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Last Updated: March 10, 1997
![[Ted Burgdorff]](../images/ted.jpg)
SUBJECT: Getting used to life in Kaikan
DATE: February 7, 1997
AUTHOR: Ted Burgdorf, his wife Betsy, and three girls - Heidi, Kristen, and Kara, work with the Gates family in Guyana.
It's a little after 6 AM, and the world is astir. In other words, it's light, and the noise of the pets and children have begun. We've been here just over 2 weeks now in Kaikan, and it seems like we still spend most of our time just surviving. Washing clothes and cooking take up most of the time. I have 2 raised garden beds that I've planted with a great variety of things to later be transplanted. Oh what I wouldn't give for some of my resource books! From horticulture to nutrition to nursing books. We've seen many patients, which we did not plan on. We see about 2 per day, mostly fevers. We desperately would like to know what slide smear you do to check for malaria. We need to do that here. We brought a microscope but haven't a clue about the test. Many of the fevers appear to be flu or gastroenteritis, but since we've never seen a malaria case before, we are walking on unknown ground.
I planted my garden (raised bed) on Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), and by Monday I had radishes and squash and some melons coming up. I must tell you I put the insect barrier cloth over it, and it works like a jewel. (I have enough for 3 or 4 more beds.) The soil up on the hill by the school, church and airport is white sand. Then between there and down here by the river it's fairly good in some areas. Mostly around our house it is red clay. I brought in some good soil and mixed in some saw dust to make my raised beds.
I have never been in a place that has so many snake sightings. Yesterday a neighbor brought a small 12-14" snake he had killed under his house. No fangs. He told me that when he had walked up to the airport he saw a large section of a snake crossing the path. He put both hands up with fingers opened to show the diameter. I'm guessing it was an ancandonda, approx. 20" in circumference.
Our first Sabbath here I had the sermon. I spoke about the effects of alcohol and that God tells us not to do things because of the damaging effects it has on us. I explained it was out of love for us that He recommends we don't use it. I illustrated the effects by using the stories of Noah and Lot who got drunk. This Sabbath I've been asked to have the adult lesson study for Sabbath School-- the church militant.
Hopefully today (Wednesday) we will get the rest of our stuff. There is a flight every Wednesday from Georgetown, and I asked someone to send the rest of our things. Becky and David still have lots of things there. I can't believe how expensive things are here. It costs about 70 cents US per pound to fly things in from Georgetown. Venezuela is about the same. There is a helicopter that makes a flight several times a week to the little stores across the river in Venezuela. I've been told it costs about $12 US to go from these stores to the highway at kilometer 67, but to return costs about $57 US. The helicopter brings supplies to all the miners around the area. They are mostly small operators along the rivers. The only time we ever see them is when they come by, either walking or by boat, to get supplies. We've had a few as patients also.
We bought 5 gallons of kerosene for our 1-burner stove and had to pay $25 US. So yesterday we set up our wood-burning stove. There are quite a few empty 50- gallon barrels just abandoned by the miners, so Captain Peters (the chief of the village) went down stream and came back with 3 or 4 for us, 2 for stove & oven, and a couple to collect rain water. The other day we had a downpour for just over an hour, and I measured 2 1/2 inches of rain. The temperatures are in the high 80's or low 90's most every day and get down to around 64 at night.
We've seen about 25 different birds since arriving in Guyana. Saw 5 different ones yesterday. Unfortunately we are too busy most of the time to bird watch. Saw a toucan and a red macaw. Parrots galore. Tanagers, 3 different types. Yellow headed vulture, squirrel cuckoo. We nightly hear the "baboons", actually howler monkeys.
The solar panels are working great. I have a 12 v. florescent light in every room of the small house, along with the ham radio and D-cell recharger through an invertor. In the other house (still under construction) I have 1 light upstairs and 1 downstairs. We've moved our kitchen into the downstairs and sleep dorm style upstairs. It has a lot more room, but the walls are all up just temporarily till they dry and shrink. All of their boards are hand cut by chain saw, and without a guide either. We have no mosquitos here, so we don't use our nets. At least not yet. The chiggers are bad, however, but you can keep them down by staying out of the grass or by dipping in the river after being in the grass.
The river is about 50-60 yards across and goes up and down some with the rains. It runs fairly swiftly, and it's hard to swim against it for too long. It has a rocky bottom and lots of stumps and trees in it. Yesterday I swam into a submerged stump and scratched up my nose. There are a lot of aluminum cans from the bar up stream. They usually have loud music on the weekend nights. The other store, just down stream from us, has a satellite dish. I've seen them watching some Spanish channel. They have to run their own generator. They do have a kerosene freezer but without refrigerator.
The people in the village have been pretty good about bringing us some fruits. We have tried to buy some, but no one has any to sell. But the Lord has provided bananas and papayas as we need them. Our meals are very starchy. Rice, yuca, yams (not sweet), and we also buy oatmeal at the store along with our rice. We occasionally have plantains too. A neighbor brought 4 coconuts, and another one brought 7 or 8 avocados. They grow pineapples around here, but I haven't seen any ripe ones yet.
I have 3 or 4 blisters on my hands from working the garden. It would sure be nice to have Bonnie & Bill's set up to do "VITA" communications. Maybe you could enquire about it to see what it would involve. We also have crested oropendolas, or "bloopy" birds here, along with tropical kingbird, swallows, swifts, and hummingbirds. I'm getting a little communal claustrophobia with 10 of us in one house, mostly children (arguing, fighting children) 7 of them.
Ted
You may write to Ted at: gates@andrews.edu
Last Updated: March 10, 1997