Moped Diaries

Adjusting to, and Enjoying the Life of Travel

Posted by jennie on March 6th, 2006

Hi Everyone. First (especially to my family) i apologize for being so neglectful in my keeping up with web posting.. i hope this is not a sign of whats to come for me as far as keeping everyone updated on my life!! Please know that my lack of coorespondence only indicates how busy ive been and how much fun im having and not that i dont miss all my friends and family!

Well, last wednesday marked my first month of travel. It seems like ive been gone from home MUCH longer, in a good way of course. I feel like ive adjusted well to the traveling gig- of course it is very nice to be in one town for such a long time and really get to know the town, the people, the customs etc. I imagine that after my time here it will take alot of positive self-talk to get that HUGE backpack on and “move on”…

My classes have really been awesome. The last 3 wks. of school i was with one teacher, Fernando and he was really great. I feel that it has been a while since i had a big challenge, and studying with him has certainly been one! for example, one day my asignment was to be the “teacher” and teach him a particularly difficult part of the grammar we had been studying.. i mean, complete with chalkboard, him sitting in a chair in the classroom looking very much the student etc. After 2 1-2 hours of this of course i was exhausted.. BUT, as they say, one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it, right? As i mentioned in my previous post, sometimes i just trust that im learning spanish, because there are moments where my head feels it will explode and im struggling to put a simple sentence together! Everyone at school, from the teachers to the other students to the director is very supportive of one another which definetly makes the atmosphere a comfortable one for learning!

The school, called INEPAS is part language school, part social program as i mentioned before. They run a school, a day care and have a scholarship program for kids attending public school as well. What, needing financial support to attend public school, you say? well, just like in the states, eventhough its mandated that every child gets a free public education, those in the lower socioeconomic classes sometimes cant even afford the clothes and basic things like pencils. The working families arent able to both send their kids to school AND feed them. So, just an example of how little (by our standards) it takes to help one of these kids… $125.00 per year gives a kid the chance to have the essential things he or she needs to attend school. Can you imagine? You better believe when i return ill be pressing all of you to give a donation!! when you think about what you spend 125 dolars on, (eh hem… lattes for a few months maybe? a pair of designer jeans, ladies??) it kinda blows your mind that there is something so tangible you can do to help those (much) less fortunate.. WELL, i digress, but rest assured youll be hearing from me about this much more this fall, when i return to seattle!

With our weekly outings at school i have visited more towns around the highlands of Quetzaltenango (the region name and name of town im staying in are the same). Zunil, San Francisco el Alto, Salcaja. In Zunil we tried to visit another San Simon; unfortunately, someone had been shot in the home where S.S was staying so we were unable to visit. We did get to visit a womens sewing cooperative though. In S.F. we visited on friday the biggest day of the market.. you cannot imagine the different items one can purchase here.. people come to purchase livestock, fruits, vegetables, and various other items.. you want a pig? got it.. a basket of veggies? check. how about a new pair of tennies.. got that too! In Salcaja, i got to watch some men painting the cotton threads for making the colorful blankets.. a very involved process. Im still not sure I understand all the different parts of the process. But knowing how much goes into this certainly makes one marvel at how inexpensive (by our standards) it is to purchase a big blanket!

Other activities organized through the school included conference where we learned a bit more about Guatemalan history. Fortunately and UNfortunately, the conferences are in spanish (of course). We learned about the history of Guat. in the 20th century, a sad history that includes too few years of peace. They refer to the years between 1944 and 1954 as La Primavera (the Spring).. yikes! in 1954 there was a coup led by the U.S. to overthrow president Arbenz who had been trying to bring about some agrarian reform and social changes the country. The nerve he had to ask, among other things, that land be distrubuted fairly and that US companies (the United Fruit Company specifically) pay taxes. The “communist” ideas couldnt be tolerated of course and the rest, as they say, is history.. a very sad history at that. If you are interested there is a very good book about this part of Guatemalan history, called Bitter Fruit.

Ive met more great people of course since i last wrote. Folks from the States, and Europe mostly. My best friends here are Rahim, from Germany, Anna from Mississippi, and Gabriella from Montreal&Philly. It is so easy to become fast friends.. I dont think people believe me anymore when I insist that im an introvert and im shy.. My friends anna and rahim say that im the activities coordinator for our little group here.. imagine! One of our favorite places to hang out is La Luna, a cafe and Bajo La Luna, a wine and cheese bar just downstairs from the cafe.. a little studying and a little drinking! a perfect evening.. ha ha! One night we had a great party there for a fellow students last night in town! we pretty much took over the place.

The housekeeper at Casa Kaehler where i stay said “Buenos Dias Mi Amor” to me last week, which made me smile (good morning, my love, for those non spanish speakers). Everyday i have more warm experiences with the people here.

There have been experiences of a different kind as well: such as the challenge of climbing el Volcan Tajumulco- the tallest point in Central America, at 13,860 feet! A meeting at 445 am followed by a 3 hour bus ride to San Marcos started the wkend…wow… what dedication eh? the Hike itself wasnt the difficult part. the trail was quite mellow, actually compared to hikes ive done back home. The hike took about 6 hours, but this included stops to rest, an hour long lunch break etc. The difficult part was the altitude… the altitude puts people of differing physical ability on a level playing field. The first day i developed a pretty killer headache 2 hours into the hiking. It was the kind of headache where with each beat of your heart you feel your eyes will pop out! In addition, i could feel my heart beat in my throat, and calculated my heart rate to be between 165 and 175 (just to give you an idea, if im going on a run in Seattle, my heart rate will be about 140 to 150!) Once we reached our camp site (400 m) from the summit, the pain was bad enough for me to take some medicine, though im not sure how much it helped. They say you either adjust by spending time at that altitude or you go back down the mountain!..(in the absence of vomiting etc.. i decided to try my luck!) well, we set up camp and then headed the 400 m up to the summit to see the sunset. Unfortunately, it wasnt clear enough to see much. In my photos you can see a glimpse of the volcanos and Lake Atitlan when the clouds parted (once!) It was also bitter cold, just below freezing. The group we trekked with is called Quetzaltrekkers- an organization which runs hikes around Xela and benefits a local school. The guides who were from Europe, the U.S. and Guatemala, were experienced, knowledgable, and very fun. They cooked a great dinner for us with a big campfire. We all went to bed early (7 of us in a big tent) anticipating the 430 am wake up call. Not much sleeping was done that night, between the cold temperatures, headaches and the hard ground, but the next day was certainly Vale la Pena (worth it!).. Imagine a line of 23 people, in complete darkness with their headlamps securely fastened, trekking up the hill together, each person about a foot from the person in front of them. Trying to fight fatigue from a night of little sleep and basically trying to breathe! About 30 minutes into it, though, we paused and turned around to see a brilliant orange stripe across the sky, and then hurried to get to the summit in time for the sunrise. Huddled in down jackets, gloves, hats and the sleeping bags that some were smart enough to haul to the top of the mtn., we enjoyed one of the most amazing views i have seen! The pictures do not begin to do this experience justice, as is the case so often. Hopefully you can appreciate the view of the sunrise, the group of volcanoes, the shadow of Tajumulco and the mountains of neighboring Mexico. Absolutely amazing experience!!! The guides, the hiking, the views, the new friends.. all made this one of my most memborable times here so far.

This week felt like a bit like an “end of an era” as I had to say goodbye to Anna after spending a month together! Rahim left for Lago Atitlan, where I will meet him this Wednesday. I will see Gabriella again after her week at a school in the mountains.

I traveled to the coast this wkend for a dose of HOT weather, to a town called Champerico. It was so great to see the ocean and to experience hot weather for a few days. After spending the day on the beach (Marah, Sarah, think of our “Corona” commercial moments in Mexico!) had a great dinner– a huge soup with crab, shrimp, clams, and fish.. I was the only Gringa in town, which was nice but also a bit unnerving at times, as there were quite a few stares directed my way, especially when i was in my bathing suit– my white skin could BLIND people!

Well, i will tie this up, as its become much longer than i anticipated.

As i said this week i will head to Lago Atitlan, about 2 hours from Xela to meet my friend Rahim and spend about 4 days relaxing there. Then I will return to potentially stay and volunteer here in Xela for another 3 to 4 wks. I am visiting the public hospital here (through connections at the school: the director of Inepas knows a doctor who works there and a visiting PT from Colombia). im keeping my fingers crossed for a volunteer experience there.. The other options are helping a an afterschool program teaching english to 6 to 10 year olds, or working at a day care connected with a shelter for battered women.. I will keep you all posted on how this turns out!

As always, you are in my thoughts. I hope you are all well and happy.

Love, Jennie

Entry Filed under: General, Guatemala