Packing Ideas for new arrivals

I think the blog de moda (popular) right now is writing recommendations to the new trainees who will be coming to Guatemala in less than a month now. So, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and give my two cents worth to the whole “what should I bring” dilemma.

The best thing about Guatemala is that you can get most of everything you need here, so don’t really worry about not being able to buy notebooks or pens or clothes – they have just about everything you will need here, including McDonalds. A note on that too – you might not believe me – but pretty much everyone sooner or later is craving McDonalds. I’ve eaten more McDonald’s here in Guate than I ever did in the US.

So back to the essential stuff to pack – stuff that is either hard to find or expensive to get here and vale la pena (is worth it) to bring…

1. Computer AND a big external hard drive – The computer has been my life saver here. There are some sites with access to internet cafes, however, if you are like me, my nearest internet café is 1.5 hours away and my life improved dramatically when I finally got my computer down here. You’ll have access to internet and there is signal even deep into the jungle. You’ll be able to buy a modem and have regular internet service in just about every site. It might not be as fast as the US or quite as reliable but it will be pretty good. Even though we don’t have public electricity where I live – we have internet and cell phones.

2. Makeup and contacts – Contacts are allowed here in Guatemala so bring em. You can buy the cleaning solution here at the pharmacy. It just has to get paid for out of your own pocket and isn’t offered by the medical office. Also, any good makeup that you like – bring it. You can get it at Wal Mart in Xela or another store in Antigua – however – it is about double the price that you would pay in the US. Also, you’ll be expected to dress up more often than you might think and you’ll be glad you brought it.

3. Dressy clothes for training and workshops and swearing in – Ladies – bring heels and men – nice shoes. Almost all Guatemalan women wear heels all the time and you’ll definitely fit in more with heels. If heels are absolutely not your thing – than closed toe flats will work too. Flip flops and Chacos and tennis shoes are not allowed in the Peace Corps office – so be sure you have some nice shoes to wear to the office. I brought 2 nice pair of dress slacks and I am glad that I had them – as well as some nice blouses and cute tops. Think business casual.

4. Rechargeable batteries and battery charger – These are available here, but more expensive. Bring a few to get you started for stuff that you’ll need batteries. Esp. since there aren’t safe places to deposit batteries here – better to recharge than to buy and just throw away.

5. Some warm clothes for training – Training will be in Jan-March at the office, which is located at a higher elevation – so the training rooms can be cold. I recommend a fleece, gloves, hat, and a wrap or a scarf. I tend to run on the cold side, so it might be a bit much for some – but better to be a little warm than cold! Also, it warms up during the day but the mornings and evenings can be chilly. Once you get your site – you can make additional purchases based on your climate. However, in Guatemala there seem to be more cold sites than warm sites. And by cold I am talking about freezing temperatures – like frost and ice!

6. Ipod with portable speakers

The following is stuff that you can all buy here…

*Sheets (unless you like a high thread count – then bring them for your own bit of luxury. I did this and I am personally glad I did – however – if you don’t have a preference – you can buy them here)

*Radios/CD players

*Clothes/jewelry (note here on jewelry: don’t bring anything you would hate to lose – even small rings or a small necklace. This is the first stuff that gets stolen here from volunteers. Thieves will even go as far as removing jewelry from your neck as you sleep on a bus. Don’t bring anything that even resembles real gold or silver.

*Sunglasses – you can buy the cheap ones here – and you’ll go through a lot – I’ve been through probably 6 pair – not worth it to bring the expensive nice ones.

*Cell phones – buy a cheap one here – for as often as they are lost and stolen – don’t bring a nice one from home. Peace Corps will also provide you with a cell phone.

*Sunscreen/shampoo/lotion/razors/soap – it’s all available here so just bring enough to get you through your first few weeks.

So, basically don’t stress about packing. Anything you really need in Guatemala can be found here. You may end up paying more for something but ultimately it can be found here. Just BRING YOUR COMPUTER (but not your new Mac - like a $200 laptop or an older computer will do) and have some warm clothes on hand. You have those two things and you’ll be a happy camper.

Enjoy your last few weeks in the US and eat all your favorite foods!

Thanksgiving in the Caribbean

Oh what a wonderful Thanksgiving I had! I had a whirlwind of an awesome trip with my friend Amber on the Caribbean side of Guatemala. I had such a blast and it is hard to believe it is already over. We headed out to Livingston on Wednesday and arrived safely, surviving a 13 hour marathon travel day. Luckily Amber knew a great local rice and beans diner and we grabbed a cheap but tasty meal before falling exhausted into bed.

We stayed at the beautiful oceanside hotel called Casa Rosada. They have a wonderful little dock with hammocks lined up to enjoy a morning cup of coffee and watch the sun come up. Thanksgiving Day started off with a walk into `town `to hunt down the famous Pan de Coco (coconut bread) and return to the hammocks to discuss plans for the day. We decided to head out to the famous cascading pools called Seven Altars. We enjoyed a nice hike out along the beach and lucked out to have the whole spot to ourselves. The turquoise fresh water was so refreshing after our little hike. We spent a fair amount of time just swimming around and enjoying this little paradise in the jungle. On the hike back we stopped off at a little rancho and enjoyed a Cube Libre (rum and Coke – hey it’s not the Caribbean without rum J ). That night we headed over to Casa de la Iguana for a proper Thanksgiving feast. The friendly owner, Rusty, slaved away preparing 3 turkeys for the feast and even managed to round up a few cans of real Ocean Spray cranberries. It was pretty surreal eating such a traditional American meal surrounded by jungle – but it was awesome to celebrate with my Peace Corps friends. They even made a big chocolate cake for dessert and I am happy to say that yes I ate it all!

The next day we headed out to a little piece of paradise called Finca Tatin on the Rio Dulce. The boat came by the hotel in the morning to take us on the half hour ride down river. The finca is situated right on a little tributary of the river, with plenty of dock space to sun and relax in the hammocks. Plus, the water was clean and we were able to waste away the day, alternating between sunning, swimming, and ordering banana licuados. The food at the finca is amazing as well. We were treated to fresh fish, awesome flour tortillas that were kind of like an Indian naan bread, and broccoli soup. The lights were out by 10 p.m. since the finca runs on its own generator, which reminded me of my life here on the finca.

The next day Amber and I took out the kayaks for a few hours to look for iguanas and other wildlife along the river banks. We spotted 3 between us but as Amber says, you can tell they get hunted because as soon as we even got a little near they ran right up the trees as high as they could go. After some kayaking we returned to our tough life of sunning and swimming off the docks of the finca.
In the late afternoon we took a boat back to Livingston to enjoy the festivities of the Garifuna Fair. Everyone was out having a great time, playing drums and dancing in the streets. We had fun cruising around, trying out some of the local food. I loved the big flour tortillas that they had on the grill and then filled with grilled meat and onions – ohhhh soooo good! We also found a good pupusa stand, although far from El Salvador – still really good. For those that don’t know pupusas, it is made with a tortilla on the bottom level, filled with either pork, beans, or cheese, and then another tortilla is placed on top and the ends are sealed together. Then it is grilled to perfection! Anyway – super good and famous in El Salvdor – but they are common in Guatemala as well.

The next day began at sunrise for a marathon travel day back to site but it was well worth it!

While we were away, I realized I had passed my 23rd month of being in Guatemala – which means under 4 months to go at this point! It is getting bittersweet at this point. I am excited to start thinking about my future plans but it will be sad but also very gratifying to finish up with Peace Corps. We have our Close of Service Conference already planned in January and here it is almost December! I feel so thankful to have been able to spend the last two years with some great people. It is true when they say that volunteers represent some of the best America has to offer. It has been a rollercoaster ride, but to be able to live and work in the beautiful country of Guatemala truly has been a special privilege. Thank you!

Completion of the Stove Project and other news

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!

Stove Project Photo Update

The stove project has successfully begun! We officially started construction on June 25, with the help of 2 awesome Peace Corps volunteers who came out to help with the first few stoves. These guys are experts and were so awesome to have here for the construction of the first few stoves. The construction process isn't too difficult, however, there are some key pieces that one needs to have correct in order for the stoves to function well and having these experienced volunteers here really helped get the project off the ground with the right start. Plus, it was great to have them here over my birthday. We celebrated with a bottle of red wine and I made a chocolate cake in the artisanal oven. So that was our dinner - red wine and a BIG piece of chocolate cake - my type of dinner! Plus we invited my two good friends, Sara and Eluvia, over to celebrate. They sang the birthday song and ended it in the typical Guatemalan way by mashing my face in the cake - I'll be posting that pic too!

So, we started the stove project the next morning early. I have the help of a great mason here in the community too, so he worked closely with the two volunteers to learn the construction techniques with this stove design and we were off and building. We had an intense 3 days of construction - long hours - but well worth it as we got 3 stoves nearly done. The stoves need to dry completely before we put the final stovetop and chimney tubes on them - so that will be in about 3 weeks since it is the rainy season. However, the construction is going well and I am so happy with how the project is progressing.

Then last week I was invited to go to El Salvador with one of the volunteer leaders and our Project Specialist for a stove workshop. They are building 3 different stove designs over there and it was fun to learn how to build them and see what they are doing in Peace Corps El Salvador. El Salvador is beautiful - the climate is very tropical, similar to here on the coast. We ate the typical El Salvadorean food called pupusas - so yummy! Basically they are like 2 tortillas stacked on top of each other with something good in the center - chicharron (pork) or frijol or cheese. They are then grilled on the stovetop and topped with cabbage. We had a great trip overall - got to travel in my first double decker bus - that was awesome. I hope to be able to take some vacation time later to go back and visit and hit up the beaches and surf they are so famous for!

After El Salvador, I returned to Antigua for a fun 4th of July party with the rest of the volunteers. We all celebrated big, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, talent show, raffle, and dancing. It is always so great to get together to see how the other volunteers are doing. The country is relatively small however, it is difficult to get out to see everyone so this is the one event where we are all together and it was a blast!

Now I am back in site trying to get caught up after being gone and continuing with the stove project and a few other things. We had a group of 30 basico students over for lunch today so I got to enjoy a nice churrasco (grilled meat), grilled onions, salsa, refried beans, and rice. This is one of my favorite meals - however - now I'm super full! However, hay que aprovechar (you need to take advantage) when there is good food since I don't always get meat out here due to the lack of refrigeration. So today is definitely a good day!

Thanks for the support everyone!

Cheers,

Tara

Stoves!

The big theme as of late is the famous stove project. I've spent the last month here really pushing hard to get everything coordinated, materials bought, coordinating experienced volunteers to come to help with the first few, and get all the moving parts in place. Let me tell you - not easy tasks - however, fingers crossed, this Saturday should be the day that the first stove gets built. I have to say thanks to everyone for all their support, your donations to the cause, and the energy you've given me to keep moving ahead with the project. I will post some pictures later to show the construction and how everything turns out.

Other than the stoves life has been extremely busy and hence time is flying as always here. Here are a few updates from the last month or so of the goings on here in Guatemala:

1. I was invited up to Alta Verapaz during the end of May to help give a workshop on business plans. I did 3 presentations on products/services, promotion and marketing, and finally personality differences and working effectively as a team. The workshop went well overall. We were working with a tourism alliance called Viviente Verapaz, which has 11 tourist sites involved. The goal is to get more people up to this beautiful region and promote different tours and routes to help people see more of the area and stay longer.

2. Right after the business plan workshop I returned to site and the next day a group of 22 students and 2 professors came to visit from the University of British Columbia Vancouver. The group was here for 3 weeks, taking 2 courses, one in sociology and another in philosophy. It was great to have them here in the community and get to interact and learn all the updates of what is happening back in the US and Canada. I worked with the students, coordinating some volunteer projects, including painting the hotel, working with the families to collect macadamia nuts, and going out to haul sand out of the river to use for the stoves, along with some trail and bridge work. Plus, I helped out in the kitchen, supervising hygiene standards, and making up menus and doing some sous chef duties. The kitchen staff here is great - they work so hard and it all came off as a huge success. We pulled off 3 meals a day for 3 weeks for 22-26 people - crazy!

3. Other things going on while the group was here and while I was working on the stove project include...working on a work plan for Reu al Natural, a tourism alliance we have started here on the Pacific Coast to promote the area, completing a section of the Sustainable Community Tourism manual on personalities and effective teamwork, coordinating the arrival of 2 more groups (one this weekend and one the following), and getting invited to a stove workshop/conference down in El Salvador next week. As you can see, life has been busy!

However, after the group left last week, I decided it was time for a little R&R in order to gear up to the big stove project this week and the trip to El Salvador next week. I headed down to my little beach paradise and enjoyed a couple of days of surfing, hanging out with some local friends, playing some soccer, watching some soccer (Guatemala/Mexico during the Gold Cup, so sad to lose!!), and going to the community dance for Father's Day. All in all it was a great weekend of fun and relaxation - much needed. I came back to site feeling like a million dollars - as some time by the ocean always makes me feel.

I've got my birthday coming up on Friday. I plan to head down to meet the volunteers who are coming, buy some stuff to make a cake with my little oven and celebrate that night with the volunteers and my other friends here in the community.

Cheers!!
Tara

May!

Well my new trend seems to be one blog a month - I didn't mean for it to end up this way but year 2 has really picked up speed and I have been very busy - not all of it is work though - as I just got back from a 2 week vacation with my sister! We had such a blast! It was so nice to get 2 full weeks off to really enjoy all that Guatemala has to offer. Sometimes I get so focused on work and all the stuff going on in site that I forget Guatemala is such a diverse country with a ton of fun stuff to do and see.

We went up to Semuc Champey, which is a beautiful area in Alta Verapaz with cascading turquoise pools to swim in, caves to explore and a run rope swing. Then we stayed in Antigua to take in the activity during Semana Santa. We got to see a night procession where they carry a big float that displays the crucifiction through the streets of Antigua - followed by a large marching band - it is a very dramatic experience and was something very cool to see in real life. After Antigua we spent some time on the coast surfing and enjoying some time just relaxing in the hammocks. Then Kate came up to the finca where I live and got to meet all my friends and see what life is like up here. After that we headed to Xela for a couple of days of shopping for hand woven goods and back to Antigua. It was so awesome to have her here for 2 weeks and to have some good quality sister time! The time just flew by and soon I will be heading home for her wedding! I am counting the days - soooo excited for her and Ben!!!

Work has ramped up to full speed again after I got notification that my first grant went through and I got the first check to start on the big stove project here. Part 2 of the grant, which many in the US are so kindly helping out with by donating to the cause is in the works and I am so excited to see this stove dream become a reality here. We are having a big general assembly meeting tonight to go over the final plans and are getting ready to make the first big materials purchase. Then comes coordinating the transportation to get everything up here and then finally we get to start building. I've got a group of 20 Canadian students coming in the next couple of weeks and I think they'll be very interested in helping with the construction - should be a great project for all! I'll be posting pictures so that everyone can see the progress that we make. Now the real work begins!

This weekend is an organic fair in Xela and some members from the farm will be up there selling our macadamia nuts and coffee with me. It should be a great time - just hoping the rains hold out as we are now in the beginning of the rainy season...vamos a ver (we'll see). If anything else, it is fun to be in the city for a few days and enjoy hot showers and a variety of food options.

I've also posted some pictures from the trip for you all to enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Tara

Women's Week in the Finca

This week turned out to be a very fun and very busy week. I got together with another local woman community leader and we decided to hold afternoon jewelry, cooking, and baking classes for the women this week. What a successful week it was. We had 16 women and girls participate in total and here is what we did... *Monday - Planning Meeting *Tuesday - Jewelry making with locally found nuts and seeds *Wednesday - Banana cookies and banana bread (using the tin foil and wire oven over a wood fire stove) *Thursday - Magdalena cake (Latin American specialty dessert) *Friday - Chicken and mushrooms with curry with garden style rice The best thing about these workshops is that the women themselves decide what they want to learn to cook and make and Pascuala and I help them with the recipes, putting the jewelry together, etc. Plus, each woman contributes the cost of the daily course so this way it has more value than if it were a donation since they are paying with their own hard earned money. We build capacity by teaching how to look for recipes and take into consideration things that are available here in the community. For example, with the cooking, we decided on banana cookies and bread since it is banana season here and everyone has so many bananas they don't know what to do with them all. In regards to the jewelry, I mentioned that the tourists we receive in the hotel especially like nature things - so I asked them to find hard nuts and seeds in the community and we made earrings and bracelets from them and then they decided if they want to sell them here in the hotel. We discussed pricing, including the value of their time. I talked about how selling jewelry that they can make for a relatively low cost can be a financial contribution to their family. All in all we had a fun time and I think everyone learned something new, including me. When we made the magdalena cake, I got roped into a contest with Dona Fide. The goal was to see who could turn egg whites into fluffy peaks the fastest, only using a fork to do the beating. Well, I can proudly say I lost, much to the laughter of the women, however, I did manage to get the fluffy peaks and they didn't even spill out when they flipped the bowl upside down to test my work! (I think they were impressed - haha!) Other than that - my days have been action packed as always here. Some of the highlights of the past week include: *Getting stuck in a 1 hour down pour coming back from Antigua after missing the bus in the morning while waiting for someone heading up to the finca. Then, riding up to the finca on the back of a pick up, mud flying everywhere - classic Peace Corps moment. *Tire falling off the bus midway up to the community - ended up sitting in the weeds for an hour after another bus luckily passed by and dropped us a tire off the roof. I'm still scratching those mosquito bites from sitting in the weeds. *Water situation finally is getting better - they tried to make it better by piping in new water to the hotel, but instead they only made it worse by not looking at the current system and installing the incoming line to an outgoing line and the thing exploded. Oh that was fun. Then my water tank was drained and I was left without water. One week later they finally put it back to the way it was and all is well in the world. *Bedroom flooded yesterday during our first big storm of the rainy season - successfully flooded and now cleaned up. *Minor earthquake yesterday to start the day *Finished a great book called Moloka'i, a historical novel based on the life of a girl on the leper colony on the Hawaiian island. Really interesting book - now on to Over the Edge of the World about Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe. That's about it for the week, yes, all that happened in just the last week and that is pretty much life as normal here. We definitely have a lot of fun here and just try to roll with the punches here - you literally never know what might happen next. Thanks for reading! Tara *