Lake Atitlan

These last couple of days have been a whirlwind of traveling, visiting, and new experiences. Friday morning we got up as early as we could manage, which ended up being around 6:30 am and made our way to the street that the camionetas come up. We then took s string of different camionetas from one town to the next ( I believe we went from Patzun to the Inter-American Highway, to Los Encuentros, to Solala, to Pana). The roads that we travels were all winding roads through and around mountains, so got a nice workout trying to stay in my seat as the bus whizzed around one corner and twisted around the next. At one point it got so foggy up in the mountains I was afraid that the driver wouldn’t realize that there was a turn and that this blog entry would have never came to be, but alas, all the turns were completed successfully. The view from the camioneta was breath taking. The lake surrounded on all sides by a mix mountains and volcanoes was like nothing I had seen before. Once in Pana we went to one of Lydia’s favorite stores to get mate and a croissant (best baked good I had all trip). We arrived at the dock to board the vessel that would carry us to our proposed destination, San Marcos. Our boat was called the Titanic, which didn’t give me much confidence, but we made it, fruits, vegetables, chickens and all. As we walk along the narrow walkways of San Marcos we saw more and more places of yoga, meditation, and hypnosis, and began to think that we might want to reconsider staying on that part of the lake. We did have lunch there at a nice little restaurant that unfortunately had run out of fruit earlier that morning and did not have a cook there that could make the stuffed chicken on the menu, which was a bit of a disappointment, but not the end of the world. While we waited for our food we had a rousing game of bananagrams (which I dominated of course, Lydia was only saved by the arrival of our food). Having seen another hostel on the way that looked like a nice place to stay (and it was lake front, which was a plus), we decided to re-board a boat and head for the Iguana Perdida (the other hostel). This turned out to be one of the two best decisions of the trip. At the new hostel we found better rooms for cheaper (with an additional Peace Corps discount), a better view of the awesome volcanoes, and we ran into a few PCV’s that were also staying there. After a quick dip in the lake (very quick, it was beyond chilly), we went on a bit of a hike with the other PCV’s with objective to find the place with the hot tub. It was a beautiful scenic hike along the side of a mountain overlooking the lake. We found the place with the hot tub, it wasn’t a hotel really, but more like a restaurant, pool, hot tub, and bar that was owned by people who lived above it. It is hard to explain, but it was one of the most beautiful places I have been in Guatemala, if not the most. We had a wonderful relaxing afternoon followed by a delicious family style dinner back at our hostel and that was followed by a competitive trivia night, in which my team came in second place (we beat Lydia’s team which was as good as first place for me). It was a very strange experience to spend time in a place with so many foreigners who spoke English. All of the restaurants and hostels that we went into were owned and operated by English speaking individuals, which was a strangely unsettling feeling after growing accustomed dealing mainly with Guatemalans. The next morning we again rose as early as possible, (this time being 7:00 am), and started our journey back to Patzun. By the time we arrived at Lydia’s street, my knees were sufficiently sore from been pushed up against the metal seat backs of the camionetas (which were clearly not made with people of my size in mind. By the time we made it back to the house we were very late for a Quincenera that we had been invited to. This normally would have been a bad thing, but we still made it in time for one hour of the three hour evangelical church service. The girl it was for was all dressed up in this princess looking outfit and there was a huge wedding cake looking cake, but all pink and princess like. After the end of the service we were introduced to the family of the birthday girl, who were very accepting for having a complete stranger at their party. It was great for me to be able to get to observe another example of how family oriented the Guatemalan culture is. This evening I got another taste of the family culture at a meal with Lydia’s host family. It was great to get to know them better, help them cook, and enjoy their company. It was a great weekend to cap off an amazing trip. I can’t believe it is coming to an end. I’m going to miss Guatemala and all of the wonderful people I have met here. And I’m especially going miss spending time with my sister.

Last Day at the School

Today was the last day that I was able to go to the school, finish the map and play with the kids. I woke up early with Lydia and made chocolate chip pancakes. (YUMM) I took a nap before making the hike out to the school just in time for recess. I was hoping to tell the teachers that this was my last day before starting to play soccer, but they were occupied and the boys were getting ready to play. During a break in the action I went to talk to the director of the school and thank her for the opportunity to do this service project and get to know the kids. She was very grateful for the work I had done. It was a really good feeling to know that I had helped and that my work was appreciated. I then said good-bye to the teach who’s class I helped with the alphabet. After school some of the children stayed to play and I pulled out the camera, which they loved. They kept asking me when they would see the pictures so I guess I will have Lydia print some of them out and take them out there. I had spent a lot of time with the boys at the school (apart from one or two girls only boys played soccer), so it was fun to get to know some of the girls today. As I said goodbye to all the kids, one hugging me and saying “don’t leave”, and started walking back home I was sad to think that was the last time that I would be making that walk that I had become so accustomed to. I noticed how much the land had changed during my time here, the once vast expanse of brown maize stalks had been torn up, piled up and burned, now it had become acres of brown tilled soil. I had also changed during my time here. I have seen a side of life that is completely different than anything I have been exposed to. I think what has struck me the most was the children working in the fields after school. It just makes me think about how fortunate I am. Anyways It was a thoughtful walk home. Tomorrow we are headed to the famous Lake Atitlan to see what it’s all about.

Vamos a la Playa

Wow there is so much to write about it is hard to remember where to begin. I will begin with our first 5:30 am departure. It was to go to two of Lydia’s farthest away schools, a went along to see what the world was like in a different part of Guatemala and to accompany Lydia as a bit of protection. We met the school teachers near the center of Patzun and took a bumpy and scrunched hour long bus ride out to the school. The sun rose between the volcanoes and mountains to make for a beautiful sight, with a lake of clouds covering the low lands. I wish we could have stopped and taken a picture. We had to wait a few hours at the school because the director, who Lydia was meeting with, was busy. While we waited they put out new trash cans in the courtyard area, which had some of the children utterly confused, but extremely curious. They stared at the top and once they figured how to open it they peered inside to find that it contained nothing. It seemed like our presence had caught the attention of every student in the school because they all, at some point or another, came outside to stare at us. Once Lydia had finished and the Director had offered us a snack we make the hike seemingly straight up hill to the next school which was even more rural and we were even more of a rare sight to see. Again While Lydia talked with the director I waited outside while the kids had recess. The recess in this school was much different the recess in the schools I had visited so far. There was no soccer, no basketball, none of the games I had seen so far. All of the boys were playing marbles and all of the girls were running around on their knees, or sliding down a grassy hill, or just sitting. However when I arrived a new game started, it was called sit around he gringo and stare and giggle. I felt like an alien with a mass of people of the planet I had recently happened upon. They were most enthralled with my arm hair. One of the more courageous young boys reached out to feel it. After that I let them all feel it and played games such as “try to pull the stick or twig away from the big alien”. It was an amazingly profound experience that I will remember for a long time. Some of them knew some words in Spanish, such as numbers and fruits, so I went over some of those with them, and then it was time for their snack so they forgot all about the alien that had just landed in their school and lined up. I had my snack with Lydia and the Director and then we started making our way back down the mountain. We walked for about a half an hour before getting picked up by the teacher’s bus on its way back to Patzun. That afternoon Lydia joined me in a little map painting extravaganza. It was nice to have some company. The next morning we were out of the house and on a camioneta by 5:30 to Antigua in order to catch a shuttle to Monterico. The landscape on shuttle ride changed from mountainous to midlands, to rolling hills, to prairie, to the beach. Parts of the trip reminded me of part of Florida, mainly the pastures and prairie areas. The beach was gorgeous, with black volcanic sand and big green waves breaking on the shore. The hostel that we were staying at was great too. There were little pools in front of every bungalow and hammocks hung all around between the palm trees. Where we were sleeping was less than 100 yards from the beach and less than 200 yards from the water. The weekend pretty much was spent either swimming in the water, bodysurfing (more like wave tumbling), sitting on the beach, sitting in the hammocks, swimming in the pools, and walking round the small town of Monterico (the name is a bit deceiving, it was not the most aesthetically pleasing, or prosperous looking place). It was a very relaxing weekend. I also got to meet some other PCV’s from different parts of the country and get their take on the different areas of the Peace Corps. We wanted to leave the beach at 11 am, but could not get enough people for a shuttle to take us so we had to wait until 4 pm. While we were waiting we sat on the second story of a restaurant in hammocks enjoying the breeze and the view of the ocean. Since we left so late, we would have missed the last bus to Patzun. Instead of spending another night in Antigua we called Juan, Lydia’s taxi driver, to take us home. We got home late, made some fried plantains and then hit the hay. Today I worked all day on the map, finishing light green, blue, pink and white, and starting on red. The only colors I have left are orange and purple. I got to play with the kids at recess which was great. I realized it was really difficult to settle any disputes between the boys because my Spanish was not adequate. We made some more delicious eggplant and zucchini parmesan tonight. With only a week left I feel like there is still so much to do. I will be busy up to the end.

My First and Probably Last Baby Shower

I have finished outlining all the countries of the world and today I started to paint between the lines. Yesterday on my way home from the school, I passed by a very old and little man trying to roll a wheelbarrow down the road. He was struggling and having to take many breaks. I passed him as he was bent over his wheelbarrow and after I passed him I decided that it would be really bad if I didn’t try to ask him if he needed help. I struggled to understand him but I think he said he would appreciate it, because he did not get angry when I went to pick up his wheelbarrow. As we walked along, at still a very slow pace, he talked about how he hurt and was sore. These were the only things I could gather from the conversation because he was very hard to understand. When we got to the edge of the city, he thanked me and I continued on my way. It was quite an interesting experience. Today I went to paint on the map while school was in session, but mainly spent my time trying to answer the questions of the kids and playing soccer. I got a little bit done on the map. The teacher asked me if I could come into one of the classes and help them learn the ABC’s in English. It was great to be able to help out. This afternoon I was fortunate enough to be included in a baby shower. It was for the host mom of one of the other PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers), Rena, who is an amazingly kind woman, who has a warmth and glow around her that is very rare to find. It was a great time, there were games such as protect your balloon (baby) while trying to pop each others, baby Pictionary, Name that baby food flavor, and many other fun games. The baby shower was organized by the PCV and even though this was Rena’s fifth baby it was her first baby shower, so it was really special. I am so fortunate to have been invited and to have experience yet another cultural event like this one. Tomorrow we are getting up at the crack of dawn, well before then actually, to go out to Lydia’s farthest away school.

One Week Already?

I am a day behind, time to catch up. After a restless night sleeping in the hostel and Lydia and I, along with the other volunteers from Patzun made the 2 hour bus ride back to Patzun early in the morning. We needed to be back for a baptism for a cousin’s son of a host family of one of the volunteers. It started with an hour and a half catholic mass, which most of I did not understand and was a lot of up, down, up, down. After the mass I was introduced to the family of the child that was being baptized and we all made our way to the place of the celebration. It was the first area in Patzun that I had seen that had a large expanse of grass. It was decorated beautifully with everything in white. As the extended family gathered and the food was prepared some words of welcome were said and we were serenaded by a sax player, who played an array of classics, such as Hotel California. After more words being said, family introduced and visited with, and a delicious Guatemalan meal, we said our congratulations and goodbyes. It was a wonderful cultural experience to be able to be a part of. What struck me the most was the heightened sense of family and community that was expressed during the baptism and celebration. The rest of the day was spent cleaning Lydia’s apartment for today, when a group of 15 or so Peace Corps Trainees visited Patzun. They had only been in Guatemala for two weeks so we had a lot in common, however it was nice because I felt like I was a bit more seasoned than most of them because I had been spending my time with a Peace Corps Volunteer and have been reaping the wisdom that she has to offer. While they were here we went out to the school where I am drawing the world map. While the trainees were busy with the teachers during recess I took the opportunity to play some soccer with the kids. It was a lot of fun and I think I am going to go out to work on the map in the mornings so I can play with the kids during recess. The progress on the map is continuing little by little, I finished drawing Europe and parts of Africa today. I can’t believe it has been a week already. I have learned so much and done so much, but know that there is still a great deal more to both learn and do. I can’t wait to see what the next two weeks have in store for me.

A Taste of Tourism

Yesterday I got to be somewhat of a tourist. We woke up early and took another packed camioneta (in fact all of the camionetas that I have taken since that first trip have been packed) to Sumpango, the city where Lydia first lived in. It amazing how small a town will look when passing it on the road. Once over the first hill I could see that the town expanded over numerous hills. Sumpango looked much cleaner than Patzun and there were not as many people on the streets. I met Lydia’s host family, who were extremely nice and welcoming. After spending some time with them and getting the tour around the house and on the roof we made our way across town into a less developed area at the top of hill where we visited the another Peace Corps Volunteer host family, who were again extremely warm and welcoming and were so excited to get a visit from Lydia. After a few more bus exchanges we finally made it to Antigua where we would be staying the night in a Hostel (my first one ever). Antigua is a beautiful city, a regular site for tourist, with buildings with great big wooden doors and picturesque courtyards. It was so strange to see so many Americans and hear English being spoken regularly. It made me realize what a wonderful and rare opportunity that I have to be able to get a real sense of what Guatemala is like and to be more completely immersed in the culture, rather than just seeing the sites. But of course I also wanted to do a little bit of the touristy stuff so Lydia took me around to see all of the amazing ruins of the monasteries that were destroyed in a earthquake, shop in the markets, and of course to bargain. It was a great experience. That night while eating dinner on the rooftop of the hostel not only were there fireworks in celebration of black Jesus?, but also one of the nearby volcanoes had a mini- eruption, which was spectacular to see. I experienced a little more real Guatemalan culture today, but that will have to wait for next time.

Cooped up in a Camioneta

Yesterday I completed the western hemisphere on my world map. Yes there are fewer counties in the western hemisphere and the second half of the world will be tougher, but it was a pretty exciting event. That morning I incorrectly bought more minutes for my/Lydia’s cell phone, but it was with her families store so it was less of an issue to fix. While drawing the map, two boys from area came over to see what I was doing. It was nice to have a little bit of fun conversation with them, learning their names, how old they were, etc. I worked well into the afternoon working towards the halfway goal. That night Lydia and I cooked up some interesting smelling chicken which turned out tasting pretty good, but might have been the root of my irritated stomach this morning. This morning we had a hearty breakfast and then she took me on a gorgeous scenic hike to one of her schools that was at the top of this hill, or mountain for us Floridians. While Lydia had a meeting with the teachers I took the opportunity to find a nice grassy spot in the sun to take a very early siesta. This afternoon we took a camioneta to Chimal, which is a larger city and much busier, crowded, and much more hectic than the somewhat quiet peaceful streets of Patzun. Lydia had another meeting, this time with all of the healthy schools Peace Corps volunteers in the area. In a strange way it was nice to great other Americans in English. After a bit of shopping I was ready to get back to Patzun. However, not before the camioneta experience I had been waiting for. The best way I think to describe it is complete invasion of personal space. It was very crowded and with people getting on and off there was a lot of leaning, getting leaned on, into and around. It was interesting. Tomorrow we will be doing more traveling a bit more site seeing. I am excited to see more of Guatemala.