Wow, how time flies! Five months from today and I will be saying goodbye to the community. I can’t believe that 22 months have already gone by. I am writing happy to say that we successfully finished the stove project. We had the inauguration on October 15, complete with a snack (every good event here includes a refaccion (snack)). We made over 400 enchiladas and used up 5 pounds of coffee! I had some great local women who volunteered their time to help me in the kitchen. We had a small ceremony to recognize the good hard work put forth by everyone to build the stoves and finished the event with a fun dance, held here on the patio. It was a great night and a fun way to draw to a close a project that started as an idea way back in January.
In regards to other news, we are full on in coffee harvest time here. We survived Tropical Depression E12 and thankfully we didn’t suffer many damages here in comparison to other parts of Guatemala where roads washed out, bridges collapsed, and entire routes to destinations such as the lake were closed out due to huge landslides. Luckily we have seen the sun lately and things are drying out and everyone is cleaning up around the country. I won’t be sad to see the end of this rainy season. It started out pretty tamely with the usual rainy afternoons and sunny mornings, however, is closing out with a bang. November is supposed to be the end of the rainy season – fingers crossed. I know I need the sun to feel good and get motivated to work. The lack thereof really takes its toll mentally and physically. Not to mention the mold and all the fun that goes with dealing with that.
I have had 2 small miracles happen in the past month or so. The first is the purchase of a small refrigerator for the hotel now that our mini hydroelectric system can support the wattage. Also, we now have a vegetable vendor from up north come to the community every Friday selling fresh veggies. This is a God-send as until now, fresh vegetables were not available in the village, only a 3 hour round trip to the market could bring such goodness. And now the vegetables even last longer than 3 days due to the frig! Oh what luxuries! So, due to this happy turn of events, I am able to expand my cooking. Last night I made these yummy beet burgers, topped with avocado and mustard. Today I was able to make a banana, soy milk, honey, and coffee smoothie = oh life is sooooo good!
So, that’s the haps down here in Guatemala. Hope everyone is enjoying the Fall back home. I miss the caramel apples, hand-picked apples, and carving pumpkins. Happy Halloween!
In regards to other news, we are full on in coffee harvest time here. We survived Tropical Depression E12 and thankfully we didn’t suffer many damages here in comparison to other parts of Guatemala where roads washed out, bridges collapsed, and entire routes to destinations such as the lake were closed out due to huge landslides. Luckily we have seen the sun lately and things are drying out and everyone is cleaning up around the country. I won’t be sad to see the end of this rainy season. It started out pretty tamely with the usual rainy afternoons and sunny mornings, however, is closing out with a bang. November is supposed to be the end of the rainy season – fingers crossed. I know I need the sun to feel good and get motivated to work. The lack thereof really takes its toll mentally and physically. Not to mention the mold and all the fun that goes with dealing with that.
I have had 2 small miracles happen in the past month or so. The first is the purchase of a small refrigerator for the hotel now that our mini hydroelectric system can support the wattage. Also, we now have a vegetable vendor from up north come to the community every Friday selling fresh veggies. This is a God-send as until now, fresh vegetables were not available in the village, only a 3 hour round trip to the market could bring such goodness. And now the vegetables even last longer than 3 days due to the frig! Oh what luxuries! So, due to this happy turn of events, I am able to expand my cooking. Last night I made these yummy beet burgers, topped with avocado and mustard. Today I was able to make a banana, soy milk, honey, and coffee smoothie = oh life is sooooo good!
So, that’s the haps down here in Guatemala. Hope everyone is enjoying the Fall back home. I miss the caramel apples, hand-picked apples, and carving pumpkins. Happy Halloween!
