Life in Guatemala

El Ultimo!

2010-10-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I think this will be my official last posting on this blog. Since I last wrote I made the journey to Florida where I spent 4 wonderful day soaking in the wisdom and good cooking of my spritely grandmother. It was a perfect buffer between the old and new lives-- providing me a few extra days of the trilled sounds of Spanish and of warmth on my skin.

I now find myself bundled up in fleece and wool by the rotund potbelly stove that provides heat to my parent's house in Warren, New Hampshire. The Baker River and the kaleidoscope leaves are a perfect backdrop for all of the thinking and sorting-through that I'm doing. Two years of memories and images are dancing about in my head. People like to ask "so, how was it?" I wish I had some sort of concise answer. Peace Corps told us to memorize a 3 sentence answer to that question, but every time I try to, I come up with too much, or too little. So mostly I respond with something like, "It was great! Two years is a long time...how long have you got to hear about it?"

I'm expecting an eventual wave of emotion once I realize that I won't be returning to San Sebastián anytime soon, but for now I'm thankful to be among those that I love and am reveling in the autumn colors and the comforts of home. I thought that I'd have pages to write reflecting on all that I learned and gained in Peace Corps, but in the end I think I'd rather let the stories contained in these pages speak of my journey. It's been a wild one, with more twists and turns than I'd imagined, but I've made it to the other side and am happier and (hopefully) wiser for it. Peace Corps was one hell of an adventure; here's to the next one!

On My Way

2010-10-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the airport, sipping Guatemalan coffee and thinking about what the past two years have shown and meant to me. It's been totally wild. Like almost any worthwhile experience, my Peace Corps life has been an adventure and a struggle. I've learned about myself, about others and about the way the world works and where I fit into the big picture. The next few weeks will find me in Florida, Massachusetts and New Hampshire soaking up family and reintegrating into America. It will hopefully provide me some time to process and people to process with, so I'll be sure to post some post-Peace Corps thoughts and pictures. Thanks for sharing this adventure with me, for your emails and comments. I'm so glad to have been able to show you a little bit of this wonderful place that's been my home!

Adios Pueblito Querido

2010-10-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

A view I will miss

My bags are packed. The house is cleaned and I removed my key from its spot on my keychain. In exactly 9.5 hours I'll load my enormous bags into my friend's car and say goodbye to SanSe for the forseen future. I don't have words to explain what I am feeling, it's something akin to heartbreak, that kind of feeling you get when something difficult and amazing is ending-- incredible nostalgia and sadness mixed with hope and a face pointed toward the road ahead.

5 Days and Counting

2010-10-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

I'm down to five days left in San Sebastián. Five days to spend with friends, to get in all the hugs and chats and tamales I can fit into my memory and stomach. I honestly never thought about making it here. I've dreamt about the coveted "Returned Peace Corps Volunteer" title and about life after my service, but the last week and the goodbyes were absent from those thoughts. Now that I'm here and staring down my last week, I'm nervous and sad and totally bewildered. This place, this strange and different land that I've been living in for 24 months has become my home and it's nearly impossible for me to imagine life outside of it.

I'm used to the honking of camionetas being my alarm, Saturday nights always providing a tamale and piping hot cup of coffee, holidays meaning firecrackers and late nights. I've learned the way certain neighbors ring my doorbell, I've grown accustomed to the scream of "carrrrllllooootaaaa" from the street meaning that kids want to read books; I am a part of a family, of several families, and the idea of going away and unlearning all of those things is starting to break my heart. I love this place. I love my life. And even though I know it's time to move on, to live close to my blood-family and put down some semblance of roots, I'm having trouble saying goodbye. So I'll say "see you in a year" or "see you at so-and-so's wedding," because that makes it easier.

Promoting Multiculturalism

2010-09-28T10:40:00.010-07:00

One of the things that I've enjoyed most about being a PC volunteer, and also one of the values that I hold most dear is the idea that culture is important and worth sharing. Technology and increased travel to far-flung places are both great things; I've benefitted from both. However, one of the pitfalls of those things is an increased homogeneity that has us seeing African kids wearing Tupac shirts and Guatemalan girls playing with Barbies (oh the lovely things that seem to spread most rapidly from our culture).

One of my goals as a volunteer has been to share my culture and others that I'm familiar with in a way that's authentic and engaging- and also that doesn't include pop music, crappy processed foods or English swear words. The world is filled with rich cultures that are worth studying and sharing, foods that are worth tasting, and music that no one can resist the urge to tap their toes or dance to. When we learn to embrace differences and appreciate what we don't understand, we learn empathy and the value of individuality. We also end up absorbing and learning a whole lot of really cool things. As such, I shared the secrets of Sushi with my Guatemalan friends a few weeks ago and loved watching them learn to make rolls and use chopsticks. So they ate it with tortillas...maybe that'll be the newest fashionable fusion food.

Saying Goodbye to the Ladies

2010-09-18T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have had the amazing privilege of working with incredible women during my time here. My job in the Municipal Women’s Office has included organizing and legalizing groups of women in each village and then getting them together on a monthly basis to train them in topics ranging from self-esteem to voting. They are women who are chosen for their leadership and their desire to improve the situation of women in their communities.

When I first started working with them they were incredibly shy, none of them wanted to talk in front of the rest of the group, and giggling was all I got from them when I asked questions. Now that we’ve been meeting semi-frequently for two years, the women trust me and each other and share stories of their lives and ideas for the future without fear. I have loved watching that transition and sharing in lots of great moments with them—my personal favorite being a game we played where we had to pop balloons with our bodies without using our feet or hands (try it, it’s hilarious).

I recently had my last meeting with them. They gave me hugs and asked me to come back next year. I’m going to miss these ladies but leave them knowing that they’ll continue meeting and that they have the confidence and creativity to make their communities and their own lives better.

Baby Carlota!

2010-09-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

I returned from my recent trip to the U.S. to find a very special surprise. My friend Doña Dora had given birth to a baby girl and she named her Carlota, the translation of my name into Spanish. When I arrived to Dora's house to meet the new baby she put her in my arms and said to me "when you leave we want to always remember you, so we named her Carlota." It was truly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Here in Guatemala when someone names a baby after you, they are called your tocayo, or namesake. Here are a few photos of Carlota and her older siblings- Vilma, Dorothy, Froylan and Viviana.

On Coffee

2010-09-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Admission: I LOVE coffee. If you’ve spent more than 8 hours with me, you already know that. Naturally, I was thrilled when I heard I was going to be living in Huehuetenango, famous for its coffee. There has been no shortage of coffee drinking and learning in the last two years, so I wanted to share a few of the things that I’ve learned.

Lesson #1- Huehuetenango coffee really is unparalleled. It’s smooth and rich and wonderful. My uncle actually claims that the coffee I brought him for Christmas last year is the only coffee that doesn’t leave him with heartburn!

Lesson #2- The coffee process is incredibly labor and knowledge intensive. I’ve gotten to watch and participate in all of the stages of coffee production: growing, picking, de-pulping, drying, shelling, toasting, milling and brewing. In that process, there will typically be at least 4 people involved- a grower, who also depulps and dries, the businessman who buys it and shells it, the toaster, and the barista who makes the drink. Each of those knowledge sets is unique and requires time and patience to learn. Which brings me to lesson 3…

Lesson #3- The coffee industry is broken. The coffee farmers who live in my town and the surrounding areas are lucky if they receive $1 per pound of coffee (the price is based on international standards set in NY and is the price that farmers worldwide receive). The buyer then typically sells it to a buyer in the US for a 200% markup where it is toasted, packaged and sold again for another 200% markup- effectively keeping the producers in poverty and the middle men wealthy and powerful.

I have a friend here who is the son of a coffee farmer who grew up and decided to try and change the system. He owns a coffee shop here in Huehuetenango and also trains farmers in organic techniques and fair trade regulations.

I recently sat down with him and he explained that even “fair trade” labeled coffee in the U.S. isn’t usually fair trade, the extra $2 that we spend on the bag in a grocery store ends up somewhere in the pockets of the toasters and the “fair trade” certifying organization. He advised me that the best way to ensure that the farmer is getting a fair wage for his work is to buy direct- to buy from a toaster who has a relationship with the farmers growing his coffee.

Living here and having friends who farm coffee has made me much more aware of where my money goes. It’s easy to drink coffee detached from the system, we don’t grow coffee in the U.S. (except in Hawaii) so we don’t see farmers toiling for poverty wages. Now that I’ve seen it I’m committed to doing all that I can to buy direct and make sure that my enjoyment of coffee doesn’t come at someone else’s expense.

If you’re interested in learning more about direct buy, check out these websites/articles:
https://www.larrysbeans.com/
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/coffeecity/2012795613_direct_trade_seeks_integrity_f.html?syndication=rss
http://www.directtradecoffee.com/

Also, watch the film "Black Gold." It takes place in Ethiopia, but applies everywhere coffee is grown.

My Third Independence Day

2010-09-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

For the third time in my Peace Corps service I celebrated Independence Day with Guatemalan friends. Traditions here, much like in the U.S, revolve around parties, parades and food. The celebrating began on the 13th with events in the town center-- teenagers on stilts, soccer games, marimba music and then continuing at the elementary school with skits by the kids- including a full reenactment of Shrek done by the second graders!

The 14th brought antorchas in which traditionally schools drive hundreds of Kilometers away and run back to town, the various children taking turns running and riding the highly decorated school bus. They arrive the evening before independence day to the awaiting public of the town who cheers and sets off fireworks .This year, because of the landslides, the ministry of education prohibited the antorchas. Instead of being deterred, however, the kids hiked up into the mountains surrounding town and ran down!

And finally, the official independence day- 15th of September came and the whole town took to the street to watch the parade and fill themselves with candy apples, tostadas and cheveres. A good last Independence day—I spent time with friends who I love, saw my neighbors dressed up in their best traditional clothing and even heard Shakira’s latest hit styled by the school marching band.

Landslide

2010-09-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

I've become a delinquent blogger. Not because I don't have things to write about, but because as my time here quickly draws to a close I find myself becoming embarrassingly sentimental. So, you've been warned, the posts I'll be putting up between now and October 17th when I board a plane headed north will probably be filled with reflections and nostalgia. But before I get carried away with that I wanted to provide a little update on the madness of Guatemalan weather of late.

If you read/listen to the news you've probably heard about the crazy weather we've had lately in Guatemala. This year has been the rainiest and most unpredictable in 60 years, according to the Free Press of Guatemala and as such my plans for a normal home stretch have been thwarted at every turn. Two weeks ago I headed to the capitol city for some doctor's appointments (which went well, no tuberculosis!) and on my way home found myself trapped between two large landslides- both of them covering public buses and their passengers. The whole country went into a state of emergency as towns were flooded, bridges washed away and more than 100km. of landslides covered the Inter-American highway which bisects the country. I was thankful to be safe and found refuge at the house of a Peace Corps volunteer nearby. We bunkered down and were battered by 4 days of crazy storms. Eventually the skies stilled and the roads cleared enough to allow my passage back through the mountains and to Huehuetenango.

I've got exactly a month left in my site during which time I'll participate in my third Guatemalan independence day, bookending my time here. I'm looking forward to lots of time with friends and teary going away parties. Tales and pictures to come.

Wedding in NH!

2010-08-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

I've been a delinquent blogger these last few weeks, but not without good reason I assure you! Two of my most beloved friends got married last week in New Hampshire and I traveled home for the festivities. The ceremony was lovely and they couldn't have picked a more inspiring backdrop for their vows.

It's always a strange experience jumping right back into life in the states- with schedules running on time, warm water running from the tap and hugs from people I haven't seen in a long time, this trip was the same, surprising me occasionally with luxuries and oddities about American life that I'd forgotten. I think it was a good introduction to the life I'll soon be re-entering. This time, as I return to "normalcy" in Guatemala, it will be for a few short months and then I'll be saying my goodbyes. I've already begun with the teary moments and nostalgia...but that's for another post. I'm attaching a few photos of the wedding festivities, the rest are on Facebook, and I promise I'll be back to my regular tales of misadventure soon!

Fiestas Julias!

2010-07-16T10:08:00.001-07:00

Huehuetenango, the city near where I live, is famous for their two week July party. Last year the festivities were canceled because of the looming threat of Swine Flu, making this year's fair doubly anticipated. My friend Greg has been in town for the week and my neighbors were thrilled to have two fiesta newbies to show around. We walked the fairgrounds, towering above everyone, ate everything in site and rode the rides. The lasting impression: Guatemalans know how to party!

Pictures compliments of Greg Bish!

Kids Corner: Open for Business

2010-06-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Inside the library building we hung balloons and laid out snacks, sweat beading on our foreheads from the Guatemalan heat. Outside, dozens of excited kids waited for the door to be opened so they could see the kids corner they'd been watching come to life over the previous months. The mural on the wall was painted, the shelves and child-sized cushions placed on the carefully polished floor and finally the shelves were stocked with colorful books. The kids corner was complete!

At 2:30pm, we opened the door and let the flood of little bodies pour in, most of them having arrived punctually for the first time in their lives- spurred on by the promise of a gifted book for the on-time arrivers. New books in-hand the kids sat anxiously as we welcomed them to their new space, cutting the giant red ribbon and finally allowing them to go inside and check it out. Each kid left with a crisp new book and the promise of a weekly story-time. The kids corner, I'm happy to announce, is open for business.

The Latrines are Finished!

2010-06-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Driving down into the valley Tuisquimak occupies one catches glints of light reflecting off of the tops of tin roofs, the latrines recently completed. 41 tiny tin huts poke out from their surroundings, symbolizing a significant improvement in quality of life and hygiene of this small village of 300 people. This week was the celebration for the completion of the project. The women rose at 3am to begin cooking lunch and by the time we arrived at 10, the elementary school which also serves as a common meeting area was filled with the mixed smell of cooking fires and handmade pine decorations; our ears were met with the sounds of school children and the lively plom-plom of the marimba. As we walked up to the greet them, fireworks were set off and huge smiles were flashed our way. It was quite a day- truly one of my most joyful since living in Guatemala. I wanted to experience every moment, to make memories to carry home with me.

Don Mario, Don Juan (Mayor), my dad (who came as representative of my parents' church who donated half of the funds), myself, Doña Micaela (president of the womens' group) and her daughter Vidalia in front of a completed latrine

Doña Maria's gift to me was a "cinta" for my hair, which she helped me to put on

A little boy standing in front of pine decorations; women cooking in the background

The Marimba, a must-have at every Guatemalan party

Seated with the women of the Tuisquimak Womens' Group

Dad's Visit

2010-06-24T06:55:00.006-07:00

The long-awaited visit from my dad has finally arrived. He flew in to Guatemala City on Sunday afternoon and our whirlwind week of activity began. We spent a night in Antigua, tasting the delicious coffee and getting a tour of some amazing colonial houses. The 6 hour drive to Huehue on Monday scared him into trying to convince me to come home, but after meeting my friends and neighbors he changed his mind and concedes that I live a good life, despite the apparent travel dangers.

So far we have participated in two project inagurations, 3 meals with friends, rides on bumpy village roads and world cup fever! There's more fun to come but for now, here are a few pictures of what we've been up to. Full explanations of the project inagurations coming soon!

On my porch- dad's new favorite hang-out

Creepy stuffed squirrel for sale on the side of the road. You can buy them live too.

Lake Atitlan

Antigua! In front of Volcán Agua

A Slight Change of Plans

2010-06-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

My plan for this week involved a visit from my dad and celebrating the successful finish of the latrines in Tuisquimak. Instead, I watched a volcano cover Guatemala in ash, ran for shelter from a tropical storm, and as a result spent 8 extra days in Antigua, all without my dad. Needless to say, sometimes things don't go as planned.

On Friday of last week I arrived in Antigua to say goodbye to a friend who was leaving for the US, however, the eruption of Volcán Pacaya covered the capitol city and airport in ash, grounding her for an extra day. Then hot on one disaster's heels, came another- Tropical Storm Agatha. Though she was much less powerful than meteorologists predicted, Agatha damaged something like 50,000 homes and left a death toll nearing 200 in her wake.

There were about twenty Peace Corps volunteers stuck in Antigua when we were put on "Standfast" meaning basically that we can't move from our current locations. Initially, we really had no idea what was going on outside of Antigua. The rain had stopped and all seemed okay. It took a while for the local news service to catch up on the story and by the time they did tales of giant sinkholes, whole towns covered in water and bridges out all over the country poured in. After a few days of sitting around feeling slightly helpless, we finally got an opportunity to help out with the clean-up effort.

We were brought to one of the Peace Corps staff people's houses to see how bad the damage actually was. Eduardo's house two story house was literally covered in mud up to the second story. As he explained to us the damage and the fear that his family faced when the landslide of mud poured down from off a nearby volcano he struggled to fight back tears. He then walked us through his neighborhood and showed us that many houses were in the same condition. The day was spent shoveling out hundreds of buckets of dirt from people's homes, working alongside people from all the surrounding towns who had come to help out their neighbors. The whole thing, really, was overwhelming. It's hard to know what to say to people who have lost everything. So we grabbed shovels and dug in.

Shoveling knee-deep mud out of a local business

A family whose home was flooded but who have been able to move back

Eduardo's house

We Went Shopping!

2010-05-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

The money is in, the holes are dug and the community of Tuisquimak is chomping at the bit to get their latrines built and ready for use. Purchasing materials is trickier than it sounds though, especially in Guatemala where any variable invariably makes for an adventure.

Our adventure started at 7am when I met the president and treasurer and 9 men from the community in front of the municipal building to go to the city to buy supplies. We bussed into the city and found our first hardware store closed (all materials must be purchased at pre-determined supply stores that are proven to be the least expensive by way of price listing which we did a month earlier). When it opened, the corrugated tin that we were purchasing from them wasn't cut to size so we spent our first 2 hours cutting them with scissors. We then moved onto our next hardware store only to find that almost none of the supplies that they promised us were always in their storeroom were available. However, a few frantic phone calls to my Peace Corps boss and my friend, Jaime the Architect, fixed the issue- we changed the design of the latrines and bought different supplies that were available (new skill to put on my resume: Adaptability)!

Next we arrived at my neighbor's house. He's our cement man and has been working 'round the clock for the last 2 weeks to pour and mold 41 latrine seats and 41 latrine floors. He finished the night before and all 82 pieces were waiting for us. Those things are HEAVY. The poor guys that came from Tuisquimak to help were dripping sweat in the 85 degree heat, but still smiling and joking, excited to get their latrines.

Finally (and I'll admit, I was stressed at this point...we were 5 hours behind schedule and my brain was seriously overworked) we were on our way up the dirt mountain road to Tuisquimak. We moved along at a snail's pace, being careful on the washed-out areas so as not to break the cement floors. As we crested the mountain and arrived in the outskirts of Tuisquimak the truck driver began to blow the air horn, signaling to the community members to gather. By the time we arrived at the school there was quite a crowd- I'm pretty sure literally the whole turned out to see the stuff arriving. Grandmas, mamas with babies strapped to their backs, old men puffing on cigarettes, little kids in galoshes..everyone came to see the action.

It was an incredible feeling to hear the womens' names called one by one and see the family members who will be the beneficiaries of the project come to collect the pieces. Rural Guatemalans have seen a lot of disappointment in their lifetimes, many have experienced the civil war and nearly all have been unable to attend secondary school because of lack of resources. I don't think they believed that this project was actually going to happen until they saw the truck pulling up. The next few weeks will hold a lot of busyness as we begin the process of building these babies. Keep checking back for updates!

Loading the 300 pieces of corrugated tin that will make up the walls of the latrines (first we had to cut them all to size!)

Doña Honoria (treasurer) and Doña Micaela (president) of the women's group from Tuisquimak. The trip to pick up the supplies was a fun field-trip for us and also a great opportunity for them to learn how to manage the group's new checking account.

These are the cement form toilet seats. They're actually pretty comfy, albeit a bit cold. They also weigh about 60 pounds.

Carrying their supplies to her house. Seriously, these women ROCK!

We're pretty excited about these guys

The Latrines are Coming Along...

2010-05-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks a bunch to Jaime and Emily for coming to help us with the construction trainings! Things are shaping up quite nicely...

Laying down the cement floor

Don't want a crooked outhouse!

Doña Honoria checking out the progress of her latrine

Doña Pascuala made us some yummy chamborote beans and tortillas for lunch

Doña Pascuala's son, Miguel, inside their brand-new latrine!

Project Citizen

2010-05-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

One of the main goals of my Peace Corps project is getting community members to participate more in community development by giving them the knowledge and tools to vote and participate in local development committees (that all towns have by law and because that's the way the collectivist culture here works).

I have been working with my high school students the last couple of months on something called "Proyecto Ciudadano" or "Project Citizen." In the series of trainings I've given them we've talked about what it means to be a good citizen, how to vote and what documents you need, how to choose candidates and how to be involved in the development process as young people. As a culmination to these talks I divided the students into small groups based on what villages they come from. I then had them sit down with poster-paper and brainstorm all of the issues that they see in their communities. They come up with things like deforestation, water contamination, spousal abuse, bad roads and insufficient classroom space. I then left them with the task of making presentations on their proposed solution for the problem they identified as the most pressing.

The following week when I returned I was impressed to find them practiced, organized and ready to present. Though they were incredibly shy and soft-spoken they had great ideas and I was impressed by all the hard work they had put into their presentations. Two weeks later I returned with the mayor's right hand man, the women's office coordinator, the forestry office coordinator and several local community leaders to act as a panel of judges for the presentations. The students again knocked the ball outta the park and impressed all those who came to evaluate them. I'm so proud. These kids are amazing.

One of the kids presenting

A group talking about environmental contamination

A skit about littering that had the kids in stitches

The judges calculating their winner

The winners!

Elkin's 2nd and a Fiesta of Our Own

2010-05-09T09:18:00.002-07:00

Birthdays are BIG in Guatemala, so when my friend Katie's host family invited me to their son's second birthday party, I knew I was in for a good time (and a lot of tamales). Katie lives on my way home from the capitol and as I had errands the day before, a visit was feasible. A few other friends also made the trip to partake in the festivities.

The party preparations started early, we were up until nearly midnight the night before preparing almost 200 tamales for the feast. The next morning we were beckoned early to finish preparations, down a breakfast tamale, and herd the kids in to wait for the clown. No Guatemalan birthday party is complete without a giant paper animal to whack to death with a wooden stick, and this party was no exception- we had two piñatas and mayhem ensued after the candy began to fall. The morning ended with cake and birthday blessings for little Elkin.

The party continued throughout the day with a lunch, birthday church service and more tamales, but as friend's of Katie's we were excused to rest and hang out in her house. The four of us ended the day with a celebration of our own- Gringa style- kabobs, wine and some much needed catching up.

The birthday boy got a overwhelmed with all the activity

Stashing the spoils of the piñata

Fernando wasn't so sure about the clown

Books!

2010-05-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

This update on the library project has been a long time coming. Due to the imminence of the rainy season, the Tuisquimak latrine project has take precedence in my calendar and blog-posting, but I assure you, it's still plugging along. Last month I finished the kids corner, complete with a red picket fence and matching red bookshelf. The mural is painted and the books are waiting to arrive and be devoured by eager kiddos. I've been mulling over several ideas for the management of the kids library, as I don't want the books to be brought home and never returned, and have finally figured out how I'm going to do it. But more on that all later...soon we'll be flinging the doors of the kids library open and I'll post pictures and updates on that final step.

For the moment, however, I'd like to write about an amazing donation we received last week from a Guatemala-based NGO called ChildAid. They coordinate with educational publishing houses to receive large donations of books that they then distribute to Guatemalan libraries at a very low cost. I got in touch with them about a month ago and last Thursday, after an overnight road trip with my town's mayor and librarian, we were invited into the storehouse and our trunk was filled with hundreds of beautiful, new books- math books, kids books, atlases, posters with poetry, natural history books. It was quite a sight.

How to Make a Tire Garden

2010-05-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

One of the projects that many Peace Corps volunteers undertake is food security. Most of the communities in which we live are agricultural, but the food grown and eaten is often lacking in diversity. Here in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, we have a range of soils and temperatures making it an ideal place to grow a plethora of interesting foods, from tropical fruit to cold-weather veggies like brussel sprouts and spinach.

The sustainable agriculture sector of Peace Corps teaches local farmers to use organic fertilizers and to spice up their planting and eating habits with a variety of foods. One of the coolest things that they do is planting small raised gardens in abandoned tires. Though I’m not an agriculture volunteer, I’ve had some fun of my own growing food I can’t find in the market. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, I want to pass along the how-to. Maybe you have an itch to get your hands in some dirt and a few old tires in need of new life. If so, here’s how…

Step 1: Select a Tire
You are looking for a tire that is really worn out; the softer the better. Tires have wire inside them to help them keep their shape- you want to make sure this wire isn’t sticking out too much or you could end up running to get yourself a tetanus shot. When you kick the tire firmly with your foot, you want it to collapse a little.

Step 2: Cut the Tire
Lay your tire on its side and using a sharp knife cut the rim off, leaving two small handles on opposing sides. Cut loops in the handles so you can use them to lift up the tire later.

Step 3: FLIP!
This is the most physical (and fun) part of the process. Use your knees, feet, shoulders, butt, whatever necessary to flip the sucker inside-out. This creates more area for planting. Usually a good way to start the flip is to place the tire on its side and cave in one side using your foot- then shove your knee in the top and move around the edge of the tire, flipping it inside out with your hands. Have fun!

Step 4: Pause for photos

Step 5: Make a Bottom
Get a bunch of strong sticks and create a nest of sorts over the hole in the bottom of the tire. Then put porous fabric covering the sticks. This prevents your dirt from falling through the hole but allows excess water to escape.

Step 6: Fill it With Dirt
The best dirt is a combination of compost and plain old dirt. It should be moist but not wet and clump together when you squeeze it in your hand. Fill your tires most of the way with your soil mix.

Step 7: Plant
Because the tires have limited depth, some things grow better than others. Leafy greens, radishes, herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes and other above-ground small vegetables grow best. Make sure you pay attention to the depth and spacing suggested on your seed packet.

Step 8: Water
Keep your plants moist and watch out for weeds. If you find that animals are munching on your plants you can make a stick fence around the inside perimeter of the tire to keep them out.

Step 9: Harvest and Eat!

Latrine Plans

2010-04-21T05:45:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will be giving my last pre-latrine training in the community of Tuisquimak. Following that we are simply waiting for the money to arrive in accounts to begin building, but we're optimistic and very excited. The following are a few images that my friend Jim drew up for me for the latrines! It's nice to have friends who are handy like this...

Latrines for Tuisquimak

2010-04-13T06:28:00.001-07:00

One of the ideals of Peace Corps that sets it apart from most other development agencies and volunteer organizations is that volunteers go to their communities without a cent to execute projects. Each month we are given just what we need to pay our rent, buy food and perform our duties, nothing extra. This isn't to make our lives more difficult (though it obviously does create challenges and make us creative) but to put us on the same economic level as our neighbors so that we can truly enter into life with them.

We are put in our communities as resources, but not economic ones. We are there to learn and to teach. However, every once in a while volunteers are smacked in the face with a need in their communities that the people they are working with are struggling to resolve alone. In these cases, the volunteer is allowed to seek outside funding to help with the project but is encouraged to do it in a sustainable way in coordinated efforts with the community so that everyone learns and benefits.

This is exactly what happened when I visited a womens' group in Tuisquimak. I was giving a talk about nutrition and needed to use the bathroom. The women blushed and started to talk among themselves and then sent me to a very rudimentary latrine constructed of bits of wood and tarp. They were obviously very embarrassed about the situation. A month later my co-workers and I returned to Tuisquimak to do a community diagnostic assessing the needs of the community. The need they expressed most fervently was for latrines to improve the hygiene and sanitation of their homes and families. The group is relatively small, 41 women, and after talking with María, we decided the project was feasible and necessary and began looking for funding.

The funding was found in various places. First, I was adamant that a large percentage of the project come directly from the community. They agreed happily to do all of the manual labor for the projects, and to purchase materials and food for all of the trainings that are a necessary part of the project. Second, we wrote a grant proposal for USAID's Small Projects Assistance fund (specifically for PC volunteers) and were approved for the materials for the little houses that cover the latrines. That left the cement latrine bodies themselves. For that I wrote a letter to my home church and local newspaper explaining the project and my service. To date, about half of the money has come in (just over $1,000) and we are hopeful that the rest will soon arrive.

I'll be updating my blog as the project progresses. We hope to have the money from USAID in less than a month and will immideately begin construction so as to avoid being caught in the rainy season. Check back and see how the project moves along! If you are interested in donating to this project email me at cskeniston@gmail.com

The president and secretary of the womens' group

They gave us pumpkins from their garden!

The "latrine" mentioned above. The new ones will be built of metal and wood and have actual toilet seats!

Abloom!

2010-04-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

One of the things I miss most about life in New England is watching everything burst into bloom during the first weeks of April. There really is nothing compared to watching buds springing up from frosty ground or the sounds of birds chirping after a long winter. Even though I haven't spent months bundled in sweaters, I've got my own bloom going on here in Guatemala: my garden! The spinach has sprung and is looking read to eat...

La Jungla

2010-04-05T11:37:00.001-07:00

Holy week in Guatemala means traffic, noise, and excitement, so instead of hanging around to see it all (last year was enough for me) I headed into the jungles of Petén with a few good friends. The goal: El Mirador, ancient Mayan ruins that boast arguably the largest pyramid in the world, sculptures in relief, and wildlife galore. Just getting to the state of Petén took us over 20 hours on buses. From there we hired a guide who led us 2 days into the jungle, passing buried ruins all the way, to El Mirador. The hike provided us relief from the busyness of Semana Santa in other parts of Guatemala and also a much needed vacation.

Me, a teacher?

2010-04-05T11:21:00.001-07:00

One of the interesting and often nerve-wracking things about Peace Corps is that it provides you opportunities to do jobs you aren't trained for and that you never thought you'd do, like teaching. Though I love working with people, I don't consider myself much of a teacher and after a 10 year old broke his wrist in a snowboarding lesson I was teaching, I swore off the job for good. However, in Peace Corps I've found myself doing many things that I never thought I'd do, and really having a lot of fun.

Twice a month I teach in a village high school a two hour walk from my house. The school is basically a government trial to see if putting high schools in villages will work (the current system requires high school students to come to town centers, often hours away, which obviously is prohibitive for many students). I began teaching life skills there last year. The lessons have ranged from leadership and self-esteem to basic sexuality. The kids are sometimes frustratingly shy, but I enjoy working with them and the progress I've seen in the students I worked with last year is remarkable.

In addition to the high school class, I jump at any chance given by my office to teach a womens' group. A few weeks ago another volunteer was visiting me and I gave her my camera so I would have a few pictures of me with these groups that I teach but never have the chance to take pictures with.

Hermanito en Guatemala!

2010-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

After nearly 21 months living in Guatemala, my brother Aaron made it down here to see what I've been up to. I kept him pretty busy, we visited Antigua, Guatemala City, Lake Atitlan, and some smaller local places. I also dragged him to work with me for 4 days and even got him to help me build a gate for the children's library I'm working on. I had a blast and despite 2 seriously burned legs, so did he! Photo evidence of the fun:

9 Things: An Update

2010-03-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I blogged about 9 things I'd like to do before I finish my Peace Corps service in October. By way of an update I have the following to offer...

Garden planted!

Beer brewed!

Keep checking for updates....there are more to come:)

The Day I Knew I Was Culturally Integrated...

2010-03-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

..was not the day that Spanish rolled off my tongue thoughtlessly or the day I ate 5 tortillas at a meal, it was the day my 4 host brother was crying from cutting onions and instead of snatching the sharp, potentially dangers tool from him, I ran upstairs to bring him my swimming goggles so he could continue cutting, tearlessly. Apparently I've grown accustomed to children carrying around machetes and such. Oh my.

International Women's Day

2010-03-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

In celebration of el Día Internacional de la Mujer I'd like to say a few words about some of the incredible women that I've been working with for the last 18 months. As I've alluded to in other posts, women here have the cards stacked seriously against them. First, Guatemala is infamous for "machismo." Machismo is a kind of socialized sexism that says that men are dependent on women for everything, that they should and will always be subservient, that their minds are weaker and their bodies good only for serving the "stronger" sex. Second, the women I live with are poor, often extremely poor. They are dependent on their land to produce so that they can eat, and in years of drought or plague the consequences are grave. Lastly, the women I work with are indigenous. Though their culture is rich and ancient, they are treated as second-class citizens by many of their Spanish-descent neighbors. They struggle to understand in school (if they are lucky enough to go) and they have to fight tooth and nail to gain the place in society that people of the dominant culture treat as a birthright.

Despite the odds, and all of the boulders placed in their paths, many of these women thrive. They whisper to each other that the world doesn't have to be as it is, that domestic violence and lack of education don't need to be the norm; they fight for the development of their communities, for their rights to clean water, education and vaccination for their children. And little by little they change themselves and the people around them. They are strong, they are persistent and they are inspiring.

Audy Turns One

2010-02-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had the great privilege of being invited to the birthday party of my friend Wendy's baby, Audy. In contrast to the other birthday party I wrote about, six months or so ago, this party was an intimate family-only affair where Audy's first year of life and the love of her incredible family were celebrated. Wendy is a single mom, living with her incredibly supportive parents and her two younger siblings. I've had the joy of watching Audy grow from a bundle tied to her mother's back into the lively one year old that she is. It took her a while to warm up to me, but now she knows me well and makes "ojitos" (heart-melting combination of winking and head shrugging) whenever I come over. I love this family.

Carnival: Round 2

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

There's something about holidays in Latin America; they're a little bigger, noisier, food-ier. It's like they take a holiday that the rest of us celebrate and add something extra. Fat Tuesday is no exception. I've always found Fat Tuesday to be a strange celebration in the US- we indulge on the day before lent begins, so that we can then go without that which we indulged in for the next 40 days. Slightly bizarre, if you ask me.

Here in Guatemala, Fat Tuesday or Carnival, is a chance for kids to run amok in the streets. Any semblance of parental control is relinquished for the day as kids roam the streets searching for victims on whom to smash confetti- filled eggs and smear metallic grease paint on. Though annoying, if you frequently have to walk between your office and house, making you an easy and predictable target, it is a hilarious practice. I left the camera safe in it's case for most of the day, but managed to snap a few shots of some more docile moments.

San Valentin

2010-02-14T15:03:00.001-08:00

I went to elementary school with this kid whose Greek family owned the little pizza joint in our town. In third grade, for Valentine's day he made our beloved teacher Miss Billera a heart shaped pizza covered with anchovies, her favorite. There it lay, atop her desk amidst the pile of homemade paper cards and boxes of sweethearts- shaming the rest of us for our lack of creativity. To this day, it remains in my mind the coolest valentine I've ever seen.

The kids I live with, Jose, Ulises and Sofia love pizza. So I decided I'd take a page from my elementary school pal's book and make them some heart shaped pizzas, topped with their own favorite ingredients (and in true Guatemalan fashion also topped with ketchup and chile). It was a hit...

Solidarity with the Poor

2010-02-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Solidarity with the poor is something that has been somewhat of a theme in my life over the last few years. I think I first heard the term during a class my freshmen year of college, in which we were reading Bryant Meyers' "Working With the Poor." The whole premise of Meyers' book is that if we really want to do development that actually transforms lives, for the better, in the long-term, we have to actually live among the poor. As a very green 18 year old college student, this idea rocked my world. I had been raised in a family that taught me to love the poor, who demonstrated that love in many ways- from taking our family vacations to Mexico to do construction to opening our homes up to foster children. But the idea of intentionally denying material wealth and taking up residence in forgotten and abandoned places among forgotten and abandoned people changed my whole worldview.

After college I took a fellowship as a grassroots organizer for an international NGO, which paid a pittance and gave me an opportunity to practice poverty and reliance on others. I moved into a poor DC Suburb (yes, suburbs are increasingly the abandoned and forgotten places- chew on that!) and lived for a year among motley crew of people who taught me lots about the whole solidarity with the poor thing. We had late night conversations about what it means to choose poverty, we shared meals with the homeless and we opened our doors a host of interesting kids. Though short and arguably un-intentional, I learned a lot about what it means to see a neighborhood from the inside out.

So now I find myself here, in rural Guatemala, a Peace Corps volunteer with a monthly stipend that would barely cover the cost of my old DC metro habit. The whole idea of the Peace Corps is to gain the trust of your community by living with them and like them, eating the same as them, washing your clothes like them, bumping shoulders in the market with them, and then the goal is to see where you can use your skills to maybe improve their quality of life a bit. While I often struggle to put into words, or even into my own head, how I've improved the quality of life of my town, I can say without a doubt that I have learned in small ways how to live in solidarity with the poor. It's a humbling and amazing and sometimes nerve-wracking experience to reach the 15th of the month and have very little month left. It evokes creativity, thrift and community- as you lean on your neighbors for advice on how to stretch what money you have left.

I don't pretend to think that I can ever truly take on the weight of poverty; my parents would bail me out the second they thought I was skipping meals so I could pay my light bill. Nonetheless, I am amazed at this experience that I'm immersed in, and thankful for the lesson.

"Obscure Mayan Language Leaves Justice Tongue Tied"

2010-02-10T16:41:00.001-08:00

The following article is about Mayan Mam speakers who are from my neck of the woods. Just a little glimpse into the prejudice and issues that they face. Though this article specifically speaks of what life is like for Guatemalans living in the United States, they face similar issues even here in their own country...

TAMPA — He was 28. She was 11. Her parents said they gave consent, claiming cultural norms of the Guatemalan highlands. But in Dover, Florida, a little girl with a baby raises questions.

When deputies came, Teodoro Pablo-Ramirez understood only some of what they said, according to his lawyer. He speaks no English and little Spanish — just the Mayan tongue of Mam.

The indigenous language, understood by few interpreters, has stymied court cases across the country. One interpreting service in Washington resorted to recruiting a Mam speaker out of a jail lobby.

In Hillsborough Circuit Court, two cases, both too serious to dismiss, are stalled for lack of a Mam translator. In one, a 4-year-old Wimauma girl was raped. The details are locked inside her mother, who speaks only Mam. And last year, Pablo-Ramirez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, before the judge granted a motion for retrial.

The court could provide only Spanish interpreters.

In Spanish, the word "trial" is juicio.

In Mam:

Tun txi´ jun xjal twitz aj kawil.

Pablo-Ramirez lived next-door to the 11-year-old in a cluster of Dover trailers inhabited by migrant workers. He was her brother-in-law. They had sex at least three times in her bedroom, and in the spring of 2005, the girl got pregnant, records show.

She missed school and gave birth to a baby boy when she was 12. When she returned, a counselor asked why she had been away. By day's end, a Spanish-speaking detective was knocking on Pablo-Ramirez's door.

The man from the western highlands of Guatemala, who has only a first-grade education, had entered the United States illegally a few years earlier. Pablo-Ramirez picked up a bit of Spanish from other migrant workers. His lawyer says he knew just enough to understand the detective's questions. Did he have sex with the girl? Was the baby his?

Si, Pablo-Ramirez said. In broken Spanish, he tried to explain that he was paying child support. The lawyer says his client didn't understand his Miranda rights. As he was being led away in handcuffs on charges of sexual abuse and impregnation of a child younger than 12, he continued to promise he would pay for the baby.

The girl's family returned to their home town of Todos Santos Cuchumatan, Guatemala, and sent a notarized letter to the judge, saying the relationship happened with parental consent.

In the letter, the father said that in his culture, boys and girls marry as young as 11.

While more than 15 percent of Guatemalan girls are married by age 15, scholars with the Population Council say a pregnant or married 11-year-old is very rare.

When West Tampa lawyer Bryant Camareno first spoke to Pablo-Ramirez, the prisoner mixed bits of Spanish with Mam in a combination the lawyer couldn't understand. Camareno knew he needed to find a Mam interpreter. But how?

There is no state certification for Mam interpreters, no central bank. Texas linguistics professor Nora C. England wrote her doctoral dissertation on Mam grammar and has penned entire books about Mayan languages. Even she can't speak Mam well enough to translate, she says. She knows no one who does.

Public defenders and advocacy groups e-mail her regularly, sometimes once a week, looking for an interpreter.

The interpreter's office at the Hillsborough courthouse found a Mam interpreter in Lake Worth but could never connect with her to get her to court.

So Pablo-Ramirez sat through his jury trial last year with a Spanish interpreter.

An expert witness for the prosecution testified that Pablo-Ramirez spoke fluent Spanish.

Camareno argued that the Guatemalan didn't understand enough of what was said.

The jury found Pablo-Ramirez guilty. Then, on sentencing day, Judge Wayne Timmerman told Pablo-Ramirez he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

The words hit his ears in Spanish.

Pablo-Ramirez registered no reaction.

Timmerman asked Camareno if his client understood what just happened. No, the lawyer remembers saying; that was his point all along.

Camareno turned to Pablo-Ramirez and broke the sentence down to one word he thought the man might understand.

"Vida," Camareno told him.

Life.

Finally, Pablo-Ramirez looked shocked. "Por que?" he asked.

Why?

• • •

It's unclear how many people in the Tampa Bay area speak only Mayan languages, but officials at the Redlands Christian Migrant Association know the population in east Hillsborough County is growing.

The Immokalee-based non-profit provides early childhood services from Homestead to Plant City. Migrant Head Start manager Lourdes Villanueva said officials realized 10 years ago that about 80 percent of her children came from families who spoke only indigenous languages at home. That posed a problem, especially during child evaluation conferences with parents.

Program workers asked the Mexican consulate and local universities for help, but what they got couldn't begin to tackle the dozens of dialects spoken. So now, Villanueva said, staffers try to find Spanish-speaking neighbors to mediate. If that doesn't work, the child must interpret.

Court trials can't work that way. But Ed Fuentes, who owns an interpreter service in Washington, found a solution.

Seeing cases get dismissed, the Spanish interpreter considered learning Mam himself. Then one day, while waiting for a client in a jail lobby, he heard a man speaking the language.

The man had no interpreting experience. He earned a living by finding laborers to pick brush in the mountains. But Fuentes had never been closer to finding an interpreter. He spent 20 to 25 hours teaching the man legal terminology and court ethics.

Last year, when a Mam man faced a murder charge, Fuentes and his new interpreter worked in tandem at the same hearing — one from English to Spanish, and the other from Spanish to Mam. The case was dismissed and the man was deported.

Attorneys sometimes get lucky with Internet searches and track down Rosendo Leon Aguilar Carrillo, a San Francisco-based Mam interpreter who has traveled to Chicago, Kansas City, New Mexico and Seattle, charging $300 per day plus travel.

He says that when defendants in court can finally hear what's happening from a fellow Mam, some cry tears of relief.

• • •

Now 32, Pablo-Ramirez remains in prison. It's unclear whether he understands why. Or whether he'll get a shot at a new trial with a Mam interpreter.

Judge Timmerman was concerned about the defendant's ability to understand what was happening. The judge ordered a competency evaluation.

Doctors discussed his language deficits. Timmerman granted a defense motion for retrial, which prosecutors plan to appeal.

At a hearing this week, Pablo-Ramirez stood before a judge once more, a Spanish interpreter at his side.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Alexandra Zayas can be reached at azayas@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3354.

Found: http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/obscure-mayan-language-leaves-justice-tongue-tied/1071371

Life of Late

2010-02-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

Well folks, I have officially reached the 18 month mark in my Peace Corps service. During my first week of training I spoke with a volunteer that was about to "COS" (Close of Service) and asked her to summarize her experience, give me some wisdom for the coming months, etc. She said to me that the days often crawl, but the time flies. She was absolutely right. I can't believe that I've been here for so long, and how far I've come during that time.

I try to be positive in this blog- sharing with you the successes and and incredible moments I've experienced. But if I am completely honest, these last 18 months have been more challenging than anything. It is indescribably difficult adjusting to a new culture, language and context without the comfort of those you know and love. My work situation has been less than ideal most of the time, with my Peace Corps assigned counterparts not knowing how to utilize a volunteer and often not wanting to deal with the hassle. My community has faced myriad challenges in my time here- from riots and violence to food shortages and drought. But I'm a part of this community, of my office, of the life here and I feel like I've finally emerged on the other side of the adjustment period.

I truly feel like I am a part of this place. People trust me and ask me to help them with projects and to participate in community events. I speak the language and even sometimes understand the nuances of the culture! It feels like an amazing accomplishment and privilege to be let into the life of this community and into the hearts of the people here. It was worth the struggle.

9 Things

2010-02-05T10:33:00.000-08:00

In the past month I've been thinking a lot about what I've learned and done so far in my 18 months in Guatemala, which of course, has me thinking about what'd I'd like to accomplish in the last 9. I've made my annual work plan and mapped out the projects that need attending to; there are latrines to build, a library to improve, and high schoolers to teach. However, there are a few things that I'm itching to do while I'm still here that don't appear in the work plan. So here they are, in no particular order:

- Celebrate my 25th year with something frightening (suggestions? para-glidng?)
- Make a flawless tortilla
- Grow Spinach
- Spend more time creating
- Hike to El Mirador
- Brew Beer
- Finish the AFI top 100 list
- Visit Rio Dulce
- Say goodbye to my womens' groups in Mam

La Feria

2010-01-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

I returned from the U.S. ready to dive into work, excited to see what fruits will come of the groundwork laid by my first year in Peace Corps. Naturally I was surprised when I returned on the 6th of January to find my town overtaken by carnival folk. ¨The Feria doesn’t start for another two weeks,¨ I thought to myself. How quickly I forget! Somehow my mind had eliminated the memory of the month-long celebration that was last years´ feria.

And so, it began…three weeks of crazy corn (more on that later), ferris wheels, dancing and general merrymaking. It was completely exhausting, but I enjoyed every last minute of it (okay, maybe not after I went on the ferris wheel 3 times in one night, interspersed with the partaking of street food, but you know what I mean.) Like I said before, one of the things I love about Guatemala is the strong emphasis on community, and town ferias are community at its best.

The creepy ticket booth for the ferris wheel

Churros! If you don't know...you should.

Watching my friend Lily play basketball (they won the inter-municipal championships!)

Kids dancing in traditional dress in one of the cultural events

The smoothie stand

A costumed dancer in a "convite"

Scariest ferris wheel. Ever.

Oh, Community!

2010-01-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

I have this really vivid memory of getting to stay up really late as a kid in the small town where I grew up, of walking around Main Street, my brother asleep, seated on dad's shoulders. The occasion, the yearly Street Dance. All of the businesses would stay open well past midnight, and my neighbors would take to the streets in bright colors and dancing shoes. Of all the summer activities I participated in as a kid, those nights are some of my most clear memories, maybe because even then I loved to get down, but I think it's more likely because it was a rare glimpse of community spirit. In our fiercely individualistic American society, there aren't many opportunities to experience community. A few times a year for county fairs, fire-department fundraisers, or fireworks Americans let down their guard and soak in the richness of community.

Something I have consistently loved about Guatemala in the last 18 months is the incredible sense of community. It's the kind of community that gets in your business, brings you food unexpectedly, that makes you late for meetings because you have to greet everyone on your way. I love it. On any given night in my town there will be people at a taco stand or cheering on the local soccer teams, rubbing shoulders and swapping stories. I literally can't take 10 steps from my front door without being greeted by my neighbors. Sure, it has it's annoyances, like the fact that the gossip mill is quick and harsh, but in general the blessings outweigh the curses. Community has been a keyword in my life for the last few years and I expect it to be for many more. This time here has taught me a lot about community that I think I'll look back on and draw from in future community settings.

Admittedly a little cheesy

2010-01-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

I am totally in love with my friends and family. This visit to the States solidified that fact. I packed my bags and headed north; in an airplane, much to the awe of my neighbors, many of whom have visited the US via rivers and deserts. I arrived in the motherland in time to enjoy the full breadth of the holiday celebrations- I lit the last advent candle at church, went snowboarding, saw Mt. Washington covered in powdered sugar snow, attended the multitude of family christmas events, celebrated birthdays and holidays with my high school pals (who remain some of the coolest people I've ever known) and saw all of the little cousins, who have grown up far to fast for my taste. To add icing to the already very yummy cake (I'd say it was carrot cake- delicious and good for me) I got to spend a few days in NY with the housemates from college and then a few more days in DC with the gang there. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

Midnight Express

2009-12-15T05:05:00.000-08:00

Winter is absolutely my favorite time of year in New Hampshire. Sure, Autumn is beautiful in myriad colors, and spring is lovely; everything dead bursting into life. But winter is hushed and peaceful and never fails to charm me. I was packing last night for a trip to the winter wonderland that is NH in December, dreaming of all the snowboarding and sledding and snowman making I would soon be doing when I received a text from the Peace Corps security officer saying something to the effect of "DON'T TRAVEL, protests and roadblocks likely!" I panicked, picturing myself missing my flight. So I scrambled and asked friends and neighbors how to get to the city in time to catch my flight- the 1am night-bus en-route from mexico was the only offered solution (other volunteers affectionately refer to it as the "cocaine train" because there's no way you'd drive or ride on it unless you were on cocaine).

I quickly gathered my belongings, shut my eyes for an hour of sleep and then schlepped my giant bag down to the bottom of the hill where the buses from Mexico pass. The bus arrived only minutes later and I was ushered onto what was the most luxurious bus I've seen yet in this country. This magical midnight bus spirited me away, flying gleefully through the darkened Guatemalan towns I usually curse for standing between me and the end of my journey. I arrived in Antigua without a hitch, dropped my bags at my hostel and after a cup of coffee and a check of the ole-email am off for a full day of Christmas shopping and friend visiting. Thank you, delightful mystery bus for saving my Christmas spirit. If, the next time I rise in the middle of the night to take a bus to the city, the midnight express doesn't arrive, I won't be surprised...maybe it was just Christmas miracle.

High Points

2009-12-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

To celebrate the end of Environmental camp I met up with a group of other Peace Corps friends and climbed Volcan Tajumulco- the tallest point in Central America! Tajumulco is a dormant volcano whose peak can be seen from all over Guatemala and has been a goal of mine since I set foot in this country.

We met up Saturday morning and hiked 4 hours to our camp site, our bodies screaming under the weight of packs that none of us had carried for a long time (it had been 16 months since my last backpacking trip! Unfortunately the PC schedule doesn't leave much opportunity for backpacking trips) We camped in a valley at the base of the summit and enjoyed a well-deserved warm meal made on a fire (Scott and I machete-ed a fallen tree to pieces to bring back wood. So hardcore).

We rose at 4am, knocked the sleep out of our eyes and ice out of our shoes and took off for the summit. I’ve only had the chance to hike above 10,000 feet 3 other times in my life and my lungs pinched at the lack of oxygen. But the moon was bright and the view was incredible so the push to the summit was lovely. I arrived at the top with Mark and Scott a little after 5am and enjoyed the full range of colors that the sunrise provided.

Environmental Camp

2009-12-08T11:30:00.000-08:00

To say we were overwhelmed when 80 kids showed up on day one of "La Gran Semana del Ambiente" is an understatement. Mark (my sitemate) and I had planned for a maximum of 60 kids and were totally unprepared for the amount of “energy” these kids brought with them. The first day was CRAZY. But we learned from our mistakes and tweaked as we went along. Day two was significantly better and as the week progressed, things got continually better.

The kids learned about how to care for the land, water, air, animals, and the forest through lessons, crafts, games, songs and even snacks! On the last day of camp 57 kids received diplomas for attending all week, and as we sang our final camp song I realized that it was worth all the trouble and stress. It was a pretty wild week, and while I’m not sure I’m ready to jump into another one just yet, the kids learned tons and loved their time at camp.

An Opportunity for Growth

2009-12-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

I don’t believe that poverty or wealth is measured in numbers, but rather in quality of life and the ability for growth. In my experience I would say these factors, which make a person poor or not, have more to do with environment and mindset than they do with money.
Many of the communities I visited during my time in Tanzania were by typical standards very poor, however, their ability to provide for themselves from their land, their desire for growth and ingenuity in making that happen, created a quality of life that I have not seen in many other places. The family I lived with in Mbeya had very little money. They ate the food they grew and raised, and sold sunflower oil to put their daughters through school and pay for the occasional luxury.
This attitude of self-sustainability is sadly not something that I’ve seen much of in my community here in Guatemala. It has a lot to do with years of oppression by majority groups. It probably also has a lot to do with the fact that the model of development that many NGOs have used here in the past: giving out stuff (latrines, school supplies, houses, animals, etc.) Because of those two factors, many of the women that I work with aren’t interested in listening to talks about hygiene or cooking unless there is a promise of a project or gift at the end. It can be pretty disheartening.
Six of the women that I work with have recently connected with a local company in a very interesting project, generating income via a model called micro-consignment. It differs from traditional micro-credit programs in that the women aren’t loaned any money and don’t owe anyone anything- they simply sell products for the company and earn a percentage of the profit. The products are sold at a very low cost and are items that are needed in their communities, such as eyeglasses, water filters, solar-powered lights, seeds, etc. I have been accompanying the women to their trainings as they’ve learned how to give eye-exams and promote the products.
It has been really exciting for me to see these women show a lot of commitment and ingenuity in this project. They are paying their own travel expenses to come to the trainings, taking time away from their fields and kitchens to learn a skill that will serve them in generating income and self-esteem. It shows me that despite the many hurdles they have to overcome, and despite oppression and the development history in Guatemala, they are invested and willing to work to see the changes they desire. This Friday will be their first community campaign to put their skills to the test. I’ll keep posting on the progression of the project, but for now, here are some photos of the women learning to give the eye exams…

Thankful

2009-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

I have so many things in my life to be thankful for. I have lived a remarkably healthy life for 24 years, I have incredible parents who have supported me in every endeavor I’ve ever undertaken, I have a brother who is one of the coolest people I know and a great friend, I am surrounded by friends who love me unconditionally and push me to grow and learn. I am living an exciting life, fulfilling dreams, being challenged and changed, learning about the world and about myself.

So, this Thanksgiving, while celebrating with a group of other volunteers, I raised my glass to friends, to family and to authentic experiences. Here’s to you- thank you for being a part of my life and giving me so much to be thankful for.

Disparity of Wealth

2009-11-08T05:39:00.000-08:00

Throughout the last handful of years I've spent a lot of time thinking and talking about the disparity of wealth that is present in our world, our communities, and even in our relationships. It effects the way people view themselves and their roles in society. A child who grows up knowing that her needs (food, shelter, clothing) are taken care of is much more likely to finish high school, to go to university, not to marry before she chooses to, simply because she has had the luxury of security.

Disparity of wealth is visible in Guatemala in many very obvious and tangible ways. In the municipality where I live and work it often correlates with race (Spanish or indigenous descent) and location (urban or rural). The reality of my current situation is that the town center, where most of the necessary basic services- the market, the health center, the municipal offices, are located is populated by the 2% of the population that is Ladino, or of Spanish descent. The outlying rural areas, where there are much higher rates of poverty and malnutrition, is where rest of the 98% of municipal citizens live, a sweeping majority of them of indigenous descent.

This disparity in my own town was almost sickeningly obvious to me a few weeks ago when I was invited to the first birthday party of a friend's child. There were over 100 guests present at the party, all of them well dressed and groomed, bearing presents wrapped in brightly colored paper. The party had clowns, pinatas, and an abundance of foods; it went on for hours. Meanwhile outside, a small hoarde of uninvited children watched the whole thing through dirty glass. Of course, not every child could have been invited, but the selection of who was and who wasn't, seemed less based on who was friends and more on socioeconomic status.

I was invited, though, and struggled with the implications of that. The party-throwers are my friends. The kids outside are my neighbors and impromptu playmates. So what am I supposed to do? I can play the outsider card, pretend I'm clueless and be friends with everyone. Or I can speak my mind, and loose friends and trust. It's a hard thing, at times, being an outsider in a new context, the very nature of our lives and jobs to analyze situations like this one that we see in our towns. So what do we do? I honestly, don't know.

Dia de Los Santos

2009-11-07T08:57:00.001-08:00

One of the most important holidays on the Guatemalan Calendar is All Saints Day, or Dia de Los Santos. Families from all over the country return to the places where they grew up, where beloved family members have been buried to mourn and remember and honor their dead.

This year, I made my own pilgrimage to the town of Todos Santos for their yearly fair. This town is the heart of the modern day Mam speaking world and nearly all its inhabitants still wear the traditional dress of their ancestors. For the week leading up to All Saints Day the normally sleepy streets are abuzz with activity- vendors and tourists and returning family members tripling the normal occupancy of the town.

The central activity of the whole event though, are the horse races which are run by twenty-five or so local men who, by the start of the race, have been drinking for well over 24 hours. The men mount their horses and proceed to run back and forth on a half-mile track for most of the day, the goal being to remain on top of your horse. Though it may sound comedic, the results are often tragic; The tradition is that if you die in the horse race, your family will be blessed by a good harvest. Thankfully, no one was badly injured in this year’s races.

Meet the Family

2009-11-04T05:34:00.001-08:00

For the last six months I have been living with a Guatemalan family. Edgar and Lily are both only a few years older than me. They are teachers, parents, community members and over the course of our time together have become my good friends. I wanted to dedicate a blog post to introducing them and their 3 energetic, brilliant children to all of you. Blog world, meet the fam…

Back to School

2009-10-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Work in my official Peace Corps post as been slim lately, and as a result I’ve had to get creative with finding things to fill my time. The mom and dad of the family I live with are both teachers and immediately accepted my offer for help- Lily invited me to start teaching bi-weekly classes to her high school class. At the same time another friend also invited me to do the same in the high school where she works in a nearby village. The following are a few pictures of those classes:

A Walk in the Woods

2009-10-17T18:34:00.001-07:00

Every other week I teach life skills classes in two different high schools. One is the “urban” school (the term being used loosely as there are only 2,000 residents of the town center) and the other is a small extension high school in one of the villages of the municipality. I dread going to the village school, not because of the students or the teacher, they are attentive and respectful, but because of the walk- it’s isolated and awash with stray dogs that never fail to send me searching for a rock to keep them at bay.

The walk to the school is generally uneventful; the only real challenges are the giant hills and abusive sun on my pale gringa skin. However, the school is in the afternoon to accommodate the students´ farming and household duties, which means that I finish my lesson and begin my journey home no earlier than 3pm. By this time most people are in their houses resting, making the walk in the fading sun lonely.

Yesterday was my day to go to Mapá, the village school, and as usual I was anxious as I finished up my lesson and began my descent back to town. Thirty minutes into my trek, as I approached the first cluster of houses since I left the school, was invited to sit and rest. I pass this house frequently and in my head I refer to it as “the nudist colony” because there is always a gaggle of bathing children out front. Today the women of the house were making small pottery animals to sell on market day. I sat for a spell, practicing Mam (the local Mayan language) and learning all about paints made from local materials, and then continued on my way. A mile or so I was met in the road by a young woman with her 2 year old daughter who immediately greeted me and invited me to stop and eat a banana with them- which I accepted, thankful for something to put in my growling stomach. Soon we continued together down the road, her daughter chattering away at me in Mam. Magdalia, as I learned she was named, was on her way to visit a sick relative, and when we arrived there she arranged for her family members to give me a ride back to my house, more than 5 miles away. I arrived home exhausted but early, smiling and thankful for such wonderful neighbors.

Lightless

2009-10-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

It's 9:30p.m. on a Sunday night and save for the odd cricket, my town is silent. Even the street dogs seem to have been lulled to sleep by the darkness and lack of activity. The usual scene on a Sunday night is something akin to a carnival- neighbors, music, taco stands and burning trash piles. Tonight, it's more like sleeping. A country wide electrical outage is the culprit. The peace is unusual and I'm soaking it in. Who knows how long it will last. My laptop has power and my satellite internet modem continues to function, so I'm bathed in the blue glow of my computer screen while my neighbors sit at their kitchen tables surrounded by the soft yellow light of candles.

I hear some dogs beginning to bark again. And the lights are back.

Independence Day

2009-09-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

During my 27 months as a Peace Corps volunteer I will partake in three Independence day celebrations, bookends of sorts for my time here in Guatemala. The second of three passed a few weeks ago and I wanted to share some photos from the day.

Independence day in Guatemala differs from American independence day in that it is primarily a school holiday. For several days leading up to September 15th, the big day, schools participate in Entorchas, or long runs carrying flaming torches from point A to point B (usually upwards of 30 miles). The kids ride loud, brightly decorated buses most of the time, only getting out to run through densely populated towns, where they are drenched by flying water bags and cheered on by onlookers.

On the actual day, all school-aged children participate in an enormous parade. Some of the highlights from this year's parade included two well-practiced bands playing recent pop radio favorites and a tribute to Michael Jackson, hundreds of high school girls in traditional dress carrying the local harvest vegetables, kindergartners dressed as certain respected townspeople, a reenactment of the Mayan holdout against the Spaniards, and gigantes- children on stilts that tower above the crowd. The sky was noisy with the sound of firecrackers, the kids strung out on sugary treats, and the town center packed elbow to elbow with folks from all over the municipality. It was a good day to be in Guatemala.

Library Project: Take 2

2009-09-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled when I arrived at my parents house in New Hampshire to have to wade through stacks of books to get to my bed. Thanks to all of you, over 60 books were donated to the library project in my town! The challenge then became: How to get them back to Guatemala and then to my town, 300 miles from the capitol!? Luckily, when checking in for my flight in Boston, a very kind spanish speaking airport attendant found my begging hilarious and waived the overweight luggage charge on my bags so that I could get all of the books here. But that was only the beginning of the journey. Over the course of a week the books were passed from car, to plane, to bus, to be dragged through two towns behind me and Kayla, to bus again, and then finally to the LIbrary in my town.

The librarian and the students were beyond excited as I withdrew each book from the suitcase and handed them over for the inspection. Phase II of the Library Project: Complete!

The next step for the library is a children's reading corner and after-school reading appreciation program. A big thank you to all of you who sent kids books! I'm hanging onto them for now until the next phase is complete and I can give them to the library knowing they'll be well taken care of. They're getting plenty of use though...almost every afternoon, my room fills up with neighbor kids who come over to read "Jorge Curioso" or "Madeline." It's pretty amazing- these are very active little kids who have never owned a book in their lives and they sit as still as stones to listen to the stories. On days when I don't go out and invite them to come in and read, they climb the walls of the house next door to see if I'm home to read to them. These kids love books!

Again, thank you so much for being involved and making this project a success! I'll keep the updates coming as the project progresses.

Tikal

2009-09-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, one of my good friends, Kayla, came to visit me for a few weeks. Here are some photos of our trip to the incredible Mayan ruins in Tikal, El Peten.

A Friendly Visit

2009-09-22T17:44:00.001-07:00

Although leaving behind family and friends to return to Guatemala was mildly heartbreaking, I convinced my good friend Kayla to come back with me for a few weeks to experience my life in Guatemala. I gave her the whirlwind tour of Antigua, Volcan Pacaya, My training town, and Lake Atitlan in the first few days, and then we returned to my town for a week. We taught my high school class together, made some gardens in old tires, ate tamales, visited neighbors, hiked to a village, and saw the sights of Huehuetenango, the city I live near. The grand finale of the trip featured Mayan ruins in Tikal, El Peten, where we baked in the tropical heat and photographed monkeys and ancient temples. Here's some photos of our adventures:

The Long Awaited Trip Home

2009-09-21T13:54:00.001-07:00

It's been over a month since my visit to the US and I've neglected to post a single word about the trip. It was, in a single word, wonderful. I managed to cram a years worth of family and friends into a short 7 days, and yet somehow came back to Guatemala feeling rested. Some of the highlights included, amazing weather for some kayaking, a visit with some of my favorite people in Massachusetts, family reunion/cookout with a surprise visit from my brother who was living in Denver, lobster in maine, and a day long bike ride with my dad.

Too Much of a Good Thing

2009-09-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

Although much of Guatemala still awaits the coming of the rainy season, which should have began months ago, my area of the country has begun it's rainy season in earnest. My last entry detailed the day that the rains finally began to pound the soils of the altiplano of Guatemala, and since that day we've had a fairly sufficient amount of rain. Last week as a friend and I packed for a short vacation to the Mayan ruins in Tikal, my town was hit with the far reaching fingers of a hurricane that passed though Southern Mexico.

Some neighbor kids were visiting me, playing on my porch, when we noticed the ominous black clouds rolling in from the mountains to the south of us. I hurried them off to their houses, not wanting them to get caught in the rain, and as soon as their feet had crossed the threshold the skies ripped open with lightening, thunder, and more rain that I've ever seen in my whole life. The missing pane of glass in one of my windows that had never concerned me before suddenly became the cause of a 2 inch flood of water covering the floor of my room. In the flurry of pushing all of my possessions to the one dry corner of my room, my friend and I failed to notice that the corrugated plastic roof covering the middle of the house was blown off by the wind, leaving 6 feet square open to the driving rain. By the time we noticed the impromptu skylight, several inches of water had poured into the rest of the house. Though the rains eventually abated, we spent the rest of the afternoon sopping, sweeping, and mopping up what must have been close to 40 gallons of water. Here's some photos of the whole shebang...

The Rains Return

2009-08-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

The rhythm of life in small Guatemalan villages is largely dependant on the whims of the weather. When it rains, stores and homes close their doors and inhabitants retreat inside to sip coffee, talk, and catch up on telenovelas. When the sun shines, the streets fill with food vendors, drying laundry, and old men lounging and sipping on cusha, local homemade liquor. The rains that come every May are expected and anticipated by weeks of planting, preparing the soil to consume what the sky gives and turn it into corn to be eaten as tortillas, tamales, and atoll the rest of the year.

This year the rains came in May and soaked the fields, but in June the rain clouds fled, leaving only sun, drying cornstalks, and concerned townspeople. June came and went without more than a few minutes of rain, as did July and the first summer corn crop was lost. The second was planted in the bone dry soil in hopes that the rains would return, but still not a drop fell. When I talk to the kids in my town, one of their first questions is usually “Carlota, tu no sabes cuando llegare la lluvia?” Charlotte, do you know when the rains are coming? The Mayan traditional religionists hike up into the hills to perform ceremonies pleading for relief of the heat and the drought. The second week of August arrived with promising, dark, saturated rain clouds, but still nothing.

And then they came. Yesterday afternoon as I lounged on my bed, reading and dreaming of the temperate New Hampshire summers and my grandma’s swimming pool, door open in hopes of a breeze, I heard it. The slow and steady build up, the pattering of rain on my plastic laminate roof, a gradual crescendo until I couldn’t hear my own excited laughter over the thunder of giant rain drops drumming on every surface. I’m not sure if the rain is here to stay, to finish out the shortened rainy season; the clouds have again scurried away to hide somewhere in the wibbly, humid sky. But yesterday’s rains have at least given the corn a few days of respite, a long awaited drink.

1 Year

2009-08-14T10:52:00.001-07:00

Well blog readers, we’ve made it a year- I in Peace Corps Guatemala, and you in following the meandering tales of this blog. I can hardly believe that a year ago I was getting off a plane in Guatemala City, marveling at the new sites, smells, people, and emotions that Guatemala was presenting me with.

It’s been quite a ride, full of ups and downs. I think I’ve felt more emotion (excitement, fear, frustration, surprise) in the past year than I knew I was capable of. I’ve learned to function in a second language and culture and met some really incredible people.

I now fully understand why Peace Corps is for two years. It’s taken me this past year to learn the language and culture (which I still struggle with) and to gain the trust of the people I am attempting to work with. All of the volunteers that I’ve talked to say that the second year is the better of the two- getting to see the results of hard work and relishing in the friendships formed over the first year.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the past year wasn’t really challenging, but looking back I’m glad I survived it and am ready for another. It was quite a year; here’s to another!

Market Day

2009-08-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

Today is Market day. Every Wednesday and Sunday vendors from every pocket of the municipality and from as far as the Mexican border come here to roll out their wares. Main Street is transformed from sleepy to bustling.

The first vendors begin to raise tarps and booths as early as 4am. The racket used to wake me, but I’ve grown accustomed now and sleep until the man selling newspapers passes by my house- my personal market day alarm clock. Market day is a day for people from all of the far-reaching communities to do their weekly shopping, visit the local government office, go to church (as many of the local churches coordinate services with market schedule), and visit with friends. The only transportation that comes and goes from the villages is on market day.

We have the best market around- with the distinction that a majority of the goods come from within the municipality. Though you can’t find the more exotic veggies that come from elsewhere- asparagus, eggplant and spinach, the plethora of local herbal plants and greens is impressive.

In addition to being famous for the variety of goods, we’re famous for the rouge shopping methods of the local women. I have, on more than one occasion, been elbowed in the side so someone can get to the veggies they want. Within the Peace Corps circle there’s a cautionary tale about the market here- one volunteer, in pursuit of fresh oranges, found herself knocked down flat by a local lady (likely no taller than 5 feet). The moral of the story is- shop local; be steady on your feet.

Xela and Fuentes Georginas

2009-08-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our (almost) one year anniversary as volunteers, my training group descended upon Xela for a weekend of fun. We spent one night in the city, went out for dinner, played some pool, and wandered the city by night. The second night we spent at Fuentes Georginas, hot springs located just outside the city. After a day of soaking in the springs we curled up by fireplaces in our cabanas and talked about all of the adventures the past year has brought us.

Library Project

2009-08-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

One of the secondary projects that I am currently working on is the improvement of our local library. In previous posts I’ve talked about some of the hurdles that my town faces: incredibly high rates of abject poverty, hopelessness, alcoholism, equality issues for both women and for the 98% indigenous Mayan, etc.

One issue that I’m tackling in a small way in my town is illiteracy. In addition to doing community surveys to assess which villages need the most help and encouraging them to seek out literacy classes, I am currently working on a library project. The municipal government has shown that it takes literacy seriously by purchasing a new building for the Library and installing 10 computers for students to use. However, the less than 500 books that the library currently has are insufficient.

When I approached the librarian to ask how I could help he said there were two major things that the library lacked- text books and maps. Over the next two months I had him compile a list of the books that students requested that the library didn’t have. I then made an online wishlist where people could purchase books for the library. Then I approached the mayor and asked him to support the library by buying paint for a map project. He said yes, and we got to work.

The last two weeks, I have spent with two high school students, painting giant maps of the world, of Guatemala, of our department(state), and our town. I realized the necessity for the maps when one of the members of the mayors committee came into the room while we were painting and commented that the world map was a lovely map of Central America.

Even as we were painting students were floating in and out of the room studying the maps and quizzing each other on which countries they knew. My favorite comment of the week was when a student came in and said “Wow! Compared to the whole world Guatemala is like a little bean!” It’s exciting to have made something I can leave in my town permanently that I know will not only help the students do better on their exams, but will also help them to think more globally.

The library project goes on- books are still being collected (if you’re interested in purchasing a book for the project, follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/14KD7RLYALKEW ) The next step in the project is to work on a program to get kids excited about reading- I’m planning to start story time in September and possibly also do some other monthly events that will get people coming to the library and making reading a part of their lives.

Here are a few pictures from the painting process…

Thoughts on Food

2009-07-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

(the bounty from a recent market visit)
One of the things that I love about Guatemala is the abundance of fresh food. Every Sunday and Wednesday my town comes alive with the sounds and smells of the street market. Vendors come from all of the villages of my municipality and some of the surrounding towns to sell things that they have grown or raised. On market day I am able to buy most of my food for the week (excepting things like flour, olive oil, and specialty ingredients like curry) and know who grew, where it came from, and when it was cut. It’s amazing! I have developed a friendship with Doña Glendy, the woman from whom I purchase my veggies in the market. If I see her when I’m walking around town on a non-market day, she’ll often give me a bag of cherries or an orange- just because.

It’s an amazing thing, knowing from whom and where your food comes from, and something we’ve all but lost in the United States. In the 9 months or so that I’ve lived in my town I’ve been watching my neighbors and friends value what the earth gives them and have learned a lot from the experience. There’s a word in Spanish- “criollo” that is used almost interchangeably with the word “rico” or delicious- it means basically homegrown. Guatemalans use it to describe all sorts of food products that come from the community- chicken, garlic, vegetables; the word is used with pride to tell a guest that what they are eating is from here- in other words, it is the best there is.

One of the women I work with, who lives in a village that is 2 hours from the town center once took me for a walk out in the woods and pointed out various medicinal plants that I never would have recognized as edible. She also cut me some green leafy things and gave me instructions to bring them home and cook them like spinach and eat them with salt and lime. It was delicious and clearly full of iron and other vitamins. It’s this kind of creativity and simplicity in food that we’ve lost in the US that thrills me about Guatemala.

On the downside, any Peace Corps Volunteer will tell you about the multitude of Guatemalan children seen sucking down sugary sodas and chewing on prepackaged snacks. Sadly, a bag of processed Tortrix, the Guatemalan national junkfood, costs less than a mango or a carrot. Hopefully Guatemalan food culture is strong enough to hang onto their respect for the local and diverse. If not, they might soon find themselves in the junk food crisis that the US is in.

Camionetas: Part II

2009-07-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

During my first few weeks of training I wrote a blog discussing the qualities of the famous Guatemalan mode of transport- the Camioneta. Now that I’ve lived here for almost a year I’d like to reflect once again on this colorful aspect of Guatemalan culture.

They’re loud, they smell, and typically stuffed to the fingerprint smudged doors with people, livestock, luggage and the like. Peace Corps volunteers earn more or less the same amount of money as Guatemalans, therefore we eat, live, and travel in the same ways- including camionetas.

My favorite part of the camioneta ride, and the aspect on which I wish to reflect on today, is a little something my friends and I have come to call “the wedge.” Think back to the days when you rode a big yellow bus to and from school. Maybe you were assigned a seat or maybe you fought your way to be the first on the bus and have the best seat, but either way, you’ll remember that the seats were designed for 2 people, 2 small people. However, here in Guatemala, we creatively fit 3 full sized people in each seat bringing each row of the bus to a grand total of 6 passengers with kids and animals on the lap. Typically this means that the two people sitting on the outside towards the aisle are left with space for only one cheek; when winding up, down, and around the curves of the Guatemalan countryside, the trip becomes a workout and a battle to remain in your seat.

This is where the wedge comes in. The official definition of the wedge is the smashing of the two aisle bodies together so that they prevent each other from falling to the floor. The trick of the wedge is that both parties have to be willing- which is trickier than it sounds. When you are the third in your row and the third spot in the seat across from you has yet to be filled, you’ll be eyeing the boarding passengers to see who might sit next to you. The ideal partner that you are hoping to sit down next to you is the middle aged mama-type. She’s always willing to work together to make the ride more comfortable. As for the rest of the passengers who may chance to share the aisle with you, you’ve got to feel out whether or not they’re willing to do the wedge. With a little bit of luck, you’ll be sitting comfortably in no time.

4th of July (and, I`m back!)

2009-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Working for a government organization such as the Peace Corps means that you celebrate the 4th of July in style. This year, Peace Corps Guatemala hosted a 2 day All Volunteer Conference leading up to Independence Day, in which they invited leaders from interesting fields, former Peace Corps Volunteers, and others to come and talk to us about our post-Peace Corps lives. Then on the actual 4th of July we had a giant party complete with an American barbeque, DJ and dancing, Soccer game (in which the Ambassador played- the man is good), basketball tournament and talent show.

Side note: those rockin yellow shirts that you see me and David (in the background) sporting are our offical Huehuetenango t-shirts! Though we were knocked out first in the basketball tournament we were for sure the brightest at the party!

We Live Dangerously

2009-06-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been asking me what I do for fun here in Peace Corps Guatemala, What my weekends look like, Do I see other volunteers, etc... Here's a little glimpse into my social life:

Last friday night I went to visit my friend and nearby volunteer Emily in her small, out of the way town. Though there isn't a movie theatre,mall, or even a restuarant of any interest, and though the towns electricty was out for much of my time there, we dug up some good ole fashioned fun, carnival style.

This is not your average ferris wheel. Run by an old truck motor (the guy running it was actually pushing down the clutch and changing gears as we rode), this thing seemed likely to shake apart at any moment. Needless to say, we were a bit concerned.

But we had fun. And survived.

Hope that gives you a bit more of an idea what my social life is like here. Come for a visit and I'll show you a good time. Guaranteed.

Guatemalan Amusement

2009-06-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a friend from my town invited Mark (my sitemate) and I to join her family on a roadtrip to Xetulul, Guatemala’s version of Disney World. Though smaller, the park boasted a rollercoaster with 6 loops and a live magic show. We all left exhausted, and thoroughly soaked thanks to the afternoon rain and the log ride. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.

(This one's for you Kayla, remember our adventure at the Fountain de Trevi in Rome!? Guatemala has it's own mini version, and of course I pretended to throw a coin in for memory's sake)
Jessica, Lety, Victor, Emily, and Adoni

This is what happens when Jessica and I try to eat in the car. She spills ketchup on me, I spill water on her. I've found a Guatemalan who equals my klutzyness.

The ride home. New sitemate Mark, and my friend Jessica.

This One Takes the Cake

2009-05-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Literally. As for strange cultural moments, this one’s a winner. Yesterday I met my Peace Corps friends David and Emily at a sandwich shop for lunch. The sandwiches and the conversation were great and we decided to prolong our joy with coffee and some of the homemade cake on offer. I ordered the chocolate cake with strawberry mousse (before you decide you want a slice, keep reading…) Our cake arrived and I immediately noticed that mine was emitting a strange sour odor. So I took a bite, which confirmed my suspicions that something was off about it. I forced David and Emily to try it too (such good friends) and with their additional confirmation brought it downstairs to the pastry counter to return it.
The woman at the counter gave me a look like I was insane and the following conversation ensued:

Charlotte: Excuse me, but I think this cake might be sour.
Waitress: No, it’s fine.
Charlotte: Well, I tasted it and it tastes really funny.
Waitress: (sticks her hand in the mousse and licks her finger) That’s just the way it is
Charlotte: Oh, well I don’t think I want it. It tastes sour to me.
Waitress: (sticks her finger in the frosting and then licks it) No, it’s fine.
Charlotte: Okay, well I still don’t think I want it.
Waitress: (takes chunk of the cake and shoves it in her mouth). No, it’s really fresh.
Charlotte: Okay, that´s fine. I´m just going to go back upstairs.
Waitress: (pushing the cake, with her finger prints all over it, back to me) Don´t you want this? It´s really fresh.

Absurd.

This is what I do...

2009-05-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Now that I have spent six months in my site and in my office I thought I’d try and take a few minutes to explain what it is my office does and what I do within it. But first, a little history…

Guatemala in recent history has been a very difficult place to be a woman. Many people who study Guatemalan culture and development comment that there is a special group of people here who face triple barriers to growth. This group is poor, indigenous women. First, they face challenges because they are women: women are often viewed and treated as second class citizens. Girls aren’t sent to school with anywhere near the frequency as their brothers, there are huge rates of domestic violence, and women don’t have the voice in their communities that their husbands do. Second, they are poor, making their daily struggle for food and health much more challenging than their neighbors who have more resources. Often the entire day of a poor woman is spent on life-sustaining activities such as carrying water and planting corn, leaving no time for self development or a small business to try and bring in extra income. Lastly, being indigenous adds into the mix another challenge. Though the Mayan societies here were once thriving and prosperous, years of oppression since the Spanish invasion has pushed Mayan people groups to the fringes- both literally, often into the far reaches of the mountains where public services are scarce and farming difficult, and figuratively, calling their religious practices “witchcraft” and forcing children to stop wearing their traditional dress in order to attend school, which was taught in Spanish, not their native tongues.

I’m glad to report that some of this is changing. The Mayan cultures and languages have been officially recognized and people are now encouraged to wear their typical dress and speak their native languages. The government and many individuals are also attempting to combat the “machismo” that causes the mistreatment of women. This is where the Municipal Women’s Offices come into play. Since the later part of the 90´s the national government has been opening women’s offices in municipalities. The goals of these offices (though they differ a bit depending on the municipality and the coordinator of the office) are to 1) combat violence against women, 2) improve the economic situation of women, and 3) increase citizen participation of women.

My Peace Corps program is called Municipal Development and my assignment is in the Municipal Women’s Office in an area of the country where “the triple barrier” is clearly in place. My town is 95% indigenous and the 6th poorest municipality in the country. The main goals of our office are to improve the lives of the women through projects (like clean water and improved stoves) and through training in various topics from how to prevent domestic violence and citizen participation. Our office doesn’t receive funds from the municipality so what we can do is somewhat limited. However, through coordinating with various institutions the office has been able to organize 39 women’s groups in different communities and assess the needs of their families and communities. Through meetings we have with these women we are teaching them their legal rights and how to advocate for their needs.

The goals of the Municipal Development project of Peace Corps are to strengthen the function of the office through training them in organization, using computers, archiving documents, and giving participatory talks with the women and to increase citizen participation in the town. Up until this point my work in the office has been to learn about the office and the community and to assess how I might be able to help. Now that I’ve integrated into the office I’m beginning to really dive into work. I’m excited to see where the next 18 months in this office take me and what kind of work I’m able to do with my counterparts. I’ll keep posting about specific projects that I’m working on so you can get a picture of what my PC experience is like.

My counterpart, Marìa, speaking with a group of the women we work with.

Girls in one of the communities we work in.

In Celebration of Water

2009-05-14T09:19:00.000-07:00

Early Tuesday morning my counterpart, María called me and told me to hurry to the office, that we were leaving for Nueva Esperanza (New Hope, in English). Nueva Esperanza is one of the farthest communities in the municipality where I work and the recent recipients of a water project from the central government. I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about working with the women from this community to fill out socio-economic surveys so they could propose the project, which they were approved for.

The community is made up of roughly 300 people and is 3 hours away from the municipal offices where I work. The women’s group of the community is particularly well organized and have formally evaluated their needs; they simply needed the assistance of our office in advocating for those needs. Each of the 32 women in the group received a water collecting system that will provide running water in their homes (the community previously had no running water or electricity- a project that will take a lot more time to complete). This effectively will service the whole town with water.

When we arrived in Nueva Esperanza the whole community awaited us with live marimba music, food, and decorations. After they served us breakfast of Atoll (hot rice drink) and bread everyone gathered together to express their thanks. Though I couldn’t understand most of it, as it was in Mam, it was clear how thankful the women were for our support.

Some of the young benificiaries of the project

Some fellow muni employees and I

Live marimba!

The water tanks

The women expressing their thanks (the center two are the leaders of the group)

Doña Juana preparing to carry her water tank home! Amazing!

Cooking Class in Mapá

2009-05-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, one of the recent joys of my Peace Corps experience has been the cooking classes I have been helping to give in coordination with a local institution. The two communities that we are working in, Mapá and Mapá Centro, are located a good distance from the town center so getting there requires both a 4 wheel drive pickup ride and then an hour on foot over several hills and a dry river bed.

The goal of the project is to get the women cooking more nutritiously and with the diverse ingredients that can be found locally. Last week we made beef stew and the women brought all of the necessary vegetables from their gardens or purchased them from their neighbors. The meat was bought in the Sunday market in my town and came from a local farmer as well. The results were delicious (who knew that a stick of cinnamon in stew could taste so good!?) and my time with the women was delightful.

The view from Doña Vicentas house

Cutting veggies

Swine Flu and Inequality

2009-05-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

There are now several confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Guatemala, setting into action Peace Corps´ emergency action plan for illness and epidemics. I received a text message from our security officer yesterday reading the following, “ALERT. Confirmed case in Guate City. Avoid all unnecessary travel 2 Guate. Begin stockpiling supplies.”

I’ll be honest, it made me laugh. Stockpiling supplies? Really? It all seems a little ridiculous considering that the common flu kills more people per month than swine flu has killed in the month since it was discovered. Guatemalans are freaking out about the whole thing though, which got me thinking a about the inequity of access to medicine and medical treatment in general. Peace Corps issues each of its volunteers a medical kit complete with a dosage of Tamiflu (the medicine that people in the US are paying over $100 for) so even if I somehow did contract Swine Flu, I could start my dosage and have plenty of time to get to a hospital for treatment. In short, I really don’t have anything to worry about. However, my Guatemalan neighbors have a lot to worry about. If Swine Flu were to become epidemic in Guatemala it could be incredibly dangerous because of several factors. First, most Guatemalans live many hours´ walk from the nearest health center who could diagnose an illness as Swine flu. Second, many of these health centers are understaffed and under-trained so the probability of them correctly diagnosing such a new disease is low. Third, even if Swine flu was diagnosed correctly and in a timely manner, there is no stockpile of Tamiflu in Guatemala to administer, and even if there was, it would be far too expensive for most Guatemalans to ever fathom being able to afford.

I read a book a few years ago by Paul Farmer (Harvard professor and Medical Doctor who is famous for his radical approach to healthcare for the poor in Haiti and other countries) called Pathologies of Power that talked a lot about the inequality in the realm of healthcare. It’s no coincidence that grave diseases like AIDS and curable infirmities like Diarrhea kill far more people in the Global South (the part of the world with more abject poverty; the term that most development professionals prefer over “third world” or “developing world”) than the North, and therefore no coincidence that people in the Global South are more fearful of things like Swine Flu. I can’t say that I have the answer for re-tipping the scales. I don’t even know what to say to my neighbors when they’re fearful of Swine flu because I think it is probably a legitimate fear. But, I digress… I meant this to be a simple update on Swine Flu in Guatemala since I’ve been getting a lot of emails and calls making sure I’m okay. I’m fine, but I hope that my thoughts have also got you thinking about inequalities that might be present in your context and how you might work to right them.

Spit on a Stranger

2009-05-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

I`ve been working with a local organization for the last few weeks to give cooking classes in a couple of the communities that I live near. We are very lucky here to have access to a plethora of fresh fruits and veggies, yet most of the meals that women cook here are made up of corn, beans, eggs, tomatoes, and salt- not very diverse or nutritious. Part of this can be blamed on poverty or lack of resources, but really, it seems to have a lot more to do with habit: women cook what their mothers taught them to cook and unless the pattern changes, this is what their daughters will also cook. So, these cooking classes serve two purposes, 1) teaching the women how to make healthy, good tasting food from what they have locally, and 2) giving the women a place to socialize and have some fun. These classes really are the highlight of my week. I get to practice speaking Mam, learn how to cook new things, and hang out with some seriously cool ladies.

On Tuesday of this week we had a cooking class in a little village in the mountains that surround my town. About 30 women came, their many children in tow. Doña Cristina is one of my favorites in the group- she`s young, chatty, and loves to help me learn new phrases in her language. She wanted to participate in the preparation of the meal yesterday so I offered to play with her 5 month old baby while she peeled and cut veggies. We got on swimmingly, baby and I, which is a shock since most kids take one look at me and run in the other direction (parents love to say "better behave or the white girl will take you away with her" when kids are naughty).

As the cooking class was finishing, Doña Cristina grabbed me, mumbled something to me and pulled me over to the pila (outdoor sink). She then handed me a small bucket of water and instructed me to take a sip and then spit it on her baby. In my head I`m thinking "is that water really green or is it the bucket? did this water come from the river where I just saw a dog peeing? DID SHE REALLY JUST INSTRUCT ME TO SPIT ON HER BABY!?" And yet, I found myself lifting the likely giardia infested water to my lips and spitting it all over the baby, as instructed. Doña Cristina, delighted, hugged me and then went back to the meeting to recieve her portion of the meal, leaving me bewildered and wondering if rinsing my mouth out would keep me from getting giardia...

Here she is with her older brother

Post Script: I later learned that if a respected person spits water or spices on you it is considered a blessing and helps to ward off the evil eye. Guess I`ll take that as a compliment.

6 Month Mark

2009-04-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well folks, this Friday I celebrate the 6 month anniversary of living in my town! If my site were a boy we’d probably be going out for a nice dinner or something. However, since my town is, well…a town, I shall celebrate instead by telling you the many things that I find fun, hilarious, or otherwise noteworthy about it…

· Sunday and Wednesday market days! It’s huge and the selection is pretty fabulous. However, it’s also notoriously dangerous, or maybe adventurous is a better word. Everyone pushes and shoves to make sure they get the freshest tomatoes. True story: One day a little old Mayan lady literally planted her hands on my butt and pushed until she succeeded in moving me out of her way!
· Saturday night Tamales with Doña Mary and Family- So fun. So delicious. Come here and we’ll go visit her.
· Hearing Mam- Though it can be frustrating to not understand my neighbors or people in my office when they are speaking the local Mayan language, Mam, I love that my town still has a thriving Mayan culture and language.
· Kids on the basketball court- Which is located in front of my office. There is always something going on and it’s usually pretty hysterical. In vogue lately is learning to walk on your hands.
· The mountains- I love them! Though arriving at any of the villages where I work is a bit of a feat, the beauty is well worth it.
· Hospitality- It is impossible to go for a walk in my town and not be invited for coffee or conversation.
· Street food- Now that the weather has warmed up a little there’s lots of people hanging out in the street and therefore street vendors! This provides not only fun (and only slight sketchy) new foods to try but also good conversation.
· The Traje- The traditional clothing of the women. It’s incredibly beautiful and colorful. I could write a whole post just about that. Maybe I will…I’ll try to post some pictures soon.
· Friends- This is absolutely my favorite thing about my town. People know who I am and greet me by name, which feels like a huge accomplishment. I no longer have evenings where my options for activity are a book or a movie; there always seems to be someone to visit or something to do.

Zaculeu

2009-04-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

About an hour’s bus ride from my house is a well preserved historical park called Zaculeu. The park, though small, has well preserved ruins which provide the visitor a glimpse into the lives of the Mayan community that used to live there. I went there with some other volunteers from Huehuetenango. Here are some pictures from the day`s adventures…

Samuc Champey

2009-04-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

In the department of Alta Verapaz, is a magical little place called Samuc Champey. I adventured there a few weeks ago with friends. Though getting there and back again was somewhat of a feat (both over and below a huge landslide, broken down trucks, dusty backroads, and hours ridden in transport trucks in the freezing middle of the night), the payoff was well worth the effort as you can see from the photos below.

Water and Illiteracy

2009-04-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

I am happy to report that work is beginning to pick up for me. My office has successfully solicited the help of several non-governmental organizations who are now supporting us in various capacities. It has been keeping me quite busy lately.

One of the coolest projects that we’ve been given will bring water collection systems to a community really far off the beaten path that does not have running water. The women have to walk down into a really steep valley several times a day to bring up semi-clean water which they use to wash, cook, and drink. The new project will provide these women with fresh spring water piped directly to their houses. Not only will this improve the health of the women and their families because their drinking water will be markedly better, it will also free up a lot of time usually used to carry water so hopefully their kids will be able to go to school and the women will be able to spend their time on other pursuits. Maybe some of them will even have time to open small businesses selling tortillas or eggs to further improve their quality of life. In addition, their crops will benefit and multiply from the easily accessible water to keep them nourished. It’s amazing what a small thing like fresh water can do to change a family and a community.

All that said, this post is less about the water project and more about my experience meeting the women who will be the beneficiaries of it. When we found out that the women had been approved for the project we asked them to make the 4 hour trip (about 2 hours of that by foot carrying small children on their backs) into the town center to fill out the necessary paperwork. They were waiting for us at 8 a.m. when we arrived last Friday. I was awed by their punctuality, as anyone who has spent any time in Latin American can probably appreciate.

There were 33 women who were selected to receive the water tanks (they are the ones who are a part of the town women’s group- I like to think of them as local advocacy emissaries who push the local and departmental governments to provide them with the services that they’ve been promised). Each woman had to fill out a long socio-economic survey detailing how many children were in the household, what income and expenses the household has, etc.

The whole process should have taken about an hour. However, the women are illiterate, meaning that my counterpart Maria and I had to fill out each form with the women individually, which took a total of 6 hours. I honestly really enjoyed the time spent with these women, getting glimpses into their lives and their families; I didn’t even notice the whole day pass as I filled out the forms.

When I moved to my town I knew I was coming to a place with over 50% illiteracy but the reality of that didn’t hit me until this day when I began thinking about going through life not being able to understand all of the squiggles surrounding me, and knowing that other people, mostly men, could. Later that evening, as I was going about my evening ritual, writing in my journal, reading a magazine, scribbling a few letters, reading the directions on a packet of tea sent by a friend, it really hit me, the reality of illiteracy. I feel so lucky to have grown up in a country and in a family where reading came naturally and early. I guess I’ve taken the ability to read for granted and this meeting was a good reminder that I should be thankful for it.

Side note: There is a pretty good governmental program here that is working with groups of illiterate people to help them gain basic reading and writing skills. In addition, education though still not obligatory, is much more widespread than it was even 10 years ago. Hopefully this means that the situation in my community and in this country is changing.

Nebaj to Cunen

2009-04-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

A while back I had the opportunity to visit a friend in his site in Nebaj and to take an amazing hike from his town, over the Cuchumatanes Mountains, to the site of another volunteer. I’m finally getting around to downloading the pictures, so here they are for your viewing pleasure…

Reconnecting and Spanish Classes

2009-04-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

After nearly 5 months in our sites my training group got back together at the Peace Corps center for a week of training and Spanish classes called Re-Connect. We spent the first two days in our training groups de-briefing all that we have learned, done, seen, and experienced in the last 5 months.

I went into the week feeling pretty overwhelmed by my first 5 months in site. They had been really challenging, at times excruciatingly frustrating, and I frankly felt like I didn’t have a whole lot to show for my time. I was relieved to speak with the volunteers who are a year ahead of me and find that they felt similarly after 5 months in their sites, but that now, a year in, they feel really successful and busy in their sites. I’m looking forward to reaching that point.

After the first two days we broke off into smaller groups and had 3 days of intense Spanish help. I am happy to report that I can now (somewhat) competently speak in the subjunctive! Hurray! I no longer sound like a kindergarten student when I try to tell stories. The week was also lovely because I got go spend my free time with my Peace Corps friends, drinking good coffee and eating bagels (!!!) from the many Antigua cafes shops.

All in all, I chalk it up to a successful week.

Semana Santa in Antigua

2009-04-18T09:58:00.000-07:00

Antigua, Guatemala is the place to be for holy week. There are processions daily that involve hundreds of people. The most unique sight of all, however, are the world-famous alfombras (carpets) made of colored sawdust and other assorted materials. They are created all over the streets of Antigua for the processions to pass over. Here are a few pictures that I snapped while in Antigua the week before Easter…

(If Guatemala were a photo, this would be it)

(making the alfombras)

Semana Santa in Central America

2009-04-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

This being my first Holy week (Semana Santa) since living in Guatemala, instead of taking off for a vacation, I decided to stay in my site and see what the hubub was all about. I’d always heard that Semana Santa in Latin America is a sight to see, but the activities that I experienced last week far surpassed my expectations.

Guatemala, being traditionally very Catholic, celebrates Semana Santa on a scale quite possibly bigger than Christmas. My landlady’s whole family came into town for the week and stayed in the extra beds at my place, effectively turning the place from an ever-quiet respite to a carnival, complete with loads of food and indoor soccer (see below). They also brought with them the Priest from their local parish who was delightful and taught me lots about the significance of different Semana Santa events.

Among those events were plays in which people from my town acted out the whole passion of Christ from the last supper until the resurrection, including a real live crucifixion (don’t worry; they tied, not nailed his hands to the cross). The whole thing was really quite amazing and experiencing it alongside my neighbors was something I’ll never forget.

On Saturday night the whole town gathered on the basketball court to remember the women who went to Jesus´ tomb to mourn with a candlelight service. There was a short reading from the Bible and then we began lighting our candles. The flame started with the priest in the middle and then was passed person to person until it reached the outer limits of the circle. It was a beautiful ending to my first Semana Santa.

A Visit, a Birthday, and a Reminder

2009-03-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the lack of posts in the last month or so. My calendar has been filled with Peace Corps events that, unfortunately have left me with little time to write. However, the madness is beginning to slow down and I want to take a few minutes to reflect on the last month.

I typically try to fill my blog with upbeat anecdotes and snapshots of my life here. However, I have to admit, I haven´t always given a full picture of what my life has been like. So I´m going to level with you- it´s often really challenging. I spend most days in an office where I often don´t feel understood and although my Spanish level has gotten much better lots of things are still lost in translation. Then there´s the cultural differences which often still catch me off guard and leave me a little baffled.

As a result of all of these challenges I spent a good amount of time in the last month really evaluating my reasons for being in the Peace Corps and living in this community. There were days when I felt like the impact that I can have here is so minimal compared to what I could be doing living in a community in the US.

My mom and grandma came for a visit in the midst of all of this and got to hear about all of my struggles and challenges (if you see either of them...give them a hug for being such good listeners). We spent 5 days in my town, during which time we celebrated my 24th birthday. It was an amazing time, and I was so blessed by all of the people in my town who invited us over for a meal, or a snack, or coffee and shared with me how much they appreciated that I am living and working in their town. It was a definite turning point for me when I realized that the true impact of the PC experience often is the friendships you make. So even though I don´t expect the challenges to disappear, I am going to go back into my work with new eyes and motivation.

A Development Conundrum

2009-03-09T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here’s one for all of my friends who are doing and/or studying development…

Guatemala has a long history of development agencies, missions, and various government projects trying to better the lives of the people living here. Unfortunately in the past that has often meant simply giving things- houses, wells, toothbrushes, schools, Bibles, etc. As a result many people have become so accustomed to having things given to them that they expect that model of development and aren’t interested in any other kind.

I ran into this issue this past week when visiting a community. An international development agency is interested in doing some clean water projects in my municipality, which is one of the poorest in the whole country. They approached the Municipal Planning Office with the requirements, and we in turn, went to present them to the communities. One specific community we went to is one of our poorest, with incredibly high malnutrition and child mortality rates. The women in the community have to walk for over a mile up and down a really steep ravine to retrieve dirty water which they use for cooking, bathing, and drinking, causing all kinds of sickness. The proposed project would pipe clean water from a nearby spring directly into the community.

The requirements of the project say that there needs to be a counter on each water spigot to insure that the spring is not being over-taxed and that everyone in the community gets a fair share of the water. The project also requires that a town committee be formed to be in charge of the maintenance and repair of the tubes and faucets and that each family pay a yearly 12 Quetzales ( $1.50…not much, even by Guatemalan standards) to the town committee, that they will in turn use only to repair broken pipes.

The co-workers I went to the community with feel that this is a culturally appropriate and fair system and are excited to see the project happen in a community that needs it so desperately. However, as we sat in the town meeting listening to the people talk after we presented the project, we realized that they saw it differently. They said that they are not interested in a project a) in which they have to pay a yearly fee, and b) in which their water consumption will be monitored. Basically, the meeting ended with them saying, that they didn’t think the project requirements were fair and they weren’t interested in the project. We convinced them to allow the engineer to return again and talk to them, and we’re hoping that they’ll have time to consider what they might be missing out on and will change their minds.

So here’s the conundrum that I keep rolling around in my head… this community desperately needs water but because in the past NGOs and other groups have just given things the community feels that to be expected to pay when they are already very poor is unfair. Maybe the NGO should just drop the requirements and give them the project anyway? After all, it will improve their lives, won’t it? But then, if we just give them the project doesn’t that reinforce this bad system of getting without having to give in return? Isn’t that disempowering? Maybe the community won’t take care of the water system as well because they don’t have their own money invested in it? So maybe they shouldn’t get the project? But kids are dying and living with horrible diarrhea as a result of the bad water they’re drinking. The fields are dried up because of lack of rain and people are going hungry because they can’t possibly carry enough water to keep their fields producing.

I just simply don’t know the answer. This development stuff seemed much simpler in a classroom.

Cultural Mishaps

2009-03-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Though I feel I’m fairly well integrated into my community by now and generally get what’s going on culturally, there are always moments when things come up and surprise me, as happened in the following story…

I was taking a walk through town when I noticed one of the kids I play soccer with crying outside her house. I stopped to ask her what was wrong and she informed me that her grandma had died. Not knowing what to say to her, especially since I’m unfamiliar with the customs surrounding deaths here, I just sat with her a while. After a while, she grabbed my hand and informed me that we were going to see the body. It actually wasn’t as strange as I thought it would be. The family was all there, and seemed glad that I would care enough to come in. So again, I just sat a while to show that I was concerned for them.

Later on in the afternoon I went to visit a friend for our weekly coffee and telenovella (if you don’t know that is, Wikipedia it, I cannot describe). We talked briefly about the death of my neighbor and my friend told me that she didn’t want to go view the body because her husband has the same infirmity and she’s afraid that he’ll die too if she goes there. I mentioned casually that I had been to visit the family, not thinking anything of it, and she immediately pushed me over to the pila (sink) and dunked my head in the water!!! She then instructed me to wash my face and hair while she watched! Whoa.

Apparently there is a lingering traditional belief that if you view a dead body you can carry death around with you. We had a good laugh about it later, probably when she saw the shocked look on my face and realized I had no idea what was going on.

Here’s to clean faces and learning new things!

Carnival

2009-02-27T08:24:00.000-08:00

In the US I vaguely remember Catholic friends of mine celebrating Fat Tuesday, the day before lent begins, as a day to eat sweets before committing themselves to giving them up for the 40 days of lent. Guatemala participates in the tradition, but in Latin American style- Carnival.

To be honest, I had completely forgotten that lent was approaching so quickly, and when I saw the first handfuls of pica-pica (confetti), I thought it was a birthday. The tradition for carnival here is for all of the kids to go crazy covering each other in confetti, face-paint, eggs (real or confetti filled), flour, and anything else they can find to throw at each other.

I was walking home from work on Monday (mind you, a day before carnival), minding my own business, when I started to hear a bit of a ruckus behind me. When I tuned my ears in I realized that they were yelling “Agarra la Carlota” which translated means “get Charlotte!” I turned to see a pack of my neighbors charging up the street towards me. Fight or flight kicked in and I took off running, which in hind sight was probably a bad idea. I think they just got more excited that someone was actually playing their game! I’m about twice their height and probably would’ve outrun them if half of them hadn’t peeled off (you’ve got to give ´em credit…that’s pretty clever) and gone down an alley to trap me on the other side. At this point the whole town had come out of their houses to see what the ruckus was and were laughing their pants off at the site of me being chased by their naughty children. And then they caught me. I arrived home about 20 minutes later, my hair filled with pica-pica and laughing my pants off. I’m still picking the confetti out of my hair, but I’ll count it as a successful cultural integration moment.

The Mayan Calendar

2009-02-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

As a part of my Mayan language classes I`ve been learning snippets of Mayan culture (mostly so my brain won`t explode from too many Mam words) and this week I got to learn all about the Mayan calendar.

The Mayan calendar has 2o symbols and is completely different from the Western calendar that most countries follow. Each symbol signifies one day and once the 20 days are cycled through, it begins again with the first day. Though the population of Guatemala generally follows the Western calendar now, may people still conslut the Mayan calendar to guide them.

For example, day 6 is Asmaq or forgiveness. Children who are born on this day are said to have extra capacity for forgiving others. Also, if you have wronged someone and would like to ask their forgiveness, you would wait until this day to have the most favor when approaching them.

Here`s a photo of some of the symbols (I`ve been painting them to keep my fingers in something artistic)...

The Daily Grind

2009-02-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

I knew this would happen eventually. In fact, I’m pretty impressed that I’ve made it 6 months already with never a gap of more than 10 days between blogs, but alas, I’ve finally dropped the ball. The truth is life feels pretty normal at this point. The days blur together and the weeks pass quickly as my life here in Guatemala becomes more settled. But that’s not an excuse! I still want to keep you updated on my life and the goings-on here. So let me begin what may be a string of very mundane blogs about my daily existence with a description of what a typical day looks like for me…

I usually wake up to the sound of the neighbor’s chickens and turkeys before my alarm rings. It’s actually become a comforting ritual and allows me time to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and enjoy the stillness before my day begins. Most mornings I throw on a jacket and go for a walk in the hills surrounding my town which helps to remind me that even though I’m in an office most of the day, my town is beautiful and can actually be quite tranquil when all of the street dogs and insane 6 year olds (who are STILL ringing my doorbell at all hours) are still sleeping.

Work starts at 8 after I’ve eaten my breakfast and (maybe) bathed. Typically the morning in my office passes in a mixture of sitting, chatting, more sitting, or me trying to convince my counterparts to help on some sort of project. I leave the office for lunch at 12 (because they insisted that Americans eat lunch at 12 and I might get sick if I don’t stick to my “normal” schedule). The afternoon passes just like the morning, only if I’m lucky someone in the Forestry or Planning offices will be going to a community and I can tag along to see the sights and practice speaking Mam, the local Mayan language, which I am attempting to learn.

Work ends at 4 and I usually use the remaining daylight to play with kids in the park or visit a friend in town. These are my favorite parts of the day…sitting with Doña Mary and joking about whatever cultural mistakes I’ve made during the day, or playing with Alejandra and Maria Victoria (see Christmas cookie pictures).

I make dinner in the evening and write some letters, read a book, or watch a movie and retire at the ridiculously early hour of 9:00. I’m not sure if it’s the effort of thinking and speaking in a different language all day that wears me out, but I have no trouble sleeping 9 or sometimes even 10 hours a night!

I hope that helps you picture what my Guatemalan Peace Corps experience is like at present. The newness has worn off, but I like that living life in a small Guatemalan town feels normal.

Things Guatemala Has Taught Me

2009-01-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

I absolutely can’t relieve it but next week I’ll be celebrating my 6 month anniversary with the country of Guatemala. When I first arrived in country I met a volunteer who was on her way out and I asked her if she had any words of wisdom for a new volunteer. She said to me that the days will crawl, but the months will fly, and she couldn’t have been more right. Some days, when I’m in my office pondering the intricacies of spider solitaire (there hasn’t been a lot of work with the holidays and then our town fair…luckily things are picking up now) it seems like the day will never end. However, now that I’m sitting on the top of 6 months here, I can’t believe how the time has flown. So, as a retrospective on the last half-year of my life, here´s a few of the things Guatemala has taught me:

· Spanish!
· Saturday nights are not complete without Tamales and Sabado Gigante
· That there’s always room for one more, whether in an already jam-packed bus or for lunch at a neighbor’s house
· Soccer is way more exciting when played on a basketball court
· You don’t really need hot (or even warm) water to wash dishes...or your body
· Greeting absolutely everyone you meet on the street is totally normal
· If you are the gringa, little kids will ring your doorbell at all hours of the night, even if you give them your best angry eyes
· Papaya is still gross, even when it’s super fresh
· Fireworks are not only for adults. They make cool toys for 4 year olds too!
· Beans are really really really good
· So are tortillas
· Walk slower. What’s the hurry?

Immigration

2009-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

It is impossible to live in the US and not hear, at least occasionally, about immigration. Usually the voices we hear are angry and impassioned. On the one side, it is argued that illegal immigrants are stealing our jobs and sapping our public services. On the other, cries for amnesty and tolerance are backed by weak or infeasible plans of action. Both sides are calling for reform and I have never been more aware of this need since arriving in Guatemala.

It seems appropriate, during the first few days of a new president to reflect on a system badly in need of repair and to speak of what I’ve seen while living here in Guatemala. Even living in DC and seeing whole neighborhoods of Latin American immigrants, I was unaware of the hugeness of this issue. It is no exaggeration to say that more than half of the people I have met in Guatemala have either been to the US to work, or a family member has, the vast majority of them undocumented.

Guatemala is a country rich with resources and hard working people, but lacking the social structure to ensure that people have jobs and that the wealth that comes from exports actually makes it into the hands of the people. Both relative and abject poverty are rampant, and despite hard work, there are many who go to bed hungry, kids who can’t afford to go to school, and widespread lack of simple necessities like running water, electricity, and sanitation.

Walking through a Guatemalan community one can easily see which families´ incomes are augmented by money coming from the US- their houses are much bigger, the children better dressed, fed, and attending school. Though, I don’t think the dramatic inequity is a good thing, it would be difficult to convince anyone that kids having shoes, something to eat, and an education is a bad thing. Whole municipalities benefit from the remittances as well. During my training I visited a volunteer who said that 60% of the funds of her municipality come from the US. Guatemalans in the US send money back to fund not only their families, but projects for schools, libraries, roads, and churches.

The problem I see is this: it is absolutely unsustainable. Unsustainable for Guatemala in the sense that whole communities are relying on funds coming from people who could be caught and deported in the blink of an eye. The flow of outside resources also creates a false sense of wealth and depresses local markets, causing people to rely on money sent from the US instead of using what tools are in their hands to produce what they need to live.

It is equally unsustainable for the US. Most of the jobs held by undocumented workers are those that Americans do not want, or cannot occupy because the pay is so low (this in itself is a human rights issue, as employers in the US employ undocumented workers who have no legal right to demand a fair wage and therefore work backbreaking jobs for $2-3 an hour). The US has become reliant on cheap labor supplied by migrant workers to deliver our tomatoes to our grocery store at the minimum price. If we were to, in a day, deport all of the workers who live illegally in the US, we would in one sweep, wipe out those who plant, pick, and transport our food. Furthermore, if those workers were replaced by American workers who received a fair wage for a days work, we’d see the price of produce double overnight. Imagine the riots at your local grocery store if tomatoes all of sudden cost $6/lb! (Agriculture is only an example. Migrant workers can be found in nearly every service sector in the US)

All of that to say that the issue is not as simple as talk radio wants us to think it is. I genuinely believe that there’s hope for repairing the system, making it better both for the US and for those who seek work on American soil. Many have proposed a tightening of control on illegal immigration (in safe ways that do not include threatening or endangering the lives of those who try to cross our borders) while also providing a way for those who want to work in the US, a way to do so legally and for fair wages, such as a Guest Worker program. We need the labor, they need the income, and we all need the education that cross-cultural interaction brings.

On Learning a Mayan Language

2009-01-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

Guatemala has a thriving Mayan culture made up of 22 distinct cultures and languages. Most of the women (and some of the men) of these groups continue to wear their traditional dress or traje. By these outfits, the well-trained eye can tell from which part of Guatemala the wearer hails.

The municipality in which I live is 97% Mayan Mam. Nearly all of the women and some of the men still wear the local traje. For the women this is a deep red boxy shirt with tassels coming off the bottom and ornate embroidery on the top, a black skirt with small blue and yellow stripes, and a beautifully woven belt covered in embroidered flowers. In addition to their stunning clothing, the Mam of my town speak their traditional language in almost all conversations and interactions.

Children are taught Spanish in their bi-lingual primary schools, but many of the older generations (especially the women) do not speak Spanish. I could probably survive in my town with only Spanish (the 3% of non-indigenous peoples of my municipality live in the town where my house is), but it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the Mam language is going to be a crucial skill for gaining the trust of my non-Spanish speaking neighbors. Though the Mam culture is very private and wary of outsiders, I have noticed that when I use the few Mam phrases I’ve learned they open up with smiles and further conversation.

Therefore, I’m once again launching into the often confusing and frustrating world of learning a new language! My teacher meets me 3 times a week for 2 hours each time to try and pass along his knowledge of his ancient and linguistically challenging language. Whereas English as 5 vowels, Mam has 10. English has 22 consonants; Mam has 27, 7 of which are glotalized, meaning the sound comes from the back of the throat (try saying the letter K and then pushing the sound further back down your throat…you just said a letter in Mam!) However, despite all of the challenges, I think I’m actually catching on…slowly!

I’ve learned to say basic things like what I am currently doing or planning to do in the near future, my numbers from 1-20, and how to buy fruits and veggies in the market. I’m also learning some basic phrases to use in my office such as “come on in,” “sit down please,” and “wait here while I get someone who speaks Mam.” Saying “sit down please” has proven to be something of a challenge though, for the glotalized syallable that it contains.

What I’m trying to say is… Please sit down = q´eka
What I’m actually saying is…Please lay down = kyeka

I’ve given you the literal translation of my error…use your imagination and you can probably figure out the colloquial phrase that I’ve been saying, causing eruptions of laughter or faces of horror from everyone in earshot! I suppose you’ve got to say a few inappropriate things before you begin to say things properly! So I’ll keep plugging away. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Belated Christmas Cookies

2009-01-09T12:07:00.001-08:00

The holiday season found me very busy and unable to deliver on a promise to make Christmas cookies with my friend Gladys´ two girls. However, I found some free time last weekend and Gladys dropped the girls off for an afternoon of belated Christmas cookie-making. As you can see from the photos, it was a messy event. The older of the two girls, the very precocious Maria Victoria proved herself to be quite an artist, while the younger, Alejandra, proved herself to be something of a world-class eater. During the course of the afternoon I think somewhere around 6 cookies disappeared (very sneakily) into her 2 year old belly. I’m now convinced she could take the crown at one of those hot-dog eating contests.

We had quite a blast! It was the girls´ first time to make cookies and they loved the whole process, from mixing the dough with their hands to frosting and decorating the cookies. They’re already asking me when the next American holiday is so we can make more cookies. Maybe we’ll make some Presidents Day cookies. Does anyone have a cookie-cutter of Lincoln’s profile I could borrow?

Christmas Without Snow

2009-01-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Kids playing with fire. I think they were burning old school papers. The firecrackers came later, but they were running so fast that I didn´t get any decent pictures!

Gift exchange with Doña Mary´s family

Alana won bright green plastic fingernails in our gift exchange. Here I am applying them.

Although I missed snow like you wouldn´t believe, it must be said that my first Guatemalan Christmas was not without it´s charms. If Christmas Carols and Snowmen are your thing, you´d probably miss your American Christmas. However, if you dig 4 year olds playing with fireworks at midnight and tamales so stuffed with chilis that you think your lips might burn off...then Guatemala is your place for the holidays!

I celebrated the holiday in style with 3 friends from my training group who came to my town to stay with me for a few nights. We cooked up some mighty tasty Mediterranean food (whoever said that you have to have ham for Christmas has obviously never had Falafel) and watched movies. I rang in the midnight hour with my friend Doña Mary and her family. The kids all went nuts with fireworks, sparklers, and enough firecrackers to make the neighbors think World War III was breaking out. After wishing everyone in the family and everyone on the street a Merry Christmas we at delicious tamales and exchanged gifts. It was lovely and I´m sure every Christmas in the future, whether I´m somewhere else in the world or cozy in a warm house while snow falls outside, I´ll remember this Christmas complete with tamales and firecrackers.

Happy Christmas!

2008-12-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

I just had a lovely weekend with my mum in Antigua and have a few friends coming to spend Christmas with me, so things are bright and sunny in my world. I hope you all have a lovely and peaceful Christmas surrounded by family and friends. Thanks to everyone who sent me Christmas cards and packages- you made my first Guatemalan Christmas extra fabulous!

Well, Im off to pick up my friends at the bus station and prepare for a night filled with tamale eating, gift exchanging, and fireworks!!!

Long awaited pictures of my new home...

2008-12-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Crazy kiddies in my town

Our basketball/ soccer court with a beautiful sunset

My office, one of my coworkers and her son

Town center- park and church

The municipal building- my office is the second window from the left on the top floor

View of my street from my house (and my index finger in case you´d forgotten what that looks like)

My house! Rose bushes to the left

My pila in my secret garden behind the house- this is where I was clothes, dishes, veggies, etc.

My bed with my cool PACA (used market) blanket

My kitchen

Other side of my room with my homemade shelves

Thanksgiving on the Lake

2008-12-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

RJ, Me, and Katie shopping in Panajachel

Scott, David, and Katie lounging at the hostel

The view from my hostel in the morning

Thanksgiving 2008 marked my first major holiday away from home. I was in London for Thanksgiving a few years ago, but the fam came to visit, (you should ask me about trekking a 25 pound Turkey around London via the Tube sometime) so this officially was my first.

I spent it at Lake Atitlan with my training group. We went to this fabulously rustic little hostel called Iguana Perdida in the town of Santa Cruz La Laguna, Solola, where our dorm room was actually a bungalow on stilts without walls! We arrived on Thursday afternoon and took a launch from one side of the lake, Panajachel, to Santa Cruz on the other. The weather was amazing so we swam in the lake until a) we were kicked out for swimming off the dock of the fancy restaurant down the street and b) it was time for Thanksgiving dinner! The hostel cooked the meal, which in the absence of mom food and grandma’s rolls, was pretty much as good as it gets. We then proceeded to lounge around in hammocks in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. Not a bad day, if you ask me.

In true Peace Corps fashion we stretched our Thanksgiving holiday into 4 days of lounging, swimming, kayaking, playing games, and Christmas shopping in the local artisan market. All in all, the weekend was a pretty wonderful, and a much needed break. It was really therapeutic to get together with others in my training group and share experiences from our first few weeks. I know it comforted me to realize that the loneliness and emotional roller-coaster-ness of the last month was a pretty standard experience.

Coming back to the reality of life at site was tough, but as my bus got closer and closer to my house I realized that I actually felt like I was going home. I suppose that means I’m starting to settle in here. Hogar, dulce hogar.

This is the part where I get sappy...

2008-11-26T09:21:00.000-08:00

I’m well into week 4 in my site and starting to realize all of the things I miss about home. It probably has a lot to do with the lack of a lot of the relative comforts I had during training (i.e. speaking English) that I’m just now beginning to notice these things. But, without further ado, here they are, in no particular order…
· Libraries
· Peanut Butter
· Coffee shops (and good coffee!)
· Cheese
· My family (and Annie too!)
· Speaking English
· Movies
· Dance parties (Jess, Josh, Paul…you three are most definitely included in that)
· Talking about international development with Houghton friends…man, living it is WAY harder!

But I have to say, that the thing I miss most of all of this is the amazing communities of people that I left behind in the U.S. I miss having late night conversations about important stuff and trivial stuff. I miss cooking meals together and sitting around the dinner table long after the plates are empty. I miss going on walks and hikes with people I love. I miss picnics and Frisbee games after church. I miss church! I miss game nights. I miss trips into DC with lunches on Saturdays. I miss concerts and plays. So, to those of you who live in New Hampshire, Houghton, and DC- this blog is dedicated to you!

However, you have a way of making my life full even from afar. I love the memories and pictures I brought with me to Guatemala, and the knowledge that we will make more soon. Knowing that you continue to dance your heads off, play Bang, talk about international development, and cook lots of yummy food makes me SO happy! Miss you!

This is Life

2008-11-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

So, I must apologize for my serious lack of posting lately. Ive settled into my new life here in my site and everything seems a whole lot like normal life now. I suppose Ive felt that since nothing has changed and nothing monumental has happened that I dont have anything to blog about. I think thats just a reflection on the fact that this is now my home (wow...weird!) and things are going to be pretty normal from here on out. So, with that in mind, let me fill you in on my normal everyday life in Huehuetenango.

Ive been here for 3 weeks now. I have a cute house on one of the main streets in town and on market days my house is full of noise and smells from the vendors that are parked less than a block from my front door. Im beginning to make friends; the wonderful thing about small rural towns is that everyone knows everyone else and because Im new people notice and invite me in for coffee! So Ive meet some pretty cool people that way. There are several families in town that I think Ill be hanging out with pretty frequently. In one family a baby was born a week before I arrived. We were talking the other day about how she will kind of be the marker of my time here. Ill get to see two of her birthdays, see her learn to walk and talk, get to teach her my name even! I like the sound of that kind of consistency.

Job stuff is going pretty well. Its a slow start, to be sure. Any job takes a lot of orientation and learning and throwing in cultural and language barriers only makes that harder. But my counterparts (the two local women who I work with) are very gracious and are teaching me lots. Im beginning to learn the local Mayan language: so far I can say whats up and safe travels! Next week we are beginning the process of creating our operating plan and budget for next year. Im excited to begin the process with them and to be here to see it through next year.

So yep, thats my life now. I speak a lot of Spanish:)

Obamania

2008-11-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Barb, me, and Alana at the election party

The man of the hour!

Though I was out of the country for the elections, thanks to Democrats abroad, I was able to view the results as they came in. It was pretty exciting to be surrounded by 250 other people- Americans and others as our country selected our first ever African-American president! It looks like our country is in for a pretty big change, with Obama has Head of State! Hopefully he keeps his word and ups the Peace Corps! I´m excited to see what the next few years bring for the US and countries like Guatemala who are really affected by our policies.

It´s Official!

2008-11-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

Esperanza and I in the garden of the Embassador´s house

So excited to be volunteers!

The gang looking super fresh in our swearing-in best

Well folks, it´s official, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)! After 3 months of training we all descended upon Ambassador McFarland´s house last Friday to take our oaths as volunteers. The ceremony was really cool- the ambassador, our country director, and one of our group spoke, reminding us what we´re here for and what our mission is as volunteers.

The day was also bittersweet, as I had the difficult task of saying goodbye to the Carillo family who have taken me in as one of their own. We had a going away party where I cooked them all dinner and we all said words (Guatemalan tradition where everyone present thanks everyone and says nice things about the guest of honor) about how much we enjoyed our time together. Then they gave me lovely presents for my house, which was totally unexpected and very sweet.

It´s hard to believe that I´ve been here for 3 months already, and even harder to believe that soon I´ll be living ALL ON MY OWN, speaking only Spanish!