A good time

Friday, May 26 was Guyana’s Independence Day. To celebrate Stacy, Meshana, Tandika, and I went out. Stacy and Meshana work at the Health Center while Tandika is a family friend of my host family. We went to Caribbean Temptations. We got their pretty early, so we sat outside gaffing and having some drinks. Later we went inside where there’s a stage. We got our groove on, and I got a chance to practice the Wacky Dip and the Chaka Chaka. (You know dances like the C-walk or the waltz.) Around 9pm we decided to leave. We make a quick pit stop at this club called Blue Moon then we headed to Nancy’s bar in Parika. Every Friday is Karaoke night. I even sang “Unbreak My Heart” by Toni Braxton and “Hey Mr. DJ” by Rihanna. It was a good time.
Tandika and me
Meshana and Stacy
Me and Stacy singing

Saturday I went to a wedding. To my surprise and enjoyment I became very involved in the whole process. Somehow Joyce nominated me to be the stand-in mother, witness, maid of honor, and photographer all in one. I helped Angie, the bride, put on her wedding dress, signed her marriage certificate, and gave a little speech on her behalf. All the while I was capturing the moments with my camera. The wedding took place at her home, and a pastor came to conduct the ceremony. It was small and intimate. But afterwards, the bride and groom took a “drive out.” They along with some family and me piled into two cars and drove around town. The drivers honked their horns the entire time and all the by standers wandered out to get a glimpse at the newly weds and offer congratulations. It, too, was a good time.

Psychiatric clinic

This past Friday was psychiatric clinic at the health center. Some doctors from Georgetown and an assistant came down to see clients. I helped admit people who were seeking their first visit. This was really interesting because while talking to the newcomers, I heard about the stressful problems they were experiencing at home. In fact, 4 of them started crying when talking about it. It was emotional, but I felt honored (I guess is the right word) that they felt comfortable enough to share that with me on our first encounter.

Later I had the chance to sit with one of the doctors while he talked with clients. Two of the people mentioned how they sometimes hear voices. One woman seemed very spaced out and wide-eyed. I had a feeling that she might have had some traumatic experience because she's been passed around among family members and no one seems to want to take care of her. The other one was a young boy of 16. His father was with him, but he seemed to have a support system.

On a lighter note, I went to sort of welcome party for the new PCVs in region 3. We hung out at this guy Justin's place and then went to a club called the Caribbean Temptations. It was fun, but the big problem is the music. Not that it's bad music, but the DJ only lets 2 seconds of the song play before he interrupts to talk and them switches to another song. So it's like tiny spurts of dancing that just makes me frustrated.
At Justin's house
Caribbean Temptations

A New Look

For the first time ever, I got my hair braided! A family friend of Joyce (Tandika) did it for me. I personally really like how she twisted it in the back. It's nice that I don't have to worry about brushing it, and now that it's the rainy season the humidity is out of control. This way I don't have to worry about my hair getting frizzy. It's weird, though, feeling the air on my scalp.
*I'm having hella trouble getting photos up of my hair :(

Since I've been at the health center, I've been hanging out int the waiting room chatting with clients. It gets kinda boring, but I was told life would be this way for the 6 months to a year. I know!! What will I do with myself?

Well all hasn't been completely boring. In fact, last weekend I went with Sarah, her husband and son, Selwin and Symeon, respectively to an outing at Splashmin's, a water resort. I've actually been to this place before, but this time I got to ride a jet ski and take a boat to a small farm across the lake. It was so beautiful. They had a bunch of rabbits, some cows, monkeys, and a macaw. There's also a lot of fruit trees. I tried a souree, which is a sour, green fruit. Then there's this small grape size fruit called fat pork. It was a light red with white flesh and a huge seed. The other unique friut is orwara. It's small and orange. When you eat it you bit it off the seed, chew the pulp, and then spit it out. It's really messy and gets stuck in your teeth. This place is perfect for an afternoon bar-b-que.