“Dear Land of Guyana of Rivers and Plains
Made rich by the sunshine and lush by the rains” -“Green Land of Guyana” National Anthem
(pic of Kaiteur falls)
Ms. Parris here and this next entry is a Labor-day/West-Indian Day Parade inspired post that features the aspects of Guyana that can engender feelings of pride. Jumping right on the bandwagon with tourists who hail Guyana as a bird-watching paradise, the Guyanese landscape in of itself is a top selling point with many items that are boast-worthy. Known as the “land of many waters,” Kaiteur Falls (depicted above) in particular stands as the impressive largest single-drop waterfall in the world.
Moreover, the Sea Wall is quite popular as a hangout spot and protective barrier lining the Atlantic Coast of Guyana since the country is actually below sea-level.
(seawall)
On Sundays in particular, lots of people party on the seawall overlooking the water while enjoying lots of music, company and snacks… Apparently; my brother “Boo,” could not sleep when he was baby without getting rolled across the wall for a bit in his stroller so the seawall also boasts lots of relaxation power in the sea air surrounding it.
Another attraction related to water that is talked up a great deal by some Guyanese people is the Splashmin Water Park and Eco-resort.
(Splashmin pic of Glorie, Volleyball court & black water)
One of the most fascinating aspects of Splashmin is the “black water” swimming and boating area where visitors can jet-ski or ride motorboats to the eco-park.
(Obstacle course in the Eco-park)
The eco-park has lots of lush vegetation that include but are certainly not limited to mango trees and an obstacle course complete with walls to climb, tires to jump through and enough rope activities to inspire fitness plans across the world. This park and practically every region in Guyana is super lush and boast-worthy for its ability to nurture a smorgasbord of delicious fruits & vegetables.
(coconut love pic)
Incidentally, Guyana produces some of the best coconut water!! Moreover, Guyanese neighbors & friends with coconut trees in their yards are hospitable and always willing to pick coconuts for you or even buy some coconut water from market or street vendors for anywhere between 120-140 Guyana dollars ( $0.60-$0.70 in US currency). When I told some of the Union village kids the price I pay for box coconut water in the US like (VitaCoco or Zico), they laughed pretty hard at the thought. 🙂
But, besides coconuts, many places will have trees growing cherries, pomegranate, guinep, oranges and -my all-time favorite Guyanese quick snack, PLANTAINS. For 100 Guyana Dollars (about $0.50 in US currency), foodies can enjoy the best fried plantain chips & sour which is a local condiment usually made of some combination of mango, pepper, and sugar. So yummy!!
(pic of DELICIOUS mango “sour” and plantain in a typical street vendor bag in Berbice)
The only other snack that is more boast-worthy than plantain chips is sugar cane! In the markets, you can find folks selling peeled sugar cane stalks that people can chew on to suck out the delicious cane juice. Due to the ample spreads of unpopulated land, cane fields abound to the extent that Guyana is one of the best sugar producers in the world on the levels of both quality and quantity. Sugar is indeed one of the pillars of the Guyanese economy that affects every aspect of Guyana from the history to the culture.
(sugar cane in my hand pic)
No pun intenteded, but since the sugar (cane) industry is so crucial to Guyana, it was a pretty sweet experience when I got the opportunity at the end of August to go with my father and his Guyana National Service group to the GuySuCo Sugar Cane Factory in Berbice to see the machinery and estate house and also meet with some factory workers and representatives of the Guyana Sugar Company.
(view from above)
The staff and crew at the factory were extremely gracious and spent lots of time educating us on life in the sugar industry and explaining their perspective of cane production in Guyana and its ramifications on the economy and lives of Guyanese people. As an added bonus, they also prepared an Indian feast for us at the estate house complete with all types of curries including curried fish and curried “chunks” (the local name for a meat substitute that is popular throughout the West Indies and especially among Hindu people and vegetarians).
(hard hat montage … can you guess who the real sugar expert is?)
I learned a lot at the factory that helped me start to understand a little more about agriculture and working conditions for the labor force in Guyana; so, I hope more people appreciate where their sugar and food comes from. Besides sugar, Gold and music (particularly Soca Chutney) are other exports that some Guyanese people can get super proud of. In this “Cya Go No Way” video below, you’ll see both gold and Soca Chutney as the artist Anil Bheem and his friends wear lots of gold earrings and chains while singing the “rum song” genre that is so popular in Guyana:
(Anil Bheem)
Song title: Cya Go No Way
Yankee translation: Can’t Go Anywhere 🙂 youtube link as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKaJJKNFwrQ
Last but certainly not least,
Guyana has a history of hard working people who sacrifice a lot for their families… For this reason and more, many people take a lot of pride in their family and are super thankful for their ancestors, elders and parents for the sacrifices that they made to make their lives a better place. I, too, have a lot of love and respect for my family and elders like my grandmother, Negla Ross. She died in the 70s but her legacy lives on since she served the people of her village in awesome ways by teaching many children how to read and making clothes for those who needed them.
In the Union Village there is a present need for more literacy support and child-friendly spaces; so, the community members got together and created their very own neighborhood library in my grandmother’s name. I visited the library as well as community leaders and teachers like Waveney Dorsett this summer and so i’ll post more about the work there in the future. For now, I feel extremely proud of the Union/53 Village community and its teachers and leaders for mobilizing to improve their own neighborhood.
By extension, I also feel a lot of pride for the entire generation of elders in groups like the Guyana National Service Association who take a lot of pride in Guyana and give back in major ways. Below is a pic of yet another summer 2012 GNS initiative for Guyanese elders that culminated in us spending a little time at the Archer House Senior Citizen’s Home. Below is a pic of my dad, my Guyanese brother Nickolai and I delivering love and appreciation gifts from GNS (Ex-Guyana National Service Association) for the elders there.
(Archer House pic)
The last pic below is a group shot with the very center of the pic featuring the lovely matron of Archer House , Olive Williams, and two GNS team members on the end (the one next to me and my floppy hat being my father once again!) and my sister Glorie in blue. Until my next post, enjoy your own family ( and especially your elders) on Labor day weekend and wave your flag if you can! Peace and respect! 🙂
(Olive Williams and fam)
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