More visitors!

Part 3: A little late but better than nothing!

My crazy month ended with my best friend, Juliane and her mom visiting! It was incredible to see Juliane again, she is the first friend to visit me here and it was exciting to get to share Guatemala with her and her mom, Marlies!

We hit up the normal “hot spots” the lake, Antigua, my site and the volcano. At the lake we took a boat tour, but the wind god was not on our side that day. The waves in the lake were huge. Our boat kept getting air and our butts hurt a lot the next morning! But we got to take in an incredible sunset and great food! Actually the whole trip centered around great food, what a surprise right! While Juliane and Marlies hit up the ruins at Tikal where in true Guatemalan fashion they had a drunken tour guide who continued to get more drunk it seemed as the tour went on, smile and nod moment!

While Jules and her mom were at Tikal, I had more Spanish classes. Now I have to admit something, I am perplexed by Spanish. It is the first time in my life that I cannot just get even the jist (sp?) of something. Normally if someone explains something I might not really understand but I will have a general idea what is suppose to happen but Spanish just really gets me, AH!

We finished off the trip by a visit to my site and a little time in Antigua. It was funny though because Marlies described my house and living situation the same way my mom did, camping. They think it is a lot like camping which in a way it is but come on people it is not as bad as camping, camping is uncomfortable, and dirty but I am comfortable and clean (well most of the time)! But really we checked out the market and had a meeting with one of my women’s groups. The kids were fascinated with Marlies’ camera which resulted in a ton of great photos!

We we got back to Antigua we hike volcano Pacaya, which is one of the active volcanoes here is Guatemala. This was my fourth time up so I felt like a pro but because the lava had shifted positions on the volcano we had to hike a different way, a crazy way, a I cannot believe I am doing this way! But all ended well, after our trek through the volcanic Sahara desert sand and made our way up the moon rocks we got to the lava! Juliane and I thought it was hysterical our ridiculous it was so we had a photo shoot at the top, Theta kites were involved to give you an idea!

All good things must come to an end but I had a great time with them, so a huge Thanks to Juliane and Marlies for making the trek down here to see me!

Feria...

Novermber 11 was the day of Saint Martin, the saint that my town is named after. Feria is a big deal here. Food vendors, arcade like places, bumper cars and ferris wheels, which they call the wheel of Chicago, all set up about two weeks before the actual day of the feria. I have to say that it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I actually liked having all the food vendors because it spiced up my meals and I got to have churros whenever I wanted them! There were also a bazillion vendors from out of town selling different things. It is funny because I could tell right away if they were from out of town or not because of how the treated me and the price that they gave me, ugh for out of towners!

So the weekend before is when feria actually starts. There are lots of things going on, processions, dances, concerts, lots of things! There was also a Expo-Feria this year where stores and organizations could display their products and organizations. My organization SID and the new cooperative had a booth. I have to say that it was not organized like I would have liked it to be but it got the job done. We sold about a 100 lbs of coffee and made a great profit, which was good for the guys to see that there is a local demand and market for our product!
**If anyone is interested in ordering some of our coffee it is Q 25 ($3.50)/lb. plus shipping which varies depending on weight! Just let me know!**

The actual day of feria is crazy. Everyone comes into town for varies things, church, processions, the market or the dance! My site mate and I attended the processions and wandered throughout the market during the day and then we took the plunge and rode the ferris wheel that night. The ferris wheels here are somewhat old, rusted and rattle a bit but it was feria so we thought what the heck! We also enjoyed all the great food that feria has to offer… street food baby! Well this was my first and last feria, tear!

Just a funny thing that I have realized in the last month or so…they are obsessed with fantasmas (ghost) here. They keep telling me that there is an old woman who haunts our office. Every time the guys stay over night there they have another story about this women and what she does to them during the night. I remember learning about how Guatemalan culture is full of tall tales but to actually hear my guys talking about it and totally believing in it is a whole other thing. I mean no disrespect here but growing up in a culture that finds these kind of things ridiculous it is hard not to chuckle a little. But seriously I cannot get over how serious they are about this women and what they need to do to get rid of her!

Few side notes…Chula is getting so big! She is now three months old and becoming very independent and rambunctious. I am going to be sad to leave her for Christmas vacation. On that note, I will be home Dec. 17th – Jan. 7th, YAY!

Todo Santos

I have not written in a long while so this is going to be a three part post…

TODO SANTOS…wow, it was a great weekend. For those of you who don’t know Todo Santos is all saints day here in Guatemala which means it is a day of remembrance for all of the people who have pasted away. They visit the cemetery and decorate with flowers and other what nots. I spent the weekend in the town of Todo Santos, which means it was feria, yay! Each town is named after a saint so on that saints birthday it is called feria (more about that later)! Back to Todo Santos, there were about 40 volunteers there which as so much fun but the best part is the town. It is totally indigenous, everyone wears the traditional traje even the men and young boys. It was cute because the teenage boys really rocked the outfit, they popped their collars and wore John Cena t-shirts under the jacket, it was funny to see the traditional culture mixed with the culture from today!

So they whole reason to go to Todo Santos is that they have this horse race…well kind of a horse race, there is no winner except those who do not die! So the men and for the first time this year the woman, ride back and forth along this dirt road but they are also drunk as drunk can be. They try to stay on their horses as long as they can before they have to be replaced! This goes on from 8 am to about 7 pm and it continues to get funnier as the day goes on! They also wear these amazing outfits that just complete the whole festive atmosphere… I would recommend this to anyone looking to really experience Guatemalan culture!

A couple of funny stories…first, I was out in a community that was about 25 km outside of my town giving a charla about cost of production a few weeks ago that gave me some laughs. The charla went great, everyone seemed to understand everything but instead of asking questions about the charla they started to grill my about the US, our lives, our children, etc. This is totally normal behavior if it is the first time the group meets me but not during the charla. At lunch they launch into this crazy interrogation. First it is the obvious question but then they start asking me about birth control, men that is, and what I think about it, how it works, if I could tell them all the different forms, etc. all I have to say is awkward! This is not the end of it, at the end of lunch I am chatting with this grandma and her grandchildren when the father comes up and tells me he wants to regalo, or gift me, his daughter to take back to the states with me so she can have a better life, Whoo, buddy, I am 24 and do not plan on having kids anytime soon! I politely tell him that I cannot do that, after a look of disappointment he agrees and asks me if I can help him find someone to do educational charlas on family planning! At least it ended up a good situation!

The joys of life...

One really nice thing about my Peace Corps experience so far has been the joy that I get out of the little things! One little thing can make my day or even my week sometimes. For example last week I went to the store to buy milk and got overly excited because my milk carton had starting putting the plastic opening tab back on the cartons. It was exciting because they had been missing for a couple of months! I know it sounds ridiculous but really it made my day.

Another example, I was in the market looking for blackberries to make jam when I happened upon this women selling what looked like zucchinis, mind you not that exciting but I have never seen them and have craved them so much since I got here. So I asked her what they were just to double check and sure enough they were zucchini. At this point I was willing to pay almost any price for these but when she told me they were Q1 per large zucchini I bought five…I think she thought I was incredibly weird! Now for those of you who don’t know the conversion rate, one quetzal is equal to 13 cents. It was a glorious day!

I wonder what it is going to be like to come home…and not get excited when they change my milk carton.

Now where there is joy there is almost things that can totally ruin a day. Traveling is the most common thing that will ruin a day. There are many things surrounding traveling that can achieve down right nervous breakdown status. These include, a packed bus and having to stand, getting suck next to a puking child, sitting in the seat where the window is broken and it is either raining (or more like down pouring) or it is so incredibly hot, they bus breaks down and you have to wait or either cram on another already packed bus with all the people from your crammed bus and the for me the worst waiting for a bus at the bus stop in Chimal and being told that you want to go somewhere because obviously because you are white you have no idea what you are doing, PEOPLE I am have been living here for 14 months I know where I am going and how to get there. More than once I have had some harsh words for the ayudantes (helpers/money collectors on the buses) who grab me and/or my things. The thing that is hardest to accept is that no matter how long I live here I will always be a tourist because I am a white, blah!

Chula, my kitty, is getting so big. I cannot believe how fast she is growing and how mischievous she can be. I know that when she does something or gets scared by something she comes bolting across the patio and into my bedroom or in the morning if I have slept to late she starts out by patting my cheeks with her paws and then if that doesn’t work she nips at my nose. The cutest thing she does is when I am reading before I go to bed is she will sit in between my arms and put her paws up on the book next to my thumbs like she is reading with me!

My Stove Project!!!

Hola and Greetings from Guatemala!

As I start my second year here in Guatemala I have been reflecting on the things that I have done and learned over the last year. I set out on this journey to help change the world but instead of me changing the world, it has been the Guatemalans that have changed the world for me.

When I first arrived in Guatemala I had many aspirations, to many to count. I stayed up nights thinking about how I was going to help change people’s lives. It soon became apparent that very few of these ideas would ever materialize. In my ten months in San Martin Jilotepeque, I have received more than I have been able to give. The women who I work with on a weekly basis have shown me it is not what you have but it is how you use what you have that makes your life what it is! They have never asked me for anything other than knowledge and understanding but I have asked for so much more, I have asked them for their trust.

It is because they have never asked for anything that I want to give them something that would transform their lives…STOVES!

Stoves, something we all take for granted that everyone has, but in Guatemala that is not the case. I would like to share with you my story of fire, flames and cooking!

Five months ago in my small Guatemala town of San Martin Jilotepeque, Chimaltenango, I was a lost and down Peace Corps volunteer who was sick of being a secretary. So I talked to some women about coming out and working individually with them. My first meeting was about Peace Corps and what a volunteer does. Being the custom in Guatemala, there was of course a snack at the end of meeting for the women and children. I had brought banana bread. It was such a hit that I told them I could show them how to make it at our next meeting. Born was an extraordinarily rewarding and fun experience.

Now, the twenty women that I work with, are no ordinary women. First, they are indigenous, most do not have more than a 6th grade education, if that, all of them have 3 to 10 children and have more desire and motivation than most people I know. The idea of learning something new is so exciting to them that they take time out of their busy day to come and learn.

The women desire to be able to provide a better life for their children and themselves but many of them lack the knowledge or resources. I have showed them with a small investment in some key ingredients how they can make more nutritious food for their family. I started by only teaching them how to bake but then I began to teach about the different vitamins that each dish contained. Recently I have begun to teach them how to do a cost of production for each dish and we will soon start a market survey to see if there is a desire or niche for baked goods in our community.

Cooking with indigenous women has been interesting. I was naïve enough to think that all of these women would have stoves (of some kind). To my surprise all of the women cook over open fires. I am sure you all at one time or another have sat around a camp fire. Remember all the smoke, how hot it gets and most of all how dangerous it is, now imagine cooking over that everyday of your life, for me it seemed impossible. But that is what these women do. The fire normally sits on a shelf made of adobe, which is in a kitchen like room with no ventilation. Starting to sound pretty miserable, that’s not all, most women cook with a small child swaddled on their back, who inhale the smoke all day long.

The smoke that is created has no where to go except, their eyes and lungs which has lead to horrible health conditions not only for the women but the children too. One of the leading causes of death among young children after malnutrition is lung disease. There are also a high number of burn victims both young and old from these open fire stoves.

Insert the “aha” moment here.

I decided these women deserved better and easier life and so I want to build them stoves or a plancha. A plancha is still a wood burning stove but is completely cover on all sides with a metal plate on top for cooking. There is also a chimney connected to route all of the smoke out of the house. To us these planchas are inexpensive about $120 (Q900) for each one but when a family only has a monthly income of Q1000-Q1500 ($133- $200) a month it is a lot. So in order to make this project a reality I am looking to my loving family and friends for help.

You can make this project a reality by donating whatever you are able to give. I have asked the women to contribute a Q100 ($15) which can be paid upfront or in Q20 ($3) installments. So for a $105 you can give a family a new stove and a new leash on life but all donations, large and small, are greatly appreciated.

Donations can be sent to: Friends of Guatemala
P.O. Box 33018
Washington, D.C. 20033
Memo: Mackenzie Knowling (Please don’t forget this)

All donations are tax deductible. Friends of Guatemala will send you the necessary papers.

Please feel free to share this with anyone you think would be interesting in donating to this project.

Thank you for allowing me to share with you my experience and passion. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

I am a mommy...to a cat!

Wow….I have a lot to tell you guys!!! So to start off with I got a kitty…YAY! I have been wanting one since I got here and finally found one I liked! Her whole name (the guys in my office told me she could not have just one name since she was Guatemalan)…so her name is Chula B’alam. B’alam is tiger in Kaqchikel and Chula is a term of endearment…she is sooo cute! Although she is super cute she is not so cute when she wakes me up at 5:30 am and won’t let me go back to sleep! It is nice to have someone to talk to instead of just sounding like a crazy person who talks to themselves all the time!

Last week was Independence Day here in Guatemala and it was such a great time. Two days before Independence Day I went with my sitemate and the school she works in to get the torch from another muni about 2 hours away. The torch…as the story goes (or how I was told and understood it)…was sent to all the towns across Guatemala so when people woke up on September 15 they would see the light of freedom. It is also tradition for people to line the street and throw water at the kids (and the gringa in this case). So I was soaking wet by the end of this event, but it was still a blast! The day before Independence Day all of the aldea schools come to San Martin to get the torch for their schools so the kids and I sat outside the house all afternoon throwing water on the other people running! It was one of those moments that you know really is only for kids but you cannot resist joining in and feeling like a 10 year old again! On Independence Day I got up really early and watched the four hour parade which my host brother and sisters participated in, which kind of was boring but fun was hanging out with my family! Later that afternoon I headed to the main plaza to watch more bands and the greased pole contest but we ended up just watching the Tigo guys play all of these funny games with the kids! Later we went and got street food for dinner and then had to walk the 10 minutes home in the rain…yay for not having to take a shower…haha kidding, kinda!!!

I have to say that Guatemalans have an extreme amount of pride in their country. Everyone participates in Independence Day activities, everyone watches the parades and everyone has the flag flying outside of their homes. I might get in trouble or offend people by saying this but here it goes…If we as Americans had half as much pride in our country we would be a much better country! When we were hanging out in plaza they took down the flag and played the almost five minute long national anthem. Everyone stopped, took of their hats, place their hand over their heart and sang, even small children, it was incredible! After the national anthem they then pledge allegiance to Guatemala until the day they die. It was a pretty incredible and moving experience.

So work is good, busy but great! We are moving along in the process of forming the co-op, tons of work and they are starting to listen to me and ask me for advice, soooooo cool!

Well that is all from me…hope all is well back in the States!

busy, busy, busy....

So it has been a while since I last wrote…many reasons, one being the internet has been faulty lately and the other being I am actually really busy, crazy I know!

I have been working, traveling and getting things organized. Work has been great! We are finally starting to organize our group which has been exciting but stressful because they want to do it as fast as they can and I am trying to tell them they need to slow down and make sure everything is organized and ready to legalize. Organization is not something that is appreciated or seen as necessary down here. I mention things that go into organizing such as…defining the jobs of each person on the Board of Directors or that they need to put all the harvest information in the computer so that it is easier to access and pass on, I get a nod of the head and a moving right along. Ahhh, so frustrating but so exciting!

I have done a good amount of traveling since getting back from the States. I had this amazing hike from my friend’s site to the lake. I have to say that afterwards I felt like I was about 100 years old, neither of us could walk properly. I have seen a lot of beautiful things in Guatemala but I have to say some of the views on this hike were right up there with the most beautiful if not the best. I also went to these mini hot springs right on the lake. It was really fun to be able to swim in the lake. You forget how much you miss doing simple things like that. This past weekend was our “One year” celebration! Wow, I have been here for a year that is incredible to believe! We went to these wonderful hot springs outside of Xela. We spent the night up there so we got to hangout all night in the water…by the end of the night I thought that my skin was falling off my feet because they were so wrinkled! It was great to get to catch up with everyone and just get to hangout with no worries!

Independence Day is on Monday so there has been a lot of activities going on throughout town. They celebrate all the major holidays for weeks in advance! I have to say though I am going to be glad when it is over because my host kids love to practice their drums before school at 6:30 am….as many of you know I am not a morning person, ah!

All in all, things are good, busy and moving right along!