Christmas in July

Seasons greetings from Guyana, the country that does a remarkably good job at suggesting that any moment now, Santa will shimmy down the chimney...except the thought of sitting around a flaming fire simply (and ironically) gives me chills and I can hardly believe it could be winter anywhere in the whole entire world.

Now that I think about it...does anyone even own a chimney in Guyana?  How does Santa deliver presents in the Caribbean, I wonder?  After inquiring, it appears that reindeer and rooftop nursery rhymes never made their way here, so when you wake up, presents just appear under the tree, in the case of one of my co-workers, under the bed.  There isn't the tradition of leaving cookies and milk for Santa, nor carrots for the reindeer, but pictures with Santa and a wish list conversation, can be found at the local grocery store.  Perhaps we can initiate a "Santa and his horse-cart" movement.

Last Friday, the entire work day was dedicated to decorating for the holiday.  Reggae style-Christmas tunes began blaring on the "Mobile Music Units" nearly two months ago, yet the snow-cone man continues to peddle down the street with his mobile icy-treat stand.  Today, at one of the schools, I showed up to offer support to the counselor and discuss alternative methods of parenting, and stumbled upon an impromptu Christmas decorating party.  They were all sitting around making colored paper chains, and hearts and I took the opportunity to introduce to paper snowflake.  I also explained that each and every snowflake took its very own shape and was comprised of a unique molecular make up, just like each and every one of our fingerprints.



Saturday, I attended a World Human Rights Day equality walk, representing Peace Corps.  Me and my fellow PCVs, Tina and Melissa were a tiny representation of our organization, but we walked proud with the Peace Corps Guyana banner.  Interestingly enough, we were instructed to relocate several times for the press photo, and then ended up at the back of the parade.  At one point, I wondered if we were, in fact, inadvertently being discriminated against, but at the end of the day, the gratitude was apparent by many of the participants.  Other organizations represented included, but weren't limited to SASOD and Help and Shelter.

While walking to the walk, Tina and I witnessed yet another car accident.  This time, it was a taxi driver who ran a stop sign, who was hit by the driver who had the right of way.  It was on a residential street, but both cars were going fairly fast (as they do).  In fact, the taxi passed us with such haste, blaring his horn, I wondered what was the hurry. 



Representing Peace Corps Guyana!!



We heard the impact and directed our attention to the wreck, which was when we saw the taxi cab basically crash into a pole, which prevented it from heading into the trench.  As we approached the cars, Tina and I wondered who had the right away.  We didn't see any stop signs, or even any yield signs.  While driving in Guyana, it seemed like people are "just supposed to know" who is right and when to stop/yield.  People are just supposed to know which street runs east and which street runs west, which street runs north and which street runs south.  As I stated in a previous post, they say if you can drive in Guyana, you can drive anywhere in the world.  As a Peace Corps Volunteer, we are not allowed to drive.  But even if we could, I'm not sure I'd want to.  Then again, riding in a mini-bus, proportionately the most affordable method of transportation for a PCV, is an adventure in and of itself...but I digress.

Finally, drivers and passengers emerged from their vehicles, seemingly unscathed.  It was then that other spectators and witnesses began pointing out the completely faded painted "stop" on the pavement running east and west.  I was standing only 100 yards away, yet I had to squint to recognize the traffic demarcation. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.  But I couldn't help but think about the passenger in the taxi, who came out of the car flexing his knee, as a result of the impact.  Such a seemingly simple traffic sign is remarkably important when it comes to human safety. 


It also got me thinking about the "rat race" of life.  Why WAS everyone in such a hurry?  There seems to be a sense of urgency in Georgetown which kind of makes me panic.  Conductors are constantly ushering people into their mini buses, people want food fast, drinks faster and when I don't pay my grocery bill in under 30 seconds, I feel people behind me start to get anxious.  It's an interesting juxtaposition in a place where meetings starting at least a half an hour late, and food and clothing donation requests taking a month to come to fruition, because of all the red tape.



Showing off the snowflakes!



Tina and I stayed long enough to make sure everyone was okay, exchange a few words with the taxi passenger and driver from the other car, then proceeded on to our equality walk.  After the walk, we made our way over to one of our favorite Georgetown coffee shops, Oasis, and met up with another PCV.  My computer officially bit the dust, and ironically, he is selling his!!  So we set up a time to give me crash course in the awesomeness of an Apple product.  Wow.  Moving on up in this technology world!  I'm excited to learn about the graphic design software and trying my hand at some designing.

But this is how small Georgetown is and how it is beginning to remind me more and more of Norman, every day:  as Tina emerged from the washroom, she divulged that the man who was just in the car accident was having coffee on the other side of the wall, with the owner of Oasis.  When it was my turn to use the washroom, I too ran into him, and we struck up a conversation about the accident, the walk, and our respective work in the country (mine as a PCV and his as a cancer researching doctor and documentarian in Guyana).  Finally, we exchanged information and continued about our own business.  Just a day later, I received an email from him reflecting upon an unfortunate event, like an accident, and a silver lining of meeting motivated and passionate people like me and Tina.



Onions and a giant Nativity scene.

When we go about our days, we strive to be as productive as possible.  There are times when it is important to have a sense of urgency, when it comes to meeting deadlines and when it comes to health and safety.  But we must also step back and recognize when the line crosses from urgency to impatience.  When we get impatient, our bodies react in certain ways to cope with the stress it finds itself in.  There are actual physiological effects of being stressed and impatient.  Our bodies release stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, and that stimulates blood platelets.  As a result, our blood pressure actually raises.  High blood pressure puts stress on your heart and could possibly increase the chance for a heart attack, down the road.

During this holiday time, and really, every single day, take a minute to ask yourself if you really need to be worried about what it is that you're stressing about.  If it is something like not getting a bottle of wine open fast enough, then you probably don't need to be anxious about it.  If it something like someone is not moving fast enough in a line at the grocery store, or especially, in traffic, then you don't need to be anxious about it.  Everyone has to be some place and eventually, they will arrive. 

Bottom line is that it is better to arrive late and safe, than not at all.

It's Christmastime up in here!

I have about a week and a half left as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer, in Guyana.  I'm looking forward to continuing building relationships here, and also looking forward to returning to the ones back home.  Our family will actually all be in Dallas and that's a rare occasion.  I am thinking positively about finding something fulfilling and continuing to contribute to society, as this chapter comes to a close and another one begins.  The analogy of life as a book never gets old, perhaps because I enjoy writing so much. 

The other day,  a new friend asked me how it is that I've done so much in such short of time.  I suppose it is true that I have.  But I wouldn't want it in any other way.  We have to write our own books of life.  We have to make the most of the opportunities in which we engage, and maybe even more importantly, recoginze the opportunities.  If you know you are hungary, you are more likely to pick an apple off the tree you pass, instead of just walking by.  If you know you want to turn your book into a movie, you will recognize when the conditions are right and work towards making it happen.