First post as a real volunteer

It feels like it has been way to long since my last blog entry, although its probably only been about a week. But what a full week its been. Instead of trying to recount all that has happened to me in witty prose, I will just give the highlights.

 Last week (or the week before) I swore in as a Volunteer. That’s right, now you can put PCV instead of PCT on those letters! This also means I can stay out after dark without turning into a pumpkin. My first week as a Volunteer conveniently coincided with Semana Santa, which means I start off work with a vacay! Let the two years begin!

 After a tearful goodbye with my host family, my host dad accompanied me on the bus all the way to my new site. I could have never carried all those bags alone

 My new host family is wonderful! All the aunts call me “sobrina” and make me call them “tia.” My host dad picked us up in his car when we went to the nearest big town to buy paint and things for our apartments (I guess this doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but when you think about trying to transport 3 gallons of paint and a full length mirror on a camioneta…).

 Last week we went to a Guatemalan water park with my host siblings and cousins. It had monkeys. And ostriches. While we were there some woman said to my host mom (about me), “she’s so white she looks like a gringa!” I can’t decide if this was a compliment because maybe she thought I was Guatemalan or an insult because my skin is so white I glow in the dark.

 Despite being on vacation, Laura and I crashed an important meeting at the Municipality. We infiltrated the Education Commission, obtained an invitation to use the Muni’s realllly nice computer lab, and scored a free lunch. Thanks host-dad who works for the Department! While we were there, Laura also got dive-bombed by a pigeon… way to bring more attention to our unsolicited presence.

 With my new host family I am experiencing all the joys of bucket-bathing. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but now I much prefer a hot bucket bath to a lukewarm shower with terrible water pressure. The only problem is that you have to heat up your water on the stove which means planning ahead and lots of questions about when I am going to bathe next.

 Despite the impression bucket baths might give, the house is actually very nice. The only problem is that they only get water 2 hours a day, from about 4 to 6 am. To have enough water for the day they have to fill huge buckets and a pila (this word has no translation in English that I can think of. It serves to hold water when there is not a constant supply and wash clothes when there is no washing machine. These are foreign concepts to most of us in the US, and for this reason- no translation.) With my arrival my host-dad got really excited about putting a water deposit on the roof and building a real shower. I am not sure if this is for my benefit or theirs, but I do know that a few days ago they started smashing away at the concrete in the bathroom. That’s how construction seems to go here: do-it-your-self and see if it works after you have made the hole in the ceiling. This strategic planning theory can also be seen in Laura’s apartment, where there is a raised bathroom floor in her bedroom (tile, drain, and all), but no bathroom, and a skylight covered with plywood in her living room floor.

On Friday I got to go to the great grandparent’s house to construct a “rug” for the Semana Santa processions. The rugs are made out of flowers, dyed sawdust, pine needles, and fruit. They are absolutely gorgeous and get trampled by the processions. I’ll put up some pictures .