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.....