HU$TLER

Pop culture has arrived in Guatemala. We have all heard of this phenomenon called Globalization in which we are all connected and goods produced in or by one country can be relevant and available in other countries around the world.

The problem here is Guatemala is that pop culture has arrived without the education to handle it. It used to be that people in other countries were just a little behind stylistically than us in the up-to-date fashion world. Don't worry, we are still using a lot of 80's and early 90's haircuts around here. With the increase of technology and of influence in the forms of foreign brands of clothing, people here have begun to adopt a lot of American styles. Kids run around with gold chains and big jeans and there are even some punk kids running around here in Cabrican.

Somewhere along the line there was a disconnect in which people began to use these pop culture symbols we love so much without really knowing what they represent. Last week I went to a store where the lady owning it wore a black and silver hat that said "HU$tLER" across the front. This morning I ran into a friend's mother who had earring with the playboy bunny on them. I am sure the store owner liked the shiny colors of the hat and maybe even recognized the dollar sign, but I doubt she knows what a hustler is. I am positive that the church-going mother of my friend thought the rabbits on the earrings were cute but had no idea what playboy is.

It is really funny to walk into the store and see the old lady wearing such a ridiculously not right for her hat, I know. It is also kind of sad because they really have no idea. We throw all of our culture into people's lives without giving them a chance to understand it.

Lesson: Next time you are going to donate your HU$TLER hat or your playboy earrings to a charitable organization where it will then be resold in countries like Guatemala, think twice and maybe attach a note explaining the symbolism.

Reoccurring Dreams

I have reoccurring dreams about whether or not the post office is open. I suppose it is a good thing that the mail is the most worrisome thought that plagues my mind at night.

My English is slipping. I insertar words of Español even when I am hablaring with mí mamá. Life has become this weird mix of trying to speak Spanish to people who speak English and English to people who speak Spanish. My brain is having trouble figuring out who is who. I have got friends now and I think as I get more comfortable with them I feel like they should understand English because that is what I always speak with my friends….but they don’t and I am pretty sure I look like a crazy person most of the time. Last week I was giving a lesson and I started speaking English instead of Spanish in front of 25 third graders. Awkward.

I think I am the only one who loved the cat Reina got to kill the ratones. Her name is Micheli. Reina says she hasn’t been eating very much and I think it might be because I let her lick my cereal bowl.

I have realized being away from them that I have the best friends in the whole world. I miss you guys. I love living in Guatemala and I love my friends here but there is nothing that could ever beat a barbeque at the beach with you guys. I am starting to get a little U.S.-sick.

Things I miss about the U.S. (besides family and friends and other obvious things that might make me cry in the internet café)

1. Knowing what time to show up to things (everyone here seems so know exactly how late you should be except me. I am either way too early or way too late all the time)
2. The Mongolian Grill
3. Driving (not allowed here because of Peace Corps rules)
4. Costco (thanks to my brother who informed me he bought a huge pack of Australian toaster biscuits the other day)
5. Movies I can understand
6. Paved roads
7. Seattle
8. People who go outside in the rain (It rains here an everyone hides until it is over. Streets: totally empty)
9. Saying what you mean (here you say a trillion things to hint at what you really need or want but can’t ever come out and say it)
10. Laundry machines (have I already mentioned how long it takes to wash your clothes by hand?)
11. Affordable chocolate
12. Things that have prices (blonde hair seems to mean everything costs more here)
13. Concerts

Xelajuuuuuuu

I have got some complaints that I haven’t been up to date on my blog. It is mostly because not a whole lot is new but also because not a whole lot is going on. In any case, here is what has been going on lately for those of you who want to silly details.

1. Brian left a few weeks ago and I got new site mates last week. They are a married couple named Joe and Katy and I really like them. SO, now we are 4 gringos in town which is a lot for how small it is. It is alright though, I have 2 more people to help me eat the things I bake when I am bored or stressed out.
2. Last week I was in Antigua doing a training they give after 3 months called “Reconnect.” It was fun to see all my friends that live far away and I learned some good things in Spanish class. Staying in Antigua, however, was not so much fun and I have decided that Xela is 10 times better that Antigua.
3. I also got to go see my family in Alotenango while I was in the area. Christian is growing up and even saved me some candy from his piñata they had on his fifth birthday 2 weeks ago. Andreita is growing TONS and it SO tall now. She isn’t quite walking yet but is really close. She turned one year old a few weeks ago.
4. Last weekend I went to a soccer game in Xela. The team there is called Xelaju and is pretty popular. We played against Huehuetenango and won. There was a man behind us yelling obscenities the whole time, it was pretty comical. My friend happens to know the guy who is the mascot so I got a picture with him. He is a chiva, which I think it like a ram. I have included the picture for your viewing pleasure.

5. Things are winidng down at school. The year ends in October and in September we have a bunch of activities for Independence day (Sept. 15). So, I just have a few weeks left of work before summer break. I have lots of visits coming up so I am really excited. Andrea and Jeff and Jeff are coming as well as Keri and Nicole and my parents so I will be really busy showing people around.
6. Also, my birthday is coming up and I probably won’t have a party but I will be haunting the mailman waiting for the packages that I know you will send me. So you’d better get started. I am specifically longing music, movies, books, and chocolate.
7. I bought a toaster oven on a whim yesterday (it was on sale…) so today I will be baking cookies all day and I am going to try and make my next 10 meals in the toaster oven. I was going to go to school today but I showed up at my teacher’s house and her husband told me she had a training so she isn’t going to school. So, since the other teacher leaves earlier I had no way to get to school. This country drives me crazy sometimes.

Anyways, that is my life. Exciting and adventurous, I know. I really miss you guys! Hope you are enjoying the sunny days in the States. Eat some s’mores and hot dogs for me. Send me presents. Please.

Just some thoughts...

The Peace Corps is cracking down on safety issues associated with Volunteer blogs...so in the interest of being a rule-follower I vow to be culturally sensitive at all times and not reveal my precise location. So, if you hadn't already picked up on where I happen to be living, too bad. I am now finding and deleting all references to C***** in the interest of preserving my safety and that of those around me.

Sometimes when I get up to go to the bathroom at night I turn the light on and the rooster crows. I feel pretty bad for him, he really thinks it is morning. He probably feels really confused and thinks he is falling asleep on the watch. Poor guy.

I am going to the training center next week for Reconnect, a week long training they give us to clam our nerves after 3 months of pannicked isolation in site....just kidding. Really I get to take a few days of Spanish classes and they will give me advice on what I should do next...advice I probably need. It will be the longest I will have been out of site since I got here and to be honest I am a little wary of leaving....er...this town I live in. I think I will miss it.

Last week I got invited along with another volunteer to a dance in another town by two friends of mine who announced on the way to the dance they invited us to that they didn't dance. So, we spent the whole night watching their friends coerce each other into dancing with us. It was pretty fun, except for the part where the singer welcomed the "tourists from a faraway land" in front of the whole crowd. So much for being anonymous.

My family got a kitten in an effort to chase away the mice that are eating my bananas at night. She is really cute and I hope she eats the mice whole so I don't have to see anything die like that time one got burnt alive.

Thanks for tuning in. I will keep you updated on all my culturally sensitive, legal, non-location-specific, safe activities

Lately...

I just thought I would throw it out there that last weekend I ate ants. They are in some places a local delicacy that come out when the rain starts and get fried up with lemon and sugar. Don’t worry, it mostly tastes like lemon and sugar.

I also just found out on Tuesday that I don’t have school for a few weeks because of teacher trainings and mid-year break which means I have two full weeks of no plans at all. I think Melanie is coming to visit me up here in C***** and I am also planning to make my triumphant return to Alotenango sometime at the end considering I haven’t seen my host family since I left 3 months ago.

In the meantime, I went with Sara and her friends that were visiting from the states to climb Chicabal, a volcano near Xela that has a lake at the top. It was a beautiful short, uphill hike that left me exhausted but it was TOTALLY worth it. I am realizing more and more what a beautiful country this is. We got to the top and you had a view of Santa Maria, another volcano, and on the other side straight down into the lake-filled crater of Chicabal.

We also climbed down a zillion stairs to get a closer look at the lake. It is a sacred Mayan lake and they perform rituals there a lot. That means you aren’t allowed to swim there but it was completely breathtaking and totally worth the climb.

In the afternoon we went up to Fuentes Georginas, a hot springs outside of Xela and relaxed. In the evening we had the whole place to ourselves and got to make hamburgers and lay around in the warm water. It was like a giant swimmable hot tub. We stayed in the water for way too long and I have never seen my skin that pruned before. It took several hours to get my toes and fingers back to normal. It was great to just relax in such a beautiful place, especially after volcano-climbing.

So, the new plan is that I am going to relax here in C*****, make some bread, do my laundry, and watch movies for the next few days. Life is good.

Oh yes! Happy Fathers Day! Daddy, you are the best father in the whole wide world!

Stuck in the mud

Today I was on my way to Xela and my bus got stuck in the mud left over from the tropical storm which cancelled school twice this week. It resulted in switching drivers to a man I waited at the bus stop with (meaning not a bus driver...). He got us unstuck after a few minutes of fishtailing and kept on driving. It turns out he is the sort of bus driver that likes to race other buses to make up time...so we careened the rest of the way through the mountains, swerving to miss other buses and sliding down the parts of the road that are still unpaved. Needless to say, I made it, but it was one of the more exciting bus trips I have had.

I have been assured I will grow to hate the rainy season...but I am sure I will continue to enjoy how green everything is during this time of year. Yesterday Sara and I hiked up to one of the highest points around the town (an hour long uphill hike...geez...) where there is a lime (the mineral) mine and we had a view of the whole valley and it was BEAUTIFUL....next time I will take a picture. Sara says that hikes like that make her love where we live and I agree.

What I don't live about the rainy season is the cough it gave me which I took antibiotics for which were pointless because the throat culture I rode all the way to the city to get showed that it was a virus. The antibiotics made me vulnerable to another sort of infection which I cannot get tested for yet but am taking more just-in-case-you-have-it medication for...and if that doesn't resolve it I have to come back to the city to get tested...lame.

Good news: they are paving the road to the city so it will be a lot faster/safer in the future...
Bad news: They raised the fare from Q24 round trip to Q30 round trip...Q30 is a liter and a half of beer or a giant box of cornflakes or 10 lbs of broccoli or 30 packages of cookies....in other words, a lot.

Sick Miller

I know some people (you know who you are) who have mastered the art of the sick person. They lie on the couch, cry out for glasses of water, and milk their pathetic infirmity for all it is worth. I myself am here to admit that I am horrible at being sick. I hate missing things, I get bored at home, I inevitably cry over something, and I don’t like to listen to myself complain.

Last weekend I was sick to my stomach. I have traced it back to the meal I ate at a comedor on Friday. Really, stomach-sickness is fairly common here. It happens to almost everyone at least once every few months. We talk to each other about things like Diarrhea in ways that I would have never even talked to my best friends about. It is a fact of Guatemalan life. Anyways, I forced myself through a birthday part on Saturday and let myself skip school on Monday to speed my recovery and by the time Tuesday rolled around I was feeling good as new.
On Tuesday, I woke up to a sore throat and a headache. I took an ibuprofen and went to school. During the day, my throat improved as my headache got progressively worse. By the time I finished lunch, I didn’t even want to move. I took the maximum amount of ibuprofen possible and tried to relax. In the evening, I scoured my room for my peace-corps issue thermometer to check for fever and it was nowhere to be found. I decided to go to my friend Gary-the-doctor’s house and borrow a thermometer (and a cup of sugar…). Temperature: negative. Ever the thorough medical professional, he looked at my throat with his doctor-light thing and kindly informed me that I had a throat infection and I should be on antibiotics. Things just kept getting better. That night, I woke up with my headache worsening and lost four hours of sleep because of it.

In the morning, I called the lovely Peace Corps medical staff who asked me to go to the city to get a throat culture. I admit I suppressed a few tired tears (I am sensitive when I am tired/sick) when I went to the health center to tell Gary-the-doctor. I hate being sick. So, with a diminished but still present headache, a took a five hour round trip bus ride to the city to spend 30 seconds at the hospital with a lady shoving a stick down my throat. The good news is, I got some migraine medication that was to make my head stop hurting.

My throat culture is still growing in the city and I am back out here. I am on antibiotics just in case it is not a virus and my head stopped hurting. I missed 75% of my school days this week due to illness, including a birthday party. I am avoiding travel this weekend just to be safe. I wish I could relish in the all-day-movies that this allows me, but I am just not a good sick person. I can say that right now I am right back at 90% and I am relieved.