the impossible

So this year I spent my birthday out of the country for the first time. I love birthdays even when it's not mine, I just think they are so fun and love celebrating them. I wasn't really expecting much since I was away from home and with new people but then I read a comment my cousin left me that made me think of it differently. He said "New experience on a birthday, you can't ask for more." It was so true and I realized the significance of that and just decided to take in the day however it may have arrived. I ended up having an amazing birthday, regardless of being in a new place and with new faces. In the evening my host family threw me a party as I mentioned in my last post. All the volunteers from my town came (a total of seven) and, honestly, I was expecting more of a everyone sitting around listening to music and eating kinda party. I was clearly mistaken though. Shortly after everyone getting there my family had a whole program set in order for us to partake in. They had set up a series of games that we all played and the funny thing was that they were all such simple and random games but we had such a blast and were laughing hysterically - either at the ridiculousness of what we were doing or just out of sheer joy. There was plenty of dancing done, whether by choice or not, for many of the "punishments" doled out to the losers involved some kind of dancing. I also had a little Minnie Mouse piñata, which I thought so appropriate. My host family here is large, my host mother is one of nine and they are all neighbors. They are so sweet too and most of them came bringing me a gift, which I did not expect at all. They even gave me a little speech saying how much they care about me and welcome me to their family. Their hospitality and generosity towards me is so great I truly feel blessed to have the opportunity to spend this time with them. 

So as far as training goes, it seems that things are finally picking up. We are all divided into Spanish groups depending on our levels and program. My group was advanced because we all came from Hispanic families. Our Spanish classes ended last week due to our level and we are now allowed to work on a project of our choice for the next 2 months of training. Two months sounds like a lot but in reality it's a lot less than that. We already have set training days every Tuesday and Wednesday and half-day on Thursdays, so in reality we only get full Mondays and Fridays to work on our projects. Regardless, though, I am excited about it! Today me and three other trainee volunteers went to this place called Cambiando Vidas (Changing Lives) located in our town. It is an NGO started by four Guatemalan women that provides quality education for children, a nutritious meal, parent education, and health services to those people in the surrounding communities that are at the lowest levels of poverty. The fact that it was started by Guatemala women is huge here because of the male dominance here called machissmo. While there we met one of the founders called Janet and she said that they started this as a way to show Guatemalans that women can do something meaningful too. She was such a remarkable and inspirational woman with drive, ambition, and determination. They started the school form nothing and everything they have is based on donation. They have worked in the past with different organizations from the US and Canada but also have received much help from local leaders, such as the mayor. This school was exceptional compared to the public Guatemalan schools I have seen thus far. They teach in the Montessori style and they don't just teach the kids until they graduate but support them and guide them to get into college, which is huge here especially for the really poor children who can't afford a private education. She is doing so much for these kids, she is literally changing their lives for the better. When we mentioned we want to help out there for our project she was so receptive and excited about it. Hopefully, we are going to go in and teach the kids health lessons on hygiene, nutrition, general health, and recycling. We have to show her the lesson plans and then we can get started ! I also am considering trying to get a world map painted for them at the school. Peace Corps has a project they do with schools that creates a world map from a grid so it makes it really easy to draw. I'll update more on the progress of this project as it goes on. I think it would be really great to be able to contribute to such a great organization. I'm planning on dividing my time though with the other school I mentioned in my previous post in Serroniño. Turns out there is an organization here called Tecnologìa de la Salud and one of their specialties is stove building. Therefore, I am going to try to contact them and see if they will work with us to build the school a stove. So, so far everything seems optimistic and I am pretty content with the way things are going. I had a cup of Yogi tea after dinner tonight and the quote on my tea bag read "You will feel fulfilled when you do the impossible for someone else." Janet came to my mind first because she is literally doing the impossible for all the children she is helping and supporting through the organization. I hope in my 27 months down here I can feel fulfilled in such a way but more importantly be able to make such a contribution to someone else. Okay it is now dark outside and I'm gonna turn this post in because I am getting bit by mosquitoes. Yes, I am sitting outside because my internet only works good when I sit outside. So is life in Guatemala :)

Transitioning

Sooo, finally here in Guatemala! Haven't been able to post sooner because I didn't have internet until today and even still it is REAL slow right now so I'm not sure if that is the norm and gotta work on that. So this Wednesday will already be 3 weeks that I've been here and I can't even believe it. It feels like I haven't been here long but at the same time I feel like I was home an eternity ago! Weird...

So my first week here was rough, which might be an understatement. I was not only physically exhausted the first few days being here and completely disoriented and just out of it, but I proceeded to get really sick. I had intense diarrhea, some vomiting, constant nausea, and stomach pains that made me wanna never eat again. It was awful and it lasted for 8 days, and I'm not gonna lie, it made me homesick and wanting to go home at the time. Thank God though it passed on its own and am now healthy and happy! It's been good here since. I live in a town called Pastores about 10 minutes outside of Antigua. The really cool thing is that we arrived here precisely in time for a festival called Convite. It takes place every weekend in a different town and I have been to three so far. It's fun but kinda weird at the same time. It's like their Halloween and people get dressed up and parade down the street with a band following them so all the people dance in the street alllllll day, literally. The most peculiar thing is that it's really common, for some reason unknown to me, for the men to dress up as women. Haha so strange but really entertaining. As far as training goes, it's been going slow. I just feel like there's been so much introduction to things and not much action but finally this week we are going to start doing more hands-on training so I'm really excited about that. I'll be working with a couple schools soon with volunteers that have already been here for at least a year in my program so I think it will be really helpful. Once I start working and training with the schools I can write more specifically what I'll be doing and helping out with. So far, we've learned some pretty fun activities and songs that we can teach the teachers to do with their classes to improve sanitation and personal hygiene within the schools. Funny coincidence, one of the schools I'll be training with soon is in a town called Serroniño and the director of the school is my host aunt that lives with me. She told me the other day how the school doesn't have a stove and that instead they use a fire they make on the ground to cook the kids a snack. She asked me if maybe we could help build a stove for the school and at first I thought it wouldn't be possible since it isn't in our program. To my surprise, though, I talked to one of the head training instructors today and it sounded like it might actually be possible after all! I really hope so. I'm going to keep pushing it and see what happens so I'll update if there's any progress there. 

Otherwise, tomorrow is my birthday and I will be twenty-three. My family here has decided to throw me a birthday party, or "fiesta". I invited all the volunteers that live in my town and I'm pretty sure all my host's family's family that lives in town is coming too. I'm pretty excited to see how exactly it is going to turn out but regardless I think it will be fun. So I am going to write again sooner because so much happens and it makes it harder to write when too much time has passed by. Hasta luego