Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas!

This will be my last post until the new year. It is a lovely wintery day in Guyana - grey, cloudy and pouring down rain. Apparently Christmas, among other things, means flooding and blackouts. Thankfully I've got new black shiny rubber boots that go up to my knees and a raincoat that was bought in Newfoundland so I am ready for the weather.

I am definitely feeling the Christmas spirit now as I am reminded that though there is nothing quite as lovely as a winter wonderland, Christmas is so much more. Wherever you are, be it looking out over freshly fallen snow or at a palm tree in the rain, remember the reason for the season and take a minute to appreciate and be thankful for the people in your life. I wish you all the best this holiday season. Be safe. Have fun. And enjoy every minute of it.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Season

Christmas Concert

I went on Sunday with Mrs Boodie and Gavin to see the Rotary Club Demerara Christmas Concert at the Marion Academy. Marion Academy is a Catholic school that from my understanding is the Canadian equivalent of Grade 1-12 (Two of Maria’s children go there – and they are 8 and 16). There is one building for the younger children and another building for the older children with a basketball court, the auditorium and offices in between.

The auditorium had a stage decorated with red curtains and trees with Christmas lights. Refreshments and snacks were available. The concert showcased local talent and an amazing saxophone player from Barbados. My favourite singer was Joyce who sang some lovely throaty jazz songs. The saxophone player, Arturo, made his instrument sing – and besides the alto saxophone, he also played soprano sax and flute. The Christmas carols themselves made me smile because I love Christmas carols, but also because I was sitting in auditorium, not sweating, but pleasantly warm, listening to songs like “Baby it’s cold outside” and “Jingle Bells” with lyrics like “dashing through the snow…”.

Gavin and I went to Celena’s afterwards which may be my new favourite restaurant. The food is good and reasonably priced, I guess – but I love it because it is built right on the sea wall. The ocean breeze flows in, cooling the air... They also make a delicious fruit punch!

Shopping on Regent St

There are stores all around Georgetown, but my understanding is that the place to be for shopping is Regent St. I went with two women from work on Tuesday to shop for curtains. They need them for the living room in their house; I was hoping to pick one up for my bathroom so that I have a “door”.

We parked outside one store and then travelled up and down the street looking at various stores. I have never looked at so many curtains in my life! Prices are listed in both wholesale and retail prices. You definitely have to check your prices too – they can be very different. I have become accustomed to prices that I will pay for things and prices that are acceptable to pay. All the curtains that I saw were too fancy for bathroom doors and nobody else saw anything that they absolutely loved. There were a lot of people out on the street and the later it got the more people around. As well as stores, there are vendors on the street selling on behalf of a store or independently.

When we found our way back to the vehicle, I could have cried. There I was, all nicely diagonally parked in front of a store. There at the back of my vehicle was a car, parallel parked and covering half of my rear end. To make matters worse, there was a motorcycle parked on the other half of my vehicle, completely blocking me in. It’s getting 6 o’clock now, the sky is getting darker and the crowds are getting bigger. Thankfully Marcie stayed with me and promised not to leave me until I got free. A man physically lifted the motorcycle out my way and another man helped get me turn around on the sidewalk and reverse through the little space. Whew. Enough shopping for me.

Christmas Carols at Methodist Church

Mrs Boodie invited me to a carol sing at her church. It’s not actually her church, but the Methodist Church community in Guyana came together for a carol sing which her church took part in. We arrived at 5:30pm only to find it wasn’t scheduled to start until 6pm, which means it started around 6:30pm. I felt immediately welcome. I am obviously a new face and they embraced me. The first woman came over and introduced herself, full of life… “Dawn, as in dawn of the morning” Everyone was all smiles and pleased that I had come to their church. What struck me most was that people in my church at home would never go out of their way like that, but proud of my mom because I know she makes the effort and as the newcomer, I know how wonderful that feels.

I was struck by a conversation that Mrs Boodie had with another woman before the celebration about the new church. It is a simple concrete building with windows made out of fancy concrete blocks and painted with burgundy crosses. The front windows of the church are glass. They discussed whether the rain pours in the concrete window vents (it doesn’t) and the width of the glass windows when open – whether someone could climb in or squeeze a child through…

I’ve never been to a Methodist church before, but I felt like I was taking part in what I have heard about a Southern gospel choir. When it started there were about 25 people, but by the end probably about 40 people were present. We filled that concrete church with joyous sound and I could feel it right to my core. Any doubts that I had been feeling about the beginning of the Christmas season were blown away by the sounds of “Once in Royal David City” echoing around me. The Christmas carols were balanced with lessons read from scripture – one lesson for every congregation in Georgetown. The song volume would bring my packed church to shame. I was familiar with all but one of the songs that we sang from the hymnal and learned a few variations (instead of Glooooooooria, in exclesis deo – Cooooooooome and worship, Christ the King). There was a group of young people that formed an impromptu rhythm section and added energy to old carols. One that I’ll always remember is “God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen” and a powerful verse sung just by the men.

To end the service, we lit candles (bring your own, wide variety of shapes and sizes) and sang Joy to the World as we walked outside in front of the church. We sang more songs, standing outside the front of the church with candles. It was a bit breezy which threatened our little lights and less confidence outside, but it was a beautiful idea. Here I learned some new carols with such lyrics as… “Lord Jesus, cum dung on all a we” (translation: Lord Jesus, come done on all of us)… “Mary had a baby and de baby name is Jesus”… A lovely Christian Christmas evening.

Bedouin Soundclash... in Guyana?

They're not actually coming here again (as far as I know), but they filmed this video here. Gavin told me about it. I'm trying to fix my sound to hear it, but hopefully you can hear it and see some of the sights. I've been most of the same places!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-lg1fa_MGQ

Driving in Guyana

Mom, I don’t recommend reading this. And if you read this, I warned you not to.

Let’s see, my first impressions of driving in Guyana. I’m all upside down and backwards – I’m on the wrong side of the road, the wrong side of the vehicle and instead of planning my root to maximize right hand turns, I’m planning for left hand turns. For some reason when I want to signal, my windshield wipers turn on. Oh wait, that’s my fault. The vehicle beeps when I reverse which freaks me out a little. I am quite familiar with where the brakes are and I haven’t driven over 60km/h. Thankfully, it’s a Toyota – my first vehicle.

Top 10 interesting quirks about driving in Guyana

#10 Honking

They honk to say hi, they honk to let other cars know they are on the road, they honk when they are behind you and want you to go (regardless of whether you are at a red stoplight), they honk when you cut them off or when they want to cut you off… everybody keeps honking at me!!

#9 Stoplights

The stoplights have a countdown clock on them. Which theoretically is a great idea, but somebody must have picked the numbers out of a hat. There is no logic for how long you wait at a stoplight or how long you have to get through a light. Sometimes they don’t work and they’re just yellow flashing. I don’t know the rules on who has the right of way. Probably because I don’t think that there are rules – and if there are rules, nobody is following the same set!

#8 One way streets not marked clearly

Sometimes they just appear, sometimes there are no signs – “no entry” is painted on the road and faded or you see the sign indicating one way just a second too late . I’ve only backed up the wrong way once (as far as I know) and my policy on new roads is to only turn on to them if I can clearly see the stop line or if I am following another vehicle.

#7 Stop signs? Lanes?

There are a few stop signs, but most of the time there is a line drawn on the road and STOP written before it. Quite often this line and STOP is worn down. When there are stop signs, they are round and white with a red trim (I think just to throw me off from the Canadian stop sign that I’m looking for). Also, when there is one lane with 2-3 options (straight, turn left, turn right), it actually means that there are “three” lanes – you just can’t see them. And there isn’t actually room for them. But the drivers will squeeze their vehicles in and honk to get where they want to be.

#6 Road width

The roads are just wide enough for two vehicles, but everyone (myself included) parks on the side of the room (because there isn’t anywhere else to park!). I haven’t seen on “parking lot” and depending on the building, there are some parking spaces to pull up into. Sometimes when there is a big truck and cars parked along the side of the room, there is barely room for him!

#5 Puddles, pot holes, speed bumps, dogs…

Some roads are new, some are very well maintained, some leave a lot to be desired. Be careful of those puddles, they really are deeper than they look. And if you can’t see the bottom of them, there is potential that there is no bottom…Just swerve around the potholes, everyone else is… The paint has worn off the speed bumps – so cross your fingers that they are a different colour of pavement or that you remember where they are after your first experience hitting them too fast. And yes, the dogs. They’re everywhere. They usually have respect for vehicles on the road, but when they get wet, it’s like they become lost and disoriented and wander out in front of you…

#4 Reckless drivers

Every driver for him or herself - you have to get from point A to point B and you’ll do anything to get there. If someone is in your way, it’s their fault – not yours. I am learning to be more aggressive. I try to honk at someone at least once a day so that when Maria calls I can tell her. I pull out far when I want to cross a road or turn and push my way through traffic. I have too much respect for life to be a reckless driver, but I can hold my own most of the time.

#3 Minibus drivers

Minibuses, where to start... I thought being in one with no seatbelts, too many passengers, loud music, reckless drivers and no predictable route was scary enough. That recklessness intensifies when you are driving behind them and they pull out or pull back in randomly, or when you are driving in front of them and they pass you out of nowhere, or when you think you are in a minibus-free zone and one appears! In front of you, behind you, beside you… be careful…the minibuses are out there…

#2 Motorcycles and Bicycles

It’s one thing to be a minibus and drive like you are the only vehicle on the road (because you can hear and see them when they’re around), but if you’re just a bike- I’m bigger than you! I’m watching for you, but you also have to watch for me. They are supposed to drive on one side of the lane, but I don’t even know which side that is because I see them on both sides. They are on the road in all states of repairs…

#1 Donkey/horse carts

Remember that donkeys and horses don’t have brakes. They also move very slowly. I’m torn between having fun saying that I passed a donkey cart and relaxing behind one because no one can honk at me for going slow – because it’s donkey speed!!

I should point out that not all drivers are reckless and honk and freak me out, but they are the ones that make for the most interesting learning experience. There are those that help me when I set off my car alarm and I look helpless because it won’t turn off and the car won’t start and I don’t know who to call and then… a kind stranger with a smile and the magic trick. I provided amusement for his day – it was a fair deal. There are those that kindly wave frantically at me when I backup the wrong way on a one way street and laugh with me. There are those that will wait for me to drive through if the road isn’t wide enough for both of us because of obstacles or will let me know when there is enough space on the road for me to go ahead beside them.

Maria says that if I can drive in Georgetown, I can drive anywhere in the world – and I believe it!

Update

Work has been going well. I am working closer with staff at the Ministry of Health to work on some projects that they are interested in. My paper-based form pilot project is going well. We’ve modified the forms and the staff at the clinics really likes how they flow and act as a checklist. It was great to get some positive and practical feedback on something that I have been working on. I am still working on manuals for the system, but I am at the point where it requires more collaboration with MOH staff because I don’t know the protocols and policies for different activities with the system. I just completed my interim report for CIDA and it was kind of neat to compile a list of “technical achievements” and “skills gained”, as well as compare what I was ‘hired’ to do versus what I am actually doing.

Wallis has gone to holiday in South Africa with her family. Her sister lives there and she is helping her mother move there. It is lonely without her around the office and after work. I miss her wonderful children. Gavin, the GHIS programmer, is currently in Guyana and has been good company. He is working on some new reports for the system and working out some “bugs”. Glen’s contract finished at the end of November. Maria, Samuel and Gobind are still working on my pilot project for me and any other tasks that I find for them. With Glen done and Wallis away, the project vehicle keys have been given to me. That’s right. I have a permit to drive in Guyana and will be getting… a license!!

Christmas in Guyana

I hadn’t realized how much I associate Christmas with snow until I started hearing Christmas music as I was sweating and seeing Christmas lights in the midst of palm trees. December is the beginning of the rainy season so instead of piles of snow, I’m surrounded by puddles.

I’ve decorated my apartment with Christmas garland and bows, and some candy cane Christmas lights. I have a little itty bitty Christmas tree that is one foot tall surrounded by Christmas cards from home. I love looking around my apartment and how festive it is, and then out my door at the papaya tree (it’s male, doesn’t bear fruit – but still tropical!)

Christmas is a big deal in Guyana. If you don’t live here, it’s the time to come home to be with family. Like any country, they spend money don’t have and charge it until after Christmas, but not just on gifts – everyone gets Christmas outfits, houses get painted, new furniture, the works… The stores are supposed to be crazy in December. The plan was to go shopping in November, but as all good plans go, I still have Christmas shopping to do. Wish me luck in the crowds!

I realized that I may not have shared the good news with all of you – the family is coming down for Christmas!! Mom, Dad and Lesa! Unfortunately Molly can’t make it, but I’m sure she’ll have a wonderful time at the puppy spa. I have a secret plan for their time here which would be ruined if I share it now, so I’ll write about it after they leave. They arrive on the 25^th after a full day of traveling and leave on the 2^nd. I have them staying at the same hotel that I first stayed at and the staff is looking forward to having them.

Enjoy the snow for me!!

Earthquake?!

So I don't usually like to take time at work to write a blog - mostly at home and then post it the next day.

BUT

There was an earthquake today!! Actually there was an earthquake in Martinique region (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007kha5.php) at around 3pm. I guess we felt the after shock or some tremors about 10-15 minutes later. The whole building shook! I didn't know what was going on. Obviously the logical option is just to follow everyone as they ran out the building. By the time we got outside, the powerlines were shaking a little bit, but they stopped. We stayed outside for about another 10 minutes and I gave hugs to shaky co-workers.

I remember being pushed on the stairs by someone and thinking that she did not learn in kindergarten about walking out in an orderly fashion. Someone dropped a poster and I thought, well that's a hazard waiting to happen and picked it up - it turns out it was from my office, Maria just ran with it!

Later outside, the girl who pushed me accused me of trying to make her fall because she tripped on the poster that I had picked up. Funny world.

Moral of the story: I'm okay. Kindergarten taught me well. Little shook up, but it makes for a good story!! And now I know what to do if it happens again.

Probably on the list of things you shouldn't tell your mother, but I'll probably call her when I get home in case there is something on the news. According to the Richter scale, an earthquake of 7.4 is a "major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger areas." I'll let you know if I hear of anything else in Guyana.

I’m working, really I am!!

What do I do? It’s an easier question to answer than “What are you going to be doing in Guyana?” At least now I’m here and doing it!!

I work for the Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) on their Public Health Strengthening in Guyana (PHSG) project. I work at Main and Newmarket in Georgetown, Guyana at what is commonly referred to as the “CIDA Building” because of the number of Canadian International Development Agency-funded projects inside. Officially I am a shared intern between CSIH and the Guyanese Ministry of Health, but they don’t have any space for me so I will be staying in the CSIH office until I leave in March.

The PHSG project has been in existence for about four years. The project has four official focuses: HIV/STIs, TB, home based care and a health information system. The project has worked with the Ministry of Health, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and associated clinics (Genito Urinary Medicine Clinic, TB Chest Clinic, and Dorothy Bailey for mother/child care), the University of Guyana and with various hospitals and clinics in other Health regions. The scope of the project ranges from lab equipment and training, clinic refurbishing and organization, manuals and guidelines for treatment and diagnosis, and training and hiring of staff ranging from administration, field outreach workers, lab techs… I could go on. Everyday I learn something new that the project has done, every little bit helps! The one part of the project that I should know more about is the health information system. Officially I am a Health Information System Trainer intern, but I haven’t actually done any training (shh…) I have received an introduction to the system and witnessed training at the clinics, but most of my knowledge of the system is from my own exploring and creating imaginary patients. A health information system (HIS) is a complex database that records everything – demographics, medical history, immunizations, allergies, contacts, encounters (doctor’s visits), signs/symptoms, orders investigations from labs and forwards prescriptions to pharmacies… and that’s just a snapshot. If your doctor or nurse has asked you about it, it is in the system. It’s beautifully organized so it’s not surprising that I love it.

Unfortunately, though the system is on version 1.1 (0.1, 0.2, 0.3…) and has been around for a few years, it is still not used consistently. In theory, the system should be used in real time and paper should only be used as backup when there are blackouts or computer problems. It is still instinct for health care workers (HCWs) to reach for the paper. Some do both. Everyone has their reasons for why they don’t use the system and I have my own ideas, but that could take an entire entry itself.

When I first started, there was a team of students (by students, I am referring to the fact that they will be recent graduates of the pharmacy program and Dr Plummer taught them at UG) that visited the clinics, trained staff and answered any questions. They finished the end of October and essentially, HCWs have stopped using the system. I should clarify that there are those users that are firm believers in the system, use it and use it well, but they are the minority. I went to the clinics a couple of times with the team, but most of my time has been at the office.

The project is coming to an end this year having accomplished the goals set out initially. There are certain items that were promised to the MoH connected to the HIS… which is a bit of an introduction into what I have been working on.

Like any computer software/system, there are manuals. Installation manual, system administrator manual, clinical coordinator manual, user manual – if you have a question, it will be answered in a manual. I have been working on and off on the clinical coordinator manual. It is interesting situation to be in because the first draft of the manual was part of my introduction to the system and with a better idea of the responsibilities of the clinical coordinator manual, I have determined where there are holes in the manual that if I were the clinical coordinator manual, I would have questions about. It’s a long process and I’ve reached a point where I need help because I don’t know enough about the system. Still waiting…

Another product that MoH wants is a paper version of the system to be used during black outs and where there is no computer access. I reduced one big form into separate forms and created flowcharts on how to use which form and where. As part of condensing the system to paper forms, I am currently supervising the aforementioned students (hired back for another month) to pilot the paper form and test its efficiency compared to the current paper forms.

One of the great things about the HIS is that once it is used on a regular basis, and used well, then it will be able to generate reports on the raw data. There are certain reports programmed currently, but one of the complaints along the lines is that it doesn’t generate the reports that they need. The problem is that they haven’t told one person. And the other problems are that they are complicated reports to program, or are essentially useless – producing reports to use paper, but have no real value. I am trying to talk to everyone who creates reports about what they want from the system to see what is doable. So far I have talked to one clinic director who fortunately is a huge fan of the system and happy with what is produces.

The office is slowly, but surely, condensing in size. Currently there are three people in an office that from my understanding had held up to eight. At the end of this week we are moving into a smaller office and next week there will only be two people in the office. Wallis leaves just as the HIS programmer comes from Canada comes, but after he leaves, it will just be me in the office! The office is currently three areas – the main office with about 6 desk spaces, the project manager’s office and a store room. I have been going through boxes in the store room to determine their contents and the next step is to figure out where it all goes! It’s handy that most of the material can be divided into the four components of the project, but less handy that the boxes that the material is currently stored in do not reflect these topics. It’s going to be an interesting time organizing everything in the office this week.

See? I’m keeping busy! That’s just a snapshot. I’m hoping that when the project ends that MoH will still keep me busy and not forget about me.

How to eat a mango

I am currently living in a country where you know that the mangoes are fresh- when they fall off the tree. Maria had 3-4 mango trees in her yard, and they all produce a fruit with a slightly different flavour. One is just sweet enough, one requires a little salt, and the other two are juicy and sweet, though taste slightly different. My previous experience of eating mango has been to peel the skin off and slice it, hoping that is ripe enough and sweet.

Here when you pick it off the ground, you know it’s perfectly ripened. And you can cut it, but there is another option….

Step 1: Hold the mango. Take a bite from the end opposite the stem and remove. You’ve created a hole at the bottom of the mango.

Step 2: Squeeze and catch the juice and fruit flesh before it drips down your hands.

Step 3: Get a paper towel because you can’t catch it all.

Step 4: The seed will loosen as you eat more mango, remove and clean off the seed. Continue to squeeze the mango skin.

It sounds odd. It is actually kind of odd. But think about it the next time you grab a mango…

Mmmmmmmmmmm…………

Happy Diwali!

Background (compliments of Wikipedia)

Diwali,or Deepawali, (also called Tihar and Swanti in Nepal) (Markiscarali) is a major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday, and a significant festival in Hinduism and some of the other faiths which originated in India - Jainism and Sikhism. Today it is celebrated by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being. The Sanskrit word Deepavali means an array of lights that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. The festival marks the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness. Symbolically it marks the homecoming of goodwill and faith after an absence, as suggested by the story of Ramayana. On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes, share sweets and snacks.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali for more details relating to the stories.

Part 1: Thursday night

On Thursday night, I went with Mrs Boodie (my landlady) and her friend Desiree to the sea wall for the Diwali motorcade. We took a taxi as close as we could, but there was a traffic jam of people trying to get to the sea wall. We walked there and then along the wall looking for a place to sit that wasn’t too crowded. As it got closer to 8pm, our quiet little place became just as crowded as the rest of the wall. Vendors sat up in front of the wall and walked along the wall selling almost everything you could think of: cotton candy, honey roasted peanuts, regular peanuts, sugar cane and every kind of beverage you could imagine, plus light-up necklaces for the kids and squibs (aka firecrackers) which are illegal in Guyana. Mrs Boodie made sure I was well fed with cotton candy, honey roasted peanuts and regular peanuts. Best honey roasted peanuts I’ve ever had.

The motorcade itself was probably about eight floats in total. All the vehicles were covered in Christmas lights. Some were over the top, others were tastefully done. The common theme usually included a central focus around who I believe to be the goddess Lakshmi sitting on a water lily. Most floats had musical instruments, especially drums. The Ministry of Health sponsored a float that had a red ribbon in lights, always a reminder. The motorcade was quite the event with hundreds of people in attendance, sitting and standing on the sea wall. We left right after the vehicles drove by, but the rest of the crowd showed no signs of leaving.

Part 2: Friday night

Maria picked me up around 6pm with her two daughters, Megan and Geneva, and their cousin Marie. She greeted me with a cup and told me to drink. I trust her, but it’s still makes someone a little nervous to drink something they can’t see and don’t recognize the smell of – but my special surprise was freshly squeezed mango juice! Delicious!!

We did a bit of a driving tour to see the diyas lit up. Some houses use Christmas/fairy lights. Some go all out while others only have a few. Our first stop was at Maria’s friend Indarie whose house was aglow with Christmas lights and diyas sprinkled the balcony and her front yard. She greeted me with open arms and a hug even before who she knew who I was which was wonderful. She has two of Maria’s puppies who were very happy to see their mom and smell their siblings. Indarie took great pleasure in sharing with me some of the traditional foods made for the special day including sweetmeats, channa, mithai, and other things that I can’t remember the name of but were sweet and tasted good. She sent us home with care packages.

Our next stop was at Nalina and Noel’s. Nalina went to school with Maria for pharmacy. They decorated their house with diyas, but had to put them in paper bags because the wind would blow them out otherwise. Noel loves birds and showed us his rare purple parrot, some finches, budgies and a toucan!! Nalina also cooked up a feast and shared with us pholouri, vermillia, curry, sweet rice and ghugara. She sent me home with my very own package.

The most beautiful sight was quite unexpected. When I came to Guyana, I was surprised, but have become accustomed to the squatters areas and their shacks. Poorly built. Old tin. Aging wood. A place that I can’t imagine anyone living, let alone families. Almost every house as we drove along had diyas lining the path and up the stairs to the house, being tended with care. Here, on the darkest of nights, is where I saw the brightest lights.

Sea Wall

For those of you currently not living in Georgetown, the city is built below sea level. Approximately 7.5 feet below sea level. Why don’t I need scuba gear to get around you might ask? Because when the Dutch built Georgetown (formerly known as Stabroek), they built the sea wall, or maybe the French or the English. Somebody built the sea wall! It also helps protect against coastal erosion and protect the city from shrinking. The sea wall itself is 240 miles long, extending along most of the central and eastern coast of Guyana. I guestimate the width to be atleast 4 feet. and equally as high. The ground around it has been built up as well, helping make it higher.

I’d driven by it before, but Maria took me with her daughter Geneva to stand on it last week. I love the ocean. There is nothing like the ocean breeze. The water isn’t the clear blue that you might expect and it’s a rocky shoreline, not a sandy beach. The water is brown because the rivers run into it. The rivers are brown because the leaves fall in the river and soak the water like tea leaves.

Groceries

As much as I love trying new foods, there is a lot to be said for what is familiar. There is a lot that becomes familiar because it is what is available. I thought I’d share some prices with you (in Canadian dollars and they’re rounded, Guyanese would be a little overwhelming) of some things that I picked up. Most of these are from Nigel’s. It’s one of my favourite places to go. It’s like the Zehr’s among No Frills and bulk food places. It’s small. It’s fresh fruit/veggie section is one side of an aisle – most of it is imported and anything that is local is a few days old (better to buy it at the market). There is a lot of chicken, fish and beef to choose from, but I’ve only bought the chicken so far. Not having an oven cuts down on how to cook things. The Bounty sticker on chicken is a mark of quality. The beef is apparently good but tough so it needs to be cooked accordingly. I’m spoiled rotten for fish and didn’t buy it in Canada so I haven’t bought it here. Dad – I want speckled trout when I come home.

Kraft Dinner $1

Raisin Bran $5/ 20 oz box

Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice $6

Can of baked beans $2

1 Royal Gala apple $1.25

1lb fresh garlic $0.50

Can of Del Monte Veggies $1.25

Can of Del Monte Fruit Salad $2

Chicken breast $6/kg

Parmalat Milk 1L tetrapack $2

Loaf of whole wheat bread $1

Banana pop $0.80/L (like a carbonated banana freezie – I’m in love)

Yoplait yogurt $1.50/170g

Saran wrap $5

Anchor Cheese $12/kg (imported from New Zealand, there’s only one kind of cheese at the store – I bought $1’s worth)

Don’t worry Mom, this is only part of what I ate. If there’s anything you’re interested in knowing the price of, let me know! I might have bought it… or there might be a reason why I didn’t buy it.

Now I know I splurge on things that I like to eat or I know that I will react better with. Got to keep your mind and your body happy. But I do have to draw the line sometimes. On that note, I am asking everyone out to go out. Buy a tub of Ben and Jerry’s icecream. Go home. And eat it with a spoon straight from the tub. It’s your special treat to me – splurge the $6 for a tub and enjoy every bite because I can’t rationalize spending $23 for it. I want it. But not that badly. Yet.

National Park

This past Saturday, I spent the day with Maria and her family. I went to Georgetown Club with her and watched her daughter’s squash lesson in the morning. It’s so great – there are squash courts in the back and they offer free lessons on Saturday mornings. We were greeted at the gate by Maria’s herd of dogs and puppies, and I mean herd! I think she has about 10 in total. I helped Maria make a lovely lunch of chicken (with jerk and special sauce), macaroni, twice cooked potatoes, fried plantain and veggies. We watched Madagascar as a breeze blew through the house and I admired the pawpaw, passionfruit and mango trees in her yard. Just before we called it a day, her daughter suggested a walk in the National Park.

I had driven by it before, going here and there, but I had never been to it. It’s not like a National Park in Canada with forest for miles and wildlife, but more of a regular park meets a sports field. There is a outdoor stage area, several sports fields, a track around a field that is a mile long, trees and ponds. When we got there, there was a rugby game just finishing up on one field and a football (or soccer!) game on another. It gets dark here at 6pm and we left for our walk at 5:30pm. As we were turning a corner, Maria and her daughter were talking about manatees. Oh yeah, manatees. No seriously. Manatees. They live in the ponds in the park. And people feed manatees like we feed ducks. It was almost dark when we got to the pond, but we were able to see a manatee feeding on some grass at the edge of the pond. I saw his back and his cute little nose. I saw a MANATEE! Actually, I saw four other little bumps that were also manatees. I can’t wait to go back and see them during the day. And feed them!

Weekend and the Market

Other than this past weekend, I’ve had fairly low key weekends here so far. I like to walk down Sherriff St on Saturday morning and pick up a few things. There is some variety/grocery stores, a bakery, fish place and a Royal Chicken (kind of like KFC). One of the stores is set up with shelves behind bars. You order what you want at the cashier and they pick it up for you. I like the other one because I can pick things out and read their labels. I hesitate to call either of them grocery stores because the supply of fruits and vegetables is non-existent. There are other grocery stores that do have fruits and vegetables. Funny story – most of them are imported.

Luckily, there is the market. Kala took me the first time with another office worker and Navin drove of us. It’s about the length of a block with stands on either side forming a walkway in the middle. It started to rain and we only had one umbrella. Navin dropped us off and waited while the three of us took turns standing under the umbrella and tarps at the different stands. Kala introduced me to some vegetables and fruits that I have never seen and I got an idea of how market interactions work. I was catching up with the umbrella after buying carrots and apple bananas when a man dumped the water pooling on his tarp… on top of me! One half of me was completely soaked and then I laughed because what else could I do. As if I didn’t stand out enough in the market… I can go to the market with $1000 in my pocket (aka $5 CDN) and leave with change, and bags heavy from fruits and vegetables. One of my favourites to pick up is a small watermelon for $300 ($1.50CDN) and cut it up so that I have bags of fresh watermelon in the fridge. It is so red and sweet! Between Wallis and Kala, I have been introduced to bora [which looks like a long string bean and is used for flavouring in dishes (but Afrianda tells me that it will cause the food to sour if you keep any for leftovers)], sapodilla [which is a very unique fruit, a shell like a kiwi but not fuzzy with great big flat seeds inside, and the flesh is white and sweet and stringy, very good anyway) , pawpaw [just another word for papaya but I didn’t know for the longest time], and two other random fruits that I don’t remember the name of. I tried one which has a tough outside, but you bite it and suck on the pit. Usually it should be sweet but the one that I tried wasn’t ripe yet and tasted like a sour candy, so good in another way! The other was a bitter/tart berry that leaves a coating on your teeth. Oh wait! It’s called sorrel. Why do I remember? Because you don’t eat it, you use it to make juice and Wallis made me sorrel juice. It made me think of Christmas – the juice has Christmasy spices in it and the red berry became a very sweet, flavourful juice.

And yes, my last weekend adventure: There is nothing quite like taking a nap in the afternoon on a weekend under a mosquito net.

Can’t wait until market days this week! (Wednesday and Thursday).

Take care.

Periwinkle Dinner

The same week of Breast Cancer Awareness on Tuesday, I attended a meeting for Wallis’ group The Periwinkle Club. They meet the third Tuesday of every month at their new headquarters. There were about twenty members present. As well as discuss various events coming up like a Fundraiser dinner and a presentation of hampers to cancer patients plus getting the Club officially recognized, AVON representatives came in for makeovers for select members and gave everyone a free gift back. I am now melony fresh!

Maria and I have decided that our official titles for the Periwinkle Club, though we are new members, are the Public Relations – Social Events Managers which we have shortened to Public-Social Managers or PSM. The Periwinkle Club held an Anniversary Dinner and Fashion Show as a fundraiser on Saturday night. We were busy last week running errands to pick up material and flowers for decorations, and picking up tickets and money here and there. We decorated 30 glass globes for the centerpieces by painting them with the periwinkle flower logo. I helped Wallis create a Powerpoint presentation as a reflection on the club’s first year and another for the dutch auction with the items. I spent all of Saturday at the Georgetown Club decorating for the evening’s events, hanging pink and white netting, and setting up tables. I got ready in half an hour wearing my black cotton dress and polka dot shoes. The whole event was a success. Everyone had a great time. And yes, of course the food. Appetizers were vegetables pastries and cheese with pineapple. The meal was buffet with baked fish in lemon sauce, chicken with stuffing, rice, a soya bean and sweet potato bake, cooked veggies and a tossed salad. Dessert was lemon meringue pie and fruit trifle – but I didn’t get any! I tried passionfruit juice for the first time. I was the slide changer for the Powerpoint presentations. A dutch auction is an interesting concept. Bids work the same way, but when you increase the bid, you pay that amount. Say the bid is at G$5000, if you increase it to G$6000, you pay G$1000 right away. The auction raised G$172 000. The items were beautiful, three of which were done by local artisans. The whole event was done by 11pm and we finished the evening dancing as we cleaned up.

Breast Cancer… in Guyana

As I am sure many of you are aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Something you may not know is that AVON has a franchise in Guyana and Suriname which led to Guyana’s second annual Breast Cancer Awareness week that took place two weeks ago now. Along those same lines, I mentioned in an earlier post that Wallis has a cancer support group called Periwinkle Club. I am sure that you won’t be surprised that I have become involved with this and help her out where I can. She was a lecturer at the University of Guyana and was presented in her Research Methods class with a proposal by students about breast cancer in Guyana. This proposal inspired her to do the research interview breast cancer patients in Guyana who expressed a need for a support group and networking opportunities. If you want to get something done in Guyana, it happens faster if you know somebody. Or know somebody who knows somebody… Anyways, now that you have some background information – here’s my current community involvement in Guyana…

On October 14^th, I attended the AVON Afternoon Tea and Fashion Show with Wallis and her three year old daughter, Samara. The event was a fundraiser for AVON’s Breast Cancer Awareness committee. I opted for fruit juice (surprise!) and everyone got a little plate of goodies. For the record, that was a hot pepper on the devilled egg and I’m okay. The next day or so, the AVON committee tied pink banners advertising breast cancer awareness around the trees of a major road in Georgetown. On the 17^th, they held a Breast Cancer Awareness Symposium. The Guyanese Minister of Health (MOH) Leslie Ramsammy spoke very well. It sounds like he works very hard and feels very passionate about the health of the people in Guyana. Guyana had its first open heart surgery a few ago, successfully (http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56531009), something that a lot of people didn’t think was possible. I had seen it in the news, but he made me really think about what an amazing feat it was for this country. The Minister is incredibly support of the Breast Cancer Awareness committee. He was inspired by a meeting last year where a group of women came into his office, and one of them took off her shirt and asked him whether her breasts were a thing of beauty or a thing of death.

Most women in Guyana, IF they are diagnosed, are diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 breast cancer. In a country of 700 000, 90-100 Guyanese women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Cancer is among the top three killers in a country with the highest HIV/AIDS infection in South America and the Caribbean, and is ranked above HIV/AIDS deaths. Of cancer types, breast cancer is the #1 killer of women and prostate cancer is the #1 for men. There is a Cancer Institute which has a relationship with a company, Global Imaging Services, which does mammograms among other tests like ultrasound. A mammogram costs $4000 ($20CDN), but for the month of October, they are offering them for $3000($15 CDN) in honour of breast cancer awareness month. In my mind, I was like wow that’s not bad for a mammogram, but then I remember that it is a big deal. That is a lot of money for some people. So much money that they leave it until it is too late. Periwinkle Club offers to subsidize half of the cost of mammograms for its members. The MOH will pay half the cost of cancer treatment. The Minister has a dream that some day the cost of cancer treatment will be free for all Guyanese like HIV drugs are. The best choice for saving lives from cancer is early detection and prevention, but awareness and cost are currently road blocks.

After the Minister, Wallis spoke about cancer and nutrition, looking at it from effects of nutrition on cancer, preventing cancer with food, what to eat while a patient and after treatment. We put the presentation together that day and she did a great job. She is an excellent public speaker and very knowledgeable. The Avon Franchise owner lives in Suriname and she brought with a breast cancer survivor to speak. She has been a survivor for 10 years. She spoke better answering questions than in her original talk. I get nervous when people give advice that they have been given and are treated like experts, it’s the telephone game with your health, but her story of coming to terms with the fact that she had cancer was effective. The last speaker was Thomas Everly from Global Imaging. He was originally a nurse in the States, but my understanding is that he is the manager/owner of the company. He performed mammograms there, but since this is Guyana, there is a woman nurse that does the mammograms. He spoke about breast self exams (BSE) and how to do them and when. He shared some more facts about breast cancer in Guyana and his version of the stages that he sees: Stage three - walking dead and Stage four - as good as dead. He ended with graphic pictures of cancer that got across a message quite effectively.

On Saturday, I woke up early to walk in the AVON Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness. It was supposed to be at 6:30am, but it started closer to 7am. The walk was probably around 4km and I was definitely a glowing image in pink by the end of it. Look at me: http://guyanalive.com/gallery/gallery.php?g2_itemId=26846 and

http://guyanalive.com/gallery/gallery.php?g2_itemId=27006 . I was also on the Evening News!

" ... of the week"

I just have time for a quick update so I thought I would share what I shall call the "food of the week". Just one aspect of my experiences here, but having had some beautiful watermelon this morning (I took a picture - will share soon), I am inspired by the food I eat.

Fruit of the week: tangerine. Here, they have green peel. And I was a little nervous about them because green to me means not ripe, but I trusted Wallis and bought them AND oh my goodness! SO GOOD! Full of seeds of course so I make a juicy mess but they are very sweet and bright orange inside. The "skin" (is that what it is called?) is thick, almost like a large orange, but the pulp is definitely soft like a tangerine.

Dish of the week: channa. It's made of chickpeas. I had the "soft version" so it is boiled (not fried) and then I think baked with garlic and onion and other spices... Oh so good... Very flavourful, good source of protein and very little fat. Samuel had his mom make me a different version so I will try that this weekend.

Restaurant of the week: Roti Hut. They have everything. It's where I had the channa with fried plantain (which is like a banana met a potato, so looks like a banana, but starchy carb like a potato) and greens (very expensive, mostly cabbage and not very green at all - vegetables are rare when eating out). It is kind of like a buffet with all the dishes out in front and you just tell them what you want. They have traditional Guyanese foods (like the channa, and so many different kinds of curry), but they also had Shepherd's pie and macaroni & cheese. I know where to go when I am craving some comfort food! It was kind of neat when Maria started to explain what Shepherd's pie was to me - they usually do with most dishes, but I told her that I might have had it before. Nobody makes it like my mom though! Roti Hut also has a bakery and a mini grocery with it.

Juice of the week: guava. It's just good. But, cherry juice is still winning for my favourite juice. Ever.

Work and "extras" update in progress... Probably Monday? Have a great weekend! Take care.

Apartment Rules

Let’s see. More about my apartment.

Rule #1 in my apartment: Don’t drink the water. In some places, it can be contaminated, but there is a filtration system of sorts in place for water coming from the taps. I learned from Glenn that it actually used to be a good system and you could drink the water, but management along the way sacrificed quality (hmm… sound familiar?). The water is fairly clean and chlorinated, but has high levels of iron that can irritate your throat and bodily systems. Now bottled water is a huge industry. I have an 18.9L gallon of “Tropical Mist Pure Artesian Well Water” in my apartment. It cost $2500 (around $12CDN) and can cost anywhere from $1-200 to refill (about $0.50-$1). Worth every penny!

Rule #2: Shower in the morning or night. Why? Because that’s when I have water. My landlady is supposed to be getting me a pump, but currently the water doesn’t work during the day. It’s an experience to turn on the tap and not getting any water, then to remember that it’s 11am and you won’t have any water until closer to dinner time. Water pressure is a fond memory. I like to think that I valued water before, but now I watch every drop.

Rule #3: Look at everything before you eat it, you never know if the ants have found it before you did. Let’s just say I had a bad experience and I don’t want to talk about it. Now I am the ants’ worst nightmare. New sport in the evening: wet paper towel and kill the ants. Follow their paths and spray it with FISH. Probably the best insecticide in the world. Probably not legal in Canada, but it works so I'm not going to question its health effects now.

Rule #4: Know where your flashlight is at all times because you never know when the lights are going to go out. Blackouts are common. I have a flashlight and a head lamp, one in the living room and one beside my bed. Blackouts usually last about half an hour. Fortunately I can still heat water with my gas stove for cooking and have things to keep me busy that don't involve electricity. Very thankful for Nicole's tip for a head lamp. I feel like a miner. It’s kind of crazy how dark the world gets when all the outside and inside lights go out. It gets dark at 6pm here so with a blackout shortly after that it's dark. The first couple of times, I was pretty sure that my fridge, fluorescent light, TV and fan were blowing the power grid. Now I know it will happen regardless of what power I am using because it just happens. My first night, the power went out for half an hour. Phone rings. "Are you afraid of the dark?" Could be incredibly creepy except for it was Mrs Boodie and she really was concerned if I was afraid of the dark and offered for me to come upfront in the house with her.

Rule #5: Don’t be scared of the dog. My landlady didn’t tell me that she had a dog. I “met” him the first night I moved in and he cried outside my window. He has a vicious bark, but is an absolute sweetheart. I guess he is a guard dog because I think she lets him off the chain at night. I was out one morning before Mrs Boodie and Jeff (the dog) met me at the gate, just grinning and wagging his little stub of a tail. Not a vicious guard dog at all. I think it’s because we bonded. Not a fan of the crying at 6am in the morning, but he calms down a bit if I talk to him. I think he's just lonely.

Rule #6: It’s okay, the fans won’t fall out of the ceiling – well, atleast the one in the living room. I don’t like to test the one in the bedroom and now my mosquito net is hanging from it.

That's all the rules for now! Take care.

Snapfish Picture Account

Hey everybody!

I created a general account for viewing pictures at Snapfish. I'll still try to add some to Facebook, but most will go on Snapfish - because my mom can't see Facebook! You can use the following account and password. The group room has already been added. Look on the left hand side for "Adventures in Guyana". Enjoy!

account: biz_e_biz@yahoo.com
password: guyana

The People, Part 1

Dr. Wallis Plummer-Best is my Guyana Mom #1 and the local project manager. Her emails were just a fraction of the caring woman she is. I felt immediately welcomed by her. She is one of those women that you can just feel the power. She's tough, but compassionate. She has her PhD in pharmacy or some related field and used to teach at the University of Guyana. She helped me find the apartment by her house and went through the pros/cons of other places we looked at. I thought I couldn't like her anymore for how welcoming she has been and helpful and for her hardwork on the project, until I learned that she created Periwinkle which is a cancer support group, which essentially does support services as far as counseling, help getting drugs, to places, whatever cancer patients need. She has a fundraiser coming up this weekend or next, but I am going to talk to her about getting involved. We also share a love for chocolate cake and éclairs from Oasis Café. Kindred spirits.

Emilia is the project coordinator based out of Ottawa. She arrived last Monday and left this Wednesday. This was her first trip to Guyana. She is such a hard worker and doesn't realize how great she is. She is the glue that holds the whole project together. She is the only staff member on the project that has been with it since the beginning and she knows everything! She thinks that she is only a small player and doesn't have a lot to contribute to the project with expertise. This has been a great project because of the quality of the consultants (experts in their field) and the consistency of them (apparently on other projects they change all the time so they don't build any relationships with the local people). She is so funny in thinking that they could do this without her. I have enjoyed her company.

Dr. Paul Fisher is like Dad meets Burt Reynolds meets computer nerd meets biologist. He is the HIS consultant. The first time I met him, he was introduced and was like, "so, gene sequencing…" I feel like twenty minutes later he interrogated me on my database experience (zero) which I clarified I never claimed to have, just spreadsheet experience. That first night we went to GuyExpo and he made some reference to log cabin building. I must have given him a funny look because he replied that yes, somebody had read my CV. He had told the project manager (Lori who interviewed me with Emilia- I'll meet her at the end of October) that anyone who worked on a log cabin was alright by him. I had forgotten it was still on my resume, but he liked it because it showed I was up for any task and wasn't afraid to really work. I think I'll send him pictures. I teased him later when he asked me if I had any experience editing things – "didn't you read my CV? I did writing consultations!" to which he replied he was more interested in gene sequencing and log cabin building. He is a professor based out of Brazil.

Dr. Ramotar made sure that I was fed for the few days when I only had US cash and didn't know how to exchange it. I felt bad, but he was more worried about me being fed when he left. He is the microbiologist expert and works largely with the STI program and a bit with the TB program, both in the lab training and in manuals. He left Guyana in his early 20s, so he understands the people and has a different perspective than the other consultants. He was really great about explaining how Guyanese people work and calming Emilia down when she stresses about the sustainability of the project and what will happen when it ends.

Afrianda is the office staff at PHSG. She is probably about my age and is very sweet. She answers the phone, files things and runs errands. She is going to Barbados for university/college for computer programming soon, I think. Glenn Millar is the project driver. The project has a van and he drives people to appointments as well as runs errands with it to pick up and drop stuff off. He is also the money exchanger, for which I am thankful. I used to think he was very quiet, but yesterday he warmed up to me and shared everything about the water, the fruits/vegetables, Christmas... Everytime I got in the vehicle he had a different story. He and Afrianda helped me go grocery shopping yesterday. Last stop: bakery - and we celebrated a successful shopping trip with chocolate cupcakes, my treat.

Kala is my Guyana Mom #2. I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect when I met her. She wanted to know what the High Commission had talked about (which really wasn't a lot except don't go in certain areas and avoid minibuses, here is our contact information). We had our own security debrief, but we also talked more about health and personal life in Guyana. She is originally from Malaysia and came to Guyana thirty years ago to volunteer and got married two years later. She is a very worldly woman and has definitely been changed for the better by her time here. She has offered me her home if I ever need space to get away. We had a two hour session and I wanted to hug her by the end, but I wasn't sure… But she got up and she was like, I like to end these with a hug, and I was like, oh good, I wanted one! We are going to the market today and she is going to introduce me to her market people, show me the best places, and teach me about the fruits and vegetables here. She'll also get to see my apartment and will show me good places in the neighbourhood to eat.

I met Mark, Anna and Imran at the Canadian High Commission. The meeting with Mark was more of an inquiry about the project than a get to know me. Anna gave me her contact information (CIDA Project Coordinator) and Imran gave me a security debrief and his personal contact info as well.

Naajiyah is the HIS coordinator for the MIS. She has been working with HIS the longest. She is very sweet and I love it when she smiles or gets excited about something - she just bubbles and you wouldn't expect it because she is so quiet normally. Maria and Samuel are students led by Naajiyah to help train staff on the HIS at the various clinics. They were recommended by Dr. Plummer to the project. They have both been really great about offering to help show me around, something that I will take them up on now that Emilia is gone. The three of them are all very excited about the project and passionate in thinking that the HIS will work. They work hard and are always at the clinics which is the best way to remind people to use the HIS. The software itself is mostly ready to go, but it is still not widely accepted.

Joyce is the STI lab coordinator and I met her through Dr Ramotar. She is a medical technologist and though we will not directly be working together, we share a love of Sean Paul and have had some great conversations together so I am sure that I will see more of her now that I have a phone number and an address!

The Apartment

I never thought that I would be sad to leave a hotel, but the staff at the Eldorado Inn has been amazing. As strange as it may sound, I think I will come back and visit them. They introduced me to so many things and enjoyed teaching me about Guyanese food and places. They were always ready with hellos and smiles in the morning or when I come home. I also broke my first heart in Guyana here – the hotel manager’s three year old son is quite taken with me. The first time we met, he became my shadow and followed me around with a huge grin. He wanted me to go to the barber’s with him and cried and cried when I didn’t go and he thought he wouldn’t see me again. Broke my heart a little bit – I almost went to the barber’s with him! I didn’t think his smile could get any bigger until he saw me again and knew that I had meant it when I said I’d see him later. The last couple of times he believed me when I said I’d be back so now I have to! If you call me ‘aunty’, gaze at me adoringly and talk even though I don’t understand a word, how could I refuse?

Yesterday, I moved into my apartment. I think it’s funny that I was looking for a place in Guelph all to myself and never found it – but now I have it in Guyana! It’s cute. A little on the small side, but I like to think it will be cosy. I live with Denise Boodie (Mrs. Boodie) in a separate apartment at the back of her house. She is very sweet, but also a good business woman. I believe she owns a pest control company. Her handy man Mickey (I’m assuming that’s how it is spelt because that’s how it sounds!) is currently trying to hook up my gas stove top for me (clamp was too small) and came in perfect timing to help me stop the toilet from flooding the bathroom. It’s not my fault! There is an overflow built into the toilet tank that is supposed to connect to a pipe that drains outside, but it doesn’t connect anywhere and just drips on the floor. It was actually pretty exciting when it started working because it meant that I had water! There is only water in the morning and at night, but she is going to get me a pump so that I can have water during the day. My address is: 39 Dadanawa St. Section K Campbelville, Georgetown, Guyana. I am told that this will work as my mailing address. Dadanawa is an Amerindian word and is the name of a place/town in the interior. I’m not quite sure where in Georgetown I am or how to get anywhere yet because every time someone has driven me, they’ve taken a different route, but I think I’ve narrowed it down to a section on the map. Rather centrally located, but I could be wrong. If you feel so inclined, my phone number is 0011-592-225-6911. I don’t have the password yet to dial out, but I’ll ask Mrs. Boodie the next time I see her.

In the “living area”, there is a love seat, two lovely wooden chairs, two end tables and a television. The kitchen is mostly fully equipped as far as dishes/pots/pans go (and they all look new) plus a sink, a gas stove top, a microwave and a little bar fridge (not too little, but still). The bathroom has the essentials, but it is missing a door which will make it interesting if I ever have company. The bedroom has a double bed, night table and a cupboard for clothes. There are random pieces of art everywhere and the curtains are kind of funky. The windows are interesting – the panes themselves open and clothes. They look like blinds? Thankfully there is mesh on the windows which is rare, but I still think that I will need a mosquito net. There is a fan in the bedroom and the living area, but they make me a little nervous that they will fall on me. They just move around hot air too so we are looking into getting an air conditioner installed in the bedroom.

I’ll take pictures soon! Unfortunately my couch isn’t big enough for visitors, but I believe they will always have a room for me at the Eldorado Inn if you’re interested in visiting!

Take care

xoxo

Still working...

I have spent all of my days since the day touring the hospital and clinics in the CSIH’S PHSG project office. Dr. Fisher left on Friday, Emilia and Dr. Ramotar left early yesterday morning. I’m the last Canadian left!! I have been editing manuals for the HIS for Dr Fisher and started my own, as well as entering data for Emilia into the HR module about staff and the workshops that they have attended. I had forgotten how you can get lost in front of a computer and all of a sudden the day is over. I am working with Open Office which is the open source software (that’s for you Netcorps interns!) or free software version of Microsoft Office. It’s just like Microsoft Office, minus the license fee and I’m having difficulty making clear graphics in my manuals (so I’ve cut them out for now!) Next week I will be working more with MIS, but I am sure that Emilia will have all kinds of plans for me once she is back in Ottawa and knows what I have access to in Georgetown. Dr Fisher is my mentor too so I will touch base with him to review my role.

I met with the Canadian High Commission’s office on Friday. A little bit of a meet and greet followed by a security briefing. They were all very nice and I have their contact information for direct phone calls (and not all the screening) which is nice to have. If anything happens, they’ll know where to find me and how to get me out of the country. They are also going to let me know about any events that they are having with other Canadians.

I work in essentially the CIDA building at Main and Newmarket, Georgetown. It is full of CIDA projects as well as the UNAIDS office. It also houses the PSU or Project Support Unit which is designed to assist all of these projects, either with IT or drivers, all kinds of things. Navin was from PSU. Kala is his boss. The first time I met her, I knew she was a strong, tough woman. I was supposed to meet with her last week, but I finally met with her on Tuesday. I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect, but I have found my Guyana Mom #2. We had our own security debrief, but also talked more about health and personal life in Guyana. I am glad to have another person to add to my Guyana “safety net”. She introduced me to the guys my age in her staff and will introduce me to her daughter who works in alternative medicine.

Thanksgiving Adventures

Thanksgiving Adventures

My first choice to celebrate thanksgiving is at home with my family and enough turkey to make you sleep for days. I hope somebody enjoyed my share of the stuffing and I am very jealous of anyone who ate whatever my grandma whipped up. My second choice is to fly out to the Amazon Rainforest then hop over to the savannah and spend the day looking at the beauty and power of nature. Though I was not at home for Thanksgiving, I happen to live in Guyana and it is only one hour by plane to Kaiteur National Park, home of Kaiteur Falls in the rainforest, and half an hour from there to Orinduk Falls on the Guyana/Brazil border. Perfect!

I saw a toucan!

There isn’t really more to that statement. He was flying. He was a toucan. I was too slow to get a picture (my finger was on the trigger after that). But I saw a toucan in the rainforest!

This past weekend was Emilia’s first and last weekend in Guyana. At first we were going to go to a resort in the interior or on the coast, but that type of trip requires the whole weekend, perhaps even a three day weekend. Though most of the population lives in Georgetown, they will all claim that Georgetown is not Guyana and to really see Guyana, you have to leave Georgetown. A quick call to Rainforest Tours showed that there were openings on their trip to see both Kaiteur and Orinduk Falls on Sunday – perfect! For those of you who don’t know, Kaiteur is considered to be the highest single drop waterfall at 741 ft and Orinduk is just pretty (it borders Brazil and Guyana and if it holds any records, nobody told me). Both are completely different (except they both involve water) and have their own beauty.

If you look at a map of Guyana, there are quite a few communities around the coast and located along the main rivers. I live in Georgetown and the farthest community south that I will probably travel to for work is Linden. That is also apparently where the road ends and a dirt road starts. Guyana is a small country, but what would take us three hours to drive from Georgetown (north part on coast) to the border with Brazil (southern tip) will take over a day to drive in Guyana because of the roads. There are two options to get to Kaiteur which has its own difficulties to get to because it is in the rainforest and is situated within a mountain range on the Guiana Shield (a plateau that is one of the world's oldest and remotest geological formations). Option 1 goes something like this: Drive until the road ends, get in a boat and then hike for three days. Option 1 is better if you want to see the fauna because most of them are nocturnal (it’s actually advertised as a wilderness trek), though I don’t know how I feel about meeting a jaguar or an ocelot. Option 2 is easier: get in a 12 seater Cessna and fly for one hour. We took option 2!

Again, I’ve been to Newfoundland and Guyana by plane. They weren’t big planes, but they were big enough. Moment of panic when I see the plane we will be getting into, but I had a talk with myself and this is something that I really wanted to do and this was how I had to get there. So I did. Emilia and I sat in the back for the first trip (and I mentally calculated to make sure the weight was evenly distributed in the plane). They loaded up our picnic lunch and we were off. I actually really liked it too! The windows are bigger than in a big plane (weird, I know) and you are riding below or through the clouds most of the time so you can see so much! I’d like to thank my dad for his ears because though they went a little funny sometimes, they always cleared.

I like planes. Flying over Guyana reminded me of models that people create of towns, etc. From the air, everything looks perfect in every detail. Houses are perfect little houses. Trees and grass look fuzzy and fake. Clouds look like cotton balls. Rivers wind in perfect squiggles. I had a little moment thinking of the song “From a distance…” and how true it is. I have seen those houses up close, they aren’t perfect and some I would hesitate to call a house, but they are somebody’s home. The newspaper in Guyana is more depressing than at home, and at times, much more graphic with descriptions and the pictures that they print. Flying above, you forget that.

Upon our arrival to Kaiteur National Park, we were greeted by our tour guide who I will let speak for himself: “I will be your tour guide today. Lawrence Gibson is the name. Welcome to Kaiteur National Park….. Remember to take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but your footprints behind”. He was a wonderful character. Full of facts on everything and even more stories to share, one of which I will try to remember. Kaiteur Falls is named after Kai. He was a chief of the Amerindian people in the area long ago and they were experiencing some difficulties with the gods. He felt that the only way to make amends with the gods would be for him to sacrifice himself which he did by throwing himself off the river’s edge. Kai is the chief and “teur” translates to fall. So really it is Kai’s fall Falls.

Kaiteur has three viewing areas that are designed to give you three different perspectives of the falls: Boyscouts View (full view of the drop and river below), Rainbow View (closer and can see rainbows in mist, as well as a full view of the “great green canyon” – we walked under the rainforest canopy to get there!) and what I will call River View because I don’t think I even looked at the sign (right on the edge of the river where it drops and becomes the falls). The last one has what I like to call “Freddie’s cliff” after a family friend who saw a picture of a man standing on it and wanted a picture of me standing on it. So I have one – sorry Freddie, it’s a different angle because I didn’t have a photographer at the correct location. I also took a video standing on the overhang for him and of the sign warning me to proceed at my own risk (I’m okay, Mom!)

We spent about an hour (hour and half tops) at the three viewing areas of the falls and walked back to the plane for our picnic lunch of potato salad, chicken legs, rice and veggies with the most delicious watermelon I have ever had. On the tour was Emilia and I, two guys from McGill, a husband and wife with their sister in law and mother in law from England/Scotland, a husband originally from Guyana with his American wife (now both from Brampton) and a husband and wife with their mother in law from Barbados. The last woman was over eighty, but you wouldn’t know it to look at her or to see her get around! It wasn’t an intense walk at Kaiteur, but not a flat walk for sure. One of the guys from McGill graduated from the University of Guelph in 2005 – what are the odds that out of 13 people in the middle of nowhere Guyana, two would be U of G grads? I thought it was cool. He lived in South and still after how many years, was jealous that I lived in Johnston.

It was about half an hour from Kaiteur to Orinduk by plane. The landscape changed completely. We were originally in the canopy of a rainforest, but it was like a line was drawn with one side being forest, one side being the grasslands of the savannah. Orinduk Falls is more of rapids, though definitely still beautiful. The rocks are all jasper. It was an interesting trek down to the viewing point with a rocky path that looked just like a pile of rocks, but we made it. The two guys took a swim which I would have contemplated except for being warned about swimming in fresh water by the public health unit and about the dangers of wet jasper. Dr Ramotar broke five ribs slipping on the jasper at these falls. I’m sure my insurance would cover it, but I’m not that adventurous to test it.

On our way back to Georgetown, Emilia and I sat at the front of the plane and the group from England was dropped off at an island resort. They were doing more of a bird tour by the sounds of it. One of the daughters and the mom would be returning to England for three days before heading off to do a polar bear trip – talk about temperature shock! We landed safely in Georgetown and took our little Rainforest Tours mini bus back to the hotel. Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of veggie burgers from JR’s – little bit of spice, little bit of pineapple and so big that you think you can’t eat it, but so good that you do!

Snapfish Photo Albums

I found a Facebook alternative to view photos. Check out:: http://elizabethinguyana.snapfish.com/snapfish. To enter the group you need to create an account and know the room password which is 13579, but the access shouldn't be blocked. I don't think anyone is addicted to Snapfish at work like Facebook! Enjoy!

New blog post (or two) in the works. Take care. Thanks for all the emails!

Facebook photos

Still trying to figure out how to load pictures onto my blog, but here they are on Facebook. You should be able to access them if you click on the link (and if Facebook isn't blocked). I'll keep trying for a more accessible web album.

New Amsterdam photos
http://uoguelph.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2155899&l=303ef&id=120810227

Chinese dinner in Georgetown
http://uoguelph.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2155900&l=2aff0&id=120810227

Not just a tourist…

I have been working. Really. Kind of. Actually my first day, I was taken by Dr. Fisher to meet the staff at the Ministry of Health (MOH) responsible for the training and implementation of the HIS at the various sights. I was given a training session which everybody else knew I was getting except me until we got there. I might like organizing things. Maybe. So I enjoyed my introduction to the system and could immediately see the potential. I think it will take a while for me to find my place working with the staff as there is a different way to do and approach things here, but they have been very welcoming and I am sure that once I am more settled and oriented, I’ll fit right in. From my understanding, Naajiyah is the primary supervisor of training and responsible for the updating of the system, and I will also be working with Maria and Samuel who have taken me under their wing or at least offered to. When the CSIH project ends, they will be the team that I will be working with. Currently it seems that I will be divided between CSIH and the MOH.

Yesterday I was on the road by 6am to travel to New Amsterdam with Emilia, Dr. Ramotar (microbiologist expert consultant from Canada), Joyce (the new STI lab coordinator – of all the labs!) and of course, Glenn. The Berbice River is one of the three rivers that divides this country (definitely the land of many waters) into regions and we had to take a ferry to cross it. I hear a bridge has been in the works, but I also hear that it has always been in the works. The main visit was to check out the STI/TB lab at the new hospital (a project between Japan and Guyana, with some equipment in the lab funded by CSIH) and the Family Health Clinic established by CSIH. The hospital and lab were definitely an eye opener for me and I am not sure how or if I am ready to describe it, but here is a glimpse. I don’t think that I am over estimating by saying that there were probably about one hundred people waiting in and around the hospital for treatments, tests or emergency visits. Most of the hospital is open air which I guess never occurred to me that hospitals could be like that. The offices and labs are air conditioned. A big moment for me was walking into the STI/TB diagnostic lab and seeing regular pipette tips and serological pipet tips being soaked in the sink, presumably for re-use. It made me think of every time over the past three years that I have racked tips and thrown them out when I dropped them on the counter or floor. Dr. Ramotar and Joyce talked to them about STI lab plans and reviewed gram stains with the MPTs (multi purpose technicians) which was also kind of fun for me to review as well.

Today I visited the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) and specifically the Central Medical Laboratory (CML) for training sessions with Naajiyah, Maria and Samuel. The training sessions themselves were brief, probably 10-20 minutes, but my understanding is that they find it more effective to go through it and then hang around for questions later or just make themselves visible by frequent visits. The official training of receptionists, technicians, doctors and nurses apparently only began a couple of weeks ago and they would like to have the system operating more fully by the end of October. Pharmacists are next on the list after there is somewhat of a routine between the clinics and labs, with the final goal being the whole hospital. Samuel gave me a tour of the hospital and I was more prepared for it after yesterday. It is also all indoors, but I got to see every area not just the waiting room and lab (emergency, pharmacy, eye clinic, pediatrics, surgery...). We also visited the TB chest clinic and the GUM (genito-urinary medicine) clinic which are both test sites for the HIS. I felt semi-useful at the GUM clinic as I cleaned a STI counsellor’s mouse and helped change the date on her computer so that the system could calculate patient ages correctly.

For those of you who would like to know more about the project, check out the website. I realize that I didn’t get to go into a lot of detail with some of you (mostly because I didn’t know a lot), but this is a good overview. http://www.csih.org/en/projects/guyana/index.html

Alright, I am about all posted out. I'll try for atleast weekly updates after this, but I think this has been a pretty good introduction for where my adventures have taken me so far. What do you think? :)

Take care
xoxo

Starting to explore…

The Eldorado Inn is a quaint little hotel in the middle of Georgetown somewhere (Check it out àhttp://www.eldorado-inn.com/). The staff is extremely pleasant and I think they find me amusing with my questions and smiles. I’ll post some pictures as soon as I can, but though I have wireless internet here at the hotel, it is temperamental and crashes routinely, especially if I try to load files.

We started apartment hunting today and I will probably have a place by the weekend. The two we saw today were very nice and run for about $60 000-90 000 a month. For the record, $1 CDN = $G200. I’m still getting used to people throwing around number and paying $1000 for a meal (which is actually on the expensive side). I don't have much money in my wallet, but I feel kind of rich carrying around a $1000 bill. The first apartment was $300CDN, one bedroom, fully furnished while the other one was $450, two bedrooms, fully furnished (discounted from $550 because it would just be for me). The first was really cute, but the second one does have air conditioning in the bedrooms (beginning to think it’s a necessity for my sleeping success) and the bedrooms are on the second floor which apparently decreases the number of bugs and frogs. The second one is the size of a large townhouse which might be a little much for just me! Wallis has a couple more places lined up for me to see – and of course all the places we are looking at has someone (either herself, a friend or a co-worker) within a block in case of an emergency. She is wonderful.

My first night here we went to GuyExpo which is like a fair with all the booths, but minus the rides and somewhat more commercialized, especially with all the cell phone companies. The booths sell everything you could think of and also present a lot of information from places like the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health. As I was still adjusting to the heat and probably half asleep, I didn’t try any of the food, but I did enjoy all the sights and sounds (especially the Hindu rock music), and the smell of the food was very tempting. We actually didn’t get a SIM card for my cell phone, but hopefully soon.

For those of you who are concerned, after three days, I am still the same pink-white that I was when I left Guelph. I wouldn’t be caught without sunscreen and my biggest concern is that I don’t know when to re-apply because I don’t know how much I have sweated off. And I do sweat! I’ve spent my days in and out of offices, walking around and traveling. Any distances more than a couple of blocks are done in the project vehicle driven by Wallis or by Glenn Millar, the project driver, or a taxi hired by the project, as the roads are definitely not designed for pedestrians. I feel the heat, but even the people who are from Guyana complain about how hot it is, so I don’t feel out of place. I’m going to attempt to unpack my suitcases to find my umbrella which is apparently not just for rain anymore, but will be my new sun protector. Also trying to find a balance between sunscreen and bug stuff – I haven’t met a mosquito yet, but I don’t want to meet one with dengue fever.

Ah, the best for last, the food. So far so good (knock on wood), but I am actually agreeing with everything that I have eaten which is fairly impressive for my sensitive stomach. Some of the highlights include phoroullis (obviously spelt wrong, but are kind of like chicken balls without chicken, made with spices and chickpeas which you can get covered or on the side “sour sauce” which is misleading because it’s actually spicy), roti with fried eggplant and potato, plantain and cassava and sweet potato chips (like potato chips, only not “potatoes”), and a little bit of fried chicken. And the pineapple. I don’t even have words to express how beautifully sweet this fruit is – I like it before, but I had no idea. And there is pastries with pineapple filling and they make pineapple jam! And they have this “cherry” juice which is amazing. But it doesn't taste like cherries, because it's not a cherry really. I’m still trying to find out what this fruit looks like and it's relation to the cherries that I am familiar with, but I crave the juice now. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow, that’s for sure!

Take care.

xoxo