on the 12th

yesterday i was trying to rest on the bleachers at the heritage days festival, and this guy came up to me and asked for water. he kept talking to me and flirting and touching my skin and being a general annoyance, but i am too naive and polite to make men like that leave me alone, so he ended up following me around (and trying to touch me) for an hour or two. i feel so uncomfortable around males in the first place, but foreign men trying to flirt with me makes me sick to my head and my stomach. guyanese men are a little more flirtatiously reserved than the men in cuba or the dominican republic, but if i strain my ear when i walk, i can hear "tsk tsks" and "ey white garl" being quietly called. i really don't like it, and it leads me to spend even more time by myself than i already normally do.

i went for a walk by myself along a sand roadway in the savannah. without exception, every single person i passed smiled brightly at me and greeted me with a "good morning" or "good afternoon." so friendly. even walking around heritage days, i will smile a small smile at people and be met with a huge grin. cute. they kind of remind me of the people i saw in eden valley. so shy and humble, but curious and friendly.

i'm finding it hard to have conversations with people. guyana is the only english-as-a-first-language nation in south america, but their english is very carribbean, and i have a REALLY hard time understanding it. they also speak quite softly, so most people have to repeat what they say 2 or 3 times before i understand it. boo.

also, i forgot to write about my experience on the first morning i was here. in true colonial fashion, a white lady from the UK made it quite clear to me and crystal that we and other non-locals, herself excluded, of course, were not welcome in the north rupununi. she has continued to make little comments here and there and just generally make us feel like garbage. to make matters worse, she is the reason we are still "homeless" - she is staying in our "room" for the next week or so, so we have to sleep in a little shack a few buildings over. nice. anyways, she's a basketcase, and i don't let her get to me too much. i have talked to her a little bit about starting a recycling program here, which i am REALLY excited about.

anyways. going for tea.