EST. 2011

This is a picture of Renato and Angelou. Angelou is Miguel's son and wearing the brown hoodie. Renato is Andy's son and wearing the red jumper. Miguel and Andy are two of my four host brothers. Only in the past couple of days have the children of my host-siblings realized that they only have to knock on my door to get my attention. Needless to say, I feel like it's Halloween these days as the kids just can't resist knocking on the door of the Gringo . As a health educator, it will be quite the conflict of interest, but I plan on rewarding the kids for their knocks with candy come October 31st. I took this photo of Renato and Angelou through the window portal of my metal door about three days ago.

T his photo was taken while we were on standfast. Standfast is PC's way of saying be alert. Damian, the rather tall guy in the back, was relocated to Malacas during the recent country wide election season of five days because his site was deemed a possible dangerous place to be by PC administration. Frank is on the right and in the front is my host brother Miguel. Miguel is 30 years old. He, his wife, and two children all have visas to the United States. They've gone to the states once as a family and he'll be going to Miami and New York to visit extended family this October by himself. His wife's name is Alejandra and his two little kids are Miguelito and Angelou. I spend most of my afternoons with his two kids. They live next door and so are always coming over to their grandparents' house. Angelou is three years old and Miguelito is eight. Miguelito loves Barcelona FC and hopes to one day be a goal keeper. Angelou is much younger and looks more like his father, M...

This is a picture of the Malacas PCV's. Megan works with me in the Healthy Schools program. Frank works in the Mayor's office in a Municipal Development program. Due to the size of our town (2,500) we can see a lot of each other or can choose to be more independent. On an average week, we meet up for lunch at least four times. It's there where we share the stories of the day, talk about work related topics, projects that we're currently trying to fund, and whatever else happens along the way. This picture is of us in our rain jackets on the side of the road after our pick-up decided to die only 30 minutes into our 2 hour trip to a community. Luckily, after some fine tuning, we were able to get the pick-up running again and were only 15 minutes late to give a workshop. Being 15 minutes late in Guatemala for a workshop is like being 5 minutes early in the states; right on time.

Continuing the conversation about the “1 st ” and “3 rd ” world , I had a teacher once define the difference between these worlds as ones’ ability to get any fruit from around the world at any time of the year. She said that those in the “1 st ” world have access to any kind of fruit or vegetable throughout the entire year. So, next time you’re in your local supermarket, stop and think about where all the produce comes from. Ask yourself whether the people who have labored to grow and export whatever fruit or vegetable are able to buy said product at the same price that you’re paying for it. A good example of this can be seen in the sale and exportation of Latin American coffee. Guatemalan coffee is delicious. However, I’ve never been offered Guatemalan coffee since arriving here in January 2010. Most of the country’s coffee production occurs in the western highlands. Ironically, the people living in this region of the country are, more often than not, too poor to afford their own lo...

This is a picture looking out my kitchen window on any given Friday. I mentioned in an earlier entry, when I was talking about the bizarre noises that pass by my windows, that my neighbor runs a carniceria all day Saturdays. Accordingly, at the end of every work week a local cattle herder arrives to drop off his weekly delivery. So, like clock work, every Friday around 430-5pm my view from my kitchen window is blocked by a cattle truck and my nostrils are reminded that I am living in the rural areas of Guatemala. It gives the cattle and I a whole new meaning to TGIF. The netting over my window is an essential part of my kitchen set up. It allows me to cook with the windows open while not letting too many mosquitoes in.

Since getting to Guatemala, it has become evident how much a laptop and the Internet has changed the average Peace Corps volunteer’s life and ability to keep in touch with those stateside and everywhere else in the world. It was during Christmas vacation in the states that I realized how dependent we are on technology. I remember seeing people out at a bar or in a restaurant sitting together but not talking. They were all so preoccupied with their iphones and Blackberry’s to be hassled with man’s most basic mode of communication. It was so shocking to see and even more evident to me as I didn’t have a phone, or means of mobile communication, for the 12 days that I was in the US over Christmas break. When my father was a PCV in Bolivia during the early 70’s, he would record himself on cassettes and then mail them all the way up to Belmont, Massachusetts so my grandmother could hear about his travels. I still haven’t heard the cassettes, as he’s currently in the process of converting t...

Here are two rather old links to articles about Guatemala in the New York Times and the New Yorker. The New Yorker article is a little long but worth reading. Enjoy. The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/opinion/04schlesinger.html?_r=2 The New Yorker http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/04/04/110404fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all

This photo was taken at Patuitichaj which is a small two room schoolhouse located in the village of Xepon. The picture was taken after snack and so the children have gathered around the pila to brush their teeth. Healthy Schools' three biggest taught and emphasized habits are washing hands after using the bathroom, before eating, and brushing teeth after eating the daily snack. In Guatemala, 80% of the most common gastrointestinal illnesses can be prevented with the washing of ones' hands after going to the bathroom and before eating, yet in many of my schools water is a scarce commodity or in some circumstances doesn't exist at all. I'm currently waiting on word from a local NGO about two water projects that would provide far out communities with water in their local grade schools. These two projected projects would drastically change the lives of the students who attend these schools. The projects are very simple in "nature". The idea is to take advantage of...

This is a photo of my kitchen from a low vantage point to show off my recently mopped concrete floor. It’s taken from the interior wall looking out towards my large bay window. I decided to share this photo with you to give you a little look into what’s important in a volunteer’s life. At first, I didn’t think much of the photo. It’s nothing special and will never make a calendar. Although after a closer look, I began to see how many objects from my daily activities seem to be present in the snapshot. Computer with iTunes I am always surprised how much I rely on my computer as a Peace Corps volunteer. However, it is the year 2011 and so PC related emails are part of the job. In the photo, you can see that my iTunes are open. I’m always listening to music. Music is an important ingredient to my cooking style. Needless to say, I listen to music every night while I make dinner. Buckets for Leaks in the Roof During the rainy season, I have to strategically set-up 4 or 5 cut up...

This is a great article about the western highlands and the obstacles people have to face in their daily struggle to provide for their children. It also has a "shout-out" to the Peace Corps and mentions the upcoming Presidential election that is sure to have a great effect on the country. I hope you get a chance to read it. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/latin_america/july-dec11/guat_08-29.html