April Showers

Things have been slowly moving along here at ANADESA. I now realize it´s hard to do much in a year and what once seemed like a long time feels like so little. One of the biggest successes is starting the process of legalization of the association. This has been in the plans for over a year now, and finally we have begun the process. I´m slowly starting to appreciate more and more the kids program and we have tried to implement certain themes like music, poems, environment, hygiene, and interfamily violence. I have really enjoyed getting to know the women of our association. I have been doing home visits and using Spanish and sometimes Tzutujil to communicate, as a lot of them don´t know Spanish! They each have a story to tell about their difficult lives here in Guatemala.

The week before Easter is called Semana Santa or ¨Holy Week¨ and was really something special. The beginning of the week I got to spend with Adam and Marisa in Nicaragua. I enjoyed getting to know their friends, church, and lives there. We also explored a little of Managua, Granada, Mirador de Catarina, and the beach. The time was short but packed with great food, fun people, and good conversation.

The second part of Semana Santa I spent here in Santiago and the other SALTer Anne came with me. I have never seen anything like these celebrations in my life. The streets were filled with a colorful rug made of flowers, other plants, and colored saw dust. On Good Friday there is a huge procession where they took Jesus down from the cross, put him in a brightly decorated casket, and marched him on the rugs through the town. They began marching at 3:30 and continued till sunrise, switching men every hour. Anne and I watched until about 10 at night. The town was filled with people trying to find a good place to stand as Jesus passed. The ambiance was something precious and beautiful that I will never forget. On Easter morning I climbed volcano San Pedro. A good 3 hours up and another 2 hours back down. As I climbed I tried to reflect on the new life that Jesus gave us.

After the holidays I am now jumping back into work, trying to complete some goals that I had for myself and the association. Along with that, I´m spending quality time with my friends and family here.

la vida

I haven’t written in a while! So much has happened and I´ve been so busy it has been harder to keep up this blog than I thought.

In February we celebrated Valentine´s Day. Here it´s more of a day of friendship, love, and family. Not just something for couples. We celebrated with all the women from the association in a town called San Lucas, where we played on the playground, made our own lunch, and swam in the lake. One really cool tradition they have here Valentine´s Day are eggs filled with pieces of colored paper which you can crack on people´s heads! I of course was super excited and participated in this event.

Also in February I did some traveling. We had a team retreat in the northern part of Guatemala, and after the meetings we had a half day of fun where we went inter-tubing through a cave! It was some great bonding time. I also had the opportunity to visit another team member and MCC project in San Marcos. There they are cultivating flowers, different vegetables, and have a trout farm. They are also working with putting an end to the gold mining that Canada is doing in this area, which is displacing many communities and contaminating the water. We did some great hiking one day to a waterfall and up the side of the mountain.

In March my family came to visit! We had a wonderful time and it was great to be able to show them my life here. We spent a few nights at ANADESA so that they could learn about the program, the war, and the mudslide. We also spent precious time with my host family. We ate 2 meals with them, my host dad made up a song for everyone, and mom and Marisa tried on the traditional dress! The other two nights we stayed in a beautiful hotel and relaxed in the pool, hot tub, and sauna. One day we went to explore another town on the Lake called San Pedro as well as Panajachel. The last night we stayed in Antigua, however most everyone was feeling a bit sick that day!! Overall a great experience here with my family.

Also In March I went to El Salvador to visit some MCC workers and learn more about their programs down there. I was a fun and short trip. Some highlights include seeing downtown San Salvador, Oscar Romero parade, eating papusas, latin dance aerobics, hanging out with youth in the community La Liña, annnnnd winning a soccer tournament and a trophy!

I´m now feeling motivated to continue working hard and enjoying the last little bit that I have left here! My time has flown by and to think I only have three and a half months left is crazy! It´s a little bitter sweet. They are starting to talk about me leaving and it will be really hard to as I have fell in love with the place, people, and everyday life.

¨Your great memories and yesterdays were once today’s, so live in the moment, make the most of today.¨ - that is exactly what I´m doing.