While the bus may be a tight squeeze, it is also one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. We're not only in close quarters with the rest of the group, but with our Guyanese chauffeurs as well (I learned also that our driver's name is Chubby). We talk, sing, and quite simply enjoy each other's company. The scenery is quite colorful; with the brightly painted houses and the greenery, which is both similar yet extremely foreign compared to that of Vermont, our eyes were never bored. Cows graze on the side of the road, horses trot along side of road, and stray dogs watch calmly despite the honking horns. Speaking of horns, the driving here is quite the experience. The driver sits on the right, the cars drive on the left, and traffic rules seems to be more of a polite suggestion. However, the horns are never menacing or angry like at home- it's simply like saying "Hey, I'm here, heads up". it's quite refreshing.
We met four residents when we arrived at Mahaica, a building that, despite being newly painted, would make health officials back home cringe. Chris taught me and some others to play a card game called "Spades", and after some confusion due to his, shall we say, thick accent, we played and listened to his stories of fishing for sharks in his younger days. There is also John. He quietly destroyed us in the cards games- he has quite the poker face. Elvis was also in the building (pun intended). Lastly, we met Sheila, who seemed to be the most aged of all the members. We talked quietly with her, and she finally laughed outright when we told her that she obviously was in charge of the boys at the Hospital, but she did not refute this.
I don't think any of us knew what to expect at the Hospital. In fact, much like the rest of the population, both in Guyana and in the States, there seems to be a bit of a mystery surrounding the infamous biblical disease. Most think it's highly contagious- it's not. If the person is on medication, it's not infectious at all. Now, it's curable, which is why the residents at Mahaica are older. They contracted the disease before a cure was available, and are forced to live with the existing damage. What they would actually look like was also a mystery to us. One student said he expected cloaked figures hiding their bodies. For the most part, however, the disease was not extremely obvious. One did have just one leg, and while some fingers and toes were slightly deformed, that was it. It makes the universal stigma attached to leprosy seem pretty ridiculous actually. They were just people who seemed to enjoy our company and who like a good game of cards. People that I'm excited to see again.
Until next time,
Danika
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