Neal and I trying out some hot springs

Okay, I know this is getting bad.  There really is no excuse for the lack of new posts, except pure laziness mixed with a touch of busyness.  Anyway, we will see how the remainder of my time goes.  I will try to do better.

January was a blast.  I had some friends visit both new and old over the duration of the month.  I took a trip with two of them to Lago de Atitlán; had a St. John´s alum visit me; oh, and Esquipulas had an international festival take place in town.  The whole month flew right passed me.

First, St. John´s decided to send a photographer down to the Guatemalan sites in order to get some good photos for the program.  I realized from the initial message that the name of the photographer was the same name of a kid that graduated with me from SJU.  Sure enough, it was the same guy.  Granted, I didn´t know him all that well back in school, but having someone visit you can be an exciting ordeal no matter who it is.

Brad, the SJU photographer, and I had a good time during his stay.  He came at the right time.  During his stay Esquipulas hosted their annual international festival.  The whole town overflowed with peregrinos, pilgrims.  Multiple cultures and countries throughout Latin America were represented.  I heard there were visitors as far as Venezuela, which is pretty good for a small little town in Guatemala.  The sheer mass of people was something to see.  People had to camp out in front of the Basilica because there were no vacancies available in any of the hotels.  For a photographer, Brad had ample opportunities to get some good shots.

Lago de Atitlán

As soon as Brad left, I had a couple of old friends visit me from the cold north.  Neal and Amanda, from my Americorps days and also I knew Neal from SJU, came down to bask in the sun, see the sites, and converse with an old friend.  I was happy to see some familiar faces.  It is always a shock to me to see something familiar in an unfamiliar place.  I met them at Lago de Atitlán.  The trip went fast because we spent a small amount of time at each place we stayed.

A lot of pilgrims came to Esquipulas for the International Festival

Mexico had a strong representation during the festival along with the rest of Central America

The neat thing that I didn´t know before was that Amanda had lived in Guatemala for a substantial amount of time.  She could speak spanish very well and knew the ins and outs around Atitlán.  She knew a great place to bathe in the nice warm waters of some hot springs.  We even tried to find her old host family, but only found the neighbors.  However, we didn´t come away from our search completely dissatisfied because along the way we found some great indigenous artwork.  I couldn´t resist buying a couple of authentic items.  Plus, just looking at some of the little stores we passed seemed like a piece of artwork in itself.

Tempted to kayak Lago de Atitlan just to see the shack up close

Beautiful artwork on display everywhere I looked

In my return to the Basilica, I didn´t slow down.  Classes began again in the local schools and Padre Hugo, the director for one of the colegios, asked me if I could assist with English classes.  I help out three times a week in Colegio de San Benito teaching english.  The ages range from 15 to 18 years old.  The students are fun to work with.  Most of them are serious about learning a new language, so they stay pretty well engaged during classes.  On top of that, I have been maintaining a constant schedule with my work in the fields with Leonida´s and teaching my informal English classes in the Basilica.

I just can´t get over the fact that I will be gone in a matter of a few months, but I hope to make the most of it.  Until next time….whenever that may be…..

Good Traveling crew

One of the holidays in December called Quema del Diablo or Burning the Devil, on Dec. 5th, really does consist of lighting fires in the streets and burning stuff.  Espuipulas has since stopped the actual burning part because too many people would use this holiday as an excuse to burn their garbage in the streets.  Even though, I still can find random fires along the sides of the roads on any given day, they found that the fumes would be overpowering with burned plastics and other toxins.  But, if you can´t burn the devil, they still find other ways to bring in the holiday-like putting on a dance performance in the middle of the street and having little kids show their best break dance moves.

Break Dancing in the Street

Another celebration in December was to celebrate the Virgen de Guadalupe.  Besides the large float of Guadalupe, it seemed to be a holiday geared for the youth.  The kids dressed in traditional garb and marched in a big parade.

Virgen de Guadalupe

There were a group of boys painted in black and one had a large picture of Guadalupe on his chest

During one of the Saturdays, I took a trip with a friend to San Salvador.  I think I have mentioned this in a past post, but Espuipulas lies less than 10 km from Honduras and around 20 km from El Salvador borders.  Thus, the trip to San Salvador took only a couple of hours.  I was excited to enter a new country.  Plus, believe it or not, I heard that El Salvador has a stable economy (they actually use $US dollars instead of a lesser currency; kind of weird to say when our economy is in the toilet right now), which means the roads will be a little better maintained.  Unfortunately, having a better economy doesn´t mean the country will be safer, but it does mean that they have the ability to hire more security guards with guns.  I read in my travel book that El Salvador has more security guards per capita than any other Latin American country.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed my brief trip to the country.

Road into San Salvador

Streets get a little crowded in San Salvador

While in San Salvador, we went Christmas shopping at a shopping center.  I wouldn´t have believed it if I didn´t see it with my own eyes, but this was a shopping mall one would see right out of the rich suburb of Edina or anywhere else in the states.  I was shocked for a moment to come upon this large shopping center when we had just driven through the slums of San Salvador ten minutes prior.  What a contrast!  Sure enough, the shopping center was complete with its own Christmas tree and Santa´s chair right in front.

¡Feliz Navidad!

On a more happy note!!!  I did get sick during the holiday month and I mean sick.  I´m talking Noro Virus sick (for anyone who is a fellow survivor of the ´04 outbreak at St. John’s).  Luckily, it only lasted for one night, but it was intense.  Let me just put it this way, I was glad for once that my bathroom was small enough that I could simultaneously sit on the Jon and reach the sink.  That´s probably too much detail for you, but my body has never before rejected something so ademently.  I hope that will be the last time that happens.  I think the culprut was some ketchup I ate with my papas at a local restaurant.  The ketchup came in a reusable bottle and there´s no telling how long it had been in there.  However, I think it could be a number of things with the daily bacterial battle my body endures.

I have been more active with the orphanage.  The water project is still in process, but slow.  I am glad that I made it to the orphanage before Christmas and wish everyone a Feliz Navidad.  I got each kid something for the holiday.  Although it wasn´t much I hope that it brightened their day.

Road to the Orphanage

Christmas was tranquilo, but I liked the build up to Christmas.  There were a lot of concerts that took place in the Basilica prior to the big day.  My favorite one consisted of a children´s choir.  The kids were well in tune with each other and they could really belt out a high note.

Christmas Concert in the Basilica

Just after Christmas I was invited to my friend Elias´ house.  His family lives a couple of hours away in a small aldea out in the country.  Elias and his family can play various instruments and they put on a little performance for me.  I needed the break from Esquipulas and the fresh air and sounds of the countryside rejuvenated me.  I really enjoyed my time with Elias and his family.  They were all very nice to me and his mom and sisters can cook a great meal.

Porch Jam

Next month will be interesting because Esquipulas will host an international festival that brings in the Cardinal and a represenative from Rome.  I will try to be more on top of my posts in the future.

¡Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Mayan ruins in Petén

I started my trip by myself, but I met up with two other St. John´s volunteers in Cobán and stayed there for one night.  Cobán is about five hours away from Esquipulas with higher elevation.  I was happy to stop for the night there.  It was interesting to see what the other volunteers do at Cobán.  They do a lot of english teaching in some of the nearby aldeas of Cobán.  Their monastery has a school or the beginnings of a school on their property.  It looks like it will be a nice facility.  I enjoyed talking with the monks and other monastery workers to gain their perspective on their region.  The majority of people consist of native indigenous background with many different dialects in and around Coban.  The largest dialect is Q’eqchi, pronounced ke-chi.

Royal Palms, the largest in the world, covered the pathways

The next day we left early, but not as early as we hoped.  We planned on leaving at four in the morning, but we received a torrential downpour that left us without any electricity in the morning and roads in Guatemala are dangerous enough without water.  Once on the road we made a detour to see Mayan ruins.  We went pretty far on a worn down, dirt road.  The ruins were not all that impressive, but the atmosphere was.  We walked into the jungle and all we could hear was the echo of Hollower Monkeys.  Some seemed really close to us.  The echo resonated throughout the whole forest.  Plus, near this location, in Petén, they filmed the movie Apocolypto.  I could almost picture the Mayan people walking among us.

Welcome to San Pedro

A long day on the road and we finally made the Belize border.  I could tell from the start that I would like Belize.  I actually enjoyed the bus trip from the border to Belize City, which I can´t really say for any bus trips within Guatemala.  The buses are nicer and they have reggae music playing all the time.  It really can put a mind at ease.  Once in Belize City, we saw that the British settlement had a large impact on architecture and the currency still has the picture of the queen.

View from our hotel room

San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye (pronounced key), maintained the highlight of the trip.  Picture tropical isle with white sands, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the water as bright blue as the sky.  Paradise.  We enjoyed nice accomodations at a low price on top of everything else.  Our two days were filled with snorkeling with sharks and rays; eating delicious seafood; and enjoying the sun.  Also, we just so happen to be on the island during the Garifuna Holiday.  Garifuna people consist of the African slaves that escaped captivity and made the mainland.  They have a distinct way of life and a unique dialect of english.  I have to mention that they have great musical taste.

Apparently this is the narrowest street in the world

Our trip back was great too.  We stopped along the way at a place called Placencia.  Here the mood was even more tranquilo than San Pedro.  There was little traffic because some of the main streets, or walkways in my mind, did not apply to cars and the place consisted of more sand than roadway.  It was a quick 24 hour visit, but the food and tranquil atmosphere recharged our batteries to enable us to finish our journey and return to Guatemala refreshed.

I will have to make it back to Belize again sometime.

Vampire Bats were used to torture Mayan captives

I made the trip to Copán, Honduras.  I did not know this before, but Copán is a world heritage site.  They have Mayan ruins in prestine condition scattered over a 2 km site.  Copán is one of the most important Mayan settlements along with Tikal, Guatemala and Palenque, Mexico.  Our guide, Fidel, told us that Copán is like Paris because of the fine artistry while Tikal is like New York City with the massive temples.

Fidel, my guide at Copán

They are still discovering new excavations at Copán

Copán lies near the Guatemalan and Honduran border.  The drive only took a couple of hours.  Luckily, one of the monks lived in Honduras and had time to take the trip as well as a monastery guest, Mike from Minneapolis, who comes down frequently to visit friends and help in local horticulture.  I am really happy I was able to see the ruins when we did because we had the place all to ourself.  Usually, the place has charter buses lined up out into the street.

Great detail from just a chizal and stone

Even the color preserved well over time

It may be hard to tell, but E. coli is the dark spots

The doctors did do some test around the town while they were here and those results were not as positive.  They found large colonies of E. Coli in some main sources of drinking.  They even found E. coli in the monastery´s “filtered” water.  But maybe we can use this to our advantage to encourage more action.  At least the doctors want to see more action and with their help I am sure that more positive results will develop.  I just hope that I will be able to help get things rolling.

Something else that happened this week in Esquipulas involved the rest of Guatemala.  There was a large event held in Espuipulas that celebrated the youth of Guatemala.  They held a large concert right in front of the Basilica with music, dancing and fireworks.

The fireworks from a top the Basilica

The fireworks were lit from on top of the Basilica.  I was pretty impressed by the whole production.  Some of the monks coordinated the event and they even let me have one of the best seats in the house, as long as they could have the photos afterward.

Fireworks!

Traditional Dancing

Walking the Crypts

Esquipulas has a large cementary and it is right next to the Basilica.  I walked around for the good portion of the day just looking at all the different crypts.  The people did a great job decorating and displaying each resting spot.  Some had pictures and others had stories to describe their relatives, but most had flowers and other beautiful colors draped on each crypt.  I loved to listen to the musica played.  You could hear it from anywhere in the cemetary.

A walkway through the cemetary

Another colorful crypt

View atop the Basilica

Antigua Guatemala

Once everyone said their good-byes at the airport, six of us were left to enjoy a few more days together.  One of the organizers of this little excursion, Ron, knew of a place to stay in Guatemala.  He had been preparing us for a gourmet feast because the owner of the place really knows his food.  Ron didn´t disappoint.  I was impressed.  We even got home made tiramisu….Spectacular!

The next day we left for Antigua.  Wow, what a view when we first arrived.  You enter the city with the backdrop being three large volcanoes.  The smallest peak still reaching over 10,000 feet.  And everything looked so green.  I could tell instantly that I would enjoy my time in Antigua, but the best was yet to come.

One of the three main Volcanoes in Antigua (not bad for a 3.1 Mega Pixel camera)

The hostel we stayed at lay in the hills surrounding the city, called Earth Lodge.  Outside our cabin the cliff dropped off at a steep decline all the way to Antigua.  A couple of other people in our group stayed in the Treehouse (literary looked like a scene from Swiss Family Robinson).  They say when the wind blows they Treehouse sways back and forth.

From the front lawn of Earth Lodge

Antigua was the old capital of Guatemala.  A major earthquake that destroyed a large part of the city is the reason Antigua no longer remains the capital.  Walking around Antigua we found old remnants of the great capital.

Ruins in Antigua

Great Architecture

Let me start with the medical mission.  A couple of weeks ago a team of approximately twenty-five doctors and nurses came to Esquipulas to give local aid.  The team operates within the Catholic Health West organization.  The organization has several hospitals within California, Arizona, and Nevada.  I believe this was their third year coming to Esquipulas.

The team driving to a local aldea (village) to give aid

The past two sets of St. John´s volunteers have helped out with the medical mission and judging from their stories they really enjoyed it.  Adam and I were no exception.  We had been involved in conference calls and mass emails in the initial planning stages back in July and we were excited to finally get underway.  Not to mention, we spent a whole week prior to the team´s arrival just setting up for them.  We were ready for action!

If one asks, one will receive.  As soon as the team arrived the whirlwind began.  From the initial moments of meet and greet to the final good-byes Adam and I were on the go.  I could not believe the level of organization and professionalism the team achieved.  Even when we set up travel clinics in local aldeas (small villages) where we only had a couple of rooms to to work with and several hundred people to see, the doctors and nurses went on like clockwork.  The approximate number of people in all that the team saw in four days came to 1,500.

Adam and I spent most of our time helping with the pharmacy and checking vitals for patients.  The pharmacy work consisted of filling prescriptions and measuring the right amount of medicine for patients.  I doubt that some of the local narcos had seen as many drugs as I did in that same amount of time.  Luckily, I had a good teacher.  I got to work with a very well trained pharmacist named, Liz.  It didn´t hurt that she was the best looking of the group.  I held onto her every word.  I even flirted with the thought of attending pharmacy school, but that idea quickly passed when I realized I would have to go to school for the same amount of time as a doctor.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Patrick working hard while I snap a photo of his work

One other perk during the week came from the two additional St. John´s volunteers that were able to help with the mission.  They volunteer in Coban, Guatemala, which is a good five hour drive northwest of Esquipulas.  I had never met one of them, Matt, but the other volunteer, Pat, I got to know over our two week orientation at St. John´s.  They both really added to the mission´s success and brought a nice comic relief when needed most.  I can´t wait to go visit them in Coban and help them with their projects.

For additional details and photos on the medical mission you can visit the Catholic Health West Medical blog: http://international.chwhealth.org/chw_medical_missions_blog/

(Ma´, you can do yourself a favor and stop reading now)

Anyway, we left for Chiquimula in the morning and took a bus that was considerable to a small school bus, not the best in mobility.  And I got to say, I think the bus drivers here have a death wish because they pass in and out of lanes–non passing zones, going down mountain sides with blind curves, multiple cars at once–like they´re running from the cops.  I found out that my life that day and everyone else´s lives on that bus were worth around 12 Quentzales each or roughly $1.50.  The only thing the driver and his partner cared about was getting payed, which was why we stopped in every small town along the way or even off the side of the road with little to no shoulder just to pick up a passenger and fill the bus to capacity.

Nonetheless, we made it to Chiquimula in just under an hour so that we could wait in line for over an hour.  The line reminded me of St. Paul´s DMV (the one on University Ave.).  The people behind the counter had no sense of urgency and seemed very content on making everyone wait.  As it turned out, Leonidas got fed up with waiting–I think our number was in the twenties and after an hour and a half they had only reached double digits– so we took off to explore the city.

Chiquimula did not really impress me.  The city is a little larger than Esquipulas and about twice the dust and pollution.  However, Leonidas wanted to cheer me up by taking me to McDonald´s, I graciously declined and offered to buy him a Gallo (beer) instead.  He accepted and we found a tiny restaurant with a cool music player.  There, I was introduced to the music of Vicente Fernández, well know for la música vernácula ranchera.  He was pretty good.  At least something positive came from the day.

Overlooking Esquipulas

Once we agreed to teach English Leonida asked if we could do it in the early afternoon along with another time later in the evening.  We agreed to one hour every day in the evening.  And we would have the classes at Leonida´s living quarters.  He can be pretty persuasive sometimes.  All in all, though, I think everyone is enjoying them–especially Adam and I.

More so, I think our students are pretty wonderful people.  They are so appreciative of the fact that we are taking the time out of our day to help them learn.  I feel selfish for initially feeling reluctant.  Here I am only sacrificing one hour out of the day for something that is invaluable to them.

On top of that, last Friday, one of the students invited us over to her relatives living space to celebrate her daughter´s birthday.  She only knew Adam and I for one week and she treated us like her extended family.  In my small experience of traveling this earth there seems to be a common trend I´ve run across.  Those with so little our willing to give a lot while those with a lot give little.  And those with little do so with a big smile on their face.  This is one life lesson I hope I can start to practice more of in my own life.  It was one of the better birthday´s I have been to.