Free to Move About the Country

          We have made it more than 3 months at our respective sites (almost 6 months total), which means for a PCV we are now free to move about the country!  We could go and visit people before, but you are technically not supposed to spend the night away from your home.  That makes it hard to visit people a bit further away.  So the day after the 3 months were up, I decided to test out my new freedom.  A bunch of volunteers were getting together for a birthday party where two volunteers live across the river.  It was the first time I had been to their houses.  They were really nice!  They had a ton of fruit trees, a garden, flowers, and a patio space to hang hammocks and chill out.  We spent the evening catching up, trying to climb palm trees, chopping coconuts, and in traditional Peace Corps style, we all brought a ton of food to eat.  

Failed attempt at climbing a palm

It was also a long weekend here in Guyana so on Monday, two of my little neighbors and I spent a good portion of the day cooking cheese and chocolate flaps.  In Guyana, they make a bread/pastry called butter flaps, but I most recently found out they will do variations of it with chicken and cheese and other things, so of course I had to try to make them myself.  They turned out pretty well.  My little neighbors like to do everything real big, so we ended up sharing them out to most of the kids on my street in the form of a dance party at my place.  They even made someone go and get some drink, because in Guyanese culture, if you are serving a snack, there must be a drink to wash it down.

 

 

  There is probably good reason for that 3 month rule because this past weekend I also was out of my site visiting another volunteer in Black Bush.  It is really great to visit other volunteers.  I almost feel like I am on a mini vacation when I visit.   It can also make you a bit jealous of the different houses or communities they live in, but you come to realize that each situation has benefits and their share of challenges.  Black Bush is only about an hour and a half away from where I live, but it can be difficult getting transport out there.  It is about 20 minutes off of the main road and the road to Black Bush is a little bumpy (not to mention VERY muddy if it rains). 

Wearing Saris and Shalwars, more traditional Indo attire

 

Where the Yagh was held and the Pandit sat

We came to visit to experience a Yagh (probably not the right spelling, sounds like Jag), which is a week-long Hindu celebration.  On a special occasion, a Pandit comes out every night to lead chants and prayers and then there is a big meal following each service. This Yagh was celebrating a woman’s 60^th birthday so we got to attend the last night and morning of the celebration. Black Bush is a very small, rural community, with some of the best hospitality I have experienced in Guyana.  Everyone was VERY friendly and came to say hello to us. One of the volunteer’s neighbors even lent us Saris and Sarwahs for the Yagh that she herself had yet to wear.  We were also very well fed.  We had the traditional 7 curry made with some curries I had not yet tried before. 

Blackbush is more of a rural farming community

  On the first night, there was a crazy thunderstorm and we had to walk a good 15 minutes home in darkness and pouring rain.  One thing about Black Bush, is that there is a LOT of mud!  I took my shoes off, tried to hold up my Sarwah with one hand, carried an umbrella with the other, and prayed I wouldn’t wipe out.  I also put my faith in a local resident who instructed me on where I should walk.  I think walking in the mud and rain is the closest thing you can get to ice in Guyana.  My friend’s house was also pretty cool, with a lot of space to sit outside.  It reminded me of a rustic farm or country house.  I was a little alarmed when I went downstairs in the morning and was greeted by 4 or so bats flying around.  They happened to be flying right in my path to the washroom so I grabbed a broom, ran, and flailed frantically.   My friend said she used to do that, but has kind of gotten used to them.  They haven’t flown into her yet (must be that echo location?).

Find the flying bat

Going to the Yagh reminded me of how much I love learning about different people and their customs.  That sounds kind of cheesy but I can’t think of a better way to describe it.  I can’t imagine sitting at home and never being curious about our world and the different ways people live.  There are so many places to see and people to meet, it is almost mind boggling.  I do know I want to be out there.  Some days I might be frustrated, I know I am not being the best teacher or might not be making the impact I think I should be, but just talking, listening, and learning from everyone here has been an invaluable experience.  It is easy to measure outcomes by tests or objectives met, but what accounts for the friendships formed or those little day to day interactions?  I have thought about a billion scenarios for when I will return to the States, have been homesick, have missed family and friends, and cannot say being here has always been the easiest thing.  However, the more I think about it, the more I am realizing that I don’t think I will be content just staying in the States. Sure, I will be happy to go back and live for a while, but sooner or later that travel bug will come out and bite me and I’ll get that urge to be off somewhere else again.  So the key now is to figure out how to make that work with, ya know, things like life, careers, and oh yah, taking everyone I love and care about with me.  Fortunately, I’m not even a quarter way through this adventure, so I think I have some time to work on it. 

In the meantime, I hope everyone is trying to stay cool.  I can’t believe I live so close to the equator and it is significantly warmer back home.

-KB