Travel Diary - Day Twenty Six

Day Twenty Six - Shopping
Thursday 24 Sep 09

8:30am at the Ethnic Relations Commission. That’s fine, but we had the wrong day. In once sense it wasn’t at all surprising because time and date don’t seem to be strong factors in people doing things here. That’s not really fair as a generalisation, but there is a certain relaxed feeling to when any particular event actually happens. It has taken me a while to settle into that, but I’m OK with it now. I think.

Instead I talked Keith into taking me into town to look for some gifts. Felissa had given me a few ideas of where to begin and so we went hunting for perfume for Aunt Patsy. We found a few places and it was quite funny as Keith watched rather bemusedly as I tried different perfumes until I had found one that roughly suited both my budget and instructions. From there we went to Starbroek market to look at jewellery. I really just wanted him looking over my shoulder so I didn’t make any ‘dumb tourist’ mistakes. He slowly got into the swing of things and by the time we had looked at half a dozen jewellery stores I think he was quite enjoying himself. When I asked about him getting something for his wife he looked at me as if I was quite mad. Apparently he has absolutely no idea how to choose something she would like. I laughed and suggested he take his daughter along to help him choose wisely – that way he had a good chance of getting something that was just right. I’m not sure I convinced him, but it was a fun conversation.

I should explain Starbroek market a little more. Try to imagine a large department store with everything in aisles. Now widen the stock stands a little and break them into 2-3 metre storefronts with one or two people in each stall. Generally all the jewellers are in roughly the same area, very roughly, you get the clothing stalls, the material stalls, the grocery stalls, the fruit stalls, the general brick-a-brack stalls, the meat stalls, the electronics stalls, the list goes on and on. It is alternately light and dark, there are little dead ends and when you get too close to the meat or fish sections the aromas are less than appealing!! You are constantly winding in and among people and listening to vendors trying to get your attention and sell you this, that, or the next thing. It’s really quite cool if you’re into that sort of thing and more of a horror story if you’re not.

We headed back home for lunch before heading out to visit the Campus Crusade for Christ people. It was good talking with them. I had a little to do with CCC when I was at Uni in Auckland and so I could talk their language. They clearly appreciated that. The visit went well and it was encouraging to hear how they were going as an organisation.

We didn’t have anything on after the CCC visit so I settled in for some overdue writing. Spent a few hours on it before turning in – had dinner in there somewhere as well. Keith took me out to a local restaurant.

One of the things I have to do while I am here is write a theological reflection on my experience of the church in Guyana. I have been quietly making notes as we’ve been going and I have come up with a very politically incorrect title, sure to upset and wind-up  just the kind of thing I have been looking for . I am going to call my reflection, ‘A Sexy Church in Guyana.’ There are all sorts of cultural implications tied into the title as well as a whole lot of traditional angst that it should tap into quite nicely. The whole point that I am hoping to make could be summarised as follows: The church, as the Bride of Christ has let itself go and no longer cares for itself as it should. It has lost its ‘sexiness’. Where Christ might once have looked at her and seen a beautiful bride she has ceased caring for herself, for her body and has either settled for what she has and run to fat, not caring about anything but where her next meal is coming for, or has become a wizened old hag who criticises every action, every attempt to do something that doesn’t fit her very narrow opinion of how the world should be. And I know, there are holes the size of dump trucks in the practicalities, but I’m not worried about the holes because it is the idea that arrests and makes you think.