First Impressions

Living with and getting to know a new group of people is one of the best ways to learn about yourself and how you are perceived by the rest of the world, especially the world that hasn’t known you since you were 15. Most people never realize it, but new people make me incredibly nervous. I’m fascinated by people and obviously excited when new ones enter my life, but I have this complex where I never quite know what someone would ever find interesting about me, and I worry I’ll bother them – What could I possibly bring to the table in the relationship? This unrealistic quirk, I’m finding, creates a distance that many are uncomfortable crossing.

I’m realizing, over the last year or so living in two cities and another country with post-college friends, that I don’t share enough of myself, making my first impression challenging for a lot of people. First impressions are vital, especially as we grow up and our networks of friends spread out around the world, get married, or win the privilege of 60+ hr/wk jobs. We need to learn how to reach out to others around us for fulfilling relationships.

I’m also finding, via this blog, that even with some of my closest friends, I don’t share some of the personal thoughts and feelings that they deserve. Especially when I am privvy to most of their trials and tribulations, their joys and dreams. This saddens me and I am resolved to make some changes. Those lifelong friendships are what, at least for me, make the world go ‘round. My friends keep me sane, keep me happy, and are my priority. To keep those relationships rich, we have to remember to share of ourselves just as much as we need to be there for our friends – relationships are only truly alive if they work in both directions.

Doing the work I want to do – improving lives to a point of self-sustainability and personal development previously unreachable – requires significant interpersonal care. It takes trust. It takes patience. It takes determination. It takes resilience.

If I’m going to not only have the personal life I want, but also the professional one, I have to pay closer attention to my own personal development before I can truly help others in Mayeroff’s sense of a caring relationship (Cass, Shannon, stop laughing right now!). Those relationships require hard work and patience, courage and humility – a first impression of unapproachability will hinder any work I do or relationships I hope for, and therefore this development of my own self is going to become a priority.

Don’t let yourself be complacent in developing your own image, values and relationships. Personal awareness is one of the most difficult tasks, one that is never complete, and one of the most vital if you truly want to impact the world around you – whether as corporate manager, a nonprofit director, a teacher, a doctor, or as a friend. Pay attention to what you put into the world and keep striving to be the person you want to be. 

Chacarra! Chacarra! Cinco! Chacarra!

Life Update #4:

In some ways a LOT has happened over the last week and a half…and in some ways we really haven’t done much.

Last week, our first week in Guate, we met with Claudia & Maria José, who run Shalom down here, to make sure we were all on the same page, do a little brainstorming, and make a few connections in the city. A couple days later we met with Donaldo, the Director/Principal of the primary school in Las Conchas. He is excited at the prospect of moving forward and finally, after several years on his end, getting some houses built for families in the town. But he’s also anxious because so many different attempts have been made and so little progress achieved.

We’ve also been reaching out to anyone and everyone that would be relevant to the community’s needs, primarily around housing and water filters. We’re hoping to move beyond simply the microfinance model we started with earlier this year, but to provide a continuum of options that might help a broader swath of people gain a safe, durable home. The microfinance option with the government subsidy pairing provides most likely the largest and one of the more timely options but it is also more expensive than some can afford.

Our first success has been with Un Techo Para Mi Pais, an amazing organization that works throughout Latin America, started in Chile and began operations in Guatemala in 2008. They build transitional houses for families in extreme poverty (I believe the “line” is less than Q800/month or just over $100). These homes are small, wooden, and intended to last at most 8-10years. They cost $1300 and the family pays a 10% fee. But not only do these wonderful people build homes, they stay involved in the community doing education, health and vocational work tailored to the situation of the community. By the time we finished the meeting they’d arranged time to come to Las Conchas with us the next week. They’d never worked in an “urban” setting and had been looking for places in the City that were safe…a bigger challenge than it sounds!

So the next Wednesday five of us traveled to LC to talk to Donalgo and Camilo – President of the town and an endearingly strong but compassionate man – for Techo to present themselves and their work. Then we walked around the newer, and poorer, part of LC with Camilo so they could assess the situation and if it looked like something they wanted to investigate more. What a great trip! The word “ideal” was used more than once. And these guys are great – once they see a viable project they get started; and once the interviews and family assessments are done, they start building. They’re pretty much my ideal. See pics below for current state of affairs.

In other news, we’ve reached out to several major banks that deal in microfinance to investigate how operations are run here and what options we may have. Genésis has been difficult to nail down and we can’t wait for them, though we continue to hope that that relationship will bear some fruit in the next weeks. We have meetings with several banks, both in the City and in Xela. We’ve also contacted another housing organization based outside of Antigua to see what their projects are like and if they can support an income bracket that perhaps Un Techo would not, in hopes of reaching yet more people. Constru Casa has its own micro-credit like operation to build homes, requiring a moderate but manageable contribution by families for their homes. We don’t know if this will bear any tangible fruit, but the meeting is exciting regardless. Finally, we are pondering solutions to water, inspired by Cody & Omar’s work and our resesarch on various types of filters used in areas like LC.

So it is a lot. And yet, we’ve done it from our computers and phones (first from the “home office” and now the Guate version of Sbux “& Café”). None of it is set in stone but there is building momentum I can get excited about. Un Techo has reinvigorated me in the project and Mario’s connections to MFIs are deep, so there is hope yet there. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can bring to this community in such a short time. We will finally start some manual work and interacting directly with families through home-builds this weekend with Shalom. In a few weeks we’ll get to work in another town with Techo to build their homes and see their program in action.

The rest of life in the City has been much better than anticipated. Zone 10 is lively and relatively safe. The only drawback, other than the currently unusable wifi, is that we are feet from a chickenbus stop where the ayudantes have an impressive capacity to yell “CHACARRA!!!!!” for hours (it seems all the buses at this stop go there, why must we yell so much?!). Drowning out even the horns and whistles and rivaling the planes taking off overhead. Sleeping in is a feat I have yet to achieve. And there are certainly more guns than I’ve ever seen in my life (private security outnumber the police). We are continually told stories of violence and crime…but within several blocks of our place I feel quite safe. We do also live next to the Westin, InterContinental and a few other major hotels, so security is above average. But we’ve met up with friends a few times, explored the neighborhood and found some offices we’re trying to schedule meetings with, all on foot with no problems. Outside of this Zone is a different story, but that’s why we’re living where we are. We even have our cabbie, Vitelio, as we have been all but forbidden to ride the chickenbuses. So far so good, keep your fingers crossed!

 


 


1. Local church  2-5. homes  6-7. my novios  8. how did he figure that feature out?  Me, Mau, Mario & Olivia

You don't have to come to Guatemala for this

I’ve been surprised how many times in the last couple weeks, or even in March, that I’ve said or thought, “That’s just like in Martinsville [or Philly] when…” Poverty touches every town in every country. Usually the problems look alike, sure they have different faces and different depths, but rarely is the situation truly unique. People tell me how remarkable what we're trying to do here his, how noble it is, and I appreciate those comments...but just because I traveled to another country doesn't make addressing these problems necessarily "better" or "more" than facing the ones at home, in my opinion. **I'm not trying to downplay the problems here with this post, I'm just trying to highlight that poverty isn't unique to one or a handful of nations. 

For instance. Last night I was told a story of Guatemalan mennonites smuggling drugs under their caps, because who would be as insensitive as to search the cap of a sweet mennonite lady? Immediately, I thought of Martinsville. Many of you know this story but as a short recap: in 2005 the sherriff, several police officers (including my DARE officer), the pastor of the largest regional Baptist church, and several civilians were indicted for laundering money, machine guns, and selling drugs that had been pulled off the streets. Cops and pastors: Same thing.

For instance. Government corruption and inefficiency. Well, we all know the US isn’t immune to that! It’s far worse in Guatemala – we need only look at the two leading candidates in the election: Sandra Torres - who is divorcing the current President so she can “marry the people of Guatemala” (it’s illegal for close relatives to serve as President) - and Otto Perez Molina - a former military big-whig responsible for a significant amount of death in the country. I don’t think I need to provide examples of corruption and inefficiency for everyone…go read a paper. Same problems different aesthetics.

For instance. Homelessness and alcoholism. They go hand in hand everywhere. While telling me how the boys I'd spent the day with were sons of at least one if not two alcoholic parents, my teacher went on about the drunks that slept in the streets, lost their homes, and left their families in destitution. She was shocked when I said the same thing happens in the US, in big cities and small towns. There are homeless people everywhere, we just do a better job of hiding it in the States. Sure, changing geography doesn't fix these problems - that's not the silver bullet; tough love has an important role. But tough love includes love, don't forget that when you pass the homeless guy laying on the grate for warmth.

For instance. Schools. Where to begin? My private school, Carlisle, has served me well, but the school is crowded and good teachers difficult to keep. However, high standards have kept the school performing well above average. Unfortunately though, this high standard is inaccessible by much of the community – a place suffering from one of the nation’s longest and highest unemployment rates – creating a dual society. The public schools do have high performing programs, but the caliber of teacher and funding from elementary through high school, when college and scholarships become pivotal for disadvantaged students, are sometimes lackluster. Rural, poor and minority populations achieve significantly lower than majority and urban populations. Dropout rates remain high. In Philadelphia the adult illiteracy rate hovers around 24%. The problems in Guatemala are similar: Rural schools suffer lower learning and achievement than do city schools. Indigenous populations are worse off than the majority population. Private schools are inaccessible to much of the population. Funding for school programs is low. Same thing.

*An interesting note on education here. My teacher told me that while the students in private schools achieve higher marks and often have more success after school, their actual learning is generally lower. Private schools are known to be easier than public schools. Corruption fuels these schools and marks are paid for instead of earned. She noted that when she was in school her friends left the public school because their grades were poor and attended private school, where they were among the best in their class. Yet their reading and language skills, both in Spanish and English, were significantly less than her own.

Poverty is poverty is poverty. Sure, the poverty in indigenous communities in the highlands of Guatemala, among tribes in Congo or slums in Bangladesh is far far worse than the poverty faced by welfare recipients in the US. But that doesn’t mean it’s not poverty, does it? Maybe if we stop glorifying the poverty in these far away places, that so few of us can truly touch, we can change the conversation. Maybe then poverty becomes what it is - poverty, the same at its core around the world: people lacking basic human capabilities. Then, instead of tossing aside poverty in our own communities because it's not poor "enough", we can cause real change at home. This is not to say that the extreme problems abroad aren't just that, extreme, but we can't all tackle the problems of potable water in Sub-Saharan Africa. We just can't. But just because we can't do that, we shouldn't forget the problems families face at home either, even if they don't seem as bad. We need people all over the world to focus on the extreme problems we know so much about, it's vital, but if you have another path in life, that doesn't mean poverty is erased from your reality, because it exists in every corner of the world. We all have our part, some larger than others, but we all have our part.

In Guatemala I’m constantly reminded to support the local artisan or farmer instead of the mass-market stores/restaurants. I’m reminded that while it might feel unfair to spend Q20 more per boat ride just because I’m white, that $2.75 means a lot more to them than it does to me, so I shouldn’t get upset. I remember that I’m luckier than literally billions of people…I need to leverage that luck, not exploit it. Sure I think I’ve earned a few luxuries and I’m not ashamed of that, but we should all be careful about how we use our money and resources, where we use them, and who we support. Think about the poverty in your town – you don’t have to come to Guatemala to find it. The solutions can be small - there's no silver bullet - and we all have a role. Go support a farmer’s market, join a Board or do pro-bono work, buy the Contributor a few times a month in Nashville, or help out the teachers at the local school.

Life Update: Last week at the Lake...musings later

Update #3:

It has been an incredible week since my last writing…and I’ve done quite a bit! Will try to give you a vivid but concise sum (not likely, sorry!)…

Monday we had another cooking session at school with the maestras – chuchitos, doblados (fried tortillas stuffed with potatoe) and guacamole. Followed by some delish (disinfected) strawberry birthday cake…gotta love disinfected fruits! Birthday celebration part deux was at Pana Rock in town for two students. Met some fun and interesting Guatemalans they had befriended – good to know some locals for sure.

Wednesday was my last day of class and I spent most of the 4 hour session answering Florinda’s questions about what we’d all been up to at Pana Rock. Gossip never gets old, eh? Thus a great last day of class. Then we all went to a nature reserve in Pana for the afternoon. A nice little walk out of town avoiding being obliterated by chickenbuses led us to a park of fruit trees, café, monkeys and waterfalls.

Lisa and Tricia arrived on Thursday midday from Antigua as their last stop before heading back to the States. Since they weren’t getting in until a little later I decided to visit Santa Catarina Palopo, the town just to the left of Pana. Little did I know private boats are the only option and they start at Q150 (normal public lancha rate: Q25). So I walked.

The 4km took about 40minutes between flip flops (oops) and the rolling mountains…and avoiding the tuk tuk’s barelling downhill. Despite the semi-confused look on almost everyone’s face upon seeing a gringa, sola, walking on the cliffs, I felt very safe and the views were stunning. When I finally rolled into Sta. Cataraina it seemed very small, less touristy, and had a great little square with a simple church even though it clearly served as the hub of town. I grabbed a Q1 ($0.13) wedge of fresh watermelon on the street and wandered to eat by the dock. School was still in session and I found some great soccer fields close to the water. Sitting on the docks you can tell this is primarily a fishing/farming town and for reasons I’m still working out the tourism exists but they don’t attract that many people. The rains really hamper the ability of bigger boats to get in and out of the docks because of washed up algae/plant life, so maybe that’s part of it.

 

After my watermelon and musings I wandered back towards the center to find that school was letting out! The chaos of that many kids dumping onto the street is electric. And all the stands of fruit, bags of colored drink, toys, and etc had popped up in that little bit of time. Soccer games ensued and little girls giggled together in corners. I obviously sat myself right in the middle of it all on the steps of the church, debating which soccer game to join and when. I am now probably the background on about 15 different kids’ cell phones. All of a sudden a little girl with her backpack and a bag of clothes joined me on the steps. Melba wasn’t nervous to talk to me at all! We did a quick introduction, talked about school (classes of only 24! Hallelujah), and she decided she wanted to take me around. So off we went – first to find her friend Cindy across the little plaza, then to the beach. There was some kind of handoff of the clothes I still haven’t figured out…I think someone was going to wash them later in the lake. Then Melba and I wandered up into the depths of the town where clearly few gringos go – based on the snickers and grabbings of little kids we passed – and saw her house and her friend’s house. I felt very uncomfortable with the intrusion but didn’t know how to explain to her why both her friends and I to an extent seemed uncomfortable. Anyway, problem avoided because we headed right back down to the lake. She took me to some of the local swimming holes, explained that the plants in the water kept some of the boats with tourists out, I taught her how to skip rocks, we collected snails, and then played soccer with a tiny ball on the beach. I met her grandfather briefly (he has four wives) and an aunt – both of whom just laughed at the pair of us wandering hand in hand through the alleys! Then she got a hold of my camera. Well, we all know kids are sponges and technology is exceptionally easy for them. I found myself on a modeling shoot and she managed to take around 86 pics with my camera until the battery ran out. *Word to the wise: careful about teaching kids about the zoom feature or you wind up with an unnecessary number of photos that are just far too close to look good. Despite the large amount of deleting I would have to do later, spending the day with Melba was enchanting and I’m so lucky she found me!

I finally extracted myself from Melba’s tiny hand because I needed to get back to Pana to find Lisa. Unfortunately I had no texts left and she couldn’t use the phone, so we really were uncoordinated. Then I found there weren’t really tuktuks in Sta. Catarina so I hoofed it back another 40 mintues. Got a great tan though!

Friday they headed to Tecpan to see the Mayan ruins there. Since I visited the site in March I decided it’d be a good day to climb a volcano. So at 6am I waited for my bus…nothing. 6:15 Andrea from the tour place picks me up and explains that the guide is waiting in San Pedro for me at a café. I talk to him, all is good, eventually get a lancha across the lake..which of course stops at every little nook of a town on the way there. I get to the café over an hour later than planned and no one but an older American guy is there – no guide. I wait, I call the four office numbers about 20 times, leave messages, go back to the café – nothing. Angry and really not wanting to waste the day I get some coffee by the lake to regroup. Wound up with a Q200 guided hike down El Noz (a mountain there looks like a face laying down…thus “the nose” or “el indio”). Off Pedro and I go – solo tour with a guy I don’t know? Why not. Chickenbus #3 has been survived, btw. After telling him my volcano tour saga he helps me call the office, where someone finally answers, and get them to pay up. I know my Spanish has advanced if I can yell at someone, on a low-quality cell phone, in Spanish, on a mountain, in a chickenbus. Good sign.

Anyway, we get up the mountain, jump out on the side of the road by some farms, buy some corn from a lady walking down the street for breakfast (absolutely delicious corn), and start our wander through the farms. I could never have found this trek on my own and no group would take this route. But being just the two of us we just walked through the coffee and corn farms while everyone was out working to get to this small path he knows. At its most luxurious the path was a foot wide, at its least a few inches and we would pause so Pedro could machete some of the brush away…followed by me praying the roots of the tall grasses were strong enough to keep me from toppling over the side! What a VIEW. He even took me to a small waterfall tucked into the mountain that serves as the main water source for the town of San Juan. Basically there’s a 3in PVC pipe that just hangs among the trees all the way from the waterfall in the mountain to a tank somewehre in town…so every now and then you step over or duck under loose PVC pipe. This is the “clean” water – compared to towns that get it from the lake, anyway.

We walk out of the path after passing the corn & frijoles, café, and aguacate fields and right into San Juan. Unexpected but a great surprise so I call Omar, who I find out isn’t working and even when he is it’s on the coffee co-op at the mouth of the trail. How fortiutous. Pedro then takes me to a sewing co-op where I get suckered into an incredible bag. Spent the rest of the day at the coffee co-op hearing about the water project, life in San Juan, and waiting out the monsoon.

After the rains a group came to hear about the project he’s doing and I made friends with the neighbor kids. They were so adorable and so excited about the camera. Once I let them have it there was no turning back. Pictures of EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. Unfortunately there was a fence and barbed wire between us so some of the pics are less than stellar. But I didn’t get that camera back for at least an hour. That night when I got back I made sure to print out some pictures to give them – printed photos are not common so I thought $3 was worth a little excitement over a simple gift.

In the morning (Saturday) we headed to San Pedro for some wandering. There’s not a ton there – a cool set of cafes and restuarants tucked into a maze in the back of town but not a ton to do and they wanted to shop a bit more. So off to San Juan we went and had a great second tour of the co-op’s! They bought a pretty decent amount and the women were fantastically kind and appreciative. One woman explained that by supporting their stores we supported the women, and when the women have money, their kids go to school. She said that was why the streets were cleaner and calmer than most of the other towns. Talk about hitting Lisa and I where we’re weakest! Such a phenomenal sentiment from her and one that cemented my need to go back at least once before I leave. Anyway, then back to San Pedro and immediately caught a lancha to Santiago so only had a quick goodbye with the duo.

Santiago was good, it’s the biggest town on the lake like I said last time. We went to get custom leather sandals made for him from a local guy – one hour for custom shoes at only $20? Sheesh. Then had a leisurely lunch, grabbed the shoes, took a decent hike out of town to buy hot sauce, and then back to San Pedro. My last night on the lake – so sad!

Sunday I headed back to Pana. I wandered up to a woman making jewlery on the road and her stuff was incredible. Before I knew it I’d bought a ring and am looking forward to seeing her again for more. My bus was to come at 12…it came at 1240. Then we drove inefficiently all over a town the size of Manayunk for another hour before heading out to the back roads instead of the highway. What a drive! The views were incredible and it was the epitome of rural Guatemala – caves, farms, etc. We got to see a little bit of something real. Including a bridge still unrepaired after washing out last rainy season, which meant we drove through the mud to cross. The tourists that say things like “well this is an interesting choice” about situations like that are an embarassment – how can you think that anyone would choose not to fix a bridge or would choose not to take the main highway if there were another choice? Can’t they see that it’s rainy season and this bridge has been out of commission for some time? There are men literally shoveling mud to give water a path – that’s not just a quirk of Guatemala, that’s the reality that no one, including the government, has money to address basic issues. Sorry, rant over.

Got to Zone 10 and found Mario at our hostel – Quetzalroo…Aussies are the best. Finally a hot shower on Monday!! Looked at an amazing apartment on one of the main streets in Zone 10/Zone 9 and over breakfast at McDonald’s we decided to just bite the bullet and take it. The area is “safe” (aka, safer), the apartment building is secured, run by a company not some under the table situation, and the area has places to eat, drink, wander, etc. $7 taxi to Shalom. And it’s really nice…my conscience hurts a little but considering that the safe zone involves 8 armed men guarding Chili’s on a Monday night, I’m surviving the moral twinges just fine. Home Sweet Home!

If you're trying to reach me, my address is below, as are my phone numbers:

Cell: Country Code 502  4279 9886

Apt: Country Code 502  2203 5900

Ave Reforma 15-25  Zona 10

Apto 206

Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala, C.A.

Toj

After a rudimentary education on Mayan beliefs this weekend with Omar, I am intrigued by my Mayan sign, Toj. This sign means payment - people born on this day lead intense lives and are full of emotions. They have to pay for pending things and for past lives which left them a negative outcome. I wonder if, perhaps, service is a type of spiritual payment. Could it be pre-ordained that I would find myself on a path of service to others? 

Service. Payment. Development. They are all intricately linked. Passion. Relationships. Purpose. They are all irreplaceable and at the core of what makes our individual lives rich. They are also far too often luxuries.

Because in my few years I have dabbled in many academic and career paths – international studies, psychology, medicine, political science, nonprofit management, business, and now a degree in education during which I am hardly studying only education – I’m often asked, What is it that you want to do exactly? And I am finally finding the words to begin explaining what I believe and why I’ve considered so many paths throughout school and elsewhere.

I discovered at my last job with LEADERSHIP Philadelphia that so few people take the opportunity to follow a passion – even among those for whom that luxury is in reach. That realization alone brought me to Vandy. But what I have found is that it is not education for which I am passionate. I am passionate about relationships with others, about helping them find their passion, their purpose, and follow it – what I believe brings true happiness to a life. This personal development, however, is truly a luxury. Before a person can take a risk, can change careers, can change homes, can stop supporting others to pursue a passion that person must have crossed a threshold of several things – income, education, health, and so on. This is why I pursue economic development and why my definition of “economic” development includes these many capabilities. A life that struggles to meet subsistence needs individually or for a family cannot afford the luxury of striving for other dreams – they exist in a life concerned with providing food each day; securing a roof, four walls and a bed; they suffer from diseases and injuries we barely consider maladies anymore; literacy and a full education is a luxury; and corruption pervades the very institutions intended to support them.

Therefore, my mixed-bag history is beginning to make sense. Health is pivotal for reaching a life stable enough to sustain change. Education is pivotal for reaching new goals. Income is pivotal for ensuring that no one suffers when change comes and risks are taken. Social justice and leadership are pivotal for ensuring that opportunities are available to all, not just those with deep pockets. There are tools and solutions in every discinpline, making my curiosity understandably strong in many directions. My passion is filled when I can help someone find their own passion, which breeds true happiness, I believe. And while I find joy in helping those at home, the complexity of overcoming the entrenched problems in places like Guatemala makes the realization of others’ dreams that much more powerful and could truly change lives for the better. I am doing this project and am studying development because I want to help others reach this threshold of development that might make personal development attainable where it never was before.

This work is not without selfishness – I thrive on problem solving and on successfully helping others, and on discovering new places. But I only grow through helping others grow and believe this is how honest service works – an exchange, not a unidirectional service. Perhaps I also feel indebted to the powers that be for the luck I have had in my own life already and hope to repay that karmic debt by working with people and places to whom I can be of most service. I talk about passion and live with a lot of energy, often to a fault, and I feel indebted to the “world” for the life I’ve been blessed with  - Toj sounds pretty close to me…

Life in Pana

A brief update on life in Panajachel:

Class with my teacher, Florinda, has been going well, although 5 hours each day last week was quite exhausting at first. For those of you that know my sleeping patterns, you’ll appreciate the fact that I napped three days in a row! The school is the only Maya operated school in Pana. We have class at our individual picnic tables in an idyllic garden, accompanied by roosters, cats, and church bells sounding throughout the streets…and the occasional backfiring car or firecracker explosion.

There wasn’t enough time between the end of class and the last boat back to Pana to explore the other towns during the week, so I have been spending my afternoons and evenings reading, napping, wandering and writing – mostly at a café with nutella croissants (heaven?). I am truly learning to relax and enjoy being still….not my forte!

Last Wednesday we went to the Mayan caves in San Jorge, a town just above Pana on the mountainside that is primarily if not entirely Maya – Quiche & Kakchiquel. Went on my first chickenbus (look ma, still alive!) though I still refuse to look out the front if I don’t have to. The view from the top of San Jorge was stunning then down the narrow path to the caves – which are still used today, one even had a fresh chicken carcass on an altar. 

Along the way we acquired 4 boys as our afternoon guides. Their poverty was sad but unfortunately also expected – easily spotted in their torn clothes, shoes bursting at the seams, and short stature. But they still find joy in the simplest of things – turning stray newspaper into paper airplanes to launch from the mountaintops and learning a new sport – frisbee! And they raced to each trouble spot on the path to offer the gringas a tiny hand and ‘help’ us down the mountain. I know quite a few young men with fewer manners than these poor little boys! While seeing their poverty was heartwrenching, it was as I said unfortunately expected. But the next day in class when I learned that each was a son of at least one if not two alcoholic parents and that one boy, Alejandro, was so short and his speech so bad because mom was drunk during pregnancy and he was dropped many times as an infant, I think I felt a bit of my heart break. These kids deserve a chance – they deserve the right to find happiness in life and without change in the world it will be incredibly hard for them to find that chance because at best they will be forced to take care of everyone around them or at worst will wind up like their parents.

Friday my friend Omar arrived from San Juan, across the lake, where he is working on a water filtration project (www.notdrcody.com) and I really enjoyed hearing about his experiences around Guatemala, including the work of the different organizations he’s seen. There is a lot happening here and a lot of people with powerful visions of how the world should be that strive to make that vision reality every day. I am always humbled when I can spend time with people working with humility and devotion to make the world a better place.

Saturday after breakfast I traveled with another friend from Vandy, Tyler, to Santiago de Atitlan for a bit of a wander. The town is the biggest on the Lake but is not so different from the rest otherwise. It has a good mercado of similar wares, a nice little central park, and a lot of construction. There is a gorgeous if basic white church that must be a sight on Sundays. There is also a full soccer field where we were lucky enough to walk past an adult-league game – but it’s made of ash/dirt that must be worse than a beach to play on. But they had drawn a decent crowd and it was fun to see a local game for a few!

I spent Sunday with my English friend Laura from the school and then wandered to a restaurant where the Mexico v. El Salvador game was playing. After a mediocre burger I was befriended by a trio of Italians that had just arrived in Guate. Now I can truly appreciate what it’s like to talk to someone that doesn’t know your language. I speak English and Spanish while they speak Italian and two can bumble through Spanish and English. So we compromised on English. The father can only do Italian. It was an interesting couple hours of mixed languages! After they kindly paid for my dinner (woo!) we went down to the lake and talked travel, music and dancing for quite some time.

This week Lisa and her cousin come for a relaxing couple days then we will head probably to Antigua then Guatemala City. Mario arrives on Sunday and we’ll finally get started with meetings and work on Monday! Will write more after getting settled in down there…

Take care everyone!

PS If the pics don't work...I'll try again tomorrow!