Visiting Moraikobai

What's up, what's up! This is Amanda and Robson writing to you about our awesome weekend trip to the interior where we visited an AmerIndian village called Moraikobai. On Saturday morning, we left Georgetown to start our journey down the northern coast of Guyana, where we stopped in Mahaicony at our hosts' home for the first time. Unlike many of our trips in Guyana, this was our first time taking a boat to the place that we visited.We rode on a speed boat where we saw nature at its finest! We rode pass the tropical rain forest on our way to Moraikobai and caught glimpse of bamboos and Guyana's national bird, the Canje Pheasant, on our way back. It was a beautiful sight to see. When we first arrived in the village, we were excited to see how the AmerIndians were celebrating the 52nd anniversary of independence. We were welcomed with music and dancing people around the center of the village where our rest house was located. As a group, we walked around to see more of the village and see what was around. We saw a hospital, two churches, school buildings, a village office, and a banniap (a place where cultural festivities takes place). Unlike Georgetown, Moraikobai was less crowded and busy, which was very relaxing. Many of the local people did not seem to be in a rush, which has been unlike our own experiences in the U.S. The community members live minimally where they are not constantly hooked to their phones and are more connected to the people around them.

During our time, Andrea's (one of our hosts) father, Kendrick, took us on a nature walk and showed us some of the local fruits that grow in the village such as pineapple, cherry, coconut, sour sop, and papaya. He also showed us some local plants and its uses they have in the village such as healing a cut or easing an upset stomach. After, we went to see how cassava bread, a common food in the village, is prepared. A woman showed us the process, which starts from pulling the cassava plant from its root and skinning its outer layer. After it is cleaned, the cassava is grated then placed in a string where its poisonous juice is pulled out. The cassava is then spread thin on a flat pan over a fire and flipped over until it hardens. Seeing this was pretty cool because we got to learn the different ways that the village members connect with each other. We also saw how some of the women weave baskets, which they usually sell. Everyone bought some of their beautiful crafts, so we can show the beautiful work of people from Moraikobai. Other ways that we engaged with the community members was by playing volleyball. The two teams were made up of the host community and the volunteer group. Between seeing more of the village, swimming in the river, and eating some tasty food, we had many great experiences this weekend. Our favorite part was seeing the banniap and having women teach us more about the indigenous language, Arawak. Their language is slowly disappearing since younger folks aren't really learning the language, but this part of their history and culture remains important.

This weekend was a time for our team members to learn more about hospitality, which is a "welcome" of the other according to Emmanuel Levinas, who the study trip has been centered around. Levinas is Unlike our common way of thinking about hospitality, it