Views From the Windows of our Guyana Home

Guyana is a fascinating place to live because it is so different from what we are use to back home. We live next to the main road in the little village of Palmyra. We see interesting things daily through our windows – things that we would seldom see in America.

FRONT VIEW

This is the 'Guyanese' garbage truck. It is very common to see horse drawn carts like this with old barrels on top carrying trash to the dump. People pay for this service.

This is a scene we see every morning - school children in their uniforms waiting for transportation to school. There are no school buses. They have to flag down a hired car, mini bus or taxi and pay for a ride to school. Other children walk to school or get a ride on a bike that a parent peddles. This also shows a close up of B.J’s chicken coop. We enjoy the fresh eggs we get from him.

This is a photo of the home across the street. B.J. and Asha live there with their two teenage sons. They are our dearest Guyanese friends. They are members of the church. They supplement their income with their chickens and their little front store. B.J. is a sugar cane cutter six months of the year. We are very lucky to have such wonderful neighbors. We love to sit on the bench in front of their home and visit with them in the evenings.

This is my favorite view from our home. I love the beautiful green fields and stream down the middle. (In this picture there is so much grass growing in the ditch you can't see the water.) We are lucky to live on the outskirts of our little village, Palmyra. Cows and horses roam free. There are no fences for animals here.

EAST VIEW

We also love this view. It makes us feel like we live in the country. Right next to our fence is a long dirt road, then a big ditch, then a green field, then our neighbor who lives in a bright green house. Donkey carts are very common all over Guyana.

Also, a daily sight in Guyana is the cows, horses, donkeys, goats, and pigs that roam the streets at their will and are never in a hurry to get out of the way.

We were very surprised to see these men climb into the filthy ditch to the side of our house. They used machetes to cut the tall grass so the water could flow better. We wondered what in the world was in the water. Ugh! This needs to be on the TV show 'Dirtiest Jobs'.

WEST VIEW

This is Rita's humble home next door to us. She is a single mom living with her son and his wife and raising and a granddaughter from another son.

One of these pictures is of Rita's backyard. You can see a wooden table with a bucket on it. This is her laundry room. She wets the clothes in a wash tub and then uses a bar of soap to scrub the clothing and then beats the clothes with a flat tool. After rinsing and ringing by hand she hangs the clothes outside to dry. She and her daughter-in-law do washing most days. It is hard work. I like to imagine, sometimes, that I am watching my great grandmother Rebecca Jane Hansen as she might have lived over a hundred years ago. This is a very common way of life here. Many don't have electricity or running water in their homes and use an outhouse like this one in Rita’s yard. I feel like the richest woman on the block (even though I don't have hot water or air-conditioning). We are very blessed.

BACK VIEW

The method of cutting grass in the West Indies, including Guyana, is with a weed whacker (trimmer). It takes hours to do our yard. The grass cutter wears more clothing than usual to protect his body. It is very hard work. And remember, he is working in very hot, humid weather.

These big black tanks are our water source. The water comes from the rain. Can you believe we have been known to pray for rain so we can have water for our cold showers? That is a something I never dreamed I would pray for.