so it's only been about a week since I last blogged, but so much as occurred in those 7 days! On Sunday we left Xela for the small mountain community of Chuitizibral (I think I definitely butchered that spelling) which is only about 40 minutes away. For being so close to the second to largest city in Guatemala, it is so incredibly far in terms of living situations. For one, we had to get off our bus and into the back of pick ups just in order to get up the windy dirt road to the community. The little town is made up of about 30 indigenous families, many of whom are lucky to have electricity and concrete floors. Snuggled in square miles of milpa (the Spanish word for corn stalk), our schooling was housed in the only church, with the scenery inviting morning strolls in place of sitting at a desk for class. Our teachers from our Spanish school in Xela were bused out to us every morning, with informal class in the morning, and then an activity around noon. We had a traditional cooking lesson, visited a glass-blowing co-op, bathed in natural hot springs (definitely a highlight), and went on some hikes through in beautiful mountains surrounding our homes.
Most importantly, however, were the families that we had the opportunity of staying with in the village. Rachel and I were placed in a house that was the farthest from the school, but I was never irriated as our walk to and from through corn stalks and greeted by dogs and puppies along the way. Our family was mama Corlina, papa Jose, and the dos hermanos, Josue who is 9, and Eduardo who is 5. Their house was a modest, four-room abode, yet they were so abundant
in hospitality and warmth. It was a completely different experience
from our home stays in Xela, where much of the time it seemed as if we
were just boarding in a guest house; but here the families welcome
students into their homes only twice a year, and are so quick to
include them into the daily routines of life in the campo of Guatemala.
Running water did not exist, so there was a latrine for a bathroom, and
warmed pots of water for a shower. However waking up and walking
outside to be greeted by the parting morning fog amidst the mountains
and rows of corn was a sight that I'll never forget. Although our stay
was just four days, I am definitely leaving Guatemala with a new
appreciation of the privileges I am given in my own home, and how
although we can fill our houses with so much, sometimes what we really
lack are the close and fulfilling relationships that a community
produces.
We're ending our last couple days here back in Antigua, so that
we can relax, clear our minds, and be fresh when we enter the next
chapter of our trip in El Salvador. The group is so excited to all be
living together in a guest house (jokingly calling it The Real World:
San Salvador), and to be changing up the course work and learning about
another country's history and struggles. I leave Guatemala with
proficient -- somewhat-- Spanish, and an itch in my body for more
traveling.
Adios Guatemala, buenes dias El Salvador!
Becca
I'll attempt to post pictures when I have better internet and a functioning computer!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
the good, the bad, the really good, and the really bad
hey there! I apologize for the brief hiatus in blog posts, but sometimes it just takes sitting down and writing to get it done. I´ll attempt to summarize what has happened in the last two weeks as best I can:
THE GOOD: we´ve done/experienced some really incredible things in the last two busy weeks. We met with a couple who lived in the US for 23 years in avoidance of the war. they welcomed us into their home to eat lunch and hear their story... they were crucial in the sanctuary project of the 1980s, and found Vermont as their home for such a long period of time. we also participated in a traditional Mayan cosmovision ceremony which may be one of the coolest things I´ve experienced thus far... led by a Mayan priest, we all stood in a circle around the sacrificial fire and took full part in the ceremony by offering candles, sugar, and sesame seeds (or something similar) while the priest chanted in the traditional Qui´che language and explained to us what all of this words and actions meant. Mayan cosmovision is centered on a balance between light, rest, spirit, and tangible beings. I greatly admire their devotion to the earth and to each other, and the balanced approach they have to life and death. This has also been independence week for all of Central America, and Xela is headquarters for the party. Wednesday night the parque central is closed off and is surrounded by street vendors selling deliciously fried foods and tons of live music. At midnight, there´s a fireworks show to greet the Independence Day and everyone shouts in celebration. We all had a blast, and drank our fair share of tequila shots to greet the day.
THE BAD: the majority of the group has encountered digestive issues from either the food or water... inevitable
THE REALLY GOOD: is called Lake Atitlan. Last weekend we had our first free weekend to do whatever we wanted, but most students choose to go to a nearby lake. It´s a volcanic lake that is rumored to have first erupted nearly 11 million years ago, and it´s the largest of its kind in Central America. We arrived on friday afternoon with pouring down rain and tons of clouds, so we were really worried what this ¨"paradise" was really going to turn out to be. We had to take a small speed boat to the town where our hostel was, because there aren´t roads that connect all of the different towns around the lake, and when we got there I have to say it was a relief that all of the staff were either American, English, or Australian. A break from Spanish wouldn´t hurt. The hostel was BEAUTIFUL, the food was delicious, and the staff and other guests were so friendly. We woke up on Saturday to an incredibly clear morning, with the two giant volcanoes straight across the lake. Asking around to the other guests, we figured out that we could hike for about 20 minutes to a cliff where we could jump into the lake. We knew that we had to walk through the property of a hotel that was down by the water, and it turned out to be the most tranquil and beautiful property I've ever seen. The lake has risen nearly 20 feet just in the last 2 years, and the water was covering some of the lower patios of the hotel, \which made for perfect wading to be possible. The water was a sweet 75 degrees and the sun just hot enough to dry us after swimming. Needless to say after all the rainy and cold days in Xela the weather was more than needed. We had a great dinner and a little too much fun at the party afterward (every Saturday in the hostel is encourages cross-dressing) and then woke up on Sunday to do the same thing. When we were jumping off the cliff a man who lived nearby started yelling at us to get off. We swam back over to the hotel and he rode over on his boat to tell us that it was a "nature preserve that cost him a lot of money." I guess he felt bad for chastising us, so he came back over about 5 minutes later to offer to buy us drinks at a nearby country club. For free drinks? Of course we would go! We walked over and it was a gorgeous club with an infinity pool and a bar, and the man who introduced himself as Bill was super nice. It was an excellent way to end the trip.
THE REALLY BAD: my computer is completely broken. I can only use school computers, but luckily we're leaving to go to a rural community on Sunday so technology won't be needed. However, I'm really worried what I'm going to do to fix it, as I have to wait until we get to El Salvador.
Ciao!
Becca
THE GOOD: we´ve done/experienced some really incredible things in the last two busy weeks. We met with a couple who lived in the US for 23 years in avoidance of the war. they welcomed us into their home to eat lunch and hear their story... they were crucial in the sanctuary project of the 1980s, and found Vermont as their home for such a long period of time. we also participated in a traditional Mayan cosmovision ceremony which may be one of the coolest things I´ve experienced thus far... led by a Mayan priest, we all stood in a circle around the sacrificial fire and took full part in the ceremony by offering candles, sugar, and sesame seeds (or something similar) while the priest chanted in the traditional Qui´che language and explained to us what all of this words and actions meant. Mayan cosmovision is centered on a balance between light, rest, spirit, and tangible beings. I greatly admire their devotion to the earth and to each other, and the balanced approach they have to life and death. This has also been independence week for all of Central America, and Xela is headquarters for the party. Wednesday night the parque central is closed off and is surrounded by street vendors selling deliciously fried foods and tons of live music. At midnight, there´s a fireworks show to greet the Independence Day and everyone shouts in celebration. We all had a blast, and drank our fair share of tequila shots to greet the day.
THE BAD: the majority of the group has encountered digestive issues from either the food or water... inevitable
THE REALLY GOOD: is called Lake Atitlan. Last weekend we had our first free weekend to do whatever we wanted, but most students choose to go to a nearby lake. It´s a volcanic lake that is rumored to have first erupted nearly 11 million years ago, and it´s the largest of its kind in Central America. We arrived on friday afternoon with pouring down rain and tons of clouds, so we were really worried what this ¨"paradise" was really going to turn out to be. We had to take a small speed boat to the town where our hostel was, because there aren´t roads that connect all of the different towns around the lake, and when we got there I have to say it was a relief that all of the staff were either American, English, or Australian. A break from Spanish wouldn´t hurt. The hostel was BEAUTIFUL, the food was delicious, and the staff and other guests were so friendly. We woke up on Saturday to an incredibly clear morning, with the two giant volcanoes straight across the lake. Asking around to the other guests, we figured out that we could hike for about 20 minutes to a cliff where we could jump into the lake. We knew that we had to walk through the property of a hotel that was down by the water, and it turned out to be the most tranquil and beautiful property I've ever seen. The lake has risen nearly 20 feet just in the last 2 years, and the water was covering some of the lower patios of the hotel, \which made for perfect wading to be possible. The water was a sweet 75 degrees and the sun just hot enough to dry us after swimming. Needless to say after all the rainy and cold days in Xela the weather was more than needed. We had a great dinner and a little too much fun at the party afterward (every Saturday in the hostel is encourages cross-dressing) and then woke up on Sunday to do the same thing. When we were jumping off the cliff a man who lived nearby started yelling at us to get off. We swam back over to the hotel and he rode over on his boat to tell us that it was a "nature preserve that cost him a lot of money." I guess he felt bad for chastising us, so he came back over about 5 minutes later to offer to buy us drinks at a nearby country club. For free drinks? Of course we would go! We walked over and it was a gorgeous club with an infinity pool and a bar, and the man who introduced himself as Bill was super nice. It was an excellent way to end the trip.
THE REALLY BAD: my computer is completely broken. I can only use school computers, but luckily we're leaving to go to a rural community on Sunday so technology won't be needed. However, I'm really worried what I'm going to do to fix it, as I have to wait until we get to El Salvador.
Ciao!
Becca
Sunday, September 4, 2011
settling in
A week has passed with Xela as being my new home, and it's come with a whirlwind of experiences and emotions. It's a really nice city, however on days when it pours and is cold it tends to induce negative thoughts... mostly about the sanitation and pollution. But on sunny days it's really nice!! Spanish is going well, it's SUPER intense for 5 hours a day, and by the end everyone seems to be pretty exhausted. The level I'm in is a little higher than I expected to take, so I'm trying to keep up and am doing fairly well. The group finds things that make us happy (CHOCOBANANOS). They're the greatest things ever... frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts. Makes any bad day better. We're also starting to find our "places" in town, which is nice to have some consistency.
Last week we had some really incredible speakers come visit with us. As a lot of people aren't aware of, Guatemala experienced a 36 year civil war that ended only recently in 1996. The economic and social well-being of the people haven't really improved much since then, and the repercussions of the war are still lingering with the civilians. On Wednesday we met with a colonel from the Guatemalan army, and he delivered a very well put together, yet limited, presentation on the military and government's position during the war. On Thursday, a ex-guerrilla commander came to speak at the school, and she was so incredibly inspiring and intelligent. It was a great dichotomy to have the two presentations back to back, as the colonel's speech was still fresh in my mind when I heard Victoria. From what we've been learning, and just everyday interaction with Guatemalan people, it's hard not to back the guerrilla resistance, as their efforts always had the interest of the social well-being of all Guatemalan citizens, and were not influenced by economic and political gains. In general, my further education of Guatemalan life and it's rich and devastating history has really made me realize how lucky I am to have been born in the United States, and the privileges we have at our fingertips that so many others are denied.
The week was really intense so it was great this past weekend for us to get out of the city and travel to the little town of Chicicastenago, which is famous for the largest outdoor market in Central America! On our way there we stopped in this BEAUTIFUL mountain community that is home to a women's weaving co-op, all of whom were widowed from the war. It was started through the Methodist church, and today they sell their own woven products in order to support themselves. We had to hike for about 15 minutes to get to the house, and it was through rows of corn on the side of an incredible Guatemalan mountain. Of course I forgot my camera. The visit was really humbling, and all of the women were so sweet. We went to the city afterwards and had a free afternoon and then a great dinner all together again. Today we woke up early and went to the market which was so comical. It was incredibly crowded, but those vendors KNOW when you've got some money to spend. People walk around with products and will follow and badger you relentlessly until you're able to lose them in the crowd. It was so fun to bargain, and I ended up buying gifts for tons of people back home (and for myself) and only spent about $50 US dollars. The exchange rate still amazes me. It was a great way to use Spanish in a real world context! I'll post some pictures here soon.
But we're back in Xela now, and I'm back to the grind of studying for another Spanish test I have tomorrow.
Hasta luego!
Becca
Last week we had some really incredible speakers come visit with us. As a lot of people aren't aware of, Guatemala experienced a 36 year civil war that ended only recently in 1996. The economic and social well-being of the people haven't really improved much since then, and the repercussions of the war are still lingering with the civilians. On Wednesday we met with a colonel from the Guatemalan army, and he delivered a very well put together, yet limited, presentation on the military and government's position during the war. On Thursday, a ex-guerrilla commander came to speak at the school, and she was so incredibly inspiring and intelligent. It was a great dichotomy to have the two presentations back to back, as the colonel's speech was still fresh in my mind when I heard Victoria. From what we've been learning, and just everyday interaction with Guatemalan people, it's hard not to back the guerrilla resistance, as their efforts always had the interest of the social well-being of all Guatemalan citizens, and were not influenced by economic and political gains. In general, my further education of Guatemalan life and it's rich and devastating history has really made me realize how lucky I am to have been born in the United States, and the privileges we have at our fingertips that so many others are denied.
The week was really intense so it was great this past weekend for us to get out of the city and travel to the little town of Chicicastenago, which is famous for the largest outdoor market in Central America! On our way there we stopped in this BEAUTIFUL mountain community that is home to a women's weaving co-op, all of whom were widowed from the war. It was started through the Methodist church, and today they sell their own woven products in order to support themselves. We had to hike for about 15 minutes to get to the house, and it was through rows of corn on the side of an incredible Guatemalan mountain. Of course I forgot my camera. The visit was really humbling, and all of the women were so sweet. We went to the city afterwards and had a free afternoon and then a great dinner all together again. Today we woke up early and went to the market which was so comical. It was incredibly crowded, but those vendors KNOW when you've got some money to spend. People walk around with products and will follow and badger you relentlessly until you're able to lose them in the crowd. It was so fun to bargain, and I ended up buying gifts for tons of people back home (and for myself) and only spent about $50 US dollars. The exchange rate still amazes me. It was a great way to use Spanish in a real world context! I'll post some pictures here soon.
But we're back in Xela now, and I'm back to the grind of studying for another Spanish test I have tomorrow.
Hasta luego!
Becca
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