Attn: Family, Friends, Neighbours and Lurking Blog Readers

Well, I have been home for just over a week now. For everyone who has been asking, Tobago was FANTASTIC. I wish I'd stayed longer. Especially when I looked out the airplane window on the Manitoba - Ontario border and saw this...snow covered fields as far as the eye could see.

When you consider that the last time I looked out an airplane window I saw this....

I definitely was sitting on the plane thinking what the hell am I doing....WHY didn't I extend my stay in Tobago...stupid, stupid, stupid. I had a great time there and can't wait to go back. I highly recommend it. Beautiful beaches, lovely temperature, nice people, and not too pricey (in comparison to other Caribbean islands I've been anyway). See for yourself, here are a few shots from around Tobago...

That said, it is wonderful to be back on Canadian soil and while I am glowing with a lovely tan I am also:
- Freezing,
- suffering from reverse culture shock, and
- penniless

I would like to thank all of my wonderful friends and family who have made returning home much easier. While I have found it quite easy to return to my old life, I find myself missing Suriname on a daily basis. That is without question because of all of the friends I made there. It is them (OK, and the warmer temps) that I miss each and every day. Did I mention what a lovely send-off they gave me from Suriname? My adopted Javanese family made delicious Bakabana (which Berwyn was especially thankful for!), Jenny and Maria spent a good part of the day cooking for me, everyone came to say goodbye (that was the best and the worst part), and oh yeah, Jenny got me a brass band....OK, the brass band might have been there for Janet's 20th birthday, but I like to think it was also a little bit for me too and either way, I enjoyed it!

Here are some pics from the people that came to say goodbye...and who I miss TERRIBLY!!

And yes, the rumours are true for those that were not there to witness it first-hand, I did in fact shed MANY tears when I left and looked like this much of the afternoon and evening...

As for returning home...I had the nicest welcome home with my family and nieces and nephew at the airport waiting with a sweet welcome home banner. And my cousins Dawn and Jamie did indeed bring the BEST welcome home gift EVER...a double-double from Tim's and a burger from Sonja's...life is GOOD! Then, nearly all the folks that came to see me off to Suriname 6 months earlier returned to my mom's place to welcome me back. To be honest it felt a bit deja vu!

For everyone who has invited me for dinner/coffee/whatever since I have returned home, thank you! On that note, anyone who is willing to feed me, I promise to turn down no offers of breakfast, lunch, dinner or coffee/wine dates for that matter! I promise to be absolutely THRILLED with whatever you cook or whatever place you choose to take me to (OK well I might not be thrilled with liver and onions but you know what I mean!). I promise to offer delightful conversation about the joys and challenges of working and living in a developing country. I promise not to bring a three-hour slideshow of photos (unless you request it) and I promise to not to preach about how spoiled and material people are in North America.

Right now my calendar is pretty OPEN, so, let the invites continue……..

A teary teary night

In just two short hours I'll be saying goodbye to Suriname. It has been a teary night of saying goodbye....and it's not over yet. There are about half a dozen people who have set their alarms for 2:00 am and who will be here to see me off. To say that I feel loved would be an understatement. To say that I will be leaving with red eyes from crying so hard would be an understatement. So, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on a few of the treasures I have gained from my time here in Suriname.

Girls’ Dinner. Several times I got to enjoy being treated to some amazing Suriname cooking and spending my evening in the company of some wonderful women. Jetty, a neighbour and friend to Jenny, the lady where I lived did the cooking. Mariel, Christa, Jenny, Suli and Heraya (Jetty’s daughters) and I got to enjoy the food. And we all had the pleasure of each others company. Those were nights full of laughter and lots of good stories. I always felt blessed on those nights.

A family. From my adopted Javanese family to Jenny & Janet. I have another family here in Suriname. To have been welcomed into their homes and into their family life when they barely knew me, yet embraced me like they'd known me for years...amazing. We have laughed together, argued, cried and laughed some more. How is it possible that total strangers would open their home and their hearts to me in this way I may never know, but I'm sure glad they did.

My coworkers. I had a wonderful work experience here in Suriname largely due to the people I worked with and the ability to really experience the work environment here. It was through my coworkers that I tried so many different foods here in Suriname and learned so much about the culture. Saskia, Wendy, Mariska, Gary and Maja - who shared their space with me and were ALWAYS offering food to me. Really, all of my coworkers helped me to learn the Suriname way of always sharing with others. This is no lunch time swap. This is a central part of the Suriname culture to share food. At first I always felt guilty that I had nothing to share, but soon, I found myself sharing what I did have and that is the Suriname way. You may not have much, but there’s always enough to share. And then there was Bidjesh, Bea and Steven who took me and showed me some wonderful parts of Suriname and welcomed me into their lives...from their Monday night walking club to the football games it is sad to have these times come to an end. And then there is Firoz and Deborah there aren't words for these two...they made me laugh SO much, to say that I will miss them would be an understatement.

My appreciation for Canada. The simple act of being born in Canada affords me a place in this world that some people will never, ever get to experience. I may not have a vast knowledge of the truth depth of poverty in Canada, but I know that simply by being on Canadian soil you have access to commercial goods and to social support systems and outreach programs that simply do not exist in some parts of the world. You may be poor, but you also have a MUCH better chance of getting out of poverty than MANY people do in developing countries, particularly women and children.

Faith. In Suriname I was reminded that I do in fact still have faith. I thought I’d lost it. Here in Suriname instead of making me angry, my religion gave me comfort. I’ve always, always believed in God. And I have always, always felt God’s hand on me. That has never changed. And I don’t know that I’m still so sold on organized religion in some ways, but I know that I still have faith and I hope that maybe going to church won’t feel like a burden (as it has these past few years), but rather like a comfort because of the sense of community that being part of a church brings to your life (like it used to for me).

My understanding of myself. Some may call me stubborn but I’ll give that the old PR spin and say I’m determined. Despite a rough start here in Suriname, I had faith that it would get better. Some of you said I know you’re not a quitter Tricia, but there’s no shame it in. I knew I would never give up my dream and I’m glad I never did. So call me stubborn if you want to, but what I learned is that determination can indeed see you through to the other side and the other side is in fact all that you dreamed it would be. So I will continue to be determined, to dream and to accomplish. And if I have to be stubborn about than so be it!

The Countdown Begins....

It’s Monday. Today marks exactly one week until I leave Suriname. In fact, by this time next Monday I’ll have landed in Trinidad and hopped a plane to Tobago.

But before then I have a lot to do….quickly, here’s what I’ve been up to the last little while:

1) My fellow Canadian Crossroaders and I planned and hosted a farewell party to celebrate Canadian Crossroads International (ie CCI) in Suriname. This is the last year CCI will be working in Suriname so we are officially the last people who will come to work here on behalf of CCI. Our Adyosi Fesa (that’s Sranan Tonga for Farewell Celebration) was a big success. We reunited many old Crossroaders, bringing back lots of fond memories (and landing us many invites for dinner at their homes in the process), we had nearly 70 people come out and help us celebrate and we did Suriname proud by putting on quite a nice Javanese feast at a local restaurant called Jawa. Thanks to the Honourary Canadian Consul, Anton Smit, who generously sponsored our beverages for the evening, our guests were well taken care of in terms of beer, cola and sap (fruit juice). I had the honour of being the MC for the evening. I thank Julie, Berwyn and Corina for giving me the honour. I am proud to report I did most of it in Dutch….which also meant I provided the comic relief for the evening…actually people were very kind and even told me my dutch was pretty good. I was VERY proud of myself. It was a bittersweet night for me as well in that I had the opportunity to mend fences with my former host family. So I’m leaving Suriname with no hard feelings and no bad karma. It definitely felt good to wipe the slate clean.

2) I took my last trip in Suriname. I went to Galibi to see the seaturtles come to nest. It's one of a few places in the world where seaturtles come to nest. It was in a word AMAZING. I promise to write a longer travelogue about that very soon. I need some time to do it properly…I have a feeling that might not be until after I return home to Canada….but I promise it will be worth the return visit to read about down the road. Which reminds me, I also have a travelogue about JawJaw (the village in the interior that I went to visit)…that’s also a travelogue worth coming back for. I can tell you this about Galibi, the turtles are even bigger than you imagine them to be and more powerful and fast too!! Like I said, AMAZING....and once again, thanks to Berwyn, I have photos to share....just as soon as we can squeeze in a photo swap.

3) I’ve been busy wrapping up my work projects. I have spent the last (nearly) 6 months here in Suriname working at the Nationaal AIDS Programma (ie NAP) as a Marketing and Communications Advisor. In that time I have:
- written a communications strategy for a new National HIV Coordination Mechanism (which is the new structure being put in place to tackle HIV/AIDS in Suriname – I felt it was quite an honour to be the person to get to write the communications strategy for it!)
- written an overall communications strategy for the NAP
- done a media training workshop for youth complete with a video and manual (I had the pleasure of doing this project with Corina who FYI is a journalist so we have proven PR people and journalists can work together..ha ha!)
- consulted on a campaign about Female Condoms (FYI I think every lady out there should try them…I was surprised to learn all the pros to female condoms vs. male condoms)
- helped develop a website for People Living with HIV in Suriname
- and generally brought my sunshiny disposition to the NAP and once again left my Tricia mark on the people around me.

This is my office building (its a new building....and it's air conditioned...thank GOD!)

And some of my coworkers (taken at our Christmas Angel Gift Exchange)

Here is my desk at NAP I share a space with 6 others.

Working at the NAP has been an absolute pleasure and more than what I have been able to do while I’m here, I’m most pleased with what I’ve learned both about the world of HIV/AIDS and about the people I’ve had the pleasure of working with these last 6 months. Besides, where else can you work and get an inner-office email like this one:

Beste mensen,
Hebben jullie de dildo en vagina al gereserveerd voor het weekend van 9, 10 en 11 maart?
Anders wil ik het reserveren voor dat weekend voor de BVL die een workshop zal organiseren.
Groet Mariska.

For my non-dutchies...the rough translation of this is: Has anyone reserved the dildo and vagina for March 9-11? If not I want to reserve it for that weekend for a workshop. Thanks, Mariska.

Yup, not every day you get an email asking about reserving the dildo and vagina for the weekend!!

I have made some terrific friends at NAP and I’m very sad to be leaving. They have welcomed me and taught me so much and most importantly, have made me feel at home here. I am truly going to miss my friends and coworkers at the Nationaal AIDS Programma, where it feels more like one big family than a workplace…and that really is something special.

One Week Left

Where did the time go???? As of tomorrow, I have just one week left here in Suriname. I can't believe it. Be prepared faithful blog readers. I have so much to add to my blog....and so much to do before I go....how will I ever get it all in???? Ahhhhhhh.....

Swirsky Family Roadtrip Hours 2-9

So where were we…oh yeah, it all started out great. Steven picked us up in the van. We all piled in and after a stop for snacks we were on our way for what was SUPPOSED to be a 3 hour drive to Nickerie. FYI, it wasn’t a 3 hour drive to Nickerie, it was a 9 hour epic Swirsky Family Roadtrip in Suriname drive to Nickerie.



Nickerie is a town in the western part of Suriname - the last stop before getting on a boat and going to Guyana. Nickerie and the area around it is the rice growing part of Suriname. There are also a lot of cattle farms out that way. Before arriving in Nickerie we would also pass through Coronie which is a large coconut growing area in Suriname. I should have known we were doomed when it was a roadtrip that was going west. Swirsky Family Roadtrips almost always go west.



About an hour and a half into our drive Steven noticed something sounded strange in the engine so we pulled over and popped the hood. And that’s when we saw the smoke. The engine was definitely overheating….not a surprise really given how hot it was outside. But we would soon discover this was more than just a warm engine. This was A LOT worse. This was a huge crack up the side of the thingy that holds the coolant that feeds into the radiator (hard to believe I’m a mechanic’s daughter huh!!!). Steven and Berwyn started to pull things out of the engine. I stood by and offered all the roadside breakdown mechanical tips I learned over the years from my Opa and from the Swirsky Family Roadtrip. Chewing Gum, that can fix a hole…my opa always seemed to make it work….anyone got bailer twine? My Opa could fix ANYTHING with bailer twine. Too bad we don’t have any duct tape that would be great. And that’s when Berwyn said, ‘I think I’ve got duct tape’. SCORE!!

This is what I call FALSE advertising....

While the boys did repairs….

...we entertained ourselves. Did you know that while standing at certain angles the side of a van makes an excellent substitute for funhouse mirrors….you know the ones, where you look like you have short little legs and a long body or vice-versa.

With the repairs done….

…we were back on our way…for about 15 minutes! That’s when we had to make our first stop to fill up water bottles…..

….and that pretty much continued with stops every 5 minutes or so for the next hour or two….yes, that’s right, we stopped every 5 minutes (Maria and I were timing it) to refill the water in the tank. Apparently duct tape doesn’t fix everything!!!

But we managed to find ways to entertain ourselves along the way…
Maria climbed mango trees.

And so therefore we ate mangoes.

And drank beer. Safety first...here are Maria and Berwyn enjoying a Djogo (1 litre Parbo Beer) while in transit with the van door open...apparently the D&D laws are different in Suriname!!

Finally we got in a range to call Bidjesh who had long before abandoned us. He had assumed we’d taken so long because we were stopping to take pictures. He was ALREADY in Nickerie…we were nowhere near. So he doubled back to get us, bringing with him new parts. They attempted to fix it (again!) and while the boys did repairs (or attempted to) we played in a playground.

.....but this is a Swirsky Family Roadtrip remember….the solutions are never that easy....so we finally gave up and had to tow the car.

Did I mention it was intolerably hot outside? Yeah, the only way we could stand being in the car and going at such a slow speed was to drive with the door open. And so that’s what we did.

This of course provided perfect picture-taking opportunities for Berwyn.

And although it took us some 9 hours, we ended up arriving in Nickerie just in time to see the sun setting.

Join me soon for Part 2. When we spend a lovely night and day in Nickerie and Bigi Pan. Bigi Pan by the way is a bird sanctuary, but really, it’s kind of like a great big swamp. You can only imagine the kind of fun that can happen when you take a Swirsky Family Roadtrip to a great big swamp!!!

Stay tuned….

In the meantime, enjoy these lovely shots of Coronie and the rice fields of Nickerie. The one of the sun shows the smoke from the burning fields. After the rice is harvested, they burn off the field.