MASHRAMANI!!! = dirty booty dancing in the streets , lots of broken beer bottles on the ground, and a parade!!!
Fun to see all of New Amsterdam out on the main road. Lots of people, lots of things to do, even a few activities (swings and trampolines) were available for children to play in!! It was the second one I have celebrated in country…I am starting to feel Guyanese, even though my Sconnie accent denies that from ever happening!
I will have my first article published this month! It will be a series in the Stabroek Newspaper, which should be found online too, about Parents getting involved in their childrens education!!!
Ill post it up online when I can!!! Happy Happy Happy MARCH!!!
Peace, love and journalism?!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Old NEws
The Newbies are here!! Guy 23 came in last Tuesday and I was lucky enough to be part of the Welcoming committee!! I was with them all week, talking with them, listening to them and feeding off their excitement. So many questions, and time will answer most of them! It feels good and weird to be old news, its crazy how far you can come in a year!!
...oh and whoaaa rainy season. I got back to work at the school and turned around after 5 steps in thigh high water. Yuck!!! YOu dont even want to know what was floating in there. Day two of school closed because of flooding! But there was still a little sun that came out for Shemars Birthday party!! Pineapple cake, colored sand art and snakes and latters!! = So mucho fuN!!! :)
Tomorrow is Mashramani!!! Hopefully there is more glitter, spandex and giant penis floats cruizing the streets!!!
Peace LOve and RAIN RAIN RAIN!!
...oh and whoaaa rainy season. I got back to work at the school and turned around after 5 steps in thigh high water. Yuck!!! YOu dont even want to know what was floating in there. Day two of school closed because of flooding! But there was still a little sun that came out for Shemars Birthday party!! Pineapple cake, colored sand art and snakes and latters!! = So mucho fuN!!! :)
Tomorrow is Mashramani!!! Hopefully there is more glitter, spandex and giant penis floats cruizing the streets!!!
Peace LOve and RAIN RAIN RAIN!!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wait...can you... Slow DOWN?!?!
After 2 hours waiting in line at the emergency room with number 78, I finally made it with my student to get her leg looked at( seems as if child abuse was taken a little too far this time and now the lashing cut left a hefty leg wound that got infected) Bullshit.
Ive spent more time in child protection services this week than Id care to admit. When really the focus of my next project is just trying to get parents involved in their childs education, maybe I should also focus on how not to beat them.
Meh, enough about that, lets focus on the great things. Have I told you how great the last workshop was? Oh man, there is nothing like working with enthusiastic teachers and teaching them how to be even better! I love that part of my job as well as the school visits! ( the writing of the modules, grading and money crap not so much) but gosh is the “Inclusion” fever hitting Guyana. Lots of great feedback from the HMs at schools, the teachers themselves, and the students!(which is the most important part!)
I’ve been tutoring some neighborhood kids after school…gosh they are funny. Kevaun, Pikachu(Marvela) Shemar, Richard and Natasha. Some of the best and funniest kids. Kevaun and Shemar like to walk me home and yell “She don’t wantchu!” at all the men that try to holler. Next Friday is Shemars birthday so we are going to have party= me making chocolate cake and kids running around mi casa! ( I might secretly break out waterballoons, we’ll see!)
I was invited to a Grade one and two meeting today for parents. Im trying to advocate for parent teachers conferences in the school as well as just do basic discussion about the importance of being involved in all aspects of a childs life. I talked about the importance of nutrition and knowing the childs teacher (and opening up communication with him/her) It was a good first meeting at NA primary. And I got approached by a family on the way out to who would love to get some help with their child who was pulled from mainstream school because of her learning differences. OWOWO good day, lots was accomplished, lots more to be done.
Early in the morning, dawn of new day, new hopes, new dreams, new ways, open up my eyes and open up my mind and I wonder how life wil surprise me today….ITS A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!
Peace Love and the happiness of busy-ness.
Ive spent more time in child protection services this week than Id care to admit. When really the focus of my next project is just trying to get parents involved in their childs education, maybe I should also focus on how not to beat them.
Meh, enough about that, lets focus on the great things. Have I told you how great the last workshop was? Oh man, there is nothing like working with enthusiastic teachers and teaching them how to be even better! I love that part of my job as well as the school visits! ( the writing of the modules, grading and money crap not so much) but gosh is the “Inclusion” fever hitting Guyana. Lots of great feedback from the HMs at schools, the teachers themselves, and the students!(which is the most important part!)
I’ve been tutoring some neighborhood kids after school…gosh they are funny. Kevaun, Pikachu(Marvela) Shemar, Richard and Natasha. Some of the best and funniest kids. Kevaun and Shemar like to walk me home and yell “She don’t wantchu!” at all the men that try to holler. Next Friday is Shemars birthday so we are going to have party= me making chocolate cake and kids running around mi casa! ( I might secretly break out waterballoons, we’ll see!)
I was invited to a Grade one and two meeting today for parents. Im trying to advocate for parent teachers conferences in the school as well as just do basic discussion about the importance of being involved in all aspects of a childs life. I talked about the importance of nutrition and knowing the childs teacher (and opening up communication with him/her) It was a good first meeting at NA primary. And I got approached by a family on the way out to who would love to get some help with their child who was pulled from mainstream school because of her learning differences. OWOWO good day, lots was accomplished, lots more to be done.
Early in the morning, dawn of new day, new hopes, new dreams, new ways, open up my eyes and open up my mind and I wonder how life wil surprise me today….ITS A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!
Peace Love and the happiness of busy-ness.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
if you are happy and you know!!! THEN SHOW IT!!!
It was a year ago today that I said goodbye and left my amazing family for an unknown journey. And as much as I miss them, I truly believe I am exactly where I need to be. Exactly where I should be at this point in my life. Learning, Loving, and Laughing.
Peace Love and another year!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY
I have heard 4 times in the past week from people of different walks in life that I am the “happiest person” people have ever met. One asked me to write about that, about what drives me, what inspires me, what makes me who I am etc…which I don’t think lots of people actually want to read about, so instead heres just a little bit of advice on ways I believe I live to encourage happiness into my daily life. It’s obvious to me that because my life was built on a dream world of amazing family, great opportunties and blessings that I am where I am today, and I thank God for that everyday.
Happiness is a choice however, no matter your walk in life, its all about your attitude.
What I do, have done, and continue to work on to strengthen the joy and happiness in my life.
Here’s my advice. Take it or leave it, either way thanks for reading!!!
1. Wake up in the morning early enough to THINK about what you really want out of that day.
2. This is hard, but LET GO OF ALL EXPECTATIONS, especially for people.When you learn how to do this you will be wonderfully surprised how amazing people and life really are. (this does not however mean lowering your own standards)
3. Really FEEL life out. Cry when you are sad, laugh when you are happy, be in the moment and don’t hold back.
4. Make MISTAKES, because only then will you really ever learn in a way that’s pertinent to your own soul.
5. Love, Love and Love more. Give, Give, and Give more.
6. Focus your life on whatever makes you happy, not anyone else, and don’t ever compare your life to others.
7. Anger for anything is only hurting yourself, Forgiveness is the only way to heal.
8. Really get to know the people in your life that matter to you, Relationships with eachother are what sustains us.
9. If you are a planner make plan, if you aren’t go with the flow, but never contemplate what you are doing, Believe you are exactly where you should be and you will get to where you want to go. View everyday as a stepping stone.
10. Get outside your comfort zone- only then will you truly grow in thought and feeling
11. Stress can build up everyday..be an advocate for your own sanity and find out what you need to manage it.
12. There are moments in life that will be sad, hurtful, confusing etc, don’t try to stop yourself from living them out.
13. Be who you are: if there is something you don’t like fix it, or not, but never pretend.
14. Don’t put too much reliance on others and things to make you happy, in the end you are the only one who will always be there for you.
15. Eat good food and drink good wine.
16. Don’t let your mind stop you from what your body is capable of.
17. Turn off the lights, the TV, the music, light a candle and take a cold shower(im not just saying this because it’s the only thing I have access to!) it will save resources and your soul.
18. Life is not a competition, do what you want, and don’t get ahead of yourself
19. Read
20. Kids will always put a new perspective on things. Embrace them.
21. The more you ponder lifes questions, the more confusing it seems to become. That doesn’t mean to not challenge your own thoughts of why you are here and what you are living for.
You know what makes you happy, whens the last time you sat down and gave yourself your own brilliant advice or actually thought of happiness in that sense?
This might be really silly to read for people with many more years of life experience than I, and I know that all of this will probably seem silly to me too in 5, 10, 20 years too! But if theres anything that will always be true it’s that you are what you settle for and you love how you want to be loved and are happy because of what makes you happy in the moment. Life experience teaches you that all along the way.
Peace, Love and Happiness!!!
Happiness is a choice however, no matter your walk in life, its all about your attitude.
What I do, have done, and continue to work on to strengthen the joy and happiness in my life.
Here’s my advice. Take it or leave it, either way thanks for reading!!!
1. Wake up in the morning early enough to THINK about what you really want out of that day.
2. This is hard, but LET GO OF ALL EXPECTATIONS, especially for people.When you learn how to do this you will be wonderfully surprised how amazing people and life really are. (this does not however mean lowering your own standards)
3. Really FEEL life out. Cry when you are sad, laugh when you are happy, be in the moment and don’t hold back.
4. Make MISTAKES, because only then will you really ever learn in a way that’s pertinent to your own soul.
5. Love, Love and Love more. Give, Give, and Give more.
6. Focus your life on whatever makes you happy, not anyone else, and don’t ever compare your life to others.
7. Anger for anything is only hurting yourself, Forgiveness is the only way to heal.
8. Really get to know the people in your life that matter to you, Relationships with eachother are what sustains us.
9. If you are a planner make plan, if you aren’t go with the flow, but never contemplate what you are doing, Believe you are exactly where you should be and you will get to where you want to go. View everyday as a stepping stone.
10. Get outside your comfort zone- only then will you truly grow in thought and feeling
11. Stress can build up everyday..be an advocate for your own sanity and find out what you need to manage it.
12. There are moments in life that will be sad, hurtful, confusing etc, don’t try to stop yourself from living them out.
13. Be who you are: if there is something you don’t like fix it, or not, but never pretend.
14. Don’t put too much reliance on others and things to make you happy, in the end you are the only one who will always be there for you.
15. Eat good food and drink good wine.
16. Don’t let your mind stop you from what your body is capable of.
17. Turn off the lights, the TV, the music, light a candle and take a cold shower(im not just saying this because it’s the only thing I have access to!) it will save resources and your soul.
18. Life is not a competition, do what you want, and don’t get ahead of yourself
19. Read
20. Kids will always put a new perspective on things. Embrace them.
21. The more you ponder lifes questions, the more confusing it seems to become. That doesn’t mean to not challenge your own thoughts of why you are here and what you are living for.
You know what makes you happy, whens the last time you sat down and gave yourself your own brilliant advice or actually thought of happiness in that sense?
This might be really silly to read for people with many more years of life experience than I, and I know that all of this will probably seem silly to me too in 5, 10, 20 years too! But if theres anything that will always be true it’s that you are what you settle for and you love how you want to be loved and are happy because of what makes you happy in the moment. Life experience teaches you that all along the way.
Peace, Love and Happiness!!!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Welcome Home
I sit here collecting my thoughts like rain as real puddles form by feet, after splashing off my new Milwaukee brewers umbrella.(courtesy of my amazing brother) Three full weeks of happiness at home with people, food and places I love.
Leaving Guyana after 11 months to escape to Wisconsin for a little holiday I went wild!. Wild over luxuries. Indulgence. Lavishness. Guilty pleasure. Slighty spoiled. Culture shock.
Hot shower. Hot bath. My skin gets tingly with the first splash of hot water. I still cant stop the military shower style.
Burger Kind restaurant in the airport, Starbucks, Beef Burgers. I do a double take.I I can’t decide. I just stand in front and stare.I had the lady behind the counter (Shanique) decide.
Im noticing names, I didnt flush when i peed and was greeted with a "EWW gross", what happend to if its yellow let it mellow...guess mellow yellow is just a drink in this country.
Magazines. Entertainment, sports, world news. Fashion and more. Sidewalks. Sleeping. No mosquito net. Cold weather..first time not sweating in months. I sleep under two blankets. I sleep with a sweater on and biggie laying across my body. I missed the heaviness and comfort of being wrapped up.
Basketball. Dancing with the Stars. NBC News. Modern television. I flick and flick and flick.Clean streets. No garbage. Garbage cans. Recycling. People respect the environment.
I keep checking the ground for animal poo. Cow, sheep, dog. I can walk anywhere and poo is nowhere.
White people. I have never seen so many in months.
Food indulgence.
I decide that this is hard. To adjust and be around things that you’ve been without. To get used to something old that feels brand new again. To have a choice and options. Unable to make a decision. To just sit and stare at something because you have no idea what else to do.
Luxuries. My return to the states and lavishness and guilty pleasures and everything that was normal. I wonder what will feel normal again.
Whoopi Goldberg once said, “I’ve strayed so far from normal now, I’ll never find my way back. And the truth is I no longer want to.”
My normal has changed.
I now open my eyes again to the world that somehow feels like home too.
Back to Guyana I went. after a minor-ish confusion at the airport which left my goodbyes to family and friends a bit brief and emotional. The last few hugs from my parents are still embraced into my memory so tight i can feel them anytime I want. I guess thats the luck I have from being given such a wonderful family. Oh where would I be without them I thought as I boarded my flight. Where would I would I be without this Wisconsin state to call my home.
As much as my home and Wisconsin has shaped me, Guyana is pushing those boundaries of ability, dreams, realities, emotions for me.
I got back to my Guyana on a Sunday Morning. The air is so thick that the first thing you do when you get off the plane is swallow it in to welcome it, and make it know you are its friend, not foe. Sweat beads form and I grab my luggage from the piled bags..weaving in and out with 100 lbs of "necessary" items and take a 3 hour taxi back to a hot mess apartment.
Apparently when I was away my landlady decided to rent my place out to....who knows? but I returned to mess, things broken, stolen,misplaced etc. Oh life! What can you do?
I have been cleaning for 4 days straight and I finally feel out of the whirlwind that was this past month of emotions.
Im diving into bigger projects(writing for the newspaper? a community wide parent/child idea, and I even got a phone call from the teaching college wanting me to teach?) Me= Professor?!(please roll your tongue when you say this)
Life is too short to not indulge in all your life dreams at once.
Peace, Love and The New Year!
Leaving Guyana after 11 months to escape to Wisconsin for a little holiday I went wild!. Wild over luxuries. Indulgence. Lavishness. Guilty pleasure. Slighty spoiled. Culture shock.
Hot shower. Hot bath. My skin gets tingly with the first splash of hot water. I still cant stop the military shower style.
Burger Kind restaurant in the airport, Starbucks, Beef Burgers. I do a double take.I I can’t decide. I just stand in front and stare.I had the lady behind the counter (Shanique) decide.
Im noticing names, I didnt flush when i peed and was greeted with a "EWW gross", what happend to if its yellow let it mellow...guess mellow yellow is just a drink in this country.
Magazines. Entertainment, sports, world news. Fashion and more. Sidewalks. Sleeping. No mosquito net. Cold weather..first time not sweating in months. I sleep under two blankets. I sleep with a sweater on and biggie laying across my body. I missed the heaviness and comfort of being wrapped up.
Basketball. Dancing with the Stars. NBC News. Modern television. I flick and flick and flick.Clean streets. No garbage. Garbage cans. Recycling. People respect the environment.
I keep checking the ground for animal poo. Cow, sheep, dog. I can walk anywhere and poo is nowhere.
White people. I have never seen so many in months.
Food indulgence.
I decide that this is hard. To adjust and be around things that you’ve been without. To get used to something old that feels brand new again. To have a choice and options. Unable to make a decision. To just sit and stare at something because you have no idea what else to do.
Luxuries. My return to the states and lavishness and guilty pleasures and everything that was normal. I wonder what will feel normal again.
Whoopi Goldberg once said, “I’ve strayed so far from normal now, I’ll never find my way back. And the truth is I no longer want to.”
My normal has changed.
I now open my eyes again to the world that somehow feels like home too.
Back to Guyana I went. after a minor-ish confusion at the airport which left my goodbyes to family and friends a bit brief and emotional. The last few hugs from my parents are still embraced into my memory so tight i can feel them anytime I want. I guess thats the luck I have from being given such a wonderful family. Oh where would I be without them I thought as I boarded my flight. Where would I would I be without this Wisconsin state to call my home.
As much as my home and Wisconsin has shaped me, Guyana is pushing those boundaries of ability, dreams, realities, emotions for me.
I got back to my Guyana on a Sunday Morning. The air is so thick that the first thing you do when you get off the plane is swallow it in to welcome it, and make it know you are its friend, not foe. Sweat beads form and I grab my luggage from the piled bags..weaving in and out with 100 lbs of "necessary" items and take a 3 hour taxi back to a hot mess apartment.
Apparently when I was away my landlady decided to rent my place out to....who knows? but I returned to mess, things broken, stolen,misplaced etc. Oh life! What can you do?
I have been cleaning for 4 days straight and I finally feel out of the whirlwind that was this past month of emotions.
Im diving into bigger projects(writing for the newspaper? a community wide parent/child idea, and I even got a phone call from the teaching college wanting me to teach?) Me= Professor?!(please roll your tongue when you say this)
Life is too short to not indulge in all your life dreams at once.
Peace, Love and The New Year!
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