Project details(/worries)

The tedium of revision (which I'm doing - honest) was momentarily alleviated recently when I received my project placement in the post - amidst the flurry of forms listing the required legal documents and vaccinations lay a tiny, pixelated map of Guyana with "Wakapao" written on it in biro.

The accompanying cover letter provided precious little embellishment: I know Wakapao (or Wakapoa - PT say one thing and everything else seems to say another) is in the north of Guyana, near the Pomeroon River. It's situated on an island surrounded by creeks and mangroves, and I'll be teaching Maths and Science to ~13-year-olds.

My accommodation, from what I can gather, will be fairly luxurious by Guyanese standards - a concrete bungalow. Whether or not I'll have electricity remains to be seen, but thanks to a water butt we should have running water at least some of the time (in the rainy season at least!).

I have also, by dint of facebook, been talking to two past volunteers from Wakapoa, and their insight has proved invaluable. Although disturbing stories from the one there more recently stirred up some trepidation on my part (trepidation PT did absolutely nothing to ease), the other seemed to really enjoy her time there, and has been informing me of the appropriate teaching attire, correct antimalarials, must-haves etc. She also told me it's likely I'll be teaching more than simply Integrated Science and Maths - a new system was implemented during her stay which saw every teacher teaching every subject. If P.E. is anywhere on my timetable I can safely predict marathon stints of musical bumps.

Regardless of my (absolutely stellar) sporting ability, there are definitely worse ways I could be spending a year!