I ko aki no?

The month of December was a pretty exciting month. December 2 we held a World AIDS Day celebration in the village of Semoisie, a village about 15 minutes down river from me. The day was dedicated to raising awareness about HIV prevention and education. The event went really well and we see people wearing their tshirts all the time on the river.

December 11-14 marked the very first Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World). It was great! A group of 50 girls came from eight different villages on the river to come to a 4-day overnight camp.
The camp was full of lessons, games, crafts, and guest speakers. I forgot what it was like to be at camp, it was a lot of fun. I was one of the leaders of the green team, along with Shannon and Chris (in the picture). Our team had a lot of personality, which was a blast... also probably led to our winning capture the flag the last day:) We're already working on Camp GLOW 2, so I'll let you know how that one goes.

By far the highlight of the month was my family visiting. My parents AND brothers came down to visit me for 12 days. Picking them up at the airport was one of the most surreal (and coolest) things ever. I kept turning around and looking at them thinking "They're here!"

Walking around the village with the langa family was really entertaining. Everyone came to check out the Schmitt's and say hello. My brothers started taking a tally of how many women wanted to marry them. I won't tell you who won....(Zac).

It was definitely interesting cramping everyone into my house. Four hammocks and one bed (won't tell you who took the bed.....(my dad)). Ben and I slept outside underneath my porch and mosquito nets. One of my friends yelled at me for letting my guests sleep outside, sorry Ben. Overall it was a really amazing experience to let my two worlds meet. The fam got the basic greeting down, and by the end of it they were able to tell people I was at the river. Also my villagers pulled out a lot of English that I had never heard.

Having them visit also meant my family was here for Christmas. We gathered a group of the volunteers and headed out to Ellen in the Commewijne district. After a puzzle, guitar playing, Harry Potter fireworks, "force", cigars, series of naps, gift exchange, Haagen Dazs, lasagna for dinner, and cheesecake for breakfast, I had a pretty memorable Christmas.

Next we took the family out to Bergendal for some ziplining and luxe beds. I think it was well deserved after two nights in hammocks and 8 hours of boat-butt. We returned for a few days in the city where we just relaxed and did some tourist visits in the city. It was really nice to spend time with them, I had 8 months of catching up to do. They were the test run for all of the other families coming in, so I'm glad they were down for anything. Thanks guys! I miss them already, but I get to see them again in August when I go home for Nick's wedding :)

A fika oto lesi.