Beverley Ponders the Experience

I have been home a week now and am having some difficulties adjusting back into my old life.My heart is full of love and joy for my family, especially my darling baby grandson Kalin 

Beating the drums because his Baba is home

...but at the same time I feel a deep sadness at having left my wonderful freshman students at St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital School of Nursing  in Guyana.

When I left for home last Friday, the class gave me a poem that I would like to share.

“ Slowly the leaves of memory will fall

I will pick them up and gather them all

Because today, tomorrow and ‘ till my life is thru

I will always cherish this friendship and you”

Thank you Ariel, Vikram( Vicky), Niravana( Nir), Shellon (Gravendande), Kenishia (Neshia), Bibi, Hakeema (Keema), Marissa, Lisa, Keisha, Lavetta (Lovie), Zoanna ( Zoey), Vansessa, Jonice (Jon), Michelle, Telisha, Nikita (Nikki) and ALeea (Leea) 

"Don't go.  Send Rev. John instead."  I know they didn't mean it.

I will always remember you and our shared learning experiences. Please continue to fight for your dreams.

Thank you also Rev. John for inviting me to be part of your very important work not only with the students but also with the children at St. Anne’s Orphanage who clearly adore you. 

My visits with the children and Sister Leonie filled me with admiration for the courage of these little children and for the love and dedication of those who care for them.

Sister Leonie says. "Great having you around Beverly."

Out and About in three weeks...

This drinking water stream outside Linden
inspired my un-inspiring sermon from Amos,
"Let justice roll down like waters and honesty like an ever flowing stream. "

to a $2.50 market lunch

Enjoying the beauty of a resort

the sweat of the Cane Factory at Wales

Some Reflections

The greatest difficulty for the first time volunteer is getting information about  Guyana, that you can trust. It would be helpful if volunteers received a little on safety, customs, clothing restrictions, food etc. that apply to the area where they will be spending most of their time. Being a volunteer is very different from being a family member visitor and there are marked differences between the concerns of male and females as well as age related concerns.

My expectation of myself was to be useful and not a nuisance. However, not really understanding the cultural norms and expectations, I initially felt very insecure. Although I have traveled extensively on my own both in the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia, the difference in coming to Guyana was determining what information was true and what was media or protects ourselves against lawsuits hype. If you are a young perky woman and males shout rude remarks from passing cars, your danger alert is much different than when you are an older unperky woman, struggling along the road side careful to not trip over chunks of broken pavement. Both situations can be potentially dangerous but  for a quick mugging the older person is an easier target. So strategies for personal safety are different . I found it difficult to determine how to keep myself independent yet safe.

So I arrived a nervous wreck. Lucky John!  The first week was tough getting settled, heat, humidity, and the brightness of the sun made me feel out of sync time-wise. At breakfast time it seemed to me that it was noon because the sky was so bright. I had a couple days of feeling “punk “ off and on  but John graciously gave me the air conditioned computer room ( there are no computers—they mysteriously disappeared) for my tutorials. I got accustomed to the climate differences quite quickly.

Accommodations were rustic but being born and raised in western Canada, ( western Canadian women are tough) the living conditions were similar to those that I have experienced in my cabin in the bush in Northern Manitoba /Ontario. I love it there in spite of the limitations. At my cabin, there is now a shower that sometimes trickles a little water on you but it beats bathing in polluted lakes thanks to the granite industry. Granite countertops anyone? Bugs and critters are your neighbors and unfortunately, here in Guyana, I had to kill three of my cockroach neighbors, Marvin, David and Jack. I have my standards and they were just getting too friendly. John said I didn’t have to drown them in insect repellent. To each his own.

We ate at the hospital most times. The food was tasty but sometimes I needed more protein. I really enjoyed our trips outside the city. We visited a sugar cane factory and saw the most beautiful bauxite mine. I couldn't resist giving one of the hospital glamour girls a shot about the potential for lung disorders due to working in the factory without a mask. John dragged me away from her while I was screaming and ranting. Administrators are the same the world over I guess. So are old broads.!

I didn’t go into the jungle, no time and it really wasn’t a priority for me. I’ve been to the jungle in Brazil and I really wanted to see how people live in Georgetown. The city is a tragic postcard of colonial rule. It was like looking at the wrinkly face of an old woman and failing to see the beauty and gentleness in her eyes and the strength of her aging spirit. Colonial times must have been spectacular from an architectural perspective. All the buildings are  wooden with intricate wood designs and inlay. Unfortunately, most of them are rotting away but they still retain a certain beauty. There are still beautiful churches and  Hindu temples that are colorful and well maintained . When you consider the shameful history of the country , the energy of the people is short of miraculous. When “ nothing ever gets done” or when things “change without rhyme nor reason” its hard to remember that this is a society in which people have an inheritance of slavery and oppression. Consequently, there is still a somewhat fragile infrastructure and as a result there is dirt and garbage everywhere-----.But, the sun shines, people smile and the music is joyful and uplifting.

I met some really nice people. The security guard at the hospital grounds loved reading romance novels and some days we chatted about romance and real life. She felt badly because she was working and couldn’t go walking with me and she felt it wasn’t safe for me to walk alone. I walked around the hospital area and felt o.k. When I asked my students about walking alone, one of them very politely said to me” But Mam, look at your hair, nobody has hair that color.” We laughed and joked about store colored hair.

So I tagged along after John. He was thrilled, I’m sure, especially after we had a talk about stride length differences between a 6 foot male and a 5ft 5inch female. Fortunately, being a physio I had the “facts” at my finger tips. I’m leaving out the part that I’m a dreamer who like to look at absolutely everything as I walk around.

The course for the freshman nursing students is excellent and John works 24/7 to make everything work for the students. I found the approach to sometimes be very doc oriented and Tony is a hard act to follow. But it all worked well for me because we focused on a team approach with emphasis on nursing goals. I found the exam a day very different from what I was used to as a PBL tutor but I understand the need in Guyana for continuity across programs. I tried a few tricks with my students which seemed to work well for us. After tutorial and before going into the exam room, we did some breathing exercises and then I told them to grab a brain and turn it on as they went through the door to do the exam. A small joke but  they laughed and rolled their eyes. Maybe it  worked  because they did well in the tests even if the questions hadn’t been fully explored in the tutorial session.

 I was very impressed by the student’s desire and the sacrifices they made to learn. Their ability to quickly synthesize information and apply it to the problems was outstanding. It was a far cry from some students I had at home who would file a complaint if a tutor gave them a grade of an A instead of an A+ even though they had tried to pass off work done in another course .

The amount of work John puts into organizing ,planning and designing the course is incredible. The creative way he present ethical issues to the students so that concepts are presented and discussed in an atmosphere of fun is impressive. I learned a lot.

The last two weeks past very quickly and before I knew it, it was time to go home.

Epilogue
Years ago, a Physio pal told me that the only reason for our lives was to help each other along life’s journey. Thank you very much ,John, for giving me the chance to not just “talk the talk” but also to “walk the walk” even though my steps were very small and the distance traveled very short.

"Some tastes remain on the tongue a long time."

All the best to everyone.

Beverley 

Never yet a TEN – perhaps in 2013!

I have decided that I will not return to Mercy Hospital in September.  It would have been the 10^th time and the closest that I would ever have gotten to be a “10” in anything.     As usual Continuity and Change will be in play; the same and different…

 I have the same desire to return to Mercy and Guyana.  I enjoy my time there and feel that I make a difference, at least in the lives of the students.  It was a hard decision to make, but there are far more complicating factors for me this September. 

First, and I never thought that I’d say this, but the odd part of the “Odd Couple”, Tony, was not able to go this year.   I realized how intertwined we had become over the last two years; we each had our areas of expertise and it worked.   (Now I wish that I had listened to him drone on about cranial nerves .....   Kidding aside, we worked hard and shared the tasks; I am not sure that I want to, or could, do both.  

Second, I was participating with Taju Olaleye who is the lead applicant in our Rising Stars Canada grant; however, they have delayed the announcement date till the end of July.  We were counting on the grant [ah yes, optimists]  to provide the dollars for the individual netbooks for the students.   If I went to Mercy in September, I would have to begin hitting up my “friends” for a second year in a row… and I have not done that previously.  It is not that they aren’t good friends; it is that there are so many “good causes” out there asking for their dollars.   I had received a few good quotes from China on netbooks and tablets and then I started figuring out dates, fundraising, purchasing, shipping, etc….. Ugh!    So I would need to raise about $5,200 for 24 netbooks.   That means 24 wonderful friends give me $220 or if I had 5,200 friends it would be just a buck each.    This made me forget that my fourth grade teacher, Sister Mary Something, said “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly”, and revert to my need to do it well ..... and at this point, I don’t think that I can do the course well.  

Breaking  - or rather “Heartbreaking” *  news… We were not successful with the grant application…   “I regret” letter below”

Dear Mr. Olaleye Prince

RE: Application 149

Thank you for submitting your proposal A Revolutionary Approach for Guyana Nursing Education to Grand Challenges Canada’s Request for Proposals: Rising Stars in Global Health– Round 1. A peer review was led by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Many high-quality submissions were received and the selection process was very competitive. I regret to inform you that your proposal has not been selected for funding.

We would like to thank you for your time and effort in preparing your proposal, and hope that you will consider participating in future Grand Challenges Canada funding opportunities.

 * So next year will be also “wallet breaking”, as I will beg for contributions/donations for the students’ netbooks… 

 Third, as many of you know, we are moving back to Ontario; we have bought a nice little home in Ayr, near Kitchener and take possession on August 3^rd.   Now by itself, that would be great; however, we have not sold our home in Nova Scotia.   The housing market here is dreadful, especially thanks to the selfishness of our provincial government who cancelled the US ferry and really abandoned the whole of SW Nova Scotia as there are  few votes for them here.   Anyhow, this unknown has many stressors, including the fact that we have had to get back into the mortgage business.      It doesn’t seem that it will get anywhere near resolved before September.

Fourth, if you read my blog, you know that there are the usual continuing frustrations with doing any business in Guyana.  Now don’t get me wrong -- Mercy, and especially CEO Helen, go out of their way to make my stay the best, but it is always uphill.   One of the IT people who was looking after our students netbook problems no longer works at Mercy and some of the older Café Computers no longer work…  and the IT department does not have the resources to fix them.   A smallish problem… just an addition to the stressors… and this year I seem to be running out of energy.

Fifth, while it may seem that I just pack my clothes and jump on a plane, there is much for me to do in the months before I get on that plane.   For example, Tony and I have been revising and improving all our PBL Problems and are only on the 2^nd of 6 problems.     There is quite a lot to do ahead of time, and my time now is being consumed with my immediate living arrangements.  Maybe if I were better organized?  But that isn’t going to happen.

These and some additional personal considerations have added up ..…   I am not liking myself and the fact that I can’t do “everything”…  I have had the luxury for nine years of going to Mercy without worrying too much about my life or family in Canada; this year it is different…   and I need to make a different decision.  It is a painful one.   I will plan to return to Guyana in September 2013 (and be a TEN!)  if my fantasy of getting my life in order holds up.  Please stay tuned.

Scoring the 2011 Tour

I am now between leaving Guyana and Christmas.   I have enjoyed being home with Anne and watching the sea ..… and some golfing, as it has been exceptionally warm and sunny.   My last week in Guyana was a predictable – but still enjoyable and significant – flurry of activity as the “just now” culture came up against a precise departure time!   

A real old fashioned picnic

There were several "thank you" events arranged by our students, such as a picnic at the Botanical Gardens scheduled for 2pm – and who was the only person there at 2?  (I never learn!)   The festivities started somewhat later.   The students had prepared a picnic meal and each of us received a gift from them.   I received a distinguished, handmade pair of leather sandals ..… very nice!   Claudette and Marysia were singled out after a class for special recognition which left one of them overwhelmed.

Tony and I got to Taju’s one last time.  Tony gave Althia and Tommy their last music lessons and I hosted my two “Bosco Sons” for a farewell meal.  Well, one of them is still on his way ...... so we ate and took the picture without him.

You'll just have to imagine Julian with Rashleigh.

I said good bye to the girls at St. Ann’s, and to Sister Barbara, the Sister Commander at the home.   She has decided to leave as it was getting to be too much for her health and sense of vocation.   I am saddened to see her go.  Despite her claims to having no experience with young children, she was excellent, and brought many welcome changes to the home.   One innovation that I hope lives on without her is pairing “sisters” – an older girl with a younger one.   The older serves as a role model and helps the younger ones with the chores of the day.  The older girls were expected to be responsible – and they were.  (At least, as much as I am.)   Barbara will be based at a convent in Venezuela overlooking the blue ocean.   I wish her well; she is a phenomenal minister of the gospel.

Sister Barbara pretending to like kids

The Year in Review

I have been reflecting on the pluses and minuses, the successes and the failures.  I’ll venture a few thoughts:

Unchanged

My students keep emailing to ask me if I miss them yet.  My answer has a long history and is an indication of one of my personality quirks.  I once almost got stoned by a conference of ICU nurses where I suggested that they had poor long term memories:  I was talking about coping skills and I had included myself in the critique.  I deal with what or who is in front of me, and when I'm not there, I'm not there.  I get captured by the present.  This is an excellent coping mechanism for jobs like critical care, but really lousy for relationships.  So the short answer is, “No, I don’t miss them.”   This same lack of yearning is also active when I am in Guyana; it doesn’t seem to discriminate.   Since I retired, I am working on personal development -- so maybe I will eventually miss the girls!

Unchanged

I want to thank my circle of friends and family who continually support me while I am in Guyana.  They run the whole range: from those who look only at the pictures on the blog – and then only occasionally -- to those who comment on almost every post.   And there are even some who write me a real letter or two.    Then there is my family who celebrate birthdays and holidays without me [and me without them].   I miss them on those days.  (Good thing that I am a flip-flop liberal as I just said the opposite of the previous paragraph.)  No ambiguity about my love and appreciation of Anne who edits my blog for those who are offended by “dangling whatevers” and offers me the freedom to be present in Guyana, despite her preferences for my presence in MWP.

Helen is on the left.

Unchanged

It is hard to underestimate the importance of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital's CEO, Helen Browman.  She supports our work there - even when we are not there.  And if she tells us she is going to look into something or do something, she gets it done.   This is so important when we are not there most of the year, especially in contrast to others who require your physical presence before any response is provided.   I do not see how we could continue without her support... and she is not even a nun!  

Positive

This year’s students were an excellent batch.   Tony and I enjoyed their work rate, spontaneity and “pondering”.   We were also more skilled this year and had more time to focus on the students than last year, as we were writing the PBL cases as we went along last year.  

Positive

I had three fears this year:  one, how would we cope with 20 students; two, how would they cope with the same problems as last year's students had; and three, how would I cope with living with Tony.  

I have written of the miracle of two skilled tutors who made themselves available all semester – Claudette Harry and Marysia Donnelly.  Without them [and the occasional “volunteers” we commandeered] we would not have been able to cope with the amount of work and time required to do justice to 20 students.   One of the downsides of helping the students to be inquisitive is that they have lots of questions for you.    

As for the temptation of just copying last year’s work, there was only once that we worried about it, and we came to the conclusion that even if they did have the pages from last year's students, they still had to grapple with the problems.  A bigger problem was the lack of discipline, especially after a “clubbing” weekend.  On Monday mornings the students were the least prepared even though they'd had the longest time available to do research. The students all got better at expressing what they'd learned -- and at expressing "bull". I had an imaginary “Gold Shovel” that I would give to the student who said the most with the least content. (The actual Golden Shovel Award celebrates excessive ambiguity and unparalleled cluelessness. Applicants for the Golden Shovel are judged on a lack of the four Cs: candor, clarity, character, and conciseness. Entries are carefully monitored for key words and phrases that signal a bullshitting attempt.)  While there were several amateur contenders among our students, the Shovel definitely belonged to a consummate professional, Stanton.

The Undisputed Champion

Finally - Tony.  I didn’t think it was possible – we did extremely well with each other. Our teaching partnership couldn’t have been better. Our living together also had more benefits than problems.  Of course, we had enough irreconcilable differences to keep the students fascinated, but we were there to teach and we certainly did that.   



The Odd Couple



Positive and…

The individual netbooks that we [all the donors] gave to each of the first year students and half the second year students were unquestionably great.   Even in Guyana, the young are part of the electronic age; they took to learning the new technology with an enthusiasm never witnessed with a textbook.   The students learned how to search the net for accurate, up-to-date information to support their growing curiosity. 

And ......  even though I had received several threats of bodily harm if I didn’t get one for other students and staff, I left Guyana without any injuries.  However, we may have unleashed a monster – how will we ever keep up with supplying an individual computer every year in the future?  (I guess if I don’t go back, I won’t have to worry about it.)  Actually, if anyone out there knows of a granting foundation/agency that would consider taking this on, I would love to hear from you.   Last year, we didn’t know if the students would benefit sufficiently from the computers -- could they learn quickly enough, would the computers keep working in the heat and humidity, not get stolen, etc.  This year we know how effective they have been. Now I can hope to be more effective at begging for more!

Negative

Again our biggest disappointment was our inability to attract local faculty to participate in learning and trying the PBL method.  We have had an article accepted in the International Nursing Review Journal.   The reviewers were extremely excited about the possibilities for poorer countries; now, if we could just convince anyone in the Guyana nursing world .......   We will be submitting a second article on the success we had with comparing the success of PBL and traditional learning models in a specific area of knowledge.   We are hoping that a student from each learning model will be involved in writing the article.

We did generate more interest overall and had many more helpers and visitors than last year, but again, if Tony and I do not return, there will be no one there who will continue the experiment.   While the course has been written and tested, it does require someone to keep up with printing all the pages [story, tutor aide, test and answer sheets, etc.], not to mention reading and scoring all the work every PBL day.  AND there is no money for additional faculty!  We did get the miracle of Marysia and Claudette this year, so maybe more miracles can be expected.

So ends my ninth  journey.  I have no idea about a tenth - that will be a decision for January.  I do know that my Christmas will be filled with many memories of joy and meaning from my time in Guyana.  Thank you for coming with me on this journey.  May God bless you all.

One for the road ahead.

Rains-Runs-Reflections-Repentence-Remedies

Do you remember the picture of Tony huggingly hoisting Ms Williams in the air?  (I understand that his wife still remembers... and I can't repost it- something about false representation.)  Well, he damaged his shoulder and was in considerable pain.   He has his arm in a sling and this has drawn much sympathy from all his admiring young women - until I tell them that it happened in a rum shop brawl when he fell off the wagon!   (I love it when people believe me.)   There may be a moral here for all old guys:  It is either "The gods answer wives' prayers quickly" or "One should act one's age".  I think that the former is a better moral truth, as it is impossible to believe that we "old men" could act our age.

This was my excellent sling that was later criticized as, "What idiot made that?"

As for me... I did have a case of the "Georgetown Stomach" that came and went over a few days.  I self-medicated by popping a few Immodium a few hours before I needed to go farther than ten metres from my namesake.   [No picture included here either.]  And yes, I know it's not the best treatment, but it worked.  Now, I am not sure this offers any moral lesson as my indiscretions tend to be along  the lines of Jimmy Carter's  -- though come to think of it, those did lose him the White House.   Do you ever wonder why it is easier to see moral connections in others' actions than our own?    Another kindness of the Creator.

Our friend, Deacon Kampta Karran, who is famous for his creative ways to get favours out of us for the Lutheran Church here in Guyana, asked if he could present to our students.   He wanted to know if we were interested in having them explore "Bush Medicine" and its relationship with "Western Medicine".   Sure; and besides, any presentation by someone else is one less for us.   Kampta is Guyanese and he related to each of the students in a way that Tony and I will never match no matter how many more years we return.   He demonstrated his Oxford training and his breadth of knowledge of the subject.  The students loved it and him.  And now I know something about  na-jaar,haz-lee, suk-an-tee, na-ra, hook, chat-kay, gan-daz.   Almost all the students knew most of the diseases and remedies he named.  This medicine is alive and practiced.

Kampta "curing" Stanton of something

Now rain is not a news item here (nor for that matter in Pubnico either), but you have to remember that I now live on a construction site and because of the climate changes here the seasonal rains now come much earlier and more unpredictably.  The construction team has lengthened their 7am to 5pm six-day schedule to a 7am to 10pm one in order to get the building completed enough to work indoors so the rains don't interfere with the construction.   Tony and I admire their commitment and can cope with two gas powered concrete mixers serenading below our windows from 9 to 4, but starting on Sunday at 7am stretched our powers of appreciation.  I told the foreman that I had read lots of Guyanese history and even the slaves got Sunday off!  He assured me that the workers did get an overtime differential though he refused my request for similar payment to Tony and me.

 The rains have reduced our pathway to a pond of various depths from 2 to 6 inches.  We do have a pair of boots between us - mine.  However, Tony is more sensitive to germs, bacteria of all kinds, positive and negative, fungi, worms etc., so he got the boots and I walked barefooted.   Tony assured me that "if" I got to the kin-dom, I would get a bigger reward.    And he does let me wear the boots when I go get our supper for both of us on account of his shoulder.

I have been reflecting on our PBL experience this year and I can't help but feel extremely blest in almost every aspect of the programme.    When I first heard that Mercy had accepted 24 students (the final number came out to be 20) I could not figure out how Tony and I would get the small groups managed without killing ourselves.   And then by one of those coincidences that go by many names - fate, grace, luck - a nurse from McMaster, Marysia Donnelly, was to be here with her husband, Ian, who was a VSO/CUSO volunteer -- she was just an accompanying wife and got hold of us wondering if we had anything useful for her to do -- and did we ever!  She has been a tutor with us faithfully and skillfully since the beginning - and it looks as if she may make it to the end!

Marysia Donnelly received the Best Tutor Who is a Nurse award.

 And some of you may remember a doctor that I had met last year who was wanting me to lead a Catholic Youth Leaders session on sexuality -- until she heard me voice some slightly unorthodox views.   This doctor was also the first Dean at the new Medical School at University of Guyana, and had implemented PBL there after training at Maastricht University.  Claudette Harry also had a work history that took her all over the Caribbean.  On a whim, I emailed her and asked if she wanted to give us a hand; she has responded by giving us her whole self.   She has been a tutor all semester; this is a job she has added to an already full schedule.  Now I wouldn't call her an "old woman" as that has the wrong connotations, but she has retired more times than you can count on one hand.   And she doesn't even take naps like me ..... Amazing.

Claudette Harry stares in disbelief at a student answer.

Now these two would be blessing enough, but the individual netbooks and the additional computer cafe have been such a wondrous contribution that a comparison between last year and this year is almost impossible.  It is also impossible to name all the donors -- nor would many want to be identified -- but your generosity has made a huge impact.  All of you who contributed should have received a thank you letter from one of the students.   If you haven't received one, I hope it's the knowledge that we are grateful that counts -- and I have brow-beaten them all about sending them.   We will blame it on the post offices.

All of the computers are still in the possession of the students; some have needed some repair and a spare part. We may have one that the company is willing to replace though we would need to send it back to Hong Kong ..... So the company will let us try to fix it here without voiding the warranty -- nice.  And then if we can't, we'll send it back.

 

The students have taken to the netbooks like ducks to water... well there are a few Luddites who are moving slowly.   However, most do their research on their netbook and maybe half have net access at home or at a hotspot.  The upper classes use the cafe ones and never cease to remind me that I did not give them a netbook, but their death threats on my life have lessened.    And don't worry, I do not plan to come back begging for next year's first year students ..... I hope to be able to secure a grant from a foundation as we can now demonstrate effectiveness!  So if you know of such a granting agency, let me know.   And thanks for making this year possible.

The students have become skilled searchers and able to differentiate between good information and the wackos.  (Their increased efficiency also allows them more time on Facebook as an added bonus for them.)   They have started sharing information with each other from their research via email distribution lists, have used their netbooks in the small groups to show diagrams such as anatomy to illustrate their learning, and submit evidence to us when they feel that they did not get full marks for an exam answer and we are wrong.  By the way, we are never wrong; however, we reward their assertiveness -- and acknowledge that occasionally maybe they gave a slightly better answer.

Jomol demonstrates the intricacies of a knee joint.

I could go on, but I am getting Butt Fatigue... a sure sign that this blog is long enough.   We have had some disappointments but they are small compared to the good things.   And it is a good thing if you have read all this... Thanks, John.

I am sure you can identify with this unnamed student.

Dr. Charlie, Nurse Cathy and my Girls, of course...

Almost all the pics of the girls they ave taken themselves.

This week has been defined by the presence of our colleagues from Canada and, specifically, McMaster University:  Charlie Malcolmson, a pediatrician with whom I spent the better part of my time in an intensive care unit, and his wife Cathy Lee, a nurse practitioner who has spent a big chunk of her career working in family doctor's offices in Hamilton.  They reminded me that I had officiated at their wedding some time ago, as well as the weddings of a couple of their kids.   In some moments, I do realize how much of myself I left at the hospital with colleagues and patients and families... and how much they are with me [or more spiritually... "are me"] today.   There are so many stories... some remembered by all , some remembered by just one of us .... and probably most of our stories forgotten by all.

Charlie had been here last year for a week to look around to see how he could participate and was all set to help develop a pediatric residency for UG and the Public Hospital; however, it was delayed and will be starting "Just Now." [For those illiterate in Guyanese, a translation is "It sure isn't now and don't hold your breath waiting".  

Charlie knew what Tony and I were doing and jumped right in with our students.  So did Cathy, who is on her first visit and is exploring future possibilities for how she might be helpful if  when she returns.  [Anyone else who'd like to explore possibilities is invited to contact us.  As Sister Sheila used to say, "I haven't met a volunteer I couldn't use!"]   Charlie and Cathy have both been a welcome addition to our tutor corps as their experience and expertise have energized the students.  As well, they are kinder than two of the tutors - and the two aren't Marysia or Claudette.

 

 We took them out to worship last Sunday, to Dr. Daniel and Tabitha Mallampati's mission congregation [LEFI] near the university.  Tabitha is now the Director of the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing programme at UG and has already begun recruiting Cathy for next year.

They also had the gourmet experience of Taju's Princess Kitchen.   Tony demanded that they go there as a way to hide his addiction to the ice cream. [Taju's ice cream is getting ever-better, even though some unknown and un-appealable Canadian immigration bureaucrat refused his visa request because ice cream and nursing don't go together.  Actually, Taju has gotten over it; I, on the other hand, am still mad at my own government.]  Tony has also begun teaching Taju's daughter and son, Althia and Tommy, how to play the guitar and keyboard respectively .....  he gives their lessons within sight of the ice cream ......

Of course, we all got to St. Ann's to visit with the girls and Sister Barbara who chatted with the visitors for a long time about the home and the girls.   They got an insiders' tour from Alma who was quite thrilled to have such an important responsibility.   

I don't think that I mentioned it last time, but Tony and I were over at St. Ann's earlier to get two of their computers working and connected to the internet, so the girls can do their homework.  Well, within a week, one of the fixed computers blew a monitor and so I switched it with another old one.  This is the pattern here:  many donations are used well before being donated [and donations are still a good thing] which usually means that their "trouble-free" period is quite short.  

Stream of consciousness:  orphans, girls, boys, old computers, new computers, Mercy, School of Nursing, wireless, IT department, new employee  --- Ah, to the point:  Hansel!   When I first got to Guyana, he was just a little weenee at John Bosco Home in Plaisance; and, now he is on the IT staff at the hospital - some very good things do happen!

Hansel, with Jennie, the IT Boss and the always helpful Dr. Tony

I started my cute(?)  "rat's tail" in the early 90's because it was trendy then, and then kept it just because it annoys people.  Now I think I have discovered its real meaning:  people all over Georgetown know me and remember me!   At the Brazilian barbecue place, I didn't recognize anyone- the owner, the waitress, the cooks... however, a beautiful young woman came over and started playing with my tail and saying, "I remember you... "  If there was ever a great pick-up line ......  and I was ready .....  She went on to tell me, "And you like your breasts rare" ..... Whoops -- I  think she actually said, ".... beef rare," and yes, I do.  

Many of the taxi drivers know without asking that I am headed to Mercy.  And yesterday on my travels I ended up yakking with a woman on the street because she remembered my conversation with her daughter when the girl was a patient at the hospital.  She recognized me by the tail; however, I am sure my words touched the child deeply!  And then at Bosco, one of the teachers knew me; she was a Lutheran and remembered --- the tail.   Speaking of being Lutheran, I am preaching across the river tomorrow and following up on the Revival Meeting of a week ago.  [I'll write about the whole experience next time.]  

And I really can't leave without a Tony Story.  We are getting along like an old married couple.   However, he still has some quirks [now fewer than 100] that I am trying to understand.  For instance his toothpaste roll.  I thought that I could go to the web and gain insight into such a seemingly violent approach to squeezing; however, I found that this particular pattern has yet to be described.  I have asked for help from the sites, but please feel free to comment.

Tony's Toothpaste Roll and used only for two days.

Thanks for getting this far... Take Care, John

Bits, Bites [including bran] and Big Thank You's... and Reconstruction - Erv's Nose and the Hospital Plant

Joy! Joy! Joy!   

I remember many years ago one of my children was having a terrible time with Genetics in university and had to wait for the final mark to arrive in the mail.  There was a Happy Happy Joy Dance on the kitchen floor after reading the report card.   Well, the first year students were equally excited about their new laptops!

It has taken a while to get everything organized, so the students could use the computers immediately.  Most of the setting-up, modifying, adapting, etc. [for example we loaded a free virus software and Open Office] was done by Dr. Tony.   I knew he was in charge because he was always yelling at me about something, e.g., "Now you have really screwed it up."   He did praise me, though, as being an excellent "dummy" to discover the problems...

On Tuesday morning, we borrowed the morgue trolley to transport the computers to the classroom.  Earlier we had distributed and explained the contract.  Basically, the hospital owns the laptops until the student graduates in 3 plus years with an RN and then the computer belongs to them.  There was no student who owned their own computer, though several had home access through a parental one.

Tony showing muted amazement that we were ready to distribute the netbooks

John handing out the computer boxes

The computers [netbooks] that many of you donated some dollars towards are from a company in China, Hongkong Fortruth Technology Co., Limited.   They are 10" netbooks in five colors, 1 Gg Ram, 250 GB Hard DD, Wifi card, etc... The costs per unit were approximately $210 US, including shipping.  All the computers are working satisfactorily ..... Amazing!

It was Christmas in September when we arrived at 11 am.   As we distributed the boxes, there was so much expectation in the room it was electric.   We tackled the most important task first ..... Choosing a color!  If you wanted a different colour you had to swap with someone who wanted yours ..... and the next miracle of the day was everyone got the colour that they had wanted!

Tony and I had spent the previous afternoon setting up and locking the router and extension cords in the classroom.  Now they could take it out of the box and record the serial number on the contract.  Then, Tony led them in a step by step process in a way that only a true obsessive can achieve...  Small problems, but no major difficulties; all the students were soon online with their own accounts.

Red, Yellow, Black, Pink, White

"Yours looks exactly like mine."

 

"Do you think Dr. Tony and Rev. John will know we are on Facebook?"

I have written many times before about the gratitude of the Guyanese students and on Tuesday it was overflowing.  They wanted to write THANK YOU! notes to everyone...  It meant that I had to find snail mail addresses.  So they are writing as I write this.  I don't think I missed anyone, but if you do not get a note within a month tell me and I'll get another one written to you.

Speaking of "Thank You"s, we cannot forget a couple more:   Guyana Christian Charities Canada through whom the overseas purchase was completed, and who along with the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas issued tax receipts to all who wanted them; and, finally,  Mr. Taju Olaleye who shared his shipping company as well as his living space to store all the computers till we arrived. 
Also, we have furnished the Internet Cafe at the School/Hospital with three large laptops for student and staff use.   The computers that we [I use the "royal we", as it was Tony mostly] had rebuilt, did not fare well in the humidity and heat even though the cafe is air-conditioned in the daytime.  The three new ones will be enough along with a few that had been donated from other sources.

Peace Corps Grant Computer

Anonymous #1

Anonymous #2

Two were received anonymously from Canada and one was from a grant by the FROG group of the Peace Corps.  They are present and past Peace Corps volunteers who had made the grant available.
The future work/study that these students will do will be the judge of the benefit of your sacrifice to make these donations possible.  I know that as their teachers, Tony and I are very grateful.

Speaking of Tony:  there is now a bran shortage in Guyana; major supermarkets have reported barren shelves where there were various packages of bran cereal.    The papers have indicated that it may be speculators in bran futures, drug cartels hiding the merchandise in boxes no one actually uses, or someone has been building a two story home made entirely of bran.   The answer is  -  it's Tony!

Morning Mound [for perspective:  that is a serving spoon and platter].

One of our bran shelves in the kitchen.

Finally, and probably most importantly...our colleagues, Dr, Malika Mootoo, a Mercy Pediatrician; a nurse, Dianne Daly, just starting to teach a critical care certificate course, and Dr. Erv Janssen, the senior statesmen of volunteers to Guyana, were involved in a car accident on Tuesday night.  They are all recovering; Dr, Erv took the worst of the collision and has been a patient at Mercy Hospital since then.  He has had some bruising and a broken nose that refused to stop bleeding, so required surgery early Wednesday morning to pack his nose. 

Who is this Masked Man?

 And then on Thursday, to cheer him up, we gave him the opportunity of teaching all the first year students in his room.  I had spent some time with them to get a couple of questions, but there was no need!  Erv was in good form and might still be teaching except that the students had to go home.

Always a teacher...even when on the "other side".

In the picture above, there is a sculpture on the wall - coloured balls.  Tony bet me I couldn't make up a story: So  just so you know, it is The Three-Eighteen Helix, a human gene that is responsible for human caring and it is commonly known as the Dr. Erv Janssen Gene...  The students were in awe of such a great man; however, Erv being a Good Lutheran and  overwhelmed with the need to tell the truth, said, "No, none of that is true!"  At least it was a good story.

Yippee! The CEO's new office

May I have a "finally" finally?  The shack above is a most welcome site at the hospital as it signifies the start of the rebuilding after the Fire of May 2010.  Much more in following blogs.

More than enough; thanks for coming with me.