End of January

Here I am wrapping up the month of January already! I have a lot going on in my site and I am feeling like things are falling into place here.

I have all of my stove project grant paperwork filled out except for the budget and pricing estimates as I´m waiting on my counterpart to get back to me with that information. We plan to build 57 stoves in the community so that every house will have a new stove. This will improve the health of the population immensely!

I am also so excited because my parents will be down next week! I can´t wait for them to see the country and see my site and get to know everyone that I am always talking about and get a feel for my experiences and life here in Guatemala. We are going to spend a week touring around some of my favorite parts of the country - it´s going to be a blast!

Also, there are 2 volunteers at my site and we have been able to get some good things started. We are going to paint the back comedor area of the hotel, so they were washing the walls, prepping to get started with the painting. It is so fun to have other volunteers stay at the hotel at site. It is great to be able to speak English, watch movies and just have some other people to bounce ideas off of. It really makes a difference and the days are flying by.

Other than that, I have been trying to step up my exercise routine at site and try to get up to the soccer field or do a workout DVD as often as I can. Plus, I found a gym down in town that I can get to about once a week, so that will be some luxury that I can look forward to each week.

I´ve been studying for the GRE and am starting to look into grad schools as well. I plan to go back to school either the summer or fall of 2012. It is exciting looking at the programs and possibilities. I am looking seriously at a school in Oregon and Florida. There are a couple of cool program options, one being a Masters of Arts of International Business and another is a MBA with a Global Management focus. I know that I want to keep working in the international realm when I am done or else I am thinking about maybe being a professor at a university so either way, I figure that grad school will keep these two options open to me. I just need to find a way to keep my love of travel and culture intertwined with my work life.

Today I´ve got a fun free day and in town. I´ve already enjoyed a delicious pineapple smoothie and might even have to hit up McDonalds or try to find the Mexican torta place that I always hear advertised on the radio. This is my favorite part of coming to town - the food! Oh and the shopping - even though I have a Peace Corps budget - I can always look. But before I leave, I do want to buy a cool pair of shoes down here. They have the best shoes - more like fun party shoes - but I gotta get a pair before I leave.

I´m counting down the days until my Mom and Dad get here! Can´t wait for a little vacation!

Thanks for reading!
Cheers,
Tara

And it begins

Well, last night I had the big meeting with the community to introduce the idea of the stove project. I'm happy to say that they are very interested in it and think it would improve their quality of life greatly. So, the next steps start - filling out all the SPA (Special Project Application) with the Peace Corps and getting some funds for the project. The PC will contribute 70% and the community needs to contribute 30% so that they have a vested interest in the project. We are going to try to do somewhere around 40 stoves. So, now the hard work really begins.

Other than that yesterday I had a meeting where we are trying to put together something like a Chamber of Commerce down here on the coast. Nothing like that exists and efforts to promote the area are currently very scattered and unorganized. So, we are trying to unite as one big group and work toward the common goal of increasing tourism in this area (and what's not to love - we have archeology, beaches, tropical setting, coffee and macdamia plantations, a water park, subtropical rainforests, and so much more).

So I've got plenty to keep me busy here. I'm never for a lack of work that's for sure. Other fun things happening include the following...

*Yesterday my friend Omar, a nice little kid in the community climbed up the mango tree in the backyard and filled up a bag of the first mangos of the season. We then made a fantastic salad of sour mangos (they're still green but really good), pepitoria, salt, chile, and lime = YUM!! Put salt, chile, and lime on just about anything and it makes it better :)

*Hopefully my fight with the rats will be won soon - now I've got traps and rat poison out. Their days are numbered.

*They opened a Mexican Torta comedor (sm. restaurant) in Reu - I'm in heaven. Don't know what torta is - come visit me and I'll take you :)

That's about it for now - I've got lots of paperwork to start on but I'll keep you updated and hopefully be able to post some more pictures soon.

Cheers,
Tara

The Haps

Today is Monday and I'm getting the week rolling again. I love that it is the 10th of January already! Now I can officially say I have been in country over a year and that makes this last year seem do-able. I was just talking to my mom on Skype thinking of all the fun things that we will do when I get back home. It is nice to have things to look forward to. However, to pass the time, I've got a couple of good projects starting down here and that will take some time and hopefully this year will fly.

As far as good news goes - my sister is engaged! I am sooooo happy for her and her fiance! They are the best people in the world and I am so excited! So, that will be fun too. I hope to be able to help her plan even though I am down here in Guate and I hope to get back to the States again too. So - with that news - what a wonderful way to start 2011! A lucky year for sure!

Other wonderful news - I am a Godmother! I was asked to be Godmother for my friends Vitalino and Pascuala's new baby! His name is Diego Javier and he was born on the Day of the Kings - January 6. He is doing well. I went down to the hospital in Reu to visit them and everyone is doing great. Pascuala came home on Saturday and I went over to visit and celebrate with the family. They had her room all decorated with balloons and crepe paper and Ramon, Vitalinos brother drew a big poster with stork on it. We celebrated with some Gallo - the official beer of Guatemala and a great dinner of beef stew and tortillas. Then, Sunday, yesterday we celebrated with a fried chicken lunch - YUM! Pascuala is lucky to be living with the Recinos - my Guatemalan family. They are all so helpful. All of the women are pitching in, helping with the washing, cooking, and just taking good care of her. I go over every day to visit.

Yesterday, being Sunday was futbol day. The new generation team played yesterday and beat San Antonio, another finca and also beat the adult team here. Way to go wiros (kids)! The kids play so hard and this is their first win since the team formed. Every time they play better and better. Also, yesterday was great as I got to eat my first mangos of the season. They are still green - but super good when they prepare them by slicing them up, putting them in a plastic bag with salt, chile, and lime. You shake it all up and it is soooo good - kind of tart - but I like that.

Tomorrow I have the big meeting with all the 40 families to kick off the stove project. I'm planning my meeting notes now and I think it will go well. It is nice to get some of the first steps rolling on this project.

Other than that - I am finally enjoying some down time in the afternoons - going up to play some soccer with the kids and reading some books. People said Peace Corps is full of down time - however- it took me about a year to finally be able to carve out this down time. And it is soooo nice! Maybe I finally have the confidence to say no to people and attend to my own needs or maybe it is because I finally have my daily life down and things that used to take me forever finally aren't taking as long. I know where to find people, who to talk to, how to work the water system, how to cook efficiently, wash efficiently, etc. So, finally finally I have some free time and I love it!! What a world of difference it makes in one's well being!

That's all for now!
Cheers!
Tara

Christmas and New Years!

Hello all - well it is back to work officially today after a fun few weeks of celebrating - filled with lots of dancing, music, futbol games, eating, and relaxing!

I know a lot of you are interested in learning about Christmas and New Years traditions, so I will tell you how I spent the time here.

Christmas Eve began with a big futbol tournament. Everyone headed up for a Classic Tournament - turned out the 2 teams vying for first place were 2 of the teams from the community - crazy - we only have 300 people here - but 5 futbol teams - EVERYONE plays :) The team filled with mostly members from my Guatemalan family won - but not without a fight - literally. Unfortunately, there was a discrepancy on a call and the other team literally punched the ref and they all started fighting. It was unfortunate, especially since the 2 teams were of the same community but luckily no one was seriously injured. During the awards ceremony I was asked to go up and say a few words and I just went up and took the mic and told everyone how happy I was to be in the community and to feel accepted like one of the family. And I wished them all a Merry Christmas. Impromtu speeches like that are very common here in Guate and one always has to be ready to step up and take the mic and say a few words. I really like doing it - good thing I'm not shy :)

After a bit of a rest, I went over to my family's house for the first of many tamales. Tamales are made either of rice or potatoes, usually with a piece of meat inside, topped with a type of mole, and steamed in banana leaves. They are usually eaten with white bread - a special treat. Also, we are served ponche - a delicious pinepple punch, with bits of papaya, coconut, apple, and plantains in it. Also, if you're lucky you may get a bit of rum added to it :) After some tamales, we went to the house that the Posada left off at and got ready for the final procession to the church. The kids were lighting off TONS of fireworks and we lit the torches to accompany the procession. I got to carry a torch and we walked down the cobblestone path, carrying the figures of Joseph and Mary, and entered the church. The church was decorated beautifully with the nativity scene and we held the service until midnight. At midnight, everyone started hugging each other and wishing everyone a Feliz Navidad! Then, it was time to eat more tamales! After carefully walking back to the house, in the dark and trying not to get hit by any stray fireworks, we ate more tamales, drank some more ponche with rum, and ate some cookies. What a night - finally at 2:30 a.m. or so I headed home to sleep.

And now on to New Year's! New Year's Eve was spent at another futbol tournament - 6 hours - a triangular tourney. My team won again (undefeated now for almost a year) and then it was time for more tamales! This time they were the paches - made with potatoes with chicken and chile inside. These are my favorites!! Then the sugar cane liquor was brought out - imported from Veracruz, Mexico and the celebration began! My friend Oscar took out the big speakers and we started a dance party on the patios where we dry the coffee. We danced for at least 4 hours - nonstop! All kinds of music from reggaeton to cumbia to merengue to duranguense was played. It was pretty much all family out there dancing and that made it so much fun. We rang in the New Year at midnight with more hugs and fireworks and then it was off to eat more tamales!

The next morning we woke up early to head to the beach for New Year's! I love my family - boy do they know how to have a good time! The beach was packed - but still tons of fun anyway! I spent hours playing in the big waves and even spotted some surfers out in the water. The Guatemalans are pretty conservative at the beach and they don't wear swim suits like we do in the States. They all wear shorts or pants and t-shirts or tank tops. I was a little bummed about this but went with the flow to not stick out more than I already do - and was rewarded. As I was out in the water I felt this weird thing bump into me - turns out a jellyfish had hit me and if it wasn't for my tank top - it would have stung me - so there was karma I guess. Good thing I had on my tank top.

Anyway, I had a wonderful grilled fish lunch at one of the little restaurants on the beach. I ordered the "medium fish" here - was tasty! My dad asked me what kind of fish I had and I didn't know - we order by size of fish, not by type of fish. But it sure was good!

So after a fun day at the beach, we finally made it back to the community by dark and were treated to a beautiful red sunset across the big sugarcane fields - what a perfect way to end the day!

So - now it is back to work - lots to do and lots of fun stuff coming up!
Cheers and Happy New Year! I'm off to finish up my final year now in the Peace Corps!