to the loo.   


As a postscript to this bit of detail, Dayan and I decided that an upgrade to the toilet arrangements were desirable, for convenience and hygiene reasons, so we have begun to construct a composting toilet for mum and dad, close to the house and with a permanent structure.  I will explain more about this in a future post, as it is a work in progress.

More about our stay at mum and dad’s place to come soon!

 Three hammocks under the mango tree!