Cooking Classes with Mothers

This past month I completed a cooking class with mothers in two schools. In each school I did the same activity on three days from 9-12 so that I could work with smaller groups. The first day I worked with mothers with children in the 5th and 6th grades, second day with mothers with children in the 4th and 3rd grades, and the third day with mothers with children in the 2nd and 1st grades. Each day about 15-20 mothers showed up. Because large families are common here the majority of the mothers had multiple kids in the school. Therefore, the first day always had the largest turnout and the numbers decreased with each day.

I started out with an hour and a half lesson on nutrition and good kitchen related hygiene. The nutrition part of the class included: the three food groups and "my plate" - which recommends that you divide your plate of food so that 1/2 is covered in protection (fruits and vegetables), 1/4 with body-building (protein), and only 1/4 with energy (carbohydrates). From what I have experienced in this country, meals are not so well balanced. Probably around 3/4 of the plate contains carbohydrates and the other 1/4 with meat or vegetables or more likely beans or an egg. I asked the mothers how many times a week they and their families ate fruits and vegetables. The majority said that they only eat vegetables a couple times a week - once or twice! And not much more frequently for fruits. I was blown away. I don't cook meat here (due to the lack of refrigeration both in my house and with and in the butcher's shops). Therefore, I eat a lot of vegetables (and eggs). I digress. I told them about the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (which they were shocked by). I know that this isn't reasonable to expect them to eat the recommended number of servings, so I asked them to please try and eat at least one serving a day. Poco a poco (bit by bit).

As for hygiene, I talked about kitchen cleanliness (no cats, dogs, pigs, chickens) wandering around the kitchen. Drinking only purified water (boiling the unclean water that comes out of all taps here for at least 5 minutes). Cleaning fruits and vegetables that aren't going to be thoroughly cooked or peeled (by using bleach). Basic hand washing steps (and not drying their hands on their aprons that they wear all day).

Each day I had a teacher from that school co-facilitate with me. I would explain a section in Spanish and then they would explain it in K'iche'. I was really happy with this set-up because I am still working on improving my Spanish and so it was helpful for the people who understand both languages to get the information twice, and obviously much more clear for those who understand very little Spanish.

Me with my posters and a banana. I gave each mother a banana when
they first arrived as a small morning snack.

You can't see it in this photo, but I drew out pictures of different foods and
each participant had to categorize it into energy, body-building, or protection. 

THE THIRD WOMAN FROM THE LEFT IS TAKING NOTES!
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!

After the lesson we put it all into practice. We made sautéed beet leaves and pasta with tomato sauce that had protemás (a protein enriched meat substitute), carrots, broccoli, and onions. I supplied all of the ingredients and the mothers brought their own cutting boards, knives, and a couple pieces of firewood. In one school we cooked with my little two burner electric stovetop and in the other school we used their wood burning stove. I like telling Guatemalans about eating beet leaves, because the majority of the people have never thought to use them. They go straight to the rabbits or the pigs. Because of this, a lot of people discard the leaves or leave them at the stand at the market. Therefore, sometimes the vendors give them to me for free or I buy a big bag for just a few Quetzales. 

One thing about Guatemalan culture is that it is very rude to not accept food that you are offered or to not eat everything you are given. This has sometimes been difficult for me, but for these classes it worked out excellently! Everyone ate all of the food! "Would you like some more beet leaves?" "Yes." "Perfect." :)

Passing out the pasta and sauce.
I used styrofoam cups and plastic spoons. This was clearly not an
environmentally friendly workshop. Perhaps this will be the next workshop.

Chopping carrots.

I also had a good number of babies and small children
"participate" in the workshop.

Eating beet leaves for the first time.

Stirring up the beet leaves.

The women seemed to enjoy the class and appeared to have learned new information. At the very least that day they learned a little new information and had 1 serving of fruit, 1 of carbohydrates, 1 of protein, and around 2 of vegetables. Which from what I heard is possibly more fruits and vegetables than they normally eat in a week. They all seemed to genuinely like the food. I would call it a great success!

Oh the Places People Dry Their Clothes

Probably one of my biggest lifestyle adjustments in Guatemala is laundry. My options are hand wash everything in cold water and ripping up my clothes by rubbing it on the rough rock that is the pila (washing station) or take it on an hour bus ride (with one change) into Xela. I will never be bored enough that I have the desire to hand wash all of my clothes. Also, it only costs 15Q to have a good sized bag of laundry machine washed and dried and folded. 

There is no laundromat in my town or much closer then an hour away. As far as I know, no one in my town owns a washing machine. So, every day I see women sitting on the rocks by our river washing clothes. The issue then becomes where to dry all of these clothes. The answer: everywhere. I am constantly surprised by all of the places that I see clothes drying so I thought that I would try to document some of the more creative places.

On the fence in front of the hardware store

Here you can see the heads of women washing clothes

It seems to me that putting your clean clothes/blankets on the ground defeats the purpose, but it's a pretty common drying strategy. 

How to Tie a Baby to Your Back Guate-Style

This girl seemed to have some difficulty with her eyes. Otherwise women generally do this without help. It seems amazing to me. They just bend over a little bit, put the baby on their back, trust that is doesn't roll off while they get the first piece of cloth, tie that around them and the baby, tie the second cloth around in the opposite direction (so that it forms an X in front), and voila.

My host sister sharon and cousin Filip

I think this is her sister and not her daughter,
but you can never be sure here

There was a baby under there

This woman was holding TWINS - one in her arms and one on her back

On (Not) Fitting In

I think this picture pretty accurately describes it.

Imagine that an alien lands in your town and wears similar-ish clothing. That's pretty much how they look at me. I feel like I am being stared at constantly (because I am). The thing is that I basically look like Guatemalans except that I dress differently, I use different styles of bags to carry my things, I have glasses, and I talk differently. I don't stick out here as much as some of my other taller or blonder friends, but I still definitely stick out. 

The 24 Hour Pharmacy in my House

Medicinas Israel: My host Dad's pharmacy

Not to brag or anything, but I'm pretty sure that my host Dad is among the more well-to-do and most influential men in my town. He owns the biggest pharmacy which is right in the center of town and is one of the pastors at the huge Evangelical church. I'm pretty sure he would be considered middle class in America, but not in this tiny town. Anyway, he also has a small pharmacy in the house for after-hours needs. Sometimes after everyone else has gone to bed (around 10pm) there is knocking on our front gate until someone in my host family goes to see what they need and gets the medicine.

Fun fact: In Guatemala you don't really need to know any medicine or have any kind of degree to own a pharmacy. I'm pretty sure my host Dad only graduated from the sixth grade. As my family and friends will tell you, this is handy if you are traveling to Guatemala and have forgotten some medicine and/or your prescription. Just ask one of the many pharmacies and more likely then not they will have it. Just give them the cash and you are all set.

The Glass Factory in Cantel, Quetzaltenango

I (only) have seven months left in my Peace Corps service so I am starting to feel the pressure to cross things off of my Guatemala bucket list. I think I've been good at this, but I really want to get out and see things. So my newest "check" on the list is the glass factory that is just a short 20 minute camioneta ride outside of the center of Xela. I'm really glad that I went! It's just a small store with glass cups, wine glasses, vases, etc. and if you are lucky you are there while the men are working in the back. My video (below) will give you a good ideas of this small no-frills workshop. 

One thing that I enjoyed was the fact that the men working were so casual about their work. They were wearing t-shirts or long-sleeve shirts and no eye protection or gloves. We just wandered back there, walked right up to one of the workstations (huge barrel of water) and started talking to one of the men and watching him work. We didn't have to wear a protective suit, sign a waiver, wear protection, nothing. I agree that some safety rules and regulations can be a good thing, but I feel like in the states this is often taken to the extreme (I.e. caution: this beverage that you are about to enjoy is extremely hot. Duh I ordered a hot beverage.) 

Recycled glass

I got to try glass blowing! It wasn't something they advertised, we just asked the guy if we could try it. It was awesome. I believe I only got a couple words of instruction: blow slowly and rotate the metal rod. I watched 0 safety videos. Used 0 protection. And guess what - I was completely fine and I made a perfect little glass ball!

Cooperativa Integral de Producción Artesanal de Vidrio Cantel, R. L.

Km. 217.5 Carretera al Pacifico

Pasac II, Cantel, Quetzalenango

Guatemala, C.A.

www.copavic.com 

My New Smoothie Recipe Courtesy of the JICA Volunteer

I think that I have written about Minako, the volunteer from Japan. She lives in the same house that I do and also works in the schools. JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency) is basically the Japanese version of Peace Corps. Minako is awesome and is a nutritionist. I have enjoyed collaborating with her. She worked on creating a recipe book to pass out to the local health centers and schools. As I was looking through the book I found a recipe that intrigued me: a banana beet smoothie.

Ingredients:
Bananas
Beets
Milk

Directions:
Cook the beets in a little water until they are soft (I like to do this the day before or make extra)
When the beets are cool, combine in equal quantity with bananas
Add milk until it is the desired consistency
Blend well

Voila!

I like the color. If you aren't the biggest beet-lover you might want to add more banana than beets because the beet flavor is strong. The recipe calls for sugar as well, but I think that the bananas give it enough sweetness.

 Peace Corps is all about goals 1, 2, and 3.
Goal 1: To help the people of interested countries meet their needs for trained men and woman.
Goal 2: To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of peoples served.
Goal 3: To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

While Minako isn't Guatemalan, I feel that teaching her what a "selfie" is counts as good goal 2 work :)

Minako and I with our smoothies

Hiking Volcano Acatenango

The group triumphantly at the top in the middle of the crater

I hiked a second Volcano in Guatemala! It was hard! A group of PCVs and I arranged the trip through O.X. Tours (located in Antigua). Volcán Acatenango is only about an hours drive away from the center of Antigua. The whole trip too 12 hours. We left at 5am, got to the trail-head at 6am, started hiking and with only minimal breaks arrived at the summit at 11:30am. We had lunch in the crater at 13,000ft, left at 1pm, got back to the vans at 4pm, and were back in the hostel in Antigua exhausted and covered in dirt by 5pm. I was asleep as soon as I rehydrated, took a much needed shower, and had a good dinner.

In the hike we ascended 6,000ft over roughly four miles through four different temperate zones (high farmland, cloud forest, high-alpine forest, and volcanic) and returned the same way. The tour company had warned us that the climb is steep and to prepare ourselves mentally for a very physically demanding hike (especially the part they affectionately call purgatory which is the last bit before arriving at the top).

It was really cloudy by the time we got up there, but there was still a great view of Volcán de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) that seemed surprisingly close by. Fuego is an active Volcano and while we were there coughed up huge plumes of smoke. The last time Acatenango erupted was in 1972.

Some of my crazy friends completed the O.X. challenge
they ran around the perimeter of the crater

I like being able to look down upon the clouds

I almost felt like the walk down was harder. Although it probably had something to do with the fact that by that
point we had already hiked 5 hours up 5,000ft

I would never do it again, but I'm glad that I did it.

Zaculeu: The Mayan Ruins in Huehuetenango

I went with my host family to Huehuetenango one Sunday for an Evangelical baptism that my host Dad was (officiating?) the pastor at. After the baptism we went to Zaculeu the Mayan ruins. They were much smaller than the more famous ruins in Tikal, but I still thought they were awesome. Also, I guess because they aren't as well known the security was much more relaxed and you could climb all over the ruins which I enjoyed (although I'm sure it's terrible for conservation).

Side note: I bet you can't guess how to pronounce Huehuetenango. I'll spell it out for you (Way-way-ten-ango). I have no idea why, that's just how it is.

Here is a video I took standing on top of the largest structure. It's a small area but nice and with a beautiful mountainous backdrop.

Such a beautiful backdrop too!

My host sister Sharon showing off what you can do in traje tipico

My host family in the back of a pick-up truck
It was mostly the kids back there and they rode like that for 1.5 hours

My host Mom and Dad (Juana and Israel)

Mayan Language Map

Guatemala is the heart of the Mayan people. There are over 20 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala to this day. This is no joke, I live in a rural town, but only about an hours drive from two "major" cities, and the vast majority of people here speak K'iche'. There are even some parents' groups that I work with who speak very little Spanish. This, combined with the high illiteracy rate among parents is why I always have a translator at my parents meetings to translate my Spanish into K'iche'. When I had my interview with my project manager to try and figure out where might be the best fit for me, I told them I wanted two things: a large host family and a place where the people speak Spanish. I like taking my K'iche' classes, but I figured I want to spend my time working on my Spanish and not on Mayan languages that only a very small percentage of people in this country (let alone in the world) speak.

I live with an indigenous host family. The older women are always in traje tipico and the girls wear it for special occasions. When they are talking among themselves they speak in K'iche'. This is terrible for eves-dropping. Because the Mayan people are such a big part of my experience here in Guatemala I thought that I would pass along a little more information about the prevalence of Mayan languages.

Linguistic map of Guatemala

Mayan, Xinka and Gariífuna languages

I live in the middle of the dark-green blob

I had never heard of the Xinka people before this map, but some light googling told me that they are the non-Mayan indigenous people of Mesoamerica. The Gariífuna are the African/Carribean-Guatemalans that predominantly live along the Carribean coast of Guatemala - I got to experience some of this Gariífuna culture when I went to Livingston and Rio Dulce for Thanksgiving last year. Forgot I did that? If you would like a refresher here are the links to my blog posts from Livingston and Rio Dulce.

You will probably have a hard enough time pronouncing the names of the Mayan languages even if you can read them so I have written the names and percentages in the graph below (the % is the % of Guatemalans who speak this Mayan language):
2.2% - Achi
0.9% - Akateko
0.3% - Awakateko
0.5% - Chalchiteko
1.0% - Ch'orti'
1.4% - Chuj
0.1% - Garifuna
0.05% - Itza'
2.2% - Ixil
18.3% - Kaqchikel
28.6% - K'iche' - What they speak where I live! Disclaimer: there seem to be many sub-dialects within languages so even if two people speak K'iche', if they are from different towns they may not be able to communicate fully or even understand each other
13.3% - Mam
0.1% - Mopan
1.0% - Popti'
0.9% - Poqomam
2.6% - Poqomchi'
3.5% - Q'anjob'al
20.1% - Q'eqchi'
0.2% - Sakapulteko
0.2% - Sipakapense
0.05% - Tektiteko
1.4% Tz'utujil
0.2% - Uspanteko
0.2% - Xinka

Guatemala truly is a multilingual country!

Paches

Paches are like Tamales but made out of potato or rice. The potatoes/rice are creamed and soft. Along with the starch is a sauce and a small piece of meat (usually chicken or pork) in the center. They are wrapped, cooked, and served in leaves (I think usually banana leaves). They are always served steaming hot and I think that it makes a great mushy (in the best way) comfort food. In true Guatemalan fashion, this carbohydrate-based meal almost always comes with bread (white bread). I ate all of it. Unlike my Guatemalan host family members, I usually have one or two pieces of white bread with my Pache. They usually have about four pieces. 

Paches are the typical Christmas food here. Whenever the topic of Christmas comes up, Guatemalans always asks me if Americans eat Paches for Christmas. When I tell them no they seem surprised and then ask me what do we eat at Christmas. 

Usually they are whiter in color,
but this one had the sauce thoroughly mixed in.

Bringing Firewood to School

The school day in Guatemalan primary schools is only from around 8:30-12:30 (depending a little on the school) so kids go home for lunch. The mid-morning snack is provided by the school (purchased with funds from the Government). There are no paid faculty members who are in charge of preparing the snack. Instead, all mothers of kids in the school take turns coming in each morning and cooking the snack over an open fire or wood-burning stove. I'm not sure what happens if a mother works and cannot make it, but from what I have seen this is rare. I am not sure why the Government funding doesn't cover all aspects of snack (i.e. fuel for cooking), but to be able to cook the food each kid is required to bring in five pieces of wood each week. 

This girl didn't seem to mind carrying the wood to school today. 

The little boy wasn't quite so happy...

Some examples of snack are: Incaparina (fortified drink that contains protein, carbohydrates, and fat) and an egg, a piece of bread and Incaparina, Corn Flakes in hot milk, Atol (a sweet drink made with corn flower), etc. To help fight malnutrition, the school snack is supposed to make up a fairly large portion of childrens' caloric intake for the day. Sometimes the snack is well balanced, but more often then not it is carbs on carbs on carbs. Thanks to Guatemalan courtesy, schools almost always offer us Healthy Schools PCVs snack when we are there working. I think that this might be one of the reasons why most female PCVs find themselves gaining weight. Also since it is very rude in this culture to straight out say "no" to food I have gotten creative to get out of eating another school snack. 

A couple other things that are very different from American schools: hardly anyone gets dropped off in cars or drives to work, there are 0 parking lots or even parking spaces near the schools, kids seem to walk to school on their own or with brothers and sisters from what seems like kindergarden on so at the beginning and end of the day there are no parents at the school (except for the 5ish mothers who made the day's snack). 

Youth Forum

This past month I attended a Youth Forum workshop put on by the Peace Corps. This two-day event was centered around understanding the National Curriculum Base in Guatemala and how it relates to the Healthy Schools Project. We also participated in a round robin session where groups taught sample health lessons for the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades.  One key aspect of a "healthy school" is that the teachers teach two twenty minute health lessons each week. From my experience, the vast majority of teachers that haven't worked with healthy schools volunteers don't do this. This is one of the problems with the Healthy Schools Project. It is an initiative of the Guatemalan Government (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health), however no one seems to know about it if there isn't a Healthy Schools Volunteer working in their school. 

For some Peace Corps trainings we have the opportunity to bring work partners. Below is a picture of me with the two work partners that I brought (teacher on the left, and principal on the right). This is also a good example of how I am considered tall in Guatemala! I definitely don't hate it :). Guatemalans love diplomas. I have received so many from various trainings here and have also made many of my own to give to participants of my trainings. 

There are a variety of locations that Peace Corps holds trainings, but this one was by far the coolest. It looked like a little hipster recycled fairy village.

Tamascal - the Mayan in-Home Sauna

Kiwa tuj - que rico es el Tamascal - how rich is the sauna

in K'iche', Spanish, and English

A Tamascal is the ancient Mayan in-home sauna. It is still widely used in many rural communities. Not all houses have one, so I am so glad that I have access to one in my house. It gets so hot in there! I generally flatten myself as low as possible to the floor to try and be at the coolest part.

It is a great family bonding experience. My host family has a big Tamascal that can fit about seven people laying down. Every two or three days all of the women and girls in the family go in together. It took them a couple months to invite me to join them in the sauna, and the first time I went in in my shorts and tank top I found out why. Most of the women and girls go in in a bra and underwear, but most of the older women just wear underwear.

According to another PCV's blog: "in Mayan spiritualism, the Tamascal is the place where the ancestral spirits reside. They say that a cold or sickness represents one being punished by the ancestors for doing something wrong. To cure oneself of the cold and to reconcile with the ancestors the Tamascal is the solution. Newborns are also placed in the Tamascal to meet their ancestors." Now I'm not sure how much of that is true or still believed, but Guatemalans of all ages use the Tamascal. My 4 year-old host-sister, Princess, and three-year old host-sister, Genesis, both get in the Tamascal. I often see them taking quick naps in there.

That little door on the bottom left is where you crawl in and out.

How it works: There is a sheet that they hang across the rope above the door and this is shut to keep all of the heat in. Inside it is totally dark except for a bare lightbulb. They fill that round metal bucket on the right with water and light a big fire under it. I am still a little nervous when I use the Tamascal because it seems to me like it would be easy to suffocate in one of these. There is also the issue of Guatemalans burning their plastic trash. I find this to be a horribly unhealthy habit, but it can be especially deadly when burned in the Tamascal. My host family does burn plastic, but only wood in the Tamascal.

Guatemalans use it not only as a sauna, but also to bathe. After they are done in the sauna they sit right outside of it and use the water heated up by the fire (mixed with cold water) to take bucket baths. Minako (the Japanese volunteer) and I both use the Tamascal from time to time, but we shower downstairs in the bathroom. I'm not sure we are THAT integrated enough yet to bathe with all of the women of the family.

A view from the inside

The metal and rock contraption on the inside of the Tamascal covers the fire, so when they throw water on this contraption it immediately turns to steam and heats up the Tamascal.

You can't stand inside of the Tamascal - it is only probably 5 feet high on the inside (nor would you want to - it's way too hot).

Another cool thing about the Tamascal is that they use small leafy branches of this special plant (I've asked but I'm still not sure what it is called) to wave the hot air down to themselves mixed with the scent of the plant. I think it is similar to eucalyptus. They also gently hit themselves with these branches which apparently helps "quitar el cansancio" remove tiredness from your limbs / body. So as I am laying on my back in the Tamascal in my shorts and tank top, sweating up a storm, I hear the gentle thwack thwack thwack of branches hitting skin. I'm not sure if this has done anything for me, but I go along with the routine.

This more accurately shows what it looks like from the inside while in-use