1. Why are you in Guyana?
We’d wanted to preach where the need is greater in ASL so we picked 4 different branches to write. For our first time, we didn’t want to have to learn a local language so we picked branches that oversee the work in countries that use ASL and English.
2. How did you pick Guyana?
One of the branches we wrote - Trinidad and Tobago - wrote back and asked us to check out the ASL congregation in New Amsterdam, Guyana. Guyana used to have it’s own branch office, but now they are under the T & T branch.
3. What’s it like there?
For a much more detailed description, you can check out the 2005 yearbook. Here where we are, even though we live in a city, this is considered the country (especially to folks from Georgetown, the capital). Most roads are paved (to some extent), people drive on the left (this used to be a British colony), people speak a version of English (Guyanese English Creole), we have supermarkets, pharmacies, electronic stores, banks, gas stations. I just realized typing this that I haven’t seen any stoplights. We have also only been through one roundabout and that was in Georgetown. We have a ferry that takes you across the river to another town and there are buses but they are like bigger taxis, rather than like city buses with a schedule and a route.
4. Do you need a car?
No. Most people walk or ride a bicycle or a motorbike, or get in a hire car or bus. I said in an earlier post that we are 10 minutes from the Kingdom Hall and 10 minutes from the shops - these are 10 minute walks. We don’t have a car here nor do we plan on getting one. We may get bicycles. In our congregation, one brother and one sister have a car and another sister is learning to drive. So out of about 25 people, that’s 3 cars.
5. How expensive is it?
One US dollar is equivalent to about 200 Guyanese dollars. Our rent for a furnished apartment in a safe part of town is $300 US (or 60,000 GY). A 5 gallon bottle of drinking water is 200 GY for a refill (so $1US). A taxi ride to another point in our town is 100 GY per seat (so for both of us to go somewhere is 50 cents each or $1 total). I ate a plate of steamed vegetables in a restaurant for lunch yesterday and it was 500 GY ($2.50). We went on the ferry for preaching on Wednesday and our 2 tickets cost 240 GY ($1.20). Some things cost relatively the same (a box of cereal is $3-4 US); others are most expensive - a gallon of almond milk is $5 US in Walmart - here it is $12 US!
6. How are the friends?
Wonderful! They are warm and loving, like you’d expect them to be. A number are need-greaters themselves so they know the challenges and difficulties in getting settled in. The locals are happy to show you the ropes and patient with you as they understand you might not be used to taking a taxi just to get to the meeting for service.
7. What is the territory like?
We have not gone out with the English yet. For sign language, meeting the contacts is similar. Most of them have been contacted by signing Witnesses before. They invite you in, you sit down, converse a little, show them a scripture or go through a presentation, etc. With many of them, you go back to your basics - gesturing, pantomiming, drawing pictures, showing pictures, acting things out.
For search, especially because you’re walking in the territory, here they do every house. You stand at the gate and call out - Inside or Good morning or Upstairs! Sometimes the householder walks out to you, other times they call out for you to open the gate or come in. Then you explain that we’re looking for the deaf. If they know of any - which so far, most do seem to know them - then they give you any and all details - the person’s name, their family, who they live with, where they live, how to get there, how old they are, boy or girl, etc. Here people seem to live in an area for a while and they do know their neighbors.
8. What is the weather like?
So here’s a picture and let’s discuss this. If you check our weather even semi regularly, this is what it looks like.
The reality is that it does often rain daily - however for the most part (at least for us over the past few weeks during this time of year), it rains for about 5 minutes. Mainly at night or in the morning. The rest of the time it is sunny and clear. The past few days (yesterday and today) have been overcast and today it did rain all afternoon. In general, temps are in the 80s and the humidity levels are in the 80% range.
9. How do you stay cool?
We packed all 100% cotton or 100% linen clothes. We have everything from sleeveless to long sleeved items, shorts to jeans. We have 2 fans in our apartment and you keep the doors and windows open. Outside we have hats and umbrellas. The locals use these too and also have sweat rags. If we sweated more, we too would use a sweat rag. Some shops have fans - the supermarkets don’t and so I try to be a speedy shopper because I get too hot in there. If you’re in a taxi, then they either have the windows down or the AC. The Kingdom Hall, like I mentioned in a previous post, doesn’t have AC but it has about a dozen ceiling fans. They also sometimes have the doors and windows open.
10. What do you eat?
There are a ton of local fruits and vegetables - especially fruits. Everyone seems to have a variety of fruit trees in their yards. These are tropical and most of the local diet seems to be like a Caribbean diet - beans, rice and chicken.
11. How can I do what you’re doing?
Ding, ding, ding! You are a winner! You made it through reading all of the other answers and so you get a special prize! This is the title for the next blog post.
Fasten your seatbelts! :-)
