Big news! Yesterday I discovered my geographical destiny. They took us all out to the basketball court at the training center where they had drawn a chalk outline of Guatemala. They had us all close our eyes and led us (I almost got mistaken for the other Andrea, haha) to where our site is. We couldn´t talk to make noise and we were all trying to figure out where they led us but they were tricky and took us in circles first. I thought for sure I was in Chimaltenango. Then we all opened our eyes and found out where and with whom we would be spending our time in Guatemala. So, at long last, the place I will be spending the next two years living and working is….drumroll please…
¡Cabrican, Quetzaltenango!
Cabrican (Cab-ree-kahn) is a medium sized town in the western highlands of Guatemala. It sounds like it is beautifully situated on a mountain ridge with lots of nice views and mountain walks to take. I will be working in 3 schools in that area which have been working with another volunteer who left in July. It sounds like she did a lot of teaching in the classrooms and building projects like water systems and latrines so I think I will get to work with the teachers and parents more which seems really great.
The town sounds like it has everything I might want like internet, electricity, and water most of the time. It is right on the border with Huehuentenango and San Marcos which are some of the departments that border Mexico. I won´t be very close to Antigua or the Capital, but the city of Quetzaltenango which is one of the biggest in the country is just 2 ½ hours away. There is also a satellite center for the Peace Corps there where they will forward my mail and I can exchange books with other volunteers. The other great news is that the Riecken Foundation started a public library in Cabrican so I will be close to probably one of the only public libraries in the country! ¡Que Suerte!
Next week I get to go visit, so I will have a better idea of what the town is like. However, I am really happy with my site. Everyone was really nervous yesterday and I think some people were disappointed but I know everyone will love their site. So if you are going to visit, start thinking about Cabrican and mountain walks!
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