Working and relaxing

At work I'm writing a half module on visual impairment - adjusting it all to fit the situation here - which is that the support staff themselves have very little know-how and very few resources. So it is about making things bite sized and straight forward in simple language, while trying to retain the correct professionalism.
Had a good bird watching morning on Saturday, we saw three toucans which are a real treat, then a couple of mini woodpeckers. They are about half the size of the UK ones, and creep up the tree. Bird watching is a good hobby as it has that WOW factor - lots of things in Guyana are not very wow, so it brightens things up.
Have got our trip booked up for next week for three nights at Rockview Lodge, which is an eco lodge on the way to Lethem, then three nights staying with a couple of VSO volunteers in Lethem. It is the rodeo weekend, so there should be plenty going on, if only people watching. This is my first bit of leave, so that will be great whatever. We are going on an overnight bus where they pull you off at various checkpoints, so it is a bit exhausting.
Have got a couple of tickets for the cricket 20 20 which is May 3 - W Indies v England. I'm not really into cricket, but it is for the experience.
Yesterday I met a woman from the US who is researching about abuse of women and children in Guyana. The statistic is that one third of children get corporal punishment at home. It is also still legal in schools for head teachers to administer. I have seen teachers carrying a cane or equivalent as a way of getting children to behave. The attitude of men towards women here is very old fashioned - women are expected to be in the home. We experience very different attitudes towards men and women at work, if men are in trouble it is a jokey matter, but for women it is not.
Cheers

Course writing going well

Having a productive time at work - the first module of the special needs course is nearly ready to be printed, and I have started to write a half module on visual impairment. Everything you want to say has to be brought down a few levels to match the local situation, and you have to put in examples to make it easier to understand. I have another week to go before taking a week off before Easter. All our proposals connected to special needs are going into an appeal to UNICEF, so hopefully some of them will get through.
We have a few things lined up for the weekend - tonight is a VSO social for the new batch of volunteers. It is at a roof top bar with free snacks and drinks - it's a shame that I don't drink alcohol isn't it? Nice view though, and it is good to catch up with how everyone is getting on, especially as I am now a bit more positive about my work.
Then Saturday evening we have bridge with our friend from the American Embassy who provides the most scrummy snacks in the world, and insists that we always go round there. I think she feels more comfortable being at home with her security guard at the gate, rather than swanning around the town visiting dubious characters like us.

Donkey Cart picture

See blog below!

Donkey Cart

These carts are used for general deliveries of timber etc or for picking up grass cut from the verges. The horses are quite thin, and are often left to stand for long periods in the heat. But there is plenty of grass for them on the verges when it has rained. On the back of the carts they often have a verse from the Bible, including the reference.
You can see in the background the contrast between the old house made of wood and the new house made of concrete. But you can't assume that the old house looks scruffy inside. There are huge contrasts everywhere - for instance opposite where I work there is an old man who sleeps rough, boiling up a pot of water over a fire, right in front of a massive new bank building, which looks a bit like a temple. They were watering the new grass inside yesterday, while we are in the middle of water rationing because of the failure of the rains.

Thoughts on a Sunday afternoon

Quiet weekend - it has been a bit cooler which is a blessing - more breeze. I tried out my flatmate's hammock as she is away and decided to rig one up on my balcomy, which works pretty well.
Wildlife in the house: blue and green lizards about 5 inches long - they are rather cute. We have the occasional cockroach - you don't stamp on them because then they release their eggs. You try to catch them with a glass and a bit of card, and chuck them out of the window. Yesterday I heard birdsong very loudly - like a blackbird, and there was a grey version sitting high up in the kitchen. All the windows and doors are open (with security grills) so they can get out easily. We also often have small bats diving around at dusk. Wild ants will come if you leave the smallest crumb on the worksurface - they are very small and get into anything, so you have to keep things shut tightly.

This is the lodge at Arrowpoint, which is the tourist place where we went for the day. Jungle walk, mountain biking and canoeing (in plastic canoes, not dugout - hope to have a ride in a dugout on the next trip!).

Hunting

This is an Amerindian guide who was showing us how they wait for wild animals in the night. They sit up on this when there is a tree fruiting nearby, and they do animal calls hoping the animals will come. He said that they keep a lucky seed in their pocket which means that the animals are more likely to come. In the old days they would shoot with bow and arrow, but nowadays with a gun.