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 baƱo 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!)
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