at a time when international diplomacy seems more important than ever, peace corps is facing cuts. although with a faltering economy it is understandable that everyone needs to start tightening their belts, peace corps is not where the US government should be cutting back.
read this...
"Congress loves the Peace Corps . . . and in most cases accommodations are made to give it a little bit more," said Maureen Carroll, who went to the Philippines in the first wave of volunteers in 1961 and still helps with training. "But if they think it is a good thing or a nice thing, it seems they don't think about it enough to double or triple its funding. There are a lot of competing forces."
(quoted from LA Times article below)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-peacecorps14-2008sep14,0,3857618.story?page=1
President elect Barack Obama has stated that he wants to double the size of the Peace Corps by the year 2011, the organization's 50th Anniversary. Please visit the below website and sign a petition to get "More Peace Corps".
http://www.morepeacecorps.org
...there seems to have recently been many areas where the US government has gone wrong, but through my own experiences as a volunteer i have come to believe peace corps is something they've actually done right.
write to your senator and let them know what you think.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
jueves, 30 de octubre de 2008
martes, 28 de octubre de 2008
domingo, 5 de octubre de 2008
going home again...
last month i loaded my backpack with a bathing suit and a couple pair of clean underwear heading back to the ¨home¨I left almost exactly one year ago.
volunteers returning stateside during their service seem to have mixed experiences. some, especially those that go back during the holiday onslaught, become woozey and a bit overwhelmed by the pressing weight of reimmersion in the consumer culture they (happily...) left behind. others delve giddily into the so-called luxuries they previously took for granted: hot showers and cold beverages.
i thankfully felt a healthy balance of each.
i got off the plane in fort lauderdale ready to make my connection and was immediately struck by how enormous people were. they were tall and just massive. it was strange having left a town where the majority of the population suffers from chronic malnutrition to a nation of Goliaths. i am by no means a petite woman standing at a seemingly towering 5 feet 8 1/2 inches here in guatemala. upon arrival i felt transformed into a liliputian bouncing down the hall like an in the flesh version of pong.
passing through customs did little to assuage my nerves.
HAVE YOUR PASSPORTS OUT AND READY PEOPLE!!! why the hell were they screaming at me? i got off the plane and all the sudden was being barked at in english.
i´ve never seen anyone more misserable in their work environment than the woman working the xray machine in fort lauderdale airport.i quietly shuffled through the line wondering silently to myself if it wasn´t to late to turn back. i got to the passport check and the man behind the counter looked me up and down quizically. he questioned how it was possible to have left the country for a year and only be returning with a small backpack. i explained i was in the peace corps. he looked at my bleary eyes, worn out hikers, and patched jeans and seemed convinced....
yup, definetely peace corps.
i made a run to the ladies room, got in a stall, and just sat there.
i felt like a lost kid in a supermarket searching around a sea of legs wondering where my mama went. i sat on a toilet with my head in my hands feeling sorry for myself. i wanted to go home. i thought back to my typical morning commute through the mountains of guatemala looking down on silent clouds floating below my feet. i listened to the conversation of women carefully applying their daily war paint in the mirror outside and began to wonder if this was still my world.
after a few more minutes of wallowing with little other alternative i decided to face the crowds.
i can't say that my reaction was surprising. even prior to my departure to peace corps i had been trying to embrace a more simplified pace of life. every time i turned on the tv i felt bored and even repulsed. if media is a mirror to culture then we should be embarrassed as to what our reflection reveals about our own displaced values. this is not to say i am by any means a moral purist. i drink modestly, smoke occasionally, swear regularly and with ease, and believe in freedom of speech despite what (some) conservatives swear is derailing so called "patriotism" and "traditional values". still, when what captures our imagination are dumb-downed reality shows and 16 year olds that place little value on anything apart from possessions, it makes one wonder, what are we choosing to worship?
philosopher of religiosity paul tillich once made us consider, what are our ultimate concerns? it may be time to revisit this culturally and societally defining question. we are loathed on the international stage and fighting to maintain some crumb of credibility in the diplomatic realm. predictably, cnn polls reveal a country divided geographically with the red states settling in a neat pile at the bottom and center of the map, and the blue states slowly seeping in along the northern and coastal edges.
there seems to be widespread panic that the united states is flailing. that we may not be able to maintain our vigilent watch as the leader of the free world. and why should this cause such an inflated inferiority complex? so what if we are number two or even number three? yes, it may mean that we have to take public transportation, and limit the daily latte consumption. but don´t worry. you´ll be fine. the united states has the infrastructure, educational base, and technological capabilities to withstand a financial meltdown.
we will not end up suffering the financial and human hardships that guatemala struggles with every day.
the united states has been on a material pandemic binge in recent years and it is only natural that there would be a resulting reverse effect. we treated clothes not as something to uphold modesty and warmth, but rather as a disposable razor; used a few times and then thrown out when the most recent issue of cosmo informs us that it has been relegated to the ¨don´t¨list. we sat our children in front of television sets for an average of four hours a day and then wondered as their attention spans were widdled down to the length of the typical 30 second commercial spot. we medicated our children with ritalin and ourselves with prozac transforming the word ¨stress¨from a noun into a verb. we bought every fast food gimic including scantily clad pop goddesses and suffered from diabetes and heart disease as a result. and so hear we stand, the so-called leaders of the developed world, bloated from a solid 20 years of excess.
as sarah palin strides onto the political stage in her three inch heels and plastered smile expousing values of "small town america", i wonder does that america exist any longer? she is appealing to a nation nostalgic for a time when things were supposedly simpler. it is an understandable yearning as the United States (and global) economy faces a heady and uncertain future. we want something as comforting as grandma's apple pie and palin's "gee whiz" and "gosh darn't" wholesomeness seems to many an appropriate dose of old fashioned medicine.
still, i doubt as to whether the nation palin speaks about actually can still be found. as her political rallies are lined with (lets face it) a sea of white women proudly sporting american flag paraphenalia it makes me wonder if these supporters are truly listening to the v.p. candidate´s words. sure, she can deliver a heck of a prepared speech complete with appropriate winks and "you betchas", but do the views she relays accurately reflect the world we currently live in or even aspire to live in? her candor, outside of face to face interviews where (gasp!) she is made to think on her own, is said to appeal to the "everyday six-pack joe" and "hockey mom". But truth be told, how many of us currently truly fit into those stereotypes?
women are not just hockey moms and thank god for that.
recently in a phone conversation my father told me of a sign in a neighbor's yard proudly declaring "WOMEN FOR PALIN!" accompanied by a hot pink high heel. i greatly admire the strong work ethic of both governor palin, senator hillary clinton, and other women that choose to enter the political realm. that is why they should be touted as role models for young women; because of their intelligence and conviction. not because of their oh-so fahionable glasses, or the amount of leg they choose to bare (or not bare) at political conventions.
when did the high heel become the symbol for women's lib??
in the year 2007 it is disappointing to see how far women still have to go in order to achieve gender equity. it is even more disappointing to see many women themselves buying into the shallow images being distributed by the republican campaign. as much as i am happy to see a woman standing at the forefront of politics, her vagina is never going to be the reason why i choose to vote for her.i felt at times what could best be described as pitty for senator clinton as she made a tough race for the democratic candidacy. she is what i see as a fiercely intelligent politician well-versed in the pitfalls and possibilities that arise upon murky capitol hill. she has stood firm in her support of reproductive rights for women including to the controversial morning after pill. yet, as a candidate she was constantly being told to "soften" her image. it was believed that the public just couldn't handle a tough woman. so a political candidate in the running for what is arguably the most powerful job in the world was reduced to doing fashion critique for glamour magazine.
as tina fey quipped that "bitch is the new black", on SNL i couldn't help but notice that the immediate parallel being drawn between women in politics was to fashion.
all candidates, no matter what their sex, are in some ways obligated to do the talk show circuits discussing their leisure activities with Regis and making fun of themselves on SNL, and it is important part to getting to know a candidate. still, there seems to be added pressure for female politicians to not come off as too "hard". they are encouraged to relay their maternal instincts to audiences basking in the light of little junior's successes on the baseball field or jane's success in the school geography bee .although i think parenting skills may be in some way a testament to a candidate's character, what does it have to do with solving the current economic crisis and how as president they would handle a war spiraled out of control in the middle east?
as women, we have fought long and hard to be able to have jurisdiction over our own bodies, and palin believes that, even in the case of rape, a woman should be denied her right to choice. our nation has made great stride in recent years in granting individual freedoms and not having government determine whom we choose to love (at least in some states), and what god we worship. palin represents a regression from all that progress we made.
there is a natural instinct to backpeddle when things go awry as they appear to be doing in the United States. as senator obama's campaign pronounces the need for "CHANGE", many citizens feel as though things are just changing a little too fast for their liking.
still, it is important that we heed the call for forward progress. as much as many would love to revert back to the pre-JFK provinciality of the 1950's, that time has passed. trying to mimick it would be in many ways nothing short of dangerous. time to move on.
it has been strange living in another country as the presidential campaigns unfold back in the states. it has also been scary. do i want to return to a country run by a president that sees a world divided and shirks off diplomacy as pandering to terrorists?
it remains an open ended question until we are made to answer and define ourselves in november.
after a few more hours en rounte i made it safely home. i lay on my bed in the same room i grew up in and stared up at my ceiling still decorated by glow in the dark stickers mimicking constellations.
despite a bit of a trying start i ended up having a WONDERFUL time in rhode island. i am blessed with an amazing family and friends. i am a beach soul through and through and miss it terribly living in the western highlands of Guatemala. although it was nice having good beer and ben and jerry´s ice cream, it is the people and the ocean i truly miss.
i parked myself on the sand for two weeks straight and soaked in as much of that salty air as i could. i was truly on vacation. i got to do all of those things that made my hometown such a special place to me...danced to some quality reggae at the mist with my love, got a vanilla chai at crazy burger, wore (scandolously) short skirts and bikinis without fear of being culturally inappropriate, bought the new york times on sunday morning, sat on grandma peg´s front porch, did a beautifully classic vermont hike at mount hunger, watched my cousins give an irish step dancing performance, and got rid of my farmers tan.
i understand the comforts of simplicity and why people are drawn to them. it was nice coming home and not thinking of anything beyond the food on my plate and people near to me. what we face now are questions of a more profound matter beyond this immediate material world. are the values of equality, and freedom we decree in national documents really what we are ready to put into action? i eventually had to return from days languished on the beach absorbed in books to the outside world too easily escaped.
it is of necessity to see those things which are beautiful in our everyday lives while at the same time recognizing that our everyday labours are a realization of our faith. our fear of inaddequacy, financial ruin, and failure will only be salvaged if we can see with clear eyes what is truly right in front of us this moment, and how our doings are in truth, an act of worship.
volunteers returning stateside during their service seem to have mixed experiences. some, especially those that go back during the holiday onslaught, become woozey and a bit overwhelmed by the pressing weight of reimmersion in the consumer culture they (happily...) left behind. others delve giddily into the so-called luxuries they previously took for granted: hot showers and cold beverages.
i thankfully felt a healthy balance of each.
i got off the plane in fort lauderdale ready to make my connection and was immediately struck by how enormous people were. they were tall and just massive. it was strange having left a town where the majority of the population suffers from chronic malnutrition to a nation of Goliaths. i am by no means a petite woman standing at a seemingly towering 5 feet 8 1/2 inches here in guatemala. upon arrival i felt transformed into a liliputian bouncing down the hall like an in the flesh version of pong.
passing through customs did little to assuage my nerves.
HAVE YOUR PASSPORTS OUT AND READY PEOPLE!!! why the hell were they screaming at me? i got off the plane and all the sudden was being barked at in english.
i´ve never seen anyone more misserable in their work environment than the woman working the xray machine in fort lauderdale airport.i quietly shuffled through the line wondering silently to myself if it wasn´t to late to turn back. i got to the passport check and the man behind the counter looked me up and down quizically. he questioned how it was possible to have left the country for a year and only be returning with a small backpack. i explained i was in the peace corps. he looked at my bleary eyes, worn out hikers, and patched jeans and seemed convinced....
yup, definetely peace corps.
i made a run to the ladies room, got in a stall, and just sat there.
i felt like a lost kid in a supermarket searching around a sea of legs wondering where my mama went. i sat on a toilet with my head in my hands feeling sorry for myself. i wanted to go home. i thought back to my typical morning commute through the mountains of guatemala looking down on silent clouds floating below my feet. i listened to the conversation of women carefully applying their daily war paint in the mirror outside and began to wonder if this was still my world.
after a few more minutes of wallowing with little other alternative i decided to face the crowds.
i can't say that my reaction was surprising. even prior to my departure to peace corps i had been trying to embrace a more simplified pace of life. every time i turned on the tv i felt bored and even repulsed. if media is a mirror to culture then we should be embarrassed as to what our reflection reveals about our own displaced values. this is not to say i am by any means a moral purist. i drink modestly, smoke occasionally, swear regularly and with ease, and believe in freedom of speech despite what (some) conservatives swear is derailing so called "patriotism" and "traditional values". still, when what captures our imagination are dumb-downed reality shows and 16 year olds that place little value on anything apart from possessions, it makes one wonder, what are we choosing to worship?
philosopher of religiosity paul tillich once made us consider, what are our ultimate concerns? it may be time to revisit this culturally and societally defining question. we are loathed on the international stage and fighting to maintain some crumb of credibility in the diplomatic realm. predictably, cnn polls reveal a country divided geographically with the red states settling in a neat pile at the bottom and center of the map, and the blue states slowly seeping in along the northern and coastal edges.
there seems to be widespread panic that the united states is flailing. that we may not be able to maintain our vigilent watch as the leader of the free world. and why should this cause such an inflated inferiority complex? so what if we are number two or even number three? yes, it may mean that we have to take public transportation, and limit the daily latte consumption. but don´t worry. you´ll be fine. the united states has the infrastructure, educational base, and technological capabilities to withstand a financial meltdown.
we will not end up suffering the financial and human hardships that guatemala struggles with every day.
the united states has been on a material pandemic binge in recent years and it is only natural that there would be a resulting reverse effect. we treated clothes not as something to uphold modesty and warmth, but rather as a disposable razor; used a few times and then thrown out when the most recent issue of cosmo informs us that it has been relegated to the ¨don´t¨list. we sat our children in front of television sets for an average of four hours a day and then wondered as their attention spans were widdled down to the length of the typical 30 second commercial spot. we medicated our children with ritalin and ourselves with prozac transforming the word ¨stress¨from a noun into a verb. we bought every fast food gimic including scantily clad pop goddesses and suffered from diabetes and heart disease as a result. and so hear we stand, the so-called leaders of the developed world, bloated from a solid 20 years of excess.
as sarah palin strides onto the political stage in her three inch heels and plastered smile expousing values of "small town america", i wonder does that america exist any longer? she is appealing to a nation nostalgic for a time when things were supposedly simpler. it is an understandable yearning as the United States (and global) economy faces a heady and uncertain future. we want something as comforting as grandma's apple pie and palin's "gee whiz" and "gosh darn't" wholesomeness seems to many an appropriate dose of old fashioned medicine.
still, i doubt as to whether the nation palin speaks about actually can still be found. as her political rallies are lined with (lets face it) a sea of white women proudly sporting american flag paraphenalia it makes me wonder if these supporters are truly listening to the v.p. candidate´s words. sure, she can deliver a heck of a prepared speech complete with appropriate winks and "you betchas", but do the views she relays accurately reflect the world we currently live in or even aspire to live in? her candor, outside of face to face interviews where (gasp!) she is made to think on her own, is said to appeal to the "everyday six-pack joe" and "hockey mom". But truth be told, how many of us currently truly fit into those stereotypes?
women are not just hockey moms and thank god for that.
recently in a phone conversation my father told me of a sign in a neighbor's yard proudly declaring "WOMEN FOR PALIN!" accompanied by a hot pink high heel. i greatly admire the strong work ethic of both governor palin, senator hillary clinton, and other women that choose to enter the political realm. that is why they should be touted as role models for young women; because of their intelligence and conviction. not because of their oh-so fahionable glasses, or the amount of leg they choose to bare (or not bare) at political conventions.
when did the high heel become the symbol for women's lib??
in the year 2007 it is disappointing to see how far women still have to go in order to achieve gender equity. it is even more disappointing to see many women themselves buying into the shallow images being distributed by the republican campaign. as much as i am happy to see a woman standing at the forefront of politics, her vagina is never going to be the reason why i choose to vote for her.i felt at times what could best be described as pitty for senator clinton as she made a tough race for the democratic candidacy. she is what i see as a fiercely intelligent politician well-versed in the pitfalls and possibilities that arise upon murky capitol hill. she has stood firm in her support of reproductive rights for women including to the controversial morning after pill. yet, as a candidate she was constantly being told to "soften" her image. it was believed that the public just couldn't handle a tough woman. so a political candidate in the running for what is arguably the most powerful job in the world was reduced to doing fashion critique for glamour magazine.
as tina fey quipped that "bitch is the new black", on SNL i couldn't help but notice that the immediate parallel being drawn between women in politics was to fashion.
all candidates, no matter what their sex, are in some ways obligated to do the talk show circuits discussing their leisure activities with Regis and making fun of themselves on SNL, and it is important part to getting to know a candidate. still, there seems to be added pressure for female politicians to not come off as too "hard". they are encouraged to relay their maternal instincts to audiences basking in the light of little junior's successes on the baseball field or jane's success in the school geography bee .although i think parenting skills may be in some way a testament to a candidate's character, what does it have to do with solving the current economic crisis and how as president they would handle a war spiraled out of control in the middle east?
as women, we have fought long and hard to be able to have jurisdiction over our own bodies, and palin believes that, even in the case of rape, a woman should be denied her right to choice. our nation has made great stride in recent years in granting individual freedoms and not having government determine whom we choose to love (at least in some states), and what god we worship. palin represents a regression from all that progress we made.
there is a natural instinct to backpeddle when things go awry as they appear to be doing in the United States. as senator obama's campaign pronounces the need for "CHANGE", many citizens feel as though things are just changing a little too fast for their liking.
still, it is important that we heed the call for forward progress. as much as many would love to revert back to the pre-JFK provinciality of the 1950's, that time has passed. trying to mimick it would be in many ways nothing short of dangerous. time to move on.
it has been strange living in another country as the presidential campaigns unfold back in the states. it has also been scary. do i want to return to a country run by a president that sees a world divided and shirks off diplomacy as pandering to terrorists?
it remains an open ended question until we are made to answer and define ourselves in november.
after a few more hours en rounte i made it safely home. i lay on my bed in the same room i grew up in and stared up at my ceiling still decorated by glow in the dark stickers mimicking constellations.
despite a bit of a trying start i ended up having a WONDERFUL time in rhode island. i am blessed with an amazing family and friends. i am a beach soul through and through and miss it terribly living in the western highlands of Guatemala. although it was nice having good beer and ben and jerry´s ice cream, it is the people and the ocean i truly miss.
i parked myself on the sand for two weeks straight and soaked in as much of that salty air as i could. i was truly on vacation. i got to do all of those things that made my hometown such a special place to me...danced to some quality reggae at the mist with my love, got a vanilla chai at crazy burger, wore (scandolously) short skirts and bikinis without fear of being culturally inappropriate, bought the new york times on sunday morning, sat on grandma peg´s front porch, did a beautifully classic vermont hike at mount hunger, watched my cousins give an irish step dancing performance, and got rid of my farmers tan.
i understand the comforts of simplicity and why people are drawn to them. it was nice coming home and not thinking of anything beyond the food on my plate and people near to me. what we face now are questions of a more profound matter beyond this immediate material world. are the values of equality, and freedom we decree in national documents really what we are ready to put into action? i eventually had to return from days languished on the beach absorbed in books to the outside world too easily escaped.
it is of necessity to see those things which are beautiful in our everyday lives while at the same time recognizing that our everyday labours are a realization of our faith. our fear of inaddequacy, financial ruin, and failure will only be salvaged if we can see with clear eyes what is truly right in front of us this moment, and how our doings are in truth, an act of worship.
jueves, 10 de julio de 2008
jueves, 12 de junio de 2008
miércoles, 11 de junio de 2008
jose sucio....
i am sitting on just over a half a year of service as a volunteer and finally (finally!) am beginning to feel as though i have a clue what i'm doing... it's been at least a month since i've gotten lost and ended up in a cornfield someplace, a weighty accomplishment in my eyes.
in the last couple of months i have had several groups ask about how to prepare different foods. it's great to have a family garden, but if you have no idea what to do with a carrot, what good are all those lovely vitamins sitting underground? i myself am not much of a cook, but more of an experimenter as most of my family can attest to. they have witnessed me attempt and destroy many well intentioned culinary preparations. still, i'm learning here that a little knowledge can go long way.
ever heard of a "dirty jose", a jose sucio. yeah, that's right. Sloppey joes guatemala style. one thing that the diet here tends to lack is protein. although people get more than their fair share of beans, buying meat is costly and unrealistic for the majority of families here. especially with 11 children. what is fairly accessible and reasonable priced at about 26 cents a pound is a product called "protemas". this flavorless colorless meat subsitute is a vegetarian peace corps volunteer's dream come true and also when cooked with the right proportion of ingredients and veggies decently appetizing to most chapines (i.e. guatemalans) i've met. "jose sucios" have been given the seal of approval by most of the women's groups i work with.
along with the preparation of different foods i have been trying to teach why exactly it is important to consume them. why make an atol with fruit (fruit tea) as opposed to just downing a bottle of refreshing tiky piña (pineapple soda)? good question. herein lies the challenge: to convince people that the more healthy alternative is possibly worth more than that initial sugar energy burst that comes from a cola. people here are accustomed to certain foods, just as in the states. if any population should know how difficult it is to give up certain eating compulsions/addictions it ought to be those from the U.S., home of every ridiculous diet fad you care to name. it is if anything, a slow process trying to convince someone's tastebuds to take a risk and try something new. without doubt mine have been taken on more than a few exciting rides since living in guatemala and i, thankfully and happily, haven't regretted one venture yet.
i am sitting on just over a half a year of service as a volunteer and finally (finally!) am beginning to feel as though i have a clue what i'm doing... it's been at least a month since i've gotten lost and ended up in a cornfield someplace, a weighty accomplishment in my eyes.
in the last couple of months i have had several groups ask about how to prepare different foods. it's great to have a family garden, but if you have no idea what to do with a carrot, what good are all those lovely vitamins sitting underground? i myself am not much of a cook, but more of an experimenter as most of my family can attest to. they have witnessed me attempt and destroy many well intentioned culinary preparations. still, i'm learning here that a little knowledge can go long way.
ever heard of a "dirty jose", a jose sucio. yeah, that's right. Sloppey joes guatemala style. one thing that the diet here tends to lack is protein. although people get more than their fair share of beans, buying meat is costly and unrealistic for the majority of families here. especially with 11 children. what is fairly accessible and reasonable priced at about 26 cents a pound is a product called "protemas". this flavorless colorless meat subsitute is a vegetarian peace corps volunteer's dream come true and also when cooked with the right proportion of ingredients and veggies decently appetizing to most chapines (i.e. guatemalans) i've met. "jose sucios" have been given the seal of approval by most of the women's groups i work with.
along with the preparation of different foods i have been trying to teach why exactly it is important to consume them. why make an atol with fruit (fruit tea) as opposed to just downing a bottle of refreshing tiky piña (pineapple soda)? good question. herein lies the challenge: to convince people that the more healthy alternative is possibly worth more than that initial sugar energy burst that comes from a cola. people here are accustomed to certain foods, just as in the states. if any population should know how difficult it is to give up certain eating compulsions/addictions it ought to be those from the U.S., home of every ridiculous diet fad you care to name. it is if anything, a slow process trying to convince someone's tastebuds to take a risk and try something new. without doubt mine have been taken on more than a few exciting rides since living in guatemala and i, thankfully and happily, haven't regretted one venture yet.
martes, 1 de abril de 2008
grandma pat´s apple pie with moon and stars motife... sometimes i get bored.
treating ourselves to a fancy dinner in santa craz el lago
we like hats.
central park, antiguaPatrick comes to Guatemala...
this last month i got to have my first visitor to my site. my boyfriend, patrick, made the long trek from little rhodie to hang out in guatemala for a couple of weeks. so much fun to see him after over half a year! it was also just nice to be with someone who knows me and whom i'm so comfortable with.
volunteers often talk about the duality of personality that often comes with living in a community so culturally far removed from the states. although in time i have begun to feel more comfortable in my town, cultural taboos sometimes prevent me from just being the me i'm used to back home - to let my hair down so to speak. part of this is just part of being culturally sensitive, but having to constantly consider the appropriateness of words and actions in a new context can sometimes be plain exghausing.
this is not to say there is nothing to talk about. people like to joke around and talk about every day things like anywhere in the world. the human struggle that comes from personal relationships is pretty much the same here as back home.
also, sometimes the struggles here have this feeling of legitemacy that doesn't really seem to transfer to the united states: "Estamos luchando..." - we are fighting. we are struggling just to make it. back home supposed stresses seem imagined and insignificant in comparison... deciding to paint the living room egg shell or off white... an expensive cell phone bill.... not being able to afford the latest clothes/technical gadget. compared to.... my baby just died of malnutrition. still, i understand that all stress is relative to the reality we face on a daily basis. we all face hardships in that buddhist-life-is-suffering kinda way, right?
so back to Patrick. i was very excited to see him. it was great to get a taste of back home here in this corner of the world. we checked out the chaos of market day in my site, pulled weeds at "la granja", watched sunset out at the lake, and witnessed some of the processions and flower carpets in Antigua during Semana Santa (Holy Week). more than anything we just hung out in my site, cooked a lot, and played with my puppy.
it is hard being far away from one another, but i think it is worth it....
next time patrick will hopefully be spared some of the side affects of street food although those papas fritas with the pica mas can be pretty hard to resist:-)
spending an afternoon at "la granja"
i don't know.
those crazily fun dentists with the ladies of taltimiche
semana santa in my home town
rough week...
i have one sick puppy. no, really she is actually very sick. the last couple of weeks have been hard. not the kind of hard where i have been able to find some sort of ideal peace corps "the moral of the story/lesson learned is"...
i'm sick. one week with fever, not wanting to leave bed, hacking up some lovely liquids kinda sick. it isn't the type of situation where i was feeling like hopping on a camioneta and taking the bumpy three and a half hour bus ride to see a doctor. i figured i would just sweat it out.
but....
my dog, amalia, was sick, too. she's still a little babe and she was shitting blood and vomiting, a possibly deadly combo for a puppy. i would have brought her to the vet, but it was semana santa meaning that the whole country, including vets offices, were shut down. by the time i got her to the doctor both her and myself were in rough shape. the supposedly experienced doctor gave her a couple of shots and we were on our way.
as we left she was having difficuly walking with her right leg, but i figured she was still pretty sore from the injections. it's been two weeks since we went to the vet and she still cannot walk. i feel like a bad mother or something. it's just sad to see her hobbling around, but we have been doing some serious physical therapy to try and better her leg.
so here is the frustration.... i could not bring her to the vet for a week when she was sick, because the whole country shuts down for a holiday. also, what i thought was a good vet ended up doing some serious damage (possible permenant) to my dog.
times like this is when i ask myself, what the hell am i doing here anyways? i feel very frustrated about the entire situation.
pero, asi es la vida, ¿no?
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