Recently my sister and I decided to go to Groningen together with my nephew.
Well...I drive by there more often, but I usually don't get out to take a look.
I live in the district of Saramacca in the country of Suriname. Groningen is the capital of Saramacca. Here you will find all the important offices of the disctrict.
Between my 12th and 14th year I went to school in Groningen. I live at least an hour's drive from Groningen, but there was no school closer to home. So I had to travel to Groningen every morning. I didn't mind that. I liked the school: the Mathoora school.
At that school I had a lot of nice, but also less nice experiences like a school bus that got involved in a collision with a truck. I wasn't in the bus, but my best friend was. He sustained damage to his brain, which lowered his IQ level. Too bad. The doctors indicated that the injury was permanent.
Anyway, he is now married, has a good job and will soon become a father. He is happy now and that's all that matters right?
Back to Groningen...
When my sister and I decided to drive there two weeks ago, I didn't expect such havoc as I found.
The jetty at the Saramacca river, where Groningen borders, is probably deteriorating due to poor maintenance.
Shelves are loose and it is even closed to the public, probably because it could collapse. What a waste!
I looked at it and thought back to the days when I would come here after school to chill with friends because the school bus wasn't here yet.
Or we would just walk there quickly at recess. In those years (around 2005) there was not such a bad crime rate in the country , so we were allowed to go to the dock at break time.
The head of the school didn't mind, especially since ..let's say the generation of those days was a bit calmer, nicer and we didn't go out of line.
Was this the scaffolding where I had chatted and laughed with classmates as a teenager? Was this the jetty where I held the hand of my first crush?
Close to the jetty, there was a warung selling delicious bakabanas.
Bakabanas are sliced bananas baked in a dough of flour, usually with sugar in it. Delicious.
How many times had I eaten there? I still salivate now when I think back to those bakabanas. But alas, this warung too is lying there looking defeated.
Probably bankrupt due to the terrible economy in the country, but also the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll.
In my school years there was also a swimming pool here in Groningen. It was closed years ago and was supposed to be renovated. Unfortunately, there was never any word that the pool would reopen. It was supposed to be here behind this wall, but we couldn't go in to look.
This is where I learned my first swimming strokes. Nostalgia.
A little further down you have another descent of boards. As a little girl of 8, I came here with my grandparents. In those years you could go sailing from here or you could go on the speedboat.
You would pay something (can't remember how much it was) and then the boatman would take you for a ride. I remember times when it got terribly busy here every Sunday.
People would come to the market, which is right here, often stayed here to chill by the water. They barbecued, others cooked on wood and others got food from the warung. Deck chairs were set up and hammocks tied.
And now, we also happened to be there on a Sunday; everything is empty. Because of the Covid pandemic people are not allowed to gather in large numbers. But also the money plays a role I think.
It hurts to see how empty everything is now.
But I think nature does not mind. The trees and grass are in their prime. And the water quietly lapses, waiting for the next generations to come and visit them.
