Pride Day and HIV Workshops

So as I'm sure many people know, June is Pride Month, - I honestly did not expect to celebrate Pride Day or Pride Month in Guatemala, and I haven't for the last two years. This year however, due to work with the transgender community in Xela, we were contacted by an organization there whom PC volunteers had worked with during their PEPFAR (The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) workshops and programs. We were therefore invited to participate in Xela's FIRST EVER Pride Parade. It wasn't huge, but it was a success. We had a great showing from the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, as well as talks about being gay in Guatemala (a VERY conservative country), coming out in Guatemala and more. The theme was mainly, acceptance, peace and non-violence, and from what I witnessed there was no negative reactions from the crowd.

Due to the hard work of our HIV committee, each project received a lot of money from the US government to work on HIV education. (PEPFAR funds). We have therefore had trainings for health center staff teaching them how to give our 3 hr HIV/AIDS workshop, and have had to set up, as a team, a workshop for a PEMAR (high risk) population. Therefore this past Monday we gave the HIV workshop to about 50 municipal workers (all men) from San Vicente. They were actually a great audience, very participatory, they asked great questions and they were (well seemed) genuinely interested in the topic. It wasn't my normal HIV workshop crowd, but it was a very important population to educate, as they are the community leaders, and can therefore disseminate the information to many people within the community.

I've been staying so busy, it's hard to believe I have less than 2 weeks left in San Vicente, and less than a month of service left. It hasn't hit me yet that I'm leaving as I'm constantly so busy, but I'm sure it will, if not here, then for sure when I get home. It has been a great two years, and I am going to try to start winding down my work, so I can focus on saying my goodbyes and sorting out my house and packing up all my stuff.

Winding Down

My time in Guatemala is quickly coming to an end. I fly out on the 19th of July, however, I will leave San Vicente in about a month.

It's amazing how much stuff one accumulates in two years, especially in my big house that I have had all to myself. Between spices and vitamins, moisturizing creams and plates, I have a LOT of sorting out I'll have to do in the next few weeks.

Luckily, my sitemate Caitlin is moving into the house this Saturday, so I will be able to leave most of the stuff to her, without having to move it (ultimate laziness!).

That's not to say I haven't been working. Peace Corps has recently received a LOT of money to work with local populations about HIV/AIDS prevention, we are trying to reach out to PEMAR populations (Poblaciones en Mas Alto Riesgo - High Risk Populations) so I am working with a couple nurses from the health center to set up an HIV workshop with our new local police officers as well as the employees of the local bus companies. We are hoping to do the workshop in early June.

I also hope to finish off all the required paperwork for my project this coming month as well as all of the paperwork needed to leave the Peace Corps. We need to write a DOS report and a COS report, Description of Service and Close of Service Reports. The DOS is an official report saying that in fact you were in the Peace Corps for 27 months, this is what you completed etc. and is signed by the Country Director. The COS report is something all volunteers write up about their work and their communities to pass on to future volunteers who may live in and work in that site.

However the despedida season has begun, which means that all the volunteers from my group are leaving so every weekend from now until I leave I have a going away party to go to. It's loads of fun, sad as well as we're all starting to say goodbye and keeping me very, very busy. People in my town have started talking about throwing me a despedida as well, so I'm sure it'll start on my end soon enough.

It's still strange to think of leaving this place forever, living and working in San Vicente for 2 years has been such a powerful experience. I've made a little home for myself, with neighbors, friends and a small community. Kids coming over to say hi, young women coming over to knit and chismar (gossip), going to dinner at Arale's house and teaching her kids English. While everyday has its challenges, I have learned to live and co-exist here within the community.

Of course I'm not finished yet, and I hope that this next month isn't all about goodbyes, but also about hard work and continuation, however there is a sense of winding down and change to it that has a very distinct flavor.