Gringa on the Go: September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Xela in the Morning

Warren writes:

Some have asked “Do you miss Nevada”. Mostly I miss the spaciousness. Xela is a big city and only in the early mornings do I find some of the spaciousness that I enjoyed in Nevada. Before most people leave home, without the noise and danger of cars and trucks, I can walk far enough to escape the narrow streets and building against building.

You have to work to find space. Get up early, walk rough streets paved with stones that seem quaint when you first arrive.

People here have strong ankles. Garbage is stacked at corners. Some days men toss it into trucks, some days stray dogs tear the bags and pick through it. Dogs here are different, more like coyotes, but their prey is garbage. Most dogs avoid looking at you, constantly afraid. Others seem to look at you and search for weakness. If you stumble, they might just take a bite. They have strayed far from domesticity.

Finally, I can see the mountains that surround the city, reminding me of Nevada, but a green Nevada with cloaks of forest.

But, the clean air of morning, like the quiet, doesn’t last. Traffic noise slowly builds, engines belch out smoke, and people crowd the streets. By 8 a.m., any semblance of spaciousness is gone. Vibrant colors of fruit and women’s dresses replace the grays and browns of early morning. You have to be more vigilant, avoid cars and buses and bump lightly into fellow pedestrians. Your focus becomes close, distance is less important, and the space of early morning is filled.

Just STARTING to get busy.....

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

WE'RE GOING TO NICARAGUA!!!!

We got our Peace Corps invitation today - mid-August 2014, Nicaragua! Environmental Education. Pretty excited. We like that it's not until August - we've got plenty on our plates here in Guatemala. Warren spent one month, and I spent 3 months in Nicaragua in 2011 - as math, science, and English tutors.

Just doing a quick note - time for bed. Spanish class (one-on-one, 4 hours) in the morning, and then a field trip in the afternoon. Then I'll need to read through the PC paperwork.

We got a private lesson in Guatemalan sign language today (LSG)! Pretty cool!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

YES, WE ARE ALIVE AND WELL!

Many of you have probably been wondering if we've dropped off the face of the earth, or, if not....what the heck are we doing? There is so much to say, but we've been pretty busy, plus we both have had colds, first Anita, then Warren. So.....this is to give you a brief rundown and a few photos until we have more time (will that happen....?).

We took a red-eye flight to Guatemala Thursday, September 5, leaving Reno at a little after 5 pm, and arriving about 11:30 a.m. in Guatemala City, where we were picked up at the airport by our very good friend Angie, who is Guatemalan. We went to Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela or Xelaju, it's Quiche name), via Antigua. We didn't have much time in Antigua, but it was nice to see a familiar place.

We stayed with Angie at her parents' house until Monday morning (Sept 9), when we headed to La Union, the very small village where we went in 2013 to provide water filters for every family, and where our team and locals worked to roof a few school buildings and finish a school room. These were the priorities that La Union had picked. Now we were returning to supply filters again, this time more permanent ones now that the technology had improved. At the end of this post, I will post something that Warren wrote about the experience.

Oh, and there was a 6.5 or so earthquake as we were driving to Xela, but we didn't really feel it since we were on the road. Those of you who have been here know what the roads are like, and why we wouldn't have felt the earthquake! lol Actually, there was not extensive damage around the earthquake, but as usual, there were some mudslides and blocked roads.

On the way to La Union, we stopped in Coatepeque, the closest city to the the village. We stopped to see a family that we have been sponsoring. Their daughter, Evelyn, is the main reason we have become so attached to Guatemala. We met her in 2008 during a medical clinic, and her father asked for help for her feet - she had clubfeet - both of them, and walked on the tops of her feet (maybe photos later...I'll have to see if I have them with me). Long story short....through the internet I was able to find a nonsurgical treatment, the Ponsetti Method, and she was successfully treated in early 2008, and now can wear shoes. Her family has become like our family. Maybe more about the family later, but they are doing much better, better nutrition, and the kids prefer living in Coatepeque to living in La Union.

Our friend Angie has started a program with some city kids from Xela who have had some very hard lives. We so admire what she has done and continues to do. Sooooooo, we are helping with tutoring math and English here in Xela, and have rented an apartment for a month. Looks like we might make it our home base during the at least 3 months that we'll be in Guatemala. No word yet from Peace Corps, so we might be staying even longer. This is my 7th trip to Guatemala, and Warren's 5th, and it is dear to our hearts - such wonderful people.

We are both taking Spanish lessons in the morning - about a block from our apartment. It is four hours per day, one-on-one with a teacher. We've got one week in so far, but we can see a difference. Guatemala is a great place to learn Spanish.

We may go with Angie to Belize in a few weeks....maybe for a week....and do some snorkeling. The kids in the program will have finished their final exams by then, so that will be a good time.

Weather? Rain, lots of it. September and October are some of the rainiest months. Warren looked it up - average of about eighty inches - about 10 times in one month what Nevada gets in a year. I no longer have lizard-skin and cracked feet, but I don't know how long before they get moldy instead! lol

I found some people who have been involved with Guatemalan Sign Language (LSG) and I found a website with videos of some of the signs, so I'm learning some......

Some people have said they have tried to comment but haven't been able to....I have the options set up so that people can comment, but maybe you need to be a Google user. We would LOVE to hear from you guys, so if you can't comment, please let me know and instead send us an email at aeshaul@gmail.com ALSO, if you subscribe (see the right-hand column)you will get an email when I finally update the blog.

Anita

Here's Warren's comments on our visit to La Union:

"We visited La Union and delivered the last batch of water filters. If we do any more at the village, it will have to be a more permanent solution.

The village is a special problem because all of the land is owned by one person (except land that is pretty much a cliff that he sold to some poor folks.) The owner pretty much decides the fate of the several hundred residents since they all work on the coffee plantation and they don't own enough land to grow food for themselves. The owner controls wages and what can be built (water systems, health centers, etc.) Wages are barely enough for the families to survive and many men leave during the off season to find work elsewhere. The road and transportation are so bad that traveling in and out daily is an impossibility. (The owner, however, visits once a week by helicopter.) The schools also suffer because the teachers don't live in the village, so when the weather gets bad (and the road becomes even less passable), school is cancelled. Anyway, the situation makes it difficult to improve living conditions that the villagers will be able to sustain - a result of the feudal land system that is relatively common throughout much of Guatemala.

We are looking forward to our stay here and hope to be volunteering on some project or other. The people are wonderful and we have been welcomed into the family of our friend Angie. They include us for meals, family celebrations, church, etc."

Evelyn's family in 2009 - her baby brother is on her older sister's back. Evelyn is in casts for the club foot treatment, almost complete at this point

2013 - You can see how much the kids have grown! That's Evelyn next to me, in front. The older 3 kids are all in school now, doing very well.

Taking filters from Coatepeque to La Union:

THANKS FROM ALL THE RECIPIENTS TO THE DONORS....MOST HAD TO WORK PICKING COFFEE AT THE TIME WE WERE THERE, BUT WE NEEDED TO LEAVE BEFORE THE ROADS GOT TOO SLICK TO GET DOWN.