Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges

3 days, 50 students, 8 teachers, 3 volunteers, a huge success . After several months of planning and run around a couple of us youth development volunteers hosted a 3 day intercultural exchange between students from 2 distinct communities. The idea for the diversity camp, intercultural exchange was to unite students from different ethnic backgrounds and have them learn and share about their similarities and differences.  

It was a great opportunity for students who have never had the opportunity to leave their small towns or villages to see a new part of the country and make new friends. I enjoyed bonding with the students from my site and getting to know the students from Nebaj. This was definitely the highlight of my service. 

Celebrating World AIDS Day

PCV's in Santa Cruz 

On December 1st all around the world people united in the fight against HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS have claimed the life of millions of men, women and children and as volunteers in Guatemala along with our local communities and counterpart agencies, we have joined the fight to stop the spread of HIV and discrimination of people living with the virus. 

Human Ribbon

In the department of Quiché, we commemorated World AIDS Day with a parade with students, health staff, hospital interns, volunteers and kids working with the office for human rights, the parade ended in the central park with some basic education about transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS and how to live along side people living with HIV/AIDS. It was a great success and several people participated. Aside from that activity, I also had an activity planned here in site with the youth. We had a parade on the main road leading to the soccer field where we formed a human ribbon and later hosted an HIV and Soccer workshop, which was developed last year by volunteers. We tried to have a soccer tournament but there was no referee and since I know nothing about soccer, we had to postpone the tournament to a later date. 

Kids showing off their skills during the HIV and Soccer Workshop

Giving Thanks

Sharing Tradition

 Thanksgiving is probably one of my favorite holidays. Its something about the autumn leaves, the smell of spices coming from the kitchen and gathering the whole family together to share things that we are thankful for. Times like these are tough being away from home but nonetheless these are the moments I will be thankful for next Thanksgiving.

In the middle of working on several different projects and not having the time to travel between filling out grant applications and conversations with the mayor, I decided to make Thanksgiving happen here in my site, thanks to my mom. She sent me a Thanksgiving care package packed with all the necessities to make an international Thanksgiving dinner, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, apple cider, pumpkin puree and a box of pumpkin cake mix.

Making Mac and Cheese

I invited my host family, friends, local counterpart and some families that I have become close to during my service to share this American holiday.  With the help of some little helpers we whipped up some Thanksgiving magic. We cooked green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato salad, macaroni and cheese, stuffing and what’s Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry sauce. The only thing that was missing was the…turkey. It’s ok because we enjoyed our vegetarian thanksgiving and had plenty of food to share. 

One, Two, Buckle my Shoe....

As volunteers we have two ‘projects’: our primary, which is our assigned project or program, and our secondary, which is where we can apply our creative liberties in what we are passionate about. Through out my service, I have experimented with different secondary projects. I worked with a small group of girls doing arts and crafts and baking, it wasn’t long until drama ensued at school and the group of besties was no more, leaving the seño (miss) to eat all the cookies by herself.  I then started teaching English, which was not bad but it is easier to speak English then it is to teach it. Especially when the only interest in learning English is to send sweet text messages to your sweetie and translate lyrics of Miley Cyrus songs (no, thank you).  I even tried a school garden, but I have the opposite of a green thumb, everything I touch turns brown.

Even as the HIV committee representative for the department, I just considered it another job, one more thing to report on. It wasn’t until a conversation with a Guatemalan woman, who had only heard rumors about this disease that you can contract simply through eye contact with an infected person (myth). It was then that I knew that for the remainder of my service I would do what I could to spread the word about the reality of HIV/AIDS. 

In the last week of November, the nationwide promotion of HIV testing “Hazte la prueba” (take the test). I assembled a group of city hall employees to get tested, some were more willing than others and it was a great opportunity to share the importance of being tested. 17 people were tested that day, some for the first time. I probably looked and sounded like a crazy person walking down the street telling people to get tested for HIV, but it worked. Later that night, around 9, I hear a knock on my door and it’s a friend who heard me talking about the HIV test. She came in and we talked, she asked a lot of questions and had a lot of concerns. She was over 30 years old and had never seen or used a condom with her partner, who she suspected of creeping around. It was shocking to me, so I used that opportunity to show her a condom demonstration. Yes it was awkward, doing a condom demonstration at my kitchen table at 10 pm but as a woman she has the right to know how to use a condom and protect herself.  I spent a good amount of time thinking about how many other women who have been told they have no business using condoms.

It was at that moment, I decided to dedicate the rest of my service to HIV/AIDS education, one condom demonstration at a time. 

Camioneta Chronicles II: The 7 People You Meet on the Camioneta

La Camioneta

1. The Ayudante

  Your camioneta experience is invalid if there is no interaction with the ayudante. The Ayudante helps with your belongings (if he is nice) and collects your bus fare aka pasaje. Common phrases will include, "(insert destination name said rapidly multiple times)", "Pasaje por fa", "Corrense por atras", "Donde caben dos, caben tres", and "Servidos". Ayudates may be occasionally responsible for the musical selection on the camioneta, with musical choices ranging from 80’s and 90’s hits, bachata and duranguense.

2. The Beggar/ The Preacher

  The beggar/preacher can be found at any major bus stop or terminal. The beggar can range from having a sad unfortunate tale to a disfiguring ailment that prevents the individual from actual gainful employment. The preacher is usually an older evangelical man carrying a black briefcase with pamphlets on one of two causes why you should give to him, the orphaned children that need food and clothes or help the church because if you don't you will spend an eternal life in hell. 

3. The Vendor

  The vendor can quench your thirst, alleviate your hunger, heal your pain, cure your diabetes and provide you with the latest music and movies on the market. Some times you can find some good deals on household items, including tools and kitchen utensils. Some of my favorites include fruit in a bag, caramelized peanuts and coconut cream.

4. The Baby

  This little human being is usually being carried on their mothers back; some will be cute and irresistible. Be cautious when making funny faces not to make the child cry because it will be likely they will not stop. They are most irritating while crying.

5. The Drunk aka Bolo

  It is highly advised to stay away from this person. A bolo can be young or old, alone or accompanied by other bolo friends. There are two distinct types of bolos: the street bolo is usually soiled and beaten up; the party bolo is most likely accompanied by others and more belligerent than the street bolo. Bolos can be heard rambling or crying from sorrow and heartbreak. If they are too out of control they are likely to be thrown off the bus at any given moment.

6. The Good Citizen

  This can be a generous man or woman who can share a simple kind word, a piece of their fruit during a long ride or treat you to a gelatina (Jell-o) or ice cream. You can talk to this person the whole way or have short random conversations on the way to your destination about everything from where your from, what you do, how you like or don’t like living in Guatemala and why your not married. Their intentions are genuine; there are no ulterior motives or creepy vibes.  These people are hard to come by, but when they do they brighten up your day. 

7. The Pickpocket

    There is no general description of a pickpocket. He/she can be a man, woman, child, or a team of pickpockets. Some are better skilled than others. A word of advice learned early on is to spread it all around. Items commonly confiscated are wallets, loose bills and cell phones. A stupid pickpocket will answer the stolen phone and tell you that you should not expect to see it again. 

Chuchos, Tortillas, Trash....One of These Do Not Belong

There is one thing there is no shortage of in Guatemala…trash (and tortillas). Unfortunately, trash is a common problem in developing countries. In Guatemala, trash can be seen on every roadside and mountainside. The common thing to do with trash is burn it, everything from chip bags, baby diapers, plastic bottles and tires are burnt. There are even designated days and times to burn trash. 

This school year I felt like a gave a million charlas on everything from self-esteem and sex ed to recycling and environmental awareness. Students learned the importance of properly disposing of trash and the deadly effects of improper elimination, students were also taught how to make Eco-Ladrillos (filling plastic bottles with inorganic trash) and the possible uses for the bricks.  I worked with all of my schools on the topic of environmental awareness and recycling, but one school took the initiative to do something more. They organized trash pick up days and as the school year went on the science teacher required each student to bring in 20 eco-ladrillos each semester and the graduating tercero students were going to make a bench.

With over 1,000 bottles collected and funds collected from each student and the help of the local municipality. A class of 19 tercero students built a school bench. 

Camioneta Chronicles

I have a love/hate relationship with transportation in Guatemala, everything from waiting for the bus, the mechanics of the bus, passengers, road conditions and the drivers and ayudantes.  All these things make the camioneta experience what it is. I had my share of traveling in September, it was nothing short of spectacular and eventful. So eventful that I have decided to write a series of entries on the amazingness of camionetas.

An average bus rides for me can range from 2.5 hours to the East and 3.5 to 6 hours to the West depending on my destination. The roads are extremely unpredictable, especially during rain season, making the ride that much more fun.  Potholes have become normal to me, its almost as though the drivers are laying frogger so be sure to hold on tight as they bob and weave on the road to avoid the pot holes bigger than your head. Every once in a while there are kids filling holes with dirt asking for a Quetzal from drivers for their hard work, I often wonder why some of these kids who appear to be as young as 7, are not in school learning instead of shoveling dirt into potholes. After days and nights of heavy rains it is very likely to hear of or see landslides and deteriorating roads, some can be fixed quickly and others take some time causing major detours through the back roads that are not used to being dominated by big buses all day long. 

I usually anticipate my travels pretty well and get to my destination in a timely manner, especially when I leave my site at 5:30am. The last few occasions have been particularly extraordinary. The first trip, the bus broke down about 30 minutes after leaving resulting in all the passengers getting off and hopping on the back of a pick up truck at 6AM for an hour and a half ride into the nearest town to catch another bus.

       Picture this: 15 men, women and children, a basket of chickens and a tire on the back of a pick up truck winding around a graveled mountainside dodging potholes, chuchos, chickens and cows through early morning fog. I give props to those who do this frequently; my tailbone was sore for a good two days or more.

After I caught the second bus I thought I was home free and the little set back was nothing, I was wrong. A short trip turned into a three and a half hour ordeal, you see the bus I got on was only going half way, ayudantes have a lovely way of collecting your money and then tell you when they get to their last stop that this is as far as they go and give you your change.  So, I had to get on another bus and then wait in traffic for almost two hours because a cement truck drove off the mountainside the night before. Amazingly the driver was fine and somehow someone managed to drive the truck away, only in Guatemala.

In the end a trip that on a normal day takes me 6 hours, took me 9 hours. Expect the unexpected when traveling.

Hasta la Próxima! 

Saved by the Bell

  In Guatemala school starts in January, in conjunction with the presidential inauguration and a visit from my parents, it was an eventful start to the year. Then came changes to Peace Corps Guatemala, followed by Semana Santa and a ton of other special events in which classes were canceled including mothers day, fathers day, school anniversaries, town anniversary, mid year break and a few soccer tournaments thrown in there and a dash of Peace Corps trainings and conferences. And here we are with one semester remaining until summer vacation. With all that said, there is not much class time for students and teachers and provided there aren’t any teacher strikes, which I have not experienced as of yet. Much of my work involves implementing a life skills curriculum into the already existing middle school curriculum.

  The first phase is teaching students directly, followed by co-teaching with the teachers in order for them to be able to teach independently, in a perfect world. It is a challenge when majority of teachers are unavailable and leave their class unsupervised for periods at a time, especially when they view their time with me as a free period.   As the year is coming to an end, I can count on two fingers how many teachers are successfully administering lessons on self-esteem, leadership, decision-making and goal setting. It was not without some challenges, some more significant than others. Prior to leaving for my trip home I organized a month long plan for each of my teachers in all three of my schools, I prepared materials, gave instructions and a drawn out calendar with what to do on what day, fool proof so I thought. I came back excited to hear back from my teachers, of the five only one followed instructions.

  One of the teachers completely ignored the calendar and materials and decided to teach sex education; only thing is that she is a social studies teacher. I was concerned so I asked the kids how they felt about the lesson and the looks on their faces said it all, terrified.  I worked with the science teacher on properly educating the students about the reproductive system and only hope that the teachers continue to properly use the manual as a resource in their courses and I plan on training all teachers about the proper use of the manual and working with teenagers due to the fact many are not trained teachers or have experience working with adolescents.  I am neither a certified teacher nor an expert on teenagers but as educators and influential adults we owe it to the youth to take an effort in their development and prepare them for the next step of their lives. Being a teenager today is so much more challenging than it was to be a teenager just 5 or 10 years ago.  

   In finding the challenges that face my students and in part of my work to educate and help the youth I am working with local government, community members and collaborating with nearby volunteers to develop summer camps focusing on topics of cultural diversity and gender based leadership camps. It may be a bit ambitious but it gives non-working students something to look forward to. Plus, it beats waking up at noon and doing nothing all summer. 

I DO

  I sit here counting the remaining time of my service on two hands, thinking how in the world did I get here and what am I doing.  Over two years ago, I made a conscious decision to join the Peace Corps via a pop-up while studying for the GMAT. I don’t regret my decision at all; I’m not a good test taker anyways.  I knew I would be leaving behind a lot but I also knew I would be gaining a lot.  During the months prior to my departure, reading blogs, deciding what to pack and talking to local RPCV’s I realized I’d be living thousands of miles away from everything that I was familiar with, friends, family, my car, Friday night drinks after work and my pillow top mattress. Among all those wonderful things that did not initially cross my mind include peace and quiet, personal space, privacy, and anonymity. I wasn’t waking up to street dogs, tortillaring, crying children, herds of cows and marching bands at 4am. I was able to walk out of my house and not be questioned about why my hair is curly and if it can be touched, or why I am so tall or why my skin is the color it is. I could sit in my hotel room watching TV and eating my pizza peacefully without a little girl coming in and helping herself to a slice only to ask for some more for her friends minutes later, yes this really happened and no she did not get any for her friends. 

  When everything seems as if it could not get any worse I am reminded why I am here and that I willingly agreed to these challenges and disappointments, new relationships, excessive personal time, and most importantly diarrhea and other digestive related issues. My laundry lady doesn’t just wash my clothes, we talk, we laugh, but most of all I know she genuinely cares about me, why else would she be trying to find a husband for me. Sitting on my doorstep out of boredom has now turned into a small kids group of fun and games and occasional cookie baking. After enjoying a long walk to school only to find classes are canceled for a district wide soccer game delaying us yet another week, I see it as an opportunity to hang out with my students to talk about cultural differences and Facebook. And on those days that I just can’t trust my stomach in public, I see it as an opportunity to think back to what I ate the day before and catch up on my blog! Every volunteer has their own unique experience, and has their own perspective of their host country and service.  I know one day I will look back and cherish each waking moment I have in Guatemala. Some days are easier to get through than others thanks to our Peace Corps issued cell phones, comfort foods and Internet access. 

Hasta la Proxima

A la Gran Vida

I am aware I have severely neglected my blog lately, my sincerest apologies to those who actually read it. My service started, life happened and here I am a year later, still in Guatemala, its hard to believe I have been in site an entire year, things are so different. Last year around this time I was just a visitor for the 25th anniversary of Pachalum, not knowing anyone and over whelmed by the festivities. This year everyone knows my name and I even participated in a skit for the Paisano Ausente, the people from town that live in America.

Roller Coaster

Since my arrival, a new mayor and president have taken office, Peace Corps Guatemala has made several changes to the organization, my work load has sky rocketed, my parents came to visit and I've been back home. I wont bore you with everything so I will just point out some highlights.

Secret Santa with Host Family

Best moment in site: There are so many amazing things that have happened but many memorable moments involve my host family. From the town fair games with my73 year old host mom, secret santa for Christmas, cooking and baking with my host sisters and local gossip at the pila, they have truly been a big part in my service and I am grateful for it. How else would I have awesome Spanish if it wasn't for these lovely ladies.

Tajumulco 2012

Worst Moment: Not particularly one bad moment, more like a series of unfortunate events that lead to a hospital visit. I guess you can call it Karma for teasing my dad for his soccer feet. Long story short I went hiking in the wrong shoes and later
got a nasty toe infection on not one but both of my big toes. When I thought things were getting better, it only got worse and I had the pleasure of visiting the hospital here in Guatemala and was prescribed antibiotics and steroids to fix me. Luckily the doctors, both Peace Corps and at the hospital were very professional and helpful although it was scary not knowing what was going on and what was going to happen. But thank God that it was curable and just a few weeks after my experience I was able to climb Tajumulco for new Years eve with a group of friends to see the first sunrise of the new year on top of the tallest volcano in central america.
 

Antigua with Parents

Happiest Moment: This has been the longest I've been away from family, so when my parents came in January to visit I was super duper excited. It was nice to show them around my site and allow them to experience my daily life here. It was surreal having my dad sitting on my front stoop with me and my neighborhood kids. It was also nice vacationing with them, I am sure they will return.

Memories 

Saddest Moment: My biggest fear before starting my service was losing a family member while I was serving and not being able to go home. Unfortunately my fear became a reality in February when my Uncle lost his battle with cancer. I was sad I did not talk to him more or even being able to say good bye, but I was happy to hear that he was at peace the days before he passed. The hardest thing was not being able to be with my family and grieve with them and support them. We all learnt and grew from the experience.

Biggest Accomplishment: In the Peace Corps there are always training and workshops, after two weeks straight of being away from site, I was ready to get home and get back to school even though sometime it feels like the students are more interested in what I am wearing or their minds are wandering with other questions unrelated to what I am talking to them about, very frustrating. One day I was walking through the market and one of my students asked when I was coming back because she missed my classes with them, I asked her if she really missed what I talk about or the games we play. She then recounted every class we have had in the last 4 months, I was shocked, she even told me she has a notebook especially for the lessons that I give. So even when I feel like some of what I am doing is pointless or I am not reaching any of my students I am. This definitely put a smile on my face.

Earth Day 2012

Biggest Fail: I would like to think of my self as not so bad of a cook. But cooking on a wood stove for my first three months in site was an epic fail. I think I only ate street food and oatmeal because the one time I tried making a real meal it did not quite work. I tried making spaghetti  with protemas (dehydrated soy) after 45 minutes in the hot kitchen my food was a salty starchy mush. Come to find out there was not enough fire to cook anything, so I definitely learned a lesson "check the fire before cooking".

Cooking on the Plancha