GRIFF DOES GUYANA: Here There and Everywhere...

So once again, I am rubbish… It seems all my blogs start with this. Perhaps my blogs should be quarterly or annual event!

It has been a weird few months - full of disruptions: welcome and unwelcome, necessary and unnecessary. Once again I have found myself half-way across the world in the Middle East, in what is fast becoming my second/third/fourth home. Returning this time has been a lot less of a challenge and has been familiar in many ways. The crazy sights of Doha, the dry heat and sand in the throat and the sounds and smells of the souq (market) are now home-from-home.

This time I have been the guest of the British Council - a charity organisation that works to teach people English in far-flung places. They were hosting a conference and my client was the project manager for the whole thing. They have been the most gracious hosts; giving me an apartment (rather than staying with client) and every kind of subsistence allowance possible to ensure I was not out of pocket. This has been a real blessing as there wasn’t too much in the account to pay for taxis and lunches etc.

Staying in an apartment has afforded me a much greater freedom than before, so I have been able to meet up with ‘friends’ a lot more regularly than previous times. This has definitely kept me more balanced and my head has stayed above the water of insanity. They are an amazing bunch here who manage to keep their zeal despite not being able to meet or operate freely. I wish I could tell you their stories, but alas, I can’t for reasons of prudence. Their enthusiasm for the ‘cause’ and their endurance is honestly amazing and many of the ones who come from other countries are having experience comparable to us in Guyana, despite the circumstances. I wish I could have been out with them more in the Field, but again, due to security I wasn’t really allowed to. Fond memories tho.

Here are some pictures of the last month:

I had the privilege of being involved in a wedding of a lovely couple out here. I even got a buttonhole for my efforts :)

Food!!! I love curry and was nice to have some proper Indian fare.

Brunch is a tradition here in Qatar - a left over from the British. I had to sacrifice and have all you can eat glorious food and free champagne for 4 hours.

My good friend Stephen took me out for a desert trip in his buggy. Was hilarious, almost as much as what he was wearing. We invested in some local scarves, which we were thankful for - that sand whipping across really hurts!