Yesterday we celebrated our 1st Thanksgiving in Guyana as a Peace Corps family. As the day started off, it definitely did not feel like Thanksgiving. First of all, it was 85 degrees out with about 90% humidity and a blazing hot sun. Also, everything was open and running, cause here in Guyana it was just like any other Thursday. It was very weird; we all knew it was Thanksgiving but it just didn't feel like it.
Myself and a few other volunteers in my area planned to do a Thanksgiving dinner for about 12 people at Yesenia's house, a volunteer that lives about 15 minutes away from me. We did all the shopping on Wednesday and managed to find a Butterball turkey (yes, a real American turkey), boxed Stove Top stuffing and canned cranberry sauce at the American grocery store in the capital. Another volunteer, Carissa, is a really good cook and she had a bunch of recipes for different casseroles, au gratin potatoes, broccoli and cheese, mashed potatoes and creamed corn. The amount of food we bought was ridiculous. We had 9 different side dishes, plus the turkey. Since we are in Guyana, we drank rum and made pina coloadas, a new Thanksgiving tradition :)
I went over to Yesenia's house Thursday morning and we, along with Carissa and Alyssa, began cooking. Carissa was the head chef and the rest of us helped out with peeling and chopping various vegetables, making the salad and the bread and other various tasks. Since it was so hot and we had the gas stove and oven running all morning and all afternoon, we were constantly stopping to cool down. We would peel a few potatoes, then go stand in front of the fan for a cool breeze. Chop up an onion and then stand in front of the fan. I don't think 4 people have ever sweat that much making Thanksgiving dinner before. We managed to finish everything in record time, I was quite impressed with us all. We had dinner at 4pm and it was absolutely delicious. We had all the Thanksgiving stables, including pumpkin pie for dessert. There were 14 of us there, including Yesenia's host mom Molly and Alyssa's boyfriend Damian. It was the 1st time either of them had ever had a Thanksgiving meal before. We had Damian try everything 1st and it was adorable how excited he was to try the turkey.
After we ate, we did the "what are you most thankful for" game. One girl brought hand turkey cut outs and we all wrote down a few things we were thankful for this year. Most of us said good friends, family, our delicious meal and, of course, our Peace Corps experience. Then it was time for dessert, homemade pumpkin pie, banana bread, and brownies. I ate so much food that its 24 hours later and I'm still full. And there was still enough left for everyone to bring home leftovers, which we all know is the best part of Thanksgiving.
Today I managed to do a little Black Friday shopping. We get paid our monthly stipend on the 25th of each month, so I went out today to do my grocery shopping for the next few weeks. I went to my usual vegetable and fruit lady and, during our usual bout of small talk, I told her about Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping back in the States. She thought it was the funniest thing that some people camp out in front of stores to buy things, I told her that people will do crazy things to get a good price. In honor of Black Friday, she decided to give me a free watermelon. Best Black Friday deal I've ever gotten :)
Here are some pictures of our awesome Thanksgiving feast!!!
Friday, November 25, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Working at the clinic
My official title as a Peace Corps volunteer (a.k.a, the one I'm gonna put on my resume cause it sounds more impressive than it actually is) is "Community Health Education Promoter". All of the health volunteers work in either health centers or hospitals and several volunteers also work in their village schools, doing health classes or health and exercise clubs. One of the 1st things I said during my first pre-site placement interview was that I did not want to work in schools. I'm not a teacher and I really have no interest in becoming one and, while I love working with babies and toddlers, once kids hit primary school age, I start to lose more and more patience :)
My site placement in the village of Vreed-en-Hoop, which is along the coast in Region 3, has me working at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, which is the only hospital in the region. It has a surgery theatre, a maternity ward, a dentist, and x-ray facilities. After my original placement in records didn't work out (long story), I sort of placed myself in the maternal and child health clinic. In my clinic, we work with pregnant women and children under 5. The clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 am until around 2pm, or whenever the last patient leaves.
Monday and Wednesdays are infant and toddler day or, "cute baby day". Children under 5 come in for a checkup once every 2 or 3 months. They get their weight, length or height and then any vaccines that they may need. Most of the time my Mondays and Wednesdays are spent weighing and measuring the babies, which I love doing cause they are adorable and it's always fun to watch their reaction to the 'weird white lady nurse', as I'm affectionately called. There is a slight occupational hazard that at least 3 babies will pee on me in the course of a morning, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. That's called being Peace Hard Corps :)
Tuesdays is antenatal clinic or, "pregnant lady day". During this clinic I usually sit in with the Medex and help her with the examinations. I've learned to take the fundal height, blood pressure, and listen and measure the fetal heartbeat. I really enjoy this clinic, especially since I'm considering doing a maternal and child health concentration in PA school when I get back. On Tuesdays is when I do the majority of my health talks, mostly about nutrition. Thursdays is also antenatal clinic but for high risk mothers. Any pregnant woman that is considered high risk has to travel to our hospital for all of her antenatal checkups while she is pregnant. A woman can be deemed high risk for many different reason, such as having diabetes or PIHBP ( pregnancy induced high blood pressure), or if she has had complications in previous pregnancies, or if she is older than 35 or a teenager (In Guyana teenage pregnancy is considered 16 and under. Even if the girl is married she still has to attend high risk clinic and speak to a social worker). Thursday is also the only day that we have a doctor at the clinic to do the examinations, an OB/GYN from Cuba. Monday through Wednesday we just have a nurse, a Medex, and a midwife.
I am really enjoying my work at the clinic, mostly because it is very hands on and I feel like everyday I am getting more and more technical experience to bring home with me. I get to work directly with the patients and give health talks to women who live in my village. It's nice to walk down the street, going to the bank or the market, and have women recognize me and say "Good morning nursie". A few of my pregnant patients have given birth since I've started working and I love the fact that I have been able to be with them during their pregnancy and will now be there when they bring their baby to clinic.
After the new year I'm hoping to start a few more projects, one focusing on maternal nutrition and the other helping with community outreach for the HPV vaccine, which the government of Guyana is going to start distributing in my region. Even though I only work Monday through Thursday from 8am until about noon, I feel like I am keeping busy, especially since time is flying by. We celebrated our 9 month anniversary in country this past Tuesday, which blows my mind. Also, I will be home in the states in just 31 days, a trip which I am so excited about it's borderline ridculous :)
My site placement in the village of Vreed-en-Hoop, which is along the coast in Region 3, has me working at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, which is the only hospital in the region. It has a surgery theatre, a maternity ward, a dentist, and x-ray facilities. After my original placement in records didn't work out (long story), I sort of placed myself in the maternal and child health clinic. In my clinic, we work with pregnant women and children under 5. The clinic is open Monday through Thursday from 8 am until around 2pm, or whenever the last patient leaves.
Monday and Wednesdays are infant and toddler day or, "cute baby day". Children under 5 come in for a checkup once every 2 or 3 months. They get their weight, length or height and then any vaccines that they may need. Most of the time my Mondays and Wednesdays are spent weighing and measuring the babies, which I love doing cause they are adorable and it's always fun to watch their reaction to the 'weird white lady nurse', as I'm affectionately called. There is a slight occupational hazard that at least 3 babies will pee on me in the course of a morning, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. That's called being Peace Hard Corps :)
Tuesdays is antenatal clinic or, "pregnant lady day". During this clinic I usually sit in with the Medex and help her with the examinations. I've learned to take the fundal height, blood pressure, and listen and measure the fetal heartbeat. I really enjoy this clinic, especially since I'm considering doing a maternal and child health concentration in PA school when I get back. On Tuesdays is when I do the majority of my health talks, mostly about nutrition. Thursdays is also antenatal clinic but for high risk mothers. Any pregnant woman that is considered high risk has to travel to our hospital for all of her antenatal checkups while she is pregnant. A woman can be deemed high risk for many different reason, such as having diabetes or PIHBP ( pregnancy induced high blood pressure), or if she has had complications in previous pregnancies, or if she is older than 35 or a teenager (In Guyana teenage pregnancy is considered 16 and under. Even if the girl is married she still has to attend high risk clinic and speak to a social worker). Thursday is also the only day that we have a doctor at the clinic to do the examinations, an OB/GYN from Cuba. Monday through Wednesday we just have a nurse, a Medex, and a midwife.
I am really enjoying my work at the clinic, mostly because it is very hands on and I feel like everyday I am getting more and more technical experience to bring home with me. I get to work directly with the patients and give health talks to women who live in my village. It's nice to walk down the street, going to the bank or the market, and have women recognize me and say "Good morning nursie". A few of my pregnant patients have given birth since I've started working and I love the fact that I have been able to be with them during their pregnancy and will now be there when they bring their baby to clinic.
After the new year I'm hoping to start a few more projects, one focusing on maternal nutrition and the other helping with community outreach for the HPV vaccine, which the government of Guyana is going to start distributing in my region. Even though I only work Monday through Thursday from 8am until about noon, I feel like I am keeping busy, especially since time is flying by. We celebrated our 9 month anniversary in country this past Tuesday, which blows my mind. Also, I will be home in the states in just 31 days, a trip which I am so excited about it's borderline ridculous :)
Sunday, November 13, 2011
More pictures!!!!!
Here is a link to some more pictures for everyone to enjoy: another beach day at Leguan Island, a jiandi at a host family's house and, of course, a few choice pictures of Nala, the most awesome cat in the world. Enjoy :)
Friday, November 11, 2011
The kind of thing that would only happen to me.....
This morning, I got locked inside of my apartment. Yes, you read that correctly. I got locked INSIDE. These are the kind of Peace Corps hardships that I have to deal with :)
Today started out like any other morning. Woke up at 7, only slightly hungover from our pizza and red wine party the night before ( In my defense, the wine hangover had nothing to do with the getting locked in my apartment. Though maybe that would of at least been a good excuse). I climbed out of bed, took 2 steps, and proceeded to step on a small, almost microscopic piece of glass that managed to slice the bottom of my foot open. I should have taken that as a sign to just go back to bed. After cleaning up the small pool of in my bedroom and diffusing that medical emergency, I took a shower, made some coffee and went to open my front door.
My door is a pretty standard Guyanese door. There are 2 parts; a wooden door that has a top and bottom that open separately and a metal gate that locks into place using a padlock. when I tried to open my door, the wooden door opened just fine but when I tried to use my keys to remove the padlock and open the metal gate, it wouldn't open. The key would slid in and turn but the lock wouldn't pop open. The lock is kind of old and has given me some trouble before, I sometimes have to jiggle it a little to get it open. But this morning the humidity or the rust or the heat had finally won and the lock just would not open.
So there I was trying to pry a metal gate open, using just my less than impressive upper body strength, when I decided I may need some outside help, unless I wanted to literally have to climb out a window every time I wanted to leave my house. I got some coconut oil, which I use in my hair, and poured some on the key and the lock, thinking that maybe it would loosen something. Five minutes later I was still stuck in my house but now both my hands and the lock smelled like delicious coconuts. I called my downstairs neighbor to see if she was home and if she could go get my landlady. She was at work but she gave me Auntie Sarita's number. I called, told her that this wasn't a joke but I was actually locked inside my house. Auntie Sarita, her cousin, her cleaning lady, her son, and her son's friend all came over to try and help. Auntie Sarita's son, Bangi and his friend Bar went and got a tiny handsaw and proceeded to try and saw off the padlock to free me. I was more than a little scared that one of them would saw off a finger and then, not only would I be still stuck in my apartment, but there would also be a finger on my floor. After 15 minute, they finally got the padlock off and my gate was able to open. Of course after all of this I was running late and I had to rush to shower again and get dressed (Yes, it is so hot here that, at 8 in the morning in November I worked up a sweat trying to unlock a door).
So that was how my day started. I'm now at the Peace Corps office in town, treating myself to some air conditioning and lunch out, which I think I deserve. Just another day and another struggle in the life of a Peace Corps voulnteer :)
Today started out like any other morning. Woke up at 7, only slightly hungover from our pizza and red wine party the night before ( In my defense, the wine hangover had nothing to do with the getting locked in my apartment. Though maybe that would of at least been a good excuse). I climbed out of bed, took 2 steps, and proceeded to step on a small, almost microscopic piece of glass that managed to slice the bottom of my foot open. I should have taken that as a sign to just go back to bed. After cleaning up the small pool of in my bedroom and diffusing that medical emergency, I took a shower, made some coffee and went to open my front door.
My door is a pretty standard Guyanese door. There are 2 parts; a wooden door that has a top and bottom that open separately and a metal gate that locks into place using a padlock. when I tried to open my door, the wooden door opened just fine but when I tried to use my keys to remove the padlock and open the metal gate, it wouldn't open. The key would slid in and turn but the lock wouldn't pop open. The lock is kind of old and has given me some trouble before, I sometimes have to jiggle it a little to get it open. But this morning the humidity or the rust or the heat had finally won and the lock just would not open.
So there I was trying to pry a metal gate open, using just my less than impressive upper body strength, when I decided I may need some outside help, unless I wanted to literally have to climb out a window every time I wanted to leave my house. I got some coconut oil, which I use in my hair, and poured some on the key and the lock, thinking that maybe it would loosen something. Five minutes later I was still stuck in my house but now both my hands and the lock smelled like delicious coconuts. I called my downstairs neighbor to see if she was home and if she could go get my landlady. She was at work but she gave me Auntie Sarita's number. I called, told her that this wasn't a joke but I was actually locked inside my house. Auntie Sarita, her cousin, her cleaning lady, her son, and her son's friend all came over to try and help. Auntie Sarita's son, Bangi and his friend Bar went and got a tiny handsaw and proceeded to try and saw off the padlock to free me. I was more than a little scared that one of them would saw off a finger and then, not only would I be still stuck in my apartment, but there would also be a finger on my floor. After 15 minute, they finally got the padlock off and my gate was able to open. Of course after all of this I was running late and I had to rush to shower again and get dressed (Yes, it is so hot here that, at 8 in the morning in November I worked up a sweat trying to unlock a door).
So that was how my day started. I'm now at the Peace Corps office in town, treating myself to some air conditioning and lunch out, which I think I deserve. Just another day and another struggle in the life of a Peace Corps voulnteer :)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Diwali
This past Wednesday was the Indian celebration of Diwali or the "Festival of Lights". It is one of the major Hindu holidays and is considered a national holiday here in Guyana. Diwali is considered the celebration of the awareness of the inner light and of good triumphing over evil. Diwal is marked most often by fireworks, lighting candles and decorating one's house with lights at dusk.
My landlords, Auntie Sarita and Uncle Ronald, invited me to their Diwali celebraton, which begins with a large meal called a jiandi that is shared in the family home. Seven curry is traditionally served, which is the most amazing food ever. It's basically a variety of vegetable curries (not Indian curry but Guyana curry, so not quite as spicy and potent), served over rice and dhal puri, which is a similar to a tortilla. The meal is usually cooked over fireside instead of a gas stove and the family sits together and eats throughout the day. There is also poularii, which are fried dough balls and fried boulanger (eggplant) with sour sauce. So yummy. When the sun goes down, everyone begins lightinging pieces of cotton soaked in kerosene (very kid friendly holiday) and put them in small clay pots. The lights are placed all over the yard, the street, the veranda, and a lot of people put up Christmas lights as well. People start setting off fireworks, which are for sale everywhere during Diwali and are so cheap. My friend Yesenia came over and we walked up and down my road, looknig at the lights, eating ice cream, and setting off sparklers with kids. It was a really fun time, even though people were setting off fireworks well into the night, some of them were so loud that they set of car alarms. It was nice to spend my first Diwali with my landlords, who I consider almost like a host family because they are so nice and always include me in holidays and family events.
My landlords, Auntie Sarita and Uncle Ronald, invited me to their Diwali celebraton, which begins with a large meal called a jiandi that is shared in the family home. Seven curry is traditionally served, which is the most amazing food ever. It's basically a variety of vegetable curries (not Indian curry but Guyana curry, so not quite as spicy and potent), served over rice and dhal puri, which is a similar to a tortilla. The meal is usually cooked over fireside instead of a gas stove and the family sits together and eats throughout the day. There is also poularii, which are fried dough balls and fried boulanger (eggplant) with sour sauce. So yummy. When the sun goes down, everyone begins lightinging pieces of cotton soaked in kerosene (very kid friendly holiday) and put them in small clay pots. The lights are placed all over the yard, the street, the veranda, and a lot of people put up Christmas lights as well. People start setting off fireworks, which are for sale everywhere during Diwali and are so cheap. My friend Yesenia came over and we walked up and down my road, looknig at the lights, eating ice cream, and setting off sparklers with kids. It was a really fun time, even though people were setting off fireworks well into the night, some of them were so loud that they set of car alarms. It was nice to spend my first Diwali with my landlords, who I consider almost like a host family because they are so nice and always include me in holidays and family events.
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