Update

Just an update on what I’m doing now in Guatemala. After spending Christmas in Honduras, participating on the Walk2gether send off, and just finishing up my first Mission Awareness Trip, I am back in the office in Sololá. I began teaching English classes in December to the social workers of the Sololá region and am holding a special class for translators every Friday. I teach classes two full weeks out of the month. I travel to the 8 different subprojects of Sololá. I have to travel by bus, van, pickup, boat, mototaxi, and by foot to get to all the different locations. It’s a lot of traveling but I am really enjoying teaching these classes and I am excited to continue. I also began organizing soccer tournaments for each subproject on Saturday mornings. The winner of the subprojects will then face off in an inter-regional tournament later in the year and we will crown a Sololá champion.

My schedule for the coming weeks looks like this:

Jan 5-7 I will be joining the walk for some activity days with my co-workers from the regional office to say goodbye to Bob as he leaves Guatemala and crosses into El Salvador.

Jan 14-28 I will be participating on the first leg of the walk in Honduras. There are usually 3-4 days of walking and then a rest/activity day. I hope I can make it the whole way. We start walking at 4AM and each day will walk between 35-40 kilometers (about 25 miles). We will be camping out in tents and sleeping bag, or in churches and schools.

Feb 1 My schedule will be back to normal and I will be back in the office working/translating/teaching.

Feb 6-13 Mission Awareness Trip where I will be the translator and help to organize and lead all of the weeks activities.

That’s about it for now. Feliz Año Nuevo!

Christmas 2010 Santa Rosa, Honduras

This year, I got to spend Christmas 2009 in Santa Rosa, Honduras at the Hogar de Niñas, an orphanage for girls. Dani, a volunteer herself, has been living there and working for CFCA for over a year. She was pulled out because of the political instability of the country. Dani and I left on December 21 at 5:00AM to catch a bus into Guatemala City. In Guate, we had to go and pick up my passport, which was being kept by Guatemalan Migración.

Just a quick back story on how it ended up there: I had gone the Friday before to the city to renew my passport as my 90 days were about to expire. I had a co-worker with me, Don Santiago, who was familiar with the city. We left at 3:00 in the morning to get a bus and avoid traffic. It’s about a 3-hour trip if you are lucky. The bus was on time, but that was about all that went right. First of all, we went to the wrong location. My guide lead me to the US Embassy and after waiting in line for a while and finally getting up to the window, the woman said that I was mistaken and needed to go to immigration. OK. No problem. I arrived about an hour later at the correct place after asking for directions, taking a number of buses and then walking the majority of the way. The woman at the window asked me if I had a passport size photo. I said I did not as this was never mentioned on any information I had about renewing passports within the country. She told me it was required so I had to go across the street to a mall and get pictures taken there. So I did. 50 Quetzales later I was back with copies of my passport, credit card, photo and the passport itself. She then tells me that I can pay for the renewal at the bank next door. Fine. So I wait in line at the bank to pay. It ended up being around $20 (a large amount of for a volunteer living on $100 a month).

Finally, I think that I am finished. I go back to the original window with my receipt and I’m thinking, you know, it was a big pain, I’m sweating, I’m tired, but it will be worth it to not have to leave the country to get another stamp. I’m ready for her to hand back my passport and in a very chipper voice she says to me “You can pick up your passport on Monday at 10:00AM”. I just stood there staring at her. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I thought. Maybe I had heard wrong. She looks at me funny and gestures her arms so as to indicate “We are done here. See you Monday”. I turned around and looked at Santiago who had been with me waiting around all day and told him the news. He couldn’t believe it either. We took a bus back to San Lucas arriving at around 4PM. After a 13-hour trip, I was returning with less than I had started with. No passport.

Luckily, picking it up that Monday was not much trouble. Armed with my documentation and fully legal, we set out to look for the bus that would take us to Esquipulas. It took some doing but we found it and were headed for the boarder. From Esquipulas you have to take a taxi across the border. At immigration in Honduras we had a little scare as they wanted to charge Dani $154 for still having a piece of paper in her passport that they were supposed to have taken out when she left the last time. We finally convinced the employee that we were volunteers and we didn’t have that money and that it wasn’t her fault that the paper was still there. We then arrived in Acotepeque, Honduras and saw one of Dani’s co-workers there. She told us they would take us to Santa Rosa in their pickup. One less bus for us to take. We slept most of the way an arrived in Santa Rosa at around 10PM. A full day’s travel.

I stayed close to the orphanage in the Hogar de Ancianos, or old-folks home. The nuns there were so nice and I had my own room all prepared when I got there.

The next day, Dani came by and we walked to the orphanage to meet the girls. When we got there, I was immediately mobbed. Everyone wanted a hug and to know my name and, more than anything, to touch my beard. The girls were so sweet and we played games all afternoon. I met the nuns who run the home and everyone there was so welcoming. In the afternoon, Dani showed me around town and I met more friends and co-workers. Later that night we even went out for Chinese food. The next day, Dani and I went with Ricardo and Iris, the people who drove us from Acotepeque, to visit a community in San Miguel. It was a long drive and the roads sort of disappear after a while. This will be one of the places that Don Roberto will stop and visit on the activity day of his walk through Honduras. It was really neat to see and be involved in the community itself and see how excited they were to be able to host Bob Hentzen in their town. What is even more exciting for me is that I will be on the walk with Bob for 2 weeks in Honduras so I will get to go to the community again and see what they have prepared. We went back to Santa Rosa that night, stopping on the way at a sponsored families home, where they served us tamales (a traditional Christmas food).

Thursday was Christmas Eve, or La Noche Buena. This is the day were most of the Christmas celebrating takes place in Central America. Everyone stays up late to see the fireworks at midnight and eat a special late-night dinner. It preparation, we spent the morning decorating the orphanage with holiday drawings done by the girls. I even drew a Santa Clause for my group. Many of the girls helped the nuns to make the tamales that would be eaten later that night. In the afternoon, Dani and I lead the girls in making gingerbread houses. Ours did not turn out very good due to the fact that it had expired a while back. The girls still had fun with it and were very dedicated.

We had Mass at 5 and all the girls dressed in their Sunday best. That night for dinner, I learned to make tortillas (although mine lacked a certain “roundness” quality typical of the staple food). Later that night we watched “Elf”, a Christmas favorite of the girls. and as midnight approached, everyone came outside to watch the fireworks and receive presents. It was a very different Christmas for me, being away from home for the first time, but to spend La Navidad with the girls from Santa Rosa was a great experience and one that I will always remember.

On Christmas day, we said our goodbyes and thank you’s and headed back to Acotepeque to meet Bob and Christina Hentzen who have a house there. The following morning, we accompanied them to Guatemala City to greet the sponsors who were arriving for the December 2009 Mission Awareness Trip. More to come on this incredible week.

A Dark Day in Solola

Last Friday, November 27, 3 people suspected of killing another bus driver in Guatemala were lynched by an angry mob in Solola. Here is a link to an online article describing the situation. It made the front page on all the national papers here:

News article

I was never in danger nor did I feet threatened at any point but it was very unsettling once I realized what was going on. I was walking to my residence on my way to lunch like everyday and I noticed that a lot of people were gathered be the grocery store in the middle of town. I looked and saw that the crowd was flipping over a white van in the middle of the street. I was surprised to see such aggression seeing as how everyone is very calm and polite where I live. Friday is market day as well and I noticed that a lot of the indigenous vendors who set up shop were quickly gathering everything together and scrambling to get out of town. I went up to eat and find out what had happened.

I got to the hotel and spoke with the other guests and found out bits and pieces of what occurred. They told me that a bus driver had been killed near the hospital and that they residence found out what the suspects were driving and attacked them. The police apparently came to their rescue and put them in the local prison. The crowd, however, dissatisfied with the way the judicial system works in Guatemala demanded they be handed over and receive "justice". They forced their way into the prison and pulled the suspects out. They beat them to death right in the center of town and set them on fire.

I got a call from my boss at work saying to stay there and not come back to the office. I live about two blocks away from where all this was happening. We could see the smoke from the burning police station from the hotel. I tried to distract myself from everything and just read a book but all afternoon and evening you could hear the crowds yelling and cheering, things breaking, and what I imagine were gun shots fired into the air by the police.

Around 6:00, my friend from the hotel asked if I wanted to go down and see the aftermath. I had heard about possible lynchings but wasn't sure that it had happened the way that Marco described. So, we headed down and it was eerily calm. We saw the police station (still partly burning), the torched police cars, and the taxi that I had seen that afternoon. Then in the square, we saw a large circle of people and in the middle, the three burned bodies. It was an extremely disturbing sight. I don't think I'll ever forget the smell. Everyone was just staring silently. We stayed for a while and watched the medical examiner check the bodies. Then I told Marco, "Ya, no" meaning I couldn't stay there any longer.

I had been in close contact with everyone from San Lucas during all this and they were all very concerned about me. I received about 7 calls from people just checking to see how I was, which was really nice and I appreciated their concern for me.

I've had a few days to think about what happened and talk with some people about it. Many of my friends from Guatemala here told me "asi es la vida aqui en Guatemala" meaning that this is the way things are here. People are fed up with the corruption and the injustice that murders spend a few months in prison and then are freed. This apparently is not uncommon as the article explains. On the other hand, I just couldn't believe what had happened. I couldn't believe that this stuff still happens in 2009. It was like something out of the Inquisition. The whole experience was so surreal and the images were unforgettable.

When I arrived in San Lucas on Saturday, the word of choice to describe the events was simply "feo". And it was. An extremely ugly situation.

Caminata

In preparation for Bob Hentzen's journey from Guatemala to Chile in December (Walk With the Poor), the Hermano Pedro project here in Guatemala has planed a number of mini-walks. The teams here will be walking with Bob for different sections of the trip so on Friday to gear up and get ready, the team from Hermano Pedro along with the region of Solola did a 20 kilometer (uphill for the most part) "caminata" from San Lucas to Godinez.

It was really a neat experience for me to be a part of. I arrived in Guatemala nearly three weeks ago and kinda just stumbled across my first "caminata" which I post about earliers. This time I was prepared (poncho, water, good shoes all in backpack). It was great to see the group from Solola who I'll be working with soon. They all came in the day before and stayed the night here at Hermano Pedro. Everyone seemed to know one another with hugs and handshakes and kisses for all. They talk a lot here about the CFCA family and from my brief experience so far, you can really see it in action.

We played soccer the night before the walk and went to bed early because the walk would begin at 5am. Everyone was bundled up and ready in the morning and we set off before the sun came up. At times, it felt like we were only going uphill and it really starts to wear you out. We stopped for breakfast a much needed break about 10 kilometers in. What's nice about walking with this group is that they are constantly talking and laughing and enjoying each other's company so you almost forget that you are basically climbing a mountain! After a total of five hours, we finally arrived in Godinez. At times I didn't think I would make it but I think I gained strength from realizing that this walk is nothing compared to what Bob has done and will do in December. Everyone is so supportive too and it makes you not want to let anyone down. Here are a few pictures from the walk:

What is really admirable about the whole experience is that at no point did anyone complain or grumble. They all just seem happy to do it. They are excited and proud, I think, to be a part of something like the Walk for the Poor and I really see the admiration for Bob and all he has done here.

Update

Well, things here in San Lucas have really moved quickly. I guess I'll use this post to simply update everyone on what's going on here day-to-day. Currently, I am working in the correspondence department of the San Pedro project. I have been doing a couple different things but mostly I have to go over "fichas" or records that are sent in by social workers updating or giving new info about a child who could be sponsored. I check the birth certificates and make sure there are no errors. The other thing I do is read letters from sponsored children to make sure there are no special requests or addresses given. Basically, checking that they have not written anything inappropriate. My main job, though, in both these tasks is to check the translations from Spanish to English and I can tell you that it is a bit of a challenge. The translations are usually filled with plenty of errors, some that are easy to understand but some that make the sentences totally incomprehensible. My job, then, is to make a list of these problems and add suggestions on how to make them better. The work day here goes from 8-6, but lunch is served to us and we get an hour to rest. Also, we take two 15-minute "refas"(breaks) during the day. It's always busy.

Basically, right now I am waiting to here word on when I leave for Solola to begin working, coaching and teaching there. I think it will be this coming week, but I have not heard for sure. The issue is with whom I will be staying and I believe Hermano Jorge has talked to a few possible families. Anyway, I'm just training here and waiting for the go-ahead. It will be a bit of downer for me because I have really gotten to know the people in San Lucas and have enjoyed working with them.