First Week in Georgetown

Ok well I’ve been in Georgetown (Town as they call it here) a few days now, it’s all been a bit manic and this is the first time I’ve had enough time/ energy to make my way down to the internet cafe in Town to let you know how I’m getting on .


Saying good bye at the Heathrow was a weird experience, it didn’t really kick in that I was going to be away for a whole year, I met up with the other 15 volunteers who were going to Guyana, said a brief goodbye to the family members that were with me and then off I went.... quite tame really, but I don’t like saying goodbye anyway, so I guess it was probably a good thing.



my first flight was from Heathrow to JFK (New York) and was 6 hours long , I spent most the flight just chatting away to the other volunteers seeing how their summers were etc. I slept the most of the second flight from JFK to Georgetown, waking up just in time to witness our descent through Guyana into the airport. The outlook from the plane was spectacular and gave me my first glimpse on how pristine and undeveloped Guyana is. Rainforest was everywhere, it looked like a giant field of broccoli from above. Trees extended for miles right up to the coast only being broken up by the massive rivers that run right through Guyana. There was a mist that hung just above the tree tops near the airport added to the scenery giving the others and I a stunning aerial panorama of the surrounding land as the plane encircled in the sky waiting for the fog to clear before attempting to land. 4 attempts and 1 and a half hours of stalling later we landed..... FINALLY!

30th August

A man from the Guyanese Ministry Of Education picked us all up from the airport and took us to the flat that Project Trust (PT) own in Georgetown (the airport is actually 30 mins outside Georgetown). The capital is a typical developing city: All the main development has occurred along a central street, Sherriff Street (near to where the PT flat is). The rest of the city is a bit run down; most of the houses are remnants from when Guyana was a British colony back in the 60’s and so all look a bit shabby. Having said that, there are some really nice parts of town. St. George’s Cathedral is impressive and claims to be the largest unsupported wooden structure in the world! It is strange how stuctures like that and Umana Yana can exist in so close in proximity to the majority of buildings in Georgetown that are neglected and worn out.

St. George's Cathedral

Typical Street in Georgetown

Umana Yana

           

Siamese tortoises!!

Harpy Eagle

After unpacking and a quick debriefing from Kala our host in Guyana, we headed to the Georgetown zoo. There were pretty cool animals like jaguars, anacondas, siamese tortoises and harpy eagles, seeing the animals locked away didn’t really do it for me.  At least if anything it has wet my appetite to seeing them in the wild around Aishalton. Everyone I’ve spoken to so far keeps on talking about the amazing wild life down in South Rupununi (the area where I’ll be living)!

The evening brought some bad news: The Road down to Aishalton has been washed away by the heavy rains that went on for the 6 weeks preceded our arrival in the country. This means that Dave and I won’t be leaving till the 10th, and we will be flying instead of taking a bus. Although it cuts the journey time down by about 22 hours, I can only take 10kg worth of stuff with me to live off until my other 46kg can be transported down to me... and that could take a while :(

31st August

Dave, Me, Lucy

Today we got given a tour round town by Kala’s son Rishtan and his friend Peter, then did a bit of shopping to get hammocks/ mosquito nets and anything we had forgotten to pack. When we got back it had got seriously hot so we slung up our hammock and limed (chilled out) for most the afternoon, it was good to catch up on some sleep. In the evening we attended the Opening Ceremony of the Amerindian Heritage Month... the speeches given by each of the tribes were pretty dull though I met the Prime Minister of Guyana, who seemed genuinely interested in the teaching about to do in his country. After an all-you-can eat Brazilian we went to sleep in our hammocks as it was cooler than inside.

1st September

Spent 9am-3pm at the Ministry Of Education, where we were given lots of talks on Child Friendly Schools and the correct procedure for lesson plans, schemes of work and etiquette in the classroom. Useful yet tedious!

2nd – 3th September

Well not really much to say... it’s been a pretty boring last few days, Kala who was meant to be looking after us did not expect to look after us for so long, meaning she’s started work again leaving us to our own devices. We can’t really do much as security in the capital is pretty bad at the moment. I just really want to get down to my project and start doing the things that I came to Guyana to do :( not just sit in the capital doing jack all. I guess these days in town will provide me with a bit more time to get to know the PT volunteers. I’m glad that there is a really good bunch of guys and girls to spend time with. At the moment we are booking our x mas flights to Tobago. I have been put in charge of this task which means that it’s on my head if the plan all falls through!! Two of the volunteers have now gone to their project which has made me jealous.

Sorry this blog doesn't have a lot of interesting content, the real fun will start will come when I get down to Aishalton... feel free to leave any comments :)

Sam