The only real sin is wasting time
Got e-mail from my Farm Sanctuary friend, who has joined the Peace Corps and working in Central America. If ever there was an e-mail that made me feel like I'm wasting my life, this would be it.
Where to begin...
I guess I should start by saying that everything is going great here! General training is a little slow and boring, with too many four-hour Spanish classes, but technical training is AWESOME!!! I'm so excited about the program I´m in.
There are 9 of us training to work in Appropriate Technology, with about 20 A.T. people already serving in Guatemala. We think we´re the best group because we get a big tool box, get to chop things up with machetes, and most importantly, learn how to build all sorts of things we might actually need for ourselves when we get out to our sites. Also, the other groups (environmental ed, ecotourism, etc.) don´t get out into the communities and get their hands dirty like we do during training. They seem to have more classroom training.
So far I´ve learned how to build grain silos and water deposits (tanks) out of cement, built a rope well pump to give a family running water (as opposed to hauling it out with buckets), and learned how to make these great ovens that you can set on a wood-burning or gas stove. Many volunteers here just have a gas stove that you set on a countertop, so being able to build my own oven might really come in handy for pizza, cookies, cakes, etc. I also learned how to build a solar shower, in case I don´t have hot water wherever I end up. But really we´re learning all this so we can teach it to the people here. Almost everything we´ve built so far has been in these tiny villiages (limited electricity and running water, no paved roads), where they really need it, so it´s been rewarding as well as educational and fun!
I´m living with a family in a town called [None Of Your Damn Business]. Good luck trying to find it on a map, but we´re right on the main highway (I can see it from my house). The training center is in [Blah blah], and it´s amazingly scenic. We have great views of three volcanos: Agua, Fuego (active), and Acatenango. Volcan Fuego is always letting off puffs of smoke, which they say is good, letting off the pressure. It´s been rumbling some too, but I haven´t heard it where I live. There are tons of volcanos in Guatemala, and it´s pretty earthquake prone. I woke up at 2:30 this morning wondering who was rocking my bed back and forth. That was my first earthquake since I´ve been here, but other people have been feeling them all along. Guatemala City is the fourth capital of Guatemala, since the first three were destroyed in earthquakes.
It´s really dry and dusty right now. They call this summer, but really it´s just the dry season. The rainy season from May to October is called winter, even though December and January are the coldest months. We about froze when we first got here. We went through a couple of weeks of highs in the 40´s and 50´s, which doesn´t sound that cold until you consider that none of the buildings have heat or insulation, and the wind was knocking trees over. Also very few houses have hot showers.
Monday I´m leaving with the rest of the Appropriate Technology trainees to go to Huehuetenango for a week of field-based training. Apparently that´s where we´re going to be really cold since Huehue (pronounced Way-way) is at about 10,000 feet. I think [Blah blah] is closer to 5,000 feet.
My host family took me to the beach at San Jose, which is hot and muggy year-round. It was great! Probably in the mid-80´s, humid, and a great change from the cold we were having. The beaches here are black sand beaches, because the sand comes from volcanic rock. It was totally weird. I told my host mom I´d never seen black sand beaches before, and she said she´d never seen white sand beaches. The wet sand looks like dark dark chocolate colored soil. You think it´s going to get you dirty, but it´s sand so it rinses right off. I was swinging in a hammock, lounging under a mango tree, drinking out of a coconut... wondering if I could just retire right there.
My host family is great. They´re actually pretty well off for Guatemala. I´m the only trainee of the 29 of us whose host mom has a washing machine. Everyone else is having their clothes washed by hand. We also have a warm shower and a flush toilet at my house, although we only have running water in the mornings. I haven´t quite figured out where the money comes from, since as far as I can tell my host dad is a radish farmer...? I have three little siblings, and thankfully, my own bedroom!
I´m still reeling from all the fresh produce here. Fresh mangos, papayas, amazing tomatoes, delicious pineapple, avocados and fresh tortillas with every meal. I decided to try to get used to the bacteria here little by little, so I´ve been breaking Peace Corps rules and eating street food. It´s just so hard to resist!
I also found out that you can get care packages here. I don´t know why they were trying to scare us about the mail. I wouldn´t mail anything valuable, but the volunteers here say they only know of one package in 2 years that never arrived, although there was once an Easter package that arrived in July. So feel free to send letters, chocolate, cookies, photos, other goodies... I won´t complain! Here´s my address...
I decided to wait on getting a phone until I get to my site. Where I end up might affect what provider I go through, depending on who has the best coverage in my area. It will be at least April before I have a phone, but I´ll keep you posted on that.
I´m eager to hear news from all of you, so go ahead and email back even if you don´t have time to read my whole update!!!
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Con Cariño
Family Guy is on. Peter's taking his kid to learn about their Irish heritage, and they go to this museum that has displays. A Day In The Life Of An Irishman: A robot of a guy downing beer and smacking his wife. A Day In The Life Of An Irishwoman: A robot woman kneeling by a bed and praying, then falls backwards and a baby flies out.
Then there was a guy giving a lecture about how Ireland used to be this futuristic Jetson's place, and this guy brought in some whiskey to the scientists. They drank it and then everyone started fighting.
It puts me in mind of a button my dad had when I was a kid: God made whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world.
Tonight on the 10:00 news: wine in a box.
And the Western civilization continues its decline.
Where to begin...
I guess I should start by saying that everything is going great here! General training is a little slow and boring, with too many four-hour Spanish classes, but technical training is AWESOME!!! I'm so excited about the program I´m in.
There are 9 of us training to work in Appropriate Technology, with about 20 A.T. people already serving in Guatemala. We think we´re the best group because we get a big tool box, get to chop things up with machetes, and most importantly, learn how to build all sorts of things we might actually need for ourselves when we get out to our sites. Also, the other groups (environmental ed, ecotourism, etc.) don´t get out into the communities and get their hands dirty like we do during training. They seem to have more classroom training.
So far I´ve learned how to build grain silos and water deposits (tanks) out of cement, built a rope well pump to give a family running water (as opposed to hauling it out with buckets), and learned how to make these great ovens that you can set on a wood-burning or gas stove. Many volunteers here just have a gas stove that you set on a countertop, so being able to build my own oven might really come in handy for pizza, cookies, cakes, etc. I also learned how to build a solar shower, in case I don´t have hot water wherever I end up. But really we´re learning all this so we can teach it to the people here. Almost everything we´ve built so far has been in these tiny villiages (limited electricity and running water, no paved roads), where they really need it, so it´s been rewarding as well as educational and fun!
I´m living with a family in a town called [None Of Your Damn Business]. Good luck trying to find it on a map, but we´re right on the main highway (I can see it from my house). The training center is in [Blah blah], and it´s amazingly scenic. We have great views of three volcanos: Agua, Fuego (active), and Acatenango. Volcan Fuego is always letting off puffs of smoke, which they say is good, letting off the pressure. It´s been rumbling some too, but I haven´t heard it where I live. There are tons of volcanos in Guatemala, and it´s pretty earthquake prone. I woke up at 2:30 this morning wondering who was rocking my bed back and forth. That was my first earthquake since I´ve been here, but other people have been feeling them all along. Guatemala City is the fourth capital of Guatemala, since the first three were destroyed in earthquakes.
It´s really dry and dusty right now. They call this summer, but really it´s just the dry season. The rainy season from May to October is called winter, even though December and January are the coldest months. We about froze when we first got here. We went through a couple of weeks of highs in the 40´s and 50´s, which doesn´t sound that cold until you consider that none of the buildings have heat or insulation, and the wind was knocking trees over. Also very few houses have hot showers.
Monday I´m leaving with the rest of the Appropriate Technology trainees to go to Huehuetenango for a week of field-based training. Apparently that´s where we´re going to be really cold since Huehue (pronounced Way-way) is at about 10,000 feet. I think [Blah blah] is closer to 5,000 feet.
My host family took me to the beach at San Jose, which is hot and muggy year-round. It was great! Probably in the mid-80´s, humid, and a great change from the cold we were having. The beaches here are black sand beaches, because the sand comes from volcanic rock. It was totally weird. I told my host mom I´d never seen black sand beaches before, and she said she´d never seen white sand beaches. The wet sand looks like dark dark chocolate colored soil. You think it´s going to get you dirty, but it´s sand so it rinses right off. I was swinging in a hammock, lounging under a mango tree, drinking out of a coconut... wondering if I could just retire right there.
My host family is great. They´re actually pretty well off for Guatemala. I´m the only trainee of the 29 of us whose host mom has a washing machine. Everyone else is having their clothes washed by hand. We also have a warm shower and a flush toilet at my house, although we only have running water in the mornings. I haven´t quite figured out where the money comes from, since as far as I can tell my host dad is a radish farmer...? I have three little siblings, and thankfully, my own bedroom!
I´m still reeling from all the fresh produce here. Fresh mangos, papayas, amazing tomatoes, delicious pineapple, avocados and fresh tortillas with every meal. I decided to try to get used to the bacteria here little by little, so I´ve been breaking Peace Corps rules and eating street food. It´s just so hard to resist!
I also found out that you can get care packages here. I don´t know why they were trying to scare us about the mail. I wouldn´t mail anything valuable, but the volunteers here say they only know of one package in 2 years that never arrived, although there was once an Easter package that arrived in July. So feel free to send letters, chocolate, cookies, photos, other goodies... I won´t complain! Here´s my address...
I decided to wait on getting a phone until I get to my site. Where I end up might affect what provider I go through, depending on who has the best coverage in my area. It will be at least April before I have a phone, but I´ll keep you posted on that.
I´m eager to hear news from all of you, so go ahead and email back even if you don´t have time to read my whole update!!!
Happy Valentine´s Day!
Con Cariño
Family Guy is on. Peter's taking his kid to learn about their Irish heritage, and they go to this museum that has displays. A Day In The Life Of An Irishman: A robot of a guy downing beer and smacking his wife. A Day In The Life Of An Irishwoman: A robot woman kneeling by a bed and praying, then falls backwards and a baby flies out.
Then there was a guy giving a lecture about how Ireland used to be this futuristic Jetson's place, and this guy brought in some whiskey to the scientists. They drank it and then everyone started fighting.
It puts me in mind of a button my dad had when I was a kid: God made whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world.
Tonight on the 10:00 news: wine in a box.
And the Western civilization continues its decline.