Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Welcome to the Jungle

So this will be a quick recap on what's gone on. I officially swore in as volunteer this past weekend and it was phenomenal. It was a great big event that made us all feel important and excited for service. Had an awesome weekend in Antigua and then we were off to our sites for the next two years. My site assignment is...Purulhá, in the department of Baja Verapaz...aka the jungle. It is breathtakingly beautiful and green. It is exactly what I had wanted - an environmentally beautiful site. It is pretty hot here though which can be a little much at times but it's still nice. My town is right next to a large nature reserve called the Biotopo of the Quetzal, which means it is a protected area of so much wildlife, including the quetzal which I really would love to see. There is bountiful tropical rainforest around and is just so green - i love it ! On a bit of the downside though, I am having a harder than anticipated settling in process. My housing has not followed through. The house I am supposed to be living in does not have a door on my room yet so I am currently living at my counterpart's house in town which is fine but I want my own space. I want my own place to begin to buy things and feel settled and home. I have a few options lining up for me though as potential move ins so I really hope one of them pulls through and by the end of the week. I think once I am settled and start working I will really love it here. There are so many natural, amazing sites close to my town that are a must see to go visit. I am really excited about that too. Also, a lot of my schools are in aldeas, which are smaller villages on the outskirts of the center of town, and they are deep in tropical beauty and mountains and am so excited to get to visit and know those communities. I feel like I know what is coming but at the same time I feel like I have no idea. It's crazy because so many volunteers from my training group got placed out west where there are so many volunteers and it seems like their lives are so much more social and flowing along so smooth. Meanwhile, it feels like we just got dropped off in the middle of no where, jungle Guatemala and were wished luck until next time. We are pretty isolated out here when it comes to volunteers which can be a bit of a bummer sometimes but I think it will turn out to make our Peace Corps experience really exceptional and unique - kinda what I thought Peace Corps would be like before getting to Guatemala. The people so far I have met in my town have been so friendly and receptive that I think by the end of the two years we will really feel part of the community here. That seems so far away right now though and just getting through this first month feels like  major obstacle. Patience and positivity are all I need though. Patience and positivity. That's it for now because I'm tired and it's late but I felt the urge to update. Also, exciting news. Here is a picture of the mostly finished world map! (Not totally finished because we are missing a few handprints and the Guatemalan flag that was later painted in but I sprained my ankle that week so I never got the final picture.)




I still can't believe we did that ! Also, I promised videos. And they are finally up too. Here are the links. There are two links because they had to be uploaded in two parts. Enjoy :) Part 1 and Part 2

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Good Things

Wow, I cannot believe it is already mid-March and I swear in as a volunteer in about 2 weeks ! Insanity. Time is such a strange thing. So I got my site mate assignment and to my astonishment it is my friend Lohmo, whom I went to college with and even lived in the same house with my junior year...Sooo crazy! It was crazy enough when we found out we were going to the same country together and now the universe has put as site mates for the next two years. Incredible. I'm happy and I think we will have a great time together and work really well together as well. I'm also happy I got a male site mate because as I've mentioned I think it comes with a lot of advantages that will help me throughout my service. 
Last time I wrote I mentioned I was starting my World Map Project at the school called Cambiando Vidas. I can't even believe it but in those 2 weeks we are pretty much done with it and it looks fabulous! It was a fun and frustrating process at times but so worth it. We made it pretty big and halfway through we wished we had been a little less ambitious but we got it done. Now we just have to go back one final day to paint in all the small islands and to paint on the Guatemalan flag and Peace Corps symbol. I'm gonna put some pictures up of the beginning stages and the middle stage. I forgot my camera the day we completed it and so I will have to take a picture the last day I got back and I will post it later on. I am so happy that as a first major project we were able to pitch the project to a school and successfully complete it. I think the school is gonna love it! 
Some not so good news also came from my other school I was giving health lessons at, Cerro Niño. Last week, the Ministry of Education released an accord that stated that all the teachers working on contract with the government had to return to the schools they were assigned and working at in the 2010 school year - for reasons I don't really understand. That means my host aunt Carolina, who was director of the school, would have to leave. The teacher I was working with was going to become the new director but then she was told she had to switch schools too. I feel really bad for the parents and students of this school because it seems so unstable right now with the continuous change of teachers and directors. I was supposed to go give my final lesson yesterday but couldn't because it was my last day of practicum. I was told we could go back on the 24th before leaving but now that the teacher won't even be there that I've been working with I don't even know if I'll do a lesson. I will definitely go and say bye to the kids though and get a picture with them so I can show it here for you all to see. 
So as stated last time I don't get my site assignment until the 24th - the day before swear-in - which means we don't have site week visit next week anymore. Instead, PC has planned for us what they call IDA (Independent Directed, crap I forget what the A stands for). Pretty much it means from Wednesday to Saturday of next week I get paired up with a volunteer already working in site in Guatemala and stay their place for those few days. Should be cool I hope.
So this weekend was pure awesomeness. I went to a beautiful yoga class in Antigua which was exactly what I needed mentally, physically, spiritually. I was on a natural high after the class and all was perfect. I was so happy and still am. Missing the familia from home this weekend though but always in my heart ! 
Map after all the sketching was done...

Map after all the countries were painted !

Finished product to come soon AND a video...get exciteddd !