Guyanese customs

So in addition to the last post with experiences I thought maybe I should post a little about some of the cutoms here in Guyana. First of all, regardless of how long you have known each other, you always kiss each other on the cheek. Which can become quite awkward when you don't know the person at all, like you don't remember their name becuase you met them one time and it is a freak accident that you saw them again. But normally you have the normal greeting of good then whatever time of day it is, then you lean over and kiss on both cheeks. It took a lot of getting used to. Thankfully the sisters in the congregation have us trained now, so we initiate it instead of them. I must say they are very proud of how far we have come.

Then when you are in service is definetly different than in the States. First of all when you go up to a house you don't enter the gate. You stand outside and yell inside, then wait for them to invite you in. Then you have your normal greetings and introduction. After that you ask after the family, and then they ask you about your life. People here are very friendly and like to know a lot about their neighbors. Then you sit and before you can have a discussion, they ask you if they can get you anything. It is considered rude to refuse. The important thing is to make sure everything is prepared properly. Sometimes they will prepare things that have been cooked with water that wasnt boiled. So we have made it a habit to take precautions at home. We were told that eating a clove of garlic or making a tea out of it is the best way to kill anything you eat that isn't good for you. So after you eat and drink what is prepared for you, then you can leave. But you are always made to promise that you will return to visit to keep up your friendship. The Guyanese are very hospitable people and love to just sit and chat all day long.

Then there is the matter of Guyanese and their concept of time. They have none. They show up to the Kingdom Hall 25 minutes late to meeting and act as though they have arrived on time. When you take a bus anywhere be prepared to make many stops, some of which are people stopping to grab things along the way. So your busride could be anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour depending on how many people are on and what their specific needs are. Also on the bus it doesnt matter if the bus is already full they will stop to pick up more people. There has been more than one time when people are sitting on the floor and on other people's laps. These are all people who don't know each other might I add. Then there is their concept of time in how they speak. For example last Saturday Dani and I walked up to a study just around the corner. When his mother invited us in to sit and wait for him to finish his work she was talking to us, 30 minutes go by and we say that maybe we will come back another time when they aren't so busy. She said oh no he be done just now, he be done just now. So we sit and wait, another 10 minutes goes by and we again say we should come back. She tells us that he be done short while. After another 10 minutes we say we are leaving and will come back the next day. So off we went and 30 minutes later we saw the man he was helping finally leave their house. So what we have learned from this experience is that when the Guyanese say they be there just now, or use the words short while, it really means about an hour later.

So these are just some of the customs that we have been getting used to, life here is always an adventure and we will never look back on this trip and say we were bored with the people here.