Day 20: Sunday, Funday!

Feb. 10th, 2013--Sunday, Funday!

What another lovely day here in San Marcos! As always, the weather was perfect so I spent my early morning organizing things around the house, waiting for the water to come back on as it was out in the whole area), making rice to use for my dinner, and catching up on my blog and phone calls home before heading out for some fun in the sun.  I knew it was going to be a good day when I sat outside eating breakfast and caught a glimpse of a squirrel that appears from time to time in my garden.  It always strikes me as odd since I’ve never seen one anywhere else and it seems out of place amongst the banana trees and bamboo.  It always makes me smile and think there’s a little piece of home watching over me here.

I had planned to learn the traditional weaving from one of the local moms, Maria.  She runs a local bookstore, Tekonëm, that is partnered with the school so I’ve worked with her and gotten to know her well.  She is a kind soul and an “out of the box thinker” and I love her spirit! Her daughter, Elizeth, is in the 3^rd grade at our school.  Anyway, she had said to come by anytime to learn so I made an attempt today but the store was closed. 

Traditional Weaving

Instead, as I was walking down, I ran into a Canadian family from the school, Manda and her 2 daughters, Zella Rose and Mayla.  As we walked down to the beach together, we ran into 2 other families from school and my neighbors selling their jewelry—I love small town life!  When we got to the beach, Manda and her crew joined up with Dave and Nicki, another Canadian/British family from our school.  I decided to head a bit over to my shady palm tree spot, and where I would feel a bit less weird sunbathing in a bikini near families from school.  As much as I love small town life, that’s one aspect that I’m still getting used to.  At home, we’re always taught to “keep business and pleasure separate.”  That’s impossible here.  And while I don’t mind it for most day to day things (like Nicki and I joining up to make a women’s soccer team), I can’t quite seem to get used to sitting around in my bikini with kids and parents from school.  Not sure I’ll ever get used to that one. 

Equally weird is living in a town amongst native locals, foreign locals (that’s me), and tourists.  In Paraguay, I was the only foreigner amongst locals and the rest of my travels have been as a tourist.  I’ve never had to live amongst a strange combination of all 3 and it’s taking some getting used to for navigating things (like making sure vendors recognize me and know I live here and am not a tourist.  Even still, there’s a big price difference for locals and foreigners but there’s still a gray area of foreign locals who own hotels and have lots of money and those of us earning local currency, like me).  It was really easy for me to gain the trust of locals and get to know people in Paraguay since I was the only foreigner and was therefore a novelty others were curious to get to know.  Also, I was always respectful of the culture and never mistreated anyone.  I’m finding it more difficult to get to know locals here--in part because it’s easy to get caught up getting to know other foreigners and in part because locals are so used to foreigners around that I’m not a novelty.  There’s also a long history of locals getting screwed by foreigners in land deals and disrespectful tourists so it’s harder to earn someone’s trust.  I’m sure it will come with time, but for now, I find it a bit odd and am slowly getting to know the locals I work with, my homeowners, and the shop owners. 

Speaking of my homeowners.  The family reminds me so much of one of the families from my town in Paraguay (Don Eustaquio).  They are forward thinking, humble and kind, and hardworking.  There are 6 adult children, 3 girls and 3 boys and all 3 girls went to college to become teachers.  Something almost unheard of around here where most people don’t study beyond middle school, especially girls. 

After a few hours of reading at the beach, I called it a day.  But, not before learning that my precious little beach didn’t exist last year because of the high level of the lake.  The lake has no natural outlet to let water out so the level never goes down once it rises.  Apparently the only reason it went down this year is because of the earthquakes.  I hope it stays around a bit ‘cuz I quite enjoy it.  Otherwise, the only option is to sit on the rocks.  

As I made my way back, I stopped to buy a few items for my dinner for Thai pineapple fried rice.  I decided to stop in shops I don’t normally go to so I could comparison shop for prices.  I now know which stores have the cheapest toile paper, wine, nuts, and chocolates—all I really need to know.  I got all the essentials I needed plus a piece of delicious banana bread.  Then I continued up the road to my pineapple vendor.  He was kind enough to slice it open for me and put it in a bag since I a) don’t have a sharp knife for cutting pineapple b) had no clue how to slice one open (I watched carefully so I know ho next time).  It was a cute exchange trying to get the right change back as his 8-year-old daughter tried to do the math in her head.   I also stopped to buy some more yarn.  I try to exchange names with every vendor/store owner I interact with and I always quiz them the next time to see if they remember my name.  I was happy to discover that the librería owner where I bought the yarn remembered mine.  And then, as I left the store, I ran into María and Elizeth and was greeted with giant smiles and hugs.  It’s moments like these that remind me that I have to be patient with myself and recognize that I am getting to know the locals, little by little. 

The rest of my afternoon was spent cooking and eating my Thai pineapple rice, writing my blog in a hammock, crocheting outside in my patio, and enjoying another hot shower—dare I say I believe he finally fixed it (knock on wood)!! J  I had cooked a large portion of the rice in hopes that it would be my dinner all week, in place of the usually potato chips or french fries and fresh coconut I’ve been eating.  I’m sorry to say I already broke down and got some chips again today…but, everything happens for a reason, and as I entered the store, I bumped into Lilly (a mother at our school and the owner of a local hotel) and I was invited to join their soccer practice tomorrow evening----can’t wait! And I think the healthy exercise at the expense of a tiny bag of chips was worth the trade off! J

Day 19: Just One of those Days (in a good way)!

Saturday, February 9^h, 2013

I had one of my best days today! Nothing that spectacular happened-- it was just one of those days when every little small thing seemed to go right and added all up together, made for one great day!

I started off my day with a morning run to the next down over, Tzununá.  The road there is a combo of dirt and rocks so you have to watch your steps, which is hard to do because the hilly road runs high and parallel to the lake and affords breath-taking views along the way.  There are also some ridiculously nice houses to gawk at en route.  I had called my “rent-a-dog” service that morning and borrowed Josh’ dog, Lassa for my run.  She’s almost 8 months old and has a beautiful dark, shiny coat.    I was stopped multiple times along the way by people wanting to meet her.

Lassa, the Wilson's dog, my running buddy.

Anyway, it took us only about 15 minutes to reach Tzununá.  I had heard about a waterfall in town so we decided to go check it out.  One of the teachers at my school and her husband own an organic farm in town and we thought we might stop by there too.  But, then we learned that they were heading out of town for the day so we set our sights on the waterfall.  Walking through town, we ran into 2 packs of 4 or 5 angry dogs charging towards sweet Lassa (and me).  Luckily, a few “FUERA” shouts and rock throwing from my behalf scared them away enough for us to pass without a fight. 

Tzununa is basically one giant mountain hill so we climbed up, up and up until we reached the bridge.  We had no idea where we were going except to turn right at the bridge so it was a good sign we at least made it there.  At the bridge, I stopped to take some photos of the views of the lake and also had the pleasure of watching some local women washing clothes in the river.  I wanted to take photos but always feel bad about doing so.  Like I’m some voyer or somehow degrading them by doing so. I don’t know why, but I always feel weird about photos of things like that. (Update: just read about the people being beaten and attacked for taken photos of locals....glad that wasn't me! : )

Washing clothe in the river.

View from Tzununa.

Anyway, at the bridge, I spotted another gringo and asked him if he knew how to get to the waterfall.  It turns out he also knew Colleen and Shad and he offered both Lassa and I some water which we were very grateful for since we hadn’t any with us.  He was an older man from Nebraska who had been living there for 4 years.  I love meeting people and hearing their stories.  Re-energized from the water, we set off for the falls.  Every time I saw another person (which was not often), I’d ask if we were headed the right way to the falls.  Each time, we were sent in a different direction so it was only by pure luck that as we wandered up yet another dirt path, I heard a “HEY!” and looked over to see Colleen and Shad! They hadn’t left town yet and we happened to walk right past their farm! They invited us in to see their house (gorgeous!), drink some more water, and I set up a deal to order goat’s milk from Shad to make my own goat cheese---I’m pretty excited about it!

After a brief visit, we continued up the mountain in search of the waterfall.  Since the footpaths were numerous and hard to navigate, we decided to just follow the river up to ensure not getting lost.  It was a good idea in that sense, but also a good workout climbing rocks!  We almost missed the falls when I nearly turned us around to give up after not reaching it for 20 minutes.  Luckily, we pushed on and it was just around the corner.  It wasn’t the biggest or prettiest falls I had ever seen, but it was still a nice hike and place to rest for a bit.  I was really glad I had Lassa with me as we didn’t see another soul until the top when there was 1 Latvian girl there and on the way down we saw 2 sets of 2 people.  

Falls at Tzununa

Since it was already noon and we were both hot and hungry, I thought we’d take a tuk tuk back to San Marcos.  But, as the universes works, they only appear when you don’t need them and none showed yesterday.  So, we walked back the 45 minutes home and drank some much-needed water.  Turns out, it was lucky we were walking since I met an Indian guy, Raj, on the way back who used to make coconut oil and said he would teach me how to do so and help me get the machinery!  Josh and family had gone to another town to go swimming so I kept Lassa with me for the remainder of the day. We spent the day crocheting, reading, napping, and digging for bones and coconut husks (I’ll let you decide who did what).  Lassa also had a great time playing with Don Lucas’ dogs, Sky and Rufo.  It was nice to have her company and reaffirmed that I definitely want to get a dog here. 

I also got the great news that construction on the house right next to mine was on hold for awhile.  This was great news to me since the workers used my outdoor sink and were constantly in and out of my yard.  I felt like I was living in a fishbowl so I’m looking forward to having a bit more privacy and to getting the fence up around my yard a few other projects completed now that Aniceto will have more time to work on my house.

As the day was ending, I spent a few hours talking myself up for a shower since I was really dirty from the hike, but really not looking forward to a cold battle.  Luck was on my side today and for the first time, the hot water worked…and stayed working throughout my shower!  My house owner, Aniceto, had added an extra few inches of tubing to my sink faucet for me that morning (so I wouldn’t have to reach so far when washing dishes, hurting my back), and it turns out he had also adjusted my shower…thank goodness! I hope it lasts!!!

My lengthened faucet to help my back.

I ended the day with pizza and wine (I splurged and got the bottle, not the box) at Josh and Courtney’s house, along with Mirabai and Althea, their 2 daughters.  Their house and patio are beyond beautiful.  It used to be a yoga retreat center and the grounds are massive and gorgeous.  The pizza was brought in from the next town over in the other direction, San Pablo.  It’s from a Canadian guy who works as a carpenter during the week and only makes the pizzas on Saturdays.  You have to call in the morning to pre-order and then he delivers it via Tuk Tuk to your door----I got his number from Josh so I could order sometime too.  I love how the world works here with all it’s insider information you have to learn from locals.  There’s not phone book or internet search for pizza in town, you just have to ask around and find out from others who know!  We also had fresh greens from their garden and chocolates from our German visitors this week.  It was a great night of food and friends and a fabulous way to spend a Saturday evening! I ended it with a terrible movie, Frozen.  Don’t waster your time; it’s not a great way to spend a Saturday evening!

Their patio....just a tiny piece of it. Huge and beautiful.

Blessed, Fearless Weekend!

February 24th, 2013

(I'm posting out of order today since I thought this was too good to wait a month to catch up on other posts...plus, day 7 was a bit snippy and I wanted to end on a happier note! Hope you can get over it!)

Friday:

Wow! What a weekend! I started off the weekend with not may plans, as usual, but ended up with a fabulously filled few days! After a hectic week at work, I left around 4 pm on Friday and wanted to go for a quick run.  Instead, I headed straight to Josh and Courtney's for a happy hour (aren't you proud, Jenny?!).  Everyone from school went and we had a nice few hours of hanging out in their absolutely beautiful patio while eating tostadas with homemade guacamole, cake, and popcorn. There was also coffee, beer, wine, and hibiscus juice.  I went for the wine.

While we were sitting there, we heard the water jug guys calling out to see if anyone wanted one.  I did so I borrowed Mirabai, their 4 year old, and she came with me while the guys changed out my 5 gallon jug.  Her first question to me was, "where are your shoes?"  At the party, she had tried on my sandals and she now insisted I change shoes so that she could try on a different pair back at the party. She then proceeded to explain in great detail how she would have her mom make her a pair just like mine.  Gotta love a girl who knows what she wants (and has my taste in shoes)!

Said Shoes, sandals first, flats second. Very practical.

I left the party around 6pm and ran to the store to buy minutes for my cell phone since it was "Triple TIGO."  TIGO is the cell provider I use and about once a week they offer a promotion where whatever amount of minutes you buy, you get 3 times the amount if you buy it that day.  I was down to zero so it worked out perfectly.  In case you were wondering, family and friends can purchase minutes for my phone and they are always triple, plus I get free minutes to call the USA.  If you're interested, feel free to check it out.  I won't ever say no! (end shameless plug here)

With minutes on my phone and a few minutes of downtime to shower, I got ready for my night out with Andrea.  She arrived while I was in the shower but was happy to wait a few minutes outside while I finished up and could open the door.  She and I spent a few minutes looking at photos and hanging out at home before we went to town.  Neither of use goes out much-me because I'm lame, her because she has a child, so we weren't sure where to go.  We asked a few people but there didn't seem to be much going on.  We ended up at a restaurant, Fe, and enjoyed some red wine, live music from a Mexican/American couple, and great girly gossip/life dreams.

Around 8:30 pm, we both decided to call it a night.  Mostly because we both knew we had to walk home alone and neither one of us was looking forward to it.  I know lots of girls who do it and everyone swears it's safe, but I've always lived by the "better to be safe than sorry" motto so I was a bit nervous.  I brought my mace and had it ready, just in case.  The walk from the restaurant to the center of the plaza was fine, as there were some people around and lights on. In the plaza, there were lots of people as well so I was okay.  It was only the last little bit between the plaza and my house that I was worried about because it's a dark, isolated path behind the abandoned high school.

I spotted a teacher from school in the plaza and stopped to say hello (and perhaps ask him to accompany me home), but then saw 2 teenagers headed up my path so I quickly said goodbye and caught up with them to walk together.  Turns out they were super sweet and live next door to me.  I told them to come by anytime, and Saturday evening they did! They also brought along their cousin (I forget her name, but they were Mabel and Sofia) and we had a nice chat.  They told me, "we've never met anyone like you! Most foreigners barely say hi, but you just smile and talk so much!"  I guess someone finally appreciates my non-stop talking! :)

Unfortunately, the sugar and wine caught up with me and I ended up waking up multiple throughout the night.  Luckily, I had just gotten internet hooked up at my house the day before so I was able to watch Modern Family and The Mindy Project a ll night :)  I'm one of only 4 people in the town who now have satellite internet and it's pretty awesome! I debated getting it or not.  One, for the obvious reason of cost.  Two, because I was kind of enjoying not having it and not having that distraction at home.  Plus, it forced me to be social and go to a cafe to use internet.  But, in the end, I got it and, at least for now, and super happy with it.  I was even able to Skype a few times with it and it actually worked!

Saturday:

I woke up early, around 7, and decided to finally go for a run since I hadn't been all week. I ran my usual route towards the neighboring town of Tzununa.  I tried to find the house of Raj, an Indian guy who I had met during a run a few weeks back.  He used to make coconut oil and he said I could come by any time to learn. Today I decided to take him up on that offer...only I couldn't find the house.  As I made my way up my path, I saw Aniceto, my landlord, who just happened to be going to Raj's house! I grabbed some water and left with him.  On the way, we walked through Barrio 1, which I had yet to see so that was nice.

When we arrived at his house, he was just finishing up breakfast with a friend and a Spanish woman (I forget her name, but it was probably Maria) who was staying with him a few days.  She and I chatted a bit while he and Aniceto looked at the construction site that Aniceto would begin working on Monday.  I also met Paola and her 2 year old son, Kevin, and her sister Heidi, who both work to cook and clean for Raj.  Paola is the president of a local woman's group who just started making shampoo and wants to open a restaurant.  I'm excited about the possibilities that could come out of working with her in the future.

Paola and "Maria" left to San Pedro for shopping while Raj, Heidi, Kevin, and I stayed behind.  Raj and I drank hot chocolate (it's straight, pure coco that's big here, not like nestle) while overlooking his insanely beautiful view.  See for yourself.

I ended up staying for 2.5 hours, and that was after trying to leave for awhile! He was SO nice and it was interesting to share life stories.  He's a 71 year old widower from India, but spent most of his life in Chicago, and the past 14 years in San Marcos.  He is so kind a generous and even offered me a part of his land to build a house and/or utilize garden space to plant my seeds.  I had also mentioned that I was making goat cheese and he offered to buy my first batch.  Don't worry, it wasn't in a creepy, I want something from you sort of way.  He just really is that nice!

Since we had arrived at 8 am on a Saturday morning, unannounced, to a man's house I had met for 2 minutes on the road, 2 weeks prior, I wasn't sure how I would be received.  Bu,t I'm glad I didn't let fear stop me because it ended up being a great morning! I have to keep remembering that cultural norms are different here, and it's okay to show up unannounced...I love that (at least when I'm the one showing up unannounced).

When I got home, Sebastian was still working in my yard to prepare the land for putting in my garden.  I can not say enough wonderful things about by landlord and how much they have accommodated my requests in the house.  They are almost finished building me a fence and are now preparing the land, tilling the dirt and removing all the rocks in it so that it's good dirt for planting.  They are also going to build me beds for growing everything.  I'm really excited for that to be ready!

I cleaned everything in my house today and washed the floor. Even though I have a tiny house, byt he time I had dusted everything I could think of, hand washed every pair of shoes, etc. it was almost 3 hours of cleaning.  I was tired of not being able to go barefoot in my house because it constantly feels like there's dirt on the floor, not matter how many times I sweep it.  I'm trying out a "no shoes" rule to see if this makes a difference.  I'm also considering hiring someone to clean the house a few days a week.  Not so much because I need it, but because I can afford it and it will help someone local out.  Plus, it helps save y lower back so it's really a win-win, no brainer.

 I was planning to learn how to make a stained-glass window with Aniceto (for my bathroom) but that didn't end up happening so I ate lunch, rested a few minutes, and read some of a cultural book about Guatemala before heading to Tikonem for a weaving class with Maria.  As always, I ran into a few people in town, including Tania, a mom from school who works with street dogs and is going to find one for me!  At Tikonem, I ate my "usual" of pecan pie, a chocolate chip cookie, and milk.  They don't believe me that I'm actually a salt-tooth since I eat that almost daily now...it's too damn good!

Maria was finishing up with Andres, and New Yorker who has he border his clothes with the traditional border.  He runs a local soup kitchen and invited me to a fundraising event later that night.  He also does Spanish tutoring and is going to help find me clients.  Once they were done, she and I began class.  It was fun to learn and I was working on a silk belt that is the traditional wear for women to hold up their "skirt" since it's really just a piece of wrapped fabric.  I was shocked to learn that one women's blouse costs between 500 and 600 Quetzales---a year's wage for lots of people.  But, after learning the process, I understand a why.  In order to do the weaving, you have to strap yourself in around your lower back.  It was actually good support and therapeutic to my aching back.

While we were working, Maribel, a teacher at school, and Marta and Manda, moms from school,all stopped in at various times and talked.  I love the small-town life! Maria and I had some great conversations.  She's a local woman but is very progressive in her thinking.  She asked me about birth-control and many other taboo topics that are just not talked about here (and I had just read about in the cultural book).  She also talked about how her sons and husband help cook and clean, saying, "they have hands too!"  I love her!   While we were on the topic of women's reproductive health, I mentioned to her some of the studies linking tampons and pads to ovarian cancer, infertility, and other health problems; mostly due to the chemicals used in cotton farming.  I told her I had some organic cotton, reusable pads and she was excited to learn to make them.  We may buy a sewing machine together to make them and to train other local women to sew (once we learn how to ourselves) so that they can earn income for their family. I'm loving all these side projects, reminds me of my Peace Corps days.

On the way home, I ran into Johnny and his son, Yago, who invited me to Japanese food but I only had about an hour before I was to head out for the night so I took a raincheck.  I rested up (aka watched an episode of Raising Hope) and then set out for the night with Savannah and Anderson (my Aussie/Brazilina neighbors) and Manda (a Canadian mom from school).  We went to Fe for the fundraising party.  I hadn't planned on spending much money since I'm down to my last Q until I make it to the city on Tuesday to find an ATM (and get paid) but there was a Q20 cover fee...and then I "had" to get a Q25 mojito (it was for the children)! :) We met up with Andrea (Guatemalan teacher) and Nikki and Dave (Brit/Canadian parents from school) and also ran into 2 other parents from school (Russian and Lithuanian)...I love this jumbalaya of cultures!  I was also very pleasantly surprised to see a few local families at the party (when I say local, I'm referring to indigenous Mayan).  I was about to hide my drink when I saw some students and their families, until I saw the mom chug back her beer so I figured I was safe.  The dj was alright and it was a fun night of mingling and dancing.  Manda and I walked home together around 10:30 with everyone else telling us how lame we were :)  I'm cool with it though since I have now officially gone out twice...in one weekend--big party weekend for me! :)

My San Marcos friends--neighbors and parents from school.

Sunday:

I woke up early today and wrote most of this blog and then finished washing my clothes from the day before.  As I was nearing the end, Courtney called and invited me over to brunch at their house.  I had already eaten, but have you ever known me to turn down food?! So, I finished up the washing and then went to town to buy a pineapple to bring with me.  We ate fresh crepes that Josh made and had a nice time chatting.  I got some good advice from them on places to go see during Semana Santa when we have a week's vacation.  I borrowed their guide book and am excited about my first trip in Guatemala.

I spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the quiet at home, painting my nails, coloring a drawing from school, and picking out the stone and string for a gift that Savannah is surprising me with.  Tonight we are heading to the Japanese restaurant to enjoy a meal before they leave on Tuesday to India.  I hope they come back soon! Apparently, a couple with a 4-month old baby are moving in...hope the walls are sound-proof and the baby likes to play :) I'm down to Q83 (about $10) to last me for 3 days, until I go to the city with a bank, but it should be worth it! **Update, we ended up changing plans to go to the Japanese place tomorrow and Savannah and I went to Moonfish instead tonight.  I had a falafel sandwich on fresh baked bread (don't worry, I took my Gluten-Ease pills) and topped it off with a brownie with almond slices.  It was heaven.

As the day is ending, I'm feeling relaxed, content, grateful that I don't have to prepare any lessons or lunch for the week and glad that I quieted my fears to experience so many great things this weekend!

Day 7: Recovering Travel Snob

January 27th, 2013

By Sunday, all signs of the poison were out of my body and it was time to reenergize with some fuel!  I was still hesitant on eating so Peter sent me a list of do’s/don’ts of eating after such a spell.  I started the day off with a bean and pasta soup I made and then hung around a few hours to make sure it was staying down.  During that time, I met my neighbors, a Brazilian guy named Anderson and an Aussie girl, Savannah.  They are artisans who make and sell jewelry.  They have been here about a month and plan to remain about one more before continuing their travels around Central and South America.  They are both very sweet and my kind of people. 

Once I was sure nothing was coming out of me, I headed down to town for a few Skype dates and then to the lake to relax.  I spent a few hours reading under the shade of a palm tree and listening to the sounds of the water crashing on the shore.  It was so serene and peaceful and reminded me of my weekends in San Diego.  Except in San Diego I never saw topless Mayan women bathing in the water or was surrounded by a million dirty hippies.  Don’t get me wrong, we have hippies in SD, I even consider myself one sometimes.  But we’re the clean kind (at least when I decide to fight the cold shower).  Not the dirty, loud, druggy ones that give the rest of us Gringos a bad name here. Locals here may not have a lot of money, but they place high value on looking presentable.  So it's hard for them to understand why a foreigner, who to them should have money, would intentionally look (and smell) so scruffy.

Before I piss some of you off, let me explain.  I’ve realized something here that I’ve been borderline discovering for a while.  I am a travel snob.  I’ve always known I was one when it came to seeing sights and doing things that everyone claims are “so incredible” and I'm like, “yeah, it was okay, but I saw way better in PLACE A or B, etc.” But, now I’m realizing that my backpacker mentality has changed.  All the time I spent traveling last year, I loved meeting other travelers and was always jealous of the people I would see who lived in the fabulous places I was merely visiting.  I always wondered what it would be like to be one of them.  And now that I’m one of them, I want nothing to do with the travelers.  I know, I kind of hate me for it too.  I mean, I’m not cruel or anything towards them.  But after working all week all I want to do is relax at the lake.  So when I head there and find a bunch of people blasting their music, dancing around, camping out in tents and hammocks, dry humping in public, and generally overtaking the place with loudness (yes, I realize I sound like I’m a bitter 80-year old), it’s disturbing and I can’t help but feel bad that this is the impression that locals have of foreigners.  And, sadly, as a foreigner, I’m lumped into this category and it gives the rest of us who don’t act that way a bad name and a harder time living here.   So, now that I think about it, let me rephrase.  I have nothing against travelers; I have something against loud, obnoxious, ignorant people.  

And, just to clarify, I have met some really nice travelers in the past few weeks here and I like them just fine.  I just have to choose where to put my energy too since I’m living here.  I’d rather invest my time getting to know people who also live here and can become my friends than people who will be leaving in a few days.  Anyway, I did enjoy my time at the lake and then I decided that to celebrate my recovering stomach’s victory, I’d get a pizza! I had a difficult time finding a place that both makes pizza, and makes them on Sundays but after some time, I found one.  It was an over-priced touristy restaurant, FE.  It was a decent pizza and just what I needed! I wrapped the rest up since I had to order an entire one (no slices here) and went home for a nap, some more reading, and blogging.  I also had a surprise visit from a teacher at my school, Karin.  She is also brand new and is part Columbian, Armenian, and Canadian.  She had come looking for Anderson and we ended up chatting for a bit.  It was a great way to end my weekend and prep for my workweek.  (Disclaimer: If workweek is spelled wrong, blame spell check.  I don’t think it looks right as one word, without a hyphen, but spell check keeps yelling at me that it is).

Days 5 and 6: Poisoning Myself and Burning Toilet Paper

January 25th & 26th, 2013  (No, I'm not a month behind on my dates...just a month behind on my posting)

Friday, Friday, Friday!!!! I love Fridays! I worked out in the morning to a “video” on my MAC and Aniceto delivered my brand-new shelves and nightstand for my room.  He’s a carpenter and built them himself for me.  He also asked me for a list of anything else I wanted so I requested a toile-paper holder and….ask and you shall receive!

I would have never thought to make a toilet paper holder out of wood...but I try to avoid plastic so I'm very happy about it!

I went to work in the morning and had a meeting with Josh to go over the week.  After that, I called it a day and went to town to buy some veggies and head home.  I met a really nice local girl at the veggie stand and I’ve seen her almost daily since and we always say “Hola, amiga!” since neither one of us remembers the other ones name but know we should J  I made myself a shake and then took a nap…and then I woke up, violently ill…really VIOLENTLY ill.  I was up all day and night sick, out both ends.  I’ll spare you any more details, but suffice it to say, it was not fun! 

Thankfully, by Saturday, it had stopped, but I was still weak and scared to eat or do much.  I was craving a ginger ail so I staggered into town to get one and that was all I had until late afternoon when I had an egg and some beans I had made the day before.  During the day, I just napped, watched movies, and tried to gain back energy.  I did manage to wash a few clothes, which actually takes energy here since I wash them by hand, but that took it all out of me so I called it a day. 

My multi-trashcan set up---food waste, plastics, paper all separate.

Oh, and I cleaned my house a bit, including the fun task of burning my toile paper.  There is not trash collection here so the system is as follows: organic waste—you compost, plastics, paper, etc.—I collect and hand over to Aniceto (not sure what he does with it), and toile paper—well, you burn it! We also burnt our trash in Paraguay, and anyone who has ever lived somewhere that they do this knows the distinct smell of burning trash that hits around 5 or 6 pm every evening.  I made my way to the TP burning pit and was too scared to do it alone so I asked 2 construction workers (who are building a house next door) to help me.  Nothing like burning someone else’s used toilet paper for them for a first meeting!  I was glad they had strong stomachs ‘cuz mine isn’t  that great to begin with and after a night like mine, I wasn’t sure I could last throughout the burning.  Gross, gross, gross! I’m still not sure what caused the food poisoning--there are too many “could be’s” like the water or fruits/vegetables.  Since I’m not giving up water or fruits and veggies anytime soon, I’ve convinced myself that it was the shake I had before my nap since the next day the milk smelled bad.  So there we have it, I poisoned myself.  Way to go, Dan.

Day 4: Unsuccessful

Day 4: January 24th, 2013

Thursday morning, I went into work all gung-ho to get lots done.  But, alas, the universe had other plans for me….nothing I tried to get accomplished worked…I mean nothing! My printer wouldn’t work, I couldn’t get the internet to work, I couldn’t open files I needed, people I needed to talk to weren’t there…it was just one of those days. Oh well, life could be a lot worse!

So, after a morning of getting a whole lot of nothing done, the entire staff and I went to eat lunch at Comedor Susi, a local family-style eatery. Every Thursday, the kids leave early and we have lunch together and a meeting.  Since the kitchen still wasn’t ready, we all went out.  Most places here have a meal of the day and it’s the cheapest and freshest.  Menus aren’t that typical and there are usually just a few options.  Since we were a big group, Josh and I had arranged it the night before on our way back from the docks to just have one meal for all.  Everyone had fried chicken, except me—I had vegetables, rice, and beans.  It was pretty good; although by the time we got it (around 2pm) I was so hungry I thought I might eat the whole chicken, my arm, and someone else’s. 

After lunch, we returned to school to finish up the meeting and it went until after 5pm.  As we were finishing up, I noticed clouds and heard thunder and mentioned that it looked like rain. Everyone laughed and assured me it couldn’t rain because it wasn’t rainy season. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, it was raining!  I was really glad for my short 1-minute walk home since it was raining and it was the one day I had brought my laptop with me!

The trail from school to my house is a dirt path with lots of rocks and boulders aligning it.  As I walked, I crossed paths with another guy who decided to go up and around me a bit.  While doing so, he knocked off a giant rock from someone’s retaining wall onto the back of my ankle.  It sliced it open and hit me right in the Achilles so that I had to limp home, bleeding, and carrying my cargo.  I was a sight!  Luckily, Don Lucas, the hotel owner of the property that my house is on, had a band-aid so I was all right. 

Type of rock that fell on my achilles. 

I ended working at home that night until about 11pm.  Fell asleep and then woke again at 3am, not able to sleep again.  So, I decided just to keep on working and was able to finally understand a lot of my new job.  Until then, I had just had information spewed at me and didn’t have time to really process or retain it.  So, after a rough start to the morning, at least I ended the day (albeit technically the next morning) with some success.

Day 3: Pupusas in Pana

23, enero, 2013 --Day 3, Guatemala:

We started the school day with another Mayan ceremony today, but this time just amongst the staff.  It was also in honor of Nicolas, a great man who had been at the school since the beginning and died in a tragic fishing accident last year.  His son currently works at the school with me and it was an emotional event.

After the ceremony, Josh and I went to Panajachel—known locally as “Pana.” It’s the closest “city” about an hour away by small motorboat.  The town of San Marcos reminds me of a weird mix of Asia and South America in so many ways, especially with all the hippy travelers everywhere.  But I was reminded, once again, of my backpacking Asia days as we boarded the small boat and were herded in like cattle for the bumpy, wet ride—it was just like Thailand and Cambodia!!! Also similar was having to not get ripped off for the fee.  Josh explained to me that the locals pay 8 Quetzales one-way and foreigners who live in town and are known pay 10 Q. However, there are always drivers who want to charge more than double and ask for 20 or 25 Q.  The best defense is to hand over exactly 10 Q and keep on walking.  We did this and were harassed for a minute but calmly stated that we live here and kept walking.  

For all my fellow Asia-backpackers, Pana reminds me of Luang Prabang in size.  It’s still a town and not a city by western standards, as you can walk the whole city in a few hours, but, after spending tranquil days in San Marcos, it seems overwhelming with the cards, noise, traffic, etc.  We spent all day walking around doing the week’s errands for the school---going to the bank, buying things that you can’t buy in San Marcos, etc.  It was hot and a long day.  We had pupusas for lunch and they were pretty good.  Josh had a beer at lunch and I couldn’t help but smile inside at my boss drinking a beer “while on the job” J I had hibiscus juice instead and it was yummy. We didn’t make it home until around 6pm and it sure felt like a long day!

My boss, Josh, after a lunch of Pupusas & beer.

The docks at Pana.

I was finally able to pay rent that night (a few days late) since I was able to get money at the bank in Pana (I think I mentioned already that there is no bank in my town.  There’s also no grocery store or lots of other things.  I’m slowly learning what things I can and can’t buy here and am grateful that I will have to travel to Pana almost weekly for work and can take advantage of the trip to do shopping.  Especially looking forward to grocery shopping, as there are a few places where you can buy anything! I couldn’t believe it! They had gluten-free EVERYTHING, Godiva brownie mix, anything I could want! Of course, you pay a hefty price for it so I won’t be getting much, but it’s nice to know the option exists! Oh, and since I’m writing this retroactively, I’m have to report that yesterday I discovered that I can also buy home-made granola, almond milk, and Godiva brownie mix in my own town—good to know for emergencies! J

Day 2: Mayan Ceremony

Day2: January 22nd, 2013

Tuesday morning was really great! The start of it, not so much, as I awoke to no water coming out of my faucets again.  I was really nervous this was going to be a routine thing, but I talked to the hotel owner, Don Lucas, who's son, Aniceto, owns my house, and he was able to get it turned back on in a second.  Turns out my neighbors had turned off the key because they had a leak.  And, I'm happy to report, I haven't had a problem since.  That was nice and all, but the really cool part about the morning was the Mayan ceremony at the school!

The kids still had not returned to school yet so it was just the teachers all week, and to begin the school year off right, we invited a local Mayan woman to perform a cleansing ceremony for blessings and good luck in the year.  It was really amazing to be a part of and I wanted so badly to take a photo of the amazing circle of colorful candles, flowers, elements to represent the earth (sugar, flour, water, etc.), but didn't, out of respect for the ceremony.  She told me I could “take a photo with my heart” : ) Love it!
I did, however, find these online. It looked similar to this...but way prettier!



The Mayans have something called a “Nahual” which is similar to a Chinese or Horoscope sign (as far as I can tell so far) and I learned that my symbol is 7, Kawoq.  You can calculate your Nahual and read about it here. Not sure what all that means yet, but anxious to learn more about it! After the ceremony, I met Manuel, a Chilean guy who worked in my position the year before.  He was able to train me some which was quite helpful.  He had his 2 adorable children with him and we all ate lunch in town at a local comedor and saw his house.  It had a GIANT and GORGEOUS patio, and if I shared the house with a roommate would cost me less than I'm paying now…later that day I ran into Andrea, a colleague, and went back to her house to have cookies and lemonade while her son, Antu and 2 friends played.  Her house and patio were also ginormous and beautiful and she pays the same amount I do…I may have to rethink my living situation here!

As we were opening her gate, we saw Lassa, Josh' dog, so we brought her inside and called him to come get her as she had escaped.  So, when he got there, I walked with him and Lassa to see the lake, finally! I hadn't even seen it yet! It's SO beautiful and amazing (see photos below) and I'm really happy to live in such a peaceful place.  Even the spiders and scorpions are peaceful here and don't sting :) The ants do, but I can deal with that.

Lake Atitlan and some of the surrounding volcanoes. I'm told they are dormant (thank goodness) and make for good hiking.  See the stone wall and submerged trees below? About 50 years ago, it rained so much that the lake rose by over 4 meters (quick, google it to convert it to feet, I don't have internet). Anyway, it's a lot and you can still see houses and other structures overcome by the water and in complete ruins.  There's a stone oven just beyond the stone wall in the photo that makes for a cool under-water cave now.

My weekend hangout spot for some sandy shade while looking at the images above.







Woke up to this poor little guy smooshed in my mac in the morning : (

Day 1: Russian Roulette Shower

January 21st, 2013

If you don’t know it already, I’m working at Escuela Caracol, a Waldorf/International School in San Marcos, La Laguna, Guatemala (small, remote town near Lake Atitlan, surrounded by volcanoes, full of 3,000 people).  It was founded by Josh and Courtney Wilson, a couple from Falls Church Virginia! Most of the kids are indigenous, Mayan, with a large number of international kids as well.  The school teaches in 3 languages, Spanish, English, and Kaqchikel (the native, Mayan language in this region).  There are many things about this area that remind me of Paraguay, the use of the native language and the socio-economic disparities tied to it, being just one of them.

My official job is the Development Coordinator, although the day before I arrived, the head administrator quit so I’ve also been taking over lots of his role since here.  It’s all new and I’m learning  a lot.  My co-workers are all super friendly, supportive, and patient and I ease into this new role as supervisor to some of them.  As with any new job, it’s been hard to actually get any work done.  Monday was a team-building day and it was very nice to get to know everyone and a great way to start off the year.  Most of the teachers are local to the community, one is Guatemalan but from a city, 2 are American, and one is Colombian.  It’s a great group! 

My “treehouse” office—I love it! And check out my view to the school grounds!

Normally we eat a morning snack and lunch prepared by the school (all vegetarian and home-cooked!) but the kitchen was under remodel so we had to fend for ourselves this week.  I still had no food in my house but Josh, Karin (the Colombian, and also new) and I went out to eat. I had a burrito at a place near my house, pretty good. To be fair, everything is near my house.  The school is in my backyard and a 1 minute walk, the “grocery stores” are another minute in the other direction, and the center of town, restaurants, and lake are about a 4 minute (hilly) walk. There are no cars, other than the occasional motor taxi, and I love it! It’s peaceful, except for the barking dogs, chickens, firecrackers, and digadaroo playing from my Aussie neighbor.   I digress. 

Josh and I worked until about 6 that night, trying to cram in 2 weeks worth of training into a few days.  I was eager to get home and test my running water since it hadn’t worked in the morning, which meant I left a sink full of dishes and came home to a house full of ants.  Luckily, it was working when I got back.  I was too tired to go buy food.  Fortunately, I brought a few packs of quinoa and rice from home and was able to heat those up quickly to eat. I didn’t have any salt yet (me, of all people!—I’m a giant salt-tooth!) so I had to flavor it with balsamic vinegar. It was….interesting. J

I hadn’t showered since arriving in Guatemala and was really looking forward to a nice hot shower.  I didn’t get one.  While I do “technically” have hot water, it’s by no means the same standard as Western hot water showers.  The warmest setting is luke warm, at best, and comes and goes every 30 seconds or so.  When it goes, you have to adjust the nob ever so slightly to find the exact spot where it clicks again, wait a minute or 2 for it to reheat, and then proceed in the same manner the entire time.  Needless to say, I was not that clean, not shaven, and freezing with goose bumps by the end of the shower. I’ve since figured out a little bit better how to work it, but it’s still like playing Russian roulette eveytime I put shampoo in my hair and I risk having to wash it out in ice-cold water.  I’ve learned that my best bet is to just not get dirty so I don’t have to shower.  And then when I must, I just wash all the important parts REALLY quickly, try to only wash my hair when it’s super early in the day and it’s less likely that other people will be using their water, and shave outside in my pileta---not sure what this is in English, wash bin maybe? I’m also really glad that I brought a hairdryer with me.  Not because I want to look cute (I don’t even use the thing at home), but because it gets pretty chilly at night and in the mornings (my office at school is freezing all day since the sun doesn’t hit it) so it’s nice to have dry hair.

Guatemala Day 1: Arriving to Guate!

27, January, 2013 (no, I’m not dyslexic, that’s the way most of the rest of the world writes their dates)

Arriving in Guatemala:

It’s Sunday afternoon while I write this and it was exactly a week ago today that I arrived in Guatemala.  I’ve accomplished so many things in just one short week; including but not limited to moving into a new house, working a week at my new job, almost dying and then recovering from food poison, slicing open and twisting an ankle on a giant boulder, swimming in lake Atitlan, and learning how to cook anything, including pizza on a stovetop.  It’s been quite an adventure so far to say the least!

Cooking pizza on the stove. I don’t have an oven (but my friends do) and it’s a gas stove, but luckily, I don’t have to turn the gas on and off each time like I did in Paraguay and freaked me out every time.

So, where do I begin? I suppose the beginning.  After a flight delay of 6 days (yup, you read that right, see previous blog entry), I arrived at BWI airport on the 20^th at 5am, fingers and toes crossed that my flight would actually be leaving that day.  Luckily, it did, and the girl who checked me in helped me force my overstuffed bag closed and didn’t charge me extra for the other, overweight one.  My first flight from BWI to Ft. Lauderdale was pretty uneventful, although uncomfortable.  The flight was full and the seats did not recline at all (again, budget airline) and I was glad to have my water with me since they even charged for that.  Although seated like a contortionist, I was tired enough to sleep an unrestful sleep for about an hour of the 2 hour flight. 

I was a bit nervous about my connection in Florida since I only had about 30 minutes in between flights. Luckily, the terminal was the smallest (and most crowded) I had ever seen and the next gate was right next doors.  It was so small, I even had time to go to the toilet and buy an organic salad (it was good)! I felt like I was already in Guate since everyone around me was speaking Spanish.  Actually, everyone at my gate in Baltimore was speaking Spanish too since most people were headed to Central America and it was comforting to know that, even after years of not living in a Spanish-speaking country and at 5 in the morning, my brain slipped right back into el español.

I lucked out on the next leg of the flight from Florida to Guatemala City (also about a 2.5 hour flight) and had an empty seat next to me so I was able to lie down, although ironically, couldn’t sleep. Towards the end of the flight, I met a Finnish girl seated behind me who had already been to Guate several times.  We exchanged stories and emails, and she may come visit me next week.  Plus, if I’m being honest here, it was nice to have someone to leave my bags with while I went to the bathroom.  J  No problems with the bags, they were there waiting when I got off the plane, customs was a breeze (although I did have a slight panic when I realized I didn’t have a return flight and quickly invented a story in my head just in case), and my shuttle driver was outside with my name on a sign waiting for me.  I felt special! J

The school had arranged for the driver, Domingo, to meet me and I was glad since I was running on little-to-no sleep and had some errands to run that could only be done in the city, before heading to my remote village.  The first sights I saw of Guatemala as we left the airport included Dominoes pizza, several Citibanks, the zoo, lots of Burger Kings, and Shell gas stations. I mentioned to Domingo that I wanted to stop to go to an ATM, buy a cell phone chip, and eat lunch.  He said he knew just the place for us to go.  I was excited to have my first Guate experience and curious to know where he would take me—It was none other than….Walmart! Yup, my first “local” experience in Guate was at Walmart.  And he was shocked to learn that we had Walmart at home too. J

Nonetheless, it was still an experience, and nothing is ever simple! My first “to-do” was to take out money from the ATM for the month since my village has no bank.  The first 2 machines I tried gave me error messages.  I was starting to panic that it was my card when the 3^rd one finally worked (except, it would only give me a minimum amount and only let me do that 2 times).  So, I left the city with less than half the amount I needed for the month.  (Luckily, later in the week, I took a trip for work to a town with a bank and was able to get more money because by that point I was already down to 90 Quetzales (about $10) for the rest of the month. 

After the ATM, we went to buy a SIM card chip for my phone.  It’s a phone I bought while in Jordan and I’ve used it all over the world: Europe, Asia, etc., simply buying a local chip in each new country.  I bought the chip, the guy put it in and….voila, nothing! Damn thing wouldn’t work here.  I was so tired and hungry, I just bought the cheapest phone they had (about $12), and we got on our way to eating in the food court.  I will say this, although it was Walmart, it was a Sunday and was a hopping place for the Guatemalans so I didn’t really feel like I was in Wally world.  And it’s definitely a different clientele than the ones back home.  Food court options were slim (except for Taco Bell) for vegetarians, but we found a Ma and Pop place with local food.  I had some sort of egg-covered asparagus with beets and tortillas.  Not the best, but it filled my belly.  (Lucky for me, my town, San Marcos, La Laguna is extremely vegetarian-friendly!!) After lunch, I quickly bought some things I thought I might not be able to by in my town or knew would be cheaper in the city (toilet paper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, etc.) and we set on our way. 

By this point, it was close to 3pm (I landed around 1) and as much as I tried to persuade Domingo to stop at Office Depot for a filing cabinet the school had asked me to buy, it was a no go.  SO, a double-fail for me on the first 2 assignments I had for work—arrive on time and get a filing cabinet L The trip took about 3.5 hours, including all my private bathroom stops, and was a good chance to catch up on sleep (had the entire van to myself) and learn about Domingo’s family.  We even picked up his wife and daughter for part of the way.  The first part of the drive was not much to write home about, but the second half was a bit slower as the roads would disappear at times and turn into giant potholes of dirt (reminded me of Laos roads) on windy, mountainous routes.  As we approached my town, San Marcos, it was right around sunset and it was a beautiful drive overlooking the lake and the town, with all the lights. 

My Kitchen

I was nervous we wouldn’t find my contacts since we hadn’t established a meeting point, other than “in town” and was wondering why no one else seemed to notice this oversight. And then we pulled into “town” and I saw why.  There’s literally (like that, Jenny?) one spot in town for a car and sure enough, that’s where Andrea, a teacher at my school, was waiting for me.  She was sweet and bought me a 5-gallon jug of water as a house-warming gift, for which I was VERY grateful! She showed us the way to my house where Josh, the co-founder of the school (American) had prepped the house, down to fresh flowers on the table!

Pieces of Home to watch over me :) 

Kitchen, Desk, Bed

                                                    

We took a quick 20-minute walk through town (it’s only that big) and then said our goodbyes for the night.  It was around 7pm and I was feeling good and anxious to unpack.  It had been over a year and a half since I had lived in my own place…or any place for more than a few months for that matter and I was quite looking forward to settling in.  I was so gung ho and after about 30 minutes of unpacking, I hit a wall and called it a night.  It was a good thing I got that rest because the next morning, I hit the ground running at work and haven’t looked back since!