Everyday here is so unpredictable! For example, I have been trying to go to my post office for the last two weeks! I would pass by about three times a week, always in the morning because I knew for sure it was not open in the afternoon, and it was never open. I was thinking to myself that people must never get their mail or mail things to other people because how do they do it! This week I told myself I would go by everyday until it was open and if it was not open at all this week I was going to find out what was going on from the Municipal! Well to my luck it was open, finally! I introduced myself to the guy that works there and told him I needed to find out what my address was so that I could have my mail sent here. This conversation led to another about what I was doing here, what Peace Corps was, what was my state like in the US, did I like living here, and what did I think of the Mayan culture, random, don’t ask! I proceeded to tell him that I was learning Kaqchikel, the indigenous language spoken here and that I wanted to learn more about the history and culture. He then pointed to a Mayan statue that he had on the counter and told me about it and then gave it to me as a gift! I tried to insist that he did not need to do that but then it was forcefully put in my hands and I had not choice but to take it with me! I am continually surprised by the generosity and giving nature of most of the Guatemalans that I encounter, never would this have happened in the States!
Like I said before I started Kaqchikel classes this week! Wow, that is about the only word to describe my experience! The language is beautiful when spoken correctly, which means not by me! For many of the words you have to use your throat, a lot, but it is also kind of fun learning a language that is so unique. It is also difficult because they do not have a lot of the words that they have in Spanish and the verbs do not have one nice, simple conjugation but instead each one is different! All the guys in my office speak Kaqchikel and are so excited that I am learning it, finally! It also surprised a lot of the groups I work with that I would want to learn it because many of the adults my age do not know it and refuse to speak it if they do know it! It has helped my site mate’s community because now people who never spoke it or did know it are learning it because if the gringo is learning it I should learn it to!
More coffee picking continued last week. I helped pick coffee three more time and I am telling you all that I have never been so tired in my life! I do not know how they do it. If they are women, they get up make the fire, breakfast and dress the kids for school, pick coffee all morning, make lunch, take the coffee to be processed, go to the school to make the snacks for the kids, come home, clean, make dinner and put the kids to bed and somewhere in between do laundry and other things around the house! I am just tired picking coffee for an hour, there is no way I could do everything that they do, they are superwomen!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Coffee Picking
This month has already been busy…a whole week of planning and meeting about the upcoming harvest! I felt like I was back in the United States working because my guys wanted to work from 7 in the morning to 7 o’clock at night, can we say loco! I didn’t know that signed up to work til I could work no more! All of the other people in my group keep complaining that they do not have any work, they have nothing to do, I on the other hand can barely make dinner at night because I am so tired!
I spent this past weekend out at my sitemate’s house! While she was home for Christmas, someone donated a solar oven for her to bring here, so we invited some of the women in her women’s group over to bake some bread! When they saw the oven they were really skeptical but thankfully the corn bread and zucchini bread turned out fabulously! The women were amazed, they could not believe that it worked! Now they are asking her how much she would charge them to use it! It is funny the things that happen haphazardly are the things that work out the best here!
Today I picked coffee for the first time, it was interesting! I can see why people do not have a lot of coffee because it takes so long to harvest. We picked for about a half an hour and my coffee barely covered the bottom of my basket! You have to handpick every bean and you have to feel them all to see which ones needed picked! You have to pick the soft, squishy ones
because they are the most ripe and ready! After my adventure picking coffee we tried out the desulpador (the machine that takes the shell off the coffee bean. It was really cool to see how in less than 10 minutes you can take the shells off almost 10 lbs of coffee fruit (which means an increase of about Q 200 for the farmers)! I cannot wait until the harvest really gets going, I think it is going to be exciting!
Tomorrow I am having breakfast with the Director of the Peace Corps! He is going to be in country for 4 days and he is traveling around meeting all of the volunteers! It should be interesting to get to talk to him and hear what he has to say about his future plans for the Peace Corps! I know that his main goal is to increase volunteer participation for adults 50 years and over!
I spent this past weekend out at my sitemate’s house! While she was home for Christmas, someone donated a solar oven for her to bring here, so we invited some of the women in her women’s group over to bake some bread! When they saw the oven they were really skeptical but thankfully the corn bread and zucchini bread turned out fabulously! The women were amazed, they could not believe that it worked! Now they are asking her how much she would charge them to use it! It is funny the things that happen haphazardly are the things that work out the best here!
Today I picked coffee for the first time, it was interesting! I can see why people do not have a lot of coffee because it takes so long to harvest. We picked for about a half an hour and my coffee barely covered the bottom of my basket! You have to handpick every bean and you have to feel them all to see which ones needed picked! You have to pick the soft, squishy ones
because they are the most ripe and ready! After my adventure picking coffee we tried out the desulpador (the machine that takes the shell off the coffee bean. It was really cool to see how in less than 10 minutes you can take the shells off almost 10 lbs of coffee fruit (which means an increase of about Q 200 for the farmers)! I cannot wait until the harvest really gets going, I think it is going to be exciting!Tomorrow I am having breakfast with the Director of the Peace Corps! He is going to be in country for 4 days and he is traveling around meeting all of the volunteers! It should be interesting to get to talk to him and hear what he has to say about his future plans for the Peace Corps! I know that his main goal is to increase volunteer participation for adults 50 years and over!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Happy New Year
HAPPY 2008! 
I hope that everyone had a great New Year and rang in 2008 with style! I was in Panajachel (sp?) which is on Lake Atilan for the new year! It was a lot of fun, hanging out at the lake, swimming, shopping, and getting to see everyone from my training group! I brought in the new year with a bang…food poisoning! I was sick all night and the whole next day, what a way to start a new year!
After new years and feeling a little better, I ventured about 45 minutes north to visit my friend Natalie at her site! She is living with a family in an adobe house with a latrine and a tomas gall, which is the most amazing thing when you are sick! It is a small, sauna like thing made out of adobe! There is a small fire on the inside and a large bench where you site and bath! Natalie and I took an hour long bath/sauna session! It is those kind of things that make you realize that the Mayan people knew what they were doing way before we did! They knew how to live the high life!
On my way home from Solola, the department capital of the lake region I was one of many fortunate souls to get stuck in a “cola” You ask was a “cola” is, well it is a wonderful part of life here in Guatemala, a road block! When there is construction on the road they stop traffic on one side for an hour or two at a time while the other side goes! I was on a crowded bus, meaning I was standing on the steps of the bus because there was not where else to go, so I had a great view of when they let us through! It looked like the start of the Indy 500! There were three camionetas lined up to try to be the first out and behind them three more and so on! Let me tell the start did not just look like the start to the 500 but it also resembled it! As soon as they moved those cones, we took off and I mean took off! We were flying and racing around corners just to be able to be the first to pick up more people, yes more people! I honest had not been terrified of camionetas until then!
I have had a full year already, sick, terrifying camionetas rides and I experienced my first real tremor! It happened last night while I was in bed! My bed started to rock back and forth! At first I did not know what was happening but as it continued I realized what was happening so I jumped out of bed to head for the door! When I got to door it was still going on and then the lights in the street went out, and I freaked! I was totally freaking out and no one else seemed to notice it or care about it! I called my Dad to ask if I should go to bed on the second level, if I was going to die, etc…I am so glad that I did not grow up with earthquakes, I would have never made it through childhood!
Well I go back to work on Monday after a wonderful 17 days off work…relaxing, cleaning, laying out, you know all those fun things! I think I am going to need to rest because the coffee harvest starts in about 15 days and I have no idea what that is going to
I hope that everyone had a great New Year and rang in 2008 with style! I was in Panajachel (sp?) which is on Lake Atilan for the new year! It was a lot of fun, hanging out at the lake, swimming, shopping, and getting to see everyone from my training group! I brought in the new year with a bang…food poisoning! I was sick all night and the whole next day, what a way to start a new year!
After new years and feeling a little better, I ventured about 45 minutes north to visit my friend Natalie at her site! She is living with a family in an adobe house with a latrine and a tomas gall, which is the most amazing thing when you are sick! It is a small, sauna like thing made out of adobe! There is a small fire on the inside and a large bench where you site and bath! Natalie and I took an hour long bath/sauna session! It is those kind of things that make you realize that the Mayan people knew what they were doing way before we did! They knew how to live the high life!
On my way home from Solola, the department capital of the lake region I was one of many fortunate souls to get stuck in a “cola” You ask was a “cola” is, well it is a wonderful part of life here in Guatemala, a road block! When there is construction on the road they stop traffic on one side for an hour or two at a time while the other side goes! I was on a crowded bus, meaning I was standing on the steps of the bus because there was not where else to go, so I had a great view of when they let us through! It looked like the start of the Indy 500! There were three camionetas lined up to try to be the first out and behind them three more and so on! Let me tell the start did not just look like the start to the 500 but it also resembled it! As soon as they moved those cones, we took off and I mean took off! We were flying and racing around corners just to be able to be the first to pick up more people, yes more people! I honest had not been terrified of camionetas until then!
I have had a full year already, sick, terrifying camionetas rides and I experienced my first real tremor! It happened last night while I was in bed! My bed started to rock back and forth! At first I did not know what was happening but as it continued I realized what was happening so I jumped out of bed to head for the door! When I got to door it was still going on and then the lights in the street went out, and I freaked! I was totally freaking out and no one else seemed to notice it or care about it! I called my Dad to ask if I should go to bed on the second level, if I was going to die, etc…I am so glad that I did not grow up with earthquakes, I would have never made it through childhood!
Well I go back to work on Monday after a wonderful 17 days off work…relaxing, cleaning, laying out, you know all those fun things! I think I am going to need to rest because the coffee harvest starts in about 15 days and I have no idea what that is going to
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