Back on American soil

I don't think I've ever set my alarm clock for 3:00 a.m.  And, after virtually no sleep (tossed and turned with anxiety that I would oversleep despite the two alarms set), the journey back has been tiresome but only half over.  The trouble started when taking my shower last night.  I am going to take a few moments to complain in this last blog.  The shower has been the worst part of my trip.  Yes, the odor went away, but it never felt clean and by the end my hair had a permanent odor.  But, last night as I was being thankful that it was my last shower, the faucet blew off.  So, halfway through my shower I attempted to put it back on, but was unable to get the shower function working.  I gave up and with half washed hair, laughed.   Oh well.  The "non stop" flight on the way back also stopped in Trinadad, but this time we weren't allowed off.  But, they proceeded to come through the airplane multiple times to check boarding passes and luggage and seat cushions.  After more than an hour I am pretty sure it would've been easier to let us us disembark.   But, I can't complain too much because everything was on time and I treated myself to the Admirals club at Miami airport and took a shower and feel refreshed.  I'm still exhausted from no sleep but as long as I can make it the next four hours until boarding I will be okay.

The last two weeks have flown by and I will remember the experience very fondly.  I met some amazing women who every day are doing things to help the lives of children better.  I will also look back and remember the quirks.  The pace of the work is definitely "caribbean" and sometimes they go barefoot in the office.  And, to enter the office, the door has a padlock on an iron gate, and you reach into grab the key and unlock it.    But, overall, I look back with so much respect for them and what they are able to do with so few resources.

I had never even heard of Guyana before I signed up, but I am so happy that I had this opportunity to interact with such an interesting culture.  Will I go back or recommend anyone visit? To be honest, it would probably not be near the top of my list.  But, the experience will always be much more than a stamp in my passport.

Kaisha, Omattie, Thandi, and Kean

Me with Omattie (Managing Director) and Thandi (Finance Manager) 

Last Day

I cannot believe two weeks have gone by so quickly.  It is the last afternoon and I have finished up my report and just waiting to meet with the Finance Manager once more to answer her questions on the cash flow statement (my personal favorite financial statement).  

Yesterday was another productive day both at work and I finished another book (Last Runaway - Tracy Chevalier) .  Yes, three in total if you have been counting.  I haven't read a single book in three months and finished three in the time I've been here.  I will certainly try to start reading more when I return (instead of wasting the evenings with TV).  But, I will admit I have watched some TV here with netflix streaming.  

I went through the draft reports yesterday and finished them up today.  At the end of the day, Omattie and I went to the sea wall and enjoyed the last part of the daylight before I returned to the hotel.

Short post now, but I will write a longer one when I am back in the U.S. tomorrow during my very long layover in Miami.

Cook-up

I had a traditional lunch of "cook-up" served with chicken. Delicious!! Cook up is rice cooked in coconut milk and mixed with vegetables or beans. Mine was served with black eyed peas. 

Slow start but great finish

Before I start on Wednesday, I forgot to mention something in my last post.  As Omattie and I were leaving the Roti Hut, Omattie stopped to talk to a woman who was sharing a plate of fries.  After we got in the car Omattie mentioned that I met someone famous!  Who?  Former first lady of Guyana.

Today had a rough start.  I went to shower and had no water.  I'm not talking no hot water, I mean nothing except a few drips from the faucet.  It is moments like these that I am reminded I am in a 3rd world country (or Global South as some call it now).  After a call to reception, they managed to get the pump turned back on.

I still managed to get to work by 9 and had an incredibly productive day.  I had recommended to the Finance Manager to begin doing cash flow forecasts.  And, using their existing variance report was able to add some extra columns/rows so it serves as both their budget/actual variance analysis as well as the cash flow forecast.  It helps that all of there expenses are substantially all cash so there isn't any difference between accrual/cash.

Afterwards I reviewed their monthly accounts to get a feel for their internal controls and then jumped back into the finance manual.  I feel very accomplished because I finished!  Well, finished my part of making suggested edits and leaving placeholders for ChildLink to fill in.

I can't believe there are only two more days left!

Back at work

After a long and relaxing weekend, I was back to work this morning.  I started the morning by going through the draft report of recommendations with the Finance Manager.   From there, we agreed on some next steps for the week.  I am going to help with updating their Finance Manual and have some working sessions on the financial statements and cash flow forecasting.  I dove into the finance manual today and although I have never written one I have found lots of examples online and trying to piece it together.  I'm experiencing the other side of my work now: implementing recommendations.  As auditors, we find it very easy to throw out recommendations and best practices and point out everything that is wrong.  It is a whole other game to be on the other side and actually have to address them.  Identifying gaps needed to be done in a finance manual is a whole lot different than writing those sections.

At the end of the afternoon, I did a mini "training" on budgeting for the staff.  We talked through best practices and examples of templates that can be used to track.  I hope they found it helpful as it was difficult to gauge their response.  Here are a few pictures of the staff.

After work, I joined Omattie for dinner.  We went to an Indian restaurant and shared aubergine (can't remember the guyanese word) curry and mango curry.  Both were delicious and we ate with roti and puri (indian flatbread/pastry).   There are apparently differences between roti and puri, but to me they looked similar and tasted the same (delicious!).

Easter Monday

While growing up, Easter was spent hunting for baskets the Easter Bunny brought.  But as an adult, I have spent most of my Easter holidays away from family as I rarely (if ever) travelled home for Easter.   My sister recently reminded me that one Easter I spent touring the Ann Frank House and the red light district.   Another Easter in Amsterdam was spent on never ending spontaneous social events (influenced by the incredible rare sunny weather) with many of them ending at a bar the "waterhole".   In Chicago I vaguely remember sharing seafood pasta with my roommate and her Italian boyfriend.   So, to me, it was not that odd to spend Easter in Guyana.  And, with the benefits of technology, I skyped with my family and was able to see their happy faces and the pretty easter dresses (and Jackson's handsome overalls).  I sat in my hotel room while watching my sisters sitting on my Mom's deck and we chatted about house hunting and expected babies as if I was there.  

Due to the holiday here there was not much to do and so I don't have much to report.  I didn't feel well Saturday/Sunday so spent most of Sunday resting.  I finished the Ashley Judd book and almost done with Killing Jesus.  (Dad - when is our next book club meeting and what is the next book?!) 

On Saturday, I walked over to the market area to see if I could find something to add to my art collection.  Although there were some very nice wood carvings I didn't find any that I loved and moved on.  The market was busy and full of various products.  I found a nice cafe to enjoy a bite to eat and read.  Plaintain fries and roti (which was like a burrito) satisfied the belly.  

Today (Monday) I thought I would find the sky full of kites, but to my disappointment not too many in my area.  Although I did manage get some pictures of the Cathedral and other sites.  The Cathedral is the tallest wooden church in the world and was completed in 1899. 

According to the sign, this is a secondary school

On my walk home, saw two horses eating along the road 

I also found out that my hotel bar has an outdoor patio and spent a part of the day reading and enjoying the breeze with a ginger ale.  I just finished some work for ChildLink so I am ready for tomorrow.   Four more days and I hope that I can accomplish everything they would like.  

Good Friday

Yesterday was Good Friday and a national holiday here.  After sleeping in, I wandered outside to find the city completely dead.  Very few people were out on the streets and assumably they were at church or with family.  I walked around for a bit and took in the sights.  I was saddened when I saw a poor man stop at a puddle in the street to rinse his feet and take a drink.  Then I came across a beautiful new building only to be frustrated when I found out it was the Guyana Revenue Service.  I walked around a beautiful garden that is across the street from the hotel and admired a wedding taking place under the Gazeebo.

The building across the street which I find beautiful but have no idea what it is  used for 

My hotel 

The hotel bar - where I have spent much of my time 

Middle St - from my hotel 

The park across from the hotel

I met with Omattie, the Managing Director, in the evening.  She took me to the Bottanical Gardens.  Which was a much larger than the park near my hotel but less flowers.  There was a monument to the dictator Burnham and Omattie and I sat on a bench nearby.  She elaborated a bit more on the history of Guyana and I asked about how she became involved in ChildLink.  She started working in administration at a larger company and was frustrated with the idea that this was all there was to life.  She was encouraged by a family member to go back to school and earn a degree in social services.  She has been with the organization since around 2003.

We then drove over to the sea wall and sat on a bench to watch the families flying kites and to enjoy the breeze and sound of the ocean.   The beach was sadly very dirty.  But, it was nice to see so many people enjoying the day.

The sea wall

The sea wall at sunset

Pegasus hotel (and Marriott being built next door) with kites above

family on beach flying kite

Lighthouse 

Afterwards we went to a Chinese restaurant and ate on a lovely balcony and were serenaded by Karaoke singers.   Over the evening, Omattie and I had some incredible conversations.  We talked about Guyana and ChildLink.  But, we also found a lot that we personally have in common.  We talked about that neither of us have children and traded thoughts on the subject.  We bonded over both being single and complained about the difficulty of dating.  Our girl talk made me forget I was miles away from home.