February in Guate

Well, since it’s been a month since I’ve written anything, it’s gonna be impossible to capture all the things that have been happening here in Guate, but I’ll try to hit the high points (or low, as the case may be)….

February was a really hard month for me. I started teaching classes, which is great and ridiculously crazy at the same time! I’ve had to get used to a lack of discipline and rules, a schedule that is never dependable, a lack of supplies, teaching 8 different grades in a 5 hour span, some difficulty in communication with the other staff, and parents wondering what is going on! Hmm, that last sentence didn’t make it sound too great- but I assure you, every day that I teach has so far ended up going very well and I have received such a sense of satisfaction from doing something I never thought I’d do (and probably never want to do again, just for the record). I’m lucky because I teach the 2 subjects that the kids are most excited about in the school: English and Computers. Although my lesson plans vary greatly from the pre-schoolers to the 6^th grade, I have mostly been teaching expressions, numbers, the alphabet, and integrating some math in there with the older kids so far. On the computers, I’m lucky to have 8 games which were provided by Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin, which teach math, English, Spanish, astronomy, geography, etc. I also worked with a teacher from Mazatenango, who gave me a program designed for pre-schoolers- it’s a lifesaver!

So that aspect of my work here is going well, although I’ll admit that Monday nights before my classes are not my favorite!.... In other work news, I visited La Selva (the jungle) again with Dina (my host mom), which was an even greater adventure this time than before! We ended up having to wait for busses, trucks, and walking for probably 4 hours to get to this place. Then the final “hill” that you have to climb to get to the community had basically become so steep that good climbing shoes and a rope would have been quite handy. Unfortunately we were in skirts and I was in flip flops. We made it, but I’m certain that we looked ridiculous and Dina fell once. BUT, I got to meet and take pictures of the new becados, kids who receive scholarships to go to school from a church in North Carolina. It really means so much to these people and is so important for their kids to recieve the education that is only made possible by these groups. It´s amazing what a few hundred or a thousand dollars can do here in Guatemala....We also had a great lunch at which I challenged my host mom to a tortilla eating contest (It´s good decisions like this that explain why I´m gaining weight!) It’s amazing how many tortillas people eat here in a day!

I spent the weekend of Feb. 24-25 in a community called Santa Ana. It is a small community on the Pacific coast of Guatemala that was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Stan, and again in the fall of 2006 by more flooding. Most of the homes and businesses were destroyed and remain abandoned today by those who had the money or the resources to move to other places. However, some people are still living in the city, where there are huge pools of standing water, the streets are destroyed to the point of being impassable, and there is no hope of rebuilding from what I understand. That being said, I was there with a health commission which consists of members from different churches in my Presbytery. It’s a small group of about 15 members, who range in age from 18-60, but all of whom are lots of fun! We had our meetings at a church with non-flushing cement holes in the ground, no electricity, and that had pretty much lost everything except for their building in the floods. However, we managed to have so much fun! We got up at 4AM one morning and learned to make bread in wood-burning ovens from a local baker. It was one of my favorite things I’ve done in Guatemala so far!

In leisurely news, in mid-February, Sarah and I went to Lake Atitlan and met David LaMotte, a singer/song-writer/guitar player from North Carolina, who does some work in Guatemala (www.davidlamotte.com). We had a nice dinner with him and unfortunately my fear of boats kept me from visiting his projects, but Sarah had a great day with him and has some good pictures of the work he’s doing in Santiago Atitlan. My parents have subsequently seen him in concert this week in Shreveport, and loved him, so you should check him out!!

In further leisurely news, the fair has been going on this week in Santo Domingo, and thank God, last night was the last night! The rides for the fair are located directly across the street from my house on the soccer field, so sleeping this week has been quite impossible. I’ve had to adjust to sleeping from 2-7 in the evening to make up for not getting to sleep till around 3AM this week. BUT they did have the FASTEST ferris wheel I´ve ever seen in my life! I took some video of it because I swear, someone is gonna get ejected from that thing one day and fly far, far away. I declined when asked to ride it, as well as all the other rides because I like my life and if I´m gonna die, it´s not going to be on a Guatemalan carnival ride... As part of the fair festivities, I also participated in a parade with the school on Thursday which was lots of fun. The kids from my school dressed up as crocodiles and did this dance which was so cute, if you can get over the fact that I had to hear the same song about crocodiles blasting at least 20 times during the parade route. And the fair in general was pretty fun, too, as I got to watch my little host-“brothers” ride rides and have a good time! Oh, and did I mention a “secret admirer” had his little sister ride over to me on a bike, give me a synthetic rose and a note with his #, and then ride away as fast as she could? That was definitely the highlight of the fair for me! I seem to be quite popular with the 18 year old or so crowd around here lately.

Now for a complete change in subject, I’ve experienced some unfortunate things in the past few days. Friday I was having banking troubles (confidence level in Guatemalan banks on a scale of 1-10 = 2) so I went to Mazatenango to try to straighten them out. On my way to the bank, my micro-bus hit a little boy and had to back up off to get him out from under the tire. It was really sad. People were screaming and he went to the hospital and I’m not sure what happened, but please pray that he is ok….

A man then tried to rob me on my way home, but I was fully aware that he was following me and another couple noticed, too, and helped the situation greatly. Everything was fine, but needless to say I gave up on fixing my bank problems and headed for home….

Friday night, I won’t go into detail because it just wouldn’t be right, but my host-sister’s husband attacked her in front of their kids and her parents. The police had to be called and she ended up being ok, but it was a terrible situation for the entire family, especially the kids who thought their dad was going to kill their mom (her boys are 8, 4, and 2). Please pray that their situation improves and that he will not show up again at our house. (This is a pic I took of them about a week ago that I really like)

I guess that’s a pretty good recap of the major things I’ve been doing lately. It’s been such an interesting month because I have traveled to extremely touristy places and spent a good deal of money eating and entertaining myself with the country’s elite from Guatemala City, but have also visited so many poor campesino (farmer) communities and been invited into their homes and shared meals and good times with them as well. The difference is astounding. It’s like being in 2 completely different cultures, even though I am in a country that is only about the size of Georgia. I am glad for both experiences, but I have to say, the time I’ve spent in the later communities is definitely my favorite. It means so much more to me to share with people who seemingly have nothing to share- where stories and laughter are the gifts we give to each other, while eating simple meals of beans and rice in simple homes of wood and tin. Laughing with an indigenous person over jokes we are both telling in our second languages (since many people here speak Mayan languages as their first) is an amazing experience in which our individual cultures are temporarily forgotten and a connection is made.

I think another of the most important things that’s happened to me this month is that I’ve stopped feeling so much like a tourist, but really started feeling like I live here and am part of several communities- my host family, my church community, the school, and my family that consists of the other volunteers and mission co-workers here. It’s made me realize that although I’ve traveled to so many interesting places in the world, I haven’t truly experienced them because I haven’t met the people and I haven’t understood the cultural things that can’t be studied from outside. Was I wasting my time before? No, but I am truly appreciating this deeper experience and the friendships that I’m making here in Guatemala.

My thoughts are finally turning from “How many days till I get back home to the States” to “Oh shit, how am I going to readjust to living in the States and is that what I really want for my life, my kids, etc.” I could go way more into that, but I don’t think anyone wants to read essays.

Well, I have so much to look forward to in the next few weeks that I hardly know what to do with myself. A group from Duke University will be in Santo Domingo next week, Sarah’s birthday is in the middle of the month and all the volunteers are getting together to celebrate, and then my parents are coming to visit the 20^th, to be followed by my sister, my minister, and her husband on the 24^th. I have a work retreat and then am taking a vacation for Easter after that, so don’t expect anything new here for about another month. Sorry for anyone who is anxiously awaiting an update on my life (that probably only includes Cary and my parents).

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Much Love,

Julia