Surinamese Animals- Suriname III

hilarious monkeys who used their tails as a 5th arm

monkey tightrope walkers

a family of turtles sharing lunch

these birds, called kanikans, only live in Brownsberg Nature Park in Suriname.  I wish I had an irridescent blue necklace permanently around my neck.  They were the size of turkeys.

peaceful religious coexistence- Suriname II

Suriname has many ethnicities, and many religions which accompany them.

Here, a gorgeous Protestant (Dutch) church made out of wood.  It is in the center of town, and is beautifully maintained.

Across the river we found a huge Hindu (Indian) prayer ground, complete with 10 ft tall statues of Shiva, Vishnu, and a lot of prayer flags.

My favorite site!  A mosque on the same street as a Hebrew temple!  What???   Every Middle Eastern country should take a lesson on peaceful coexistence from Suriname.

LPHS refugees unite!

Suzanne was a math teacher at LP for six years before the frustration and general soul-draining misery drove her to look for another job.  I was a history teacher at LP for seven years, and just got fed up with policies that hurt kids and a system that I couldn't change.

So we both got jobs at sweet int'l schools, and are much happier people now.  She works in Maastricht, Holland, so while I was in the Hague, I went to have dinner with her.  We had a great time.

Who will be the next LP teachers to flee the system, and join us at next year's LP Refugee Reunion of 2015?

Suriname I

Although a Dutch colony, Suriname has holdovers from it's time as a British colony, like driving on the left.

But it looks very Dutch.  Cute rows of houses smushed together line the streets, just like in Holland.

And there are a lot of rivers and canals, though without houseboats.