My New Normal

I wake up to see The Hunchback of Cajolá, or Franken-pig for short. Franken-pig is always hanging around the house. We've become very good friends.

I have had pieces of luggage fall on my head in the busses.

I was recently attacked by dogs and had to fight them off with the cooler of vaccines I was holding.

I was sitting on a bus a couple weeks ago (for 3 hours) with a bag of raw meat on the shelf above my head - dripping on me.

It is normal to be on a microbus that isn't 'full' until at least 5 people are hanging out the door holding on for their lives.

It is normal to be okay with being one of the people hanging on the outside of the bus and not thinking twice about it.

I always have black boogers.

Because of the culture differences of the Mayans, Ladinos, and Americans, several times a day I have the challenge of figuring out if I should do the awkward handshake (limp fish), the cheek kiss, or the weird shoulder touch.

I always have people pray over me on the busses. Recently, A priest got on my bus with a megaphone. After saying what he needed to in Spanish, he made sure to point out the only foreigner on the bus to say the Our Father in English. I wasn't sure what to do with everyone looking at me, so I made the sign of the cross - it was weird.

Yesterday a bird pooped on my head right before a big presentation to the equivalent of the state health department.

On house visits, EVERY child bursts out in tears when they see me since they think I'm giving vaccines (I'm not). They all scream bloody murder.

People tell me daily how fat I am, and ask how much I weigh. It never gets old. Wait, yes... yes it does!

I stepped on a scale for a group of very persistent nurses, who were very surprised. They said that I only weighed that much because I am so tall - what?!

I was recently weighing kids and this lady gave me her son while he was still sucking on her breast, and BOOM.... breast milk squirted all over me. Thankfully none went in my mouth.

I'll write a real blog post soon - happy early St. Pat's day!

Happy New Year

Hi all! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season, and are enjoying the beginning of 2011! I suppose that I'll start with Thanksgiving, as that's where I left off! A group of close friends and I went to Tilapita, which is a beach on the Pacific Coast, close to Mexico. You have to take a boat to get there, and it is a beautiful little island with no roads or cars, just the occasional four-wheeler. Cellphones don't get reception there, and I doubt there are any computers on the island. We stayed at the only hotel on the Island where, for 50 Quetzales (about $6), we had fresh fish and shrimp cooked for us for dinner. We spent three nights there, lounging around in hammocks, swimming in the ocean, and eating good food. We also cooked our very own thrown together Thanksgiving meal, and it was lovely. December really slowed down for me work wise, as Blake came and visited from November 28-December 21, followed by Joni, December 27-January 8. When Blake arrived, we stayed at a place outside of Antigua, the Earth Lodge, with an absolutely gorgeous view of three volcanoes, and overlooking the city. Following that, we went to Jacaltenango, in the department of Huehuetenango, to visit a coffee cooperative that Kickapoo Coffee in Wisconsin buys from, and where the Root Note in La Crosse, WI, buys some of their coffee. It is mighty delicious, so try some Guatemalan Blend next time you're in La Crosse = ) Next on our agenda was Lake Atitlán. We stayed in a cute little bungalow right on the water's edge, and took boats to a few of the tourist towns on the lake. It was picturesque, and very relaxing. How relaxing, you ask? We watched every single Harry Potter movie while we were there!! Blake and I then traveled to Cajolá, where I was able to show him how I actually live. I had two presentations with my women's groups, where Blake, who doesn't speak Spanish, helped me put on a puppet show. A great time was had by all! I also had a lunch set up with a group. They cooked for us and we had a great time with the women. We met up with Peace Corps friends and had a Paca White Elephant Christmas Celebration. Pacas are stores that sell donated clothes from the states, and there are some awesome clothes, and a lot of ridiculous clothes. We dressed up, made dinner, and played a lot of ping pong - it was a very nice way to celebrate the holidays with all of my friends that flew home for the holidays. Blake flew back to snowy Wisconsin on the 21st. I went home for a couple days to clean/relax, and spent Christmas in bed watching movies and wearing my Christmas socks. Junior and I made faces at each other for about an hour, so although it wasn't the same as being at home, I wouldn't have wanted to spend it any other way down here. Joni flew in on the 27th. We spent that day in Antigua, then went to Tilapita, the same beach I went to for Thanksgiving, for three nights. We spent New Year's Eve there, but had so much sun that we were sleeping before midnight. After our relaxing trip to the beach, Joni and I went to Cajolá and saw the sights (well, there are none, but she saw my house!). Next, we were off to the lake to stay at a hostel, sit in the sun, and go for boat rides. I think both Joni and Blake had a nice time in Guatemala, and there will be pictures on facebook and flickr to prove it!

I was able to do a lot of traveling with them, and hopefully January will pick up right where I left off with work. This week will be full of cleaning (hand washing all of my clothes from these great adventures will not be fun!), and I think I'll get a couple Mam classes in as well. I'm part of the Volunteer Advisory Council (yes, this is the student council of Peace Corps), and I represent the Xela and San Marcos volunteers. I am in charge of putting on the welcome orientations when new groups swear in (every 3 months) so this saturday we're doing a meeting and a chocolate factory tour in Xela. It will be great to get to know the people that live near me better.

Nothing too much else to share, except the fun bus rides I've recently had. My first one is on the way back to Xela after Blake left. I wasn't feeling the best I could have been, and there were no seats on the bus. This is not abnormal, but usually seats open up. This time, however, they did not. I stood on the bus, sweaty and tired, feeling a bit sick, when the driver kept cramming people in. I couldn't move a limb, and suddenly the little boy standing next to me starts vomiting. Luckily it was in a bag, but a clear plastic one. It was not a pleasant experience for either of us. On this same bus ride a lady (who was SITTING mind you) kept elbowing me in the back, like she wanted me to climb on top of the bus so that she could be comfortable. Finally 2 hours into my 4 hour standing bus ride, I said "I can't move!" With one more big elbow to the back, she finally quit. After a couple more standing-for-multiple-hour-bus-rides, I was finally sitting on one minding my own business, when someone's huge bag falls on my head. I didn't know what to do, so I stayed still and silent for a minute, hoping the owner would grab it. I was wrong, the owner did not, but the guy behind me who kept calling me 'baby' did. ahhh the life of a chicken bus rider.

I wasn't able to read as many books as normal with visitors here, but I did manage to get through these ones:
The Glass Castle
An Ethical Slut
A Round Heeled Woman
Invisible Man (currently reading)

All for now, happy early birthday Dad = )

oh yes, new phone number: 011-502-4013-3400

Hello friends! It’s been longer than I had planned to get another post up, but here goes. To begin, I want to inform you all that life in the Peace Corps has a lot of ups and downs! Between culturally integrating, learning new languages, and having not so supportive people assigned to work with you, it’s an emotional rollercoaster. I would prefer to keep my blog on the lighter side, though, so if you have any questions about the other stuff feel free to send an e-mail!
October flew by – had meetings with my committees that I’m on in Peace Corps, had a couple women’s groups presentations, more Mam class, more hanging out with my awesome host brother (4 year old Junior), lots of time to read, and not so much rain. At the end of the month, a group of friends and I went to Copán, Honduras, to celebrate Halloween. Peace Corps Honduras has a get together this time every year, and we were invited to partake. We went zip-lining (where you’re harnessed up and strapped to a cable to fly down a mountain), played beach volleyball, and went to the Copán Ruins. It was beautiful and HOT there! As I’ve stated, I live in the highlands of Guatemala and it is cold, so sweating and getting sun burnt were nice for a weekend! I dressed as Chunk from the Goonies, by far my best costume yet.
As we’re nearing the end of November it looks like I’ve been in Cajolá for about half the month and other places for the other half. After 3 months of being a volunteer, my training group and I had to attend a ‘reconnect’ conference where we share what we’ve done and receive more training. It was really great to see everyone I hadn’t seen in 3 months, and catch up about our lives. It was also an opportunity for us to load up on everything we needed from the medical office! This is also the week I learned I’m integrating more than I thought: my friend Audra and I went to a vendor for some food and ordered burritos. They were honestly the best we’ve had since being in Guatemala, and we were so excited to have found this place. Well, I looked down and saw a cooked bug in my meal, which turned out to be a cockroach. We looked at each other and weighed our options: ask for our money back- that would never happened, ask for a new meal, which most likely would also have cockroaches, or look harder because food is expensive. So, we shrugged our shoulders, looked harder, finished our burritos, and walked home fat and happy.
My women’s groups are moving along, not going in exactly the direction I was hoping, but moving along nonetheless. I started working with teens last week and I have to say that the presentation I had with them on Friday was by far the best I’ve had in Guatemala. This teen group is going to be focused on sex, family planning, abstinence, STI’s, HIV/AIDS, and everything that goes along in that category. I have two more teen groups Monday afternoon, so hopefully they go as well as the first one.
Thanksgiving is coming up, and I’ll be spending it with my good friends at the beach! It’s about 5 hours away from Cajolá and not nearly as cold, so I’ll bring my swimsuit and see what I can get away with. I have my first visitor arriving on the 28th of November, so I’m excited to get a little taste of home. Not quite sure what my plans are for Christmas – I’m hoping to spend it with Aura, my Mam teacher, and her family.
Not too much else that I can think of right now. As always thanks so much for those of you who keep in touch – I really appreciate it! To the Gokeys out there reading this, you will be jealous when I tell you that Gram just sent me the 1980’s version of the Snuggie. It’s called “Warm Wrap” and the tag line is “The blanket you wear like a robe!” It is awesome, looks like Mexico, and of course she sent the original wrapping. Ahh it’s hard being the favorite grandchild = ) Thanks Gram – I’m wearing it as I type (I actually decided what to have for dinner based on what I could cook and eat while still wearing it!)!!!!

A HUGE shout out to Ms. Smith’s 8th grade Geography class in Napoleon, ND! I received your awesome package and letters, and I’ll be sending my reply soon = )

Happy Turkey Day to all, and a very happy birthday to my sweet Mom!!!

Oh yes, and to update you on books recently read:

Enrique’s Journey
Sand County Almanac (okay I skimmed it… It was way too boring to read the whole thing)
The Garden of Eating
The Virgin Suicides
The Autobiography of Santa Claus (currently reading)
Let the Great World Spin (currently reading)

Things I've learned in Mam class...

...other than Mam.

If you burn a caterpillar your baby will be born and stay bald.

If you put a peach in a child's belly button, the child will not be able to climb trees.

It's not good if a person goes outside with a lit fire when there is a full moon because his or her baby will get a skin infection.

If there are little hairs around a baby's penis when he is born, the mother will not birth any girls.

If a person eats a chicken heart, they'll be afraid of the dark. (This confirmed by Aura, my Mam teacher, who loves to eat chicken hearts and is afraid of the dark)

Heading to Copán, Honduras, for Halloween - Blog post + pictures to follow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICIO!

Hi friends! I suppose it’s time for the monthly blog post. Another whirlwind of a month here in Guatemala started off with an accident involving two of my friends. Both of them are in the States right now getting the medical attention they need, both with hopes of coming back. Keep them in your thoughts! Because of this, Mich and I had a five night hospital slumber party with them, where we were able to witness the differences in the ways hospitals and medical personnel work here in Guatemala. To say the least, it was very interesting.
In more positive news, I am slowly becoming busier. I started Mam classes and have had more than 30 hours thus far. My teacher is a 23 year old woman, married with a 3 year old daughter. She teaches Mam in the afternoons at a nearby school, and she was given a scholarship to study language for three years from the European Union, which she had completed by the age of 20. She is a demanding teacher and Mam is challenging, but we get along well and I learn a lot from her.
I have 3 women’s groups formed that I meet with every other week. I have given presentations on nutrition, mainly which nutrients people in the countryside tend to lack and how to fulfill those nutritional needs, hand washing, and water purification. I also planted blackberries with the groups, as they have two of the three things people lack most (vitamin A and iron). Because of the Mam I know, I am slowly gaining the confidence of these women. They love the fact that I’m attempting to spit out this language and definitely tease me. Yesterday during a presentation I was trying to say I like to eat torillas and I said either “kids eat tortillas” or “I like to eat kids” – I’m not sure what exactly came out. Luckily they have a sense of humor! Slowly I’m getting better though, as this week I went to the market and bought my vegetables in Mam – I was pretty darn proud of myself.
I went to my first Quinsiñera this month; Mich’s doctor’s daughter had a huge party. A Quinsiñera is the coming of age party, celebrated in some Latin American countries, when a girl turns 15. The family rented a huge room in the city, had a live band, a sit down meal, and a dance. It was very strange to be in the countryside in the morning, with people who can barely afford to eat, to then be in a banquet hall surrounded by suits, fancy dresses, and lavish gifts for the birthday girl. Mich’s doctor made a point to tell us we had to dance, and when we didn’t jump up right away she decided to pawn her nephews on us; they were brothers, and I swear it was a scene directly out of Night at the Roxbury! It was a fun time, but we were glad to leave at the end of the night!
I am on two committees that are taking up time, as well as introducing me to volunteers in other programs. It’s nice to be able to meet other people to get ideas of different ways to work with the community.
I’ve finally started making friends in my communities, mainly with the women I work with. They are very sweet and genuine, usually either asking me over for a meal or giving me food to take home. It’s funny – moving to a new place you usually assume that making friends is part of the deal, but in this culture it’s a lot different. The women my age are married with kids, platonic male/female friendships don’t exist for a multitude of reasons, and on top of that, people are suspicious of me.
Not too much else going on, so continue with my reading list, I will tell you the books I’ve read since my last post:

Middlesex
Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany
Water for Elephants
In Defense of the Religious Right (it was a struggle to get through that one…)
Bait and Switch: The Futile Pursuit of the American Dream (currently reading)

In more exciting news, I finally cancelled my cell phone in the States, I found a brand of toilet paper I like, my sister turned 27 (man she’s old), and I still hate Malaria pill Mondays.

A big thanks for the awesome birthday cards and packages! I got a whopper of a package that was a struggle to get to the house via camioneta, but definitely worth it, even with a thick layer of spilled nutritional yeast flakes ;)
As always, thanks for keeping in touch!

As most Peace Corps Volunteers will probably tell you, the first few months in site is another transition, but a completely opposite one than training. I’ve been in site for over a month now, and it’s very slow. I started out making plans for every day in August with my counterpart, Julissa, but somehow I’d show up every day at 8am and the plans would get cancelled. I realized after 4 full weeks that she really isn’t going to help me get started right away, so I should do my own thing. I started weighing babies for a few days, which was an adventure: the kids would either be scared out of their minds of me or be in awe of this Ix’nula. It was fun, but it definitely does not have anything to do with my goals with the Peace Corps. Julissa introduced me to three promoters, and we exchanged numbers. A promoter is basically a woman who is able to organize other women and find a place to meet; she is generally well-liked and motivated, with a supportive husband. I was able to separately meet with these women, who then introduced me to several women that I will be working with. Some of the women worked with the previous volunteer, some not. I met with 6 women on Monday who I set up a meeting with next week to give a talk on water purification and cleanliness. I am really excited to meet with these women and get the ball rolling!
I was able to do some house visits by myself this week; they went well. They included 40 minute walks alone in the early morning, then meeting up with promoters to weave through cornfields to several adobe houses. Yesterday after doing these visits, Mikaela, the promoter, invited me over for lunch. I felt very welcomed while I ate with her, her brother, sister in law, and nephew. Mam is all of their first languages, so we had some fun with that while they taught me a few things! As I’ve been getting started with my own site, I’ve also assisted a couple friends in giving HIV/AIDS workshops. These are always super fun and interesting, and you never know the kinds of questions you’re going to get.
In other news, my birthday was by far the best birthday I have ever had (lacking, of course, my family and friends!). A group of 25 of us went to Lake Atitilán and spent 70Q a night each ($9) I posted a couple of pictures on the Flickr page, but there will be more when I steal Dirk and Michele’s pictures! We rented bungalows right on the lake, and sat out on the deck on Friday. Saturday we played Bananagrams, Uno, and Catchphrase, and Mich, Dirk and I took a canoe out for a while. It was picturesque.
A couple weeks ago I went on the longest and hardest hike of my life, to Laguna Chikobal. Laguna Chikobal is more than 2 hours straight up a mountain to an inactive volcano. Inside the crater is a beautiful lake, where we ate lunch and rested. The hike was well worth it, so if any of my visitors are brave enough I will be happy to do it again! There are also places to camp, so you could sleep in the crater of a volcano! COOL!
This month’s round of near death experiences include a bus and a dog. The first one, the bus, I was heading into the city and stood up in the front to get off at my spot. I dropped my umbrella and when I bent over to pick it up, the driver slammed on his breaks. All of the sudden I had my back to the front windshield and the stick shift in my lower back. I kind of looked like a fly smashed against the windshield, except I was on the inside. The bus driver yelled at me, as well as a few passengers, and they ayudante (the guy that collects money) smiled at me and in his Guatemalan accent said “Sorry lady.” I also was bit by a dog, but it was minor and I’m fine. Brookey keeps telling me that everything that can happen to me down here will, so I need to start proving her wrong = )
I recently had and got rid of fleas, which is a really fun experience. To be honest, I don’t know if I got rid of them, but I’m hoping so. It is so cold at night in my site that I am covered head to toe: socks, leggings, shorts, shirts, and fleece, and I haven’t seen any new bites in a while, so here’s hoping!
My host mom had a baby girl on Monday! I haven’t met her yet, but hopefully today’s the day. Romeo asked me to make a list of American girls’ names, because they don’t want to give her a typical Guatemalan name. I’m not sure the reason behind this, but I made a list for him and I’ll keep you all updated as to her name. Her brother, Junior, is pretty excited. He’s doing well, and we now have our own handshake- it’s really cool!

Since I’ve been reading a lot, and since I’m sure you’re all very curious, I thought I’d tell you all a few of the books I’ve read since I’ve been here:
Five Moral pieces
Omnivore’s Dilemma
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Scar Tissue
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix
Rigoberta Menchu
Animal Farm (currently reading)

There are more, but I’m not sitting next to my bookshelf right now and can’t tell you what they are! I am trying to get into Dr. Raul’s book club, but I don’t know how enthusiastic he is about it. He’s at least willing to lend me some books in Spanish so that I can work on my reading comprehension, so that’s a plus. I will continue, however, to try to get invited to the book club… persistence always pays off!
Not too much else that I can think of. Thanks for everyone who remembered me on my birthday, and who continue to keep in touch.
Love and miss!!!!
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE!!

July wrap up

A great deal has happened since my last post over a month ago. I’ve had site assignment, site visit, swear in, and finally I’ve moved into my site. Site assignment day was pretty exciting; our APCD Basilio drove to each of our training towns and handed us each a colored folder based on what department we’re in. Mine ( which was kelly green) told me I’ll be living in Cajolá, Quetzaltenengo, for the next two years. Cajolá is about an hour away from the second biggest city in Guatemala, Xela, and within an hour of good friends. During my site visit, I learned I would be taking over for the first volunteer in this site, Ashley, and saw where I would be living. Ashley was an amazing volunteer and the more I’m here I realize that I’ve got a lot to live up to. She showed me the ropes and introduced me to a lot of people in town, including the mayor, all of the city workers, and of course all of the health workers. I had already met my counterpart, Julissa, and my doctor, Raul, on ‘counterpart day’ earlier that week. Julissa seems sweet, really busy though, so I will just have to wait and see how much we actually work together once I get settled. Dr. Raul and I get along great; I’ve heard countless stories of male doctors not wanting to work with female volunteers, or giving them a hard time. Luckily Dr. Raul was a medical professor in Guatemala City for the past 30 years and has experience working with and respecting women. He’s only been working in public health for the last 5 years so he’s still very passionate about what we do.

After site visit I had to return to a bittersweet week back in San Antonio Aguas Calientes. I hung out with Duly, Carlos, and Sandra as well as my fellow trainees. Friday, July 16, was my official swear in date. We had a ceremony at the Peace Corps headquarters with our host families, the U.S. ambassador, and all of the Peace Corps workers. Afterwards, the five of us from San Antonio took our families out for lunch in Antigua and the said our goodbyes. We spent Friday and Saturday letting loose with the group of 45, and on Sunday we went our separate ways.
I’ve been in site sine July 18 and in this short time I can say so far so good. Cajolá has approximately 2,000 inhabitants, but including the aldeas (villages) the health center serves about 14,000 people. The elevation level is about 8,000 feet, so I am usually in several layers, a fleece, and long pants; who would’ve thought I should have packed more sweaters when moving to Guatemala?? I’m definitely the only gringa in Cajolá, or “ix’nula” I should say, since I will be learning an indigenous language called Mam. Believe it or not, I am super excited about this! It will be super useful to know and I will be able to educate more people with the more Mam I know. It’s a little difficult as initially it sounds like clicking and many of the sounds come from deep in the throat, but as I’ll continue to say, poco a poco.

I live in a house with a 28 year old couple, Estella and Romeo, and their 4 year old son, Junior. Estella is pregnant and will have the baby in the next couple weeks in our house with a midwife. They did not pick the right Gokey girl to live with them, as I will definitely not be attending the birth. I instead offered to hang out with Junior. Junior speaks Mam and is just learning Spanish, so he hangs out in my room a lot and we practice together. I’ve been teaching him colors and names of common items, and I think he’s catching on.

I’ve lucked out again in my living situation; Romeo lived in the States for 9 years and understands Americans’ crazy need for privacy. They help me when I ask, and I spend a lot of time in their kitchen practicing Spanish with Romeo and learning Mam from Estella. I plan on calling a Mam teacher next week, but Estella is helpful thus far. I’m completely moved into my part of their place, which consists of a make-shift kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. I almost feel guilty for how great it is, as most of my friends have latrines and bucket baths. I do recognize the fact that Romeo worked very hard in the US for several years to send back money to build this nice home. A lot of people in Cajolá have family in the States. It’s really interesting to be able to view this side of the immigration argument; it just reinforces my already strong opinions.

The past week and a half have been pretty slow. I go into the health center every day and for the most part just hang out; people need to get used to seeing me and associating me with the health center. Along with this, I’ve assisted in a couple 5 hour health charlas to different groups of teachers, sat in on a few medical consultations, and walked around to different aldeas (villiages). I was done with my work (read ‘poster making’) by 3:30pm today so I decided to go exploring (don’t worry Dad, I took a big stick and had rocks in my pockets in case dogs started attacking ). I walked in a 2 hour giant circle and met a few old women who walked part way with me. Two of them could barely speak Spanish, and since my Mam is pretty limited we had very broken conversations, but I think we understood each other enough. I also met a lady who wanted to know when she was going to get a project at her house, so as we walked I had to explain to her that I won’t be working on projects for a year and that to have a project done in one’s house, a person has to come to multiple educational charlas within the next year as well as be able to put forth a percentage of the cost and labor. She wasn’t too impressed, but since Peace Corps is pretty new here, I have to reinforce the fact that Peace Corps works with the people and local resources to mainly educate, rather than coming in and giving material goods away.

I have a lot to look forward to in the next month (lots of breastfeeding and family planning charlas AND big birthday plans!), and I will keep updating as time goes on. Pictures will hopefully be updated Saturday when I'm in the city with fast internet (I'll also hopefully be on Skype if anyone is free and wants to check in). Thanks to everyone who has been keeping in touch, it means a lot!

Congrats Jordan and Ty on your engagement!