one month...

i have been in Guatemala for exactly one month today. it feels as though it has been longer. not because of the more usually anticipated reasons (ohmygodwhathaveigottenmyselfinto kinda reasons). more so because so much has happened in so little time.

there is a (mis)conception among some that Peace Corps is a "cuerpo de paseo" - a time for young adults to spend time finding themselves (whatever that means). peace corps has happily been anything but a leisure ride so far. and some of us may find ourselves, but i think it will be more through being humbled by this incredible corner of the earth.

perspective...

i usually am not a big fan of flying. i tried to understand the momentousness of flying over guatemala, in essence my new home for the next two years. i sat by a window seat choking back a couple of stale peanuts and intermittently taking glances at spiderman 2, our inflight flick. below us was a carpet of green jungle with small dottings of houses adorning the landscape. i´ve already learned that contradictions are abound in Guatemala.

how strange, i thought that soon i will be part of that landscape. it was and continues to be too much to wrap my brain around.

a traveler...

this is not my first time to Guatemala. during university i took a year off from school and went wondering around central america exploring all the beauty. i know that this new experience will be radically different. as a traveler i always had the option of picking up and leaving a place if i wanted a change of scenery, or just simply wasnt enjoying things for whatever reason. now i have committed two years of my life to living in a small corner of an even smaller corner of the world. the ability to leave a place as a backpacker i always saw as a great asset and a good compliment to my more independent nature. still, i think i ahve never known a place i have traveled to in any profound manner.

two years...

"does it freak you out that you´ll be gone for 2-plus years?". yes it does. the last five or six years things have been in constant flux and upheaval. I take things a day at a time here and i´m sure sometimes i will take them at a moment at a time. i try not to ask myself if i will be able to make it for two years here but rather "am i doimg okay today?" and so far my response has been a resounding "yes!". not only am i okay, i am enthralled, fascinated, and enjoying all of the beauty marks Guatemala reveals to me everyday.

nitty gritty...

right now i am a volunteer with the agricultural food security program. our central focus will be to encourage local community members in our sites to create vegetable gardens for their own consumption. we will also be working with livestock, primarily chickens. Access to a healthy diet complimented by a variety of fruits and veggies is sometimes lacking in the local diet, especially in more rural areas of the "campo".

despite the fact that many living in the campo work in agriculture many chose to sell the small quantities of produce they cultivate, because they believe this to be more profitable. even if they are harvesting nutrient rich foods they are often bringing these to markets for sale, or working for a larger farm in which case products are shipped to the united states. in many cases the diet consists of "whites" - pan (bread), tortillas, black beans, and quisguil, a wild growing squash with a nutritional value on par with a potatoe (hello carbs). not so bueno.

the coffee conundrum...

the complexities and paradoxes inherent in local agriculture can be understood more readily by looking at the coffee conundrum. with its mountainous landscape and rich soil much of the country is optimal for coffee (liquid crack for you starbuckians). still, if you go visit the typical home in a coffee producing region there is a pretty good chance that you will be served a steaming cup of nescafe instanteo (i.e. instant coffee).

like coffee many of the locally produced goods here in country are more likely to turn up in your local produce aisle or your paper starbucks cup (made of 100% post consumer recycled materials).

despite the fact that the country is teeming with resources most of the population here (i mean like pretty much everyone...) is not reaping the rewards. this is the basis for much of the work we will be doing as volunteers. the idea is that families and communities will start vegetable gardens that they will use for their own consumption to nourish their families. there are very few things basic to human survival and flourishment and one of those is a healthy diet.

"small is beautiful"...

i really like the peace corps approach to agriculture. we are not throwing a bunch of money at a problem. in fact we´re not throwing any money at it (save the living allowance allotted to volunteers). the thought is that if people are made responsible to contributetheir own funds into a project they will be personally invested in its success creating a culture of sustainability.

we are not trying to bring high tech machinery or techniques to people here. we are sticking to the basics and serious amounts of morale - "!si, se puede!". the theory is education in basic gardening and help in fine tuning some of the gardening techniques. maybe they´ve never grown beets before, so maybe we start growing it with families in the area, and maybe we provide a couple of cooking classes so they know how to make a quality beet salad.

this is not to say that the work here will be easy or that the results will be in any way small. at this point i am slightly petrified. intellectually i understand the assignment, but the "how" still looms large in my mind.

mi casa es su casa (or something like that)...

for the first three months as trainees all of us have been given a host family and community. each town has about four volunteers and then all of the volunteers get together once a week for group sessions on medical (i.e. shots and shittting), safety, and culture.

for now i am living in a small community with three other volunteers. doña marta is my new mama and takes good care of me. she is for sure the matron of the family and there is always a plethora of family members passing in and out throughout the course of the day.

the family is nothing short of amazing. doña aura and marta make tortillas two times every day and sell them. the family has chickens (44 now with our new chickies), rabbits, geese, parakeets, doves, and one parrot with its tail burnt off. i have much to learn and they are my new professors. twice a week we get large shipments of peas that we shuck and sell in the market in antigua. ive earned the nickname "la maquina" (the machine) for my speedy pea shucking skills.
i love my family because they now how to sit and enjoy the passing of moments. life drips down slow and sweet like honey here. they like to laugh often at my expense and luckily i take it well silly gringa that i am.

my new best friend is the five year-old granddaughter of doña marta. millie is an expert on flowers and we hang out playing ocho loco, coloring, and having dance parties. Luced, another granddaughter helps out in the garden, and Lucia the oldest i consider to be my cultural informant. although she is only fourteen i often feel she is my peer. she has an amazing sense of maturity which i have found to be uncommon here. i probably have more in common with her than many twenty four-year-old women living in the community. i am not married and do not have children. understandably, i am at times a bit of a conundrum for people here.

hello my name is kelly...

as united state-ians (because here we are all americans) we tend to fiercely defend our personal independence. we see it as the reasons for our successes and our failures as the result of being too dependent on others. here it is more common for people to see themselves as a member of a family and a community. people do not introduce themself as "hello, my name is Marcos". rather it is "hello my name is Marcos Zamora-Acula of San Marcos". people recognize the family lineage both on their mother and fathers side as well as their home town.

for now i am enjoying just becoming acquainted with my new home. it is immensely welcoming and everyday i feel blessed. everyday my emotions run a spectrum from pure elation, to missing friends, family, and waves back home, to stress over an unknown site assignment. i take most of it in stride and try to inhale as much of the newness as i can. i am lucky to have a great support network back home. please feel free to post updates from back home or questions on this blog.