The Second Week...

Settled in... Almost

I think there is some combination of just getting tired of asking for the same thing and adapting to the situation.  We now have screens on most windows ..... kind of like partially pregnant, so we have begun a programme to train the mosquitos to buzz only around the windows with screens.  

And the mattresses still leave one somewhat crippled in the morning.

Actually, things just happen slower here... the screens are coming, the mattresses might be coming and the third bedroom construction has begun, with help from Sylvia and me in moving stuff.

I told Dennis to imagine the walls and maybe a door.

I can kid about it; it is just different culture with a different relationship to time.  However, on the plus side, we have a shower and a new rain forest shower head and it is the best shower I have ever had in the 11 plus years I've been coming here.  And for the other things, "Here is where I can practice my patience... or lack of it."    (My sainted mother was fond of saying, "Patience is a virtue desired by many, but possessed by few.")

It does seem like we have been here longer than two weeks.   I guess that is because I have been busy... way busier than I am in my laid-back, sleepy life in Ayr.    I am already starting to look forward to that again .....  I used to think getting down to Bucky's for breakfast at 7 was early.

PBL in Full swing

Our adaptation of Problem Based Learning is working very well, maybe too well.   The students have never been exposed to this way of learning and were skeptical at first, but now are going great guns.    I have been awarding a mark if they get their research for their small group distributed electronically to everyone before 8 am on the class morning.  I usually make a comment or two for clarification, or where they might go for further research.  Unfortunately for me, the students are in almost100% compliance ..... That's a lot of comments I have to make!   Plus we have an exam every PBL day to grade..  Grading would be easy if I [or another tutor] didn't have to read their work!     Also, in the research topic development group, we have changed to a group mark.  [Thanks to Bev Clark who help designed the grading sheet.]  It is a wonderfully sadistic all-or-nothing method.  Either ALL the students do something - participate, ask relevant questions, choose research topics, etc... or there is no point.   Well, the groups are self-enforcing ..... Amazingly, everyone seems to participate now!

They have mastered their tablets and are choosing websites that are more than credible.  And most amazing to me is that they are sharing their research with the others in the small group without reading from a printed page or their tablets - at least initially.

We are still hunting for a regular tutor as we have been improvising each day.  Some days I tell them that we will be experimenting with tutor-less groups!  I explain that there is some evidence these groups do well.  [It is amazing how believable you can be as the tutor.]  Actually, we have had to use tutor-less groups in other years and no one died; I guess that is success.

"There will be no pizza this year": [l-r] Elsie, Cheyenne, Damali, Leslyn, Joylyn, Crystal.

And We Did Robin Hood again... always good.

It is an old values-clarification exercise; I have used it for years and it always generates discussion and a little sparring.  Try it: You have to rank the four characters from most moral to least moral and write your reasons down... Then we go "live" and the class takes sides on how they ranked everyone .....

“The Sheriff of Nottingham captured Little John and Robin Hood and imprisoned them in his maximum security dungeon.  Maid Marion begged the sheriff for their release, pleading her love for Robin.

The Sheriff agreed to release them only if Maid Marion spent the night with him, indulging his carnal pleasures.  She agreed.

The next morning the Sheriff released his prisoners.  Robin at once demanded that Marion tell him how she persuaded the Sheriff to let them go free.
Marion confessed the truth, and was bewildered when Robin abused her, calling her a slut, and saying that he never wanted to see her again.

At this, Little John defended her, inviting her to leave Sherwood Forest with him and promising life-long devotion.  She accepted and they rode away together.”

I preface the class with one a Guyanese saying, "Even the rose bush has pimplah."   There are no perfect people, not you or me or anyone.  Everyone "Burps and Farts".     I had thought of changing the ending to Robin and Little John riding off together, but ..... this is Guyana.

New Blog Feature

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.  There are so many persons who work at Mercy and are dedicated to improving the lives of patients and staff that I will highlight a random staff person each week .....  giving you a chance to meet them.  When I had this great thought, I was in line in the cafeteria!  I hope to continue with the staff profiles in later blogs.

Hersham Alexander

[R] Hersham serving a customer at the Cafeteria Counter.
[L] Optimistic and helpful.

Hersham Alexander has been a Mercy Hospital employee for 14 years. During that time he has worked as a Kitchen Attendant, Baker, Store Room Staff, Counter Server.  My favourites of his jobs is "drinking water jug carrier" ..... Whenever I need water, I can just give him my keys and a huge new bottle of water appears.  When I first came I used to tell him, "No, I can do that.  I am not that old."  Now I just let him - - though I COULD carry it if I HAD TO ..... I think.

Hersham was born in Kitty, now a part of Georgetown and now lives on the East Coast in Enmore, Demerara, with his wife of 6 years, Simone, and their two children, Joshua and Resheda.

I asked him where he saw himself in 10 years and he said he wants to be an independent farmer, a fruit producer.   He will start with chickens because the government gives extra land if you are also a chicken farmer.   He is working on raising capital in order to begin.

I asked him what advice he would give my (three?) readers, and he said, "Buy Local."  I told him most of the readers were in North America, so buying local would leave him poor.  He said, "Buy International."  Maybe he could give another piece of wisdom:  "Enjoy life as it comes and along the way always meet new people because you never know how you will affect them and they you."

And Finally, The Girls of St. Ann's

Actually, they are really the young ladies.  It seems that more than 50% of the "girls" are over 14 years old.  And can you imagine what that means?   22 teenage girls living in the same place!!   Well, they do have some raging hormones and so do the boys who go to their schools.   Sisters-in-charge are very good at many things; however, boyfriend advice is not usually one of them .....   Well, I offered to do a course for some of the older girls on "Bodies, Boyfriends, Boundaries, Beliefs."  [I left out Balling as I thought it might be pushing my reputation for good taste.]  I told Sister Leone that I would like to see about 12 of the oldest girls in the class, and we would meet for an hour on Thursdays at 4:30.  This Thursday was our first class with 21 girls.    We developed some ground rules for the group and one was:  what happens in the group stays in the group .....  So that's the end of that story!

This week's pictures are in the Slideshow at the top left of the blog...  Double click for the slide show. And thanks for reading.  John