Volunteer site visit

For the past few days i had the pleasure of visiting another Municipal development volunteer in her site in Poaquil, about 2 hours from Alontenango. We had a fabulous time and it was wonderful to see the volunteer life in action. We met up with several other volunteers in the area as well so I was able to see a variety of housing situations and chat with people about their variety of work situations.

She has a wonderful house....with two bedrooms, a bathroom (with a hot shower!), kitchen-dining room, and patio. This is not roughing-it-Peace Corps-life. She has made it really cute with decorations and furniture built on request by local carpenters. She has a fridge, gas stove, and even a mini food processor. She took me to the Municipal building where she works and I got to meet her counterpart and other office employees.

We took a good like 45 minute hike through the countryside to a nearby smaller settlement and met a family that shes friends with up there. The mother was away for breast cancer treatment in the nearest city of Chimaltenango, so I didnt get to meet her. I heard great stories about the work that shes done in the community and it worries me to think about the type of treatment that shes receiving at the public hospital. The little girls showed us around their property to their apple trees, crazy tropical fruit trees, corn, and medicinal herbs. The property had beautiful views of Poaquil down below and green mountainsides covered with cornfields for as far as you could see. Stunning. I also met Rosa, a dynamic young women who lives up there who is the only indiginous women to attend law school in Chimal. She was incredibly friendly and showed us all of her flowers and fruits that she cultivates in her spare time to unwind from the stress of school.

We went on a beautiful and memorable run that was all up hill that kicked my butt in a good way. She has run several marathons and has been running at this altitude for two years now, so I was challenged. We went in late afternoon with some dark coulds in the sky and some rays of sunlight poking through. There was mist beginning to settle in the little valleys of corn fields and the views were breathtaking as we climber further up the hillside. (The whole experience was rather breathtaking with the combination of running up hill, at altitude, with the occasional camioneta or large truck belching out black fumes in its wake).

One of the great lessons of the trip is that cooking on your own in Guatemala can be fun, nutritious, varied, and tasty. I was treated to such delicacies as green curry with market fresh veggies, pizza with homemade sauce and dough, pancakes with fresh marionberry sauce, tofu phad thai, AND....homemade rice krispies treats two nights in a row!!! I was in heaven and am actually getting really excited about cooking when I get my own place. Some of the specialty items like sesame oil and green curry paste were from the capital, but other stuff is handily available around town such as fresh ginger root and marshmallows.

She also took me to the ruins outside of Tecpán called Iximché. Ruins of ancient Mayan town. Very cool. It took us about 45 minutes to walk there from where the bus dropped us off, so it was also nice to walk through the town along the way. You can climb up on the old stone steps and look out over the whole settlement of stone structures and wide open grassy spaces in between. In the back there is an area with people still do traditional religious ceremonies and we stumbled upon the embers of some recent fires that thousands of bees were swarming around what we think was something sweet added to the fires. The smouldering embers and buzzing of the bees gave off a very mystical sensation.

We walked around town on market day to take in all the colors, sounds, and smells that market day in Guatemala has to offer. There is a huge abundance and variety of fresh fruits and veggies. There is also everything you need for your house in plastic form. Lots of fake Puma and Abercrombie clothing to be sold, alongside brightly colored traditional intricately woven skirts and tops for the women.

Another trainee and I relished fresh liquados while waiting for the bus back home. A liquado is a fresh fruit smoothie blended with milk right before your eyes from piles of bananas, strawberries, and pineapples. Heavenly. You just try to focus on the yummy flavors and not the unknown handling of the fresh fruits with bare hands.

Overally the site visit was a great way to see what "real" volunteer life is about, ask TONS of questions, and get the low down on Peace Corps. It was great to be treated to yummy meals, hot showers, and movies. It was very nice to meet their Guatemalan friends, neighbors, counterparts, and familiar people they interact with every day. I feel much more ready to head out to my site armed with some ideas for creative things to do with my house and my food and with a good realistic attitude of what to expect from work and the whole experience.