So, Cayenne, French Guiana. There are three Guianas: Guiana, Suriname (Dutch Guiana), and French Guiana, all on the northern Atlantic coast of South America, neighboring Brazil. French Guiana is one of France’s Departements D’Outre Mer, so it was for all intensive purposes just like being in France… in the hot, humid tropics in the rainy season: they use the Euro and French products dominate the supermarket shelves… there’s a mix of French and Creole cuisine… there’s a subtle French military presence as well as the benefits of the French state.
In January, there was a national referendum where the people had the option to take independence from France. Of the 30% of the population that voted, the majority voted to stay with France. Cayenne is small but incredibly diverse, although from what I was told the different communities don’t mingle that much. There are the Metropoles (people from France), the Brazilians, the Haitians, and a sizable Asian community including a lot of Laotian refugees. Food-wise this means that there are lots of yummy choices :)
La Place des Palmistes... AKA the center of town.The work was a little frustrating as I never really adjusted to the stores’ 4 hour siesta from 12:30 – 4:30. The town had a very relaxed atmosphere… I didn’t see any buildings more than 4 stories high… buildings were colorful with big awnings to protect pedestrians on the sidewalk from the sun and the seasonal rain. It was good French practice before plunging into an otherwise all Spanish-speaking survey. People were friendly--except for the woman at the water company who was a total and absolute B*tch. We had a 10 minute circular conversation that was worse than pulling teeth and she eventually hung up on me… at which point I cried in frustration for all of the mean and unhelpful/stupid people who have stonewalled me on survey and who will undoubtedly stonewall me on surveys to come. Employees like her make me want to at the very least be nice, even if I can’t be helpful.
View of Cayenne from above... on a hill that might have been a restricted military zone... the signs weren't clear.I was there in the weeks before Carnaval and went to a French-Guiana-specific event: La Soiree Touloulou. I’m not sure of the origins, but basically on the Saturday nights leading up to Carnaval, discos host these nights where the women dress up in a costume that covers them from head to toe so that you literally do not see a single bit of flesh. The disguised women are called “Touloulou.” It’s hot inside the disco and they’re all wearing masks, wigs, gloves, and rather bulky dresses… some go so far as to wear different-colored contact lenses and alter their voices when they speak so that they are unrecognizable. I went with someone I met through Couch Surfing. His girlfriend was in disguise and went before us so we didn’t know what her costume was… she came and sat down next to me late in the evening and I didn’t realize it was her until she started speaking! The game was then to see if *he* would recognize her :)
Les TouloulousThere are very strict rules at the Soiree Touloulou, and I was told that people who break these rules will be thrown out:
(1) The women ask the men to dance. The men have to say yes.
(2) The men are not allowed to approach the women.
(3) Women who are not in costume are allowed to attend but are NOT allowed to dance.
There was a bleacher seat section in the corner of the room where the femmes non-deguisees could sit and watch. That’s what I did, although I bounced in my seat as it was impossible not to dance with the energetic live band.
The room was packed with dancing couples.Friday nights are the Soirees Tololo, with everything in reverse where the men are the ones in total disguise. Even though I wasn’t allowed to dance, it was great to just watch everything. It was refreshing to go out and not be approached by anybody… I felt pleasantly invisible, allowed to do my own thing (within the Touloulou rules). The disguise is a major power game and I wondered how the men felt when they had no idea who they were dancing with—not sure if it was a stranger or someone they actually knew—whereas the women knew exactly who they were and could choose their dance partners as they pleased.
My experience in Cayenne was largely defined by the people I met through Couch Surfing. Unfortunately my travel plans changed in the week before I left Brussels, causing me to lose 2 days in Cayenne (my original routing from Cayenne to Guatemala included a stop-over in Haiti… which of course was canceled due to last month’s earthquake, requiring totally different routing and travel days). I was sad to go, more than I’ve been for other cities. At the end of each city I always feel a sense of satisfaction for completing the survey and feeling at ease in a previously foreign place, but this one also had personal connections with people that I will hopefully see again. It was such a wonderful introduction to Couch Surfing that it makes me wonder why I didn’t try it earlier! It's certainly raised my expectations for future surveys.
On the beach where one of the CS-ers live. Playing with prints in the sand.
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