Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Why I Want to be Guyanese

Why I want to be Guyanese
First, an Elder Hulme report on Guyanese:
Guyana is all English speaking, but it's a very different English and is not understandable unless you are familiar with it.  The people there usually have a 1st grade reading level.  Thats the usual, there are indeed exceptions.  They love playing Cricket.  They are a very mixed race culture, from India, the Interior, and Creole.  
We were referred to this Guyanese woman by Elder Thompson, so we went to see her.  She's named Anita and has a very old house that is very well inhabited - something like 15 people live in this 4 bedroom home.  The front room has 2 couches and 5 beds just thrown in the middle of it.  It looks and smells like nothing has ever been cleaned.  There was the cutest little girl in the world there.  She had the shiniest eyes.  Anita was very glad to see us and was very accepting in hearing about Joseph Smith and stuff.  At the end of the lesson, they brought us some crackers and Coke which was very nice especially seeing how poor the situation is there.  We talked with Anita's 25 year old daughter who is currently 10 and a half months pregnant.  She has a massive belly, and is actually the mother of the cute little girl.  Anita was describing how her daughter would be going in for surgery to deliver the baby.   She described it so;  "They'll have to go in there and pull the ching."  Pull the ching is roughly translated as "remove the baby."  So we had Elder Baker say a closing prayer and pray that they ching pulling would go well and that the baby would be healthy.  After we left we decided that Pull the Ching would be a great name for a ska band.  And that is why I want to be Guyanese.
The other band name we've come up with comes from Elder Baker's favorite weather situation "Clouds Without Rain."
Lionel finally came to church!!! It was great and he loved it.  We went over to his house and were talking with him.  He stopped and got a deep look in his eyes and said "er zijn vele autos in deze buurt." (there are a lot of cars in this neighborhood) Then later as we discussed the Holy Ghost, he stopped mid sentence to mutter under his breath "Ik moet en goude ring met en witte steen vinden." (I must find a gold ring with a white stone) Upon reflection within the companionship, he's still way weird.  It's not that he's bad or anything, just incredibly strange.  But he bore his testimony about JOVO which is the young single adult program.  I liked hearing him talk about how much he liked it.  Zr Devredis however was not so cool and didn't show.  Hopefully everything is ok, we haven't seen her since Saturday.  Melton works from 7pm to 7am Saturday night/Sunday morning, we're still not sure what to do about that.  
We did find a new family to teach, family Tandool.  I'll keep you updated.  
I feel like I've been typing forever.  Bike wars is still good.  I think it would have been a lot of fun in Little Red Riding Hood.  We went into the city today.  Elder Lake needed some gifts for his home boys.  By home boys I mean family.  We then went to the Jansens for lunch and a final get together in honor of Elder Lake.  
I've lost my personality.  I've got some sort of mid-life crisis where I don't know who I am anymore.  So now I get to choose whom I will become.  It's a big choice.  Could I get everyone brainstorming ideas of what I could/should do when I get home, so that I can make a decision before winter so that I can get any university applications in before it is too late?  Please, thank you.  
I may not have a personality anymore, but I still love you.  
-Elder Hulme

3 comments:

  1. Hey! It sounds like Xander is doing well. I just wrote him a letter and I was wondering if his address is still the:
    PO Box 2932
    Paramaribo, Suriname
    South American
    I hope that you are all healthy and well down in Provo!!!! Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What's up with the no personality anymore?! I can't imagine xander not being xander...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marisa, yes that is still his address. Thanks for writing him - he will love getting a letter. Jayson, I know - I was perplexed about the personality comment too. Midlife crisis at the ripe old age of 20?

    ReplyDelete