The more time that I spend here, the more pride develops within me that my family hails from Guyana. Living here has made me more aware of why my mom used to do some of the things she did, even why she believes what she believes; it all makes sense.
My father continues to resonate so much in all that I experience here and all that I'm doing. Cousin Basil said something really interesting about my Dad. He said that as adolescents, when Daddy would spend time at his house, everyone in the entire house would listen while he showered, because Daddy used to sing his heart out! Basil said he sounded so good that no one ever wanted Daddy’s showers to end! And what a voice my father had!
My father continues to resonate so much in all that I experience here and all that I'm doing. Cousin Basil said something really interesting about my Dad. He said that as adolescents, when Daddy would spend time at his house, everyone in the entire house would listen while he showered, because Daddy used to sing his heart out! Basil said he sounded so good that no one ever wanted Daddy’s showers to end! And what a voice my father had!
I want to take a moment to talk about Nigel. My Nigel. My heart.
A brilliant musician and composer, and my #1 supporter.
While knowing this move to Guyana would affect our relationship in ways that we were unsure of, he encouraged me throughout the entire decision-making process to go for it. He reminded me that, knowing me, if I didn't go, I would always wonder, "what if I had done it?" He also reassured me that he would be rooting for me from afar, and waiting for me with open arms when I return. He knew how much moving here would benefit me as a teacher and as an individual, and he selflessly encouraged me and helped me to solidify my decision to become a teacher for GLMA for an entire year. It was only after I made the decision that Nigel voiced his feelings of apprehension toward me being away from him for so long. I appreciated that very much.
Here is a birthday photo from a wine tasting a couple years ago.
My college graduation from Adelphi University in 2012.
Nigel and I have been together for a while now, and our relationship has grown much stronger since I have been here. From afar we support one another in a different way. It's been good. He's been a blessing and I thank God for him. This is to answer the question that many people have asked me regarding how I am coping with being in a relationship while he and I are so far away. Yes, it's tough. I miss our closeness. A lot. But I appreciate how much I am growing as an individual without him right by my side. I handle things by myself more and ask his opinion less, which is healthy for me right now. He is also doing really well with his own personal aspirations. A movie that he created all of the musical compositions for has recently reached completion, and he is looking forward to a busy year of performing with several musical groups that he is a part of. We needed this time to build ourselves up independently. I'm proud of him! And he's proud of me too.
Towards the end of October, New Amsterdam celebrated "Town Day." It consists of a weekend filled with festivites. To me it resembles a fair or carnival in the streets, but without rides. The President of Guyana actually attended the opening ceremony for Town Day! Here are some pictures of the final evening of Town Day.
My new friends Celes and Odetta, who I gladly connected with through my awesome cousin Stanford, took me out for Town Day, which was more like Town Night.
Thousands of people, young and old, came out to partake in Town Day festivites.
Here are several pictures of vendor tables and tents.
But perhaps the most unforgettable part of Town Day is the music. There are between 10 and 15 DJ booths all set up with speakers 15 feet high all down Main Street, all playing music at the same time! It's like having 15 clubs side by side down one strip. And you can decide which club you're going to join.
The music was great, but I didn't get too "whatless" because my students, like these two,
were everywhere that night! I couldn't walk two feet without seeing a student of mine.
Diwali Festival was a few weeks ago. And boy, was it amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Diwali is a Hindu celebration of light over darkness. We began celebrating with a student of ours designing Claire's hands with traditional henna.
As you can see, it came out really beautiful!
My friend Celes took me and Claire driving to see how Hindus ornamented their homes with lit candle's called diyas, and fairy lights in celebration of Diwali.
As you can see, some people went all out!
Each one of these flickering diyas has to be individually lit. It is a timely and meticulous process.
This is a Hindu temple.
absolutely beautiful.
Some of these shots are blurry because we were still driving as I took them.
Homes as well as local business lit up their property in celebration of Diwali.
Some homes even included themes of the Hindu gods, imitated by members of the family, like this one.
The weekend before Diwali, there was a motorcade of trucks that were adorned with lights and decorations, and filled with people dressed as Hindu gods like the image above.
They are supposed to sit or stand completely still without moving, like a statue.
These trucks are competing for the best visual display.
Each truck is then judged and the winning truck gets to compete in the nationwide competition held in Georgetown.
Interesting Tid-Bits
Cows do what you least expect-You know how at night raccoons, maybe stray cats, and possums go through your trash when you take it outside? Well, cows do that here. One night when I stayed up in the living room until about 3:00 in the morning reading one of Erica Buddington's amazing short stories, I heard rustling in the trash. First I thought it was a homeless person. I decided to look out the window and, low and behold, there were two cows in front of my house. One was facing the trash digging in like it was the Last Supper, and the other cow was facing the road, serving as a lookout! I kid you not! You can't make this stuff up. I wish I could have taken a picture or recorded it. Cows here are so entertaining to me!
Random Food Shots
We did Mexican night. Fresh, homemade tortillas, black beans, beef, salsa with tomatoes, onions, sweet peppers, and mango. Mango folks. Mango should be a staple in every salsa. Uuugghh. Sooo good. Also we made fresh guacamole, rice and we had shredded cheddar. That meal...Good Lord. Tears. Real tears.
This was a random mixed meal of fried rice, baked ziti and sweet-n-sour chicken we cooked. Can't wait to cook this when I get home for the fam!
Fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch (Claire's creation), made with left over pie crust
from the pumpkin pie below. These were so delicious.
Pumpkin pie made with fresh pumpkin from a harvest service we attended, with whip cream on top. Thanksgiving was pretty nice here for us!
Last But Not Least...
I was having a conversation with Nigel over something that was circulating the internet. It was a meme that read, "Name a non-sexual thing or act that turns you on." And I read many different answers from different people: nice smile, someone who is goal-oriented, passionate towards something, natural hair (ayeeee lol), appreciative of reading books, gets along well with children, someone who takes care of himself or herself, etc. The list went on and on. But one particular answer that most people agreed on was "great or meaningful conversation," I thought that was valid, but Nigel disagreed. He believes that " 'good conversation' shouldn't be a part of this list because conversation is sex." "Huh?" was my first response, and probably yours too. But after breaking it down and really talking about it for a good 30 minutes, I acknowledged that he's absolutely right.
I realized it's true. The same way people undress eachother before sex in the physical realm, long, deep and intimate conversations leave people naked before one another in the emotional and spiritual realm. And that level of intimacy can be even more attractive than physical attributes or characteristics. Also, most people don't put a guard up for this kind of "mental intimacy." They often welcome it. They bathe in it. And then, before they know it, they've begun mentally having sex with someone through amazing conversations, and eventually physical sex can either follow, or become irrelevent because emotionally and spiritually they are already hooked. It's only a matter of time before they are physically hooked.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. But I do believe it is something worth thinking about. I'll use myself, for example. I am happily involved with my darling Nigel, and we talk often. We share intimate conversations and thoughts with one another, as any couple should. I encourage it. However, being down here in Guyana has caused for many of my friends to reach out to me. I've found myself corresponding with people and getting to know them better through email, letters and text messages than I knew them while in the States!
So now I'm talking with my friends on a regular basis, discussing my highs and lows, sharing personal moments, deep thoughts, even prayers with them. Then it hit me how close I am becoming to people. How open and vulnerable they are with me, how intimate our conversations have become. Nothing sexual. I hate that I have to use that disclaimer, but people often confuse intimate with sexual, and they are two quite different things. So intimacy is almost inevitable after enough personal exchanges are made through conversation. So I'm being quite careful about this!
That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by. I sincerely hope you enjoy your holidays and appreciate all of the many good things and great people that you have been blessed with. I for sure am beyond grateful for you. Please share with me your thoughts on any of the above, especially the part about having deep conversation and the intimacy of it. I feel a developing interest in researching the subject more.
Happy Holidays and See You Soon,
~Twy
