Whoa! It's a Ghost!

After Jeff and I left the zoo, we decided to attempt to venture home. On the way, we saw a little bar/store that had some beers that we wanted to check out, so we decided to drop in and take a break from walking and the heat.

I ordered a Carib beer because I had seen an advertisement for Carib the night before and it was apparently a good one since it suckered me into buying one. While we were sitting down, the people on the table behind us got up and left, so I decided to pull my chair back a little bit to get out of the sun. Well, the owner apparently thought this was hilarious because he came running up to me laughing and just pulled my table out of the sun, then proceeded to put his arm up against mine and laugh about how I didn’t like the sun because it hurt me because I was so white compared to him. Then, since I’m obviously a rare specimen around these parts, he decided to have a little more fun with me by showing me a box of peppers and making me eat one while laughing about how hot they were. Well, I of course ate one, and actually, it really wasn’t that bad, but that still didn’t stop his wife, I’m assuming, from slapping him for picking on the white guy. Very soon after this, the owner decided to bring out a mango to show to me since I had apparently never seen one in my life according to him. He then sliced it for Jeff and me to try out, then pointed to a tree that I’m assuming he picked it from. But of course this wasn’t a gracious enough thing for him to do. So what did he do next? Why he brought out three more mangos and then put them in a bag for me to take home. I like this guy.

Moral of the story... white guys are apparently fairly rare around here and the store owner, with a little help from the vodka drink that he was working on, had a blast picking on the one that just so happened to stop by his store. I think I may have to make a couple trips back there sometime; it’s hard to find hospitality like this these days.

Oh, one last note. Jeff is a wuss for drinking Banks Light. Just ask the three older gentlemen that were joking on his beer selection.

-Michael

The Guyana Zoo

So, on our second day of touring the city, and after walking by the rather interesting Georgetown prison with guards standing around with AKs and an equally interesting aroma coming from the prison, we stumbled upon the Botanical Gardens which contained the Georgetown Zoo. After paying the equivalent of 1 USD a piece, buying some water, and me receiving a napkin to wipe the sweat off of my face from the sweet lady working the entrance, we decided to see what this place had in store for us.

When first walking into the zoo, there was a display of various birds. The one I found to be most interesting was the very large, and very odd looking, Harpy Eagle. If you don’t know what this is, which I didn’t before seeing one at the zoo, look it up. It’s an incredibly interesting looking bird that is native to the rainforests in South America, but is apparently a very endangered species.

Next, or sometime after the birds, I got to see a real live anaconda. It was hard to tell how long it was as it was wrapped around a tree, but I would guess that it was maybe 10 to 15 feet. Again, I couldn’t really tell. Also, I would guess that it was about as big around as a regulation football.

The most entertaining of the bunch is what came next. The MONKEYS!!! Yes, I will freely admit, I probably could have stood there and watched the monkeys for the rest of the day and would have been perfectly content. I can’t remember what kind of monkeys I saw first, but they were awesome to watch. They were just hanging out, watching us, and climbing around inside their cage. The coolest monkey of the bunch was thoroughly enjoying his rope swing. He would just hang off of it and swing back and forth, over and over, then switch arms and repeat. I wish I had a video of this guy; he was awesome. Next to these monkeys, were the Capuchin monkeys. These guys were also awesome. It was rather entertaining to watch these little guys and gals eat on their mangos and just wander around. They weren’t quite as active as the other monkeys, but still very entertaining to watch in themselves.

After the monkeys, came the cats. Let’s see, there were cougars, which were in hiding when I first passed their cage, but they let the fact that they came back from Alpharetta be known when I was leaving the zoo. Also, there was a jaguar, a lioness, an ocelot, and something else that skips my mind right now, but I may come back and edit it in later.

So, that was the zoo, overall, it was well worth the 1 USD I spent. I may not have been able to see an anaconda otherwise, and those bars between the cougars and me made me feel much more secure than when making those dangerous treks through Alpharetta back in the States.

Next up, me getting free stuff at some drunken guy’s store.

-Michael

Some Pictures

Exploring the City of Georgetown, Day 1

So, after we got ourselves situated in our apartment, showered up, and took a breather for about an hour, the Deputy Solicitor General ("Deputy") came to pick us up and take us to lunch. He gave us a little drive around tour of the city and showed us where we will be working, along with many other landmarks, then took us to an Indian restaurant to sample some of the local flavor. Much to his surprise, he must have forgotten that we were Americans who had just gotten off of an overnight two-part flight, for he watched in amazement as we decimated our chicken curry wraps. He insisted that if we were still hungry, we should go get seconds, but his terms were different and I really wish I could remember what he called, "getting seconds," for it was not something ever heard in America, and I would rather enjoy incorporating that into my regular dialogue just to mess with people.

This drive around once again gave me some more observing time of the craziness of driving in Guyana. I swear, these people have to possess some incredible skills. Stop signs are merely polite suggestions, police officers are simply encumbrances, and lanes, ehh, why bother with them. Oh, and horns, whoever makes horns must make a killing because these people must go through two or three a year in their cars.

As for more exploring, after Deputy dropped us back off at our apartment, we decided to go try to find a supermarket. We found one close by, but decided to keep walking around the city. This was rather entertaining and we managed to find the seawall, which has probably become my new favorite spot of the city. It is a wall built along the ocean to keep the city from flooding since Georgetown is six feet below sea level and it is wide enough for people to walk and run on. This wall at dusk is rather peaceful as the sun is dropping, the temperature is very desirable, and there is a nice breeze to go along with the crashing of the waves.

So, after visiting the seawall, we decided to venture our way back around and go back to the supermarket (granted supermarket here is about the size of a QT and a half, just with more foods and stuff crammed into it) and stock up on some essentials like water, cereal, interesting looking local fruit juices, and most importantly, local beer and rum.

So, after getting home and crying over the new blisters that I developed on my feet due to my ingenious idea of touring the city while wearing flip-flops, I decided to eventually try some of the local rum, and for paying the equivalent of only a little more than 4 USD, it is quite tasty.

-Michael

Arrival in Georgetown

Well, here is the first post. We will try to keep people updated about our adventures in Guyana while we are working at the Attorney General's Office.

Jeff and I arrived in Georgetown on the 25th after an incredibly fun, hour delay in New York while waiting on a plane full of French snobs headed to Nice to get out of our way. The plane ride was a rather uneventful 6-hour red-eye flight that provided me with about 2 hours of periodic napping to give me energy for my day ahead. The descent to Georgetown was very nice. Looking out, I could see nothing but lush, green forestry.

Now is where the adventure starts. The taxi ride. That was fun. After we made it through customs, we were greeted by Waja, our rather lead-footed taxi driver, as he was holding a placard with "UGA" on it. So, onto the taxi, this was the first time I had been in a car in which the the steering wheel was on the wrong side, so that was enjoyable in itself. The best part though, or maybe the worst, was the ride. I must say, driving in Guyana is very much an adventure. The roads barely fit two cars, so when you combine pedestrian traffic, bicycles, cars trying to pass each other, large trucks, people on mules with trailers, cows, construction work, and large potholes, you get a rather interesting ride. Oh wait, I forgot to mention a taxi that had a television in it with a taxi driver that was rather proud of that fact and liked to switch the channels to show off everything that Guyana offered.

On the way in, we really got to see an eye opener of how fortunate we are in the states. In between Georgetown and the airport are multiple villages of homes ranging from somewhat decent ones to makeshift shacks constructed from whatever scrap metals and wood. The closer to the city we got, the nicer they became, though still rather lower class compared to homes found in the States. On a more humorous note, we passed through a wonderful village entitled, "McDoom," on the way in. I must say, I love some of the names that they come up with here. So, after multiple barely successful passes of multiple cars at a time, and a wonderful tour of the beer and rum distilleries and sugar cane fields, we finally made it into Georgetown with all limbs attached.

Upon arrival to our apartment in the wonderfully named borough of Kitty, we were greeted with the utmost hospitality by our landlord. He showed us into our apartment, which is a 3 bed/1 bath flat behind his burger restaurant, which I will probably be frequenting quite often. The apartment unfortunately has no A/C, but it does have this incredible porch that is always shaded and has become my new favorite hangout. As for other differences from the average home in the States, the stove is powered by a propane canister (excuse me for not knowing the proper term) and you start it by turning on the gas, then lighting it by hand. Also, in order to heat the water in the shower, you must flip a switch, then wait a little while, while the water heats. I don't bother with this half the time as it really only makes about a five degree difference in water temperature, and compared to everything else around me, the cool shower is rather refreshing.

I now realize this is getting rather long and will continue telling about my first couple of days in Georgetown through subsequent posts covering different adventures.

-Michael