So I’m a HUGE Van Morrison fan. For years I’ve tried to see him in concert. So the other day I discovered that he’s FINALLY coming to Canada, and to a city that I could get to but where am I? Where? Oh, I’m in South America. Damn you Van. Damn you! I’m feeling just a bit ripped off right now. Just a bit!
PS – I’ll post about Suriname life again later in the week. This past weekend was Independence Day here in Suriname. Known as Srefidensi, it’s a celebration of when Suriname became an independent nation from the Netherlands in 1975. So this year, they celebrated 31 years of Independence.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Life in Suriname
Today marks two full months in Suriname. Since arriving I've written some observations about the things I've noticed that are unique to life in Suriname. I thought I'd start sharing them. SO here is my first installment of:
Suriname Quirks
Work Wear
Generally people will wear the same thing to work two-days in a row. I find it fascinating….and everyone seems to do it. They wear the same thing for two days and then on the third day they come in wearing a change of clothes. I wonder how this began or how people know the unwritten rule of wearing the same thing for two days?
Plastic Chairs in Twos
Everyone knows about those plastic white or green outdoor chairs. Here in Suriname they are VERY common. Everyone and every place uses them - offices, restaurants, in people homes, you name it. They are the chair of choice really. The difference is here, they are usually stacked in two and you sit on two chairs. I find it so odd. From what I can gather, they stack two together to give them more stability and strength – I'm not sure if it's because the ones they get here are cheaper quality or if it's because many people here are carrying a little more on their backsides!
Clothing of Choice
I’ve decided that the clothing of choice in many neighbourhoods in Suriname is a towel. At first I thought it was just my former host family. They were always walking around in just a towel – and not just inside the house, outside too! Then I saw someone walking down the road in a towel and one morning I was sitting in the car and the neighbour walks up wearing a towel. Really, you wandered out of your house and down the road in not more than a towel?!?! I could just see it back in Manitoba. I walk over to Mr. & Mrs. Smith for a cup of tea in my towel or across the yard to have a beer with Kim and Dave in my towel and them in theirs. I want to tell people hey, you forgot something – CLOTHES. Maybe it’s because people are in towels so much anyway showering three times a day that towels as clothing is just a natural progression. I’m not sure if I’ll pick it up myself, but if I do, neighbours, consider yourself notified where it came from.
The rainy season has started here (yes, the temps have finally dropped). I'm looking forward to seeing what interesting things I take note of in the rain. Until next time....
Suriname Quirks
Work Wear
Generally people will wear the same thing to work two-days in a row. I find it fascinating….and everyone seems to do it. They wear the same thing for two days and then on the third day they come in wearing a change of clothes. I wonder how this began or how people know the unwritten rule of wearing the same thing for two days?
Plastic Chairs in Twos
Everyone knows about those plastic white or green outdoor chairs. Here in Suriname they are VERY common. Everyone and every place uses them - offices, restaurants, in people homes, you name it. They are the chair of choice really. The difference is here, they are usually stacked in two and you sit on two chairs. I find it so odd. From what I can gather, they stack two together to give them more stability and strength – I'm not sure if it's because the ones they get here are cheaper quality or if it's because many people here are carrying a little more on their backsides!
Clothing of Choice
I’ve decided that the clothing of choice in many neighbourhoods in Suriname is a towel. At first I thought it was just my former host family. They were always walking around in just a towel – and not just inside the house, outside too! Then I saw someone walking down the road in a towel and one morning I was sitting in the car and the neighbour walks up wearing a towel. Really, you wandered out of your house and down the road in not more than a towel?!?! I could just see it back in Manitoba. I walk over to Mr. & Mrs. Smith for a cup of tea in my towel or across the yard to have a beer with Kim and Dave in my towel and them in theirs. I want to tell people hey, you forgot something – CLOTHES. Maybe it’s because people are in towels so much anyway showering three times a day that towels as clothing is just a natural progression. I’m not sure if I’ll pick it up myself, but if I do, neighbours, consider yourself notified where it came from.
The rainy season has started here (yes, the temps have finally dropped). I'm looking forward to seeing what interesting things I take note of in the rain. Until next time....
Monday, November 20, 2006
Oh Canada!
On Friday night I helped work the Canada booth at the International Bazaar. Hosted at the Venezuela Embassy, the event has been taking place for the past 13 years. It’s an opportunity for all the countries who have embassies or consuls in Suriname to share a little something from home. Most booths sell food and small souvenirs. The Canada booth sold beer & ice cream. The beer presumably because we’re heavy beer drinkers in Canada and the ice cream presumably because it’s cold in Canada and ice cream is the best way to represent that. I don’t have words about these things being chosen to represent Canada, but I sure enjoyed the beer!!! The Consul kept giving me bottles and since it’s rude not to accept food here I of course had to accept every bottle!! It was lots of fun actually and I had delicious foods from Venezuela, France, Isreal – even the burger from the American stall tasted good and the home-made brownies even better.
Our booth was manned by the Consul, his family and of course Julie and I. The Consul is a really sweet man and his family is lovely. We had a lot of fun with them. Even better I found out that the Consul’s daughter recently opened an English-only bookstore here in Paramaribo. I got so excited. I can’t wait to check it out. English books are a bit hard to find here and the ones you do find are not good and VERY expensive. Though Corina (the latest Canadian Crossroader to arrive) and I did manage to find some English books at a used Book Market last weekend. I got two books – Love in the Time of Cholera and The Cider House Rules. We even found some Canadian Authors.
Here is Corina showing the Canadian books we found...that Anne of Green Gables, she sure gets around!
Serving up beer at the Canadian Booth at the International Bazaar.
Serving up ice cream...I noticed the beer was a lot more popular! Especially with those of us working the booth.
The Canadian Consul and his wife.
Whatever weight I've lost, I think I gained it all back in one night with beer, but oh, it was worth it. Canadian beer, soo goood.
On Saturday night I made up for all the beer consumption. I went to a club with some coworkers and we danced ALL night. So, I think I wore off all the beer from Friday dancing around like a maniac. Here we are cutting it up on the dancefloor.
Me and Firoz (my coworker)
At the club in Suriname you can buy the whole bottle. Then you get a bucket full of ice and some soft and you are ready to party. Here's Gio with his bucket.
Our booth was manned by the Consul, his family and of course Julie and I. The Consul is a really sweet man and his family is lovely. We had a lot of fun with them. Even better I found out that the Consul’s daughter recently opened an English-only bookstore here in Paramaribo. I got so excited. I can’t wait to check it out. English books are a bit hard to find here and the ones you do find are not good and VERY expensive. Though Corina (the latest Canadian Crossroader to arrive) and I did manage to find some English books at a used Book Market last weekend. I got two books – Love in the Time of Cholera and The Cider House Rules. We even found some Canadian Authors.
Here is Corina showing the Canadian books we found...that Anne of Green Gables, she sure gets around!
Serving up beer at the Canadian Booth at the International Bazaar.
Serving up ice cream...I noticed the beer was a lot more popular! Especially with those of us working the booth.
The Canadian Consul and his wife.
Whatever weight I've lost, I think I gained it all back in one night with beer, but oh, it was worth it. Canadian beer, soo goood.
On Saturday night I made up for all the beer consumption. I went to a club with some coworkers and we danced ALL night. So, I think I wore off all the beer from Friday dancing around like a maniac. Here we are cutting it up on the dancefloor.
Me and Firoz (my coworker)
At the club in Suriname you can buy the whole bottle. Then you get a bucket full of ice and some soft and you are ready to party. Here's Gio with his bucket.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
My Happy Place
Well, life is MUCH better these days to say the least. My move has been fantastic. Just look at how much happier (and yes, thinner too - isn't Suriname great?!?!) I look in my new room!!
Of course, this is just my two-week temp house. I'll actually move into yet another room when my new friend Mariel returns to Holland later this week. It's still the same address, just a different room.
So here's a little update about my life since my move.
I’ve Been Adopted
Since my move into the BIG CITY I have been adopted by a WONDERFUL Javanese family – a group of about 25 aunts, uncles & cousins who are determined to turn my bad experience in Suriname into a positive one. They are lovely and have embraced me completely. My first weekend in the city they took me to a Javanese celebration that is the equivalent of New Years in their culture. We started at 7:30 am on a Sunday morning and ate, danced and partied for 12 hours. I had a GREAT time, but was exhausted afterwards. Here are some photos.
At the boat dock waiting to catch a ride across the river to the party in the district of Commewijne (looks real sturdy doesn't it!).
A few of my new adopted family on the boat crossing the Commewijne River en route to the party.
Some of the cousins about to hit the dancefloor.
Mariel dancing up a storm with Suni....he's an absolute party animal and set on making sure we're ALWAYS having a good time.
Javanese Food SO Good
In the last week or so, Jetty and her two daughters had us (Mariel, Christa, Jenny & I) over for dinner a few times for YUMMY Soeto soup, chicken and Bami and last night we learned how to make Bakabana – another Javanese dish which is basically banana in batter eaten with a spicy peanut sauce. I personally think we should eat it with vanilla ice cream but that’s just me! Here are some photos of dinner at Jetty's.
Jetty and her daughters.
Jetty making Bakabana.
Party Party Party
This past weekend it was one of the girls’ 18th birthday. When people have birthday parties here, they do it up big time. They had a DJ so there was LOTS of dancing and of course LOTS of eating. Still, I cannot fathom the volume of food these people can consume. They are deeply concerned with how little I eat but I just CANNOT eat a full plate of noodles, rice, chicken and beans, follow it up with a HUGE bowl of soup, followed by some sweets and then a while later another HUGE bowl of soup. I mean who CAN eat that much!?!? I'm eating more now than ever before and I'm still losing weight (not complaining at all about that, pretty happy actually!) Here are a couple photos from the party.
Farisa turns 18 so we bought her a crown.
The dancefloor was full ALL night.
Javanese Bazaar
Sunday night I went to a Javenese bazaar. It was GREAT shopping. I bought a few gifts for the kiddies and something for me too – a BEAUTIFUL quilt. Everything at the bazaar was imported from Indonesia. I felt like I was back at the markets in Thailand and Malaysia. I could have shopped my face off, but ran out of money…which is probably a good thing! They also had entertainment and of course...food. I had this delicious sweet – my favourite I’ve tasted so far – it was basically this ball of dough, rolled in sesame seeds and in the centre was sweet coconut and ginger...very tasty.
The picture doesn't do it justice, but here's my new quilt. It's beautiful, trust me.
With all this quality time with the Javanese, I’m thinking by the time I get home I’m going to be part Indonesian! I’m OK with it. The food is good, the traditions are nice and the people are wonderful.
Of course, this is just my two-week temp house. I'll actually move into yet another room when my new friend Mariel returns to Holland later this week. It's still the same address, just a different room.
So here's a little update about my life since my move.
I’ve Been Adopted
Since my move into the BIG CITY I have been adopted by a WONDERFUL Javanese family – a group of about 25 aunts, uncles & cousins who are determined to turn my bad experience in Suriname into a positive one. They are lovely and have embraced me completely. My first weekend in the city they took me to a Javanese celebration that is the equivalent of New Years in their culture. We started at 7:30 am on a Sunday morning and ate, danced and partied for 12 hours. I had a GREAT time, but was exhausted afterwards. Here are some photos.
At the boat dock waiting to catch a ride across the river to the party in the district of Commewijne (looks real sturdy doesn't it!).
A few of my new adopted family on the boat crossing the Commewijne River en route to the party.
Some of the cousins about to hit the dancefloor.
Mariel dancing up a storm with Suni....he's an absolute party animal and set on making sure we're ALWAYS having a good time.
Javanese Food SO Good
In the last week or so, Jetty and her two daughters had us (Mariel, Christa, Jenny & I) over for dinner a few times for YUMMY Soeto soup, chicken and Bami and last night we learned how to make Bakabana – another Javanese dish which is basically banana in batter eaten with a spicy peanut sauce. I personally think we should eat it with vanilla ice cream but that’s just me! Here are some photos of dinner at Jetty's.
Jetty and her daughters.
Jetty making Bakabana.
Party Party Party
This past weekend it was one of the girls’ 18th birthday. When people have birthday parties here, they do it up big time. They had a DJ so there was LOTS of dancing and of course LOTS of eating. Still, I cannot fathom the volume of food these people can consume. They are deeply concerned with how little I eat but I just CANNOT eat a full plate of noodles, rice, chicken and beans, follow it up with a HUGE bowl of soup, followed by some sweets and then a while later another HUGE bowl of soup. I mean who CAN eat that much!?!? I'm eating more now than ever before and I'm still losing weight (not complaining at all about that, pretty happy actually!) Here are a couple photos from the party.
Farisa turns 18 so we bought her a crown.
The dancefloor was full ALL night.
Javanese Bazaar
Sunday night I went to a Javenese bazaar. It was GREAT shopping. I bought a few gifts for the kiddies and something for me too – a BEAUTIFUL quilt. Everything at the bazaar was imported from Indonesia. I felt like I was back at the markets in Thailand and Malaysia. I could have shopped my face off, but ran out of money…which is probably a good thing! They also had entertainment and of course...food. I had this delicious sweet – my favourite I’ve tasted so far – it was basically this ball of dough, rolled in sesame seeds and in the centre was sweet coconut and ginger...very tasty.
The picture doesn't do it justice, but here's my new quilt. It's beautiful, trust me.
With all this quality time with the Javanese, I’m thinking by the time I get home I’m going to be part Indonesian! I’m OK with it. The food is good, the traditions are nice and the people are wonderful.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Curse my Genes
I can’t stop sweating. Even when I’m not warm I sweat. I have also noticed that the only part of me that sweats is my face. I think it’s a combination of genes and my hair. I mean it’s like wearing a toque – ALL THE TIME. I’m considering shaving my head and buying a wig just like a lot of the women here. People stare at me anyway, why not let them stare at a white girl in a black woman’s wig...it will either be truly offensive or really funny! Even today I’m sweating and I’m cold. It’s blissfully cold today actually. COLD. It rained all night. And although the sun is gone and it’s grey and gloomy outside, at least it’s cold. I actually have a chill. It’s so pleasing to me that I can’t get the smile off my face. Oddly enough, even though the morning was cool, I still got sweaty walking to work. So the whole way I was thinking, hmm, maybe if I shave my head it will help. Maybe that’s the solution. Yeah, shave my head. But then I thought wait, my dad is sans hair and he still seems to sweat. DAMN, that means it’s not my hair. It’s my genes. Curse my genes.
Speaking of jeans. They are like a uniform here. EVERYONE wears jeans, all the time. I’m absolutely fascinated by it. I mean how in this heat does one wear jeans??? All I can think about when I see a person in jeans is how sweaty their legs must be. Maybe they are made of some secret material blend here that is actually cooler than wearing light cotton or linen pants. I’ve asked a girl at work to take me shopping for some jeans. I figure I have to at least try. I mean clearly they know something I don’t know. So as they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Speaking of jeans. They are like a uniform here. EVERYONE wears jeans, all the time. I’m absolutely fascinated by it. I mean how in this heat does one wear jeans??? All I can think about when I see a person in jeans is how sweaty their legs must be. Maybe they are made of some secret material blend here that is actually cooler than wearing light cotton or linen pants. I’ve asked a girl at work to take me shopping for some jeans. I figure I have to at least try. I mean clearly they know something I don’t know. So as they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Positives & Negatives
A Cup of Tea
There was a lot of drama here for me lately. Thankfully I have gotten myself out of a bad situation and I hope, no, I know that everything will be much better now. Or, at least it better be. After the hell I’ve been through, certainly I must deserve some good things! I’m looking forward to a new chapter here and seeing this place in a whole new light.
I won’t say too much, but I will tell you this. I came to my new place last Wednesday evening amid all kinds of turmoil. I knew I had come to a good place because when I got there someone was there who hugged me and said can I make you a cup of tea?
Isn’t it funny how something as simple as a cup of tea can soothe you? I think it’s because I was raised drinking tea. I often went to my Opa & Oma’s house for afternoon tea (and cookies of course). And how many times these last few years have I been freezing in my old house and made a nice hot cup of tea to warm me up?
I’ve decided that anyone who offers you a cup of tea is a good person. Because good people, they drink tea. So, I’m drinking my tea and everything is OK. And it’s going to continue to be OK...as long as there’s tea anyway!
A lesson in humility
Last week when my life here was quite a mess I learned a new lesson in compassion. I hadn’t had running water in my home for 5 days. I wasn’t able to wash my body properly or wash my clothes properly. And it’s hot here so I sweat a lot. For a few days last week I was humbled to come to work with my clothes a bit disheveled and not smelling very nice, and my person not smelling very nice either. Because the situation was out of my control I was suddenly struck to think about all of those people that are in situations that are not within their control. People who maybe want their situation to be better but they can’t see how to make it better or they don’t have the means to make it better. There are a lot of people here in Suriname like that. Women especially. Many are uneducated or undereducated. They are dependent on men to support them and their many children. They go from one bad relationship to the next simply for the survival of themselves and their children. They are trapped in a cycle that must feel overwhelming to try to escape. I have always felt blessed to have been born in Canada and into the family that I have. While you can feel blessed to have these things, you appreciate it on a whole other level when you come to KNOW just how lucky you are.
Bailey’s & Coffee
I went out for a posh dinner with some friends the other night. And by posh, I mean posh by Suriname standards. So think Earl's in Canada and you get the idea. After all the drama I figured I deserved to splurge a little. It was a beautiful place along the water a bit away from the heart of the city so it was wonderfully quiet there. With the nice breeze from the water, it was heaven. The restaurant is owned by a Dutch man. He invited my friends there because they helped care for his daughter when she was in the hospital. He was very kind and told us our drinks and dessert was on the house – a very nice treat! While we were sitting, one of the girls said to me, you’re always so positive. With all the bad things that happened, you still manage to make things positive. I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve heard said about me in ages because I haven’t felt very positive lately. I’ve felt mostly negative and it’s something that has been wearing me down. So I guess maybe I’m not as positive as I usually am, but I’m still more positive than others might have been in my situation. These days, that’s enough for me!
By the way, sometimes it’s the little things in life. I have been dying for a decent cup of coffee. Mostly it’s instant here and instant isn’t coffee in my books, it’s just gross. Anyway I saw coffee & Bailey’s on the menu at the restaurant and thought I have to at least try. It was so delicious. It was the second best coffee & Bailey’s I have had. The best being in Seattle where the bartender hand whisked the whip cream for me. I’m still sad he turned down my marriage proposal but ah well!
Christa enjoys dessert
Coffee & Bailey’s – now that’s dessert!!
New Friends...Christa and Mariel
There was a lot of drama here for me lately. Thankfully I have gotten myself out of a bad situation and I hope, no, I know that everything will be much better now. Or, at least it better be. After the hell I’ve been through, certainly I must deserve some good things! I’m looking forward to a new chapter here and seeing this place in a whole new light.
I won’t say too much, but I will tell you this. I came to my new place last Wednesday evening amid all kinds of turmoil. I knew I had come to a good place because when I got there someone was there who hugged me and said can I make you a cup of tea?
Isn’t it funny how something as simple as a cup of tea can soothe you? I think it’s because I was raised drinking tea. I often went to my Opa & Oma’s house for afternoon tea (and cookies of course). And how many times these last few years have I been freezing in my old house and made a nice hot cup of tea to warm me up?
I’ve decided that anyone who offers you a cup of tea is a good person. Because good people, they drink tea. So, I’m drinking my tea and everything is OK. And it’s going to continue to be OK...as long as there’s tea anyway!
A lesson in humility
Last week when my life here was quite a mess I learned a new lesson in compassion. I hadn’t had running water in my home for 5 days. I wasn’t able to wash my body properly or wash my clothes properly. And it’s hot here so I sweat a lot. For a few days last week I was humbled to come to work with my clothes a bit disheveled and not smelling very nice, and my person not smelling very nice either. Because the situation was out of my control I was suddenly struck to think about all of those people that are in situations that are not within their control. People who maybe want their situation to be better but they can’t see how to make it better or they don’t have the means to make it better. There are a lot of people here in Suriname like that. Women especially. Many are uneducated or undereducated. They are dependent on men to support them and their many children. They go from one bad relationship to the next simply for the survival of themselves and their children. They are trapped in a cycle that must feel overwhelming to try to escape. I have always felt blessed to have been born in Canada and into the family that I have. While you can feel blessed to have these things, you appreciate it on a whole other level when you come to KNOW just how lucky you are.
Bailey’s & Coffee
I went out for a posh dinner with some friends the other night. And by posh, I mean posh by Suriname standards. So think Earl's in Canada and you get the idea. After all the drama I figured I deserved to splurge a little. It was a beautiful place along the water a bit away from the heart of the city so it was wonderfully quiet there. With the nice breeze from the water, it was heaven. The restaurant is owned by a Dutch man. He invited my friends there because they helped care for his daughter when she was in the hospital. He was very kind and told us our drinks and dessert was on the house – a very nice treat! While we were sitting, one of the girls said to me, you’re always so positive. With all the bad things that happened, you still manage to make things positive. I think that’s the nicest thing I’ve heard said about me in ages because I haven’t felt very positive lately. I’ve felt mostly negative and it’s something that has been wearing me down. So I guess maybe I’m not as positive as I usually am, but I’m still more positive than others might have been in my situation. These days, that’s enough for me!
By the way, sometimes it’s the little things in life. I have been dying for a decent cup of coffee. Mostly it’s instant here and instant isn’t coffee in my books, it’s just gross. Anyway I saw coffee & Bailey’s on the menu at the restaurant and thought I have to at least try. It was so delicious. It was the second best coffee & Bailey’s I have had. The best being in Seattle where the bartender hand whisked the whip cream for me. I’m still sad he turned down my marriage proposal but ah well!
Christa enjoys dessert
Coffee & Bailey’s – now that’s dessert!!
New Friends...Christa and Mariel
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