Arrival in Guatemala

Sergio’s sister, Andrea, and her boyfriend, Venicio, picked me up at the airport. Instead of taking a bus to the city of Quetzaltenango , I got the VIP treatment of door to door service. They greeted me with kisses and smiles. They are a cute young couple, she being only 18 and he, 24. The relationship is very new and as they make conversation with me, they flirt and play games with each other the whole way there. They are at the honeymoon stage; excited, happy, not a care in the world, which honestly just makes me want to vomit, more so out of jealousy because I wish I was there again; falling in love. The ride up the mountain to the city is beautiful; filled with green, rolling mountains, fields of corn, and your occasional restaurant and roadside stand where you can buy a cup of hot, atol or an ear of corn from a Mayan family. Atol is a creamy, sweet, corn drink. Though I didn’t think I would enjoy drinking corn, it was quite tasty.

When I reached the house, Sergio’s mom, grandmother and youngest sister, Gabby, welcomed me. I was exhausted from the trip and all I wanted to do was unpack and sleep. Before doing so I used the bathroom, completely forgetting that you can’t throw toilet paper in the toilets, you have to put all paper in the trash. “Shit” I said, flushing the toilet anyway praying for some odd reason, it will go down at least this once...but it didnt. For fear I will ruin the whole plumbing system, I quickly reach into the toilet and pull out my used toilet paper(Gross!)…followed by a thorough hand washing.

The next day, I went to the school, Proyecto Linguistico Quetzalteco, to meet with the director, Carlos. Carlos and the teachers were very happy to see me and to finally have a permanent student coordinator for the school. For months the school has been working with varias people filling in. He put me right to work and asked if I could translate a workshop in the afternoon. “I can try” I told him knowing that I would probably struggle in front of everyone especially being that the topic was about land reform and politics in Guatemala. There is nothing like some good old fashion embarassment to break you into the job. There´s a lot of difficult vocab in that subject. Needless to say, in front of the class, I fumbled a lot and at times said “Sorry I don´t understand.” The merciful, more advanced Spanish speaking students in the audience helped translate the conference.

In the afternoon, I met my friend Willy and we walked to café La Luna for hot chocolate. I met Willy two years ago in Guatemala when he gave a conference at the school on the status of Guatemala immigrants in the US . He is filled with historical and political knowledge. Willy is the epitome of an activist and human rights organizer. So much so that when I asked him if he had a girlfriend, he told me “No, Guatemala is my girlfriend and I want her to be divorced from the oppression husband she is with.” And though he was married to a US citizen for 10 years he refused to become a citizen himself in protest to the US government and their participation in the repression and violence bestowed upon the indigenous people of Guatemala . He is an activist and leader in both Guatemala and across the US , organizing people and working for the economic, social, and political development of Guatemala. Aside from years of work that accumilate to a list too large to write, he recently started the organization----- and is currently working on 8 different projects in Guatemala, mostly targeted at youth groups. ---- mission is to create economic development by building an international network of community-run cooperatives in Guatemala , provide work-skills for Guatemalan immigrants in the US and to educate the American consumer interested in Fair-Trade and Organic principles. After we drank hot chocolate, he proudly showed me the new office. For about an hour he shared with me a brief history of his life story. He is brilliant, witty, and kind but in the depths of his eyes it is evident that he is heavily burdened and plagued by the horror, war, death, fear, and untold stories that live inside him. For a moment, any pain or sadness I’ve ever felt seemed like a simple, pinch in the arm. It was no surprise when he said he has trouble sleeping every night.

Later on in the evening he said ¨Tiana, I´m going to help you with your Spanish.” (He went to the conference and witnessed my first attempt at translating) I was very excited about his offer to help with my Spanish and wanted to offer something in return. I told him “I can help you cry… like help release some of the stress you carry.” He said “Yes, that’s a good idea; I think you were sent here to help me with that."

I end the day with a late dinner at the home of my former host family; Carmen, Hector and their two daughters Cecy (18 years old) and Maria Jose (10 years old). We laugh the whole night, recapping the times I used to live with them. Our dinner consisted of eggs, beans, platenos, and bread. Carmen assured me that she would be calling me to come over for dinner often and that I am welcomed to come over anytime. "Come take a shower, take a nap, or visit" She said. The family also told me they had no problem kicking out their current guest if I should want to live with them again.

Packing

My flight is in a few hours and i'm still packing, going over the list in my head, checking it over and over again. I'm anxious in a way I haven't felt since I was 18 years old when I was packing to go away to college. What do I bring? Who will I meet? What is going to happen? I've traveled before, lived in various places, started new jobs, met many people along the way and somehow this adventure seems different. I'm returning to a familiar place, but i'm excited for some unknown reason as if there is a gift waiting for me. I had dinner with a few friends this evening and my friend Jackie asked me to name the feelings i'm having. The first thing that came to mind was the musical West Side Story, where Tony sings "Something's coming, i don't know, what it is, but it is gonna be great!" I'm Tony; dancing in the alley ways, smiling, looking up at the sky, thrilled at the fact that 'something great' is coming. I know...i´m a dork!

Los Monólogos De La Vagina

Some of you may or may not know that i had the wonderful opportunity to co-direct and produce "Los Monólogos De La Vagina" (The Vagina Monologues) here in Guatemala at "El Centro Popular de Cultura Luiz Cardoza" (the cultural center attached to a progressive spanish language school in Quezaltenango). We had 24 women participate from ages 9 to 69. The majority being Guatemalan women with a mix of students and volunteers from around the globe.
I don´t think I knew what I was getting myself into when I was first asked to do the project. The buzz of vaginas soon spread throughout the school and the town. My co-director and I also had the idea of interviewing guatemalan women about their vaginas to include in the show. We traveled to various towns to interview and talk to women. We were a little nervous at first, with our thoughts being that this type of "talk" is "progressive" and "risky" in a conservative culture. But we were wrong and were able to connect and begin dialogues with women in unexpected places. The women really enjoyed talking and we often read monólogos together. One group of women were so inspired by a three hour dialogue and from reading some of the monologues that they rented a mini van to come to the show (they live an hour and a half away from Quezaltenango) My co-director and i decided to write the story of an ex-guerilla who had her first sexual experience with her boss during the civil war. We named it and I quote her "Mi Cuerpo Era Una Revolución" (My body was a revolucion) I have attached the monologue in case you want to practice your spanish. The show was this past Saturday March 1, and it was amazing! We have gotten a lot of positive feedback. We created a stage in the cultural center and set up about 140 chairs. We found this guy "Nati" from Israel who happened to be a light technition to install lights. We filled the center and then some with many people standing where ever they can find space. We raised almost 3,000 quezales for "Nuevos Horizontes" the only women and children´s shelter in Guatemala who have fled violent spouses. Though 3,000 Q is about $400 US dollars, here 400 dollars is more than a teachers salary for a month. To put into context it may be the equal to about $2,500 US dollars.The beautiful part of the project was working with every women and seeing their progress. They were awesome at developing their characters and gave their best. Hearing the audience laugh, pay attention, and listen. I loved working and not feeling like I was working. A truely proud moment for me. I wish many of you could have been there to see it. I will be flying home on March 7 and land in Boston around 11:59pm. I was hoping to do some last minute traveling this week to see Guatemala. I haven´t had the chance becuase I have been busy with this project the past month in a half. But Saturday night I sprained my ankle and now I am stuck in the house. No exciting story about how I sprained my ankle. Yes, i did it walking and fell over one small step in the park. I´m in the middle of saying my good byes, a cliché of bitter sweetness. I "graduated" from the language school this past friday and was blessed with many kind words and thanks for the work I have done at the school. My host family gave me roses and a card at the graduation. My 9 year old host sister told me she is going to break my other ankle so I can´t leave on friday. I will definately miss many people here. Brief update for you all. Words can´t always express....See many of you soon. Attached are some pictures of the show. I´ll leave you with my favorite quote for this week said by my friend, Marissa. "Cristo viene pero la vagina ya esta aquí" (Christ is coming, but the vagina is already here" It may be funnier if you lived here because there is a huge sign at the top of mountain that says "Cristo Viene." Anywho....Much love

Santa Anita Mural Project

Mi Hermana de Guatemala

There is something so special about my nine year old sister, Maria José, and have grown to dearly love her. Her innocence, contagious laugh, her silliness. I couldn´t help but smile inside when one night she borrowed my diskman, and I overheard here singing really bad, off key, in broken English "No one, no one, can ge waaa what feel fo yyouuuuuu" by Alicia Keys. Yes, I have created another fan! It has become an ongoing joke to try and scare each other randomly when we are not expecting it. I often wish adults were as observant and honest as children. One night while the whole family (five of us) were eating dinner...Maria José looks at me and says "whats wrong with your eyes, have you been crying." The whole table looks ups and the mom gives Maria José a look like she shouldn´t have said that. She is the reason why i now understand why parents want to spoil their children.

Feliz Año Nuevo

(written by my friend Jessica Fyles. We spent the holidays together) I knew Christmas was here when I went to buy vegetables at the open air market (a series of vendors lined on the street). It was no longer the market I knew. The market had exploded into what felt like a minature tent city. I was blinded by the glistening sparkle of tinsel draping the vendor stalls and mesmerized by the flashing Christmas lights for sale. Everyone was out selling something....cookies, candies, music, shoes, clothes, apples, fireworks, more cookies...seriously. whatever you could possibly want to eat, wear, look at- it was there....at very reasonable prices. Walking into the market that day (and more importantly, finding my way out) was a test of my sense of direction....which I am proud to say I have. No, bright and shining green exit signs above doors here. Although I was able to find my way in and out, if I had more trouble it wouldn´t have been so bad. Reggaeton, Bachata, Salsa, Norteno (add in the accent above the second n) music snaked it´s way down each and every corridor of the market. Being lost sucks....but being lost to a beat, well I figure that ain´t so bad.

One of the greatest parts about Christmas and New Years here is fireworks and firecrackers. There are stalls and stalls and stalls of people selling crazy fireworks. These are illegal in San Francisco. Therefore, it was only natural that I felt compelled to buy many of them. I set mine off at around 10:30pm on the street in front of my hostel, without fear of police interference. I was pretty tired, so I went to lay down at 11:45pm. As I began to doze I heard a loud thunderous crack and felt a reverberation through my chest that shot my eyes open. Then, I heard more rapid cracks and through the window I could see the sky light up green, yellow, blue, red....Was it the apocalypse? No. It was the birth of Christ. Yes, at midnight, the tradition in Guatemala is that everyone sets off fireworks in front of there house to bring in Christmas Day. Á whole city lighting up the sky and awakening the night for like an hour. We are talking loud firecrackers, fireworks that shoot into the sky, sparklers....everything. It was awesome.

I had heard word that New Years Eve would be similar. That at midnight, the sky would light up a second time. My friends and i headed to a club around 11pm thinking that we would be ¨late.¨ We show up, and there is no one (and I mean no one) except the dj and security guard in this joint. At 10 min to midnight there was no one. Turns out that part of the tradition in Guatemala is that people spend midnight with their family. After midnight is when people go out to the club. (I think this is a great tradition....it seems like you get best of both worlds family and then friends. I think this kind of tradition might have saved me (and probably many other teenagers out there) a lot of unnecessary confrontation with the parents.) Anyhow, at midnight there was no official countdown, people were still sober, and we realized that we had just experienced one of those subtle cultural differences between the US and Guatemala. So, we went to the Parque Central and did our own countdown. There were lots of families and kids in the park too. And then like clockwork, at midnight, the sky lit up, the boom of firecrackers shook the ground. It was beautiful, and kicked the ass of watching a ball drop in Times Square on TV and probably in person. Absorbed in the moment, we spotted a vendor out selling her last firecrackers-works. So, of course, we bought some and got in on the action. Afterwards we went to go shake it in a club....everyone seemed to be out. We were sardines in a can. The club closed at 7am, but I only made it to 4am....We then ate cheese steak sandwiches and walked home satisfied.

Random Thoughts:

This is really dumb but true. i actually miss..of all things.... big fat sidewalks. 3ft wide minimum, with no obstructions, long, good old San Francisco sidewalks. The kind of sidewalk where you can (more or less) confidently look ahead and space out a little, with the moderate glance down to avoid the really nasty stuff, and be surprised when you trip over something. In Xela (city in Guatemala), there are some really nice (but more narrow) sidewalks. However, sometimes the sidewalk takes a bit more attention- wholes appear or street light posts are blocking your way and you gotta step into the busy narrow street, sometimes there is a 1 to 2 ft step to get to the street. i can be a klutz, so all i can say is that it´s good i have strong ankles. anyhow, it made me realize what a lazy walker San Francisco had made me. I had to teach my feet and legs how to adapt, be responsive and be more versatile. They used to be less aware of their surroundings. I guess I actually don´t miss the sidewalks, i guess i just want to indulge in the privilege of walking without thinking so hard. I suppose in the end, I´m in gratitude for this experience because I´ve become a better skilled walker.,,when i get back to the States taking a stroll will probably seem way too easy. Anyhow, next time you step out of the house, take a step for me..

La Navidad

Christmas Eve with my host sister Cecy. "En la calle quemando"