Whew! Recovering from a wonderful Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Guatemala...

The strike as officially ended, which is great (especially considering that the teachers were successful in getting the government to follow through on the funding issues)! But last week was semana santa, or in American, spring break for most of the country. The celebrations are very different to what we're used to in the U.S., but still vary a lot based on family. Starting on Thursday the Catholics held processions through Almolonga. Imagine a parade float (or a gigantic coffin) with around forty pall-bearers all carrying a intricate statue of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. It was really amazing, sensory overload, lots of insense and music. But as I said, this is a Catholic event and the Evangelicals celebrate only Resurrection Sunday here in the form of attending their churches.

Poetic Moment of the Week: On Good Friday I went out to take pictures of the alfombras (rugs) that people make in the streets using flower petals (the above is one from Antigua, but here in Almolonga they were more simple but still beautiful). So, it's about to start to storm but I really wanted those pictures so I threw on a blue scarf to cover my head and ran out the door. On the way, two forth grade girls who attend one of my schools stopped me and wanted to accompany me. Their names? Maria and Magdalena. There I was, running through the streets with little Mary and Magdalene holding my hands and my blue scarf blowing as the thunder rumbled and the rain remembered a similar scene some years ago...

My family had a large lunch on holy Thursday: fried fish, mayo salad, pasta, tomale, and hot sause of course! It was such a great feeling to sit all together and share a meal, something that I really value (no matter where in the world I find myself). It was a day of laughing in the kitchen, my amazing culinary skills cause quite a stir (especially lighting the gas stove)! My host family is just so warm and kind, I've never felt such a connection outside of the U.S. before over so sort a time!

Still on the hunt for a K'iche teacher... But I'm more determined than ever. I tend to really resent English and now it's morphing to resenting Spanish too. You see the thing is that I hate that there are so few options for learning languages in general. English, Spanish, French, Mandrin, German? There are thousands of languages out there, and the more we focus on the biggies, the more we lose the amazing diversity of culture on this planet. (I am very thankful that I've had the opportunity to learn Spanish in my life, don't get me wrong, but I'm just beginning to understand how much is out in this world of ours, that's all).

I went to Lake Atiklan for a couple of days this week! Stunning and delightful to get to know a new part of the country... But it was accompanied with lots of internal conflict surrounding the tourism industry. Panajachel is a little tourist trap right on the lake and I just kept thinking about my number one development rule: First, DO NO HARM. It's still up for debate whether the mass influx of tourists is damaging the local culture and creating a dependency both economically and socially. Just thought I'd share what I've had cooking on the back burner in this brain of mine.

p.s. really all, your overwhelming response to the previous entry blew me away... so much for opening a forum for participatory discussion here!

So, many of you have heard horror stories originating here in Guatemala. From enormous sinkholes, to landslides, to assinations, to narcotrafficking, to the biggie: corruption. Now, I'm not here to tell you that these reports are untrue, but rather to remind you that there is so much more to Guatemala than what the western media portrays. That being said, a fantastic article was just published by The New Yorker on April 4th that peels back the layers of deception that snake around politics here in Guatemala. The piece is called 'A Murder Foretold' by David Grann and I cannot urge you enough to give it a read (and let me know what you think!)... Here's a little teaser: Rodrigo Rosenberg knew that he was about to die. It wasn’t because he was approaching old age—he was only forty-eight. Nor had he been diagnosed with a fatal illness; an avid bike rider, he was in perfect health. Rather, Rosenberg, a highly respected corporate attorney in Guatemala, was certain that he was going to be assassinated.

some pictures for your enjoyment! Visiting a coffee plantation during training with the lovely Elvira, our Spanish/culture instructor.

The swearing-in ceremony at the Ambassador's residence (I took the same oath as the military, foreign service and more or less the president)

I, Samantha Boss do solemly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, domestic or foreign, that I take this obligation freely. And without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. And that I will well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps, so help me God.

Cooking up a storm for our host families at the end of training (pictured: Meredith Burns)

Our swear-in ceremony and celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps made it on the front page of Prensa Libre (Guate's leading paper)... no biggie

¿Qué honda mucho? Things here are going really well. And by ‘really well’, I mean pretty slow. As it turns out, there is a national teachers strike so classes are suspended until further notice (and Semana Santa starts in a week so it might be two weeks with no school). What do the teachers want? Some of them haven’t been paid yet this year (not the case here in Almolonga and Zunil), but in general the government has failed to provide the schools with the resources (aka mula) that it said it would. For example, at public schools each child is supposed to receive a snack, which is a rather important component of the childrens daily nutritional intake considering that Guatemala has an extremely high rate of chronic malnutrition. But the reality is that the government only gives the schools enough money for ten days worth of snack per month (to say the least insuffiecient). Batabing batabang, the teachers went on strike. So any intuitive reader would then ask,’Well what is this PCV (peace corps volunteer) been doing with all her time, especially considering she’s doing it with US tax dollars?’ That is a fine question indeed my dear reader, so here it goes… I’ve been trying my darndest to meet as many people as humanly possible. Walking around with seemingly no where to go has become my new pastime. People here are big greeters, and it’s considered pretty rude not to say good morning/afternoon/evening when walking down the street. I really love this, it makes the community feel very connected and has been a wonderful way for me to meet people. I was able to meet with the Health Centers here (there’s one in Almolonga and another in Zunil), the people who work there are awesome and we’re going to be collaborating in the schools and the community focusing on things such as malnutrition, diarrhea and HIV/AIDS. I also went to visit a womens co-op in Zunil that sells all sorts of beautiful handicrafts. Yesterday I ventured to the swimming pool (owned and operated by the agricultural co-op here in Almolonga), went for a dip and read under the palm trees for the afternoon. Today was an adventure… You see, Almolongueños have an awesome cultural practice of bathing in Los Baños, a little pueblo about 10 minutes down the road. The pueblo has about 8 different buildings that offer prívate romos where for a mere Q15 (a little less than $2) one can enjoy the thermal water and bathe for an hour. Now while you might be imagining a beautiful eddifice with tropical flowers and birds and pristine tile, hahaha do not be fooled! I’m talking rustic (or as my Lonely Planet Travel Guide says, ‘decrepit’), yes in a romanticized way it’s beautiful but really it’s a small room with brown looking tile (that was once white or blue, who knows), a single lightbulb, some nails in the wall to hang your towel and PCV piping to bring in that amazingly hot water. You with me? Everyone here goes at least once a week and most of the houses don’t have showers because it’s not really necessary when people prefer Los Baños to a lousy cold shower in their house. So, I knew that I had to try it out and given my current predicament of excess of time, this morning I decided was the day. And it did not disappoint! The water is amazing, not scalding hot but rather therapudic. My host mom says that the mornings are the best because there aren’t that many people. Sunday is the big day, everyone wants to be squeaky clean for the upcoming week. In other news, on Saturday at the market I bought a mat woven out of some sort of leaves which is serving as a rug in my room. I also got a half hour tutorial as to how to use a washing machine (courtesy of my host dad). Don’t get me wrong, I’m ecstatic to have a washing machine in the house, but having to stand on a plank of wood while iniciating the cycle to ensure my not getting electricuted made me a little less ecstatic. But hey, such is life. Last week I went to a Guatemalan PTA meeting at one of my schools which was entirely in K’iche, so I’m working hard to try and find a teacher to get some formal instruction on the language. I’ve bought a sketchbook and have been writing and drawing more. For some reason the leading guess for my présense in Almolonga is that I apparently married someone here. I get a good laugh out of it each time and it’s a great conversation starter to talk about my work here in the schools. At home my host family affectionally has dubbed me the ‘nuera’ or daughter-in-law, and we love to joke about how I wouldn’t last a minute as a Guatemalan daughter-in-law given the lobsided shapes of my tortillas. I wrote in my journal this week, ‘I just feel so alive here, there’s really no other way to describe it. Alive’. So that’s my word of encouragement to you this week, do something that makes you feel alive…

Buenos Dias Todos!

So, Im here at an internet place with every intention of filling you in, pardon the bullet point setup but its down to business (although my keyboard is extremely sticky and keys arent exactly where they should be)...

Work: I have 14 schools in Almolonga and Zunil, and as the Healthy Schools Municipal Coordinator (who says Peace Corps doesnt have fancy titles?) Ill be working with the teachers and principals to develop plans that will certify them through the Guatemalan Ministry of Education as Healthy Schools. Right now Im just going to visit them, getting to know the principals, kids and the situations at each school. Most of them dont have water, Almolonga only gets water for a few hours each morning but most people have tanks that fill in that time so they have water all day. The kids are great, some schools are huge but others are really tiny out in villages.

Home: Im living with the most amazing older couple in their 60s, Don Jose and Doña Maria! I rent a room in their house, and cook for myself (did I mention that Almolonga is a vegetarians heaven?). Doña Maria and I ussually chat for a few hours each day, shes been telling me all of her cooking secrets. The house is very comfortable, hot shower, washing machine, stove top! Kind of crazy, right? But dont be fooled, its no palace (dont get me started on my war with the flies)... Im extremely thankful to be with the Xiap family, I havent felt the least bit lonely!

Food: As I already mentioned, Almolonga has a fantastic market! Main market day is Saturday, and a lot of it is bulk (they send the veggies all over Central America). This week I bought beets, radishes, carrots, tomatos, cucumber, spinach, bananas, mangos and daisies (dont you think that they are the friendliest flowers?). Every morning I have my instant coffee and oatmeal with a banana, delish! I have big plans to start making my own tortillas (like Doña Maria) but let me tell you, its no easy task (stay tuned for an update)

So Im trying to get you all caught up on my life here, dont worry, future posts wont be nearly so boring... There are lots of anecdotes to come and hopefully pictures too! Until then...

Hola from Almolonga, Guatemala!

I´m very excited to start sharing this journey with you as I make my way through the next two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. There will be lots of ups and down, heartbreak and smiles so prepare yourself for drama, excitement and adventure (sounds just like an Indiana Jones movie, right? I promise that it´s not as imperialistic as that)...

“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together…”
--- Lila Watson, Australian Aboriginal woman