martes, 22 de enero de 2008

the first three months...

are the hardest. that is what we were told repeatedly during training. still getting a hold on things in site, but it is beginning to feel like home. i´ve had the chance to give a couple of "charlas" with groups here, mainly consisting of classes on nutrition. it isnt planting season here til April-May so a lot of people havent planted family gardens yet.

what i have learned is that i should not attempt to cook here. the first reunion i had with a group i attempted to make banana bread while the women taught me how to make a diet staple here, tamales. while working on the tamales, one woman tapped me lightly on the shoulder and whispered that my bread was on fire. not the best manner of inroduction.

yesterday i had a reunion with a different group that had asked me to teach how to make an egg torte (spanish tortilla-omlett). their set up was cooking over an open flame. the smoke was intense and yet again i burnt the meal. i definetely understand why we are doing the stove project here. many women cook over open flames inside. they, along with their children receive the affects of daily smoke inhilation and i cant imagine what their lungs look like. hence the prevelancy of respiratory disease in rural areas of guatemala.

afterwards we made some better looking egg omlettes, and i gave a little talk on nutrition. the cooking fiascos have been more than a little embarassing, but i have learned a valuable lesson: i should stay away from food unless it is growing in the ground.

na'b'l...

i have spent a lot of time just trying to get acclimated. learning mam (the local language) is not a luxury, but a necessity for daily communication with women in rural areas. more than anything it is a very isolating feeling to be surrounded by people and not have a clue what they are saying. i will definetely return to the states with a deeper sensitivity for refugee and immigrant populations (whether legal or not) and their struggles with cultural and lingual acquisition. last week i started mayan language classes with Mariella, a woman from our organization. i cant believe she is only 22 years old. she is widowed (her husband walked off a cliff while intoxicated), the mother of two children, and has the maturity of someone double her age.

mam is not easy.

tquqbil q'aq' .... that's how you say stove.

for the most part, i have been enjoying things. life is decidedly "tranquilo" and i'm enjoying the slower pace. the volunteers had an ugly christmas sweater party last week, i got to have oreos and fresh milk yesterday (my first glass since august!), i hike to work, and i'm going to a birthday party this weekend. also i may be getting a puppy very soon. hopefully he-she gets along well with my cat.

sábado, 12 de enero de 2008

new years sunset: lago atitlan
windblown
everything is going well here... just havent had a lot of time to write. had fun spending christmas with my host family and new years on the lake. hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season!

martes, 1 de enero de 2008