You from Guyana?....
I asked the taxi driver if he will give me a receipt and then got a shock when he asked in an 'Indian' accent if I am from Guyana.. I have never been asked that in a foreign place.. but then I find that New York is probably not that foreign where Guyana is concerned.
The man standing next to me at the luggage carousel tells me he come from Guyana and felt that staying in Miami and the USA was like being in a prison without a key.. he tell me that he dont like US because among other things he cant go and pee anywhere and that he cant find a place to tek a beer like in Guyana and he want go back, but his family got his passport (that is trafficking?)..
I am reading Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes and I had reached the part when the heroine arrives in South Carolina a slave thrown into a canoe. The immigration lounge at the Miami Airport has a nice thing with Welcome to the United States and what to show the immigration officers. Two older men stand up in uniform next to me, they do the wheelchair support and they are grumbling about how long the officers are taking. The officers talk to each other in Spanish. The officers take their time, about five minutes per person,. when my turn comes the man takes about 2 minutes, dont know if they are tired. The Customs officer ask me what i am here for, I say for a symposium organised by the Centre for lesbian and gay studies at City University of New York.. he say 'who?".. when I tell him again, he ask me if I have enough money to stay here. I say no no. they paying hopefully.. and he say, go, enjoy your stay.
The taxi driver and me start gaffing. He show me where the Guyanese and the Trinis living. He ask me if I am Hindu or Muslim.. I have never been asked that either before.. and i said Hindu, but tried to let him know I dont kill Muslims or so and that we live good in Guyana unlike other parts of the world. He is Bangladeshi and had a guyanese 'woman' so he know about we history. He say Guyanese and Trini women like they lost their culture here.. he marry a bangladeshi woman. He like NYC and would one day hope to return to Bangladesh to live. The boy at the hotel desk, also from Bangladesh but he tell me he dont like NYC (I am like.. whaa that not good for tourism).. i am yet to discover whether i like or dont like NYC,but the skyline did look nice in the orange sunset,what you see in the postcards.
The man standing next to me at the luggage carousel tells me he come from Guyana and felt that staying in Miami and the USA was like being in a prison without a key.. he tell me that he dont like US because among other things he cant go and pee anywhere and that he cant find a place to tek a beer like in Guyana and he want go back, but his family got his passport (that is trafficking?)..
I am reading Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes and I had reached the part when the heroine arrives in South Carolina a slave thrown into a canoe. The immigration lounge at the Miami Airport has a nice thing with Welcome to the United States and what to show the immigration officers. Two older men stand up in uniform next to me, they do the wheelchair support and they are grumbling about how long the officers are taking. The officers talk to each other in Spanish. The officers take their time, about five minutes per person,. when my turn comes the man takes about 2 minutes, dont know if they are tired. The Customs officer ask me what i am here for, I say for a symposium organised by the Centre for lesbian and gay studies at City University of New York.. he say 'who?".. when I tell him again, he ask me if I have enough money to stay here. I say no no. they paying hopefully.. and he say, go, enjoy your stay.
The taxi driver and me start gaffing. He show me where the Guyanese and the Trinis living. He ask me if I am Hindu or Muslim.. I have never been asked that either before.. and i said Hindu, but tried to let him know I dont kill Muslims or so and that we live good in Guyana unlike other parts of the world. He is Bangladeshi and had a guyanese 'woman' so he know about we history. He say Guyanese and Trini women like they lost their culture here.. he marry a bangladeshi woman. He like NYC and would one day hope to return to Bangladesh to live. The boy at the hotel desk, also from Bangladesh but he tell me he dont like NYC (I am like.. whaa that not good for tourism).. i am yet to discover whether i like or dont like NYC,but the skyline did look nice in the orange sunset,what you see in the postcards.
welcome to mecca :)
ReplyDeleteby the way, you know the book has a different title in US: "someone knows my name" ...original title too controversial (history different b/w US and Canada)
you're brave to tell INS you have no money!
hope u get some free time to take in the culture.