Off and Running, But Not Me - only Figuratively

Sorry: no matter what I did I couldn't get the slide show to work... If you want to see more of this week's pictures, please click on:  

This Week's Pictures

How Soon One Forgets

I arrived here on the overnight from Toronto and I wanted to rant about what a pain and how I hate flying, especially overnight.  The airport limo gets to to the airport three hours early so you can watch all the shops close up... and still wait to board.  I am sure this analogy has been used before:  It is like stuffing the casing of a sausage, except with people.  And then as an added bonus, there is a crying baby behind me and another in front of me.  The earphone jack didn't work.  The meal was a bun with unknown ..... chicken, I am hoping.  Now to save Caribbean Airlines a few bucks we stop in Trinidad for over an hour, confined to the plane with the air shut off, and the cleaning crew ..... and then someone comes around taking names as if someone might have escaped.  And the hour flight into Cheddi Jagan airport which has less than ten  flights in 24 hours has two arrive at the same time with two immigration officers.
Now that I have been here a week, I have almost forgotten it.   It has been a busy week.

My Flat

Anyone who has read my first post of the season knows ..... [I was going to say only nice things, but there is a blackout!]  I got kicked out of the flat that I had for the last several years in old Doc Daniel's because they need more room for Materiel Management's boxes and stuff.   I suspect that the manager there has a hoarding disorder.   Anyhow, I would be residing in the Upper Team House.   Lived there many years ago when Anne was visiting.   I gently put my demands in as the Executive Volunteer - screens, shower that works, a few fans, fridge that stays cold [for beer, of course],  a mattress thick enough that it won't blow away in the breeze , and an internet connection.   And I never heard back from Helen Browman except that everything was being taken care of ..... I must admit that I heard that as code similar to "Just Now".  So I was resigned to yelling to get it done after I got here.

However, when I arrived ..... I have screens on all the windows; I have a fan in every room; I have a good-pressure shower with a rain-forest head [still not hot water but, hey]; a new fridge to replace the manic-depressive one that had followed me for years. [I had to turn the setting down as the water was freezing]; and a wireless connection that seems to work at least 50% of the time.  It is great, and I am very thankful as I got a really good start for last Monday.  So this year, and maybe this year only, a special thank you goes out to Ms. Browman and all the guys from Maintenance.

The Real Reason I Come - First Year Batch 2016

They were there, all eager, excited and scared.   And that was before I said anything!   They knew I was a little different when I took their "prison shots"; however, the two week bet to know all their names -- or I buy the pizza -- made them okay with me.   As usual, I have added them all to my screen saver and set it to start if I don't type for a couple of minutes.  This way I have to look at their faces and names.  [I have added them all to the slide show on the upper left.]  I don't talk about what PBL is; we just do it with an introductory story of sex, money, career and babies.   By the second page they were right into it as if they had been doing it for years.    This may be a very good year.

On the second day I gave out the tablets that my "benefactors" have allowed me to purchase for them.  I am truly grateful to all who contribute - large or small.   Sister Catherine has not been around to open the library often, so having a connection to the internet is now more than ever essential.   The interesting thing is that though they did not have any tablets, they knew how to get around the internet.  Now we can work on the difference between "Aunt Mary's Guaranteed Method to Conceive a Girl.com" vs. "Menninger Clinic.com".  

The second day of the "play" case we ask the usual evaluation questions (standard in McMaster University).  This time it seemed a lot of the students were scared to talk in public.  My sensitive co-tutors wanted to design a programme to help them.   I even emailed my Advanced Communicator and Leadership Bronze Toastmaster daughter, Kristin.  She suggested a few things and said that the best way to speak in public is practice.  That was exactly what I was thinking, so I told them that if they don't talk up in every class they will fail.   I tried to do it tentatively.   So the next day we did the Robin Hood exercise where they are forced to rank four rotten characters from most moral to least... and give their reasoning on a page.   Then we go into live drama and they need to defend their rankings out loud with the students live sculptured.   I may have supported some with questions like, "Is your name spelled with an F in it?" Or "You might be able to get a refund on that uniform if you hurry." Or my personal favorite, "If you are standing to the right of a person who hasn't said anything, you'll fail too."  And everybody talked way more than once...  

A Little St. Ann's before I quit for the week.

I was able to capture a Mercy Volunteer, Salena Clohyisy, who has just started working as a dietitian at Mercy Hospital. [Don't worry; I am not going to disclose my diet to her.]  Well, I had approached her about whether she'd like to teach the girls some basketball once a week.  She didn't know much about basketball but was a "great" track star ..... What about running?  Heck, close enough.  And when I told her it was on, she didn't even change her mind on hearing that Saturday morning at 6:30 would be the best time.  Actually, Sister Leonie had said 6, but I thought that might be too much. I got there at 6 to try and get some things organized and of course, they weren't .... Salena was there by 6:30 and she was the first "girl" ready.    Well, they left at 7:30 down the road with 24 girls -- more or less.   Really, most wanted to run barefoot as they do at school on the grass.  So many just had rubber flip flops or even school shoes..  They had a blast... and couldn't wait for next week...if only they had running shoes.

I hate it when girls cry with those sad faces; it is so controlling.   So I got their sizes - all 31 of them and headed to Foot Steps Mega Store that had helped St. Ann's before.  I chatted with the supervisor, a Miss Jane [I think] and before I could get a tear going, she gave me a better than wholesale price.  Wow, I said, "My friend who is pretty old and just turned 70 would love to pay for them.  [I haven't really told him yet.]   Anyhow, I trudged back and the girls were great about waiting and getting the right sizes... and they were thrilled that Rev. Dennis would be so kind.

Of course, my devious second reason to get the shoes is that now it will be very difficult for Salena to change her mind...  Catholic guilt is a wonderful thing -- sometimes.   Actually, Salena was already looking for a second day during the week to take them out running.

15 Years Later 

I was surprised by seeing again one of the students from my first class, Yolanda.  She is still in Guyana and is the Head of Quality Assurance at the Georgetown Public Hospital.  She had just dropped her son off at the movies [actually a better choice than the Suicide Prevention show] at the same mall.   It is good to see old students who are still toiling in Guyana and trying to make a difference.   Yolanda said that I looked the same as when she first met me... and I agreed.  Judge for yourself. 

Bibi is the student on the left, but she moved to France and changed her name to "Wild Orchid".  I heard a rumor that she snuck into Canada and lives in Guyana North.

Have a great week and thanks for reading. John

I HAVE HAD SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THE PICTURES I MAY NEVER DO THIS AGAIN.