Friday, March 24, 2006

Ah, Berbice, where the sea breezes blow.

Well, friends we were there and back again--Berbice that is! Let me write this as if I were still there.

Ah, Berbice. We started the day with a brisk walk about 6 before it gets hot followed with coffee and a quiet time before drinking tea (breakfast).

At mid-day we heard of a tief (thief) that was caught red-handed and was lucky the police came to rescue him from the frustrated villagers (4 other thieves were not so lucky in Nigg and another village where the villagers chopped them to death with cutlasses (machetes) before the police could get there.

In the afternoon wandering cows ate the green growing things in the trenches. Like Popeye--eating the worms but spitting out the germs. Is that vintage boomer talk or what? Cooling breezes cranked up after 4pm bringing out the youth--boys only (that's up to 30 years old here) to play cricket in the "bruck-up" (dilapidated) street complete with potholes.

Donkey carts share the smaller streets with cars and trucks while Brother Ray wearing an umbrella hat peddled bread products from his bike.

You don't remember it all the time but the Muslim call to prayer does go off several times during the day over a loud speaker in the village. Speaking of loud speakers what about noice ordinances to reduce the reverberation of the loud music that is offered for the entire neighborhood to be entertained by. That is what we call "freeness".

In closing the day how about a birthday party including "the cutting of the cake" complete with encouraging words from the guests for the benefit of the birthday gal as in a Guyanese wedding and then supper at 8pm. I had to sneak out of the party at 10:30pm to retire because of church the next day.

Maybe it didn't all happen in one day but it was all such a blur!

All the best as we say here and thanks for letting me know that you are reading this.

1 comment:

Bek. said...

Every time that you start describing the food, I start getting really hungry Dad! You have to quit doing that!!! ;)wink, wink.