First week in Georgetown!

 

I was so excited but also very nervous.

Nervous about living alone.

Nervous about not knowing anyone.

Nervous about work.

Nervous about walking around alone.

Nervous about being away from home for 9 months.

But...excited to grow and learn A LOT.

Excited to start making friends.

Excited to challenge myself at work.

Excited about living in the Caribbean, in a country that is not frequently visited by tourists.

Excited about all of the incredible new experiences Georgetown and Guyana will bring.

The very first thing that I want to say is....Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) is AMAZING! It has only been 4 days in the office and I am so impressed with the organization, the staff, the volunteers, and every program that YCG runs. I am so happy that I have the opportunity to work with the YCG team for 9 months and support the incredible initiatives that they do in Guyana.

At 11:30pm on Monday March 21st I boarded the plane to Port of Spain, Trinidad where I took a connecting flight to Georgetown, Guyana. My trip started off great after bumping into a good friend of mine at the Toronto airport and making friends with one of the flight attendants from Trinidad. Both of my flights were half full so I had 3 seats to myself to sleep...although I didn't sleep much. The plane letters from family and friends occupied my time and they were all so sweet. I got a good sense of the ethnicity of Guyanese on the flight...a mix of people with African, Indian, Chinese, Amerindian, and European descent. Most people I have spoken with say that a true Guyanese has a mixed background. As we were landing I stared out the window at a sea of green...endless rain forest that looked as if it went on forever. It was incredible. I had never seen anything like it. Untouched mother nature with no sign of roads or paths anywhere. 

When I departed the plane on Tuesday morning I was officially really nervous. I was picked up by Mr. Wilson, a driver and VCT (Voluntary Counselling and Testing) worker at YCG. Mr. Wilson and I spent about 2 hours in the car driving into Georgetown (it should only take about 30 minutes) and we talked about everything.

·                    The 2 lane main road, the East Bank highway, runs from the airport to Georgetown and it is the main road right along Demerara River. Due to heavy rainfall the previous week part of the road had flooded and caused a huge traffic jam.

·                    Creolese: the dialect of English that Guyanese speak....Mr. Wilson would say something and I could barely understand ANYTHING!

·                    All of the houses are built out of wood or cement. They are both about the same price to build and a lot of houses are built on stilts which protects them from the heavy rainfall. I've noticed that some of the houses tend to be very colourful.

We finally arrived at the office and I met almost all of the staff which was great. The YCG office is a really nice 3 story building in the heart of Georgetown and it is recently air conditioned which is so necessary. It is SO HOT and SO HUMID here! I was immediately given an orientation schedule and staff contact list by Dwayne who is responsible for Logistics among other things. The lovely Sehkisha, Finance and Admin Assistant, oriented me for the entire day with introductions to all the staff, getting a sim card and credit for my phone, exchanging money, and settling in to my apartment. I knew that I was going to enjoy working at YCG right from the start after meeting all of the staff and hearing the awesome music that Dwayne was playing :) (I love the Caribbean music!) As we drove around town running errands I attempted to participate in the conversation that Sehkisha and Mr. Wilson were having but I couldn't understand a thing. It is basically a whole different language...at least in the first week. Of course the Guyanese can turn their Creolese on or off but when speaking to each other they prefer Creolese. 

My apartment is AWESOME! I LOVE IT. Three bedrooms, a large open living room space, nice bathroom and shower, a wooden dining table, and a kitchen with a fridge, microwave, oven, and stove...more than I need. I can't wait for all of my friends and family to visit (hint, hint)! No hot water but with this humidity I am really enjoying the cold refreshing showers. The best part of all...I live on the top floor of a 2 story building and I have a really cute balcony/porch :) It is located in a really nice quiet neighbourhood with an internet cafe and shop right around the corner which is very convenient.  

The following 3 days at work were filled with one-on-one meetings with each of the staff and learning about the Women's Entrepreneurship Program that I will be managing over the next 9 months. Work began right away and I was immediately given responsibility for managing the entire program and recruiting more women. There are currently 22 women signed up for the program and our target is 50. The program will start with a one-week training session that will be done in 2 batches (25 women in each) and they want to start it in 2 weeks on April 4th. Again, I was excited but nervous....so much is happening so fast!

I met with the Executive Director, Dmitri, and the Finance Manager, Samantha, to discuss the entrepreneurship program and my internship and we threw some ideas around. I was very impressed. They are so nice, accomplished, and intelligent. Dmitri modeled an incredible leader and manager by asking me about my strengths.....the perfect question to ask to make use of your staff's abilities and skills. I was given several things to complete for next week and was told that Dmitri and I would be meeting with the local newspaper and television stations for interviews within the next week. It is going to be my first time being interviewed on TV! A reporter from Kaieteur News, a local newspaper, interviewed Dmitri and I on Friday morning for the Sunday paper which was great. It is definitely going to be challenging, especially in the first couple months with the adjustment, but I love how much responsibility I am being given and how much Dmitri is involving me. 

The nights and weekend were spent unpacking, relaxing, and hanging out with some work friends. I really appreciated my coworkers being so hospitable and kind by taking me out for lunch, buying me ice cream, walking me home after work, and taking me out at night. I was eager to make friends in the beginning and found myself a little lonely at times. It is really difficult moving to a new country on your own where you know absolutely no one! I feel a lot more comfortable after a week though and I'm excited to make some more friends. 

Some interesting things about Guyana...

·                    Men always walk on the side of the street closest to the cars when walking with a woman as protection. 

·                    The public transportation, minibuses, is the same that they have in many other countries (including Kenya). Except in Georgetown they don't pack them like sardines.

·                    Guyanese wear the exact same clothing that you would find back home in Canada pretty much. The majority of their clothes and shoes are recent styles imported from the states.

·                    Single parents are very common in Georgetown.

·                    Clubs and bars don't really close and you can drink alcohol in public places....at the seawall, on the side of the street, etc. just like a lot of places in the world. It’s nice to get away from all of the rules in Canada.

·                    Blackberry’s are very popular and almost all of my coworkers have one. Not all of the iphone features work in Guyana so they aren't common.

·                    Lunch is the biggest meal of the day but most families don't eat all together at the table. I’ve been told there is limited discussion between children and their parents.  

·                    Food:

o                         Chow mein is a popular dish (noodles with corned beef, vegetables, and seasoning). My co-worker taught me how to make this!

o                         Other common meals: Rice, chicken curry, fried chicken, roti

o                         I particularly like channa for lunch (chickpeas with a mango sauce)

·                    Some creolese or Guyanese phrases and words:

o                         "gaffing" = chatting/talking

o                         "woppening" = what's happening

o                         "wha going on" = what's going on (a common greeting)

o                         "I deh" = I'm fine

o                         "just now" = in a moment, I'll give you it a little later (i.e. Regarding a report)

o                         "lata down" = see you later

o                         "lime" = chill/hang out. Guyanese love to lime!

Some fun things that I did this week:

·                    Attended a Wedding Expo with some female co-workers.

·                    Danced at some Georgetown clubs/bars. When you are invited out by someone that person will typically pay for all of the drinks.

·                    Hung out/limed at the seawall...on Sunday it is the place to be! The concrete wall is about 3.5 feet high and 5 feet wide and it runs along the north coast of Georgetown on the Atlantic Ocean. There are lots of couples, families, and groups of friends who hang out there with food, drinks, and music as vendors and cars line the seawall. I love it already!

·                    Played football/soccer with my coworkers in the Georgetown National Park. 

This experience has already been very different from my past experience working in Kenya. This time I am living in an urban city working out of a large office instead of in the field in a small rural town. The culture in Georgetown is a lot more similar to Canada then Kenyan culture is. I still have a lot to learn and a lot to get adjusted to.

When I reflect on where I am, what I have done, and who I am I'm so happy and grateful for everything and everyone that I have in my life and all of the incredible experiences that I have had. I am 22 years old and I am so happy that I have been given the opportunity to do so much. I hope that I can really help YCG grow and succeed and that I can change the life of at least 1 entrepreneur. I want to integrate into the community and inspire others. I've already started working hard on my Creolese :)