Construction Site Living, Graduation and Gratitude

"Be careful what you wish for."   I can't remember for sure from whom I heard those words, though it was probably a nun with a yardstick intent on destroying any adolescent daydreams.   However: I had been wishing that the construction at the hospital would have gotten going last year; well, now it has begun in full force.   And their staging work area is under, next to, beside, around and in between everything we need to get to and from.   Mercy-fully, it is less than a war zone only in the sense that it has a beneficent schedule; the work noise begins at a respectable 7AM and so far has finished by 5PM and just six days a week.

Beside

Under

Next to

In Between

The decision was made to gut the "new" wing which is a concrete structure and re-configure the insides to get more usable space - that is, more patient rooms and professional offices.  The major factor for the decision was the amount that Mercy was able to raise for the construction.  An entirely new building to replace the Colona Building that was burned to the ground was way too expensive.   Like the signature hole on a golf course, the Colona building was the signature point for Mercy Hospital, especially with Sr. Sheila's beloved and well lit cupola with cross.

Colona Building - a GT Landmark

In somewhat untypical Guyanese style, the construction is going along at a torrid pace.   The renovations are starting on the top floor and working their way down.  In the first week, it looks as if the whole top floor has been gutted and the reconstruction has begun.

As well, the new building for Materials Management and the Maintenance Department has a foundation being laid out and is waiting for some concrete to form the foundation.

Almost All by Hand and in the SUN

A moment of reflection:  I saw some of my old '60's buddies at the Wall Street demonstrations.  They looked almost the same as they did back then.  I have to admit that I don't really follow the news when I am here, so do not know enough about the whole thing ..... except that if they are there, I'll support their cause.   (Lack of evidence has not stopped me before from having an opinion!)

These men work hard and long - and in a heat and humidity that gets me tired walking in the shade.  I would think that they earn about $10.00 Canadian a 10 hour day.   And while it might be somewhat cheaper to live here, AND they have all probably dropped out of school before a high school graduation, AND jobs are all low-paying or non-existent (they were offering a relief RN at Mercy $10.00 Canadian for a 12 hour shift), this is my thought .... If there's a bunch of people who make $1,000,000 Canadian a year AND we assume that they work 365 days a year AND 10 Hours every day, they are still earning 274 times as much as:

Riches are strangely relative...

• "Enough" is seemingly more than one has, while "Too Much" is equally more than one has... AND "Not Enough" comes closer to expressing one's present wealth. This slippery statement seems true whether one makes the $10 or the $1,000,000.
• And just as relative are the judgments:   Those who make more than we do, somehow do not really deserve it, while those who earn less do so deservedly.   This slippery statement too seems true whether one makes the $10 or the $1,000,000.
• As well, there's the thought that everyone considers themselves generous; and would gladly share more - if they made more.  This slippery statement too seems true whether one makes the $10 or the $1,000,000. 

If I were god and got the chance to re-construct society, I do think that I'd give the John Rawl's "just society" a try.  [It is too bad a previous god never thought of it.]   The idea is something like this:  Sometime before you  are born, you get to design any type of society that you wished. [This assumes that the pre-birth individual has an adult mind - well, maybe an adult woman's, as babies, male adolescents and men might take chances not supported by any odds or reason.]  The only proviso to your design is that you would not know to which part of your society  you would be born.  

I doubt that many of us would design a world that resembles our present one; however, we are content to live in it... or at least, not engage in any significant revolution that would bring our personal Rawlian fantasy closer to reality.  It is almost impossibly hard to get past our own self-interests.

I do not know why I spend time thinking of this as nothing is ever going to change (is it?)....... so just bring on the gladiators, athletes, celebrities, the rich and famous for our viewing pleasure and envy as the "poor will always be with us"... an inerrant truth, no?

Before I depress myself even more:  MY first year nursing students of 2007 had their graduation celebration... and they even remembered me.   It was a service in the true formal Guyanese sense ...... a ponderous and uneventful ritual that belied the joy of the graduands.  

Me and graduate Evelyn.

As well, Tony and I were invited to their dinner celebration at the Pegasus where I had to pose for another picture with Evelyn.  There is something to be said for uniforms as "some" teachers might not be able to concentrate on the right subjects!

Out with the CEO - Dr. Tony's and Rev. John sport coats were compliments of Stanton's Mensware.

And finally, for the first time in  9 years, the first year students celebrated "Teacher Appreciation Day".  They treated all the tutors to entertainment, tributes, song and food.  It was lively and fun... The students did it all overnight.   I was truly touched by their appreciation... and thoroughness.   Of course all the teachers (except Tony and I) cancelled their classes -  in appreciation too.

All were escorted to the classroom

We all received special certificates.

And a Homemade Brunch

More than enough ..... I have to quit for this week.  When /I look back on all the stuff that I haven't written about I understand why I am tired at the end of the day. 

Take care,
John

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