Yes it has been sometime since I have written. I can report that I am alive and things are going well. My new site is different, and I told myself I wasn’t going to compare them but there are new things that are nice here and others that are, well, different.

Let’s start with some updates! Being in a new site I am learning a whole new system; a new counterpart, a new municipality and dynamic within, town, people, where certain things are in terms of best bread, tortillas and good prices for produce meanwhile still trying to tie things up with the school process in Huehuetenango. Things are good, my new town is nice and safe but it is considerably bigger then my old site. I can talk about this later but the big news…

I am happy to announce that we have gotten our first payment from the NGO Hug It Forward and on Monday I will be going up to my old site to help deliver the first transfer of materials to the site of Guacachipol. This has been a long time waiting, and something we can finally get going. I am so proud of the community where we have been working tirelessly together. Through this whole process, their patience, hope and faith in a foreigner with terrible Spanish is heartwarming and motivating. To have this first big step in place, not having to wonder any more about the when and how along with other logistics, we can now focus on building and doing it right! Within the next 3-4 months, hopefully, a school will be built out of recycled materials giving the community of Guacachipol a school they can call their own. I will be updating the progress of the build and more successes and frustrations along the road with pictures, stories and videos (hopefully). I just want to thank everyone so far that has contributed in any way they have already. Thank you!!!Students in GuacachipolThings in my new site are different. I live in an adobe house so things are a little dustier and it takes a little more sweeping to maintain it well. Another thing, it is considerable colder in my new site and it actually hailed, and accumulated considerable amounts the first day I got there. My house has a big garden space and I have done some planting of flowers and some herbs to relax a little. It’s been fun and now birds including two different types of hummingbirds are coming around to investigate the new smells and colors. The bad news, the rainy season has started and the gutter system need to be rerigged so that all the water that falls on the roof does not go into the garden. So little domestic chores here and there but its fun when I can make pesto with the basil I’ve planted. In a few weeks, I hope that my spinach, lettuce, radishes, carrots and cilantro will be edible and not to waterlogged. Snow and tropical fruit?

I am doing well. I am feeling productive and as of now I only have 5 months left in Peace Corps. It is amazing how time has gone by, how quickly and slowly at the same time. I do need to start thinking about post Peace Corps and what is now out there. Don’t be surprised if you get an email from me in the not too distant future asking for some advice.

I hope all is well with everyone everywhere.

Much love!

Sorry I left everyone hanging with the last post. I have decided to stay here in Guatemala and continue my journey as a volunteer. I might not be able to continue exactly what I was doing in terms of projects and being in the same community, but I will be able to continue gaining valuable experience and working alongside great people here in Guatemala. It might not be the most ideal of situations but the idea of service and doing your best with what you have is what I came here to do. Even though I will be in a new community for a short amount of time, I need to look at that time frame and do what I can, trying my best.

I will be moving about an hour and a half south of where I am currently located. I will be moving to another municipality where there are a few other volunteers currently located. With the new changes there will be more towns with a greater concentration of volunteers. I have about another month here in my current site trying to arrange everything, leaving projects in good hands, organizing everything with the bottle school and get everything organized to move to a new site. I have been very fortunate to talk with Peace Corps administration and have had meetings and conversations about my situation. They have granted me the ability to supervise my project and take a few trips back and forth to get it done. That was a big factor in my decision making. I couldn’t leave the community where we were going to do the school. I made it clear to the local municipality where I work, the community of Guacachipol and to Peace Corps that my goal was to finish the school whether I was a volunteer or not. Thankfully, together, we have worked out a plan to allow me to finish this project while remaining a volunteer.

As for life here, my two site mates have left last week as they completed their service. A big congrats to them for doing a job well done, finishing with a bunch of projects, and leaving a great impact here in town and surrounding communities. I was honored and humbled to work and take part in daily life alongside them for 16 months. Hopefully we will be able to meet up once we are all back stateside.

In the month of March, things will be hectic. We will be starting the bottle school construction (FINALLY!), I will have to move and get to know people in a new town and work environment, try to pitch some new ideas there all while keeping tabs on the construction here in my original site. When it rains it pours right? This will be a busy time but definitely welcome as progress has been made and now we will be able to put everything to action. I finally have a lot of support from the new mayor and things couldn’t be better in site. I will do my best to really soak up everything in the last few weeks I have here with great friends and look forward to making new friends in a new town.

Detailed in my last blog, there are numerous changes affecting Guatemala right now. Within PC Guatemala, the Regional Director Carlos Torres has advised that the administration take the following steps:

1.)Relocate volunteers that are deemed to be living in ‘Unsafe areas.’ These unsafe areas are the departments of Huehuetenango (where my site is), San Marcos, Alta and Baja Verapaz, the Oriente (everything east of Guatemala City) and the coast. Basically half of all volunteers are being evacuated from their sites and have the choice to relocate within Guatemala or go back to the states.

2.) Offer early COS to any and all volunteers regardless of time spent in country. This measure is to decrease numbers of overall volunteer size.

3.) Have a transportation system to help with security and volunteer well being. This means no more camionetas or renovated old discarded school busses. Now PC Guatemala will have to provide us with private transportation to and from our destination on major highways and roads.

So where does this leave me? I have until February 10th to let PC know if I decide to come home or try to move sites and start again. Going home is a very easy option. I can return to the states, start the application to graduate schools and begin to plan what the next move career wise will be and how best I can give myself the opportunity to do so. Or, I can stay here and explore the unexpected all over again. The benefit of this unexpected is knowing what I know now. With my Spanish being understandable, I will avoid most of the normal growing/learning pains of the new language. I know where most things are, how the culture operates and have a little more confidence in what I am doing. The downsides will be moving, doing the whole readjustment thing all over again, and meeting new people. Do not get me wrong on the meeting new people. I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people. The fact is, meeting someone versus getting to know someone in a professional development aspect takes time, patience and certain situations to give you that crucial insight on how people react and what their tendencies are. I have all these comforts here currently in Malacatancito. I know who to go to for certain things and who to talk to about certain subjects or help. I will have to take about 2-3 months in a new site before bearings are really set and the ability to working comfortable and confidently will set in. This is the dilemma. Thomas, Nic, Justin and myself on top of Volcano Santa Maria.

This photo was taken just before a 6.1 earthquake hit!

On going home, it seems daunting right now because I do not have anything planned. I still have goals for myself here within Guatemala. One of those priorities is becoming fluent in Spanish, and accomplishing a few projects, something that is tangible and visible. With more time being here in Guatemala can only help build on these experiences. Either way, be it staying here in Guatemala or coming back home to the states both represent the unknown and both represent endless possibilities to whatever can happen.

I am just distraught over the simple fact that I have made these connections here in my current town of Malacatancito. I am just getting everything set to finish up my time in site with the culmination of projects that will show for all the hard work we have done. What scares me is knowing the first 6 months in site here were tough, the toughest time in site as everything was new and the foundation was being set. Back then, I knew I had time on my side and knew everything would pan out because I had two years ahead of me. Now, in a new site, with new people, starting all over, what will I be able to do, telling people I only have 6 months to work with them? This is where my conscience and thought process are analyzing and challenging my continuing. The simple question is - in the 6 or so months I have remaining here in Guatemala, will I be able to accomplish substantial things such as projects that are designed and managed by the Guatemalans in such a short time period? Or in those six months, can I find a job in the states or wherever and get more accomplished in that time period as I still set my sights on the future? Timing is everything right? Argggg…..

Visiting with Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams

I hope to be able to visit potential sites in the upcoming days that will grant me a little view into the workings of new sites and the people in them. With that information I can only hope to make a decision and the go into it with all my heart, 110%.

A recent moon rise in my town of Malacatancito

As of late, Peace Corps Guatemala and Peace Corps programs in Honduras and El Salvador have undergone some serious changes. These changes have led PC Guatemala to ‘implement specific initiatives to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that volunteers serving in Guatemala will do as safely as possible.’ But the question I have been asking myself lately is: At what point does the priority of safety and security for PCVs trump the overall effectiveness and purpose of our service? As listed below are some of the new measures that will be implemented.

-- Decreasing the overall volunteer population by having certain programs close their service (COS) early.--Clustering of volunteers which means to close certain regions of the country and relocated volunteers closer together in other sites deemed ‘safe’ by PC Washington and PC Guatemala. --Granted any volunteer regardless of time spent in Guatemala an early COS or chance to go back to the states with the benefits of completing the full two years.

Over the past week, I have gone through a whirlwind of emotions. Measure two will take me out of my site here in Malacatancito Huehuetenango, where I have spent the last 16 months working and living. Needless to say there have been struggles, successes, ups and downs, but all of these challenges and breakthroughs have shaped what I know to be Malacatancito. I am just upset and extremely disappointed to know that I have to change sites and face the remaining 8 months working in a new community (that is if I choose to do so). My immediate concerns were - I am expected to break ground in mid February for my bottle school - I have promised a community the hope of a better future -There are countless donors in the states that have donated their money and time and that I have other communities looking to develop and gain experience with project proposals and applications. What now? Am I supposed to abandon my friendships and my work that I have poured myself into these past 16 months?

I am upset and just worried about what will happen, what I will be allowed to do and what I can hopefully finish. An All Volunteer Conference will be taking place tomorrow until Thursday. Hopefully, we will receive more information about plans as a team from PC Washington and the regional director will be meeting with us over the course of the next three days to explain the current conundrum we are in.

I have 8 months left according to my Peace Corps commitment and contract that we signed before we were sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. We are at the time of entering the country given a PC Handbook stating expectations and guidelines for all PCVs. On the first page of the handbook is a famous quote about the Peace Corps by JFK immediately followed by the 10 core expectations for PCVs. Here are two that I seem to be thinking about as of late.

#4 Recognize that your successful and sustainable development work is based on the local trust and confidence you build by living in, and respectfully integrating yourself into, your host community and culture. #9 Recognize that you will be perceived, in your host country and community, as a representative of the people, cultures, values, and traditions of the United States of America.

Since being in site, I have fully devoted myself to integration and doing my best to be respectful to all people by having conversations, offering a hand in whatever it may be, and most importantly, by being an active member of the community. By abruptly leaving right now, with all the ground work for projects done, with the fruits of our labor and hard work almost attainable, I am leaving communities at their most hopeful and vulnerable times. This then brings me back to expectations #4 and #9. How by removing myself, will that trust and confidence be affected? Forget the success, but that then leads right up to being how I will be perceived, or how Americans will be perceived for that matter in my town.

The municipal development program has had a tough time so far. We have had to face the end of an administration where works and plans are wrapping up, an election/campaign season and then lame duck municipalities that were not reelected and just waiting out their terms. Now, finally, as we are working with newly elected administrations with no fear of looming elections, work gearing up, projects starting, support for us is strong, now, at this most ideal sought after chance, where we pinned our hopes during our most frustrating times, we have to leave and abandon that opportunity that we had waited so patiently for.

So I am left with a lot of unanswered questions and what to do next. Hopefully by the end of the week, after the meetings I will have a better understanding of the situation. Until then...

I recently wrote in my journal the other day reflecting on how things have gone in Guatemala. I usually reserve journal entries for more personal reflections and more unguarded thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Oct 4th 2011,-There was a moment last night when I was walking down the street by myself. I was heading to my sitemates house and while walking I was just aware of my surroundings. Many times people walk and they are in a hurry, thinking about the next thing they have to do, worried about something they have yet to do or just simply being preoccupied with some external thing. Maybe this experience was just at that moment being in that moment, being fully in the present. I simply felt comfortable, I felt at ease. Here I am in this completely different culture, surrounded by a different language, thoughts, logics and way of life and here I am comfortable. Now it’s a familiar culture, a familiar language, a familiar place.

There was a cool breeze whipping up the fog that was gathering on the brick laid streets and the smell of the rain still fresh. I smelt earth: dirt, plants, and simply life. A smoky trace to the newly cooled humid air fused by the wood burning stoves enlightened my experience as it was a mix of worlds combining; one being on the east coast in cooler seasons and the other in the tropical island of Guam at the same time. Interesting how the past comes back. But with the new mix of places lived, places visited, I felt at home. I was, well…I can’t explain, I was comfortable, but that’s not all. I was at peace, calm, relaxed and just…..it was something I’ll remember a long time. It was just walking down the street, having people great you, a familiar smile and hand wave but people also knowing who you are and you knowing them. I realized there it was something greater than being a volunteer. It was the feeling of belonging to something greater, knowing that I am part of a community not because I am there doing work and ‘giving’ to a community but knowing that they community was giving back and there was the relationship between one and the community.

Guatemala has had its ups and downs, even its stalling moments. It is hard to explain to anyone outside the bubble of this life. Guatemalans won’t understand it and neither will most people stateside. So how do I go about describing it? It’s such a personal solitary experience. Maybe I don’t even understand fully, I do still have a year, and many RPCV’s say they still learn and appreciate things well after their time at post is over. One thing is true thus far, it has taught me what is important to me, what I want out of life. It is an endless journey but a journey worth traveling because each day comes with the expected anticipation of the unexpected. I am here living in Guatemala. Sure work is tough, frustrating, and sometimes seem even futile, but this is part of the journey and I am glad to be on this journey right now at this time in my life. I know I belong here.

After first getting into country over a year ago and especially working within local government, Peace Corps made it clear that September 2011 was going to be a big month. Why? Elections. On September 11th, local and national elections took place. In my municipality the current administration was defeated handily and the new administration will take over in January. Leading up to the elections, not much work was being done as there were serious efforts and pushes to campaign. Now, I have the problem of working in a lame duck administration that does not want to do anything except to just leave things the way they are. So, in the next months I will work with people who know they will not have jobs come the new year. Its pretty futile trying to convince people that we still need to work to do our job and continue to provide services for people. Unfortunately our mayor will be putting a freeze on all spending which stops all projects and community development as it is. Ill see how I can manage this and try to continue pushing forward with my programs and projects. Antigua's many doors and colors

This transition will be bittersweet in the sense that most of the people I work with will be gone and I have to start the process all over again of getting to know people, gaining 'confianza' and understanding the work dynamic. On the other hand some people need to go and having the chance to make new friends and have new opportunities to work with people is more exciting than it is disappointing of going through the process again. In the time I have been here working with the current administration, I have fostered some great professional relationships and have a team that acts as my go to people who I usually talk with, make plans with and eat lunch with from time to time. It is just another change but seeing them go will be tough. The only thing that you can do is forge on and keep doing the best that you can.

Projects are coming along and my bottle school is looking more and more like it will actually happen. We are still collecting bottles and once we have enough we will begin our next step. Unfortunately the elections have placed a little halt in the process but I will have to be patient and do the things I can now and let the rest take care of itself when it is time.

Filling bottles with studentsIve learnt a lot about control being here in Guatemala. People who know me pre Peace Corps may have said I was a control freak and liked things the way I liked to have them (who doesn’t right?). But, Peace Corps throwing all the stuff it has at you can make you easier going and some might even say a little less uptight. There are things you can control in life and there are things that you can’t. Most of the things you control are your effort, your personality, and most importantly how you react to things when they happen. Im not going to lie, things can get tough here and weigh you down, but it’s more of how you react to the adversity that will make or break you. If you let things get under your skin good luck, but if not, then you have to keep walking with one foot in front of the other.

I just had a great visit from a long time friend. I have included some pictures that I took when she was here as we were able to get to Lake Atitlan and see some of Antigua as well. It was good to get out of my site and area and see Guatemala and its stunning landscape and natural beauty. I need to take more opportunities to get out and travel around the country and see some things before my next year is up. It was also great to see a great friend and great to reconnect.

A flowersunrise on the lake

Peace Corps will challenge you, push you, break you down and will not let up. Day in and day out there is no escaping the unfamiliarity, the difficulties and barriers of language and culture, the tough times soon become normal and expected and part of daily life. There are other times where a simple smile can make your day or just a small chat with someone wanting to know how you are can make you feel part of the community. Most of the time the small things matter more because they keep you sane and make you feel human. Yet with the long stretches of feeling unproductive leave you questioning why you are here, what you are doing wrong and how if there is a possibility to do something that benefits the people of our area.

With the parents and students of the school So what makes things more challenging than others? The municipality has come to me and asked if I could help them build a school in Guacachipol one of our furthest and more remote communities. If you have google earth, plug in the coordinates 15 15'12.24N --- 91 38'54.16W and see where we are hoping to build this school. We have made progress in the first few steps needed in this long process as we have organized a few meetings with an NGO, with the community of Guacachipol and taken a with people from my municipality trip to see an existing bottle school site that has completed a project using recycled bottles. For me, it has been a very arduous challenge with one facing you right after another. For me coming to Peace Corps, I thought I was going to be working with people according to the first goal in ‘helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women’. One would expect to be able to be working alongside of fellow locals to improve work habits, strengthen weakness and to work in a supportive work environment. As of late, I have not felt supported and have felt like more of a commodity and a show piece that an actual functioning volunteer.

In the current school talking about the potential for a new bottle school

Lately I have been questions the reasons for my host organization to have a volunteer. I try to work with people, to help where needed and be part of a team. I am looking to gather resources where previously none were thought to exist. Everything I do, is met with somewhat of a resistance and more importantly a lack of support. This bothers me. I will not be successful here is there is a lack of support and coordination of efforts. I have no problem doing things by myself and getting things done on a personal agenda, but this is not anywhere close to the goals of Peace Corps or idea of sustainability, plus I am not here for what I want to put in communities, I am here to help them achieve their goals and the goals of my host agency. How can I give assistance to people who claim they want assistance but then when it is time to work say that they cannot.

With this bottle school project thus far people seem to be on board, and have been supportive when I introduced the idea to help build this school. The municipality wants to build one but cannot as they are limited by resources and funding. As I have introduced this way to gather resources with community buy in collaborating with other communities, people seem to be jumping ship. Why? I try to figure out every day. I have heard lately from my mayor, my counterpart and other staff in the office that it is 1.)Election season 2.)Bottles can’t be put in walls and be safe 3.)We don’t have the time right now 4.)We can do that tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow etc. 5.) There is no transportation. 6.) You do it you are the expert and the worst, that it seems to be too much work.

Visiting a completed bottle project in Todos Santos. I know I cannot do this by myself, and I am going to have to talk to people and ask them for their input, but along with this input is the Guatemalan culture of saying yes to everything and then cancelling at the last minute. So I will go in and ask if this is a project that they want to do and if so, i will need the support and effort of a team to accomplish this. Will that be the case? Only time will tell.

Ok ok I apologize for anyone who has been checking my blog lately and has not found anything until today. I made a conscious decision not to by internet for a long time to see what it was like to be disconnected and not have everything at my fingertips. Im back though.... so here goes.As of August 11th I have been in Guatemala for a whole year. Lots of good things have happened in the last year I will admit. Through all the struggles ups downs and everything that Peace Corps can throw at you I am in a good place right now.

Last month I was lucky enough to head back home for a little break to see family and friends up in New Hampshire. Seeing my family was great but I was a little nervous about coming home as many PCVs will tell you that your first trip home is a crazy emotional ride. Some people go back and decide that once home, they are going to not come back. For some it is especially tough because just as things are becoming second nature like taking bucket baths, eating typical Guatemalan cuisine, doing laundry by hand, drying it outside and the bugs and rain...the list goes on. Going home, you go back to what life was once like, see what home life is and then realize how easy things are and have a moment where it is like ‘I can stay here.’ I can tell you from my experience the toughest part was saying bye to family and knowing the night before I did my laundry in 30 minutes. I just remember throwing clothes in the dryer and with a bounce sheet and knowing everything will take care of itself with the push of a button. I wouldn’t need to hang and dry clothes outside and keep an eye on the weather or switch the clothes so both sides dry. But writing this today, I will admit I enjoy doing my laundry now, it gives me time to talk to my host family, do some reflective thinking and while I might grumble under my breath a few times that there are no buttons to push, it does allows me to appreciate everything around me. View from the dock at Squam Lake Work has been going a lot better lately. Coming back from the states and talking to family and enjoying my time away from everything, I was able to put things into perspective. I was trying to make everyone my friend and not infringe on peoples toes, ways of life and culture. I do not know if it is possible but I felt like I was too respectful and which did not allow me to push for what I wanted to do or demand things that I wanted to achieve. Peace Corps is tricky in this aspect as they tell you to be change agents. So the question posed is how can you be a change agent and do things in a respectful way? There is a major push and pull and for everyone they find that out at different times of their service. Some people have very supportive organizations and counterparts; others have harder times and feel like they do nothing. Personally I am in between that where there are days were I am led to believe I am doing something to only feel that there is no one behind me or helping me do the things my program and what I personally set out to do. So when I came back, I sat down and told everyone in my office that I was here to be productive, that I am here as a resource and that I will, if I have to, look for other support and people to work for if I do not feel things are getting done. Telling them that I was not there to be a figure, but more of a worker people started to understand. But saying and doing are totally different as we all know. So the next two weeks, I began planning things, writing proposals and requesting to have meetings and training and people now understand what I want to do. This is going well but has met some resistance from people as it is election season and efforts are focused in other areas. Sometimes I just need to argue my case and do so in a more directed manner but things are getting done.

We will see where the next few weeks go and Ill report back on what is happening! Hope everything is well with everyone and summer is treating you well! More pictures to come!

At Tikal

It has been a while since I have written to you all but a lot has been happening since I last wrote. My parents came to visit me for a few days and it was GREAT to see them both. It had been a little over 7 months since I had seen anyone from back home. It was a pleasure for me to be in their company while they were here. They took care of me and gave me a little break from my day to day life here in Guatemala.

I took them up to my site which was an adventure of itself because both my parents said to me ‘we want to see how you live and what your daily life is like.” So on the trek of camionetas we came up to my site and 5 hours later we arrived. I have to say that I am very impressed with how both my parents faired on the twist and turns, vendor packed smelly speeding ride. Kudos to them. We spent a few nights here my site where I showed them my town, talked about work that I do and gave them a feel of daily things that I go through. Cooking, getting food, bucket baths, no water at times, what to do with free time things like that. The only thing that they didn’t get a full dose of was the solidarity and long time on your hands after work and when you are just in your home alone. Since the time I have been here now, I look forward to the time I have by myself to where I can read, study, or just look outside and just enjoy the clouds going by.

The highlight of our trip was Tikal. This was an extremely fun part of my parent’s trip and something that one must not pass up on a trip to Guatemala. Tikal is an ancient Mayan city that was once rumored to be as big as 200,000 people. I cannot even begin to try to describe what I saw except that it was an incredible site and something that is breathtaking to be walking around. There are still many many temples and areas that have still yet to be excavated discovered. We would pass flat areas with enormous mounds dozens of meters high that must be something that were still covered by the thick jungle vegetation. I enjoyed walking around and exploring and trying to imagine what it must have been like during its pinnacle. Simply incredible.

Dad in AntiguaWe spent a little time in Antigua and one of my favorite moments was when we invited my host family from training to come to dinner with us. That was a moment that I really enjoyed where I introduced both Ingrid and Armando to my parents so that they could see how special they are to me and the amount of fun we have together. We ate dinner and had a drink and Camilla was great as well. It was great to stay in some nice establishments around Antigua and eat some really good food too. Mom and a temple at Tikal

All in all it was just good to be around my parents and glad for me to show them my place, what I am doing and what I deal with on a daily basis. For most volunteers, I think that it is very easy to form quick strong long lasting friendships because we all know what we are going through. To give me parents this glimpse of the ups and downs, twists and turns give me an ability to relate to the experiences that I am having. As a volunteer we can whine and complain with what we are going through but now that I have people that have seen a glimpse of what I go through it just allows me to relate to them. No I wont have to explain everything when I am having a bad day, I will just be able to say it stinks.

Me and President Colom on a visit a projectOn another note (sorry this blog is all over the place (just trying to recap everything is tough)) we had the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. This was held at the ambassador’s house and was attended by over 350 volunteers, staff, host families, administration, and guests. It was cool to see majority of Peace Corps Guatemala in one gathering.

Other than that my next blog entry will be all about work and some of the things I have done here. I have just created a plan for the next few months as I will give you an insight into some of the professional struggles and benefits of working as a PCV here in Guatemala.

I hope all is well with everyone!!

Take Care!

Greetings everyone. Time for updates. My cast is off and I didn’t have to spend the night for them to take it off. Granted they moved the appointment back a few times, I am glad to report it is off. It is still pretty weak and was a little purple but I can walk and day by day it is getting better.

Last week was pretty busy as after my cast removal on Friday the 11th, the following day I made the trip to Antigua where I got to meet up with my training group for Reconnect. Reconnect is a 2-day get together with our group to well….reconnect. Most people got in a few days early and got to spend some extra time together and catch up. With our travel restrictions and personal days vs. vacation days it is hard to see people when you are on one side of the country and they are on the other. We are only allowed to travel 3 hours out of our site and have it count as a personal day. Anything technically more than that we need to take vacation. Antigua is anywhere between 4-5.5 depending on traffic and connections. So this was my first extended stay in Antigua really since I have been here in country.

Sunday and Monday night I stayed with my host family Ingrid and Armando and got to see Camilla. It is always to see them as they make me feel like I am at home when I am there. They are such a nice family and I hope to see them again soon. Camilla is getting so big and is starting to walk and say a few words. She’s so cute!

Reconnect was good, we got to meet up with other volunteers and have specific meetings on things that went well, what didn’t, and scenarios to help fix them. Many people have similar problems and frustrations but just with different named people. The most common thing here is ‘hora chapina’ aka Guatemala time. You can ask someone to show up and you can expect them to show up usually that day. I will say they average an hour to two behind that scheduled time. Very frustrating.

On Tuesday, we had another packed day with meetings but got to have Pizza and have a lunch/discussion with the Ambassador again. He’s a really straight forward guy who made us feel welcome and appreciated our work here in Guatemala. He asked a lot of questions of ourselves and what we saw in the field working and living along side Guatemalans. He gave us insight on development and some of his thoughts about the upcoming elections and where Guatemala might go. It was definitely a better session as we had more pertinent questions to ask him than we did during our swear in at his house.

I am back at site now, and staring to get a few projects underway along with the day to day office work I do alongside my team. A few people are taking vacation right now so the ‘office’ has a little more space and I can get a little bit more work done. I am working on a few bottle school projects that uses empty bottles filled with non-organic trash in place of cement blocks to cut costs. I have proposed a plan to build three schools with an initial investment from the mayor, and with this help and showing to NGO’s that we have the capability to do projects like this in hopes to attract more funds for other programs as well. We are just in the very early stages of this project(s) so we will see where it all goes.

I get to look forward to a little visit from my parents in a few weeks which will be a welcomed treat for sure. Its amazing to already know that I have been here for 6 months. As the saying goes here in PC. The days are slow and long but the months go by fast….. until next time!

Well anything that goes snap crackle and pop is never a good thing especially if you land with all your weight on a pivoted ankle avoiding your sitemate looking to take a charge. The last few days have been anything but trying, frustrating, hilarious and just a Guatemalan Peace Corps experience.

It all started Saturday night. I was playing in a hyped up basketball game where my team highlighting their foreigner (me) took on another team highlighting their foreign player (Javier my sitemate). There was talk the days leading up who was going to win and what type of a game it was going to be. Needless to say we won the game but after some heated plays, a ejection, and some technical fouls. With about 5 minutes left to play, I crossed over a player for the defending team and opened up the baseline which I drove to only find my sitemate post up looking to take a charge. I jumped, shifted my weight, not wanting to pummel him over or jump over him to make him the laughing stock of the town but instead, I breezed past him to only land on the metal tubing below the basketball hoop that acts as support. AS I landed I pivoted my ankle with all my weight on my toes with a twisting motion putting me heel on the ground over my toes, that only let me fall in a manner that lead to 3 loud sounds that resembled the motto from the famous rice krispies. SNAP CRACKLE AND POP! Game over. Ive done enough sports in my day to know that any rapid sequence of sounds followed by immediate pain and warm gushing swelling sensation only equals bad news. Rigged up a boot shoe...thank you chucksThis is when the debauchery started. Someone gave me ice which I immediately put on the affected area and held it on for the rest of the game. Then after the game people came up to me and told me it wasn’t that bad that it was nothing that it was funny to see a big grino land and yell in pain. Just no respect from the Guatemalans but its part of their culture here to see someone in pain, to just look and stare, and if it is someone they know laugh. Anyways, after having ice on the injury for a few minutes, a friend said he needed to see the ice. I said yeah just bring it back in a few minutes which he obliged to do. I then ask him for the ice about 5 minutes later and he says he doesn’t have it anymore, that he broke it up and put it in his drinks he was having with his friends. HA! With that being said there are a lot of alcoholics here in Malacatancito. Sad, but its true. Cold drinks take priority to a bum ankle….I cant say im totally opposed to it. Some bruising on the toes...cant imagine what the ankle area would look like.The next day I just rested and walked minimally but was astonished at the amount of swelling and the color changing. I showed my site mate the next day and he suggested it getting looked at. I called the Peace Corps office the next morning and went to the Xela Hospital again, the place where I had such a hellish time when I had dengue. On the way down I told my Javi about how much I detested this place and that I wanted to spend limited time there. We got there the secretary/receptionist told me to go right in and have a seat on the bench. As we waited close to two hours I finally asked the doctors what was taking long, and they told us “We thought you were family members just waiting to see your friend, we didn’t know what you were here for.” Really annoying. After that I was seen, had xrays with in 30 minutes. After that the doctor looked at the affected colorful area and then said yes, there is a fracture in there. Javi came in the room after, looked at me asked ‘’whats the prognosis’ and all I could tell him was, ‘she used the f word,’ Javi looked at me and said ‘a doctor that knows Spanish, cool!’ ‘No man, fractura I was told’. SOL. The next thing I know, a nurse comes in at 1pm with a wheel chair and tells me that it is time to go to my room. ‘A ROOM FOR WHAT!’ ‘Well your spending the night.’ That was absolutely the worst news to me at that time. Seriously for a bum ankle I was going to have to spend the night.

Thinking quickly, and remembering quickly about my luxurious stay a few months before and how incredibly heartwarming the food and comfort was, I looked to Javi and told him ‘We going to McDonald’s or some decent establishment before I admit myself for the damn night.’ Obviously there were other words in there but I was nonetheless beyond aggravated. I did not bring anything with me to the hospital, no books, no nothing. I looked at the nursing staff told them I would return in a few hours after I got a decent meal in my only to be looked at strangely by a nurse who told me assertively “You need to stay here, you will have a special diet here for you to eat.” Of course I clamored ‘A special diet for what?!” “Oh its going to help get rid of your X-rays.” I looked her and told her that I knew most certainly that a McDonald’s diet would really get rid of them and looked for the door. I almost lost it right there and started just knowing that this was going to snowball into a horrible experience yet again. One of the doctors there acknowledged that I wanted something respectable to eat before going to jail and told me I could go. As I was walking out the door, the same doctor told me that I needed to be seen by the doctor that the Peace Corps has on call in Xela. She had just left for lunch. So we waited and waited. Soon I received a phone call from Peace Head Quarters asking “Franklin what is going on? We just got a call from the hospital that you are trying to escape or something.” Granted I may have looked a little less than enthusiastic about staying, and I did beg the Peace Corps Office to stay home for the night, I did not try to escape. Seriously, I wanted to escape what was I going to do? Spring out of the room full speed ahead with a fractures in the ankle, there is some disconnect in this logic….We ended up waiting for about 2 hours and the Doctor never came, so I left my number with the nurses and limped down the street determined to get me some good food before I imprisoned myself. I came across a Wendy’s and indulged myself with a delicious spicy chicken sandwich. Thank you Dave Thomas!

Back at the hospital I went and wheeled myself into my cell. There a simple ice pack was put on my leg to ‘reduce the swelling’ for about 30 minutes. Seriously without a medical degree (Matt feel free to correct me on this) but for the amount of swelling I saw and had, it was going to take a good 24 hours and serious ibuprofen to get that thing looking somewhat normal again. Then by 6:30pm my main course was served which I just let sit and to the astonishment of the nurses I wasn’t hungry. The specialist came in took off the wrapped sheet with the icepack swelling reducer 3000 machine and exclaimed ‘Puchica!” which in Guatemala means ‘Wow’ or just an exclamation of surprise. That’s the last I wanted to hear was a specialist come in and me surprised with what he was dealing. Not the most comforting thing. Good grief! Well after a few minutes talking to him he tried talking in English which was as futile as reducing the swelling in my leg. He put me in a cast from my toes to my knee and here I am. I asked him if I could leave the next morning which he said would be no problem. At this point I was pretty certain that this hospital was just keeping me there to run up the bill and knew that Peace Corps would have to pay anything that they were charged for. Next morning, I wake up at 6:30 in hopes of getting out by 8ish-9ish the latest. I ask the first nurse that comes in, when the Doctor is coming. They told me within the hour. This happened every hour and frustration grew and grew as each hour passed and passed. Thankfully Javi came in and helped pass time as he was waiting for medicine in Xela too. He can attest to the ridiculousness. We waited and waited and then finally a nurse came in and wanted to know how I would be getting back to my site. I told them that I ride the camionetas which just dumbfounded them. Ill leave it at that.

Then the best part of this story and the best way of Guatemalan logic I can ever explain. The attending doctor comes in and asks. “How are you going to get around when get a taxi back to your site?” “Ill need crutches” I said “Oh ok, where are crutches you brought down?” “I don’t have any” I replied. “Well you need crutches because you can’t walk like that without crutches,” the doctor told me. “Well I need crutches then” “Well we don’t have any so what are you going to do” “Well I obviously need crutches because I can’t walk per doctors orders” I said, to it was just this circular logic or not being able to get this doctor to understand that A.) I am not allowed to walk without crutches, therefore I need crutches to be able to walk. B)Without crutches I am unable to leave the hospital, if the hospital does not have crutches how would I ever be able to leave? It was just one damned thing after another. Finally after waiting 6 hours the specialist came in and told me I was good to leave once I had crutches but he did not know what to do about not having crutches as well. Repeat to top for sequence of events again with another doctor. So he told me I needed to go across the city to buy a pair at his office. Go figure. The Crutches after the crutch conundrumThe doctor told me I would need the cast for 3-4 weeks. I told him I can do something for it. I kindly gave him the option of having me cut the cast off in 2 weeks by myself or allowing him to do so. I know my body well and I have messed up ankles before. So I bargained the doctor down to two weeks for having the cast on.

We waited to get the cab outside so I could just get some fresh air and feel the hopes of freedom. The cab came 30 minutes later and we went to the clinic where the doctor worked at. Javi said he would run up tot eh second floor and save me the trouble of going up but only to come down a solid 45 minutes later, just one thing after another. Then on the cab home we hit speed bumps in the taxi catching air from time to time as the taxi driver’s Dad sat in the back drinking a cold one.

Its good to get back to my house finally but the itching that occurs at night is annoying when it disrupts the sleep just as you have gotten used to roosters crowing, fireworks at all hours, and the dogs barking insistently. So in two weeks I hope to have the cast off and in a few more weeks walking and running around with the kids and friends I have made here. Argggh!

Greetings everyone! Things have been somewhat busy here and things are starting to pick up some pace. Many of you may have received my email about ABC’s 20/20 about the safety of Peace Corps in relation to female volunteers. I have received some emails about this and the content that was aired. I have to go by the little clips of what I heard and from word of mouth but it is a very unfortunate thing that happened in the past and will continue to happen. There are ways of dealing with things and I am neither in favor of how these girls were treated nor what transpired after their respective situation. Unfortunately our jobs come with danger and potential for horrible crimes. Most Peace Corps countries have cultures where it is common that women are mistreated and nothing goes on being said. It is a really unfortunate circumstance, but here as Peace Corps Volunteers we are expected to help try to shift this idea and try to encourage equal standing and equal opportunities for everyone, sometimes by shifting these ideas, most times we face questions and restraint from people. Imagine yourselves that someone is coming to teach you something new, something that you have been doing your whole life, something that you know like the back of your hand. Then you are supposed to trust something that a foreigner is coming to teach. The hardest thing sometimes that we do is to find people willing to work with us, who are actively searching to work together to achieve what we can. There are times where meetings can go seamlessly, and others where you feel you are defending reasons you are here to people, colleagues, to friends who might feel threatened by us and even worse, some might take action. We are foreigners in their home.

View going down to ChiaqueI was in Antigua this past weekend and went there because there was an urgent meeting that my program (Municipal Development) and the Agricultural Marketing program were asked to come and partake in. The thing that got most people interested was there was no mention of what the meeting was going to be about. When we got there we were informed that our programs, both Muni and Ag Marketing were going to be discontinued. With that being said, I am along with Justin Hargesheimer will be the last two Municipal Volunteers in Guatemala for the near future. The reasoning was that the normal applicant pool that normally applies does not have enough experience for the job at hand and Peace Corps is finding it harder and harder to fill these positions. They have many 'half matches' but its hard to find the full match. I am disheartened at the fact that we will not be able to train a new group of trainees which is a big part of second year volunteers for guiding and molding other volunteers but with the extra time, I will dedicate myself to getting more projects done and trying to help as many people as I can. Its been a whirlwind of a weekend with traveling and tough news but it is good to get back into the office and ‘routine’ of things.

That is my by the window in a 'town council meeting' with my counterpart to my right.I am almost done with a database that I am going to teach my office on how to use. I have compiled information about COCODES (our community groups) with statistics of how many people are participating, how many are male, female, their position, location, telephone number, picture and more. This will be a good record keeping foundation for anyone who works here as it will provide valuable information to give to other organizations who might donate money, who are looking for specific regions to help. With this data, we will be able to provide what they are looking for, and hopefully we will be able to get funds for more projects. Last week I went to an aldea called Chiaque. There we formed a COCODE and held elections for positions including President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. This is where I want to be working, teaching and talking to people and interacting with them on a more daily basis rather than sitting in an office. Hopefully little by little I will be able to make a solid schedule and be able to get out of the office most afternoons. The scenery was spectacular out in the country side and the people were really nice and welcoming. I am appreciative to be welcomed so warmly because it is not always the case to have people who are receptive to outside help especially from foreigners. I must take these little opportunities every chance I can get and cherish my time here because I do go back to a better world when this is over, the people here stay and I go, especially being one of the last Municipal Development Volunteers.

Passing through the Guatemalan Hills

Tamales, Ponche, Pepian, cookies, more tamales and more ponche! So much food was consumed this past weekend during the Christmas festivities. I made the trek back by camioneta to my host family that I stayed with during training. When I had left to go to my site the whole last week every meal I sat down and ate with them they asked the question “When are you going to come back?” We had decided to meet up again for Christmas and spend the time together. I would like to visit them more often but here in PC Guatemala we have a rule of thumb of 3 hour radius when taking personal days so I was lucky to be granted to go to my past host family’s house for the two nights. We decorated their little fountain with lights, pine, and the nativity scene. All the lights here in the country are bought with a musical rendition of Jingle Bells-Santa is Coming to Town-We Wish You A Merry Christmas loop that has been playing since the second week in December. Many people have nativity scenes and some of they are done to maximal effort, throwing everything imaginable into the scene from star wars toys, Mr. PotatoHead, robots, bobble heads and just random things.Camilla and the decorated fountainOn Christmas Eve, we all hung out and passed out gifts to neighbors and had tamales and ponche. Ponche is the Guatemalan version of apple cider. It is made with pineapple, papaya, raisins, prunes, apples, coconut and all chops up finely. It is boiled with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a variety of other spices (still getting the recipes) but it is so delicious and reminded me of warming myself up back in the states with cider. So exchanging gifts and food and drink numerous times I was full. Then we rested and then drove to Jocotenango. This is a bigger town right outside of Antigua and is where my host mother’s family lives. We then talked and waited until midnight talking and just enjoying company and then when fireworks went off we all hugged and said Merry Christmas. There we tons of fireworks being lit off in the streets and celebrations. It had more of a New Years feel to me than a Christmas feel. Oh well, Ill get to do it all over again next weekend. Plan is to go back to Panajachel to visit with some other volunteers and ring in the New Year with them. Christmas PortraitMy host family was generous to invite me to the beach the following day as well. We went to the Pacific Coast where the beaches are all volcanic blacks sand. It was fun to get away from the temperate climate of my site and see the tropical Guatemala. We passed numerous mango trees with mangoes starting to grow. In a few months here in Guatemala the mangoes will be bountiful. I cant wait for them to be ready. Other than that we returned to eat more tamales and ponche. Camilla her Giraffe and the black sand beach!

The next morning I went into Antigua got a nice cup of coffee and then hit the road back here to Malacatancito where I have work this week. More like ill just be sitting at the office and watching other people sitting watching me watch them watching me.

Until then…..Happy New Year and 2011!!!!!all the way! Best destinations to visit in 2011. Number 8?I am in the Peace Corps in the 8th best place to visit? Sweeeeeet!

Special thanks to my family and friends who sent tons of goodies to me these past few days. I blame you for the food coma I am in but I enjoy every minute of it! I opened up gifts from my family last night via skype and had a quasi christmas with them. Very fun! Much love to all!

Hey Eveyone! First and foremost, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year in advance!! I am writing from my new house overlooking the main road here in Malcatancito! The weather here has been downright freezing. The days are warm but once the sun goes down the temperatures plummet. The last few nights it has been hovering around the freezing mark and people here love to talk about the weather. There usually is not much else to talk about with the majority of people here except the weather and the weather from past years in comparison. So people usually ask me if I am cold, or if I woke up cold on average of 30+ times a day. The house is a lot better than the previous one. I am still making it feel like my space as I do not know what to do with this space. I have a backyard with chicken, sheep and ducks. I hope to buy a turkey in a few months to add to the contingency off animals here. The other night I got back late after playing a little basketball and opened the gate to my house. Where I heard a bleat from the sheep, I did not know what to do but then with the moonlight, I could see that the sheep was actually slowly walking towards me. It bleated again, then I stopped and it stopped. It was stalking me like an attack dog would, then it started running at me, so I had to ditch my bike and run into the house. Good to know here that I don’t need a dog protection when I have attack sheep. Only in Guatemala...

I need to make a few alterations to the house I am living in as I need to get a pila where I can wash my clothes but, my family here has a washing machine so I might make a pitch to them to see if it makes more sense to wash my clothes in the washing machine rather than go and buy a pila just for me to use just to wash my clothes. I live on the second level of this house and I have a SINK! where I can wash dishes and other small stuff as well. I just do not want to have them buy me a pila and go through the hassle of it to where I can use the machine twice a week. Well have to see. I also need to fix the shower. Oh man this is a toughy. As most PCV’s can probably attest, the shower or the daily bathing directly correlates to our mood, esteem and outlook on our daily life. For me right now I take bucket baths which consist of heating up water for about 20 mins putting 4 boiling hot pots full into a big bucket I have. I then add 4-5 pots of regular water to balance out the temperature (this took a while to find out the proper balance) but then I stand in the shower area and dump water on my head. You just simply do not feel clean after. It is just a process. Long story short, I had a rough week, knowing that both my sitemates are going home to the states to visit family and friends for the holiday season, but I took a shower at my sitemates house last night and immediately felt human and 100% better. Amazing what a nice hot 10 minute shower can do. Ask any PCV about the importance of a shower. So with that all being said, if I can get a shower like that here in my house, life will be exponentially better.

Work has been plugging along at a snail’s pace but that is all expected here in Guatemala. Things here are generally really really slow during the holiday season and for most of December for that matter. This week was tough as my counterpart really was not in the office, and the mayor wanted a presentation for all the projects done in 2010. I was told to gather information, pictures, costs and everything relating to it all to compile into a PowerPoint presentation. This was a hassle. It took such a long time because there is such a lack of communication in the office and it was really interesting to see how the office works together (or lack thereof). As frustrating as it was, it opened up my eyes into what the problems are, and what I can do to start suggesting how we make things better! This is a huge thing for me, because it gives me something to do! I am planning on also starting a youth group and English classes as well. Slowly things look like they are coming together. It just takes patience.

For the holidays, I have been invited to spend time with my amazing host family I spent my training with. They called me the other night and asked my why they had not heard from me in a while and I told them that I had moved houses and was just acclimating. They still told me that we were family and need to check in once in a while. It is a great feeling to have the support within the country from them. The plan is to go to the beach with them for the day on the 25th. Here the 24th, Christmas Eve is a bigger event than the day actually is. People here do have little Christmas trees but they really deck out the nativity scene more than anything I have seen too. They all have miniature figures of everything all played into the scene of Jesus’ birth. It is tacky beyond tacky but it actually looks pretty cool for the most part.

I special shout out to Brad and Kate who sent me a nice little care package! Thanks guys you are the best. Ill be there in spirit for New Years.

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and New Year. I miss you all A LOT!! My heart pangs I cant be in the states and it is a tough time, but I know that I will be back soon and hopefully being here is worth it! Love to all.

Greetings everyone!I am happy to report to you all that I am feeling a lot better and almost back to 100%. I still get tired really quickly and sleep a lot more than I am accustomed to but I am not sure if that is due to being sick or the way of life here in my site. I think it probably would be a safe bet to think it’s a combination.

This past week I have found a great house to move into. It is definitely an upgrade to the house that I was living in. I feel bad in a sense that the two previous volunteers had stayed in that house and I had to break the cycle but I am will be paying the same rent for a better place to live. This house also will be with a family that I will interact daily with. I will have the second floor of this house and I have just more open space with windows and an area to start growing some plants and test out my green thumb. Another benefit is that this house is about a 10 minute walk to work. My previous house literally was about 20 steps from the door to the door of my office. This extra space will not only allow me to stretch the legs more on a daily basis, but it will allow me to pass more people in the street and talk and know more people. For example, this week as I began to move things back and forth, I keep seeing this one older gentleman and we kept exchanging little chit chat back and forth. Come to find out that he was the casket store owner here and tells me about his business. It was funny because he told me that he has the opportunity to provide families with the last memory and gave a good laugh. Just little things like this open the doors of relationships that the Peace Corps stresses in our work here within the community.

I just got back from a little trip to Lake Atitlan and to Panajachel. The premier lake here in Central America, has been dubbed by some as one of the best most beautiful lakes in the world. For me, I have had the opportunity to grow up around water. I am very blessed to have family that has a lake house up in New Hampshire on Squam Lake (yes there is lot of bias but its still the best lake I know of) and also have had the opportunity to see the oceans of the Pacific. Atitlan is a spectacle do not get me wrong but for the hype that surrounded it I was a little disappointed. There were moments where it was very beautiful with a sunset, sun-kissed clouds and lighting clouds too. It is a lake formed in the crater of a massive volcano and around the lake are three massive volcanoes as well jutting out of mother earth. There just wasn't that wow factor, maybe its there and I just did not find it yet. Maybe I have to spend a little more time to form a accurate opinion. I will definitely return. Here at the lake was a little get together of other PCV’s that enabled me the opportunity to get to see other volunteers from my training group and catch up as well as meet other volunteers who have been in country for sometime. It was a good morale booster and fun to see how everyone has been going through the same ups and downs as me. It was a good weekend to recharge the batteries before a few weeks left of 2010.

Lake AtitlanI want to extend a Happy Hanukkah to all my family and friends who are celebrating, you know who you are! I hope everyone is doing well and preparing for the winter!

Finally, I want to add a little quote about time as a friend and I have been thinking about what time is, how we deal with it how we try to make it relate to our lives. There is the same amount of time in each day, each week, month and year, but it is amazing the daily interchange of this concept and what we call relativity.

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can'town it, but you can use it. You can't keepit, but you can spend it. Once you've lost ityou can never get it back.

Hey Everyone! Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone has had a great few days off and will be enjoying the weekend with close family and friends in the company of loved ones!! I had great plans this Thanksgiving to go and spend some time with other volunteers in another department here in Guatemala. We have not had the ability to see anyone within our training group yet and this was going to be our first chance to do so.

Monday was a good day, my project specialist and APCD (program director) came to visit as they were passing through. It was good to meet up with them and they took me out to lunch. While they were here, I was able to get another house approved and am looking forward to moving this weekend into a new house with a family. My housing situation is just not the best for me right now and I think that this new house with this family will provide me with a little more social interaction on a daily basis that will not only improve me Spanish level but also just be a better all around situation.

A weird thing happened that day, I wasn’t feeling too well and did not sleep the night before. Sunday I remember having a slight headache and not feeling well all around. I had gone to bed early and tried getting some extra sleep to shake what I had. Monday came along and nothing much better except every hour the headache got worse, and my joints started hurting. My muscles started hurting. It was not good. I was not ready for the flu. I through seriously really?! Why now. Oh well, that night I came home a little early talked to my brother online and told him what I felt and just was miserable. I had a little dinner and some hot cocoa to make me feel a little better, to remind me a little of home and tried to go to bed by 8pm. I woke up and took 800mg of Ibuprofen around 9pm and went back to bed. Then the rest of the night was horrible at best. I woke up tossed and turned with calofrios (hot and colds) where I was so cold that I was violently shivering and then the next minute I was sweating heavily. This was a long night. Battling nausea stomach everything…. not to mention I had unbearable pain running through my back, down my spine into my groined and legs. Every muscle in my body was just sore to move and I had not even been doing anything. At 3am, I thought to myself, we have to do something, and something fast. I couldn’t make it out of my bed and to the phone so I just laid there and did my best to do deep breathing and to get control of whatever was happening. I somehow made it back to half consciousness or death feeling and woke up at 7am.

I called the Peace Corps doctor and told him my symptoms and told me to get to the hospital as fast as I could. I did. It was a nice long windy bus ride down the mountains here to Quezaltenango (Xela) (pronounced Shay-lah) and then as I was somewhat delusional still I got out at the bus terminal. This was my first time in Xela and I had no clue where the hospital was, or where I was supposed to go, or which direction to head. I looked around and started walking. After about a 10-15 min walk I finally asked someone in the store where the hospital was and showed here the address. She told me the ‘other direction and very far’. At this point I had begun to feel a nice itchy sensation, burning almost where every article of clothing touched my skin, and I just realized that I had walked in the wrong direction for 15 mins. GREAT. I have no idea where I am, and no idea what the hell is wrong with me. After talking to a few more people and what felt like 10 hours, I finally just got in a cab and had the driver take me to the hospital which was about a mile away.

It was him...I swear

I get to the hospital and am seen right away as the doctors are waiting for me and PC has notified them about my coming. After taking sample of everything and talking to them they tell me they are going to show me a room. I tell them a room for what? I tell them I am hoping to get back to my site tonight, I was hoping I would be able to just get some medicine and get back. Then a quick reply of ‘your spending the night’ SWEET. I thought. I was shown my room, had some nurses fish around for some veins for an IV and then just started at the walls. The doctor came in a few times, and the blur of the day soon turned into night. The next morning, I talked to the doctor and the test came back all negative and they told me with my symptoms and where I live, I had dengue. I knew dengue was from mosquitos but that was about it. It is common and people get it but I didn’t know it was like this. Hey it could be worse. I know what most of you are thinking but seriously, it all retrospect, things could be a lot worse. I am still alive, I still have my limbs. I still can function….for the most part.

So the day passes and it is about 2pm. I ask the doctor when I would be able to leave that day. She gives me a little smile and says, sometime tomorrow….perhaps. Ha, another night. I just wanted to go home so badly. I didnt have anything with me. Luckily I had a book in my bag that I had forgotten to take out and pounced on it like it was the only book in the world. At this time, I was going nuts. Just laying in a third world country, and going to spend Thanksgiving, one of only two holidays that the PC gives us as free travel days. I got to use mine to hang at the hospital with dengue and a side of Salmonella: the double whammy. They found out I had salmonella too. Oh man was I in for it. Yesterday when I woke up….ugggh….I was just miserable. I was still sore, my lower back at felt like Mike Tyson had given me about 15 rounds of his prime and I was just chilling in the hospital bed. Ill be honest. It was a really really low point. I was depressed. I didn’t know when I was going to be let out of the hospital. I did not have anything to do. I just was a mess, alone, sick in a foreign country which is never a good combination.

Finally I escaped. I got back late last night. After feeling fresh air for the first time in three days and learning how to walk again was a great boost to me mentally. But after the short 2 hour bus ride home I started feeling horrible again. I was scared. But the comforting thing was, when I was walking back into town, people were asking me where I had been. People were just saying hi. That they hadn’t seen me in a while, that there, the human interaction of my town here but a little smile on my face. I got home, talked to my parents on the phone filled them in on what happened and wished them a Happy Thanksgiving. I took a nice bucket bath, changed my clothes that I had been living in the last three days and went to bed! This morning I woke up and felt a little better and the headache has lessened considerably but I have read on the Dengue symptoms that it can come back after a day of feeling better. So I hope hope hope hope, that tomorrow I feel awesome and not anything like I have been feeling.

I am fine! Seriously I am. There is no need to worry about me or feel bad for me. It is just part of what goes on here in the lives of people here on a daily basis. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had access to medical care where most of the people here in the country do not. I am lucky to have family and friends to support me through this journey, and I thank you for being a good support group. I will keep you all updated as these next few days pass. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hey guys! Life has been pretty fun and action packed for what I thought was going to be an experience for a PCV! Of course there are the long chunks of time when there is nothing to do, but I am quickly learning that this is part of life and when they come it is a great time to just walk around the town, find someone to talk to, or take a little nap.

The weather here in Huehuetenango is really beautiful. I am at the foothills of the Cuchamantanes. Many volunteers in this department are up in the mountains a some pretty high altitudes. I am around 5,200ft. That allows of some decently warm day with cloudless skies and sometimes chilly nights. What I have heard from the other volunteers and talking to people in my town is it can get FREEZING up in the mountains and sometimes here as well.

My first weeks of work have been typical for any position. Trying to understand everything that the office is doing. Who is who, who does what, or sometimes here who doesn’t do anything but ‘works’ and just trying to understand the process of projects, plans and how or where I might be able to fit in. With my program of Municipal Development, I can work in a whole slew of areas and hopefully in my service time I will be able to work in many areas of the office to help, learn and support some areas that need some help. Our program helps work with community groups called COCODES (Consejo Communitario de Desarollo) that are formed by the respective community with a president, secretary, treasurer, and members of the group that have meetings and try to agree upon what type of projects are needed within their aldea. These projects can range from getting potable water to their village, making a new school, building latrines, getting electricity, paving a road or making it easier for travel, it can really run the gamut, it just depends on what they want. Where I come in is I help strengthen these group by teaching them how to formally solicit the municipality, how to plan and come up with ideas for projects and help them function as a whole. There are a series of charlas (that we give these group of how to be a group, what they do, how to properly hold meetings, the laws of the government and what they have power to do etc). I right now am working on creating a database that compiles all the information of our COCODES including who is in them, their pictures, what projects they have received funding for, what charlas they have had etc. We have 22 COCODES in our municipality so there is a lot of information, but hopefully with this it will streamline some of the office work and allows it to be stored accurately in an organized way.

We had the first lady of Guatemala come and give a little speech about a program called Mi Familia Progresa she is trying to push. It a very political talk as there are rumors about her running for President in the upcoming election.

Currently it is our feria (fair) and the town is bustling with activities. There are mini rides something comparable to the rides that didn’t make passing grades in the states and had to be sent down here. It is crazy to see how some of these rides have been put together. There are food vendors, video games, lots of foosball, and sweets. I went to a beauty pageant but did not stay for the whole thing because it started at 8pm and went to 2am. Its crazy! There are marimba bands, dances soccer friendlys and just active things happening.

One scary thing that happened last weekend was there was a big soccer match. We have a team within our Muni that competes in the 3rd division in Guatemala. Its not professional but the fans here act like it is which is fun and fun to support local people playing for our town. During the game, fouls started to get a little harder and a little rougher. Fans were not happy with the referees as they began to throw things at them and red cards started being issued to players. After the game, our fans and their fans started arguing and mixed with alcohol (where there is an abundance of here, also noted by the fact that there are two AA offices here) became rowdy. I was with some friends and we decided to leave and get out before anything happened. I then saw some other friends turn around and start running back fast to the stadium, which at that point I knew something was going on. I decided to ride my bike back a little ways to see what was happening. I saw a guy with a bloody face being surrounded by the police in handcuffs acting as a barrier with a mob behind him swearing, throwing rocks and whatever they could get a hold on at him. Apparently this guy had a gun and pulled it out and started firing it over people’s heads in an effort to scare them off. It’s crazy to put it bluntly but it is part of the lifestyle here and just a big reality check that anyone can do anything at any given time. Yikes. I am eager to see what these next few weeks will bring!!

Me and the Ambassador

I am an official PCV! What a whirlwind of a week. I can even describe the rollercoaster of emotions that I went through getting to this point. I don’t even know where to start or how to tell what happened. Well….there is this…..So as you all know I love writing about my camioneta experiences. This one definitely tops the charts so far. This last week we were in our training center and had to go to the office every day. So the last day I am heading back and after waking up around 5am for the entire week I am pretty out of it at the end of the day. There was something different about the ride though, it just seemed a little dustier, dirtier. I asked another PCV me if she thought the same. She though so but we couldn’t do anything, and it is the beginning on summer where there is no rain and the dust can kick up really quickly. Well then the next thing I know a truck with a load full of workers goes by yelling franticly at us…”tiene fuego, tiene fuego”. Yeah fuego means fire, which took me a little bit to fully comprehend as I was sleepy but yeah that means our bus was on fire. Its Guatemala. I thought I was used to everything but, then when I saw all the other Guatemalans pouring out both the front and back entrance of the bus somewhat franticly, I decided to follow suit and run like hell. The ayudante (helper who collects the change) had an extinguisher and other store owners were running with water to help out. So then I looked for the fire and it was under the engine and by the driver’s side wheel well. Not a good thing. After the fire was put out the ayudante insisted for all the passengers to get back on the bus. When I saw the Guatemalan give the typical finger shake with their index finger, I knew to follow suit once again and not get on the bus. Lesson learned here: when Guatemalans run, you run. When they are scared, then it’s time to be scared too. As for swearing it, what an experience. Earlier in the week, we had to sign our contracts which we agreed to defend the constitution and the same oath that all service men and women take before enlisting and for some politicians as well including VP Biden. We had the pleasure of going to the Ambassador’s residence in Guatemala city to have our ceremony. We got to walk around a little beforehand and see what his situation was like. All that mattered to me was he had a tennis court. I think this was the first tennis court I have stepped on in a few months. Oh it was exhilarating. I got to talk to the Ambassador and ask him some questions about the Guatemalan political stability, and the problems he thinks that Guatemala faces. The one thing that will stick with me for a while was after some introductions, he asked my group what our program was, with which we answered Municipal Development. His next response “Yes…yes….that’s good for you all, yes…that is the hardest one we have here no doubt, I wish all the best of luck.’ I took that the best way that anyone could, and used it for motivation for journey ahead. The night we as a big group got together and had a blast with one hurrah before we all were to deploy to our sites. We came together reflected on our ups, downs, and everything from getting on the plane first in Washington D.C. to being sworn in a saying our oath with the Ambassador in front of us. We also ended up compiling a list of superlatives and I happened to win the honor of ‘most likely to be elected mayor of my site.’ The next day we all left for our respective sites which was another journey unto itself. It took me about 7 hours to finally get to my town as there was a national bike race ‘the Tour of Guatemala’ and we got stuck behind it. So we meandered up along the high hills a slow pace for a good chunk of the trip.One of the things that will stick with me for a while is the impact that my host family had on me and the amount of support I still feel from them and still continues to feel from them. They are truly great people and it was hard to say good bye to them, but I am just so honored and blessed to have built such a great bond with people who were 3 months ago, complete strangers. I know during my service that I will be going back to visit them and to just stay in touch. They are an incredible family and did a lot to make me feel welcome here in Guatemala during my first few months here. Kudos to them!With other volunteers from my group, Justin and CarolynThis week I will begin to walk around the town and do my best to get to know the people of my site. I think I will just start by walking up and down every street saying hi to everyone I could possibly say hi to. I have attached some pictures so please enjoy. Thanks again everyone for all the support!!

Greetings everyone!This will be my last entry as a trainee as tomorrow is our swearing in ceremony. We will have the privilege to be sworn in at the Ambassador’s house by the Ambassador himself. I am sure it will be a fun filled event. After that we will all get together in Antigua for our last farewell together as a training group and enjoy a last night together. On Saturday we will then all have to travel to our respective sites spreading out all over the country from the eastern part to the western part. From out group I will be the only one going to Huehuetenango (Way-way-tah-nan-go). I have two site mates that are in the program of healthy schools and have been there since March. For the most part training was an incredible experience for me being here in country already since August! Time has really flown by for the most part but there have been days that just seem to crawl as well. I know that I will really miss my host family as we are incredibly close and have bonded really well. They have already invited me back for Christmas and have told me to consider their door always open. I feel incredibly lucky because most other volunteers often do not have this type of relationship with their host families. This transition has been one I can look back on with great admiration and joy. I know I will be in touch with them and see them from time to time. Yesterday we had a Spanish exit exam and I have move up a few levels which is fun to see some progress. I will be anxious to see what the next 3 month will be like as most RPCVs(returned volunteers) and current PCVs (current volunteers) say is the toughest in the whole service. This is the time when you are moving into your community where you will be in for the next 2 years, and the first 3 months are integral into your integration into that community. It’s going to be some tough work, some lonely nights and hard circumstances but one I am willing to take on. Only time will tell. I am also excited to start working with my agency in the municipality (I will write a little more about this coming up in future posts of what exactly it is I will be doing (I have to figure that out as well)). It could range from a lot but mostly working with the planning office and aiding in project design and management. Lastly, thanks for all the support stateside! It means a lot to have all you guys rooting for me over here!Thank you all!Frank

Hey all! Just got back from a great trip to Malacatancito Huehuetenango! It took only about five hours in a jammed packed comioneta to reach our destination. I was there to visit another volunteer who is closing his service and to get a feel of what site living might be like. I enjoyed my time to be able to talk candidly with another volunteer and get the ins and outs of living, working, and being a volunteer in Guatemala. The journey getting there was quite the experience as going through the hills of the western part of the country was something else. It was very scenic, refreshing and enjoyable to have the ability to see the volcanoes, the crops carved into the mountainsides and just the Guatemalan country. That made up for everything that was happening internally on the bus. How can I describe the atmosphere in the bus…..hmm….ok. Imagine you are on a rollercoaster that should have been decommissioned only 25 years earlier but is still going at full speed. The curves, climbs and types of roads we took were breathtaking for their scenery but as well as their sheer dangerousness. There were countless times where I was white knuckling the seat in front of me to make sure I did not fall out of my seat, to keep the other guy from falling on top of me, and just to hold on for dear life. The roads were just as treacherous and hair-raising as there were times that we went to pass cars in our lane and dodge cars left and right, (which means going onto oncoming traffic, which means regardless if it is a car, a horse, or 18 wheeler truck we are going to try to pass as many cars as possible, which means we did not have room to go back into our lane when this truck was coming head on at us with us both going in excess of 60 miles per hour, meaning we then had to go farther left where there was no road and had to skirt the trouble on the dirt road with bumps for a little bit until we got back into our lane.) The roads going through the hills all have been damaged more or less from landslides and poor management. Any semi-educated civil engineer would have been in amazement of the regulations that the construction projects left out as they literally carved out mountainsides with sheer cliffs on both sides. Think about Grand Canyon steepness if you can. Anyways, with the cliffs and landslides some of the roads as we passed had missing ground underneath them where there was no way that a mouse could walk across the road without it crumbling from the lack of support underneath. Yet somehow I have the ability to write about these experiences. Oh yeah and the girl three rows in front of us lost her lunch about 20 minutes into the ride of a good 3 hour segment. The buses don’t stop for anything unless there is something in the road. ¡Que rico! On Sunday, I ran in a 10k road race which was a great thing to do. Why? Because I haven’t exercised exercised in a while and thought I would take advantage of a nice day out and subject myself to 5k of straight uphill followed by another 5k or straight downhill. I finished the race and I got FIRST PLACE! I don’t like to bring attention but I totally did not expect this but I ran my heart out and did the best that I could do. I did not care about placement as I just was hoping to enjoy the day which I did as the sky was cloudless and warm. The course took us through the only road in our town as we are part of the municipality that put on the race, and it was fun to partake in this event. What surprised me more than anything else was on the return coming back through the town was the amount of people who were cheering for me. Peace Corps has been right in respects to how much of an impact that we have in our places that we stay even though we do not readily see it. Just by saying hi and chatting people up at the local corner store or passing by on the street , I have gotten to know them and they have gotten to know the ‘gringo’ extranjero’ or the ‘conchito’ who has been walking the streets of them. That warmed my heart and put a smile on my face for the rest of the run and made my week. Oh I might want to clarify one thing as well. The first place I got was the first place for the gringos. I think I may have come in 40th place or something around there with a time of 47:24. Peace Corps also told us it is all about our perspective on how we look at things. So I am going to say 1st place. J Hope all is well with everyone everywhere. I find out my site placement and where I will be living for the next 2 years on tomorrow! Cant wait as I am ready to get living and see what I can do. Hope everyone enjoyed a fun Columbus Day.

Hey everyone!Lots has happened since the last post and I am sure I will miss a little bit here and there but I will do my best to recap and make sure I touch on the best of the best. On the 15th was Independence Day and there was a lot of festivities ranging from fireworks that started at 5:00am to meals and parades. These ‘cohetes’ or ‘bombas’ are just usually used for making a lot of noise to wake everyone up with the sound of a bomb going off. Parades started early around 8:30am and went right by our house which was great to see all the elementary students in their outfits showing off their schools. Bands accompanied them keeping an untimely cadence as there was a chaotic sequence to the rhythm and songs being played. After that we decided to go into Antigua to catch a bigger parade but on the way as we etched up a steep hill, all of a sudden my father looked at me and told me ‘no mas… terminamos’ I looked at him startled and surprised, We were nowhere near Antigua. ‘Franco necisita empujar…ahorita’ he followed with just as I realized the car had slowed to a crawl and as the sentence finished we were going backwards out of gas on the Inter-American highway! That was not what really scared me but the fact that I knew the camionetas (public transportation buses that are filled to 100 people plus more that were bought from the states as they were deemed to cause too much pollution. Also note that these buses are gutted with then put in extra seats where there is no leg room, painted on the sides where is looked like something out of a horror movie and with jacked up air horns that you can hear miles away (this might need a whole other blog entry soon too))were bounding around the corner at any minute did. Push I did, and will all my might and strength. To no avail I could not get the car very far so we parked and waited for a while until a cousin came and brought us gas. Right before we filled the tank, my host dad opened the trunk of the car and took out this tube that was put together with duct tape; I looked at him and had to ask if this had ever happened to him before. He looked at me and looked at the tube and we both had a good laugh as he rigged his contraption and filled the car with enough gas to get to the gas station. Luckily we caught a good parade in Antigua where it was incredible. The central square was jammed packed and the bands were almost competing against one another. There was one that stood out that had dancers, baton throwers, and just had swagger. This swagger was something out of the movie ‘Drumline’ where the tuba players were dancing as they played, moving with cuts and abrupt movements, jiving and contorting in movements that made them drip with sweat. Their outfits heightened the sultry atmosphere with big feathers in all their caps with a deep maroon contrasted by the crisp white of their pants and shoes and gold laced trim. Puchica (wow) as they would say here. All of last week we did field based training where we saw other volunteers in their sites and saw what life could be like. We went to the eastern part of the country where it is more tropical and a good 30F hotter than where we have our training sites. It was hot to saw the least. The area where we went is totally different than the western part of Guatemala. There is a heavy ladino influence with very little indigenous population. One thing that did catch my eye over anything and everything else, one thing that I had not seen before in my life was the amount of guns and hand held pistols everyone had. It was comparable to the wild wild west. I did see a guy who looked like the punisher from the movies who had a gun on his waste, 5 clips of rounds on the other side and two guns strapped to his suspenders which were located under his armpits. It literally was like out of the movies. We returned early from out trip by a day and had to cut a free day out a little bit due to a tropical storm that was bearing its way up Panama and into our neck of the woods. The amount of rain we have received here is unprecedented and Guatemala will be trying to fix all the damage in the years to come. This past weekend was a good weekend, a slow quite one where I could relax get some good thinking in and think about why I want to be here and really what it is that I want to be doing here as well. There have been some really good days but then some days that just leave you questioning things. It really is a rollercoaster ride, and for the ride that it is right now, I am enjoying the ups downs and twists and turns. We hope to learn where our assignments are going to be in on October 14th, and after that some of our fears will be either a reality or alleviated.

Hope all is well with everyone! Much love!

Ps….speaking of twists and turns….had a nice earthquake the other night! Will write more after another weekend and site visit to the western part of the country!

Grettings everyone! Finally I have gotten back to the internet to be able to post this. Let me say first and foremost that everything is getting better. I am not sure what all of you have heard/read/seen on the news but the landslides here the past week have been very devastating and have claimed numerous lives. With that being said, most of the training projects we are doing and are going to be altered a little bit. We were supposed to have a Mayan ceremony in Tecpan, at Ixenche where there are fantastic Mayan ruins of temples and pyramids but unfortunately that is where the landslides have destroyed most of the roads including the Inter-American highway. It was a quick awakening to the strength that Mother Nature can unleash at her will.

Spanish classes continue with little cultural exchanges and learning about anything and everything Guatemalan. It has been very fun and rewarding. Yesterday we had all the mothers from our Spanish class come to our class and did a fun activity. For our icebreaker we were supposed to make a single file line according to our birthday month starting with January and descending in order, but the catch was without words or hand gestures. Soon we were allowed hand gestures and finally made it work after much amusement and laughter. The goal was to provide a language barrier and a problem and means to do our best to work our way through it. This still happened between us trainees and the host familys as we integrate into the Guatemalan communities as sayings, diction and tone all can play a part in the meaning of something said. Hand gestures are a whole other conversation but fun to know and use as well in accordance to verbal communication. After that we talked about perceptions that our American culture had of the Guatemalans and vice versa. That was fun to talk about them after we addressed some key issues and could talk about. We Americans walk way to fast, are too punctual, and read a lot were some of the stereotypes.

This past week we went to a coffee farm, say the process of how coffee is grown, harvested, dried, and roasted and eventually sold. It is very interesting and a quick note for all the coffee drinkers, a coffee tree produces about 40 cups of coffee a year. On that tour, I had an opportunity to take some pictures of flowers and the buildings of the coffee farm. Some are included as I have a little passion for photography that I hope to develop (no pun intended) in some free time down here.

As far as work related training goes, I have paired up with another trainee to work with a youth group within the municipality. We will be doing some ‘charlas’ which are presentations and informational/educational workshops that can range from sexual education, domestic violence, sports playing, geography and identifying needs of the community. We have the opportunity to really get our feet wet and be in front of participating individuals who are looking to be a part of something. It will be fun and interesting to see how we do in the upcoming weeks. Times are busy with packed days of Spanish, cultural and technical training, intensive but fun and rewarding nonetheless.

Next week on September 15th Independence Day and festivities and parades will take place all day and will be a fun cultural experience. I can’t wait. Other than that to report, all is well and each day brings new opportunities and learning experiences and lately (the past 3 days NO RAIN!) decent weather once and a while.

Hi everyone! Just checking into see how this is all going to work. I will be hopefully updating and playing around with the configurations as I get more time with the limited internet connection I have available!

I will report that everything is going very well here in Guatemala. I love the culture and the sceanery. I am living currently with a great host family that takes great care of me. Days are busy and filled with Spanish classes and technical training and a whole host of training for everything you can imagine. I hope to update you all on a some what routine basis with my developing assignment and things I will be doing! I will also add some pictures and let you know all about my trials and tribulations as I am on this journey.

Thanks so much for all the support!