Sometimes here the weeks run together and Monday is just another day. This week was different in that Monday marked the start of an important week. First off, we were back from a great weekend at the beach, nursing sunburns, but glad to be home. The volcanic sand beach was beautiful and we stood out as Floridians among a bunch of mid-westerners because of all the time we (wiley) spent playing in the waves. In site we successfully initiated a string of water infrastructure projects that will wrap up in April (si Díos quiere), and this is the week that Reyna’s (Laura’s host mom’s) baby will be born!
Sadly, this Monday also marks the beginning of Wiley’s last week here. Time has gone by too fast and I am starting to realize how much I will miss having him here. Ever since I got my invitation from Peace Corps we have been scheming about how he could spend his interim here. It’s strange that its almost over. This trip was really the first time that I have gotten to spend extended one-on-one time with Wiley, and its nice to come to the realization that I actually like being friends with my brother. He helps me out when I go to work and leave important things at home (that happens more often than it should), he washes dishes, and most importantly, he makes me do Insanity. When he leaves someone is going to have to call me everyday at 5 and yell “Dig Deeper!!” He cooks which is a plus (he is making eggplant parm right now), but he also wants to teach my new mouse friend to cook instead of trapping it, which is definitely a minus.
As for the water projects, well they got off with less hitches than were expected, but that’s not saying much. The 6 masons and 10 ayudantes arrived bright and early at the work site to find that the Muni hadn’t delivered the materials they had promised. Disappointing, but not altogether unexpected. After chasing around at the hardware store and the Muni I finally (and accidentally) ran into the right man who explained some kind of mix up, wrote the materials we needed on a piece of scrap paper, and had them at the school within next few hours. I note the detail of the scrap paper because after all the official letters we had written and signed by various authorities in order to get the materials turned in on-time, it seems that all we actually needed was a note scribbled by the right person.
Well that’s about all for now, as I feel I should go spend some quality time with the lil bro instead of us both sitting at computers in different rooms. This weekend we are headed to the lake, so keep an eye out for an update on his blog!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Don't read this unless you are REALLY interested in what I am doing here
Well, after an amazingly restful and fun vacation, I am finally back to work. Sometimes Peace Corps volunteers complain of not having enough work, but this month that doesn’t seem like it will be a problem for me. So instead of sharing with you some insightful cultural commentary, in this post I thought I would fill you in on what I am up to work-wise here. This post will also serve as a reference for me during future job interviews when I am bragging on how I am able to manage multiple projects at once.
This first week back, Laura and I have planned a giant workshop on Project Design and Management for our schools. The idea is that Peace Corps gave the workshop to myself and one of our directors, and together we replicate it for the director and a parent from each school. They in turn share the information with their schools and communities. We will see how successful that last step is. These past few days we have been frantically trying to make sure that all 25 directors know where and when the workshop is, and that yes, they are expected to be there. Seems like a relatively simple task in a world where everyone regularly checks their emails, answers their cell phones, and keeps the same number. It doesn’t work like that here. So we have tried every form of communication short of smoke signals and I am sure that at the end of the day tomorrow some will show up at the wrong place, with the wrong people, or not show up at all. Another complication of this mission is that directors can change year to year, so hopefully we have the most updated director list and phone tree ☺.
This month Wiley is also here visiting for his Interim, for which he is supposed to complete some kind of service project. For his project he is going to do a World Map he in one of the schools I work in. Today we went out to meet the director and choose a space for his map. Hopefully it will keep him busy, but not too busy to cook for me.
Infrastructure projects: We have been working on these practically since we got to site 10 months ago, so we are very excited to be getting started this month. The only thing is that we had expected to start in May or June, not in January. This is probably the only example I know of something starting ahead of schedule in Guatemala. In two weeks we are starting on two tanks and hand-washing stations in our big urban school, and one hand-washing station in a rural school. Our site has been chosen to train masons for other projects, so we have to find qualified masons and get the city to deliver on the money it has promised us for the projects.
We also still have the proposal underway for the new water system in one of the surrounding villages. Every January villages change mayors, so I am just hoping that either the old one stayed on, or the new one is in agreement with the project. I heard a rumor at the hardware store that they have been ordering materials to build on their water system… so who knows what is going on there.
The new Healthy Schools Peace Corps Trainees arrived in country last week and are beginning their training program. Because we live close to the Peace Corps Center we get to be involved in their training! Next week the group is coming out to spend a day at our site, and through the month of February I will get weekly visits from a group of 5 trainees to whom I am expected to impart some manner of useful knowledge about Healthy Schools and life as a PCV. Too bad I still feel in need of some useful knowledge myself.
Beside those few things on the agenda, we are also strategizing our plan of attack for the year with our schools in the Healthy Schools program. It’s the first full year in the program for most of our schools, so we will see what kind of initiative they take in setting up Health Corners, planning lessons, and implementing schedules for teeth brushing and hand-washing. I also hope to keep working with the youth group I worked with over the summer, and start a moms’ cooking class.
So there you have it. Instead of a day in the life, it’s a month in the life (mas-o-menos). Although it seems like a lot to me now, I am sure that I will still find time for 2 hour lunch breaks, the required 9 hours of sleep a night, and a trip to the beach with Wiley. Unfortunately, season three of Veronica Mars might have to wait until February.
This first week back, Laura and I have planned a giant workshop on Project Design and Management for our schools. The idea is that Peace Corps gave the workshop to myself and one of our directors, and together we replicate it for the director and a parent from each school. They in turn share the information with their schools and communities. We will see how successful that last step is. These past few days we have been frantically trying to make sure that all 25 directors know where and when the workshop is, and that yes, they are expected to be there. Seems like a relatively simple task in a world where everyone regularly checks their emails, answers their cell phones, and keeps the same number. It doesn’t work like that here. So we have tried every form of communication short of smoke signals and I am sure that at the end of the day tomorrow some will show up at the wrong place, with the wrong people, or not show up at all. Another complication of this mission is that directors can change year to year, so hopefully we have the most updated director list and phone tree ☺.
This month Wiley is also here visiting for his Interim, for which he is supposed to complete some kind of service project. For his project he is going to do a World Map he in one of the schools I work in. Today we went out to meet the director and choose a space for his map. Hopefully it will keep him busy, but not too busy to cook for me.
Infrastructure projects: We have been working on these practically since we got to site 10 months ago, so we are very excited to be getting started this month. The only thing is that we had expected to start in May or June, not in January. This is probably the only example I know of something starting ahead of schedule in Guatemala. In two weeks we are starting on two tanks and hand-washing stations in our big urban school, and one hand-washing station in a rural school. Our site has been chosen to train masons for other projects, so we have to find qualified masons and get the city to deliver on the money it has promised us for the projects.
We also still have the proposal underway for the new water system in one of the surrounding villages. Every January villages change mayors, so I am just hoping that either the old one stayed on, or the new one is in agreement with the project. I heard a rumor at the hardware store that they have been ordering materials to build on their water system… so who knows what is going on there.
The new Healthy Schools Peace Corps Trainees arrived in country last week and are beginning their training program. Because we live close to the Peace Corps Center we get to be involved in their training! Next week the group is coming out to spend a day at our site, and through the month of February I will get weekly visits from a group of 5 trainees to whom I am expected to impart some manner of useful knowledge about Healthy Schools and life as a PCV. Too bad I still feel in need of some useful knowledge myself.
Beside those few things on the agenda, we are also strategizing our plan of attack for the year with our schools in the Healthy Schools program. It’s the first full year in the program for most of our schools, so we will see what kind of initiative they take in setting up Health Corners, planning lessons, and implementing schedules for teeth brushing and hand-washing. I also hope to keep working with the youth group I worked with over the summer, and start a moms’ cooking class.
So there you have it. Instead of a day in the life, it’s a month in the life (mas-o-menos). Although it seems like a lot to me now, I am sure that I will still find time for 2 hour lunch breaks, the required 9 hours of sleep a night, and a trip to the beach with Wiley. Unfortunately, season three of Veronica Mars might have to wait until February.
An old old post finally hitting the blog-o-sphere
I come inside from washing dishes and try to figure out how I am going to thaw out my frozen fingers. Hot dishwater and inside sinks- some things I miss. Despite the frozen fingers, I have been glad to be back in Patzún after my short trip to the US. I realize I haven’t written about this experience, MY FIRST TRIP BACK TO THE US, quite a big experience for all PCVs. Since I am about to head back to the States for Christmas, I figure it is about time to thaw out my fingers and sit down to write about this momentous occasion.
In my youth group, we spent some time a few weeks ago talking about roles we play- sister, daughter, friend, student, etc., and the impact they have on our values and decisions. The first role that jumped to my mind to use as an example was FOREIGNER. Without really realizing it, this has been my primary role for the past year. I am taller and whiter than everyone, dress differently, and live on my own. As I walk through my town, I wonder what people think of me. Do they recognize me? Do they wonder why I am here? Do I look as out of place as I imagine?
Of course its different with people I have come to know, but with them my FOREIGNER label still applies. I may be one of the few Estadounidenses that they will get to know. For them I may represent an entire country and culture, and they will probably grow to dislike American food through my cooking (today’s chili was a bit heavy on the chili for my host fam’s tastes).
So after spending so many months in the role of FOREIGNER, I was excited and curious to see what it would be like to shed the weight of being the GRINGA and go back to my more familiar labels- sister, daughter, and friend.
When I arrived in the US, the Miami airport was overwhelming to me. I felt small in a sea of diversity. So I made a beeline for Starbucks, and sipping my Q40 Peppermint Mocha Frappachino, I sat down to stare at people (I think “people watch” is the more polite term). Lesson #1 from the US: DON’T CONVERT PRICES TO QETZALES. You will cry. Lesson #2 from the US: staring is less culturally acceptable there than in Guatemala.
From there on, a lot of the trip is a blur. I remember extreme excitement at the prospect of being able to wear what I now consider my “short dresses,” getting a stomachache from trying to eat all of my favorite (and random) foods in just 3 days, and being able to run a long time now that I was back at sea level. I was so happy to see my extended family and share Thanksgiving with them. I also remember thinking how nice the bathroom was.
It was wonderful, but it no longer felt like my life. The best way to explain this weird feeling is that I felt like I had stumbled upon someone else’s life that happened to fit me quite nicely. Or, I could compare it to an old pair of favorite jeans that you find at the back of a drawer after a few years. You want to wear them, but bedazzled jeans just aren’t in style any more.
Being here in Guatemala, I forget how different my life is, because most differences are subtle. I don’t live in a shack in the campo without electricity or water. I have wireless Internet for God’s sake. But being in the US, I worried that with my longer trip home in December I could get used to that familiar comfort and forget that I no longer live there.
Flying home (to Guatemala) I pondered these thoughts while taking in the view. Flying into Florida all you can see is flatness. A vast flatness covered in ocean, and houses and forests. But flying into Guatemala, the mountains rise out of the clouds. Towns run along the edges of ravines, snaking every which-way, as dictated by the topography. A mushroom cloud of black smoke is suspended, immobile, among cottony clouds and tops of volcanoes. It is breathtaking. And all of the sudden it was clear why I made this choice, and why I will come back, despite the comfort that I may find in my old home.
Flat is easy, it is comfortable, but mountains are beautiful, with all of the obstacles and challenges they present. The mountains are what make life interesting. So while I look forward to a well-deserved rest at sea-level, I am also excited for the challenges and opportunities that await me in my next year here in Guatemala.
In my youth group, we spent some time a few weeks ago talking about roles we play- sister, daughter, friend, student, etc., and the impact they have on our values and decisions. The first role that jumped to my mind to use as an example was FOREIGNER. Without really realizing it, this has been my primary role for the past year. I am taller and whiter than everyone, dress differently, and live on my own. As I walk through my town, I wonder what people think of me. Do they recognize me? Do they wonder why I am here? Do I look as out of place as I imagine?
Of course its different with people I have come to know, but with them my FOREIGNER label still applies. I may be one of the few Estadounidenses that they will get to know. For them I may represent an entire country and culture, and they will probably grow to dislike American food through my cooking (today’s chili was a bit heavy on the chili for my host fam’s tastes).
So after spending so many months in the role of FOREIGNER, I was excited and curious to see what it would be like to shed the weight of being the GRINGA and go back to my more familiar labels- sister, daughter, and friend.
When I arrived in the US, the Miami airport was overwhelming to me. I felt small in a sea of diversity. So I made a beeline for Starbucks, and sipping my Q40 Peppermint Mocha Frappachino, I sat down to stare at people (I think “people watch” is the more polite term). Lesson #1 from the US: DON’T CONVERT PRICES TO QETZALES. You will cry. Lesson #2 from the US: staring is less culturally acceptable there than in Guatemala.
From there on, a lot of the trip is a blur. I remember extreme excitement at the prospect of being able to wear what I now consider my “short dresses,” getting a stomachache from trying to eat all of my favorite (and random) foods in just 3 days, and being able to run a long time now that I was back at sea level. I was so happy to see my extended family and share Thanksgiving with them. I also remember thinking how nice the bathroom was.
It was wonderful, but it no longer felt like my life. The best way to explain this weird feeling is that I felt like I had stumbled upon someone else’s life that happened to fit me quite nicely. Or, I could compare it to an old pair of favorite jeans that you find at the back of a drawer after a few years. You want to wear them, but bedazzled jeans just aren’t in style any more.
Being here in Guatemala, I forget how different my life is, because most differences are subtle. I don’t live in a shack in the campo without electricity or water. I have wireless Internet for God’s sake. But being in the US, I worried that with my longer trip home in December I could get used to that familiar comfort and forget that I no longer live there.
Flying home (to Guatemala) I pondered these thoughts while taking in the view. Flying into Florida all you can see is flatness. A vast flatness covered in ocean, and houses and forests. But flying into Guatemala, the mountains rise out of the clouds. Towns run along the edges of ravines, snaking every which-way, as dictated by the topography. A mushroom cloud of black smoke is suspended, immobile, among cottony clouds and tops of volcanoes. It is breathtaking. And all of the sudden it was clear why I made this choice, and why I will come back, despite the comfort that I may find in my old home.
Flat is easy, it is comfortable, but mountains are beautiful, with all of the obstacles and challenges they present. The mountains are what make life interesting. So while I look forward to a well-deserved rest at sea-level, I am also excited for the challenges and opportunities that await me in my next year here in Guatemala.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
New Year, New Post
After being home in the US, and having at least 3 people tell me that at some time or another they have logged onto my blog, I figured that I should get back to writing for my audience's sake. So I promise anyone reading this that I will post a REAL blog entry very soon.
Until then, those who occasionally alleviate their boredom by checking my blog can keep up with Guatemalan adventures on my little brother's blog. Thats right- Wiley is heading down to Guatemala tomorrow to spend three weeks hanging out with me, working on a world map, and teaching me to cook (among other things). Let's hope that is good enough to get him college credit. You can check out his fresh perspective on life here at his blog: Wiley's Guat-e Blog Too
wileysguateblogtoo.blogspot.com
cute huh?
After a great trip home it will be nice to have some company while I adjust back to my Guatemalan life. It was wonderful to see so many people on my vacation. If I visited you, you now owe me a visit, and if I didn't get to see you, well that is a perfect reason for you to come see me!
Until then, those who occasionally alleviate their boredom by checking my blog can keep up with Guatemalan adventures on my little brother's blog. Thats right- Wiley is heading down to Guatemala tomorrow to spend three weeks hanging out with me, working on a world map, and teaching me to cook (among other things). Let's hope that is good enough to get him college credit. You can check out his fresh perspective on life here at his blog: Wiley's Guat-e Blog Too
wileysguateblogtoo.blogspot.com
cute huh?
After a great trip home it will be nice to have some company while I adjust back to my Guatemalan life. It was wonderful to see so many people on my vacation. If I visited you, you now owe me a visit, and if I didn't get to see you, well that is a perfect reason for you to come see me!
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