What to write???

Another week has been a blur in site. I finally starting to find my feet. I have really been having trouble working out my room. As many of you who know me, it usually takes me a couple months to decorate, and be happy with, the rooms/apartments I live in. That being said, I am trying my hardest to make sure that doesn't happen here in Guatemala. I need a place to rest my head and clear my mind, and I can't do that in a room I am not comfortable in. I still am trying to find blankets (still using the sleeping bag), baskets for my things, and trying to figure out how to organize myself. Now I could probably accomplish this in one day, but I wouldn't be happy with it. I am an analyzer and organizer, what can I say?

So, on to more fun activities. Yesterday was a pretty fun day! I went to Pana with a couple of friends, and even got to go on a short boat ride. It was so nice to be out on the lake, looking at the mountains and volcanoes surrounding it. I tried to not take too many pictures, and just enjoy the moment. It was a peaceful and fun moment. Every time I see the lake, the beauty overwhelms me. It's a cliche, but it's true. (Most cliches are true.)

I think work is going well. It's hard to really evaluate, considering it's my second week in site. Most of the teachers in my schools are excited for me to be there, even though all of them think that I am teaching English. I even get introduced to the community as an English teacher. Now I do speak English, but that is not what I will be teaching. I am trying to suggest to them, that while I probably will help them with English, that is not my primary purpose. In time, it will work itself out.

All of the students at my schools are really intelligent, and most are very engaging. I am ashamed to admit this, but I did not expect this coming in. I thought that they would have the potential for being intelligent, but not necessarily using most of their potential. And I didn't think that they would be engaging at all. This was an involuntary stereotype in which I came in with. Well, it has been shattered, as I think most stereotypes should. I am glad that I have overcome this emotion, and now I can truly be an effective teacher knowing that my students have so much potential, are intelligent, and engaging. Let me also say, this "teacher" part is all talk, because I have never taught in my life. It is definitely a new experience. That experience of having all of the power in the room, being in front of a chalkboard, standing up commanding attention, and all of the students sitting down.

I really wanted to write today, but I couldn't think of what to write about. I mean what I write, but I pulled it out of my ass. I don't want to end this post with the word ass. So, it will end with the word happiness. :)

Semana numero uno en mi sitio

As I sit here in the dark of my room, it being another night with no power, I am debriefing with myself my first week and a half at site. It has been very eventful, so eventful that I have been sick and had to stay home from school yesterday. Last week, all I did was work on my living arrangement and observe all of my schools. It was nice not having many responsibilities, since I was not very comfortable yet.  The observations went well, and I think that all of my schools are very excited for me to be there. While both of us are not sure of the plan for the next two years, that will come in time.

The rest of my time has been spent trying to set up my room and relaxing. Relaxing includes watching movies and TV shows. It has been my saving grace being able to watch Parks and Recreation, Limitless, True Grit, Unstoppable, LA Confidential, and many others. Instead of freaking out in my head, I am able to focus on something unimportant, and relax my mind. Being in a new country, speaking a different language, with different customs, a new family, and a new job, my mind can get overwhelmed at times.

This past week, I have purchased many things. I went through that move in allowance quickly. I received just over Q3,000, which was just enough for me to buy a bed, a stove, gas for the stove, get two bookshelves made, paint for the bookshelves, and food to get me started. That is what I get for moving into an empty room.

In front of Lago de Atitlan

I have also had a couple field trips outside of Santa Clara. On Friday, I went to Panajachel with two volunteer friends, Linnea and Ashley, who I live relatively close to. We had lunch and walked around Pana. I finally got to be on the shore of the lake. It was so beautiful, relaxing, wonderful, majestic, etc.. (Think of any positive adjectives and that would, in most cases, describe Lago de Atitlan.)

On Sunday, I went zip-lining with my friend Ashley was one of the directors from one of her schools. It was an intense and memorable experience. I have always wanted to go zip lining and I finally got an opportunity. The park where the zip lining is located is located in my town, about 20 minutes from my house. (Hint, hint for those who want to visit.) So we did two zip-lines. The first one was about 50 meters long. It was a little bit high, but after I did it, I felt so proud of myself. I was ready to conquer the other one; well, my body had other plans. As I climbed to other one, I started to get really tired. Now let me say, I am not in shape, however I am in better shape than when I came here. We were climbing stairs straight up, and I was really having trouble breathing, and on top of that, I had a slight cold. I had to stop about 5 or 6 times before we got to the top. That altitude really hit me hard. I was very embarrassed. In Santa Clara, I am at about 2000 meters (which is 1.2 miles) up. This mountain we were climbing was about 2600 meters (which is about 8000 ft). I am completely not used to the altitude yet. I finally got to the top, and had to sit down to catch my breath again. I was really scared, and nervous as to why this was happening to me. To make me even more scared, I was about to zip line on the longest (or highest, I can’t remember) zip line in Guatemala!

I caught my breath, and was hooked onto the line. I went flying down the line. To my left, were beautiful mountains and to my right, was the beautiful Lago de Atitlan with views of all of the volcanoes. I was up so high; I would say at least 10 stories. I finally reached the other side, and what a rush it was. I took off my heavy-duty gloves, and my hands were shaking. Many people who know me would be surprised that I zip lined, and I am so proud of myself for doing it. And, I am actually super excited (and nervous) to do it again.

This has been my week. After this, I am going to read by headlamp, and try and get some sleep. Hasta luego. 

A very eventful two weeks!

Leading up to site visit and counterpart day was incredibly nerve-racking. I was so anxious and really wanted to pretend to be sick. Counterpart day came and went with only a little bit of awkwardness.  My counterpart and one of the directors from my schools came, and they are both super nice. It was only stressful for me because of the lack of Spanish that I have, and the fact that I am still trying to be professional, but I am not sure how to say what I want to say.  There were times in which I wanted to explain more and talk more about my job, but I had no clue how to say it in Spanish. On Tuesday, the 5th, I came with 2 big suitcases and a large backpack to the Peace Corps office, fully expecting to have to take a camioneta to Santa Clara La Laguna. I was also freaking out at this possibility. Nevermind going to the place in which I am going to live for the next two years, how I am going to last 3 hours on a camioneta with all of my stuff.

Luckily the people who were coming from Sololá had a car, so I was able to get a ride and have all my things safely in the bed of the truck. We left Santa Lucia around 11, and made our way to Chimaltenango for lunch. I had Pollo Campero for lunch in Chimal; you can never beat some Pollo Campero! After lunch, we were back on the road. I slept most of the way, and we after a bunch of bumpy, dirt roads we arrived at my site. It is a quiet little town, but not quite as little as I was expecting. The town is very spread out, with another pueblo right next to it. I can walk ten minutes to a lookout of Lake Atitlan, and take a camioneta for about thirty minutes to the shore of the lake.

I arrived at these houses down a slight hill, not to far from the center of town. The truck stopped in the dirt, as the truck literally could not go any farther. One of the directors of the schools, Francisco, who had ridden with me from Santa Lucia, helped me grab all of my things from the bed of the truck.  He handed some things to man, and that man took them down the hill, and to the side. I must be living down there, I thought. I made my way down the side hill, while it’s super short, it is also super steep. I slipped on my way down; I tend to do that alot here in Guatemala. I was lead into a bare room right off the house that only had my two suitcases in it. I became incredibly overwhelmed at that moment. I was hoping for furniture.

I was greeted by the same man who helped with my bags, Juan, who I found out would be my host father. I met his wife, and his two adorable daughters. They watched me while I sat in the room, and tried to contemplate how to start my life in this town. Many thoughts were going through my head, as they stood there asking me basic introductory questions. I was thinking: (How do I begin to form lasting relationships with these people? How do I start unpacking? Where can I buy all of my furniture, and will I have enough money? I was really hoping for a second room. Be positive, and happy. I am so stressed I can’t speak any Spanish. Just calm down, and breathe. Where am I going to put all my stuff?) They watched me unpack some of my things even though I didn’t have anywhere to put them, besides the floor. The rest of the night was miserable. I was told earlier in the week, that the first day of site visit would be the worst in the Peace Corps, and that was right! I felt so alone, without my friends, my host family, and without a clear plan!

The next day I woke up from sleeping on the floor and felt so much better. This is going to be ok! I went out with Francisco (who is the director of the school in my town), and we went to the mayor’s office, the health center, and I had a great tour of the town. I was then walked to a lookout of what I was told would be Lago de Atitlan. We arrived to this grassy, muddy area with some trash on the ground. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I walked to the lookout, and could not believe my eyes. It was the most beautiful place I ever seen. I felt like I was having this amazing experience. I am in this gorgeous country and am ten minutes from this view. Fate really has a plan for me, and I am truly blessed. I could not stop saying, “Oh My God” and “This is Amazing” for the next five to ten minutes, all in English. I cried, laughed, and took some amazing pictures. During those ten minutes I became truly happy to be in my site, and I knew that I was going to try and do amazing things for this community.

For the next couple of days, I went to all my schools, met some very nice people, and began to know my town a little better. When I left on Saturday, I was excited to leave, but I wasn’t unexcited to come back. I arrived back in Sumpango in the afternoon, and it was so nice to sleep in a comfortable bed and have a hot shower. The next day was our family lunch, and we made hummus, tacos, and flan, all homemade! It was so nice just to relax with our families, knowing that it was one of the last times all of us would be together.

The rest of the week passed by as usual, while it wasn’t usual in the least bit.  We had many sessions on becoming real volunteers, and I had many wonderful moments with my fellow trainees. On Tuesday, the 12^th, all of the trainees sat outside in a big circle and shared their thoughts on life, Peace Corps, Guatemala, and the road to this point. I was inspired by what everyone said, and I was happy that we did that activity. While it kind of felt like group therapy, waiting for everyone to speak, it was a lovely way to process the experience of training!

Thursday, the 14th, was the big day! I was sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer at the ambassador’s house in Guatemala City. I wore traje, which is the traditional dress of Guatemala. I was uncomfortable for most of the day, as what was keeping my skirt up was wrapped tightly around my ribs. However, I now have a new found respect for all of the women in Guatemala who wear this. I could not imagine wearing that everyday, and I respect anyone who does. I said the infamous oath taken by every United States citizen working in foreign service. It was amazing saying those words, and this dream becoming a reality. I am now a Peace Corps volunteer! After all of those years of dreaming, years of applying, and 3 months of training, my dream has finally come true! Now comes working in my community, and I could not be more excited to start!

Finding out my site!

This week I found out my site, which is the town in Guatemala in which I will be living for the next 2 years. All week, I got more and more anxious as Thursday came closer. Our training group is separated into two different programs, Heathy Homes and Youth Development. Healthy Homes found out their sites on Wednesday. When I got home on Wednesday, there were so many happy people on Facebook, just so excited to know their sites. On Thursday, our training class got together for class in the morning at the Peace Corps office. We had meetings on Behavior Change and Secondary Projects. Everyone from Healthy Homes was calm, and some of them smiley. Youth Development was not feeling this way. Some of us were sitting in a row during the meetings, and all of us were moving our legs, using our bodies to act out our anxiousness. Classes ended, and we had lunch in Santa Lucia. We all ate lunch within 10 minutes, and then we had one hour to kill before we were to leave to find out our sites. That hour passed so slowly. I would keep looking at my watch, and only 5 minutes had passed since I last looked. We were finally able to leave, and we were driven to San Bartolme Milpas Atlas, where some of the trainees live.

We arrived and Gonzalo, the boss man of Youth Development, set up a big map of Guatemala. Gonzalo and Aliyya worked on putting 15 pins in the map, to show where all of us are going. The pins were pretty spread out over the Western Highlands, with some in Quiche, one really close to the Mexican border, some in Baja Verapaz (which is close to Guatemala City), and some by Lake Atitlan. We were all given heavy manilla envelopes with our names on it. We then all opened it together! I opened my envelope with much excitement and hestiation, and I saw the name of my site. I yelled "Sololá!" My site is Santa Clara La Laguna, located in the department (state) of Sololá! Sololá is the department of Lake Atitlan, which was described by Aldous Huxley as "the most beautiful lake in the world."

I picture I found online of the road to Santa Clara. This is where I will be living for the next two years! I am so incredibly lucky!

I am so excited to start my work. I am going to be a first generation volunteer, and going to be working with 4 schools in the area of Santa Clara. I am going to visit my site on Tuesday till Saturday, and I could not be more nervous. I am also very nervous to meet my counterpart tomorrow! My counterpart is basically my boss, the guy who I will discuss my plans, and possibly get his help. I am so nervous to meet him! I can speak Spanish ok with my family and my Spanish teachers, but I am nervous about speaking with him!

The rest of the day of Thursday was spent celebrating! That manilla envelope had a lot of information about Santa Clara, for instance the highest temperature in Santa Clara is 24 degrees Celsius, which is about 74 degrees Fahrenheit. I have internet, a bank, a market, and I am surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. I am at about 6500 feet, which is more than a mile above sea level. The main business is agriculture, and the main products are rice, coffee, beans, and avocados! (I am obsessed with avocados, so I am super pumped about this!) 

On Friday, all of the trainees got together in Parramos and started learning the mayan languages of our area. I tried my hand at learning some Quiché. It is such a hard language, and it makes Spanish look like a piece of cake. Saturday was a very fun day. We had a celebration for the 4th of July! All of the volunteers were there, and I definitely had loads of fun! It was a very different way to celebrate the 4th, and I loved it! Today, I have started packing up my room for my site visit this week. I am packing up my stuff because we are suppose to bring most of our stuff with us to leave in site, and then come back to it after swear-in. 

I am so excited about where I am going to be living! And I can not wait to start this new adventure in my life! I am going to miss training, I have had so much fun and made some really good friends. But everything must come to an end. When one thing ends, something else begins. I am getting really excited about that something else.