Ironically, the name of my first blog post created in late 2009 was entitled “An Early Invitation to Serve.” After being in a country I have grown to love for two years, we are being forced to leave a month early. The current security situation in Guatemala is not good- one employee explained it as “a very dark time for Peace Corps Guatemala.” The entire country will be consolidated to serve in one area of the country. Having served my two years in Alta Verapaz, the hardest part of this news is accepting that the department with the highest average birthrate in the country-11, some of the most severe malnutrition, and greatest need will no longer be receiving support. Losing my last month in site was a tough pill to swallow, but I have come to terms with it. During the 2-month state of siege, fellow volunteers who left had two hours to return to their homes, gather their things, and leave, making this deadline not seem so harsh. The next month will allow me to finish my large project with the school, hold final meetings with my cooperative and the tourism alliance, attend despedidas or “goodbye parties” and spend a last few nights with my original host family.Having to leave has subconsciously forced me to commence reflecting on my time here. From a work standpoint, I have encountered many successes. These have included promotion with the tourism alliance, Viviente Verpapaz; an alliance catalog, banner, website, tourism fair. Nearly doubling the amount of tourists on the Chirrepec Cooperative in a year of a two-month drug siege, while also implementing better business practices, bilingual tour accommodations, tour feedback, and overseeing new promotional materials- new brochures, posters, etc. Teachers have been trained in environmental education and disaster management. Signage for three small community tours has been carved with the router. TEFL, computer, nutrition, and health lessons have kept minds of local youth thinking and informed. Over 600 students have been capacitated on the importance of proper dental health and proper brushing and flossing techniques. Latrines have been constructed in two rural communities through USAID. I was able to experience over forty families receiving solar panels through great investment, in turn giving them light for the first time in their lives. I have assisted with the construction of two schools made of recycled bottles and translated a handful of medical missions. The list goes on.A rollercoaster of emotion, in reflection my time seems worthwhile. At the end of the day, or two years I suppose, the human experiences are the most memorable. I now have a godson who I am sure I will be in contact with for years to come. I helped a neighbor escape an abusive husband and start a new life. I have broken stereotypes by making tortillas with the women in the kitchen, but also broken ankles on the basketball court. My crossover isn’t actually that good, I just thought it was funny. I’ve explained how the gay man in the community was not a threat, but just an equal. Irony. I can now have a complete conversation with just local hand signals. The human experiences that have stuck with me have by no means always been feliz. I was able to spend Christmas Eve with a welcoming family, only to find out it was the eldest son’s birthday. Due to financial hardship, they had to ignore the fact, unable to afford a present or cake at the time. In response to translating to a woman at a medical jornada- from English, to Spanish, to Q’eqchi- that she had an extremely severe form of thyroid cancer, she replied “What is cancer?” One of my best local friends told me she wished she had followed her dreams as I had recommended. Instead she was “too scared, got pregnant, and is now stuck.” I have undeniably grown as a person through these and many similar experiences.It is interesting that the month remaining- a time period that seemed like decades when I first arrived- now seems so short. This week I started my Peace Corps Partnership Project, consisting of two weeks of trainings with the students and the construction of a recycled playground. The day I was told I have to leave early, I was also informed by my bank that my credit card had been cloned and half the project money had been stolen. An official case has been claimed with the bank and the money should be returned in the coming weeks. Despite this fact, I am leaving in the coming weeks and needed to proceed with the project now. In writing this I realize I have learned to better roll with the punches as well. We are cutting corners on the project, but the teachers are still implementing the lesson plans they had previously learned. During my site-mate Kamille’s service, new roofing was put into the same local school. Yesterday morning, while going through some of the old metal, we were able to use a few of the old roof beams to construct the teeter-totters. In the end we are further embracing recycling, being creative, and allowing another project to be partially funded. (Pictures of the project to come)Just the other day, I came across an old bucket list I had made a few years back. One of the goals was to live in a foreign country for a year. 26 months later I suppose that is a double check. Speak another language- Check. Make a positive impact in the world-Check. Which check is next? Travel Asia or get a tattoo? I am excited to find out.

My adventure started on the 26th of December, right after Christmas at home. I left Cicero and drove down to New Jersey to meet Luis at his house. His mom had the day off and made for us Alcapurrias, a Puerto Rican fritter made from a seasoned dough mixture of grated green bananas. The dough surrounds a meat filling, typically beef or chicken, and it is rolled into a distinctive peg shape and fried for several minutes. Delicious! After a snack and a little repacking, we were on our way to the airport. The flight from Newark to Houston went well and Luis arranged for a shuttle to pick us up from the airport and take us to the hotel. We had cookies waiting for us upon check in and it wasn’t too long until I was passed out in bed. As we boarded the plane the next day, we met two Peace Corps Volunteers returning from the holidays, Betty and Barrett. I admit I was very nervous and experiencing some anxiety about my trip, but so excited to see Evan and meet all the people who have influenced his life these past two years. We landed in Guatemala City just before noon and ventured out to find a taxi to the bus station for our 5 hour bus trip to Coban. The ride up was a little unnerving – the driver zoomed through narrow streets and windy roads. At one point we were so close to a bus I could have poked my finger out the window and touched it! Evan met us in Coban and we took a taxi to Chirrepec where his home is. It is located atop a hill and has a beautiful view. There’s even a leather leaf farm just across the street. Evan made pasta with homemade tomato sauce for dinner that night and we celebrated our safe arrival in Guatemala. On Wednesday we traveled to San Juan Chamelco to La Siguamonta, an orchid and organically grown produce farm at the foot of the Sierra de Santa Cruz mountain range. It was truly a beautiful tour and I think we all learned something interesting during the tour. They also have many species of bees and we tasted a wonderful assortment of exotic honeys. We then traveled into the town of Chamelco and saw the house Evan had previously lived in. We saw the family that lived next door to him and I got to meet his two godsons, Selvin and Edgar Ivan. Edgar let me hold him and Selvin was just that much older and cried every time he saw me. We brought small gifts for all the children and met a sweet little girl named Dulce who made sure I met everyone and saw all the homes that were connected for all the extended family. We traveled into Coban by microbus (similar to an Astro van) to have lunch at Casa D’Acuña. This restaurant is owned by the same people who own the orchid and organically-gown produce farm. One of the servers knew how to do latte art and made coffees for us decorated with a bear on the top. We enjoyed a delicious meal and relaxed for a bit. After resting, we then went to the market, the post office and the park in town center, meeting many people who are a part of Evan’s life in Guatemala. We even saw Winfrey, the Peace Corps volunteer who works at the coffee cooperative at the other side of Coban. Evan and Luis were able to deliver scholarship money he had reeived to a young boy on his Cooperative, affording him the ability to attend school for the 2012 year. Luis then made a parmesan crusted chicken on a bed of spinach and roasted up some tortillas given to them by the grateful family. The boys took very good care of me!On Thursday we visited the tea cooperative Té Chirrepeco and met many of the people Evan works with every day. We walked through some of the roads through the cooperative and saw the modest homes many of the families live in. Banana and avocado trees are planted amongst the tea plants to provide shade for the crops. We also toured the area where the tea is processed and met with the president of the coop. After toasting with some tea, we traveled to Coban to Café El Merendero for pupusas Salvadoreñas. Patty owns this restaurant and included Evan and Winfrey in their family Christmas celebration. After lunch, we traveled by taxi to Chicoj to the coffee cooperative and met Gloria, the head of the tours. We enjoyed a cup of coffee, a walk through the area and bought some wonderful coffee to bring home. Gloria took us back to her family’s home and showed us the beautiful stoves that were built as a part of Winfrey’s improved stoves USAID project. These new stoves vent properly and help prevent many ailments that come as a result of inhaling smoke. It was so wonderful to have met in these few short days so many families that have welcomed me into their home, as they have Evan over these past two years. That night I stayed in Coban at El Portal hoping for a hot shower, but settled for just a cold shower.

Friday morning we had breakfast at Casa D’Acuña and waited for our microbus to take us to Antigua, about a 4 ½ hour ride. We stayed at a beautiful hotel called Casa Florencia run by a very nice woman named Patricia. She made us all feel very comfortable. We walked the beautiful cobblestone streets, saw many vendors selling fabrics and gifts and took in incredible views of the beautiful city. We had dinner at Sabe Rico, a dinner for 3 that total 297 quetzales or 35 US dollars.

Us (pronounced oose) means bueno/good in the local Mayan language, Q'eqchi'. Past volunteers from Chirrepec have visited and indicated that it is one of the words they have kept in their vocabulary. Letting out the occasional us to good news will likely remain a part of my vocabulary and will surely result in weird stares at the guy who seems to be making some sort of animal noise. I am pleased to let out an 'us' that the Hope 4R Youth Project has been completely funded and will commence in mid-January. Thank you to all the donors!

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Forty-two families in the remote indigenous village of Sanimtaka invested 1000q each (about $130) to purchase their own solar panel kit: a solar panel, two lights with extension, and a phone charger. The remaining funding was provided by USAID as part of the renewable energy initiative. Each family will now have light at night for the first time in their lives. Children will be able to complete homework without candles and families will no longer purchase copious amounts of batteries to use in flashlights. The solar panels were provided by Quetsol, an NGO which specializes in solar panel projects throughout the region. Check out their work here:http://www.quetsol.com/

A younger co-worker and his brother have decided to start their own barbería or barber shop. In an effort to help support their business and entrepreneurial spirits I made a sign for the new shop they will be constructing in the coming weeks, set to include a cement floor. As a thankful gesture they offered me a free cut. The walls are lined with pictures of celebrities; David Beckham, Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin. With fifteen weeks remaining in my service I took a leap of faith and asked for the Ricky Martin fo-hawk. When in my life will I live in a society where fo-hawks are socially acceptable again? (Enter New Jersey joke). Here are a few photos, although blurry, of just another day livin la vida loca.

I am elated to officially state that the USAID Latrine Project has been completed. Fourteen families have now been capacitated and have successfully constructed new latrines in an effort to improve community health and water sanitation. I am now well underway with my upcoming Peace Corps Partnership Project (see below) and will be involved to some capacity with a solar lighting project in a rural community about an hour outside of Coban. The community, called Sanimtaka, is located in a cloud forest and does not have access to any electricity. I should have more details about my involvement with the project in the coming weeks after I meet with my Program Director. One roadblock I encountered with a particular family throughout the latrine project was a struggle with fulfilling deadlines and the ability to enact a sense of accountability within each participant. Having taken over the project from a returned volunteer who left during the two month state of the siege, it was a bit more difficult as I had no previous relationship with the local government or the project recipients. Nonetheless, we were able to establish ground rules and hold each participating family accountable for their materials and deadlines through the completion of the project. Consequences helped in this specific case. Time and time again key words have com e up—accountability, sustainability, investment, consequences. Being here has shown me firsthand how important these ‘things’ are not only in international development, but within any type of efficient and fluid society. Whether it be a kindergarten class or the United States government, consequences and accountability are essential. I recently visited my Aunt Michele and her family in Palm Coast, Florida. While having an early Thanksgiving dinner she asked me what I missed the most about the states. I’m not sure if it was being on the verge of a food coma or the few Octoberfest Blue Moons I had drank (highly recommended for all those stateside!), but I was hard pressed to come up with a significant answer at the time. I mentioned something about a social life and the sarcasm of my friends back home and that was that. On my flight back to Guatemala I ran into a fellow volunteer from my training group. Her Guatemalan boyfriend was picking her up and kindly offered to bring me to my bus station. After picking up my luggage, I put my passport and the majority of my money into my money belt and headed to his car. During the ride he mentioned that had been robbed of his Blackberry and some money while she was away. We talked a bit about how one becomes accustomed to always having your guard up; it becomes second nature. We equally noted how nice it was to not be concerned about being robbed or hiding our valuables while home. I hopped on the 1pm Monja Blanca bus up to Coban, expecting to arrive around 5:30. Unfortunately, a Dole truck carrying bananas had flipped causing the road to be blocked. This resulted in a three hour delay of standstill traffic. It began to get dark, and there I was with my new computer, passport, i-pod, and other valuables on a bus unable to go anywhere. Primetime vulnerable victims- have I been watching too much Law and Order? The cherry on the sundae was the lack of cellphone coverage at the particular spot. Having just returned from being stateside, I was more aware in the moment of not only the vulnerability the situation posed, but the difference between our two worlds. To make the traffic situation worse, rather than wait in the extensive two lane backup on each side, drivers decided to fill all four lines. All four lanes of a two-lane highway filled with cars in one direction- a truck in the middle- resulting in neither side able to pass once the wreckage was indeed cleared. This reinforced for me the lack of consequences in Guatemala. There is little to no chance people will get ticketed for filling lanes meant for the opposite directions- so why not try and cut? Ultimately, the cars were able to file back into their two appropriate lanes and we began moving again. The initial lack of patience just extended the delay. I arrived in Coban around ten pm, concluding a bus trip three times as long as the flight. Lucky for me, my site-mate was moving the next day and her boyfriend was able to pick me up in their rental truck upon my safe arrival. Within my first ten hours back in country I was quickly able to answer my aunt’s question: safety, security, accountability, consequences. Peace of Mind. In a month where the focus is on being thankful, we tend to focus on thing we can often times take for granted. Family, friends, health, access to food. Being away has extended this list for me to include the aforementioned forgotten items as well. Not wearing a money belt. Taking transport without the thought of a robbery. Traveling at night.

Each Thanksgiving my seventeen cousins and I each write down what we are thankful for in my grandmother’s notebook. This year, not only am I thankful for family, friends, and my health- but for this peace of mind I took for granted back home and this unique opportunity which has allowed me to realize it exists.

My good friend Jessica’s brother also crashed a banana truck a few years back in Central New York. For this reason- and that I miss her- this post is dedicated to her. P.S. Jess, I had a dream which included you & me, a morning walk, and turkey bacon last night. It was lovely.

Hope 4R Youth is an effort to educate, inspire, and offer opportunity to the youth of a small indigenous community in the northern highlands of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The department of Alta Verapaz has one of the highest poverty rates in the entire country, which itself severely lacks health care and yields the highest malnutrition rate in Latin America. This often times causes children feel they have no control, diminishing hope and the ability to dream big. Hope 4R Youth aims to show the children there are aspects they can control, now. These begin in areas as basic as their health, wellness, and their surrounding environment. The program will include two weeks of workshops, with a three work construction period during which a recycled playground and completed kitchen stove will be built.

The first week will focus on a number of environmental issues and activities including the 4R’s (Reducir,Reutilizar, Reciciclar, Recoger), water conservation, tree planting, trash decomposition and classification, and recycling bin construction. The interim three weeks will include building a recycled playground, including the use of eco-bricks (bottles stuffed by the children with inorganic waste), and an improved block-stove with ventilation . The final week will focus on nutrition, the food pyramid, the building of tire gardens, dental health, self-confidence, and exercise. The community will be contributing $311, including all dental materials (toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste) and manual labor, accounting for nearly 30% of the total cost.

The project will officially be completed in a 47 day period; January 9- February 24th. The three teachers and I are currently in the process of organizing the lesson plans and creating a ‘guide’ which future teachers and other schools can use to conduct similar trainings and projects. Included in the proposal are the brief lesson plans for the two weeks of training, as well as the playground games we will be constructing. We are collecting and organizing the plans from a variety of sources, ranging from Peace Corps published workbooks to our own unique ideas.

From January 9th through the 22nd we will be collecting and purchasing the materials for the four week project. This includes everything from materials for the playground to supplies for the lessons. The students (75) will bring their money for their dental supplies during the collection period as well. The Guatemalan school calendar begins in January and runs through October. This will allow a few weeks for the students to get accustomed to their teachers and being back in school mode before beginning with the project. The director of the school owns a car, allowing for us to transport the heavier items, i.e. block, wood, cement, fertilizer, directly to the school.

During the week of the23th through the 27th the Environmental Education Workshop will take place. Throughout the three interim weeks the stove and recycled playground will be constructed. The tentative schedule for construction is as follows: January 30th-February 3rd- stove, eco-brick recycled bench; February 6th-10th- teeter-totter, swing-set, balance beam; February 13th-17th- tire ladder, tire goal posts, tire worm. Depending on progress, the older children of the community will be asked to help on the weekends if additional time is necessary. During the week of February 20th through the 24th the Healthy Choices and Exercise Workshop will take place. Following the workshops, the teachers will put together a maintenance plan for the new infrastructure.

The women of the community regularly use the stove at the Chibulbut School. Whether preparing snacks for the students or cooking with the local women’s group, the respiratory effect of the smoke from the cooking fire is extremely hazardous. The construction of the ‘improved stove’ with ventilation will significantly reduce this issue, allowing for a virtually smoke-free kitchen. Likewise, the building of the playground will encourage increased exercise and activity. Both of these infrastructure improvements will aid the community in meeting a long-term goal of healthier and longer lives for the community members. This a basic, but integral goal in improving quality of life and the basis for being able to reach other goal or aspirations.

The prosperity of our future lies directly within our youth; education is the foundation for our youth to prosper. The students will learn and grow throughout the duration of the workshops and construction. Participating in activities covering themes ranging from personal hygiene to trash decomposition, the Hope4RYouth program will instill a greater sense of understanding in the youth of Chibulbut enabling them to make better and more educated decisions. These are decisions which will directly affect their bodies, health, and environment, directly affecting their futures and community as a whole. Without one’s health and well-being, all other goals are cut short. Therefore, concentrating on the well-being of the students and their surrounding environment, even on a basic level, will enable the next generation in Chibulbut to hope, dream, and prosper.



Project Link

I spent the majority of yesterday mud skiing through the hills of an aldea in Alta Verapaz with this wise man pictured to the left. My venture even included an accidental slide on my butt down one of the hills. We were completing the final check-ups for the USAID latrine project. Despite the fact that a departmental drug siege, the election, and mother nature have all played their part in the delay of the project, it should be completed in the coming weeks. Gracias a dios.

Okay, Okay. Half the photos are of the project and the other half adorable children and puppies.

Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on the snow. I am the sunlight that ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn's rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush; Of quiet birds in circled flight, I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there. I did not die. Remembering Babci 1917-2011

National Bird In a recent effort to catch up on technological advancements I have made a Twitter account. I finally understand what the # topics I’ve encountered over the past years time have meant. Not only can I see what delectable cuisine my friends are eating: so-and-so has checked in at this pad thai or that sushi restaurant, but I can also see updates from celebrities, NGO’s, world news, and even B4thFame, my best friend Marissa’s upcoming musical on the life of Lady Gaga. Twitter includes a location along with each brief 140 character update. Ironically, Twitter notes that I am located in Mexico. This reminded me of many questions I received while recently visiting the Estados Unidos in July. #How is It up there?, #Where is Guatemala again?, #Does it take a day by plane? Besides basic location, I knew little about neither Guatemala nor the culture before arriving here in January, 2010. Let’s be honest, the almighty Twitter doesn’t even know where I am on this rainy afternoon. Although I am always happy to answer questions, these basic inquiries almost make me feel as if I am semi-failing with a central aspect of blogging- educating. Here’s a brief background for my readers. Guatemala is a country roughly the size of Kentucky, located directly below Mexico, making it an integral passing point in the narco-trafficking route. Of the 14 million residents, over 10.5 million live below the poverty line--over 75%. The most shocking statistic is the rate of malnutrition; Guatemala now ranks third in the world, only behind Afghanistan and Yemen. In addition to high rates of malnutrition, Guatemala has a deep history of violence, including a 36 year civil war which took the lives of 200,000 individuals and left 40,000 plus individuals missing.

I highly suggest the following article. It perfectly encapsulates the on-going issues here in Guatemala.http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/110714/ghi-targets-chronic-malnutrition-guatemala

Lack of family planning is a major issue contributing to the high rates of malnutrition, especially within the indigenous population. A friend of mine, an ex-volunteer who now runs medical missions throughout the country, recently informed me that Alta Verapaz, the region where I am currently serving, has the highest average child per mother rate in the country- 11. It is common these families are supported on a dollar or two per day. Disturbingly, if you ask women in rural areas how many children they hope to have they are often confused. How many? A typical response may be ‘As many as my husband wants to have.’ Although many answers lie in family planning and increased nutrition education, citizens are currently looking ahead to the presidential election for hope. In a country where no party has had consecutive representatives win, the controversial election which will take place on September 11 holds heavy weight with the people.

Peace Corps recently released the following message concerning the election and the rainy season:

“Heavy rains affecting Guatemala have damaged the road infrastructure, causing several sections of main roads to collapse and/or wash off. Historic rain fall data has shown that expected September’s rains will certainly cause more damage to the collapsing road system, increasing the risks travelers/visitors often face. Another important event occurring in September is the Presidential, Congress and Local Authorities General Elections; which will be held in every town in Guatemala on Sunday September 11th. Due to these threats to PCVs Safety, Peace Corps Guatemala has temporarily prohibited PCV’s from other countries from traveling to or through Guatemala. This prohibition starts August 29th, 2011 and is expected to be lifted on October 3rd, 2011. Approaching October, Peace Corps Guatemala will notify a change or continuum in its status”.

The upcoming elections, in conjunction with a generalized passive nature and miscommunication, have affected the final construction of the latrines. ‘No’ or ‘I don’t know’ aren’t common phrases you’ll encounter in Guatemala. If you ask someone on the street where an office is, you are more likely to receive a generalized ‘In that direction…’ than an ‘I’m not sure.’ All of the local materials for the latrine project have been collected; sand, cement, toilet bowls. Workshops have been completed. Rather than providing me an explanation of the current road block in the project, I received a simple affirmation that all of the materials are ready and construction would be completed throughout July. In fact, each family’s material contribution has been collected and is ready, but not all of the materials needed.The only materials lacking are the actual latrine frames, which are being shipped from Guatemala City. Due to the local alcalde (governor) being the transportation method, the election has halted this last piece to be delivered which is needed in order to quickly complete the project. Nevertheless, the final structure is now being shipped and I will spend the week of September 5-9th finishing the project in the two rural communities--pending on the fact that we are not ordered to stay in our homes throughout the election week. Although the project has now been extended, I am glad I will directly be involved in the construction with the participating families and not miss this last leg of the process, as I thought I had while stateside. I am currently planning a large environmental and health based workshop entitled Hope 4R Youth aimed to be given in January and February at the local school. A recycled playground and stove with proper ventilation are also included in the project. Details to come! I will also be participating in a three day seminar on climate change and natural disaster emergency planning the last week of August. A member of my work community named Hugo will be accompanying me. Hugo, 21 years-young, has never left the department of Alta Verapaz. I am excited he is getting the opportunity to see his country.

Evando113- Evan James- Miss you all #Only217DaysLeft Chilapas, Mexico

I have now been back in Guatemala for four days. Despite the return of minor stomach issues (soft ice-cream poop consistency), things are off to a positive start. Funding for new promotional materials has been granted and will soon be printed, the latrine project has been completed and now only lacks finishing (although, a ton) paperwork, I have cleaned and de-roached my house, and the rainy season has been tranquil thus far-- knock on wood. My trip stateside was simply perfect and provided the reboot I needed to complete the last third of my service. Here are some photos from my trip. I undoubtedly have a wonderful family and awesome friends. #winning

Visiting with my Babci (Grandma)

24th Cumpleaños in NYC

Garett's (mi hermanito) grad party

Oneida Lake- Central NYOverwhelmed in Wegmans

Living in a developing country for an extended period of time irrefutably gives you a different perspective on life- and the one you left behind. The faucet has been letting out dark brown water as a result of the heavy rains that are a daily part of life this time of the year. Despite the fact that upwards of 97% of tap water in Guatemala is contaminated, when your toilet looks like a chocolate fountain it is obvious a brief opening of the mouth in the shower will likely result in hours on the crapper. Yesterday, I took a warm shower under the murky water. I am fairly certain I am at least a tad bit cleaner than before I showered. This may seem to be a negative experience, but having a shower, a warm one at that, is actually a convenience. We recently went through a three week drought without water here in my aldea. Likewise, in comparison to the tarp outside my neighbors use as a showering area, I am quite fortunate. I have experienced a change of perspective in a plethora of areas, from everyday accommodations to larger scale issues.Later in the week I will be taking a 10+ hour round trip to the capital, Guatemala City, to meet with a doctor. I won’t deny a 10+ hour trip is exhausting to anyone and I am not particularly looking forward to it or the possibility of pooping myself on the bus. This access to healthcare, funded by the U.S., gives me a huge advantage over the large majority of Guatemalans. In general, most developing countries do not have organized healthcare. Unfortunately, many of these countries additionally have the highest child bearing rates; family planning and population control are significant issues to be aided as well. (A topic which could be expanded on exponentially, but requires their cultural perspective to be considered in the solution.) Being away from the United States has made me aware of a sense of entitlement many of us hold. I highly doubt I would have joined the Peace Corps without medical coverage nor do I feel anyone in the world should be without it. The harsh reality is a majority of the world is without medical coverage. In a nutshell, Peace Corps has taught me appreciation. Yes, new medical coverage plans in the U.S. may result in longer lines, but at least there is a line to wait in. I have experienced a similar change in perspective regarding schooling. This past week we held a half-day training with 15+ teachers regarding the implementation of environmental education into their lesson plans. In the middle of a water classification workshop, a number of the teachers had an extremely hard time with simple math (i.e. 1% of 1,000). Calculating that only 1% of the earth’s water is usable fresh water was a difficult task for a handful of those who are teaching the kids. This gave me a differing perspective and deeper sense of appreciation.

Yes we should always strive to improve our lives, our systems, our regulations, etc. Yes long-lines, high-unemployment rates, and not having the highest education system in the world can be frustrating. But taking a step back and taking a look at life from a global perspective can sometimes make all the difference. In fact, I could make you a lengthy list of individuals who would give it all, even leave their families to illegally flee to the states to send back remittances, to see their children make it through high-school. I will be back in the U.S. of Awesome in just two weeks for a visit. I can’t wait to appreciate a clean/hot/sandal-less shower, delicious food, comfortable transportation, and my loving family and friends. In the meantime, it is important to be aware of my change in perspective, while continuing to take everything with a sense of humor. Toothbrush holders in the classrooms

Humor is perhaps a sense of intellectual perspective: an awareness that some things are really important, others not; and that the two kinds are most oddly jumbled in everyday affairs.-Christopher Morley

This Sunday marked the 37th annual Coban Half-Marathon. Kenyan Peter Cherouiot took first place with an impressive time of 1:03.51 . The marathon is the largest event of the year in nearby Coban; thousands of tourists and locals gather to watch, cheer, participate, and celebrate the event. Work as of late has been a half-marathon in itself, full of projects and traveling. These have included a world map project with the local school, a flossing lesson, a dental workshop with 450+ children at the Chicoj School, a latrine maintenance and importance presentation, and the construction of two bottle schools.

Salmar- one of the two communities participating in the SPA Latrine Project

Luckily, no teeth fell out and the students were receptive to adding floss into their daily hygienic routines. Cardboard tooth costumes and all, Luis, Winfrey, and I put on a half-day dental workshop at the Chicoj School, focusing on the functions of a healthy mouth, proper brushing techniques, the negative effects of sugars and candies, and preventing plaque build-up. Each of the thirteen classes then practiced brushing, which will become daily habit- each class is building holders to store their brushes. It was refreshing to work with teachers who want to be change agents in bettering the practices of their students. Each student is paying money, a mini-investment, to promote a sense of ownership and worth in their brushes and toothpastes. This money is being reinvested into school projects, specifically in this case- world maps. Special thanks again to Drew University- Luis Pena, Liverpool Annex, and everyone else who has donated to this secondary project.

Nick- Captain of the project

This past week, Nick and I traveled up to northern Alta Verapaz with the PC Security Director to check on the current status of the two bottle schools being constructed in two rural communities. It was awesome to see the advances in the projects, the communities coming together to build a place for learning (and learn about inorganic trash), and directly spend some time with the families and community leaders. One family in San Francisco, one of the two communities, provided a feast of tamales, a chocolate drink, and adorned the hut area with palms. This generosity and showing of respect, especially in a community and area that has so little, was one of those feel-good cliché moments in Peace Corps- but nevertheless brought a smile to my face. Although the area is currently off-limits, we will be returning for the inauguration of each school at the end of June with PC Security. Again, thank you to Liverpool Annex, Kayla McAndrews, my Mom, and everyone else who has helped in funding the schools through Hug it Forward. The communities and appreciate it!

This week we will be holding a three-day community tourism workshop, mainly with members of Vivienete Verapaz (www.vivienteverapaz.com), our alliance of ten community tourism sites in the region. Objectives of the trainings and meetings include business plan writing, forming of mission and objectives, product/service analysis, and marketing/promotion. Hopefully the event will move us forward in planning for the future, forming a cohesive vision, and understanding how to achieve that. Only ten months remain in my service here in Guatemala, but like any race, every step counts until the finish line.

As a Lent tradition, alfombras, or carpets, are created in the streets of Guatemala, specifically during Holy Week. The alfombras are laid down as a welcoming symbol for the arrival of Jesus, similar to the palms in religious tradition. Originally made from flowers and feathers in the 1500’s, the process rooted in Spain often causes roads to be blocked off for hours at a time. The entire Catholic community participates in the process. Each person’s ‘plot’ in front of their home or place of work is decorated with pride. Today, the majority of the alfombras are made with colored saw-dust and sands, but are decorated with candles, flowers, foods, statues, you name it… A procession takes place throughout the town, in which varying numbers of ‘floats’ are carried by hundreds of men. I was told being able to carry the large Jesus float, symbolic of the carrying of the cross, is a major honor in the religious community. Check out some fotos from the week:

A,E,I,O,U & sometimes Y. This is a phrase my weekly English class of middle-aged students and soon to be tour-guides have repeated over and over. Every word is made up of consonants and vowels; there is at least one vowel in every word. The Y was initially left out by the students when learning the vowels early on. Students often want to jump to the finished word or phrase- as we as humans may instinctively want and only analyze the final product, service, ability or effect. The Y, or WHY, is something that has become relevant in many projects I am currently undertaking. The cause is often times the most overlooked and integral aspect that needs to be changed. Students may be having trouble because they do not understand the opposite adjective-noun placement in the English language, the differing base sounds that form words or how to make the ‘th’ sound. Kamille and I have made fools of ourselves sticking our tongues out to teach and stress ‘th’is aspect of pronunciation. Without analyzing, asking and solving the why, we are merely constructing a palace on unsteady ground. This basic concept transfers over to a number of areas. The dental workshops we have conducted are aimed to educate kids on the importance of mouth hygiene through brushing and flossing both properly and regularly. In addition to preventing dental caries, dental hygiene – or more simply- healthy teeth are necessary for eating and talking. On an inevitable superficial scale, appearance affects job opportunity. Likewise, overall health affects long-term availability to work and productivity while present. The message can be skewed that toothbrushes are the solution, but this is not the case. Behavioral change, one of the harder tasks one can face, is where the problem lies. Lack of access to health-care undoubtedly plays a role in the shockingly high number, an estimated 60% of rural children currently have some sort of tooth decay, but this is not the entire cause of the epidemic. Excessive snacking on junk-foods, lack of education on nutrition, and soda (”water”) being the regular cheap drink of choice by children are the roots of where the problem lies- the why- and for this reason are the areas we are targeting to create an increased awareness and understanding about.

Empty bottle+ plastic bags+ chip wrappers+ a little effort= ‘eco-brick.’ Gather and create thousands of these +cement + wire +metal slabs for the roof +a lot of hard work + community teamwork and bonding and you have a school. (Add in NGO support, specialty workers, etc.. you get the drift). The Chibulbut School is currently collecting plastic waste and forming these ‘eco-bricks’ to be used in the construction of two schools in Lachua, Alta Verapaz, to the north closer to Mexico. The project promotes community leadership, ignites a sense of ownership and mutual identity with the children who aid in constructing it, and uses garbage, in effect cleaning streets along the way – it is an ingenious thing. Despite this fact, especially with my school that is collecting the materials for schools being built elsewhere, a disconnect for my students has been the why. Yes, the filled bottles will create a school. Yes, the streets where they collected the waste are cleaner in this moment, but it is not merely about filling the bottle. No, you should not buy more Tortrix chips if you are short on wrappers to complete an eco-brick. No, plastic bottles should not be a priority to buy in the future because you can construct things out them. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, light merely breaks them down into smaller and smaller particles that contaminate the water supply and soil. Likewise, plastic bottles do not decompose for thousands of years. The goal is to construct a place to learn, while fostering environmental learning in the process...to turn a negative into a positive with hopes of gradual behavioral change and understanding for the next generation. Growing up, my mom always played a video entitled “Everybody Poops” for the children she watched in daycare. I can still recall the chorus line- She is a super-duper-pooper™. Everyone does indeed poop, but not everyone has a sanitary location to do so. This past week I met with community leaders I will work alongside to complete the training and construction of 14 latrines, with the same number of rural families. The two communities, Santa Ine’s Chicar and Caserio el Salmar, will each have seven families participating in the SPA (Small Project Assistance- USAID) funded project. Having a seat and semi-private place to defecate is certainly an aspect many of these families will thoroughly appreciate. Again, there is an extreme underlying why. In the coming weeks we will be holding workshops with the families explaining the maintenance, upkeep, process, and reasoning behind the importance of sanitary waste management. Over 15% of early childhood deaths are due to diarrhea, over 2/3 of the time the result of inadequate sanitation. Chronic diarrhea has also been known to compromise development and growth, leading to increased chance of illness down the road. Numerous studies have demonstrated a strong association between improved latrines and reductions in diarrheal disease, with the improved latrines yielding results of increased height and weight among children users. Improved sanitation is a large step towards a healthier and happier community. Looking at the big picture, or examining the why, is beneficial in almost all problems and situations. I have recently been thinking about how this cause-effect thinking can be applied to other activities and lessons, including our tourism alliance, customer service practices, and planning of a recycled materials playground/trainings at the cooperative school. I have also been sparked to think in reverse, to the life I left behind. I am in constant contact with families who have dirt floors and minimal food, but they are undoubtedly happy. The why. This introspection is something I hope to apply to my life into the future. Ultimately, the power to create change is within each individual. As I’ve told many of my students, you do not need one of the common A-E-I-O-U vowel verb to do so, but a positive attitude and to T-R-Y, where the sometimes is applicable.

Donate to Hug it Forward and Support Bottle Schools!

Promoting proper trash management and recycling in a culture where it is common practice to throw wrappers on the ground can be a strenuous and tiresome task. (Ok, corny joke out of the way.) In the United States alone, on average upwards of 300 million tires are disposed of annually, of which nearly 30 million are estimated to be left in landfills. Because of their extreme durability, amount of time to decompose (over 100 years), toxins released into the air and soil if burned, and extremely high number, tires are one of the more problematic wastes in the world. The durability of tires also presents great opportunity for recycling, whether that be re-using the rubber for future tires (which only uses 30% of the energy needed to make a new tire , in effect reducing oil usage) or using them in everyday projects. We did our part this past week at the Chibulbut School, using tires to construct six tire gardens. Each grade is maintaining their own mini-garden, grades one to six. Between the six classes we are growing carrots, cilantro, and beets. Kamille plans to use the crops to make healthy snacks for the kids to use as a supplement to nutrition workshops she will be coordinating. The projects roll on….

The song ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros has naturally become a group favorite in the department of Alta Verapaz. Whether sung with a guitar beside a bonfire, whistled down a dirt road, played on repeat via I-pod , or belted in harmony while out together during the state of siege, it has become a quasi- theme song over the past few months. After an exhausting 65 days out of site, since December 20th, I returned exactly there this past Wednesday- home to the Chirrepeco Tea Cooperative. Only six volunteers will now remain, as a handful of others have returned stateside, moved to different departments, or taken on other work within the country. One volunteer named Nick particularly enjoys loves the song home, but unfortunately will not be permitted back to his site. Fortunately, in the midst of two bottle-school projects (and being one of the funniest people I’ve ever met), he will be permitted to return back sporadically in the daytime to oversee the completion of these projects.

Newly painted officeFinishing up the Chirrepec sign projectOver the two-month siege another volunteer’s mom had visited. Unable to go visit their site, they explained that although it was great for her to see Guatemala and different tourist destinations within different areas, it was hard not to be able to show off their home- a place that will inevitably always be a part of them. Over the past two months, despite moments of anxiousness and frustration, I thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from various activities; Spanish classes, assisting build a school out of recycled bottles, youth development help with an ngo, mid-service medical check-up (TB FREE!), attending my first ladino wedding. I undeniably enjoyed these experiences, yet they still were not home- I continually yearned to return.



Roof Inauguration 2,011

It is now a new year, there is a newly instated military presence in the region, a new group is soon to be sworn in (none will be sent to our region), and a handful of us remain—as always change is the only constant. All one can do is roll with the punches moving forward. In my short time back at site work is steadily moving forward. I will be undertaking a SPA project of a volunteer who returned stateside. Over the next few months I will be overseeing the latrine project within a community located a little over a half an hour from Coban. Upon returning to the Co-op I found my co-workers painting the offices and salon, part of the yearly work-plan we had written up. As part of Kamille’s Peace Corps Partnership project, a new lamina roof was put on the Chibulbut School while we were away. Just weeks before, a number of openings and cracks allowed for rain to form puddles in the four classrooms. New windows are set to be put in within March as well.

The Viviente Verapaz tourism alliance held meetings while we were away as well. Winfrey, from Alabama Arkansas, and I are the only two remaining tourism volunteers in the region/ working with the alliance. Although this is a challenge, it is a good step towards sustainability and self-management into the future. We are currently in the process of forming an alliance webpage, setting up a promotion event in Antigua, networking with a few new ngo’s, and organizing a training workshop for May. A few of the activities for the upcoming weeks include a dental/floss workshop with a local school, tire-gardens, nutrition/ cooking sessions with the women’s group on International Women’s Day, sign projects in two neighboring communities, TEFL classes in my two communities, putting the new windows into the school, and a 50th year PC gathering at the ambassador’s home.My training host family and I at the wedding

My godson- Selvin Jr.I am elated to continue working with my community. I am cognizant of how much I have —and how that can be taken away in the blink of an eye. I am happy to see my godson, Selvin Jr. on a daily basis. I have a lot of work to do. I only have a year remaining. I am ready. I am excited. I am content. I am home.

To check out information on the project, go to www.hugitforward.comTo donate to this and similar projects http://donate.hugitforawd.com/

I have not posted in a month’s time and hope the holidays and New Year are treating everyone well. As many of you may know throughout that month’s time a 30-day Military Siege of the Alta Verapaz region has been underway in an attempt to reinstate some sense of security and authority over the narcos and corrupted police force in the region. During this time frame civil liberties are no longer valid and people can be detained without reason. Over three-hundred new police officers will be sworn-in in the Coban and surrounding regions today. As a cautionary measure Peace Corps has extended our evacuation from site for another week, until at least the 19th. Although no weapons have been fired yet, this will allow us all to see if there is any initial conflict with the new force in place.

Over the past months time I have been able to experience first-hand the amazing diversity and beauty this tiny country holds. Each obstacle seems to present a unique opportunity. These have included my first trip to the lake, my first hike up volcano Pacaya, and a stay at Trent-Guillermo’s site in Mañanitas, Escuintla on the Pacific Coast. The visit to the coast included seeing Guillermo’s current sea turtle project and the release of fifty newly born turtles into the ocean. Only an estimated one in one-thousand turtles will survive to adulthood. Being able to flee my second home has produced a conglomeration of reassuring and saddening sentiments. It is reassuring to know our security is one of the aspects at the forefront of importance as a volunteer. Leaving behind local workmates, friends, family, my newly-born godson, Selvin Jr. , etc. can be disheartening knowing they don’t have the luxury of just getting up and moving. Living in a country and region with a history of extreme violence makes the current events even more real- many locals shut-down and cringe at the idea of military presence and violence as they play out under current different circumstances.

I now anxiously await the one week-seven days-168 hours to pass until I am hopefully able to return home to continue working on a variety of projects. Like the baby turtles, only a select few things may flourish and grow, but are worth the effort.Trent's family with the daily catch

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.”

--Albert Schweitzer

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."- Robert F. Kennedy

When one thinks of the historical ‘bases’ in the game of life, the bases are often represented by birth, marriage, reproduction, and the home plate of death- with the reoccurring ‘high-five’ birthday celebrations along the way. Over the past month I have attended and been a part of a few events celebrating and remembering these traditional stepping stones.

In an A-Rod/Texiera first-third double play, my neighbor Mary had her third child, Selvin Jr. Celebrating new life and a legacy for the parents, Selvin Jr. is a healthy and happy baby and seems to be getting bigger each day I see him.



Besides birth, the only other unavoidable passing in life is death. In memory of an important figure in the community who passed three years back, a mass and luncheon were held two Saturdays passed. Having been the father of: the wife of the first PC volunteer in Chirrepec, Kamille’s neighbor and landlord, and ten children, it was evident the importance and respect this man held within the community. The gathering included ‘q’, a traditional chicken dish, tortillas, tamales, tea with cardamom, a full band, and handful of marimbas. Christmas songs were even played. Jingle Bells in Q’eqchi on the marimba was my Peace Corps equivalent of the warm feeling of hearing Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is you’ for the first time in the car and knowing the holidays are around the corner.

The son of one of my co-workers was recently married. Kamille, in her traje, and I, in my pila-worn button down, trekked to the far-side of the Co-operative near the German ruins. The sun was bright, the music was loud, and the baskets were full of tamales. One thing my fellow volunteers and I have noticed at weddings is the seriousness of the newlyweds, including ‘mean mugs’ in virtually all photos taken at the celebratory occasion. This couple seemed to be different, smiles brimming cheek to cheek and an clear feeling of elation to be getting married. Seeing this change reminded me of gradual changes I have encountered throughout the past year with many of the youth in the campo. For example, certain girls having education as their first priority, young men hoping to become doctors or architects, young women with self-confidence and hope for the future, and recognition there is more than just the path of the circle.

Gloria turns 22Peace Corps is a journey of sharing, learning, and constant reflection. Personal gratitude for our freedoms, access to education, ability to choose, diversity, and virtually endless opportunity were sentiments that seemed to ring true to a number of us volunteers as we shared what we were thankful for over our seafood dinners in Livingston. Each testimony was followed by your best gobble gobble- I must say I think mine was the best.

Livingston is a prime example of diversity right here in Guatemala. The black Caribbean community, or that of the Garifuna, came from an island in the eastern Caribbean. Back in the 1630’s a pair of Spanish slave ships from Nigeria shipwrecked, creating a mixed culture of indigenous and West African traits. During the late 18th century the Spanish and British moved the Garifuna population to Honduras and parts of southern Belize, at which point the Garifuna moved from Belize to what is currently the Livingston community. Undoubtedly a unique experience, Thanksgiving was full of culture, seafood, and heat!

street musictypical dressme jumping

In relation to heat, tomorrow evening is the celebration of Bolas de Gas in San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz. Groups of local men make soccer sized balls out of old shirts and wire and soak them in gasoline overnight. These balls are then set on fire and kicked and launched around, initially one for each corner of the plaza- symbolic of community—or so I’ve heard. No worries mom, I will not be in attendance this year but thought it was a unique local event to mention. The holidays have begun with a spark.

Miss you all,

Evan"Each of us has a fire in our hearts for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit."

-- Mary Lou Retton

One of the next topics I planned on writing about is immigration. Ironically GAD, the Gender and Development Committee, just released this month's Gender Blender newsletter on the exact topic. There are an estimated 13.5 million Guatemalans in country and somewhere between 1 to 1.5 million living in the U.S. Here are two interesting articles by fellow volunteers touching on issues related to immagration in two different respects.

All In: Immigration with High StakesWhen Your Last Chip is Your Life

What pops into your mind when you hear the words ―asylum seeker- or ―refugee? What color is their skin? What features are prominent on their face? What gender do they identify with? What is their name? There exists a plethora of adjectives to describe them, but really when it comes down to it ―they are no different from you or I. In fact, here in Peace Corps-Guatemala, a number of our brethren have family members or indeed, they themselves have been a refugee or asylum seeker in the past.

The United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as a person who, "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him-self of the protection of that country…" and an asylum seeker as, “who has left their country of origin, has applied for recognition as a refugee in another country, and is awaiting a decision on their application.”For more information on the difference between the two, visit the UNHCR websitehttp://www.unhcr.org

The United States is no stranger to refugees or asylum seekers, and while our system is undeniably far from perfect, it isn‘t a total failure: refugees make-up around one-tenth of the total number of immigrants, and more than two million refugees have been given legal status over the past 30 years. Different from those who emigrate of their own accord and personal preference, asylum seekers are often left with no op-tions in their country of origin. Frequently, female emigrants are forced to leave due to reasons pertaining to gender – domestic violence, persecution, sex trafficking or sex slavery, rape with impunity, honor killings, forced sterilization, and so on.

One such asylum-seeker is Rodi Alvarado.

Rodi’s Story:Rodi Alvarado was born and raised in Guatemala. In 1984, at the age of 16, she married Francisco Osorio, a former soldier, who was five years her senior. Almost immediately after they were married, her husband began to threaten her, and to carry out violent assaults. Those assaults continued without respite over a ten-year marriage. Osorio raped and sodomized Rodi, broke windows and mirrors with her head, dislocated her jaw, and tried to abort her child by kicking her violently in the spine. Besides using his hands and his feet against her, he also resorted to weapons — pistol-whipping her, and terrorizing her with his machete. Rodi’s repeated at-tempts to obtain protection failed. The police and the courts refused to intervene be-cause it was a "domestic" matter. When she ran away, Osorio found her and beat her unconscious. He told her that she could never get away from him, because he would "cut off her arms and legs, and...leave her in a wheelchair, if she ever tried to leave him."

Desperate to save her life, Rodi Alvarado finally fled to the United States — a difficult decision because she was forced to leave her two children behind with relatives. Shortly after arriving in the United States, she was fortunate to obtain the help of the San Francisco Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, who arranged for Rodi Alva-rado to be represented by volunteer attorney and domestic violence expert Jane Kroesche. These legal efforts were successful, and in September 1996, a San Fran-cisco immigration judge granted her political asylum.

Unfortunately, the grant of asylum was not the end of Rodi’s ordeal. The Immigra-tion and Naturalization Service appealed the grant to a higher court, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). And in June 1999, the BIA reversed the decision of the immigration judge, by a divided 10-5 vote, and ordered that Ms. Alvarado be de-ported to Guatemala. The judges on the BIA did this even though they believed her testimony that Osorio had sworn to "hunt her down and kill her" if she returns to Guatemala, and that Ms. Alvarado could not get protection from the government in Guatemala.

Thankfully, after close to fourteen years of legal struggles, Rodi was finally given permanent asylum status on December 10th, 2009. She was one of the lucky ones. Whilst the help she received is truly exceptional and her legal team went above and beyond the call of duty, sadly her story is not an exception; women like Rodi Alva-rado are being raped, mutilated and murdered here in Guatemala every day. More than 3,800 women and girls have been murdered in Guatemala since the year 2000 and activists have called for international support to end what is commonly referred to as ―femicide.

The widespread slaughter of women and girls in the form of femicide is not unique to Guatemala however; the murder of women and girls in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina (and beyond) is all too common. Though impractical to give carte blanche to all international victims and/or survivors of gender-based violence, the global community clearly has responsibility. But what does that responsibility entail…granting asylum status to the (at least) one of every three women globally who will be beaten, raped, or otherwise abused during her lifetime?! Is more flexi-ble immigration policy the key?! A ―safe house‖ in Switzerland?!

―Half the Sky : Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,‖ Nicholas Kristof‘s new book (co-authored with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn), high-lights three particular abuses across the globe: sex trafficking and forced prostitu-tion; gender-based violence, including honor killings and mass rape; and maternal mortality. In their book, they also provide tangible solutions on how to address all three – I recommend reading it, then reading it again, and keeping a copy for refer-ence as it does what all of international development needs, and is sometimes lack-ing: the presentation of both problems and solutions. It does not suggest that all op-pressed persons should flee their homeland for the United States – the puritanical land of milk and honey and golden opportunity – but rather it is a call to action for all members of the globalized world to ―battle gender inequality around the world and to push for education and opportunities for girls around the globe.‖

On International Refugee Day (June 18th), Secretary Clinton shared the following, and though vague, and not specifically pertaining to gender-based violence per se…, it IS a starting point,―It‘s a question of better governance, more accountable governance, of political and diplomatic efforts, of reconciliation and peace, of the growth of democracies and economies. But that doesn't in any way undermine the importance of meeting the day-to-day needs of those who have been displaced by conflict, by terrorism, by natural disaster."

Though Secretary Clinton‘s words didn‘t explicitly address femicide here in Guatemala, they are certainly relevant to it. The days of impunity for gender-based vio-lence and femicide can only be ended with more accountable governance to chal-lenge the status quo; and even "out in the sticks" in our rural aldeas, that is some-thing we, as volunteers, can be a part of. No, we cannot form an independent government firmly rooted in fair and equal human rights to topple the current administration, but we can participate in the empowerment of the people, of our communi-ties, to expect and demand more from their governments. Perhaps, in time, through this practice the need for asylum seeking will lessen and the violence contained in stories such as Rodi‘s will be less frequent and ojala, eventually eradicated.

-Aliyya Shelley is the Coordinator of GAD and would be more than happy to geek out about gender with you! She can be reached ataliyya@gmail.com

Christian-- Our waiter from Livingston, Guatemala who has been in the states since 1996.

The PCGM

By Devon Baird

It happened as a result of what would normally have been a typical after-noon conversation with my Guatemalan coworkers. Characteristic of most PCGMs, it hit me like a ton of bricks and caused me to sit in silence and reflection for a moment.

PCGMs, aka Peace Corps Guatemala Moments, happen sporadically throughout service and are familiar to all volunteers. You might be talking with the leader of a coffee cooperative, eating tamales with one of your neighbors, or sit-ting through a COCODE meeting when it strikes: a feeling of “getting it”, when you never quite understood something about Guatemala, its culture, or its complexi-ties before.

In my case, this latest PCGM came about as a result of talking about immi-gration with my counterpart. “I’ve been missing my boyfriend so much lately,” I lamented during one of our typical girl chats in the Oficina Municipal de la Mujer y la Juventud. “He’s still not sure when he’s going to be able to come visit, and he hasn’t even gotten his passport….”

I noticed my counterpart’s eyes begin to water. Hmm, I thought. I didn’t think she’d get so choked up about it.

Then, she started to bawl uncontrollably. “Es que...manana Andres va a ir por los Estados.”

OK, so this was definitely not about my boyfriend not coming to visit any-more. I also began to tear up upon hearing this, knowing that she had been strug-gling for months to keep her husband from going to the US, mojado and in search of work, leaving her and her two young children behind to await his uncertain re-turn.

Here I was, fretting over not knowing when I would see my novio, whom I talked to often online or on the phone anyway, while my counterpart was dealing with something completely heartbreaking and life changing for not only herself, but her family.

I felt like a hypocrite. I came from the place thousands of people risk their lives to go to daily on a government-paid plane ride, and could go back on another plane ride whenever I felt the pangs of homesickness a little too strongly. I listen to coworkers, neighbors, and friends in my site talk about their loved ones in the Estados Unidos daily. I hear my favorite hairdresser, with a son of 18 months, talk about how she is saving up to pay her coyote and go in six months. We joke in the Muni all the time about who I’m going to “llevar en mi maleta” when I go back, but we all know no one is coming back with me.

Sometimes it frustrates me: Why would anyone want to risk everything to come to my problem-ridden country?! There are so many issues and it’s so com-plex over there. So much racism still...and no Guatemalan-style tortillas! You are comfortable and happy with your family and life here. Don’t go!!

But despite the internal confusion I’m usually faced with when thinking and talking about immigration, this time I got it. I was face to face with an example of why people immigrate to the United States as I talked with my counterpart and saw her heartbreak. I understood the pressures and factors that were pushing her husband to leave everything. My counterpart is a model of a strong Guatemalan woman, mother, and wife. If she was having a breakdown in front of me at work, that’s saying something. Illegal immigration, for my counterpart’s husband, was a last resort. This was no “let’s make some extra cash so we can buy a big screen TV and Ford truck.” This was survival. After being jobless for over a year with no pros-pects in sight, mounting debt, and growing children with health problems due to poor nutrition and hygiene, a decision needed to be made.

With regards to immigration, as is characteristic of many “controversial is-sues” as we like to so politely call them in the US, a full spectrum of opinion exists, from vehement opposition to wholehearted support. Sure, there are some fami-lies who may be milking the US for all it is worth in hopes of scoring the best Honda moto or HP Laptop in town. But in the majority of situations I’ve encoun-tered, Guatemalans go to the U.S. because there are absolutely no opportunities here for them, and they are desperate. They want a better life for their family. They are motivated and taking initiative to “superar.” How can something that sounds so simple be the cause of so much pain, hate, and confusion on both sides of our borders?

I started writing this article a few weeks ago. This past Friday, my counter-part got a call from her husband's dad while we were in the office. “Entonces llego al fin?” she said quietly on the phone through teary eyes. Her husband had made it to Los Angeles after 8 days in the desert, incommunicado. We sat quietly for a few moments after she hung up. I asked if I could give her a hug, and she nodded. Then the tears began to flow again.

“It’s just that I don’t know whether to be happy or sad,” she explained. “Of course I wanted him to arrive safely, but part of me hoped he would get caught

and be sent back home. But now he’s actually there. Now it’s real.”

Even though her husband had gone for the good of the family, my counter-part felt conflicted. To her, after having had heard so many stories about crum-bling marriages due to immigration, she knew this could be the beginning of the end of their relationship. It was goodbye to the father of her children and love of her life.

So, “what’s my stance on immigration?” one may ask, as if the answer to that question is so simple. Well, it is simple, actually: more than anything, immi-gration is about human beings. Every person, every “number” who risks their life and crosses that expansive desert or swims that dangerous river at night, is just that- a person. Every “one” has a story, a family, a heart and mind. That crucial fact is what’s missing from so much immigration policy, which labels these people as “aliens,” negating their essential humanity.

When it comes to immigration policy, remembering this simple concept would not be a bad idea. Even better, every American should join the Peace Corps, be sent to Central or South America, and have their own Peace Corps Moments.

Imaginense

As the title track on the first cassette I ever owned in my life, the 1993 Ace of Base smash hit- The Sign- still holds significance in my life, or at least makes an excellent title for this post. I am sure I could likewise find a way to title future posts with various other tracks from the album-- “All that she Wants (Is Another Baby),” “Happy Nation,” “Living in Danger,” only to name a few obvious examples. My primary project within my work is that of eco-tourism; I am working alongside a Q’eqchi community in order to improve a tea-tour, offered on both foot and bicycle.

Eco-tourism“A concept that describes a form of development that respects tradition and culture,protects and preserves the environment, and educates and welcomes visitors sustainably over the long term.”

Although widely misunderstood or unimplemented in most areas of this country about the size of Tennessee, tourism is clearly a virtually untapped financial resource for many of Guatemala’s unique, diverse, naturally beautiful, and culturally rich departments and communities. Rafting, volcanoes, lakes, waterfalls, rain-forests, Mayan ruins, bird-watching opportunities, and communities containing some of the deepest and hardly altered Mayan lifestyles are widely prevalent. Despite this fact, there remains a significant need for improvements in customer service, computer literacy and training, language ability, business and accounting practices, promotional materials and resources, presentation, and feedback-…the list goes on.

Having worked within customer service for a number of years, conducted market analysis and promotional improvement projects in New York, and worked with European tourists the summer before I departed, I felt confident- and still do in a different way- I had the tools to improve this tour and make a positive impact on business level—beyond the cultural interchange, secondary projects, and inevitable spreading of laughter. Beyond this resume knowledge, one major aspect I overlooked for some time was my ‘outsider’s point of view’.For example, in a recent meeting with the head directors of the Cooperative there was difficulty among those in attendance to grasp the concept of cultural tourism. Sure, bird watching, adventure tourism, agro-tourism, Nature views and waterfalls, but why would someone want to see how traditional food is prepared or typical clothing of the Mayan communities? Would someone actually pay to learn about history, play a marimba, and eat caldo? Having an outside perspective it is easy to understand the answer to these doubts is yes; the first large group of U.S. tourists we received actually indicted this interest in their feedback.

While in the Estados Unidos (U.S.) we are constantly surrounded by signage. Is this the men’s or women’s bathroom? How long is this trail or path? Is there a handicapped child in the area? Where is the next rest-stop off the highway? How far is Jimmy Johns? What is the speed limit? Simple information displayed to inform, protect, promote, assist, and make things happen around us with some sort of fluidity. Informing of locations, directions, and information is especially important within tourism. Those visiting are clients and have no previous knowledge of the destination and its surroundings. Simple right? We as a Cooperative are currently in the process working to get funding for official Cooperative signs on the major roads. Knowing local resources, NGO’s, governmental organizations, etc. to reach out to and work with is undeniably an important step to becoming professional, efficient, and connected for the future. Professional external promotion and signage is necessary in moving forward, but my ‘outsider’s view’ noticed a shortage of internal signage on a very basic level. Things as simple as locations throughout the tour, bathroom differentiation, office labeling, general information, directions, and distance were not present. Simple signs can make a world of difference, allowing the client to get to what they need, when they need it. Using the router, which we were briefly trained to use during our training in February, I have begun a sign project with those on the Co-operative. Teaching how to draw out, space, carve, and paint signs made out of wood, I hope to teach a skill which will be used well on into the future. Ironically I am fairly decent at sign-making myself; one of my most significant contributions in promotion has been one I did not even realize I possessed.

-Don Chocoj and I- One of the hardest workers I have ever met.For the publication release event we also made three signs on the Chicoj Cooperative.

Although I could tap into studies on color preference based on life experience or age, eye-tracking studies on websites, or size and shape significance, one of the things I overlooked as an outsider was finding the balance in what I know and the functioning culture of where I am assisting. Luckily this was a simple project and my error was simply in using cursive writing. I have found that many Guatemalans have had to re-read a few of the signs which were made in cursive, a style of writing not as commonly used. I am currently reading The Blue Sweater by Jacqueline Novogratz (Thanks Aunt Maureen) and found this following excerpt relevant to what I am getting at. The lesson seems to be taking basic instinct, knowledge, and experience and implementing it in a way that intermingles relevantly.

UNICEF hired an expensive Italian designer to create a poster campaign aimed at convincing women to vaccinate their children…They were perfect, except for the fact that the extremely low literacy rate in Rwanda made it likely that words written even in Kinyarwanda would have little impact. Much better would have been pictures that told stories…Just seeing this process, though, helped me to think differently about how to design future messages and programs, how to move away from our view on how things should be done and observe how people live and communicate with one another.

Nevertheless, in dealing with tourists, both foreign and Guatemalan, there is a unique challenge of finding a balance in how things are communicated, presented, and targeted. Our Viviente Verapaz team, representing the alliance of eleven tourism sites , recently put together a promotional item fitting within that universal communication middle ground- print material. After months of meetings and preparations we recently held the Viviente Verapaz guidebook release feria at the Chicoj Coffee Cooperative, in which we hosted and fed over one-hundred attendees. The 23 page book, a review of the sites in Alta and Baja Verapaz region, is aimed to be distributed to tourism agencies, restaurants, hostels, and other places visitors frequent throughout the country.

Preparing tea for the lunchKamille and the Chicoj tour guides

Throughout the process we stressed counterpart participation in fulfilling all steps regarding the publication and event. A major goal is for each Cooperative president or tourist site director to begin meeting regularly, eventually taking on this alliance as their own. Host-country national membership would allow for legalization as a certified organization, opening up doors to increased funding down the road. The immense opportunity the alliance holds is claro como agua- clear as water. This event and publication have opened up my eyes so to speak, but I am the one who saw the sign. I am hopeful we will see the sign and potential during my service and for years to come.

Until next time—The Ace of Base,

Ivan

Chirrepec tour-guides talking with mediaCover of the alliance guide-book

Go to the people:live with them, learn from themlove themstart with what they knowbuild with what they have.

But of the best leaders,when the job is done,the task accomplished,the people will say:"We have done it ourselves."-Lao Tzu

Thanks to the collection of toothbrushes and toothpaste by my Liverpool Worldwise School Match Program class we were successfully able to put on the first of three workshop sessions at the second school on the Co-operative. Bantiox! Although there is a hold-up with one of the two packages down in the capital, we utilized the limited number of toothpastes we had by pairing siblings together. Not only did we end with one extra toothpaste, but we will now be starting a third workshop with a neighboring community using the materials from the awaited package. The magic number seems to be three. The children are reminded to brush a minimum of three times daily, making sure to brush all three key areas; upper-level teeth(both left and right quadrants), bottom-level teeth, tongue. It is now 'summer vacation' for the students until January, the month that will mark the beginning of a new year, the introduction of floss to the first school, plaque check-ups for the second, and my one-year mark in Guatemala. Again students sing happy birthday, mouths full of tooth-paste foam and some even blood, to dental hygiene and healthy smiles- a song likewise holding significance to Peace Corps in January as well, marking the 50 year anniversary as an organization.

As promised I have a follow up on the baking activity put on with some of the students from the Chibulbut School. One row of crops a group of the girls grew and harvested were carrots. Kamille decided to make carrot cakes with the students; she then went on to make them with the women of the Cooperative. It was a unique way to incorporate healthy vegetables into a yummy snack; the cakes were extra healthy made of mostly carrots with a sprinkle of sugar- yet undeniably delicious. It is widely unknown, but Guatemala has the highest rate of malnutrition in all of Latin America, even higher than Haiti (the region’s poorest country), and ranks sixth in the entire world for chronic malnutrition. Over 1 million children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition, of which nearly 70% are indigenous. Diets consisting of little more than tortillas can cause permanent damage on development and growth. Likewise, the recession has caused a significant decrease in the money being sent back from the U.S. to support families, as nearly 15% of Guatemala’s GDP comes from remittances. As I have witnessed firsthand, many of the crops families do grow are believed to have better value as market-sale income than as nutritious supplements for family benefit.

After a morning of rival soccer outings between Co-op schools, the girls who tended to the carrot row gathered to make baked carrot goods with the richest vegetable source of the pro-vitamin A carotenes, antioxidant compounds protecting against cardiovascular disease and cancer, and vision promoting nutrients—I mean, delicious CAKE. I have attached the recipe in the local Mayan dialect, Q’eqchi. Buen provecho. PASTEL RE ZANAHOR1 sek’ harin 2 lekleb Royal½ lekleb atz’am 1 lekleb canel2/3 sek’ aceite 1 sek’ azucr2 b’ukuk li mol 2 zanahor k’ajinbil

1. 1. Junaji li harin, li Royal, li canel, ut li atz’am2. 2. Junaji li aceite, li azucr, ut eb li mol b’ukbil, ut k’e rikin li harin.3. 3. Kut li zanahor sal i junaji, ut k’e sa jun molde engrasado.4. 4 K’e sa li xam 1 ½ honal. Info Source: UNICEF

September 15th was the celebration of Guatemala's Independence Day. 189 years ago, in 1821, Guatemala became independent after nearly 327 years under Spanish rule. Common events throughout the week included parades, pageants, setting off bombas, torch-runs, and an abundance of waving light-blue Guatemalan flags. I was able to participate in a number of events with the two local schools on the Co-op and even acted as one of the four judges at the Chibulbut community Señorita de Independencia four-hour long pageant. Pageant questions were answered in both Spanish and Q’eqchi, the local Mayan dialect. Although Guatemala is a country brimming with corruption, various lacks of freedom, and a violent history, it was refreshing to see such pride and excitement for this independence. Despite this fact, a co-worker stated; “If we hadn’t gained independence we would be World Cup Champions.” Primero dios—first god, and then futbol.

Girls from Chibulbut School

Running the 6 kilometers from Coban Park to Chibulbut

Miss Independence Day Pageant

Yesterday my quasi-host brother turned 14. Cue the piñata, cake, music, and food! Let’s-a-goooo. Kevin, the birthday boy whose family resides in the compound in which I live, wanted a ‘Mario Party.’ A solid seventy of us Mario –karted ourselves a few houses down to the grandmother’s for the activities. Leo (Fife) and I were both in attendance. The floor was covered in pine needles and palm leaves masked many of the walls. Streamers and balloons lined the walkway. The party was complete with two piñatas of both Mickey Mouse and Mario. My neighbor Sonya’s younger brother Luis Jr. dj’ed la fiesta. At some point between pasteles and balloon popping contests Bieber Fever came on. This epidemic is now world-wide and may soon take priority as a secondary project if I can first cure my own minor infection.

Giving up the baby to begin singing

Face into the cake

Cleaning off the frosting

Leo and Mrs. Jaurez

Mario pinata remnants

Coincidentally the circus is in town this week as well, starting yesterday. Following cake and a few presents the neighbors, Fife, and I took Kevin over to the local circus to conclude a fun-filled evening. A few clown acts, a small girl on the trapeze, a dancing Sponge-bob, and a magic act made up the majority of the show. I wanted to add a quick thank-you to all my Jersey friends who came out to dinner in New York when I was home; this Journey post title is for you…. I love making fun of stereotypes.

Cake, tostada, and pasteles

Handing out 'surprise' goody bags to the kids

More party treats

I am now off to bake carrot cakes with students from the Chibulbut school. My site-mate Kamille set up a garden at the school (School Garden) and we are using what they have grown . Post to come soon.

Unitl next time- Faithfully,

Evan Luigi James

Deadly mudslides in Guatemala as rainy season's storms batter region [Updated]

Here is the link for my sitemate's blog. Check out her latest post and pictures about our follow up visit.

http://kamilleswenson.blogspot.com/2010/08/plaque-is-backnot-for-long.html

Since my last post my birthday did pass on the 8th. For my 23rd birthday (I feel old) a group of us went out for Cuban food and mojitos! This also marked the last night I saw former fellow volunteer Kelsey, who recently finished her service. I look forward to seeing her again soon in New York City on my visit home, as she starts at Columbia this fall. She better be wearing her traje!

Although my first birthday abroad did pass, the 'happy birthday' title is in reference to a recent dental health workshop we had with one of the schools on our Cooperative, we including my first visitor Luis and my sitemate Kamille. Health studies have found that upwards of 60 percent of Guatemalan children in the highlands experience severe dental caries, or cavities and tooth decay. Monetary priorities do come into play in regards to the importance of dental health. The majority of the parents of the children here on the Co-op make 30q per day, less than the cost of a single tube of toothpaste. In a culture in which if you ask for an agua (water) it is understood that you want a soda unless clarified as 'agua pura', it is a difficult task to tackle. Uncertainty if toothpaste will be able to be refilled upon use is also an issue.

Luis organized a collection of floss, toothbrushes, and toothpaste at his university. He ended up bringing down upwards of 100 brushes and toothpastes. Likewise, a friend of Kamilles donated brushes and tablets that indicate plaque on the teeth by dying it purple. The workshop included instructional handouts, brushing practice on soda soaked eggs, a plaque indicating example/ challenge for the coming weeks, a discussion on healthy habits and even a trial session in which the students practiced brushing. The students sang Happy Birthday twice, once for the top and bottom level of their teeth respectively, to better time their brushing duration. Kamille and I will return next week to check up on the students, administer plaque tablet tests and introduce flossing into the mix ( knock on wood there isn't too much blood!). Knowledge is power and hopefully the students took away the negative effect sugary foods and soda have on their teeth and that brushing with solely water is better than not brushing at all. We shall see next week when we see who the winner is in the least plaque contest! One brush at a time....

In Q’eqchi Jo Wan Chik (Ho-kwan- cheek) is used as a 'see you later', literally meaning something along the lines of there will be more. Since it has been over a month since my last post I should have closed with a wambi (kwam-bee), or 'goodbye' with another meeting unknown. A week from this past Sunday while returning from a hike to a few caves we passed a sheep, to which a fellow volunteer said jo wan sheep. A sad pun, but we all found it really funny. Shows how life in the campo can go to your head (the other three volunteers having arguably the three hardest sites in my entire group). There is another pun to follow, but don’t hold your breath.

This past weekend all the Peace Corps volunteers reunited in Santa Lucia for a 4th of July Fiesta. I purchased red male traje pants which are only worn in Hue Hue out west ( I am jealous). The 4th is one of the two true USA holidays we have off for, the other being Thanksgiving. It was great to see everyone after being away and this week marks our half-year mark in country. Below are a few pictures from the event:

Lauren "Peace Corps Baby" and I"Best Dressed" in my traje pantsRather than a monotonous update of my past month’s activities, I thought I would recount the cave venture Brent, Jordan, Fife and I undertook (Plus I have photos). With two sites on the far outskirts of the other side of our major city, we all ventured to one of Fife’s sites where the tourism is more or less nonexistent. Having two sites (one not meeting PC living standards, hence him living in the second) we stayed the night in the one up to standards. His other site has a bird tour in a gorgeous cloud forest (See FBT visit entry "Cascada" in March). There is no electricity and they blow in a conch shell to congregate for meetings, pretty unique place. Without much of a viable product at his other site, Fife had heard there were caves about an hour and a half hike away so we planned a day trip.

After the few mile hike in the night before, we all went to a home in the village center for a tilapia dinner. Not having had seafood in months this was super exciting. The fish was deep fried in it’s entirety with little meat. I say this to lead up to the lame pun which began it all, not to complain about the quality of the food. I surely sat there in the dim room and contently ate fried fin and other various bones. Due to the lack of meat (Kar is fish in Q’eqchi) Jordan pointed out there sure was a lot of KARtilage. Funny, right?

The following morning the four of us woke early, had a rice breakfast in Fife’s house and took care of business in the outhouse before heading off. I distinctly remember this because I wiped my butt with a Justin Bieber newspaper clipping ( I have recently found out Garett has put a poster of him in my room). Us volunteers and two of the local townsmen trekked through the woods and up steep muddy hills to the first cave. The trip was long and slippery and included a hand full of slips, falls, the splitting of a walking stick between my legs and a couple cuts. After exploring the first large cave we checked out a smaller, yet closer cave to the town. Probably better suited for tourists, the small cave was amidst the forest; a descending ‘stairway’ of mud in the middle of the vegetation. It almost seemed to be a secret passage way. The trip was an exciting experience and I must say holds product potential down the line. Check out the photos I snagged from Brent and Fife:Provecho- Kar(tilage) ut wa (Fish and toritlla)SubiendoEntrance to the large cave

The second cueva

Jordan couldn't not laugh

Best 'mean mug' I have seen yet

As you probably have heard, Guatemala has just experienced two natural disasters within four days. The explosion at Volcano Pacaya and Hurricane Agatha have left an estimated 153 individuals dead within this country alone. The 30 story deep sinkhole in the capital city is truly terrifying and mind –boggling. Check out these links:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070226-sinkhole-photo.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2010/0601/Tropical-Storm-Agatha-floods-kill-150-cause-giant-sinkhole-in-Guatemala-City

Failing to follow the demands of Barbara Streisand, hurricane Agatha literally rained on my parade (tour, same thing). Despite a Peace Corps authorized stand fast while I was on the Cooperative, a few short mile walk from my home, a group of 24 tourists came to take the Tea Tour in the midst of the torrential downpour. With the help of Luis Pena Jr., I translated and revamped the tour document into English the night before, thinking it would be useful to learn the information and have it for future tours. More than likely no one would show up in a hurricane, or so I thought. The majority of the tourists in the past have taken the tour in Spanish, whether that be school students, semi-fluent visitors or Guatemalans.

Needless to say the Cooperative was full of gringos and the tour went on. As a missionary group taking their first trip with a group of college students, it was funny to hear sarcasm from the States again. Agatha kindly offered a rain strong and prominent enough to make using a paper script as an aid nothing less than comical. Luvia, one of our tour guides, a monk from their group who speaks Spanish and I went through the tour, blindly presenting the material with every squish of a step. The tour brought in over 700q (about 87 U.S. dollars). This may not seem substantial, but to put this into perspective each worker on the Co-op makes 30q per day. This one tour brought in an individual’s monthly salary.

Although the shotgun approach is what we as volunteers look to implement throughout our service; that approach being taking on a number of projects- not going all-in if you will, the tour is my primary project. Despite this fact, within my first two months the motivation factor for investment of time and funds into the tour has been inconsistent. It seemed that this past tour, bringing in a significant chunk of income, may have been the tipping point for increased interest down the line throughout my service. This same group who took the tour ironically ran into my friend and fellow volunteer Brent out in the campo earlier in the week. Even more ironically, Brent had mentioned the religious group earlier on to me, which brought up the topic of hand-outs / religious preaching motivation in development work.

As volunteers looking to accomplish sustainable-- infrastructure, projects, knowledge, products/services, healthy practices etc, hand-outs can be frustrating to our methods and goals. You need motivation through self-investment and knowledge in order to have lasting results. Although some help is generally better than nothing, it can negatively impact the mind-set as a country—the ‘things will just be given to us/done for us’ mentality--.

One of the trainers stated during training “Say there is a problem with individuals falling into a river/ drowning, a missionary/hand-out group may go to the point down river where these people are helplessly being carried away and give a net/ pull them out of the water, often times placing religious literature in hand thereafter. With hopes of completing sustainable work and that of the Peace Corps, we go up the stream to where the people are falling into the river and help fix the cause of the problem/ work together for long-term avoidance of the issue.’ I found this analogy interesting. I don’t mean to personally offend those who may be involved in religious groups and realize hand-out work isn’t always religiously connected. I am simply stating my viewpoint from my experience. Sticking with the theme of religion and water, an allusion to baptism, my neighbor Mary Jr. is pregnant! She is due this fall and has asked me to be the godfather. This is exciting news and being torn between moving onto the Co-op or staying in my neighboring village, this definitely makes me want to stay close to the family I have become so close with.

I have already been in country for nearly five months, two in my site. Although certain days drag on, overall time is moving rapidly... that is life. Beyond language study…. I currently have a meeting lined up with an NGO to build a bottle-school on the Co-op ( using an ‘eco’ brick of plastic bottles packed full with plastic wrappers) following student collections, am working with another NGO to set up a sustainable book program in which the students invest a few dollars—which in turn is invested into the following years books, am teaching English with a number of students who did not pass in my town (and planning classes with those I work with), and have promoted the tour throughout local facilities in the nearby city.

Additional work ideas in progress include: an increase in Q’eqchi history within the tour ( a typical home, comedor/food option, etc. with a future increase in foreigner tourists). Holding ‘an outsiders view,’ it is easy to see how interesting the culture truly is, something overlooked by someone living within it on a daily basis. Other events for this month include establishing a guide feedback system, getting involved in family planning work through a PC program, trail maintenance and planting 100 trees with the local school and my site mate. These future ideas and completed work are currently flowing in my head because my Project Director is visiting my site this Friday and I just put together a presentation to use during it, highlighting a handful of these topics.

I hope to take part in a dental hygiene day within the local schools this July, with activities, information, etc. and an award of diplomas and toothbrushes following completion . Although I have only received packages from my mom, Luis and Meg T.(in no way demeaning you three!), if you want to help out feel free to send toothbrushes or toothpaste down this way! I mean, if you want to throw in a magazine or something I won’t complain. Until next time-- Ivan

The above title is in no way directed at the fact that many Guatemalans happen to be of small stature, but at the fact that last night we celebrated Mary's (My neighbor and mother of ten children) 47th birthday. When one thinks of birthday celebrations music, food and dancing may come to mind. There was no dancing at this gathering, but to quickly sidetrack a couple weeks back two of the past volunteers from this Co-op came back for a week long visit. Both volunteers completed service here in 2007, therefore are only a few brief years removed from service and still fresh in the minds of the people here. Marsha, one of the two volunteers, just finished law school at U-Penn (congrats) and ironically enough studied international business at the same university (UIBE) in Beijing as I did (Shout out to my China buddy Liz R. on your new full-time employment!). We all decided to meet up and go out dancing one night in Coban, all of us being them and their two friends. The five of us tore up the dance floor, or more accurately their two friends were possibly the best dancers I have ever personally witnessed (Better than hood-baller). The guy, Jose, won some major dance competition and is apparently 'The Best Dancer' in Alta Verapaz, the department in which I live. This would be equivalent to being the best dancer in a state in the United States, even though this entire country is the size of Ohio. Let's just say he'd be the best dancer in all of Rhode Island.

Flash-forward to last night. This was the second birthday I have attended in my town thus far, both of which have been within Evangelical families. Both events consisted of a decent amount of people gathering together, prayers being said and feast of caldo de gallina (Chicken soup, more specifically a broth with a piece of chicken a few herbs and possibly rice in it). After this meal, cake is served and everyone seems to wander home. I had been sick this past weekend (actually pooped myself as a 22 year-old man- TMI I know) and was specifically excited for this meal with a newly restored appetite. With ten kids and five grand-kids all living in the same compound the house was packed. I helped Gloria serve tea and atol to the guests and then ate dinner with the family in the kitchen. Eating dinner in the cramped kitchen standing up was a great feeling, a passage if you will, from seated guest to family member. Check out the photos:

Ammunition for a whole-lotta tortillas!"Chicken Little" as Mary Jr. calls themPlaying cards with PanchoMiguelito in a basketMichelle serving the tamalitosGloria and the caldoBaby Lisbeth- 11 months yesterdayThe guests sitting down to eatWooden walker!Jacqueline y JimmyMary Jr. Stray puppy

13 y.o. Byron failing to not crack a smile while doing the I now kill cows for a living poseRegalos!Some of the Don Domingo TribeQawa Domingo ut Qana Mary

In a quick attempt to summarize a unique experience I had last week I immediately thought of a blog post by my friend and fellow Upstate NY'er Jordan Brown. Jordan had an eventful cultural experience himself (Check it out: http://jbrownspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/04/importance-of-taking-initiative.html )

'Life is about wandering down an unknown path and smiling when you realize where you have wandered.' This past week Kamille (my sitemate), her friend Ty and I did just that. Okay, we knew our destination, but not what we were getting ourselves into. We headed through the tea fields (head lamps and all) down to the house of Alberto, the current President on the Co-op. Having been invited to a gathering it could have been assumed we would all greet each other, quickly eat caldo and be on our merry way. As Drake would say, 'never pay attention to the rumors and what they assume.' The large wooden home was filled with excited people dressed in clothing ranging from traditional traje to more modern attire, an abundance of food/tortillas and drinks, colorful decorations and a long table up front. On top of the table lay a number of masks, ranging from a tiger to deer.

Following a number of speeches, eating a large meal (despite insisting we were thankful, but had already eaten... always come to eat!) and a performance on the marimba the b'oj was served. B'oj is a fermented sugar-cane drink, which logically varies in strength depending on the period of fermentation. Normally a conservative community, the b'oj was flowing, the music was playing and even cigarettes were smoked as part of the ceremony. We then all proceeded out to the front of the beneficio, miramba and all, where the men took part in the dance of the deer. This took place directly next to the new gravel road funded by Fedcovera (an independent organization working with 36 cooperative throughout the Verapaces), who were likewise in attendance at the event. Coming up on the corn harvesting season, the dance was symbolic of the correlation and harmony between man and nature. Around midnight, following nearly two hours of dancing, the three of us decided to call it a night. The music continued on well into the night, but this was merely a practice round for the following day's full-costume event at the Fecovera office in Coban. The actual production was vibrant and colorful, but there was undoubtedly a little extra excitement (a little B'oj in the step of the dancers if you will) that Wednesday night we decided to venture out.

Masks on the center table. The pre-baile feast.Kamille, Ty and I outside of Alberto's house.Baile de Venados @ Fedcovera Office

It has already been a full month since I took the Peace Corps Oath, the same oath which Joe Biden took some 15 plus months ago, and officially swore in as a Peace Corps volunteer. All I can say is Guatemala is GORGES. The landscape, the volcanoes, the lush green that surround the co-op I work on, just everything. I just returned from a trip to the river, a bit dirty, but extremely fun and refreshing on this day in the mid 90’s. The side of the river is bordered by land of varying heights allowing you to jump into the river from a decent height, immediately reminding me of the gorges I once jumped off in Ithaca, NY.….A flashback that put a smile on my face and warrants this ‘I miss you all and hope things are going well’ to those stateside, or even teaching English in Korea. You may be thinking in regards to the title… Is that what Evan said when he opened a recent package he received? OMG a Poncho for the rainy season and candy, what great gifts?! In actuality these are just common words thrown around when visiting the neighbors, two of the kids are named Poncho and Dulce (Check out my posted video on Facebook). As I begin to settle into ‘a routine’ I find myself spending a significant chunk of my free time with my neighbors. The mother has ten kids and two of the elder daughters and the eldest son have kids of their own. Throw all these people in one compound, add in a few dogs, two geese, hens and roosters, bunnies and the most happening Churrasco stand in the community and you’ve got my new extended family. They recently purchased a new chu-cho, a dog they initially named Cooookie. After a handful of biting incidentsand a generally angry ‘tude in his high pitched bark, a general negative consensus about ‘Cookie’ had been formed. The second goal of Peace Corps is helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.. When meeting families and new friends I generally share a little history about my background, education, family and other random tidbits that may be relevant to the individual or situation. One evening I had a long talk with Mary, the eldest daughter, about our perspective families which went on to include mascotas, or pets. Mama Mia came up. It was explained that they thought a cat’s only purpose was to kill mice, not particularly to be a man’s best friend. I talked about how Mama Mia was going through stomach issues and often threw up around the house. This, in conjunction with their preconceived opinions on cats (a black one at that, malo suerte), officially labeled her as BAD. This somehow led into renaming the pesky little dog Papa Pia, as he too is no dessert. This name has stuck and the only name close to cookie left is Chicky, the name of one of the youngest daughters. Mary runs the Churrasco stand out front, selling a plethora of staples including horchata, arroz con leche, tostadas, fried chicken and frijoles depending on the day. She often feeds me and I’ve already cooked them a meal of meat raviolis (which I was told had a Pizza flavor, fail?). The family speaks Spanish and Qeqchi so they are a great resource for practicing both. Mary knows a bit of English, understanding more than she can speak. I’ve found that Guatemalans love sharing the little bit of English they do know with you at any given chance, which includes the men at the top of the hill in town who regularly shoot me a ‘good morning’ when I am on my way home to sleep. One of Mary’s favorite phrases is ‘Oh My God’. Having recently discovered the new Usher song, I brought my netbook next door and we sang along. Gloria, the 21 year old daughter is convinced we should make the Ay Dios Mio Guate-Remix. Following this sing-along I pulled out the Guate songs I have (Thanks Jareeau), my favorites being Obsecion y No Hieras Mi Vida (You-Tube them). This past week 6-8 of the kids and I have been going to the local basketball court and playing at night, a definite reminder I need to get bac into shape (gordito en serio). Here are a few pictures I have of the fam:

Work on the Co-op is slowly beginning to progress. One of my central duties right now is learning Qeqchi, the Mayan language in the area. I have begun taken classes, almost up to twenty hours, and I must say it is going to be a difficult task. Learning another foreign language through my second language makes it a three step process, but I have encouragingly realized I am learning just as much Spanish through class. Spanish is now my crutch and English is out the door. Either way I am pretty excited to learn and definitely see the excitement and respect even now when I use basic phrases with those on the Co-op.“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” - Nelson Mandela … end corny quote. ( Sidenote: ITunes free language podcasts, or other interesting topics for that matter, are an EXCELLENT way to keep up on news and learn while you are relaxing before you fall asleep. Try it out!)Throughout my first few weeks I have met with the president a couple of times, visited both of the schools on the Co-op, attended a security meeting and also a meeting in Coban for Viviente Verapaz. Viviente Verapaz is the alliance of seven sites of Peace Corps volunteers in Alta Verapaz and Baja Verapaz(1). The site in Baja is the highest waterfall in Central America we visited beforewhich I had previously discussed. We will all be working together to help strengthen our advertising in conjunction with one another, including information at corresponding sites and a V.V. website. This coming week I will spend the first couple days completing our information and deciding on which photos to use for our portion of the web page. I could go on about work related activities, but will do so when things are moving a bit faster. Plus, this post is already sufficiently long and I have a few pictures of the Co-op that attest to the beauty of my location more than any more words can. Jo wan xik, hasta luego, Until later

PCV Evan Dembkowski

Cuerpo de Paz

Apartado Postal 66

Coban, Alta Verapaz 16001

Guatemala

Central America

This past fall I spent a week in Florida as a graduation present from my Aunt Michele and Uncle Larry. In between lazy naps on the beach and Coronas with limes we fit in tidbits of educational material. Somewhere around drinking from the fountain of youth and losing Miss Jessica’s sunglasses we learned about the history of Florida, in which Ponce de Leon discovered La Florida in 1,513. I’ve always thought Ponce de Leon had a classy ring to it, besides he was the first governor of Puerto Rico. We all know how I secretly wish I was Rican, it would give me an excuse for my sassy tendencies (right?).

Flash-forward to my Guatemalan vida. I just finished eating dinner with my host family, one which I actually cooked myself. Sure it was only eggs with tomatoes and onions, frijoles and tortillas, but I was able to take and comprehend directions in Spanish fired off quicker than my sprint to the bathroom after a rumble in the tummy. My Spanish is progressing, poco a poco, and will be evaluated again tomorrow. This was supposed to take place today, but there has been a strike with the camionetas, or “chicken bus” drivers and workers due to the high number of violence and lack of government support in stopping it. If I am not at the upper intermediate level I will have to take three more weeks of intensive classes before officially heading out to my site. This would be a bummer, but if it is the case I’m sure it will help me out down the line in being more productive in site.

As the days dwindle down with my host-family, actually few enough to count on one hand, I am fully aware of how much I will miss them. I’m now accustomed to talking sports and human rights issues with Don Jaime, walking hand in hand with Dona and the kids to Church on Sunday (and of course shushing them or stopping them from doing their classic tap the man in front of them and then look away act), having the kids call me for meals and even Grandpa’s horse next to the shower, flies and all. I even get a besito from Andrea before bed each night. This sense of community and integration are aspects I aspire to incorporate into my two remaining years at my new site. Nearly fifteen months ago (how time flies) I faced a difficult decision, taking the education route or small business development. I chose to take advantage of my degree and go the sustainable business route, weary of the possibility of struggles in putting time into the areas of relationships, community and children ….beyond the marketing plan and gross income.

Focus back to the Atlantic and the Santa Maria led by the one and only Evan de Leon. The Chirrepec Co-op community was quick to coin me as such, besides the President who calls me “Mr. Leon.” Throughout my four day visit the current volunteer was able to show me the spark-notes version of how things run; the marketing and promotion contacts in Coban, the president and vice… etc. at the Co-op, my counterpart and the other tour guides, the drying and packaging facility, even my office I will be working in. I am fortunate enough to be replacing a volunteer and am inheriting their current apartment where I will live for at least the next three months. The room for tour growth/ guide training, improvement in the joint tourism promotion for Alta Verapaz and potential in the German ruins on the land that date back to the 1800’s are just a few of those I noticed in my short time.

One thing which was encouragingly prevalent was the sense of community and ability to balance business and income strategy with that of relationship building and cultural exchange. In just the four days we ate meals with a handful of families throughout the co-op, typically a soup with a meat and occasionally rice. Some unique interchanges included taking part in a family Mayan blessing of a newly purchased cow, watching a group of eight brothers play the marimba in sync for us following a delicious meal in their home and visiting the local school. The past volunteer worked a significant amount with the local school, something I hope to continue on after he leaves. Almost every member in the community and workplace knew their name and greeted them as we walked by, or even from down in the field or through their window. This is a testament to their effort in reaching out to the community. Despite the endless goodbyes, the current volunteer never seemed to get chocked up about leaving, just a part of their personality.

On my last day of site visit we were biking through the trail at Chirrepec when we stopped to say goodbye to a family that they had become close with throughout their service. The father of the family had been an unofficial counterpart to the volunteer, always lending a helping hand and providing sound advice and input. He had become ill over the past year with what is highly believed to be cancer. In a failed attempt with good intentions, the volunteer had paid about a month’s salary to a proclaimed health professional who had set-up work in town. After fronting the money himself, following an assessment with ‘scheduled’ transport to the capital, the man fled with money in hand. The father has not been able to take down solid food in months and lay emaciated and struggling on his plywood bed when we arrived. Trying to communicate (in Queqchi), but receiving no response the volunteer burst into tears, running to the arms of the group who have become his family. Sitting there on a wooden bench next to the struggling man, a tear subtly trickled down my check and onto the dirt floor. My first cry in Guatemala. Not from homesickness, or the scrape I endured from my bike incident, or from the scary dreams and restless sleep the malaria meds have given me, but from the helplessness engulfed in genuine love.

Yesterday all 45 trainees received our sites. The Healthy School (ES) and Sustainable Community Tourism (TCS) broke off accordignly and met with our APCD, or porgram director. Following a speech concerning the next steps, safety, and our training process we were each blindfolded and eager to discover our destination for the next two years. After each of our names were called out we were slowly blindly guided to our final destinations, thick folder of information in hand where we waited until everyone else had done the same. Possible brief innapropriate touches and 'who coughs that way' thoughts ran through our heads. Finally we removed our blindfolds and were able to see our locations, sites and distance from friends we have gotten to know over the past two and a hallf months.

My site is San Juan Chamelco, Ata Verapaz. Located less than 5 miles outside of Coban, I will spend my next two years working at the Chirrepec Tea Co-op. Chamelco holds 22,000 habitants, a temprano-humid climate with an average temperature around 67-68 and is located 140 miles from the capital, Guatemala City. I will be spending next week at my site, working with my counterpart in order to establish an idea of what my life will entail through 2012. Current needs in site include improving touristic services and the management capacities, establishing a promotion and marketing strategy and increasing environmental awareness and education within the school and government. Listed secondary needs include English lessons, VIH- SIDA (HIV- AIDS) awareness and lessons or training in advanced technology, internet/ establishing a website.

To all my Jersey readers out there, I am not referring to the pump fisting frat-fiesta music blaring in the basement next to the beer pong table and plethora of blow-outs and uggs (joking... I think), but to waterfalls. During field based training us eighteen eco-tourism trainees spent a week in Baja and Alta Verapaz. Our first day we visited a current volunteer in Chilasco where we embarked on a few hour long hike down to the highest waterfall in all of Central America. The trek was gorgeous/ equally muddy, despite the extremely foggy day affecting the view at the waterfall itself.

The majority of the rest of the week was spent in Samac visiting a current volunteer nearing his COS (Close of Service). Samac, located in a cloud forest, is a small village holding German history and ruins, a Kek'chi population and apparently a landmine for bird wtatching. We all stayed in two cabins and spent the week using latrines and taking frigidly cold showers, a possible taste of what volunteering will entail. Throughout the week we participated in various activities from sun-up until dark. A few activities worth noting:



We were trained/ worked alongside the community in designing and engraving sixteeen signs for the village

I learned to make tortillas with the local family who cooked for us for the week(I dropped one on the ground... the equivalent of dropping a baby, but we'll try to keep that o the dl)

Patty and I gave a 45 minute charla on Buyer Expectations with a translator to the local womens groups, B'eleb' B'atz and Ixb'alamke. The weaving the community uses is a form called Pikb'il, an ancient style of weaving which takes about two weeks for one blouse.We learned trail development and management at the Cafe Copperative in Chicojl, where one of us will be spending our next two years. I also had the best coffee I've had in my life!I made friends with a bunch of kids in the village of Samac, including Domingo (translated Sunday). There were plenty of jokes and by the time I left my new name was Lunes- Monday We were able to talk with a handful of current volunteers and hear about all the great work that is currently underway. All of our sites are deifnitely very diverse and I am anxiously awaiting placement on March 12.After a week of a greater fix of beans than one could ever dream of... nightmare wise (Of course I prefer pinto beans to black beans) we all went out for a DELICIOUS meal at a Cuban restaurant in Coban. This week we have constructed four swings for the park out of old tires, two horses and two baskets, and are finishing up the promotional items and Business Plan for the local muni. The four of us spent today cutting down fourteen large trees with eight other Alotenangians to construct the juegos in the park. I know what you're thinking, eco-tourism cutting trees, but five are being planted for each that was cut. This was definitely a great way to build confidence with our counterparts and also become the source of a craving for icy-hot.

Lying here now, I am extremely ehausted and pleasantly full. Why you may ask? Yesterday Sergio and I went to the market in Antigua and bought platanos verdes, which I used to make tostones for my family this evening. I know, past volunteers in my house have prepared pizza and lasagna. How dare I make a Latin dish to contribute, BUT I must say my tostones are kick ass even in Central America. I must give a shout out to Mrs. Pena for making me the well-rounded gringo-tino chef that I am today. (Also a quick nod to Alyssa who met Mrs. P this week). Until next time...

Oh, and if I offended any of my Jersians with my opening statement, just know I've stood up for all of you many-a-times letting people know that the state isn't actually like The Jersey Shore. There's definitely a bad rep across the country, but there also is not one volunteer out of the nearly 50 from NJ. I'm just saying they wear too much hair gel here too, it wouldn't be too bad :-)

I also received my first Guate haircut: And bad hair do or not, I would like Miss J to know I have been wearing the oso negro cap throughout my adventure. Here is a picture of a bunch of us out for the Superbowl.

After a highly anticipated year and some change wait since beginning the application process, I have been invited to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from January 4, 2010 (staging in D.C.)- March 25, 2012. Nearly three months earlier than my initial nomination date, the news came as a shocking and irrefutably exciting announcement. The realization that this process has finally turned into an actual date, location, and project is both nerve wracking and makes the process worthwhile. Now it is time to quickly complete all of the paperwork involved in the invitation packet.

I will be serving as a small business development agent, with a specific project in sustainable community tourism facilitation. Focus of the project is to generate income through natural resources throughout the area by ways of rural tourism, environmental education, and conservation. "The overall purpose of the Sustainable Community Tourism Project is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for participating families, through the establishment of community tourism projects (nature tourism, cultural tourism, agro-tourism) which also helps to conserve the environment and expand understanding and support of Guatemala's cultures and agriculture."

The project is of great interest to me and I am elated I will be able to provide my time and energy into aiding in the development of something which will potentially forever help a community. I also am excited to gain a greater understanding of the environment and various conservation practices. Being able to utilize (D, your favorite word) my business background simultaneously with a project which may very well be centered around outdoor work is motivating. I look forward to the experience to come and the inevitable self-growth that will come with it.

Just a quick update on my status! I'm off to bed because I have to work in the morning... another week of work until I take time to pack and say my goodbyes. I look forward to writing this blog as a way to stay connected to those in the states and as a record for myself. Hopefully you all take the time to read my adventures, or at least comment to say an occasional hello :-)

This blog represents my thoughts and opinions alone and do not represent the US government or the Peace Corps.