Thursday night I stayed with my Guatemalan family. I woke up at before 3am on Friday and knew that I was going to have to get up soon. My alarm was set for 3:25 because the bus could come anywhere between 3:45 and 4:15. However, thinking that I needed to get that half hour of sleep in, I put my earplugs in so that I would fall right back to sleep. The next thing I knew, I woke up and it was 4:30!!! I JUMPED out of bed, thought I could maybe hear a motor running outside, ran down the spiral staircase, dropping my cellphone in the laundry sink on the way, ran to the front door and flung it open. Huffing and puffing and nearly in tears, I saw that the driver was waiting there! I quickly explained in Spanish that I had just woken up and could I please go and get my stuff. Thankfully I had packed everything the night before and only needed to toss a few things in, use the baño and run back out.
Off we went. The Swiss girls in the minibus slept for the first few hours stretched out, each to a seat. They told me later that the driver had had difficulty finding the house I was at, so he hadn't been waiting long. God does provide, despite my foolishness!
The driver was INSANE! He weaved in and out of traffic, driving at break-neck speeds, not really caring if a light was red (they do have stoplights in Guatemala city!), or if there were pedestrians or cars in front of him. There were no seatbelts, but I clung to my seat, seriously scared. At first I thought it was because I made him late, but later on he stopped for about 20 minutes at the side of the road for no apparent reason (I assume he must have been early) and then continued to race onwards. He didn't speak Spanish either, and I wasn't entirely sure of my schedule. I thought I would get to Rio Dulce at about 8am, but actually, that was when I had to get off (at a place where there were no white people and everyone stared at me) and wait for another bus (didn't know which one, but a nice gentleman showed me). I was pretty scared and stressed that I might not make it to the boat before boarding time. Eventually I made it to Rio Dulce and was dropped off conveniently right in front of the hotel that the other girls were staying in and right by the dock where we were to board the catamaran.
The sailing trip was AMAZING! It was a 46' boat, able to sleep 13 people (albeit squishedly), but we only had the 4 of us girls, plus the captain and sailor: Raul and Carlos. Raul doubled as the cook and he was a wonderful cook. Everything he made was from scratch: vegetable soup, pancakes, typical breakfasts, tender beef stirfry, salads, spaghetti made from fresh roma tomatoes, egg-coated fried cauliflower, mashed potatoes, fried mackeral, rice, French toast, home-made cake!! and pudding, and lots of fresh fruit: papayas, watermelon (I wasn't allergic to it this time!), the best pineapple I've ever had, and oranges. Mmmm.
It was hot too, so we did a lot of swimming in the warm lake, read our books, relaxed in the hammocks between the pontoons, and played cards. So relaxing... We also stopped at several places: a hot waterfall that felt like we were taking a shower, a small town called Livingston that is at the mouth of the river on the Caribbean which is only accessible by boat and was started by shipwrecked slaves from Africa, a little river where we got off and paddled around on surfboards to a handicrafts market, we passed lots of thatched huts and locals paddling themselves around in wooden dug-out canoes, and we were surrounded by jungle the whole time. I didn't see too many animals, but apparently sometimes you can see monkeys, manatees, toucans, etc.
Monday morning we were back at Rio Dulce and we boarded a bus (much nicer one this time) back to Guatemala. On one of our stops I bought some more papaya dripped with lime juice. I never used to like papaya, but the fresh stuff is really good. We took the big bus to Guatemala City (about 5 hours) and then a mini-bus to Antigua where we found a hostel for 35 quetzalas per night (less than $5!)
Tuesday Alyson and I took a taxi that Heather (the girl who lives in Antigua) recommended to Chimaltenango for one more wheelchair distribution with a new group. It went really well, and despite the hwy being closed due to a demonstration, all but one of the people who needed wheelchairs were able to come. Chris drove us back to Antigua, we toured a jade factory with the group, then went for a classy Italian dinner.
Wednesday morning I got up around 7, went for breakfast, then the mini-bus picked me up around 8:15 for the airport. This driver was much more friendly, chatted with me in Spanish, let me sit in the front seat, and drove much more safely! By 10:30pm I got home (11:30 for me). I'm definitely going to miss Guatemala, although I'm excited to see my family and friends again and wear clean clothes! This has been an amazing, unforgettable experience and I have learned a lot about: Spanish, wheelchair mechanicking, people, Guatemala and its culture, and God. I am very thankful that I had this opportunity! THE END (maybe? ;p)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Xela
My time in Xela (aka Quetzaltenango) flew by and went really well. I couldn't write about it until I got back though because I didn't want to worry my mom :)
Sunday we drove up. God kept us safe in our travels, despite 50 miles of mudslides! I will post pics soon. It was just incredible. We had to stop once for about 45 minutes because the road was closed, but then were able to continue with a total time of just over 3 hours. We passed by lots of pick-ups crammed with people, even standing on the bumpers, and we saw a bus that had been completely smushed and roads that were had caved in. The 4-lane highway was 2 lanes in many places, with us having to drive through the fog into oncoming traffic :O hoping that no more slides occured as we drove. We are truly powerless. Only God can control his creation.
Another thing that amazed me today were the stories that the people from this team shared. They have many years of experience and told stories of how often God has provided exactly what was needed. For example: A special prototype Mulholland wheelchair was made (only about 2 made in total) that somehow ended up here. It had a seat built for leg length discrepancies (staggered seat) and a custom-made molded backrest. They didn't think it would work for anyone, but then it fit one girl at the orphanage absolutely perfectly! Other examples were when at w/c distributions they only had one w/c left and it had only a left footrest and the last person to come through the door was a right leg amputee. Or when they had no w/c's left and a family brought in their blind daughter who had never walked. The PT worked with her and within an hour she was taking a few steps! If there had been w/c's available she probably would have never walked! God is truly sovereign!
We ate at the hotel for lunch and then I watched part of Langley CanRC's sermon at the lounge with Cindy, my roomie for the time. A man who called himself No-Stress Mike joined us and told us lots of stories. Very interesting character. He does alternative medicines and said he healed his wife of her stroke through acupuncture and "Chi" energy healing. He also talked about how he used to be in the US Army at Vietnam and he trains SWAT teams, drives around North and Central America with his dog on his motorcycle and knows how to shoot someone in one spot to cause muscle spasms, then shoot in another to relieve it. That night we also watched Slumdog Millionaire in my room (thanks Joel for putting all your stuff on my computer! It's really come in handy a few times :)
Monday we went to the orphanage. It was so beautiful, compared to Hermano Pedro. The children are kept clean and entertained and the staff are really eager to help us. It has also been abnormally sunny this whole time (Debbie the PT on our team attributes it to the prayers of her church back home for us). I worked with Saul and we felt really satisfied with the chairs that we set up, even though some of the children were quite deformed and difficult to seat. Debbie is very experienced and taught me a few tricks on how to assess a child before seating them. Chris has been speaking some Spanish to me to get me to practice, and I've also been trying to converse with Saul and Jorge who don't speak much English. I am definitely getting proficient at ordering food though. It's important! :) We heard on Tuesday that there was another mudslide cutting off the road between Chimaltenango and Xela so we were worried we wouldn't make it home, but by Thursday it was cleared enough - though still dangerous.
Tuesday was very much the same. We seated a couple of beautiful little girls with Down's Syndrome and another boy and then did lots of repairs. Later, Cindy and I went for a swim in the hotel's pool. I don't think it was heated, so it was cold, but felt good to get some exercise. I haven't been running at all since I got here, so I feel quite out of shape. Swimming made me out of breath, but it is also at a very high altitude, so that could have something to do with it. I also scrubbed my socks and underwear Tuesday and hung them out on Dick's balcony (with his permission). We have no airflow whatsoever in our room so it would never dry and I haven't been able to get to a laundromat in about a week and a half so it was needed. He was a good sport about it although he liked to tease. Picture a 60-something year old man who looks kind of like Santa Claus and you've got Dick. Great guy with a big heart, although he doesn't speak Spanish after living in Guatemala for 9 years.
Wednesday we did lots of wheelchair repairs and actually finished almost everything. Again, we could see God's hand at work. We couldn't do it on our own. Some of those kids were so twisted that we really didn't know what to do on our own. Something else that struck me was how Chris said he is completely unashamed to tell potential supporters (Christian or not) that God is the reason he does his work. The ultimate goal of the wheelchair shop is to glorify God and that is more important than money. I found those to be powerful and inspiring words. I am really learning so much here in Guatemala: about Spanish, wheelchairs, mechanicking, God, and people. Dick was talking about the Guatemalen culture at supper and said how abuse, especially physical is very common. He said he's heard men at church say, "I need to go home now and beat my wife and kids" - and by beat, they really mean tie them and whip them! Women have nowhere to go to escape. Even if they escaped their abusive husbands they would starve on the streets. There is very little in the way of social supports.
Thursday (today) we had a gorgeous drive back to Chimaltenango. We stopped at some Mayan ruins on the way (I can't remember the name of the place) and had a delicious lunch at a restaurant. We had grilled steaks, sausages and chicken, with guacamole, beans, potato wedges, and limes and nachos with different types of salsas and fresh corn tortillas made on the spot. Absolutely delicious and it came to an equivalent of about $8 per person! So much stuff is very cheap here. Dick says he's gone to the doctor for something 6x and paid about $7.50 in total. People are paid very little.
Now I am in Antigua (Chris dropped me off at my Guatemalen family again). The minibus picks me up tomorrow morning at 4am!!! to go to Rio Dulce where I will meet Alyson for our sailing trip. So excited, but wow - this trip is going fast!
Sunday we drove up. God kept us safe in our travels, despite 50 miles of mudslides! I will post pics soon. It was just incredible. We had to stop once for about 45 minutes because the road was closed, but then were able to continue with a total time of just over 3 hours. We passed by lots of pick-ups crammed with people, even standing on the bumpers, and we saw a bus that had been completely smushed and roads that were had caved in. The 4-lane highway was 2 lanes in many places, with us having to drive through the fog into oncoming traffic :O hoping that no more slides occured as we drove. We are truly powerless. Only God can control his creation.
Another thing that amazed me today were the stories that the people from this team shared. They have many years of experience and told stories of how often God has provided exactly what was needed. For example: A special prototype Mulholland wheelchair was made (only about 2 made in total) that somehow ended up here. It had a seat built for leg length discrepancies (staggered seat) and a custom-made molded backrest. They didn't think it would work for anyone, but then it fit one girl at the orphanage absolutely perfectly! Other examples were when at w/c distributions they only had one w/c left and it had only a left footrest and the last person to come through the door was a right leg amputee. Or when they had no w/c's left and a family brought in their blind daughter who had never walked. The PT worked with her and within an hour she was taking a few steps! If there had been w/c's available she probably would have never walked! God is truly sovereign!
We ate at the hotel for lunch and then I watched part of Langley CanRC's sermon at the lounge with Cindy, my roomie for the time. A man who called himself No-Stress Mike joined us and told us lots of stories. Very interesting character. He does alternative medicines and said he healed his wife of her stroke through acupuncture and "Chi" energy healing. He also talked about how he used to be in the US Army at Vietnam and he trains SWAT teams, drives around North and Central America with his dog on his motorcycle and knows how to shoot someone in one spot to cause muscle spasms, then shoot in another to relieve it. That night we also watched Slumdog Millionaire in my room (thanks Joel for putting all your stuff on my computer! It's really come in handy a few times :)
Monday we went to the orphanage. It was so beautiful, compared to Hermano Pedro. The children are kept clean and entertained and the staff are really eager to help us. It has also been abnormally sunny this whole time (Debbie the PT on our team attributes it to the prayers of her church back home for us). I worked with Saul and we felt really satisfied with the chairs that we set up, even though some of the children were quite deformed and difficult to seat. Debbie is very experienced and taught me a few tricks on how to assess a child before seating them. Chris has been speaking some Spanish to me to get me to practice, and I've also been trying to converse with Saul and Jorge who don't speak much English. I am definitely getting proficient at ordering food though. It's important! :) We heard on Tuesday that there was another mudslide cutting off the road between Chimaltenango and Xela so we were worried we wouldn't make it home, but by Thursday it was cleared enough - though still dangerous.
Tuesday was very much the same. We seated a couple of beautiful little girls with Down's Syndrome and another boy and then did lots of repairs. Later, Cindy and I went for a swim in the hotel's pool. I don't think it was heated, so it was cold, but felt good to get some exercise. I haven't been running at all since I got here, so I feel quite out of shape. Swimming made me out of breath, but it is also at a very high altitude, so that could have something to do with it. I also scrubbed my socks and underwear Tuesday and hung them out on Dick's balcony (with his permission). We have no airflow whatsoever in our room so it would never dry and I haven't been able to get to a laundromat in about a week and a half so it was needed. He was a good sport about it although he liked to tease. Picture a 60-something year old man who looks kind of like Santa Claus and you've got Dick. Great guy with a big heart, although he doesn't speak Spanish after living in Guatemala for 9 years.
Wednesday we did lots of wheelchair repairs and actually finished almost everything. Again, we could see God's hand at work. We couldn't do it on our own. Some of those kids were so twisted that we really didn't know what to do on our own. Something else that struck me was how Chris said he is completely unashamed to tell potential supporters (Christian or not) that God is the reason he does his work. The ultimate goal of the wheelchair shop is to glorify God and that is more important than money. I found those to be powerful and inspiring words. I am really learning so much here in Guatemala: about Spanish, wheelchairs, mechanicking, God, and people. Dick was talking about the Guatemalen culture at supper and said how abuse, especially physical is very common. He said he's heard men at church say, "I need to go home now and beat my wife and kids" - and by beat, they really mean tie them and whip them! Women have nowhere to go to escape. Even if they escaped their abusive husbands they would starve on the streets. There is very little in the way of social supports.
Thursday (today) we had a gorgeous drive back to Chimaltenango. We stopped at some Mayan ruins on the way (I can't remember the name of the place) and had a delicious lunch at a restaurant. We had grilled steaks, sausages and chicken, with guacamole, beans, potato wedges, and limes and nachos with different types of salsas and fresh corn tortillas made on the spot. Absolutely delicious and it came to an equivalent of about $8 per person! So much stuff is very cheap here. Dick says he's gone to the doctor for something 6x and paid about $7.50 in total. People are paid very little.
Now I am in Antigua (Chris dropped me off at my Guatemalen family again). The minibus picks me up tomorrow morning at 4am!!! to go to Rio Dulce where I will meet Alyson for our sailing trip. So excited, but wow - this trip is going fast!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Week 2 1/2ish :)
I'm getting used to the routine of heading to bed at 8-8:30 and up at 7. Belinda, you would be proud of me :) Chris and Donna had 3 of their grandkids over last weekend and by 8pm everyone except me, Bailey and Alyson was in bed! I finally did some work on my English course that night, since I didn't think I needed 12 hours of sleep.
Sunday we drove to church (9 in their 5-passenger XTerra going up and down muddy slopes). Church again was not what I am used to, but it was still good to be able to praise God with believers far from home. The only kind of "tongues" I spoke in were English and Spanish :) Pastor Juan's wife gave the message this time about how God sees everything we do and how it's important to maintain our spiritual health like our physical health. After church we went to the Mexican restaurant in the mall (still feels wrong, but what can you do?) I had a huge stack of nachos. Afterwards their family went to a birthday party and Chris dropped us off at the house and told us the powerful story of how he used to be a complete drug addict and God turned him around 180 degrees! God is truly powerful! I wanted to livestream Langley CanRC for the afternoon service, but the family only has a certain amount of bandwidth per month, so they don't want us livestreaming anything. Instead we watched some movies and made pancakes for dinner. Sundays are definitely the day that I do start to miss home. Oh, btw, Sunday night there was a small earthquake. No damage, just a shudder...felt weird. I thought a train drove by, but there are no trains around here.
Monday we went to Hermano Pedro again and set up some wheelchairs. Afterwards I was dropped off at my homestay family de Juan Carlos Silva, his wife Iliana and her sister Bety, and daughters Pilar and Valeria. They also have another student - Marie - from Sweden. She speaks English, but the family doesn't. The father welcomed me with the words: "You need to pay me $1 for every work you speak in English"! They also have a girl who does housework - Mira. The house is very small. My room barely has room for my bed and two small tables. It also has the tiniest bano that I have ever seen.
Tuesday I started school. My shower was only lukeward. I discovered two days later (after two cold showers) how to turn the temp up! School was good. Teaching is one-on-one in a beautiful building with a courtyard. We start out by chatting (somehow it's much easier to understand her than my Guatemalen family) and then she teaches me grammar. This week I learned muchos verbos in both present and past tenses. I went home for a lunch at 1 and then headed off to Hermano Pedro where I fixed a few wheelchair brakes and searched for footplates, etc. and met the Physiotherapy staff and did some range of motion (stretching) exercises. It's difficult to really do anything without knowing much of the language though. After the orphanage I went "home", did some homework, then had supper at about 7-7:30, then headed upstairs to my little room to do a little more work and go to bed. I'm thinking that the Mooney family's routine maybe isn't so strange. I guess it makes sense to go to bed early and get up early, seeing as it's light 6:30am-6:30pm.
The whole week was about the same. I had lots of delicious Guatemalen food - actually very healthy: lots of soups/stews made from fresh veggies, chicken/fish/beef, tortillas (with pretty much every meal), rice, black beans (mostly just for breakfast with eggs and tortillas), lots of plantains which I'm really starting to love, and salads. It seems strange that a country with so many natural resources can be so poor. They can grow virtually any veggies/fruit and have lots of other resources like lumber, jade, rubber trees, etc.
Today I took the girls from the family out for ice creams and walked around town a bit, then met up with Chris and the new group at Hermano Pedro, went to the market, and now I am at Chris's house again. The Internet is slow today, but I'll try to post more pics soon.
Sunday we drove to church (9 in their 5-passenger XTerra going up and down muddy slopes). Church again was not what I am used to, but it was still good to be able to praise God with believers far from home. The only kind of "tongues" I spoke in were English and Spanish :) Pastor Juan's wife gave the message this time about how God sees everything we do and how it's important to maintain our spiritual health like our physical health. After church we went to the Mexican restaurant in the mall (still feels wrong, but what can you do?) I had a huge stack of nachos. Afterwards their family went to a birthday party and Chris dropped us off at the house and told us the powerful story of how he used to be a complete drug addict and God turned him around 180 degrees! God is truly powerful! I wanted to livestream Langley CanRC for the afternoon service, but the family only has a certain amount of bandwidth per month, so they don't want us livestreaming anything. Instead we watched some movies and made pancakes for dinner. Sundays are definitely the day that I do start to miss home. Oh, btw, Sunday night there was a small earthquake. No damage, just a shudder...felt weird. I thought a train drove by, but there are no trains around here.
Monday we went to Hermano Pedro again and set up some wheelchairs. Afterwards I was dropped off at my homestay family de Juan Carlos Silva, his wife Iliana and her sister Bety, and daughters Pilar and Valeria. They also have another student - Marie - from Sweden. She speaks English, but the family doesn't. The father welcomed me with the words: "You need to pay me $1 for every work you speak in English"! They also have a girl who does housework - Mira. The house is very small. My room barely has room for my bed and two small tables. It also has the tiniest bano that I have ever seen.
Tuesday I started school. My shower was only lukeward. I discovered two days later (after two cold showers) how to turn the temp up! School was good. Teaching is one-on-one in a beautiful building with a courtyard. We start out by chatting (somehow it's much easier to understand her than my Guatemalen family) and then she teaches me grammar. This week I learned muchos verbos in both present and past tenses. I went home for a lunch at 1 and then headed off to Hermano Pedro where I fixed a few wheelchair brakes and searched for footplates, etc. and met the Physiotherapy staff and did some range of motion (stretching) exercises. It's difficult to really do anything without knowing much of the language though. After the orphanage I went "home", did some homework, then had supper at about 7-7:30, then headed upstairs to my little room to do a little more work and go to bed. I'm thinking that the Mooney family's routine maybe isn't so strange. I guess it makes sense to go to bed early and get up early, seeing as it's light 6:30am-6:30pm.
The whole week was about the same. I had lots of delicious Guatemalen food - actually very healthy: lots of soups/stews made from fresh veggies, chicken/fish/beef, tortillas (with pretty much every meal), rice, black beans (mostly just for breakfast with eggs and tortillas), lots of plantains which I'm really starting to love, and salads. It seems strange that a country with so many natural resources can be so poor. They can grow virtually any veggies/fruit and have lots of other resources like lumber, jade, rubber trees, etc.
Today I took the girls from the family out for ice creams and walked around town a bit, then met up with Chris and the new group at Hermano Pedro, went to the market, and now I am at Chris's house again. The Internet is slow today, but I'll try to post more pics soon.
More Guatemalan fun facts
A few more observations about Guatemala:
- Women dress modestly. I have yet to see a Guatemalen woman in shorts - just pants/skirts. However, it is not unheard of for a woman to expose herself to nurse her 2 year-old in the box of a pick-up truck while they drive. Also, the central park of Antigua has at its center a fountain in the design of four lactating women!
- The rainy season is rainy! And pretty cool (jeans and sometimes sweaters weather)
- Security guards are everywhere and carry big guns: at banks, at restaurants, and even on Coca Cola transport trucks
- I literally didn't know what time zone I was in for the first couple of days! Now I know: one hour difference (no daylight savings time)
- I often hear huge BANG!s, but it's not usually guns. It's just cars backfiring
- I experienced my first 4x4 ride in a mini-bus today (well, actually, it should have had 4WD. We almost didn't make it...)
- City buses are old American buses painted very creatively different ways for different buses. They are commonly called chicken buses (maybe b/c they have racks on top that people put their boxes of chickens in when they take them home for supper?)
- People are very affectionate (Hence, we are told to hug & kiss 10+ people at church)
- Staircases are spiral and very steep and tight = difficult to carry suitcases up (and mine is small!)
- Women dress modestly. I have yet to see a Guatemalen woman in shorts - just pants/skirts. However, it is not unheard of for a woman to expose herself to nurse her 2 year-old in the box of a pick-up truck while they drive. Also, the central park of Antigua has at its center a fountain in the design of four lactating women!
- The rainy season is rainy! And pretty cool (jeans and sometimes sweaters weather)
- Security guards are everywhere and carry big guns: at banks, at restaurants, and even on Coca Cola transport trucks
- I literally didn't know what time zone I was in for the first couple of days! Now I know: one hour difference (no daylight savings time)
- I often hear huge BANG!s, but it's not usually guns. It's just cars backfiring
- I experienced my first 4x4 ride in a mini-bus today (well, actually, it should have had 4WD. We almost didn't make it...)
- City buses are old American buses painted very creatively different ways for different buses. They are commonly called chicken buses (maybe b/c they have racks on top that people put their boxes of chickens in when they take them home for supper?)
- People are very affectionate (Hence, we are told to hug & kiss 10+ people at church)
- Staircases are spiral and very steep and tight = difficult to carry suitcases up (and mine is small!)
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Week 2ish
I haven't taken too many pictures this week, because I have mostly just been at Hermano Pedro orphanage (where we're not supposed to take pictures) and at Chris and Donna's house (the missionaries). Anyways, my week has been as follows.
Tuesday was relaxing. We stayed at Chris and Donna's, did laundry, attempted a 3000 word puzzle, but were missing too many pieces on the outside, so we quit, played some Uno, etc. In the evening the whole Mooney clan came over (17 in total, including us) and we had an amazing feast in honour of Ben's (and Bailey's) birthdays. We had bbq'd chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, fresh buns, creamed corn, cukes garnished with lime juice, fresh limeade and lots of desserts: angel food cake (imported from USA), home-made ice cream in rootbeer floats, and cheesecake. Almost right away after dinner everyone left and we all went to bed.
Wednesday was our first non-Campero-breakfast-day and we 3 girls went with Saul to the workshop and picked out wheelchairs that would be suitable for people at the orphanage, and then went to the orphanage in Antigua and set them up. They were quite complex, so we only completed about 1 1/2 that day. We got back, had a delicious sweet-and-sour stirfry made from fresh pineapples and Horchata tea (made from hibiscus leaves and cinnamon sticks boiled). Oops - it sounds like all I talk about is food, isn't it? Well, I find it interesting! :D Again, we were in bed by 8:30-9ish
Thursday we again went to the workshop and orphanage. Our first chair required a carved back b/c the person's back was so twisted sideways and needed support. The other boy had one leg 4" longer than the other b/c his hip was out of its socket.
At lunch in a very north American bagel place we met a girl from New Mexico who needs to get out of the country to renew her visa, so Alyson will probably travel with her now next week.
Friday was pretty similar to Thursday, and the grandkids came over for the night too and we watched Karate kid. When we went to bed I had to put my earplugs in b/c the rain was coming down so hard on the tin roof right above my head.
Saturday (today!) we went to Antigua. It rained most of the day (usually it just rains for an hour or so around lunch and we wandered around. I signed up for Spanish school and we went to the markets. I bought some nice leather sandals for 100 quetzales ($12.50).
Since this is a "shorter" update, I'll give you an idea of what it's like here in Guatemala:
1. Driving is a big game of chicken. There are no traffic lights. Apparently they tried it one time and there were too many accidents!
2. Riding in the back of a pick-up truck is illegal and so is riding a motorbike without a helmet, and not using seatbelts, but cops do all 3 of those things...
3. You legally don't have to pull over for cops unless there are at least 4, because of corruption of the authorities.
4. Guatemalan food is flavourful, but not hot spicy like in Mexico
5. Women's traditional dresses cost about $100 and they wear the same one for a long time (years and years) because they can't afford a new one
6. Lime goes on every dish
7. Bananas, pineapples, plantains, limes, avacadoes, coconuts, etc. are all very delicious fresh!
8. Land crabs exist. I'd never heard of one until I saw it in the garden at the hotel
9. Beans are grown using corn stalks as poles
10. Bimbo is the name of a bread company.
11. Teachers at the schools will tell their kids that they will be sick (the following Tuesday through Thursday, for example) and the kids will just have the day off. No subs.
12. I definitely haven't done much on my English course... :P oops...
You might be interested in my schedule: Next Tuesday Bailey leaves and Alyson goes to Belize with a friend and I will go to Antigua for Spanish school in the mornings and volunteering in the afternoons. The week after I will join a new couple from USA and we will go to an orphanage in Xela to work on wheelchairs. That weekend I am going to go on a sailing trip on a catamaran on the Rio Dulce to the Caribbean with Alyson and her friend http://www.sailing-diving-guatemala.com/sailing-rio-dulce.php . Then I will participate in another distribution on Oct 12 and fly home on the 13th. Busy, but exciting.
Okay, so maybe not a short post again, so if you made it this far I'm impressed! :P
Tuesday was relaxing. We stayed at Chris and Donna's, did laundry, attempted a 3000 word puzzle, but were missing too many pieces on the outside, so we quit, played some Uno, etc. In the evening the whole Mooney clan came over (17 in total, including us) and we had an amazing feast in honour of Ben's (and Bailey's) birthdays. We had bbq'd chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, fresh buns, creamed corn, cukes garnished with lime juice, fresh limeade and lots of desserts: angel food cake (imported from USA), home-made ice cream in rootbeer floats, and cheesecake. Almost right away after dinner everyone left and we all went to bed.
Wednesday was our first non-Campero-breakfast-day and we 3 girls went with Saul to the workshop and picked out wheelchairs that would be suitable for people at the orphanage, and then went to the orphanage in Antigua and set them up. They were quite complex, so we only completed about 1 1/2 that day. We got back, had a delicious sweet-and-sour stirfry made from fresh pineapples and Horchata tea (made from hibiscus leaves and cinnamon sticks boiled). Oops - it sounds like all I talk about is food, isn't it? Well, I find it interesting! :D Again, we were in bed by 8:30-9ish
Thursday we again went to the workshop and orphanage. Our first chair required a carved back b/c the person's back was so twisted sideways and needed support. The other boy had one leg 4" longer than the other b/c his hip was out of its socket.
At lunch in a very north American bagel place we met a girl from New Mexico who needs to get out of the country to renew her visa, so Alyson will probably travel with her now next week.
Friday was pretty similar to Thursday, and the grandkids came over for the night too and we watched Karate kid. When we went to bed I had to put my earplugs in b/c the rain was coming down so hard on the tin roof right above my head.
Saturday (today!) we went to Antigua. It rained most of the day (usually it just rains for an hour or so around lunch and we wandered around. I signed up for Spanish school and we went to the markets. I bought some nice leather sandals for 100 quetzales ($12.50).
Since this is a "shorter" update, I'll give you an idea of what it's like here in Guatemala:
1. Driving is a big game of chicken. There are no traffic lights. Apparently they tried it one time and there were too many accidents!
2. Riding in the back of a pick-up truck is illegal and so is riding a motorbike without a helmet, and not using seatbelts, but cops do all 3 of those things...
3. You legally don't have to pull over for cops unless there are at least 4, because of corruption of the authorities.
4. Guatemalan food is flavourful, but not hot spicy like in Mexico
5. Women's traditional dresses cost about $100 and they wear the same one for a long time (years and years) because they can't afford a new one
6. Lime goes on every dish
7. Bananas, pineapples, plantains, limes, avacadoes, coconuts, etc. are all very delicious fresh!
8. Land crabs exist. I'd never heard of one until I saw it in the garden at the hotel
9. Beans are grown using corn stalks as poles
10. Bimbo is the name of a bread company.
11. Teachers at the schools will tell their kids that they will be sick (the following Tuesday through Thursday, for example) and the kids will just have the day off. No subs.
12. I definitely haven't done much on my English course... :P oops...
You might be interested in my schedule: Next Tuesday Bailey leaves and Alyson goes to Belize with a friend and I will go to Antigua for Spanish school in the mornings and volunteering in the afternoons. The week after I will join a new couple from USA and we will go to an orphanage in Xela to work on wheelchairs. That weekend I am going to go on a sailing trip on a catamaran on the Rio Dulce to the Caribbean with Alyson and her friend http://www.sailing-diving-guatemala.com/sailing-rio-dulce.php . Then I will participate in another distribution on Oct 12 and fly home on the 13th. Busy, but exciting.
Okay, so maybe not a short post again, so if you made it this far I'm impressed! :P
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Finally made a blog after week 1 :)
Hi everyone,
It feels like I've already been in Guatemala for a long time and now it's been a whole week! 9 members of our team will be taking off in an hour! It has been good though. Very interesting and different. Tuesday was very long – up at 4:30am and arriving at our hotel at 11pm Guatemalan time (1 hour east, so actually 10 for me). Driving from Guatemala City airport to our hotel in Chimaltenango was interesting because Wednesday was going to be Independence Day so everyone was already celebrating. They ran up the streets with torches – mostly kids probably aged 5-18. Lots of people were on motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic which was really slow (usually more than one per bike) and lots of people in pick-up trucks and in old, American school-buses which are decorated and serve as city buses.
Our hotel is quite nice. I'm sharing my room with Heather Lawrence (the PT that I did a project for when I was in RA school) and we have two double beds and a bathroom. The shower even has hot water!...usually :) It doesn't have Internet though, so I have to go to Pollo Campero for that (chicken fastfood restaurant that we have been eating at a lot).
Wednesday we were up at 7:30, went to Pollo Campero for breakfast and then were given a tour of the workshop which you probably saw pictures of. I stayed there and worked on chairs while most of the women went on a food distribution and to Hermano Pedro (orphanage in Antigua).
Thursday we got up earlier at 6:45 and had a wheelchair distribution at a church next to the workshop. It went well, but was very different from anything in Canada. First of all, half the people setting up the wheelchairs had no formal training. Second of all, the equipment and standards of what is acceptable are quite different.
In the afternoon we went to Hermano Pedro and had a tour of the place. We weren't allowed to take any pics so that's why I have none. It seems like a hospital you could have seen 75 years ago in Canada. The nurses are the former cleaning people who have had a couple weeks training (besides all the ones that come from US and Canada as volunteers). Standards of sanitation and medical treatments are very different as well and things are slow to change. There are also conditions that we would never see in Canada because it would be treated much earlier (contorted bodies due to high tone (constant squeezing, essentially) in the muscles that we would treat with medications so that the joints wouldn't be twisted.) We went throughout the hospital/orphanage and saw the malnutrition ward with kids that I would never have guessed were their age. One 11 year old boy was around 16 pounds! They all looked several years younger than their age and many had cleft palates that hadn't been treated yet, because they had to gain some weight first. The orphanage is both horrible to see and beautiful because so many of them give such beautiful smiles.
Thursday evening we went to Dick's house and had a pizza party with “his kids”. I played a little bit of soccer with the kids outside and of course I managed to stub my toe pretty good. :P It bled lots but wasn't actually too bad.
Friday we were up even earlier (we're worried about this trend!) at 6:15 because we had to drive for a couple hours to Rio Bravo for a wheelchair distribution. It was a beautiful drive though through jungle pretty well. The roads were decent except for one section that had washed out and another where we had to swerve around oncoming traffic because our lane wasn't moving. They were waiting for the bridge that had collapsed to be repaired, but we didn't have to cross the bridge. We were actually supposed to be along the coast at that point, but couldn't because we weren't sure if we'd make it back in time for flights on Tuesday (due to roads and possible hurricanes, etc). The weather has been pretty warm/hot so far and rain has been spotty. I haven't gotten wet yet. Rio Bravo was a very poor town, but the people were very friendly and in appreciation for the wheelchairs, they all pitched in and served us a real Guatemalan meal of chicken and beef with kind of a cilantro salsa and a baked potato and black beans and tortillas and tamarind juice. It was really good.
Saturday the men built a house out of tin corrugated metal in a matter of hours. The therapists and I went to Hermano Pedro to work on some specialty wheelchairs, and the other women did a food distribution. We took a few of the kids from the orphanage out for lunch, through Antigua's cobblestone streets with wheelchair tires that really needed pumping up. (note to self!)
Sunday most of us went to Pollo Campero again for breakfast. I had tried to buy bread instead, but the shop was closed by the time I got to it. Afterwards, most of us went to Chris and Donna's church. It was a lot different than I am used to. For one, it was in Spanish (although Chris's son translated the sermon for our sakes). For another, it is an evangelical church, so they had a worship team at the front leading the music and some people were dancing and clapping and raising their hands. It was much less formal as well. It was still really neat though, because the people were very friendly (we were all asked to bring our offerings to the front and to find at least 10 people to hug and kiss on the cheek and say that we were glad they were there today) and the message seemed pure. After church we all went to Antigua to a really good Guatemalan restaurant and then wandered around the beautiful, colourful city. There were a lot of people selling their hand-woven scarves and other handicrafts. Some kids swarmed us, trying to convince us to buy things, and I have a really funny picture of two women next to Jake and John. For supper we went to the food court in the mall (another weird experience for me on a Sunday) and I wasn't very hungry so I just bought a small burrito from Taco Bell. Yes, they have a lot of the same stores: Aldo, Payless Shoe Source, The Gap,Yogen Fruz, McD, etc. I haven't tried the shoe stores – don't think they'll have size 10 women's!
Monday we went to a very poor area to distribute food and clothes and finish off the house that the men had worked on on Saturday. We had to all pile in the back of a pick-up because the road was very bad and the van couldn't go down the road. The kids flocked to us (great intercom system from kid-to-kid!) and we tried to match up appropriate clothes for the child's size and gender. A lot of the kids had no shoes and it had just finished pouring really hard. Their clothes were tattered and dirty too. There were a few young girls that were pregnant as well. On the way home Chris thought he saw Dick's truck (that was supposedly at a repairshop and taking a while to get fixed) for sale at a car lot. Interesting country...
Today (Tuesday) the team left and now Bailey and Alyson (2 new OT's) and I are at Chris and Donna's. They have a beautiful place out in the country with horses and dogs and big gardens on 3 acres of land. It's not extravagant or fancy (the dirt road leading up to it is barely passable) but still nice and homey.
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