The Peace Principle: Last Day in Guyana!

Lace on my shelves, a silk flower arrangement and doilies on the chair back and under my laptop

Hello everyone! I hope you all had good weekends. I know this post is a bit late, but my weekend was really chaotic with my brother's engagement, planning for this coming week and many other things. Here are some pictures that I took of my room. As you all know, this week I tried my best with the things I could find, to make my room look like those in the country of Guyana. I had a lot of fun decorating and really enjoyed being able to witness the culture of this country each time I entered my room. As you can see from the pictures, my room is bright already, but for a stronger point, I posted tissue paper on my wall to mimic the bright colors of the walls of Guyanese homes. I cut the edges of doilies and put them on the edges of my curtains to look like lace curtains as well as on the edges of my shelves for the same effect. I even put full doilies on my desk and dresser. I put three silk flower arrangements around the room and a doily on my chair back to mimic a crocheted effect. Though the details were small, my room did look different by the time my decorating efforts were finished. Like I said, I did the best I could with what I could find and put my creativity into it as best as I could. What I noticed throughout the week was that I felt this strange connection to Guyana, a country that before now, I had really never heard of or knew much about. I felt almost like I was really sleeping and studying and dressing in somewhere other than my room. It felt warmer inside the tiny space and well, different. It is a hard feeling to explain, but it was very neat and something I will never forget. I am becoming more and more amazed each week with how connected I am feeling to these cultures even though the things I am doing are very small. If there is anything I have learned this week, it is that this culture a very warm and cozy one. The home is so important to most of us humans and I can really see that the Guyanese people embrace this in their culture. The way that their decorations flow together paint a certain welcoming picture to their guests and a picture of belonging to those who live in the house. The decorations are simple but pretty and heartwarming. As I am learning more each day of this journey, simple is good, especially when it comes to keep cultures alive. Homes are the place one invites those who they love and those who they would like to get to know more. An invitation to a home is a compliment and an honor. I now see what a fantastic impact the simple style of Guyanese homes have had on me in helping me to further respect this country and its culture. Thank you Guyana for making me feel welcome in your country through the style of your homes.