Thoughts on Food

(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

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!)

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

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

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

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...

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.