Living the Guyanese High Life

On the surface, it would seem that my group and I are living it up in Guyana: met at the airport, a room at the guesthouse, beach three minutes away, personal chef, waterfront property, daily entertainment.  However, let me further break that down for you…

1. the drive from the airport to Gtown was about an hour in a van with no seatbelts and even less suspension. the ride was rather bouncy, to say the least. but it was fun! what i saw reminded me of Trinidad but more rundown. also dirtier due to garbage everywhere. also, there seems to be much more instances of “nice house, shack, nice house, crappy house, shack, massive house, shack”
2. the guesthouse seems to be where many volunteers come before going to their placements. the sleeping arrangements are dorm style. but at least there are flush toilets! more than one!
3. okay, the beach. umm… nicely put, it is kinda ew. garbage, including glass, everywhere and to get to it, we have to cross a major road. but once that road is crossed, the sea wall leapt over, the field of garbage navigated, you reach your reward – the deep shining brown sea. yep, the water is brown due to the Amazon dumping its load into the ocean.
4. we have a lovely lady here who cooks for us while we stay in Gtown. whoo for food! it is great to have this because once we’re in SCM, we’re on our own!
5. no lie! we have waterfront property! many properties here have it. massive drains and waterways just teeming with standing water and who knows what else. no wonder there is a mosquito problem here!! if you don’t have a net securely fastened over your bed, you will get eaten alive! one person on our team can most certainly attest to that!
6. we have front row seats to some entertainment! on Monday, a tortoise appeared in the yard and just wandered about. Tuesday, four goats walked down the road, one deciding to poop before continuing on. Wednesday, the same goats came back but this time two of them got into a fight right outside my window!

GTown (downtown) is not a place I would want to spend a ton of time in. The architecture was interesting, though sad that much of it is “faded glory”. And because our team of four is 75% white, we do get a lot of attention. Apparently the men here do a lot of teeth sucking at women but either I ain’t as young as I used to be or my deaf ears are doing me a favor, but I’m not hearing any at all…

We are hoping to be back in GTown in mid February for Mashramani so I’ll be able to explore the capital a bit more. For now, onwards to St. Cuthbert’s Mission!!

Meditari

It has actually arrived. In all my travels, I have always found that the strangest thing was the actual arrival of the time to leave on the trip that I’ve spent so long planning. I was accepted as a YCI volunteer in early August, spent the whole fall fundraising, left Canada early to visit my family in Trinidad, and now the time to leave for Guyana draws near.

I spent my last couple of weeks in Canada shopping for this trip (personal gear, workshop and teaching supplies, house supplies) – the dollar store became my new best friend! I also discovered  that some government departments have free documents that you can order from them. For example, I got food guides and nutrition posters from Health Canada. My idea is to use them in a health related workshop, so hopefully we have one

Packing for three months of volunteering is no easy task. The Great Suitcase Battle of 2011 was lost as I had originally only wanted one suitcase but I now have two. I think about 80% of what I’m bringing is school/workshop/house stuff so at least I will have lots of space in April to bring back Guyanese items!!

As I spend the last few days relaxing before I gallivant over to South America, many thoughts have been harassing my poor brain. So, what do I think volunteering in Guyana will be like? Well, it certainly won’t be a walk through a manicured city park, that’s for sure.  I expect lots of difficulties and a huge need for patience.  I also do not expect to see long term impacts of our contributions but that will just be a lesson in learning to appreciate daily “in the moment” things and achievements. I also think that “adaptation” will be the Sesame Street word of the day, everyday: adapt to heat/humidity, adapt to giant spiders and fish with teeth, adapt to a new culture, adapt to living with three virtual strangers, adapt to being the centre of attention, etc. As an introvert, many of those adaptations will be hard but there are ways to keep my sanity (for example, I will have to find a tree to hide under for some quiet solo time). Another thing that I think will require adaptation is that privacy will be MIA for those three months!!

There are many other things that I expect from this experience. They range from developing the skill to create educational yet engaging workshops to becoming proficient at river bathing. I also expect to learn leadership skills, how to make a yummy paratha, to further develop my photography skills, and to learn how to hand wash laundry in a river. I also expect to learn how to appreciate children I expect to eat something I’ve never had, to discover if International Development is the career path for me, to go hunting or fishing at least once, to see Kaiteur Falls, to photograph a tree frog and a piranha and a weird looking bird. I also expect to see an Amazonian animal, preferably some sort of jungle cat but since that is highly unlikely, any jungle animal will do.

But in the end, I think it is important to approach overseas volunteering with an open mind and little expectations. Have goals, yes, but keep them a little flexible! I fully expect to learn some of the things I mentioned but also some things that I haven’t even thought of right now! As for fears, my only fear right now is that I’m not sure I brought enough memory cards for my camera.. Seriously. The world may as well end if I run out of memory cards…

So, as I have said in other posts, I will have some access to electricity and internet. I will try to up date this blog at least once a week. If you have anything you want me to talk about in particular, just let me know! Other than that, see you on the other side!

I’m warm!

The Motherland greets you! For about 6 hours, I wasn’t sure I would actually make it here. The flight from Toronto to Trinidad had the worst and most protracted turbulence I’ve ever experienced! And believe me, I’ve been on many a plane (Guyana will be my 18th country)… The flight attendant said that they had the same turbulence the day before but instead of reassuring me, now I started to wonder if the problem was the plane itself and I looked out the window to see if there was any duct tape flapping in the wind. Other than that, I arrived sans problem and the pre-arranged driver was waiting to pick me up. Nice guy, very careful driver which is a rarity on this island!

It has been almost three years since I’ve been back. Things change over time and Trinidad is no exception. So far I have only been on the drive from the airport to my grandparents’ house and already I see change: there is now a gas station and KFC right by the airport! (lol, I think I am making T’dad sound rather provincial…) But it does make me wonder, what does Port of Spain look like now? Another change is that the neighbours have built a second story on their house which now partially blocks the hilltop view my grandparents have. Sigh, I’m not sure if I like other people getting money…

The weather is lovely – unlike the -25 y’all had in Ottawa yesterday There have been some brief spurts of rain but it has remained 98% sunny and hot. But fairly windy! though, that does make for some awesome cross breezes in the house.

Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that I”m alive and well. I”m already working on my final post – final before Guyana, anyway! Last minute thoughts, expectations, and all that wonderful stuff. You will be able to read that here or on the YCI blog since that will probably be the one they choose to post on their site.

Adios por ahora!

D-Day Minus Two Weeks

Things are ramping up! Last week, I had an online session with 2 of 3 volunteers (1 couldn’t be there due to illness) and the volunteer coordinator. It went pretty well – we did some “get to know you” exercises as well as spoke about the joys and perils of leading workshops. I think I have a knack for planning them, but not sure yet about leading workshops! But the highlight of the session was the presentation by a newly returned volunteer. Angela spent 5 weeks in SCM so she had a lot to share. Basically she confirmed what my research showed – hot, buggy, humid, lush. The presentation also gave us information that research can’t provide. For example, I will definitely need my ear plugs at night since there is no noise by-law and people love music and talking loudly. Also a foot scrubber is important since the village is very sandy! She also suggested not bringing contact lenses due to the water issue but I dunno. I can’t imagine not being able to wear my sunglasses in that strong equatorial sun! I’ll just pack a lot of contact solution… Another suggestion Angela had was to keep a calendar/schedule – not only does it help you stay organized and know what day it is, it also helps you stay focused and minds you why you are there. Methinks that will be important especially on frustrating days!

Those of you that know me know that kids aren’t my favourite species. So of course, due to the meddling of my best friend (Murphy’s Law), apparently there are TONS of kids at SCM! And we’ll be teaching ‘em at school, too. Joy. The only bright spot so far is the thought that these aren’t North American kids so maybe they won’t be so bad I think my mom is hoping that one child there will worm its way under my skin and make me like little ones…

So some of the things I may get a chance to do are: climb a tree, fishing, hunting, pluck a chicken, bathe in a black river that is actually clean, and make roti.

OH! And my other big news! YCI wants to feature me as a blogger for this trip! How cool is that?! So they will probably feature a few of my blog posts and link this blog on their blog. It makes me happy

I’m now trying to figure out what I want to accomplish while I’m there. Probably a writing class/competition, some form of reading club, something sporty. Any ideas?

Anyone have techniques on how to control a crowd of kids? How to get them to stop talking in class? What about some kids’ games to play that won’t rot my brain cells?

And finally, a lot of our food will be canned (we have access to buying fresh chicken and fish, though – no whole chicken in a can for us!). Apparently we will have a lot of corned beef and Vienna sausages. Anyone have favourite recipes containing those two items?

The Harassment of my Social Circle is Complete

Pub Night was a huge success! It was held on December 3^rd at the Honest Lawyer, downtown Ottawa, from 6pm to whenever. My “whenever” was just after 11pm because all my invitees had left by then. I love them all for that :) Poor Allison – her friends were still going strong so she stuck around until the wee hours of the morning. The silver lining to that was it allowed us to continue with the shooter girl aspect of the night. Our funds came from ticket sales (even some random strangers bought tickets!), raffle and 50/50 ticket sales, games, and the shooter girl thing (an employee of HL went around with trays of shots, selling them to patrons). We had music provided by Allison’s musician friends. So it was an evening of song, food, and drink! At least it was so for the people attending. I was on my feet from about 4 to11pm and I barely got a chance to eat anything. Didn’t even get a drink! I deserved the McDo I picked up on the way home…

So final tally for the evening was $1667. We each take $834.50! Higher than my “apparently not ambitious enough” $700 goal for the night! Thank you very much to those of you who came out and/or bought various tickets!

I also wanted to thank the final group of people who have donated:

• Debbie V
• Ineke V
• Jennifer L
• Abena T
• Wayne and Margot T
• Debbie G
• Karen T

Now that fundraising is over, I can focus on three things: shopping for gear and workshop supplies, studying teaching techniques and gather information on issues such as HIV/AIDS, and packing!

Twenty-six days until I leave! The project doesn’t start until January 9^th but I leave for Trinidad on January 2^nd to visit family. I am also trying to swing a visit to Nariva Swamp so I can prove to my parents that yes, there is actually something interesting to see in Trinidad

I’m not forgetting anything else I need to do, am I?

Location, Location, Location

So for the past three weeks, I’ve been having tons of extremely sad fun saying the name Wakapoa – that was to be the location of our project. But, first lesson in International Development is that nothing stays the same and nothing happens as expected. So of course, location change as of yesterday! YCI’s partner, Youth Challenge Guyana, has made a slight adjustment in programming in order to sustain an ongoing project. Our project will now take place in St. Cuthbert’s Mission. After I let out a cry of devastation in my head, I promptly started researching this new place. And it sounds cool, so yay!

St. Cuthbert’s Mission apparently is the only Amerindian community in Region Four and has two access points: through the Mahaica River or from the Linden Highway.

Oh by the way, I really hope you aren’t imagining the lovely wide 4-8 lane highways we generally have here…

However, since St. Cuthbert’s Mission (henceforth called SCM) is not as isolated as (for example) Wakapoa, there is more economic activity as well as all the other things that come with that: tourists (keeping in mind that Guyana as a whole gets 100,000 visitors a yr, most of whom are Guyanese/Guyanese descent visiting family, I’m not too worried about that), eco-tours and outings, a village craft shop (jewellery, wood carvings, baskets, etc), a concern about criminals from other places (there is a community policing group comprising two members, a Rural Constable and a volunteer, who do vehicular and foot patrol). Oh, did I mention there will be electricity?? I can charge my camera batteries!!! I won’t have to curl up in the foetal position while rocking back and forth once the batteries die! Sure, there will be an average of 4 hrs of electricity a day, but who cares! There is ELECTRICITY!!! But I do have a feeling that bucket baths will be the norm…

February 2011, there was a massive flood in SCM, so that is something we might get to look forward to. Last Feb, over 311mm rain fell in 3 days! O_O

SCM was originally called Pakuri. That changed when the Anglican Church founded a Mission there; it was founded on St. Cuthbert’s Day in 1889. The Anglicans, of course, unimaginatively called it St. Cuthbert’sMission. Seriously, what is it with colonizers changing the name of everything they touch?! Rhetorical question, though. But I do think SCM should consider changing its name back to Pakuri like places in (for example) India changing back to original names…

So. Where is SCM? Check it out:

That is seriously the only map I have found so far online…

As I said, SCM is an Amerindian village found in Region 4. It is populated mainly by Arawaks and the population is estimated at about 1500 people. According to an YCI volunteer currently in SCM, the temperature there is pretty much 43ºC every single day. Which wouldn’t be too bad (I experienced that temperature in Vegas) if it wasn’t in a country that has at least 70% humidity ALL the time!!! I think I will have to hook up my water bottle to myself intravenously. And my poor poor camera – will it work after 3 months of insane heat and moisture?

Anyway, that’s all I know so far about SCM. No surprises regarding the dearth of information online about it! We should be getting more info from YCI in the coming week or two. Also will be having an online info session with a current SCM volunteer sometime early December.

What do you think? St. Cuthbert’s Mission sound okay?

Hump Day!

I’ve finally surpassed the half way mark!! I’m officially at 51.2% raised – whoo! Wish me luck in raising the final 48.8%! As usual, please don’t hesitate to share fundraising ideas or to pass on my fundraising site – I need all the help I can get!!

Fundraiser Update #3

Another fundraiser finito! The office jellybeans were a success not because of me, but because of Franca, Annick, and Judy – three cool ladies at my office. If there is one thing I learned doing this activity, it would be: “If the mountain won’t come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain.”

I started this fundraiser by putting up flyers around my floor and by the elevators on some other floors of the building. I put the jar of beans in the kitchen so people could see it easily (also indicated on the flyer). I then proceeded to wait for people to come register guesses… I netted about four people and about $20. Not exactly a rousing success! People just weren’t biting and I considered calling the event a failure. Then it was suggested to me that I should go around and actually ask people face to face.  After mentally prepping myself for battle, I did just that. By the 20^th or so person, it wasn’t so bad anymore… It majorly helped that F, A, and J came around with me at different times! But, wow – what a difference it made going to people! Ended up with a total of $196 raised!! Whoo! The jar held 1914 jellybeans and the closest guess was 1904.

So, I guess in fundraising, one really cannot be passive – gotta get out there and not quite harass people. Times like these I really envy extroverts…

The new total fundraised is 43%. Two more months to raise the rest! Hopefully the Travel Trunk photo cards sell spectacularly! :) Thank you to those of you who have passed on the link to their social circles!

Anyone have any ideas for fundraisers? It’s actually hard to find worthwhile events that would bring enough money to justify the time spent on it. Or perhaps I should just do like this mouse…

Still no word yet on exactly where I’ll be posted :(  But I’m going for my travel shots next week! Whoo!

Travel Trunk Unveiled

Finally! Three weeks behind schedule, I’ve finally been able to launch the next fundraiser, one that is a huge gamble: photo cards. I have developed a ‘company’ called Travel Trunk Photography (thanks, Danyèle, for the name suggestion) and have created a website. Since this is supposed to be for fundraising, I went with a free site from Weebly. Actually, whom am I kidding – I mostly chose Weebly because of their “even a dummy can build a website using our tools” format, which was great for a web-dummy like me.

Travel Trunk Photography features handmade eco-friendly cards that showcase 4×6 photos selected from my collection. If you think there are a lot of photos on the website, keep in mind that it’s only 3% of all the photos I’ve taken over the years

It was loads of fun putting this together but I must say, I was getting pretty tired going through and choosing photos! Thanks to my mom, Danyèle, Amika, Alisha, and Rachel who all gave me feedback! So now that I’ve sent out launch emails and advertised on Facebook, all I have to do is hope like mad that this is successful. If this turns out to be my final fundraiser, I will be one happy shutter bug. So check it out! www.traveltrunkphotography.com

Fundraiser Update #2

Whoo! I’ve reached Target 1 set by YCI for fundraising! I’m supposed to raise $1250 of my total $3900 by October 3rd… I reached $1340 as of today! Thanks so much to those who have donated since my last update:

• Forest Products Association of Canada
• François and Pam S
• Judy H
• Franca M
• Diane G
• Inga S-M
• Kimberly M
• Veronica D

I’ve started to do some fundraising at work which is (to me, anyway) a little awkward, especially since the GCWCC campaign is also going on as well. So far, I’ve put up posters and flyers on the outside of my cubicle wall with tear-away flaps of paper for people to take in 2 locations. Check it out:

Anyone else hate the poster as much as I do? I won’t lie – I was pretty annoyed when I first saw them but whatever – they serve a purpose, so I’ll use them. It’s all about picking your battles and fighting them at appropriate times. Right now it is about getting the word out there to encourage people to support me in my quest to volunteer in Guyana. That’s it, that’s all. They do get the job done – I’ve already had someone come find me to talk about YCI since he and his gf are looking to do something like this as well, so that was cool.

Anyway, I’m also doing a jellybean fundraiser at work. I found an old school Heinz jar at an estate auction in Shawville. In fact, I got it for free! Someone won their bid on a box of crap but they only wanted one thing in the box – they said I could take whatever I wanted from it so I took the jar! Yay! Had to buy the beans but jellybeans aren’t too expensive. I have the contest running until September 29th so hopefully it will be successful. I don’t expect to raise tons of money from it but I see it as a way to draw people’s attention to what I’m doing and hopefully direct them to my fundraising page (http://yci.tigweb.org/ind/Trinencadian).

So, I have until October 31st to raise $2250 and then until November 28th to raise the full $3900. Think it can be done?

Has anyone else been to an auction? What did you get? I got some glassware and a cool 70s pyrex dish. Auctions are dangerous places where one can get tons of things they don’t need for cheap!

Oh, and I’ve bought the Toronto-T’dad portion of my flights so I kinda have to go now, eh.