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.  :)