sábado, 29 de marzo de 2008

neglect

I'm going to do a few rapid posts because alot has happened and I didn't really have time to blog about it.


First, I helped out an organization called AMA a few weeks ago based in Xela (Quetzaltenango, if your looking at a map). I ask Mamá Meli, the mother of the directors of AMA, what it stood for but she replied: "who knows!" in spanish (saber). However, I think it represents Altiplano de Mujeres Asociación or something meaning The Woman's Highland Project or something.


I was translating for a group of mostly gringas from U. of Florida and U. of Richmond, Virginia. We were doing art projects in a school around the theme of "what do I want to be when I grow up?" In a 4th and5th grade class we made dolls of yarn, which turned out quite nice. Then in a 1st grade class we did body cut outs and put them on the wall for them to decorate. We also played games like Simon Says, Duck-Duck Goose (which is duck-duck chicken in español) and sang some songs. They knew the itsy-bitsy spider in español!


AMA also had a stove project going but since they didn't need translators I was in the school most of the week. Wood burning stoves are huge down here with NGO's. The advantage of the stove is two fold. One, the people stop inhaling smoke into their lungs which causes a plethora of diseases and problems. And two it uses alot less firewood (leña) so the people save money and the environment at the same time.


Loved spending time in Xela working with AMA. Xela is quite possibly my favorite city in Guatemala. Good destination for the sophisticated traveler.


Two: I moved. I now live in a one room house with a red floor, white walls and raw wood ceiling. The exterior is white with a almost hideous light-green trim. I love it. I was supposed to move the first of March, but my family told me to expect the mid-March. I was still hopeful for a bit that I would move sooner, but alas no. And I still don't have a shower which was promised about 2 months ago. However, it is almost done and I have faith it will be completed soon. I have been using the shower of my old host family and my site mate Paul (Pablo).


Just today, 28 marzo, I finally organized and put away everything that Olivia and Jake, the volunteers before me, left/sold me. I've been doing that little by little since I moved in but today I finished the job and it feels so good. So good like before with my room I took pictures which you can see on my flickr site.


Three: Going back in time: I got to see some of the gardens that my seed selling has benefited! It was in one of my communities called "Cancela Grande." That was amazing. Quite so in fact, that I took pictures of that as well, which will also be available here and on flickr.


Four: Went to a birthday party of Yan Carlo. He turned 6. He smashed his face into his batman cake. You can watch below. Also I've decided piñatas are the bee's knees, and want to have one at every birthday party I have any say in. Oh, and they also sing in English a bit...




Five: Spent Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Tejutla, well most of it. The days leading up to Easter are much more celebrated than Easter itself here. On good Friday morning, families divide up the 14 stations of the cross and then make displays in front of their houses or stores on main street to put a picture of the framed station. Then, in the road, they make rugs (afrombras) of colored sawdust, pine needles, flowers, grain, pine cones, etc. Then they bring Jesus down the road along with Mary and St. John to visit all the stations of the cross. In the process they destroy the rugs they just spent hours that morning making. It's quite beautiful.


On the eve of Good friday, they symbolically bury Jesus in the town cemetery, then promptly dawn masks and capes, dance in the street and burn Judas. I was told after missing this that's it the most fun part of Easter. I was feeling sick from climbing a volcano and almost dying of cold and exhaustion, and not seeing anything for the trouble.


Six: It was the prior Wednesday night and Thursday morning that I thought I was going to lose at least a few of my fingers and both ears to frostbite. Paul, my girlfriend, Melina and I were climbing Tajumulco. It was my second time and their first. It was also the only cold and overcast day that holy week. In the end, everyone was still mostly glad we did it, but of course bummed we couldn't see the Pacific or into Mexico or the Volcanos around Xela from the top. However, we met some neat germans and drank some good hot chocolate and almost killed ourselves with cold and exertion. When I returned to my room at 11 a.m. on Thursday, I slept five hours hardly waking.


There's a few of the things I've neglected to blog about recently.