I can't remember if I've mentioned it yet, but I started taking Spanish lessons yesterday. I was worried that my teacher would be concerned with curriculum, but halleluiah, she too prefers to chat rather than look at assigned things. So I am learning tons and am also really enjoying the lessons. It's a very "learn while doing" type of experience which I much prefer. Plus, I am getting a cultural lesson too while we talk because we get into fairly intense discussions about politics, religion, and the troubled youth of today (she has two teenagers). We both enjoy maps so we put a big map of the world up on our white board where other instructors write vocabulary, and we discuss different cultures and laws and such. Her favorite thing to tell me is (in translation) "you talk so much, but you must fix all of these wrong things!" Apparently I passed 7 Spanish classes but never learned the very important verbs of haber and ser... But she is making sure I am now! What a firecracker.
It took some adjusting to start working on the tour less and shifting to other areas of work, but it's very fun now. After class today I went on a hunt for brown sugar. I haven't been able to find it in the supermarket. So I went from panderia (bakery) to panderia asking for brown sugar, but non of them have it. I finally ended up settling for something brown and granular but I'm told is not brown sugar, it is something "more special." Hmm... I think it is very similar to brown sugar, but they don't want to admit that it is the same thing and instead call it something different. I also found out today that I've been paying 2-3 quetzales (Guatemalan curency) more than I should be for bottles of coke. I normally pay 5 for a small glass bottle, whereas I'm told they should be 3! Apparently the gringo tax is hefty for coke. I will straighten out the local tienda though. And I finally told the coffee shop that is right down the street from Casasito, that they are the only place in town that charges Q10 for a small coffee. I told them that was no bueno and I didn't want anymore if it was going to be that over priced. Everywhere else in town coffee is Q6 for a medium. Maybe by the time I leave I will pay close to what Guatemalans pay for things. Maybe.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Back to work
So after that nice break in Semuc Champey, I refocused upon the reasons I am here. I've found that because Antigua feels so much like home now, it is actually more difficult now to do the more tedious jobs associated with my work. As I have mentioned earlier in this blog, I have three projects here: Santiago Zamora Tour, a personal business idea, and Los Patojos (I nixed Los Patojos). The tour is very easy, straight-forward work and to be honest, I've done about all I can do at this point. So I am now shifting focus to a business idea I am working on with a couple partners from school. I had an interview today with our microfinance wizz here at Casasito, and the outcome was hardly what I was expecting, but nonetheless very helpful. The woman I was interviewing expressed her views that donation-based NGO work is not particularly sustainable. This is a thought that has crossed my mind before, but I figured I would not worry about it until I was done working for one. So much for that.
The philosophical conclusion to our meeting was that if countries are ever going to get on the right path, it has to be from the people and the government. NGO's like Casasito definitely relieve some of the pain caused by poverty and corruption, but it is most often only temporary until the next war or genocide swings around, and actually makes it harder for the people and government to see that there is a great need for solutions to problems. It makes me question whether my work on the Tour is simply putting makeup on a zit that would otherwise be so hideous it couldn't be avoided. Obviously it's on a much larger scale than just one person, or even one organization, but still, it's by no means a new idea and is worth consideration.
The philosophical conclusion to our meeting was that if countries are ever going to get on the right path, it has to be from the people and the government. NGO's like Casasito definitely relieve some of the pain caused by poverty and corruption, but it is most often only temporary until the next war or genocide swings around, and actually makes it harder for the people and government to see that there is a great need for solutions to problems. It makes me question whether my work on the Tour is simply putting makeup on a zit that would otherwise be so hideous it couldn't be avoided. Obviously it's on a much larger scale than just one person, or even one organization, but still, it's by no means a new idea and is worth consideration.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Our Sore Muscles
Rather than bore everyone with pictureless words or wordless pictures... here is our weekend:
We left Antigua in the morning and had a typical shuttle ride and arrived a nice 2 1/2 hours late to Lanquin (the town nearest to Semuc Champey). We were unfortunately in the shuttle for 10 hours with the spitting images of the stereotypically loud, arrogant, and offensive American. After finally ridding ourselves of them at the first hostel we arrived at in Lanquin, we stepped out of the van to finally stretch out legs, and then the tropical rainy season finally decided to let loose. This picture shows the few drops that hit us during our transfer to the more mountain-capable truck that took us to our final destination as dusk fell.
Here is the place we stayed. The loft of the building with the red roof hiding in the trees on the left was our humble abode. The river was about 50ft down the bank, turquoise blue.
Our private little climbing session, right below our hut.
The next morning we began the Semuc tour. Two other people hiked with us up to a good 1000ft above the ponds to a vantage point (mirador), and those ponds behind us are those of Semuc Chammpey. Pictures don't do the height justice. It is a truly extraordinary height. 1000ft is very likely a low-ball estimate.
Hilary, happy to bask in the cool turquoise pools after the "death hike" to the mirador. For those who don't know about one of the world's great wonders, there exists a type of fish which are used in South East Asia for feet massages. I got one when I was in Bangkok last year and was forever in love with the small fish that swarm your legs and feet and eat all of your dead skin, leaving your skin feeling fresher than a baby's... After dangling our feet in the ponds for a while we realized that some similar fish existed in the Semuc ponds, so we allowed them to feast upon our calloused and abused feet. It was a big scary at first because the larger fish were just as visible only a couple feet below and whenever they swam close it was quite difficult to keep our feet in the water.
Because I can't seem to grow my own facial hair, I thought I would make a water beard for myself... The pools were absent of foreigners/tourists for the majority of our time in them. The majority of the pools' baskers were locals. Quite the phenomenon at such an incredibly tourist-prone location. I think the 10 hour drive, the last 2 of which are on dirt roads in the middle of the jungle, keeps many tourists away.
After lunch and a leisurely innertubing down the river, we adorned our headlamps and followed a guide into a set of 11km deep caves. Although we had candles to help light our way, we found that treading water and swimming through pools and climbing up cavernous waterfalls was much harder to do when trying to keep a candle that drips hot wax on to your hand afloat and lit. We left them behind and left the lighting to our 21st century devices. After venturing 500 meters into the caves (the furthest you can go without a wetsuit), we stopped at a particularly deep pool and climbed up the walls of the narrow cave and took turns jumping carefully between the walls and plunging to the bottom of the pool. Then we turned around and hiked back out. It was all quite fantastic in the literal sense. What an experience. By the time we got back to the hostel for dinner we had gone through 6 liters of drinking water, but our muscles still ached and groaned with every step. This trip is well worth the 20+ hours of treacherous driving time for anybody who is traveling to Guatemala. Also, note, the best place to stay is the hostel we were at: El Portal. It is literally in the park. All of the others are 2-12km away.
Hilary takes off tomorrow morning and then I will be back to work after my 3 day break.
We left Antigua in the morning and had a typical shuttle ride and arrived a nice 2 1/2 hours late to Lanquin (the town nearest to Semuc Champey). We were unfortunately in the shuttle for 10 hours with the spitting images of the stereotypically loud, arrogant, and offensive American. After finally ridding ourselves of them at the first hostel we arrived at in Lanquin, we stepped out of the van to finally stretch out legs, and then the tropical rainy season finally decided to let loose. This picture shows the few drops that hit us during our transfer to the more mountain-capable truck that took us to our final destination as dusk fell.
Here is the place we stayed. The loft of the building with the red roof hiding in the trees on the left was our humble abode. The river was about 50ft down the bank, turquoise blue.
Our private little climbing session, right below our hut.
The next morning we began the Semuc tour. Two other people hiked with us up to a good 1000ft above the ponds to a vantage point (mirador), and those ponds behind us are those of Semuc Chammpey. Pictures don't do the height justice. It is a truly extraordinary height. 1000ft is very likely a low-ball estimate.
Hilary, happy to bask in the cool turquoise pools after the "death hike" to the mirador. For those who don't know about one of the world's great wonders, there exists a type of fish which are used in South East Asia for feet massages. I got one when I was in Bangkok last year and was forever in love with the small fish that swarm your legs and feet and eat all of your dead skin, leaving your skin feeling fresher than a baby's... After dangling our feet in the ponds for a while we realized that some similar fish existed in the Semuc ponds, so we allowed them to feast upon our calloused and abused feet. It was a big scary at first because the larger fish were just as visible only a couple feet below and whenever they swam close it was quite difficult to keep our feet in the water.
Because I can't seem to grow my own facial hair, I thought I would make a water beard for myself... The pools were absent of foreigners/tourists for the majority of our time in them. The majority of the pools' baskers were locals. Quite the phenomenon at such an incredibly tourist-prone location. I think the 10 hour drive, the last 2 of which are on dirt roads in the middle of the jungle, keeps many tourists away.
After lunch and a leisurely innertubing down the river, we adorned our headlamps and followed a guide into a set of 11km deep caves. Although we had candles to help light our way, we found that treading water and swimming through pools and climbing up cavernous waterfalls was much harder to do when trying to keep a candle that drips hot wax on to your hand afloat and lit. We left them behind and left the lighting to our 21st century devices. After venturing 500 meters into the caves (the furthest you can go without a wetsuit), we stopped at a particularly deep pool and climbed up the walls of the narrow cave and took turns jumping carefully between the walls and plunging to the bottom of the pool. Then we turned around and hiked back out. It was all quite fantastic in the literal sense. What an experience. By the time we got back to the hostel for dinner we had gone through 6 liters of drinking water, but our muscles still ached and groaned with every step. This trip is well worth the 20+ hours of treacherous driving time for anybody who is traveling to Guatemala. Also, note, the best place to stay is the hostel we were at: El Portal. It is literally in the park. All of the others are 2-12km away.
Hilary takes off tomorrow morning and then I will be back to work after my 3 day break.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Vamos
Yesterday was a sick day for Hilary and I. Hilary actually managed to go to her Spanish lessons while I took refuge in the bathroom for the better part of the morning. A day of rice and salt and we were back on our feet again today! Actually, I felt completely fine and spunky by lunch yesterday, Hilary's bout was more drawn out.
Today was Hilary's last day in Antigua so we spent a lot of time researching just how much stuff she is allowed to bring as checked baggage home, and then the rest of the time combing the market, filling Delta's baggage allowances. After some careful alterations of some hammocks, I only have some rough-hewn wooden rods sticking out of my pack, awaiting the fast approaching end to my stay in Guatemala and their ultimate reunion with their respective hammocks being brought home by Hilary.
Tomorrow morning we are headed off to a place called Semuc Champey. It is slowly becoming more of a hot-spot in the Central American ecotourism scene, due to its Crater Lake-like blue water ponds and falls, and its deep caves. It's 17 hours of driving in a public shuttle in total. We hope it is worth it. There are no phones or electricity there so sayonara until Friday night!
Today was Hilary's last day in Antigua so we spent a lot of time researching just how much stuff she is allowed to bring as checked baggage home, and then the rest of the time combing the market, filling Delta's baggage allowances. After some careful alterations of some hammocks, I only have some rough-hewn wooden rods sticking out of my pack, awaiting the fast approaching end to my stay in Guatemala and their ultimate reunion with their respective hammocks being brought home by Hilary.
Tomorrow morning we are headed off to a place called Semuc Champey. It is slowly becoming more of a hot-spot in the Central American ecotourism scene, due to its Crater Lake-like blue water ponds and falls, and its deep caves. It's 17 hours of driving in a public shuttle in total. We hope it is worth it. There are no phones or electricity there so sayonara until Friday night!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A weekend
Where to start... Early yesterday morning we left Casasito and met our friend Ganzalo at a coffee shop. Gonzalo was an exchange student who stayed with my friends in Hood River a couple or few years ago. We started the day off with a beautiful drive from Antigua to the coastal region. Gonzo stopped and took us to a big water park/amusement park (we opted for the water). We spent a few hours doing all of the big slides there and then started back on our way through a bunch of villages I had read about in books before coming down here. He showed us the city where he goes to school (Xela, pronounced 'shayla') and then we proceeded on to his home town of San Pedro Sacatepequez in the San Marco province. It is not in the 'highlands' but it is at about 6000' elevation. He introduced us to his Mom (his dad is running a race this weekend), his sisters, aunt, grandma and grandpa. A very welcoming family served us food and water and then Gonzalo took us out to get Pupusas, an El Salvadorian dish which is essentially a delicious filling of meat and beans and other things fried inside of a big tortilla! Very yummy. We spent the night at his house which is right downtown San Pedro.
This morning we were fed a delicious traditional breakfast and then made our way back to Antigua. After about 3 hours of passing road-side stands selling things I realized that these goods must be cheaper than in Antigua, so I asked Gonzalo and he confirmed and so we stopped and had a little shopping spree up in the highlands in a beautiful little hillside market. An hour later we stopped in a little food paradise that resembled a logging camp in the old west (of the States). We were served a delicious and huge lunch with the traditionally made tortillas which I was stoked to have because as I was bummed to find out, the traditional tortillas are no longer the norm here due to the cheap price and labor-nonintensive corn flour available in stores. A couple more hours and here we are! Back in Antigua. Both Hilary and I agree it feels like we left Casasito some time last week, not yesterday morning. It is a peculiar feeling. Annndd... pictures!
Group photo
A little post-lunch teeter tottering
Some cute little girls at the road-side market
This morning we were fed a delicious traditional breakfast and then made our way back to Antigua. After about 3 hours of passing road-side stands selling things I realized that these goods must be cheaper than in Antigua, so I asked Gonzalo and he confirmed and so we stopped and had a little shopping spree up in the highlands in a beautiful little hillside market. An hour later we stopped in a little food paradise that resembled a logging camp in the old west (of the States). We were served a delicious and huge lunch with the traditionally made tortillas which I was stoked to have because as I was bummed to find out, the traditional tortillas are no longer the norm here due to the cheap price and labor-nonintensive corn flour available in stores. A couple more hours and here we are! Back in Antigua. Both Hilary and I agree it feels like we left Casasito some time last week, not yesterday morning. It is a peculiar feeling. Annndd... pictures!
Group photo
A little post-lunch teeter tottering
Some cute little girls at the road-side market
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Dos Dias
Yesterday was a pretty average, non-eventful day. Other than going to see our Brazilian friend Paulo play at an open mic, and his friend singing T-Pain while playing a ukelele... not much eventful happened.
Today we did our usual routine of Hilary: Spanish, Me: Send emails, walk and talk to schools for two hours. But the director of Casasito, Alice, asked me yesterday if Hilary and I would go to the Los Patojos project today and conduct a survey for a Canadian elementary school program. So I agreed and Hilary translated the questions in her Spanish lessons, and then we went forth with our laptops and ventured to Jocotenango (the village where Los Patojos is) and did our thing. If you remember from earlier blogs, Los Patojos is crazy, so it was quite the interview session. We were interviewing kids from ages 6-9 ish about life in Guatemala so that the Canadian elementary school could teach their kids about Guatemalan life. We both remembered doing similar things in elementary school, so it was kind of fun! I'm not sure how accurate the survey was though... There were some 12 year old boys whispering answers and intimidating the younger ones, especially the girls, during their interviews.
It was a blast though, and Hilary actually took some pictures!
Hilary insisted on taking a Tuktuk back to Antigua
Me showing the movie Flyboys to the kids
And for some good affirmation of my decision not to try and compete with traffic on a motorcycle here... On my way to coffee this morning I ran into a crowd around an unconscious man being put on to a gurney and a crushed bike.
Today we did our usual routine of Hilary: Spanish, Me: Send emails, walk and talk to schools for two hours. But the director of Casasito, Alice, asked me yesterday if Hilary and I would go to the Los Patojos project today and conduct a survey for a Canadian elementary school program. So I agreed and Hilary translated the questions in her Spanish lessons, and then we went forth with our laptops and ventured to Jocotenango (the village where Los Patojos is) and did our thing. If you remember from earlier blogs, Los Patojos is crazy, so it was quite the interview session. We were interviewing kids from ages 6-9 ish about life in Guatemala so that the Canadian elementary school could teach their kids about Guatemalan life. We both remembered doing similar things in elementary school, so it was kind of fun! I'm not sure how accurate the survey was though... There were some 12 year old boys whispering answers and intimidating the younger ones, especially the girls, during their interviews.
It was a blast though, and Hilary actually took some pictures!
Hilary insisted on taking a Tuktuk back to Antigua
Me showing the movie Flyboys to the kids
And for some good affirmation of my decision not to try and compete with traffic on a motorcycle here... On my way to coffee this morning I ran into a crowd around an unconscious man being put on to a gurney and a crushed bike.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Any title suggestions?
Yesterday: After deciding on a Spanish school, Hilary started adjusting to Guatemalan speed... Work from 8-12 then eat and sleep for a couple hours, then do a little more work or food-prep from 2-5.
I received some very welcome news from two sources yesterday about the tour. One was from the ladies of Santiago Zamora, telling me that one of the Spanish schools I had talked to had gone on a tour last Friday. Also, the school Hilary is attending and which is the largest school in Antigua, after some negotiation, committed to doing at least 1 tour every other week. This was big news for both me and the ladies of Santiago Zamora.
I'm starting to understand the reason that I am needed here. The ladies are perfectly capable of running the tour all by themselves. The problem for them, as they told me, is that when they walk into a Spanish school in their native dress, they look no different than the random beggars who walk into doorways banging their cups on the counter. Whereas when I show up with my legal pad and pen, with a polished pitch and "American" clothes, the desk attendant doesn't shoo me out, they call the director. The sad part about this is that I understand this, don't see it changing, and have not a single idea of how to fix it for the long-term.
Right now I think I may ask the head lady of Santiago Zamora to start coming to the schools with me so that I can introduce her as my boss, and forge the relationship between her and the school so that when she walks in she is served a glass of cold water, not a dirty look and a "get out of here, beggar."
The problem with this is that directors come and go in many of the schools, or some other white person walks in 6 months later with shiny brochures and a polished pitch and the director switches to back to the for-profit tours. I can't figure out how to make it stick.
But overall, progress is being made!
I received some very welcome news from two sources yesterday about the tour. One was from the ladies of Santiago Zamora, telling me that one of the Spanish schools I had talked to had gone on a tour last Friday. Also, the school Hilary is attending and which is the largest school in Antigua, after some negotiation, committed to doing at least 1 tour every other week. This was big news for both me and the ladies of Santiago Zamora.
I'm starting to understand the reason that I am needed here. The ladies are perfectly capable of running the tour all by themselves. The problem for them, as they told me, is that when they walk into a Spanish school in their native dress, they look no different than the random beggars who walk into doorways banging their cups on the counter. Whereas when I show up with my legal pad and pen, with a polished pitch and "American" clothes, the desk attendant doesn't shoo me out, they call the director. The sad part about this is that I understand this, don't see it changing, and have not a single idea of how to fix it for the long-term.
Right now I think I may ask the head lady of Santiago Zamora to start coming to the schools with me so that I can introduce her as my boss, and forge the relationship between her and the school so that when she walks in she is served a glass of cold water, not a dirty look and a "get out of here, beggar."
The problem with this is that directors come and go in many of the schools, or some other white person walks in 6 months later with shiny brochures and a polished pitch and the director switches to back to the for-profit tours. I can't figure out how to make it stick.
But overall, progress is being made!
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