This was another very busy day! Our training group met at our training facility at Red Grounds and we were taken to Georgetown, about an hour away. Our large group was broken down into many little groups with a PC staff member escorting us. Good thing! Georgetown is busy and aggressive! There are RED ZONES that PC volunteers are not to be in. However, on this escorted tour, we were shown some of those areas. PC is a smart group of people. We all know that if we are told we can't do something, we will explore to see what the big deal is. So, we saw and we are informed. Those areas are high risk areas for many reasons. As with anything, there is a bright side and I was amused when I saw an ox walking side by side with a little duck...best of friends!
Our vehicle parked to let us out near Stabroek Market, built in 1881. We made our way into a multi- floor shopping center something like a general store. Once again, I attempted to buy stamps and could not. One of these days I will be able to get to a POST OFFICE! From there, we hailed a taxi. I must say that taxis are the most aggressive I have ever seen with one jumping in front to claim us. However, our PC escort, trainer Julie was on to the driver and bypassed that aggressive behavior. It did not stop there, as there is also a conductor in these taxis and that person hopped out to grab ahold of Julie's arm. I was astounded with the behavior and impressed with Julie's composure! After a short hop we walked to a food court, to St. George's Cathedral and another shopping area before catching another taxi headed to the zoo. I might add that the taxis are 15 passenger mini vans and they are CRAMMED! We arrived at the zoo and had a nice walk about before setting out for another ride through some key areas such as the seawall area, and Umana Yana - constructed by one of the indigenous tribes to honor all who have struggled for freedom. We saw High Court, City Hall, Parliament, US Embassy and finally the Peace Corps office. Although an outdoor market exists, we did not have enough time to visit it and practice our bartering. Not to be forgotten, we stopped to see fashions from India in the Sophia neighborhood. Oh yes, I will be back here. What an array of nice clothing! We had an amazing and informative experience. We debriefed at the PC office before being taken back to our village. I enjoyed seeing many of my trainee friends dropped off at their host family homes. Our PC driver, Andrew was fantastic and kind, stopping for ice cream along the way.
I am now exhausted and going to enjoy sleeping in...I hope!
Good night, all!
Our vehicle parked to let us out near Stabroek Market, built in 1881. We made our way into a multi- floor shopping center something like a general store. Once again, I attempted to buy stamps and could not. One of these days I will be able to get to a POST OFFICE! From there, we hailed a taxi. I must say that taxis are the most aggressive I have ever seen with one jumping in front to claim us. However, our PC escort, trainer Julie was on to the driver and bypassed that aggressive behavior. It did not stop there, as there is also a conductor in these taxis and that person hopped out to grab ahold of Julie's arm. I was astounded with the behavior and impressed with Julie's composure! After a short hop we walked to a food court, to St. George's Cathedral and another shopping area before catching another taxi headed to the zoo. I might add that the taxis are 15 passenger mini vans and they are CRAMMED! We arrived at the zoo and had a nice walk about before setting out for another ride through some key areas such as the seawall area, and Umana Yana - constructed by one of the indigenous tribes to honor all who have struggled for freedom. We saw High Court, City Hall, Parliament, US Embassy and finally the Peace Corps office. Although an outdoor market exists, we did not have enough time to visit it and practice our bartering. Not to be forgotten, we stopped to see fashions from India in the Sophia neighborhood. Oh yes, I will be back here. What an array of nice clothing! We had an amazing and informative experience. We debriefed at the PC office before being taken back to our village. I enjoyed seeing many of my trainee friends dropped off at their host family homes. Our PC driver, Andrew was fantastic and kind, stopping for ice cream along the way.
I am now exhausted and going to enjoy sleeping in...I hope!
Good night, all!
Happy Mother's Day, Patty! Keep writing because I'm enjoying your blog very much!
ReplyDeleteHey Patty, glad I finally read this! You are a fine writer and I thoroughly appreciated all the great visual details. Glad to hear your Saturday was a bit more upbeat. There will be times for you to get together with other PCs and friends you may make for regular adult fun in Georgetown--so keep your eye out for nice eateries as well as shopping opps. You can't work ALL the time, and may even get a good assignment there, so keep lobbying for what works best for you. Sorry to be so "advice-y" here, but I assure you I have complete faith in your ability to do all this and discover what works for you ON YOUR OWN as you have definitely crossed a threshold here and are onto a new phase of discovering Patty's awesome strengths and abilities--besides excellent blogging--A+ Lay out in the sun today after mother's day feast at my godmom's and enjoyed a rare, happy, hour long conversation with my son who actually CALLED ME!!! Huge! Love and hugs, will read more soon as you write it--vicki
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the information about Guyana. I love reading it and keeping up with all that is going on with you.
ReplyDelete