Exploring Georgetown

In the water at Splashmins!!

On Saturday we went to Splashmins Resort (an Eco-Adventure park), in Linden (Soesdyke Highway) which is about a 45 minute drive from the apartment. The park is created from the swamplands of the Madewini Basin, through which flows the Madewini stream.

I think we managed to bring the weather with us and typically on our first day off.....it rained! But as Girlguides we persevered and made it via the very nice air conditioned bus to the resort! Annie, one of the GOLD team here in Guyana, decided to come along with us to show us around.

As you can see there was very little time before we all jumped in! Annie spent most of her time chilling, and on her blackberry unlike us crazy UK girls!

Eventually the sun came out, and it started to feel a bit more like Guyana than the UK (albeit an extremely warm UK!!). In the afternoon we went on the peddle boats (even managed to get Annie on one - twice as well!)

Nikki & Annie on the peddle boat.

All in all, it was a fun relaxing day. We got to see a bit of Guyanan culture and see where the locals hang out on weekends.

UK GOLD GUYANA Team & GOLD GUYANA Team (well just Annie for now!)

On Sunday, a group of us (Hannah, Elizabeth and myself) visited Annie's Church (St Sidwells), to take part in the morning service. It was very different from anything I had experienced before, coming from a very relaxed christian upbringing/church. We sat with Annie and her mother, and watched Annie play the steel drums during the service. We were also greeted as visitors to the Church during the notices section of the service and were asked to sign the Visitors Book.


After church, we met up with Claire, Sara & Nikki and went to the Botanical Gardens & Zoo.

Hot & tired after the Zoo

Outside of the botanical gardens

The Botanical Gardens was a beautiful place once you got past the rubbish that was dumped everywhere but the bins. It was extremely hot, due to all the rain the previous day, and we have some very interesting tanlines! The zoo had a selection of animals that are from Guyana and South America. We saw Blue & Yellow Macaws, Caimens, Turtles, Harpy Eagles, Anacondas, Pumas, Jaguars, Capuchin Monkeys and finally Johnny the Giant Otter! There were even Manatees in the pond outside the Zoo, just chilling out in the sun.

On Monday, it was a very important day in Guyanese Culture - no it was not Yorkshire Day (thats only important to us welly wearing, ferret racing flat capped Yorkshire Tykes!), but Emancipation Day, which celebrates the abolition of slavery.

We met up with Erin, one of the 'Environment Team' (part of the GOLD project in Charity), and her cousin Ethan. We all went to the National Park, which is 2 short bus journeys away. At the National Park there were stalls set out to celebrate the African culture, this included food (we tried puree, cassava pone and other tit bits - very YUM), jewellery and other handcrafts. We then went into the main arena to watch the parade of nations, which included places like Mexico, that all form the Guyanese culture. We listened to steelpan band music, and danced along (much to many peoples amusement including our own).

Elizabeth and I, were even filmed on camera saying how much we loved Guyana and the celebrations - so watch out for us on TV!!

Enjoying the atmosphere in the stadium

Boogying on down (pizza making actions ????

In front of the main stage at National Park

The Parade of Nations

I hope you have enjoyed todays blog, it is part of my exploration section of my Queens Guide.

We are now off to Charity (north of the Essesequibo River) with the Environment Team, to carry out sessions on the environment with the Guides and the locals. We won't be able to update the blog until we get back - so don't worry!

Over and Out


Lizzy

Week 1 of trainings

Wow, that went quickly, can't believe we have finished our first week of trainings. It was been
a good week, we are all settling in, adjusting to the heat, getting used to the Mozzy bites but are all having a fantastic time.

The first couple of days we did sessions on the Environment, preparing for our trip to Charity next week. We had been asked to do some environmental trainings in Charity but we were able to plan the details with the girls going. There were some good ideas so our trip to Charity should be fab. We are leaving on Tuesday (Monday is a National Holiday) and having a bus and ferry ride (Sara laughs when she tells us we're going by ferry so not sure what it entitles!)

The last couple of days we have been working on the handbook, Working with the girls and looking at what needs to go into it. We have a good basis for the chapters and the questions they would like to be asked so when we are back from Charity we will continue to work with the Guyanese GOLD team to start writing. This week we have been working with the GOLD team, the Environmental team and the Environmental field team so have been working with about 20 girls every day which has been fab, everyone seems to be having fun learning new activities and games and yesterday we were taught us some Guyanese games. The designs and plans for the handbook are also coming along nicely. Quite exciting to know we will have helped make that happen along with all the girls over the last week.

Outside trainings we have visited the Cathedral (St George's) so was a little strange to see the St. George's/English flag up. Hannah was particularly excited as the Cathedral is a timber construction. The interior of the Cathedral had a very Tudor feel to it. We also visited the Guyanese National Museum which has quite an eclectic mix of exhibits. As it is being renovated we weren't able to see it all but the geography and maps section was quite cool.

We have tried Gnipes, similar to lychee but not prickly, some of the team members have tried Plantane and Claire has tried Pumpkin. All seemed to have positive results and are back on the shopping list. It has been requested that we include some of our recipes in our blog so we will create a post for our recipes.

Last night we were invited with Annie (one of the Guyanese Young Leaders) to join her at steel band practice. It was a lot of fun, we were all able to have a go, varying degrees of success. Think we can all play a rolling C major scale though :). We then joined the group for some food afterwards, it was fab to go out and chat. The band were very welcoming.

Annie with Charity

Claire at Steel Band

 Today is our only Saturday off so tour guide Lizzy has organised a trip to the swimming pool centre which sounds fun, although sat here writing this there is quite heavy rain outside, although it is still hot so welcome trip to the pool.

Arrived in Guyana

What a very busy but exciting couple of days and as we now have access to some internet we can tell you about it.

We met up at Gatwick on Saturday afternoon to ensure we were all present and ready for our Sunday morning flight. Sunday we made it through check in and then breakfast before boarding the plane. Journey went as planned and all of us and Charity (our bear mascot, complete with matching hoodie (thanks Hannah's mum) and passport (fab Lizzy)) arrived in Barbados. The heat was quite a shock but very excited for the start of our GOLD adventure. We had a quick trip to the beach, some food and then an early nights sleep as we have to be up at 5am to head to the plane.
This wasn't much of a problem as we are partly on UK time so were up in plenty of time.

The plane to Guyana was tiny, and made it through check-in to find Berle (deputy chief commissioner of Guyanese Girlguiding) waiting for us. Fantastic :) Bus trip to the flat, quick look around before heading to the bank to change money and then off to Guiding HQ. Here we met with Sarah (the chief commissioner) and sat down to work out the plan and schedule for our project. Very exciting having a plan and some aims. For the next couple of days we are meeting the Guyanese team and planning the sessions for the environmental part of the project in Charity.

Lizzy and Elizabeth cooked our first meal, Eggplant and Plantane fritters, very tasty. We then did some session planning before bed.

Today we have met some of the Guyanese team. They are lovely, very enthusiastic, it's going to be fun working with them. We have planned some of what we plan to do in Charity. The main goals are awareness and education of the guides regarding the environment. Tomorrow we will look in more detail at the session plans.

It is incredibly hot here, but Guide HQ has a nice breeze running through it. Will take a little while getting used to this heat. We haven't had much chance to explore Georgetown but have experienced the Market and the buses, both quite crazy experiences. Fab.


Right off to do some session planning and dinner preparation. We will try and get some pictures up tomorrow but things have started and are going well :)

All packing done, on our way to Gatwick

We have finished the organising, the preparations and now the packing (some a lot earlier than others!) and all we have left to do is travel. We are meeting at Gatwick this afternoon and flying tomorrow morning. Very exciting!

We will try and update this blog as often as possible, internet and facilities dependent to update on what we are doing on project.

Other GOLD teams are also leaving/have left this weekend so we wish all GOLD teams good luck, have a safe journey and have fun on your projects. See you at debrief.

We hope you enjoy reading and wish you a good summer and see you all in Guyana :)

3rd Briefing

Wow, our final briefing. Time seems to have flown by and in four weeks time we will all be sitting in the airport at Gatwick sharing resources and packing.

So that means we need to be super productive this weekend and we are being. Today we have spent most of the day sat in the HQ in Bath writing many plans for our activities. The main aims for our project are to help create a handbook for the guides, activities on the environment, leadership and camp skills. Sara and Nikki also did some finance sorting and opened our account. Definitely feeling more real.

We have an amazing to do list, which consists of a to do list covered in post it's and a done list where everything gets stuck when achieved. Each sheet has a picture so removing post it's reveal a picture. Picture shown below to convey the excitement.

As well as lots planning we have eaten lots of biscuits (seems to help the planning) and had a quick wander into the beautiful Bath. This involved fudge and old sweets and resisting the temptation to buy beads and craft supplies ;)

Tonight is a little relaxing and maybe pictionary before more planning tomorrow. Our resources are looking very exciting and can't wait to run some of the sessions, although probably need to remember camp gadgets (maybe time tomorrow as Sara as brought the wood and string).

Definitely feeling more prepared and very excited. Go Team Guyana.

Fundraising

We have all been working very hard to fundraise for the project to Guyana. As we have been mostly doing this independently (mainly because of our positioning throughout the country) we'll do a brief update separately. This is also a good way to have a better introduction to team Guyana:

I'm Hannah, a Brownie and Ranger guider in Bath. I am currently reading for a PhD in Timber Structures (specifically looking at the connections and geometry in folded timber plates). I am currently renovating and decorating a Victorian cottage which is testing my DIY skills. In my free time I enjoy making things, mainly jewellery making and cross stitching as well as geocaching and dancing.

For my fundraising I have done a range of activities. I ran the Bath Half marathon in March, thank you to everyone who sponsored me. I have also organised a Beetle drive and a Barn dance. Both of which were lots of fun and thanks to everyone who came. I particularly impressed with the baskets everyone danced :)

Hello, I'm Lizette (aka Liz, Lizzy and oi you!). I am a Guide and Senior Section Guider in Ossett District and the Programme Development Advisor/Secretary for Wakefield North Division. I am currently working at a bank, in the Digital department as a Quality Analyst (I review complaint root causes and provide analysis to the project managers). My free time is spent either knee deep in a Guiding project or guiding related interests (geocaching, camping, hiking).

I have finished my fundraising, and reached my target of £2000 by organising a range of events. I organised a pub quiz, a fashion show and a three course meal at the community centre. Thank you to everyone who came along, donated raffle prizes or donated money (if unable to attend). I would not have been able to do it without guys :)

Hey, I am Claire, I am a Guide and Rainbow leader in Dingwall, in the highlands of Scotland and in Kirriemuir near Dundee in Scotland. At the moment i have just finished my 1st year of my Theological degree. In my free time when i am not busy with my degree and guiding, i go walking, and doing crafts such as making wedding invites and doing cross-stitch.

I have now finished all my fundraising, i have done this from getting grants from certain groups, like the rotary and my local county. I also had a Christmas quiz and one of my groups of guides held a beetle drive. Thanks to everyone that helped me with all my fundraising.

Hello, I'm Elizabeth and I am a Rainbow leader in Surrey, though I am currently without a unit because I am about to move house.  I am studying and working part-time at the moment, but both of these will be finished by the time we head to Guyana.  From September I will be beginning my 'proper' graduate job in London which I am really excited about!  Outside of working, studying and Guiding, I also run a youth group, love doing Zumba and going out with my friends.

I have almost finished my fundraising and have done things like host a curry night at a local curry house (Thank you Haweli!) who gave me a percentage of their profits from the evening.  I also had a coffee and cake morning with a raffle, book sale and jewellery sale amongst other things which was a huge success thanks to the generosity of my friends and neighbours.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me!

Hi... I'm Nikki and I'm a Guide Leader in Bedford/Bath. Having just finished my degree in Maths and Physics at Bath University I am heading home to Bedford next year to start my PGCE to become a Maths Teacher. Outside of Uni and Guiding I enjoy playing hockey and chilling with friends!

Fundraising is going well. To add to the generous grants I have received from various people, I have been carol singing at Loch Fyne restaurant, held a 'Dine and Donate' dinner and a Brownie and Guide sleepover. Thank you to everyone that has helped me raise money for the project. I can't wait to go now!

Hello, I'm Sara a Guide and Senior Section leader and the GOLD Guyana 2011 team leader.  I'm from Meirionydd in North Wales but currently live work and Guide in Oxford.  I work in Environmental Development at Oxford City Council.  I enjoy being out of doors including camping, walking, cycling and traveling.

Guyana planning and fundraising is going really well.  I have almost raised enough thank you to everyone who has guessed the dogs Birthday, purchased badges and donated towards my fundraising.

In four weeks time we will be on the plane being given the safety talk!  I can't wait to be part of the second year of project with a team that have worked very hard in fundraising and planning the training sessions for project.  Well done team. 

GOLD team Guyana 2011

Second Briefing

We have just returned home after our second briefing weekend at Gillwell Scout Centre in London. This weekend involved farmer costumes and sock puppets (part of our evening entertainment), geocaches, guessing Guyanese fruits and general craziness amongst the planning and preparing. We practiced giving interactive presentations about our country (in preparation to leading workshops when we are in Guyana), worked as a team to create old MacDonald's farm for the Royal variety performance, complete with sock puppets (other teams demonstrated amazing Jackson 5 moves, reality tv, a new take on Cinderella and a good range of singing and dancing talents).

Preparation for our project was an important part of this weekend and we attended training sessions on first aid, accounting and documenting as well as the initial planning of our specific project. The main aims for our project are to run training session for the Guyanese GirlGuides on littering and the environment. While on project we are assisting with the running of the first National Guide camp in Guyana and will start writing the Guide Handbook as a resource that can be used as a resource for members to use in meetings.

The weekend finished with a goodbye to Charlotte the GOLD coordinator who has been involved in GOLD for about 8 years and has been incredible in getting projects started and making a difference to guiding around the world. That sounds soppy but I think it shows that GOLD is fantastic at sharing the opportunities that we have had as Guides in the UK with girls around the world as well as making new friends. On that note our team has increased to 7 members (although our new member does not need a ticket to travel), Charlotte and Anna (the new GOLD coordinator) have given us a mascot to travel with us (picture will follow soon). The only problem is we need a name.

This was our final briefing with the other GOLD teams as our next briefing will be planning our project in more detail. We will see some of the teams at de-brief and look forward to hearing about what everyone else has been doing.

Good luck to all GOLD teams. Have lots of fun.