CUSTOMS
Folks in the village use their voices as doorbells. Even
though my house has a clearly marked sign with an arrow under the word “BELL”,
not one person has rung it. Rather, to
get my attention they stand at the gate and yell, “INSIDE!” There is someone
above me, so both of us appear at our respective doorways to see who is being
summoned. Occasionally, I hear “Miss
Patty” and then I know for sure that my attention is needed. This morning the neighbor just to my west was
calling “Vanny!” in order to get the attention of my neighbor just to my
east. She responded. It is effective, if your ear is trained to
hear the caller. Along the same line, the hired cars that occasionally run up
and down the sole road in the village are hailed by folks inside their
homes! They have amazing lungs. I have yet to be successful hailing a car
from inside my gate, let alone inside my house!
If I miss that one car, who knows when the next comes through. It is the one unsettling thing I dislike
about the remoteness of my village.
From the time I arrived at my
training host family home last May, I found the custom of carrying small birds
in cages odd. I am reminded that in my
Star Valley home in Arizona, I would occasionally see a man walking the park
with his caged bird. I always thought he
might be a little “off”. However, it is
customary to keep birds in cages and put them in/out or even take them on a
bike ride! Really. My host father had 16 cages in the house and
many went out on separate poles early in the day and returned to the home at
night. I don’t know how so much care can
come to birds that are intended to fly, fly, fly and yet so much neglect given
to dogs. Why, I know not one Guyanese
family that invites their adult dog into the house. They adore puppies, but the care dwindles as
the dog ages. I have never seen a dog
leash on a dog in Guyana. Cats, however,
known to keep critters at bay (or consumed) are invited inside homes. Spaying
and neutering are not common as procedures are costly and facilities are not
close for those living outside of Georgetown.
There might be a handful of clinics around the country, but it is not
common practice to neuter/spay and the vicious cycle repeats quickly.
Folks can’t believe I wash my
hair at night and sleep with it wrapped up. About half way through the night I
will take the wrap off and drape my hair over a toweled pillow. It’s a long known “fact” that one becomes
sick if they go to bed with wet hair. A
friend recently had a cold and to combat the drainage that had a small amount
of blood in it, she went to the sink and bent over then tapped some water on
her head so the bleeding would stop. Of
course, there are volumes of treatments from bush leaves, bark, oils, flowers
that Peace Corps staff frowns on us trying.
It is customary that footwear
“boots” or “slippers” are checked at the door.
However, another inside slipper awaits.
If I fail to wear an inside slipper (flip-flops), I am asked, “Aren’t
your feet cold?” COLD? Really?
Not a chance. Now, once you
return to the outside footwear, best to turn them upside down and shake as
critters do like to hide in dark places!
It’s also customary for people to
restate the obvious. “Miss, you’re
eating” I recently heard after buying a “take away” lunch and finding a spot to
sit. Or you might hear, “You are getting
fat” if they see a roll above the beltline.
Yep….judgement is right out in the open. To be fair, it seems that a little extra is
pleasing to many. Some of my PC younger
friends hear it every day and maybe they have even lost weight since arriving
in country. I’ve learned to respond with the obvious also, such as “bai (boy),
you’re walking”. SMILE…..
Sponsorship…that seems to be key
to individuals and families. There are
actually more Guyanese living outside Guyana than in. Just about ¾ of a million in country and it
appears that they all want to be saved by those coming from outside. “I want to marry you” is heard sometimes as
the opening line. If not the first thing
said, it comes shortly after. I might
add that age has no barrier. I don’t get
the constant barrage, but I hear it too.
Even women have asked me to sponsor them pretty quickly after developing
a conversation. If I say “I’m not in
position to do that.” I have severed a relationship. Period….
February is history. Early in the month, PC volunteers came to my part of the world. Many traveled a few hours to gather in New Amsterdam for Beer Olympics. There were a few teams (countries) formed and a few games that revolved around beer, of course! We had a pot luck too so there was a fair amount of food. A good time had by all. Not knowing how long I could "hang" with the kids, I volunteered to be the in charge of pictures! HA!
Otherwise, February was entirely consumed by Mashramani
activities. The school had a couple of
presentations in the “Physical Display” field. Here we are waiting for the school to be called up.
But
wait! We aren’t finished just yet. New
Amsterdam (the closest city to my village) will have a float parade and celebration
on March 1. I do believe Mash will be
complete. Guyana has more observed
holidays than any other country. There
are six recognized cultures coexisting and each may share or have their own
holidays. With that being said, we will
observe Phagwah on March 6th.
I am hoping to find 7 curry somewhere.
It is a presentation of 7 different curries in a huge leaf from the
National Flower. It is customary to
serve 7 Curry at Hindu weddings, but I have not attended one yet. I do hope I have the opportunity sometime!
In spite of the abbreviated
curriculum, we continued to work a reward program for the students. For the month of February, the students were
told only the top five students would have the opportunity to enjoy a field
trip to the New Amsterdam Fire Department followed by ice cream. They all receive points just to arrive at
school and must have good behavior to keep the points. Bad behavior =loss of points. We also found ways to give additional points
for good behavior. I accompanied 2 grade
6, 1 grade 4, 1 grade 3 and 1 grade 1 today and they really enjoyed themselves. I am not sure what the highlight was for
them, but riding in the cab of a rolling fire truck with sirens on was
mine! It was very informative and lucky
for us, no emergency call came in while we were there. Future fire fighters of Guyana here:
March will sprint by, defying its
name. I am planning a visit to
Pensacola, Florida and reunite with my two children and their families. I am looking forward to giving HARD
hugs! Can’t wait to see how the
grandchildren have grown. Pictures make
me feel I’ve been gone 2 years, yet it has not even been one! I will be in Florida from April 1 – 11 and I
am quite sure that will not feel sufficient.
When I return, we will be in the
third term. The Grade 6 students will
have already had their assessments that will determine where they will go to
secondary school. The pressure is truly
on as I write this and I honestly don’t know where their heads will be in the
third term once they take their exams. I
sure hope they continue to come to school!!
Grades 2 and 4 will have their exams towards the end of the term. Interestingly enough, Grades 1, 3 and 5 do
not have Ministry of Education exams.
They will, of course be tested on a local level. By the time I am finished with my service, I
hope all of this makes sense. The idea
that 6th graders are determining their future by their work in March
just blows me away. I would have not
known how serious it was at that level and honestly, didn’t get a clue until
about grade 10 or 11.
I hope my family and friends in
the US are staying warm. Soon, you will
see signs of spring. I think of how
lucky I am to escape the snow, ice and deep freezes…..even if I am still
sweating 1/6th of my body weight daily!
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