More of the Usual and Mostly Nothing Significant

Timehri Maha Kali Shakti Devi Temple story will continue next week.

Out and About...

I met with Suzanne French who is on the board of the new NGO Corporation in Guyana that will fund psychiatry efforts here.  Rev. Dr. Peter Kuhnert is the prime mover of this NGO which will go by the catchy abbreviation of  "IftDofPaMHRI".   Suzanne is an energetic young (to me) woman who is eager to get going on raising funds to improve psychiatric care in Guyana.   Another woman from the past, Sandra LaRose, who was a small group tutor with the PBL course, is also a board member.

I was there a little early at our meeting place "Petit Fours". After spending 7 years in an Acadian Village, I knew I was looking for little ovens ..... But they have a really big oven and some nice little pastries.  They also had wifi.  I asked for the password and the woman at the counter told me "sweetthing".. made sense.  I went back to my table and it didn't work so after three more tries she had pity on me and entered it "sweetthang".  Give me a Break! Made no sense, but it worked... Another Guyanese spelling.

Amerindian Indigenous Peoples' Month

September has been called Amerindian Month for years; now even Guyana enters the politically correct world and now celebrates Indigenous Peoples' Month ..... The same people - different name.   I do support having people define themselves, but it seems that, as in many other countries, the name change doesn't improve their lives.    The British gave indigenous groups "special protection" under the law and that was continued after independence.   Yet whenever it is convenient for all the previous and present governments to limit those protections ..... they lose them without much legal recourse for the "specially protected".     But they do get a month in the calendar. 

In a very intentional way, many groups and the government ministries that deal with indigenous issues try to address the stereotypes that dominate mainstream Guyana culture.  They share the oral wisdom and stories in events throughout the country.   I do feel it is important to have the nursing students -- some of whom have indigenous blood, but have been raised in the city or on the coast -- to gain a stronger appreciation of Guyana's original peoples.  This year we took in the morning event at the Umana Yana.

This young woman is from the Arawak peoples. She told a traditional story of a young ten year old boy.  (Who would have been turning 11 at the end of her long story!)  It was a story of the importance of fathers in their families' lives.  And, of course, there was a wicked stepmother, and the boy proves to be a hero. He slays not one but two Forest Demons because his father taught him how to shoot his bow and arrow.

An Indigenous Folk Song

Two students from Indigenous Studies at University of Guyana
played and sung this.

It wasn't as good as last year -- there was no free lunch this time -- but I did buy some necklaces that were made by the WaiWai in the very south of Guyana for our granddaughters.  Sorry, Evan and Aidan!

   

The trip fit in well as we had been discussing the "strangeness" of people from different cultures.  There is so much that does not get spoken about but include expectations and rules, like facing the door in an elevator!  I had put this  drawing on FB and I'll share it again as it certainly reflects my experience in Guyana.  (And oh yeah: when I went to Seminary in Illinois, I soon realized that saying "Sh*t", "Fu*k" and all similarities were not acceptable no matter how bad your golf shot was!)

The top ones are easy to see because people talk about them.
The others are hard to see because people do not talk about them.

Thanks from the Nursing Students

I should have posted this earlier.  Here are their happy faces after receiving your gifts of tablets.  These are an invaluable tool to do their studying and research online.  It is a big gift for them ..... for some it is the biggest gift they have ever received.  So far the tablets are holding up in the heat and the humidity at least as well as in other years.   And as students do all over the world, now they complain that I give them too much research!

My Roommate  Dr. Oble Francisco Alfonso Gonzalez

Maylene, the beautiful woman on the
left is his "girlfriend", an Opthamologist.

Obel is a seasoned pediatrician who studied and worked in Cuba for years and then went to Africa for 4 years.   He arrived in Guyana without a job and finally got one here at Mercy about a year ago.   He kind of looks tough, but he is actually very quiet, gentle and kind.  He says "Sorry" often enough to be a Canadian!  I really like him, and mercifully his English is way better than my Spanish ,,... although the other night, he wanted me to get him a hamburger -- or that is what my ear heard.   "Hey, sure; we can go to Big Daddy's down the street.  They have fries too and of course, beer. "  No, I want a "han-book-er.".   He knew that I had a famous pediatrician, Dr. Emilee Flynn, visiting me, so he wanted to know if she would recommend a newer version of a Pediatric Handbook that he had from 1986!

But that is not my best human being Canadian Obel story -- which will come after this introduction to my famous niece Emilee.


Emilee Flynn 

Emilee had visited me on her first trip to Guyana a few years ago to help with teaching health care professionals how to manage high risk newborns when you have no technology.   This is her third trip with her group... And she took off an evening to have dinner with me!

I first had her work to pay for her dinner.  She had to help me with Basketball practice with the girls at St Ann's.   I will show you the video from a week ago with the older girls...   John Wooden couldn't have done better .....

A Unique Basketball Occurrence  video

However, this week I was back to chaos and self-doubt.  The little girls came late and the bigger girls came ..... and luckily Emilee arrived soon after that.   But I need to work with the little weenies separately, without distraction. They just had to do what the older ones were doing; and, the older ones wanted no part of them.  I was unable to convince the little girls that they would learn more with drills designed for their skill and age.    I was told that they could play basketball as well as the older girls -- and then they would go on to demonstrate that they couldn't! There was  no changing them.  They joined in with the older girls and we both ignored them when we didn't step on one of them.
Emilee took some videos of this practice, but she wants to see if she can sell it to Funniest Home Videos before giving it to me.

Emilee right before she showed the girls
her astonishing reverse, 360  dunk...
and with her shades and sandals on.

We survived the practice and headed to dinner at New Thriving Chinese.  Wow, ever since they opened their fancy place in Providence, the prices have gone way up! I guess they have to pay for it.  We sat outside on the roof with a nice breeze and no mosquitoes... and (this is for Emilee's mother, Monica) right across from Holy Family Catholic Church.   Emilee told me lots of good stories about my sister that I hope I can remember if I have to make speech at her 50th wedding anniversary.   A great visit was made even better:  Emilee paid for dinner -- and even without that, she is an amazing person.  Thanks for the visit!

And back to my favourite story about Saint Obel.

I had left to go to St Ann's and basketball about 3:00 and I made sure to lock the door as Obel always does.   He came "home" about 4:00 to find he had left his flat keys inside.   He did not want to really bother me because I told him that I had an important family member for dinner.   So he sat outside for the 4 hours till I returned from dinner.  Walking in I saw him sitting under the flat, he was smiling and waving.    When I heard his story, I could hardly believe it!  I said to him, "You can't be a real doctor; you aren't nearly arrogant enough." 

Boy, did I feel bad -- but not as bad as I felt a few minutes later.  I took my sweaty basketball shirt out of my backpack and I had put my phone there too.     And there were two texts from ..... Take a guess!   And two missed phone calls from the same person!   I don't think that the smart phone is smart enough for me!   And yes, I know:  I will buy him and Maylene dinner.   See, he is really gentle, and a secret Canadian .....

Enough.  Some people quit when they have completed their thoughts... I quit when I think it is long enough.

John