Ahhhhhhhh. Another week or so has gone by! I feel like I don’t even measure weeks by weekends anymore, since we never really have spare time. I only know it’s been another week by our weekly visits to the Peace Corps headquarters. Since the last post, several VERY exciting things have happened:
· We visited Guatemala City, the capitol! And I got a super amazing new sweater there! It says “Super Shine” and has a rainbow, and when I wear it, nothing can go wrong! I also got to eat an amazing salad (I know that sounds random, but you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to come across uncooked veggies) and I bought ugly new closed-toe shoes. What a find!
· On said trip to Guatemala City, we rode on a school bus from NORTH GEORGIA!! Holy shit! I wanted a picture SO BAD of the North Georgia sign right next to the name of the bus, which was something like “Cabriacenalita” but since we were sitting 3 to a seat on both sides, it just wasn’t possible. Que triste.
· We went out to visit a current Agriculture volunteer in Patzun. He showed us around some of the gardens he helped implement, and described some of the ways he facilitated seed distribution among his community. In his time there, he also worked with some of the ladies from his community and neighboring ones to start a mushroom-growing operation. Since many of the women in Guatemala work in and around their homes all day, there is a little bit of down time that could be used for income generation. And thus, a project was born. They bring in a lot of money; they grow quickly; they almost always produce well. Boom. It was amazing to see, and to talk to the ladies who started this program. I have to say, though, after the visit I got extremely intimidated. This guy has really done a lot with his community, and has obviously gotten a lot of trust and respect from these people. I guess I see why they really push for us to understand the importance of integration.
· It was the weekend of feria in our town, and we went out and celebrated as a group. We had a lot of fun, especially on Saturday, when we broke a few rules, ate a little street food, and rode some pretty dangerous Guatemalan fair rides. They have this one Ferris wheel that goes about 80mph forwards and backwards. Needless to say, I didn’t get on.
· We finally got our official technical trainer for Food Security. His name is Dale. He’s from Texas. I joked a lot about how I wasn’t going to like him before he got here, but he seems like just the person our program needs. He’s a pretty chill guy, and really seems to know a lot about agriculture, and told us on the first day that he’s laid back, but at some point we’re going to hate him. Perfect! I’m actually looking forward to having someone push me and he’s been a great motivator and resource so far. He reminds me a little bit of my dad, because he’s down to joke around and enjoy work, as long as the work is actually getting done.
· We get to an actual city alone this weekend!!!! Will the fact that it’s Sunday morning stop me from treating it like a Friday night? No way. I want an icy cold beer and a medium rare steak (or Indian food. Or cake. Or Mexican. Or a hamburger.) Anyway, we’re all pretty excited and are looking forward to planning.
· I did NOT have to go to my family’s church’s all-night vigil! Huzzah! They didn’t even really put up a fight when I said I would rather not go to church from 8pm-5am. It was touch and go there for a second, but it basically made my weekend when I dodged that bullet.
· Saturday = college football gameday. Boom. Although I don’t really want to think about how much I’ll miss one of my favorite parts of college (the all-day boozing/socializing, not the actual football game) I’m excited Tech is starting a new season. I’ll be dreaming of 100 degree weather, sundresses, Natty Lite, and cornhole while I’m giving a tour of my town in the rain. Alas. Give ‘em hell, Tech!
Anyway, I’m still enjoying Guate, despite having bummed my way through a cold and way too much rain. That must be good, right? We’re also hopefully going to be planting soon in our new gardens and we’ll be starting our series of “charlas” or “talks” as well.
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