One tenth gone!

 

8.3.13

Tomorrow we will have been in Guyana for three months and a tenth of our time has gone.  Tonight we are having a meal at the hotel and a bottle of overpriced wine to mark the occasion and cheer us up!  It is so lovely to have a hot shower and use the internet! 

This has been a difficult week for me and the frustrations of life here have really got me down – especially the problems with communication – our phone has now been fitted for over two weeks but is still not connected.  Mark has been trying to contact the phone company every day to find out what is happening but no-one seems to want to solve the problem or help us so it is very depressing.  L  I have had some lovely encouraging emails from friends and family which help me keep going when the times are tough. 

Electrical currents

Just to give you an idea of some of the frustrations, there are two electrical currents in Guyana 110V and 220V and we never know which current the sockets are. We bought a portable CD player when we arrived and at a church they told us the wrong current so it blew up when we tried to play a CD.  Then we sent it off somewhere to be fixed (but haven’t had it back yet!) and bought a new CD player so that we had a back up – then this week we went to a school and asked what the current was – the teacher told us it was 110V so we switched the player to 110V and plugged it in and it promptly blew up!  The teacher then said, ‘Oh no it’s 220V upstairs’.  AAGGHH!!!  So now we have two CD players being repaired and now have to buy a third one to use in the meantime.  By the time we go we are going to have a CD mountain to give away!  At this rate my weekly shopping list is going to read...bread, milk, cheese, CD player!!

Better news…

This week Jo and Ayo booked their flights to come and visit us in November and today we booked flights for my Mum and Emily to come and see us in September so that is exciting – we can’t wait to show someone around and share the experience!  Also, we go on holiday in 5 weeks and we both need this break really badly!  And…finally I weighed myself on the scales at the hotel gym today and have lost about 12 pounds since being here which is great and I haven’t even tried!  I’m planning to put it all back on while we are on holiday though!!  Ha!   

 

 

Busy week

4.3.13

You can tell I’ve been busy as I haven’t had time to update my blog until now!! And with dodgy internet that adds to the delay!

Expats social

I signed up to an expats group on the internet and they arranged a social evening at a jazz bar last Thursday so we went along.  It was SO nice to dress smartly and have somewhere to go!  There were about 20 people from the UK, Canada, USA, Dominican Republic, India and Jamaica.  We had a few drinks and listened to the jazz, which was surprisingly good!  It was a pleasant evening and we look forward to the next event and hopefully to get to know the people better.

On our day off we discovered a nice place to eat called Oasis Café which is where a lot of expats apparently hang out.  It had the feel about it of Boston’s Tea Party in Exeter!  We had steak and chips for lunch which was really tasty!  In the evenings this café changes it’s name and becomes a licensed restaurant – we have noticed a few places change their names according to the time of day which adds to the confusion for us foreigners!  We also went to buy a new fridge/freezer for the manse as the old one had packed up and we had to throw away a lot of stuff L.  It was delivered on Saturday and it’s SO nice to have ice cubes again and cold food that doesn’t rot in the fridge!

Training day

On Saturday I led my first training day for workers with children and young people – it had taken me HOURS to prepare for so I was really hoping someone would turn up!  Sixteen had put their names down but only 12 turned up – nonetheless I was pleased that ANYONE had bothered when the people’s lives are SO busy.  I talked about looking at our motivations for doing children’s work, reflecting on our own lives as we lead them, the spirituality of children, discipline and safeguarding – then after lunch shared practical ideas for creative prayers, crafts, storytelling, music etc and everyone seemed to engage with the fun and participate! 

Mark was my glamorous assistant and sorted all the techie stuff and played his guitar as well as introducing them to Nettie!  I had planned some songs on CD but we had a power cut for about 3 hours of the day which scuppered those plans and made me glad I hadn’t done a PowerPoint! 

I had some really encouraging feedback at the end of the day on the evaluation forms – my favourite parts were those where people said they would try to boost children’s self esteem and separate the behaviour from the child as well as those who said they would try some creative ideas!  Hooray!  It was an exhausting 5 hours of teaching but I felt it was worth it. 

Cultural evening

On Saturday evening we went to a cultural evening in Georgetown arranged to entertain the team from the US who are here on their annual mission trip to help rebuild and revamp church buildings.  They are a great team and we loved them being here and being able to chat to them.  I have learned to have low expectations of social events here but it was actually an enjoyable evening with some entertaining acts.  Mark and I did a whistle-stop guide to British culture and how to get on better with a British person (eg. show up on time!!) and everyone seemed to think it was funny!  Hopefully they were laughing with us rather than at us!!  Ha! 

Youth group

On Sunday we had our usual two long services in the morning (this time in another circuit as Mark had to do a pulpit exchange) and as it had been an early start we wanted to have a nap in the afternoon – this wasn’t to be as our noisy neighbour who plays music loudly from about 6 every morning decided to blast our VERY loud ‘music’ for about three hours – the base shook the house and gave me a headache along with the stress of the row!   We hosted the Mahaica youth here in the evening and had our first ‘real’ conversation with them – the discussion ranged from drinking alcohol to masturbation and it was great to be with people who didn’t mind what they said to us!  I really enjoyed having them here and look forward to meeting them again. 

Finally updates…

We have been given permission now to go into the children’s home in Mahaica so that is an answer to prayer and we are going in next week.  As for the phone….still no connection and it’s been installed almost two weeks now – it’s starting to get me down now.  L  Mark spoke to a manager this morning who says there is a fault on the line but still no idea how or when it will be sorted.  Very depressing! 

 

Roller coaster

26.2.13

Aftermath of MASH

On Saturday Guyana celebrated the MASH festival in Georgetown with a parade of floats and dancers – we didn’t go as it looked like being too crowded but we saw a bit of it on TV and it looked like everyone was having a great time!   However, when we went into Georgetown on Monday we saw the aftermath which consisted of even more rubbish than usual – it was shocking to see the amount covering the roads, verges and into the canals.  There was also smashed glass all along the road edges from the beer and rum drinking that went on – all in all we were glad we hadn’t been there Saturday!  We just can’t understand the mentality of people who have so little pride in their country and city and it makes us so sad.  Guyana is advertised as an ‘Eco-tourist’ destination which makes the huge amounts of rubbish even more distressing. 

Bad day

Sunday was the dip in the roller coaster weekend…we were leading two services at 8am and 11am but both felt a bit flat and low because of the apparent apathy in the churches.  The first service we went to was quite cheerful and lively but at the second chapel there were hardly any people there and no-one seemed interested in being there.  While Mark was preaching everyone was just chatting to each other like they were at a coffee and chat and I found it hard not to get angry with them for being so rude.  I just don’t understand why they come at all if they are not interested.  We were going to do an open air preach but no-one came to support us so we abandoned that! 

Good day!

Then Monday we had several things to cheer us up and encourage us!  Firstly we received a parcel from England with a book and some favourite sweeties and only had to wait half an hour at the customs desk for it!  We also bought some resources for ministry including a laminator and a portable amp – we laughed because we can potentially now play music extremely loudly and compete with our noisy neighbours.  We figured there is a gap between about 2am and 6am when no-one is playing music so we thought we’d play ‘Silent Night’ on repeat at a great volume between those times so that there is music constantly 24 hours a day!! 

We also had a boost as we found some Cadbury’s crème eggs and mini eggs in a shop!  Then in the evening we went to a welcome service for a team of Americans who come every year from North Carolina to help rebuild chapels here and do children’s work.  They had kindly brought us a bag of goodies that are hard to get here, including olive oil, coffee, baking ingredients, tampons and some little instruments to use with the children!  Bless their hearts!  We went to bed Monday feeling a lot more cheerful than we had on Sunday! 

Update on phone

Hahahahahahahaha! 

The phone and line were fitted on Thursday last week but still no connection.  We have called them every day since and they just keep saying it is a problem with the line but have no suggestions as to how it is going to get sorted.  So although we are at the point of giving up hope of ever having a phone or internet we keep holding on and praying for a miracle.

As for the water, the plumber seems to have improved the water pressure so we are enjoying being able to flush the toilet and wash our hands (in the sink!) AT THE SAME TIME!   Hooray!

 

 

 

 

 

A colourful week!

Here are some photos of this week...

Our lap top set up to watch DVDs people are kindly sending us

MASH parade

The van with the very loud music!

Teacher Carolyn and Teacher Petal

MASH

The children were dressed to represent natural resources of Guyana

Happy children!

Bright and cheerful



A lot of bottom wiggling going on!

Dressed to represent the different races in Guyana - Europeans dressed in suits and long white dresses!

Teacher Dawn - teh lovely head of Helena School

Rasta on a bike with a parrot!  Random scene!

Dressed as European women - I told the head that I dress like this all the time at home!

One of our youth helping trim the trees for the phone line.

Having fun with the parachute sent to us by friends in Lincoln

Little Jude watching the fun - I love the woolly hat in 30 degree heat!

Everyone came to join the fun!

Two little onlookers

MASH!

The 23^rd February is a national holiday in Guyana called Republic Day.  On this day they celebrate becoming a Republic in 1970.  The day is also known as ‘Mashramani’ which is an Amerindian word which means ‘celebration at the end of the hard work’.   It seems to be a very popular holiday and is affectionately known as ‘MASH’ for short!  Tomorrow there will apparently be a parade through Georgetown with music and floats and from the pictures we’ve seen it looks something like I imagine the Notting Hill Carnival to be. 

This week the schools have been getting ready to celebrate ‘MASH’ and we were invited to go yesterday and join our two local schools in their own parade from the schools down into Mahaica market.  Sadly, Mark was not able to come as we had the plumber here all morning trying to sort the water pressure and a phone engineer to install a landline (more on that later!). 

I started at our nearest school, Mahaica Primary.  Each class were dressed to represent different resources in Guyana – oil, water, gold, sugar, forestry and human resources.  The children processed behind a van carrying massive speakers blasting out Caribbean tunes at an incredible volume!  I had to cover my ears when I got too close to the van as it was actually painfully loud – poor kids! 

We walked past one of the other schools we go into, Helena Primary and they joined the parade.  Their children were dressed in the colours of the Guyana flag and waving little flags and looked spectacular.  They also had some children dressed to represent the different racial groups in Guyana and it made me laugh at what the ‘European’ people were wearing – boys in suits and ties and girls in long white dresses with gloves, hats and parasols!  I said to the head that is exactly how Mark and I dress usually! 

I enjoyed processing along with the children and having a little boogie.  Some of the parents who came along were giving it some with the bottom wiggling!  All the locals came out of their houses and shops to watch the parade.  It all turned a little bizarre once we got to the market as some of the parents started drinking beer (it was still only about 11.30am) and it seemed were unable to hold their drink as they became very lewd and started ‘dancing’ very inappropriately in front of the children with men passing by and doing vulgar things with beer bottles.  I was quite shocked that they were behaving like this on a school event but the head just sighed and said the parents are out of control.  Very sad that they don’t know how to have fun without getting carried away.  As I used to say to my children at school, ‘There is a difference between having fun and being silly!’  

We turned around and paraded back to Mahaica – by now everyone was a bit jaded in the heat and when I got back I was exhausted (and a little sunburnt despite using sun cream and holding an umbrella all the way there and back!).  Towards the end of the parade I was passed on the road by a Rasta on a push bike with a parrot on his handlebars!  So random!

(Photos to follow!) 

As for the phone – the very curt (aka rude) engineer fitted a line and phone but as yet it doesn’t work so now we are trying to contact the company to ask when they will turn on our connection or to find out if they have connected the line incorrectly.  The saga continues!   We feel we are climbing a vertical cliff this week! 

Water and electricity - one at a time please!

Part of the fun of living here is getting used to the inconsistencies!  As I mentioned before our water pressure is so low at times we are down to a dribble.  This means that we can only use one water source at a time – so if we are about to have a ‘shower’ we can’t flush the toilet and the other one of us has to refrain from cleaning our teeth.  It also means that the washing machine has to be turned off while we wash up or go to the loo.   Add to the mix the weak electricity current which means we can only use one electrical appliance at a time and it all becomes very complicated! 

So in the morning if I want to wash and dry my hair and do some washing, I have to wait until the machine is full of water before using the taps and then wait until the rotor blade has stopped turning before using my hairdryer and heaven help us if Mark tries to make toast at the same time!  The whole system grinds to a halt!!  We’re getting used to it now but it certainly adds to the frustration and I do miss being able to use water and electricity without thinking!  Today we have a plumber here to sort out the water pressure – he has been here for about 2 hours now and it is still no different!  Hoping he can get it sorted so we can have more than a dribble of a shower!

This Friday we are booked to stay at the hotel again as we are desperate for a hot shower that actually makes us wet! 

Tomorrow we are joining two local schools to celebrate MASH!  I will tell you all about it once we’ve been and hopefully upload some photos on Friday! 

 

 

A difficult weekend

18.2.13

On Thursday evening we had a text from Emily saying she had been involved in a car accident on the Isle of Wight.  Thankfully she was unhurt, just shaken by it – apparently a drunk driver had hit a car which then went into her car.  Although I tried to call her mobile from my mobile I couldn’t get a connection, which I found very upsetting.  It made me realise just how far away from everyone we are and how helpless we are in any emergency.  All I wanted to do was get on a plane and go to her but I knew I couldn’t and all we could do was pray for her and try to contact her via text and email.  We managed to Skype her briefly on Friday from the hotel with wifi and it was sad not to be able to give her a hug. L She was moving into her new flat on Saturday which was tricky without her car but we are so thankful that Mark’s cousin and her husband, along with her boyfriend’s parents all helped her move in – they were her surrogate parents for the day!  I hadn’t realised how hard it would be not to do the usual ‘mummy’ things and guess that is another part of the sacrifice of being here really.  Today we had an email saying she is really happy in her new flat and can at last settle down so we are really thankful for that news.  Her car has sadly been written off so we pray that someone's insurance will pay out so she can get a new one!

 The longest funeral in the world!

Then on Saturday we were instructed to attend a funeral of someone who had been quite high up in the church here – it started in Georgetown at 9.30am so we got there in good time.  I assumed it might last about 2 hours or so as he was quite a well known man but could never have anticipated the length of it!  We were given an order of service as we walked in and yet it wasn’t until we had been there for three and a half hours that the service actually began!  The first part was one person after another giving a long wordy tribute to the man and after a while they all merged into one long drone!  There must have been about 40 people giving a tribute!  I was beginning to lose the will to live especially as we’d been sitting on hard benches and not able to stand that whole time!  Finally the service started and we finally left the church at 3.10pm – 5 hours and 40 minutes after we had arrived!  It is the first time I have been to a funeral and begun to wish it was my own!!  Ha! 

By the time we left we were ravenous and parched and dashed to get pizza and Pepsi! 

A sad accident

 On Sunday we heard that a young man from one of Mark’s chapels had been in an accident in which a 13 year old boy had been killed.  We went to visit the family and pray with them as they were obviously all in shock.  We also called in to see the young man in hospital – we are not sure what will happen to him once he is out of hospital but please pray for him and the parents of the young boy who was killed.  It was a sad situation but we felt privileged to be able to share with the family. 

A happy afternoon!

After the sadness of the above situation we had a happier end to the day…we had received a play parachute from friends in Lincoln (by Fedex and SO easy to collect!) and took it out to play with the Sunday school children in the yard out the front of the manse and they absolutely LOVED it!  They were SO excited!  The youth all came and joined in the fun and although we were very hot we had great fun too!  Also, some of the youth trimmed the trees for us that are apparently in the way of the phone line so now we wait to see what the next excuse is for not putting in a phone!!  Watch this space!!