Golden Jubilee and Final Thoughts

The Golden Jubilee is behind as is my service to the country of Guyana.  This blog is long as it is my final post here. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my trials and successes.  It's been something remarkable in many ways.  I did, in fact come away feeling as though I learned more than I taught.  Many told me this would be the case.  

The Golden Jubilee regalia was amazing throughout Georgetown, the capital city.  It dressed up the city as though it were an enormous birthday gift and in a sense, it was. Here are some photos of places around Georgetown that I have not posted before. 

National Library

Various commercial and government buildings all dressed up.

 National Trust back yard is beautiful even without the regalia......

I will miss Sandvoort Primary Head Miss, Miss Taylor!

 

I spent many an afternoon gaffing with my friend in the village.  I will miss Aeileen and her activities with The Sandvoort Heritage Group!

I enjoyed many Sundays with my friend, Rad in a nearby village.  I will miss her and her family. The good news is that she and the family come to Maryland occasionally and I am sure to see them again!  

And now, it’s finished.  I am now a RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER.  That being said, a whole new world could be at my fingertips.  But, before I go off calculating any new adventure, I just want to be a quiet GRANDMA for a while.  Reflecting, here is what I will miss and what I will not miss.

Not Gonna Miss!

Sweating constantly

The never ending dogs united after coitus, one dragging another down the street as other male dogs line up for their turn.

Barking dogs by the dozens at all hours

Listening to a language other than Standard English spoken on school grounds.

The lack of seasons

MOSQUITOES

Rashes and other unknown skin eruptions

The hair raising, Serenity Prayer reciting car rides to/from Georgetown

The red tape at every turn

Prepaid telephone and electricity

The complete lack of respect to road rules

Competing with cars, livestock, bicycles for walkway

The threat (and reality) of a snake in the house.

Crashed cars just left sitting

Bucket bathing

Foam mattresses than soon become cereal bowl shaped

The sound of some critters living in the ceiling

Lack of consistent and reliable telephone and internet

Struggling to understand and be understood

Rice

 

Will Miss

My host family

Friends

Peace Corps volunteers that became family

Finding a fresh fruit and vegetable stand on nearly every street.

Scarlet Ibis, Macaws and other exotic birds

The jaw dropping beauty of the country

The children popping up at the door with greetings

Colorful laundry draped on railings and lines in front of drab stilted houses

Curry made of just about anything

Listening to oldies in cars and the village (Everly Brothers to Heart…those decades)

The generosity of the children

The neighbors that shared garden veggies.

The sound of the cows making their way home at night in front of my house.

Watching the ponts float down the canal to the refinery

Crossing rivers in the speedboats

Pepperpot

 The lovely cloud formations

Monkeys in the back yard

Trenches filled with Victoria Regina ....the country Lily flower

Soca music!

Summing it all up ~

About seven months before close of service I started to think thoughts of appreciation.  Things I may never see or experience again.  Believe me, much of the time I spent in some sort of struggle with the aforementioned list.  As I recently said to a staff member, "Over time I will lose the struggle and only the charm and happy events will remain in my memory bank"! I am so grateful for the amazing experience!

I came to teach and I was focused and determined to make a difference.  I would like to say I have made a difference, but don’t ask me to describe it.  Sometimes these things are elusive.  Here is what I have learned:

Family carries utmost importance. I witness the multi-generations in houses or on their compounds.  Families operate as a business and there is cooperation that embodies “principle above personality”.  Maybe this is WHY it is difficult for me to see what I perceive to be improvement or willingness to adapt change. As a side note, my own family has made a deeper groove into my being.

Is “it” really that important?  Pondering is a good thing. I will remember those wonderful and relaxing moments lazing in my hammock all while soulful tunes pour out of my neighbor’s window.  Perhaps it is relaxing or meditative without being labeled with our Western titles. Ride the tide and quit behaving like a salmon in my surroundings.  As my Program Manager recently said, “Patty, my dear, please take it easy!” I came wishing to experience a different culture and that I have done.  It is not my place to change it!

Generosity lives in the poorest conditions.  No longer will I believe that one needs a bank account or know where the next “whatever” will come from.  These little children are teachers as I have watched one child squeeze out a bite of icy sweetness from a plastic tube from one outstretched hand to another and come offer some to me!  If I brought my liter of water to school and children ran out, it would not be uncommon for them to ask for my water.  Reluctant at first, I would get a flash of that above stated generosity and began to change my ways.

During the many isolated times, I would find myself playing with local food items and inventing a fusion dish that combined my many years of kitchen hours.  I have always loved to cook and, being the oldest of four girls, I started at about age 10 to experiment with foods and spices.  Of course, always more fun when shared so I looked forward to replicating for a gathering!

In addition, I had fun trying new things with my hair.  Have you ever worked with hair while your hands were damp?  After a while I realized talc comes in handy for just those times. I was labeled as the one with fancy hair styles at one of our volunteer training sessions.  HA!

Those who know me know that I keep everything from bread wire ties to cereal box liners.  BELIEVE me, those things came in handy!  I was proud to present a parents workshop to make teaching aids out of things parents might have normally burned!  Isolation is fodder for creation and I am no longer embarrassed by my little collections.  Parents at Sandvoort Primary were enthusiastic about the ability to pull together some cost effective teaching aids.  Who knew that little match boxes could make such nice “homes” for math time’s table mini flash cards!  I thought I would do one sessions with parents and then there was request for another!  Mothers were appreciative to be able to have some “ME” time and said they were ready to have a reason to have a women’s gathering of substance.  It was a true compliment.

I have read a lot of hard back pages.  I did not come with or leave with a Kindle or Kindle like device.  I did not keep a list of books, but I have read more in the last 27 months than in my school days!  In particular, I read three books by two authors that I know.  Interesting to KNOW the author.  Informative, and insightful…certainly fuel for reminiscence!

Finally, looking back to the days when I first contemplated the application and asked people to compose letters of recommendation for me…how will you ever know what impact your effort made in my life?  Thank you, thank you and thank you to Betty Merritt, Sherry Bigley and Guy Isobe.  You have no idea how many times I had thoughts of leaving early and your faces came to mind.  How could I not fulfill my commitment when you three vouched for me?  Letters of reference are not just for getting in the door.  I now realize they are exit barriers!  Clever system. Aside from those who wrote letters formally for the Peace Corps, there are the dozens of family, friends and acquaintances and really…folks I did not even know giving me the thumbs up and “you can do it" messages.  What power you all have…did you know that? 

What was the most difficult?  SO hard to focus on one.  Certainly, saying goodbye will be in the top 5.  Adjusting to my senior status and feeling isolated because of it was difficult emotionally.  Finding peace of mind among the chaos of constant changes to the plan was most difficult from a teaching standpoint.  Eating out was the most challenging from a lifestyle point of view.  I could buy most anything I might want to cook (if I wanted to pay the price) yet the meals outside my kitchen left me missing home.

What was the most rewarding?  The “AH HA” moments I saw in children AND teachers!  You teachers KNOW that is the best feeling to witness the expression of shock, amazement, pride and excitement come over a person’s face.  Yes, teachers would be amazed that over a summer a student would have improved as a result of my lessons or challenges.  Nothing to get in the newspapers about, but a huge sense of accomplishment!  Speaking of news, it was fun to see my attempt at starting a Zumba session at 6AM Sundays and how I felt as a volunteer away from home during holidays written up in the paper!  Better yet was my opportunity to address a big village gathering on Emancipation Day during the appearance of President David Arthur Granger in Sandvoort! I was quite surprised to have my landlord living in Holland email me that she saw me on YouTube!  Wow…technology! My last “hurrah” was being asked by the Regional Office of the Ministry of Education to take 3 children and make a commercial about the benefits of reading.  I just saw the commercial recently and it is something I am proud of.  Quite an honor to be asked!

I was pleased to help establish a Peace Corps Environmental Workbook AND present lessons at secondary schools.  After working at Primary level, I have to say that I was encouraged by what I saw in Secondary schools.  Children do seem to pull it all together and are quite knowledgeable!  I had a true sense of “passing the torch” at only my second presentation. It would be my last as the group following my group would start to take the lead.  The nice thing about the workbook was that some materials were developed to be appreciated at the Primary level and I did give some special sessions at my own school. 

Speaking of families, there are plenty members suffering and struggling with addictions of family members.  They don’t know what to do and make mistakes that leave them feeling frustrated, angry and afraid.  With the help of other Peace Corps Volunteers, the family support system of AL Anon was introduced in Region 6 more as “Family Support”.  I will forever be grateful that AL Anon members in the United States INVESTED in families in Guyana by sending a box of books and literature.  The process is slow, but there is HOPE.

So, I reflect now to a time before service where I was trying to decide if it was the right thing to do.  I recall a wise woman telling me, “Dear, sometimes our Peace Corps is in our own family.” Those words jolted me.  Now, I can safely say that they are even more meaningful now that I have lived among “salt of the earth” families.  I will venture back to my own family.  I will always be forever grateful for the support and understanding of my children.  I created a vacuum in their lives and the lives of their children.  I hope my leading by example in my elder years will rate higher than the sense of abandonment they may have felt. I have appreciated the tiny shred of connection that WhatsApp provided for my family, especially my sisters.  It meant everything to get a note of what was happening in their world and how favorite teams were performing through various seasons.

So, now I say “see you later” and travel out of Sandvoort, through Lochaber, Vrymen’s Ervin, New Amsterdam, Sheet Anchor, #2 Village, Palmyra,  Cotton Tree, Woodley Park, Experiment, Bath, Zee Zight, Number 12, Hope, Naastighed, Latchman Singh, Chester, Weldaad, Golden Fleece, Belladrum,  Catherinas Lust, Ndeeming, Hopetown,  Saint John, BelAir, Armadale, Lovely Lass, Overwagt, Trafalgar, Union, Temple, Yeovil, Ross, Brahan, Kingelley, Phoenix, Moor Park, Jacoba, Cottage, Bellevue, Number 40, Number 41, Seafield, Rising Sun, Hope, Paradise, Netdaadg, El Dorado, Foulis, Profit, Adventure, Letter T, Sans Souchi, Abary, Catherine, Calcutta, Recess Village, Novar, Mahaiconey, La Reasonal, Bushy Park, Belmont, Carlton Hall, Lowlane, Victoria, Gued Faith, Dundee, Airy Hall, Grove, Fellowship, Park, Mary, Fairm, Taymouth, Ormsary, Yorkshire, Drill, Sarah, Nowornever, Perseverance, Planters Hall, Zealand, DeKinderan, Quakers Hall, Bath, Fairfield, Broomhall, Harmony Hall, Prospect, Glaziers Lust, Columbia, Dantzig, Content, Mes Deldere, Belvedere, Ana Grove, Belfield, Enmore, Georgetown, Sousdyke, Timehri and more!  Apologies for misspelling and missing many more, but our car flies! 

And now my friends, so long from Guyana!