Well it's September 15th which is Guatemala's day of independence (it shares this date back in 1821 with El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica). As such an important day the town is alive and brimming with commotion. This morning there was a parade which wove through the streets. It reminded me of those Montreat parades I used to march in, with kids dressed as different things like the Quetzal (Guatemala's national symbol). The most interesting part of the parade was probably a group of children dressed up in black face to depict the Garifuna people (West African descendants who inhabit the eastern part of the country). I don't think that would exactly fly stateside. Everyone was decked out in their blue and white, school bands marched and little kids set off fireworks in the streets. It's such a neat thing to experience another country's day of independence, witness all their patriotism and pride. It's been a while since I've updated. I've been very busy: lots of presentations with little prep time but it's good to practice shooting from the hip. Tomorrow I've got to give a presentation on tire gardening in Spanish which should be interesting.
It was a good weekend. Saturday we took part in a traditional Mayan ceremony. I'm looking forward to learning more about the Mayan culture and since my program is Food Security it's likely I will be in a more rural, Mayan village. It was very interesting. It's been an amazing year experiencing different religious ceremonies. In the past year I've been to a Jehovah's Witness service, a Christian service, participated in a voodoo ceremony, an informal Jewish event, a Pagan/Wiccan solstice party and now a Mayan ceremony. It's been awesome to take part in such a wide array of sacred events. I'm completely fascinated with different cultures, ways of life, beliefs, etc. It's a desire to understand one another through learning and absorbing different cultural aspects.
I spent this past Sunday up at the farm with my family. When we got to the farm we found their guard dog Rex lying lifeless. It turns out a coyote had gotten him. It was a little sad but we dug a grave and buried him under the corn. We hung up plastic bags to scare birds away from the avocado trees and we cut down some corn to sell. It was a great to spend the day with the extended family and not have a tech or Spanish session to attend. I've been playing some soccer which has been good exercise especially up here at 7,000 ft and I'm going to have a nice tush by the end of training thanks to the steep hill that leads to my house.
We're taking a field trip next week which should be quite the outing. Yup that will be me and eight girls. I may commit seppuku before I make it back. I'm enjoying Food Security, I find the information really interesting and I'm looking forward to working with the Guatemaltecos after swear-in. We've got a garden set up right now and we've been tending to it. We're growing some basic crops that will harvest within the couple months we're in training like root crops (radishes, beets, carrots), some tomatoes and then three cousins (broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage). So far so good, we're seeing sprouting although we need to do some thinning (or "purging" as Stalin would call it). The only problem has been that some chuchos (street dogs) did some digging in one of our beds the other day.
Something I would like to address are the landslides that recently caused a national emergency here. Some of you probably heard about it some of you may not have. The major American media programs (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc.) spend very little time on international news so you have to look elsewhere to find out what's going on in other parts of the world. I recommend BBC.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Guatemala is ripe for natural disasters and landslides are among the most prevalent. This rainy season has been the most powerful in Guatemala's history. The country has received more than three times the normal amount of rainfall. Last week torrential downpours caused several landslides throughout the country. In Nahuala in the state of Solola (north of where I'm located) along the Pan-American Highway two landslides occurred. The first took out a bus. When help showed up there was a second landslide. The current estimates are 46 people dead. It's awful, thousands have had to evacuate their homes. These disasters come after the devastating Tropical Storm Agatha that hit Guatemala in May. Remember pictures of that sinkhole? According to BBC.com the president estimates that roughly 263 have died so far this year as a result of the rain. The bad news is their predicting it will only get worse. It's tough with such tragedy happening all around.
Here are some photographs from BBC.com: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11193592
Showing posts with label Maya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maya. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A trip to Antigua
8/21/10
It's time I tell you about the other four Food Security volunteers that live in San Bartolome with me. Cara Allan is from southern Jersey, we’re talking Cape May south. She did crew at Rutgers and she’s very smart when it comes to agriculture which will be a great help. Eric Womack (no relation to Bobby Womack) is from Virginia Beach and went to Old Diminion. He sports a thick handlebar mustache and knows a bunch of crazy biological facts about all sorts of animals. He does bird and insect calls. Yea, it's pretty sweet. The other two girls in our group are both from Washington. Britini (or Margarita) Port is a Huskie and is definitely a hipster regardless of what she says (she wears flannel and listens to Yeasayer, point and case). She's really cool to talk music with and has traveled all over the world. Also she looks like Lindsay Lohan (I'm not saying that to be insulting, she's very pretty. The resemblance is just uncanny). Jaron (or Elizabeth) is also from Washington but went south for school (she's a Sun Devil). She's very athletic and played water polo in college. She's very smart and well read. I've made a list of awesome books she's recommended. We're not exactly the Breakfast Club but we're a pretty diverse group all brought together by a similar passion. It's interesting having two West Coasters around because they always ask me about the East Coast as if it's some foreign land. Luckily we're all on about the same Spanish level so if I completely butcher a word, I don't feel too much shame.
We took a "Spanish field trip" to Antigua this morning. It’s an interesting place. The first sentence about Antigua in my Lonely Planet Central America travel book reads as follows: "In all the long, boring discussions about where the 'real Guatemala' is, you can be sure the word Antigua has never come up." While I'd say that's a bit of a harsh statement, after visiting I can understand what they meant. Antigua is definitely not like anywhere else in the country. It's clean, well regulated, and touristy. And while I don't particularly like being a part of the whole tourist trap scene, Antigua is definitely a place to see. It's the center of colonial Guatemala, cobblestone streets lined with 18th century churches and municipal buildings, the whole deal. With all of this great colonial architecture under the shadow of four huge volcanoes, it's not surprising that Antigua is one of the country’s biggest tourist/expat spots. We saw so many other gringos walking around that it felt kind of awkward. It was a mix of American families on vacation, Europeans and travelers drifting through wearing shirts emblazoned with that famous image of Che Guevara, the great Argentinean doctor who led revolutions all over the world but whose face is sadly now more of a fashion icon than a symbol for revolution. Cliché Guevara if you will. Anyways, Antigua is beautiful and definitely a place to see if you're visiting Guatemala. It reminded me of Grenada, Nicaragua only busier.
It was interesting to see the colonial historical sites. Guatemala has such a rich history. Much of that is the history of the Mayans. I almost feel like I should have seen Apocalypto before I came here (even though it was made by a psycho). Unlike the Incans and the Aztecs, the Mayans weren’t killed off, they were more decentralized. The other day I was listening to Neil Young’s epic “Cortez the Killer,” about the European who did the Aztecs in. Cortez actually had some interaction with the Mayans but not to the same bloody extent. About 60% of Guatemala’s population is indigenous (almost 40% of that Mayan) giving it the highest percentage of indigenous peoples in Central America. The other 40% of Guatemalans are Ladinos (a term specific to Guatemala). I’m looking forward to becoming more familiar with the Mayan culture as most volunteers are placed in the Western highlands which is where the highest concentration of Mayans are found.
It's time I tell you about the other four Food Security volunteers that live in San Bartolome with me. Cara Allan is from southern Jersey, we’re talking Cape May south. She did crew at Rutgers and she’s very smart when it comes to agriculture which will be a great help. Eric Womack (no relation to Bobby Womack) is from Virginia Beach and went to Old Diminion. He sports a thick handlebar mustache and knows a bunch of crazy biological facts about all sorts of animals. He does bird and insect calls. Yea, it's pretty sweet. The other two girls in our group are both from Washington. Britini (or Margarita) Port is a Huskie and is definitely a hipster regardless of what she says (she wears flannel and listens to Yeasayer, point and case). She's really cool to talk music with and has traveled all over the world. Also she looks like Lindsay Lohan (I'm not saying that to be insulting, she's very pretty. The resemblance is just uncanny). Jaron (or Elizabeth) is also from Washington but went south for school (she's a Sun Devil). She's very athletic and played water polo in college. She's very smart and well read. I've made a list of awesome books she's recommended. We're not exactly the Breakfast Club but we're a pretty diverse group all brought together by a similar passion. It's interesting having two West Coasters around because they always ask me about the East Coast as if it's some foreign land. Luckily we're all on about the same Spanish level so if I completely butcher a word, I don't feel too much shame.
We took a "Spanish field trip" to Antigua this morning. It’s an interesting place. The first sentence about Antigua in my Lonely Planet Central America travel book reads as follows: "In all the long, boring discussions about where the 'real Guatemala' is, you can be sure the word Antigua has never come up." While I'd say that's a bit of a harsh statement, after visiting I can understand what they meant. Antigua is definitely not like anywhere else in the country. It's clean, well regulated, and touristy. And while I don't particularly like being a part of the whole tourist trap scene, Antigua is definitely a place to see. It's the center of colonial Guatemala, cobblestone streets lined with 18th century churches and municipal buildings, the whole deal. With all of this great colonial architecture under the shadow of four huge volcanoes, it's not surprising that Antigua is one of the country’s biggest tourist/expat spots. We saw so many other gringos walking around that it felt kind of awkward. It was a mix of American families on vacation, Europeans and travelers drifting through wearing shirts emblazoned with that famous image of Che Guevara, the great Argentinean doctor who led revolutions all over the world but whose face is sadly now more of a fashion icon than a symbol for revolution. Cliché Guevara if you will. Anyways, Antigua is beautiful and definitely a place to see if you're visiting Guatemala. It reminded me of Grenada, Nicaragua only busier.
It was interesting to see the colonial historical sites. Guatemala has such a rich history. Much of that is the history of the Mayans. I almost feel like I should have seen Apocalypto before I came here (even though it was made by a psycho). Unlike the Incans and the Aztecs, the Mayans weren’t killed off, they were more decentralized. The other day I was listening to Neil Young’s epic “Cortez the Killer,” about the European who did the Aztecs in. Cortez actually had some interaction with the Mayans but not to the same bloody extent. About 60% of Guatemala’s population is indigenous (almost 40% of that Mayan) giving it the highest percentage of indigenous peoples in Central America. The other 40% of Guatemalans are Ladinos (a term specific to Guatemala). I’m looking forward to becoming more familiar with the Mayan culture as most volunteers are placed in the Western highlands which is where the highest concentration of Mayans are found.
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