Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana

Countries number 3 and 4! (Because technically, French Guiana is a French territory.) We followed a homeschool curriculum for Mexico and Canada and then I decided to see if there were resources available to study all of the countries and not just the big and popular ones. I lightened our homeschool work for this week for us so that I could start planning our geography studies through all of the South American countries. I began by looking up recipes and actually learned a LOT from the cuisine.

Post Released May 9, 2020
Post Updated October 2021
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Fun Facts!

Guyana and Suriname used to be called “English Guyana” and “Dutch Guyana,” respectively. Spanish is not the official language of any of the “Three Gs.”

Mapping It Out

Missions Spotlight

  • Wycliffe.org has resources for kids:
  • Prayercast.com/Guyana: Prayer Points, Country Summary, Quick Facts
    **parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.
  • Prayercast.com/Suriname: Prayer Points, Country Summary, Quick Facts
    **parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.
  • Prayercast.com/FrenchGuiana: Prayer Points, Summary, Quick Facts
    **parents should preview the prayercast.com video for sensitive topics that may not be age appropriate.

Booklists

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Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana Books and More
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It all began with cooking

The food of Guyana and Suriname is very similar to that of the Caribbean islands. In fact, even though they are not islands, Guyana and Suriname are categorized as Caribbean. French Guiana is grouped with the islands of Guadaloupe and Martinique as one of the territories owned by France.

For Guyana, we made Guyanese Beef Patties one night and Guyanese Potato Roti the next day. We were absolutely thrilled when the potato roti puffed exactly as it should have! But wait, Potato Roti is an Indian dish. Hmmm….turns out that many people immigrated to Guyana from India so that became a part of their cuisine and culture.

This was my first taste of what our geography study could be. A quick YouTube search found a short video of Guyanese Folk Music set to images, and soon the kitchen was filled with the sights, smells, and sounds of Guyana. Later, we made “Swank,” or Guyanese lemon juice, which is actually made with limes, and Guyanese Lime Cookies to celebrate the beginning of our uncharted exploration in South America.

Grating Limes
Lime cookies
Juicing limes for Swank
Guyanese Beef Patties
Putting the tops on and crimping

With new resolve, I made Suriname Nasi the next day, which is a dish that was brought over by all the immigrants from Indonesia and, in time, developed it’s own Surinamese flavor.

French Guiana was trickier to find recipes for, since it’s still technically France, and it’s where France sent prisoners. We had the French dish, Chicken Colombo, that another global-cuisine trekker had dug up.

More Fun Facts about the Three Gs:

  • Guyana’s official language is English since it was colonized by the English. It has two pontoon bridges and is home to Kaieteur Falls, the world’s largest single drop waterfall.
  • Suriname’s official language is Dutch. The Dutch negotiated to keep it and gave New Amsterdam (now New York) to the English.
  • French Guiana was used as a penal colony for many years and is home to France’s space center, chosen for it’s proximity to the equator, which makes a difference for rockets.

Geography YouTube Videos

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