Wedding bells!

I was invited to my first Hindu wedding. A girl at work was having a Hindu ‘thanks giving’ service (called a Jandi) and then her cousin was getting married afterwards. Another volunteer was coming to stay with me for the weekend and coming to the wedding too. To get to New Amsterdam you have to cross the relatively new Berbice Bridge. It slides open for 1 ½ hours per day – different times each day depending on the tides. Unfortunately the bridge got stuck when it went to close and my friend had to wait four hours for it to open. By the time we turned up the wedding everything was over – now it is normal to be late in Guyana but I think even we were pushing it! We were still made to feel very welcome by the family and giving traditional food. We had 7 curry – which is 7 different types of curry and rice served on a lotus leaf. Then afterwards we had a sweet mango and roti dish – again on a lotus leaf. We got a few pictures of the bride in a red sari before she drove off in their car which we threw rice over.

The following day we spent with another family where we played cricket in their garden and swam in the creek. The water was much lower than before and the fish were nibbling! Nothing too hard but the odd one hurt! We played hide and seek around the house and drank coconut water.

Term has been on the wind down and we finish this Friday (sadly not for me – I am missing school holidays!) It has been exam over-load with the children sitting as many exams as can be crammed in. Grade 2, 4, and 6 sit national exams and then everyone (including those grades) does end of year exams. The grade 2, 4 and 6 exams all contribute to the common entrance exam. This decides which secondary school you get to go to. The better your grade the better the category of school you get to go to. But then the system seems to be flawed as children with lower marks appear to get into better schools. The office has been full with people asking for transfer which happens so hopefully children will get into the right schools (all a very bizarre system). I was at a school when the results were read to the students in front of the school – there was a mixture of cheering and polite clapping depending on which school you got into. The highest honour is going to a school in Georgetown.

I have been observing the students from my course – one of the activities they had to do was teach a grade 1 or 2 class blending and segmenting. Some of them did really well and it was good to see they had put the ground work in before hand. Some of them it was obvious this is the first time a child has ever been shown a letter sound or how to blend a word.

I went to observe one student – who is also the Head Master and he wasn’t there. His class were completely unsupervised and had been for the previous 30 minutes. They had been left some work to do which they had finished so I played Gladiators with them (great game Gemma!) showed them how to do their 9 times table on their fingers and read them the enormous crocodile which luckily I had in my bag. About an hour later their teacher turned up apologising to me for missing his observation – no mention of the fact he has left his class unsupervised for 1 ½ hours – but I guess that is the norm here. The kids were really sweet and enjoyed their afternoon!

We went to Orealla for a weekend. Orealla is an Amerindian village and one of my schools. It is 1 ½ hour minibus drive and 6 hour boat ride away down the Corentyne River. We are going there in a few weeks to do some training with the teachers.

The journey itself was an adventure. We caught a mini-bus up to where the boat was. Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived so we had to carefully walk across the wooden plank to the boat. The boat was full of hammocks everywhere! We had to find a small amount of space to hang ours. The boat was full of chickens, mattresses, bread, fruit and vegetables, petrol and a whole load of other things. The only way to get in and out of Orealla is by boat. They grow some things, but a lot gets imported on this village boat. I got chatting with a lady who had grown up in Orealla but moved to Surinam – I had an invite to stay by the end of the journey. The rained stopped and we and sat up on the roof – a beautiful journey down the river with Guyana on one side and Surinam on the other. We saw 100s of parrots flying overhead and watched the sunset – was a beautiful journey. When it got dark we climbed in our hammocks. Because the boat was so full I had to layer my hammock and I slept under someone else!

We arrive at 10.30pm and went straight to the guesthouse. A small basic place owned by the friendliest family ever. The next day we watched them recue a small sunken fishing boat, had fish curry and roti for breakfast and then headed up onto the Savannah in a 1920s jeep. We got to ride on the roof which was fun! We went into the jungle to a place they have started to clear. They have built a small hut and benab there. We went for an explore down the river in a small boat – they had cleared a lot of the creek but still a bit of ducking under the branches was needed. Then we came back and swam in the creek and jumped in off the rope swing. The whole family had come to join us and we had a lot of fun pushing each other in the water! Some members of the family were doing their washing, cleaning their teeth or washing themselves in the creek. The Amerindians use both the creek and the river for everything. We were advised not to swim in the river as the water was high and that means more piranha activity! We heard a few stories and saw a few scars!

In the afternoon we cook fish broth in a large pot and swung in the hammocks. On the way back we saw lots of parrots and 2 savannah fox. You can also see Armadillos and Ant-eaters so hopefully next time we will.

The next day was spent walking around and exploring, eating the best pineapple I have since getting here and buying some Cassava bread. An equally interesting journey home – the main boat wasn’t running as it was father’s day so the one we had to get usually carries fruit to sell at the market. We were so squashed in that I had to sleep with my legs crossed.

I spent a few days working in the capital – it is always good to go and see what is happening there. I was given some money to spend at the book Foundation and they had a 241 sale in June! They are a charity which sells good quality story books for schools at a much reduced rate. I got some books to use for courses and workshops. I also enjoyed visiting Pizza Hut in the evening!! Amazingly McDonalds hasn’t hit Guyana yet – the only chains we have is one pizza hut, a few KFCs and Churches Chicken which I think is an American brand??

I was on the TV last week talking about my job here – was given about 20 minutes notice for being on it! Another experience to say I have done – though was all very cringe worthy!

I bought a paper the other day – I tend not to bother for reasons which will become apparent below (reminded the population here is ¾ million).

The front page for just one day:

Teenagers kidnapped on highway

McDoom (yes this is a real place) home up in flames

Man jailed for chopping mother

Teen charged for linden murder

Teacher’s killer captured in Surinam

Parliamentary body calls for police intervention – unearths cases of corruption

The Georgetown Coral Choir came and visited New Amsterdam – they put on a fantastic concert of both old, contemporary and traditional music as well as having both African and Indian drummers. They finished with Guyana’s favourite song “This is Africa” By Shikira!

We had a public holiday on Monday – Caricom day. I spent the day with a friend, her family and extended family. We cooked chicken Cha-mein and I had my hair done by about 6 different girls – pulled into all kinds of different styles! It was raining all day so a quiet day spent inside.

The bride and groom.

Eating seven curry

This amused me!

All the minibuses have these kind of sayings or quotes

Playing cricket

Playing hide and seek

Getting on the boat

There wasn't much room

On the roof of the boat

Going down the creek

playing in the river

One of the boys caught a snake. He used the cord from his shorts to make a lassoo. It can be sold for a lot of money!

Games in the evening - who can do the plank the longest.

Cassava bread



The journey back - there are 6 hammocks in this picture!



Grade 6 results - these girls had done really well.

The choir

Having my hair done!