Hola Cuidad de Guatemala!

Another week gone by in Sumpango! This week has been very busy, per usual. I rode more camionetas. Friday was quite an eventful day. We met for Spanish class at 8 am at a volunteer’s house. At 10 we made our way to the gasionera (or the gas station by the Pan American highway). We then caught a bus to Guatemala City, or Guate. Everything was going smoothly on the bus (I got a seat!), until about 10 minutes in. We came to a full stop. We sat in traffic for a good 30 minutes and arrived near where the road splits, to Guate or Antigua. The police directed us towards Antigua, which was really frustrating! We sat in traffic on the road to Antigua (I apologize for not knowing the name of the highway) to wait to turn around.  We turned around and got on our way back to Guate! We arrived back on the Pan American highway and there was more traffic, but it moved pretty quickly. We went a couple miles and saw a non-normal amount of people standing by the other side of the street (It is a highway with a split down the middle.) 

My Spanish teacher, Isabel, who comes with us on most trips, spoke on the phone to another Spanish teacher, Felipe, who was also heading to Guate that day. Now keep in mind that on this trip, we were only allowed to speak Spanish, so naturally I understood less that I would have in English. Isabel said that there was a robbery on a camioneta and that is what was causing all of the traffic. Now I am going to tell the rest of the story, however I want to warn family members and make sure they know that this does not happen often. So the camioneta was heading from Guate to San Lucas (a city in between Guate and Antigua). Evidently the robbers stopped traffic and robbed the camioneta at 7 am this morning.  I don’t know much else of the story, but I know that there were 4 fatalities and 10 injuries. 

We arrived in Guate at about 11:30 and went to the mall (oh yeah, that’s right). We got a taxi, and the five of us (Richard, Sahisha, Riley, Isabel, and myself) all fit into one cab. We took the taxi to the American embassy, and it took us about 15 minutes. We walked around the American embassy, not inside, literally around. You might think: why would you not go inside? Well we had similar thoughts. Peace Corps defined this trip to Guate, and we were only supposed to know how to get to the American embassy. Since I have never been out of the United States before this trip, I never really knew how America operated in other countries. Let me just say: It is serious! There are no pictures allowed, you go through rigorous security, and there are guards all the way around the complex.

We walked another kilometer and found the hospital Peace Corps uses in Guate. Again, we only had to know where it is, rather than actually go in. I hope I never have to know that information in my two years here.  We called a taxi, well I say we, but really it was Riley. I didn’t have the courage to try and talk in Spanish over the phone. I will though. We caught a taxi back to the mall, which is called MiraFlores.  

We arrived at MiraFlores, and went and found food. I was like an animal searching for its dinner; I was starving. This mall is huge, at least bigger than all of the malls in Nashville. There are three floors, with a wide variety of stores. Many stores are American, or sell American products. In MiraFlores, some American stores include Forever 21, New Balance, 4 McDonalds, Sketchers, and Victoria’s Secret. I had Burger King for lunch. It was truly amazing! While I have only been in Guatemala for 2 weeks, I am already starting to miss American food. And just the taste of greasy, unhealthy fast food made me feel at home. I then spent more money on a chocolate gelato, and an awesome mocha. I spent a total of 60Q on food, which sounds like a lot, but it’s actually about $9. (Side note: I did get sick last night from all the food, but I have reflected on it, and it was so worth it!)

We left Guate at about 2, and headed back for Sumpango. There was no traffic, so it took us about 50 minutes. The four of us got back to Sumpango and walked around for about an hour. We climbed a huge cobblestone hill, in which I would be afraid to go down. I, of course, did not have my camera, as I left it home for the trip to Guate. The views were amazing, and I am going to get pictures soon! 

Today was another day of class, and then we went home to have lunch, and met back up to walk around. We walked up this huge hill, and I would think it has to be one of the biggest hills in the city. We were so wiped, so we found a panderia, and got some tres leche. I am now sitting on the roof of Sahisha’s house, using her internet. It is very sunny and I hope to get some resemblance of a tan. Hasta luego!

Las camionetas es loco!!!

Life has calmed down since I got here. It’s not as crazy as it was last week, and I feel that I have established some sort of routine. I crave routine in life, so it’s really nice. Tuesday was my first day riding camionetas (chicken buses) to Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps) in Santa Lucia Milpas Atlas. I think the camionetas have been one of the most defining experiences I have had so far. We have to take two buses to get to Cuerpo de Paz. So we met at the gas station in Sumpango, which is right next to the Inter-American Highway. We board a bus that is going to Guatemala City.

These buses do NOT have maximum person limits. Picture an elementary school bus, with more people on it than can fit. In most cases, three to a seat and people standing in the aisle. And while you ride on the camionetas you must always be mindful of your things, because the buses have a high rate of theft. I really question the regulations placed upon owning a bus, and capitalizing off it. The bus driver es muy loco!  He barely slows down for turns, and let me tell you these turns are crazy! If I am standing, I feel as if the bus is about to tip over.

So we loaded the bus for Guatemala City, and stood there (and held on for dear life) for about 20 minutes till we got to our next stop at San Lucas. That bus ride cost Q3 (about .40). And you don’t pay when you get on. This tiny Guatemalan man comes down the aisle and collects your dinero. He smooshes and stands up real tall to get by everyone. So we get off at San Lucas and cross over the highway on a high pedestrian bridge. We then wait for a bus for Antigua. The bus ride is just as cramped as before, and we get off at our stop of Santa Lucia Milpas Atlas, and walk the couple hundred feet to Cuerpo de Paz. That bus ride took about 10 minutes and cost Q2. It’s 7:30AM; lets get ready for a full day of meetings!!

We got done with meetings at like 4, and made the walk (like a kilometer) to the bus station. This is no ordinary walk. It goes downhill for half, then uphill for the rest. It is quite treacherous. All of the Youth Development people (there are 15 of us) wait for a bus to Guatemala City. We load the bus, and there is actually room for 15 gringos (Spanish for American/white person)! We take the bus to San Lucas, cross the bridge and take the next bus to Chilmaltenango.  We get off at Sumpango, and each walk home. Luckily I only live a short walk from the gas station, which is where the camionetas pick up/drop off.  This was my Tuesday, and I am doing this every Tuesday for the next 11 weeks!

The rest of the week has been busy. I went to Xenocho (I think that’s how it’s spelled) on Wednesday to meet with the rest of the Youth Development group. We got a long overview, and I am excited to start working. I am very grateful for this training period, as I am eased into the job, which is a lovely luxury. We went back to Sumpango at 12, and had more Spanish. Friday was 8-3 Spanish class at my house. I know I am getting better at Spanish. I still see it as unforeseeable being able to be fluent. I know I will get there; it will probably just take me like 6 months – a year. 

Friday after Spanish, I laid down to rest, as I was quite tired from the day. A few minutes later I heard a strange, almost, flapping noise. I thought nothing of it. It happened again, and I just figured it was a typical noise of Guate.  It happened once more, so I thought I would open my eyes and look. OMG!!!! There is a bird flying around in my room!!!! I about freaked out. I leave my door open to the outside because it’s so nice to have fresh air streaming in. I did a couple shrieks and made a daring streak to the door to get my host mom. Once she came in my room the bird flew away, but I know I will never forget that. I have a slight fear of birds, and that fact that one was IN MY ROOM flying around just completely freaks me out. If Aunt Sands ever reads this, she will understand my fear. (Actually she probably wont even read this far. She will read about the bird, and stop reading.) I still can’t get over it. Oh, Guate.

Last night we also had a water main break in front of my house and there was water streaming all though the street for about 30 minutes. It was crazy!

The water streaming down our street...

Volcan de Fuego from the roof of my house

Sunset in Sumpango

Sunset in Sumpango!

Today was Spanish class, and I am probably going to the market afterwards. Hopefully it will be a fun sábado! 

Guate!!!!

This weekend I moved into my training community. I will be living here for the next three months! I am so excited to finally be at my training community! The last few days have been quite hectic.  I arrived in Philly on Tuesday, and sat through an important information session.  That night I went out with a couple new friends, and went to a little Italian restaurant downtown. I had lobster ravioli, and let me tell you it was amazing! I had some caesar salad and an awesome glass of vino! It was a great last meal, and I will always remember it! We left our hotel at 12AM that night, and loaded the buses to drive to NYC. I got to sleep a little on the bus, but I was lucky because I did get a look at Manhattan as we were passing over some river (too late to realize which one). I loved being able to see the Empire State Building, even if only for a minute.  We arrived at JFK at about 3AM. I went in, as I had signed up to be the airport leader, and it was completely bare. (Who would think an airport bare at 3AM, huh) We got in line in at the American Airlines desk and waited. The desk didn’t even open till about 3:45. We finally were given our own line, as a Peace Corps group. We sat, we stood, and we waited. There were about one to two people checking us in at a time. I was in the middle of the line, and I went through security at about 5:30. I went to Starbucks for the last time and got some breakfast.  I had just enough time to eat my breakfast, and then board the plane. The people at the end of the checkout line didn’t get to the plane till about 6:30, and our flight started boarding at 6:45. I slept through takeoff during that flight, and woke up, and could not for the life of me figure out how to lean the seat back. It was very frustrating! I was sitting next to a non-PC person who was asleep. It was very scary, during landing no one had their windows up, and I was in the middle aisles.  I had no clue when landing was coming, and when it did I jumped, I about leapt out of my seat.  Miami here I am!  Our flight was delayed, and left about 1.5 hours later than it was suppose to. When we were flying over Guate, we saw the top of a volcano peaking out through the clouds. We landed in Guate at about 4, and I was so happy to be there. From the airport, it just looked beautiful. We got off the plane, and followed the way for foreign visitors.  I didn’t even know that those existed in the world. We got to immigration, and there were PC people waiting for us, to help us fill out our forms. We got through immigration, put our bags in vans, and waited for the chicken buses to come and pick us up. We took the camionetas (chicken buses, I think), all the way to Santa Lucia Milpas Atlas, which is where Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps) is located. The camionetas are old American school buses, which are painted colorfully, and decked out with colorful lights. We drove around Guatemala City, and sat through awful traffic! We climbed a large mountain and arrived at Cuerpo de Paz. It is beautiful at Cuerpo de Paz Guatemala headquarters. It is a beautiful house, with an open area in the middle. The open area has many trees, and hydrangea bushes. We had a quick meeting, and then set out for our host family for the next three nights. I was roommates with Kim, which was lucky for me because she is fluent in Spanish. We had an amazing dinner, I can’t remember what it was but I am sure there were black beans and tortillas. I went to bed at about 8PM, as I was exhausted.  I woke up about 5:30AM to some roosters, which would continue to wake me up while I stayed in Santa Lucia M.A. I took a shower, had a great breakfast, and walked to Cuerpo de Paz. We had our ID pictures taken, had shots at lunch (I got a Hepatitis A vaccine.), and learned more about PC Guatemala. I met my leaders for training for Youth Development.  I am really glad that I am in Youth Development (well I say that now), I feel that it’s a good fit for me. We went home and went back the next day. On Friday, we did Spanish almost all day. I am in a beginners group, but I already see myself better than I was when I took my Spanish interview on Thursday. I got a medical kit, and much more! Classes ended at about 4. It was our last night in Santa Lucia, so we decided to really enjoy it. We sat in Cuerpo de Paz till about 6 just chatting, and then decided to go enjoy the town until dark. (When dark comes all of us are supposed to be in our homes, as it is very unsafe to be out after dark.) We walked around and found other PCT’s (Peace Corps trainees). I got a pastry for Q5 (about .75 cents), and it was awesome! There was a parade for Saint Peter, and we decided to watch that. It’s not the well-known Saint Peter, but the one that was really involved in Guatemala. It was getting dark, so we went back to our house to tell our host mom where we were. Come to find out that our host mom was at the parade holding up one of the banners! So we went out to catch the rest of the parade, with some more PCT’s. It was so lovely watching all of these people having a festive parade on a Friday night to celebrate something spiritual. They were celebrating for their own singular faith, which I think sometimes gets lost in the Untied States. Some people look at religion as a social outlet. And while you should enjoy company in your religion, the most important thing should be the spiritual side of it. Your relationship with a higher power is most important, I think. It was a beautiful thing to witness, and I walked back to my house happy. We woke up early, I took another cold shower, said goodbye to our host mom, and walked back to Cuerpo de Paz. We had some more books handed to us, and then we got our PC supplied cell phone. (If you want my number, I will happily give it to you on the FB.) We loaded the buses off to our host communities. It was about a 20-minute drive to Santa Lucia M.A. to my host community.  My host mom and dad, and their parents greeted me. I feel its weird to have a host mom and dad who are brother and sister. I had expected different. But this is part of the experience, defying my expectations. I was led to a beautiful room, which will be my room for the next three months. It is amazing! There are marble floors, and a chandelier.  I feel incredibly guilty for taking the good room, but I am trying my best not to feel guilty, and to be grateful for the kindness I have been shown. I know that I am a guest, and I will be treated like one for a while. I feel like the American stereotype of a person would want to stay in this room, and I don’t want to make the stereotype of a grandiose American. I hope when my family really gets to know me they will see that I am not everything in the stereotype. On Saturday afternoon we walked to the park and met up with my host mom’s family. It was fun. This city is so hilly, I feel like I am back in Knoxville walking on campus. I went to bed at like 8 on Saturday, and was woken up by my host mom at 10, because I had forgot to turn out the lights. It really startled me. I was embarrassed, that she had to wake me up because I was silly and forgot to turn out the lights. I went back to sleep and slept well! I woke up on Sunday morning and went to the market with my host mom. There were so many people there. I took a long nap on Sunday, which was awesome!! On Monday, I got up early as my other trainees were coming to my house for Spanish class. We had class from 8 till 1. Then we walked around the city for a couple of hours! It was lovely! After dinner, I went up on the roof with my host mom and dad. They showed me some of the stars, and it was just wonderful. The temperature here is just amazing!! This has been my Peace Corps experience so far, and so far I love it! I can’t wait for more! Hasta luego(see you soon)! I know this was long, but this was all in my head, what a lot to think about!And I will post some pictures later today, I hope. Again, Hasta luego!

Off for Guatemala tomorrow!!!

So tomorrow I start the adventure of a lifetime. I am nervous/excited/happy/sad/inspired. I have spent the last couple weeks closing out my life in the states. Leaving my job at Panera, exchanging rooms with Hannah, having too many goodbyes, and much more! I know that it will be worth it, but at times it just seems too sad, to be leaving everything I have known my whole life. But I know in my heart that I am going to discover things that I never ever would have discovered if I would have stayed here.

Tomorrow morning I board a plain for Philly. It will be a short time in PA because at 12AM on Wednesday we check out of the hotel, and drive to JFK. From JFK we fly to Guatemala City. I am so excited to land in Guatemala and have all of the excitement flow through me and release itself into the world. Oh wow, that kinda sounded cheesy, I think it might be time for bed. I will begin my blog writing next week, I hope. Hasta luego!

It's a Go.

So I have been gearing up for my two years in Guatemala! I have been buying things left and right! I never realized how expensive the Peace Corps would be. A couple days ago, I sold my beloved truck. It wasn't the prettiest of cars, but it sure meant a lot. It was my dad's car, and when he passed my mom gave it to me. It had all the memories of dad in it, that I could enjoy anytime I wanted. Now its sitting sadly in a random Carmax lot, just waiting to be sold for parts. Wow, even as I write I am getting really sad about it. However, it needed to be done, and even though it sucked, I am glad I can cross it off my list.

As I said before I have been buying things left and right. Yesterday I got my headlamp, and I ran to the UPS lady to get it. She looked at me laughingly, but I didn't care, now I have my headlamp! I have also bought Merrells, a Swiss Army Knife, quick try towels, a sleeping bag, a sleeping pad, a cold winter hat (patagonia!!), a dry sac, new luggage, and I still have so much more stuff to get. I am definitely on the lookout for cute clothes in any form. I know that I need conservative clothes, so I am looking out for long skirts, that can be professional.

Things have been moving along, and my family and I are gearing up for a small going away party for me on Saturday. I am getting really excited about that. It will be so nice just to relax with some family and friends before I have to leave. So far it looks like everything is a go.