Hello. Goodbye.

Guyana, a place where formalities are expected but casual is the culture, where racism is prolific yet religious tolerance is standard, where the people move unhurriedly yet in a bus, market or crowd they aggressively hustle each other along. In the land of many waters, where rainy season is inevitable, but the country comes to a standstill at first sight of a drizzle, where some of the poorest people live yet exude such generosity often teaching me a thing or two about southern hospitality, where I’ve met some incredibly ungrateful greedy people, and some of the most altruistic, genuine caring ones, a place where I exchanged loud city sirens for wild dogs barking and frogs croaking, where the brilliant twinkling starlight replace the neon lights of the city, where the oranges and lemons are green and the flesh limes are sometimes yellow, this is the place I called home for a year. While oftentimes I felt like I was living in a dysfunctional home, it’s still where the heart is. And now after a year of injecting DEET into my bloodstream, it’s finally time to say good bye to warm Guyana and hello again to America.

Goodbye sights of beautifully thick trees lining the highway, goodbye orange, pink, purple shades of the sun setting, goodbye line of sea-foam green uniformed students spilling out of school and walking semi- single file along the highway, goodbye Music Man wheeling a cart of burned cds for sale down the street. Goodbye endless dancing on the streets (sometimes my life seems like a musical.) Goodbye full moon brightly lighting up the dirt path. Goodbye children clothed in merely underwear fishing in the sewer trenches, goodbye boys playing cricket barefoot, goodbye horse drawn carts, goodbye clean laundry drying underneath the harsh sunrays.

Goodbye smells of sweet honey roasted nuts simmering at the bus park, goodbye putrid urine on the streets and in the sewers intensified by the sun, goodbye sour rum distillery, goodbye delicious scent of garlic, onions and curry cooking from houses at 5pm stirring up my appetite.

Goodbye sounds of reggae music pumping everywhere, goodbye rumbling of children chatting, screaming, laughing in class, goodbye wild dogs barking, roosters crowing, frogs croaking, mosquitoes buzzing in my ear, goodbye “miss”, obnoxious sucking noises, obscene comments, and cheerful greetings. Goodbye little Michelle that lives downstairs crying, laughing, screaming, singing, and constantly knocking on my door asking for candy, goodbye pitter patter of rain in the distance hearing it about 3 seconds before it hits.

Goodbye sweet mangoes, pineapple, and passion fruit, goodbye amusing conversations with the school children, goodbye hammocks, goodbye market, goodbye mini-busses. It’s been a polarizing year with extreme highs and lows. It’s been quite an adventure. Goodbye Guyana (banana).

The Ministry Exam

Every year the Ministry of Education writes a series of tests for the 4 core subjects (Math, English, Science, and Social Studies) to be administered nation wide. Students from all schools at all levels are expected to pass this exam in order to move forward. Since I teach at a Community High, the answers I got might not be as developed as students from other schools. As one student wrote on the top of her paper, “I did not do good on this test.” Here’s the last batch of Q&A for your enjoyment.

Question: List three ways of practicing good health habits
Answer:
- 1/ Do not drink durty water from the ground. 2/ Do not trow grabge ont the ground 3/ Do not eat out of the grabge bin.
- The three ways of practicin good health habits is by don’t courts in frint of children, lorn them miners [learn them manners].
- by eeting eggs milk toger to have a healthty body.
- Don’t pick up dirty things from the grown.

Question: Explain one biological difference between the male and female adolescent.
Answer:
- Is because the male want to have sex but the female don’t.
- When meal started going through addesent they develop pubic heairs around the faces and female develop breast.
- Male has able to run and play games and female has able to cook and keep the house clean
- The difference between the male and femal is the femal is by changes there voice and male is staring getting brist.

Question: A) List the branches of Government., B) State the function of each branch.
Answer:
- A) You have the Prime monister, the monister of Finnist and the monister of Healt B) The Prime monister give out the low and rule. The monister of Finnist give his workers things to do. And the monister of Healt pay the hospetels to help us.
- A) The branches of the Government are water, light, postoffice and tellephone and tellegraph company B) water make sure everyone get water and the collect the bills Light you have get current to watch TV you can send letter around the country.

Question: List the types of electoral systems used in the Caribbean.
Answer:
- 1 freezer, 2 telellision, 3 Generater

Question: Explain why geography influences a person’s economic activites.
Answer:
- because geography is so hard you can get a better job
- Well I can’t Answer this one because I dont now what is the Answer.

Question: Explain the major difference between physical and human resources.
Answer:
- Physical resours are thong that made by mashine and human are the ones that made by hands.
- There are not the sam resources
- physical resources is defrent from human resource because you have to form [farm] to grow your crap.

Question: Name five physical resources:
Answer:
- feleing, site, tase, touse and hear.
- Skiping, running, writing, hoping, jumping

Question: Justify the position that human resources are the most valuable to a country.
Answer:
- That is so truth human resource because without human they would not be a country.

Question: Name the Natural Regions of Guyana
Answer:
- The Natural Regions of Guyana is Region four because Region four is the Best I live thir I would now.

Question: Explain two legitimate actions a citizen may take to support his/her Government.
Answer:
- two pErson I no will be my friends and my family
- The Government go to place to see if he can help them like the GPL [Guyana Power and Light] he can help them by pay them to keep working the power.

Just Now

The phrase “just now” in Guyana doesn’t imply the immediate past as it does in the States, but refers to an indeterminate amount of time in the future. It can mean anything from one minute, one hour, a week, a few months or never. It’s an ambiguous phrase which oftentimes leaves the receiver waiting and waiting until request is fulfilled.

Here’s an illustration of its versatility:

When it means in a minute… or maybe five….
Student #1: Miss, when you sharin’ out test papers?
Me: Just now. Go sit down.
Student #2: Miss, ya sharin’ out test papers?
Student #1: Miss said, “Just now go sit down.”
Student #3: MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS, you sharin’ out test papers? How many marks I get?
Student #1: You don’t hear good? Miss said, “Sit down.”

When it means an hour or two….
Me: Sir, we have a staff meeting this afternoon (during school hours). What do you want to do with the children?
Headmaster: Just now I gonna decide Miss.

When it means in a few weeks…
Student: Miss, you leaving (the country) just now?
Me: Yup. July coming.
Student: Alright Miss. I gonna come by you just now and you gonna share your sweetie and chico with me.

When it means never…
Me: My mom sent me a package on May 5th. It’s July already, when can I expect it?
Postal Worker: Just now. Probably got sent to Africa you know.

Un-Fare

The mini-busses that speed around town don’t always follow the same exact route. Usually they drive accommodating the passenger’s drop-off locations. Sometimes they won’t know which route to take and yell out, “Anybody want [insert destination here]?” The passengers will holler back their stop. Other times, they will have enough foresight and interrogate passengers before they board the bus. Usually, though, this tactic is reserved to persuade someone to choose their bus.

One afternoon, a conductor approached me and I replied in my distinct American accent where my destination was. “Yeah, yeah,” he acknowledged, grabbed my shoulder and dragged me to his vehicle. As we approached my destination the conductor informed me of my arrival and I handed him my fare, $100, expecting $40 in change as usual. The conductor handed me $20, reached for another $20, then hesitated and said, “It’s $80. Fare raise up this mornin.” I contested his unfair action and informed him that I took a bus this morning and it was $60. He didn’t budge and insisted it was $80, opened the door and shuffled me out as aggressively as he had pushed me on.

I stood on the side of the road feeling inequitably treated, knowingly taken advantage of, and mistaken for an affluent vacationer. I wanted to dispute it but couldn’t think of anything to say to resolve the situation. So instead, I brattishly snapped, “I live here!” and slammed the door. I'm quite proud to say that both my intelligence and maturity level have grown since living in Guyana.

The lesson I learned? Always carry exact fare, even if that means stopping for half-melted ice cream to make correct change. Ice cream makes everything better.