First post of first useful blog on the subject of my increasingly interesting travels to a strange and wonderful place.
I've just been walking to the pre-school, to find that the owner was working elsewhere at the moment and spying on what the children were eating in an unexpectedly covert nutritionalist way.
I've been talking with a man named TS who's been helping us understand a few oddities of the culture and particularly, what he's been trying to do in order to make sure the children at that particular school aren't being fed insanely cheap junk food.
He suggested that I could be an observer while the mothers of these children go to the markets to buy food, because then I could report back to the nutritionalist agenda.
It's sort of not what I came here for directly, but any way I can help is at least something to do.
I'm realizing now that I brought very little in terms of entertainment for my downtime besides 501 Spanish Verbs, the book, King Lear, and my iPod. We're staying at La Posada for now, enjoying some stone-wraught bungalo comfort. By tomorrow, I need to decide whether I want to stay in an apartment or with a host family for the rest of my time here. I'm on the fence, because a fortress of solitude would be nice, but it would be very isolationist of me, and have a lot of privacy, which, who needs?
The host family option would be wonderful for my Spanish, and the possibility of my getting sick from lake water contamination seems the same unless I was super diligent in boiling my water for everything.
The humidity is awesome, I brought all the wrong clothes, and so far I've met at least two really great people, so all is well. I'll try to update this once every few days, or when something notable happens. I'd love to hear how everyone else is doing, so feel free to email me at corinthiandiosa@gmail.com.
See you all later,
kele
1 comment:
Kele-
Ah Guatemala. What a wonderful nation! I havent spent too much time there- one month total- but I was able to travel quite a bit, especially in the Highlands and central Guatemala. Looks like Walden will be headed back next May as well.
I have no advice, just immerse and enjoy. So youve noted the extreme poverty I assume; its similar to India in that way. Guatemala is one of the top 3 nations in the world for inequalities between the poor (most folks) and rich (very small minority). Its up there with Nepal. And the racism against the Mayans ...the lighter or more Spanish folk, called Ladinos, actually means "not Indian." Whacked, huh ? In case you havent been boning up on Guatemala's history, they had a 34 year civil war, primarily sponsored by the USA, with tens of thousands of deaths, death squads roaming the countryside, mass killings, disappearances, the works. Very painful collective memory, and it ended in the mid 1990s. So not that long ago, especially in the Mayan countryside and Highlands. They are still finding the graves. Youll also notcie the large amount of guns about; besides the civil war leftovers, Guatemala is a mainly cash only economy, so at the end of the day the delivery guys will ave stacks of cash- and a guy with a nervous trigger finger.
Sharon's best friend spent 2 years in the Peace Corps in a small village in the Highlands called Palestina de los Altos. We visited her for a week and learned alot about the inner workings of a male dominated Guatemalan farming village. Oh the fleas, and the stories!
you are going to have so much fun! Mayan- so is it quiche, mam, or what ? Not like Spanish, eh ? Well Im not sure where you are in country, let me know what region you are in. I have several contacts in Guatemala re: photojournalists and writers, etc- so if you need anybody or want to meet up in a city sometime, or run into any trouble, etc just drop me a line. They have contacts in good and high places. I just got back from 3 weeks in Mexico so Im still feeling the Latin vibe a bit...IM sure youve been warned about the crime level...its epidemic in GC; and crimes against women as well. Be safe have a blast and learn lots by serving. You will change their lives and they will change yours.
That which cant be taught you learn by teaching...
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