I judge the quality of this trip by the feeling I have now; I have never wanted to leave a place less. The friends I have made, which is to say the people I have met, the ideas I've encountered, and the place its self will feed my motivation and sense of contentment. As my thoughts have started forming in Spanish while my mouth inadvertently spews English, I feel emotionally attached to Guatemala, but am bound for the States. I wish I could pause lives and live many lives in many places. As this is inability is an unfortunate flaw in who/whatever's design scheme of life, I will have to settle for simply returning to Guatemala at some point in the future.
Hasta luego Guate
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Roller Coaster
I am a firm believer in the idea that sometimes things must get bad for you to appreciate the good. The last two days have reinforced that notion:
Yesterday I woke up at 5am feeling so terrible that I went and forced myself to puke until there was nothing left in my stomach. Then my digestive system decided that everything else needed to go, so I spent another 4 hours in the bathroom. After a very feverish day of sweating and trying to sleep, I finally felt better by night and was able to go eat a bowl of mac and cheese and drink some gatorade.
This morning I woke up very early and felt awesome, which was a good thing because I had to guide a tour at 8:30. The only problem with this was that I didn't know the way to the project in Santiago Zamora, having only been there once on my first day in Antigua. Ladies from the village were supposed to meet me at Casasito at 8:00 but, as I thought would happen, they did not show up. So I went and met the group and proposed that we venture forth with the understanding that I had no idea where to go, but that I could hopefully get us there by asking people for directions. Amazingly enough we made it! The tour went very well and our driver was delightfully tourist-oriented and stopped at every little market and really made a great trip out of it. He is the first shuttle driver I have been pleased to do business with in Guatemala. We got back just as it started to pour down rain, which is my favorite type of weather here, and I am feeling elated. It's the type of elation that only lows like yesterday can create.
Here is a picture from the tour
Yesterday I woke up at 5am feeling so terrible that I went and forced myself to puke until there was nothing left in my stomach. Then my digestive system decided that everything else needed to go, so I spent another 4 hours in the bathroom. After a very feverish day of sweating and trying to sleep, I finally felt better by night and was able to go eat a bowl of mac and cheese and drink some gatorade.
This morning I woke up very early and felt awesome, which was a good thing because I had to guide a tour at 8:30. The only problem with this was that I didn't know the way to the project in Santiago Zamora, having only been there once on my first day in Antigua. Ladies from the village were supposed to meet me at Casasito at 8:00 but, as I thought would happen, they did not show up. So I went and met the group and proposed that we venture forth with the understanding that I had no idea where to go, but that I could hopefully get us there by asking people for directions. Amazingly enough we made it! The tour went very well and our driver was delightfully tourist-oriented and stopped at every little market and really made a great trip out of it. He is the first shuttle driver I have been pleased to do business with in Guatemala. We got back just as it started to pour down rain, which is my favorite type of weather here, and I am feeling elated. It's the type of elation that only lows like yesterday can create.
Here is a picture from the tour
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Debating why?
Last night was the debate finals for Casasito. I talked about the debates earlier in this blog, and after many months of work, the finalists in groups of two debated over two subjects. The first was over how to eliminate police corruption, (quite a bold topic I thought, as the armed policemen stood outside the building on the street corner), and whether to reform the education system in Guatemala or not. The setting was very professional, on a large stage with microphones and a nice sized audience and panel of judges. The kids debated as well as one could expect them too, but were lacking in research and effective questioning techniques I thought. It was an extraordinary amount of work for the kids, really, young adults, to get to where they were, and I admire them for their persistence.
Afterwards when the volunteers were all discussing the debates, we collectively wondered, could we come up with a plan to solve corruption of fix the education system in Guatemala? Especially when the constant opposing factor is, "there's no money to make these changes with." I mean, how can you argue against that? If the plan you have to fix something simply can't be done, then you lose! And this isn't just the problem for the debates. This is the reality! It is how the politicians debate too! What a nightmare. The mentality is "it is better to have no change than to allow the other party to be successful" but not in the we need to debate for the sake of coming to an agreement or compromise. It is in the way of either we get everything we ask for or nothing. If they refuse to alter their views, why the they debating?
Tonight we had another Chinese feast at our director Alice's house, made by her sister Ella. Not only is the food to die for, but the company and conversation is and educational. Germany, Israel, the States, Canada, Guatemala, China, and Spain were the represented countries at the small table. Everybody volumes of insight to share about every topic imaginable, and finally my Spanish is good enough to where I can understand most of what is being said. Simply put, it is unlike any other dinner conversation I have ever had. I have the uneasy feeling though that it will decrease my low opinion of available conversation with peers in the dining hall at school. What a place this is. I definitively do not want to go home in the States permanently. I wish either the good things from Guatemala would come to the States, or the good things from the States would come to Guatemala. Here is a picture of the debates:
Afterwards when the volunteers were all discussing the debates, we collectively wondered, could we come up with a plan to solve corruption of fix the education system in Guatemala? Especially when the constant opposing factor is, "there's no money to make these changes with." I mean, how can you argue against that? If the plan you have to fix something simply can't be done, then you lose! And this isn't just the problem for the debates. This is the reality! It is how the politicians debate too! What a nightmare. The mentality is "it is better to have no change than to allow the other party to be successful" but not in the we need to debate for the sake of coming to an agreement or compromise. It is in the way of either we get everything we ask for or nothing. If they refuse to alter their views, why the they debating?
Tonight we had another Chinese feast at our director Alice's house, made by her sister Ella. Not only is the food to die for, but the company and conversation is and educational. Germany, Israel, the States, Canada, Guatemala, China, and Spain were the represented countries at the small table. Everybody volumes of insight to share about every topic imaginable, and finally my Spanish is good enough to where I can understand most of what is being said. Simply put, it is unlike any other dinner conversation I have ever had. I have the uneasy feeling though that it will decrease my low opinion of available conversation with peers in the dining hall at school. What a place this is. I definitively do not want to go home in the States permanently. I wish either the good things from Guatemala would come to the States, or the good things from the States would come to Guatemala. Here is a picture of the debates:
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