Guatermaler!

Hangin` in Xela!

2009-03-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been a time to relax, get used to a new routine without Bryce, and mostly enjoy the company of friends in Xela. Not much news...just happy to have the support of good friends during a time of personal transition. Also, I cut and colored my hair. A whole new look for a whole new chapter! I can`t wait for my upcoming visits from friends! Over the next few weeks 2 of my best friends are coming to visit, Seth and Julianne!

the new do!

me, Laura, Lauren, James

Lauren and Laura being goofy

James cooking French Onion Soup. Lauren trying to look useful. It was so gourmet! And he made key lime pie for dessert!

Thanks to James being a cool engineer-ecologist we got to attend a BBQ at the AIDG house. AIDG is an environmentally conscious group of engineers that develops appropriate, green technologies in Guatemala and Haiti. Check them out! http://www.aidg.org/. They also happen to have a very cool house with chickens and a bread oven!

chickens!!

bread oven

bread oven!

MMMM...delicious homemade bread!

me, Laura, Lauren

just so you can get another shot of the new hair

It`s Carnaval! Let`s Throw Shit!

A couple weeks ago was Carnaval, a holiday that originated in Brazil, of which I know very little about. As soon as the Carnaval street fair ended a new fair was set up just outside my apartment, in Central Park. Now begins the 6 weeks of festivals leading up to Easter. I love Latin America!

The Origins of Carnaval (Compliments of Wikipedia):

The Brazilian Carnival, properly spelled Carnaval, is an annual festival in Brazil held four days before Ash Wednesday, the day of fasting and repentance that marks the beginning of Lent. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry -- hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove (literally, "raise") meat." Carnival celebrations are believed to have roots in the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which, adapted to Christianity, became a farewell to certain pleasures of the flesh in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection.

Observations of Carnaval in Guatemala (Compliments of Jillian):

A large street fair (photos follow). An entire week dedicated to throwing things at people. Most commonly thrown object: hollowed out eggs, covered in paper machet, filled with confetti and glitter. I went to visit a school on behalf of the clinic and walked into a very lively Carnaval party. Needless to say, I left the school covered in glitter and confetti. Other objects you can throw during Carnaval: real eggs with the yoke still inside and flour.

Photos of the Carnaval Street Fair

popcorn balls?

sugar cane! They also sell it in little sticks, already shaved. So delicious!

peanuts...lots of peaunuts

choco frutas! you can get almost any kind of fruit covered in chocolate, here. My personal favorite: chocobananos!

dried fish...the smell is indescribable.

huipiles, the traditional shirt worn by indigenous women in Guatemala

I buy all my DVDs at little stands like this that burn movies illegally. Copyright laws, not such a big deal here.

Women selling the traditional bread/cracker of Xela. They look like giant Cheerios.

crocodile!!

Cheveres! Hot dogs! These stands are everywhere throughout the city. I used to be addicted but decided I was done taking risks with my weak, American stomach.

Señor Diente y Más!

2009-02-19T15:51:00.000-08:00

My work at the clinic has gotten much more interesting and rewarding over the past few weeks. School started in February and classes started coming to the clinic 2 weeks ago. Each day (Monday through Thursday) we see one class, which can be anywhere from 30 to 50 students. The class is divided in half and while one half of the class sees the doctor and dentist, the other half of the class hangs out with me and other health educators while we teach them about nutrition, hygiene and if they are really lucky (5th and 6th graders) they get to learn about puberty! Soon I will start traveling to the schools to teach classes on additional topics.

Health Education Classes Begin!

This is me teaching a 4th grade class about how to properly brush their teeth. The boy is Señor Diente (Mr. Tooth) and the girl is brushing him using broom. As she brushes him, all the plaque comes of his little tooth body (masking tape in this case).

Señor Diente checking out some teeth that did not have such good fortune as he. ¡Guacala! Gross!
Carlos (health education director) helps the students wash their hands before snack

... and emphasizes the importance of water conservation

Marissa (another health educator) teaches the 4th graders about nutrition

More 4th graders at the clinic! So far the clinic has seen four 6th grade classes and four 5th grade classes. We are going down in age as the days continue. Can`t wait for the little párvulos, (kindergarteners)!

Carlos teaching a nutrition class. Carlos lives in Salcajá, the town I visited a couple weekends ago (see photos from previous post). He is also the clinic´s psychologist.

The Women´s Program at Primeros Pasos

I am not directly involved with the women´s program but I had the opportunity to attend an open house at the clinic a few weeks ago, for women from all 10 communities. It was a wonderful afternoon of getting to know each other, playing games (to evaluate their knowledge of nutrition and hygeine) and snacking, of course! The women were so eager to be invovled in the program and so appreciative of the services of the clinic. It was wonderful to see them all taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate in such a positive program.

Miriam (director of the women`s program) welcomes everyone. She is an amazing youg woman with a baby of her own. She travels over an hour by bus to work with the clinic.

Nutrition Jeopardy!

Miriam and Elizabeth (Miriam`s assistant,UVA grad, also amazing!)

Feliz Dia de los Enamorados! Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

Recent Changes

Since the holidays, life has changed for Bryce and I in new and challenging ways. We have been in Guatemala for 4.5 months now. We have also been together for 4.5 years as best friends and a happy, healthy couple, if I do say so myself. Over the past month, however, we've decided to pursue our own futures independent of each other. It's very difficult for us both, but we appreciate the outpouring of support from friends and family and are doing just fine, all things considered. So on Valentine's Day we toasted to new beginnings and a great friendship. From now on the blog will mostly follow my Guatemalan adventures but I will, of course, give updates on Bryce's life as well. He returns to the States in a couple weeks for an interview in NY and may be in the States for a while, visiting friends and family and waiting to hear back from other schools.

Saturday- Hiking Cerro Quemado

Saturday I went hiking with 3 girlfriends to celebrate Valentine's Day in style, as strong and independent women! I have no pictures, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful hike up an inactive volcano. At the top we encountered a couple religious ceremonies that seemed to be mostly Christian with Mayan influences. We also saw lots beautiful wildflowers being farmed for the local markets.

Sunday- Visiting Salcajá and San Andrés Xecul

Sunday I traveled with my friend Lauren to 2 different towns near Xela. The first, Salcajá, boasts the oldest church in Latin America (of those that are classified as historic landmarks), La Iglesia de San Jacinto.

We befriended a woman who lives in Salcajá and she showed us to her home and tienda where she sells indigenous mayan clothing, or traje tipico. Her husband insisted on searching high and low for a magazine about the cultural sights Salcajá to give us as a gift. The wife showed us to the church where we met a man who showed us inside and gave us a brochure about the history of the church. The man at the church took our picture but didn´t really know how to operate a camera, which is why that picture is not included here.

Then we scoped out some caldo de frutas, an alcoholic drink made only in Salcajá from rum, fermented fruit and cinnamon. The town is also known for a very yellow drink similar to eggnog called rompopo. We visited the one shop in town that sells rompopo and chatted with the family for a while. This family has been making rompopo for generations. They were lovely and told us about their travels and family in the U.S. I recently learned at a conference that somewhere close to half the population of Salcajá has immigrated to the U.S. A very friendly and proud town.

Lauren tasting caldo de frutas!

rompopo!

In the second town, San Andrés Xecul, we visited la Iglesia San Andrés Xecul, the coolest church ever! I love all the color and the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's not perfectly symmetrical and the figures look almost cartoon-like. The fat angels are my favorite detail!

It's just the facade that is so elaborate. (ahem, Kate...)

painted rotunda, Iglesia San Andrés Xecul

You betta BELIZE it!!!

2009-01-14T16:46:00.000-08:00

Chicken busses, chicken sandwiches, and finally…TROPICAL PARADISE.

Then more chicken buses.

bananas

coconuts

After dropping Kate off in San Lucas (see previous entry), Bryce and I took a chicken bus to Guatemala City and caught a connection to Puerto Barrios, the port town where we thought we would catch a boat to Belize (a.k.a. tropical paradise) in the morning. During our evening bus ride I made the poor decision to eat a chicken sandwich at the bus station. I started feeling sick to my stomach when we arrived in Puerto Barrios around midnight. By 4 am I was making friends with the toilet in our very budget hostel. By budget I mean there was not a complete wall between our bed and the toilet. It’s like they just decided not to finish building the wall all the way to the ceiling, which is very unfortunate for couples when one of them ate a chicken sandwich at the bus terminal hours earlier.

Feliz Cumpleaños a Bryce!

Happy Birthday Bryce! Yes, at 6am on Bryce’s birthday he was loading me into the back of a taxi looking for a private clinic that might be open at such an hour. After 3 stops we finally found a private hospital. After about 10 hours of being hooked up to an IV, a blood test, urine and stool samples, I was told I had contracted salmonella, very common with chicken here apparently. After 13 hours and $300US, I was released from this stuffy, windowless hospital, feeling much better. This all thanks to the extra special care of nurses who kept bringing me vomit-inducing foods and telling me to eat (um…but...I have salmonella!?) but mostly due to Bryce’s tender love and care and vigilance in examining the safety of every needle that poked me.

Punta Gorda, Belize

The next morning we took a boat to Punta Gorda, Belize where we thought we would find tropical paradise. Disappointingly, we found only a customs and immigration office and a friendly European man who runs a tour agency in town (with the primary purpose of taking people out of town). After wandering around for about half an hour and buying a Belize guide book we stopped in to ask this man where the beach was. He replied, “no beach”. No beach? What? “But we’re in Belize…tropical paradise. There was supposed to be a beach here. There HAS to be a beach here.” In reality there would have been. But they built a road and put boulders where the beach should have gone. Genius foresight on their part. Genius foresight on our part not to have read a guide book before traveling to Belize. Apparently, in order to snorkel for an affordable price, you have to go to one of the islands off the coast of Belize City, where you are only about 1km from the Great Barrier Reef (and can therefore get a boat to take you out for cheaper). Bryce was not leaving Belize without snorkeling. (Note to Parents and Rybolts: snorkeling is the new fishing for Bryce. So you see, it’s pretty important to him.) So, we enjoyed our first Belizean beer (way better than Guatemala’s beer) and boarded yet another chicken bus to Belize City, 6 hours away.

Caye Caulker, Belize

We spent one night in Belize City and then took a boat early the next morning to the island of Caye Caulker. The name may not sound like tropical paradise, but maybe that’s how it stays so undeveloped. It was beautiful and actually very touristy but not in the overdeveloped, resort kind of way. Lots of funky guesthouses and cabanas line the beach and we found this lovely fixer-upper called Loraine’s.

Then we spent most of our time mooching off the dock of the more expensive hotel next door. It had shaded hammocks over the water!

In Caye Caulker we enjoyed the most delicious pizza of our lives made by a French woman who was just starting out. Her friend runs a café during the day and she uses the place at night to make pizza. She’s adorable. She plays the sweetest music and the pizza is to die for. We love finding little gems such as these whenever we go somewhere new. We ordered freshly squeezed juices of all kinds and made our own fruity rum drinks! We met a charismatic middle-aged hippy woman who helped establish a manatee sanctuary not far from the island. She was crazy about manatees. I love meeting people who are super passionate about something I know little about. We met a woman who fled Texas when Child Protective Service tried to take her children away (unjustly, according to her). It was one of the more fascinating conversations of my life. We snorkeled on the Great Barrier Reef which included swimming with the sting rays! It was way too short a stay but beautiful and relaxing.

sunset in Tropical Paradise!

Soon it was back to shore and then a 20 hour stint of busses, which included a 2 hour stop at the border to get our visas renewed and our passports stamped and a 4 hour layover in Flores, Guatemala where we enjoyed dinner overlooking a beautiful lake.

amazing tree on the Guatemalan side of the border (Photographer: Bryce Parent)

Water lilies in Flores, Guatemala (Photographer: Bryce Parent)

Flores, Guatemala

There’s No Place Like Xela!

exhaustion

We were sooo tired when we got back to Xela and sooo relieved to be back in our little home away from home after 2 weeks of backpacks and chicken bus adventures.

The Adventures Continue at Lake Atitlan! Mucho Hippy!

2009-01-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Lake Atitlan on Christmas afternoon not realizing that public transport could be a trite sparse on Christmas. So we ended up catching a ride in the back of a pick-up for two hours down windy mountain roads as the sun set and for about half an hour in complete darkness. We decided to spend the night in a small town called Los Encuentros and make the rest of the trip by daylight on the 26th.

As you can see, it was worth the trip!

San Marcos de Atitlan

We stayed in San Marcos, one of several towns situated around Lake Atitlan, each with its own character, each attracting its own breed of hippy backpacker or as our landlord likes to say, “mucho hippy en el Lago”.

San Marcos attracts a very specific and unique type of hippy backpacker, not be mistaken for the San Pedro breed of hippy that is known for smoking a lot of pot. San Marcos hippies might smoke occasionally but they prefer to get high off life and can be found feeling “the vortex” in Sedona, Arizona. Here is a photo montage to help you identify the San Marcos hippy:

What is a moon course? I dunno know but it sounds mucho hippy! Vamonos!Meditation GardenHippy

Unicorn hotel, holistic center, therapy and massagemural on a wall constructed with recycled plastic bottlesmore of the muralstairs turned into an elephant!
We went to this yoga class. We did sun salutations on mats woven from reeds, on a deck overlooking the lake. Crazy hippy!

Kidding aside, San Marcos was A-MAAAA-ZING. So relaxing. Great swimming. Great hiking. Great food. We ate almost every meal at this sweet cafe that grows all its own vegetables, roasts its own coffee and uses a composting toilet!

Moonfish Cafe

Great hotel. If you ever go to Lake Atitlan stay here at Paco Real!

our own little bungalow!our lofted bed inside the bungalow!

we enjoyed the company of a very friendly cat that lived outside our bungalow

San Marcos was just the vacation we needed. We only spent 2 days there though. Soon it was off to Santiago, a different lakeside town with more of a visible local culture.

Santiago!

Santiago is situated in the southwest corner of the Lake in an inlet at the base of 2 volcanoes. It is the centre of the Tz’utujil-speaking Maya and is the largest of the lakeside villages. The village was the first in the country to successfully drive out the armed forces after the 36-year armed conflict. The traditional dress of Santiago is still worn by many men in the village. It is rare to see men in traditional dress these days. The men wear long shorts, with white- and purple-striped embroidery. Some of the more elaborate shorts have intricate embroidery of birds and flowers. Here, we enjoyed walking around the town and Kate and I bought “pantalones de Santiago” as the vendors proudly defined them. I have no idea if these pants are actually traditional or just a creation for tourists who have a love for color as Kate and I clearly do.

San Lucas de Toliman

We took a pick-up to San Lucas (another lakeside town) on Monday the 29th, where we said goodbye to Kate. She can tell you more about San Lucas as she spent about a week there with her study abroad/exchange program. I only saw the gorgeous Catholic church and the back of a tuc-tuc- the 3-wheeled, open vehicles that sometimes serves as taxis in warm parts of Guatemala. Besides those 2 sites, I didn’t see anything. There were tears in my eyes. I miss you Kater. ☹

Las Gran Adventuras de las Hermanas Valorosas Villars y su Amigo Colocho!

2009-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

The Great Adventures of the Valient Villars Sisters and their Curly-Haired Friend!

Las Hermanas...y...

su amigo colocho!

Giant nativity in Xela!

...Just because we're cute

We toured the local market, La Domocracia, to see all the Christmas decorations for sale!

Dyed sawdust used to add color to Christmas décor!
Crab apples tied together on string for use as garland

My very own villa navidena (Christmas village)!

Our Christmas tree!

Trip to Fuentes Georginas! These hot springs are nestled halfway up a volcano.
Fuentes Georginas

The pick-up ride back down the volcano

Zunil, the town at the base of the volcano, right outside Xela

more Zunil
Zunil

Agriculture is cool! (Zunil)

Hiking Santa Maria Volcano (3772 m)

Setting the Scene:
Santa Maria is an active volcano about 7km outside of Xela. It erupted in 1902, killing 1,500 people. Santiagito, usually visible from the top of Santa Maria, is a relatively new volcano that formed out of Santa Maria’s crater. Santiaguito erupts daily, spewing ash all over Xela (it looks like it’s snowing, but it’s just ash), and is considered on of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world. GASP!

Step 1. Woke up at 4:30 am
Step 2. Walked to the Quetzaltreker office. Quetzaltrekkers is the trekking group we hiked with. This non-profit organization is a group of hippies that lead hikes and donate all their profits to 1. The clinic where Bryce and I work 2. a school for homeless children and 3. a shelter for abused women. Basically, they are awesome and extremely hardcore.
Step 3. Rode in the back of a pick-up for 7km in freezing cold darkness to the base of the cone
Step 4. Started a “gentle climb” (as the Quetzaltrekkers like to call it) for about 45 mins.

Jillian started to feel ill and had to stop the group to use the “shit kit” several times throughout these 45 minutes. She strongly considered turning around, but was too bad ass. (Actually I just kept reminding myself that if I chickened out now I would have to repeat steps 1-4 on another day because I will not let myself leave Guatemala without hiking this f$%#ing volcano).

Step 5. The “gentle climb” progressed steadily to a “steep climb” for the next um…4 hours! Jillian continued to use the “shit kit” and drank oral re-hydration salts while panting and holding back tears.
Step 6. We got into the rhythm of the climb and began to enjoy ourselves! Jillian’s illness passed. We could see the peak…so close and yet so far away! Beautiful views that can’t be described or accurately depicted with a camera (unless maybe you are Tom Dooley).
Step 7. VICTORY!
The View
From the top you can see Santiaguito erupt, which according to my guidebook is “an incredible and memorable sight” as it “spouts a great grey cloud of rock and dust hundreds of meters into the air”. To the east you can see the 4 volcanoes above Lake Atitlan and two more above Antigua. To the west, you can see the cones of Tajumulco and Tacana, marking the Mexican border. You can see all of these things...in clear conditions. We did not have clear conditions, just a blanket of clouds. Santiaguito, which constantly erupts about every half hour, did not erupt. Oh well. Maybe I’ll just have to climb it again!

Jingle Buddies
So there weren’t views, but there was a Christmas Eve piñata, jingle buddies candies and the victorious sense of accomplishment that comes from climbing 3,772 meters (con diarrhea!). Just look how happy I was!

jingle buddies!

Christmas Day!
Feliz Navidad!
Wearing cozy PJ’s brought all the way to Guatemala by Kate, from my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jimmy! xoxo

We were matching girls for Xmas! The skirt was a Christmas gift from me to Kate (note that I bought myself one too). Frosty the Snowman just magically appeared in Parque Central on Christmas morning.

Next it was off to Lake Atitlan! TO BE CONTINUED...

2 Months already!?

2008-12-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

Random Pagoda found while jogging a 5K (note picture-perfect volcano in background)

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones. Our Thanksgiving was a little homesick but nice nonetheless. We spent the evening at the clinic director’s apartment gorging on traditional Thanksgiving menu items and a few less typical dishes. For example, I made cheesy bean dip and Bryce brought cheese pie. yes. cheese pie. He was told to bring apple pie or cheesecake. We couldn’t find either, but we did find an interesting crossbreed. For some reason I was determined to like the cheese pie. So I ate it until I felt ill (about 3 bites) and regretted my determination.

¡Feliz F $*%ing Navidad!

The Christmas season is in full swing all over the world I’m sure, but in particularly obnoxious (and sometimes endearing) ways here in Xela. There are beautiful decorations and lights hanging all over the city, which I love. It really gives me a cozy Christmas feeling in my heart. Then there are the all too familiar inflatable snowmen and santas everywhere, which bother me somewhat but are still cute enough. Finally, there is the music. Oh dear God. The music. We live above Central Park. There is some sort of party, concert, festival, corn men dance, you name it, going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Parque Central. I find this party atmosphere to be a very endearing part of Latin American culture. I remember the same atmosphere living in Mexico City as a kid. Always a party! But when you live above the constant party and it’s Christmas season...you’re going to want some earplugs. And when that doesn´t do the trick...lots of tequila. Imagine having Christmas songs blaring in the background all...day...long. And not just one at a time, but lots of different Christmas songs blending together. One speaker in front of the electronics store blares Feliz Navidad. A hardware store tries to compete with a repertoire of Spanglish tunes that feature the word ¨Navidad¨ set to various beats, emphasizing different syllables of the word (there are only 3 by the way). The party in Central Park has had marimba bands playing Christmas music all weekend, which can be beautiful but not for 72 consecutive hours. Today there was a toy drive in Central Park and different bands played throughout the day. I suppose I can tolerate the constant noise for a good cause. Plus, there was a handicrafts market set up next to the stage so I had no choice but to endure the pain (see ¨today´s purchases¨ at the bottom of this entry).

2 Months Already?!

This is a picture of us hiking the mountain near our house. We try to hike it at least twice a week. The sun was in our eyes.

Our friend Lisa. Yet another awkward sun-in-the-eyes shot!

I can’t believe we’ve been here two months already! That’s 25% of our stay here! We hope to start travelling to other parts of Guatemala soon, but there’s so much to do and see right here in Xela. Bryce has also been busy these past two weeks preparing for his medical school interview at the University of Iowa and tying up loose ends at the clinic before his week off. He left this morning and his interview is on Wednesday. So far, Bryce also has interviews at Georgetown in late January and Einstein in NYC in late February. He may be gone for up to a month and a half starting sometime in January. We’ll miss each other so much and it’s a stressful time for both of us as we wait to see where Bryce will be next year, but I know it will all pay off in the Spring when he gets accepted into a great medical school. GOOO BRYCE!!

Social Activism in Guatemala!

¡¡La Carrera!!

The weekend before last was the 5K in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Voces de Cambio was in charge of registration and assigning numbers to the racers. Bryce and I decided to run just for fun and wound up playing cheerleaders for a 5 year old and his grandmother. He was the cutest little boy EVER and he won an award for being the youngest racer! The girls decided to have Voces de Cambio T-shirts made for the week of events (featured in the photo above).

cutest picture EVER!

Sign reads: Collective of Women from Quetzaltenango. Women can´t wait to live without violence. We seek Justice. Stop Femicide! (something close to that at least)

Registration for the race. Claudia (left) is the director/teacher of Voces de Cambio.

our 5 -year-old friend, his older brother (gotta love the hat), and their mommy
El ganador confundido! the confused champion! He arrive by police motorcycle just in time to receive his award. (Sshhh! It´s a secret that he didn´t really finish.)

¡¡La Marcha!!

Two days after the 5K was the march in honor of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Each participating organization had a theme they were supposed to convey during the march. Our organization’s theme was ¨the psychological effects of violence¨. The girls decorated Omar’s car (Omar is one of the co-founders/director of Voces) and marched alongside it with banners. I ran into our 5-year-old friend at the march and he remembered me, ¨de la carrera!¨ he said smiling and waving. Melted my heart. At the march I was able to collect a bunch of pamphlets and informational material for the clinic’s health education and women’s program. I love it when my interests intersect in interesting and useful ways!

HIV/AIDS awareness week was from November 29th-December 3rd and there were also a series of events for this. I was not directly involved in any of the HIV/AIDS awareness events but I did watch part of the march and was able to collect some more informational material for the clinic’s education program.

Clinic Updates

The clinic is gearing up for the inevitable rush in mid-January when school starts again. Bryce finished his pricing survey and has concluded that the clinic will save about 16% on its annual pharmacy budget by shopping at 4 different pharmacies as opposed to just one. This means 4 times the work for Bryce, but he’s just that kind of guy. The clinic is only open from 8:30-1:00 M-F but Bryce is putting in close to 40 hours with all the pharmacy runs and shopping for other things the clinic needs.

The clinic’s education curriculum is finalized so I’ve started making visuals and other materials to go along with each lesson. It´s a lot of coloring and block letters, but I don´t mind. It’s nice to feel useful. Soon I will have help. Health education volunteers start arriving as early as tomorrow, but most will be here in January just as school is starting.

Noche de Trivia!

The clinic’s monthly fundraiser was held this past Thursday at Ojala, a local bar. We hosted a Trivia Night. It was about $2/person to play 4 rounds of 10 questions, with the top 4 teams winning sweet prizes donated by local businesses. I was the designated bartender for the night. Bryce helped me. We made mojitos and no one bought them. The entry fee came with a free Cuba Libre. So I wound up serving a lot of Cuba Libres, and only six mojitos...unless you count the three I served to myself ;)...Oh well..the clinic still made a good profit and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Today´s Purchases

I paid about 75 cents for these gorgeous flowers! $2 for the candlesticks. I bought the tablecloth a couple weeks ago at the largest market in Central America.

dyed-cotton bags

Week 6: Casa Jaguar!

2008-11-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago we moved into our official room in Casa Jaguar and we LOVE it! It´s spacious, colorful and we love having our own little balcony! The balcony is too little to fit even our dinner table, but we eat dinner with the balcony doors open and the table pushed up against the doorway. ¡Que romántico! Here are some pictures of our home...for good this time (at least until Bryce finishes med school interviews, because it´s a safe place for me to live by myself while he´s gone.)

Welcome! The entrance to the shared balcony. Our balcony overlooks this balcony.

some apartment lobbies have a concierge...ours has a mayan god.

our room!

The view from our balcony. there´s a cafe on the street below that roasts their own coffee and it smells so good!

more room

more room...note the 2-toned hardwoord floor!

Sandra (the landlord/landlady) who does most of the painting and all of the gardening

the view from our balcony at night!

Los Vaos

Last weekend we hiked to Los Vaos, natural steam baths. There were Eucalyptus trees growing all along the path and when we got inside the steam room we could smell subtle hints of Eucalyptus. Ahhhh...Aromatherapy! The steam room was VERY hot. We could only take the heat for about 20 minutes but it felt wondefully cleansing. The whole operation is run out of one family´s house. We at breakfast there, played with their puppies in the sun and headed back down the mountain. A neat little Saturday!

Stupid American Moment 1:

As we were walking down the mountain on Saturday we came upon some cows grazing on the path in front of us. They were so cute and the whole situation was so picturesque that we couldn´t help but talk to the cows... just a little. As we turned the corner, continuing our cooing, we came upon the cow´s owner, Manuel, a guy about our age just doing his daily work. He was nice enough not to tease us and we ended up chatting with him for a while. He is friends with Sandra (our landlord) and offered to deliver fresh milk to our apartment once a week. So now we can drink our hot chocolate and think of the adorable cows.

Estonian Hitchhiker Circumnavigates the Globe:

Last Saturday night we met up with our friend Lisa, the coordinator for our Spanish school. She was hanging out with 2 of the new La Paz students, one of whom has quite a fascinating story. She is from Estonia and has made it her personal quest to hitchhike the entire globe. She started hitchhiking a year and a half ago from her house in Estonia and she estimates it will take her about 7 years to finish. Her final destiniation is Japan where she plans to settle down as a potter. She has never made pottery but she will learn. Bryce discussed with her the dangers of hitchhiking alone as a woman and she agreed with him, saying at least if she dies she will die doing what she loves and won´t have lived her life in fear. They wouldn´t let her cross the border into the U.S. from Canada, so a Native American man who she had met on the road bought her a flight. I love meeting all sorts of people here, but so far, her story takes the cake!

Namasté

Last Sunday we registered for an unlimited month of yoga at the Yoga House here in Xela. It´s a group house and most of the instructors live there. It´s 10 dollars for a month of unlimited yoga! That´s about the cost of one walk-in class in the US. The only class offered on Sundays is an advanced Ashatanga class. Bryce has never taken a yoga class. I have taken some beginner classes but I don´t know what Ashatanga means and I´m not very talented when it comes to ¨strengthenging my core¨(a.k.a I am jello). We decided to go for it. That was last Sunday. It is now Saturday and we are just getting over our soreness. We have a lot of work to do, but with unlimited opportunities!

More Weekend Fun!

The weekend before last we went with some friends to a soccer game- Xela versus Huehuetenango. Our team is called the Xela superchivos(literally, the super goats!). It was a swarm of drunkness complete with firecrackers aimed in the general direction of the crowd and confetti made from newspaper that fell in our food. It was a fun experience that ended in a tie, but who was watching the game, really? Not us.

That same weekend, on Saturday, Bryce and I spent a sunny afternoon sitting on the street with Martín(the landlord) while he sold his jewelry. We just talked about his life in México before he moved to Guatemala with Sandra, how he got into jewelry-making, and all sorts of other stuff. Bryce bought me a beautiful necklace made of seeds. Martín told me I can hang out with him and learn how to make jewelery, which sounds like a lot of fun.

Stupid American Moment 2:

Bryce wore a Tshirt to Spanish class the other day that said APO Theta across the chest. APO Theta is the co-ed service fraternity in which Bryce and I first met. When my Spaish teacher saw Bryce´s shirt he looked sort of alarmed and asked Bryce what his shirt meant. After some prodding, we learned that Teta in Spanish means tit and APOdo in Spanish means nickname. So Bryce wore a Tshirt that essentially said My nickname is tit across his chest. Neat.

Volunteering Updates:

Tuesday was the Voces de Cambio photography exhibit and graduation ceremony. It was lovely! Four students and one teacher from my Spanish school came to watch the program and two people from the clinic also showed up. It was nice to have the support of friends. As I mentioned in my previous post, the director of our Spanish school´s daughter is the Flor de Pueblo or la Reina Indígena de Xela. I invited her to speak as part of the program and she was adorable. She forgot a couple words but no one cared except for her, of course. The photos and essays were beautiful and it was wonderful to see such confident and capable young women sharing their views of the world and their opions with the public. I was honored to be a part of it and I hope and I can be more helpful in the future by getting the organization some funds to continue with their imortant work. Here are some photos of the event:

the artists´self portraits! I love these!

the sign-in table

Lisa browsing the exhibit. Our friend and Spanish school coordinator.

Mariela, flor de pueblo, awarding the diplomas

Bryce is conducting a survey of local pharmacies´ pricing structures in an attempt to save the clinic money. Pharmacy expenses are the clinic´s most costly, and Bryce estimates that he may save the clinic 5-10% of its annual budget. Bryce is also in control of all the petty cash flow in an out of the clinic, which in the past has been very disorganized. I think they found the right man for the job.If you want organization and precision, Bryce is your guy! Here are some photos of the clinic:

I can´t wait until school starts in January so that I can start being useful to the clinic. In the meantime I may be spending some time with 3 adorable Guatemalan kids a couple afternoons per week while their mom takes guitar lessons. Their mom is the sister of the director of my Spanish school and they live right next door to the school. Their names are Stephanie, Emily and Diego (or Diegito as he´s called)! On Wednesday we made paper guitars and started our own band...they taught me a song called Miguelito, El Gusanito/Miguelito, the little worm.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women:

November 25th, tomorrow, is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, an issue that is particularly serious in Guatemala. See excerpt below:

Violence against women in Guatemala has risen so dramatically in recent years that it has received significant international attention. According to a recent study by the Reina Sofía Center in Spain, more women die from violence in Guatemala than in any other country. So far this year, 122.8 out of every one million women older than fourteen have been murdered (Guatemala Human Rights Commission, 2007). In its report titled “No Protection, No Justice: Killings of Women in Guatemala”, Amnesty International stated that, “traditional systems of power and patriarchy remain largely unchallenged in Guatemala […] and stereotypes regarding the subordinate role of women in society are still firmly entrenched.” It is these “traditional systems of power and patriarchy” that allow such violence and that have narrowed women to the margins of Guatemalan society, affording them some of the lowest levels of education, health care, and political representation in Latin America (Central American Analysis Group and MacNabb, 1998). Although women’s organizations fought to have their rights recognized in the Peace Accords, women occupy few positions of political leadership. In Congress, 16 of 158 deputies are women (Gvnt. Guatemala, 2006), 1 of 22 Governors is a woman (www.inforpressca.com), and 8 of 331 mayors are women (AECI).

A collective of organizations that address issues of violence against women in Guatemala, including Voces de Cambio, is sponsoring a variety of activities this week and next, in honor of the national awareness day. Voces de Cambio will be helping out with a 5K tomorrow and there is a march on Monday. Wednesday Bryce and I went to an event at the municipal theatre that featured performances of all kinds by various women´s organizations.

San Francisco El Alto

Thursday I was sick with some sort of stomach virus but it only lasted 24 hours. Friday I went to San Francisco El Alto with a group from my Spanish school. SF El Alto is the biggest market in Central America. It was overwhelming. You could buy everything from fake Lacoste shirts to traditional clothing, to old sewing machines, to a sheep, pig or cow. I passed on the sheep but bought a brightly colored striped table cloth for our room and a bag for myself. I regret not having a camera but hopefully we´ll be back!

Today´s Trip to Fuentes Georginas!

This morning Bryce and I took a bus to Fuentes Georginas, a natural hot springs outside Xela halfway up a volcano. The ride was absolutely beautiful and the baths were certainly hot....maybe even a little too hot! Surrounding the 3 pools was lush vegetation (and a restaurant/bar). What more can you ask for?

Most beautiful picture EVER, taken by Bryce. View from the entrance to the baths.

Ridiculous mushroom tree at the entrance to the baths. Matches my ridiculous outfit!

Random FUN- Dancing Corn Men!!

Today when we got back from the hot springs there was some sort of agriculture festival going on in Xela. From what I could tell it seemed to be an organization promoting more food production within Guatemala to support Guatemalan farmers, instead of importing. Regardless of the cause, the dancing corn men were amazing!! They even posed for this photo.

Vamos Grano/Let´s go Grain, made of sawdust in the street

Guatemalan Decor: Funny Photos from our Home Stay

2008-11-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Though we have moved on from Blanca´s house we cherish the memories of our old room. Among them a pool clock, a prayer of the children, and a landscape painting. Honestly though, it was a very charming little room and a charming family. Blanca´s husband, Jorge, was nice enough to drive us to our new apartment with our millions of suitcases. We gave Blanca flowers and a thank you card upon our departure and there didnt seem to be any hard feelings. Although the dog, Guti, bid us farewell by peeing on my suitcase. ¡Adios Guti! I dont miss you.

Week 4: OBAMER in Guatermaler!!!

2008-11-07T08:30:00.000-08:00

So we've survived our first month in Guatemala and what a month it has been!

OBAMANIA!!!

It was hard being away from family and friends for such a momentous occasion in American history, but I´m thankful we had good company with fellow progressives from around the world. We watched Obama´s acceptance speech at a Democrats Abroad party held at a local bar/cultural center. There was a large projection screen and a crowd of expats from all over the world gathered to cheer on Obama with lots of excitement and booz. It felt like we were right there with the crowd in Chicago!!

Obama´s victory was the main headline in all the Guatemalan news. People here are very happy that he won, though many people I´ve spoken with don´t really believe Obama will change America´s relationship with Latin America in any substantial way.

El Campo!! The Country!!

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to hike with Sandra and Martín (our landlords)to their house in the mountains. Just an hour hike from our apartment they have built the most amazing house with their own 2 hands. Their plan is to move there and allow foreigners to live there with them, sort of a mountain retreat center.

The hike was gorgeous: wildflowers everwhere, fresh vegetables growing on small plots, stunning views of the volcano and the city below. Sandra is friends with some of the campesinos who live on the mountain and they let her pick their vegetables, so we picked our own coliflower, beans and corn and cooked them that night for dinner! MMMM!

Sandra´s sister, daughter, 3 grandchildren, and 2 dogs accompanied us for the day. Last weekend was a national holiday called Dia de Los Muertos or Day of Dead. Most families spend the holiday in Xela visiting the cemetary to remember their loved ones. Sanda and her family preferred not to visit the cemetery, but instead spend time together at the country house. We ate fiambre, a beet salad tradionally served on Day of Dead. The kids (that includes Bryce and Martín) flew a kite, which is also a tradition at this time of year in Guatemala.

Sandra showed us her vegetable garden and told us about the frustration of having the trees next to her property cut down illegally by poor campesinos, to use or sell as firewood. She is afraid if she reports the problem there will be violent consquences, so for every tree they cut, Sandra plants a tree. She brought a group of school children to the property and showed them what was happening to the land they will someday inherit. They helped her plant trees and she encouraged them to talk to their parents about the importance to protecting their land so that it can support future generations. Beautiful.

Dia de los Muertos!! Day of the Dead!!

Dia de los Muertos is a religious holiday celebrated in parts of Latin America to honor and remember the dead. Families bring a special flower grown just for this occasion to the graves of their loved ones. In Guatemala, they also make decorative wreaths to place on the graves(see photos below). Because we were with Sandra and Martín on Saturday we didn´t get the opportunity to visit the cemetary, but we did stroll around the fair that was set up outside the cemetary. We drank ponche, a warm milk drink with cinnamon and liquor. There was food, music, games and carnival rides! Before last weekend the very same fair was set up in Central Park for another holiday. Basically, it´s always a holiday here! Always something to celebrate in Latin America!

Volunteer Update

Bryce started a 5 day work week at the clinic this week. He´s starting to take on the responsibilities of his new position as clinic manager. He also got to spend a day shadowing a doctor as he saw patients. Today was the current director´s last day at the clinic. The new co-directors started this week, and they are very nice. Antonette is from the States and Francisco is from Xela. I think they will be a dynamic duo.

I am still on a 2 day/week schedule at the clinic, reading over the curriculum binder which is becoming less and less intimidating the more Spanish I learn. I´m looking into spending some of my free time teaching English, either on a volunteer basis with children, or for pay at a private school for adults. I´m leaning toward working with children, since I am considering a career as an ESOL teacher in US public schools. The pay at the private school is only 2 dollars/hour, so money isn´t much of a factor in my decision.

I´m starting to do some grant research and grantwriting for Voces de Cambio, the organization that empowers teenage girls through photography and writing. I´m excited to help them out, but I don´t want to spend too much time in front of a computer writing in English so I´m trying to limit that work to 10 hours/week. In additon to the grant writing, I get to attend weekly meetings with the other volunteers who only speak Spanish, which is great. I´m also helping them organize and publicize the upcoming photo exhibit and will be attending a meeting with some past graduates of the program this weekend, to discuss their interest in participating in a week of awareness about Violence Against Women. Violence against women is a huge issue in Guatemala and the fact that women´s groups are organizing week of awareness is very exciting and very bold of them.

Bryce Update

Bryce volunteers at the clinic in the mornings. He has become famous already for his addiction to "choco bananos", frozen bananas dipped in chocolate. He has a choco banano lady who he buys from every morning. She hand dips the bananas and Bryce pays extra for a triple dipped banana. He takes two hours of Spanish in the afternoons. Then he goes to the markets and buys an obscene amount of vegetables every...single...day. He spends much of his time in Spanish class learning the names of obscure vegetables and inquiring about the appropriate prices for various items. Then once he gets to the market he inevitably falls in love with one of the women selling her wares. For example, he came home with 72 candles last night because ¨the woman was so sweet¨ and ¨it was a great deal¨. We cook delicious meals of fresh veggies almost every night. In summary: Bryce is very happy here. We have a lot of fun together.

La Paz Update

Spanish school continues to go well. I have a new teacher who I hope to stay with permanently. His name is Marvin, like the martian. He is an excellent teacher and very nice (he´s the short guy in the silly picture above). Marvin is interested in improving his English so we may arrange a free exchange, one hour of Spanish in exchange for one hour of English.

Last week Bryce attended a public event in Central Park with the Spanish school. Below is a picture of him with the 11 year old, Reina Indígena of Xela, the Indigenous Princess of Xela. She is the daughter of our school´s director. To win the contest she had to write a speech about what it means to be an indigenous woman in Guatemala. Her mom is interested in getting her involved with Voces de Cambio, the organization for which I am volunteering/grantwriting.

Last week Bryce and I attended a conference on Racism in Guatemala, with our Spanish teachers. The guest of honor was supposed to be an indigenous Guatemalan woman who earned an anthropology doctoral degree in the US. She is only the second woman in Guatemala to earn a doctoral degree and is also famous for winning a lawsuit against a Guatemalan company that wouldn´t let her through their doors because she was wearing typical indigenous clothing. Unfortunately, she couldn´t make it , but they read a letter from her. I can´t say I understood most of what was said, but I was happy to be there nontheless.

Tomorrow Bryce and I are cooking an Italian dinner for the teachers and students of La Paz. Our two closest friends here, Gaby and Tom, are leaving next week and we want to send them off in style. I dont´t have any pictures of Gabby yet, but Tom is the guy with glasses in the pictures above.

NEXT WEEK WE MOVE INTO OUR OFFICIAL ROOM IN THE NEW APARTMENT. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF THE BUILDING!CANT WAIT TO POST PICTURES OF THE ROOM ITSELF!!

Week 3: Another move!

2008-10-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home...Finally!

So we've been in Xela for 3 weeks now and we have moved a total of 4 times. In two weeks it will be 5 moves in 5 weeks. wow!

On Sunday we moved into an apartment in a beautiful historical building called Pasaje Enriquez, right on Central Park. We have a shared balcony overlooking the city and with a great view of the mountains. We are in a very tiny room right now but in 2 weeks we will take over our neighbors' room which is very large and has its own small balcony for almost the same price!

As much as we wanted the authentic experience of living with a Guatemalan family, we are very happy to have some independence and flexibility in the food we eat and when we eat it. Yesterday we went to the market and bought all our own vegetables for veggie curry. I LOVE going to the markets. Such a rich sensory experience and unbelievably fresh and cheap. Our dinner cost me 1 dollar and Bryce 3 dollars!

Our new landlord is a very friendly, very hippy middle aged woman from Xela. She lives in the building as well with ther husband who is Mexican. Her husband makes beautiful jewelry and sells it from their home in the building. They are building a house in the mountains, and invited us to go with them to check it out this coming weekend. We can't wait! It is an hour hike straight up one of the surrounding mountains. They plan to move there fulltime eventually and open a retreat of sorts where tourists can take yoga and eat fresh organic food from their garden, etc.

Volunteering Updates

The clinic continues to be 2 mornings/week. Last Thursday a group of 3rd graders came to the clinic from a private school in Xela. The class raised money for the clinic by recycling their plastic and aluminum, and in return received a free tour. They were very cute and their teacher is from Harrisonburg, Virginia. Small world! Bryce did inventory by himself this week, and spent 2.5 hours on Friday morning, scouring the city for white cotton balls. Apparently they like their cotton balls in pretty colors here, but the lab manager doesn´t.

Last week I met with the team of 3Voces de Cambio volunteers. I was encouraged by how much of the meeting I was able to understand and discouraged by how little I felt I could contribute in preparing for the upcoming photography exhibit. I don't know the city as well as they do so most of the errands that need to be run in preparation for the exhibit are easier for them to do by themselves. I am going to help them publicize the event, however, by hanging flyers all over the city.

Weekend Fun!

Last weekend we took in some of the night life of Xela. We went to one of the many bars frequented by foreigners and saw a great band called Los Vigilantes del Funk. They do mostly classic rock and bluegrass covers which was a nice taste of home. They are all Americans and I'm told most of them are working for an engineering NGO that builds healthier stoves for local villages among other things. Very cool. Another night we went to a venue that is a cultural center by day and bar by night. Our friend was bartending there for a Madonna vs. Prince vs. Michael Jackson party. We don't plan to do all that much barhopping here, especially since the nightlife is dominated by foreigners and we want to spend more time speaking Spanish, but it was very fun and I think much needed. We will, however, be attending a Halloween benefit party for Nuevos Horizontes, a women's shelter in Xela.

New Photos!

I have a lot of photos to post once the internet stops being too slow to upload them.

Week 2 Continued: Viva La Revolución!

2008-10-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

Today is the anniversary of the 1944 revolution in Guatemala. Dictator Jorge Ubico was forced to resign his office in response to a wave of protests and a labor strike. So this afternoon I went with my Spanish teacher to a protest in Parque Central in honor of the anniversary. Bryce is not taking Spanish class this week because he is still applying to medical schools, but he joined us at the protest. It was very interesting to hear the socialist groups criticize the global economic forces that keep Guatemala in a subservient and dependent relationship with multinational corporations and powerful countries like the United States. There was also strong criticism of the curruption that exists within the Guatemalan government, sex tourism, violence against women and children, poverty, racism and other social ills. Apparently this is one of the few days during the year that the government/police force tolerates any kind of public protest in Guatemala. Of course it was mostly rhetoric without much concrete policy reccomendations. Viva la revolucion! was a common chant. Also, el pueblo unido jamás será vencido (the community united will never be defeated!?). Of course, I felt right at home.

Last Thursday had the opportunity to attend a class of Voces de Cambio, an organizaton that brings teenage girls of varying backgrounds together to discuss political and social issues affecting women and their identity. The participants complete a 10 week course of discussuions, debates, photography and writing. Their photography and writing is then exhibited in Xela. I attended the final class of a group of 6 girls where they were honored for their accomplishments with a piñata and cake. They were very giggly and self conscious and...teenagerish. I didnt get to sit in on any of their more serious conversations. I did, however, get to meet the 3 Voces de Cambio employees/volunteers and I will be meeting with them again tonight. The photography/writing exhibit is November 18th and I think this meeting will be our opportunity to plan for the exhibit. It seems like a great organization and I look forward to working with them. I may also be helping them with some grantwriting!

Last Friday Bryce and I did clinic inventory with Maggie, the education director of the clinic. We inventoried the pharmacy and education supplies and then walked all over the city buying supplies for the upcoming week. This will be Bryce's responsiblity each week when he takes over as clinic manager.

Saturday I went Champerrico, a beach on the Pacific coast of Guatemala! There was black sand and warm Pacific water! I wish Bryce could have joined us but he was diligently working on medical school applications. I went with four other students from my Spanish school (two Americans, a Canadian and a young woman from London). The niece of the director of my Spanish school as well as her friend, accompanied us. They were very helpful and we all got to practice our Spanish together. It was a loooong day of chicken busses, but well worth the 4 hours of sunshine and swimming.

Thats all for now...more adventures to come Week 3!

Week 2: Bed Bugs!

2008-10-15T13:55:00.001-07:00

Sunday Wanderings!

Sunday we took in the cut flower market, while eating fresh bread on the steps of a nearby church. Check out these photos! I tried to be discrete because I don´t think it´s very polite to take pictures without asking, but I couldn´t resist the beautiful colors!

More photos from Sunday Wanderings

1. chicken bus! I have yet to see actual chickens in the chicken busses.

2. La Tortillerilla where we baile and buy fresh corn tortillas!

3. El Parque Centroamerica, The Central Park in Xela

4. Parque Centroamerica

5. City Hall, also right on the Park. Sunday market in the foreground.

6. Innovative green roofing (this one´s for you Kate!)

7. Bryce wanted a picture of this beautiful building. While he was snapping the photo, a woman approached us and explained that the first photograph of Xela was taken of this building, by an Italian photagrapher. Good eye, Bryce!

Las Clases de Español!

We started school on Monday and moved into our not so great home stay. We move into a new home stay tomorrow, but more on that later.

Classes are so great! My teacher´s name is Ana and she is about my age, maybe a little older. She is a great teacher and we get along very well on a personal level too. My Spanish is coming back quickly with her help. Bryce´s teacher´s name is Sheny and they enjoy talking about the history and current events of Guatemala (*see La Violencia below). It´s amazing how well they communicate with each other about such complex topics, considering Bryce is still just learning Spanish.

Isabel is the director of La Paz. Isabel´s sister owns the house where we study so she sometimes comes to visit during the day with her 2 little girls and a 2-year old boy named Diego who Bryce has befriended. The environment at the school is very warm and friendly. Yesterday at school we made rellinitos, a Guatemalan snack that consists of fried plantains and black beans in the middle...mmmm. Today during class we went to an art exhibit downtown, that documents the history of the indigenous population of Guatemala and the violence against them during the civil war (*see La Violencia below). Saturday we are going to the beach as an activity with the school!

After class on Monday we went with our roommate to the Blue Angel where they show 2 films each night for $1.50 each. We watched Frida, about the life of Frida Kahlo. Bryce and I highly recommend it if you´ve never seen it! There are tons of great cafes like this one in Xela and I can´t wait to try them all!

The Home Stay: Pros & Cons

Pro No. 1: The home we moved into on Monday is lovely. The garden is probably the most beautiful home garden I´ve ever seen, except maybe for Bryce´s mom´s garden ;) Here are some pictures of the garden and our colorful room, to prove my point:

It was a raining, so it´s not as pretty here as it is in real life.
the door to our room our room for 3 nights only : /
Pro No. 2: We´ve gotten to know our classmate, Gabby, much better. And she is a joy to have around. She´s considering moving with us tomorrow.
Con No. 1: The biggest problem is that the family rents out rooms more as a business than for the cross cultural experience. We don´t eat with the family and they don´t care to chat with us much. Bryce tried to fill up his water bottle in her kitchen and she told us we would have to buy our own water if we wanted more than one glass per meal. She´s warmed up a little since that interaction, but it´s just not the experience we´re looking for.

Con No. 2: In addition, there is a 60-something expat living in the house who is quite strange. He has a wife and children in Oregon but he has been living in Xela for almost a year. During that time he has made no attempt to learn Spanish. He talks a lot about organic agriculture which is cool I guess, but also makes occasional disparaging remarks about local people and their customs. He accompanied Gabby and her friends to a bar the other night and got drunk and beligerent, and wet his pants before heading home. ewww.

Con No. 3: There are bed bugs. Apparently it´s a common problem here. You can´t get rid of them easily. Washing sheets doesn´t do it. Bryce suggested putting our sleeping bags in the freezer to kill them, but according to Gabby they survive down to -40 degrees. Heating them works better, but you have to put them in a hot car for 3 days or something like that. We don´t know anyone with a car and It´s not hot here so that method has proved difficult. I´m hoping my couple of bites from the night before were a false alarm, because this morning I had no bites. Bryce hasn´t gotten any bites. Apparently, men don´t get them as often.

Home Stay No. 2: Coming Soon!

So we are moving out tomorrow morning. We´ll be moving in with a family that is supposedly much warmer. The woman´s name is Blanca and we met her brifely this morning. She was very friendly. We will eat meals with the family and practice our Spanish with them. Two Guatemalan students also live with the family so that makes more people to practice with. Tom, one of our other classmates, lives there now and is really happy with the situation. So there will be 3 or 4 gringos in the house once Bryce and I (and maybe Gabby) move in, but we all want to speak Spanish in the house. I think it will be very fun and a good learning experience! Stay tuned....
Tonight we are watching the debate at an apartment right on Central Park!

La Violencia
I knew nothing about Guatemalan history until I decided to travel here 6 months ago. So for those of you like me, here´s a brief explanation. There was a 36-year ¨civil war¨ in Guatemala from 1960-1996. The ¨civil war¨ is now defined as genocide by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations. People refer to this period as ¨la violencia¨ (the violence). The government seized the land of indigenous Mayans, the indigenous people organized and revolted out of desperation, and the government began a campaign to eliminate of the indigenous Mayan population of Guatemala. It´s estimated that 200,000 people were killed during the war. Many of the politicians responsible for the deaths were pardoned and are still involved in Guatemalan politics to this day. Racism against indígenas (indigenous peoples) persists. For example, if an indígena goes to a public hospital, he or she will likely sit in the waiting room and never be seen. For this reason, Primeros Pasos has a policy that if someone comes into the clinic with needs that can only be met at the hospital, a med student from the clinic MUST accompany the patient to the hospital and insist that he/she be seen by a doctor.

More Photos...I need to take some prettier photos soon

2008-10-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

More views from our room at Casa Argentina

Murals at Casa Argentina...murals of cassette tapes...and flying cassette tapes. There´s lots of marijuana available in Xela to stimulate the creativity of artists such as this one.

Week 1: Thank the rabbit and give him a carrot, son!

2008-10-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hola desde Xela, Guatemala!

After nearly 6 months of planning and anticipation, we are finally here in beautiful Quetzaltenango, commonly known as Xela (¨shay-la¨), located in the western highlands of Guatemala (or ¨Guatermaler¨ as we lovingly refer to it with certain friends I miss very much)!

Over the next 8 months I hope to keep this blog updated with our most recent adventures and misadventures. Bryce will add his 2 cents when he´s not otherwise occupied searching for coco seco (the fruit of the coconut that was commonly found in the Dominican Republic but that Bryce is determined to find here as well) or drinking Gallo, a Guatemlan beer brewed here in Xela that is actually tasty.

Misadventure No. 1 : Getting to Guatermaler!

We arrived at National Airport at 4:oo am and boarded a flight to Houston at 6:00 am. Due to bad weather and our plane stopping in Corpus Christi to refuel, we missed our connecting flight and were stranded in Texas of all places for the subsequent 8 hours, having only slept a couple hours the night before. We slept on the airport floor and spent an absurd amount of money on airport food, including dinner at Pappasito´s Cantina...mmmm, ironic, right?

Every travel book we´ve read and every piece of advice we´ve heard from travelers advised us (a) not to stay in Guatemala City longer than it takes to board a bus out of town and (b) not to arrive in Guatemala City at night. Well, thanks to weather and Continental Airlines, we were now scheduled to arrive in Guatemla City at 9pm and would have to stay overnight, which was great for my already high level of anxiety (poor Bryce). My dad (my hero) managed to reserve a room for us at Patrcia´s B&B near the airport, which included transportation from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the bus station the next morning. We were very relieved to have that arranged, and it worked out flawlessly, except for a minor incident in which I was very slightly electrocuted twice in the shower while trying to use the hot water heater.

We boarded a bus to Xela the next morning about 60 seconds before it left the station...phew! Otherwise we might have spent another day at Patricia´s B&B, no offense to Patricia...the place was very comfortable and safe. Just be sure to interpret the phrase ¨bed and breakfast¨ quite literally here or you might find yourself imagining the quaint establishment I was imagining while stranded in Texas.

Stupid American Moment 1 & The Amazing Bus Ride Across Guatermaler

So we boarded the bus (not a chicken bus yet) and took seats next to each other toward the back. Within a couple minutes a Guatemalan man approached me saying something to the effect of, ¨What is your number?¨. I immediately thought to myself, oh no. he´s trying to give me his number. I knew it would be bad, but not this bad. What to do? Pretend to look confused. Somewhere along the line, as he pointed at his ticket and said something about his number, I realized this man was not so much enamored by me as he was pissed at me. I was blushing, as I usually do in this sort of awkward situation. oh shit. I´m sitting in his seat number. He´s asking me for my seat number not my phone number. shit. I am a stupid American. Bryce and I moved quickly to the seat furthest back on the bus, directly over the very hot engine....where stupid Americans belong, and remained there for the next 4 to 5 hours, admiring the natural beauty and how the vegetation changed as our altitude increased (Xela is 7, 795 ft. above sea level). I took off my boots on the bus to be more comfortable. My feet were burning up in my wool socks so I took them off too. Then I realized it wasn´t my socks that were making me hot. The floor of the bus was about 125 degrees from the heat of the engine. Every so often the driver would get off the bus just to check the tires. The road was windy and steep. We passed slower busses, risking head-on collisions with other busses and large trucks coming down the moutains. We bounced high into the air every time the bus hit a bump. It was the most fun I´ve had in a long time. Most of all...it was beautiful. So lush and green. Wildflowers everywhere. Steep green mountains. Indigenous farmers and small villages. We arrived in Xela in the late afternoon, without much rain yet (It´s still the rainy season for another 3 weeks). We loaded our 20 some suitcases into the trunk of a cab and arrived a few minutes later at the cheapest hostel in town, Casa Argentina.

Casa Argentina: Home for a week!

Casa Argentina is run by a very friendly and smiley local woman. She lives on the first floor with her family. The Casa is basically a hippy commune full of 20-something travelers (or the occasioanal 60-something) from all over the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, and the Republic of Vermont! (to name a few nationalities we´ve met thus far). Some longer-term volunteers or just people studying Spanish for a while, live here as well. We share a room on the top floor which looks out over the tin and adobe rooftops of the city. We can see all the church facades and rotundas in the distance. Great views of the mountains and volcanos. All for $5 a night (that´s $2.50 each)! Our room, inexplicably, has Spanish vocabulary flash cards taped to the wall which is neat. Some previous guest added a sense of humor to the set of flash cards by adding one of his own. Puta Madre does not mean Thank the rabbit and give him a carrot, son! But if some crazy hippy didn´t speak Spanish very well and found himself needing to use the phrase,¨Thank the rabbit and give him a carrot, son!¨, he would find himself in a very unfortunate situation thanks to whoever posted that flash card on the wall. Meals are not included at Casa Argentina so we´ve had a chance to try some delicious local food and even cooked ourselves a meal in Casa Argentina´s kitchen last night! See our cute little room below:

Stupid American Moment 2 & The Tortillarilla:

Things that are wrapped in corn husks are not always tamales as we think of them in the US. I asked a girl at the market what type of tamale she was selling. ¨Queso¨ she replied. She was right. I did indeed buy 2 pounds of local cheese wrapped in a corn husk. This isn´t like cheddar jack or american cheese. It´s a strange sort of white spongy substance, that when heated with delicious veggies tastes not unlike tofu or some other sort of meat substitute one could purchase at Juice Joint or (insert hippy town restaurant of choice here). I know this because Bryce and I cooked it with veggies and garlic for dinner last night. It was delicious and a very cheap dinner. We´ve also eaten some delicious black beans and corn tortillas. There is a tortillarilla across the street from Casa Argentina where 2 young Guatemalan women make fresh corn tortillas over what we think is a gas burning stove. They are very friendly and at first mistook Bryce and I for hermanos (siblings). When they found out we are a pareja (a couple) they demanded that we baile (dance) right then and there. They had music playing on the boombox and it was kind of romantic and stuff so we danced, awkwardly and a little embarassed. Now everytime we go back they tell us to baile! baile!. They are ridiculously charming which make the tortillas taste even better.

Settling into a Routine...

We haven´t yet. After visiting the clinic for a couple hours on Thursday it became clear that we need to spend most of our time learning the national language, which is Spanish...and we need to do so quickly. You would think this reality might have hit us oh...6 months ago when we planned a trip to a Spanish speaking country but that was just one detail among many, such as buying cool backpacks and outdoor gear. Bryce was informed that he will be one of 4 new managers of Primeros Pasos clinic now that the director is leaving in November. Wait...What? Jess is leaving? The only person who we have communicated with about the clinic for that past 6 months? The woman who runs the show and has run the show for 3 out of the 4 years the clinic has existed? The one who has gained the steady trust of the community and speaks fluent English and Spanish and is from Guatemala and so knows the culture of the clients better than anyone else who works there? She´s leaving? Yep. She´s leaving...soon. She has put her heart and soul into the clinic for the past 3 years and is ready to move on to other things such as a public health degree in the States. She is an amazing person and I´m glad we at least have the next 2 months with her as we get oriented at the clinic.

School just let out for the next 3 months so the clinic (being mostly a pediatric clinic that works directly with the schools) is not very busy. They do take walk-ins during this time but Bryce and I have been asked to focus on learning Spanish so that we can be useful starting in January when things get busy again. We will go to the clinic twice a week in the mornings for the next couple months and then start going everyday in January. Bryce will be the ¨clinic manager¨ in charge of the daily logistics that go into operating the clinic. It is my understanding that I will be a health educator, traveling (sometimes hiking up mountains?) to schools in the valley, where I will talk to children in Spanish ...about health...and then it is my understanding that I will answer their questions... about health...in Spanish. All of this is quite an incentive to learn to speak Spanish better than we do now. It´s also an incentive for me to learn about health issues facing rural children in Guatemala. I´m told there is a curriculum binder that I should start reading. It´s in Spanish.

Spanish: It´s good to speak it when you live in Guatermaler

Yeeeeeeeah. So we didn´t actually budget for Spanish classes, we thought we´d just kind of learn it by being here and talking to people on the street I guess. But Bryce is getting a small stipend for his position that he has generously offered to split with me so that we can both attend Spanish school. Jess also got us a big discount at La Paz Spanish school. We start Monday. We will get 25 hours/week of 1:1 Spanish instruction as well as a home stay and 3 meals a day, ALL for $100 a week. We plan to take classes for the next 2 months.

Elizabeth (a UVA graduate who is the fundraising coordinator for the clinic) took us around to 4 different Spanish schools on Thursday, all of which give a portion of their profit to the clinic. Xela is known across Central America for it´s language schools and there are probably 40 or more in the city. We met with directors and teachers and she helped translate our questions and their answers. We ended up choosing La Paz, the cheapest of the 4 options and probably the cheapest in the whole city. We´ve heard the teachers rotate between all the schools and so the teaching quality is pretty much the same wherever you go. You´re paying mostly for atmosphere and as far as I´m concerned La Paz has one of the best atmospheres we could hope for...

The school is located on a very steep cobblestone side street and has a quiet patio that overlooks the city, with stunning views of the mountains and volcanos (see photo below). The director, Doris, is very sweet. La Paz is very small and off the beaten path so most tourists don´t know about it. There are only 6 students studying there right now, including Bryce and I. The teachers and the director meet with the students on Mondays to discuss a schedule of after-school activities for the week. We can go hiking or to the hot springs or the beach. We can cook dinner together or watch a Spanish movie. All the activities serve as a way to get to know the country and practice our conversation skills in Spanish with the teachers and other students. We can take books home from the school´s library and we will get LOTS of homework to practice in addition to our class time.

Our Home Stay: Coming Soon!

We move in to our home stay Monday, which was arranged by La Paz (the Spanish school). We will live in a big house (near Casa Argentina, where we are right now) with a woman and her 2 daughters. Sadly, the husband passed away two weeks ago. Apparently the woman is a very good cook and happily accomodates vegetarians, which we usually try to be. The family rents multiple rooms so we will be living with a couple other travelers. One is a student at La Paz, a woman about my age from Canada who is super friendly and will be here for the next 2 months volunteering at Guatemala´s only women´s shelter. Needless to say she is awesome. The other occupant is a 60-something man who we will meet upon moving in. We can´t wait to unpack our stuff and get settled into a routine.

We love it here. We miss you all so much, though! Please keep us updated on your lives! More soonish...