A La Montaña, A Xela y A la Vuelta

My last few weeks in Guatemala were far more focussed and profound than my first few weeks. My relationship with my host madre, Maria Teresa, deepened into a life-long friendship, I spent a week in the Mountain School - a language school affiliate outside of Xela - where I had the opportunity to reflect on some of the harsh realities of rural poverty in Guatemala and the reason why I came to this country in the first place, upon my return home to the D.C. area, I continue to process the meaning of this experience as I move forward towards my future as a social worker and, above all, as a member of our global community. 

A LA MONTAÑA...

The Mountain School - A beautiful community of maestros (teachers), staff and students.  Just over an hour from the city of Xela, this language school affiliate of PLQ introduced me to a completely different side of life and allowed me ample time to reflect on my reasons for coming to Guatemala. 

Sra. Teresa and two of her five children, Luis and Roxanne. During my week at the Mountain School, I shared all my meals with this beautiful family, whose strength in the face of adversity was, for me, a true privilege to witness. They are not unlike many of the families who live in their community, making ends meet despite limited employment opportunities. For many families, hosting international students from the Mountain School (usually every four weeks, as they receive this work on a rotating basis) is one of their principal, if not their only, sources of income. Other income sources are less reliable and less justly compensated. For example, every morning at 4 AM, many of the men in the village go seek work as day laborers on neighboring coffee fincas, but work isn't guaranteed and, when found, is compensated with the equivalent of $3/day.  More about the communities surrounding the Mountain School and the programs the Mountain School has started to support these communities can be found by clicking here.

Luis and Roxanne, full of joy, friendship and affection. 

 A XELA...

Back in Xela - my first Maestra - Rosario.

Mi Maestra favorita, Vilma (center), along with two of her other former students - Cheryl (left) and Anna (right). She generously had all of us over for dinner at her apartment during my last week. Vilma has been teaching at PLQ since the school's founding and, over 20 years later at 64 years of age, continues to be exceedingly passionate and energized about her work. Her lessons, both in life and in Spanish, will stick with me.  

Lili, una Maestra, and Dennis, un amigo. Lili is the youngest of the maestros and one of the sweetest individuals I have ever met. She is hoping to visit the USA in the near future and will have eager hosts in many former students, myself included! 

My second Maestra, Paty (left), and her sister, another Maestra, Teresa.  

Sonia, my Maestra during my last week in Xela, one of the most elegant woman I have ever encountered.  Like Vilma, she also has been with the school since it's founding. We had a great deal in common due to her previous career in social work and spoke at length regarding her prior job with an initiative to bring an adapted education program to the children who work in the streets of Xela.

Three of the greatest women in the world. Mi madre, Maria Teresa, (center) and two of her best friends, Rosi (left) and Auri (right) in Parque Central on my final day in Xela.  

Maria Teresa y yo. The following morning was one of the most tearful good byes of my life. But we have already spoken over the phone and will be keeping in touch on a regular basis until my next journey South.

A LA VUELTA...

So now I am back in D.C. with my amazing parents who have supported me so much throughout this experience and throughout my life.  I already prepared a typical Guatemalan meal for them.   

Memories and stories keep surfacing from these past 9 weeks, and I hope to eventually share them with you in person as I dig my roots back into U.S. soil. 

My next steps? I am currently working on social work grad school applications, determined now more than ever to work in partnership with la gente inmigratoria. In the meantime, I am scouting out work/volunteer opportunities in the D.C. area to continue my engagement with the movement for immigrant rights. 

Also in the meantime, I would love to hear from you - updates on your life, how you have been and any words of wisdom you may have. Thank you for keeping up in touch with me, for your support and for your friendship. 

Un abrazo fuerte, Julita 

Un Viaje con mi Padre

After 4 weeks of study in Xela, mi padre and I met up for a mini ¨vacation¨ in Antigua and Lago Atitlan, two of the most beautiful places in Guatemala. We are already planning the next trip to Guatemala so the whole family can experience the wonders and the wonderful people we have gotten to know in this country. Here are some of the highlights from our trip!!

The Chichicastenango market - one of our first stops in our week-long  vacation - is the largest  outdoor market in all of Guatemala. While the hubbub and hassling in the market were a bit overwhelming, we walked away with our arms full of beautiful gifts to bring home for our loved ones!

We walked through the market with a local guide named Carlos who brought us through this completely tourist-free section of fruit and veggie vendors!

Years ago a giant volcano erupted and created the crater that now is Lago Atitlan. This is a view off the dock of Villa Sumaya, a tranquil yoga retreat center where my pa and I arranged to stay.

We went on a tour of three of the small villages that surround Lago Atitlan with a fellow named Lee (pictured above). While I´m usually not one for tours, Lee was an incredible guide - full of local knowledge from his years of community involvement on the lake ¨post-retirement¨. Walking with him was like walking with the mayor as he is quite well known throughout the Lago Atitlan communities. 

One of my favorite photos my Pa snapped throughout our time at the Lake! On our tour with Lee, we stopped for a dip in the lake and an optional high-dive at the same time as a lively group of boys from the village we were visiting. Above, the eldest among them, probably about 12 years old, takes the brave plunge. 

We visited a cooperative of women weavers on our tour with Lee- they do everything from spinning and dying the thread to weaving the final product. Some of the most complex  items can take up to two years to complete! Above, Miriam, a member of the cooperative, teaches me some weaving basics. 

One of our last stops on our tour with Lee was a peak into a ceremony  dedicated to a Mayan spirit  called Mashimon (sp?), who one seeks out regarding requests for ¨things they would not mention in church.¨ Offerings to the wooden model of Mashimon include cigarettes and rum and a single ceremony can take up to four hours. 

After Lago Atitlan, we made our way to Antigua where we spent the rest of our time relaxing, eating  waaay too much good food and going on a couple interesting tours to explore the history of the city and its surround area. Here is a picture of the view from our hotel. Antigua is surrounded by three volcanos, one of which is still active and sends up intermittent puffs of smoke.

While there are more photos and more stories to share, I am going to end things here for now. It was a beautiful week and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with me padre. Thank you for reading and love to all!!!

Unas Fotos

Finalmente I found a way to upload mis fotos!  I have a tendency of getting caught up in the moment and therefore my photos are by no means a complete representation of all that has transpassed during these past three weeks. Hopefully they will give some sense of the landscape, the numerous educational trips offered by the school and of my host madre who I described in an earlier post.

The adorable dog at Guatefriends, the B  & B I stayed at my first night in Guatemala

Trina, one of my first friends at the language school. We went with the school on a hike to an ex-Guerilla camp called La Muela; it was made all the more interesting due to the fact it was led by a former Guerrilla fighter who had traversed the path hundreds of times throughout the Guatemalan Civil War.

A view of the beautiful countryside between Xela and a nearby hot spring.

Trina next to a gigantic leaf  at the hot springs (Las Fuentes Georginas)  where the naturally scalding sulfuric water seemed to slowly boil the bathers.

Maria Teresa, my host madre, tried on my sunglasses. We laugh a lot together.

View of a small town neighboring Xela. The bright yellow edifice is a historic church built in the 1600s by Spanish colonizers. Its vibrant colors and designs incorporate Mayan concepts into the Catholic tradition.

A forest veiled in fog during one of the most difficult hikes of my life. Incredibly, the 7 hour journey of constant muddy uphill treks is traversed everyday by individuals of all ages who must travel from the opposite side of the mountain to sell their goods in the town of Zunil. We saw children as young as 10 years of age carrying heavy loads on their backs to bring to the bustling market in Zunil.

Maria Teresa blows out the candles for her 64th birthday party. She soon realized that they were trick candles.

Don Fido, Maria Teresa´s dog, enjoying the festivities at her birthday party.

The first church in Central America in the town of Salcaja, built in the early 1500s. It has survived numerous earthquakes over the years and even the wooden door is original to the building!

Mis Maestras (My Teachers)

The language instruction at PLQ is all one on one with highly experienced, skilled and dynamic instructors who all appear to be as much invested in their relationships with the students as they are with PLQs history of progressive activism. Each week you are assigned to work with a new maestro so you can experience different teaching styles and benefit from relationships with individuals from varying backgrounds. Among them are social workers, former Guerilla soldiers in the Guatemalan Civil War, sociologists, philosophers and more.

Rosario, my first maestra, is a veteran PLQer who has worked there for over 20 years, teaching 10 hours each day - 5 with one student during the morning session, then 5 with another student in the afternoon session. Incredibly, she doesnt seem to get frustrated or impatient with the broken Spanish she has to listen to all day long!

One of my favorite things about the language instruction is that you can take it out of the classroom. Last week, Rosario took me for a visit to the Mercado de la Democracia,  a bustling "everything" market where you can find diapers, leechee fruit, funerary wreaths and nail polish all within a jam packed 3 block radius. Rosario taught me about market etiquette in Guatemala and we bought her a fresh rose to decorate her desk back at the PLQ.

This week I am working with Paty, another veteran Maestra who began on the same day as Rosario.  She is a coffee addict and a talker like me and weve been taking time out of the classroom to practice grammar at her favorite local coffee shops. I am excited to continue connecting with the amazing teachers here at the PLQ during the 6 weeks I have left at the school!!

Estoy Aqui en Xela ctd...

So the first week of my time in Guatemala in almost over and I can not believe how quickly the time has flown! The school I enrolled with here is so much more than a language school - they have coordinated a homestay for me with one of the most hilarious, amazing woman I have ever encountered, they have daily lectures and excursions to learn about Guatemala´s political and social context and the teachers become both mentors and friends.
So let me start by describing my host mama, Mariateresa (A.K.A. Mariaterre). Mariaterre is about 65 years old with lively soul and a rambunctious sense of humor. She owns a tiendita (a small shop) from which (according to her) she sells "Rum, beer and gum¨" and has been hosting international students for the past 3 years. Every now and then she is invited to my school to teach a cooking class due to her prowess in kitchen, and given that I share three meals with her each day I have been and will continue to eat more than well during my time here. And more importantly than that, she sits and eats with me, sharing stories, laughter and new vocabulario.
She owns a scrappy, lovable mutt named Fido (pronounced Feedo) who apparently wandered off and went missing for several months earlier this year during which Mariaterre cried every night thinking he would never return. Amazingly, he was found by a neighbor who recognized him despite a patch of hair missing on his back and the fact that he had worked his way all the way to the other side of town. Pobre Fido!
Mariaterre almost never sits she is so busy working in her tiendita, cooking for her host "children" and caring for Fido. Her birthday is coming up at the end of the month and we are throwing her a huge fiesta for which I plan to prepare, per her request, my famous Strawberry Mojitos.
I only have 6 minutes left at the internet cafe I am sitting in so I will have to add another cliff hanger on this. But just know that I love you all, am in good hands here, am happier than ever and am learning mucho mucho espanol!!!

Estoy Aqui en Xela!

Hola amigos y familiares! Estoy aqui en Xela! (Hello friends and family! I am here in Xela!)
I arrived in Guatemala City this past Saturday, having flown over the most other worldly countryside I have ever witnessed. Guatemala from the air is a symphony of soaring highs, dramatic lows and surprising notes that stretch long, flat and steel like amidst the otherwise varied tones. After staying overnight in Guatefriends Bed and Breakfast as one of two guests there that night, I headed to Xela where I will be spending 4 weeks, living with a host family and taking one on one Spanish lessons through the Proyecto Linguistico Quetzelteco (PLQ). I have to go right now to watch a documentary but there will be more to come later, I promise!!!

Packalackin!!

Copy of passport... check.
Laminated copy of passport...check.
Scanned pdf of passport...check.
Actual passport...check.

 

... Thanks to my Papa Solow's incredible attention to detail, I think my identity will still be intact when I cross the border to Guatemala this-coming Saturday. 

I have slowly been corralling items to take with me, piling them high on my sister's old bed. At this point, I am almost ready to cram everything into a carry-on rolly bag, but things seem to keep being added to the list..."small roll of toilet paper", "knitted cap", "Airborne".... 


Does anyone have any packing wisdom to share? I welcome your advice! 

 

The organized mess of preparation.

Just in case...

Got my Airborne and cough drops. I am now unstoppable.

Super stylish money belt.