“So I’ve heard that Sir has been speaking to you about the current situation… about this virus that is spreading around the world?”, I ask the kids, as we wait for a boat to arrive and carry us across the river. “Yes Sir” they all reply in unison. “What has he told you?” “Sir, we’re […]
The White Man Who Dances
“That’s okay.” Little Zoya told me. “If you make a mistake, that’s okay.” Thank you Zoya, what wisdom is lost with age. I can barely believe that I have been here for four months already. With all the time I am feeling more and more at home here and I’m being well looked after by […]
Cashew Rain
“If you eat labba and drink the river water, you will always come back to Guyana” – Old Guyanese saying. The cashew trees billow softly, agreeing to the warm breeze and accompanying the lively melodies of the morning songbirds. Hummingbirds click, flycatchers whine and the nearby primary school radiates with the lively melodies of distant […]
Mother of Moon
“Aren’t there caiman out there?” asks Laura, staring out across the lake. “Yes! They bite.” Chirps a little local girl, as she runs away giggling and dives straight into the water. It took two days to arrive in Yupukari from Edinburgh. In Georgetown, the capital, they weighed us as well as our bags so that […]
Drinking Tea on the Essequibo
“Never work with children or animals” they say. “That’s funny” I chuckle, as I take a sip of coffee and then accept my new job working with children and animals. Firstly, no apologies for the horrendous title of this blog, but for context I am starting my first post-uni job: an internship with ‘Save the […]
Yupukari (on my wayward son) 