Initial Training Completed

After two days of icebreakers, team building exercises, gender workshops, risk management and health information sessions, numerous guest speakers, videos and other activities the pre-departure training is done.  The real orientation will happen once we arrive in Guyana.  The first few days are spent taking it easy out at a camp ground so we can acclimatize and adjust to our new surroundings.  There the folks at Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) will provide training and resources for workshops on HIV/AIDS, gender issues, parent counseling, and anything else that we will need to know before we go into the community.  We go on project a few days after that with a Guyanese group leader.  

So far I'm really excited about this adventure.  Everyone is in such good spirits and has a lot of personality.  I am the oldest... sigh.  I don't mind it though,  I am enjoying the eagerness of the youngins and think I will learn a lot from them.  So far, I think I'll get along with pretty much everyone - they all seem pretty open-minded.  We've already talked about our "poo-scale" and acted out numerous scenarios and solutions for when people feel culture shock, homesick, overwhelmed, etc.  I just printed off a bunch of camp games and jokes so that should come in handy ;).  

The best part of the orientation for me was when a Guyanese man who lives in Canada now came to talk to us about the country.  I really started to get a feel for what the people will be like.  The Guyanese form a very eclectic population.  The majority of them are East Indian (Indo-Guyanese), but there are also many Africans (Afro-Guyanese), Portuguese, Chinese, and White people.  They seem like simple folk - the country is very poor and communication is scarce.  In the interior, people mostly farm and go about their business.  They don't have newspapers and there are no through roads so they can be pretty out of touch with the rest of the country.  There is one road though that goes through Gerogetown along the coast (which will be nice for my group), and another (new) one that goes down to Brazil.  One of the main forms of travel is by boat and their "highways" are the rivers.  

I found out that there was a travel guide published on Guyana - the first one ever- in January of this year.   I ran to the book shop on my lunch break yesterday and bought it, I am very excited :-).  

Time for some last minute packing now as my flight leaves tomorrow!!  I was told there would be no electricity what-so-ever (no ipod or rechargeable camera :( ).  That also means no internet.  So my brilliant idea of a travel blog will have to be put on hold until I head over to Peru.  

About half way through the project someone from the YCG will be doing a mail run so I will have a chance to send out letters and receive mail.  If you send me your address, you may see some mail ;).  And if anyone wants to send me anything (like pictures of Canada to show the locals) the address is:

Amanda Halladay - G8 5A

Youth Challenge Guyana

291 Thomas St. South Cummingsburg

Gerogetown, Guyana

For the folks.... 

YCI in Toronto (416) 504-3370

YCG in Guyana 001-592-225-0129 

Emergency Guyana Cell 011-592-669-7298

I'm off to pig out before 5 weeks of rice, beans, and chickpeas!!

AH