This afternoon, after the heat of the day had mostly worn
off and a coolness fell over New Amsterdam, I decided I needed to take a walk
for a while to try to clear my head. It has been a rather rough week for
multiple reasons, and I needed to get things out of my mind. Earlier this
afternoon Claire and I had the opportunity to FaceTime with Dan. During that time,
we talked about things that had changed since we all left eight months ago.
While on my walk I decided to take some pictures of some of the buildings that
we had seen a lot of change in to send to him so he could fully understand what
we were describing. Then, what I was taking pictures of started to change and I
started to add all sorts pictures to my camera roll. While on this walk a
Guyana national song came to my mind.
Part of the song goes like this:
“There’s a land just off the Atlantic. Land of jungles,
waterfalls, and sweet scenery. Where poor people farm the lands and hunt the
waters, and all live in peace and harmony. This is Guyana, beautiful Guyana
(3x).” There is much more to the song, but this is the part that kept going
through my head during my walk. I honestly don’t know an exact reason as to why
I am getting so emotional about Guyana right now. Is it because I know for the
next two years I will for sure not be here, or I’m stressed about life, or am I
being really reflective about my life as a whole right now? I don’t have an
answer for you. Most likely? It is a combination of all of the above and then
some…
Something that I really appreciate about Guyana is the
beauty. Everywhere I look I see the beauty of this country. The people, the
wild life, the scenery, I can see the beauty of God’s creation. Don’t get me wrong,
there is a lot of trash and animals everywhere, but they are working on that.
While I was thinking about all of this my mind wandered back to a conversation
I had with a student back in July. I had just told him that I was excited
because I had just accepted the position to come back to Guyana. He responded, “I
don’t get it, everybody is trying to get out of Guyana and you are trying to
get back in.” Many people in Guyana believe that if it comes from Guyana it is
bad and if it comes from anywhere else, especially the US, than it is good. It
has been really hard for me to comprehend that during my interactions with
Guyanese. I never cease to be amazed at the amazing things Guyana is producing.
Something else I am learning to love about Guyana is the
pace of life. It seems to be a slower pace of life here. Don’t get me wrong,
these people work really hard for very little in return. It is nice to be able
to take a step out of life and focus on the things that are most important to
me instead of what is usually focused on in the States. Back home my focus is
always get everything on this list done as quickly as possible so I can keep
getting everything else done. I don’t usually have “me time” or time to relax
and focus on other things. If I was in the same state of mind back home as I
was tonight, I would not have been able to spend an hour and a half just out on
a walk without worrying about what else needs to get done. I work a lot in
Guyana, and I have many to do lists, but at the same time I am reminded here to
look at what really is the most important and to take care of that first.
This walk I had tonight was meant to clear my mind. In
hindsight, it did the exact opposite. I thought about so much more than I ever
expected; sadness, sickness, the future, where I am, who I am, where I have
been, where I have come from, and so much more. I cannot be more thankful for
that walk I took this evening though. It gave me the opportunity to stop and
really look at the beauty of this world. For the beauty of the Earth everyone.
"Beautiful Guyana" YouTube Clips:
This is a wonderful arrangement, but not the whole song. It is rather quiet so make sure to put on headphones or turn your computer all the way up.
Men's Group
This a solo version and is the whole song.
Female Solo
Pictures from my walk this evening.
