Cook-Up and all dem tings!

Cook-Up Rice is a traditional Guyanese meal. National dish some say, but I don't know how to confirm that. Anyone? Anyone??

Now apparently cook-up is common here on a Saturday, like how we would have soup in Jamaica on a saturday. Well, we did when we were growing up anyway. Don't know about what happens these days. Cook-up rice can have ANYTHING in it. Really, anything! Traditional meats include salted pork, salted beef, tripe, fresh pork, dried shrimp, and of course chicken. To add to this choice or combination of meats, is the vegetable part. Usually these are peas or beans. Black-eye peas, pigeon peas, red beans and split peas. Even though the meats may be mixed, the peas/beans are never mixed in cook-up. So you may hear of split peas cook-up or black-eye cook-up, but the twain shall not meat in one dish. 

Sometimes, in place of the peas or beans, callaloo can  be used in the cook-up. So, everything is cooked in this one-pot dish along with Caribbean spices and herbs and done in a coconut milk base to add a little richness to the meal. The dish as you can see is very versatile, and almost anywhere you go to buy lunch on any given day will have some kind of cook-up. Except for the traditional fast food places, of course. :)  But, you know, if we were in Jamaica, some fast food restaurant would've capitalized on this already. Naturally, I mean, where else in the world could you have ever had escoveitched fish with bammy for breakfast at Burger King???

Anyway, the point of this story started last week when I decided I was going to try to eat more vegetables. Remember the "Are Guyanese healthier than Jamaicans?" post? So, I decided to start this week of with callaloo. To begin with, it is nearing the end of the month, and funds are QUITE low. So, for $100 a bag for  callaloo already cut up in the market, I was going to try to make a go at it. I asked my friend about buying some callaloo in the market. 

What kind of callaloo?

WHAT?? Callaloo. I don't know what type.

And so it began. Everyone kept asking me what kind of callaloo I wanted. What I wanted was the callaloo they sell in Jamaica. That's the only type I know. So, my dear boss took me to the market on Friday partly because he was also opposed to me buying the callaloo already cut up by the vendors. He wanted me to buy my own bundles with the stalk and cut it up myself. Ay yi yi. Doesn't he know that I don't do "hard work"? Sigh. But, I was happy for the opportunity so I went along.

In Guyana callaloo is certainly complicated. There is bhajgee (bah-gee), sometimes Pak Choy is also sold and referred to as callaloo, and then there is the eddoe leaf (which is closely related to dasheen). There may be others, but this is what I remember. So, I got my callaloo, the custodian in the office was kind enough to cut it up for me, but then she asked me how I was going to cook it?  Well, I only know to cook it up with onions and tomatoes, maybe with some saltfish in it. So, I'd never really thought about doing it any other way. That is how we most commonly eat it in Jamaica. However, she asked me if I was going to make a stew or cook-up. Aaaaaaah. Cook-up. She told me how to prepare the cook-up and I vowed to try it on the weekend. Here is how it looked...

My callaloo cook-up with beef and of course I threw in a little corn.

Just another dog day

What can I tell you about life in the tropics? Well, maybe not in the tropics, but in the developing world. People of course love their pets. In Guyana, no less. And, we have enough exotic animals here that I'm sure pets come in all shapes and sizes. Here, there are a lot of people who have birds. How do I know this? Well, because they "sun" their birds regularly. YES, they take them out for a walk. So, people are out walking, cycling or climbing into a boat with their birds in one hand as they go merrily along their way. :)

I've also seen a few people out on the Sea Wall with their toy dogs. But very few. For the most part, dogs are kept in homes - and unlike the need in North America to have your dog inside - particularly because of the climate, here, there is no such NEED. Toy dogs and a select few others may be inside (along with the birds), but many dogs are kept outside in the yard. And the atmosphere surrounding "keeping the dogs inside" is quite casual. Dogs may roam the street and visit the neighbours often. Not many care. So, it's not unusual to take a walk down the street and pass a dog or two lounging outside.

Yesterday, on her way to work, my housemate had one of these dogs out of nowhere run up and take a bite out of her leg. 

Yes, she's fine. And the dog is probably still alive somewhere... but it just goes to show that when the Travel Doctor advised us to "Stay away from dogs and Stay away from men!" he was probably right.

You could get bitten!!! 

Hope you recover soon SF! ;)

Are Guyanese healthier than Jamaicans?

Everytime I ask one of my colleagues what they've brought to lunch for work they give me the name of some vegetable. It's interesting. Guyanese eat... Bora for lunch. http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2009/01/bora-copy.jpg

But, what is the best part, is that they're not eating bora by itself. They're eating it with meat. Bora and chicken, or bora and mince or something like that. Now in Jamaica, we'd probably say we were eating chicken with bora, or mince with bora. Wouldn't you think the same?

But, other than that, I find them talking often about how they're tired of rice. Tired of bread. (That shouldn't be too bad a thing, right?) Maybe if I was tired of bread I could lose some weight... :) In addition, they eat curried pumpkin, curried mango, boulanger (egg plant), etc as regular meals. Sometimes I see people eating just rice with black eyed peas or something like that, and callaloo is a common dish for many.

With all these vegetables featuring prominently in the lives of the Guyanese, are they all healthy? Are they healthier than the Jamaicans like myself who aren't eating as many vegetables? Don't get me wrong, Jamaicans eat vegetables with their meals - just mostly as a side dish. And, yes we do have vegetarians in Jamaica, but these Guyanese I'm referring to are not vegetarian. So, this should make for a pretty healthy lifestyle, right? Is this something I should be adopting???? Boulanger... here I come!

The OFFICE

I had an earlier post http://bjanice1.blogspot.com/2012/03/workie.html entitled "Workie" where I mentioned at the time that the people in my office SEEMED nice, but since I was just meeting them, you'd have to check back with me later for an update. Well, here's the update on how life at the office is...

CONCLUSION:
Nice - the Jury's still out on that, but FUN??? Definitely!!  GO Youth Challenge Guyana!

One more thing about the rainy season...

When it's raining anywhere in the world, there are some common themes that people think about. One may be... "Oh, I wish I was home snuggling up in bed". People may ask, "When is this going to stop?".

What do YOU think about when it's raining? You know what? On second thoughts, don't tell me...    :)

Last night as I was turning over in bed and noticed the rain had started, only one question popped into my mind

How COLD is the water in the shower gonna be when I wake up??

The Uprising of the Critters

Rainy season? Yes. All kinds of tropical creatures trying to find new homes inside my house?

YES, YES, YES. 

One of my friend's in Canada mentioned to me that with the rainy season there'd be more mosquitoes. That may be true, but did he have to burst my bubble and have me start THINKING about it?? I was quite blissfully happy before that with my rain "long" boots and all. I actually declared a few days later that I don't usually have problems with mosquitoes and didn't see an increase. I apparently didn't knock on any wood as I was saying that - and spoke too early!!!  Mi ah ded fram mosquita now!!!! Last night there were FIVE mosquitoes inside my mosquito net. This, because I had opened one side to lounge on the bed while using the laptop, and of course where there's opportunity, there's mosquitoes flying under the net.... SIGH

And sure enough one day my housemate found a mouse in the house!!!! Now, most of you know, where there's one.... sigh again. But that one met an untimely death, and we hoped against hope. A couple of weeks later, there was another. I took action, and we didn't see any for a while again. But, I know at least one came back. I hope he SUFFERS. Whatever happens, I don't care, but he must learn not to mess with big people! But, you know... rain is falling and they're looking for higher ground and warmer places. In addition, there's a bunch of construction going on downstairs, across the street, etc. So, I'm sure their nests were disturbed and they're trying to find a new home. WELL, NOT WITH ME!!!!!! It ain't gonna happen!

Sure enough, I took out the garbage late one night, and once outside in the yard I noticed a bunch of very large cockroaches running around. Now, I'd never really seen any this size, and RARELY seen any inside this house. BUT, no. Things don't like to just end there, so naturally a few days later I saw a few in the shower which had obviously come up the drain. This is not gonna end well for some...

Entertainment in Georgetown

Now, I'd heard before I came to Guyana that there were lots of concerts in Georgetown, rum bars and dominoes. But, where does everything come to life? Seriously. I don't know. It doesn't appear that there's a whole lot to do in Georgetown. And this may be true of lots of places, but I guess if you already have lots of friends and are truly established with car, TV, DVD player, XBox and whatever else you need to make your fun, then you probably don't notice it. If you're home with your family making dinner, doing laundry and playing with the kids, then you're probably too tired to wonder where to go on a weekend.

For the rest of us, we've been getting by going to potlucks whenever another volunteer is saying "goodbye" and heading back home from Guyana. THIS has been the main source of entertainment for us volunteers. Yes, there are fish shops and rum bars, but I haven't had the good fortune? to visit one of these yet. And I surely haven't seen any domino games being played. I did glimpse a pool table in one rum bar, and I do know there's one entertainment complex on Sherriff Street. But, really? Where to go???

A couple of weeks ago there was a European Film Festival and there were films being featured for maybe 5 nights a week for two weeks. One night featured two films from Guyana. Sadly, I missed it all. :( And it was important for me to go to that, because there's no real cinema in Georgetown to frequent. Your best bet is to buy pirated DVDs cheap on the street. Because many people set up shop on different corners with rows and rows of dvds being offered.

Ready to go Welcome Jamrock!

I do know that Tanya Stephens has performed here this year (I can't believe I missed THAT, but nobody bothered to tell me about it until AFTER she'd gone).

Last Saturday however, was Independence Day here. This was celebrated by a Food and Family Festival being held just outside the main town. And guess who performed? Damian "Junior Gong" Marley! Oh ye! It was interesting as the night went on to see the crowd that gathered for his performance. Oh! 

What A Night! 

What DOES a volunteer do?

There are so many volunteer posts available all over the world, that a volunteer can do almost anything. Anything you want - that of course fits in with what the host country or agency/organization needs. Environmental work, teaching, nursing, supplying basic needs, just being an extra pair of hands or an expert in your field. Sometimes you may do all - and anything that is required on that day.

I came to Guyana to work with Youth Challenge Guyana. It is a one year stint for me and I will be advising on how to fund their recently developed 5-year Strategic Plan. And of course, this plan was developed with the help of another volunteer last year. Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) works with youth across Guyana in three main programme areas - Life Skills and Livelihoods, Education and Health. Guyanese have the opportunity through YCG to also volunteer and work in different regions across Guyana as a Volunteer Teacher. This is quite popular and gives many the opportunity to travel and experience parts of the culture that they may never have known otherwise. Persons are posted for 1yr in a school and many are inspired afterwards to stay for an additional year, or to pursue teaching as a profession and build on the experience they gained.

International Volunteers from Canada, Australia, Costa Rica for example also come to Guyana and volunteer with YCG for 5-6wk projects in one of the above-mentioned programme areas. Volunteers can come and assist with workshops, networking, literacy and classroom support and/or take part in many other projects being implemented at YCG. Other volunteers come for 3mths, 5mths - there are lots of options.

Naturally, there are many organizations you can volunteer with Internationally... depending on your country of origin, language skills, age, expertise. You also have the opportunity to come through Universities for research in developing countries - and at the same time work with an organization there. I volunteered through CUSO International but you all have your choices...

YCG is not the only place in Guyana you can volunteer, and of course you can volunteer in many other countries, including the one where you're already living. You don't have to even go far - unless you want to. 

But, why wouldn't you if you could?