MONDAY:
Yesterday, I had the best roadtrip of my life. Music makes everything wonderful, and I LOVE these people. We sang and danced to old school hip hop almost the entire six hours it took to get to Coban. We stopped at Pollo Campero in Guate City and I ate way too much ridiculously bad-for-you food. LOVE GRAPE SODA, even though it tastes like Dimetapp and Robitussin.
As we drove and sang and danced I reflected inside how lucky I am. To drive through the immaculate beauty of Guatemala with such wonderful people on the way to live out my fantasies was unreal. We got there and I let my better judgment appease my initial intimidation of Gualberto Pop, who is the spitting visual image of Machismo. And good that I did. We drove 10 or 15 minutes to his spot of heaven upon his hill. Steep, but SO WORTH the climb after parking the car a 10-minute walk away. Indescribable beauty to live in such a kingdom of beautiful perfection. At the base of his hill is a ravine, with a creek separating us from a forest—the likes of whose thick, luscious beauty I have so often dreamt of. I hear there is also a cave, but woe to me that there is not enough time this week to explore (plus, women aren’t allowed in caves for superstitious reasons—not so uncommon here).
I woke up this morning to fabulous Keq-Chi Marimba music and the angelic face of Inés—the one-year-seven-month-old baby girl/granddaughter who loves to call out my name, “Mana.” Last night I made my first tortilla and it got burnt, but, estuvo bien—ya era fea. :)
Anyway, DELICIOUS homemade tortillas to start the day off saw me and Gualberto off to the Chirrepec Tea Coop. Today we learned the history of how the Germans bought this land which the government stole from the Keq-Chi in the 1880’s. They introduced teas and exotic fruits, built a mansion (WAY COOL RUINS), a tea factory, and as pass came to pass, eventually the Germans were shipped off and the cooperative was handed back over to the Keq-Chi with the government’s hands still involved. As the government’s term faded out at the Coop, the Keq-Chi took it and ran with it. Since 1970-something it has been growing, and now each of the members affords to send their kids through high school, and some even through college. But, no fear of corruption or pocketing of money thanks to the consejo vigilancia’s system of checks and balances. Pretty neat.
Then we went to Coban to buy way too much chocolate and eat at a fabulous comedor, and returned to the coop to work on our charlas for tomorrow. We each met individually with our APCD to talk about site expectations and I got to say that, actually, the most important thing to me was that the people were really excited to have me there and to work with me. And, that I was flexible with everything regarding place as long as I could bathe every day. And that I was vegetarian. But, it ended with him telling me that he believes my flexibility will make me one of the excellent ones in whichever site I end up in. I don’t know if I could’ve asked for a better vote of confidence.
TUESDAY:
So the charlas happened, and I loved it. I learned a few words in Keq-Chi (na-chiin, oah-chiin, for hello women and men, bantiox for thank you, ma sa le ch’ol for ¿qué tal?, qwalak-chik for adios) from the Pop family and gave an excellent performance. We did the corn dance (words translated into Keq-Chi: utzuuj (flower), hal (fruit/corn), xxaq (leaf), rutzahil (stem), xxel (roots)) and then played hot potato so they would have to answer my questions if they were holding the “potato.” They all and we all had a great time—thank you to my trainers and fellow trainees for doing the corn dance with me.
Yesterday, I had the best roadtrip of my life. Music makes everything wonderful, and I LOVE these people. We sang and danced to old school hip hop almost the entire six hours it took to get to Coban. We stopped at Pollo Campero in Guate City and I ate way too much ridiculously bad-for-you food. LOVE GRAPE SODA, even though it tastes like Dimetapp and Robitussin.
As we drove and sang and danced I reflected inside how lucky I am. To drive through the immaculate beauty of Guatemala with such wonderful people on the way to live out my fantasies was unreal. We got there and I let my better judgment appease my initial intimidation of Gualberto Pop, who is the spitting visual image of Machismo. And good that I did. We drove 10 or 15 minutes to his spot of heaven upon his hill. Steep, but SO WORTH the climb after parking the car a 10-minute walk away. Indescribable beauty to live in such a kingdom of beautiful perfection. At the base of his hill is a ravine, with a creek separating us from a forest—the likes of whose thick, luscious beauty I have so often dreamt of. I hear there is also a cave, but woe to me that there is not enough time this week to explore (plus, women aren’t allowed in caves for superstitious reasons—not so uncommon here).
I woke up this morning to fabulous Keq-Chi Marimba music and the angelic face of Inés—the one-year-seven-month-old baby girl/granddaughter who loves to call out my name, “Mana.” Last night I made my first tortilla and it got burnt, but, estuvo bien—ya era fea. :)
Anyway, DELICIOUS homemade tortillas to start the day off saw me and Gualberto off to the Chirrepec Tea Coop. Today we learned the history of how the Germans bought this land which the government stole from the Keq-Chi in the 1880’s. They introduced teas and exotic fruits, built a mansion (WAY COOL RUINS), a tea factory, and as pass came to pass, eventually the Germans were shipped off and the cooperative was handed back over to the Keq-Chi with the government’s hands still involved. As the government’s term faded out at the Coop, the Keq-Chi took it and ran with it. Since 1970-something it has been growing, and now each of the members affords to send their kids through high school, and some even through college. But, no fear of corruption or pocketing of money thanks to the consejo vigilancia’s system of checks and balances. Pretty neat.
Then we went to Coban to buy way too much chocolate and eat at a fabulous comedor, and returned to the coop to work on our charlas for tomorrow. We each met individually with our APCD to talk about site expectations and I got to say that, actually, the most important thing to me was that the people were really excited to have me there and to work with me. And, that I was flexible with everything regarding place as long as I could bathe every day. And that I was vegetarian. But, it ended with him telling me that he believes my flexibility will make me one of the excellent ones in whichever site I end up in. I don’t know if I could’ve asked for a better vote of confidence.
TUESDAY:
So the charlas happened, and I loved it. I learned a few words in Keq-Chi (na-chiin, oah-chiin, for hello women and men, bantiox for thank you, ma sa le ch’ol for ¿qué tal?, qwalak-chik for adios) from the Pop family and gave an excellent performance. We did the corn dance (words translated into Keq-Chi: utzuuj (flower), hal (fruit/corn), xxaq (leaf), rutzahil (stem), xxel (roots)) and then played hot potato so they would have to answer my questions if they were holding the “potato.” They all and we all had a great time—thank you to my trainers and fellow trainees for doing the corn dance with me.
(Embarassment)
WEDNESDAY:
Happy Birthday, Tricia! We celebrated with cake after a day’s worth of information about a group called Forestrade and also MAGA (Ministry of Agriculture, Ganaderia and Alimentación), BanRural, and FINCA. I ended the day (of not feeling so hot) by going to the lab to find out that I have amoebas!!! WOOT! Medicine tomorrow.
THURSDAY:
We started the day at Intecap (An institute for the capacitation of individuals in trade skills). It’s a great program that I’m eager to look more into. We, as volunteers, even have the opportunity to get capacitated by them to teach our skills in a more effective manner to adults. We then went to ANACAFE to learn how they cup coffee and what the difficulties for many producers are in getting a quality product, and then, if they have quality, in getting it off the ground. After a trip to another excellent comedor, we drove to ANACAFE’s finca, where they grow coffee (imagine that!). We took a walk up a tremendously steep hill, climbing the numerous (to say the least) terraces of coffee plants, only to be rewarded by the most breathtaking, spectacular view of my life. All around us there were beautifully patterned rows of coffee, rolling hills, valleys, and forests atop the highest parts. Clouds, mist, and sun peaking through it all made it indescribably amazing. The pictures I took do it no justice. One must be there to breathe it all in.
At the end of the day, I got home to my Pop family and talked of my bliss for awhile. We then took a family photo as a token to remember them by, and they dressed me up in their traje de Coban. Due to my being at least 10 inches taller, and sizably bigger than each of them, I felt like a giant ball of cloth. But they told me I looked very elegant. Because of me being dressed up, Inés insisted that she put on her traje, too. Eventually, Doña Marta, Ruty, Blanca, and Inés and I were all dressed up in Traje. Walter, Edgar, and Don Gualberto joined us in their western clothing and we posed for a photo. I took several in my photo shoot, and was totally validated (if it was needed at all is debatable) when Doña Marta grabbed and clasped my hand over her shoulder for one of the poses. I felt so loved.
FRIDAY:
I packed up and said goodbye, sent off with woes of how sad it was that I had to leave. They wanted me to stay!!! Sadly, I had to say “diosh,” (that’s how Inés says adios), and take my last trip down the hill from heaven. We said our gracious thanks to the men of the Coop for sharing their families and tremendous hospitality and went to Coban for a nice piece of chocolate cake and some coffee at a restaurant owned by an RPCV who served in Guate in the 3rd group (in the sixties) and married a Guatemalan. Her restaurant is also an exotic orchid garden that exhibits pieces of work from local artists. As I shared my pictures over coffee and cake, the volunteer who’s been working at the Coop for the last two years and had hosted us all week told me I had managed to gain “mad confianza.” He let me know it was a big deal to be so taken in by them so quickly, and to be dressed up in their Traje. I was bursting with excitement, to say the least.
We visited a Cardamom processing plant and got to breathe in the intoxicatingly fabulous aroma of cardamom for about two hours, while one of the other volunteers who was hosting us that week talked the ear off of the tour guide about futures and yada yada and some blah blah blah about cardamom. If I had understood half of what they were saying in Spanish, I would’ve been able to keep my interest up. But, I don’t think I would’ve even understood them if there were talking in English. It’s all good, it was sweet to breathe it all in.
We checked into our hostel for our last night in Coban, rested, checked facebook, and then met the fraternity that is the hoard of male Volunteers in or around Coban (as well as a few visiting from other parts of Guate) for dinner at a garage-turned-exquisite Cuban restaurant, owned by a Cuban ex-pat. Again, the food put me in a state of ecstasy. So Happy I AM.
WEDNESDAY:
Happy Birthday, Tricia! We celebrated with cake after a day’s worth of information about a group called Forestrade and also MAGA (Ministry of Agriculture, Ganaderia and Alimentación), BanRural, and FINCA. I ended the day (of not feeling so hot) by going to the lab to find out that I have amoebas!!! WOOT! Medicine tomorrow.
THURSDAY:
We started the day at Intecap (An institute for the capacitation of individuals in trade skills). It’s a great program that I’m eager to look more into. We, as volunteers, even have the opportunity to get capacitated by them to teach our skills in a more effective manner to adults. We then went to ANACAFE to learn how they cup coffee and what the difficulties for many producers are in getting a quality product, and then, if they have quality, in getting it off the ground. After a trip to another excellent comedor, we drove to ANACAFE’s finca, where they grow coffee (imagine that!). We took a walk up a tremendously steep hill, climbing the numerous (to say the least) terraces of coffee plants, only to be rewarded by the most breathtaking, spectacular view of my life. All around us there were beautifully patterned rows of coffee, rolling hills, valleys, and forests atop the highest parts. Clouds, mist, and sun peaking through it all made it indescribably amazing. The pictures I took do it no justice. One must be there to breathe it all in.
At the end of the day, I got home to my Pop family and talked of my bliss for awhile. We then took a family photo as a token to remember them by, and they dressed me up in their traje de Coban. Due to my being at least 10 inches taller, and sizably bigger than each of them, I felt like a giant ball of cloth. But they told me I looked very elegant. Because of me being dressed up, Inés insisted that she put on her traje, too. Eventually, Doña Marta, Ruty, Blanca, and Inés and I were all dressed up in Traje. Walter, Edgar, and Don Gualberto joined us in their western clothing and we posed for a photo. I took several in my photo shoot, and was totally validated (if it was needed at all is debatable) when Doña Marta grabbed and clasped my hand over her shoulder for one of the poses. I felt so loved.
FRIDAY:
I packed up and said goodbye, sent off with woes of how sad it was that I had to leave. They wanted me to stay!!! Sadly, I had to say “diosh,” (that’s how Inés says adios), and take my last trip down the hill from heaven. We said our gracious thanks to the men of the Coop for sharing their families and tremendous hospitality and went to Coban for a nice piece of chocolate cake and some coffee at a restaurant owned by an RPCV who served in Guate in the 3rd group (in the sixties) and married a Guatemalan. Her restaurant is also an exotic orchid garden that exhibits pieces of work from local artists. As I shared my pictures over coffee and cake, the volunteer who’s been working at the Coop for the last two years and had hosted us all week told me I had managed to gain “mad confianza.” He let me know it was a big deal to be so taken in by them so quickly, and to be dressed up in their Traje. I was bursting with excitement, to say the least.
We visited a Cardamom processing plant and got to breathe in the intoxicatingly fabulous aroma of cardamom for about two hours, while one of the other volunteers who was hosting us that week talked the ear off of the tour guide about futures and yada yada and some blah blah blah about cardamom. If I had understood half of what they were saying in Spanish, I would’ve been able to keep my interest up. But, I don’t think I would’ve even understood them if there were talking in English. It’s all good, it was sweet to breathe it all in.
We checked into our hostel for our last night in Coban, rested, checked facebook, and then met the fraternity that is the hoard of male Volunteers in or around Coban (as well as a few visiting from other parts of Guate) for dinner at a garage-turned-exquisite Cuban restaurant, owned by a Cuban ex-pat. Again, the food put me in a state of ecstasy. So Happy I AM.
