The Land of Trees
Before I begin, a word of caution, this is really long...Im sorry, I really did try to limit my use of detail but there was only so much I could cut out without losing effect. However, I hope you enjoy reading about my journey anyway. And so it begins...
The world in which you were born is just one model of
reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique
manifestations of the human spirit” –Wade Davis
As I embarked on my journey of to distant lands, I never would
have thought I would have had this much action jam packed into one week. I can
only imagine how Im going to feel after eight whole weeks. On the plane ride
over wanted to start my trip on a positive note by setting a few goals for
myself, a few of which included:
-Use every opportunity to learn Spanish
-Stay positive even when you feel out of your comfort zone,
that is the whole point of pushing ones boundaries
-Try to keep expectations at a minimum, they can be
treacherous
-This is the first time you’ve been abroad for this long,
let alone…on your own. So don't be too hard on yourself if you need an
adjustment period
With this in mind, although my day spent flying was of the
most anxious nature, upon my arrival seeing the house and where I was going to
be living, I couldn't have been happier. I met eleven amazing people that I
would have never befriended if it weren’t for this trip. We instantly hit it
off and were quickly on our way into discovering the Guatemalan culture that
surrounded our humble abode.
We arrived on Saturday, spending the late afternoon
wandering around the town center where they started the Guatemalan Independence
Day festivities, parades in the streets of every school in the city, and I mean
every school. They marched for eight hours straight…obviously something is in
the water here but Im not willing to find out what. The houses are made of
cement so they aren’t afraid of setting houses on fire, and the people aren’t
afraid of fires so they set fireworks off in city limits, and it was right next
to where we live. Apparently I was told “You Americans live in matchbox houses
so you cant set them off like we do”….I couldn't argue with that. But it was
great seeing the city come alive and filled with so much pride. It was a great
day to arrive in the country.
Sunday: More parades. Got pickpocketed. End of story. Not
pleased. Buttttt we did learn about the history of Guatemala and their current social/economic
problems. I also learned that the name Guatemala means “The Land of Trees”…well
if you know me well enough, you know how much I love trees. And boy they aren’t
lying, this is definitely the most lush place I have ever been too.
Monday: First day at my placement!!!! NOT. The hospital was
closed for the holiday weekend, oops. Fear not, I went with the 9 people from
Oppenheimer Funds to their location at the St. Vincent Elderly Care Facility.
Got to help paint beautiful murals and was complimented for the third time
about how well I speak Spanish! They told me I had a great accent and told me I
could pull off being Latina once I learned the language a bit better haha!
SCORE.
Tuesday: FINALLY got to go to the Pediatric Burn Unit of the
Roosevelt Hospital…granted I was a bit nervosa because I had been warned from
previous volunteers and my director (Virginia) about the Psychologist at my
placement and that she has made the past two ladies cry their first day!
….great. Thank goodness I have thick skin. So I show up and everyone is
extremely friendly…and Im wondering where the evil lady is or if Ive met her
yet and shes just waiting to unleash the fury (I didn't know her name or what
she looked like) but she wasn't there, then this sweet girl walks up to me and
starts talking to me in English! SO HAPPY! She tells me she is a psychology
student doing her internship at the hospital until the end of October (when
their summer break starts) YAY I HAVE A FRIEND! We hit it off instantly, and
she showed me around and has even offered to take me to her Universidad (it's a
private American school) so that I can see what class here is like!!! The nerd
in me was obviously jumping for joy. The kids there were not as badly burned as
I had envisioned, and they were all so cute! I swear if I was 10 years older I
could have adopted one. Just adorable.
The ones that are badly burned have a bit of self esteem issues
(especially if its facial) so its great that I get to show them how goofy I am
and make them laugh…just call me Laurena the entertainer. After work we all got
to go visit the town Cathedral, Catholic Museum (where I learned a lot more
about Mother Teresa that was quite shocking) and an underground market…which is
basically a really cheap place to by stuff so the store owners don't have to
pay taxes. It was like walking into a rainbow and not being able to find your
way out. Colors galore. I was in sweet sweet heaven, I haven’t shopped since
March unless it was to prepare for my trip…believe it or not.
Wednesday: Poypol Vuh
Museum of Mayan History and our night out on the town as we ate at an authentic
Mayan restaurant called Kacao…simply amazing. I had a dish called Tapado,
basically many kinds of seafood with plantains and coconut milk….delish! …and
we all split some red wine.
Thursday: I found out that I am going to get to observe skin
grafting surgery for the kids at the hospital, the supposedly evil psychologist
is just severely misunderstood (Im trying to give her the benefit of the
doubt), she introduced herself and I said oh Hi! (Her name is Brena) and she
said “did they warn you about me?”….I laughed it off. However, she proved to be
much nicer, seemed a bit forced but from what I could tell she was just very
protective of her patients and felt I was intruding on her territory, luckily
the kids and I had quite the connection that she recognized and after she got
to know me a little more and about my cause, she was much more welcoming and
offered me a lot more observation time. SCORE.
After work we all went to the old capital of Guatemala,
Antigua, my oh my was it gorgeous. We went to the St. Clara Convent and the
architecture was breathtaking, a beautiful courtyard with Arabic influence, and
of course lots of Spanish influence in the building structures. It is more
touristy but there is a section right outside the city called San Antonio Agua
Calientes where many of the Mayan people live and still practice their cultural
rituals. We walked into this shabby little hut and then BOOM it was a huge room
filled with smoke and a little store in the back filled with their bright
colors and famous textiles. As I was coming down the stairs, I look where the
smoke is coming from…there is a tiny little old lady roasting coffee beans on a
fire by hand….I FREAKED OUT this was incredible. I could have just sat there
all night. It smelled delicious. We get settled in and we are told a little bit
about the weaving process for the Mayan blankets and clothing, etc. Most pieces
take about 4-6 months depending on whether or not they are double sided (which
is a Mayan technique). Then we were told how the wedding ceremonies are
conducted. Boy was that fun. They made a few of the people in our group be the
bride (she was pregnant haha…talk about a shotgun wedding) and groom, and also
the mother and father-in-law. It was pretty funny. It was an incredulous
experience, for one thing the after party lasts 12 hours straight and you
aren’t allowed to sleep….then the husband must go off to work the next morning
with only tortillas and coffee. Oh and if the wife cant prove that she can cook
to the mother-in-law…they cannot get married. Wow.
After the demonstration, they let us make our own tortillas
and homemade coffee…hands down the best Ive ever had (of both). I was in
heaven. Minus all the smoke. Overall I must say this was my favorite day thus
far.
Friday: Went to the Mayan Ruins in Tecpan Iximche where we
saw an actual Mayan Ritual where they pray to the Gods for various things (the
one we withnessed was for fertility). After the tour we met with a woman who
taught us about the Nawalis of the Mayan people, it is very similar to the
Zodiac Signs. She told all of us what we were (its an animal) except its
supposed to express how to best gather our energy. For example, my sign is
called I’x which is Mother Earth, strength, or the Jaguar. It was very
interesting to hear about what “characteristics” I have based on this
character. Soon there after we returned home and all had our last pow wow
before the Oppenheimer group that I came close with had to hit the hay as they
were departing in the morning.
Saturday: We hiked the Pacaya Volcano! Rika, Cynthia and I
geared up to go, however there were horses made available for us so Rika and I
decided to go ahead by horseback, I cant pass up riding a horse, I think its in
my Texan nature. There really aren’t any words to describe the feeling of
journeying through a jungle to arrive at the top to see three monstrous volcanoes,
one of which was actually active (one of four in the world I might add). It was
literally unbelievable. Watching a volcano erupt with my own two eyes gave me
chills. Im not going to get all nerdy on you….but I was stunned. We had lunch
at the summit and even though the ash was toxic there were some local people
with a fire and they were willing to let us roast our marsh mellows on their fire
(and of course we shared) so it was a great time.
It has been the first full week! (sorry it took me so long
to post) It has been a total delight (minus the phone mishap) Meet some lovely
people and exceeded my hopes of what this experience would bring me. I cant
wait to see what the next week will bring! Until next time J (Ill try not to be so
lengthy)
