My name is Stacy, and I'm a first-generation, Indian-American actress. Leroy is an Antiguan-born Guyanese who emigrated to the U.S. five years ago.
Around a year ago, Leroy and I met while both working in event planning. It felt like fate. I'd been asked to work an event as a brand ambassador (which I refused), but I was convinced by a friend to do it regardless. Leroy and I were paired as partners and immediately hit it off. Being Guyanese, Leroy had a vast knowledge and understanding of the Indian culture, and we shared a similar love for event planning.
Shortly after meeting, we started hanging out. We binge-watched anime, sang old Bollywood bops, and worked several other events together. I met Leroy's family, and my father met Leroy. Then the pandemic hit, along with the pressure from my family. My family made being in a relationship difficult for us. Not only did we juggle the pandemic, unemployment, difficult conversations regarding civil unrest/racism, but we were planning a move to Guyana to start our own entertainment company.
Today, we've been living in Guyana for the past six months exploring the cuisines and learning to make each other's favorite dishes. We've also spent this time learning both the differences and similarities between South Indian and Guyanese cultures (e.g., relationships, languages, forms of respect, history, etc.)
The people here can immediately tell that I'm not a Guyanese "coolie" girl. We get A LOT of looks from people, and I often am asked about India. My father came to visit for a month and wouldn't stop comparing Guyana to Kerala, where he and I grew up. He said that he would be returning to live here with us in the near future.
There are still unresolved misconceptions on both of our families, but the relations have significantly improved. We have hope that everyone will come to love one another sooner than later. For now, we're enjoying each other's company to the fullest and working every day to make our family and business goals a reality.
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