Adventures in Guyana

Saying goodbye

2008-09-30T14:36:00.005-04:00

Good-bye, Guyana. Thanks for an amazing year, complete with ups and downs, upside downs and backwards... I think I have said all the words that there are to say at this point.

Until we meet again.

“Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.”

~Richard Bach~

A Perfect Saturday

2008-09-21T14:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was my perfect Saturday in Guyana.

I slept in a little bit, enjoyed a few cartoons, showered and got dressed at my own pace. I look at the pile of GHIS related material that I could review again and do some more planning, but make the better decision to take the day for myself. I contemplated tidying my little apartment and decided that the dishes could wait for another day...

Around noon, I met Anu at the market (Stabroek, just to clarify). It's my favourite Saturday routine. If I were brave, I'd take the minibus, but as it is, I have the taxi driver drop me off at the front and I consider myself pretty brave to walk alone from the front to the very back of the market. Always a few comments from vendors wanting to know if I'm shopping and of course, men wanting me to know how beautiful I look! When I get to their stall, I love to see Anu and her dad's smiling faces pop up from behind the counter. I admire all her family's gold jewellery, dream of what I would buy if I were a millionaire and pick out my own beautiful gold jewellery set (an investment, but in my price range). It's taken me a few visits to decide what I wanted - everything is so beautifully hand crafted, shiny yellow gold and it's just so hard to pick your favourite!

Yesterday we mixed up the routine a bit and took a journey to Giftland to buy blank CDs - gotta love a little trip on a minibus, I'm always thankful that I survive. We walked back from Giftland to the market area. It's a bustle of activity in "downtown" central. A quick stop at the bank to pick up some cash (as quick as it can be to visit the only Scotiabank in the area in prime shopping time) then we head over to the Lotto place. I love going to Lotto. I'm not sure if Anu's dad's tickets ever really win (I think he's gotten a free ticket here or there since I've started coming), but I love checking the numbers, enjoying the air conditioning, dreaming of winning Guyanese millions and often do a little dance as we wait in the line - I think it amuses the security guard and I just can't help myself when the music is good.

Next stop is Hack's Halaal. The place where Anu introduced me to dhal puri with mango sour and you can find all the tasty treats like pine tarts, cakes, pastries, curries, and roti at a great price! Anu has a list of goodies that she usually picks up and by this time after walking in the sun, we both need a drink - Coke for Anu, water for me :)

I leave the market and usually spend the afternoon at home with a book or a movie on the Hallmark channel, but yesterday I was lucky enough to have a date with Samara, Wallis' daughter. While her son was at Scouts, I looked after Samara to give Wallis some time to work. We made some delicious cakes with our imagination, watered the plants for Ms P and took some time to be pirates and search for buried treasure in the yard. Wallis still needed some time after Lee was done with scouts so the three of us went to Pegasus and enjoyed the new playground!

When I finally got home, I was pretty exhausted from entertaining and keeping an eye on a 4 and 9 year old, but when the call came from my Canadian intern friends, I couldn't resist. I met them at White Castle fish shop for a drink (after an energizing shower and a change of clothes - didn't want to bring the sand from the playground with me!). We were planning our evening when I discovered they hadn't been to Latino’s yet! I can leave Guyana now knowing that they have been to all my favourite places. I introduced them to my favourite, rum and coconut water, and showed them the potential for dancing at Latino's (though strangely the dance floor was dead). I found the energy to somehow beat Cinderella's curfew, but found a space in the first taxi home. A great way to start a Sunday... :)

I appreciate the beauty of this country, enjoy taking new adventures, but there is something about a weekend routine with family and friends that makes you feel more at home.

Sorry for the late posting. I realized that I had written this post, saved it and apparently never posted it!

September Heat

2008-09-21T14:28:00.004-04:00

September is hot. Really hot. I thought I was sick or something because of my difficulty to tolerate the heat. I used to walk to work every day, now most days I call a car. I sweat just by standing still. But I should known that the sun and my position close to the equator would explain it all! In Canada, when fall officially starts, summer is ending because the earth is rotating away from the sun – so my position near the equator is getting direct sun before the start of summer in the southern hemisphere. The days are getting shorter again and the sun is setting sooner…

Scientific Explanation:
"The Earth is at the autumnal equinox on or about September 21st. As the Earth revolves around the Sun, it gets positioned such that the Sun is directly over the equator. Basically, the Sun's energy is in balance between the northern and southern hemispheres. " (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/astro/season.php)

Bottomline: when you're essentially caught between the two hemispheres, there is no balance of the sun's energy...

It's HOT!!

The Cinema

2008-09-17T14:40:00.003-04:00

I kid you not. I have been to the cinema in Georgetown. Potentially the only cinema in Guyana... And I survived.

I've actually been four times. I made the mistake of calling my parents the first time - being so excited to have an activity besides eating or drinking out on the town, and I might have mentioned that the cinema is on the "no-go" list for PeaceCorps volunteers, right up there with Stabroek market, but not as serious as Blue Iguana. Not the brightest idea, but I think they felt better after I told them about the excellent service of the guard who watches you from the moment you walk through the doors at 5:45pm through the movie and right until you get into the car at the end of the show!

The first film I went to see was Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns. Neither Priya and I really knew what the film was about, but it was entertaining in that dramatic family comedy way with a little bit of a love story. The cost is $300 per show and though there is no popcorn, the lovely ticket lady does have delicious egg balls with mango sour for sale. The theatre has three levels and we watched the show from the balcony. The theatre is completely dark though it’s probably best that the lights aren’t on. The creaks and squeaks made me a little nervous and I made sure that I knew where all my exits were in case of fire or some other unforeseen circumstance. The only problem with the evening was the attack of the mosquitoes happening on my legs as I watched that I didn’t notice until the end – probably the most bites since I arrived last year and incredibly itchy!

The second film we saw was What Happens in Vegas with some new Canadian friends. I felt much more confident though a couple of big trucks drove by and I kind of felt the building shake which makes one a little tense, but I protected the first timers. Highlight of course was the blackout in an already scary theatre which wasn't as bad as it could have been because I had good company. And Skittles to calm me.

The third film was Hancock. Will Smith. Big screen. Need I say more? You'd brave the theatre too. I'd even seen it twice before...

And the final film that I survived was The Happening by M. Night Shyamalan. I don't know how Priya convinced me to go. I watch his movies (if I watch them at all!) in the day time, with the lights on, with either my mom or a male friend to hold me. Thankfully it wasn't as dark as some of his movies, but obviously had the same scary and thought-provoking features.

I don't know if I'll get to see another film before I leave, but without a doubt, I have enjoyed my Georgetown cinematic experiences.

Editorial Letter

2008-09-15T17:41:00.002-04:00

I enjoyed reading this letter to the editor in the papers this morning - kind of a perfect day for me to read the paper as I tend to avoid them because of the violent stories and images used. It was written by the Honourable Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.

Can you please spare me a moment to be a proud Guyanese?

I have always been proud to be Guyanese. I have always had an abiding optimism in the future of my country. I believe in the goodness of my country and my sisters and brothers. Even in bad times, there are so many positive things that I see and so many of my sisters and brothers who make me proud. I am grateful that Guyana, with all its problems and with so many constraints, global and local, continues to demonstrate resiliency and maintain a promise of greatness. Over the last several weeks and over the past few years, I have had many reasons to feel proud. I feel compelled to bare my soul today so that my friends, my sisters and brothers see my pride in my country.

So what exactly compelled me to speak out at this time? My tolerance and patience were exhausted this past week. After a long period of trying to be very tolerant and remembering we live in a free and democratic country in which we ensure space for all kinds of views and opinions, my tolerance finally was exhausted.

There are commentators and “experts” who have all the answers. There are those who believe that as long as you serve in this Government you have no integrity and no contribution to make. Even these persons have not exhausted my patience! But I must confess that those who constantly and relentlessly seem to want to convince us that there is nothing good about Guyana, that Guyana is cursed, that other than themselves, there is no good person in Guyana, that Guyana is not going anywhere, have finally drove me over the edge and have moved me to respond. My short response first is enough is enough, stop it!

I would be dishonest if I were to do the same in an opposite way, that is, in the same forceful way to equally try to convince everyone that only good things happen in Guyana and that only good people live in Guyana, that there is no corruption anywhere in our country. There are many things and many people who should make us mad. Some things that are done in the name of the government should make us mad as hell! Corruption occurs in government and in the private sector, in NGOs. There are many bad things which happen in Guyana and which should make us bow our heads in shame. For sure we have our share of bad people.

There is no shame or hurt, or anything wrong, in persons dedicating their lives to expose these wrong doings and incompetent actions in our society. Indeed, for those who want to dedicate their lives in highlighting these wrong things, the things that bring shame to our country and our people, it is truly a noble choice. This should not exhaust our tolerance and, quite to the contrary, this should generate feelings of gratitude. But when this is done with an attitude and with a tone that nothing good happens in Guyana, it is unbalanced and unfair and it is ugly. It is dishonest and it exposes a wicked agenda.

I do not want to make an exhaustive list, and I do not want to go too far back. I want you to see just a few reasons why I am unapologetically a proud Guyanese. I am no “yes” person. I am not beholden to anyone.

When many here and around the Caribbean thought we were a risk to host world cup cricket, Guyana hosted a quality leg of the world cup series. I felt pride in the way Guyanese behaved, the way Guyanese came out and supported world cup cricket and in the way we were able to bring Guyana to a state of readiness. Many were surprised. I was not. Together with the majority of Guyanese, we showed everyone we were a capable people, bringing off a world cup cricket series with competence and with much zest. We flew the Golden Arrow Head in a way that said to the world “WE ARE GUYANESE, PROUD GUYANESE!”

Similarly, we have just concluded the hosting of CARIFESTA. Really, which one of us cannot be proud of the way Guyana responded in being the most hospitable of hosts? This was the largest ever CARIFESTA. This was a quality CARIFESTA. If CARIFESTA 1 set a standard for CARICOM countries to emulate, CARIFESTA 10 has re-calibrated the standards for which CARICOM countries must strive. There was celebration, there was joy. But there was also a robust dignity that oozed from Guyanese of all walks of life. I was glistening with pride.

Then there is Shivnarine Chanderpal. Here is an unassuming, quiet, humble Guyanese. But he is the #1 batsman in the world. He is now the cricketer of the year! Can you imagine that anyone of us would not be lighted up with pride! And lest I be accused of gender bias, we should not forget the pride with which Nicolete Fernandes, Aliana Pompey and Marianne Burnett represent Guyana and the pride they allow us to feel as Guyanese.

I remember how many of us stood with tears in our eyes and filed with patriotic pride when the International Tribunal on the Laws of the Seas ruled in Guyana’s favor in our sea borders dispute with Suriname earlier in the year. In this case, Guyanese could not help feeling pride for the boldness the government demonstrated in taking the dispute to the Tribunal. In particular, no one could have denied that the courage and leadership of President Bharrat Jagdeo were pivotal factors in this genuine Guyanese success story.

And I must relate the immense pride I felt when I participated in the Economic Partnership Agreement Consultation that took place last week at the International Convention Center. I saw Guyanese of all walks of life, Guyanese of different political parties, from the private sector and trades unions, from faith-based organizations, from NGOs, and Guyanese with a history of political and social differences, Guyanese with an acrimonious past, come together to raise their voices against the powerful European Union. And I was filled with pride to see our President being the Guyanese leader, a leader for all of our people.

President Bharrat Jagdeo demonstrated a keen understanding of the EPA, and explained with great clarity, with passion, with quiet confidence why the EPA is not a beneficial tool for Guyana, why the EPA is nothing more than a re-colonization instrument for the Europeans. There were great admiration for the young President, even by persons who have major differences with him and with whom he has had many unpleasant confrontations. It’s not the first time, but this was a moment when Guyanese felt genuine pride for our President. I know of no one in Guyana and in the Caribbean who could more clearly articulate the downside of the EPA than President Bharrat Jagdeo. My pride for Bharrat Jagdeo, our President, was not merely as a Minister in his Cabinet. It was as a simple Guyanese.

Every day I pass Guyanese craftsmen and women weaving their magic and bringing such enormous pride to our people. Our farmers are the best in the world. We produce the best sugar in the world. We might be a poor country, but more than 95 % of our children are protected against some of the world’s most devastating diseases. We have been able to reduce maternal and infant mortality by half in the last 15 years. It is ordinary nurses and simple health care providers in our towns and villages, in our remote communities, who are the heroes and heroines. I am eternally grateful and they make me so proud to be a Guyanese.

Lest I fall for the temptation of preparing a laundry list of pride factors, let me stop for the moment. I believe I have made my point for now. While there might be some bad things and while there may be some bad people in our country, there are many positive, uplifting things to make us proud to be Guyanese.

It’s simply reckless to deny there are things which make me stand with my head held high and beaming with pride. It’s wicked to portray a picture of total degradation, of hopelessness, of shame, of a country devoid of anything good. When we cannot bring ourselves, even for a moment to recognize the many things that dignify our nation, it must mean we have some mischievous, unholy agenda.

Please give me a break and allow me some time to savor my good fortune of being a Guyanese. I am intelligent enough to see wrong things and I am committed to want to change these wrongs. I see bad things, unacceptable things and I am appalled, even sometimes from within the government structure. These things disappoint me and make me reel with anger.

But I will rather die than not to acknowledge the good, the dignified, proud things that we accomplish, as individuals and as a Guyanese nation every day! So to the critics, can you spare me a moment to be a proud Guyanese?
Dr. LESLIE RAMSAMMY

http://www.guyanachronicle.com/letters.html#Anchor-26242

Santa Mission

2008-09-14T15:44:00.001-04:00

I’ve always wanted to visit Santa Mission and as my time is coming to an end, I was feeling the pressure. I had decided that I was going to go yesterday and apparently the organizers of Amerindian Heritage Month had decided that Santa Mission was going to be their Amerindian Village for the celebrations and yesterday was going to be the big celebration!!

Luckily, I had a PeaceCorps friend on the inside who instructed me how to get there and with a little word of mouth, I ended up traveling with seven other people. The adventure started at my house at 7am where we took a car to the bus park in front of Stabroek and were violently hustled from one bus to another. Hustling is how mini bus conductors get passengers, but this was my first experience leading people on to a mini bus (and not being the one led) – and being physically hustled where one man “took me under his wing” and I felt a little uncomfortable. The man in our group took charge and we got on a mini bus that was ready to depart. The $300 bus ride dropped us off on the road outside the dock where we were greeted with large boats and tons of people getting in. The flat rate of $2000 round trip was standard for the boat and they stuffed us into a big boat which had no regard for boat safety rules (atleast by Canadian standards) where some of our group had to sit on the bottom or on gas cans.

We crossed Kamuni River (which I think is a tributary of the Demerara River) before entering the Pokerero Creek. By the end of the hour and a half boat ride, we had taken so many twists and turns that I didn’t know where we were. Santa Mission is located up the hill from a white sandy beach. The welcoming committee was getting ready to greet the president (though it was the prime minister who came) and we found our PeaceCorps friends. The village had an entire program prepared of local songs, dances and an acrostic poem by the children. The village tashao gave an address, as well as other tashaos representing their villages. The Minister of Amerindian Affairs and Prime Minister finished the first part of the day and every one was invited to watch the official opening of the new school. Food stalls had various types of pepperpot prepared and local drinks like piwari (from cassava) in addition to the usual beer, water and juice were for sale.

My favourite part of the day was relaxing under the shade of a large mango tree and not having any sounds of the city to worry about. I purchased some lovely baskets in the craft benab. The most adventure for the day was arguing with the boat drivers about whether we should have to pay for our “round” trip upfront or just pay for one way at a time – quite the experience! They weren’t going to let us off the boat. We made it safely there and back, minimal sunburn, lots of beautiful pictures and completely exhausted by the fresh air.

This Country

2008-09-12T14:19:00.002-04:00

"At the point where the Caribbean meets South America on its North Atlantic seaboard lies an almost unknown, but incredibly wonderful land of unspoilt beauty, where the virgin rainforest leads to the Amazon Basin. Where the jungle is still unexplored, rivers uncharted and mountains yet to be climbed." (Unknown, www.guyana.org)

I love this country. Sometimes I have to stop and remind myself, but then I forget why I doubted. I love this country. From the mighty Kaieteur to the rolling green savannahs… From the refreshing ocean breeze to the red dirt roads… From the sweet pineapple to the fresh curry and roti… From the cherry juice to the rum and coconut water… I love this country.

But when people ask me what I like most about Guyana, I answer first the “wonderful people” followed of course by the fruit, food and natural beauty. It’s the answer they want to hear, but it’s also the truth.

When I ask myself on those horribly frustrating and stressful days “why the hell am I still here?” I need only to have a phone call from a friend, a kind word from a co-worker, a smile from a stranger at the clinic, a random story from a taxi driver, a chat with my favourite server at Oasis or Windies, a small child wave hello and want to hold my hand, to remember why I’m still here.

When on those rollercoaster days I feel like I am wasting my time and energy in a country where they seem content to do the minimum, I need only to open my eyes and see those individuals trying to run a clinic as best they can with limited resources and challenges they can’t control, watch a person manage too many program because they’re understaffed, talk to a taxi driver who works until the wee hours of the morning and wakes to wash his car before work the next day, to realize I’m not alone in wanting to do my best for this country and my life here.

When I feel lost and overwhelmed, I know just where to find a hug or calming atmosphere, I know who can make me feel better just with his presence, I know where to get a good laugh, where to find a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen, and if all else fails, I know who serves the best chocolate cake or strongest rum drink.

I’ve found my home away from home, an Oasis, new friends, adopted family, and love… I didn’t expect it, I wasn’t looking for it, but it found me. I love this country.

Land of Many Waters

2008-09-12T14:10:00.004-04:00

I found this piece on a website. I am not sure of its author and I feel that it was not created by the website owner because I have seen the first paragraph on other websites, but I thought I'd share the picture it draws....
(http://www.wilderness-explorers.com/highligh.htm)

I lie at a point where the Caribbean meets South America on its North Atlantic seaboard, an almost unknown, but incredibly wonderful land of unspoilt beauty. Where the virgin rainforest leads to the Amazon Basin. Where the Jungle is still unexplored, rivers uncharted and mountains yet to be climbed. I am called Guyana: Land of Many Waters.

Here the Jaguar still roams my forest, and in my rivers - the Giant River Otter, the Black Caiman and the Arapaima, the largest fresh water fish in the world still swim. I am refuge to the Harpy Eagle and the Hoatzin. I offer 90 miles of Shell Beach to the Oliver Ridley, Leatherback, Green and Hawksbill turtles to nest so that their species may survive. My birdlife is spectacular, there are over 800 species which include the protected Scarlet Macaw, the Red-billed and Toco Toucans and the magnificent Guianan Cock-of-the-rock.

To discover my beauty, travel with me to my famous waterfalls - the majestic and breathtaking Kaieteur, five times the height of Niagra. In honour of its majesty I have placed a rainbow to arch eternally over the mist-covered boulders of the gorge. Here, mystical folklore tell legendary tales of the old chief Kai sacrificing himself over the falls to save his tribe.

Come further with me across the tree tops, over cloud-covered mountains and onto rolling savannah where Orinduik Falls cascades down gigantic steps of Jasper along the Brazilian border.

Come to this land travelled by Evelyn Waugh, David Attenborough, Gerald Durrell, Michael Swan, where the Macusi and Wapishana tribes traded curare poison and arrow canes for flint with the Wai Wai. Where Sir Walter Raleigh came in search of El Dorado and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was inspired to write his classic "The Lost World".

Come, to where I am rolling savannah, sliced by creeks, broken by hills rising suddenly from the plain, my skyline etched by the mythic mountain of Shiriri. Cattle country, horse country... manes and tails streaming as they surge across the flatlands. Where tall termite cities rise from the grass to be dwarfed by the blue Kanukus. Far horizons of sun scorched plains, broken by shrub, bush, swamp and palm, a scattering of ranches and Amerindian villages. Vacqueros riding barefoot in the stirrup, whistling lassos through the hot air and showing off at rodeo.

Come to me, I am a timeless paradise. The heartbeat of the forest can be felt in me as you explore my many faces. I am the adventure of a lifetime, within me there is a diversity of wildlife, an immense variety of landscapes, an unspoilt wonder. Feel the incredible harmony of nature whisper across your heart. Come, I am an experience you will never forget. I am Guyana.

Motorcycle Ride?

2008-09-11T14:35:00.007-04:00

I went to White Castle Fish Shop for some beverages and the best fish and plantain chips in the world with my friend Alfred last night. We made a pact to go at least once a week in my final weeks. I can never remember what kind of fish I am eating, but I love the deep fried goodness and tasty plantain chips! Complimented by a Smirnoff Ice and I'm a happy girl :)

Food was done, drinks were finished, feeling that it was about that time of day to go home and relax... and I also had to write a ToR for the next morning so I thought I should stop with the beverages and start it at a fairly reasonable time... I was debating which taxi company to call when Alfred was like, why don't I take you home? On his motorcycle. In Guyana. Hmm... I don't know why I didn't just say no. I've never said yes before... But I thought about it. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought, why not? We negotiated speeds. And he assured me I would be safe. He even had a helmet for me! Little bit of a rocky start when he teased me with the engine not starting well (played with the choke) and I confess, the bike did rattle a bit when we got started - but I don't think I held on too tight (he could talk so he must have been able to breathe) and we were off! We took a nice leisurely root home, I think he avoided some traffic for me and it was nice to see Georgetown from a different point of view entirely. Barely any vehicles on the road and Alfred was a very good driver (probably best because I don't know if I am covered under my travel health insurance for motorcycle crashes). I apparently wanted to steer, but I guess the driver is responsible for that, not the passenger!

He dropped me safe at home and my new neighbour's friend called me the "hot chick on the motorcycle" - hmm... maybe I should get my own?

A Random Morning at the Chest Clinic

2008-09-11T14:35:00.005-04:00

I was welcomed at the door by a patient I had seen last week and wanted to see the doctor even though it wasn't his clinic date. It made me think of a new proposal that they start to reinforce that a patient see the same doctor every time, instead of the doctor that is available - it makes the doctor more invested in the outcome of his/her patient and it reassures the patient that they are seeing a doctor who knows them and cares about their treatment. No clinic card and number, so a quick search in the GHIS and I had all the information I needed. Oh how I love that system :)

I sat with Dr Abiot and helped him enter patient information into the GHIS. I'm not supposed to - it's against the rules (that I created), but I missed working in the clinic, and it's the one thing that I know is always appreciated. I enjoy working with him, seeing familiar patients progressing in their treatment and learning new things. I can read an x-ray now (unless it's tricky or not so clear), know the routine for TB diagnosis and treatment, and am familiar with what to prescribe for an itch, a cough or a pain... Saw my first case of TB of the spine today, who knew? I was thinking it would be interesting to pull the files on the patients that I first saw when I arrived at the clinic in February - we started at the clinic together and with a six month treatment schedule, all of them should be cured of TB by now!

I played phone tag with Roland (HSDU) all morning trying to coordinate our long overdue meeting... 9 am... (somebody slept late because of flu meds and I wasn't going out in the pouring rain) 10am... (dry now, but another meeting came up - and I missed the email suggesting 11am because I was in the clinic) 11am... Ah yes, finally 11am. I dropped off essentially the final copies (well, final copies to be reviewed by the two of us) of the deliverables for my contract - seven module development guides - and a terms of reference to hire somebody to do "my" Chest Clinic job at another facility.

After my meeting at HSDU, I sat on balcony of clinic listening to discussion of the day's news: Roger Khan (I don't know the whole story, but I think there is drug trafficking involved, he is a businessman with lots of influential and interesting connections, currently being held in the States and the latest in the saga - his lawyer has been charged with attempting to "eliminate" the prosecution's star witness)... Fine man's gang is claimed to have committed over 47 murders based on weapons found at the site of their takedown - not actually sure whether this is based on forensic evidence and definitely some passionate balcony sitters on the subject of whether they can be blamed for all or if coverups are involved... complaints about the doctor's disappearance and needing to get children to school, food to eat for lunch...

Impromptu discussion on my love life in the triage room with a nurse - thinking that I should find a Guyanese man to marry (probably related to the same plan to keep me in Guyana). She essentially told me that I should find a black man because he would be more likely to treat me like a queen. In a somewhat paraphrased quote and minus the Creolese (which I can't speak and definitely won't attempt to type), "I've seen what you to do to the men in this clinic. They sit and wait and watch you from behind when you walk, and like to watch your front too. They like your shape, your size, your height, your skin, your smile... They'd do anything to have you. They'd kill to have you." A little scary, a little flattering, a little bit of uncomfortable subject so we switched to a reflection of my time in Guyana...

It was interesting thinking back to what I expected when I first came to work in the clinic - computer literacy, negative attitudes towards the system, current state of the system... I like to think that I've accomplished something. Computer literacy has definitely gone up. The GHIS is no longer "your" system, it's THE or OUR system (I love it!) The computer hardware leaves a lot to be asked for and there is still some relunctancy by certain staff to use the system, but overall, I can see the change in the users and the potential for the system to work, and work well. I have shown them the way, given them the tools they need and I have confidence in them that if they want it, they can do! Now just to get over those computer issues, office tensions and management problems... sigh*

Time for lunch now, I guess, but I'm not really hungry. A trip to Oasis for air conditioning, wireless internet, good music... and cherry juice, chocolate icecream and a brownie... Quite a day...

One Month?

2008-09-08T17:01:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe. The countdown is on... The final days have arrived...

I'm not sure if you start a month countdown from one day to another day, say September 8th to October 8th or whether it should be counted on a four week interva, but essentially, it's about that time of year...

It's hard to describe the mixed feelings that I have about leaving Guyana and about going home. I can't believe I've been here a year and at the same time, I can't believe it's only been a year...

Random

2008-09-06T17:27:00.007-04:00

This is kind of a bizarre post - from one extreme to the other... kind of a random assortment of happenings in the past twenty four hours.

Last night I went to the National Stadium in Providence to see Morgan Heritage (Jamaican reggae group), Natural Black (Guyanese reggae man) and a collection of local artists (that I never actually got to see because we arrived late!) The show started at 8pm which means it doesn't really start until at least 9-10pm so we left Georgetown around 9:30ish. A new friend drove us down to the stadium, a twenty minute ride that took atleast 45 minutes because of traffic. No offense, but Guyanese don't know how to drive in traffic. They don't have traffic so no time to practice except for at events like this one. The show must have actually started on time because by the time we got there, Natural Black was on stage. There was an assortment of people in the stadium stands, but the real party was on the field of the stadium. We tried to work our way to the front and in a group of three, I was the middle person - when the last person fell behind, I waited for her to get caught up, but the leader did not. Another one of those times when I am very conscious of the colour of my skin as I find myself near the stage at a reggae concert. Trying to look for your driver (a black woman with dreadlocks) at a reggae concert also becomes a challenge.

We wandered out of the crowded part of the field to find drinks. My friend was a bit tired so we thought we'd sit for a bit and then go back onto the field. While we were standing waiting to get our drinks, my friend reached for her purse as we both thought a little boy had been trying to get into it. We got our drinks and then realized that he hadn't been trying to get in - he had gotten into her purse and taken her wallet with money, national ID and an assortment of other cards. The evening didn't get any better when she went to report the theft to the police (thinking the boy would take the money and ditch the wallet - of more value to her because of the cards) who told her that they hadn't brought their log book with them so she would have to walk to the nearest police station. What!? Great idea to send a young woman walking out on the street alone... Needless to say it put a bit of a damper on our evening. I enjoyed the performance, but was obviously upset by what had happened - what was most upsetting was that it was a child. And you know he didn't get there alone and you have to wonder what kind of situation he is in and where he will go from pick-pocketing...

At the end of our show, we found our driver. (I had jokingly said that if anyone gets lost, we'll meet at the "tree" - which was barely a stick in the ground in front of the stadium, but a nice attempt at improving the scenery - and it worked! She met us there, exhausted and with a sore throat from being front row). The parking lot was chaos. It took us an hour and a half to just get out of the parking lot - again with the not knowing how to drive in traffic jams and not understanding traffic flow, but definitely knowing how to pause traffic. We actually had to go the opposite direction to turn around and head back to the city. I must be getting old because I got home at 4:30am and proceeded to sleep half the day away.

I now find myself at Oasis, enjoying the air conditioning goodness and reading the paper to see that the funeral of 'Fineman' took place today. Half way through Carifesta, the police in Guyana were successful for their hunt for 'Fineman' and his gang - those believed to be responsible for the shootings earlier this year in Lusignan and Bartica as well as various other shootings and the assasination of a Minister a few years ago - shooting him and his "second-in-command", called Skinny (I think). I chose not to read the paper during this time especially (not that I usually follow the news) and heard of pictures of the dead men in the newspaper. I did catch a news clip showing two bodies with feet hanging out on the back of a flat bed truck under the benches with police officers sitting on the benches, weapons ready. I feel the country probably breathed a sigh of relief that those responsible were caught, though it is a different tactic than I am used to at home by police.

Regardless of anyone's actions, a mother has still lost her son and is burying him today. Her quote to the media was something along the lines that "now that my son is dead, all the crime in Guyana will stop" (paraphrased). The media seemed to say it as a statement, but I suspect sarcasm. There is still crime in this country - drugs, violence and corruption... She knows this and hopefully the police and defence force continue to work hard to improve the situation. Hopefully someone will start to take better care of the children who are started out on the wrong track...

Carifesta

2008-09-01T11:15:00.002-04:00

Carifesta is the “Caribbean Arts Festival”. It started in Guyana in 1972 and is celebrating its 10th festival by returning again to Guyana. From August 22nd to 31st, Guyana is sharing its culture, literary arts, performing arts, food, and more while welcoming its door to x number of other Caribbean and South American countries to do the same (www.carifesta.net).

There was a mad rush and huge line to get tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies – and apparently tickets and passes for every event. The ticket policy was soon ended when they realized that nobody thought (logically enough) that they would need tickets to go to an exhibition ground, but unfortunately, they also didn’t keep the ticket policy for those places with limited seating which led to plenty of disappointed people.

The schedule for the 10 days was released probably one (max two) days before the opening ceremonies. Nobody could tell me what was going on. It’s very hard to plan your life around an arts festival when you don’t know where things are or even what they are! When the schedule was finally released, it was colour coded (love it!) by category (performing arts, visual arts, poetry, etc) – but it was very hard to follow what days things were happening and where. I personally would have done a daily schedule and then colour coded within that schedule, but then again, that’s just me… It was tricky to decide what to do because events were just given a title and a country – no description as to what a film was about or a performing arts piece, really just a random shot in the dark and cross your fingers that it’s interesting and what you expected!

I missed the opening ceremonies scheduled on Friday, August 22 by choice to host a birthday party for myself and skipped a huge concert (with such international artists as Mr. Vegas) the following day to assist with my recovery and spend quality time with my departing neighbour and darling sister.

On Sunday, Lesa and I headed to Sophia exhibition ground to see the Amerindian village and plans to visit the National Park and their literacy exhibition. My reading of the fabulous schedule missed that the country exhibitions and a craft exhibition was also happening on the grounds! We were greeted at the gate by a guard and a police officer. The guard wanted to check my purse and see my ticket – “I need a ticket” (naively) – allowing me to pass and Lesa was interrogated (more idle curiosity about the white girl) about what country she was from (leaving her slightly concerned that maybe she should have brought her passport). About half of the country exhibitions were open when we went (inspiring me to try and return later in the week) and they all displayed varying levels of effort from posters to handouts to hands-on activities to crafts to story tellers. I left with an armful of tourist magazines that quite a few people asked about later in the day. Priya found us somewhere in the country exhibitions and after a water break, we explored a craft exhibition that had the usual tourist crafts that you have to search through to find something unique and often feel pressured to buy anyway. My favourite two approaches were a woman telling us to buy something from them like a mother scolding a child and a man who envisioned this beautiful necklace upon my open chest (he was quite hilarious and I actually debated going back for the necklace). My favourite booth was of a pirate ship – created in all the glorious details and “floating” in the middle of the booth. The artisan was a potter/ceramics artist so all the little pirates were made of ceramics and they were diving for lost treasure – an assortment of pottery and ceramic beads on the bottom of the ocean (aka the bottom of the booth).

The “Schedule” had said the air show was on Saturday and much to our disappointment, we saw nothing. A quick call from Maria asking us where we were and we found out the air show was indeed on Sunday, meaning we hadn’t missed anything! The taxi driver made a quick detour for us and dropped us as close as he could to the seawall which ended up being several city blocks away from our destination of Celena’s to watch with Maria and her family! Cars were barely able to drive on the street because of parked cars and pedestrians. As soon as we were dropped off, planes started flying close above us – wowing the crowd and testing their smoke. The best was yet to come as the seven planes flew high in the sky, starting their spectacular show in the sky by writing “CARIFESTA X GUYANA” to roaring cheers from the crowd. From our point at Celena’s, we saw people gathered on the sea wall as far as the eye could see! The various tricks and stunts thrilled and shocked the crowd – amazing to see, but also amazing to take part in and stop breathing with the entire city and then collectively cheer at the successful stunt!

On Monday, Priya and I went to a poetry/short story reading at the Umana Yana. I had read the names of the authors present and was excited to see a familiar name, Austin Clarke, a former writer in residence at the University of Guelph! He read a chapter from his latest book. Many Caribbean countries were represented, some authors were better than others – perhaps just better at performing and sharing their pieces. Some pieces were quite powerful - leaving you with goosebumps on your skin, tears in your eyes, make you forget to breathe....

On Tuesday, we went to the International Convention Centre to see Calypso Dream, a documentary on calypso music in Trinidad. I have driven by the Convention Centre and always wanted to go in so I had no idea what to expect from the documentary, but chose it based on potential and the location! When you are driving in Guyana, the centre is one of those buildings that makes you stop and think “which one of these is not like the other?” My understanding is that it was designed, built and donated to Guyana by Japan. It’s huge, blue and shiny with an amazing auditorium built like a ‘pod’ at the back of the building and connected by halls and stairs in the open concept building. Probably the worst description ever, but I have pictures. The front entrance was hosting sculptures from two Guyanese abroad sculptors that were made of wood, brass, metal, and more! Each one was so unique and you could just see the time and craftsmanship in every part of it. The documentary itself left you wanting to dance and well versed in the roots and history of calypso.

On Wednesday, I tried to go see River Down, a Jamaican play at the National Cultural Centre, but had a bit of an adventure as I thought I had lost my keys and wasn’t going anywhere. I eventually found them in obviously the last place I thought to look and arrived late to find a huge crowd, more like a mob, gathered outside the NCC wanting into see the show. I learned that the 8pm showing was full, but due to demand they would be having a 10pm show if I wanted to stick around. The crowd was quite rowdy and there was a team of police officers to keep them semi-calm. Not the kind of situation that a single white female wants to find herself in at night so I called a car and left. I think it’s wonderful though in a sense. So many people wanting that cultural experience that they are rarely given the opportunity to see, especially for free…They want it, yearn for it… I hope Carifesta inspires more local fesitvals , both particpants, oragnizers and attenders…

On Thursday, I went to a poetry reading at Oasis. It was kind of neat because it was an impromptu session of a Trinidad woman who fell in love with the atmosphere at Oasis and some other authors she had met along the way. One of my favourite artists, a Guyanese women with spoken word poetry performed and now I love her work even more! Also a Barbadian with spoken word poetry – I’m going to try and find his CD. It wouldn’t be the same to read their poetry, the passion and rhythm is in the way they speak the words.

On Friday, I went back to the Convention Centre to see the Guyana Women’s Artist Exhibit which had been closed on my first trip. I bought some pottery from Irene Gonsalves and teased her that between the new pieces and other ones that I have purchased, I will have to buy a new carry-on luggage to make sure they get home safely! I had thought I was going to a documentary from Brazil called Terra Estranga so was obviously quite surprised to sit down and watch a semi-documentary/children’s film on Peking Opera from China. Luckily, Wallis saved me from watching the entire film for a visit and cake.

On Saturday, my new neighbour and I went to the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and the Mandela Gymnasium to see visual art exhibits by country and local artist groups. I thoroughly enjoyed all parts of the exhibit. I was a proud Canadian to see a photograph exhibit essentially capturing various aspects of Canada from RCMP to veterans to ocean to mountains… It was like walking into home and having a little moment. We discussed how values are put on paintings and I have definitely decided that I am not ready to grow up and purchase paintings for my home! Or I will have to take up painting more seriously and decorate my own house. I finished the day with a trip to Oasis for a local band that performed some cover songs – and closed early to allow people to go to the super concert at the stadium featuring Akon – who actually did show up but not until 3am!!

And here I find myself today, posting on my week’s adventures. A little glimpse into Caribbean culture, a little sampling of all the areas presented at Carifesta!

A Visit from My Sister

2008-08-26T09:32:00.002-04:00

My sister came to Guyana! I didn’t sleep the whole night before she came because I was so excited – and partly because I knew that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep on the plane! Navin and I arrived a little early and were eating our bake and saltfish when we realized her plane would have landed and we should get over the to the arrival area. It became a bit of a joke as various types of men and women of all ages and races came out of the luggage area with Navin exclaiming, “There’s your sister!” The guard wouldn’t let us in to see if there had been a problem with her luggage and finally as the last person came out, she told us that the plane from Trinidad had been delayed so she wouldn’t be back there anyways! (the airport monitor was broken). A couple of hours late, Lesa arrived tired, but happy to see me (or atleast she told me the tears were happy tears!) The rest of the day was rather uneventful as someone was apparently tired and slept the afternoon away!

The next morning we caught a flight from Ogle airport to Annai, a village in Region 9 and more specifically to Rockview Lodge. We were greeted by the apparent loss of our luggage (misplaced in the wrong storage compartment) and by our long lost sister, Andrica Holmes (a Guyanese from Region 1 working at the lodge – I knew I was part Guyanese!)! The lodge and Annai are located on the savannah with mountain ranges nearby (http://www.rockviewlodge.com/). We were greeted by lunch and then given a tour of the lovely grounds that was completed with a demonstration of how to roast cashews and a sample! After a few hours by the pool, we went for up the Panorama Nature Trail that was built on the Cock-of-the-Rock mountain, getting a lesson on the local flora, birds and some amazing views of the savannah below! The next morning we arose in the predawn darkness for coffee and cookies before heading out to the Iwokrama Nature Reserve for the canopy walkway. We happened to probably pick the only time of year when no trees are fruiting or flowering so there wasn’t a lot of activity for our 6:30am viewing of the tops of the trees, but the view was spectacular and it was a personal accomplishment to overcome my fear of heights and stand 30m above the floor of the rainforest and walk 154m in the trees! I personally napped upon our return to the lodge, but I think Lesa spent some quality time with a book in the hammock. We took full advantage of the pool before we left and even took a trip to the village of Annai to see the community with their thatched roof homes and the largest benab in Guyana (wider than the Umana Yana, but I think not as tall).

Birthday celebrations started upon our return to Georgetown with afternoon tea at Pegasus – can only be described as quaint with excellent service and cute little finger foods. Originally with no plans for a big party on the actual day, we started with drinks on the patio and a need for food found us at Windies Sports Bar. The final birthday celebration was a random assortment of Guyanese family and friends that I have collected over the past year. A lovely evening!

Saturday morning after a trip to Oasis for breakfast found us at Stabroek Market and the Hibiscus Craft Plaza for exploring and shopping. We thought the Carifesta air show was on Saturday, but the planes were a no show from our seat at Celena’s on the sea wall which was explained the following day after our trip to Sophia Exhibition grounds and the real air show took place – and all of Georgetown was on the sea wall to see it! For Lesa’s last night, we went for dinner and drinks at Pegasus, enjoying the ocean breeze, fruity cocktails and the closest thing to a real burger that I’ve found in Guyana.

Her departure was bittersweet – I wish she could have stayed longer, but the end of August means I am that much closer to going home myself.

Naya Zamana 14 at the National Cultural Centre

2008-08-17T15:06:00.005-04:00

Last night, I went with Gina, Priya and Anu to see Naya Zamana 14 at the National Cultural Centre. Before the show, Gina, Priya and I went to Sizzling Platter, an Indian restaurant, where I enjoyed some delicious mango juice, along with my mango chicken curry and chapati. I don't remember what everyone else ordered, but it also looked tasty! And as per the name, all dishes arrived sizzling on a platter/skillet.

Naya Zamana is put on by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sbha to showcase the work of the dance students at the Dharmic Sandkritik Kendra. Two sisters are the choreographers and creators of the dance show, and offer free teaching of a variety of forms of dance to the students at the school. From the program, "Naya Zamana remains close to the heart of all the dancers, actors, performers nd persons who have worked with the sisters in this prestigiou hallmark production of the Sabha. Naya Zamana continues to reflect a passion for dance that encourages excellent, promotion of cultural art forms and positive vib rations and camaraderie among young people".

As we were arriving, the sirens wailed and the president's motorcade pulled into the theatre. We saw him in the lobby and Gina took stalkerish pictures. We were arranging to take our picture with him in the background when he moved and Priya said that we could probably just ask him to have our picture taken with him. So we did! Gina and I had our picture taken with the President of Guyana - don't worry, we had the permission of his bodyguard first before we asked him.

Anu had asked me as soon as tv ads started whether I wanted to go to the show, and I thought Gina would want to go and I kept forgetting to ask her. And then when we determined the three of us wanted to go, we still somehow left it until the last minute to pick up the tickets and as I was going to pick up the tickets, I asked Priya if she wanted to come too! I went to the Cultural Centre box office, picked up the tickets and went back to my other office, Oasis. At which point, I realized I had paid the price for floor seats and received balcony seats. Anu needed some more tickets so Iwent back only o find out hat I couldn't get four floor seats so we would be stuck in the balcony.

The balcony is exactly where we found Anu waiting for us - less excited about our picture with the president than we were, and perhaps still a bit disappointed about our seats in the nose bleed section. I definitely felt under-dressed in my black dress surrounded by women in their beautifully coloured and sparkling Indian garb. The father of the two choreographer sisters spoke, as a former minister in the government and I am assuming an involved member in Hindu community events. He introduced the President who spoke of the arrival in Guyana, preserving Indian culture and high hopes for Carifesta starting next week to further share with the Carribbean Guyana's cultural variety.

The show itself comprised of twenty dances, three songs and a grand finale. The costumes were spectacular with their vibrant colours and accessories. Some dancers were more skilled than others, but everybody had a lot of energy and passion for what they were doing. Experienced show goers tell me it wasn't as good as previous years, less synchronization and such, but I thoroughly enjoyed all the dances and costumes. It's handy having Anu around too to tell me about some of the dances like the Peer Manava which the program tells me now (and couldn't read in the dark) has "the dancers utilise energetic bhangra and giddha dance steps teasing the dulhan about her impending nuptials". One of my favourites was "Kachi Kaliya" called a "refreshing twist of Indian folk dance allowing male dancers to express both facets of human emotion" which they portrayed in dance by having a woman mask and dress on their back - enabling them to play their masculine dance role as well as do a role reversal and be a woman, somewhat mockingly in style.

Overall the evening was a spectacular show of dance, colour and music!

Fire in the Psych Ward, Dead Bird in the Cage

2008-08-13T10:29:00.009-04:00

It sounds like the title for a mystery novel or an episode of a crime/drama series, but it's what happened in the early hours of this morning at the Georgetown Public Hospital Compound... and the surprise that awaited me at home at the end of the day.

I don't work in the Psych Ward, but I do work in the TB Chest Clinic - to visualize the Chest Clinic runs parallel to Middle St within the compound and the Psych Ward is perpindicular to the Chest Clinic, running parallel to Thomas St which intersects Middle St. The two buildings actually used to be one 'L' shaped building before a small space was created between the two. The Psych Ward consisted of a male and female psych ward, with the Medical Outpatient Department located in between.

I arrived after my morning walk to the hospital to be greeted by a crowd outside the gate to the compound. Some of the work study students were gathered outside and weren't sure what was going on, but the guard wasn't letting them in. I went to talk to the guard who wasn't going to let me in and told me there had been a fire at the Chest Clinic - at which point, I must have looked very upset because I wanted to know where in the Chest Clinic and if everybody was okay. I think at that point she remembered me and was like, oh, you work there, come in. I looked at the clinic and what I could see was fine, but then when I walked around the corner, I saw the smoldering remains of the Psych Ward, still smoking, still being soaked with water...

There is something about a fire and the destruction that it leaves behind. I was quite shaken. Nobody could confirm whether or not anybody had died and we all seemed drawn just to stand and watch the smoking remains. The Minister of Health was surveying the site - understandably not his usual upbeat self.

About forty five minutes later, we opened the Chest Clinic. I was so proud of the TB patients that had come despite the fire and waited for their daily DOTS treatment - they are the patients that really understand the importance of taking their treatment.

Though the outside wall at one end of the clinic had experienced some fire scarring, the fire had been stopped by the quick action of firefighters (as directed by the clinic director) to wet the building- and by the still morning which allowed the fire to burn straight up instead of spreading to another building. The damage within clinic was isolated to water damage of those chest x-ray envelopes. Luckily the work study students were allowed into the compound and under the direction of some nurses and along with some other health workers, went to work, drying off the x-rays and putting them in new envelopes.

No patients were seen at the clinic - many had heard about the fire as it was covered almost as it started on one of the local channels. And like a small town, word travels fast in Georgetown, well, in Guyana. There was no power or water at the clinic so I borrowed a PSU laptop and worked at my home away from home, Oasis cafe rather productively.

It was a bit of a rough start to the day and though I am pleased with the amount of work I got through without distraction, things didn't get any better when I went home. I had been looking after a pair of lovebirds for a friend and came home to find the female, dead at the bottom of the cage. It's probably been one of my greatest fears with my own pets and looking after someone else's. Looking back I can think of nothing that would have raised alarm that something was wrong with her. The man who helps out in the yard helped me find a place for her body. He seems to be doing alright -

It's incredibly sad, a lonely single lovebird. The worst was when he started to get sleepy and went up to the ring that they used to snuggle in together - and couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in because he used to snuggle into her neck. We'll be okay- he's eating, drinking and talking. We have each other! Will hopefully be able to pick up a new mate for him soon... no lovebird should spend too much time alone.

One of those days when you need a hug....

Recipe: Black Cake

2008-08-10T16:44:00.002-04:00

A bit like fruit cake - only not! Can't eat too much or you might get drunk... Definitely a Christmas favourite!

Ingredients

¼ lb cherries

1 lb local dried fruits (or raisins)

1 cup rum

1½ lbs. brown sugar

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ lb flour

12 eggs

4 oz orange or lemon peel

½ lb butter

Preparation

Grind dried fruits and soak it in 3 cups of rum. Store in an air tight container for three weeks.

Prepare the caramel by heating 1 lb of the the sugar until it turns dark brown.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, soaked fruits, and rum. When it is well blended, pour the caramel.

Add the flour with the baking powder and mixed spice.

Fold in the cherries.

Pour mixture in a baking pan and bake in a slow oven (about 300 degrees F.) for two hours. Remove cake from pan after two days.

http://guyanaoutpost.com/recipes/recipes-b.shtml#Black%20Cake

Trying to work

2008-08-10T16:06:00.003-04:00

Work has been slow because the man that I primarily work with and helps me set up meetings with the right people, went on leave for four weeks. The others that I work with have very little time for what I do and for a little while I don't think they understood why I was still around after my internship ended. Just poor communication from one department to the next...

I am meeting the same frustrations with computer equipment as when I started. The process of obtaining computer parts is unknowingly sabotaging the success of the system. It is incredibly frustrating for me and the people that I am trying to work with that computers won't even turn on or are so slow that it is really a waste of time to use them.

I can understand that it's probably not an easy task to access the money - it seems to me like somebody recommends a part, but then somebody else has to get quotes and actually submit to purchase it, and then somebody else either aproves or rejects the purchase, and then hopefully the second somebody in the process picks up the money and buys the part so that the first person can install it. I can see this process taking a few weeks, but it is the months of waiting for parts that is frustrating me and the people at the clinic. I'm going to try again to find where the weak link is - I can't quit now at the clinic. We've worked so hard to get where we are.

I'll still continue... despite all the challenges... trying to work....

Working at the Clinic

2008-08-10T16:00:00.003-04:00

I certainly have different emotions about work. The clinic itself that I work in has always had management issues, but they are getting worse. There is too much friction between staff, based on personalities, race and conflict of beliefs about how the clinic should be run. Those in a management role display very little leadership skills and don't respect their staff which in turn does not nurture respect in their staff. I hate to get involved with office politics, but when it affects the health information system that I am there to work with, then it becomes my business. The director has too much demand on his time to give the clinic the attention it so desperately needs. At the end of the day, it's the patients and the quality of care that they receive that suffers and that breaks my heart.

I am sure that it is not different from any other clinic, but it is my first clinic and everything is new to me. I have the added challenge of trying to introduce something new which there has definitely been resistance towards, less so now than in the beginning - but often not as much support or understanding for the system as I would like after this much time. I love the staff at the clinic and I have definitely felt very welcomed by them. A select few seem to know exactly when I need a little extra encouragement in my day and that is greatly appreciated. You can only do so much work and then wonder if it is really worth it before you need to hear it from somebody else that you do have purpose and your time is appreciated.

I can only hope and pray that somebody takes a leadership role at the clinic and that the staff learns to work better together despite all their differences. They all have so much to give and they could do so much for TB in Guyana if they saw the value in each other, respected each other and focused on the end goal of improving their current system and reducing the number of TB cases.

Have you ever....

2008-08-06T16:05:00.001-04:00

eaten ginep?

ginep: tropical American tree bearing a small edible fruit with
        green leathery skin and sweet juicy translucent pulp
        [syn: spanish lime, honey berry, mamoncillo, genip]

If you haven't... you should!!

Baha'i Wedding

2008-08-03T12:48:00.004-04:00

"Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same." ~Emily Bronte

(quote on back of invitation and wedding ceremony program)

Yesterday I went to a Baha'i wedding ceremony. It was quite an adventure for Anu and I to find our way there - out in the middle of nowhere, sketchy street and neighbourhood, strange map... but we found it! The grounds were actually quite beautiful with the ceremony taking place on an outdoor pavilion starting right on time in Guyana. Invitation: 5pm, wedding ceremony: 5:40pm. The bridge and groom wore traditional Indian outfits and the guests were a mixture of family and friends from across Guyana and the world.

According to their website: "The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Baha'u'llah, (1817-1892), is regarded by Bahá'ís as the most recent in the line of Messengers of God that stretches back beyond recorded time and that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

The central theme of Bahá'u'lláh's message is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in one global society. God, Bahá'u'lláh said, has set in motion historical forces that are breaking down traditional barriers of race, class, creed, and nation and that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization. The principal challenge facing the peoples of the earth is to accept the fact of their oneness and to assist the processes of unification.

One of the purposes of the Bahá'í Faith is to help make this possible. A worldwide community of some five million Bahá'ís, representative of most of the nations, races and cultures on earth, is working to give Bahá'u'lláh's teachings practical effect. Their experience will be a source of encouragement to all who share their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland". (http://info.bahai.org/bahaullah-basic-teachings.html)

The religion has no priests/pastors and no traditional format for a wedding ceremony, but a couple of faith leaders introduced the ceremony and the religion. Family and friends read selected poems and readings by Abdu'l-Baha, Kahlil Gibran, Baha'u'llah, Rumi and an Apache wedding blessing.

The wedding vows were quite simple, said first by the bride and then the groom, "We Will All Verily Abide by the Will of God". The parents of the bride and groom completed the ceremony by reading Abdu'l-Baha's recommendations for a strong marriage.

Coming from a rich cultural and religious background, the bride and groom exchanged wedding rings and used a selection from a Hindu wedding ceremony - plus signed the legal wedding documents!

Dinner was a buffet of fish, chicken, pork, beef, mashed potatoes, rice, coleslaw and veggies... It was alright, but unfortunately not very nice the next day. Sympathy from my landlady included a strict lesson: "you don't eat at these thing, you just drink!" Lesson learned.

Now you will feel no pain
For each of you will be shelter to the other
Now you will feel no cold
For each of you will be warmth of the other
Now there is no loneliness for you
For each of you will be companions to the other
Now you are two persons
But there is one life before you
Go now to your dwelling place
To enter the days of your togetherness
And may your days be good and long upon this Earth.
~Apache wedding blessing

Emancipation Day

2008-08-03T12:47:00.004-04:00

Last Friday - August 1 - Guyana celebrated the 174th anniversary of Emancipation which was gained on August 1, 1834. According to the Office of the President, it was then, that full and final freedom was announced for all enslaved Africans throughout the British Caribbean from a system that was described as the most hideous and barbaric of human exploitation (http://opnew.op.gov.gy/).

I was one of thousands who took part in Emancipation Day celebrations at the National Park in Georgetown (http://www.kaieteurnews.com/?p=3983). The celebrations started early in the morning, but Gina and I with her husband went about mid afternoon. Other times that I have visited the National Park is usually to walk the track and to visit the manatees so I enjoyed the hustle - bustle of activity that we experienced before we even reached the gates, including men who walked up the road trying to sell us tickets for $400 when the entrance fee is $300... a version of ticket scalpers I guess that prey on people who are too lazy to wait in a two person line to purchase tickets from a ticket booth who has an endless supply!

The National Park has a stadium, a large track, various grassy fields for picnics or football and cricket games and a random area of buildings that I don't really know what they are used for. The entrance way greeted us with people selling cotton candy (candy floss, oops), straw hats, sunglasses, and the opportunity to get our picture taken on a painted backdrop [for the record, the painted backdrop cracked me up considering some of the beautiful scenery in this country that makes for an even better picture! even in GT].

Before I forget to mention, most people in attendance looked beautiful in their African-inspired fabrics and outfits. I loved when families all wore the same material with a variation in the design of the dress. I couldn't help but take some pictures though not as many as I would have liked!!

The stadium was packed with crowds sitting in the stands and starting to gather in the shade of the stands on the one side. The little stage seemed so far away, but not many people ventured into the sun to get a close look. The VIP tent had the best view, but I don't know the criteria to get a seat under it though I think the prime minister was there for a bit beside the steel pan band. It is a credit to one little boy's dancing skills that as soon as he started a huge crowd of people moved from the safety of the shade into the hot sun to see him move! And boy, could he move!

Around the track closest to the stadium was an assortment of booths selling various tasty food items, local crafts and the equivalent of dollar store finds. I bought a bracelet made of a coconut shell (Mom, trade for mine back?), but laughed with the vendor when the necklaces he was suggesting I buy, I already own!!

We took a trip around the track so that I could introduce Gina and Taylor to my manatee friends who were very social and to just enjoy the beauty of the park, especially the breeze in the shade! We watched a few dance routines in the stadium before calling it a day - not without picking up some cotton candy on the way out!!

The afternoon was young as we left, definitely with more people coming in than going out so much so that we couldn't leave from one gate, but had to exist from another!

More from the President's Office: On this occasion of Emancipation Day that brought freedom to African ancestors, the Government of Guyana is joining with all Guyanese to pay tribute to their heroism and resoluteness in the face of adversity. “Guyanese should think of the suffering and the sacrifice of our African ancestors. Let us on Emancipation Day steadfastly determine to uphold a mutual respect, appreciation, and understanding of each other. Guyana is especially proud of its illustrious mosaic of nationhood, a cultural mosaic that will endure infinitely in this beautiful land that is our home,” the President’s message stated (http://opnew.op.gov.gy/).

Escape from Georgetown

2008-07-27T15:52:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, Gina and I went for all-you-can-eat pizza night (mmmmm....) and randomly met a man that I knew through CIDA who is working on a project in Guyana for Natural Resources Canada. He would be traveling to an Amerindian village for work on Saturday and had room in his vehicle for two if we were interested. Sure!

So yesterday we arose in the pre-dawn darkness (well, actually at 5:30am the sun is starting to come up) to meet him for 6:30am and start on our adventures. We were traveling to Rockstone, an Amerindian village south of Linden on the Essequibo River. The road from Georgetown to Linden is paved (80km=1 hour) and people aren't joking when they say the highway ends there. On the other side of Linden, we found a red dirt road, made bumpy by large holes. The 18km road took just as much time as the trip from Linden to Georgetown - our driver was very talented at driving around the holes and thankfully slowed down when he had to drive through one. When we reached the village, we were greeted by the Tashao (chief) and the CIDA contacts. Our first sights were of a long dirt red road heading north of the village, children playing, splashing in a nearby creek, and a white & blue GT&T phone booth that appeared not to be connected to any lines, but would ring randomly and be answered by whoever was passing by. Though Gina and I would have stayed at the outside patio/shop where they were going to be discussing plans for an ornamental fish holding tank in the village, we were given permission to walk in the village towards the river.

The main village is behind a fence - kind of like a gated community where no vehicle enters without somebody knowing about it. We were told that the river was high and we wouldn't be able to walk to the edge, and that we could ask at the shop further down to see how far we could go. We wandered aimlessly down the dirt road, enjoying the quiet, the birds, the breeze - just being out of Georgetown! When we reached the shop, we were greeted by a contingent of people who insisted on sending the children as our guide to the river. They were happy to have ears to listen to their problems of high waters and not receiving flood relief, and about the rising cost in food prices.

The water had risen high enough that both sides of the road had become like a wet swamp and we didn't make it close to the river's edge because of large puddles on the road. The children were semi-amused by us and curious - especially at our reaction to the sounds of a baboon! We missed seeing three jump the trees across the road a few minutes earlier, but there is no chance that we could have missed the loud noise - like a charging warthog, though I have never heard one of those either. Definitely scary sounding! And very thankful that we had calm children walking with us.

We had a little picnic lunch in the shade, protected from the rain showers that kept coming and going... It was interesting listening to the plans that were being made for the business, hearing about other village enterprises involving a middle man, and watching the social activities taking place at this common area in the village. We took one more walk to the river before heading back to Georgetown. The fresh air and exercise made the day just fly by - and made for an early night because we were exhausted!

Recipe: Cheese Straws

2008-07-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

Compliments of http://guyanaoutpost.com/recipes/

Ingredients

6 oz butter
8 oz flour
8 oz (2 cups) grated cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper, optional
1 tsp. mustard
2 eggs, separate yolks from white
¼ cup cold water

Preparation

Rub the butter into the flour. Add the grated cheese, salt, pepper and mustard and mix thoroughly.

Add beaten egg yolks and cold water to make a stiff dough.

Roll out about ¼ in thick. Cut into strips 2½ in x ½ in and twist like "twittlers" or make into any variety of shapes desired.

Place the straws on a baking sheet and bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Puja Ceremony

2008-07-20T15:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I attended a beautiful Hindu thanksgiving ceremony, or a Puja ceremony, at my friend Anu's house. I was so pleased to be invited by her brother and that they allowed me to extend the invitation to my new neighbour, Gina as well.

I didn't know a lot about the ceremony when I arrived and learned a little bit from watching and from Anu: "The puja that was performed yesterday by my brother and sister in law is a Hanuman Puja. Hanuman is worshipped as a symbol of physical strength, persevance and devotion. Hindus perform Hanuman pujas to either give thanks to God for continuous good health and prosperity or to remove any difficulties, grief, sorrow or a likelihood or impending unhappiness in one’s path. Hanuman pujas are only performs on Tuesdays and Saturdays."

The ceremony was presided over by a Hindu priest and located on the floor of the living room. Some guests sat on the couches that had moved to another room or against the wall, but Anu wanted Gina and I to have the full experience so we sat barefoot, cross legged on sheets in front of the ceremony. The ceremony was beautiful. I wish I understood what was being said, but the ceremony was essentially a series of prayers, blessings and songs. Offerings of flowers were done, fire was lit, incense burned. From the small fragments of English that were spoken, I recognized connections to my religion - "from darkness to light" - when the fire was lit. Blessings were done with water, recognizing the senses and I wish I could remember the prayers that were said for each one because they were beautiful and universal (lips, ears, feet, etc). Anu's brother and sister-in-law had arranged the ceremony and assisted the priest by performing the offerings. I love that when he was doing an offering or arranging something, her hand was touching his as if the two hands were doing the one task and vice versa.

The final activity was a blessing from elders to the children of the family. They all took a plate adorned with flowers and a deis, and created three circles in the air before putting the plate down, touching the feet of their elder and touching their forehead as their elder placed their hand on the child's shoulder. This was especially moving and beautiful as I know it was the first celebration in Anu's house since the death of her mother and one blessing was missing from this routine.

At the end of the ceremony, two bamboo poles were brought into the house (interesting navigating them) and both ends were blessed and red flags tied onto them. These are then placed outside at the front of the house. You see these flags in front of houses all the time - so it's kind of neat that when I see these flags, I will know I was a witness to their ceremony.

I confess my foot fell asleep and was extremely painful so I tried to wiggle my toes and not keep my legs in one position too much - I noticed the priest and others present were doing something similar so I didn't feel too bad.

I would have been quite happy watching and participating in the ceremony, but no function is complete without food! And they certainly know how to feed you!! I ate off a water lily leaf with my hands - and I loved it!! The "dish" is called seven curry. And I hope I get this right, but the base is rice with dhal and it is served with pumpkin curry, potato and chickpea curry, khatahar curry, mango curry, spinach curry and achar - with puri which is like roti only not (better!). Anu teased me that I had to eat with my hands, but I know if I was really struggling than she would have let me use a spoon. I made out okay!! Anu's niece was very helpful teaching me how to eat (mix everything together - which I did after trying everything separately) and telling me her favourite (mango curry! mmmm). Just when I thought I couldn't eat anymore, they bring around the rice pudding for which you fold your leaf in half and eat off the back. It is similar to rice pudding at home though instead of just making it with milk, it is made with evaporated milk and sweet condensed milk, making it super sweet and rich!!

Afterward we enjoyed the breeze on the balcony and let our stomachs settle. A lovely afternoon.

Tuberculosis in Guyana

2008-07-17T13:24:00.006-04:00

Though my main task at the Georgetown Chest Clinic has been increasing the usage of the GHIS and helping the staff to incorporate the system into their daily routine, I had to first learn how the clinic works to learn how to make the system work for them - and to help the doctors learn the system, I inadvertently learned how to treat tuberculosis (TB)!

When people come to the clinic, they have usually been referred by their doctor or MOPD (Medical Outpatient Department) - or they are a TB contact or just want to be tested. For those who are a contact or want to be tested, the first step is a Mantoux test (aka skin test, tuberculin test or PDD test - purified protein derivative). The tuberculin is inserted into the top layers of the skin, usually on the arm. The site reacts immediately to the volume of liquid injected by creating a bump, but if done correctly, this is absorbed quickly. The site should be read 48-72 hours after the injection and the health care worker is looking at the amount of swelling (creates a palpable, raised, hardened area), not redness or bruising. The test is read in millimeters and a standard positive reading is greater than 15mm, but this varies depending on whether the health status or exposure of an individual. Individuals with kidney disease, diabetes or working in the health field, are considered positive at 10mm and an individual who is immuno-compromised (i.e., HIV positive) is considered to have a positive TB test at 5mm.

A positive test means that an individual has been exposed to the TB bacteria in the past and has a TB infection. It is possible to have a TB infection, but not to have TB disease. The concern is that if you have TB infection, you could develop TB disease. My understanding is that we don't treat infection in Canada unless immuno-suppressed or in a specific work setting (health care, schools), but it is standard here to prescribe anyone infected prophylaxis treatment of isoniazid and B6 to prevent the disease and the vitamin to prevent side effects of the treatment.

If you are testing positive for TB infection and have the symptoms (cough for more than two weeks, night sweats, fever, weight loss, loss of appetite) then the next step is to get a chest x-ray done (anterior-posterior) and do a sputum test. The sputum test involves coughing up sputum (or "cold" in Guyana, aka the thick stuff in your lungs that you can bring up when you breathe deeply, especially when sick) into a cup which we send to the lab. The lab does a AFB sputum microscopy test which tests for the number of tuberculosis bacterium in the sample. A negative sample means there are no bacteria (or not enough to be detected by regular microscopy - at which point doctor may ask for sputum culture which will grow bacteria if there are any there) or a sample can be positive (1+, 2+, 3+, 4+) which reflects the number of bacteria in the sample.

A normal chest x-ray shows black air space in the shape of lungs with light rib markings. Lung disease is characterized by opacities. I am not sure how different pneumonia looks from tuberculosis, but if pneumonia is suspected (not TB), then they will be prescribed antibiotics that would treat pneumonia - doesn't work, treat for TB! Often chest x-rays will show cloudiness in specific lobes of the lung or blurred angles of the lung. If there is fluid, then you can often see a line to see how high it is. Another type of TB is miliary tuberculosis (most common is pulmonary TB). I think miliary TB can occur anywhere in the body, but it is characterized on chest x-rays by a "millet" pattern that looks like millet seeds.

If tuberculosis is suspected somewhere else on the body (can occur in any organ, bone, lymph nodes etc) then the only conclusive test is a biopsy, but quite often it is diagnosis by treatment. The cases I have seen are noticeable masses protruding from the spine or neck. Treat for tuberculosis and if the mass shrinks, correct diagnosis! Once a diagnosis of TB has been made, there is a standard treatment of four drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol) every day for 2-3 months then only the first two drugs every other day for 4-6 months. A supplement of B6 is also taken. Obviously more education and other criteria required, but that's the basics.

The DOTS program is the WHO standard for curing TB. It stands for Directly Observed Treatment Short-course. The number one reason for not completing treatment is that patients start to feel better two months after taking the drug, but the bactera is very tough and needs the combination and long term treatment to kill all of them. With the DOTS program (theoretically), a health care worker visits you every day and gives you your treatment to take. A DOTS worker should be aware of their patient's attitude and how they are feeling. The DOTS program is supposed to have a 90% cure rate, but I think it is only 60% in Guyana. Not all workers take their job seriously and not all patients understand the seriousness of not treating the disease. If someone misses one month of treatment, they are called a re-treatment case, but if they miss more than two months, then they are considered a defaulter. The program has been increasing their activity to catch these defaulters.

There has been a rise in multi-drug resistant TB in Guyana which is very scary. It is related to defaulting on treatment, multiple treatment restarts and allowing bacteria to build a resistant to the standard TB treatment drugs. There are second-line drugs and even third-line drugs that can be used, but it is not a desirable situation to have multiple MDR cases with active TB (spreading the disease).

If all goes well, TB is curable! I wish everyone at the clinics and the National TB Program the best of luck as they continue to monitor and treat this disease. It has its challenges, but if they are all committed and work together, I know they will do great things for TB in this country - as in get rid of it!!

The Colour of My Skin

2008-07-12T17:23:00.000-04:00

I don't tan. On a scale, I usually go from white to pink to red - often with blisters. And when that starts to fade, it goes backwards on the same scale. Living in a tropical country for over six months has made my skin change its mind and think that maybe it would like to go more of a variety of colours. Upon discussing it with a friend, I decided that despite my excessive use of sunscreen, my skin is what you could call a darker shade of white. Not tan, but like the scale that comes in a box with a teeth whitening kit, a darker shade of white... with more freckles... and subtle "tan" lines for lack of a better term. Regardless of what you want to call the colour of my skin, I am white.

I've always been white. I've known since I discovered that somebody could not be white. Wherever I've lived, I've been a part of the majority - not by choice, that's just how it worked out. Everywhere that is, until Guyana.

Ethnically, Guyana is 30% Afro-Guyanese, 44% Indo-Guyanese, 16% mixed, 9% Amerindian, 1% other which includes Portugese, Chinese and other European. I am in that other category. I remember all the stares when I first came. Don't mind them, Maria would say, it's a Guyanese thing to stare. In areas I frequent, the staring has become less and less surprising to me when I go to a new place. I catch myself staring sometimes now when I see a white person on the street. Like Sesame Street, which one of these is not like the other... A taxi driver laughed when he caught me - now you know what you look like on the street.

While at home for a bit, my first visit to a large restaurant had me overwhelmed by the number of people. I remember commenting to my dad, there's so many white people...

When I say people stare less, that's not entirely true - men never tire of letting me know that they have 'spotted' me with kissy noises, whistles, calls of 'whitey', 'sexy', 'blondie' (I'm a brunette)... calls of chubby or reference to my weight are less common, but still happen which in itself brings memories of childhood teasing though the trait is somewhat desirable. 'Snow Queen' was one of the more recent ones that brought a smile to my face, reminding me of winter and the cold heart that he must think I have for not acknowledging him. I always ignore them. Walk straight by, no reaction - sometimes hide a smile, sometimes curse them under my breath - depends on how the rest of my day has been going. This spurs comments of oh, too goo to talk to Guyanese which hurts, but I know is untrue and so do my friends here.

I learned recently that all this is partly due to when men see me, they see the white girl in the television show or movie who is open to flings and casual sex. We can differentiate that not all girls are like that, it's just a tv show - they don't, it's the often the only exposure to white girls they have. Damn North American media. The rest is in part to women who do come here for x amount of time, away from family and friends, and feel free to act how they choose, with whomever, forgetting or not caring about the precedence they set.

I'm not sure whether it was particularly bad this week or whether I just noticed it more for whatever reason, but I found myself coming home at the end of the day and feeling like a piece of meat. It's a hard feeling to shake.

At the clinic, people usually assume I'm a doctor. You're not? A nurse? Oh. Frown. I can't help but feel like I have been given these professions because of my skin. I was in the ward once and the head nurse wanted to make sure that I knew they needed a sink by the central desk. She pointed out the number of nurses and showed me their existing sink. Well, yes. I understand the need for a sink, I think to myself, but what do you expect me to be able to do about it? But she doesn't see me. She sees the colour of my skin, the foreign organization she assumes I am a part of, and the money that I could potentially direct the spending of.

I let an old woman in front of me in line at the grocery store the other day. I'd already let a man in front of me to exchange an item. It's not that I believed her claim that she only had a few things to buy (I had less). It's because I knew that when she went home, she would not remember the three other people before me who refused to let her cut in, she would remember the rude young white girl. The bag boy smiled apologetically.

I had someone ask me once how my family would feel about a black boyfriend. They wouldn't care, I said, as long as he loved me and was good to me. I asked my mom just to double check - he must be able to make you laugh too. Good criteria for any relationship, regardless of skin colour.

White Girl in Guyana

The continuing saga of my feet in a tropical country...

2008-07-11T11:16:00.001-04:00

You'd think I'd learn my lesson and not walk around barefoot. You'd think that having hookworm was enough of a lesson that I'd never take my shoes off. And you'd think wrong...

Actually it might not have been my fault. It could have just been a dusty situation. Or it could have been me walking carelessly without shoes on... again... why aren't my feet tougher?!

Not so bad this time, don't worry. Just a chiggar bite. Which from my understanding, the flea-thing kind of burrowed in and laid some eggs, creating a capsule. I like to think that the capsule was created by my body to keep the creature contained. The pain came when it wanted to be bigger than the capsule. The chiggar itself is really really small. And I am obviously an atypical case with only one bite and no itching, just pain. Luckily I have a handy doctor friend, Abiot, who takes good care of me and performed surgery on my apartment patio with a sterile needle, various contents of my first aid kit and a Heineken to hydrate himself.

The hole in my foot is healing nicely and I will remember this... and the hookworm... the next time I think about walking anywhere barefoot...

Yes, my feet will probably need counseling and severe pampering when they go home. They have experienced a couple of nightmares and are very nervous about new things or anything touching them.

And as always, photo journal available for anyone who is interested.

Ola!

2008-07-06T16:15:00.001-04:00

Brazil was an experience.

Buses were key to the trip - both as the mode of transportation to get to and from Brazil, but also as an adventure in the city trying to get around. In total, we spend over 50 hours on buses including three nights! Only a couple of breakdowns and one big mud puddle that made the Wildcat Trail look like a highway. In Brazil, they like their buses chilled to freezer temperature which for a Canadian living in a tropical country for too long is way too cold to function.

Boa Vista, capital of Roraima province, was a stepping stone on our way to Manaus, capital of Brazil's largest province, Amazonas. Highlights would be a buffet restaurant with make your own sundaes and air conditioned bookstore that allowed us to purchase a Portugese-English dictionary and hang out for several hours, learning words and checking emails. [Note: they were called Nobel librarie which was too perfect - I missed my Grandma's Nobel family reunion that weekend, but long lost distance relatives created a bookstore chain that took care of me]

Manaus. To see it, you would never believe you were in a city in the Amazon Rainforest. All the hustle and bustle, tall buildings and modern stores of a North American city with areas of European charm. Our hostel was close to the famous operahouse Teatro Amazonas an d it was our favourite place to be, either inside on tour or listening to a free concert by a so-so American choir... or at night, basking in its light, drinking Heineken, eating specialty desserts, listening to live Spanish music... or in day, sitting on a bench in its square, enjoying the sights, writing postcards.

The theatre was completed in 1896. It took twenty years to build with material being brought in from Europe and shipped down the Amazon River. Even the wooden setas were made of Amazon rainforest tree wood that was shipped to Europe to be processed and brought back. It is magnificent. Beautiful paintings on the ceilings and walls, detailed wood floors in the ballroom, stunning light fixtures. A true gem. An interesting history lesson on the money and process, plus some pictures: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Theatre

The Amazon River starts in Peru and is made up of a series of rivers, and is divided into several parts like the Upper Amazon (history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River#Origins_of_the_river). Two such rivers that make up the Amazon are the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões. They join at a place called Meeting of the Waters - the incredible place where two distinct bodies of water meet, but don't mix. One is black, slow, small, cold and high mineral content while the other is brown, fast, large, warm and high sediment content. It's like mixing water and oil only not to that extreme, but you can see the distinct line where they meet. At the harbour before seeing this incredible phenomenon, we saw a fish with lungs and gills!!

Took some time before our bus left Manaus to hang out at... a mall! with... a movie theatre! Watched "Get Smart" in English with Portugese subtitles in air conditioned goodness with all our bags spread out around us.

Fruits were delicious. The pizza was good. The Heineken was cheap. We loved Brazil!

Before we left Lethem, a beautiful double rainbow showed itself by the mountains. Red dirt roads, green green fields, grey mountains, blue skies, bright rainbow - quite sight!!

Let's just say that we survived the bus ride back to Georgetown... twenty hours later... barely... and I can't wait to go back to Brazil!!

Visiting Neighbours...

2008-06-26T21:41:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, three crazy Canadian kids decided to take a little detour from their time in Guyana to cross the border to Brazil. Which is where I find myself now - until Sunday? Have many adventures to tell - look for them early next week, but the keyboard is throwing me off and I really should catch some sleep before I continue with the Brazilian adventures!

GHIS Modularization Consultant - that's me!

2008-06-22T17:08:00.002-04:00

I am officially the GHIS Modularization Consultant for the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU). Actually, my contract has been signed between me and the Permanent Secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Health. I wish I could explain his role - there's a Minister of Health, a Minister within the Ministry, the PS and the Chief Medical Officer - they're all pretty up there in importance. I don't know how they decide who does what, but the PS apparently gets to sign consultant contracts.

I am getting paid through a project under the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Not sure how the funding works, but I know I had to go through a lot of approval stages because I was selected for the position and there was no ad posted. So it took a little while to get the contract even though I should have started officially under it when the CSIH contract ended. Apparently I had to be evaluated (which I guess went well though I don't know what they were evaluating) and they granted "no objection" which means HSDU could make a contract and the money would be there for me. I was a free agent for a bit!

I think I've mentioned what I do before. The health information system started out being developed with a focus on HIV/AIDS, OI/STI and TB, then some MCH material was added - but overall a generic system was created with general reports. I am looking at the system by department/program and ensuring that it captures the required information/indicators for the program and their donor agencies. I've completed looking at TB, VCT and Pharmacy - and I am currently working on Outpatient/Specialist clinics, ART and OI/STI. It's been interesting looking at all the demands that a program and its donors have that are similar, but just different enough that they require a different indicator (an example of an indicator is the number of people tested sputum positive - test for TB, a variation is the number of people tested sputum positive on first visit... both tell different things). There is a lot of demand for reports and I find sometimes it's interesting when I include changes that improve the clinic aspect and others question its importance because it is not relevant to any report. The clinic is my first priority, reporting is second - it doesn't matter if the system makes the reports if the system isn't user friendly.

An important detail for some people is that I am on a four month contract that ends September 30th - so look for me in Canada at the beginning of October!

Recipe: Pine Tarts

2008-06-22T17:05:00.000-04:00

Probably my most favourite Guyanese pastry - everybody makes them a little bit different, but they're all tasty!!

Ingredients

2 cans crushed pineapple
Sugar (depends on how sweet you want the tarts)
1 large egg

Pastry

1 lb (16 oz) flour
½ lb (8 oz) of Crisco shortening

Preparation

Drain most of the liquid from the pineapple in the cans, then empty the cans into a pot. Add sugar till the sweetness is desired to your taste.

Boil the pineapple on a medium fire until the juice is absorbed but the fruit is not dry. Stir often to avoid burning. Put aside to cool.

Prepare the pastry: mix the flour and shortening together until the mixture becomes crumbly like bread crumbs.

Then, as you mix with your hands, add small amounts of ice cold water as needed, and knead until the flour mixture becomes soft and doughy.

Break off 1½ inch balls and roll out into thin rounds.

Put an amount of the pineapple mixture in the center of each round, and then close the pastry over the filling to form a triangle-shaped tart. Use a fork to pinch the corners shut.

Beat the egg in a bowl and brush it on top of the pine tarts.

Put the tarts in an oven preheated to 350°F, and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until done.

A poem to share

2008-06-12T13:47:00.000-04:00

This poem was sent to me by my good friend Maria to share in my blog. It is hilarious - most of the references are to food and parts of food dishes, only a couple which I haven't had, seen or heard of (and am currently clarifying). I hope you enjoy what parts you can understand! Feel free to ask for any clarification, but I feel that it needs to exist clean and clear for now!

How Do I Love Thee - West Indian Style

You are the essence in my mauby
De fish in my fishcakes
I love you love you dearly
You are the lard oil in my bakes
You are the coconut in my sweetbread
De pigtail in my rice
Just like piece of curry goat head
I will love you till I dead.

You are the sardine in my gravy
The dumplings in my soup
I love you more than mi belly
Yes I love you bad fah true.

Like banana leaf around my conkie
I'll be always close to you
Sweet like sugar in your bush tea
I'll do anything for you.

You are the sauce around my Cou Cou
Hot like sweetbread when it done
I will stick to you like dandruff
Like the corns upon your toes
Like the fat around your belly
I'll be everywhere you goes

Cause you are my black pudding
And I know I am your souse
When you call I will come running
Like when a boar cat see a mouse.

Oh my pepper on my pork chop
Sweet like sorrel when it mix
When my hands caress your body
You feel just like a couple-six.

You are sweeter than a snowcone
I will give you all I own
You are sweeter than a hambone
Soft and sweet like piece'o'pone.
No one can take me from you
Not in this life or death
My Panya girl I love you
It's just your mudda me caant tek.

New Apartment

2008-06-08T13:18:00.000-04:00

I'm trading in my new "oasis" this afternoon for my traditional Oasis (http://www.oasiscafegy.com/). After several months of inconsistent water control (required to turn on a pump to have water come out of tap - pump and switch broken at different times), the breaking point was three weeks with no pump switch and no attempt being made to fix it. A call to one of my Guyana moms and I had a new apartment practically the next day!

It's a bit smaller than the other apartment, but it feels cosier, brighter and quieter. The window design also allows for a lovely cross breeze so it feels cooler! (even without a/c) The apartment itself is in kind of a compound with the landlady's house and a building with two other apartments. I have a cute little patio and access to a beautiful backyard.

Some highlights include:
- running water
- running water that with the flick of a switch can be "hot" running water!
- door on the bathroom
- almost full size fridge that might be able to hold icecream
- itty bitty stove
- walking distance to work (Saves $20/week taxi)
- fresh fruit stand around the corner
- neighbours

I am a bit sad that my itty bitty TV doesn't connect with the DVD player that I borrowed - needed: movie buddy.

I love Mrs Boody, but currently unimpressed after our last phone call and being accused of breaking and stealing things. Sorry, I didn't mention that the microwave was tempermental - it was low on my scale of concern when I didn't have WATER! *sigh*

I don't know how old my landlady is, but she is very cute - also very sharp. She walks slowly and I like to think she takes every step with purpose - she just seems like that kind of woman. I have felt very welcomed by her and my new neighbour. I feel more relaxed and happy when I come home now - one of those things you don't notice until you are in a new setting.

I sat yesterday afternoon writing a letter to my grandma on my new porch... listening to the birds... enjoying the breeze that was bringing the rain clouds in... watching a hummingbird eat and relax on a branch. Seriously.

Quote of the Week

2008-06-04T10:29:00.000-04:00

Baby, you're white like milk - can I put you in my tea?

- Random guy's comment on my walk home from work. I had thought after 8 months that I had heard it all... apparently not...

Adventures with Anu... continued... at the GYM!!

2008-05-29T09:36:00.000-04:00

If there was a perfect day to write this post, it would probably have been a Monday. I think I started this post on a Monday, but life happens... But back to Monday - I used to go to the gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, meaning that I spend Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday recovering from the pain the personal trainer causes me. Sunday is obviously a day of rest and on Monday I decide that yes, I will probably go to the gym again tomorrow, forgetting the pain from the previous week! Who would have thought I'd actually go to a gym? Anu was a great inspiration for me, and I think we are a good source of strength and commitment for each other. Same goals, and tons of fun together!! The first time I was so sore, I could barely walk. Stairs were hell. It got better each time, but still rough sometimes. I rediscover muscles that I didn't even know existed!!

I hate to talk about the gym equipment because I think the owner is great, but some pieces like bikes or steppers terrify me that they are going to fall apart when I sit on them or if I use them - if they even work that day! Weight equipment is well maintained and the place is very clean. There is minimal ogling from male gym goers as we attempt our routine.

We had some issues with our former personal trainer... Mainly tensions between him and Anu - he being interested in more than just training; her, not so much, having a serious boyfriend and all. Me, just in an awkward position.

Even though we aren't training with him, I feel I should mention the potential personal trainer that we met with. Who is massive. I think his arms are the size of my thighs, only solid, sculpted muscle. It took me five minutes to get over it and talk to him without a ridiculous smile on my face which was fine because he couldn't look at me without a shock, thinking that perhaps he was back in Canada. He reminded me of my best friend - his approach to lifestyle change with workout and nutrition etc and he promised not to fall in love with Anu, but the club and gym fees plus training session and transportation costs was a bit ridiculous for our budgets.

We are now attempting to do aerobics three times a week, Anu a bit more successfully than me. My attempt made for one hot and sweaty me - definitely felt energized and a bit sore the next day... I have been weak and tempted by naps and dinner invitations for pepperpot! Not any less committed, but just need to work on my schedule a bit!

Now of course my entire dealing with pain routine will be off with aerobics Mon/Wed/Fri, but somehow I am sure I will still convince myself to go again - especially with Anu's encouragement!!

Recipe to enjoy: Cook-up

2008-05-28T11:52:00.000-04:00

Cook-up (cook up) is a hugely popular Guyanese meal in which all the ingredients are put into one pot and cooked up together. The main ingredients are rice, meat, peas or beans, spices and coconut milk. Any kind of meat may be included in a cook-up. I've only had cook-up with meat once and I wasn't a huge fan. Some favorites include salted pork, pig tails, salt beef, but I prefer to have barbecue chicken or fried fish as a side. Favorite peas are yellow split peas and black-eye peas. Other ingredients include onions, garlic, parsley and thyme. It is often eaten with hot pepper sauce, or my preference is mango achar which is a "pickled condiment" that adds a bit more flavour. I found the following recipe and haven't tested it, but it looks like it has the right ingredients. Okras can be substituted for any kind of pea or bean you want! And I would assume you could just remove the meat from the recipe and not have to adjust anything else. When I get a recipe from a local, I'll test and share it!

Okras Cook-Up Rice

by Anne-Marie Whittaker

This is the Guyanese version of this popular rice dish. In some islands it is done u with salted cod instead of beef.

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 lb stew beef cut up into ¾ inch pieces
2 Tbsp tomato ketchup
3 Tbsp Barbadian Seasoning (see below)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 salted pig-tails soaked in hot water and left to stand for four hours
1 tsp basil
1 tsp marjoram
1½ cups coconut milk
8 oz okras cut into cartwheels
3 seasoning peppers * cut in half (optional)
3 cups long grain rice washed and soaked in water for 2 hours seasoning
salt to taste
3 cups water

Method:
Season the beef with Barbadian Seasoning and ketchup. Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir-fry the beef for 5 minutes.
Drain and cut the pig-tails in half and add to the pot. Continue to stir-fry for a further 5 minutes.
Next, add three cups of water, the coconut milk, herbs, seasoning peppers and simmer for 30 minutes or until the beef is tender. Add the okras and continue to boil for a further 5 minutes.
Drain the rice and add to the contents of the pot; stir, then add enough water to just cover the mixture.
Adjust the seasonings, for example add seasoning salt and a little more Barbadian Seasoning, and herbs. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest level, cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.

Note:
Seasoning pepper *: a variety of pepper that has very little heat but a strong aroma and flavour.

Barbadian Seasoning

by Anne-Marie Whittaker

This seasoning is the secret to the success of many mouth-watering Barbadian dishes. It is found in almost every home and comes in several variations. This one is particularly nice.

Ingredients:

1½ cups vinegar
2 oz thyme
2 oz parsley
1 lb onions
5 oz green onions
2 oz marjoram
4 Scotch Bonnet peppers or habanero (add more to make it hotter)
4 oz garlic
½ oz ground clove
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp black pepper
4½ tbs salt

Method:
Remove the stems from the thyme and marjoram and place in a blender with vinegar. Liquefy.
Place the onions, green onions, parsley, peppers and garlic in a food processor and process for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Blend this together with the seasoned vinegar in a mixing bowl.
Stir in the salt, Worcestershire sauce, ground clove and black pepper. Bottle and refrigerate.
Leave it to stand for one week, before using as required.

Note:
Barbadian Seasoning will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.

http://recipes.caribseek.com/Guyana/okras-cook-up-rice.shtml

Reflections

2008-05-22T16:41:00.000-04:00

I am sitting in the Outpatient Clinic at the New Amsterdam Hospital. This is my second visit to this hospital - the first being October 2, 2007; my second day in Guyana. It seems quite fitting that I should return here as I officially will soon be starting my new role as HIS consultant with the Health Sector Development Unit and the first module to develop under my new title is the Outpatient Module.

It is not quite as overwhelming as my first visit. I am used to the open air concept, understanding that the flow of air helps the air from getting too hot and stale, and is more cost efficient than air conditioning. Though I am still not used to the near freezing temperatures of administrative offices which make me feel like I've stepped out of wood heated house into a cold November morning with frost on the ground. I don't know much about electricity costs, but if they all turned the temperature up a few degrees, I am positive there would be somewhere else that could use the money. The waiting areas still get to me, outpatient less so than emergency where they wait outside on benches covered by a roof. Waiting to be seen or hear word of a loved ones condition. It is very advanced compared to some countries because all services are free. I guess waiting is the price they pay.

I am the only white girl for miles so my position sitting on a bench is drawing some attention. I guess they are more used to me at Georgetown Public Hospital Compound or perhaps I just notice their stares less because I am going somewhere, doing something, not sitting and observing.

I am here to learn about the paper system with the purpose of analyzing it to design the electronic module. The task feels a bit more overwhelming as I sit here staring at the forms I collected, questions I developed and thinking about the system I just learned. I feel like if all the log books in this country were stacked one on top of the other, the pile would reach the moon. Maybe even back. The same with all the charts/cards in filing cabinets...

The module won't be as straightforward as I thought. The forms offer little to no information. all information is in the brain of each clinic doctor or hopefully on some hidden list somewhere... Means more meetings... More traveling by car and boat (hopefully no more 6am departure times)... This certainly has been a crash course in hospital and clinic activities.

Mothers and children have a special place in my heart. I can only imagine the joy of having a new baby or the distress at having a sick child. Perhaps this is why two images from today are stuck in my mind....

The woman holding her sick child, limp in her arms, standing outside the emergency wing, surrounded by family and curious observers, wanting to know when she will be seen, the pleading look in her eyes that I could do nothing about....

The woman, glowing, holding her new baby in her arms, leading the parade of proud family and friends out of the hospital, leading them and taking her baby home...

Adventures in Guyana... with a friend!!

2008-05-19T15:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was, without a doubt, the best Sunday I have ever had in Guyana. I love this country, the food and of course, the people, but there is nothing quite like meeting up with a friend from home and sharing a little bit of this country!

He is here through his university to work with the Red Cross and run workshops on various health-related topics. Georgetown is the first stop in his adventure before he travels to Lethem. We started the day with a trip to Oasis for some email checking, pastry tasting (cheese rolls, cheese straws, pine tarts...) and some much needed coffee.

We then called Andre, one of my trusty taxi drivers, to take us on a tour of the big GT. We had walked over to the world's tallest wooden structure (St George's Cathedral) and had Andre drive us south of the city to the Demerara Harbour bridge - the world's longest floating bridge! Yes, we drove across it just to get to the other side and turned around!!

Andre drove us through big residential areas, the equivalent of the GT ghetto, by the cemetery and the prison, and for all the photo opportunities at old government buildings. Final stop on the tour being the zoo with lots of birds, cats and creatures... and a close-up of a manatee! No trip is complete without some fried chicken (yesteday's selection: fried chicken sandwich from Church's). We finished the day with a trip to the sea wall, enjoying the ocean breeze without the brown water and seeing the bustle of activity with families out to enjoy vendors and activities.

Perfect day :)

Sending a Package

2008-05-08T09:50:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like having a mother's day present examined for illicit materials that will make you feel guilty for having done nothing and increase your frustrations with the system.

I will not mention the courier because it is not entirely their fault, but it was a bit ridiculous. After careful inspection of the contents: a beaded chain and a homemade cross-stitch picture (which is NOT a placemat and no I don't know it's value - my mother will think it's priceless, tell your customs officer that!), I was faced with the following frustrations:

1) Not being allowed to write the to/from addresses out on the packing slip - and then having to spell most of the words out letter by letter anyway... several times... B-A-N-C-.... F-A-R-A-...
2) Almost not accepting the copy of my passport that everybody else accepts as identification - more specifically that the last person at the courier accepted as id without question.
3) Signing my life away stating without a doubt that there were no narcotics or banned material in my package and guaranteeing the contents BUT then not being allowed to seal the envelope.
4) Feeling like that annoying customer when they go and find the operations manager.
5) Having the manager inspect my package again. And indicate that the package will probably be opened again by customs in Guyana and maybe other countries...
6) Having my package held for a day in Georgetown - obviously because I'm a suspicious individual.
7) Having my package held in the States for a day too.
8) Planning a package to be home before Mother's Day but arrives late.

*sigh*

Stop and smell the....

2008-05-02T15:41:00.000-04:00

...stagnant water outside the Georgetown Public Hospital, more specifically the creation of perfect mosquito breeding ground outside the Malaria Clinic.

...ocean breeze while walking along the sea wall or sitting in the National Park after a good walk.

...fresh homemade roti and squash curry.

...warm unfamiliar floral breeze walking by Promenade Gardens.

...burning of cane fields.

...dead cat in bin two days before garbage day.

...molasses and alcohol in the air outside the El dorado rum building.

...ripe fruit in the market.

...too ripe fruit in my kitchen when I take home more than I can eat!

2008-04-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

The most important thing in life is to stop saying "I wish" and start saying "I will". Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.

~ David Copperfield ~

Recipe to enjoy: Bake and Saltfish

2008-04-30T12:15:00.000-04:00

The first time I had Bake and Saltfish was at the El Dorado Inn where I stayed during my first ten days in Guyana. The bake had been freshly made that morning and the fish was just perfect - served with a glass of cherry juice and fresh fruit, it was a great way to start the day! I have had it again since then, but probably one of the most memorable times was sharing it with my family during Boxing Day brunch at Mrs Boodie's! I haven't tried this receipe, but it looks pretty easy and the ingredients look right. Mom?

Saltfish, once a staple in the West Indian diet, is salted, dried codfish, imported from Canada (traditionally Newfoundland), historically as standard food for slaves. My understanding is that Newfoundland Screech (aka Jamaican rum) was acquired through this kind of transaction. A conversation with the Minister of Health assured me that those the saltfish is not necessarily cod anymore or from Canada - Canadian cod makes the best saltfish!!

You can eat the two separately or put the saltfish in the bake like a sandwich. Enjoy for breakfast or brunch - or anytime of day!!

Fried bake (serves 8)

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1½ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
about 2 cups water
1 cup oil for deep frying

Instructions

Sift flour, salt, and baking powder. Add enough water to make a soft dough. Knead for about ten minutes then let rest for half an hour or more

Cut in pieces and roll each piece five to six inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick. Fry in hot oil, turn once, and fry until brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

Saltfish (serves six)

Ingredients:
½ pound saltfish
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ pound tomatoes, chopped
a few drops of lime juice
½ cup sliced onion
about 1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped chive
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon chopped hot pepper
pieces of avocado (optional)
coriander/cilantro/chadon beni (pronounced “shadow benny”) to taste (optional)

Instructions

Break fish in pieces and boil for ten to 15 minutes. Drain. This is to remove the salt: skip this step and you mash up (screw up) the whole dish. Remove skin and bones from fish and break into pieces.

Fry fish in hot oil for about four to five minutes. Add tomatoes, lime juice, onion, garlic, chive, thyme, hot pepper, and optional ingredients; cook for ten minutes.

Serve warm with bake or white rice. To eat the saltfish with the bake, open the bake as you would pita bread, fill it with saltfish, and enjoy.

Alternative method:

Don’t fry the fish, since it is cooked when it is boiled. Do not cook the vegetables with the cod-fish. The result looks similar to bruschetta, for lack of a better description. It can be served chilled with bake.

My Little Corner of the Chest Clinic

2008-04-22T16:09:00.000-04:00

I have moved from my spacious Newmarket and Main office with a large corner desk and a view of palm trees and a garbage dump to a little computer desk in the corner of the boardroom at the Chest Clinic! Thankfully the room is air conditioned and after a bit, I found someone to help me get the internet connection working. I have a cupboard that I can lock and I moved some boxes around so the corner is a little less claustrophobic surrounded by electronic and condom boxes...

I took a bit of a break for awhile, but I have been back at work for over two weeks. It was a little disheartening to find that the use of the system definitely relaxed while I wasn't here supervising. Also nobody was entirely honest about their use of the system - forgetting that I would notice the gaps of information in the computer and the effect that one person not using the system has on the whole process! Even if I weren't so involved with every chart that goes through my hands, with a click of a button and my handy dandy administrative report, I can see that they too took a bit of a holiday!

All joking aside, it was a bit frustrating discovering that yet again two steps forward means one and a half steps backward. On the plus side, a HIS specialist came to visit and he thought they were using the system (well they probably were that day) which inspired his recommendation to keep working on the system and push forward faster with the rollout to the rest of the country. The lack of usage and some small details inspired me to write a letter that prompted a little action and a lot of laughs - with such confessions as "I have a confession to make. I am only one person. I am not magic. I can only be in one place at a time. I can only see so much clinic activity in my time here. More than ever, I need your continued help and support to make this system work for you. It's not for me, it's for you and the patients you see" and instructions like "take the pen away from the doctor" (reaction - we can't do that! my response - pretend you're me and if they say anything, send them to me).

I am continuing to work on modules for the system - currently the focus is TB. Because of my time at the Chest Clinic and the fact that they are essentially in full time, they are using TB as an example that the system can work (I am so proud of my people!). They want to make sure that the system can produce the required reports for tuberculosis and that the data from the system is of the quality required. It's a bit of a task with some inconsistent use of the system and the amount of back data that needs to be entered, but I'll keep working away at the planning document and hopefully keep encouraging system use and maybe someone else will take charge of the back entry of quality data and we will prove that the system can work. Still. Again. :)

Easter Weekend

2008-03-28T15:40:00.000-04:00

Long overdue.... oops!! Finally made time to finish my draft... oh how I miss my laptop and unlimited computer access!

Easter weekend in Guyana this year was quite an event - because of the calendar and the moon and whatever else determines a holiday, the Christian Easter weekend was on the same weekend as the Hindu holiday Phagwah or Holi and the Muslim holiday Mawlid al-Nabi.

In Canada, Easter weekend meant a four day weekend in grade school and a three day weekend in university - with the four day weekend recognizing Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays. The Mawlid al-Nabi fell on the Thursday and Phagwah fell on the Saturday - meaning a five day long Easter weekend for me!!

Mawlid al-Nabi celebrates the birthday of Muhammed, the founder of Islam. It is fixed as the 12th day of the month of Rabi I in the Islamic calendar. Mawlid means birthday of a holy figure and al-Nabi means prophet. The day is commemorated with recollections of Muhammad's life and significance.

Phagwah or Holi is also called the Festival of Colours and it is a popular Hindu spring festival. On the first day, burning of the demoness Holika in a huge bonfire at night. On the second day, people spend the day throwing colored powder and water at each other. The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of the colored powders has a medicinal significance as the colours are traditionally made of medicinal herbs. I did not take part in this holiday as I was out of town, but several people at the Chest Clinic celebrated early by spritzing me with perfume, sparkles and baby powder!!

Because of the long weekend and my need for some time out of the city, I booked some time at the Baganara Island Resort where I spent New Year's with the family. It was my first Easter without family and though I love my adopted families, they need their family time too.

They arranged for a car to pick me up and take me to the boat at Parika that would take me down the Essequibo to Baganara. He was a colourful Brazillian man who I enjoyed chatting with. (Side note: he was unable to come pick me up at the end of my trip, but had the car that did pick me up check in with him and we chatted so he knew I was safely on my way home after a lovely weekend!)

I ended up taking about with probably 20 other individuals who were doing a day tour along the Essequibo with some quality time at Baganara. A surprise stop along the way was at Fort Island. On this island are two structures: Fort Zeelandia and the Court of Policy. Time for a history lesson with help from the National Trust of Guyana (http://www.nationaltrust.gov.gy/natmonuments.html).

"During the period of Dutch occupation the Fort and the Court of Policy were part of a large urban settlement that extended along the northeastern section of the island. This was the seat of the Dutch administration in the colony of Essequibo.

Fort Zeelandia was constructed in 1744. It was constructed to protect the interests of the Dutch West India Company from European rivals such as the English and French who frequented the eastern coast of South America in search of the spoils of war. In addition it was meant to serve as a stronghold against internal forces such as rebellious slaves.

This brick fort which replaced a wooden structure was constructed in accordance to a design by the then secretary of the colony of Essequibo Laurens Storm Vans Gravesande (the colony's longest serving Dutch Commandeur 1738-1776) to conserve funds. It is said that the design followed a pattern lozenge-shaped forts which were common in West Africa during that period. Within the compound of the Fort are the Armory used for the storage of ammunition and several canons reminiscent of the belligerent history of the site.

The Court of Policy served multiple functions. It was a store and at the same time a church, court, seat of government and a sales office. Inside the Court of Policy are the tombs of three Dutch Officials. It is the oldest non-military structure in Guyana. To this day church services are held there."

I have some beautiful pictures of the Fort and one of me looking like quite the tourist! It was here on the island that I met some friends who would also be overnighting at Baganara. Mireille and I spent quite a bit of time together. She is originally from Rwanda and has moved here with her husband and two beautiful little girls. Also with her was two brother-in-laws and another couple with their fat happy little baby. Her English is quite good, but her daughters (3 and 6) speaking French and their native language of Kinya-rwanda. With my poor French and intense sign language, we found our own way to communicate!

The bartender remembered me from New Year's so it was nice to chat with him and get him all caught up on the family at home. I was also able to meet his wife and two little girls who came for a day trip and somehow on my bumpy boat ride back up the Essequibo were able to sleep soundly! The food as always was delicious and thankfully this time because the resort was booked full most nights was buffet so I was able to only take on my plate what I would be able to eat!!

I spent a lot of time with Mireille and her family. It was nice to make new friends and learn from each other. We had some adventures with the littlest girl attempting to swim head first during a walk along the beach, some quality time in the hammock with an armful of children and attempts at playing cricket! I also had some quiet quality time in the hammock, enjoying the sound of rain, the waves of the river and the hammock swaying in the breeze.

I missed the boat to Bartica to see the Bartica Regatta which is a feature of Easter Weekend in Guyana. It consists of a growing variety of entertaining holiday activities including water sports (featuring mostly speed boats), cricket, boxing, soccer talent shows, a street parade, and a Miss Bartica Regatta Pageant. The Regatta attracts people from all parts of Guyana and even from other countries. I was semi-attracted to the idea of seeing the boats and the festivities, but it turns out I was a bit more attracted to the hammock and I missed the boat to Bartica! I had the island to myself for a couple of hours though which was lovely.

So far so good and no hookworm... I couldn't resist walking in the sand. And this time I know what to look for and which drugs to take!!

On Easter Monday, I went with Maria and her family to the University of Guyana fields to fly kites. On Sunday and Monday, wherever you traveled you could see people flying kites, from their yards, along the sea wall and in big fields like at UG and the National Park. It was a little adventure complete with full picnic baskets, new kites and all sorts of family members! I am now a trained kite flyer and helped her two oldest children keep the newest kite nicknamed Sharkie (obviously because it's a kite shaped like a shark) up in the air. My understanding is that kite flying was originally linked to the Resurrection of Christ. People at work couldn't believe that I had never been kite flying at Easter - not quite understanding that most of the time at Easter there is still snow on the ground in Canada or cold enough that people don't want to be outside!!

I like how this Guyanese columnist said it (http://ezinearticles.com/?Kite-Flying-and-Easter-Buns&id=179373)
"This Easter weekend in Guyana, my homeland, thousands of people, young and old will turn out to fly kites. It is a vivid kaleidescope of color and light, a warm, friendly family outing that give many children an important bonding experience with their parents. I have been unable to find the origins of this national event in Guyana. None of the neighboring countries in South America and the Caribbean have similar mass kite flying. It has been suggested that Guyanese kite flying is their way of celebrating the risen Christ. In multi-cultural Guyana Kite flyers are not only Christian but Muslim and Hindu. Our nation of six peoples have among them people who originally came from China and India--two countries which have long kite flying traditions..... My mind dredges up snap shots of a stark blue sky filled with many thousands of colorful dots swaying in the Atlantic breezes. There are other shots of long kite tails sky dancing, buzzing falling kites, the thrill of reeling out twine, hoisting kites, tangled twine and kite tails.... This Easter Guyanese around the world will bond if you mention kite flying."

Contract Extension

2008-03-28T11:44:00.000-04:00

It's official. The end of my contract is just around the corner (or weekend!), but my time in Guyana isn't over yet! I enjoy what I have been doing - both in the clinic and with the modules for the health information system. There was a bit of a mad rush to try and schedule meetings and have me do this document and that document, so I took a moment and offered to stay. The wheels were set in motion and I find myself with a 2 month contract extension from CSIH - two more months in Guyana! It feels a bit strange after looking forward to some quality time at home, but I am happy to have the opportunity to finish or continue some of the work that I have been doing. So the blog isn't ending yet!

Have a lovely posting in my head for Easter weekend, but my laptop has died again and I am stealing minute at work while disassembling the office to post a somewhat important update. Will post again soon!

Snapshots

2008-03-16T13:13:00.000-04:00

St George’s Cathedral is located in the middle of a roundabout. Driving in a taxi, the driver stops, makes the sign of the cross in front of the cathedral and turns into the roundabout.

Meeting Kevin, a boy in the Male Medical Ward with cerebral palsy. Has had no physical rehabilitation, very little speech, doesn’t seem to know we are at his bedside. Starts to respond to talking, handshaking, his eyes start to follow the conversation and he shares with us the most beautiful smile.

“I like your size. I know you may not, but I want you to know that I do.” Followed by a statement that he walks everyday in the National Park and hopes to see me the next day… “Remember this face.” One of my favourite pick up lines because it wasn’t too aggressive – bold, but not aggressive. Just a statement of fact that respects however I may feel about myself, but lets me know that he does find me attractive. Setting the ground work for the following day when I didn’t go to the park anyway.

A little baby girl in the Children’s ward at the hospital. Two months old, lying on her back in the cradle. Content just lying there. The greatest urge to hold her.

Having a meeting with a woman and explaining how the health information system can be used in her specific health care area. Sharing in her excitement when she realizes the amount of information at her fingertips if the system is used properly.

Praying at the bedside of a woman diagnosed with hepatitis and tuberculosis, but still find faith in God to take care of her and make her strong to go home to her baby.

Working in the clinic to get them using the health information system, one step at a time. Taking away the pens, having them type only in the computer and print records. Controlling panic when the system is down for two minutes, something that would not have been noticed before.

Getting goosebumps watching Margaret Lawrence perform in ‘Testament’ – a play based around a book of interviews with cancer survivors. Sensing her fear, feeling her strength to overcome, watching her deny fear its place, defending another woman not strong enough to fight alone…

Adventures with Anu

2008-03-16T13:10:00.000-04:00

This is kind of funny because this is the first blog post that I’ve written where I know the subject is probably going to read this post… Hi Anu!! J

Anu is another kindred spirit that I have found in Guyana. She works on the other side of the building, an accountant with PSU. I always thought she had a lovely smile when I went over to PSU to visit and I can’t quite tell you when we started having lunch together, but I am suspicious that it started with a Friday Anu-Navin-Elizabeth lunch from Popeye’s with one of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve ever had (spicy chicken, mayo, dill pickle, lettuce on a bun - amazing).

Really the adventures started when she decided that she was going to take me to the gym. Me? At the gym!?! I trust her. I’d like to be healthier. Not that I’m going to stop eating lunch at German’s anytime soon, but every little bit helps. She does aerobics sometimes, but twice a week she works out with a personal trainer. That was my main problem when I was part of a gym that I didn’t know what I was doing so a personal trainer might be just the thing. Unfortunately I can’t go to the gym without running shoes so, time for some shopping!

We took the minibus to Regent St. I’ve only been on a minibus once before in the fall. The music was so loud, I could feel it vibrating in my bones all afternoon and I had no idea where it was going or when to get off. I was probably just about as lost with where the minibus was going, but I am much more trusting of Anu then my previous tour guide. Our stop on Regent St was to The Discount Store where they unfortunately had no running shoes, but had walls full of sandals and heels – decided I would be returning to this store (side note: went back later and bought a lovely pair of silver heels for about $16, make me about 10ft tall). Back on the minibus to Stabroek Market! I had driven by the market and the red/white clock tower is usually shown on postcards or in tourist pictures. To say I was a bit overwhelmed is a bit of an understatement. Our first stop was a stall outside with a table piled high with every kind of shoe imaginable. I let Anu do all the talking because she knew the Shoe Man. We promptly found a pair of running shoes, my size, perfect fit for G$2000 ($10) which he gave us a discount on! Next stop, in the market Anu needed to pick up some shirts and wanted to show me her family’s jewellery stall. At the back… Anu was lucky – I was pretty close to needing someone to hold my hand so I didn’t get lost. I actually don’t know if I have words to describe the inside. It’s like a flea market packed with stalls. Stalls that reach often two stories high. You can buy anything imaginable at the market – you name it, you could probably find it. Anu wanted to know if I wanted to buy anything besides socks inside, but I was too busy taking in the sights to even think about buying anything!

Back on the minibus to the office. An afternoon of work followed by another minibus ride to Anu’s house. I’m practically a minibus pro. Okay well, not quite – but I am much more comfortable on them. And I know which one I need to take to get home! Anu’s trainer is very good. Not that it takes a lot of physical activity to get me hot and sweaty being so out of shape, but he was very thorough. Had a lovely dinner of delicious homemade squash curry and roti made by Anu’s sister in law. Some day somebody is really going to give me lessons on how to make roti hopefully. Let’s just say for the next couple of days, I had difficulty walking, but it felt good.

Our next adventures took us around trying to find a dress. I feel like I have just as much trouble finding clothes to fit here as at home, plus the added problem only being able to find fancy, sequined dresses, not just a pretty dress. We ended up in the pouring rain on the street with wet shoes. Thankfully it did stop raining and my soggy shoes only fell off once getting out of the minibus. Found a lovely purple dress and perfectly matching jewellery. Also got a lesson in undergarments, but that’s all I’ll say.

Tragedy in Bartica

2008-02-26T14:29:00.000-05:00

I've been rather slow in my posting, but this one is long overdue.

Last Sunday evening, there was another shooting in Guyana - this time in Bartica, a mining town on the Essequibo River (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7251141.stm). The town's police station was attacked, killing three police officers and nine other individuals found inbetween the docks and the station.

Being the second attack in a matter of weeks, tensions remain in the country, but I feel like there was less of a march in protest after this latest shooting. I didn't have access to the local cable channels last week so I am thankful that I didn't see any of the images and I made a choice not to read the newspapers. I feel the pain and fear without having the images in my mind.

This attack especially shook me because during the Christmas holidays, my family and I took a side trip to Bartica on our way to Parrot Island. We walked on that dock. We walked on that first street parallel to the river. We walked by the police station and even spoke with a police officer.

One of my supervisors made a comment that I would probably want to end my time in the country sooner because of recent events, but as much as the violence shakes me to my core, I'll stay. It will be harder to leave the people that I have grown to love in this beautiful country with the recent events and I will stay with them as long as I can. And I will come back. I'll have to start reading the newspapers after I leave to keep up to date on events in the country - thankfully I will have had the experience of people explaining the news to me and know how to read inbetween the lines...

Taxi Drivers

2008-02-16T14:30:00.000-05:00

A major part of my experience has been transportation. Driving in itself has been an adventure - new stories for that, but I'll keep that for me. Now that Wallis has returned, I am second on the list of drivers. We are keeping different schedules too so I can rely on her less to pick me up and drop me off at work... Thank goodness for my taxi drivers.

It is very handy that the project has an account with one of the taxi companies, meaning that I can charge for work related trips. I'm usually taking a taxi ride atleast twice a day so most of the cars and the dispatcher know me on a first name basis, they know where I live (after my first attempts at describing) and they know my usual drop offs. They wave at me when they see me on the street. I lost my favourite driver, but I am hoping that he is following his dream to go back to school.

My understanding for how it works is that if you own your own car, then you pay the company $1000/day ($5 CDN) to get trips from the dispatcher and use the company name on the car. A drop can be anywhere from $260-300 ($300=$1.50CDN) for a flat rate. I know they work long hours to make a living, but from discussions that I have had, they also have great pride that they are making an honest living compared to other options available.

They have provided me with interesting persectives on the tragedy up the coast, coming from different backgrounds then the usual people I talk with and different races (and in turn different political parties because the parties are divided by race). They had related stories to share and safety tips.

They share their experiences with me and give advice on where to buy certain spices, how to store them and make sure that I have tried the variety of foods that Guyana has to offer. A little bit of concern for my social life at times which I think is sweet.

I am thankful to have a good relationship with the company and the drivers. They have forgotten me on occasion, but now that I am a bit more of a regular customer, they care a bit more when I call the dispatcher.

People, Part Two

2008-02-16T13:56:00.000-05:00

I realized that I have done a part one with the first people that I met in Guyana, but there are quite a few people since then that have had a big imact on me and influenced my day to day life.

I can't imagine living anywhere but where I live with Mrs Boodie as my landlady. She adopted me as part of her family and has taken great interest in sharing Guyanese history, stories, culture and places with me. I'll never forget my first blackout when she called me, no formal salutation, just "Are you afraid of the dark?" - which I do happen to be afraid of and this probably ranks among one of the great lines in scary movie history (my assumption since I am not a scary movie watcher) - but the line said with such genuine concern and in a sweet old lady voice (she's really not old and would kill me if she read that, but you get the idea) that I couldn't help but smile and reassure her, that no I was fine. Since then we have had various shopping adventures together, meals together, walks together and conversations about my health, her life in Guyana and England, history in Guyana and reassuring support about my future whatever direction I choose. She has also introduced me to new beverages like a lovely chocolate cream liquer and the equivalent of homemade egg nog (obviously containing Guyanese rum)!

The next set of people that have made my life more complete here are the people who work in the CIDA Program Support Unit at the building where I work. Kala of course (from Part one) as well as her staff. Where to start... I believe I mentioned OJ before who works at the reception area and always greets me with a "pleasant good morning" and a smile, with maybe some teasing about my frequent arrivals and departures. Marcy cleans the building and is the woman kind enough to stay with me during my random shopping experience on Regent St and getting my vehicle trapped. Rani and Anu are the office assistant and part time accountant respectively. I think. Kurt, Navin and Prem are drivers and general support guys (computers, workshops). Those are the job titles I will give them, though when I go visit, I'm usually distracting them from whatever they should be doing. They kept me company when I was all alone in my office. Wallis likes to tease me that I'm a shared intern between CSIH and PSU. I love our conversations and random visits, occasional lunch dates and I will endure a certain amount of teasing from them because I know they mean well. I don't know what I'd do without them. Definitely a special place in my heart for each of them. I'm getting a little teary thinking about leaving and who and what I will miss. It's people like at PSU, Wallis, and Maria that will make it hardest for me to leave. And the fruit. :)

I am also a shared intern with the Ministry of Health, officially with the Management Information Services Unit (MISU), but also now partly with the Health Sector Development Unit (HSDU) because the MISU director there has tasks for me to do where as MISU itself doesn't really know what to do with an intern. Roland is the MISU director at HSDU and we have been working on a project together and I also keep updating him on what I am up to. At first when Wallis was leaving, he was concerned about me working by myself, but discovered quickly that I am a very good independent worker so he stopped checking up on me. He is very impressed by my quick replies and comments on documents we have been working on. Ish is the director of MISU and officially signed my contract, but I don't think he knows or cares how I spend my time. Paul is responsible for the software department under MISU so we have a bit of communication about updates and the status of things. I feel for him because everybody thinks that their requests are number one priority and he is only one person and the unit itself can only do so much at one time. Ozell is the programmer, Naajiyah the Clinical Coordinator and Maria has been hired as her assistant. I am thankful that I am still based out of the CSIH office because I often have difficulty at MISU because the GHIS is my priority but there is a lot of demand on the unit about other sotware applications. There are also some differences that exist between work ethics with me and some staff so the setup is probably for the best.

Work in the New Year

2008-02-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

[Unrelated update: things in the country have settled - obviously tensions still exist and there is demand for safety and security policies, but immediate ' threats' are less]

With the new year, comes new things to do at work! I am no longer working on manuals for the system, but with a meeting to review them, I officially handed them over to MISU and washed my hands of them. Had some difficulties completing parts of them because I do not know the procedures within the unit and was not getting the answers I needed so I felt I needed something new to work on. We completed the pilot project of the paper forms before Christmas as well which was an experience. Part of me wishes that I had been hands on at the clinic, but I enjoyed the discussions that my 'assistants' started after their experiences and am happy with the completed product. I have my doubts that they will ever be used because there are so many paper forms that exist already, but they were promised and we delivered them.

January started out a bit slow - it takes a little while I guess for people to get back to work after the holidays which I found a little frustrating because of my limited time here.

I am now working with Roland on module development within the system. The reasons behind this development and getting my head around the theory of the system was an adventure unto itself, but essentially they would like to have modules for different services offered because not all clinics offer all services and they would like to minimize staff training and information captured. For example, some clinics just do VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) so they do require all the features of the system like a clinic that does ART (anti-retroviral therapy). This project was started after a meeting with someone working at the National AIDS Program. Valid points are made, but part of me feels like the system is finally getting the input needed four years ago when it was in the development stages. I am pretty heavily involved in the planning and proud that the documents I have produced first for general module planning and now specifically for the first module, VCT, are the proposal documents being distributed for review and comments. This also concerns me because I wonder about the sustainability of the planning for these modules and what will happen to the drive behind the project when I leave. I'll do as much as I can before I go and share as much as my brain as possible, but there is only so much that can be done in six months and I have to come to terms with that. This part of the project has and will continue to introduce me to directors of clinics and individuals responsible for various aspects of the health care system. I have appreciated this opportunity to hear their different opinions and perspectives.

I am also working mornings at the TB Chest Clinic in Georgetown. The director feels passionate about the GHIS and frustrated with his staff for the lack of use of the system. There are data entry clerks that enter most of the data, but it is not in real time which essentially the system is designed for. I am enjoying my experience in a clinic setting and not just a snapshot, but seeing the routine and getting to see patients go through the whole process. All the staff has been trained in the system and most are familiar with it. There are some computer skills lacking, but they can be improved with practice. Mainly the problem with training is that they are trained and told to use it, but not shown how to incorporate into usage. I'm not saying I'm the best person for the job, but I am trying my best so I hope that counts. I have seen increased usage after spending every day for a week sitting with the triage nurse. Just helping her fit the system into her routine and doing something as simple as moving the computer desk so that it is less awkward for her to access while with a patient. The pharmacy is a bit of problem because they need doctors to input the prescriptions in real time for them to be able to use the system well. My next step is to work with the doctors. There are also more nurses at the clinic and DOTS workers (Direct Observed Treatment Short course - approved treatment strategy for TB patients) which are next on my list! I much prefer being in the clinic than at the computer by myself so half days in the clinic and half days at the office make for a good balance. The goal is to have the clinic in realtime before I leave. I remain optimistic because I think I have to - somebody else can be the realist.

Working at the Chest Clinic has also gotten me involved in their World TB day plans which should be quite the event. I designed some pamphlets based on material I was given - they were really pleased with them but apparently they will print better from Corel instead of Microsoft Publisher so they are going to use my contents and someone else's designs.

Moment of Silence

2008-02-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

This post seems a little trivial after my last post, but some semi-sad news in my world - my laptop has died. Or has atleast gone into a coma. Typing an email at home and planning a new blogpost last week when it froze. Blue screen of death. Scary error messages. I'm pretty sure that it is dead, but a guy at work is taking a look at it. I didn't have internet access at home, but I used to type the blog posts in the evening and upload them at work so now I will have to fit them in inbetween work.

Currently at Oasis Cafe (www.oasiscafegy.com) typing some emails and planning some applications so I thought I would do this quick update.

Things seemed to have settled over the past couple of weeks after the massacre. The streets in Georgetown were definitely very quiet and I don't think the marchers went beyond their marching in protest.

Work is going well. I am working in a clinic with the GHIS which I am enjoying. So much more to share about that experience!

I am trying to apply to schools while I am here which is an adventure in itself. Can you believe that some schools still require paper applications?!?! Me neither. Frustrating.

More news soon. Keep your fingers crossed for my baby (my laptop). Take care.

Tragedy on the East Coast

2008-01-31T15:09:00.000-05:00

I feel like I would be telling a lie or living out an important event in my time here if I didn’t write this blog post as I have been contemplating doing and not doing since the weekend. If I was going to write a disclaimer for this blog, it would be that though I have tried to keep details to a minimum, I still try to share with you what I have seen and heard. It is also important for you all to know that I am a bright girl and I am safe. On that note, I was smart enough to call my parents instead of just letting them read this, so don’t worry. I am going to call on the help of the BBC news report ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7212861.stm) to tell this story with facts as well as touch on some local newspapers, but the story is very hard to find in them.

This is the longest it has ever taken me to write a post.

My usual routine on a Saturday morning is to sleep in a little bit, make some breakfast and watch an uplifting Hallmark or Lifetime movie (depending on which signal the station feels like borrowing). I had a pleasant surprise to be watching “Back to the Future” which I had never seen. Michael J Fox was stuck in the past when the movie was interrupted by breaking news.

Early that Saturday morning there had been a weekend rampage in only 20 minutes where 20 to 25 gunmen had stormed homes … to murder… massacre… execute… 11 innocent people in a small village called Lusignan east of the capital Georgetown where I live. Among the dead were five children. The motive was not robbery because they had nothing to steal, but the intention was to kill. I have always found it difficult to stomach the newspaper reports here with their details and pictures that would never be published in Canada, but the surprise of the report and the shock of the news did not prepare me to be taken with the camera crew into the homes of those who had been killed only a few hours before.

“How do people recover from the brutish blitz of these gunmen and the trauma they wrought and imprinted indelibly? Like the horror of the two children in the final seconds of their life as they cowered and sought the protection of their mother who was also brutally gunned down. Or the mother who saw her children lined up before her eyes and mowed down. Or the wife who saw her husband being dragged from under the bed and being blasted in the head. Or the child in hospital barely clinging to life unaware that two of his cherished siblings and his father are no more.” Monday, January 28th 2008, Stabroek News, editorial

The news reports shocked me to the core and I didn’t think I was going to be able to stomach the video, quite literally. I was even more disturbed as the day progressed and the various channels continued to cover the story and fight for details, new perspectives, and my usual reliable channel for a good Hallmark or Lifetime movie, proceeded to play the series of movies based on the Vigilante and a collection of Steven Segal’s movies – no themes of retaliation, revenge or taking matters into your own hands there.

It is thought that the murders were committed by a criminal gang led by one of the country’s most wanted men, Rondell Rawlins (also wanted for the murder of a government minister in 2006). He is accusing government forces of kidnapping his pregnant girlfriend and placed telephone threats warning of what would happen if she was not returned. There is currently a G$30 million reward for information leading to his capture.

There are a million and one rumours about the response of police to the attacks, the whereabouts/status of the missing pregnant girlfriend, the location of the gang, and their next attack that I don’t feel are worth repeating. Somewhere in them I am sure is the truth and hopefully somebody finds it soon. Taxi drivers are an excellent source of background information.

As if the act in itself were not enough to cause considerable grief, Rondell Rawlins and his gang are from the ethnic African community while the village that was attacked is mostly ethnic Indian. The concern now is an increase in ongoing racial tensions that usually ‘simmer’ below the surface. Residents in the area are displaying their grief and protesting the massacre as well as their perceived lack of protection at the time and call for safety by marching, building roadblocks and lighting fires.

The Canadian High Commission has sent out an email that recommends avoiding certain areas and promoting safe practices. I had lunch with a High Commission employee, his wife and the other CIDA interns which was nice to be able to hear more facts than speculation and sensationalization found in newspapers and to discuss our impressions of the situation. Essentially nobody knows what could happen next, but the obvious hope is that after the funerals/cremations and the anniversary on the weekend, things will settle.

In a country of 760 000 where everybody knows everybody, death of any kind touches everyone, but this senseless crime has touched everyone on another level for the pure disregard for the value of human life and senselessness of the act, done solely to invoke fear and terror. I was told by my mom on Sunday night that this year at my grandma’s church and I would assume other Catholic churches around the world, the World Day of Prayer intentions are for Guyanese women - a decision that was made many months ago. The actions of last weekend and the ongoing racial tension in this country leave no doubt in my mind that this day will now take on a new purpose. The Guyanese women need all the prayers they can get as they raise their children hopefully to respect other races, to not join gangs and to promote peace in their country.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

2008-01-28T13:41:00.000-05:00

I think my first introduction to the music of Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics of Tim Rice for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat was on a dubbed tape that my mom had. I don’t think I understood the words or that the songs wove a story, but I love the variety of music that pulled my heart strings or made me feel like dancing.

I can’t remember how old I was when I saw Joseph performed in Toronto with Donny Osmond in the lead, but I do remember my mom swooning because she was certain that he was singing straight to her. The production was spectacular with lights, set and costumes.

I was so proud of the performers in the performance of Joseph at the Senior El with my Adam in the lead as Joseph. It was a big step for him to again take the lead, plus seeing some of the students I have known since they were little, discovering the amazing inner talents.

There is now a special place in my heart for the performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, done by the Woodside Choir and friends in Georgetown, Guyana at the National Cultural Centre. I have no excuse for why this post was not up last week when I first saw the performance, but here it is now! I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I had my hopes since the musical was originally performed after Christmas and was brought back for one more weekend due to popular demand. I was not disappointed.

I feel the Cultural Centre was probably built in the 1970s with a lovely brown interior, fortunately air conditioned and a dress code including no jeans that is apparently strictly enforced. I knew that it was going to be a good night the second the Narrator started singing – a tremendously powerful voice that showed no hesitation hitting the high soprano notes that her role required. I was a little worried at first when I saw Joseph and he looked to be just a boy, but his beautiful tenor voice assured me that he was up for the part and he definitely impressed me. In total, I think the supporting cast was approximately 20 adults, 15 children (5 of whom were dancers for Joseph’s dreams) and an additional supporting choir of 10, with many cast members playing more than one role.. The sound system itself left a little to be desired at times, but did not hide the talent of the cast. I am left with no doubt in my mind that Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat was meant to be accompanied by a steel band, though the keyboard and trombone were a nice touch. The set was simple, but did the job well and the effort put into the costumes was obvious. The only disappointments I had were the low-energy performance of Go, Go Joseph that could have had more excitement even in a low budget production and the non-Elvis Pharoah, who unto himself is a very gifted man, but there’s nothing quite like an Elvis impersonator.

Although less spectacular than a downtown Toronto musical and no personal connections like a Bancroft performance, I felt inspired by the Guyanese performance of Joseph and I really hope that the director, cast and choir continue to perform for the people in Guyana. Here’s hoping they have another performance of something before I leave!

False Alarm, kind of...

2008-01-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

Note: update on my health, no worms involved

I had an allergic reaction to the ciprofloxacin that I was taking to battle my post-hookworm war infection. I've had a similar reaction to cheap bandaid adhesive where the "spot" or in this case my hands, delivered an itchy rash consisting of tiny blistery bumps. Quite a nuisance when you consider how much you use your hands and it made it uncomfortable to move them. I couldn't think of anything new that I had touched and found on a list of rare side effects (pick me!) that ciprofloxacin can cause various skin reactions including rashes and sensitivity to sun. After three days of antibiotics, I went back to my lovely doctor who prescribed me a strong antihistamine, Piritin, recommended using my Fourderm cream on it and approved my decision to stop taking the meds. I took Friday off because after the first dose of Piritin knocking me out, it seemed to have the opposite effective of keeping me up so I didn't sleep at all on Thursday night.

On Saturday, I was flipping through a book I had found at work entitled "In the village where there is no doctor" which is essentially a how-to book for locations where there is no doctors (go figure from the title) and looked up skin rashes. At which point I diagnosed myself with scabies and freaked out. The thing with scabies is that it looks like an allergic reaction and has key areas/patterns that it develops, including on the hands, starting between the fingers. Um, pick me!? I couldn't tell whether my allergic reaction was getting worse or better on Saturday having stopped the meds for two days, and still experiencing crazy itch. A panic phone call to my sister to google more information for me helped me make a plan.

Luckily, starting on Sunday and continuing, the itch has gone and the rash is fading. False alarm, knock on wood. Whew.

Note to self: allergic to ciprofloxacin. Here's hoping I don't have any gastrointestinal problems because it's the antibiotic that travel doctors prescribe to you to take with you, just in case. If anyone is interested, I have a good supply that I probably shouldn't use.

2008-01-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ~St. Augustine

Not for the faint of heart…

2008-01-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

WARNING: If you are my mom or dad or sister, I recommend not reading this entry. If you are printing this blog for my grandma, you have the responsibility not to share this entry with her. If you are queasy about diseases or bodily functions of any kind, I recommend going back to the Christmas entry and pretending you never saw this one.

THIS POST IS FOR YOU: If you have an interest in weird diseases, healthcare in Guyana or my general health, you can read this entry. But I warned you.

My first doctor visit was a week or so after I moved into my apartment in October. I actually don’t think I told my mom about that visit because I didn’t want to worry her. Bugs love me. I knew that in Ontario. But mosquitos are different here, besides being the kind that can carry lovely diseases like malaria and dengue fever, my body also reacted differently to them. One bug bite would swell up with a red circle about two inches in diameter – this was not helped by my talent of scratching in my sleep, which would often mean the bite would create a bruise. I won’t go into more details, but the reaction lasted long enough and was painful enough that I thought I should make sure they were mosquito bites and not bed bug bites or something… Wallis’ son was sick at the same time so she sent me with him to her paediatrician. The chairs were really little, but she was very nice and gave me some miracle cream to help the redness go away and extra powerful oral antihistamines. I would like to take a moment and promote Watkins bug repellent, an excellent cream made in Winnipeg. There is a supplier in Bancroft that my mom can put you in touch with – I got a stocking full and when I remember to put it on, no bug bites!

This background information is important to explain why after my family’s visit to Baganara, I wasn’t overly concerned about some bug bites on my feet. Sure they were itchy, but give it a week and they’ll go away. The problem was, they didn’t go away. It was like they were getting itchier. And there seemed to be more than the original three that were in the arch of my foot. And in between my baby toes felt like they were on fire. Upon closer inspection, I scared myself because it looked like there were more bug bites and a path leading from one bite to the next. I decided to ignore it and that it would get better – not the smartest idea I’ve had, but it only lasted one night. I went to Maria the next day for a second opinion who confirmed my suspicion and sent me to the doctor with strict orders to report back.

Time for my second doctor visit. I showed Kala my feet and she gave me the phone number of a doctor specializing in parasites. Dr Validum works at Woodlands Hospital which is a private hospital just one street away from where I work. After some interesting directions, I found his office and as per instructions on the door, knocked and sat until the nurse came to talk to me. I arrived at 11am and was seen by the doctor a little after noon. I went in and he confirmed my diagnosis of worms, more specifically hookworms. My white skin made the track marks appear extra pink so he asked if he could take a picture, because he rarely sees such a textbook case. Lesson to be learned: don’t walk barefoot in the sand. He prescribed albendazole (an oral, anti worm drug – 400mg a day, five days), Fourderm cream (topical antibiotic – apply twice daily) and gravol. I was given instructions to soak my feet in antibiotic soap, followed by epsum salt and apply cream, twice daily. The consultation fee for the doctor’s visit was $2000 (approximately $10CDN) and it was my first experience paying to see a doctor.

I went to the hospital pharmacy where thankfully there wasn’t a line so I didn’t get lost in the system. At one station you drop off your prescription and pick up three copies of your receipt. You take the receipt to the cashier to pay where you get two copies back that have been stamped “PAID” which you take to the delivery counter and pick up your drugs from the pharmacist, leaving one copy there. The total cost was around $500 ($2.50CDN).

That night was the worst firey, burning itch yet. This sensation I now know is caused by the burrowing action. I know they aren’t visible to the eye, but I still contemplated surgery to remove them or amputation of my feet on my bathroom floor. Fortunately the only tool I had was a steak knife, no proper means of cleansing the area and enough sense to know that it was a bad idea. After two doses, the itchy, burning feeling had stopped. I had one day of swelling around the track marks, but then they decreased in size and increased in pink colour. Certain areas looked like blisters which caused me some concern.

I went back to the doctor yesterday. The swelling had been an allergic reaction to the burrowing and dying worms. The bumpy areas were signs of an infection. He explained a little bit more to me about types of worms, but essentially these worms can’t get any further than my feet. If for some reason, I had ingested them, we would have an entirely different set of concerns, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. He prescribed ciprofloxacin to fight infection, more Fourderm and iodine. He sent me over to the outpatient ward to have the infected areas (also known as “bleps” apparently) opened, cleaned and dressed. He stressed the importance of cleansing the area atleast once a day, dressing it and keeping it covered to protect from all the dirt and dust around – meaning wearing socks for the first time in almost a year.

The outpatient room is similar to the pharmacy in that I had to get the price, go to the cashier and then wait in line. The doctor had called over with instructions to go with my note so they were expecting me. It was a first experience for the two younger nurses to see the results of hookworms, or atleast the resulting infection. I don’t know what I was expecting. The nurse had a pair of blunt scissors that I had seen, but never used, in my anatomy kit, gloves and a cloth with soap. I almost think that I could have done it better on my bathroom floor, but she was very thorough though a little rough. She sent me off with the areas covered in antibiotic ointment and slightly nervous because she saw no need to cover the areas.

I am taking my oral antibiotics and nursing my fresh wounds. Also keeping my feet elevated to hopefully minimize pressure on them and increase healing - which gets me a few odd looks when people walk by my office and I'm lounging at my computer with my feet up. I have minimized the details of the physical signs of being infected with hookworms because I know just the thought and some details are enough to gross people out, but if you are so inclined, I do have pictures of my progress and would be more than willing to provide more details.

Lesson learned. You won't catch me with barefeet in the sand again.

International Health Mentorship Program

2008-01-15T13:55:00.001-05:00

Shortly after I arrived in Guyana, another intern suggested I become a health mentor and share my experience. I have two medical students that I am mentoring. Below is a description of the project as well as some resources that were sent out in an email and I thought I would share for those who are interested in health systems and global health. If you are a medical student or an international health professional of any kind, I recommend getting involved!

From http://ihmp.cfms.org/:

The International Health Mentorship Project (IHMP) is a Canada-wide project that began in November 2006. The project links experts in international health and development with medical students for the sake of communication, knowledge and network building. We believe that in order for future medical professionals to be most useful internationally, they must learn from those professionals who are experts in the international health sector. We believe that through education, health professionals in Canada can be more culturally sensitive, sustainable in their approach, and effective in global health.

From email by IHMP Resource Group:

“1. WHO: Health Systems. Found online at: http://www.who.int/topics/health_systems/en/ .

This is a great place to start. This site provides statistics, publications, general information, and related WHO links to topics in health systems. It provides a good foundation for grasping the broad realm that is information systems, and their importance in the effective delivery of healthcare.

2. WHO: Management for Health Services Delivery. Found online at: http://www.who.int/management/en/ .

The site provides a very brief and theoretical overview of health management systems and models. Directed at health management professionals, there are a number of modules, tools, topical resources, and current news updates on health management practices.

3. WHO Health Metrics Network and Global Atlas*. Found online at: http://www.who.int/healthmetrics/en/ , and http://www.who.int/globalatlas/default.asp*.

What are institutions and world leaders doing about environmental health issues? Check out this site for an overview and updates on some WHO lead projects.

4. Improving Health for the World's Poor: What Can Health Professionals Do?** Pages 11-18. Found online at: http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFImprovinghealth/$FILE/improvinghealth.pdf.

Targeted at health professionals, this report discusses the health effects of both climate change and clean water. Each chapter concludes with some suggestions for action.

In addition to written resources, there are some multimedia clips online relating to healthcare systems. The following photoessays are found on the BBC website, and highlight the improvements, hope and resilience of healthcare systems in Kenya and Tanzania .

Found online at: http://www.who.int/features/africaworking/en/index.html ***”

* I really enjoyed exploring the Global Atlas site. With the click of a mouse, you can look at the HIV prevalence in adult incident TB cases or the gender distribution by occupation in health workforces. The stats are as up-to-date as is available.

** This article provided a snapshot of some health system and global concerns, including climate change, clean water and obesity. Each chapter was presented clearly and ended with a “what can you do” to make a change.

*** These photoessays were interesting to read/see because I know interns working in Rwanda and Tanzania, plus the electronic health information system is similar to what I am doing here, only a different approach.

When I get some more resources, I’ll be sure to share!!

Family Christmas

2008-01-08T08:04:00.000-05:00

They arrived safely. On time. A little tired. And a little emotional when they saw me at the airport to greet them, not just a taxi. I spent most of Christmas day, patiently waiting – spacing out phone calls to family in Canada, watching Shrek 3 on TV and watching the clock. Mrs Boodie took me with her to her family’s Christmas dinner where I was adopted and well fed with all sorts of wonderful Christmas food from the traditional turkey to new Christmas foods for me like corn pie and roasted pig.

We stayed at the El dorado Inn, my first home away from home. Boxing Day was fairly low key with brunch at Mrs Boodie’s followed by a “20 minute” nap (3 hours later) and take out of delicious Church’s fried chicken. For the next few days, I took them to the beautiful historic sites of Georgetown, the places where I work and various stores, groceries and restaurants. They saw the seawall, Umana Yana (Amerindian benab), St George’s Cathedral (tallest wooden building in the world), National Park with manatees, Promenade Gardens/Botanical Gardens with various plants and trees, Castellani House which houses the national art gallery, and the 1763 Monument in memory of a slave who led a failed rebellion. I took them to the grocery stores where I shop and the fruit market to introduce them to such Guyanese treasures as sweet fig and apple bananas, mangoes and sapodilla. No trip would have been complete without experiencing a blackout when we were dropping the vehicle off and at the restaurant that we went to dinner for on Friday night. Delicious breakfast every morning and perfectly selected meals the rest of the day from Buddy’s Mei Tung for Chinese food, German’s for Creole (favourite lunch food) and Celena’s for the ocean breeze and fish – I am a good tour guide!

On Sunday we went to Kaiteur Falls. The family had seen the pictures, but I still don’t think they quite pictured its magnitude and its beauty. It was a bit cloudy, but that kept it cool for walking between the different viewing points. We got some great pictures – the best is the family on an overhang with the falls in the background. We didn’t quite mention to Mom that it was an overhang; she thought it was just a point out on the rock and she still held on for dear life. From Kaiteur, we went to the Baganara Island Resort. It was the perfect place for me to hang up my tour guide hat and do some serious liming. Even in the rain, the place was beautiful and the main house had hammocks hung and comfortable couches to relax. We took a trip by speedboat to Bartica, a mining town, and Parrot Island, an island where the parrots come to roost for the night. It was a low key Old Year’s celebration with only two other couples at the resort, but it featured delicious food, free rum punch and fireworks/steel wool at midnight to ring in the New Year.

My family learned of wonderful phrases like “liming” and “just now”, fell in love with cherry juice and expressed a never ending curiosity about piles of white sand found on the street. I’ve got permission to drive their vehicle anywhere I want after touring them around Georgetown which is a bonus, considering for a little while they weren't going to let me drive them around in Guyana. All in all, it was an unforgettable family holiday and has made the time until I am home again feel a bit closer.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

2007-12-21T08:36:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

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?

2007-12-14T11:35:00.000-05:00

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

2007-12-14T08:26:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-14T08:25:00.001-05:00

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

2007-12-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

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?!

2007-11-29T15:17:00.000-05:00

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!!

2007-11-27T09:05:00.001-05:00

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

2007-11-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-11-12T08:29:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-12T08:11:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-08T08:37:00.000-05:00

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

2007-11-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

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

2007-10-29T12:47:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-29T12:45:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-29T12:24:00.000-04:00

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"

2007-10-26T11:33:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-22T10:03:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-12T09:49:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-11T12:07:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-11T10:28:00.001-04:00

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...

2007-10-11T10:27:00.002-04:00

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

2007-10-11T10:27:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-09T18:56:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-10-03T22:00:00.000-04:00

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…

2007-10-03T21:57:00.000-04:00

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

Something tells me we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto…

2007-10-03T21:26:00.000-04:00

I don’t even know where to start, so I think the safest bet is to start at the beginning. For those of you who don’t know this, I’ve never been out of Canada and I’ve only been on a plane once (well twice, if you count the return flight from home in Newfoundland). I’m actually quite a home body, but this idea started developing in my head last fall when I stumbled upon CIDA internships that this would be the perfect way for me to travel, see a country from the inside and use my various skills where they were really needed. I actually didn’t get a “real” CIDA internship, but here I am in Guyana, on a CIDA-sponsored Netcorps internship with the Canadian Society for International Health’s Public Health Strength in Guyana project.

The whirlwind of activity before my flight is a bit of blur, as are the goodbyes at the airport, airport security and actually boarding the plane. I do remember thinking that it was a good sign when the manager took me under his wing and assured my mother with pink priority stickers on my luggage, asking for no tears and promising that I would have a wonderful time “liming” in Guyana (hanging out/relaxing). Sleeping on the plane wasn’t as successful as I thought it was going to be. I felt my sleep was quite restless, but the guy beside me in his Trinidad accent claimed that he had never seen someone sleep so much in his life, as I ignored the movie (briefly awaking now and then to see images of Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Ocean’s 13) and didn’t eat my snack (which looked like a ham sandwich). I know the moment when I really woke up (in more ways than one) was when I looked out my window before we landed in Port of Spain to see lightning brewing in a cloud and looked across the aisle to the window on my left to see the sun rising bright orange-red, sending streaks across the sky. They are both sights that I’ll never forget and re-kindled excitement for my adventure that had been slightly dampened by trip preparations.

Transferring in Port of Spain went smoothly. A couple of motherly Guyanese women kept an eye on me, assuring me that I was going the right direction and explaining customs forms. I stand out in a crowd for some reason - a fact that I sometimes forget, but often get reminded of with double takes and strange looks. We landed at Cheddi Jaggan Airport and a truck pulled up with stairs to the door of the plane. I saw my first real palm trees walking across the runway, thankful that I had taken my sweater off . I just followed the crowd into the airport and everyone was quite helpful showing me which forms to fill out for immigration. I of course picked the slowest line to stand in, but it worked out well because my luggage waiting for me when I stepped out into the main area of the terminal. I went through customs successfully (apparently not a suspicious person) and was immediately attacked by taxi drivers wanting to drive me anywhere. I will never forget the sight of a project driver casually leaning against a railing holding a sign with ‘Elizabeth’ on it. Navin was surprised by the weight of my luggage (which by the way were actually under the weight requirement) and calmly asked me whether I really wanted to drive as I automatically went to the right hand side of the vehicle in a country where the vehicles are right hand drive on the left hand side of the road. He laughed at my shudder and quick no. He rolled down the window so that I could smell the molasses in the air outside of the famous El Dorado Rum factory and definitely knows the rules of the road, whatever they may be. Before dropping my stuff off at my temporary inn, we stopped at the office where I felt immediately welcomed by Dr. Wallis Plummer Best, the local project manager that I had been corresponding with and is definitely the motherly figure I thought she was, as well as the health information system (HIS) consultant, Dr. Paul Fisher and the rest of the staff. It was nice to see Emilia too, who is the project coordinator based in Ottawa and also visiting Guyana for the first time (just for a couple of weeks).

I think I’m going to break up my posts. It’s getting very long. Please write comments or email me to let me know you’re reading it and whether you’re enjoying it. It takes awhile to load everything so I'd recommend avoiding Facebook messages - just email me instead! This is something I’d love to keep up, but I have a fear that I am writing out into empty space so let me know what you think. I’ll reply to emails as I can, but just know that I love hearing from you.

Take care.

xoxo