Things of interest

hello!

we’ve learned and experienced so much in Guyana in our first week here that i thought i would fill you in on some of the highlights…

– the weather – it’s about 30 degrees every day, which feels like 40 degrees because of the humidity. in the sun everyone sweats uncontrolably, in the evenings it is comfortably hot, and there’s always a breeze coming in off the ocean, which is much appreciated!! in the air conditioned rooms it is freezing cold. i think i’m the only person in this country who actually avoids air conditioning!

– danger – i’m sure if you do any research you will read about how dangerous Georgetown is. in real life, there are many dangerous areas, but now that we know what areas to avoid, they say we should be ok. there are all kinds of stray dogs hanging around all the time (much like i’ve heard thailand is like), so i’m always cautious about them. also, Georgetown is actually below sea level, so along all of the roadways and sidewalks there are trenches to collect the water. it would be really easy to accidently step into one of these, and rumor has it they pulled out a six foot anaconda from one!

– culture – even though Guyana is in South America, it is considered to be a Caribbean country (likely because it’s english speaking). so, it feels very Jamaican here. their big sport is cricket, and Guyana is hosting part of the World Cup of cricket, starting april 2007!

– transportation – vehicles drive on the left side of the street here, so we are forever looking the wrong way. actually, it is important to look in both directions as people tend to drive really crazy here. people take ‘minibuses’ around town, which are like 15 passenger vans, originally decorated by the owners, that drive specific routes. there are also cabs that have a set rate for anywhere in georgetown, and many people ride bicycles.

– ‘just now’ – everything (except the vehicles!) moves very slowly here. people use the expression ‘just now’, which can mean anywhere from one minute from now to a month from now. they say in our placements that we really need to push to get an actual timeline or nothing ever will get done.

– food – in one word – yum! it is a mix of indian, caribbean, and amazing fresh fruits and veggies. their staples are rice, yams, plantains, and they have lots of curries. we’re really excited to get out to the market and try out some of the fruits we’ve never heard of. we can get almost everything that we could buy at home, though some of it is really expensive. rob says the award winning rum, made right here in Georgetown, is the best he’s ever had, and he’s only tried the cheap stuff so far!

feel free to ask us questions if you’re wondering about anything else. of course we’ll update you with more of what we’ve been up to and pictures as we go along! and, send us email! we’ve got lots of internet access and are looking forward to hearing about what’s new with you and what’s going on back home.

~dawnO