Vendeme Su Perrito...

I have never felt more American or stood out more. In the past months I've gotten the regular attention for my stereotypical American looks, the "CH-CHing" and name-calling. I've had kids stare at me and say the only English phrases they know (mainly Good Morning and I Love You). I've even had people reach and grab my hair. None of this though, really made me completely separate from the people walking beside me. However, with the acquisition of my new puppy Paxte (pronounced: PASH-te and translates to "scrub brush" in Kaqchikel) for the first time I feel blatently different. I attribute this mainly to the fact that I have begun to take Paxte on walks...on a leash... Something that just isn't done. Ropes are tied to about every other animal there is around here...pigs, cows, horses, even chickens but walking with a dog on a leash has promptoed an obsene amount of laughter, joking a staring. The conclusion I've come to though, is that if you're going to be stared at, might as well be laughed at too!

For those of you who haven't heard, my site mate Ellen found this little gem of a pooch eating trash outside of a cantina in my town, in the rain. Sad right? Well things are all right in the world because my little girl is happy, healthy and flea-free (which is more than I can say for myself!) I am constantly asked "What breed is she?" "Will you sell me your dog?" "What does she eat?" and "Does she understand English or Spanish?" To which I wittily reply "She's bi-lingual, she can bark in two languages!" HA! The last two weeks of June were reserved for vacations, in part for Teacher's DAY and partly because of the swine flu epidemic. Despite not having schools to go to daily I actually remained fairly busy! I owe this mainly to two things: Paxte and moving into my own place.

Fairly well behaved on her first vet visit, I took her on the gruelling two-hour camioneta ride to Antigua to visit the vet without any hint of vomiting, barking or excessive aggitation much to my suprise (myself experiencing two of the three). On our way back, however, I decided to pick her up a toy at the pet store in Chimaltenango. Now, let me paint you a picture. The sub-standard pet store is a couple of blocks from the bus stop, which is fine and I have Paxte in her little blue and red basket with her head sticking out looking cute as a button. The only problem with these couple of blocks is that between the bus stop and the pet store are a long line of bars with prostitutes hanging out in the doorways. I was nervous as first to walk by them all but everyone I passed was incredibly friendly, smiled and commented on how cute my puppy was.

Unfortunatly the timidness that characterized her at the beginning of our relationship was not maintained. I continuously call dad asking for advice (i.e. "a board fell on Paxte, what do I do?" and "will Paxte fall off the roof when I'm gone?") and insesintly complain to mom about how stubborn and over-dramatic she is...to which my mom wittily replied "Karma's a b*tch huh sweetie!" In keeping with the idea that dogs reflect the characteristics of their owners I have been able to utilize two tricks my parents used when I was a child. The first being "keep 'em tired" which is why we walk and walk until she just wants to fall asleep (in other words the catalyst for the leash incident). Unfortunatly with the rainy season, walking her was become somewhat impossible. So, I'm trying the other trick my parents used while on long car trips. I keep a basket with a few toys in it, when she gets bored with one I give her another, and another and keep rotating. Like me, she doesn't seem to notice. Unfortunatly her toys consist of a really expensive ball with a bell in it, a rope that I tied in knots, a towel, and some crumpled newspaper...we're still working on it.

At the end of June I moved into my new place. It's a two room "loft" above a panaderia and stepping out of my back door on a clear day I can see three volcanoes. The girl that works below me has become one of my newest and greatest friends, she 4 days my junior and is in the 3rd grade. She is the sweetest and kindest person I have met, translates for me when I can't understand the business dealings in Kaqchikel, loves and plays with Paxte and is teaching me how to cook tamalitos on Sunday. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people. The concept moving here just isn't the same, two weeks seems to be not enough time. Despite a number of complications however, I finally have a little place to call my own. The best thing about it though, it that I still have maintained my connections with the host family and have only added to the people I have grown really close to in only three months. The kids have come over often and I am still struggling for ideas to keep them entertained. In addition to colages (an activity that should only be done with 5 or fewer children at a time) and card games (down to two decks of 51) I have learned a so much about how to interact with children when I actually have to be the one in charge. The cliche "patience is a virtue" is an understatement and more than once I have semi-jokingly called my mom telling her she will never be a grandmother! Sunday lunch at Mama Chila's house is still a weekly thing, I often run into my host mom who is incredibly nice and welcoming and the kids feel more than free to come over to play or for English help anytime.

Though schools started the first of July, that week was reserved for an incredibly stellar extended weekend for a fourth-of-July celebration with all 170 volunteers in country. It was not very restful but non-the-less very needed break. Work did, however, start up with a frenzy as Bethany and I work of Annual Diagnostic Evaluations of the schools' sanitary conditions and a county-wide Rincon de Salud (Healthy Corner) Competition. Involved is making sure that every student has their toothbrush, towel, palangana, soap, etc. and that they are jointly placed in a creative and effective maner. Each school having between 2 and 15 classrooms, this was a task that is daunting even for us. But we have seen some incredibly creative and inventive Rincones, even for classrooms where there are students in three different grades!

In addition to this we have been working with the Centro de Salud doing health workshops on topics from HIV/AIDS to toothbrushing to natural disaster protection. Needless to say, there is no part of us that will be nervous speaking in front of people again!

I want to end with a bit of wisdom from my friendly neighborhood postman:

"Dogs have more friends because they move their tail more that their tongue!"

Interpret as you will...

Lots of Love from Guatemala!!!

HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY!!!

HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY!!!!
Dearest Mom,
I hope this cures your picture desires. I wish I could be there for Mother´s Day. Thank you for all your love and support. I love you!


So let me start with a few pictures of the places I visit and the things I see on a daily basis...

So Doña Julia has chickens and I walked out one morning to see eggs in the flower pot. Just a funny way to start my morning really.






There is a little space beside the house where a man park his "tuk tuk," this little vehicle. A concept I understand to be taken from India but one that functions well here regardless.






I spend a lot of my time playing with the kids. Since the rainy season has started I´ve been racking my brain for good indoor activities. Drawing and bracelet making seem to top the list as far as prefered activities. I attempted to make Rive Krispie treats when I first arrived.




Let´s just say that after spending a significant amount of time scraping burnt marshmallow from my new host mom´s best pan I think from now on I´ll just stick to what I know.



I mentioned in the previous post that Doña Julia owned a motor used to make the masa for tortillas. After boiling corn, salt and lye for hours, you pour the corn into this nifty contraption and out comes that beautiful stuff for good ol´tortilla making.






So Bethany and I travel a great deal to get to schools. Sometimes by foot, sometimes by bus, but more often than not we hitch a ride in the back of a pick up for a least part of hte way to the schools. We are also fortunate enough to often ride with the Centro de Salud when they go out to the various communities. This is the Centro and the official coche bomba vehicle we sometimes travel in. Hard on the hind quarters but so worth the ride!!!



As far as free time goes, I´m attempting to learn chess as learning how to cook is still somewhat of a struggle, and I have to tell you, I think chess is easier. Granted I have yet to win a game. I also spend more time than I´d like to admit at Doña Paula´s drinking atol in the evenings and listening to the rain under the tin roof outside of her house.






I´m still taking katchikel classes at the Centro de Salud. I started thinking it would just be a nice way to get to know the other people taking the class, it´s turned into a really fun and really informative hour with our professor Israel who is so sweet. We start every class leaning the Mayan symbol and energy for the day and a quote that coincides. Last week the quote was "The night too is the hope of a new day!"
Maybe, just maybe, I´ll absorb something in the process!!!

So at the end of June I will be moving out of my host family´s house and into a place of my own. The place needs quite a bit of work that I am uncapable of but I think I can do enough to make it enough to at least make it home. Bethany helped as I tried to rearrange a number of large concrete blocks to make stairs to the roof.

Let me also just say that this picture does not do justice to the size and type of spiders and other insects we saw in the process! I´ve never been tweeked by bugs, but even this made my skin crawl!!

As anxious as I am to live on my own and make myself a home in this country I have to admit I really am going to miss living with a family here. Doña Julia has included me like one of her own and I have loved having the opportunity to share time with her and her family. They have included me in so many activites. Aside from making a habit of Sunday lunches and Mama Chila´s house, they have taken me on vacations with them and invited me to all of their family events. The other weekend we all piled into the back of a pick-up truck and made a 3 hour trek to a place called Patulúl to go to a swimming pool. As it happened the pool was closed when we arrived but no matter, we just went to a hotel and paid them to let us use their pool and eat lunch their for the day. It was a blast. Among the highlights were playing mermaids with the girls (I of course was the mama carrying the babies or those that couldn´t swim) and eating a large lunch of Dove, Chicken and Iguana soup.

Week before last was "Día del Trabajador" or Worker´s Day and we celebrated by spending a full 36 hours making tamales and ponche which is a particularly delicious dish generally reserved for Christmas. What was the most interesting to me, however, was that while the men got the day off of work, the women worked about twice as hard both doing their daily jobs AND spending the time making the food for the celebration!

Making tamales is a process with many steps. Here is the abridged/illustrated version...
You begin by cutting two different kinds of leaves so that they will bend easily when needed.

After making a very complex sauce with many different types of chiles and thick pieces of pork, you boil a huge pot of potatos (yes tamales are usually made with corn but my family prefers potatoes.)
Then, while they are hot, you hand pick the skin off the potatoes, a process that more than burns your fingers and really hurts thyour fingernails. I have to admit though, it is definitly a bonding experience!

The potatoes are mashed, laid on the leaves, filled with sauce, pork and a chile. They are then wrapped in two different leaves and cooked on an open fire for hours. The result...a delicious and filling meal that is made tastier by just having invested the time and effort to make.














To end this I just want to say thanks Mom for having the courage and strength to support me in this journey. I know it´s not easy. You are an amazing amazing women and I am lucky to have a role model like you in my life. I love you so much!