A few pictures to make up for last week.

When you enter Mercy, if you have ever been there before, you are struck by the huge hole in the compound. My mind was flooded with many memories of the old Colonna Building. One of them is [as I still remember frequently] the effort and pride that Sister Sheila took in getting the cupola and the cross at the top repaired and lit up at night so it could be seen for blocks around… now no cross, no lights, no building, no activity – just memories.
I am saddened and frustrated, so can you imagine the levels of suffering for the staff who have been here for decades?  As I have made my rounds the thoughts and feelings I hear are textbook expressions of Post Traumatic Shock. Some staff have even resigned rather than walk in the compound and experience the memories daily. I feel the pressure to move on with "the new and the future" may have happened too quickly without enough time to remember and develop personal and collective remembrances of stories.





Tony and I were surprised when we opened the door of the Computer Café because we had inquired if it was still there. [I guess we should have been more specific!] There were only two computers in the café and only one worked. Several of the others had been scavenged to replace those lost in the fire… though someone had left “helpful” items in their place. Ugh… [I have decided to use “ugh” instead of my usual expletives in order to keep this a “G” Blog.] Which reminds me to ask our brilliant Canadian consultants how we might compensate for no internet and reference texts usually copyrighted in the ‘80’s if we are lucky… Marilyn Hunt and Bernice King have already spent many hours with Tony trying to get him to appreciate the dynamics of nursing; and more importantly, providing invaluable feedback on our PBL stories and expectations. If we had some kind of an award, we would give it to them.

Many [2] people have asked about where I live now. It is quite palatial by Guyanese standards and bigger than my old flat at Mercy. It is located in the heart of the city on the edge of the Bourda Market, which has a claim to fame as never closing – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, you can find it here. The noises really get going by 9 in the morning and mercifully stop around 9 in the evening. There is one merchant who can shout something like “Fresh, Ripe Bananas” every 15 seconds during that whole time!  Amazing. I am about a 25 minute walk to Mercy and a much shorter bike ride. I have had he usual adaptation difficulties… I am no longer really agile on a bike; I have not mastered how to ride with an umbrella in the pouring rain; and in order to show that even I can learn, I do not ride my bike in the dark. The practical consequences of this are that I may be at Mercy and my bike is at Calvary – or vice versa. There have been several occasions where my bike and I have been together, but he chain lock key has not. Oh well, my Nova Scotia doc told me to walk – good for a person of my age and arthritic knees, though he did say biking was be  er [Whoops – my “t” and “g” have fallen off my keypad, so please guess if my spell checker leaves a strange word.. just add a “t” or “g”. But not a bad Freudian slip… Remind myself to buy beer.]





I am in the upstairs flat on he left hand side. The right side is the church hall. My two “guard” dogs are supposed to live in the fenced in area below. I do have a balcony [It is also a cage.]; I prefer to call it a balcony. Pic later.



I am right on a busy traffic street and the Bourda Market is all around me.




Calvary may be the biggest Lutheran Church building in the city. I even got to church last Sunday and it was good to recognize so many faces.





This is my kitchen. The essential appliance is…. Coffee Maker. And the fridge for beer… and water.




The picture here is half my living-dining room. I have converted it into my work area… I have had some difficulty getting an internet service as companies need a 15 day period before they can hook you up – even though the modem is downstairs and wireless… Several companies have required a yearlong contract.

However, by holding my laptop up to the kitchen window, I can get on to a neighbour’s wireless. I do not know which neighbour as I would gladly pay them. It is somewhat inconvenient -- though my arms are getting stronger which might even help my golf game!

 

A picture of my bedroom .... notice that there is no top sheet! That is because here is absolutely no need for one… way too hot at night. I keep the fan blowing all night long.




I am up as the sun rises… for ½ hour it is cool… and then as soon as the sun hits my face, you can feel the temperature rise. I still start my day by reading about this part of the world … currently I have a book on Caribbean identity which gives me thoughts and gets my mind going and not on the pressures of the day. In a funny way I feel refreshed to go do the usual. Of course, I have made coffee already and am sitting on the balcony – perhaps the best part of the day, watching and hearing the market and city come to life… The loud music vendors must not be allowed to start till later and then they go all day! Now just the birds, dogs, traffic and people.

I am sure this is more than enough. I am not in a tent or roughing it .. Guyana is a poor country and I am in the city.  It is a good place to be and I am well.

Take Care, John