When I got home to US, I was brushing my teeth and my tongue was black. It was the last little scare from Suriname. No big deal, just a reaction to insane levels of antibiotics. I had to keep taking the Malaria meds even when I got home in case I had Malaria and didn’t know it. Diabla had some issue with her Spleen. It was medically covered by the Peace Corps, but turned out to be a nasty form of Endometriosis.
I had a great time in the Peace Corps. It was the grandest of adventures. I would do it again. Since my service, I have given countless talks in schools about my time there. I tried to send my language learning materials to the office in Paramaribo, but it never worked out.
You know those cans at the grocery store that are all dented? They all end up in Suriname. The trick was always to find the ones that were just dented and not bulging (with Botulism). One day, we had a hankering for nachos. Mind you, Suriname may very well be in South America, but there is nothing Latin about it. Liquor? Rum. Cheese? Gouda. So, we got a can of beans, a can of jalapeños (Probably the only can in the country) and the closest chip we could find…Pringles. As far as chips went, we usually just ate Cassava chips (REALLY hard), or banana chips (Don’t eat too many). Our nachos were not the best in the world, but when you’re living in the jungle, you get used to the idea of “close enough.” We probably licked the plate.
One of the things I regret eating most was the “hamburger” at Madonna’s. The meat was raw pink goo. It was so gross. But, I ate a lot of other things there that were amazing:
About my only regret in Suriname was that I never tried an avocado shake. Food is an adventure and after all the weird things I ate in Suriname, I really can’t imagine why I never tried one. Alas.
Every Peace Corps Volunteer ate at Madonna’s. The owner wanted to call it McDonald’s, but got in trouble, so he named it Madonna’s, golden arches and everything. Take that, Ronald!
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