Well it’s been very eventful.
Semana Santa
I started the week making pan with Joe’s host family… I only rolled one bun cause they were sticky and covered in grasa to make them easier to roll, but it was fun. Traditionally the whole family gets together to make the dough, roll, and bake the bread. And they make a TON of it. They make it for their extended family and neighbors and friends and basically that’s all they eat all week. It’s delicious.
Then I went to Xela to celebrate with my friends and had a very great time, up until my purse was stolen. In it I had my camera, my NEW iPod, NEW phone, debit card, and all the other daily necessities. I was VERY angry and didn’t quite know what to do with myself, but luckily was with good company who helped me out the rest of the week until we got home. No one was hurt and no legal documents were stolen, so it could’ve been a lot worse. Just VERY unfortunate.
Birthday Week
Needless to say, it put a damper on my excitement for my birthday the following week. It wasn’t all bad, though.
The day before my birthday, Matt & Meli made me DELICIOUS vegetarian lasagna and probably the BEST carrot cake I’ve ever had in my life. We made the frosting for it together and OH MAN. It was so good. They’re such great company and wonderful friends to have as sitemates.
The morning of, I was woken up at 5:15am with Guatemala’s traditional firecrackers right below my bedroom window, singing right outside my bedroom door, and chocolate cake with strawberries on top which I was taken downstairs to eat at about 5:30am. It was awesome. Later that morning, my host sister, Rosmil, asked if I had been listening to the radio because THEY HAD JUST ANNOUNCED MY BIRTHDAY to all of Tejutla. She had called it in earlier in the morning. So sweet! Later in the day I shared a traditional birthday lunch of Pepian, a delicious chicken and rice dish, with Joe’s host mom and host sister, whose birthdays were also that week. THEN, I got two packages from mom & dad in the afternoon. It was amazing. It all added up to be incredible, except for when I went home at the end of the day wishing to see my family and friends from home.
Day after: Mandatory Regional Security Meeting for Peace Corps. I got to see all my San Marcos friends and Joe announced my birthday to everyone there. It was really nice. We went out for micheladas (bloody Mary mix with beer instead of vodka) afterwards and celebrated just a little bit longer. When we got home, a couple of the friends Joe has made working in the Muni (and that I’ve run with a couple of times) came over to Joe’s house and we all had a little bit of rum to celebrate true to my nature. It was a very great night.
Friday I went to Lake Atitlan with a couple more friends and relaxed in the serenity that its beauty brings. Didn’t get too wild since I was so worn out from the preceding anger (it’s really exhausting) + festivities, but enjoyed myself nonetheless.
And, I’M 25!!!
Last Week
As soon as I got to the office Monday morning, my counterpart asked how I’d like to go to Guatemala for a Capacitación in his place since he had other obligations to take care of. It turned out being an all-week affair, leaving Tuesday morning, returning Saturday afternoon. I’m very glad I went—it was about Business Planning, specific to agribusiness. Very informative, and I got a diploma (huge thing in Guatemala)!! I look forward to sharing the info and materials I brought home with me with my counterpart, and hopefully getting him excited about doing things the more effective way, too. Keeping my fingers crossed.
I stayed with a bunch of other Guatemalans the whole time and enjoyed getting to know them on a more confianza level. It really is what makes this whole experience worthwhile. We did a group activity where each group had to create the same “products” with the materials given them, and our group won! Each group didn’t actually receive all the necessary materials and had to try to produce the items with what they had (this was done on purpose). When asked what happened and why it didn’t work out so well for each group, they mentioned things such as not having all the right materials, not having the confianza to ask the other groups for help/to lend materials, lack of manpower and limited time, and the last thing they said was, “it’s because we didn’t have the extranjera (foreigner) in our group!” As a joke, of course. Pshh. It was fun times.
This Week
I’m going to Mexico!! With (most of) my favorite PCV’s. I can’t wait. We’re going for a week just to relax, celebrate Charlie’s and my (belated) birthdays, do a little site-seeing, and just your general vacation shenanigans. I can’t wait. It will be so nice to just get away for awhile on a REAL vacation. I can’t wait. I’ll let you know how it goes, but unfortunately won’t have any pictures (of my own) to share since the camera was stolen. There will be others on facebook, though, I’m sure.
Needless to say, I’ve been busy. Next month should be more work-busy and I look forward to it. It will be nice to get back into the flow of a “normal” routine (as normal as it can be here in Guatemala). I hope to start progressing with what I’m supposed to be doing here, though have been reassured by several more seasoned volunteers that the first year is mostly spent learning—especially since you start from Zero here. So I try to keep that in mind as all my ideas continue to cook.
It’s comforting to acknowledge how much the time flies here. I do look forward to returning to my most normal, comfortable life and not have so much time to be spending alone, but also am grateful to spend the next year and a half figuring my shit out (18 months left as of May 1st!) without so many distractions. So great to have you to share it all with. Love you very much.
