New Mantra

So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite, and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience; and if it hurts, it's probably worth it.

Silver Lining

"I simply cannot understand the passion that some people have for making themselves thoroughly uncomfortable and then boasting about it after wards." -Patricia Moyes

I just found this quote and find it so applicable to life right now. Just yesterday three of us PCVs went out to breakfast and we had a long chat about everything that is going on in our lives. We concluded that we have signed on to spend the next two years of our lives living in vulnerability and feeling pretty dang uncomfortable at times. I don't think this is really a bad thing, it's just not what I expected. I knew that joining the PC was going to be a life changing experience and that I would feel uncomfortable at times. I just didn't realize to what extent or how I would feel uncomfortable. I mean I have lots of things that I have in the United States, I guess at the end of the day it is just accepting that I'm in Guatemala and life is completely different here. Sure there are cell phones, internet, Mcdonald's and even Wal-Mart. But it's not the same. I find myself missing the things I didn't even realize made me comfortable, like eating breakfast when I want to or taking a shower without flip flops on, or knowing that my best friends and families are a quick phone call or drive away. I think it is the little things that make life in Guatemala hard and challenging.

Of course all of these "challenges" seem worthwhile when you have small interactions that remind you why you are here. For example today I went up the street to buy some more minutes for my phone. I went to this small store that I have gone to a few times to buy miscellaneous supplies and I usually have a brief "how are you?" conversation with the little lady that works there. Today my little tienda lady, I'm not sure how old she is, asked me where I was from? I think this means that she is starting to "trust" me and is curious as to why this gringa has come to her store for the past few weeks. Anyway, I responded Virginia. There was a bit of silence followed by "Well what are you doing here?" I attempted to explain Peace Corps and my job and I think she got it. It is hard for Guatemalans to understand exactly what Peace Corps is for lots of reasons.
1. They don't understand why you would ever leave your country, family, and friends to live in another place all alone.
2. It is hard to distinguish PC from other groups that come down and just give things away to Guatemalans, while we are here to try to live like them, live with them, and encourage them to make changes on their own. (SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT)
Anyway, I'm not sure if my new friend understood exactly what was going on but she did get that I will be here for 2 years and I told her that I would use her tienda for all of my miscellaneous needs. This made her happy and it made me remember that we aren't just here to work for Peace Corps. We are here to know Guatemalans and share our cultures. And I know it might be a bit cheesy but it made me really happy to have this brief interaction because I could tell that she noticed I was here and she was curious as to why. It made me feel good and reminded me that I do have a purpose here in Guatemala even if it is small or only includes supporting a small business owner for the next two years.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that although things have been rough lately, I can find something positive from everyday that I spend in Guatemala, I just have to look in the right places.

Kittie Worries

So, I know that I said I named my cat Sadie but I'm just not sure how I feel about it... Betty was also pretty set on Marvin but now she is feeling (Sir)Blacksburg Cheese. The Sir is my addition I just feel like cats are regal and calling them Sir makes any name better. Anyway, we were hoping for some suggestions to name our cats because we realized that these are our first pets on our own, usually it comes down to a family vote. I know it's hard to think of names without seeing an animal and its personality but any and all suggestions are welcome. It's a big responsibility we have...

Another Day

So today things are going much better. It is amazing how my little cell phone, a good night´s sleep and some delish refried beans can really make me feel better. I spent the morning catching up with some friends and I just feel a lot better about the whole situation. Also the massive amounts of emails and messages of support I have recieved are so wonderful. It´s so nice to hear from loved ones at home and remember that even though I feel alone sometimes, I´m really not alone.

I know that within a matter of weeks things will be better and maybe I´ll even be laughing about how the past week went. Last night I also had a great conversation with my host family and they helped me realize how wonderful Guatemalans can be. I explained to them the three goals of Peace Corps and how important I found the 2nd and 3rd goals to be: ie the exchange of cultural ideals and practices not only with Guatemalans but with my friends and family back home. They thought that was so exciting and interesting. They are so open to new experiences and really are a great support for me here. Today they invited me to a wedding but I really just need some more time to decompress from all that has been going on but next weekend is the Fiesta... they have already advised me about it, so that I can´t make any other plans. It should be fun. It is for someone in the neighborhood so I´m sure it will be a good way to get my face out there, so that next time maybe my Guatemalan neighbor can come to my rescue... or at least cause a little diversion.

As far as animal adventures in my home, today we recieved two new birds. ¨Doves from the Peten¨ Let´s just say Maria is pretty jealous. She also gets jealous of me. Last night she bit my toes... it really hurt. and it´s still hurting. But anyway, between the new doves and all the kittens Maria is very angry. She walks around the house squaking and puffing up her feathers and biting people´s toes. She´s crazy.

Anywho, life is going slowly but surely still and I feel like things can only go up from here. I´m getting ready to head home and eat a delish bowl of cereal and yogurt cause the host fam is out! Then I´ll probably watch a movie... or two and snuggle with Sadie. Thanks again for all the love, it really makes me feel a lot better.

Long Week

Well, I'm sorry for the lack of post and feel that this one may be a bit of a downer but I'm letting out so you guys can help me get over it. Adjusting to life in Tecpan is getting past the fun honey moon stage and starting to get a little hard. I'm really starting to miss the nice things at home and hearing about the good times friends and family are having< makes me a little sad. Although, our job is going well and our CTA is really a great worker and we have a mutual respect level. We have already been to 10 schools!!! That's really exciting and we think within the next month we will really be starting our job and getting down to business. These first few visits are just to show us where we are working and present us to the schools with some authority. Things are just moving slowly and I think that's what I have to get used to.

I really love spending time with my host family, they are really sweet and nice people. I will just be ready to move into the apartment sooner rather than later. Living with a host family has so many benefits and I know I will be really happy in the end with the relationship that forms between us. I'm just at a time where I am sick of being at the mercy of what they want to do or eat. I don't like feeling like I have to respond to them whenever I want to do something. I also think my body is getting sick of all the food I keep stuffing in it. Because even when they say I don't have to eat it, I have to eat it. I have cut tortillas out of my diet and I think that has made me feel a lot better. Also Betty and I joined the local gym... If you can call it that. 100Q a month for a few bikes, some weights, old school ellipticals... But it's something right? We have done a good job of starting a bit of a fitness plan, so that's good. At least I have control over something.

To make matters worse. I got robbed the other day. No need to panic or worry. Everyone says it is a freak accident. It was terrifying but I'm ok and I'm not going to let some gross, jerky, guatemalan masked-man scare me. It was just the cherry on top of my very homesick Tuesday and I don't wish that experience on anyone. But I'm going to learn from it and things will be ok.

I guess all I really want to say at this point is that things are going. Slowly but surely. The first three months are the hardest but I know I can do it. Any postive thoughts or words of advice are welcome. I'm just going to take everything one day at a time and I'm sure before I know it life here will feel so normal and great.

The postive news is that my kitty opened her eyes and she's probably the cutest ever. I've named her Sadie and I can't wait to snuggle in my purple bedroom... All this free time leads to lots of planning.

love and miss you all.

Livin´ The Dream

So I fell off the face of the earth and landed in Tecpan. Things have been so busy but then not at the same time. Betty and I arrived extremely sweaty and sunburnt on Saturday March 27 and we really learned the "best" way to travel on a camioneta.



We spent are first night saying goodbye to the volunteer we are replacing. It was sad because over the short time we have known her we have become friends and we know we have some big shoes to fill. Then we headed over to my host family's house. Don Pedro y Dona Mercedes are probably the cutest people I have ever met. They are an older couple complete with pet bird maria who walks around the house eating tortillas just like the rest of us. So also enjoys an occasional toe so beware! As well as manchas the pregnant cat who just gave birth on Sunday to 4 little cuties... two of which have been claimed by Betty and myself... we're working on names. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

The first week of residence was full of festivities for Semana Santa... The huge Catholic holiday leading up to Easter. Lots of special guests and commotion because DP and DM make alfombras in front of their house. I don't really know how to explain alfombras except that they are really beautiful sand/sawdust things that you put in the street for the Processions of Jesus to walk through. Ours featured a Peacock and it was a really fun all day Good Friday event. Saturday we had a bbq lunch at Betty's host fam's land. We passed the afternoon chatting with them and we met SueEllen's parents. She is the other volunteer of Healthy Schools that lives in Tecpan and will be leaving in 2 weeks. We are sad to see her go but are taking advantage of spending time with her. We went for a hot second to the ruins of Iximiche where we had our Mayan Ceremony back in Feb. Little did Betty and I know we would be living in Tecpan... We came here 2 during training and I never thought I would be living here. Pleasant surprise. Sunday was delicious breakfast day in El Pedregal. This super delish restaurant close by. Linda and Abra met up with us and it was nice to see some familiar faces and learn how everyone was doing. We took our time enjoying breakfast and were thoroughly annoyed when Guatemalans literally sat at the end of our table to get us to leave. And people say Americans are rude. It is so hard sometimes to just bite your tounge and not say anything where as in the states you'd be all over telling those people to give you some space because you are paying customers. Asi es la vida.

Then Monday began offical work. Betty and I showed up at 8am to the Ministry of Education office with little to no expectations. We met with our CTA aka superintendent to actually meet him and plan out what is going to happen with this little job of ours. And he was surprisingly super supportive after some prodding and agreed to take us to all of the schools we will be working with. Then Tuesday we ventured out to 5 of them. Got our faces known, took some names and are ready to do it all again on Thursday. So work wise things are going well thus far.
I think I need to share why DP and DM are so wonderful. After dinner Monday night, we got to chatting and we started talking about home and I mentioned that I had a picture. So I went and got my photo album and we preceeded to look at all the photos for about an hour. They were asking me about who everyone was and trying to remember their names. They also think we have a beautiful house. Silly me wrote in the photo album "our little house" and they were like "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!?!" By American standards we do have a small house and I think the camera adds ten pounds so our house appears bigger than it really is. Also DP and DM have a decent sized house as well but it did really make me think appreciate what you have. Which I do, I love our house so much and miss the homy comfy feeling I get there. I'm hoping I will be able to bring some of that to my Guatemalan apartment. Anywho, back to remembering names. They kept asking me to repeat names. Mom they remember. Mama Linda, Dad you aren't so lucky. They couldn't remember you so they said Papa Lindo! I was peeing my pants laughing. Also Aunt Susan they got you as Tia Susan, Uncle Steve you are now Tio Susan. Isn't that the most precious thing you have ever heard? Clayton they got a little better than Tyler. Also Abuela Yoyce. It was just so sweet. I really adore them and I am so happy to be living with them. Lots of Spanish convos to be had and funny jokes. It's a pretty good time up in here.
As for the rest of the week, we'll see how it goes. Everything is an adjustment. Lots of Love. Miss you all.