It’s cold. I was hoping for some sweet, sweet sunshine after last night’s frozen slumber in long undies and my beanie but alas that’s not the case. It’s November and the beginning of winter and perched on the mountainside, Salquil is completely enveloped in the clouds. Standing in the street you couldn’t see fifty feet in front of you. As a result I have spent the day huddled in my room, studying Spanish, trying to plan my work for the next month and currently hunched over my laptop with a warm cup of Darjeeling tea on my stove (Brittany you’re the best).
It’s my first week as a volunteer here and what a week it has been. I meant to update my blog earlier but I was continually finding myself drained of brain power at the end of every day, exhausted from trying to keep up with all the Spanish. I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at meetings with my cooperative in Nebaj. By the end of Tuesday’s 9 hour session completely in Spanish all I wanted was a cold beer (and I got one). Wednesday’s meeting was better. I was digesting more of the Spanish and I was more involved as we planned out the month ahead. It’s going to be a crazy one.
Perhaps I should give you a brief description of what exactly my work here entails. As a Food Security Facilitator there are three basic areas I work in: 1) Community gardens(soil conservation, compost, worm composting, etc.). 2) Poultry/livestock management (vaccination campaigns, milk goats are a big project in Nebaj). 3) Nutrition (Usually educationally related, goat milk is more nutritious than cow milk. Nutrition is easily my weakest area of the three as anyone who lived with me in college can attest.) That’s a basic overview of the field in which I work.
Next week I have presentations in each of the three communities I’m going to be working in: Salquil Grande (my home), Quejchip, and San Francisco Javier. The initial goal for my first three months is five family gardens and one school garden in each of the communities. But before I can leap into that I have to take a survey and get to know the communities. John, the volunteer I replaced had some advice about approaches to carrying out projects, so we’ll see what happens. Also this month PROMASA, one of the organizations I’ve been assigned to is holding a health fair in Salquil. I’m not exactly sure what part I’m going to be playing in that but again, we’ll see what happens. I’m hoping I’ll be able to head to San Marcos so I can spend Thanksgiving with Jaron. That would be a nice end to a hectic month.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Last Hurrah
Training finally came to an end. It was intense and I learned a lot but, including my time in Togo, I’ve had 5 months of training in the past year instead of the 2 ½ , months, so I am ready to be out in the field. My Spanish comprehension has improved greatly and I’m constantly surprising myself when I speak. It’s an incredible feeling. I’m not anywhere close to being fluent but I know enough to get around and express myself.
San Bartolome has been a perfect training site. It’s a comfortable town with friendly residents. My family has been just awesome to live with. They’ve been wonderfully hospitable and patient. I’m going to miss them but I hope to return and visit sometime in the future. Also I’ve developed a fantastic ass from the daily hike to my house (it literally is uphill both ways). I remember when I was younger and my mom would take me shopping for pants. “You’ve got no butt,” she would say. Well that’s not the case anymore. As you can tell I’m proud of my newly sculpted tokhes.
To show our appreciation we prepared lunch for all of our host families in San Bartolome. We had shish-ka-bobs and while I think we did a damn fine job, they didn’t seem impressed. Meh.
I had a good laugh with my pops while we were eating. He turned to me and said, “This is good. All that’s missing is the pica (hot sauce). Have you not learned anything from us?” We both cracked up. Afterwards I bought a bottle of picante and then during dinner I told them “This is good. All that’s missing is the pica.” I then proceeded to pull out the bottle I bought and douse my plate. They gave me a nice floral blanket to take to site which was great. Cara’s host mother gave us all colorful cloths to wrap our tortillas in of course.
While I knew I would miss them, Friday couldn’t come soon enough. I woke up that cloudy morning, packed the last of my belongings into my backpack and straightened my tie in the mirror. We loaded our bags into a van and headed into the swelling mass that is Guatemala City. After idling in traffic we arrived at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Stephen McFarland. He has a beautiful spread complete with pool and tennis court. We didn’t waste time and the ceremony began and after taking the oath (the same oath that all government employees/officials with the exception of the President takes) we were volunteers. Smiles, hugs and pictures ensued.
We were dropped off in Antigua to celebrate the night. I was feeling under the weather but I powered through. A group of us were staying at a hostel and more people showed up more revelry occurred. I had gotten my hands on a bottle of Ron Zacapa, perhaps the best rum I've ever tasted (I will be bringing some back with me) and that made the rounds as we got ready for the night out. Everyone met up at a pizza parlor where we gave out superlatives. I was voted most likely to catch on fire (which was kind of random) and most likely to be medically evacuated (which was just cruel) but hey at least I didn’t get most likely to fall in a latrine or most likely to get fecal-oral contaminate.
The night descended into drink and laughter and by the time the pizza arrived we were scattered all over the restaurant. Afterwards we found our way to some club and danced like we were mad. It all came to a close with Marco Antonio Solis karaoke so yea , it was a tremendous night. The next morning was somber and with heavy heads we departed for our sites.
It’s been a great three months and I just want to thank all my fellow volunteers for the great times we had.
San Bartolome has been a perfect training site. It’s a comfortable town with friendly residents. My family has been just awesome to live with. They’ve been wonderfully hospitable and patient. I’m going to miss them but I hope to return and visit sometime in the future. Also I’ve developed a fantastic ass from the daily hike to my house (it literally is uphill both ways). I remember when I was younger and my mom would take me shopping for pants. “You’ve got no butt,” she would say. Well that’s not the case anymore. As you can tell I’m proud of my newly sculpted tokhes.
To show our appreciation we prepared lunch for all of our host families in San Bartolome. We had shish-ka-bobs and while I think we did a damn fine job, they didn’t seem impressed. Meh.
I had a good laugh with my pops while we were eating. He turned to me and said, “This is good. All that’s missing is the pica (hot sauce). Have you not learned anything from us?” We both cracked up. Afterwards I bought a bottle of picante and then during dinner I told them “This is good. All that’s missing is the pica.” I then proceeded to pull out the bottle I bought and douse my plate. They gave me a nice floral blanket to take to site which was great. Cara’s host mother gave us all colorful cloths to wrap our tortillas in of course.
While I knew I would miss them, Friday couldn’t come soon enough. I woke up that cloudy morning, packed the last of my belongings into my backpack and straightened my tie in the mirror. We loaded our bags into a van and headed into the swelling mass that is Guatemala City. After idling in traffic we arrived at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Stephen McFarland. He has a beautiful spread complete with pool and tennis court. We didn’t waste time and the ceremony began and after taking the oath (the same oath that all government employees/officials with the exception of the President takes) we were volunteers. Smiles, hugs and pictures ensued.
We were dropped off in Antigua to celebrate the night. I was feeling under the weather but I powered through. A group of us were staying at a hostel and more people showed up more revelry occurred. I had gotten my hands on a bottle of Ron Zacapa, perhaps the best rum I've ever tasted (I will be bringing some back with me) and that made the rounds as we got ready for the night out. Everyone met up at a pizza parlor where we gave out superlatives. I was voted most likely to catch on fire (which was kind of random) and most likely to be medically evacuated (which was just cruel) but hey at least I didn’t get most likely to fall in a latrine or most likely to get fecal-oral contaminate.
The night descended into drink and laughter and by the time the pizza arrived we were scattered all over the restaurant. Afterwards we found our way to some club and danced like we were mad. It all came to a close with Marco Antonio Solis karaoke so yea , it was a tremendous night. The next morning was somber and with heavy heads we departed for our sites.
It’s been a great three months and I just want to thank all my fellow volunteers for the great times we had.
Little Gems of U.S. Pop Culture
I love the random U.S. pop culture that I come across down here. I find them to be quite special, be it The Shirelles playing on a packed camioneta (Guatemalan buses which are literally old school buses, sometimes with U.S. school district names still written on the side) or Shampoo on TV (when was the last time you heard that movie referenced?). Man it was cool watching infamous lothario Warren Beatty play…well a lothario I guess. Sometimes you come across the most random stuff and it instantly makes you smile. I love it. Hell the other day in the market I saw a DVD titled Titanic 2. Titanic 2? How is that possible? The boat sinks in the first one. I should just buy it next time and find out. Oh and Homer is Homero on Los Simpsons here.
Living with Mayans
I mentioned a little about Salquil Grande in my last post but I think I should explain some more about my new home. Salquil Grande is located in what is called the Ixil region (pronounced “E-shill”). There are 22 different Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala and in the small area between the towns of Nebaj, Chajul, and Cotzal is a language spoken nowhere else in the country: Ixil. I will undoubtedly be learning Ixil. Remember how I said I wanted to be placed in a Mayan village? Well Salquil is 98% Mayan and during my visit the only time I ever heard the people speak Spanish was when they were speaking to me. The rest of the time they were conversing in Ixil. So now not only do I have Spanish on my plate, but Ixil as well.
There is some interesting history behind region. Guatemala was embroiled in a 36 year civil war during the latter half of the 20th century and unfortunately the war was especially hard on the Ixil people. The remoteness of the region that preserves its pristine mountains was one of the contributing factors to what some consider a genocide of the Ixil in the 1980s. As with all conflicts it’s important to recognize that there are two sides to every story as to why certain actions are taken but the fact that there were mass killings of the Ixil is indisputable. They were simply caught between two warring parties and the result was devastating. I won’t go into a history lesson but I’ll give you a brief, general overview of what I’ve learned because I think it’s pretty interesting. In the 1970s the Guerilla Army of the Poor took to the mountains of the region because of their remoteness and sadly the local villagers were trapped in the fight between the guerillas and the government as the army tried to purge the area of rebels and the rebels tried to maintain control of the region to create a independent zone. By the end of the war tens of thousands of civilians had been killed and those who survived were displaced from their homes. That’s all I really know but I would like to read more about it. I’ve heard that wounds are still fresh and although the area is commonly referred to as the Ixil Triangle (because of the three major towns Nebaj, Cotzal, and Chajul), one person told me that there’s a social stigma tied to that name and that it’s not kosher to refer to it as the Triangle.
On a lighter note I’ll tell you about my living situation in Salquil Grande. My house is a small room in a hostel. Because of Salquil’s remoteness the hostel doesn’t get many guests and that’s pretty apparent when you see the place. The hostel is run by a family of eight and they’ve been quite hospitable so far which is great. The kids are a lot of fun, they like watching movies. On my visit we watched The Mask and my host sister instantly said I was like Jim Carrey (something I’ve gotten throughout my life). I swear I’d only spoken probably 3 sentences to her and she already tagged me as a silly jokester. I’d say that’s a fair assessment.
In my travels I’ve always worried about religion coming into play with the family I’m living with. It’s a touchy subject. Hell, people die every day because of religion. I want to fit in and be accepted without any problems but at the same time there is nothing I hate more than proselytizing. It’s my biggest problem with religions. You can believe in whatever you like. As long as you’re not causing any harm then its fine with me. The family I’m living with is Evangelical and the father is a pastor. They asked me to go to church with them which I said I would. I’m interested in seeing their ceremonies because Evangelicals here are different than those in the States. However I’m a bit skeptical because Evangelicals here are particularly forceful with their beliefs (not that Evangelicals elsewhere aren’t as well, but here it’s more in your face). Maybe it was the preacher screaming in my face on the bus ride from Nebaj up to Salquil. I guess I’m a little worried about having to deal with that with my family. I don’t want to make things uncomfortable. I’ve lived with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, two religious groups that are notorious for door-knocking, but in both of those cases I didn’t feel pressure to convert at all. Hopefully it will be the same here. I like being the thoughtful observer, there to experience and learn without commitment. Anyways it’s an issue I’ll deal with when I come to it. So far the family has been great.
I like my little room, it’s quite quaint. I have a stiff little bed, a shelf made of stacked cinder blocks with a board between them, and a table with a stove on it. It’s Peace Corps Guatemala’s policy that all volunteers live with a host family for their first three months. Then they are free to find a house of their own. This was not the case in Togo where we had our own houses to start with. I’m sure most of my friends are looking forward to living on their own and I admit that would be nice but Salquil is such a small town and there’s no house to rent so chances are I’ll be living with this family for the whole two years. And that’s fine with me. I’m comfortable in my little room. Plus it's a hostel so if I can convince any of you to come visit me (and make my life) there's a place to stay.
I should comment on the weather because it’s rather unusual. Most of the time it’s cold up here in the mountains but that can change in an instant. There’s a big hard Sun, Eddie and its mighty powerful up here. It will be burning hot and I’ll be sweating but after spending a couple minutes in the shade I’ll want a jacket. Once the clouds role in late in the afternoon, it starts to get chilly. I’m coming to site at the beginning of November which is the last month of the rainy season and the beginning of winter. I’m glad I packed warm clothes.
There is some interesting history behind region. Guatemala was embroiled in a 36 year civil war during the latter half of the 20th century and unfortunately the war was especially hard on the Ixil people. The remoteness of the region that preserves its pristine mountains was one of the contributing factors to what some consider a genocide of the Ixil in the 1980s. As with all conflicts it’s important to recognize that there are two sides to every story as to why certain actions are taken but the fact that there were mass killings of the Ixil is indisputable. They were simply caught between two warring parties and the result was devastating. I won’t go into a history lesson but I’ll give you a brief, general overview of what I’ve learned because I think it’s pretty interesting. In the 1970s the Guerilla Army of the Poor took to the mountains of the region because of their remoteness and sadly the local villagers were trapped in the fight between the guerillas and the government as the army tried to purge the area of rebels and the rebels tried to maintain control of the region to create a independent zone. By the end of the war tens of thousands of civilians had been killed and those who survived were displaced from their homes. That’s all I really know but I would like to read more about it. I’ve heard that wounds are still fresh and although the area is commonly referred to as the Ixil Triangle (because of the three major towns Nebaj, Cotzal, and Chajul), one person told me that there’s a social stigma tied to that name and that it’s not kosher to refer to it as the Triangle.
On a lighter note I’ll tell you about my living situation in Salquil Grande. My house is a small room in a hostel. Because of Salquil’s remoteness the hostel doesn’t get many guests and that’s pretty apparent when you see the place. The hostel is run by a family of eight and they’ve been quite hospitable so far which is great. The kids are a lot of fun, they like watching movies. On my visit we watched The Mask and my host sister instantly said I was like Jim Carrey (something I’ve gotten throughout my life). I swear I’d only spoken probably 3 sentences to her and she already tagged me as a silly jokester. I’d say that’s a fair assessment.
In my travels I’ve always worried about religion coming into play with the family I’m living with. It’s a touchy subject. Hell, people die every day because of religion. I want to fit in and be accepted without any problems but at the same time there is nothing I hate more than proselytizing. It’s my biggest problem with religions. You can believe in whatever you like. As long as you’re not causing any harm then its fine with me. The family I’m living with is Evangelical and the father is a pastor. They asked me to go to church with them which I said I would. I’m interested in seeing their ceremonies because Evangelicals here are different than those in the States. However I’m a bit skeptical because Evangelicals here are particularly forceful with their beliefs (not that Evangelicals elsewhere aren’t as well, but here it’s more in your face). Maybe it was the preacher screaming in my face on the bus ride from Nebaj up to Salquil. I guess I’m a little worried about having to deal with that with my family. I don’t want to make things uncomfortable. I’ve lived with Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, two religious groups that are notorious for door-knocking, but in both of those cases I didn’t feel pressure to convert at all. Hopefully it will be the same here. I like being the thoughtful observer, there to experience and learn without commitment. Anyways it’s an issue I’ll deal with when I come to it. So far the family has been great.
I like my little room, it’s quite quaint. I have a stiff little bed, a shelf made of stacked cinder blocks with a board between them, and a table with a stove on it. It’s Peace Corps Guatemala’s policy that all volunteers live with a host family for their first three months. Then they are free to find a house of their own. This was not the case in Togo where we had our own houses to start with. I’m sure most of my friends are looking forward to living on their own and I admit that would be nice but Salquil is such a small town and there’s no house to rent so chances are I’ll be living with this family for the whole two years. And that’s fine with me. I’m comfortable in my little room. Plus it's a hostel so if I can convince any of you to come visit me (and make my life) there's a place to stay.
I should comment on the weather because it’s rather unusual. Most of the time it’s cold up here in the mountains but that can change in an instant. There’s a big hard Sun, Eddie and its mighty powerful up here. It will be burning hot and I’ll be sweating but after spending a couple minutes in the shade I’ll want a jacket. Once the clouds role in late in the afternoon, it starts to get chilly. I’m coming to site at the beginning of November which is the last month of the rainy season and the beginning of winter. I’m glad I packed warm clothes.
7th Home in the Past Year
The past three weeks have been a whirlwind and I haven’t gotten enough time to write in my gournal (I hope someone gets that reference). Anyways, let’s play catch-up. I've broken up all of what I had written over the past couple of weeks up into five different entries. That way it’s not just one long, scatterbrained, rambling passage (although they will probably all read that way).
October 14th we were assigned our sites and we spent the next week visiting them. I knew I wanted a rural, indigenous site in the mountains, and that’s exactly what I got. For the next two years I will be living in Salquil Grande, an aldea in the Nebaj region of the department of Quiché, (“key-chay”). There’s an accent on the “e” so no it’s not pronounced like the French cuisine. Don’t bother trying to find Salquil Grande on Google Maps, it’s not there. Instead look up Nebaj, a close town of about 13,000. Salquil is about an hour and a half northwest of Nebaj along a windy, bumpy road high up in the Sierra de los Cuchumantanes, the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Salquil rests on a mountainside and my house sits at about 7,500 ft. From my window I have an incredible view of the surrounding 10,000+ ft peaks. The scenery of the area is epic; steep slopes drop into vast valleys. There is much to explore in these distant mountains with gushing rivers and cascading waterfalls. Not surprisingly Nebaj is a hiking destination though not well known or exploited due to its remoteness. I plan on doing a good amount of exploring during my time there.
The site visit went well. Peace Corps Guatemala pairs its volunteers up with organizations (this is not the case in Togo) and I’ve been paired with Save the Children which I think is a pretty well known U.S. organization. The other new volunteers in my area are also working with Save the Children: Stephen, Nicole, and Cara. They’re all a good distance away from me but we’ve got a good group up here and I’m pleased they’re (relatively) close to me. On our way to our sites we had a meeting in Santa Cruz de Quiché, the department capital. Save the Children put us up in a nice hotel and we spent the night full of fresh emotion, bonding over beers and watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
It was nice to finally see where I’ll be working. I’m replacing a volunteer named John who left me all his stuff which includes a huge Kansas Jayhawks flag, which shall be replaced as soon as possible. John was great in showing me around and introducing me to people. There is a decent sized group of gringos in Nebaj made up of volunteers from different organizations. They threw a welcome dinner for me which was nice. I’m looking forward to seeing them whenever I’m in Nebaj. Saturday we all returned from our post visit drained, eager to return to our sites and facing one more week of training.
October 14th we were assigned our sites and we spent the next week visiting them. I knew I wanted a rural, indigenous site in the mountains, and that’s exactly what I got. For the next two years I will be living in Salquil Grande, an aldea in the Nebaj region of the department of Quiché, (“key-chay”). There’s an accent on the “e” so no it’s not pronounced like the French cuisine. Don’t bother trying to find Salquil Grande on Google Maps, it’s not there. Instead look up Nebaj, a close town of about 13,000. Salquil is about an hour and a half northwest of Nebaj along a windy, bumpy road high up in the Sierra de los Cuchumantanes, the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Salquil rests on a mountainside and my house sits at about 7,500 ft. From my window I have an incredible view of the surrounding 10,000+ ft peaks. The scenery of the area is epic; steep slopes drop into vast valleys. There is much to explore in these distant mountains with gushing rivers and cascading waterfalls. Not surprisingly Nebaj is a hiking destination though not well known or exploited due to its remoteness. I plan on doing a good amount of exploring during my time there.
The site visit went well. Peace Corps Guatemala pairs its volunteers up with organizations (this is not the case in Togo) and I’ve been paired with Save the Children which I think is a pretty well known U.S. organization. The other new volunteers in my area are also working with Save the Children: Stephen, Nicole, and Cara. They’re all a good distance away from me but we’ve got a good group up here and I’m pleased they’re (relatively) close to me. On our way to our sites we had a meeting in Santa Cruz de Quiché, the department capital. Save the Children put us up in a nice hotel and we spent the night full of fresh emotion, bonding over beers and watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
It was nice to finally see where I’ll be working. I’m replacing a volunteer named John who left me all his stuff which includes a huge Kansas Jayhawks flag, which shall be replaced as soon as possible. John was great in showing me around and introducing me to people. There is a decent sized group of gringos in Nebaj made up of volunteers from different organizations. They threw a welcome dinner for me which was nice. I’m looking forward to seeing them whenever I’m in Nebaj. Saturday we all returned from our post visit drained, eager to return to our sites and facing one more week of training.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Goodwill Hunting
Ok so techically it's not Goodwill, but really it is. Wednesday in San Bartolome is Paca day. Trucks full of used clothes park in the street to sell discarded threads from the U.S. I've found a few jems there. Probably the coolest thing I've found was a Patrick Ewing jersey (in good condition) but alas it was too small. My two best buys were a shirt that says "To hell with work...Let's go to Barbados" and an old school Ohio State jacket. We're talking Woody Hayes era. In fact I'm pretty sure it's the same jacket he was wearing when he punched that Clemson nose tackle in the throat. Anyways it will look good on me once they win the National Championship. Yea that's right I said it.
I love Paca shopping just like enjoyed Goodwill hunting in the States. You can always find great relics and it's always interesting to barter. It's kind of funny, I don't think I've ever bartered in English but I've done plenty of it in French and Spanish. You have to go into it knowing that they're going to try and rip you off and usually they do. It's that Gringo surcharge. It's the most absurd thing I've seen in the Paca so far was a shirt that read "Welcome to America, Speak English" with the big Stars and Stripes behind it. How fitting that found its way here. Probably my favorite part about it is that it says "Welcome to America" and not "Welcome to the United States" as if the rest of the hemisphere isn't considered part of America, be it North, Central or South.
I've seen some Guatemalans walking around wearing some familiar clothes. In San Bartolome alone I’ve seen two Charlotte Hornets hats, two UNC hats, and an Elon sweatshirt (!). The most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen was a man in a market in Togo wearing an East Chapel Hill High School t-shirt. Sometimes you’ll see people wearing shirts with the most profane sayings and you have to wonder if they have any idea what their shirt means. Our used clothes that find life anew here is just one of the neat things about living in Guatemala.
This past weekend was a pretty fun one. Saturday we learned how to kill a rabbit. I had some idea of how to do it from the tearjerking rabbit-lady scene in Roger & Me. The whole ordeal was nasty business. You bash it over the head and then let it bleed out (during which Nick quipped “I’m never drinking a Bloody Mary again”) then you skin it because rabbit fur is quite valuable (as are the feet). It was pretty graphic and the Guatemalan woman that demonstrated the process was a pro. Unfortunately we didn’t get to eat it. I didn’t know it but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat in the world. It’s higher in protein percent and lower cholesterol level and in percent of fat than chicken, turkey, beef and pork. Anyways working with rabbits seems like a good future project although those little guys can scratch you up pretty badly.
Sunday four of us took a hike up the mountain that San Bartolome rests on. On top of the mountain is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. We were lucky it was a clear day and had a full view of the volcanoes Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Photos don’t really do it justice but it was incredible to see these massive volcanoes at full scope and how they sloped down into one another. Below is a picture that Jaron took with her super awesome camera.
Left to right: Agua (12,336 ft), Fuego (12,346 ft) and Acatenango (13,044 ft).
I love Paca shopping just like enjoyed Goodwill hunting in the States. You can always find great relics and it's always interesting to barter. It's kind of funny, I don't think I've ever bartered in English but I've done plenty of it in French and Spanish. You have to go into it knowing that they're going to try and rip you off and usually they do. It's that Gringo surcharge. It's the most absurd thing I've seen in the Paca so far was a shirt that read "Welcome to America, Speak English" with the big Stars and Stripes behind it. How fitting that found its way here. Probably my favorite part about it is that it says "Welcome to America" and not "Welcome to the United States" as if the rest of the hemisphere isn't considered part of America, be it North, Central or South.
I've seen some Guatemalans walking around wearing some familiar clothes. In San Bartolome alone I’ve seen two Charlotte Hornets hats, two UNC hats, and an Elon sweatshirt (!). The most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen was a man in a market in Togo wearing an East Chapel Hill High School t-shirt. Sometimes you’ll see people wearing shirts with the most profane sayings and you have to wonder if they have any idea what their shirt means. Our used clothes that find life anew here is just one of the neat things about living in Guatemala.
This past weekend was a pretty fun one. Saturday we learned how to kill a rabbit. I had some idea of how to do it from the tearjerking rabbit-lady scene in Roger & Me. The whole ordeal was nasty business. You bash it over the head and then let it bleed out (during which Nick quipped “I’m never drinking a Bloody Mary again”) then you skin it because rabbit fur is quite valuable (as are the feet). It was pretty graphic and the Guatemalan woman that demonstrated the process was a pro. Unfortunately we didn’t get to eat it. I didn’t know it but according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture domestic rabbit meat is the most nutritious meat in the world. It’s higher in protein percent and lower cholesterol level and in percent of fat than chicken, turkey, beef and pork. Anyways working with rabbits seems like a good future project although those little guys can scratch you up pretty badly.
Sunday four of us took a hike up the mountain that San Bartolome rests on. On top of the mountain is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. We were lucky it was a clear day and had a full view of the volcanoes Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. Photos don’t really do it justice but it was incredible to see these massive volcanoes at full scope and how they sloped down into one another. Below is a picture that Jaron took with her super awesome camera.
Left to right: Agua (12,336 ft), Fuego (12,346 ft) and Acatenango (13,044 ft).
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Cowboys, Chickens, Knives, & Aggies
Man have I been bad about updating my thing. I’m curled up in bed right now because my stomach is being difficult. It’s raining outside (shocking) and I’m listening to Mule Variations because Tom Waits feels right. This is the perfect environment for writing and it has definitely been wayyyyyy too long since I’ve updated this thing. Two weeks ago was our field based training. We spent the week visiting towns and volunteer sites in the state of Jalapa, in the eastern part of the country. The Oriente (as they call the east) is populated with Ladinos. People are much more open compared to the people of the Occcidente (the west) which has a more conservative, indigenous (Mayan) presence. Probably my favorite part about the east is that all the men wear cowboy hats. They are worn all over the country but they’re much more prevalent out east. You’d see a group of four men talking in the park all gathered around wearing their white cowboy hats, jeans, and boots. I bought a cowboy hat in Antigua and I can’t wait to wear it to work.
I'm a baaaaad man
Our base was Mataquescuintla, the pronunciation of which I butchered continually throughout the trip much to the chagrin of my Spanish instructor. We stayed in Mataquescuintla but during the day we would travel up into the scenic mountains that surround it to visit smaller communities. Our first day we visited a volunteer (that one of us will be replacing) in her beautiful mountainside village. They grow a lot of coffee there. I don’t drink coffee, I made it through college without drinking coffee, but something tells me I’ll be a coffee drinker before I leave Guatemala. It’s seriously like water here. Babies begin drinking coffee at 6 months which is absurd to me. I tried to explain to my family that I don’t drink it but they just can’t wrap their heads around it. On numerous occasions they’ve brought up how weird it is for someone not to drink coffee. We’ll see what happens. Right now my only vice here is Coca-Cola. It’s so delicious because they use real sugar here, not artificial like in the U.S. Anyways, I digress. It felt so nice to be in a rural area. The slower, friendlier lifestyle.
I’d say there were two real highlights of the trip. The first would be our presentations and how much of a disaster mine was. A women's group had requested presentations on certain agriculture related topics. My topic was tire gardening. There are really only two difficult parts of teaching tire gardening: cutting and then flipping the tire inside out. My presentation went relatively well until we got to those two steps. I had a nice icebreaker and a group activity that conveyed the theme but then came the hands on part. The cutting of the tire part wasn’t too terrible. Tires destroy knives and when I cut into it my knife’s locking blade collapsed on my hand (cuts #1 & #2). The real problem came when I flipped the tire inside out. I had practiced and knew that flipping a tire inside out isn’t exactly easy so I grabbed the tire and immediately threw my strength into it. It worked but it was an old tire and in my haste I had failed to avoid the exposed steel cords that reinforce the sidewall. This resulted in patchy cuts #3-6 on my left hand and slitting my right thumb open (cut #7). At first I didn’t notice the cuts but when I touched my one of my posters as I was presenting it left some blood. The cuts weren’t serious but I was worried about my thumb. Needless to say the end of my presentation was accompanied with nervous laughter from the audience which wasn’t sure how bad the cuts were. I finished presenting and immediately doused my hands in antiseptic. Tires tend to be a little dirty. With the exception of the scene I created, I was pleased with my presentation. The women responded well and got involved in the cutting process.
Tire flippin'
The second highlight of the trip was our vaccination session. I’ve received probably 20 + shots in the past two years and it felt nice to dish out some of my own even if it was just to chickens. I have to say they are much better patients than humans. If someone tried to give me a shot on the back of my neck with a needle almost as long as my face you’d probably hear something close to Steve Martin’s car rental outburst in the Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
No he didn't get a sucker or a bouncy ball.
Speaking of doctors and shots, I don’t know how much press it got stateside but last week’s release of the Guatemalan Syphilis experiments in 1940s certainly got a lot of press here. If you don’t know what I’m talking about it was recently revealed that as part of a U.S. government sponsored medical experiment U.S. public health doctors deliberately infected Guatemalan prisoners, mental patients and soldiers with syphilis in the mid-1940s. Not surprisingly it was carried out by the same immoral doctor who was in charge of the Tuskegee Experiments. Terrible, terrible stuff. Anyways, I hope that this recent revelation will not complicate my service here as an American volunteer.
On a lighter note, we were translating our résumés into Spanish today and I came across something funny. On my résumé I have “farmhand” written as my position at Poplar Ridge Farm where I worked during the summer of 2007. According to my dictionary the word for “farmhand” in Spanish is “peón” from which the English “peon” is derived. I will not be listing my job title as “peon.”
Hmm what else has happened? We went to the city to see a speaker from Texas A&M give a presentation on adult education methods in agriculture. That was pretty neat but sitting there with a name tag that had the Texas A&M logo above my name I couldn’t help but think of my mom and how she would feel if she saw me wearing that. I’m sure the Longhorn in her would not approve. Our tech trainer is a Texas A&M grad and I think he just enjoys calling us all Aggies. The rain got so bad that I finally bought some rain boots. My BluBlockers are making my world a brighter place, I feel like I’m walking around in bizarro world whenever I put them on, Zach. We had our last school presentation today which comes with some relief. Our class was quite a handful.
Training is winding down; we swear in as volunteers on the 29th and then it’s off to our sites for the next two years. We find out where we’ll be serving next Thursday so count on a post about that. If you’re interested and you happen to have a map of Guatemala handy I can tell you this much about our potential sites: 3 sites are located in the state of Quiché (not pronounced like the French cuisine), 2 in Jalapa, 1 in Chimaltenango, 1 in San Marcos, 1 in Sololá, and 1 in Zacapa. So I will be living in one of those states for the next two years.
I'm a baaaaad man
Our base was Mataquescuintla, the pronunciation of which I butchered continually throughout the trip much to the chagrin of my Spanish instructor. We stayed in Mataquescuintla but during the day we would travel up into the scenic mountains that surround it to visit smaller communities. Our first day we visited a volunteer (that one of us will be replacing) in her beautiful mountainside village. They grow a lot of coffee there. I don’t drink coffee, I made it through college without drinking coffee, but something tells me I’ll be a coffee drinker before I leave Guatemala. It’s seriously like water here. Babies begin drinking coffee at 6 months which is absurd to me. I tried to explain to my family that I don’t drink it but they just can’t wrap their heads around it. On numerous occasions they’ve brought up how weird it is for someone not to drink coffee. We’ll see what happens. Right now my only vice here is Coca-Cola. It’s so delicious because they use real sugar here, not artificial like in the U.S. Anyways, I digress. It felt so nice to be in a rural area. The slower, friendlier lifestyle.
I’d say there were two real highlights of the trip. The first would be our presentations and how much of a disaster mine was. A women's group had requested presentations on certain agriculture related topics. My topic was tire gardening. There are really only two difficult parts of teaching tire gardening: cutting and then flipping the tire inside out. My presentation went relatively well until we got to those two steps. I had a nice icebreaker and a group activity that conveyed the theme but then came the hands on part. The cutting of the tire part wasn’t too terrible. Tires destroy knives and when I cut into it my knife’s locking blade collapsed on my hand (cuts #1 & #2). The real problem came when I flipped the tire inside out. I had practiced and knew that flipping a tire inside out isn’t exactly easy so I grabbed the tire and immediately threw my strength into it. It worked but it was an old tire and in my haste I had failed to avoid the exposed steel cords that reinforce the sidewall. This resulted in patchy cuts #3-6 on my left hand and slitting my right thumb open (cut #7). At first I didn’t notice the cuts but when I touched my one of my posters as I was presenting it left some blood. The cuts weren’t serious but I was worried about my thumb. Needless to say the end of my presentation was accompanied with nervous laughter from the audience which wasn’t sure how bad the cuts were. I finished presenting and immediately doused my hands in antiseptic. Tires tend to be a little dirty. With the exception of the scene I created, I was pleased with my presentation. The women responded well and got involved in the cutting process.
Tire flippin'
The second highlight of the trip was our vaccination session. I’ve received probably 20 + shots in the past two years and it felt nice to dish out some of my own even if it was just to chickens. I have to say they are much better patients than humans. If someone tried to give me a shot on the back of my neck with a needle almost as long as my face you’d probably hear something close to Steve Martin’s car rental outburst in the Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
No he didn't get a sucker or a bouncy ball.
Speaking of doctors and shots, I don’t know how much press it got stateside but last week’s release of the Guatemalan Syphilis experiments in 1940s certainly got a lot of press here. If you don’t know what I’m talking about it was recently revealed that as part of a U.S. government sponsored medical experiment U.S. public health doctors deliberately infected Guatemalan prisoners, mental patients and soldiers with syphilis in the mid-1940s. Not surprisingly it was carried out by the same immoral doctor who was in charge of the Tuskegee Experiments. Terrible, terrible stuff. Anyways, I hope that this recent revelation will not complicate my service here as an American volunteer.
On a lighter note, we were translating our résumés into Spanish today and I came across something funny. On my résumé I have “farmhand” written as my position at Poplar Ridge Farm where I worked during the summer of 2007. According to my dictionary the word for “farmhand” in Spanish is “peón” from which the English “peon” is derived. I will not be listing my job title as “peon.”
Hmm what else has happened? We went to the city to see a speaker from Texas A&M give a presentation on adult education methods in agriculture. That was pretty neat but sitting there with a name tag that had the Texas A&M logo above my name I couldn’t help but think of my mom and how she would feel if she saw me wearing that. I’m sure the Longhorn in her would not approve. Our tech trainer is a Texas A&M grad and I think he just enjoys calling us all Aggies. The rain got so bad that I finally bought some rain boots. My BluBlockers are making my world a brighter place, I feel like I’m walking around in bizarro world whenever I put them on, Zach. We had our last school presentation today which comes with some relief. Our class was quite a handful.
Training is winding down; we swear in as volunteers on the 29th and then it’s off to our sites for the next two years. We find out where we’ll be serving next Thursday so count on a post about that. If you’re interested and you happen to have a map of Guatemala handy I can tell you this much about our potential sites: 3 sites are located in the state of Quiché (not pronounced like the French cuisine), 2 in Jalapa, 1 in Chimaltenango, 1 in San Marcos, 1 in Sololá, and 1 in Zacapa. So I will be living in one of those states for the next two years.
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