Adventures in Georgetown

One of the questions I got asked most often when I was home over the holidays is what I do in my spare time here in Guyana when I’m not at work. What do I do on the weekends? Are there places to go and things to do? Is there such a thing as having a social life in the Peace Corps or is it all about the work? Well, the answer is yes, there is such a thing as a Peace Corps social life, though it’s very different than the one I have in the States. There isn’t a ton of stuff to do here after work or on the weekends, there are no movie theaters or big indoor shopping malls or bars where volunteers can hang out and relax. A lot of times we hang out at each other’s houses and play card games, drink rum, and talk about our various jobs/problems/issues/stresses.  However, since I live so close to Georgetown, the capital, I often get the chance to actually go out and do things on the weekends. This past Saturday myself and three other volunteers decided to have a girls shopping day in Georgetown.

We met up at the stelling around noon, which is where the boats from the West Coast go over to Georgetown across the Demerara River. It’s about a ten minute boat trip on speedboats that fit about 25-30 passengers. I got to the stelling early and sat down to wait on the benches where all the taxi drivers sit to wait for boats to unload and try to pick up passengers. I sat next to one Rasta man who immediately asked where I was from and how long I’d been in Guyana. He was surprised when I told him one year and he said I seemed like I’ve been here 3 or 4 years at least, which I took as a compliment. When I said I had lived in Washington DC before coming to Guyana a cab driver standing next to the bench stated that he had always wanted a wife who was from Washington DC. I replied that this was quite a coincidence then, me being from DC and him always wanting a DC wife. He agreed and said that we should probably get married. I apologized to him and told him that I was already married and showed him the ring on my left hand (the pretend married response works every time).  He seemed genuinely upset and then another taxi driver, who was also a pastor, told him that next time he asks God for a wife from Washington DC he needs to be more specific and make sure the woman God sends him isn’t already married. My almost Guyanese husband seemed to ponder this advice very carefully but luckily my friends showed up before the conversation could go any further.

When we got to town we went to Guyana Stores and Giftland, two Wal-mart-esque stores that sell a variety of items to look for art supplies for one girl’s project at her school.  After that we walked down Robb Street, which has different stalls and shops that sell clothing and fabrics. We stopped at the coconut man, who pushes a giant cart selling water coconuts for 140 Guyanese dollars (about 5 cents US). We stopped to get some and watched as the man expertly used his machete to chop just enough off the top of the coconut to fit a straw into it to get the water. As we stood there drinking the delicious coconut water a man approached us selling bags of juice (Bag juice is very common in Guyana, it’s just little plastic baggies with different juices that have a straw to drink it with). He welcomed us to Guyana and asked where we were from. We said the U.S. and he told us that he was selling mango and papaya and pineapple juice and he wondered if we had those fruits in America. We said yes, we knew what those fruits were and he then commented that he thought America only has apples and grapes. I replied that that’s why we came to Guyana, to get some mangos and papayas and he laughed, wished us a pleasant stay and continued on his way. Those types of interactions with Guyanese are my favorite, just random conversations on the street with a friendly person who is genuinely interested in where we are from and why we are in Guyana.

After finding a store that had dresses we liked, we walked on to Bourda Market to get an African style dress for Yesenia. Bourda Market has stalls inside that sell mostly clothing and shoes and outside stalls that sell mostly food and fresh produce. It is fairly large and always crowded with people. We found Yesenia a beautiful and traditional African dress and then decided to go over the Rasta section for some late lunch. We found a stand selling Itali food, which is traditional Rasta food. It has no meat or salt and is delicious and healthy. We got a few different dishes to share and sat outside the stand chatting with various people as they passed. Rasta’s are probably the nicest people I’ve ever met. They always stop and say hello, ask us questions about ourselves and wish us a blessed day in Guyana. I chatted with the stall owner about Haille Selassie, who was really big in Kenya and he told me that he wasn’t a real Rasta because he had no dreads, which is a sign that you are a true Rasta man. After lunch we headed back to Stabroek market to catch a bus back over the bridge to the West Coast. It was a good day, a very Peace Corps Guyana style girls shopping day, complete with street markets, water coconuts, and Rasta food :)