Swimming in KolaKreek

On December 30, 2014, we visited KolaKreek. KolaKreek is a creek that has the same color as, well, Cola! It is is a reddish brown color. This isn't because of pollution or sewage, but because of leaves! Leaves fall into the water of KolaKreek and change the color. Almost like when you make tea!

We stayed there for a good portion of the day. We rented out a little pavilion and brought a long lunch and just lounged around all day. For lunch we had an assortment of different "broods" (breads) from the local Fernandes . I got the pizzabrood. The pizzabrood is a small baked bread about the size of a large cookie. It has different vegetables, cheese, and sauces in it, replicating pizza. Some other foods that we got were Kip Pasteis and quiches. We also bought delicious pastries and several bag of cookies called "chocolade krakeling." These cookies resembled pretzels in a hard chocolate cookie. They were one of my favorite snacks while we were there.

While we were at KolaKreek, we met two girls. Their names were Liv and Ava. We played volleyball with them and messed around in the creek. Their first language was Dutch and their second was English, so they understood what we were saying. I also had a small Spanish conversation with Ava because that was the third language that she was learning in school. We exchanged contact information and social media information before parting ways with them. While we were doing this, my Opa realized that he recognized Ava.

My Opa's job in Suriname is that he works and directs the Suriname Basketball Association. He helps with organizing games and cheerleading meets throughout Suriname. It turns out that he knew Ava from the cheer team that she had been on! It was cool to see how my grandparents connected with so many people in their native language.

Pictures taken by Shelley Burge.