After about 3 weeks of being home, I find myself ready to write my last post and reflect on my adventure in Guatemala. First, I want to touch on the work I did with SolCom, which was incredible, enlightening, and ultimately very rewarding. The program is wonderfully run by passionate and driven individuals from every corner of the united states. I felt, from day one, that the program would be well guided, and ultimately "successful". I have placed the word "successful" in scare quotes because the idea of development work and the word "successful" now seem completely incongruent and impossible to place in the same sentence.
Development work, by definition, is never finished and success, by definition, means completion or achievement of your goal or objective. Therefor it becomes impossible to define my summer in terms of success. So what other word might I use? If I cannot describe my work and experience as successful, was it then a failure? I would again say no...failure is also a word that clashes with the meaning of development work. Every failure in development work is actually an achievement for with each failure comes the discovery of how NOT to do something, a knowledge equally important as how TO do something. So I go back to an article I read before the summer began about service work to find my word. The word is impact. Not impact in the sense that I created or drove any real measurable social change, but impact in the sense that my presence in Guatemala was felt, seen, heard, or experienced. That I somehow impacted the people I lived and worked with. I taught my home stay sister basic phrases in English, she taught my how to make dobladas and be in awe of nature. I showed a group of girls how to play volleyball, they kicked my butt in every other game we tried. Christian, my homestay nephew, took me around his father's flower nursery and taught me all of the flowers names in spanish. I tried to explain in english. I sold a pair of eyeglasses to Miguel, a man from Huehue who couldn't see the harvest he was trying to pick he thanked me with a coca cola and a hug. Little things. Tiny. Insignificant. Hardly worthy of mention in the overall scope of development work...or maybe not? Perhaps true development work is tiny, invisible, insignificant and hardly worth mention. Development work means serving, and in service we, the servants, should be unnoticed, making those around us successful, happy, and better with our work.
These are some of the thoughts I've had about development work and my time in Guatemala. I feel like I got to know a country in more depth than I ever have before and yet I also feel as if I have hardly scratched the surface. Part of me wishes that I had spent all of my time in one location with one group of people, and another is so grateful that I traveled every week to meet new people and have a more multifaceted experience of Guatemala. There seems to be no right answer, only a miriad of experiences, stories, and efforts that define the impact one person has on a group of people, and the impact a group of people or even a country has on that one person. I hope everyone gets an opportunity to live in and serve a different country, or even their own country. It is a truly humbling, unique, and wonderful experience.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Campaign in Aguacatan!
On Friday, we went to visit some Mayan ruins near Huehue. There were a couple sacrificial pyramids, some tombs, and a basketball court where they supposedly played ball with human heads. Also if you lost the game, they killed you... Talk about pressure. We climbed the pyramids, took some pictures, and just relaxed in the sun for a little while. Jess almost pushed Emily off the pyramid in her excitement to take an "aesthetic phot".
On Saturday, we had a campaign in Aguacatán, which is a small city near Huehue. It was by far the best campaign we had had so far. There was a huge market right outside the room we were doing the campaign in, so a ton of people came by. We sold three water filters, a candela, 9 solar lamps, a ton of glasses, and an AgroDrip, which is the irrigation system that we have been researching. It was so busy that we never had any down time, 4 hours on our feet was pretty exhausting. We were constantly doing eye exams or talking to people about the other products. Overall, we sold about Q7000 worth of products! The other group sold 4 water filters and a ton of other products. Basically, our team is amazing!
On Saturday, we had a campaign in Aguacatán, which is a small city near Huehue. It was by far the best campaign we had had so far. There was a huge market right outside the room we were doing the campaign in, so a ton of people came by. We sold three water filters, a candela, 9 solar lamps, a ton of glasses, and an AgroDrip, which is the irrigation system that we have been researching. It was so busy that we never had any down time, 4 hours on our feet was pretty exhausting. We were constantly doing eye exams or talking to people about the other products. Overall, we sold about Q7000 worth of products! The other group sold 4 water filters and a ton of other products. Basically, our team is amazing!
Sorry for the Delay!
This past week has been super busy, so I'll try to re-cap it as quickly as possible. Our group is now in Huehuetenango (Huehue for short), the second most populated city in all of Guatemala. This week we have been working with a youth group in Santo Thomas. The organization is run by an awesome man names Nelson and aims to help kids be active in their communities and succede in school. For our project, we prepared and ran a leadership seminar for the kids of the youth group. Leadership is a very under-taught skill in Guatemala (most of the kids thought being a good leader meant giving orders and having people follow them) so it was incredibly important for us to be there teaching. Activities included a blindfolded obstacle course, an activity in identifying and sharing personal strengths, a self-reflection letter that helped the kids set personal goals for the month, and a brainstorming session on how to organize a community soccer tournament. I was amazed at the willingness to learn and the incredible self awareness exhibited by these kids.
Some highlights of this week included dinner at a chinese restaurant (yes...these was one in Huehue... so random). Not only was there a restaurant, but Tim, one of the kids on the trip, managed to find marbles and olive oil and stage a chopsticks contest. The contest consisted of two bowls, the oily marbles, and a timer; the winner was the person who could pick up the greased marbles and pass them bowl to bowl the fastest (I won!!).
Another highlight was watching the USA vs Brazil world cup match in the lobby of our hotel. Let's just say we had some very concerned looking staffers peak their heads in after Wambach scored with 1 minute left, and even more when we won!
Also, its been "ferria" (holiday time) in Huehue, so the streets have been packed with people and vendors all week, making for some very fun nights out, including a concert on Saturday and many run-ins with very silly bolos (Spanish for drunks).
Some highlights of this week included dinner at a chinese restaurant (yes...these was one in Huehue... so random). Not only was there a restaurant, but Tim, one of the kids on the trip, managed to find marbles and olive oil and stage a chopsticks contest. The contest consisted of two bowls, the oily marbles, and a timer; the winner was the person who could pick up the greased marbles and pass them bowl to bowl the fastest (I won!!).
Another highlight was watching the USA vs Brazil world cup match in the lobby of our hotel. Let's just say we had some very concerned looking staffers peak their heads in after Wambach scored with 1 minute left, and even more when we won!
Also, its been "ferria" (holiday time) in Huehue, so the streets have been packed with people and vendors all week, making for some very fun nights out, including a concert on Saturday and many run-ins with very silly bolos (Spanish for drunks).
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Campaign in Chel
We do a campaign each week which involves one day of doing publicity (going around and telling as many people as we can find about the campaign) and one day of actually doing the campaign. Our campaign this week was in Chel, which is a very rural village about 3 hours from Nebaj. On Tuesday we went to do publicity, and we found out that about 2 hours of the 3 hour drive is on dirt, rocky roads that are incredibly steep and have potholes legitimately EVERYWHERE. Not only were we scared for our lives that the bus was going to fall off the cliff or not be able to make it up and down the mountains, but the bus was just bumping up and down like crazy for 2 hours. Not a fun ride. Abby and I now have permanent butt bruises. The ride was worth it because the village was incredibly beautiful. A huge wide river ran through the center and it was full of women washing their clothes, kids playing, and every baby animal that ever existes (chicks, ducks, pigglets, puppies, kitties...yeah Guatemala is baby-central) The women’s indigenous clothing here is gorgeous. They wear a red skirt and a vibrantly colored shirt (aka huipil) and these intricate hairpiece things that involve huge colorful pom poms. Most of the people there only speak Ixil and not Spanish, so it was really hard to communicate with them. We relied mostly on the asesores (women and men we worth with) to speak and translate back into spanish. We went back on Friday to do the campaign. It was pretty successful—we sold a couple solar lamps, some lightbulbs and a ton of glasses. The other group sold three water filters which is a HUGE accomplishment. Devin even sold one while he was not wearing pants. He got bed bugs so his host mom had to wash all his clothes and she didn’t leave him with any pants… so he fashioned a skirt-ish thing by tying two sweatshirts around his waist, one in the front and one in the back. Classic Devin. The campaigns were really, really successful, though, and a lot of fun.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Fun Fact
Guatemalans don’t have arm hair, so they are absolutely fascinated by ours. Sometimes on the chicken bus kids will just sit there and stroke our arms. It’s a little creepy. Also they don’t really have leg hair, so when we were at the school the other day, a little girl was just stroking Dan’s calf for about 10 minutes.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Special Education School
Today I went to the special needs school in Nebaj. In Guatemala, people with disabilities are complete outcasts from society. Some parents will even tie their children up on the porch because they don’t want to deal with them or don’t have time to deal with them. About 10 years ago, an American named Popi (his real name is Donald... not quite sure where the name Popi came from) started a special needs school here. Side note- Popi owns a restaurant in Nebaj that has the best apple pie in the world. Who would have thought that the best apple pie ever would be in the middle of nowhere in Guatemala? Anyways, there are about 40 students from age 2-46, and only 2 teachers. We are working on creating an internship program (for college students studying special education and recent graduates) that would allow these students to come down here for the summer to work with the school. They are in desperate need of some help and funding. Not only are there 46 students, but their disabilities are across the board; down syndrome, autism, blindness, muteness, and the physically disabled. With only 2 teachers, many of the children don’t get the attention that they need. We went today and played with the kids for a while. We bounced around basketballs, helped students with their work, and showed them how to take pictures. Afterwards, we talked with Popi and Margarita (one of the teachers) about the internship program and what we can do to help them. They were really receptive to the idea. We also talked to them about planting some vegetable seeds in their small garden for the kids to take care of and eventually be able to eat. They are already learning how to make jewelry, paint, and cook. The teachers are teaching them with the hope that someday they will be able to be independent. We are creating a website for the school as well, which will include more information, the school's mission, and a place for people to donate. It is a little overwhelming because there is SO much to do and we are only able to work with them for a day or two, but we both really want to continue working with the school back in the States.
Searching for the Perfect Shower...
No, I have not found it yet. However this post will briefly summarize the contestants:
#1 Bucket bath, Antigua
Pretty nice for a bucket shower... At first I was intimidated by the cinderblock bathing house (it lacks a window) and the giant bucket, but the water was incredibly warm and clean. Downsides were running out of water with sudsy hair, and being freezing cold between bucket-fulls.
#2 Low Pressure Shower, Las Camillas Inn
This title pretty much gives it away. The only thing worse than a bucket shower is a real one that dribbles out water.
#3 Steam Shower
For those of you who watched the NBA draft this shower was like a first round draft pick that tears his ACL in the first month of pre-season. HUGE disappointment. At first is was great, warm, decent pressure. But I was either too far away and freezing (getting misted by the steam) or up close burning myself on the one-temperature-fits-all water valve
(size: HOT HOT BURNT). To cap things off, as I was grabbing a spare towel, a giant tarantula (roughly the size of my palm) crawled out of the folds. Awful.
#4 bucket shower, Nebaj
It had dirt in in, it was cold, enough said. Also, as a tease, the real shower wasn't working "due to lack of light" whatever that means. Bummer
Anyway, you can clearly tell I'm craving a shower... Count down to water pressure!
Showering definitely makes the list of things I take for granted. Along with...
-peanut butter
-dryers (clothing, hair, hand...anything that turns wet to dry)
-a non-sticky space bar on computers (they are terrible here for some reason...)
-my health
-cheddar and sour cream lays (they really are a gift from god)
-cheddar cheese in general
-actually, all cheese that isn't krafts singles (which are a gift from the devil)
-bars (the drunks just roam the streets and harass you)
-cold milk
-and the united states sanitary system (I'm writing them a long love letter when I get home...there is no garbage pick up here so everything gets dumped in the road, in rivers, or in the backyard, so smelly).
and...
#1 Bucket bath, Antigua
Pretty nice for a bucket shower... At first I was intimidated by the cinderblock bathing house (it lacks a window) and the giant bucket, but the water was incredibly warm and clean. Downsides were running out of water with sudsy hair, and being freezing cold between bucket-fulls.
#2 Low Pressure Shower, Las Camillas Inn
This title pretty much gives it away. The only thing worse than a bucket shower is a real one that dribbles out water.
#3 Steam Shower
For those of you who watched the NBA draft this shower was like a first round draft pick that tears his ACL in the first month of pre-season. HUGE disappointment. At first is was great, warm, decent pressure. But I was either too far away and freezing (getting misted by the steam) or up close burning myself on the one-temperature-fits-all water valve
(size: HOT HOT BURNT). To cap things off, as I was grabbing a spare towel, a giant tarantula (roughly the size of my palm) crawled out of the folds. Awful.
#4 bucket shower, Nebaj
It had dirt in in, it was cold, enough said. Also, as a tease, the real shower wasn't working "due to lack of light" whatever that means. Bummer
Anyway, you can clearly tell I'm craving a shower... Count down to water pressure!
Showering definitely makes the list of things I take for granted. Along with...
-peanut butter
-dryers (clothing, hair, hand...anything that turns wet to dry)
-a non-sticky space bar on computers (they are terrible here for some reason...)
-my health
-cheddar and sour cream lays (they really are a gift from god)
-cheddar cheese in general
-actually, all cheese that isn't krafts singles (which are a gift from the devil)
-bars (the drunks just roam the streets and harass you)
-cold milk
-and the united states sanitary system (I'm writing them a long love letter when I get home...there is no garbage pick up here so everything gets dumped in the road, in rivers, or in the backyard, so smelly).
and...
Friday, June 24, 2011
Midweek in Antigua!
This week we have been back in Antigua, debriefing with the whole group. It has been amazing being back with our homestay families! My family is in full-on preparation mode for Sofi’s 1-yr-old birthday, which is on July 2 (On the homestay profile we got when we arrived in Antigua it said that their favorite activity was celebrating birthdays... that should give you an idea about how excited they are for this party). About 300 people are invited (most of which are family) and they are getting a band and cooking a huge meal for everyone. Unfortunately, we are going to be in Nebaj for the party, which I am so bummed about. It seems like it is going to be a lot of fun.
We have been doing work with our organization in the morning and doing Spanish classes in the afternoon. Yesterday was our last day of Spanish classes, and I am actually really going to miss my teacher. She is about 8 months pregnant and is one of the funniest people I have ever met. One day when we were all playing soccer, I asked if she was going to play and she pointed to her stomach and said “No, I’ll be the ball!” She proceeded to make her own pom-poms and cheer vigorously on the sideline. She gave me her email address so we can keep in touch.
This weekend, we are staying in Earth Lodge, which is a tree house style hotel and avocado farm. Then, it’s off to Nebaj for a week and Huehuetenango for the second week. It’s crazy to think that we only have three weeks left!
We have been doing work with our organization in the morning and doing Spanish classes in the afternoon. Yesterday was our last day of Spanish classes, and I am actually really going to miss my teacher. She is about 8 months pregnant and is one of the funniest people I have ever met. One day when we were all playing soccer, I asked if she was going to play and she pointed to her stomach and said “No, I’ll be the ball!” She proceeded to make her own pom-poms and cheer vigorously on the sideline. She gave me her email address so we can keep in touch.
This weekend, we are staying in Earth Lodge, which is a tree house style hotel and avocado farm. Then, it’s off to Nebaj for a week and Huehuetenango for the second week. It’s crazy to think that we only have three weeks left!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Campaign in Panaxchaj
So today was my first campaign. At campaigns, the interns (us) help our an acessor team (the Guatemalan entrepreneurs) sell products to local communities. Our campaign was about two hours outside of Xela in the gym of a small town called Panaxchaj. Like many things in the third world, I could not have possibly predicted anything that happened at this campaign. In short, the campaign was a giant parade of disasters ending in small, but infinitely rewarding victories.
Disaster #1 (the main disaster)
The accessor in charge of the campaign forgot the eye exam. Because the "main" attraction of the campaigns happens to be the free eye exam, this was a huge, gigantic, big-foot sized issue. So at 8:45, 15 minutes before the start of the campaign, the accessor and Devin (another intern who 1. happens to have a stomach bug and 2. is the only other intern beside myself above an intermediate level of Spanish) left to go find a printer (difficult) and wifi (impossible) in the next 15 minutes (yeah, right).
So, Alicia, Tim, and Emily and I were left by ourselves to run the campaign. Shit.
Disaster #2
Because I'm a half-awake idiot in the mornings, I forgot to bring the surveys for our new product (agro-drip...see last post for more info) to the campaign. Not that it really mattered because Devin, the most fluent spanish speaker in our group, was gone on a wild-turkey chase (there are no geese in Guatemala)
Disaster #3
Devin and the accessor get lost, can't find wifi, and are now 1.5 hours away. It is 10:00, and people waiting for eye exams are getting antsy. We have distracted them with presentations about our water filtration bucket (Alicia rocked this job, she had a script prepared and everything), our solar lamps, and our light-bulbs. This did not work (Guatemalans are very perceptive, my home stay mom knows when I'm hungry, when I want a shower, and why I didn't come home before 6...scary). The group of locals pulled the metaphoric "cut the shit" card and asked, in ernest, when the exams would start.
The Solution
To steal from one of my favorite T.V. Persoalities Tim Gunn, it was a "make it work" moment. I called James, our regional coordinator (who was on the other campaign with Annie) and asked him to describe to me the approximate sizes of the letters on the close-up eye exam (we had the far-away exam, but we only provide reading glasses so the close up exam was key to the entire operation). So, using a pen for a measuring tool, I drew the letters. The highest row was "a tiny bit bigger than the width of the pen" and the smallest was "about as small as the tip of the ballpoint". Granted James and I could have been holding completely different sized pens but hey, when in Guatemala... It was around 10:15 and we began using my makeshift eye exam. (Luckily Tim and Emily have both had glasses since elementary school and were therefore Jedi masters at eye exams.) They showed me the ropes and I proceeded to give the exams. Devin and the accessor were now one hour away with the real eye exam. In conclusion, we gave over 30 eye exams and I sold 15 pairs of glasses (we sold 22 in total, an incredible day ordinarily, Herculean on this particular day.) Alicia also succeded in pitching and selling a water filter, our hardest sell (another incredible accomplishment given the circumstances). We also sold 6 eye drop bottles, 8 packets of seeds, and 3 light bulbs. My "fake" exam turned out to be surprisingly perfect, a very close match to the real one. Guess me and James had similar pens after all.
Anyway, the moral of the story is first, you can never predict how things are going to turn out, and second, you should always, always carry a Bic ball-point pen :)
Disaster #1 (the main disaster)
The accessor in charge of the campaign forgot the eye exam. Because the "main" attraction of the campaigns happens to be the free eye exam, this was a huge, gigantic, big-foot sized issue. So at 8:45, 15 minutes before the start of the campaign, the accessor and Devin (another intern who 1. happens to have a stomach bug and 2. is the only other intern beside myself above an intermediate level of Spanish) left to go find a printer (difficult) and wifi (impossible) in the next 15 minutes (yeah, right).
So, Alicia, Tim, and Emily and I were left by ourselves to run the campaign. Shit.
Disaster #2
Because I'm a half-awake idiot in the mornings, I forgot to bring the surveys for our new product (agro-drip...see last post for more info) to the campaign. Not that it really mattered because Devin, the most fluent spanish speaker in our group, was gone on a wild-turkey chase (there are no geese in Guatemala)
Disaster #3
Devin and the accessor get lost, can't find wifi, and are now 1.5 hours away. It is 10:00, and people waiting for eye exams are getting antsy. We have distracted them with presentations about our water filtration bucket (Alicia rocked this job, she had a script prepared and everything), our solar lamps, and our light-bulbs. This did not work (Guatemalans are very perceptive, my home stay mom knows when I'm hungry, when I want a shower, and why I didn't come home before 6...scary). The group of locals pulled the metaphoric "cut the shit" card and asked, in ernest, when the exams would start.
The Solution
To steal from one of my favorite T.V. Persoalities Tim Gunn, it was a "make it work" moment. I called James, our regional coordinator (who was on the other campaign with Annie) and asked him to describe to me the approximate sizes of the letters on the close-up eye exam (we had the far-away exam, but we only provide reading glasses so the close up exam was key to the entire operation). So, using a pen for a measuring tool, I drew the letters. The highest row was "a tiny bit bigger than the width of the pen" and the smallest was "about as small as the tip of the ballpoint". Granted James and I could have been holding completely different sized pens but hey, when in Guatemala... It was around 10:15 and we began using my makeshift eye exam. (Luckily Tim and Emily have both had glasses since elementary school and were therefore Jedi masters at eye exams.) They showed me the ropes and I proceeded to give the exams. Devin and the accessor were now one hour away with the real eye exam. In conclusion, we gave over 30 eye exams and I sold 15 pairs of glasses (we sold 22 in total, an incredible day ordinarily, Herculean on this particular day.) Alicia also succeded in pitching and selling a water filter, our hardest sell (another incredible accomplishment given the circumstances). We also sold 6 eye drop bottles, 8 packets of seeds, and 3 light bulbs. My "fake" exam turned out to be surprisingly perfect, a very close match to the real one. Guess me and James had similar pens after all.
Anyway, the moral of the story is first, you can never predict how things are going to turn out, and second, you should always, always carry a Bic ball-point pen :)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Hello Again
Post #9
Annie and I have both gotten sick in the last week, I had a bacterial infection and Annie had a bad cold and stomach pains. Unfortunately neither of us know what made us sick, but were on the mend, sorry for the lull in posts!
Xela is incredible. Our group has been staying in apartments in Zona 1 of the city, right next to central park. We've been cooking "family" dinners every night (spaghetti on Tuesday, burrito bar on Wednesday), playing catch phrase, watching movies (Taken was the most recent one...I do not recommended watching it while abroad). Tomorrow is our campaign (my first one! I missed the last one due to sickness) and we're very excited, all of our publicity went really well so were hoping to sell lots of products!
Random side note:
Guatemala is a dog catcher's dream...every street, house, pathway, field, and door step has a dog, or many dogs, or new puppies. Like, brand new. Yesterday we got to see a day old puppy and her mom, so cute!! Not gunna lie, I have definitely contemplated smuggling a little puppy back into the states...
Annie and I have both gotten sick in the last week, I had a bacterial infection and Annie had a bad cold and stomach pains. Unfortunately neither of us know what made us sick, but were on the mend, sorry for the lull in posts!
Xela is incredible. Our group has been staying in apartments in Zona 1 of the city, right next to central park. We've been cooking "family" dinners every night (spaghetti on Tuesday, burrito bar on Wednesday), playing catch phrase, watching movies (Taken was the most recent one...I do not recommended watching it while abroad). Tomorrow is our campaign (my first one! I missed the last one due to sickness) and we're very excited, all of our publicity went really well so were hoping to sell lots of products!
Random side note:
Guatemala is a dog catcher's dream...every street, house, pathway, field, and door step has a dog, or many dogs, or new puppies. Like, brand new. Yesterday we got to see a day old puppy and her mom, so cute!! Not gunna lie, I have definitely contemplated smuggling a little puppy back into the states...
Thursday, June 16, 2011
What We've Been Up To
A lot of you have been asking about what Annie and I have been doing here in Guatemala so we've put together a quick post with information and websites.
#1 Soluciones Comunitarias
This is the organization Annie and I are working for. It is an organization based in Antigua, Guatemala and run by locals and international volunteers with branches in Xela, Solola, ,Nebaj, and Huehue. SolCom trains rural Guatemalan women how to sell products aimed at improving the overall well being of individuals in their communities. Products include solar lamps, water purification systems, energy efficient light bulbs, eye glasses (vision and solar protection), and seed packets. The organization functions on the "micro- consignment" model. Basically SolCom recruits and trains women to be salespeople for the business, free of cost, provides them with products, and helps them go into communities and start selling. The women get to keep a portion of all of the profits and the rest is reinvested in SolCom. Therefore the women take on no financial risk (a loan), receive financial benefits, become their own bosses, and start their own businesses that help them and their communities.
http://www.solucionescomunitarias.com/
#2 Agro-Drip
Annie and I are working on researching a product called Agro Drip, a small irrigation system that helps rural families with limited access to water more efficiently water their gardens. If we find the system feasable/marketable it will be added to the list of products sold by Soluciones Comunitarias. http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/DripIrrigation.aspx
#3 Good Stuff Good Works
This program, run under the same umbrella as SolCom, helps to being rural woman's handiwork and weaving to international markets. The two organizations we've worked with thus far are Lema, a woman's weaving cooperative in San Juan del Laguna and Las Mujeres del Triunfo, women's artisan cooperative in Truinfo, Guatemala
http://lasmujeresdeltriunfo.com/
#1 Soluciones Comunitarias
This is the organization Annie and I are working for. It is an organization based in Antigua, Guatemala and run by locals and international volunteers with branches in Xela, Solola, ,Nebaj, and Huehue. SolCom trains rural Guatemalan women how to sell products aimed at improving the overall well being of individuals in their communities. Products include solar lamps, water purification systems, energy efficient light bulbs, eye glasses (vision and solar protection), and seed packets. The organization functions on the "micro- consignment" model. Basically SolCom recruits and trains women to be salespeople for the business, free of cost, provides them with products, and helps them go into communities and start selling. The women get to keep a portion of all of the profits and the rest is reinvested in SolCom. Therefore the women take on no financial risk (a loan), receive financial benefits, become their own bosses, and start their own businesses that help them and their communities.
http://www.solucionescomunitarias.com/
#2 Agro-Drip
Annie and I are working on researching a product called Agro Drip, a small irrigation system that helps rural families with limited access to water more efficiently water their gardens. If we find the system feasable/marketable it will be added to the list of products sold by Soluciones Comunitarias. http://www.ideorg.org/OurTechnologies/DripIrrigation.aspx
#3 Good Stuff Good Works
This program, run under the same umbrella as SolCom, helps to being rural woman's handiwork and weaving to international markets. The two organizations we've worked with thus far are Lema, a woman's weaving cooperative in San Juan del Laguna and Las Mujeres del Triunfo, women's artisan cooperative in Truinfo, Guatemala
http://lasmujeresdeltriunfo.com/
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Another Quick Update
Our car got hit by a chicken bus today. Fortunately we were both moving at about 5 mph (going over a speed bump). We took our their right side mirror and they scraped up the side of the van. Our driver was not happy. My opinion of these chicken buses keeps getting lower...
Solola and Xela
Some updates about the work we're been doing in Solola (Pana) and Xela. We worked with a couple women’s weaving cooperatives and a computer literacy organization that doubles as an after-school program and a student library. Our organization, Soluciones Comunitarias, is opening an office in Solola, so while half of the group visited the computer literacy organization (Swan Tinamit) the other half worked on a marketing plan for the new office. At the end of the week we had two different campaigns where we helped the assesoras do eye exams and sell products that benefit their communities, such as glasses, solar lamps, and water purifiers.
It definitely hasn’t been all work, though. On Saturday we went zip-lining over the forest with the lake on one side and beautiful waterfalls on the other side. I had never zip-lined before, and it was absolutely incredible. The zip-lining was in a nature reserve which had spider monkeys, butterflies, waterfalls, and hanging bridges. On Saturday night, we went out to a bar in Panajachel called Iguana which had tequila shots for 5 quetzales ( about 65 cents) and 3 beers for 25 quetzales (about 3 dollars). On Sunday night, we found a restaurant with a huge TV screen and watched the Mavs win the NBA Finals :).
We’re now in Xela, which is the second biggest city in Guatemala (right behind Guatemala City). It’s actually called Quetzaltenango, but everyone calls it by the indigenous name, Xela. We’re staying in two amazing apartments. The girls have one 3 single rooms and one triple room. Of course I picked the last number for the order in which we picked beds, so I have the only twin bed in the apartment which also happens to be hard as rocks. Yay! We have a kitchen, so we did some grocery shopping and are going to cook most of our meals this week. Yesterday was Emily’s birthday, so we went out to a yummy hamburger place and then came back to the apartment building and had cake and champagne on the roof. We scared the shit out of emily with some local fireworks and a creepy clown cake (they ran out of all of the other normal ones...). Then we all watched the movie Taken in our apartment (if you haven’t seen it, just a word of advice.. don’t watch it when you are abroad. Liam Neeson is a badass though). We may or may not be contemplating filming a "Real World" style TV show while we are here called Into the Jungle... we’ll keep you posted.
It definitely hasn’t been all work, though. On Saturday we went zip-lining over the forest with the lake on one side and beautiful waterfalls on the other side. I had never zip-lined before, and it was absolutely incredible. The zip-lining was in a nature reserve which had spider monkeys, butterflies, waterfalls, and hanging bridges. On Saturday night, we went out to a bar in Panajachel called Iguana which had tequila shots for 5 quetzales ( about 65 cents) and 3 beers for 25 quetzales (about 3 dollars). On Sunday night, we found a restaurant with a huge TV screen and watched the Mavs win the NBA Finals :).
We’re now in Xela, which is the second biggest city in Guatemala (right behind Guatemala City). It’s actually called Quetzaltenango, but everyone calls it by the indigenous name, Xela. We’re staying in two amazing apartments. The girls have one 3 single rooms and one triple room. Of course I picked the last number for the order in which we picked beds, so I have the only twin bed in the apartment which also happens to be hard as rocks. Yay! We have a kitchen, so we did some grocery shopping and are going to cook most of our meals this week. Yesterday was Emily’s birthday, so we went out to a yummy hamburger place and then came back to the apartment building and had cake and champagne on the roof. We scared the shit out of emily with some local fireworks and a creepy clown cake (they ran out of all of the other normal ones...). Then we all watched the movie Taken in our apartment (if you haven’t seen it, just a word of advice.. don’t watch it when you are abroad. Liam Neeson is a badass though). We may or may not be contemplating filming a "Real World" style TV show while we are here called Into the Jungle... we’ll keep you posted.
Friday, June 10, 2011
My Big Fat Mayan Wedding
First Days in Solola
We’re now in Sololá, which is a region near Lake Atitlán, one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. On Monday and Tuesday, we worked with a women’s weaving cooperative called Lema that made beautiful products with natural dyes. We helped them with a marketing plan and business strategies. They taught us how to weave, and we “made” our own scarves (aka they were more like head wraps, and the teachers weaved about 3/4 of it). On Wednesday morning, we hiked up the “Mayan Nose,” which is a series of mountains that looks like a profile of a face. The hike was really, really steep but we made it to the top by singing “I’m a Survivor” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” We were also slightly demoralized as we came puffing up the hill and three 60-year-old Mayan women in flip flops came cruising down in front of us. But the hike was very much worth it, the view was amazing (although the bathroom at the top was “very Slumdog Millionaire” -Abby)
Today we did a bunch of different work. In the morning we went to some small villages where we are doing a campaign on Sunday and did publicity for it, which basically involved walking around and telling people about the campaign. Then we went to a really rural village called El Triunfo and worked with a group of women that have a weaving cooperation there called “Las Mujeres Del Triunfo.”
A lot of great things happened today, including:
-Jess almost peed her pants in excitement when she and Nick discovered that they could buy 300 “Cremas” aka Guatemalan Oreos, for $4 (they plotted to bring these cheap delicious cookies to the masses in the US and make millions).
-Dan, who had a vendetta against abbreviations, said his first “abbrev” (“Whats the guac sitch?”) This trip has been full of fun abbreviations, courtesy of Jess. Lolzerskates!
-We rode standing up in the bed of a pickup truck from village to village. Definitely my new favorite form of transportation.
-The boys of Team Oportunidad (Chris, Dan, Nick, Tim, and Devin) decided to form a singing quintet, and they specialize in singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in rap form and changing the words to whatever they feel like.
-We had to hike down to the house where we were meeting the El Triunfo women through farmland, and Abby and Jess each wiped out realllyyy hard on the path down. To add insult to injury, every time we turned around, there were at least 5 Guatemalan children staring/giggling at us from behind different trees.
-Jess got shat on by a bird while she was riding in the back of a pickup truck in the rain.
Tim made a special “star shaped” tortilla, much to the amusement of the Mayan women we were cooking lunch with.
-Abby was fervently praying for her life as we rode the chicken bus back down to Panajachel. The bus was probably going about 50 mph down a mountain, making hairpin turns, most of the time about 4 feet away from the edge of the cliff that led down to the lake.
-This actually happened last night, but we went out to eat in a restaurant, and I ordered a Diet Coke and the waiter went out to a tienda, bought me a Coke, and then served it to me. Chris ordered a Gallo (beer) and the waiter left and brought back a case of Gallo and served one to Chris. And this didn’t only apply to drinks (we thought, hey, maybe the fridge is broken). When the boys ordered a pizza, and the restaurant workers may or may not have called and ordered it from a pizza place down the street (the waiter walked past us with a pizza delivery box)... We left wondering if this restraunt actually sold anything...
Today we did a bunch of different work. In the morning we went to some small villages where we are doing a campaign on Sunday and did publicity for it, which basically involved walking around and telling people about the campaign. Then we went to a really rural village called El Triunfo and worked with a group of women that have a weaving cooperation there called “Las Mujeres Del Triunfo.”
A lot of great things happened today, including:
-Jess almost peed her pants in excitement when she and Nick discovered that they could buy 300 “Cremas” aka Guatemalan Oreos, for $4 (they plotted to bring these cheap delicious cookies to the masses in the US and make millions).
-Dan, who had a vendetta against abbreviations, said his first “abbrev” (“Whats the guac sitch?”) This trip has been full of fun abbreviations, courtesy of Jess. Lolzerskates!
-We rode standing up in the bed of a pickup truck from village to village. Definitely my new favorite form of transportation.
-The boys of Team Oportunidad (Chris, Dan, Nick, Tim, and Devin) decided to form a singing quintet, and they specialize in singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” in rap form and changing the words to whatever they feel like.
-We had to hike down to the house where we were meeting the El Triunfo women through farmland, and Abby and Jess each wiped out realllyyy hard on the path down. To add insult to injury, every time we turned around, there were at least 5 Guatemalan children staring/giggling at us from behind different trees.
-Jess got shat on by a bird while she was riding in the back of a pickup truck in the rain.
Tim made a special “star shaped” tortilla, much to the amusement of the Mayan women we were cooking lunch with.
-Abby was fervently praying for her life as we rode the chicken bus back down to Panajachel. The bus was probably going about 50 mph down a mountain, making hairpin turns, most of the time about 4 feet away from the edge of the cliff that led down to the lake.
-This actually happened last night, but we went out to eat in a restaurant, and I ordered a Diet Coke and the waiter went out to a tienda, bought me a Coke, and then served it to me. Chris ordered a Gallo (beer) and the waiter left and brought back a case of Gallo and served one to Chris. And this didn’t only apply to drinks (we thought, hey, maybe the fridge is broken). When the boys ordered a pizza, and the restaurant workers may or may not have called and ordered it from a pizza place down the street (the waiter walked past us with a pizza delivery box)... We left wondering if this restraunt actually sold anything...
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Weekend Adventures
This weekend we stayed in a hostel in Antigua and had lots of adventures. The nightlife in Antigua is really fun. A lot of people that live in Guatemala City come to Antigua to go out on the weekend, so the bars are always packed. We all went out to a bar on Saturday night and got our dance on.
The next morning, Abby and I got up at 7 to hike up to some waterfalls. We had heard that the hike was pretty easy, about 3 miles total, and the waterfalls were really beautiful. We drove out to the base and started hiking and quickly learned that it was NOT easy. It wasn’t very steep, but the hike involved scaling rocks, bush-whacking, trekking through rivers, and crossing very old, narrow, rickety, wooden bridges. A little while after we started the hike, a group of Guatemalan teenagers passed us, all carrying machetes and knives. That was a promising start. A couple people fell into the water and scraped themselves up a little, so Abby’s first aid kit saved the day (yeah, she had a first aid kit...). However, when we reached the first waterfall, it all became worth it. The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous. It was about 120 feet tall, and there was a group of locals repelling down it. We stayed there for a little while, ate lunch, and then continued onwards to the second waterfall. This was where the hike got treacherous. A couple people wanted to turn back when we had to rock climb up a vertical slope without any ropes or harnesses. We all made it to the second waterfall, though, (some took the longer, safer route) which was also very pretty. Finally we climbed back down and returned to Antigua for our last night in our home stays! (We're headed to Solola for this next week, home of Lake Atitlan, the most beautiful lake in Guatemala) Soccer and Salsa: What Guatemalans do Best
For the second half of the morning on Thursday and Friday, we learned some authentic Guatemalan pastimes. On Thursday, we had a salsa and merengue lesson taught by one of the Spanish teachers, Eduardo, who is probably about 5’ 0” and 90 pounds and can move his hips like Shakira. It was really fun, even though our whiteness and total lack of coordination pretty much guarantees that we will never be able to dance like the Guatemalans.
On Friday, we played soccer against the Spanish teachers. This was quite entertaining, since the teachers range from about age 20 to age 60 and included some of the female teachers who have probably never kicked a soccer ball in their life. The students split up into 2 teams and we played until one team scored, and then the losing team switched out and the other team came on. It got pretty heated, since we didn’t have actual goals (very typical of guatemalan "street ball") and couldn’t really tell when a goal was actually a goal and when it wasn’t (the referees were not helpful). It was a lot of fun, though.
Side note- On Saturday night, we saw the salsa teacher, and another Spanish teacher out at a bar and they both managed to make out with students and dance with probably about 15 more each. Creepy?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Whoops! Translation Errors
When speaking Spanish, it's very important to enunciate because many words have very similar sounding but completely different meaning (and wildly inappropriate) "twins"
1. Mucho and gusto
You say: "mucho gusto" (nice to meet you)
You meant to say: "me gusta mucho" (I like this a lot)
Whoops: So while eating your delicious dinner, you accidentally told your family (or your meal) "nice to meet you" instead of "I like this a lot"
Embarrassment factor: 1.5 stars
2. Embarazada and verguenza
You say: "¡Estoy embarazada!" (I'm pregnant!)
You meant to say: "¡Tengo verguenza!" (I'm embarrassed!)
Whoops: as you leave the bathroom, your new host mom thinks your red face means you're with child, not that you can't figure out how to flush the toilet.
Embarrassment factor: 4 stars
3. Cansado and casado
You say: "estoy casado" (I'm married)
You meant to say: "estoy cansado" (I'm exhausted)
Whoops: when you exclaim "estoy casado" to your spanish teacher (while making an exasperated and tired face) she assumes you're having marital problems and launches into advice giving mode about the "machismo" perils of Guatemalan (and American) men
Embarrassment factor: 1 star
4. Caer and cago
You say: "me cago" (I just took a shit)
You meant to say "me caigo" (I just fell down)
Whoops: as you arrive home and announce the "big fall" you took on the cobble stone streets in Antigua, your home-stay brother can't stop laughing about the silly gringo that shit on the road
Embarrassment factor: 4 stars
5. Caliente and calor
You say: "estoy caliente" (I'm horny)
You meant to say: "tengo calor" (I'm hot)
Whoops: when you sit down to family dinner, fanning yourself and exclaiming "estoy caliente" after your intense soccer game, your family thinks your red and flustered for another reason...
Embarrassment factor: 5 stars
Lessons learned...
1. Mucho and gusto
You say: "mucho gusto" (nice to meet you)
You meant to say: "me gusta mucho" (I like this a lot)
Whoops: So while eating your delicious dinner, you accidentally told your family (or your meal) "nice to meet you" instead of "I like this a lot"
Embarrassment factor: 1.5 stars
2. Embarazada and verguenza
You say: "¡Estoy embarazada!" (I'm pregnant!)
You meant to say: "¡Tengo verguenza!" (I'm embarrassed!)
Whoops: as you leave the bathroom, your new host mom thinks your red face means you're with child, not that you can't figure out how to flush the toilet.
Embarrassment factor: 4 stars
3. Cansado and casado
You say: "estoy casado" (I'm married)
You meant to say: "estoy cansado" (I'm exhausted)
Whoops: when you exclaim "estoy casado" to your spanish teacher (while making an exasperated and tired face) she assumes you're having marital problems and launches into advice giving mode about the "machismo" perils of Guatemalan (and American) men
Embarrassment factor: 1 star
4. Caer and cago
You say: "me cago" (I just took a shit)
You meant to say "me caigo" (I just fell down)
Whoops: as you arrive home and announce the "big fall" you took on the cobble stone streets in Antigua, your home-stay brother can't stop laughing about the silly gringo that shit on the road
Embarrassment factor: 4 stars
5. Caliente and calor
You say: "estoy caliente" (I'm horny)
You meant to say: "tengo calor" (I'm hot)
Whoops: when you sit down to family dinner, fanning yourself and exclaiming "estoy caliente" after your intense soccer game, your family thinks your red and flustered for another reason...
Embarrassment factor: 5 stars
Lessons learned...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Brief Update
National Conference
This weekend the organization we are working for (Social Entrepreneur Corps, or SEC) had a national conference in Antigua. Accessoras (salesmen/women) from all over the country came to discuss the company, future enterprises, and annual progress.
A brief aside on SEC:
SEC is an organization devoted to providing disadvantaged individuals access to goods and services. These people usually live in very remote and rural areas of Guatemala where clean water, electricity, and medical care are rarely available. SEC provides things like eye exams and glasses, water filters, wood burning stoves, solar lamps, and seeds. The items are all sold by locals and the profit is split and reinvested in new technology and products.
While it was difficult to understand everything going on (the conference was conducted in Spanish) it was really cool to see such a large gathering of people devoted to and working towards SEC's goals. Everyone left their homestays for the weekend and stayed in Antigua. We ended up at "Las Camilas Inn" and had a yummy dinner at ??. After dinner we played a roudy game of Cheers to the Goveneor and met up with some recent Duke grads who are backpacking around Guatemala. Later that night we ended up at a bar on clock tower street. Highlights included finding an "autographed" photo of George clooney on the wall and ordering the worst long island iced 'teas of all time (tequila with a splash of tequila). After the conference on Sunday we explored Antigua, finding a delicious lunch at "Bagle Barn" and bargaining for goods at antigua's arteisan market.
A brief aside on SEC:
SEC is an organization devoted to providing disadvantaged individuals access to goods and services. These people usually live in very remote and rural areas of Guatemala where clean water, electricity, and medical care are rarely available. SEC provides things like eye exams and glasses, water filters, wood burning stoves, solar lamps, and seeds. The items are all sold by locals and the profit is split and reinvested in new technology and products.
While it was difficult to understand everything going on (the conference was conducted in Spanish) it was really cool to see such a large gathering of people devoted to and working towards SEC's goals. Everyone left their homestays for the weekend and stayed in Antigua. We ended up at "Las Camilas Inn" and had a yummy dinner at ??. After dinner we played a roudy game of Cheers to the Goveneor and met up with some recent Duke grads who are backpacking around Guatemala. Later that night we ended up at a bar on clock tower street. Highlights included finding an "autographed" photo of George clooney on the wall and ordering the worst long island iced 'teas of all time (tequila with a splash of tequila). After the conference on Sunday we explored Antigua, finding a delicious lunch at "Bagle Barn" and bargaining for goods at antigua's arteisan market.
Comida
The food here is interesting, to say the least. The typical Guatemalan meal is eggs, beans, corn tortillas, and bread. Lunch is the biggest meal, followed by breakfast, and dinner is the smallest.
Breakfast: Our host moms cook us everything from eggs to mush (cream of wheat/oatmeal/milk/vitamins/ I actually have no idea what is actually in this but the. Name is not encouraging) to toast with peanut butter to panqueques (pancakes, which are way better than any I have had at home) to Corn Flakes with hot milk. They have to warm up the milk to get rid of bacteria, and let me just say that cereal with hot milk is VERY weird. And mushy. But not quite as mushy as mush.
Lunch: For lunch, our host moms pack us a meal to bring with us every day, very elementary- (Abby and I have both forgotten our lunch boxes many, many times). We usually have either chicken, beef, fish with rice, potatoes, or noodles, etc. We also usually have some type of fruit like papayas or piñas (pineapple). Finally, we have bread. Lots and lots of bread. Matt’s family usually gives him an entire loaf, just for lunch. Also, to add a little fun, There is an unspoken rule in Guatemala that says that if you don’t like something you get for lunch, just send it back home and they will realize that you didn’t eat it and thus don’t like it. At lunch, a hilarious discussion usually occurs about what to send back. If I kind of liked it, should I throw some more away before I send it back? Will I hurt her feelings if I don’t even touch it? Even if I do like it, should I send it back so as not to waste food? Sending food back is kind of nerve-wracking, because you never know if your mom is going to call you out on it, or just let it be unspoken.
Dinner: My family eats dinner around 7:30, and it usually consists of chicken or eggs and beans, and always tortillas and bread. I helped my host mom make tortillas last week, and it is really, really hard. Mine looked like deformed amoebas, while hers were perfect circles. Oh well.
Overall, it's important to be really careful about what you eat here, a bunch of the kids on the trip have gotten sick (bad water, unclean fruit, too many frijoles). Luckily I have not yet been a victim. The food here is a little weird, but I’m getting used to it. Last night, me and three other girls cooked pizza and apple pie for our families (20 people total, all related although we're still not totally sure how...) It was really, really hard to find all the ingredients in the grocery store, figure out how to light the oven, find measuring cups in the kitchen, etc. We had to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, roll out the pizza dough using glasses covered in flour, and measure up to 5 cups of flour with a 1/4 cup measurement. Needless to say, it took forever. But, when we finally pulled it off, our families loved it. It has been really fun sharing our culture with them and learning about theirs.
Breakfast: Our host moms cook us everything from eggs to mush (cream of wheat/oatmeal/milk/vitamins/ I actually have no idea what is actually in this but the. Name is not encouraging) to toast with peanut butter to panqueques (pancakes, which are way better than any I have had at home) to Corn Flakes with hot milk. They have to warm up the milk to get rid of bacteria, and let me just say that cereal with hot milk is VERY weird. And mushy. But not quite as mushy as mush.
Lunch: For lunch, our host moms pack us a meal to bring with us every day, very elementary- (Abby and I have both forgotten our lunch boxes many, many times). We usually have either chicken, beef, fish with rice, potatoes, or noodles, etc. We also usually have some type of fruit like papayas or piñas (pineapple). Finally, we have bread. Lots and lots of bread. Matt’s family usually gives him an entire loaf, just for lunch. Also, to add a little fun, There is an unspoken rule in Guatemala that says that if you don’t like something you get for lunch, just send it back home and they will realize that you didn’t eat it and thus don’t like it. At lunch, a hilarious discussion usually occurs about what to send back. If I kind of liked it, should I throw some more away before I send it back? Will I hurt her feelings if I don’t even touch it? Even if I do like it, should I send it back so as not to waste food? Sending food back is kind of nerve-wracking, because you never know if your mom is going to call you out on it, or just let it be unspoken.
Dinner: My family eats dinner around 7:30, and it usually consists of chicken or eggs and beans, and always tortillas and bread. I helped my host mom make tortillas last week, and it is really, really hard. Mine looked like deformed amoebas, while hers were perfect circles. Oh well.
Overall, it's important to be really careful about what you eat here, a bunch of the kids on the trip have gotten sick (bad water, unclean fruit, too many frijoles). Luckily I have not yet been a victim. The food here is a little weird, but I’m getting used to it. Last night, me and three other girls cooked pizza and apple pie for our families (20 people total, all related although we're still not totally sure how...) It was really, really hard to find all the ingredients in the grocery store, figure out how to light the oven, find measuring cups in the kitchen, etc. We had to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, roll out the pizza dough using glasses covered in flour, and measure up to 5 cups of flour with a 1/4 cup measurement. Needless to say, it took forever. But, when we finally pulled it off, our families loved it. It has been really fun sharing our culture with them and learning about theirs.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Chicken Bus 101
In Guatemala, or specifically Antigua, the main form of transportation are buses the locals call "Las Camionetas", the tourists call them chicken buses.
1. Personal space: this does not exist on a chicken bus. There are 3 people per seat, people in the aisles, and people on each others laps...all in the size of a small school bus.
Normal capacity: 50 school children
Chicken Bus capacity: 90-100 adults.
2. El Ayudante: this is the man who assists the driver in collecting money from all of the pasajeros (passengers). Unlike in the states, money is collected after you are on the bus, which means the ayudante must crawl, push, shimmy, and squeeze through the 100+ passengers, collecting money and giving change to each one. Woof.
3. Speed over Safety: there are no seat belts, hairpin turns, and drivers who get paid by the amount of rounds completed, not per hour. Therefore, the personal space and ayudante rules are then complicated with the buses' roller-coaster like pace. It's like riding the madderhorn with 5x as many people and a man running over the coaster-cars collecting your ticket.
4. Loading the bus: you have 2-3 seconds to get on and off the bus...one student was left hanging onto the back as the bus started to speed away (don't worry, he's fine)
5. The Evil Eye: this is a Guatemalan superstition; mothers believe that if a gringo (foreigner) looks at their baby or child for too long the child will get the "evil eye" and exhibit behavior such as crying, spitting up, etc. So on the chicken buses, is is imperative to keep your eyes to yourself, otherwise you might be asked to move (see rules 1-3 to comprehend the difficulty of this task)
6. Backpacks: always wear them on your chest, pickpocketing is common on the chicken buses. So all of us gringas end up looking like awkward pregnant women
7. Vendadors: and finally, as if this wasn't enough, there are people who board this bus and try to sell you things like children's books, shoes, bracelets, and jade knives.
Best. Ride. Ever.
1. Personal space: this does not exist on a chicken bus. There are 3 people per seat, people in the aisles, and people on each others laps...all in the size of a small school bus.
Normal capacity: 50 school children
Chicken Bus capacity: 90-100 adults.
2. El Ayudante: this is the man who assists the driver in collecting money from all of the pasajeros (passengers). Unlike in the states, money is collected after you are on the bus, which means the ayudante must crawl, push, shimmy, and squeeze through the 100+ passengers, collecting money and giving change to each one. Woof.
3. Speed over Safety: there are no seat belts, hairpin turns, and drivers who get paid by the amount of rounds completed, not per hour. Therefore, the personal space and ayudante rules are then complicated with the buses' roller-coaster like pace. It's like riding the madderhorn with 5x as many people and a man running over the coaster-cars collecting your ticket.
4. Loading the bus: you have 2-3 seconds to get on and off the bus...one student was left hanging onto the back as the bus started to speed away (don't worry, he's fine)
5. The Evil Eye: this is a Guatemalan superstition; mothers believe that if a gringo (foreigner) looks at their baby or child for too long the child will get the "evil eye" and exhibit behavior such as crying, spitting up, etc. So on the chicken buses, is is imperative to keep your eyes to yourself, otherwise you might be asked to move (see rules 1-3 to comprehend the difficulty of this task)
6. Backpacks: always wear them on your chest, pickpocketing is common on the chicken buses. So all of us gringas end up looking like awkward pregnant women
7. Vendadors: and finally, as if this wasn't enough, there are people who board this bus and try to sell you things like children's books, shoes, bracelets, and jade knives.
Best. Ride. Ever.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sunday Adventures
We had all day free on Sunday while the UConn kids were arriving, so we woke up and wandered to a café in the Parque Central of Antigua called Café Condesa. I got delicious French Toast (my go-to breakfast food) for about $5. Afterwards we decided to hike up to Cerro de la Cruz, a cross on the side of the mountain with a beautiful view on Antigua. I was kind of in charge of getting us there, but the directions given to us by a friendly and incredibly fast talking local were not very specific (i.e. go down there all the way, then turn left and go all the way down there and you will be at the cross). We ended up wandering into a part of Antigua we had never seen before, with me and Abby leading a group of about 10 nervous, hot, exhausted people. We asked for directions about 10 times and finallyyy found the foot of the hike. Everyone we had encountered said that it was "muy facil" so when we saw a very steep, straight up climb we were a little bit hocked. Matt had recently his ACL (about a week before), so he was trailing behind, having to fend off stray dogs with a stick. We finally got to the top of the gigantic climb but sadly there was no cross...only a horse statue and a mediocre view. We asked a policeman near the statue (he was on lunch break?) if the cross was nearby and he pointed the way...right back down a hill. We finally got to the cross, and the view was just as beautiful as we had imagined (pictures to come). Some other kids in our group were already up there, and they told us that there was a set of stairs that took about 10 minutes to climb.. whoops! So much for facil. That night, we had dinner at the SEC office and met the UConn kids. The leaders ordered Domino’s pizza, which was amazing, but the Cinnastix were definitely not up to par with Cinnastix at home/Duke (Abby was quite disappointed). Later on, we went out to a salsa bar. There were some of the best dancers I had seen in my life, and some of the shortest men I had seen in my life (all Guatemalans are very short, btw). Abby and Taylor tried salsa dancing with some locals. Abby danced with a Guatemalan named Renee (...?) and Taylor was dancing with an American man that we had met the night before that we discovered was a pathological liar (he worked at a hedge fund, quit his job to become a dancer, lived on times square but also lived 2 blocks from Juliard...whoops). All in all, a great day.
Arrival
Guatemala is loud. Really loud. As we landed in the airport torrential rain and eventually hail pounded on both the plane and the tin roof (lámina). Volume comparison: Imagine a 5 year old banging haphazardly on symbols and you have about 1/3 of the decibels in that tiny airport. Since our plane landed in Guatemala city we had to take a small bus 30 miles west to our hotel in central Antigua, and that ride wasn't quiet either. The mechanical sounds of horns, grinding gears, and break pedals blended with the shouts, curses and music blasting from every car bus and truck on the road. Volume comparison: 10 rows back at a terrible dub step concert. Finally we arrived at our hotel "Internacional Mochilero Guesthouse" a cute establishment on calle seis in the heart of Antigua. The rest of the day was spent exploring the city, exchanging money at the bank (we were advised against the local ATMs) and buying a duffel bag (while in the airport i managed to execute a three-stooges like tumble when the weight of my backpack exceeded my strength to stand upright... Figured I'd transfer some weight to avoid future embarrassment). Antigua is noisy too: street vendors, firecrackers, local music, and voices filled the hotel and the streets. Volume comparison: a pre-tailgate C-1. We hit up a few local bars and cafès after dinner at "La Hamburguesa Gigante" (ironically the best dish at this locale was the veggie burger with guacamole) and ended up at a discoteca called "estudio 35" that featured 3 dollar cerveza and a remix on karaoke (everyone but us knew the words). Overall a great first day...ear plugs optional.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Shoobies
Hey everyone! This is our first ever blog post...so please bear with us. This blog actually started today. We were sitting in a Internet cafè in Antigua (the cafè is called y tu piña tambien... specialities include the "Do me. Do me now" salad (with walnuts) and the "Monkey's Ass" smoothie. Yum) and spontaneously decided to write this blog. We've both been keeping journals so these posts will go back in time for a few days and then proceed for the next two months as we explore Guatemala. ¡Disfruten!
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