Who run the world? GIRLS

I woke up today to the bright sun shining on me through my window. Blue skies and the promise of high 70's weather making me feel happy and content with Guatemala at this time of year. If I were home, it'd definitely be a different story with the weather; highs in the 20's with snow around the corner. Although, it is a very strange feeling being in warm weather during Christmas time. It confuses me but I guess if I'm going to be away from home for Christmas I want it to feel different so I don't get too many nostalgic reminders of Christmas at home. 

Before I get more into Christmas stuff, let's discuss recent events. About a week and a half ago I went to this annual event that takes place close to my town called Bolas de Gas, which translates to Balls of Gas. This event has allegedly been going on for hundreds of years. I was told it consisted of people running through the center of town kicking a bunch of balls made of cloth soaked in gas and aluminum that were lit on fire. Sounded interesting enough and the sight of this intrigued me. Well, it was definitely a sight to see indeed! When I was there and the balls came rolling down the streets from every corner, I thought I was in a some action movie where I was stuck in the middle of some Spartan war with men throwing fire balls everywhere. It was pretty unreal. As I stood inside a tienda with a bunch of other spectators watching outside of the line of fire, a ball flew into the store and landed under a foosball table they had. I guess we weren't exactly outside the line of fire. In the end, I thought it was crazy that something like this could go on but, then again, it was Guatemala. I ended up leaving before it ended because it started to get a little out of control with people throwing fire balls everywhere. Anarchy much?

Lighting up the streets

Following that, I had a pretty busy week with my GLOW camp (Girls Leading Our World). I had been planning it for some time now and the week was finally here. My friend Allison came over from Xela (a 9+ hour ride) to help me with it. It was 3 days of fun-filled activities that focused on self-esteem, leadership, career-building, environmental awareness, and a state of well-being. It was amazing to see how excited these girls got at such simple activities and things that kids in the US just expect. One of our first activities was making collages about who they are and what they wanna be when they grow up. I brought the girls markers to use and they just lit up when they saw them. They were so excited to have so many different materials to use. It was also great to see them open up a little and just be themselves. We played different games with them that made them do silly things that they were at first shy to do but then they just embraced it.

Collage making

I had the opportunity to work with the older girls and talk to them about stress and ways to release it in a positive form. I introduced them to journaling and meditation which I think they both enjoyed very much. (They especially enjoyed decorating the journals because I brought them stickers to use.) We also did a yoga introduction workshop. They had never heard of yoga before and it was fun showing them these poses for the first time. Of course they giggled and stared around at each other but it was fun and they really enjoyed it. I gave them some sheets with simple poses on them so hopefully they try to do it sometime on their own. Other than that, we had some guest speakers that came to talk about the importance of continuing education. Finishing school is such an important issue here for girls. The school we did the camp at goes up to 6th grade (as all primary schools do here). I had one girl in the whole camp that was from the incoming 6th grade class. I asked her where all the other girls from her class were and she said she was the only one left. Giving these girls a chance to be inspired and dream big is not something they are used to and so hearing them open up about what they wanted to be when they grow up was so great. In the end, they all loved the camp. They were so excited about it every day and loved getting lots of prizes. There was one little girl who was Allison and mine's favorite. Her name was Reina and she was the cutest little girl ever! She said she was 6 but I'm not sure about that. She hardly spoke Spanish because she was in the Kindergarten class and at that level they speak mostly their indigenous language still, Q'eqchi'. Regardless, there was never a day she wasn't excited to be there with a huge smile on her face even though she didn't really know what was going on half the time.

Warrior 1!

Reina with her camp t-shirt <3

The camp was definitely a highlight of my service so far. Planning something so far in advance, executing it successfully, and seeing the girls' reactions to it was awesome. Now I'm in my final days of the year. On Friday I am going down to stay with my host family from training in Pastores for Christmas. I haven't seen them in a couple months so it will be nice to reunite and see them. I definitely have been feeling nostalgic and missing home around the holidays. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I do miss my family and our traditions. But, at least I have the chance to spend Christmas with a family and it will be a new and different experience I will take forever with me. Shortly after, I will be traveling over to El Salvador to do some end of the year/beginning of the year vacationing. I hope to spend the new year in San Salvador and am excited to visit a new country and, of course, go to the beach! I can hardly believe that my first year in the Peace Corps is already coming to a close. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year filled with so many blessings, love, peace, and joy. See ya next year!

Catching up

It's been almost exactly 2 months since I last wrote. After skimming my last blog post, though, it feels like that was more than 2 months ago. So much has happened since then! Everyone talked about how school vacation is boring and long but mine has surprisingly been busy and is going by super fast (it's pretty much over after this month). So, I finally went home and experienced the luxuries and fast-paced lifestyle of America for a few weeks. I don't want to dwell on my trip home but I'll sum it up in a few words: family, new nephew, friends, delicious food, yoga, meditation, beach runs, parties, Halloween, reunions, shopping, Autumn. It was a good recharge and I definitely ate too much, but it was also terribly sad and difficult to leave behind my adorable little nephew. I miss him tons.

After getting back from the States I got to spend a little time with my friend Allison (another PCV) and her family that was down visiting Guatemala. It was a nice way to ease back into Guatemala's lifestyle and pace, since I had been gone for 3 weeks after all and it is surprising how fast one can fall back into a routine. Her family rented an amazing house in Antigua with a pool and a hot tub. So even though I had recently returned to Guatemala I didn't quite feel like I was totally in Guatemala yet. I had the opportunity to hike the Pacaya volcano with them which was surprisingly really amazing. It's one of the easier hikes so I guess I didn't anticipate it being as good but I was proven wrong. Once you get about 300 m from the top (total height is about 2,600 m) there are no more trees and just all black volcanic rock everywhere. I honestly felt like I was taken back into the movie The Land Before Time (awesome childhood movie!). There were areas where geothermal vents formed and you could just see the steam coming out (it's an active volcano). There was one hole that you could drop down and stand in. The steam and heat form a natural sauna that feels good but also pretty hot. We also went down into a nearby cave by the top that was big and was like a giant sauna. Our guide even brought tortillas and chile rellenos to cook in one of the thermal vents. We also had marshmallows that we roasted in the vent. Delicious and fun. Also, the view up there was incredible! You could see so far out that you could even spot Guatemala City in the distance. 

The Land Before Time

Allison cooking tortillas and roasting marshmallows 

So after that fun-filled weekend I went back to site where I had to resettle, finish unpacking, and get my life back in order. First of all, I was greeted by some dear little mice hiding out in my bedroom and kitchen. UGH. They are super cute for sure but that doesn't mean I want to share my space with them. So I had to deal with that and get rid of them. I guess the bright side of that problem is that i have decided to get a kitten but am going to wait until January. So I was home for about a week and then I was off again to leave for a Thanksgiving vacation.  I went to the town of Rio Dulce and then Livingston for some Thanksgiving relaxation and fun. Rio Dulce was a cute little town on the river. It's a pretty chill and low-key place. The highlight was definitely a waterfall we went to called Finca Paraiso. Supposedly, it is the only waterfall in the world in which the river it falls into is cold but the waterfall itself is hot, hot water. I've never been to anything like it and it was not only beautiful but so nice to swim in. We walked up to the hot spring where the waterfall originates from and, once there, a local guide showed us an area of where natural clay forms under the hot spring. He told us the clay is used for medicinal purposes on the skin. We then took some of the clay and rubbed it all over our bodies and looked like awesome jungle women. Once you washed it off, your skin was oh so smooth. From Rio Dulce we took a boat down the river to a little town called Livingston on the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. It is a different world from the rest of Guatemala. It has a very chill, laid back, Caribbean vibe where the locals speak Garifuna and are of African and Carib descent. We were there precisely for the weekend that celebrates Garifuna culture and so it involved lots of dancing and street festivities. We also had great seafood. The typical dish there is called tapado, which is a seafood stew comprised of fish, shrimp, and crab cooked in coconut milk with curry. So delicious! A different Thanksgiving from what I was used to for sure, but regardless a great one.

The hot waterfall into the cold river

Livingston

The thing that amazes me the most after visiting other places like this in Guatemala is how unique and different each department here can be. I have been in such totally different and opposing climates and landscapes here in Guatemala that it sometimes is hard to believe you are still in the same country! You go from a tropical beach town with a Caribbean feel to a high altitude-residing town that is cold and mountainous but both equally as beautiful. I've heard that Guatemala has 40 different micro-climates. It is amazing that one little country could have so much diversity and beauty in so many different shapes and forms. 

After much traveling, I have finally settled back home for at least a few more weeks. This past week I had the opportunity to help out with a medical mission from the US as a translator. The organization is called Partners for Surgery. They are doing a week long mission in which they stop at a bunch of different towns in the Verapaz departments and host medical clinics and do screenings for patients that will need surgery. It was an amazing and unique experience. I was paired with a female doctor that coincidentally is from my hometown - I could not believe that! So I translated for her with the patients for an entire day. Seeing these patients and hearing their problems made me feel sad and grateful at the same time. So many of these patients had been suffering with their ailments for years and years with no resource or outlet to get help from. It made me realize even more than I already have that Guatemalans are such strong people that persevere through the toughest conditions because there is no other choice at times. It also made me realize how fortunate I have been to have grown up in a country where I am offered top of the line medical services with specialists of every kind. Yet, that also made me sad because these patients don't have those same services offered to them and it's unfair that they don't. However, when a patient did get approved for surgery it made me happy to know that someone was doing something for them to get medical attention and help. I left feeling inspired and excited to pursue my own career in helping and healing others. To be able to offer someone something that no one else can or will give, is a gift and an honor. I know that's still some time away for me but it definitely is a feeling of excitement to imagine it all one day. I'd like to think that my job here in Peace Corps is a small step towards doing that though. With the days and weeks to come I'll be preparing more workshops with my women's group and will be putting the finishing touches on my girls' camp plans, which should be happening next week! Phew, now I feel caught up on everthing that's been going on. Oh, and happy December :)