I have a secret. It
is not a particularly shocking secret and most people probably already suspect
it. I am not integrated here. I spend most of my free time in my house
watching Netflix or YouTube ignoring the outside world. There are a few reasons for doing this, one
is that its hot all the time. I very
rarely want to leave my fan behind to go out into the sun. Another is the attention I get for being
white. In smaller communities a PCV can
integrate and get to know all or most of the villagers, this is almost
impossible for me. New Amsterdam is a
large town, with people coming and going frequently so it is rare to see one
person I know. This prevents me from
getting to know people as well thus leading to people seeing a white girl and
calling out to her. The catcalls are
insane, I don’t actually think most of them are of a sexual nature, more just
curiosity but still annoying none the less.
The most frequent is White Girl, or Whitey, once I got Snow White and I
really liked that one. Some Guyanese men
also see me and other PCVs as a ticket to America. If I marry them they can come live in the US
and have a better life. I used to get
marriage proposals on average once a week, it has slowed to about once a month
now that I have perfected my Resting Bitch Face. Because of this behavior from the men the
women tend to dismiss me like I am trying to take their men. So for me leaving my house is like being
stuck in a zoo. I am also not the most
social creature. I am fine hanging out
with Charlie (my cat).
Because of all this I have few Guyanese friends. I have Lucie but she works and goes to
University full time. So she has little
time for me. And some of the girls from
work out invite me to come out but my house was far from town and it was hard
to get a car after dark. So about a
month ago I heard about a house in New Amsterdam, across the street from a
woman I knew from work out class. I decided to move there giving up my precious
wifi to live closer to town and to hopefully integrate better.
So now I live in a smaller but better furnished house, in
the center of town. The other day I hung
out with my new neighbors for 7 hours at their son’s 5th
birthday. It was great. I am also starting to get to know my
neighbors on the street and around the area here. I am still going to get cat
called and that is ok, I have come to realize that will be a constant in my
life here. I can’t wait to see what the
next 10 months has in store for me!
My new address is;
18-20 Kent Street
New Amsterdam, Berbice
Guyana
