Ecological Park in My Site

A short 5ish minute walk from my house there is this really cool ecological park. It just opened up a couple months ago and it is really nice. There are trails through it, although the entrance is on top of a hill so any way you go you are in for a pretty good climb coming back. It costs 5 Quetzales to get in (about 64 cents). They have a little soccer area, swings, a slide, waterfall, and a stream. I am hoping to use it to do some good environmental education in my schools. Below are some pictures that I took when I went with a couple of my host siblings one afternoon.

The bridge was kind of bouncy which didn't seem like a good sign

Princess and Jamie

Greenhouse / baby tree nursery

Carnival or Fat Tuesday in Guatemalan Schools

Yesterday, Fat Tuesday, is commonly known as Carnival, or Dia de los Innocentes (Day of the Innocents) in Guatemala. I was invited to a celebration at one of my schools and boy was I unprepared for what I would walk into. For one thing I should have picked up my own arsenal of confetti first. Apparently the tradition here is to wear masks and throw confetti (called pica pica) and colored hollowed-out egg shells (called cascarones) filled with confetti at people. Call me a wuss, but the eggs actually really hurt because they didn't just throw them they slammed them into peoples' heads. I legitimately almost left before the event finally started at 9:30 I was already so covered in confetti. The vast majority of kids were wearing masks which ranged from homemade to store bought. A bunch were made of the same construction paper cutout which made me think that more than just one school day was taken for this event. Such is life in Guatemala.

The event started with each grade dancing. There were no choreographed dance moves. It was more like the just stood in a line and wiggled around while music was playing. The Kindergarteners were super cute (see first picture) below). After dancing they had the "cascara fight" where they threw what seemed like pounds of glitter, confetti, and egg shells at each other. Me being the new person I feel like I got the most glitter and eggs cracked on me. This was literally the least pleasant. I kinda tried to stand up against the wall of the school so at least I wasn't attacked on all sides. When I got back I took a shower, but even today I am still finding glitter. It really is the herpes of craft supplies.

Only two of the older kids wanted to dance

ALL of those specks are confetti

Getting hit in the head with a cascaron filled with confetti

Getting hit in the head with a cascaron filled with confetti

His egg creation

A bunch of kids wanted their pictures taken as I was leaving - they are so cute it's hard to be mad at them even if I was covered head to toe in confetti and glitter.

Puro Campo

My poor mint plant. So I saw that my it was looking sparse and unhappy but I just attributed it to the chilly weather. Then I saw this (it is the little plant on the ground) and now I know:

Puro campo - pure country life

The Most Fun

I was asked the other day what the funnest part of my day to day life in site is. Normally I would reply in a tongue and cheek manner that there is nothing fun to do in my town, but this isn't completely true. I decided that the funnest parts of my day are usually the unexpected surprises. I think I wrote about this earlier, but my motto is just say yes (especially to invitations) even if I don't really know what I am saying yes to. I rarely know what I am getting into, but it usually works out. This goes hand and hand with "be flexible." I had my afternoon planned out (albeit my plans weren't set in stone or all that exciting), but when my host sisters knocked on my door and told me that they were cooking sheep's heads I grabbed my camera and headed out. They cooked the heads and feet over an open fire of special branches and leaves that will give them a special flavor. The feet will be made into "caldo de pata" hoof soup and then we will eat the brains. Side note: I have had cow hoof soup and it is probably one of my least favorite things that I have ever eaten. This is all being prepared as a special treat for my host brother's birthday.

My host sister Maria

Minako and I in our courtyard

I think I would call this a smile mixed with disgust

I am apparently eating all this tomorrow night. Wish me luck!  

Dados de Salud

aka health dice. Why do so many things just sound better in Spanish?

Anyway, they are a healthy schools tool. Each side of the die has a different body part on it: nails, hands, face, hair, clothes, feet, or occasionally one of these is swapped out for something like lice. The idea is that each morning in every classroom the teacher will throw the die and they will check the body part of whatever side lands face up. It is to make a game out of daily hygiene and also to add a random element to the checks to hopefully motivate the kids to be clean all of the time. Trust me they aren't.

Every month all of the directors in the district that I work in have an all day meeting (8-12:30). At today's meeting I did a sort of arts and crafts with them and had them make their own dados de salud. Guatemalans love arts and crafts. It was a hit. Now hopefully they will replicate this activity in their schools so that each classroom will have one. I'm not holding my breath, but it's a start. Other notable things that happened in the meeting: my counterpart, the superintendent, announced that someone in the department of education is trying to put a stop to sports days. My thoughts: PLEASE DO. Also, after the meeting I had two different directors come up to me and say that they too would like to work with me. YAY! I'm going to do my first visits with them next week.

All of the directors (there are more dados hidden in the crowd)

The Chicken Bus Song

The other weekend a group of us went to Lago Atitlan for a little R&R and gringo time. We stayed at the Iguana Perdida a nice fun hostel which is right on the water in Santa Cruz la laguna (a short boat ride from Panajachel). On saturday night they had this bomb BBQ, cross-dressing (they have a costume closet) and live music. Basically it was a good time. The band sang this chicken bus song and it was so funny and so true. Turns out this guy wrote it and he has a music video. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGZJvbkCjEA

P.S. All of the "chatter" between verses are typical chicken bus sounds. Ayudantes (the men who collect money) calling out where the bus is going, people selling gum or fruit on the busses, etc.

The guy from the music video is in the red pants

Oh and we also met this guy (I feel like he is a regular)

Breakfast view at the Iguana Perdida

Wild

I just finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I liked it, but found it a little hard to get into her story when I didn't really like her as a person. Not the point. In it she mentions that in general, men lose more weight hiking the Pacific Crest Trail than women: “I’d lost weight too, just not as much as the men – an unjust pattern I’d observed across the board in the other male and female hikers I’d met.” This is the same general pattern that happens in the Peace Corps: men tend to loose weight while women tend to gain weight. This is simply not fair, but sadly mostly true. A couple of girls in my training class have gained over 10 pounds since arriving in Guatemala while some of the boys are noticeably skinnier. I lost weight in training (mainly because I was sick/having intestinal problems for the majority of it). However, since then I have gotten back to where I was before I left.

The Resturaunt Doesn't Sell Tortillas? No Problem

So Guatemalans love the fast food restaurant Pollo Campero (Country Chicken) which is basically a fried chicken fastfood chain. It is so well liked that when I told my host family that I was going out for a friend's birthday they immediately asked me if I was going to Pollo Campero. The answer was no. I have actually never eaten there, but I did accompany my host family there for a 'cafecito' (snack) during Semana Santa (holy week before Easter). It is expensive compared to eating at home or at a comedor (informal resturaunt) where meals are usually around 15 Quetzales (~$2). I think a chicken sandwich meal with fries and a drink costs around 55Q (~$7). So anyway here it is considered a little bit of a treat.

Well anyway there is one small problem with Pollo Campero from a Guatemalan standpoint. They don't serve tortillas. And for most Guatemalans a meal is not complete without tortillas. To solve this problem at every Pollo Campero that I have seen there are at least two women sitting right outside with a basket full of hot tortillas to sell. Problem solved.

The woman on the left is selling tortillas (in the basket under the yellow cloth)

Transaction in front of the drive-through (the tortillas are in the basket)

My Town

So I know at least my parents have been waiting for this blog post. Here is a little more about my town. The Peace Corps tells me I can't say exactly where I live, but it rhymes with....just kidding it doesn't rhyme with anything. I live in the Department (like a state) of Totonicapan in an aldea (village) of the municipality of Momostenango. Because Guatemalans love to shorten words I live in Toto and Momos.

Both the beige-ish house and yellow belong to my host family (see picture below). It is definitely one of the biggest houses in my town. The two windows on the second floor on the lefthand side of the yellow house are to my room. The brown stalks in front of the house are corn that they cut down after harvest. Also between the corn field and my house is a little river.

What I see from my window (but taken from ground level)

View from my window of the river (the glass is tinted)

Even the kids carry heavy loads

Every once and a while they hold some kind of church service on the bank of the river

 And people walk their sheep through my town and along the pan-American highway that runs right through it

In the middle are 3 trees - my house is to the left of the middle one

A pig tied to a tree near my house

Corn drying on a roof in front of the school

So I don't really know what to make of my town. It is definitely rural as I routinely walk past livestock going to and from my house, but we are right on the Pan-American highway (which is two lanes - see below) and we have buildings with multiple (up to 4) stories right in the "center of town," which is only a couple of blocks. After that there are lots of corn fields and sparse houses.

Buying Eggs at the Market and the Father of the Bride Supermarket Hotdog Bun Scene

Father of the Bride (I and II) are two of my favorite movies of all time. I could watch them over and over again. One of the most memorable scenes is where George Banks (Steve Martin) is freaking out about the cost of the wedding and goes to the supermarket to buy hot dogs and hot dog buns for dinner. However, they sell hot dogs in packages of 8 and hot dog buns in packages of 12. Short story shorter, outraged he tries to remove the extra buns and only pay for the 8 he wants, landing him in jail.  

I highly recommend watching the scene here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYIHLUxzRr8

So what on Earth does this have to do with me? Well on Monday market days when I buy all of my food I buy my eggs (since I don't have a fridge they are one of my main sources of protein). At 1 Quetzal a piece they are super affordable (about 8 eggs = $1). In the U.S. they come in I think two size cartons, but here I can buy however many I want. Sometimes the vendors look at me strangely, but they will sell me any number. They normally come in a pack of 30, but usually I get 15 (see below). And if I want any fewer than that (for a while I was getting only 6 a week) they would put that number IN A LITTLE PLASTIC BAG. Anyway, I think that George Banks would appreciate this option. 

When I ask for 15 eggs they fold the big sheet in half, put the eggs in, then tie string around it to hold it together and make a convenient handle for carrying.

Artisinal Market in Chichicastenango, Quiché

Quiché is a department in Guatemala and is pronounced Key-che (not like the egg pie). They are famous for their artisanal market in Chichicastenango (Chi chi for short). It is about a 2.5 to 3 hour bus ride from my town. It was a really cool outdoor market with lots and lots to look at and buy. If you are a tourist looking for souvenirs or recuerdos to take home this is the place. I have even heard that it is a little cheaper than the even more tourist-y market in Antigua. I bought a bunch of Christmas gifts here.

A word to the wise - It is very overwhelming! If you don't handle crowds well stay away! Vendors have their stalls that line the pedestrian streets, but there are also people of all ages (mostly women and girls) walking around that will nudge you and try and get you to buy their goods. They can be very persistent. Also DON'T FORGET TO BARGAIN. They will give you the "precio gringo" the gringo/American foreigner price. Guatemalans also bargain for everything they buy, but my guess is that the prices for them starts a little lower. So act like a Guatemalan and be prepared to put in a little extra time if you want to buy anything and bargain! Don't feel bad. It is what you are supposed to do!

The Church through the crowded market

Male traje

The Harlem Shake Peace Corps Guatemala-style

We haven't all lost our minds, but we are slowly getting there...Enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOAqLM3HiBE

Also, Happy holidays from Peace Corps Guatemala

The entrance to the main Peace Corps Office outside of Antigua
"Through these doors pass the worlds' finest volunteers"

Accidental Bidet…Yes it was as Unpleasant as it Sounds

This was maybe one of the grossest (if not THE grossest) experiences in my life. On the way back from Rio Dulce we took a boat to Puerto Barrios where the tour bus was meeting us. The water was really choppy and it made the boat ride a lot more interesting, fun in my opinion, and not for the weak of heart or stomach. Anyway, we made it safely to the dock and while we were waiting for our bus to pick us up I decided to go to the bathroom. This is where the accidental bidet comes in. You know the French appliances found in the bathroom next to the toilet for additional…cleaning purposes. First of all I had to pay 3 Quetzales to use the bathroom which just added insult to injury, but at least they gave me toilet paper with that. First of all I had to walk over milk crates to get into the stall because the floor was flooded. So as I was going to the bathroom I felt liquid splashing back up at me. Needless to say I was confused. It turns out that the toilet was connected by a very short pipe directly into the choppy water. So as I was using the bathroom all of that plus sea water was splashing back on me. I had no choice but to pee as fast as I could. It was terrible and needless to say I left there feeling dirty. (Other people used this bathroom too so it wasn't just me being gross). Oh well it makes for a good story.