The Dragon Hunters

Miguel, Juan y Juan: The Dragon Hunters

Aside from climbing trees, playing soccer and simply chasing one another around the village there is another activity that the kids of San Sebastian Coatan indulge in.  They like to swat dragon flies. On warm days when swarms of dragon flies fill the air one will see kids lining the streets, atop houses, in corn fields and various other strategic locations allowing them the  best chance to swap a few down. You may ask what the kids do with the dragon flies once they’ve been taken from flight. Well, sometimes it is merely a contest as to who catches the most dragon flies, but they will also bring them home and cook them to eat. I myself have not tried them and not sure if I desire to...lol. However, I have taken part in the hunt and it can be quiet addicting. 

   

  

           Mi tocayo with his Dragon Swatter 

Mi tocayo being funny

Juan with his dragon hunter

Gaspar taking a break from the hunt

Kids in San Jose dragon hunting

Enjoying Life :)

Neighbors chillin' in a tree

I’m not quite sure where to begin with this entry, so I will just write and see where it goes. It has been so long since I have made an entry.  As I have been here for four weeks now I have grown close and gotten to know many of the locals. It has become common place when out for a walk through the village to here a soft voice calling ‘’Miguel? Miguel? Atik, atik!” As anyone who has travelled knows it is the little kids who seem to have the most interest when foreigners come to town.  Thus, these are the soft voices that engage from behind the branches of apple and peach trees.  Don’t misunderstand me many adults are interested and approach after having been engaged with a Hola or ‘janik batx, but it is usually the little kids who are first to engage you.  Perhaps one reason is that kids seem to just let their actions flow and do not preoccupy themselves with thoughts of, “What will he/she do or say if I approach and say hi?” 

Top: Martin, Julio, David, Juan y Ana
Bottom: School kids in Lolbatzam

The locals and usually the kids will often ask “What do you like better Calhuitz or San Jose?” I then reply with, “ Calhuitz.” They then counter with, “But San Jose is much cleaner, has paved streets, and offers technologies that Calhuitz cannot afford.” San Jose is a larger village that is located about a 30 minute walk from Calhuitz.  Many of us from Calhuitz venture to San Jose at least every Friday to take advantage of the Friday market. It is at the market where we stock up on various food items for the coming week.  I will often get a similar question from those who have been in the United States already except instead of asking me to compare villages I am asked to compare the US with Calhuitz.  “Are you growing homesick? It must be tough to live here given that it is so dirty and we don’t have many of the things that the lifestyle in US can offer. Did you bring food with you to eat or do you get it shipped in?” To these questions my usual response is something like this: “Well, I have spent a significant amount of time out of the US and so I really don’t get very homesick. I like Guatemala and I love the people. Yes, there are dirt roads and for sure there are some technologies in the US available that are not available to me here. I eat the same food that you guys eat, eggs, beans, tortillas, corn, and sometimes pollo. I am more content here with my simple lifestyle than I am in the US with an overly complicated lifestyle that involves chasing higher degrees and social prestige.” The people here are poor on material things and health but one would often fail to notice by the look on their faces or by the laughter that is heard daily throughout the village.  

  

Full moon in Calhuitz

When I was little I used to always hear people refer to life in the US as a ‘rat race’.  I was never too sure what the meaning of this was until I got older and observed the stressful lifestyles that we live.  We are so involved in chasing higher degrees, social status, prestige, fame, etc. that life moves by so quickly and not for a minute do we sit back and give attention to what should be important such as social interaction with friends, family and humanity.  Sure, this is an issue that many of us are aware of, but when one lives in the villages of Guatemala or any other village throughout the world it becomes even more apparent how severed the daily social connection has become.  Life here simply slows down and there is no such thing as 'being in a hurry'. The slower pace truly makes life more enjoyable.  In addition, the air is much cleaner here than at home. I can see the moon and stars ever so bright in the night.  One of the best things, when I say hello or smile at someone on the street they respond with a smile and hello.  This is definitely not the normal routine at home which downright is pathetic and sucks. How far detached from one another have we become when we cannot even address one another in the street with a simple smile or hello?

Chico having fun

I’m going to close this entry out but would like to say this.  Often when volunteer groups, relief groups etc., and “professionals”—I cannot stand this word—come to developing countries we usually hold the view that we are coming to teach them something and do not think about all that they have to teach us.  Thus, I leave you with this, regardless of one’s education, financial situation, age, or social status we can always learn from each other. Keep your eyes and mind open. Learning is never a one way street.    

Calhuitz: A Simple Life is not always Simple

Calhuitz: A Simple Life is not always Simple

The week and a half that I have spent so far here in Calhuitz has been wonderful.  The crew here at the Casa Materna is extraordinary, especially the women.  As one would imagine life is very simple in a rural Mayan village almost 4,000 feet above sea level.  For the most part everything is here for the people to make it through day-to-day life. However, there is a definite lack in the needed infrastructure that could have the potential to take them beyond this village. Nevertheless, many of the locals here are not waiting for that infrastructure to be brought to them through government programs or foreign aid they are going to get it for themselves. In fact, many of the people in and around the surrounding villages of Calhuitz have been to the United States or at the very least have had family in the United States.  It truly baffles me how in the world the people of these rural Mayan communities have found their way to the United States.  However, they probably wonder the same thing about me.  As our paths cross in the dusty, pebbled roads of Calhuitz the thought that comes to their mind is most likely along the lines of this, “How the heck in the world, and why in the world is this gringo in this part of Guatemala? How did he even find this place?”  

Life here is quite simple. Most everyone is in bed by 9-10 p.m. and is up by 6 a.m. We have electricity, but there isn’t much to keep people awake in the night hours such as clubs, television, computers, video games etc. Thus, there is not much of a desire or incentive to stay up late.  The general daily pattern of life here is: get up, go to school, work the field or tienda, and go to bed.  Dreams of the future are often only filled with hope of a healthier life for the people and the community. However, this life that sounds simple to us is indeed not very simple at all.  Fields are worked by hand. Corn is farmed on steep embankments. Women work the fields, carry water, and accomplish various other daily chores often with a child on her back and one or two others at her side.  

Despite all the hard work and efforts the people here and their children often do not have enough micronutrient rich food to eat. Many of the children are undernourished and are below the average weight for his/her age which is not just a result of not having enough to eat, but a result of consistent bouts with diarrhea and parasites. Many mothers still give birth on dirt floors and either she or her baby will die in birth. This is a glimpse of the “simple” life of villages of San Sebastian Coatan. 

Nevertheless, despite these daily struggles the people still find it in them to put a smile on their face as we pass and say our greetings in the street. The laughter of children is to be heard in the streets and in backyards the village throughout. Children still make the trek to school every day with the hopes that their one to three room schools will offer them the education needed to weave dreams of health and hope into reality.  

HOLA GUATEMALA....keep answering those phones even during take-off! 


The steal bird has landed and the only thing that went wrong was that my wheel managed to get ripped off my brand new suitcase.  You know every once and a while I am reminded of the benefits of being small. Sitting in an airplane is one of those moments. Whilst others are twisting and cramming their legs to get comfortable I contemplate how to make best use of all the leg room available to me.  However, the male passenger next to me decided that he'd make himself at home and took of his shoes. Weww, ehm need I say that Gringo Stinky-Feet successfully tortured my sense of smell? Now to the funny part. Okay, for those who have not been or lived in Guatemala you must know that Guatemalans answer their cellphones regardless of where they are: church, conference, birth, and WHEN THE PLANE IS TAKING OFF. The funniest thing is that the flight crew asked everyone to turn-off there phones but the stewards were kept quite busy telling everyone to hang-up their phones since we were about to rocket into the sky. Well, just as we were about to take off..'ring ring ring'....and of course the guy answers the phone...lol. All one could do was laugh :). We will be in Antigua through Sunday when we will venture to our work site, San Sebastian Coatan, via Quezaltenango.    

Time....is there ever enough?

Despite having written my first post nine days age it seems as if it's been two months. The past week and a half has been filled with so much running around and yet I still need more time. It has not really hit me that I will be returning to Guatemala after almost two years. My mind has been preoccupied with getting an apartment, setting up classes and many many more things that I could not bring myself to get excited about the journey before me. I'll be staying in the Bronx tonight with Claribel and her family. Claribel and I are both doing International Health at Boston University and will be team partners for the next two months.  However at 5a.m. we'll make our way to the airport for our 8a.m. departure. Once I am sitting in the plane the excitement will begin to rise and eventually bubble over. Guatemala here I come! :) 

Only 9 days until takeoff.......


The work-plan is finished

The summer work plan is done and in 9 days my summer practicum  

will begin.  This summer, 2012, I will be returning to Guatemala to work in the Northwest Highlands. This area can be seen in the banana yellow color on the map in the picture to the right with the name Huehuetenango. More specifically I will be working in the village of San Sebastian Coatan and surrounding areas. 

The Mission:
The overall mission is improving maternal and child health outcomes in rural, indigenous Mayan communities. The Mayans in this region of Huehuetenango speak the Mayan language known as Chuj. In an effort to achieve the mission we will be assisting in various projects such as maternal and child health data collection and creating a Casa Materna (Maternal Health) Manual, which will act as a guide for surrounding communities who desire to erect a casa materna. However, the main project that I have been assigned will involve an effort to improve maternal and child health outcomes in the region through a water, sanitation and hygiene project.  This involves educating the community on the importance of hand hygiene, but also building had washing stations, that provide the necessary resource of clean water.   


I will do my best to do at least a weekly post on this blog. However, given a lack of various infrastructures in Guatemala, the fact that it is rainy season, the presence of active volcanoes, and shaky shaky earthquakies one never knows what to expect. I hope to bring you all some funny stories and happenings of my Summer 2012 experience in Guatemala. Thank you very much for following my blog and I look forward to posting soon.  :)