Moped Diaries

I practically LIVE here!!

Posted by jennie on April 4th, 2006

Hello all. As always, i hope this finds you well and happy…

Well, where was I?? Oh, thats right.. Xela! Well, i originally planned to stay here for a month, and what has happened to me is what i hear happens to alot of gringos… i have stayed longer than planned! im trying on this trip to just do what I feel, instead of being so tied to a ¨plan¨.. so far, its worked out just fine!

Last time I wrote to you I was heading to Lago Atitlan for some RnR, then back here to the ´big city´to hopefully set up a volunteer experience.

The lake proved to be everything i hoped it would be. After a long but beautiful chicken bus ride (i cant believe im actually getting used to these!!) — picture nauseatingly winding roads finally descending into a beautiful lake surrounded by Volcanos– I met my friend Rahim in a town called San Pedro. I found Rahim lounging in a chair in the sun gazing out at a beautiful view of the lake.. perfect!! -an escape from the city– bus and car exhaust, honking cars, polvo (dust) blowing around the city… anyway….

There are several towns around Lago Atitlan, some can be accessed by car, but you can also take a boat from town to town. The boats are called Lanchas, and they are about 15 feet long (basically ´skifs´). You go down to the dock, ask for your destination, and hop on. Then sometimes you leave immediately, and sometimes you wait 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how full the captain would like the boat to be. There is no ´schedule´. The captains were all really friendly.. it cost about 2 dollars (for tourists, less for locals) to go anywhere around the lake.

San Pedro is known as the hippie town, where tourists came to visit and STAYED.. (dont worry, Mom). Great food- sushi, indian, pizza, yummy breakfasts.. The two mornings i was in S.P., i sat in a cute restuarant called Shanti, listening to Bob Marley, writing in my journal and looking at the lake over my cafe con leche, granola and yogurt…

Over the wkend we splurged and stayed in a place called Casa del Mundo (thanks for the recommendation, Bret!), a hotel perched high on the hill, with different level patios over the lake with swimming holes, beautiful gardens etc.. There was family style dinner nightly with amazing food, great people (mostly americans from California it seemed!), and a thouroughly peaceful and relaxed environment! The place was built in the 90s by a guy from the states and his guatemalan wife, who actually met in Alaska! Unfortunately, i did not get to meet him… i was really curious about the AK part of course! I met Regan, a great girl from california who is a documetary film maker and a couple, Mike and Kay, in their 60s who are traveling down the coasts of mexico and central america on their sailboat…. they´ve been gone from home x 1 year and i dont think they have plans to go back! They even invited me to sail with them, if we are able to re-connect on this trip! Rahim got alot of attention during dinners, being from Germany, as everyone we met was from the states– a little bit strange after being in Xela but it was not at all unusual to meet people from the US, Europe, Canada,Asia or Australia on a daily basis.
Also at the lake we visited Panajachel, which felt almost as busy as Xela.. so we only hung out there for the essentials- the bank and internet! I wanted to see the market on friday at Solola so while Rahim climbed Volcan San Pedro (no thanks!) i ventured by lancha to Pana and then hopped on a pickup truck to ride the 8km to Solola. This mode of transport is really one of my favorites.. you simply hail a truck, ask the price, and ride in the back of the truck, either sitting or standing holding onto a metal frame.. depending on how many people are in the truck at any given time. The ride to Solola was really beautiful, as we climbed uphill with a gorgeous view of the volcanoes and the lake below. Ive explained the markets before and this one was not different, but the setting was very nice, as the market was set up right near a pretty church. On my way back to the lake i didn´t see any buses or pickups so just started walking and sure enough, was able to hail a (very full!) pickup within a few mintues…

Returning from Lago Atitlan marked the start of the second month of my time in Xela. During the first month the only constant was class in the mornings… The second month i have started to feel like i actually live here, or something like that!

As for volunteer work, I secured a position as a PT volunteer at the public hospital — this process was certainly a test of my patience and of my cultural openess, as after making the inital contact with the PT director at the hospital, I set up an appointment with the director of the hospital (a formality i was told). Unfortunately, this ¨formality¨of a meeting took about a week to come to fruition, every day calling in the a.m. to either be told ¨manana¨or ¨come to the hospital¨ which would end with me waiting outside the door of the directors office almost 2 hours one time, only to be told he was ïn a meeting… FINALLY,when i got my (5 minute) meeting with him, he was very nice and all he asked was that i write a short letter to him outlining my intentions, goals etc. Only problem was, I had ALREADY DONE THAT! I had brought the letter the week before! ugh… so, apparently the ¨secretary must have lost it¨..

The other experience I chose was working at a day care (Guarderia) in the afternoons- for an organization called Nuevos Horizontes, which is an organization that has a shelter for women suffering domestic violence. In addition they run 2 day cares. This was somewhat easier to secure.. after meeting with the volunteer coordinator (who is from Portland) and visiting the site, i just signed on the dotted line, agreeing to stay 3-4 wks.

SO, as it was.. i settled into my second month in Xela, working from 8-1130am at the hospital, taking a 2 hour break which always seemed to be more hurried than relaxed, and then working at the day care from 2-445pm, 4-5 days per week. Wait, isnt this vacation??

I take the Micro bus every morning to the hospital (the micros are 12 passenger vans that usually have about 20 people crammed into them). There is a driver and a helper, whose job it is to hang out the side of the van yelling the destinations and generally trying to get more customers. They also let the driver know when people need to board or get off and where, and they collect money.. Usually i run to the cafe and take my coffee to go and try to drink it in between lurches of the micro.. (this was a talent that came only after a few spills!) The hospital is a Public hospital called Hospital Regional de Occidente. Harborview Medical Center is a PALACE compared to this place. There is a pharmacy without drugs, halls without lights, ocassionally there is even no water. Patients go at 8am and wait to be seen in a super crowded waiting area. I wouldnt quite say the floors where the patients stay are dirty, but the hyper-cleanliness in the states is an impossible task, given the lack of resources here.
The PT department (fisioterapia) is made up of one supervisor, 2 volunteer PTs who are new graduates..not yet hired by the hospital, one PT who is a professor from one of the universities, and his 13 students!!!!! Working in the clinic is like stepping back in time. They use the oldest equipment ive seen, (donated from places like the states), ratty sheets and pillow cases, which are NOT changed between patients (i was naive enough to ask the first day.. oops), hidrotherapy (whirlpools), UV lamps. Ive seen a mix of neurological and orthopedic patients as well as a few burn patients, both on the hospital floors and in the outpatient clinic. I am just after three weeks figuring out the system.. or lack there of. Everyone is nice and smart and the students usually try hard, but the fact is their systems are so lacking and their resources are so non existent it is sad to observe the treatment the patients are NOT getting. Im doing a little inservice on documentation this week for the professor, because this is not even part of their curriculum. They see outpatients without looking at charts, for example!! (Kate, can you imagine when JCAHO comes.. what a mess.. ha ha!) For you non PT people (sorry!) during a 6 week rotation, the students see all the patients with very little supervision, and with NO notes from previous visits.. they simply wing it all day.. and from what i can see so far, they are not sure how to evaluate a patient. I have really been feeling this week like i would love to be able to stay longer, because though i never would try to come in a forcefully change things, the interest the professor showed in learning about how i document on patients, made me think that maybe there would be the opportunity for teaching if i was staying longer!!!! — one of the students actually asked the teacher if I could see all my patients with her, since she was learning so much working with me. (i promise next week to get some pics of the hospital and staff on my site!)
Nuevos Horizontes (see photos!!) is a crazy, chaotic place where about 20 kids go after school for activities, lunch, and general supervision while their moms are working. This place is full of dirty hands, dirtier faces, boogers, poop, not enough supervision.. and i love it! I love even the brats (they are usually the cutest ones!). The kids need tons of attention, but for the most part are really good, sweet kids. One of the oldest kids who seems all tough, is actually a total care taker for the young kids. Some are super smart, always asking me for more math problems (one of the 8 year olds is doing long division, isn´t that pretty hard??). The day care is run by Soledad and her mother, Roberta, and two of Soledads teenage sisters also help out. When i arrive in the afternoon, we get ready for lunch– they all sing and say there prayers before eating, then after i help everybody brush teeth.. then for the rest of the afternoon we read, do math, draw, play soccer and i try to break up fights!! fun fun fun…im learning some valuable spanish, like saying ¨dont hit!¨, ¨do you have to use the bathroom?¨, ¨come here and brush your teeth!!¨. Some days i am totally exhausted and sometimes i drag my feet going there (i take two buses to get there though the total time is short) but when i walk in the door and hear ¨SEÑO, Jennie!!!!¨and all the snotty noses run up and hug and kiss me.. im happy im there. Some of the fun events have been– playing soccer with the big kids vs. the volunteers, ¨Guatemala vs. U.S.A¨.. ive learned most terms used in soccer in spanish now!, having a birthday party for 4 of the boys, (complete with 2 day post sugar melt down), and dancing merengue and salsa with one of the little girls (ok, so we were really just moving around with no rhythm).

For the second month here i moved to a place called Casa Argentina, which is a huge hostel, with sketchy water and lumpy pillows.. but its actually pretty decent.. nice people, lots of space, and you cant beat the cost– less than 100$ for the month.

Its pretty crazy how it really does feel like i live here. Im used to all the songs on the radio even if I dont know all the words. I now know all the things the micro helpers are yelling (baja- someones getting off, llega- someones coming, dale- go go!! etc). It feels more normal to me now to say ¨Buenos dias¨passing someone on the street in the morning, ¨No tenga pena¨after someone says Sorry or Excuse me, and hearing ¨Que le vaya bien¨when someone says goodbye to you. There is also a custom that when you finish eating you say Gracias and the other person says Buen Provecho. I know where to do my laundry if im lazy, where to buy groceries, the best place for coffee, etc.

Other things going on in Xela in the last month besides my ¨routine¨include enjoying the customs during LENT, like watching various processions and going to weekly fairs (picture foosball tables, rides for kids, TONS of traditional food, music etc) that are held at different churches each week, taking Salsa classes (yes, i even went out dancing and danced Salsa with my instructor, though i was very nervous!), going to visit sites like the ruins at Takalik Abaj (see photos), going to the cinema, meeting travelers, and spending time with Guatemalan friends.
I visited Antigua this weekend and got a glimpse of whats in store for next week, Semana Santa, as im planning on spending 5 days there.. there were tons of people, mostly speaking english, high prices (compared to Xela), general craziness, but also beautful colonial architecture, clean streets, great food (SUSHI!)….. Semana Santa there will be an amazing experience.. i cannot wait!
A week from tomorrow is my last day in Xela, and i know it will be a sad one. In some ways im ready to explore, but in other ways it will very difficult to leave the comfort of this place and its wonderful people and customs. Of course after having not used my big backpack for nearly 2 months, that will be a bummer too!! The plan from here is to spend about 5 days in Antigua, then on to the North, towards Coban, Tikal, and then…. Honduras, Belize?, and the rest.

Thanks for your patience– many of you have written me saying ¨what the hell is going on with you and why haven´t you written on your website!!!???¨ Im sorry that ive been so bad at this! It is only because im busy and happy. The only downside to having a site is that it creates expectations! Well, I hope i haven´t put anyone to sleep.. Please take care and know that my lack of coorespondence with all of you at home is certainly no indication that i dont miss you!!!

Cuidense.

J

Entry Filed under: General, Guatemala