fijese que...

Last time I wrote I couldn't believe it was Febraury, now I can't believe February is almost over! Incredible. So I got back from my FBT week last Saturday. Huehuetenango, which is called Huehue for short (pronounced way-way by gringos/Spanish spoken with an American accent), was AMAZING. It was in the western highlands of Guatemala, therefore it was surrounded by gorgeous mountains everywhere. The views were breath-taking and it was difficult to not get captured in the moment where ever you were there. I really enjoyed myself that week because I felt like we really got to see and understand better what life is like after swearing in as a volunteer and being in site and working. We met a lot of different volunteers that live in the department of Huehue and each place was so different but so beautiful. I loved every place and it really instilled hope and excitement in me about my future site - hopefully it's as great as one those! It was really inspirational to see the work that these volunteers had done and are presently doing. Seeing the actual results of the program and the change taking place made it feel more real and that what we are doing here really can make a difference, even if it is just in a couple of communities. Some of the schools we went to were high in the mountains and absolutely isolated, a couple hours away from any large center or other towns. Yet, the kids in these schools were so motivated by the program and were happy to have us there. Seeing the schools, all the kids' and teachers' involvement, and the relationships the volunteers cultivated in their communities really got me excited for my volunteer service to start. During FBT, we also got to do charlas, or presentations, for a group of mothers of students at one school, another one for a class at a school (I had fourth grade), and a training workshop for a large group of teachers of a municipality. It was fun but challenging at times because the students in rural areas can be really timid, especially the girls. Girls in indigenous communities are not accustomed to speaking out their opinions or really just having a voice when it comes to issues. It was so obvious in the schools because when I gave the lesson to my class and I would call on a girl to answer a question or read something it was really common for the girl to cover her mouth or face and not talk. It is hard to deal with, not so much because they won't talk but more so because it saddens me to see that their culture raises them this way. One of the hardest things to deal with here is the lack of rights and freedom of women. I know it is far worse in other countries, such as some in the Middle East for instance, but it still is significant. Every PCV I've met, whether during FBT week or just at any time during training, they have all highlighted how being a woman volunteer in Guatemala is hard - and this was said by both female and male volunteers. I mean, I knew that already, it is obvious just from the short time being here. Us female volunteers do not have the same liberties here as we did prior to coming here in the US. It will take getting used to and it will take patience and understanding with a foreign culture. But that is part of the experience and of working here. Regardless, I am still excited, determined, and optimistic about my service here. 

So a saying that is really popular in Guate is "Fijese que..." It is usually used at the beginning of a sentence and followed by some bad news.  It's kind like saying "Well listen to this, so and so happened..." Guatemalans are big on being late, not showing up for things, or jsut making excuses in general; just a consequence of the laid back nature that exists here. So a big fijese que that we received during FBT from our program director was that we are no longer finding out our site locations on March 10, which was the expected date. There is a department of Guate called Alta Verapaz and it has been in a state of siege for over a month now due to violence caused from the big drug gang called the Zetas. All PCVs that were there had to be evacuated. A lot of our future site were supposed to be in Alta Verapaz and so the siege prevented PC from putting us there. This has left them with 5 site that they still need. Finding a site is a long process because they have to go several times to do site visits in order to determine security, safety, and basic ammenties and more. So essentially PC needs more time to find these other sites and so they had to push back when we get our sites. Now we do not find out until March 24, which is the day BEFORE we swear in as volunteers! That kinda blows, a lot. Because now we can't go on site visit week - during that week were supposed to go to our site to meet our counterpart we work with and meet all our schools and get our places to live and essentially do everything important. PC is still trying to figure how this is all gonna work especially since now we have to figure out how we're gonna get all of our luggage over there and what not. I'm not worried though because I know it will all work out regardless it just stinks we have to wait so long to know our site now. But this coming Tuesday, March 1st, we find out our site mate! Man, I am excited and a little anxious to find out who I'm gonna be working with for the next two years and living in the same town with. I have faith though and know that who ever I get is meant to be that way. 

So that's pretty much all the major stuff going on right now. I'm giving another lesson tomorrow to my second and third grade class at Cerro Niño tomorrow on dental hygiene. And on Monday we are starting the World Map project at Cambiando Vidas so I am really psyched about that too! All is good so far and I am happy. Also, I haven't killed anymore spiders in my room and there is currently one living in my room with me. I am working on co-existing with it and hope that if I send out positive energy that I accept and don't want to kill it that it will not bite me. Until next time amigos, besos... 

chairs equal danger

Time is going by so fast here. The weeks are starting to fly by, unlike in the beginning when time was dragginggggg. Everyday I have something to do whether it be something planned for training or something I'm doing on my independent project stuff. I can't believe it's February. The crazy thing is that this Sunday we all leave for a week for what's called FBT (field based training) where we will be going to sites of volunteers in our program and checking out how they live and seeing all different aspects of the program. While there we also have to give workshops and lessons to some teachers and students, which I think will be fun. I'm gonna be in a town called Huehuetenango, which is about 8 hours away by car, at least that's what they told us. I'm going with 7 other trainees. It will be nice to see something new, be in a new town, do different things, and see how these volunteers are getting by. There are also some Mayan ruins up there in a town called Zacaleu and we're gonna be checking those out so I'm stoked for that! 

Today I gave my very first charla, or lesson, to a class as part of my independent project. I am working with a class at the school in Cerro Niño (I spelled it wrong in my last post, oops). It is one class but it has both second and third grade in the class. It's really difficult having two grades together. The first time I went to observe, the teacher ended up asking for my help because when she's working with one grade, she leaves the other grade to do an activity, which means they just fool around the whole time. I can tell the teacher gets easily frustrated but who wouldn't? These kids have NO CLASS MANAGEMENT set in place for them. This may not seem like a very big deal but oh how it is! The kids get up, talk whenever they want, don't know to raise their hand, all talk at the same time, just get up and talk to the teacher whenever they want something, it is purely chaotic. So today I gave an hour lesson with another PCT named Allison. The topic was the five senses. It went well all in all but it took a lot of discipline and reminding them to raise their hands, to not shout out answers, to listen, to pay attention. It was tough. Another big problem was that the second graders don't know how to read yet and so when we would write stuff on the board only the third graders could participate. It's hard getting across to both grades when only one can read. It was still fun though and the kids are really cute and love to give hugs! I'm still working on the stove project for them. I want to talk to one other organization and find out how much they charge for the stove that way I can propose two options for the school. Once they decide we can go ahead and ask the municipality, or mayor essentially, if they will fund it. Also, good news! The other school I had mentioned earlier on called Cambiando Vidas, the NGO one, has verified that they are interested in the World Map project we proposed to them. I don't even remember if I mentioned this last time but Peace Corps does a project in which we can go to schools that don't have any maps and we offer to paint them a large world map on a wall in the school. We also give them lesson plans for the teachers to use with the students utilizing the map. So I thought this project would be good for Cambiando Vidas because I did not see a map when I was there. They loved the idea and I'm gonna get to do it with a few other PCTs. We're planning on starting right away once we get back from FBT in a week. I'm eral excited about that!

Another update I have is that I almost seriously hurt myself last Saturday. I was standing on a chair in my room at about 8:45 pm trying to kill a mosquito that was on my ceiling. It's bad enough that I hate killing bugs and feel terrible when I do it but this time I was standing to close to the edge of the chair and my chair tipped over. I fell off the chair obviously, which may sound funny, but my floor is hard concrete and tiles. I came crashing onto the left side of my lower back and then my head proceeded to fly back and hit the ground. It hurt so bad. I thought I broke either my neck or back. Luckily, I was fine. I got up and was in a lot of pain but nothing serious happened to me thank God. I think I gave myself a mild concussion and some pretty large bumps and bruises. I'm feeling better now, my back and neck are still a bit sore but nothing I can't deal with. I think I gave myself bad karma from all the bugs and spiders I've killed in my room. I'm terrified of spiders and bugs though so I don't know what to do. I've stopped killing bugs for the time being and simultaneously they have also seemed to frequent my room less. Note to self: don't stand on chairs without supervision. I am clearly not capable of doing so without injuring myself. Until next time, much love...

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 

Pre-departure...

 First time blogger here. I suppose this is like a journal except you expect anyone and everyone to read it as opposed to just me and mySelf. Cool. So I leave in 6 days - crazy - which means I am scheduled to depart on Jan. 4 on a flight that leave at 9am from La Guardia in NY. In terms of packing, I haven't started yet, I don't like packing too ahead of time and am better at doing it all in one big swoop - efficiency right? I pretty much have everything I need to bring with me except for a rain coat, a sleeping bag, and some other random toiletries, which I will be buying in the next couple days now that we are no longer snowed in. Of course during my last week home when I wanna go out and do things before leaving we get 30+ inches of snow and am snowed in for 3 days ha, and so that is life and I can't complain because at least I was home with food, warmth, electricity, and some family :) 
 So to give an overview to anyone that may not know, I am going to be in Guatemala for the next 27 months in a program called Healthy Schools for the Peace Corps. Within my program I will be a "Municipal School Health Coordinator" - which is a long name for someone who is in charge of working with a few schools in a given municipality (I dislike this word, for some reason my tongue gets twisted every time I try to say it). My job will be to organize health workshops for the students and for the teachers and principals. These are schools that otherwise don't really receive any health lessons and don't know a lot about personal hygiene and other preventative techniques that can prevent many of the illnesses and health problems the children and adults encounter in Guatemala. Pneumonia and diarrheal disease are the first and second leading causes of death for children under five in Guatemala, respectively. The goal of the program is to make these schools certified as a "Healthy School". However, my first three months in Guate won't entail this work yet. The first three months are training provided by the PC and my impression is that we will be living outside of Antigua with host families. After training we finally get to our assigned permanent site, TBD as of now.
 So my pre-departure thoughts/feelings? I'm excited, for sure! I feel like this day has been coming for so long and it's finally here. It's so many things that I want all put in one and am truly just stoked to be starting a new journey and adventure that I believe will set me on my path for the future. As happy as I am though, I am a bit sad at the same time because I will miss so many people - family and friends both. I know I will see them again but 27 months is the longest I've been away. But that's where vacation comes in and visitors! It is hard to say goodbye for now but I know everyone is in my heart and memories and pictures are awesome to have. I had other worries early on about tons of different things but have learned to put my worries in the hands of the universe and all will work out. I am ready mentally, physically, and spiritually, so bring it on.
If you would like to send me some love through the mail, this is my mailing address for the first three months:

Natalie Alvarez, PCT 

Cuerpo de Paz/Peace Corps 

Apartado Postal 66 

Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, 03001 

Guatemala, Centro América

Office telephone No.: 502.2384.3800 (needed for courier packages: FedEx, DHL, etc.)

Wish me luck packing! (Hopefully everything fits nicely)

Besitos