Aishalton life in numbers

(to the tune of “On the first Day of Christmas”, obviously)

On the 85th day in Aishalton, my tallies said to me:

719,000 Guyana dollars won for the Nursery School (thanks GENCAPD!),
720 dollars for half a chicken,
171 days since we left Ledgard Wharf and came to Guyana,
166.38 square miles that make up Aishalton village,
134 Toshaos (Amerindian village leaders) in the whole of Guyana,
103 paces from the well to our front step,
55 paces to the toilet in daylight, 66 in the dark (with 52 cranks of the wind-up lantern),
39 children in my larger Form 1 class,
20 places on my August music course,
16 children in Natalie’s family,
14 Aishalton people who feel like real friends,
11 bites currently on my feet and ankles (mainly toes, bizarrely),
9 bucketfuls of water to wash two pairs of trousers,
8 arm-hauls per bucket up the well,
5 children from Aishalton Primary who have just won national scholarships in the exams (WOW!),
4 festering mangoes,
3 days of Nursery School staff training,
1 bat living in our house,

And an oriole in the lime tree.