First Day at Work

I am busy meeting my new colleagues at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development. I didn't realise that there are so many people working here, 75! Our room is quite cool and has a kettle and cups available, so that is good. The computers are still to arrive, so I am writing this in the IT room which has six computers with internet access and six which don't. We have been listening to at various meetings and introductory chats today, so we have a lot to process. But we have an event on Tuesday 8 September which is National Literacy Day. We hope to do add on something about Special Needs. They are putting out a radio promotion to suggest that everyone in offices all around the country stops work for 10 minutes to read a book at 1.30 pm. I have set up a meeting with someone who works in advocacy for Eyecare Guyana, so I will find out more about how it is for people with visual impairment in these parts. But my job is about all special needs not just VI.
I spent quite a lot of time at the weekend on two hobbies: cooking local recipes for VSO friends, and helping fix punctures on the very cheap bikes we bought last week. We are just off to complain at the bike shop, and try to get some better inner tubes.
cheers
Kate

Trip out of Georgetown

Today two of us went out to visit a couple of volunteers who are about 6 miles out of Georgetown, they are going to be working at the Teacher Training College. The minibuses give a rather wild ride, weaving in and out of the traffic, blowing the horn and stopping suddenly to pick up anyone who looks like they may like a ride, but they're very cheap. The area was quite different from being in town, big wide verges and houses set in gardens. Some of the houses are very posh, but in other parts they are little more than shacks. We visited the market which was much quieter than in Georgetown so it was easier to look at all the interesting fruit and vegetables on sale. There is thunder around today, and it may rain. Last time some of the roads were flooded a few inches, they say that our area floods so we need to get ourselves some wellies.

Houses and bikes

I have visited some houses that the other volunteers are living in, and ours is a really nice house, with everything working OK. I am hoping to get mesh on the windows which will be a good mosquito barrier when it gets a problem in the rainy season which starts in November. Some of the other volunteers have no running water yet, or are next to a liquor store. We had a visit from a Peace Corps volunteer yesterday evening, she lives just behind us, and is working in an HIV/AIDS project. She's been in country for a while and knows some things to do which are free, like having Spanish lessons at the Venezuelan Embassy. My housemate is interested as well so we may go to a beginners class. It gets dark at 6.30 pm, and it is unwise to go out alone in the dark, so it is good to have some companions who join in with.
Today four of us have been buying new bikes, the others are nervous about cycling, so I have some skills to share with them. I am also hoping to be useful in fixing up bikes and punctures. Tomorrow we have a trip to town to go round the market with one of our landladies, so that will be useful to get used to how to buy fruit and veg and prices.

Moved in and half a day at work

I have moved into my house. It is fine, our landlady is a lovely old lady from Trinidad who made us welcome and showed us everything. So I felt at home enough to sleep well which is the main thing. We are in an upstairs flat which has a big lounge area with a TV, a balcony leading off, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so that is pretty cool. It is literally cool as well as we have ventilation from all sides so there was a good breeze in the night, so I did not have to keep the fan on, so that is quieter. I have lots of sorting out to do later today.
There are three of us working at NCERD which is the National Centre for Educational Resource Development. We went in this morning to have a meeting with the Principal and some key staff. It was good to meet people and find our way around. I found out a bit more about what I will be doing:
Upgrade competence of teachers in Special Schools
Raise awareness of special needs throughout the country
Work with Ministry of Health about screening
Liaise with the National Commission for Disability
Carry on with the work of the last volunteer who left 6 months ago.
Produce learning materials
Talk on radio and use publications to promote our work
Travel around to do needs assessments
Assist with maths and science phobics!
That should keep me busy....

Relaxation time

Some of us have joined the pool at the very posh hotel which is next door to where I will be working. I was in the pool at 6 this morning, it's cooler then. I think the hotel charges 200 pounds a night, so is aimed at diplomats and ex patriates. We have been noticing how many staff there are everywhere, just the opposite of the UK. There are security people on the door, three staff on reception, then it's another person's job to smile and hand you a towel. People here are on very low salaries but make up for it by insisting on recognition of status - very smart and very bureaucratic. For instance I have bought a mobile phone - you have to take your passport, they print a receipt, stick tax stamps on the back, sign it, rubber stamp it, then you go to someone else to pay for it. We are warned that it takes ages to get anything agreed - for instance if you want to get some stationery at work there will be a long winded procedure with different staff having to agree. As my placement is at the Ministry of Education I am expecting this to be even more extreme - watch future blogs! So the name of the game is to take it easy, to slow down and go at the local pace - the saying is that things will be done "just now" which means between 5 minutes and a week.
Today we get to meet our employer and move into our accommodation - mine is a three bedroom house shared with another volunteer. Then we get the rest of the week off, so we can settle down into shopping, cooking, and generally finding our feet. I'm getting an allowance to buy a bike today.
Nature notes: saw a tiny hummingbird this morning close to the National Park which is the jogging place.

Seawall in Georgetown

Just to prove that I am really here! The sea wall is a good evening place to stroll and catch the breeze.

Settling in

Over the weekend we have been relaxing and getting used to Georgetown. We have had a tour of the shops - that's the veg market as well as the shopping mall which has the only escalator in Guyana. We've had a stroll on the beach which is pretty dirty, so not for swimming. Some of us are clubbing together to join a pool/gym at the posh hotel, which is over the road from NCERD where three of us are working.
On Sunday some of us got a minicab over to the Botanical Gardens, they have a manatee in a pool, we saw its back, nose, tail and find, but not all at the same time. The afternoon was a pot luck supper at a volunteer's flat - we had a chance to talk things over with current volunteers including a blind volunteer [for RNC readers she knows Hetal B!]. I went to the church service at the Anglican Church, it is one of the biggest wooden buildings in the world - it has a couple of pigeons flying around the roof, so is a bit like Marden Church...
I'm getting more used to the heat, certainly for walking around the city. I've got a morning run sorted - that's starting at 6 am when it is cool enough. There is a National Park where there are loads of other joggers so that is a safe place to run and there are shady trees. I've seen loads of weird and wonderful birds, butterflies, flowering plants and trees. Georgetown varies from elegant colonial white wooden buildings surrounded by palm trees, to very poor areas with people sleeping rough, but everywhere are filthy ditches and scattered rubbish. Mozzies are not too bad so far - they are apparently worse in the rainy season which starts around December. I hope to get some pictures loaded soon, but this computer is Windows 98 so does not work. I am asking a friend who has a laptop to help.
Cheers Kate

Arrival

Arrived safely at 11 pm Guyana time, which is 5 am UK time. We are staying at a guesthouse for the first couple of weeks - it is a traditional wooden house in quite a quiet area, although apparently it may be a bit noisier tonight as there is a bar across the road. There are twelve new volunteers who all arrived yesterday, so we are doing the introductions and getting to know the staff at the VSO Office today. Some of us walked up to the sea wall first thing, someone was swimming but it looks pretty muddy as it is close to the mouth of the Demarara river. It was very hot and humid overnight, but we had the fan on low so it was passable. I have not seen a mosquito yet! The guesthouse will be cooking for us - it was bacon eggs and cheese today, with lots of refills of tea, so I am feeling more with it.
Love Kate

Week to go!

One week to go and things are getting sorted at last. I've got the main bags packed and weighed, and just the last minute shopping to do now. I fly out to Guyana on Thursday 13 August, and then have 10 days of orientation in country before starting work.
Those of you who are successfully reading this - do you have any hints about how to get into this blog? - then I'll pass them on to people who can't!
Cheers
Kate