Volcanoes, Mariology, and Rain, Rain, and More Rain...

Hello friends! So I realize I have been slacking a bit with the posting of new updates. I don't have much of an excuse for that; I suppose I have been caught up in other things!

Since my last post, things have been a bit more interesting in Antigua. For one thing, last Saturday, I hiked Volcan de Pacaya, which is just outside of Guatemala City. It was an astoundingly beautiful hike. I went with a tour company because it is easy and cheap (for the ride, the guide, a driver, and entrance to the park, it was around 15 bucks. Can't beat that). I was lucky too because I probably went on the last good weather day that we will have for a while (more updates on weather in a bit). Volcan de Pacaya is special because it is one of only three active volcanoes in Guatemala. In years past, people on hikes could see actual lava. However, in May of 2010, Pacaya erupted, and this eruption was significant enough that the Guatemala City airport had to be shut down for a bit. Since then, there hasn't been any lava, BUT, near the top of the volcano, you can see pockets of steam, kind of like mini saunas. Click here for a link to pictures from my Facebook. For now, here is a preview of some highlights:

The peak of the volcano. It used to look more peak-like until the 2010 eruption. Now there is a crater and a crevice at the top. You can click on any image to make it bigger, too.

Some great views at the top.

See that smoky stuff? That's steam from the lava just underground. It was super cool.

One spot was hot enough that we could roast marshmallows. On a volcano. What the heck?

I took a video as well, just to give you a more panoramic view, as well as a better look at what the steam is like:

Since my trip to Pacaya, pretty much from that afternoon until today, it has rained practically non-stop. There was a tropical storm from the Pacific that decided to linger over Guatemala. I'm used to rain here, but usually it's super clear in the morning and by three it rains off and on into the night. However, Tuesday night I knew something was really wrong when I woke up to the sound of rain pounding on my windows so hard, I thought they might break. That night there were some horrendous landslides in parts of Guatemala, and there continues to be flooding and landslides. I am fine where I am, but it is impossible to travel anywhere (not that I'd want to...). Right now a lot of tourists are getting cozy in Antigua, bunkering down to wait out the rain. Not a bad idea in my book. 

To get an idea of how much rain we've had, here's a video I found through Facebook of a river in Jocotenango, just a few blocks and a coffee plantation away from my house. It's absolutely insane:

Although the rain is a bummer (not to mention super cold...the temperatures here aren't too low, probably in the low sixties, but with that much rain, the air is so damp that it's really cold sometimes), it has taken away some distractions, allowing me to focus on my Spanish much more. The beginning of last week, my teacher asked me to explain some theology to her, because I need to practice my Spanish and because she's interested. I gave her some topics that I know a thing or to about, and the one she picked was Mariology. Ever since, I've spent part of my lessons giving her "lessons" in Mariology. Surprisingly, she's been able to understand all the points I've made. So I think that's a good sign, especially since there's a lot of technical stuff involved in Marian theology. The Biblical study of Mary is very intricate; you have to know the significance of some words in Greek and Hebrew, you have to compare multiple passages in different books, Old and New Testament, there's a lot involved. So, what this all boils down to is that it has been quite a challenge for my Spanish, and, simultaneously, excellent practice. 

I was talking to a teacher at my school the other day, and I received a bit of encouragement. We were talking in Spanish, of course, and she was like, "I remember when you first got here; you were so timid and couldn't say anything. Now I hear you and I'm like 'Is this the same girl? She speaks plenty.'" Well, that made me feel pretty good, especially since I often have days where I doubt my abilities. When I hear things like that, it gives me a bit of a confidence boost, and I feel like I can talk about anything. So I'm going to hold onto that for a while, and keep studying hard for my last two weeks. 

Hope all of you are well and that fall is beautiful in the States right now. I can't say that I don't miss home, but I do know that I will feel the same way about Guatemala when I get back to the US.

Peace to all who read this!

Random Observations

Hello friends! Sorry it's been so long since my last post...I've had some technological difficulties (we didn't have Internet or water for a couple days this past week). Plus, there's not a whole lot new to report. So I decided to write down some things about Guatemala/Antigua that are very unique but don't really fit into other posts because they're a tad random. So I decided to make a list of them. Sounds boring, but these are super random so get excited:

Beans are hugely popular here; people eat them at almost every meal (including breakfast), but oftentimes they aren't whole beans--they are pureed in a blender or mushed up with rice. It's very interesting. I don't know what they have against whole beans, but that's the way they like them I guess.

Speaking of food, no matter what you eat, there are tortillas. Beans and....tortillas. Rice and....tortillas. Spaghetti and...tortillas. Always. Oh, and there is always chile. They never make spicy food because they serve chile on the side so you can make it as spicy as you want.

People are very careful with how much water and electricity they use because it's so expensive. My host mom is a real stickler about not using lights during the day because they aren't necessary. When we want to take a shower, we have to flip a switch to turn on the hot water heater. Between 10pm and 6am, more or less, the water in our house is turned off. And as I've mentioned before, everyone hand washes their clothes. It sounds like a pain, but in the long run, it is definitely better for the environment.

Fruit and vegetables are super cheap here, and the typical American "cheap" foods, like coffee, peanut butter, oatmeal, and cans of tuna, are expensive. You can get a pound of apples for a dollar, four avocados for a $1.25, and fresh flowers for 50 cents. It's incredibly cheap and negociable. But a 6 oz. jar of peanut butter is five dollars and a can of tuna is $1.50. Go figure.

There are SO many stray dogs here. It's absolutely insane. I feel bad for them because a lot of them are really skinny, but they manage to get by somehow. Every day, I probably see at least 15 stray dogs. Insane.

Here, the number of people that can fit on a moped is infinite. I've seen five people riding on one at the same time: a mom, a dad, and their three kids. That would not go over well in the US. But here, cars are expensive, so people do what they can to get their kids to school, themselves to work, and whatnot.

If it ever snowed here, everyone would freeze because no one could ever have indoor heating since every house, restaurant, tienda, etc. has a courtyard or a patio in the middle. For example, in my house, I could never go from my room to anywhere else in the house without being "outside" for a short period of time. In essence, no houses are airtight. But they don't need to be in a place that's always no more than ten degrees above or below 70 degrees farenheit.

Masks are a big deal. In the states, the only occasions for mask-wearing are Halloween and bank robbing. Here, people wear masks for every celebration they have. I asked my teacher why, and she said she's not sure about their significance (I think for the ancient Mayans they did, though), people here just really like masks. It's not like people walk around with them at all times, but if there are fiestas with dancing, a lot of times the dancers will wear masks (some of which are really scary).

No one really minds other people's kids. What I mean is that people bring their kids to everything and it's totally normal. At Mass, toddlers often wander around freely. More than once a lady has had to go on to the altar to fetch her kid who had strayed a little too far and in the wrong direction. Every day, I see women walking around carrying heavy baskets on their heads with a baby strapped onto their back with a big piece of fabric. And it's not unusual to see small children selling newspapers all by themselves, working a stand at the market, or shining shoes. Which is another big problem in Guatemala: child labor. Many kids, especially in rural areas, don't go to school so they can work. Education here is very poor and I think this is a huge cause of poverty and corruption.

In the past, Mayan peoples, much like Native Americans in the United States, had a great respect for the Earth. Every time people would harvest a crop, they would say a prayer of thanksgiving and of permission to the gods. It's unfortunate, however, that some of this mindset has been lost. How do I know this? Cities in Guatemala are SO polluted: fumes from buses and piles of trash on the street are the most obvious factors. In some places, trash on the street is so bad that garbage workers have to pick it up in shovelfulls. It's a shame that this belief in the sanctity of the Earth has been lost by people who don't give a second thought to throwing trash on the ground. I think the spread of consumerism, and the throw away mindset that comes with it, is partly to blame. It's just one of the many products of the West's neo-colonialism (controlling another place through mass media and globalization instead of through armies and conquerors) that is eliminating some of the traditional aspects of Guatemalan culture. I have a lot more to say about neo-colonialism in Guatemala/Latin America (because it is, unfortunately, both fascinating and horrifying), but I can't write it all here. Just know that it is very obvious in Guatemala.

One aspect of Guatemala that is just fascinating to me is the level of belief in mystery. For example, tons of people readily and willingly believe in miracles. In my conversations with different Guatemalans, this became apparent to me. Now, while I believe that a certain dose of skepticism regarding miracles and the paranormal is healthy, I think there is something quite admirable about the level of faith that such a belief requires. Belief in spirits and in lugares encantados or "enchanted places" (which are inhabited by spirits) is widespread. It's such a stark contrast to the skepticism and cynicism of Western society. Now, I realize that many of you might be thinking that such a belief in mystery is only the result of people being uneducated. This may be a factor, but I also think that the religiousness of this country, and of Latin America in general, has much more to do with it. People here readily see the divine in the world. There's something quite beautiful in that.

Well I guess that started out as random observations and ended in random reflections. Take it as you wish. Hope it gives you a bit more of an idea of what this place is like. Also, for a bit of eye candy, yesterday I walked around the ruins of the old San Francisco Cathedral. How beautiful! There are two stories, which give you quite a view of Antigua. It's one of my new favorite places. Here's some pictures:

That's all for now...peace to all who read this!

Independence Day and Experiences of Grace

Hello everyone! Well, it's been a busy week so this may be a longer post. So bear with me...

September 15th, this past Thursday, marked Guatemala's Independence Day from Spain in 1821. Actually, it is the independence day of all Latin America. As you can imagine, it was a pretty big day. There were many many many parades, and I did not have Spanish classes. The day before, however, the students in my school and I did presentations in Spanish on different aspects of Guatemalan culture. I presented on the history of the various capitals of Guatemala (Antigua was the third capital), and others presented on the significance of elements of the flag, etc. The school also took some pictures of us, which are on my facebook.

The next day, I met with my teacher to watch the morning parades in Antigua. Most of the schools participate in the parades, so a large part of the parade was children  playing instruments, wearing sashes and traditional clothing, waving flags, and doing other fun things. It was quite a sight, and the weather in the morning was absolutely gorgeous. Most of my pictures of the parade have the volcano in the background. As the parade went on, you can see the volcano gradually accumulate more clouds. Heres a link to my facebook for all the pictures. They are quite colorful. So all in all, it was a good day.

Today was another special day for me because I accompanied my teacher to San Hermano Pedro Hospital for Mass and to visit with the children living at the hospital. There I met Jose, the little boy that she visits every Sunday (I wrote about him in a previous post; he is mentally and physically handicapped and was abandoned by his family, but she has visited him every week for the past few years). It was great to meet him finally. He is so cute. Very tiny; he's ten but looks like he's five. He probably weighs no more than forty pounds. He looks healthy and like he gets plenty to eat; he's just a little guy.

After Mass, I went back to the children's section of the hospital and my teacher and I visited with Jose for a bit. Then I walked around the room where the kids' beds are and visited with some them who were laying in their cribs. A lot of them were lying there, looking at the ceiling. None of them can talk, but they respond when you talk to them by smiling, laughing, or looking at you. I had a book of different children's stories in Spanish, and I read each of them a different story. I don't know how much they understood, but they seemed to be listening. And they liked the pictures. Mostly I think they like hearing someone talking to them and giving them attention.

Today also happened to be the 27th anniversary of...something (I didn't really catch what it was...I think maybe the anniversary of the new hospital building) so they had a huge party for the kids. They had a DJ in the courtyard/playground in the middle of the children's area playing kids music. Most of the kids were wheeled out surrounding the courtyard and volunteers walked around visiting them, moving their arms and wheelchairs to dance with the music. They loved it. A lot of them were laughing and smiling. They ate lunch while the music played. I helped feed one little girl in a wheelchair who is probably around eleven. She kept dropping her towel/napkin on the floor because she thought it was funny. It was cute. Later on, a couple of clowns came and did animal balloons and a magic show for the children, who loved it. I sat with a little girl, probably around four or five, and fed her a bottle while we watched. I was sitting next to my teacher, who was holding Jose, and the little girl and Jose kept looking at each other and smiling. It was so funny.

I find it appropriate that today's Gospel was the one where Jesus says "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." In our society, people with disabilities are definitely treated as "the last." They are different from the norm; they are a major imperfection in a society that strives to be perfect and the best (and I am speaking about the United States, mostly because that's what I know). They are often objects of disgust, locked away in facilities where, despicably, they are sometimes abused. In our world, the disabled (I don't really like that word, but I don't know how else to say it) are often treated as being sub-human. But in God's eyes, they are far from that; they are creation.

Today at Mass, I felt a lot of different emotions, but the two major ones were shame and humility. Mostly, I felt incredibly unworthy to be surrounded by those who are first in God's kingdom, these most innocent and vulnerable of God's children. Throughout my life, I have been surrounded by complacency and comfort, which was why when I first met these children and patients at the hospital, I felt uncomfortable being outside of my normal. And I felt ashamed for feeling this way. Throughout the day, my feelings of uncomfort eased, but this sense of humility, a kind of awe at God's creation, remained. I definitely plan to go back to the hospital more. It's certainly more possible to do so now that my Spanish is better. My teacher said this week we could go again. But anyway, those are my thoughts for now. I am sure that this will be in the back of my mind for quite a while though. I will blog more if I have some more thoughts. But I think that's good for tonight.

Peace to all who read this!

Halfway...

Hello again!

So this week is my sixth week in Guatemala, which means I have six more to go. It's amazing how much time flies, yet another six weeks still feels like quite a long time. Earlier today, when I was standing at my usual corner in Antigua waiting for the chicken bus, I found myself reflecting on how I was when I first arrived here. I can remember standing in that same corner six weeks ago, completely confused by my surroundings. I felt as if I had been plucked out of one world and thrown into another, which was both exciting and intimidating. The language of people on the streets washed over me; words floated by, their meanings a mystery I desperately wished I knew. Poco a poco, I often reminded myself: step by step. All in due time.

And now, here I am, six weeks later, and although much of the mystery remains, it is much less foreign. I am no longer confused (most of the time) when waiters in restaurants ask me questions, or when my host mom asks me to do something. Responding to questions or telling stories doesn't take nearly as long.  And, I believe I have mastered the art of getting on and off the chicken bus. I realized today that it's kind of a dance you have to do, jumping on and finding a seat as the bus jerks forward,  getting the timing right for using the seats as a crutch when you walk down the aisle, anticipating the stops and starts, learning to change seats more towards the front as the bus empties out, just so you can get off faster. The chicken bus, for me, is now as routine as taking my car to work. And the first time I rode on it, I nearly fell flat on my face. I hadn't gotten my sea legs yet.

So those are just some of my thoughts for now. No pictures today, I'm afraid. Guatemala's Independence Day is this Thursday, so I imagine I will have some pictures then of some of the goings-on.

Peace to all who read this!

Trip to Yepocopa

Hello friends and family!

Well, I have some beautiful pictures to share with you all, and hopefully a few more interesting stories. Today I went to Yepocapa, a town in Chimaltenango, the department northwest of Antigua. My host father/director of Probigua invited me to go with him to a program presented by children at Colegio San Pedro, a school in Yepocapa. This school receives a lot of support from Probigua; in fact, because of their support, children are able to attend for free. It's quite an opportunity for children in Yepocapa. They even have a room full of computers with Internet, which is hard to come by in that area.

But anyway, Yepocapa, although not very far from Antigua, is a bit of a trek to get there in back, mostly becausethe road is not paved the whole way and there are many mountains to go there. However, it offers quite the beautiful scenery. At one point, we pulled over so I could shoot some pictures of the mountains in the distance. Here's some shots:

In the distance, though it is difficult to see because of the clouds, you can kind of see the Pacific Ocean. It would be a two hour drive from there, but we were so high up you could see it in the distance. Apparently, this picture was taken at 2800 meters above sea level, about 9,000 feet high. It sure was cold and windy, but the fresh air was a welcome change from the bus-exhaust filled streets of Antigua.

When we arrived at Yepocapa, we went straight into the school and the program started pretty much immediately. For the first part, the students who were voted as the best pupils in the school were recognized in front of everyone. For the second part, each grade level performed a dance/skit for the school to celebrate the cultural heritage of Guatemala. Many schools right now are doing similar things because next week, September 15th, is their independence day. So many schools are doing cultural "recitals" of sorts and are doing much practicing with their marching band. Well, needless to say, the program was fantastic. All the kids  were so cute and they all did a great job. It was also wonderful seeing so many parents there to watch their kids celebrate their cultural heritage. I have more pictures here. But I also took some videos, which are following:

Hope you enjoyed the videos and pictures!

Lessons in Many Things Guatemalan

Hola amigos y familia! Espero que ustedes están bien!

There's a little Spanish for you all today...you probably can catch the gist. If not, go to Google translate.

Well, I have quite a few new pictures for you all today, which is definitely a good thing! This past Friday, I climbed up to Cerra de La Cruz, a big cross on top of a hill overlooking Antigua. I went with a girl from Spain who has been volunteering at the school, a guy from Australia who is currently a student at Probigua, and a girl from Guatemala who was our guide of sorts (we didn't know how to get there, so she offered to take us). It is quite a view:

See what I mean? We went on the perfect day too, because most afternoons in the rainy season it is pretty cloudy. It was still kind of cloudy because you can't see the volcano, but it wasn't so cloudy that we couldn't see the city. So that was an experience! Afterwards, the four of us went and had a drink at a German bar (in Guatemala, go figure, but apparently there are a lot of Germans here). My Spanish has gotten to a point where I can hold a polite conversation, more or less. The student from Australia just started learning Spanish, so I kind of had to translate some of what was being said. It was pretty funny actually, I realized halfway through our conversation: here we are, a woman from Spain who speaks only Spanish and some English, a woman from Guatemala who speaks only Spanish, a guy from Australia who speaks basically only English, and me, from the United States, speaking English and a little Spanish. And we were in a German bar. In Guatemala. It was quite the international experience. 

The next morning, I went with the girl from Spain and guy from Australia to the market in Antigua. We weren't looking for anything in particular, just kind of walking around. The market on Saturdays is absolutely crazy though. There are a ton of people who do their shopping that day. Luckily for me, I was able to try something new: a fruit called a rambutan (or, as people here call them, "lyches." The name sounds about as appetizing as they look). These are a fruit that look like a cross between a hedgehog and a strawberry. However, they are surprisingly delicious. Here are some pictures:

You eat them by peeling off the skin and eating the inside (except for the pit). It has the texture of a grape and is very sweet. I enjoyed them.

Later that day, I went off and did some more exploring of Antigua. For one, I decided to tour the ruins of the old Cathedral, which was built in the 1600s and was subsequently destroyed in the earthquake of 1773 (which was so large that it destroyed most of the structures in Antigua and forced the Guatemalan government to move the capital of Guatemala from Antigua to Guatemala City, where it is today). The ruins were quite fascinating. You can view pictures of them (and other things around Antigua) here on my Facebook.

Another great thing that I saw (finally) was a marimba. For those of you who don't know (because I sure didn't before I came here), the marimba is a very big deal in Guatemala; it is their national musical instrument and a major cultural symbol. Basically, when you think Guatemala and you think music, you have to think marimba; marimba is Guatemala (though my teacher tells me that some people in Mexico try to take credit for it, but they are wrong...I sensed a bit of bitterness there, haha). The marimba is a type of xylophone that originated with indigenous people in Guatemala. At that time, it was made from wood and gourds, but now it is only made of wood. I found out as soon as I came here how important marimba is for Guatemalans. Every day at lunch, without fail, my family and I listen to marimba on the radio. However, I had never seen what one looked like until this weekend. I took a video of it so you could see and hear it. I also panned around a little bit so you could get a nice look at Parque Central and the current cathedral in Antigua:

I was also lucky to be in Antigua on this day because there were a ton of marching bands circling the block of the parque One of the really cool things about this place is that they have random bands march down the streets all the time, for no reason that I can find out. This was the third time in a month that I stumbled upon a marching band. I think that music is just a very important part of the culture. I was able to get a longer video of one of the bands, which were mostly drums. They are quite good. I was a little sad, though, because when I was done filming, another band with xylophones started to play the tune to "Bad Romance," by Lady Gaga, a song I have heard here quite often. I tried to film it but my memory card was full. Hopefully another day. Here's the other video:

There's more to say, but I think that is enough for one post. Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos!

God must know how much I love peanut butter...

Hello friends! I can't believe another week is finished. It was definitely filled with many lessons, both in Spanish and in life.

For one, this past week I learned from my teacher how she started visiting the San Hermano Pedro Hospital. It was quite an endearing, and amazing story. She said that several years ago, she had visited the children's ward at the hospital and had been very overwhelmed, not knowing what to do with herself, being a little afraid of the whole situation. It is understandable; many people are not used to being around children so sick. She told herself she didn't think she could go back, and she didn't. For a while. Later that year, she went with a friend to volunteer at a recovery home for malnourished children. There she met a boy named Jose who did not talk very much and did not like other people touching him or talking to him. He was certainly malnourished, but there was more to it. He couldn't walk and couldn't talk and needed physical therapy almost every day. My teacher volunteered to to his physical therapy exercises because they did not always have a physical therapist there at the malnourished children's center. So she visited Jose very often, and slowly but surely, Jose became much more okay with being around people. Eventually, my teacher found out that Jose had been abandoned by his parents and was being transferred to San Hermano Pedro Hospital where he would probably live the rest of his life. When my teacher heard this, she vowed that she would visit him until the day she died. Ever since, she and her husband have gone to the hospital every Sunday to visit him. On Christmases, they are allowed to bring Jose to their house for the day. It's really amazing because many people at the hospital think that Jose is their kid. Now, because of all the attention and love she has given him, he will let people touch him; he smiles and laughs, even though he cannot talk, whereas when my teacher first met him, he was very afraid of people. After she told me this story, I was utterly amazed. What an unselfish act of love. It's quite beautiful, really.

On an entirely different note, later this week I was walking home from school and I was struck by an incredibly overwhelming craving for peanut butter. For those of you who may not know me as well, peanut butter is one of my favorite things in the world. I have it with one, often two, meals a day. After going without it for three weeks, I think it all built up on me. I actually dreamed about it: how sad is that? The next day, I was walking through Antigua on my way home, and I was looking down while I was walking. All of a sudden, I saw a chalkboard sign resting on the ground that had the word "manteca" written on it. "Manteca" is Spanish (more or less) for peanut butter. I kid you not, I gasped, stopped in my tracks, and marched into the tienda and bought a tiny jar of peanut butter (which cost 5 bucks, probably because it was shipped from the US but I didn't care). It was such a happy accident.

Last night, we had lasagna for dinner because today is my host parent's oldest daughter's birthday, and I guess lasagna is her favorite. It was hilarious though because Rosio, one of the two little girls who lives here, was so funny about it. I went down to get some water and Rosio ran up to me and said "Hicimos LASAGNA!" (we are making lasagna) and she was jumping up and down saying "muy rico" (it's so good!). Her whole face was lit up. And, let me tell you, throughout the whole meal, Rosio was completely ecstatic the entire time, and, even though she is super tiny for a ten year old, she ate more lasagna than I did. I couldn't help laughing, it was so funny. I guess they don't have lasagna very much...

That's all for now...hope all is well with everyone reading this!