Guyana's Emancipation Day

Cuffy is a National Hero in Guyana, brought in the 18th century from Africa to be a slave in Berbice. He is commemorated in a Monument in the Square of the Revolution in Georgetown. He is most well known for his part in the Berbice Slave Rebellion when men and women decided to rebel against the inhumane treatment they were receiving as slaves. They burned buildings and cane fields, but Cuffy is the one who organized them into a fighting force, and once they won, he became Governor of Berbice.


The 1st of August is Emancipation Day in Jamaica, a Civic Holiday (Simcoe Day) in Canada - or at least in Ontario (the first monday), and Emancipation Day in Guyana. In Jamaica, Emancipation Day is close to Independence Day (celebrated on the 6th) and there are usually lots of parades, food, parties and the like. In Toronto it is time for Caribana (the Caribbean Carnival which takes place with hundreds of revellers in costume chipping down the Lake Shore).


In Guyana, we celebrate the British parliament passing the Act of Emancipation approximately 180 years ago. There will be celebrations at the National Park in Georgetown - drumming, prayers, candelit processions, colourful dance and music shows commemorate the end of African slavery nationwide. I'm sure people will also be at the Sea Wall. This year - the 16th year of celebrations will have the theme, “Reclaiming Our Rights through Unified Purpose”.

West Coast Berbice had the first sets of communal villages after the slave rebellion, so many of the Emancipation Day celebrations take place in Berbice, Region 5. So, guess where I'm going on Tuesday night? Guess!!! GUESS!!!!! I'm going to "Swari" in Berbice. Don't know what that is? I will update you on that after I've recovered! J

My first Guyanese Wedding

Here comes the bride...

I attended a Guyanese wedding on Saturday. I was excited to see what this would be like. We arrived at the church - very few people there, but, we all know Caribbean people can be late. the bridal party came in and created an arch for the bride to walk through which was quite nice.

The bride was stunning - she was beautiful and obviously happy and quite relaxed. The wedding itself was fairly entertaining, and we watched them exchange their vows and of course, kiss.

At the church

What was very interesting is that this church building was new, and they had obviously pulled together to make it possible for the wedding to take place that day - pulling an all-nighter to get the place painted and ready - at least on the inside.

Dance Ministry

There was a dancer and a song or two. What was a little surprising to me was how few people were in the church. I thought, this is quite a small wedding and I began to feel like I was a little out of place in this intimate gathering of family and friends. However, as the afternoon wore on, a few more people entered. Phew. Okay.

After the wedding we drove around for a little knowing that the bridal party was going to take pictures and it was a little while before they would get to the reception. The wedding started at 4p.m., so we gave them a little time and then turned up for the evening's celebration. When we entered the church I noticed two things:

The Reception

1. It was really beautifully decorated
2. It was very empty. A nice big room, lots of tables, few people. 

"Oh no, I thought, what a shame that they were expecting all these people and they didn't turn up."

Well, at least we were there, so I figured... Let's get this party started, right???

And, in entered the bride with her husband! She was so radiant. I was hoping she really was enjoying herself and not just covering up!!!

As time went on, people entered in dribbles and drabbles. Most seemed to come just in time to get dinner. :-) And some just collected their dinners in styrofoam containers!!!!! (Oh yes, these were provided). By the time we were leaving at 10:00p.m. the room was full - and more guests were still arriving!!!

"Why are people coming in so late?" I asked my friend several times throughout the night. She must've been quite annoyed with me for being so dumb. Apparently, this is quite the norm!

The Demarara Harbour Bridge!

So, if you remember, back in April I did a blog which spoke about the Demarara Harbour Bridge when I was on my way to Region 2 in Guyana. The bridge connects East Bank Demarara and West Bank Demarara across the Demarara River.

So, this morning news breaks that the bridge is down. Out? Collapsed? Broken? Whatever it is, something is wrong. No one knows yet how/why it happened, but most people had to go to take a speedboat across the river this morning. Oh Boy!!!

Let's see how long it takes to get fixed....  

More about Guyana!

There are many many things I find strange about Guyana. Some I still have yet to share. Did you for example know that the languages in Guyana included English, Hindu, Urdu, Amerindian and Creole? Did you know that the 2002 census indicated that 57% of Guyanese were Christian? Okay, so 2002 was a long time ago, but still, in Guyana, the more things change the more they remain the same. The numbers are not necessarily far off. Other religions here include Hinduism, Muslims, Rastafarians. And everyone gets along like one big happy family.

Now, remember that Georgetown, Guyana hosts the St. George's Cathedral, one of the tallest wooden churches in the world. And I know I've driven through areas where I've been told that there's a church on EVERY street. So, churches and religion have definitely made their mark here.

I, however have been to church on more than one Sunday morning and seen less than a dozen people in the church. Yes, eventually the numbers swell to a whopping 25 or so (yes, I counted), but where are the masses? Who to tell, but I do know one thing, I've sat in amazement and watched cars go by everyday with some declaration on them... They're quoting scripture, They have pictures of the bible, praying hands, crosses, wreaths with bible verses written inside. Anything you can think of that gives the impression that Christians abound!  I guess they don't go to church, they just pray in their cars...

International Volunteering continued...

We have had a new volunteer at Youth Challenge Guyana since May this year. She's also from Canada, but volunteering through Youth Challenge International. Her assignment is with the Women's Entrepreneurship Program, but she can tell you more about it at 

IYIP Blog: 65 Shades of Entrepreneurship & Counting 

 

5 months in Georgetown!

Hard to believe that I've been in Guyana this long! Who would've thunk it? I don't feel like it's been five months. Do you? LOL. I remember when the opportunity arose, telling everyone, packing to come here and being slightly nervous. I remember thinking it's just a year - not forever, and I remember wondering if I'd make it for the year! Could I be an International volunteer? Would I like Guyana? Could I survive on a stipend? Would I be bored, lonely? Would I hate it?? And now, it's been FIVE MONTHS! So, take that!!

So, I ended up going out two nights in the past week. Once to the Hotel Tower for Karaoke/Happy Birthday party, and once to Night Cap Cafe for goodbye drinks. Both for VSO volunteers. Seems like a lot of VSO volunteers are saying goodbye these days. There are a lot of changes at VSO Guyana, one of the main ones being that they're about to become CUSO Guyana and so they are not taking in a lot of new volunteers this year until the dust has settled. So, we're dwindling in numbers... :(  Lotta "goodbyes", but not a lot of "welcomes".

These guys sell CDs from their karts

In any event, I continued with a lazy weekend (does it have to rain every sunday?) and watched the music cart go past again. I hear him long before he goes by, and I can't help but look through the window when he does. He's louder than the cars that cruise by booming music!!!

In Georgetown, there are a lot of guys selling pirated dvds too. And they're cheap. $100 each (about US or Cdn $0.50). They set up on the roadside and just literally stack them up like they're in a dvd store. I've even seen one guy just lay them down on the "sidewalk". It's not really a sidewalk, just a dirt patch on the side of the road. Imagine them doing that in Canada!

And then there's the other guy who goes by, not sure what he's selling, but his music is JUST as loud!

Selling food? Not sure

What I'm trying to figure is... can I just order my meals from this guy below and have him bring it hot everyday???

The weather outside is frightful... to some.

I awoke this morning and opened my windows and it was COOL outside. Cool. Can you believe it? I did a double-take and noticed the roof next door and the ground was wet. Guess it rained at some point during the early morning. And it has just started pouring again. Nice! It is Monday, and I am inside. I COULD CARE LESS!!! Well, no I couldn't care any less, because I don't care at all!!

The annoying thing is... it brings with it a bunch of mosquitoes. Thank goodness for my freshly impregnated net. Yes, I took it down on the weekend and washed it and dipped it in insecticide all over again. I didn't realize it at first, but every now and again I can see a mosquito that looks like it just died of it's own free will, and I'm thinking... it must be from playing around my net. Serves them right! I will spend the day under the net or in front of the fan. Whichever works.

It is CARICOM DAY. And speaking of spending an idle day at home, two things have come to mind.

1. This must be the most uncelebrated public holiday I've ever seen anywhere. And this is not just a public holiday in the middle of the week. We have a long weekend! As we approached, I asked a few people what would be happening. Nothing. I was thinking that if I was in Jamaica there would have been parties all weekend, the beaches would have been full, the hotels would have been flocked by locals and if you didn't book early you wouldn't have gotten a room. Here, I don't see anything going on. But, maybe I'm just on the other side of town. Still, I'm H A P P Y for a day at home, and I shall spend it TOTALLY idle. After baking 6 dozen choc chip cookies yesterday, what more could I want?
2. I came upon an article yesterday which I have to share! http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/30/the-busy-trap/   Do tell me what you think!

Happy Canada Day! oops. Sorry. Happy CARICOM Day!