Sarah's Journey

Wow!  What an amazing chain of events over the past week!  Last Wednesday I traveled with a patient from Mercy Hospital in Guyana to White Plains, New York for medical treatment.  She was a very nice 80 year old woman who was born and raised in Guyana but migrated to the states nearly 40 years ago.  Each winter she comes to Guyana to enjoy the sun and escape cold New York winters.  Unfortunately, this trip she encountered some medical problems.  She had a stroke with left side paralysis and was suffering from seizures related to the swelling of the brain.  During her week long hospitalization it became apparent that she needed to go back to her home in the states asap!  Her children live in the New York area and she can get more advanced treatment there.  In Guyana, we were able to diagnose the problem through MRI and CT scans.  We were even able to decrease the brain swelling and prevent more seizures through the use of Mannitol and Dilantin IV drips.  But we don't have neurologists here, much less neurosurgeons.  The one neurosurgeon that does work in Guyana is currently out of the country indefinitely.  In Guyana it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, if you need brain surgery...you have two options.  (1) Get flown to another country for treatment (trinidad or miami or NYC) or (2) Let a general surgeon operate on you.  For my patient, the family decided to stabilize her, then take the risk of a long flight to NYC with me as a private nurse.  Her two daughters from New York traveled with us.  It's funny because last time I was blessed with an opportunity to travel with a patient to London, I said, "Wow, I'll never get to fly first class again, but that was awesome!"  Well...God saw fit to put me in the path of this patient.  She needed to travel home to NY and I just happen to have an American Passport and be licensed as a nurse in both Guyana and the States. 

This journey felt like the TV show "The Amazing Race"
First Leg: Wednesday 5am...The night nurse had bathed and dressed my patient.  She had a fresh pamper, urinary catheter, and Hep-locked IV.  We left Mercy Hospital in Georgetown Guyana and traveled via taxi-van to the Airport. It was almost an hour long drive, but the patient slept much of the way.
    First Obstacle: The patient had to be awake enough and healthy-looking enough to be allowed to fly.  Luckily the family and
      doctor had filled out a ton of paperwork for the airline in advance and we did not have any problems. 
   Second Obstacle:  Getting my medical supplies(ie needles, IV cathalons, and Injectable drugs) through security without
      problems.  They didn't even search me or my bag!  No questions asked. 
We rested in the airport lounge and waited for our flight to board.
Second Leg: Wednesday at 8am we boarded the plane bound for NYC-JFK airport.  At the Guyanese Airport, the plane is boarded by stairs, so the patient had to be carried up by two security guys.  She made it safely into her first class seat without problem.  Vitals Stable!  We are ready to go!
      Third Obstacle: When talking with the doctor, we decided that probably the biggest risk of flying for this patient was the
      change in altitude during the flight.  We were not sure if the swelling of the brain would be affected by this change.  As the
      plane took off, I was beyond nervous.  I paid careful attention for any seizure activity, headache, or change in level of
      consciousness. No change and we flew beautifully for the next 6 hours.   We also had not problems on the descent  into JFK. 
      My patient was exhausted from all this travel and in pain from being in one position for so long. The only "nursing" I had to do
      during the flight was monitoring vital signs, giving blood pressure tablets, and one pain injection.  We landed and made it
      through airport security.
Third Leg: Wednesday 3pm...We took a handicap van transport from JFK airport to the White Plains Hospital where my patient was going to be admitted.  This was the most difficult part of the journey because we could not find the van driver in the vast JFK airport!  Plus, the patient was exhausted from the long day and so much sitting up!  Once she was loaded in the van, we made the hour long drive north to White Plains.  We arrived at the hospital and checked the patient into the hospital through the emergency room.  I'll talk more about my reverse culture shock below, but I honestly felt at home in a developed, high-tech emergency room.  In giving the patient's history to the admission nurse and doctor, it felt good to be back in the American healthcare system.  Before coming to Guyana, I feared that I would lose my intellectual edge and competency by working in a third world healthcare system for so long.   I had a friend from college, Marie-a fellow nurse, come to visit and work with me here for two weeks.  She told me that I would be fine back in the states, not to worry about it.  And yet, I still worry about it.  God is constantly trying to help me let go of this worry.  After giving the NY-ER doctor the patient history and treatments, she looked me in the eye and said, "Wow, you're good, I want you to come work for me."  Then she looked at the patient's daughter and said, "You are unbelievably lucky to have found such a great nurse in Guyana to travel with you."  sigh...I needed to hear that.  I stayed with the patient as she went through the admission process of lab tests, Chest Xray, and a repeat CT scan of the head.  Her relatives came to see her and they were overcome with emotion and gratitude.  Imagine having your relative so far away and so sick and there is nothing you can do.  This happens everyday to so many people.  I feel so blessed to have been a part of bringing this beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother home to her family.
Amazing Race Complete!

A few definitions to help you understand what I'm talking about...
(1) Culture shock is the disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration to a new country.  So when I first moved to Guyana, I experienced Culture Shock.

(2) Reverse Culture Shock returning to one's home culture after growing accustomed to a new one can produce the same disorientation. So now that I have been living in Guyana for 18 months it has become "my normal" and going back to American Culture, I experienced Reverse Culture Shock

Okay, So once we landed I started making a list of all the things that were funny, interesting, or I had forgotten about.  Here Goes...

• In Guyana. yellow license plates are for Diplomats' cars and Diplomats normally drive some of the nicest cars in Guyana.  In New York City, many license plates are the same color yellow and most cars are what I would now consider "nice".  As we drove from JFK to White Plains all these nice cars kept driving by with yellow plates and I thought.  "Wow there are a lot of diplomats here." Then, I thought, "Wait a minute."
• Many cars passed us with a fair-skinned(or white) woman with straight brown hair.  And I thought, "Meg!?!?"  Meg is one of my community members in Guyana.  In Guyana, Meg's fair skin and brown straight hair are distinctive and unique.  So when I see Fair skin and Straight brown hair in a crowd, traffic or the market...I think to my self, "hey Meg's here too!?!?!"
• The driver of the van kept changing the radio station in the car and I was confused.  I forgot that in the states you have a ridiculous amount of radio stations.  In Guyana we literally have 3 or 4 depending on the day and they are controlled by the government.
• I forgot about Asians...And what I mean by that is I have become accustomed to seeing people of African, East Indian, Amerindian, Portuguese, and Chinese Descent.  I forgot that not all Asians have Chinese features.  An Asian of Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, or Korean descent look totally foreign to me...haha like the pun!   NYC is a city of immigrants and I loved observing people's features, clothes and languages.  Yep, I forgot about Asians
• I saw an American Cemetery...wow, completely different than a Guyanese Cemetery.  Also on my way from Mercy Hospital in Guyana to the airport, we passed a business that made cement building blocks...Cementry.  Hmmm...
• I forgot about Hoodies.  The sweatshirt with a hood.  I lived in those during college, but forgot they existed, because who would wear one in hot Guyana?
• We passed over a river and it was blue....huh?  All the rivers, oceans and waterways in Guyana are brown from the rainforest sediment being washed out.   Blue rivers really are more beautiful, but I have learned to love the black-brown waters of Guyana. [Essequibo river in Guyana]

• Tall Buildings, escalators, moving sidewalks!  INFRASTRUCTURE!  Underground=subways, ground level=streets, then three over-passing highways!
• Storage Units for Rent...Why would you need that in any place other that America, the culture of excess.   People in Guyana would never pay for that!
• We passed a landscaping store and the smell of fresh mulch hit me.  Wow...i became nostalgic for spring just by the smell of fresh mulch.  Plus...I forgot about mulch!
• Suburban sidewalks that are smoother, nicer, and wider than most Guyanese roads.  Yet, there is no one walking on them because everyone has a car in the suburbs!
• The pace of life in NYC is so fast.  Everyone is in a hurry, time is respected and there is never enough. I don't fit in here, people are rushing past me and I'm thinking.  "what's the rush?"  That's the Guyanese Caribbean attitude in me.
• Dogs have nipples not udders. In Guyana, most dogs have a problem, mastitis maybe, that causes their nipples to turn into what i can only describe as udders.  I saw a dog in NYC and it had nipples and I thought i looked weird.
• Fashion has certainly changed since we left 18 months ago.  Things I noticed: neon colors, animal prints, feathers, fringe,fur, nature prints, plaid on men, ray ban sunglasses, colored jeans, high top sneakers.  Hipsters.(Granted I'm not from NYC, and I know it is much different from the Midwest)
• To me, every person I saw was beautiful, handsome, and well dressed.  Everyone has nice teeth, skin, and hair. 
• I went to Catholic Mass in Queens (I stayed with the Mercy Volunteers who live and work in NYC).  I chose to sit in the front row because, I can't resist people watching and would be so distracted otherwise.  The church was gorgeous, huge, and full.  It apparently used to be a theater, it had green marble floors, gold leaf ornate ceilings, columns and gorgeous dark woods.  The kneelers were padded with red leather.  The hymnals and missals were available and hardcover bound.  Such luxury all around.  Then Mass started and a choir of angels and organ played from the upper balcony.  5 priests, 2 deacons, and 4 altar servers walked in wearing beautifully embroidered gowns and holding a shiny gold Crucifix.  I started to cry.  I can't explain why.  I guess it is just that, this is how I grew up.  This is the expression of my faith that is most beautiful and spiritually touching to me.  I didn't know that I had been missing this so much, but there it was and it was great.  We sang hymns that I love, but haven't sung in so long.  I kept thinking back to Palm Sunday a few days earlier.  I held Joel's hand, one of the orphanage boys, and we walked with fresh palms in the sun of the tropics on our way into the church.  Then he snuggled up to me and we sang lively palm waving songs in the sweaty hot church.  I can't say I like one Mass better than the other.  They are both Catholic Mass, so similar, and yet in each God touched me in a different way.  [Guyanese Church. Joel on Left]

• Public transportation:

            NYC SUBWAYS                                                                GUYANESE MINIBUS

• Cement walls ....................................VIEW..................outside, people, animals, market, traffic
• cold and quiet.....................OTHER PASSENGERS.......friendly and warm
• set and predicatable.........................ROUTES..............unknown, unposted, subject to change without notice
• $2 usd...........................................COST PER RIDE.....30cents-50cents
• no music, everyone with headphones....MUSIC..............loud dancehall cd or 80s soft rock 
• [Guyanese Minibus]

• I don't know when it happened exactly, but I started considering myself Guyanese.  When I explained to the ER doctor in White plains, I said.  "We don't have those treatments in Guyana."  I realized that I identify as Guyanese.  I did not say "They don't have those treatments in Guyana."  Wow. 
• I have also reflected a lot on the "American Dream".  When we first moved to Guyana and people learned we were from the states, they assumed we were from New York City.  People here are obsessed with NYC, from traveling there, to NYC apparel.  I didn't get it.  I had international training in NYC prior to coming to Guyana and found it to be a cold, rushed, dirty and polluted city.  It really did not carry much appeal for me.  After living in Guyana for 18 months and going to NYC, I saw America with brand new eyes.  I understand the American dream so much more now that I am seeing it through a "foreigner's" eyes.  America represents a land of opportunity and development.  If you work hard enough, you can make it in NYC.  I believe that just as much as the next Guyanese.

I landed in Guyana again on Saturday and it felt so good to be home with my community members.   I love my life here and cherish my work as a nurse at Mercy hospital. This trip reminded me of life back in the states.  It reminded me of all the things I miss, but mostly of the people I miss.  I will be coming to my midwest home in August and I'm looking forward to another bout with reverse culture shock.

For those of you reading this who may not know, I am Catholic.  As part of my faith, I participate in a penitential period of 40 days called "Lent" leading up to Easter.  During this time Catholics, and many other Christian churches, participate in prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and fasting.  So many people have asked me, "What are you giving up for Lent?"  The answer is not that simple.  As kids we gave up chocolate or soda as a way of learning to sacrifice something.  As an adult though, I think we have to dig a bit deeper than that.  For example, instead of just fasting from chocolate, go the extra step of giving your "sweets money" to a charitable cause.  You could take it a step further, each time you crave that chocolate, say a little prayer for whatever cause you are contributing towards.  The point is that this year I am trying something different.  I decided to share with you one of my Lenten observances.  I am consciously focusing on WATER. 

It started by simply looking around me.  On my way to work, I see the trenches lining the edge of the roads full of water. This water is runoff from the rains and eventually flows into the oceans.  On it's way out, it is home to frogs and tiny fish.  The roots of trees and plants drink deeply of these waters to be ever-green.  This is a lush tropical paradise, mostly due to the bounty of water.  Unfortunately, Guyana has a trash and littering problem.  This morning at Mass, Father said the we are all to indifferent to each other.  We say, that's none of my business.  No longer can I stand by and watch a friend litter Guayana.  I am committed to not littering the waterways and to telling others not to do so as well.  Also, I am trying to be a conscious consumer, buying items with less packaging.  We started buying the giant peanut butter jar because buying in bulk often leads to less packaging ending up in the dump.  I want the waterways to be beautiful and teeming with life!  PHOTO: Me at Kaiteur Falls


Next, I started to think about drinking water.  Pipe water(from the tap) is not advised for consumption in Guyana because of contaminates.  At my house we have four 5-gallon bottles of water.  Each week we take our empty bottles down to the water store where they are filled.  Then we take a taxi back to our house with the full jugs and carry them upstairs.  It is a process that in the past has been annoying to me, a chore that I detest doing because it is so laborious.  But this Lent, I am reflecting on it an attempting to change my attitude.  There are people in Guyana who cannot afford safe, clean drinking water.  They drink from the tap and have all their lives.  We don't even really know what is in the water or what the long term health complications may be.  Instead of begrudging the drinking water struggle in my life, I am learning to be thankful for what I have.  I am thankful not to have to boil all the water I drink or use purification tablets.  I am thankful not to have frequent gastrointestinal problems related to the water.  I am thankful that I grew up in a country where children are able to drink out of a garden hose on a hot summer day!  Clean, Safe Drinking Water is a basic right, yet so many people do not have access to it. I am trying to look into the social justice issues here and get involved. 

The other major use for water in the household is for cleaning.  We use it to wash our bodies, clothes, dishes, floors, and a multitude of other things.  I am trying to be concious of my water use in the house.  In Guyana, the water pressure from the pipe is very low.  It is so low that it commonly won't have enough pressure to get up to a second story.  We are blessed to have a water storage tank and electric pump.  In our back yard we have a water tower.  It is a concrete stand with a 250 gallon black plastic water tank about 30 feet off the ground.  The pipe from the ground is connected to this tank and when we turn on the electrical pump, water is pumped from the ground up into the tank.  When it is full, we turn off the pump.  The water flows from the tank, by gravity into our house fixtures.  Now we are lucky because, most Guyanese do not have this set-up.  It is expensive to build the tower, buy the tank, and pump.  So many Guyanese must go to the ground pipe for water.   This means their actual houses do not have running water in them.  I have seen many Guyanese bathe, wash clothes, and prepare food right in the yard, because that is where the water is.  For other tasks, buckets of water are carried upstairs into the house.  I am become more conscious of this and trying to live simply, as a Guyanese must. We live on a busy corner, so, no yard baths for me.  But so far, I have given up showers.  If you don't have running water, you fill a wash basin(about 10 gallons) with water and bathe that way.  I have to say, I like it better and I'm using less water.  I hope to fully convert myself to carrying up buckets of water that I use, so far, I've been too lazy.  I know it will make me thankful for the water I use because I must carry each bucket up the stairs.  I handwash all my clothes in these same wash basins and this week I noticed how much water I used in the process.  I am still thinking of ways to cut down on this water consumption, probably my greatest, but no ideas as yet.  Not all problems have solutions, as long as I stay conscious of the usage, maybe thats the best I can do.

Finally, I would like to share a tale from the bedside this week.  I had a 90 year old woman with heart failure.  She was using a high flow of facemask oxygen, which dries out the mouth.  I took of the oxygen to give her a drink of ice cold water.  She swallowed it and sighed with a smile.  Then she said, "Water is Life!"  Water is indeed life and I am greatful for her words of wisdom. 

In Peace,
Sarah D Graves

Live to Love
Love to Live

Q: Why did the rooster cross the road?
A: To wake me up!

In Guyana "Cock Fighting" or "Rooster Fighting" happens.  I've never seen an actual fight, but I know it happens.  I am against Cock Fighting, but that's not the point of this blog entry.  One of our neighbors owns some roosters, and while I can't confirm that they are fighting roosters, I highly suspect it.  They are large, fierce, aggressive, have plucked legs, and are usually tethered around his yard.  Recently though, one has been on the loose!  I know this because he acts as my alarm clock at least once a week.  Most mornings I get up at 6:10am and leave for work around 6:40.  Our yard is Rooster-free when I leave, after that, who knows...This is my theory behind this rooster madness:

I suspect that the Rooster watches our house every morning from his perch on our neighbors veranda.  On my work-days, he watches me leave for work then stays in his own yard to go about his other duties of the day.  On my off-days, when I am trying to sleep in, he gets worried when he doesn't see me leave.  He is probably there on his perch worrying that I'm missing work.  He paces back and forth waiting for me to come through the gate.  When I don't come out by 700am, he is too anxious to wait any longer and he comes to wake me up.  He crows outside my window every 5 minutes.  I imagine the translation goes something like this: "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO" means "SARAH-GET-UP." Then I hear the other fighting roosters in my neighbor's yard answer back "IS-SHE-UP-YET?"  And this goes on and on all morning.  When I can take it no longer, I get up and throw coins at him out of my bedroom window.  I feel bad, I hit him with a $10coin(about the size of a quarter) this morning!   Last week, I chased him around the yard until he flew up on our other neighbors roof.  Anyway, nothing works, he keeps coming back.  He stays in our yard crowing and picking through our compost pile for snacks.  The only way to escape his noise is to leave my bedroom to go to the other side of the house or to leave.  I chose to leave today and told my fighting rooster goodbye on my way out of the gate.  I bet he will be gone when I get back from my errands today!  Figures...  This is what he looks like!  NEW PICTURE FROM MY CAMERA!!!


Oh how my life is different here in Guyana!  But hey, if I can't sleep in, I'll just take a nap later today!

Sarah
Live to Love
Love to Live

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  

As usual, the Christmas season was very busy here in Guyana!  It was full of Christmas parties, concerts of carols, cooking treats and buying gifts for friends.  As we did last Christmas, we had three boys from the orphanage come stay with us over the holiday. We had Joel(7), Junior(5) and Steve(5).  They came over on Christmas eve and when I arrived home from work that night, Steve was already passed on on the hardwood floor face down!  The other two were watching a kids' Christmas movie-"Arthur". Since there are four of us living in the house now(Audrey, Meg, Ashley, and Me), They boys slept on an ancient pullout couch!  But hey, they are all small and slept quite comfortably.  On Christmas morning we woke up early and opened presents.  I got a great Christmas package from my parents and loved opening treats from home!  My community was especially thankful for the homemade Christmas Caramels made by Nana(my grandmother who lives in Kentucky).  They brought a little bit of my Christmas traditions from home to Guyana.  I shared them at the work Christmas party to the delight of everyone!  On Christmas morning we went to Mass with the boys and they were once again "Christmas Angels" during Mass. So well behaved!  Here is our Christmas family picture after Mass...


Top Row Left to Right: Audrey, Ashley, Me, Meg
Bottom Row Left to Right: Steve(5), Junior(5), Joel(7)

After Mass we came home and they boys played with their toys.  Later on Christmas day we went to the Christmas lunch at the Sisters of Mercy convent. All of the sisters were in attendance and we had a great feast!  My favorite part was singing the 12 days of Christmas and forgetting what most of the days were!  Also the Guyanese would sing "5 Gold Rings" while the Americans were singing "5 Golden Rings".  Subtle differences that made the whole song hilarious.  Christmas night we relaxed at the house and watched "Ernest Saves Christmas" with the boys.  When my parents came to visit in October they brought some beanie babies that had been donated by a family member to give to the boys.  I let the three boys each pic one to take home with them.  I found it interesting the one each boy picked.  Steve picked an ostrich...having no idea what an actual ostrich looked like!  Junior picked an green Irish bear...having no idea that it was Irish!  Joel picked a butterfly...one of the most girly ones in the bunch with pink and purple glitter all over it!  Funny, but cute.  The day after Christmas is Boxing Day and we took the boys to the Main Street Lime.  Basically on this day Main street fills with vendors of crafts, food and drink and people go down to "Lime" (Guyanese term meaning "hang-out" or "chill-out"). The boys gorged on cotton candy and soda!  Then riding on their sugar high, we took them back to the orphanage!  All in all, it was another great Christmas in Guyana!  I love having the boys over to our house because it gives them a "home-life" experience.  When they go back to the orphanage, they brag and exchange stories about their time spent at our house!

Last year on December 30, 2010 I wrote a letter to my future self.  I had been in Guyana for about 4 months.  I opened it this year on New Year's Day.  I like the advice I gave myself and would like to share it with you...so here goes...

Dear Future Sarah,
      I hope this letter actually makes it to you! As I spend this spirituality night reflecting on John 14, I wonder what the next year will hold. The scripture tells us that if we trust in God and follow Jesus' example we will know that we are on the right path.  I pray that you find your quiet space to reflect and listen for God's voice.  I know it is difficult to hear a whisper over mini-buses and Soca music, but you must never give up searching.
      God's will and proper preparation have led you to this place.  I hope that 2011 is full of actual doing.  Now that it is 2012, you can worry about what comes next.  London seems pretty sweet, remember?  Live in the moment, love the person in front of you. Go above and beyond the call of service.  Remember your role models.  Were they slackers?
     In this year, I hope to become more assertive at work.  To tell the Guyanese coworkers what you think without fear of ruining relationships.  The past four months has set the foundation, now it is time to shake things up and stretch these relationships.
     A year without growth is a stagnant, buried coin.  Remember to whom much is given, much is expected.  God has given you the talent of healing, you must work to multiply that by becoming more involved with nursing students or coworkers.  You will leave Guyana...will you leave pieces of yourself here to carry on good work?  What lasting change have you made?  Head to Toe assessment charting? 
>Community Growth...Are Ashley and Audrey going to be your bridesmaids one day=Yes, if you marry
     a Guyanese!
>Spiritual Growth...Explore other religions too
>Simplicity Growth...Can you use only Gel in your hair now?  Do mosquitoes even matter? Remember to live in solidarity with the poor of Guyana.
TO 2011, MAY YOU BE RUINED FOR LIFE!
Love,
Old Sarah

Well I hope everyone is having a blessed new year so far!!!
Peace,
Sarah

Live to Love
Love to Live

First of all, I am sorry it has taken me so long to post on here again.  Many things have been happening in my life so this blog will be a summation of the two months you missed! 

We welcomed a new member into our community in August.  Meg started her two-year commitment as a Mercy Volunteer and moved in with us.  She has been working at the boys orphanage school with the special education class.  I'll tell you we lucked out, because Meg is a pretty good cook!  We take turns cooking dinner during the week and so I have tried many new things this year!  Meg made me my first Black-bean burger(we cook vegetarian food at the house) and it was surprisingly good...I know what some of you are thinking, "nothing beats a beef burger", and normally I would agree, but high quality beef is expensive here, so we try new things!  Audrey is still working at the orphanage school as well with a new classroom of four boys.  Ashley is working at Mercy Wings Vocational School teaching computer class and is also a counselor at the hospital's HIV program.  I have said it many times before, but community living is one of the best parts of this experience.  It is one of the reasons I chose Mercy Volunteer Corps.  I am so thankful for Ashley, Audrey, and Meg because they have become great friends and support to me.  We have been getting along well and adjusting to having a new person in the house! Community Life is still in a transition phase as we get to know our new community member, but all is going well thus far!

I am still working at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in the High Dependency Unit as a nurse.  In May of 2010 a large part of the hospital burned to the ground in a terrifying fire.  Luckily, no one was hurt in the blaze.  After over a year of fund-raising and planning, the hospital began the rebuilding process in October 2011.  It is difficult to work in a hospital that is under construction, but we have all made sacrifices while this makeover takes place.  The HDU was moved to a new location and we have adjusted as well.  A funny thing happened at work over the past month.  First, Ashely gave me a book and said, "You have to read this!"  With a recommendation like that, I did not hesitate to dive into the book "Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo.  I read it in a matter of days.  Basically it is the story of a young boy who had appendicitis, then had multiple complications after surgery and was very close to dying.  Once he was well again, he told stories of traveling to heaven while his body was operated on.  It is a good book and made me think about the afterlife and prayer.  Anyway, Coincidence of all Coincidence...While I was reading it, my patient in the HDU was a 12 year old girl who had appendicitis, then had multiple complications after surgery and was very close to dying.   Weird!  My patient was asleep in bed and during my down time I was reading this book.  It was all very interesting indeed.  The little girl had 3 major abdominal surgeries in a month and finally seems to be recovering.  Surgery One: Ruptured Appendix with intra-abdominal abscesses.  Surgery Two: Exploratory Laparotomy with more abscesses, adhesions, and a small bowel obstruction.  Surgery Three: Exploratory Laparotomy with more adhesions, multiple bowel perforations and a small bowel obstruction.  Her last surgery was two weeks ago and it seems to have been her last for now.  During the past month of working with her I have learned extreme patience and how to celebrate the small things!  Never before have I celebrated a normal bowel motion with such genuine joy!!!  Never before have I worked so hard to convince a child to eat her vegetables.  Never before has a child named her teddy bear after me.  But through working with this little girl, I have gained so much even on the trying days!  Please keep her in your prayers as she still has a long road to recovery!

We had a Halloween party at our house!  This is a Mercy Halloween photo!  It is nurses/nursing students from the Hospital where I work!  Because it is a small hospital, we are a close-knit community and they are some of my best friends here!  I'm a cyclist!  I worked a day shift that day and didn't have a lot of time to come up with a costume!



I have been blessed to have family and friends come all the way to Guyana to visit me!  Recently, my parents came to spend a week with me here!  A week did not seem like enough!  Before coming here, I did not know how I would stay in touch with people from home.  To my great surprise, calling home for updates about three times a month was more than feasible.  I believe that these phone conversations over many months kept me connected to home.  But, there is still nothing like hugging your mom and dad at the airport first thing in the morning!!!  When my parents came to visit, I shared my life, service, and Guyana with them. It is through their eyes that I get to see more clearly the ways I have changed. For example, a typical day in Guyana for me, was a sensory-overload, Amazing Race experience for all my visitors.  I took them on what I considered a “slow day” tour around town: Wake up. Coffee and breakfast on the veranda.  Catch a 44-bus to the hospital for a tour. Walk to Oasis for lunch. Walk to the market to pickup things for dinner(pumpkin, bok choy, mangoes, bananas, shallot, celery, onion, tomato, papaw). Catch a 40-bus to the hotel. Naptime in AC. Walk to my house and cook dinner(channa, bok choy, pumpkin, papaw). Family dinner with the roommates. Back to the hotel to sleep.  I forgot how the constant hustle, noise and heat of the city exhausts people who aren't used to it. But the great thing about Guyana is that things rarely go according to plan so I have become easily adaptable.  A year ago in the midst of culture shock and sensory-overload myself, I struggled with the lack of plans and lateness.  All of my visitors have wanted an itinerary before coming.  Truth be told, I just made one up and when they came a lot of it was changed.   That’s what life in a Caribbean culture has done to me. Here people say “just now” all the time.  It means “later”, could be a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, etc.  Eg: When will the meeting start? “Just now.”  People here ask me when I am going back to the States and I say, “just now.” 

Live to Love
Love to Live

The title of this blog is called Transitions, because I have been here a year and have a year more!!!  Since my last post a few key things have happened... 

I had a wonderful two week long visit from good friends Marie and Philip(met them while at Mizzou, they are now married and living in California).  Marie and I went to Mizzou nursing school together, lived together, and were in the same sorority. I was so happy that they made the journey to visit me here.  Both volunteered while they were here.  Marie volunteered at Mercy hospital in the Emergency Room.  She got to see how hectic, frustrating, and humbling the experience has been for me.  It was so cool to be able to sit down and talk with her about it.  I have learned so much this year! It was like looking in the mirror and talking to the sarah who just stepped off the plane.  I entrusted Philip to my friend Ryan(a british volunteer who lived and worked at the orphanage this summer).  They worked with the boys at the orphanage in soccer tournaments and friendly matches with other teams. Philip loved it and the boys loved having so much male attention this summer.  While they were here, my friend Ryan came along on most of our outings. It was a fantastic group ready for any adventure!  The first weekend we went to Arrowpoint Resort in the interior of Guyana.  We hiked, kayaked, and biked through the rain forest.  I can't describe the beauty of nature that surrounded us. We went on the sunrise boat trip to watch humming birds! It was gorgeous and at the end...a rainbow. During the week we also toured some places around town: The Rum Tour, Swimming at the Princess Hotel, a FIFA Football(soccer) match between India and Guyana(Golden Jaguars won 2-1!!!), and the Casino.  Then the next weekend we went to Santa Rosa which should be a qualifyer for the Amazing Race TV show.  First, we took a bus from our house to the bus park(5minutes). Second, we got on a bus from Georgetown across the Demerara River Bridge and up the west coast to Parika(45 minutes). Third, we took a speedboat from Parika across the Essequibo River(25miles wide at the mouth) to Supenaam(1 hour).  Fourth, we took a taxi from Supenaam up the west coast to Charity(1 hour). Finally we met up with a man called "Peanut" and he took us the rest of the way in his speed boat.  Up the Pomeroon River, onto the Atlantic Ocean, then up the Moruca River to Santa Rosa(2hours).  Audrey, Marie, Philip and I went on this trip and had more of a village experience, not really as touristy as Arrowpoint Resort.  We paddled the creek in a canoe carved out of a single tree! So much peace and quiet to talk and play games and relax!  We also hung out with some of my nursing friends and went to karaoke!  Guyanese love karaoke, and it's growing on me too!!! Its a good mix of music from boys to men to elton john to bob marley to phil colins.  All in all, it was a great trip because we traveled and had fun while in the same trip giving back a little too. 

Over the two months Ryan(the British volunteer working at the Orphanage) was here,  we became really close friends. Anne of Green Gables would have called him a "kindred spirit".  We were able to discuss so many topics ranging from life goals to music to cross-cultural struggles in Guyana. I greatly enjoyed our nights out and conversations.  I will miss my friend and wish him the best as he transitions into a new phase of his life.

We received a new Mercy Volunteer in Guyana a few weeks ago.  Meg joined us from Ohio and will be serving in Georgetown for the next two years.  We are excited that our community has grown and are learning how to communicate and function with each other.  Meg is working at the orphanage primary school teaching the special education class.  Audrey is still teaching at the same school and has taken a different class this year.  Ashley is teaching computer class at the vocational school and working in the HIV program at the hospital.  I continue to work at Mercy Hospital in the High Dependency Unit.  I have been working with my boss and have completed a procedure manual.  Hopefully when I leave here in a year this manual will live on and guide the HDU RN's in specialized procedures such as Endotracheal intubation, central line placement, and other procedures.  The hospital has officially started renovations (remember over a year ago a fire burnt one of the main buildings to the ground).  The top floor and the HDU will be renovated first so we will temporarily be in another part of the hospital.  Hopefully in about 4 months the Hospital will have a newly renovated HDU and ICU!  Keeping the original 2 HDU beds and adding 2 ICU beds!!!  I am very excited about this new progress and all prayers are appreciated as the Hospital goes under these changes over the next year of renovation.

Finally, I have been getting the same question alot recently.  "What are you going to do after Guyana?" Whether it is from my parents or from an interested coworker.  The question just keeps coming up and it started to get to me because, I honestly don't know.  When I think about a year from now, I don't know where I'll be living, or what I'll be doing, or anything like that.  I don't know if I can jump right back into ICU nursing at a large hospital after working in a low acuity environment for two years.  I don't even know if I want to be an ICU nurse in the States again.  The point is, for the first time in my life...I have no future plan.  High school naturally led into College. After college I knew that I wanted to do international service, but that I wanted to spend time with my grandparents first.  I knew that Ioved the challenge of ICU nursing and so chose that as a specialty.  After working the ICU for over a year, I knew it was time to fulfill this lifelong dream of international service.  And now I am here, LIVING MY DREAM and LOVING IT!  I am where God has called me.  And today that is enough for me and for everyone asking the question.  I don't know what happens after Guyana, but I know that I have a year left here and I'm going to make the most of it.

So it's been awhile since my last post...I am approaching on the half-way mark of my two years of service here.  Guyana has become my home and writing about my everyday life seems too...i don't know...normal to share.  I sometimes forget how extraordinary my life really is. These foreign things have become normal to me.  But I have to share this experience with you, because it was amazing.  One of my nursing students was getting married and I was invited to the prewedding party(Kwekwe) and the wedding.  It was a fantastic time and an unforgettable experience that I am so thankful for.  

The bride and her groom are of African descent(in Guyana called Afro-Guyanese).  They have traditional custom that has been passed down for generations here.  It is called a Kwekwe.  The night before the wedding the family and friends of the bride gather at the brides home.  (This is where I went, because I know the bride).  We were served food and drinks.   We had a spiced drink made from ginger and mauby bark. Delicious and with a spicy bite!  We also had cookup(all cow-meat, bone, intestine, organs with rice cooked in coconut milk), roti(flatbread) with curry(potatoes with curry spice), and white pudding(spiced rice in intestine casing).  I went with a group of friends from the hospital. 

We got there around 10pm and ate and gaffed on the porch.  Then around 11pm the older women in the brides family started singing folk songs and making rhythmic beats on pots.  The songs are sung in thick creolese (dialect of english here).  Some I understood, some were way over my head, and my friend from the hospital who came with me told me what they were saying. 
One that I've learned goes like this...Bamboo Fiah
Chorus:  Bamboo fiah, wha kin uh fiah...bamboo fiah mek so, mek so (Say twice)
             Bamboo fiah ah hot, hot fiah...bamboo fiah mek so, mek so (Say twice)
             Bamboo, bamboo fiah mek so, bamboo, bamboo fiah mek so (Say twice)
Verse: Six a'clak an' de ting nah ready, bamboo fiah mek so, mek so (Say Twice)
               De man come home an' de pat nah done yet, bamboo fiah mek so, mek so
               De man come home an' de rice nah bile yet. bamboo fiah mek so, mek so
Repeat chorus then more verse. 

Translation in English
Chorus: Bamboo fire, what kind of fire...bamboo fire make so, make so
                Bamboo fire is a hot hot fire...bamboo fire make so, make so
                Bamboo, bamboo fire make so...bamboo, bamboo fire make so
Verse: Six oclock and the thing is not ready, bamboo fire make so , make so
             The man came home and the pot's not done yet, bamboo fire make so, make so
             The man came home and the rice isn't boiled yet, bamboo fire make so, make so
Basically this song is about cooking on a fire made with bamboo, which burns incredibly fast and hot.  So dinner is running late, quick, put some bamboo on the fire to make it hot to cook the food fast! Many of the other songs were about the man's sexual ability and the bride's purity.  Pretty funny! some other songs are on this site: http://silvertorch.com/folksongs-of-guyana.html

Around midnight, we heard the sound of a far of drum beat with people chanting.  This was the "Nation" or husband with his family and friends.  They had met at his house and done similar songs and dance.  Now he was coming to claim his bride on their wedding day.  The bride's family hid the bride in the yard because the groom has to find and fight for his bride.  He came to the gate of the yard and asked for his bride.  In this situation, the Bride's family let him in and he had to find his bride while the nation(his family) followed him around with loud fast drum beats.  It was madness as he tried to find her.  When he did find her they danced together to the loud beats in the crowd.  Then there was more folk music and dancing.  It was an alive, electric atmosphere of bodies and dancing and rhythmic drumming.  I loved it!  After about an hour more of dancing and music, the party broke up and everyone went home to rest for the wedding the next day.  For more about kwekwe look here: http://www.guyfolkfest.org/kwekwe2010.html

The wedding itself was surprisingly like a wedding in the states.  It was Christian wedding held at a Mt Olivet Wesleyan Church.  Everyone dressed in their best and the ceremony was beautiful!!!  14 bridesmaids/groomsman pairs with about 5 junior bridesmades/groomsman pairs!  Unbelievable that they all fit on the altar!!!  The bride and groom were both looking good in their wedding clothes. The bride in the a beautiful white dress with veil and train. The groom in a tux.   They had the usual entrance of the bridal party, groom and finally the bride.  While she walked in a poem by Maya Angelo was read.  The ceremony was as follows: opening prayer, worship songs, scripture reading, spiritual dance performance, the couple's love story, homily by Reverend, Exchanging of vows, blessing, signing of register, closing prayer, introduction of couple.  Then they kissed for the first time as husband and wife.  It was the longest, most passionate wedding kiss that I have ever witnessed.  In front of granny, God and everyone the groom really kissed his bride.  Got to love that Guyanese passion!    Afterward, we all drove out to the reception in a long line of cars with flashers on and endless honking. People all along the roadside smiled and waved at us in celebration too of the new married couple. 

At the wedding reception there were probably 500 people!  We had drinks and sat around and gaffed.  There were toasts by the family by the bride and groom, newly weds and others.  Then the couple cut the cake and shared another passionate kiss until all the camera flashes stopped, quite a while!  Again, everyone was enjoying it and thought it was hilarious!  I sat with my nursing friends and we had good time.  Being with this group of friends is one of the greatest blessings of this time living abroad.  Without them, I could not be as connected or integrated into the Guyanese community as I am.  And that's a huge part of this experience, learning what it is like to be Guyanese.  They have taught me how to be a Guyanese nurse, and we deal with the injustices together, but we can also laugh together.  Yes there are struggles in my life and work, but at the end of the day, what is better than celebrating love with friends?  God is good!

Live to Love
Love to Live

Live updates:
>Thanks to everyone who donated things to the boys at the orphanage!  More pictures of them to come too!
>My friends Marie and Philip are coming to visit in a week!!! I'm so excited to share my experience with them. Marie is a nurse and will be volunteering at the hospital with me!  Philip will be working with the boys at the orphanage!

Wednesday, June 8th
JB and I woke up early at 7am to get ready for the day.  We were out the door at 730am and took a taxi to Wonderland Tours Office.  The bus was waiting for us and we met with the other people who went on the tour with us.  There was a family on vacation, some were Guyanese, some Canadians.  The tour guide and his brother and girlfriend from New York.  We got in the minibus(a large van) and headed out.  We went West to the Essequibo river, one of the largest in Guyana!  We first crossed the Demerara River on the Demerara Harbor Bridge.  It is over a mile long and built on floating pontoons that have weighted anchors to keep them in place.  Once over the bridge we were on the "West Bank" and drove up along the riverside on the main road.  Once we passed the city of Vreed-en-hoop(old dutch village name) we made the turn and started heading up the "West Coast" toward the Essequibo river town, Parika.  While we were driving we saw rice fields in various stages of harvest.  Some were planted, some flooded, and some bare.  There were Sugar cane fields that had been burned(to get rid of rodents and snakes) and some that had been cut.  Along the west coast(atlantic ocean) mangroves had been cultivated to protect the coastal villages from flooding.  It is a foreign landscape, the first of many of the day!  We arrived in Parika around 9am and drove down the dock to meet the speedboat that took us around today.  While we drove down the dock, old wooden boards were creaking and bouncing off the sides.  The old rotten bridge survived though and so did we!  We got into the speedboat and headed inland on the Essequibo river.
     The Essequibo river is one of the largest in Guyana.  It is 25 miles wide at the mouth of the river and has 365 islands in it!  Some of the island are bigger than some of the island countries in the caribbean!  Anyway, JB and I got to know the tour guide and stuck close to him during the day.  He was really funny and wants JB and I to buy and island and start a golf course resort. He would run it for us of course!   So all day he is pointing out islands that would be nice for our resort!  I picked a small one with a tiny island right next to it! "That is timeout for anyone who has been bad" I said and he and JB laughed!  The time in the boat was perfect, the sun was out, but not too hot yet, and water was smooth as glass and the air was fresh.  Living in the busy capital city of Georgetown, I miss fresh air.  Being on the open water with thick lush forests all around was beautifiul.  It is difficult to describe the atmosphere and feeling the experience gave.  We just kept saying to each other how blessed we felt to be able to be young and traveling in such a gorgeous place.  We are living the dream!  Our first stop on the tour was at Fort Island.  It was a historical visit full of great information for our brains.  We read about the dutch, british, and spanish colonies.  We both felt ashamed for not knowing enough about our world history.  Why didn't this seem interesting when we were in school.  It was so awesome to be in such an old place and imagine what took place there centuries ago.  We saw the Court of Policy building which was a church, court, and meeting hall. They had lots of pictures and information about the colonies.  I found the dutch-amerindian relations section the most interesting.  It seems the Dutch settlers were the kindest to the natives.  Also was the fort at the head of the island with four foot thick walls and cannons pointed at all sides of the river.  Our guide told us that the dutch would wait for ships to bring the gold out of the interior, then blast them out of the water when they tried to make it to the ocean. 
    We left Fort Island on the speedboat and moved further inland on the river.  We passed mining operatons fro bauxite, gold, and rock.  We passed the mining town of Bartica...the last major city.  We passed the Maximum security Island Prison...think of Alcatraz, but ancient and rusted out!  Then me made it to Baganara Island Resort.  We had a nice boxed lunch and changed for swimming. The resort was very nice and felt like a swiss family robinson hideout.  It had comfortable hard wood furniture and simple decorations.  We got back in the speed boat and went further inland to Marshal Falls.  We pulled up to the edge of the forest and the guide started using a machete to hack a trail for us.  We walked up to the trailhead and then made the hike into the falls.  It was about a thirty minute hike on a soft trail that was covered with, my guess, years worth of fallen leaves and sticks.  It was like walking on a sponge!  Again, it is difficult to describe the awesomeness of the experience.  I think it is just one of those things that pictures and words can't fully describe.  The trail crested on a hill, then a rapid decline and we were at a moss covered bridge...It was two large logs across the creek with wood planks nailed to it.  Amazing!  We crossed and got our first view of the falls.  It was gorgeous, brown water flowing over large boulders.  Nature's Jacuzzi!  We dropped our packs and stripped of our sweaty clothes and hopped in.  The water was cool and so refreshing.  There were rocks, sticks, logs, and leaves all along the bottom, it was all part of the excitement of the unknown.  We followed the guide into the falls and got aquainted with the current flowing over the edge.  It was so strong, it almost knocked us down a few times and nearly ripped our clothes off!  We climbed on the rocks and got a beating massage!  We took a million pictures.  We lay on the rocks and looked at the beauty of nature surrounding us.  The greenest forest, the bluest sky, the freshest air.  This is the life, this is living the dream!  JB and I were the first in the water and the last out.  We hiked back to the boat and talked about travel and other places that we had to visit!  We talked about what was important in life and our priorities.  We talked about if experiences or possessions were better.  I'm on the experiences band wagon for sure!  I don't need a fancy car, but I love travelling and being somewhere new and exciting!  Awesome experiences are addictive!!!
     The boat took us back to Parika because it was getting late.  We saw the sunset from the boat then got back in the minibus to drive back to georgetown.  We stopped for icecream and bananas at the market and talked the whole ride home!  This is one of the things I miss most being here in guyana, deep conversations with close friends.  I am so happy that JB came to visit me because he is such a great friend.  We talked and laughed so much this day!  It was perfect!  We went to a restaurant by our house for dinner with the roommates and then went to bed early because we were going to Kaituer falls the next morning!

Tuesday June 7th
We wake up bright and early to the sun and sound of morning traffic.  Sleeping in doesn't happen too often in Guyana.  It has to be a rainy and weekend/holiday to hit the jackpot of sleeping past 9am!  So we get up and I make the typical breakfast again. Tennis roll with pine jam and a mango.  Instant coffee!  We enjoy it on the veranda and laugh about last night's shenanigans.  We were supposed to go to Kaiteur today, but with the flooding problems in the south...plans change.  This morning I have booked a tour of the rum distillery for us, Demerara Distillers Limited.   My friend from the hospital, Kavita is going to join us for the day!   We head to the tour around 930am, its south of georgetown going toward the airport.  This time around the drive is hectic with morning traffic and JB gets to see the sights in daylight.  We see cane fields, housing developments and industry headquarters along the bank of the Demerara river.
     
     During the tour, I decide that I need to invent a camera that can capture smells as well as images as well.  Each stage of the tour had a distinct odor, from the yeast processing to fermentation to the stills.  Anyway, the tour was very educational!  Who knew that some of the world's best rum(it's won hundreds of awards and competitions) was made right in Guyana!  There is such a rum industry history here!  After learning about how the rum is made, we got to do a rum tasting!!! Awesome, even though it was only noon!  We had the 3 year old white rum...mixed with simple syrup and lime juice it was very tasty.  Then we had the 5 year old rum(voted best rum under 7 years old in the world!!!)  Best mixed with pepsi!  Then it was on to the fancy stuff...8year old which is blended with caramel for a nice flavor similar to amaretto.  Then the 12 year old which is consumed straight up...I'm not too keen on sipping straight alcohol, so I'll leave this one to the pros!  Apparently this rum has also won a ton of rum contests worldwide! 

     We walked across the street to the gift shoppe and bought some souvenirs for JB to take home to his family.  What better gift to get than...the worlds greatest rum!!! Really!  Another lesson learned today is that in Guyana, you often have to wait.  In this case we waited for about 25 minutes for our taxi driver to come pic us up!  I think that in this time thought some of the funniest pictures were taken and a great friendship was started between Kavita and JB!! Hilarious!  Once the taxi got there we drove back to Georgetown and went to Germans restaurant for lunch.  We had provision(starchy roots) soup(has sweet potato, cassava, plantain and dumplings) and curry with raisin rice.  Of course we washed it down with cherry juice!  So good, we couldn't finish all the food!
     That afternoon we went shopping on Regent street(a main road with many shops).  First we hit up the mall.  Most of the things there were things you could get in America for similar prices!  JB had heard that "shirt jacks" are really popular down here.  Kavita and I had no idea what a "shirt Jack" was, but after asking a store owner, we were all cracking up!  It is like an older man's button down shirt with four pockets and embroidery!  We tried to get JB to try one on, but he resisted!  Plus they were expensive!   From then on, we laughed when we saw a man wearing a shirt jack on the street!  We walked down regent and hit up Discounts a store that sells shoes super cheap.  JB got some nice "nike"(I use quotes because they were probably not real nike) sneakers for $10usd!  Can't beat that!  Then we had a refreshing coconut water from a street stall.  The man uses a machete to cut off the top of a cooled coconut and then gives you a straw.   You drink "nature's gatorade" straight out of that.  Then he cuts it open and you eat the coconut's sweet jelly!  Delicious and just what I needed to make it through the afternoon!  We made our way to the craft boutique and bought some Guyanese crafts for JB to take home to his family.  Jewlery, carved wood boxes and bowls, and carved calabash nuts.  I picked up a few things too!  Then we met a friend who is volunteering at the hospital and had a Premium Banks beer poolside!  JB tried Vitamalt which is difficult to describe.  There is nothing like it in the states.  It is like a mix between prune juice, an iron supplement, and malt.  They love it here and it is full of vitamins and nutrients.  We took Kavita home and met her mom then ran home quickly to get ready for dinner!
    We had dinner this night with the Sisters of Mercy who live across the street from our house.  We had pizza from pizzahut(yes Guyana has chain restaurants: Popeyes, KFC, Churches Chicken, and Pizza hut!).  We also had ginger beer, which is like a spicy cream soda i guess. We talked and chilled there and told them all about our planned trips!  One of the sisters is consistently asking me if I have considered becoming a sister.  She frequently has a "slip of the tongue" and calls me Sister Sarah.  Of course she thought JB was my brother at first and then asked if he had ever considered becoming a priest.  He said "yeah, for like a day or two" then the sisters started cracking up!  It was hilarious!  Anyway, we walked home and I we packed for our trip the next morning!  We were going on an Essequibo river tour!!!  Then I tucked JB into his mosquito net!  What  a great day in Georgetown with Kavita!

Wow!!! I am not exaggerating when I say that last week was the best week of my life!!! My friend from college, Jonathon(JB), came to visit me last week and we lived life to the fullest while he was here. ***For real, JB and I are just really good friends.  I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends in my life*** Forget napping, forget chilling on a beach.  This was a Guyanese vacation complete with rainforest excursions, and dinner on a veranda overlooking the loud and crazy bus park.  I confess that these will be long blog entries to cover such a fantastic week.  For those of you who are unable to visit me here, I hope that by reading this, you can imagine yourself here with me.  I was so happy to have shared this epic part of my life with someone from home.   I feel like my two worlds came together when my "white boy" came to visit my caribbean world!  So here goes!

Monday June 6th
At 1230pm a friend picks us up in his car.  Along for the ride is Ashley(my community member), Alex(a mutual friend who was nice enough to offer to make the drive to airport to pick up JB), and Alex's cousin.  I don't know why, but I'm nervous.  I haven't seen anyone from home in over 9 months.  How much have I changed, how much has my friend changed?  Did I prepare him enough over email for the culture shock of coming to Guyana?  There are things that have become so normal to me that I forgot to even mention them to him.  Anyway, we get to the airport and go up to the viewing area to watch the planes land.  After a short time his plane is unloading and I see the "Giant white boy with a head full of curls" walking off the plane.  Its not that he is that giant, or that white...Its that he is one of the only white people on the plane.  I see him talking to a woman beside him, what a relief.  He has already made a friend on the plane!  We go down to the arrivals exit and wait for him to come through.    He walks through at about 130am and we hug!  It's so unbelievable that after months of planning and looking forward to someone visiting me that it is really happening!  I'm psyched and we head to the car to make the 45 minute drive from the airport to my house.  During the drive, he is pretty tired from travelling all day.  But notices right away that the car is a right side driver(british) and that we drive on the left side of the road here(british).  I forgot that it was strange!  It is so refreshing to see Guyana through new eyes again!  We listen to some hiphop music in the car and I just let him take in all the sights.  True it is the middle of the night, but there is strange architecture to see and a foriegn landscape.  He found it interesting that all the houses are pretty much on stilts or built with open space beneath them.  This is because so much of Guyana, particularly the coast is prone to flooding.  There were animals in the road which is normal to me, but 5 huge cows on the roadside was pretty funny to him.  At 230am we got back to our house and he got to see how we live.  "Pretty nice" I think was the assessment!  He made his way to his back bedroom and I tucked him into his mosquito netted bed and turned on his fan.  That was that!  Below is a classic Guyanese style house.
    
     The next morning the sun rose at 6am and the morning traffic started getting loud on our corner around 630am!  So both of us were up around 8am.  I made him a breakfast that I have almost every morning.  A tennis roll(a large soft sweet bread roll) with pine(apple) jam, a mango, and a cup of coffee(instant coffee power, cane sugar, and powdered milk).  We sat on the veranda overlooking the busy morning traffic on the street below and enjoyed our breakfast.  Once we had finished, we went for a walk on the seawall.  The Seawall is about three feet high and four foot wide concrete wall the runs along the coast of Georgetown to protect the city from floods during high tide.  It also has several pumps that pump water out of the city during low tide.  Many of the anti-flooding systems in place were built by the Dutch many years ago when Guyana was a dutch colony.  Anyway, we use the sea wall for exercise.  We walk along the top and enjoy the sea breeze and sun!  After our walk, we returned to the house and got ready to go to the hospital where I work for a tour!  Around 10am we caught a minibus(large van that is the main mode of cheap public transportation)  This was JB's first time on the minibus and it was a typical experience.  First of all, he was smashed into the front row with three other grown men. The music was a loud dancehall beat and we were going FAST!!!  On the main road to the hospital, the minibus sped up to pass another minibus...while the other minibus was passing a small car.  Double pass at breakneck speeds while smushed into a loud crowd!  I don't know a better way to show someone the pulse and pace of my life!  It was exhilarating!  Who needs skydiving or cliff jumping, come to Guyana and hop on a bus!  Once at the hospital, I showed JB around where I work and introduced him to my coworkers.  We didn't talk much about healthcare in Guyana, but he could see from the environment, that it was not on the same level as US healthcare.  Later in the week, we had some good talks about my work and the injustice of the world's allocation of wealth and resources.  Good talks, and just what I needed to vent my frustrations and get some encouragement!  Almost everyone who met JB at the hospital thought he was my brother!  Must be the curly hair and blue-green eyes!  After the hospital we walked around the kingston neighborhood to the bank and internet cafe to call JB's home to let them know he arrived safely!  
     For lunch we went to the Sister's of Mercy Meadowbrooke convent.  It is important to introduce my visitors to the Sisters who serve here.  They are a support system and extended community to the three of us volunteers!  Miss Maisey(who first taught me to cook) made a delicious lunch of fish cakes with gravy, bora(long green bean), bok choy, fried bread fruit, carrot rice, corn rice, and for dessert, apple bananas from the yard!  To drink we had fresh cherry-passion fruit juice!  It was all so good!  Even if most of the sisters are in their 80's and hard of hearing, it was still fun.  One of the sisters told us stories of the Jonestown Massacre.  She knew people who were almost on the plane with the US congressman who went to visit Jonestown(almost everyone on the plane was murdered during the trip).  After our lunch and afternoon chat, I got a phone call saying that our trip to Kaituer falls the next day was canceled because all small planes were being used to evacuate the flooded southern region of Guyana.  Ah!!! Travelling in Guyana can be a headache, our major trip was already cancelled because of the flooding.  But alas, this is another thing you must learn to deal with in Guyana.  Things rarely go according to plan, and you just have to learn to roll with the punches.    We put our trips destiny into the very capable hands of wonderland tours and they truly made it happen the rest of the week!  
   
     Monday afternoon we went to the boys orphanage to play with the boys.  For the first thirty minutes of JB arriving, the boys were crazy!  They kept jumping up on him and hanging on him.  It is something about a new person coming and that person being a man that they love!  After they had settled down a bit, things got under control.  They boys were saying how strong JB was and then he showed them how to do pushups.  It was a priceless moment seeing JB doing pushups with a group of boys around him doing the same!  They loved wearing his aviator sunglasses and taking pictures!  After an exhausing few hours of play, we walked out to catch a bus.  In the heat of the afternoon, we decided to stop for a beer.  On the roadside at a small bar we sat on stools and enjoyed a local Banks beer.  We couldn't stop smiling!  Who would have thought a year ago that we would be sitting at a tiny bar in south america enjoying an ice cold beer in the hot afternoon!  Perfect!  

     We took a minibus home and I conviced JB to take a nap on the hammock on the veranda!  It was picturesque.  I put on some reggae music and started cooking dinner.  I made a classic Guyanese dish-cookup!  I have been perfecting it since coming to Guyana as it is one of my favorite foods and I hope to be able to make it when I go back to the states!  Both he and another of our friends like it.  I put hot pepper sauce on my food, and JB did the same thinking he liked hot foods...TOO HOT!!! I have acquired a taste of the pepper but for someone fresh of the plane, it was too much!  That night some of my nursing buddies came over to the house and we limed(hand out) and gaffed(talked) on the veranda enjoying some rum and cokes (BEST RUM IN THE WORLD!)  We were telling nursing stories and talking about our work.  It was just like being back in nursing school again, perfect!  It was getting pretty late, so they all went home and I tucked JB into his mosquito net again!  What a perfect first day of vacation!