G U Y A N A -- My home
It's my pleasure to tell you a bit about the place where I was born. I've been living in the USA for 21 years
and I still miss everything I knew. Most of my friends and family are still living there. New York is lovely but
nothing beats life in the tropics.
Guyana is located in South America. It is the only English speaking country in that part of the world.
Photos of the Guyana are copyrighted to the following photographers, J. S. Graham & S. W. Ishmael.
Name:Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Area:83,000 sq miles (215,000 sq km)
Location:North Eastern Coast of the South American Continent
Capital:Georgetown
Official Language:English
Situated in the tropics, Guyana has an equatorial climate. But on the low
lying coastlands where most of the people live, the northeast trade winds
have a moderating effect, creating a pleasant climate throughout the year.
On the coastlands, the temperature ranges from 68 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit
with a mean shade temperature of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, while in the interior
regions it ranges from 61 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit with a mean of 82 degrees
Fahrenheit in the shade.
There are two marked rainy seasons during the year - a long rainy season from
April to August and a short rainy season from November to January. Annual rainfall
varies from about 90 inches on the coast to as much as 140 inches in the rain-forest areas.
But in the savannahs where the dry periods are more prolonged, the average is only about 60
inches, with most of the rainfall occurring during the months of May to August.
Guyana is not affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or volcanoes and although
the rains are sometimes delayed, prolonged or severe droughts are relatively rare.
The name Guyana is derived from an Amerindian word meaning "land of many waters".
The word aptly describes the country with its extensive network of rivers
and creeks and its large number of rapids and water-falls, including the
famous Kaieteur Falls, which, with a perpendicular drop of 741 feet, is about
five times the height of Niagara. The country is divided into four natural regions:
(a)The Coastal Region: (The inset picture is of palm trees near the coast of the Atlantic).
This is a low coastal plain varying in width from about 10 miles in the West, to about 40 miles
in the East. Much of the coastal area is below sea level with some areas being as much as 8
feet below the high tide mark. This low elevation necessitates an elaborate sea defense and
drainage system consisting basically of sea walls or dykes to keep out the sea, and a network
of canals controlled by pumps and sluices, or kokers, as they are commonly known. The system
was first constructed by the early Dutch settlers and many of the original structures have
survived to this day.
(b)The Hilly Sand Clay Belt: This region extends across the country immediately south of the
coastal plain. It is an undulating expanse of white and brown sands increasing in width from
west to east. The area is covered with scrub lands and hardwood forests with hills rising up
to almost 400 feet. The region covers over 14 percent of the country and contains extensive
deposits of bauxite with proven reserves estimated at around 300 million tons.
(c)The Highland Region: This region covers about two-thirds of the area of the country. There
are four mountain ranges - the Imataka in the Northwest, the Pakaraima in the West, the Kanuku
in the Southeast and the Akarai in the South. The mountains range in height from roughly 1,000
to 4,000 feet with several peaks above this level. The highest peak, Mount Roraima (9,091 feet)
in the Pakaraima range, is at the point where the boundaries of Guyana, Venezuela and Brazil,
converge. The region is composed mainly of ancient pre-Cambrian rocks and is rich in minerals
including gold and diamonds which have been exploited for over a hundred years.
(d)The Interior Savannahs: There are two savannah areas: the Rupununi Savannahs and the
intermediate savannahs. The largest, the Rupununi , is about 6,000 square miles in extent.
It lies in the southwestern part of the country and is divided into the North and South
Savannahs by the Kanuku mountain range. The intermediate savannahs lie about 60 miles from
the mouth of the Berbice River. These smaller savannahs cover over 2,000 square miles of
territory.
Fun Facts
Besides speaking proper English, Guyanese also speak a broken form of it called Creolese. Here are
some things in American and what we call it in Creolese.
Twenty Five Cents -- A Bob
Penny - Cent
Peanut Butter - Nut Butter
Sneakers - Yattins
Movies - Cinema or the Pictures
Store - Shop
Soda - Drink or Soft Drink
Motorcycle - Motobike
Lemonade - Swank
Jeans - Hard Pants
Boombox - Radio
Curtins - Blinds
Colandar - Strainer
Tub - Basin
Yuca - Cassava
Restroom - Bathroom
Terrace - Veranda
Pocketbook - Purse
Soccer - Football
Fragrant Soaps - Sweet Soap
Backpack - Book Bag
Stoop - Steps
Elementary School - Primary School
11th Grade - 3rd Form
Berrets - Slides
Gym - PE
Ping Pong - Table Tennis
Spaghetti - Chowmein
Woman - Daughta
Man - Fella, Chap or Banna
Friends - Spars
Friend - Idrin
Big Butt - Big Bumpa
Butt - Bamzee or Battie
Capri Pants - Peddle Pushers
Taxi - Hire Car
Traditional Dishes
Guyanese love to cook and we can do it extremely well. Our traditional dishes include African, Indian,
Chinese and Amerindian. I will post a few very easy to follow recipies very soon for you to try. This list
is very short, there are tons more.
Fried Bakes with Salt Fish
Plaintains & Eggs
Curry & Roti
Cookup Rice
Vegetable Fried Rice
Vegetable Chowmein
Pot Bakes
Custard
Dahl & Rice
Fish Cakes
Sugarcake
Banana Fritters
Raisen Buns
Mittai
Fudge
Flutti
Custard
Red Cake
Poloui
Pickled Mangoes
Pone
Cheese Straws
Pine Tarts
Traditional Celebrations
New Year's Day
The Chinese Spring
Mashramani - Guyanese Carnival
Eid - UL - Azah - (Eid-ul-Adha)Muslim Holy Day
Phagwah
Easter Monday -- Kite Flying Day
Labour Day
Independence Day -- May 26th
Youm UN Nabi - Muslim Holy Day
Caricom Day - July 1st
Emancipation Day - August 1st
Amerindian Hertiage - September
Diwali - Festival of Lights - Hindu Holiday
Ramadhan - Muslim Holy Day
Eid UL - Kitr - Muslim Holy Day
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
Old Year's Night
Visit this site to learn more about each day. Holidays
Our Sports
Cricket
Rounders
Football
Table Tennis
Track and Field
Rugby
Basketball
Car Races
Cycling
The map of Guyana.
Guyana's Coat Of Arms:ONE PEOPLE, ONE NATION, ONE DESTINY
So reads the banner displayed proudly at the base of Guyana's COAT OF ARMS.
The design consists of an Amerindian head-dress symbolizing the indigenous
people of the country, two diamonds at the sides of the head-dress representing
mining industry, a helmet (monarchial insignia), two jaguars holding a pick axe,
sugar cane and a stalk of rice (symbolizing Guyana's sugar and rice industries),
a shield decorated with the National Flower (Victoria Regia Lily), three blue
wavy lines representing the waters of Guyana and the National Bird (Canje Pheasant).
A pic of a regular city block.
Our Major Airport: Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
Houses in the countryside.
One of our many beaches.
A shot of Kaieteur Falls. It is five times taller than Niagra Falls.
These are Macaws, the birds hidden in our money. They are really very beautiful!
One of our citizens playing the Violin.
This is one of many Black Water Creeks.
The black sand makes the water like this and is a good place to look for gold.
Photo by Jason Rosen.
One of our libraries.
Stabroek Market, located in Georgetown.(The captial).
Typical houses in the city.
Another view of a city block.
The main road through the Botanic Gardens.
Bishops High School. One of the top schools in the country.
An Amerindian Family in the interior.
A traditional folk music band.
A view of the city at night---- The building is
St.Georges Cathedral, it is one of largest wooden structures in the world).
Photo was borrowed from Ravalon Online
My country's Currency! This is a $100 dollar & a $1000 dollar bill. Both of these bills
are loaded with color. In the US, bills as large as these are checked for a line which
runs through it to make sure that it is not counterfit. Our money is made real by a
Macaw (bird), which appears when you hold it up to light.
My country's Currency! These are dollar bills. Our dollar bills are red in color
My country's Currency! This is a $10 dollar & a $20 dollar bill. Then 10 dollar bill is brown and the
20 dollar bill is very colorful as well. The 5 dollar bill which I have not shown here is a light green color
Some photos and most written information came from the following websites. These are all Guyanese related websites.
Pictures of Places
Kaieteur Connection
Guyana