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.

2 year anniversary

On April 27th I celebrated two years in Guatemala, which means I'm on my last 3 month stretch. After finishing construction on my project, I am afraid I'm bogged down in paperwork and will also have to write up reports for the government about my service and town. So the last three months of service will be winding down community work and focusing more on reports, conferences and health stuff.

On my 25th birthday (May 11th, I take cash, check or credit!! just kidding) I will head down to Antigua, Guatemala for my Close of Service Conference, which is three days that wraps up my training groups' service. It will be the last time all of us that came here in April of 2009 will get together. Many people in my training group are leaving in June, however I will stay till the very end and am not leaving Guatemala until July 19th, completing all 27 months of my service.

I've also been setting the site up for my replacements. I have organized it so that I am replaced by two volunteers, one will live in the center of San Vicente where I live and work, and the second will live up in Xetena (pronounced She-te-nah) where the health post is (we have one health center, where I work and one health post which is smaller and only has two nurses and visiting doctors from Medical School) and work in the further communities (and dare I say it, colder!) up on the mountain of Tena.

So I have been working to figure out where they should work and have been setting up new promoter groups in new communities. I hope this is helpful for them, because I spent the first three or four months of my service walking around trying to create groups and starting charlas, however, as I have five groups already made and am starting two more, they will be all set to start working on their charlas and promoter training right away.

The "replacement" group has in fact already arrived, 37 new Healthy Homes volunteers arrived in Guatemala for their 3 months of training on the 27th, so I will be working with their training group a little bit (not as much as last year as I just don't have the time!) doing presentations about the Gender and Development Committee and hosting a couple of them in my site for Individual Directive Activities (IDA) working with me for a week. Then at the beginning of July is site visit, where the two volunteers who will be living here for the next two years, come and get to see where they'll be working and start moving into their houses (I've found them some great houses so they won't have the trouble I had when I got here finding a house!).

Regardless it will be a busy last few months and I'm sure they will fly by, and while I am excited about my last few months here, I am also starting to look forward to the summer in Madison, CT with my family and of course starting University in Sussex next fall.

The Little Things

This morning my counterpart Romeo and I had a meeting with all 180 food vendors that sell food &/or beverages in San Vicente (mainly tienda owners). We talked about safe food preparation, keeping their kitchens/frying stalls clean, garbage, water safety etc. It was a three hour long workshop and attendance was mandatory in order for the vendors to keep their license.

I guess my job doesn't really sink in most of the time. I give hundreds of talks, workshops and trainings and I assume that only about .5% of the information is actually digested. I still think that. However, every now and then someone surprises you and that happened this afternoon.

I was walking up to Chihuitan to check on the progress of the project (100% done with the stoves about 80% done with the floors!) - and I walked past a french fry stand. The owner, who had attended the meeting earlier in the day, was making a makeshift cover for the french fries with wire hangers and plastic wrap to keep the flies off. He also had a brand new garbage can, with a lid - AND he had his wife scrubbing the frying bowl with disinfectant. I felt my heart swelling up with pride. I am even thinking about breaking my diet and buying some french fries from them later to show solidarity!

Win!

Progress

After hard work for about 10 days, we're showing some real progress. All of the stoves are done except for one and we're finishing all of the floors today in Chihuitan, and then the contractor is moving on to Xemuj. So we should be all done by mid week next week!

I'm not going to lie, it has been hard work. Up really early to get up to the communities at a reasonable hour. Working lifting block and mixing cement can get really tiring. My back and legs are always sore and my hands are all blistered and cut up. But with the end in sight it really seems worth it. Some of the families even wrote my name "Recuerdo a Lic. Abril" in their floor to remember me by! That was really sweet.

So things are going really well, so far we haven't had one big problem with the materials or building and the stoves are looking really, really good! It's so great to know that the women have really learned a new skill and have worked with their neighbors to help build each others' stoves. They have helped everyone who has needed it, for example there are a couple widows who don't have husbands or families to help them build their stove, so on a chosen day four or five of their neighbors who are project participants have show up and built the stove with her, always finishing that day.

They are super efficient and due to that it looks like we'll be 100% finished with the project before Holy Week!

It's hammer time

Two out of three stove demonstrations have been completed. During the demonstrations the contractor Don Diego (pictured left) teaches the women how to build stoves. They then work as a team building their own.

As you can see, we've been hard at work, and the stoves look great!

Tomorrow is the last stove demonstration before the women are on their own!

Wish us luck! (Floors start on Wednesday!)

Construction

After many bumps in the road and a ton of paperwork, we are finally beginning construction on the cement floor and stove project. This past week I have buying and delivering materials to the communities of Chihuitan and Xemuj, tomorrow (Sunday) we will distribute all the materials to the families who are receiving the project and the stove building and floor demonstrations start on Monday. We received many generous donations and a Small Project Assistant grant from USAID of over Q27,000 (about 3,000 USD), so a big thank you to all the donors! The communities have been busy preparing and have consolidated all of the materials they contributed, such as sand, gravel and construction equipment. They've also helped to unload the trucks of materials that have arrived. I will keep the blog updated with photos of the construction and any new updates!

Success!

So last night's Vagina Monologues were such a success, the venue (El Sitio Cultural Center, Antigua, Guatemala) had to turn away over 30 people!

The show was flawless, and the backstage running was smooth and stress free. We had various resturants and bars donate food, coffee and booze to sell, and we made over Q4000, most of which is going to Abriendo Oportunidades - check out the site here. The rest is going to the VDAY organization who is donating the money to various aid organizations in Haiti.

I'm exhuasted, but I'm so glad the show was a success. But now I have to get back on a chicken bus for five or six hours and head home in time for my huge International Women's Day event - whiiiich.... I haven't really started preparing for, I've just booked a huge room and a few hundred woman are going to show up. Vamos a ver.

Los Monólogos de la Vagina

First, I'd like to note that this is my 100th entry! Yay!!

Ok, moving on.

My life has basically been taken over by the GAD (Gender and Development) Committee's production of "The Vagina Monologues". If you had told me that one of the things I would learn while in Peace Corps is how to spell the word Monologue, not only in English, but also in Spanish, I would be impressed with my future fictional self, and a little doubtful. But it is true, I have been so wrapped up in this production, (March 6th, 3PM El Sitio Centro Cultural, 5ta calle poniente no. 15, La Antigua Guatemala) I can now spell "Monologues" without thinking about it.

Impressive.

The show's official blurb says this:

The Gender and Development Committee of Peace Corps Guatemala in collaboration with Abriendo Oportunidades is pleased to present the Vagina Monologues on March 6th from 3- 5:30pm in Antigua Guatemala! V-Day, the creator of the award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues, is a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM), and sex slavery. All funds raised will go directly to Abriendo Oportunidades, a program dedicated to empowering rural indigenous girls across Guatemala.

----

The show will be bilingual as we are working with HCNs (Host Country Nationals) from The Population Council - the overarching NGO for Abriendo Oportunidades, in FACT one of the HCNs doing a monologue is in fact the President of Guatemala's niece, Alejandra Colom, true fact. (She works for Pop Council).

The idea is that all of the money raised from this event will go to creating GLOW (Girls Lead Our World) Camps, where PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) work with HCNs from Abriendo Oportunidades in rural communities (probably in Totonicipan) and help educate young woman and girls about their rights, opportunities and health.

On the logistical side, I've been working on soliciting food/drinks/space etc. for the production and will be heading back into Antigua tomorrow to work on it some more. We're getting bars and restaurants to donate food/drinks/booze to sell at the show.

Have I mentioned that I have a really big stove/cement floor project coming up? - Also, Kitten is pregnant again. So there's a lot going on. Annd, I still have to do my taxes and FAFSA form.

SPA Fund Update

Yay my SPA grant has been fully approved! Money should be coming in the next two weeks, the project is a go for early March!
SUCCESS!

The last long haul

The last six months of service are here.

Wow, I’ve been living in Guatemala since April 2009, and here I am on my last long haul. With all the thinking I’ve been doing about my life after Peace Corps, it has been really hard focusing on my work here. Between scholarship applications and FAFSA reports etc. I feel as though my work here has been put on the back burner.

I hope to be changing that now as I’ve had a full couple weeks working in Chihuitan, Pasac and Xemuj with workshops, charlas and meetings. I’ve also been working with my counterpart organizing HIV workshops in the new schools in towns and working in training my health center staff on giving the workshops themselves.

Tomorrow is THE BIG DAY, it’s the SPA meeting (Small Project Assistance) and they will announce whether or not the money is coming through from the US government to fund my project, fingers crossed!

I will keep you updated on the progress of the project and all that jazz, hope all is well and that 2011 is going well.

Christmas and New Years Family Trip!

Happy 2011! I can't believe I've been in Guatemala since April 2009 -

This Christmas and New Years I was blessed with the best present ever: a visit from my family! Even though the trip was threatened by various weather conditions - after rescheduling and flying through Amsterdam, the family made it on time!

Here are some photos of the trip's highlights!

A temple in the old Mayan city of Tikal.

Happy New Year from San Jose! (looking glam!)

Meeting the woman' in my Woman's group in Chihuitan, San Vicente

At the top of Pacaya Volcano (it just exploded this past May, thus the 'v' at the top)

We went zip-lining through the monkey infested jungle in Panajachel, with GREAT views of the lake.

At a restaurant in Chichicastenango, El Quiche.
(Alex is looking particularly excited about this!)

Christmas Dinner at Casa del Mundo at Lake Atitlan

Our first night all together in Antigua, Guatemala.

For more photos click here, or look at Nicola's facebook profile! Happy 2011!

Project a go!

I've finally got a handle on my stove and floor project. I've started giving classes to the families who are going to receive the project. They must come to every class in order to receive a project. The classes are about basic hygiene as well as upkeep of their technologies (cement floors and/or wood burning stoves).

I've received a few generous donations, the money from the donations will help for the materials for the stoves and will help to pay for the construction worker to come down from Huehuetenango and give demonstrations to the woman as to how to build the stoves. The reason I'm bringing in someone from out of town to do this, is that he's specially trained to teach people how to build the stoves. He'll be here for five days and give demonstrations to the woman, the women will then build their own stoves. By learning how to build the stoves themselves, they woman will therefore be able to maintain their stoves and fix any problems that may arise in the future.

We're going to begin the building in the beginning of March. Photos to come!

Until then here are some pictures of houses of those who will be benefiting from the project.




For more info please check out my fundraising website: http://southofthemexicanborder.webs.com/

Turkey Day #2

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

We had a GREAT thanksgiving here in San Vicente - SO.MUCH.FOOD.

I may still be getting over my food hangover (among other things). The turkey was delish, he was laid to rest on Wednesday, cleaned and stuffed and sewed back up to be cooked all day Thurs. We had Turkey, stuffing, fresh cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, spinach casserole, yam pudding, sweet potato and carrot pudding, mashed potatoes, cauliflower and cheese casserole, sweet potato bread, apple pie, apple cake, roast veggies, fudge, fresh gravy, home made cheesy biscuits, bean dip, rice pudding and whipped cream.

Here's a photo of me and my friend Melissa enjoying the turkey!

We kind of felt like we were at Medieval Times Restaurant

Here's a great shot of the whole gang, taken by my stellar home-stay brother Eddie (he's 11!)

Can you SEE all that food, it's out of control, and so yummy! - sorry I'm making a weird face in the photo, not sure why.

Anyway, thanksgiving was AMAZING we slept it off on Friday and went into Xela in the PM to hang out, then went to Antigua to see Harry Potter in the theater in English, and let me tell you, worth the chicken bus ride. While dark and violent, I really,really,really loved the new Harry Potter movies, and since the books and movies have been a staple in my life since I was 11 years old, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with myself once the last one comes out. For almost half my life I've had a Harry Potter book and or movie to look forward to and it's all coming to an END... regardless, as I'm sure you can tell, seeing this movie was almost like a religious experience for me, so close to the end, but still one more to look forward to. AMAZING. (Did I say that already?)

But now I'm back in site and already counting down the days (21!) till the Wood family comes for their epic Xmas/New Years visit to Guatemala. I can't WAIT! - and we're talking the ENTIRE Wood fam, Nick, Alex and of course Fiona and Andrew, it's going to be so much fun (we're going to the beach for New Years!).

All Saints Day 2

The first day of November is All Saints Day. It's a day where Guatemalans go to their local cemetery and fly kites. It is right after the rainy season, and is the only time of year when it is dry and windy enough to fly kites.

Last year I went to Todo Santos Cuchumatán (All Saints) in Huehuetenango and watched drunk people ride horses. This year I went to Sumpango and watched them fly some of the largest most beautiful kites.

Here are some photos of the kites!


Each kite was made by an organization or group. They stood for things such as the environment or woman's groups. This one says, "It's not simply our identity, it's our indigenous pride".



To see more check out the whole album here.

Tuktuk mania

Many cities in Guatemala are taken over by tuktuks - in my mind tuktuks are motorcycles with hats on (see image below).

Looking back over the past year and a half, I've realized that tuktuks have played an interesting role in my life here. My first real "tuktuk event" was in Panajachel by the lake. One night a few of us (or more) were out on the town, when around 1am, someone decided we should have a tuktuk race about 1 mile down the road to the lake. The tuktuk drivers were more than enthusiastic and we crowded about 5* (or more) people into each tuktuk and off we went. The race began and we were in the lead, the other tuktuk was behind us and we thought it was a sure win, we drove for about two minutes at full speed, and suddenly the tuktuk behind us was gone! Figuring they had bailed out to buy some street food (we had passed about three delicious taco stands by that point) we headed for the win.

Around one turn, past a street vendor, down a small alleyway and we could almost smell victory. At the last moment however, it was snatched from us; as we approached the finish line we were tragically cut off by none other than the other tuktuk. The driver, knowing a shortcut had taken the other team down a series of small roads and narrowly won the race. Regardless, a good time was had by all.

Another tuktuk incident in my past was not nearly as enjoyable. I had just arrived in Antigua, Guatemala for a Peace Corps event and I had loads of bags and had been traveling for hours so was persuaded by my friends Anna and Kiki to split a tuktuk to our hostel. I have a stuffy nose and a cough, so I was not feeling 100%. After a couple of minutes in the tuktuk, Kiki starts saying, "Guys, this tuktuk stinks, what is that?" or "Anna, Phil, did you rip one what is that smell?", I didn't smell anything and thought she was making the whole thing up. We got out of the tuktuk, the driver headed off, I bent over to pick up my bags only to realize that the back of my pants were wet, from my butt down to my knee, I touched it, and smelled my finger, and sure enough, I had sat in diarrhea.

As you would expect, that last incident put me off tuktuks for a while. They're more expensive than walking and not comfortable at all on the cobblestones. However, this week, while back in Antigua for more Spanish classes and some presentations at the Peace Corps Office, I have been staying just out of town with my friend Aliyya. Close enough to walk in the daylight, but far enough to be a little sketchy at night. I've therefore rekindled my relationship with tuktuks, taking about four this past week alone with no incidents to report. Although there is a rumor that the tuktuks in Momostenango, the municipality of San Vicente is run by a gang that offer illegal tattoos out of the back of them. More research to be done, and I will write if I find anything interesting out.

Until next time - buenas noches y buena suerte

*real number may have been changed

Parties and stitches and kittens - oh my!

Hmm, where to start?

The past few days have been very strange indeed. And not in a good way, for the most part. It all started last Friday when I had a house warming party here in San Vicente for the house I have been living in since June (better late than never). My Mom sent me some curry powder in a care package earlier, so we decided to have curry.

About 8 people were at my house, the food was AMAZING, and we were having a great time playing cards on my kitchen table. Most people were in the kitchen except for two who were smoking cigarettes on the roof. We were wondering that they'd been up there for a while when one of them came running down frantically, saying the other had fallen off my roof...

That's right, she fell off my roof. Thank goodness my house is "only" one story, but it was still awful- I'd guess like 12-14ft high. - Luckily the party in question will be fine (over 40 stitches to the head, and pins in her broken toes later)...

We called the San Vicente Ambulance (driven by my neighbor, so it came in record time) and she was taken to the hospital immediately.

That Sunday, I come home from visiting the hospital, to find Kitten in labor. In fine Kitten form, she is the worst mother ever, and once the baby is born she runs outside and refuses to care for it. The next morning, sleep deprived as ever (but Kitten's kitten is still alive), I try to close my window to stop annoying children from yelling at me while I'm napping and accidentally put my left hand through the glass and cut open my wrist in two places.

Back to the hospital!

Luckily my site mate Caitlin took very, very good care of me, and wrapped my wrist very well and took me to Xela with her. We got to the hospital and I had to get 10 stitches in my wrist.

We head back to site that day, and I try to lay low, however Tuesday afternoon, what happens? Kitten goes into labor... again.

I had NO idea that could happen. I sort of thought, once a cat goes into labor, it sort of has the kittens in one go, not two days apart. But guess what, I was wrong. Kitten goes into labor (again) and during this labor, she (being the GREAT mother she is) smothers kitten number one, and it dies (can you say picking favorites?).

So, Kitten's first kitten is dead, but kitten number two is going strong (and looks less like a sea-monkey more like a rat see image below), and she's actually letting it feed off of her. (if the three of us sit on the bed together and I get her to lie down, but if I get up, she gets up...)



So that's my life, a few stitches and kittens later, and still going strong. I'm currently in the Health Center waiting for my counterpart to read through the new SPA papers we have to finish, and then we'll start looking at prices of materials for the projects.

Until next time, please, no more stitches.

US apologizing for medical experiments on Guatemalans

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Things have been pretty hectic here, and also kind of rainy, very muddy and depressing, so while I've been working hard on HIV workshops, my SPA (Small Project Assistant) grant from USAID and of course university applications, I haven't felt very inspired to write about any of it.

However recently some very disturbing news has come out, it turns out that in the 1940's American researchers working with the government in Guatemala infected about 700 Guatemalans, without their knowledge or consent, with gonorrhea and syphilis.

It seems that the people infected were those most vulnerable, including prostitutes, inmates and patients in mental institutions. The point of the experiment was to see how effective penicillin can be in preventing syphilis infections. While the Sec. of State has issued an apology, saying, "the research conducted in Guatemala between 1946 and 1948 was clearly unethical...Although these events occurred more than 64 years ago, we are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health." It doesn't seem like enough.

Who is going to stand up for the rights of these people who were so inhumanly treated? The Guatemalan government says it will try to see that the families of those infected will be compensated, but by whom, and when?

It seems that this is just another example of those who have, taking advantage of those who don't have, and while yes, the incident was exposed. It took almost 70 years to do so, and those with the most guilt, did get away with what they did, and remember, this occurred at a time, when the United States was reprimanding Germany for medically experimenting on their POWs, how is this any different?

To read the BBC news article on the incident, click here.

Happy Independence Day!

Sept. 15th (today) is Guatemalan Independence day, according to wikipedia, "On September 15, 1821, the Captaincy-general of Guatemala (formed by Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Honduras) officially proclaimed its independence from Spain and its incorporation into the Mexican Empire, which was dissolved two years later. This region had been formally subject to New Spain throughout the colonial period, but as a practical matter was administered separately. All but Chiapas soon separated from Mexico after Agustín I from Mexico was forced to abdicate."

Last night we went out in Xela and saw concerts, fireworks, there were people in the street, street food and pretty good chaos. I'm going to head back to site today, to celebrate there with the community (read: lots of food), if I can get a bus back (fingers crossed!).

National Emergency

On Thursday morning I had to leave my site to go to the Peace Corps office near Antigua, Guatemala for a GAD meeting and a dentist appointment.


Over the next few days we had a lot of rain, and the roads were covered in landslides over the main Inter-American Highway (also known as the road back home).



Some busses were pushed off the road, and there is a huge effort to clean the roads up.

Photo from BBC.com

There is supposed to be another tropical depression coming in this weekend, but you never know with weather, hopefully it will be warm and sunny, the roads clear, and I will be able to get back to site (and to Kitten!)

Photos from BBC.com