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Trip Start Sep 15, 2005

Trip End Nov 11, 2005

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Flag of Canada DeBolt, Alberta, Canada
Tuesday, November 15, 2005

This will be the final blog in my journey to Suriname, as I arrived back in Canada on Saturday evening. My flight plans were changed twice. First news was that I had to do a 24 hour lay over in Trinidid as the plane I was scheduled on would not fly out of the Caracas because of repairs on the airport. So I left Suriname as scheduled on November 11th and spent the lay over in Port of Spain. The second change to the flight was that the last leg from Edmonton to GP could not be made on Saturday night and I would have another layover. At this point I phoned Kerry to rescue me and he traveled down to Edmonton and picked me up at the airport there, Saturday at about 7:00 p.m. The weather is a bit of a shock to my system with -6 to -11 degrees and some snow, but the greetings from family were warm and inviting!

The last two weeks in Suriname was spent trying to finalize the work there and became a bit of a mad scramble

Donavan & Henna with me at the last party of many

. There are some loose ends but I have passed the baton to another CCI collegue and have done what I can do.

I did a few fun things in the final weeks including a tour of the area called Commiwijne - and the site of an old sugar factory. I also attended the most magnificent Art Show and managed to have a painting commissioned and ready the day before departure. One final day at the beach with fellow Canadians and a huge party at my house for Henna's 29th birthday which doubled as a going away party for me.

I was sent off in true "Donavan and Henna" style with a champagne toast at 3:00 in the morning just before we loaded up and headed for the airport. Roci, Roma, Donavan and Henna all made the good-bye journey with me to the airport.

As I reflect back on my journey it feels a bit like a whirl wind. I am not sure if the work that I did will make a difference in the scheme of things but I know for sure the experience has impacted me. It has helped me to appreciate what we have in Canada, including the tremendous networking between organizations and the skilled and motivated people who work in non-profit. I have made what I feel will be lasting friendships with many people in Suriname, and feel grateful to have been so openly included in their lives.

I look forward to re-connecting with many of you over the next few weeks and months.
Thanks for sharing in my journey with me. I have really appreciated the many emails that I received which kept me connected with home.

Love Brenda