Christmas blues

We send belated Christmas greetings and our wishes for a happy and peaceful new year to everyone. 


During the Christmas period, we experienced some real highs and lows. We had some good times, listening to the choir in Georgetown Cathedral, and joining the throngs of shoppers in Georgetown in the fierce heat and terrific thunderstorms – the winter rainy season here is known as the cashew rains.

Georgetown was filled with giant inflatable Santas, reindeers and fake snow – has anyone here actually seen snow? -  and the music blasting out of shops, bars, buses and the street CD sellers mixed in “White Christmas” with the latest soca and chutney hits, like "Rum is not me lover".  


We spent Christmas day itself visiting an old people’s home with other volunteers:

The volunteer crew: Fiona, Tessa, Janice, Drew and Steve. Rohan joined us at the home.

We gave out some gifts bought with funds donated by volunteers and their friends:

Then we sang some carols and had some of the inevitable Guyanese speeches:

We then moved on to the Red Cross Children's Home nearby and presented them with a selection of books:

We had a go at reading to the children, then went outside to play with some very lively toddlers!

Or not so lively!

In the evening, we hosted the pot luck Christmas supper:

We were joined by our Dutch VSO colleagues, Selina and Anna:

and by Susan and Nick  from the UK.

We played some games and had one or two seasonal drinks.

The lows during the Christmas period came in the form of illness...

Halina had Dengue fever - which meant she spent 40 hours in bed with terrible pains in her joints. Steve had somehow picked up a jigger (burrowing insect) from our Kaieteur trip that had infected his foot and he had to have an operation at the Mercy hospital (under local anaesthetic) to have it removed. 

...thefts...

On the day before he was due to go for the operation, Steve’s bike was stolen from our yard - the thieves cut through the razor wired fence.

The bike in happier (though wetter) times, safely locked to the fence post:

Then on Christmas Eve, while we were both in the flat cooking up a storm for Christmas Day, a sneak thief came into the flat and stole a bag, purse, money and our travel mosquito nets.

..and invasions!

Having successfully defeated the cockroaches and mice, we had found that rats were coming into the kitchen and eating our home made bread.

We thank all our lovely new friends and work colleagues in Guyana who have helped us through  some tricky times. We have had cake, the loan of a bike and lots of support. 


Halina is back at work and will write soon about what she has been up to in her volunteer placement.