Suriname Study Tour Day 1

On Saturday 5^th May, 2012 at 10:35pm, the IIEM 2011/2012 class set off on “Journey to Suriname” for the International Study Tour 2012.

Suriname lies on the North East coast of South America, with Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the East and Brazil to the South. The capital of Suriname is Paramaribo, which is where we are staying. The main ethnic groups in Suriname are Indian, Creole, Indonesian, Maroon, Native American, Chinese and European.  Known as Dutch Guiana, the colony was integrated into the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1948. Two years later Dutch Guiana was granted home rule, except for foreign affairs and defence. After race rioting over unemployment and inflation, the Netherlands granted Suriname complete independence on November 25, 1975.

Suriname was chosen as the destination for the study tour because of its Manufacturing, Trade, and Oil and Gas Industries. The appeal commenced after the launch of the Caribbean Invention and Innovation Centre in October 2011. The interest garnered at this event sparked a desire to improve relations with the Suriname Business Centre and as is said the rest is history. For the duration of the tour, we will visit places such as Chamber of Commerce, Alliance, Ministry of Labour, The University of Anton de Kom, Staatsolie, CELOS, and a number of others. During these visits we are expected to examine specific features such as Extraction, Production, Health and Safety, Agribusiness, Eco-Tourism, Operations Management and Trade Logistics.

Suspense was high as it was the first visit to this country for all of us. As the plane touched down in the airport, the excitement heightened. Reality hit as we saw our luggage stuffed into what we know as a “small maxi”, as we filled up a “big maxi”.

Our luggage stuffed into a small maxi, with no room to spare

As we stared at the scenery on our way to the hotel, we couldn’t help but compare the different areas to those back home in Trinidad.  We saw “Princes Town” in the design of the streets, roti shops in “Penal”, the bright lights in “Port of Spain” and even the buzz and parties on “The Avenue”. This made us feel even more at home. DJ Khadija had us singing in the maxi to the likes of Linkin Park and Rihanna. Although it was past 2:00am, Paramaribo was literally bustling with activities. The crowds were out in droves “liming”, something that seemed to be the norm. We later discovered that there was also a major political rally concerning the amnesty referendum from where hundreds of people emerged. Surprisingly, the number of young persons attending was quite high.

Hospitality was above average from the get go, and we were greeted by personable staff at Queen’s and Blue Heaven Hotels where we stayed, with immediate offerings of juice, which was much appreciated after our long road trip. We awoke later Sunday morning for a breakfast that challenged our taste buds. It was nothing that we were used to:  smoked fish, soya chunks and bean sprouts, corn and string beans, all of which were quite delectable.

First Surinamese breakfast

After breakfast we went on a walking mini tour of the surrounding areas.

IIEM Students exploring beautiful Suriname

The level of hospitability and amicability of the people was again experienced. The buildings were generally aged and the architectural design was of a vintage nature, physical representations of its Dutch colonial history.

Colonial Architecture

We saw the museum, a church and even familiar places like KFC, Pizza Hut and Popeye’s. We went for lunch at the restaurant J’ Vat Sidewalk Cafe, where we were determined to sample the local Surinamese cuisine. The winner was the Bami met kip, groente en sambal, a dish consisting of Javanese noodles, string beans, kip (chicken) and sambal (pepper).

At this point, the appointed group leaders led their designated groups into discussion regarding the way forward for the topics assigned to us. These assigned focus group topics are Science Technology and Innovation; Sustainability; Globalization; and Entrepreneurship.

So far, it has been a fascinating experience and not at all the cultural shock that we were expecting. Tomorrow, we will visit Alliance, an eco-tourism resort, which is a one-hour bus ride and a one-hour boat ride away.  Look out for our posts tomorrow where we will share more of our exciting experiences with you.