Family visit Suriname, Santigron

   Together with my parents and brother we went to Surinam for three weeks to celebrate the new year there and visit our family. We stayed mostly on Santigron, a village near Paramaribo. The village is partly an original Marron village next to a river with wooden huts, wells, traditional dancing and washing by the river. On the other side more and more stone houses are being build and this year they got electricity, running water and you now can be reached on your mobile phone. The goverment is also busy with paving the sandroad. Before all this came, the people only had electricity when the diesel engine worked; mostly in the beginning of the month in the evening, during the remembering of deceased people and when an important soccergame was on;). The water came from wells, rain or in the dry-season from the river with all it's pollution. Calling someone or begin called was possible at the central phone house with one phone. When you would call to Santigron the phoneman send someone to get the person you wanted tot talk to, which had its charm.

Sometimes we went to the city for shopping, walking and seeing other relatives. Once we also went for a beach besides a river, but not without getting lost before we arrived:). In Surinam you really need to know where you are going, because sometimes the signage (and the roads) aren't there or not good. Because some roads are made of sand in the rain-season you have a chance of getting stuck in the mud or not being able to leave the village, because the road is not accessible.

But beside all this, Surinam is al beautiful country, where the grass (and other plants/trees) is really greener. The people are easygoing, eating is cheap, the weather is beatiful, and there are many places where you can go out and have fun. That is also one of the reasons that I will be going to Surinam shortly for six months for volunteering at a childrenshome and in my family's village.