Cold!

Hello Family and Friends,

As many of you are starting to experience the cold in the States I have started to experience the "cold" of the rain. This week I am pretty sure that it rained every day! I feel as if all of my clothes, sheets, and etc are damp! I even washed and put my sheets out on the line extra this week because I just felt gross... Ahh the rain. This also leaves me in a really big dilemma when it comes to my fan... when I lay down at night i'm warm enough to put the fan on because my windows are closed (because of the rain) but I know in a few hours I will wake up freezing. Then when I wake up freezing I have to debate weather just to suck it up or to untuck my mosquito net reach out turn it off and then retuck myself back into bed... Ahh the dilemma of mosquito nets :)

Last weekend was good - On friday night I went over to two of the Sisters' house for dinner after mass. Almost every friday I go over there after Mass. They always feed me good food and send me home with some small treat for my roommates. Last week they gave me some tangerines :) Since they hadn't seen Audrey or Sarah for a long while they decided to take us out on Saturday for a burger. It was really good to get out and talk with them. They are both in the 80's and sometimes it feels like we have two very sweet grandmothers here. They have very interesting perspectives on both Guyana and their lives as Sisters of Mercy. I feel like I have learned much and had my perspective of Guyana and the Sisters challenged by their experiences. I feel blessed to be able to hear so many different perspectives on life. Saturday night we stayed home and Audrey and I did a puzzle. Sarah had to work on Sunday so she went to bed early. On Sunday night Audrey and I went to a basketball game. I chose the red and white team to win and my team kicked Audrey's team! It was all good fun though because we really didn't know anything about either of them. It was good just to go out and watch some basketball.

This work week was good. My girls are doing their practical work at the different Elderly homes around Guyana. I got to go around and see how they were doing and they were all working very hard. After that I went back to the school and sat in on another class. This two weeks will be a little more laid back since I won't have a class except for when they come back after lunch... and even then they have to go and make up part of the class they missed that morning with the other teachers. Work at the hospital was good I entered charts and did a free test. It was pretty laid back but because of the cuts at the hospital I was able to help them catch up on some work that they hadn't finished since October. Its always a good day because its a break from my other job.

Tuesday night we went over to a friends house. She is from the UK and made pizza for dinner! It was very good and we had some wonderful (splendid) conversations. It was really good to hear someone have a positive perspective on Guyana. Many of the Ex-pats that we meet here or spend some time with have a very negative view of life here and that can be hard. It becomes hard because the people they are talking about are no longer strangers to me but they are my friends, my students, and people I have grown to love. I am glad I don't live within a gated community in which all of my food is imported from the US. I did not come to Guyana to live in America... Some people may not be able to handle a more simple life - but this was my goal coming here and this experience made me realize my new appreciation for simplicity. Materialism is a real problem throughout the world. It reminds me of a quote by Mother Teresa that goes : "Live simply so others may simply live". It is unnecessary that we have all of the luxuries that we do and others die of hunger. But the thing is you may read this and agree but very few people will let that penetrate through their mind for more than a few minutes. Because the more we think about it the more helpless we feel - the more we realize we really don't want to give up our comfortable lives... heck - we've worked hard for it right?!? - people who are poor are poor because they don't work hard.... that's the biggest lie I have ever heard and it makes me frustrated that people I know well will never believe me even if I tell them how hard people work here. They will never believe me that sometimes it is because of our selfish actions that other people around the world will die of hunger tonight. I'm not saying everyone... but the truth is attachment to money is evil and harms others. One of my students asked me what was the root of all evil and I said money... then he said "No Miss - its the love of money that is the root of all evil" He always reminds me of whats really important in life and I am grateful to him for that.

Anyway - off my soap box now - (Also - if you don't agree... that's okay - its my blog, not yours)

On Wednesday there was a Muslim holiday which meant no school!!! We hung out around home... I came down to the Internet cafe and sent out some e-mails I have been meaning to send for a long time... then later that day we hung out as a house and ate dinner together. Ever since one of our housemates started doing shift work we don't really get to eat dinner together. This has been really hard on the three of us because that has always been the favorite part of our day. So instead of doing anything major on Wednesday we just spent time together because we never seem to get to spend time together anymore. :(

Thursday a girl who was touring schools in Guyana came with me to Mercy Wings. This was a super fruitful experience because it was someone who understand the culture I come from experience my life every day. She told me at the end of the day how she now understands how dearly I can love my students. We taught computer class together at the beginning of the day and she told me how well the students were behaved and I told her they were actually kind of trouble makers and she didn't believe me. I then asked her to observe them after the left my class. Later that afternoon she made a comment on how now she can understand what I mean - the students have learned that if they behave for me I will treat them with respect and dignity - and if they don't respect me I won't stand for it. When a student is misbehaving I had found myself asking them three questions: 1. Was I disrespectful to you? 2. Did I lie to you? 3. Did I make you mad? -- I ask them these questions to make sure there wasn't something I did to offend them and then I ask them the same questions reversed: 1. Were you disrespectful to me? 2. Did you lie to me? and 3. Did you make me mad or will the behavior if continued make me mad?
I have realized that yelling at them will do me no good if they do not think about their own actions. One of the students who normally creates a lot of trouble was creating commotion down the corridor and I went down there. I walked in the classroom and ask him what happened. Without prompting he told me how he was causing noise and distracting the other students. He told me that it wasn't right and that it was disrespectful to me and the other students. For me this was a good moment.. he realized I was only going to get more mad if he lied... Later that day he came up right before the bell rang and was talking to the other students. He told them how if he ever was wrongly accused for something or if he was in trouble there are very few people he would ever trust but Miss always give you a voice and I would come to her. Now - these were not the words he used and well you probably wouldn't even understand the English he used but this was one of the most rewarding moments I've had since being here. He understood that I won't stand for misbehaving or disrespect - but I also will give you a voice. These youth have no one who listens to them and whether they are right or wrong, they deserve a chance for their voices to be heard.
The girl who came with at the end of the day asked me how I do this every day because although she didn't do much she was exhausted. She made a good point - my students take a lot of both physical and mental energy. I may not get to adventure out much... or do much after work - but they are my journey and adventure each day. And I look forward to each moment both frustrating and joyful with them.

Well I suppose this is enough for this week.
There is one thing I ask that you remember from this blog and that is to live simply, so others may simply live...

Love,

Ashley Ann