Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Day Ten: Environmental Injustices and Military Talk
Today during the half hour break at the Spanish school, there was a mini presentation given by a few young people who have been here for several weeks. They just got back from visiting some communities in rural Guatemala who have been struggling lately. What is happening right now is they are being forcefully evicted from their properties by sugar and palm oil companies, so that there crops can be planted (to create biofuel and earn carbon tax credits). Many of these people are decendents of the massacres that happened during the civil war´s scorched earth policy where entire villages were wiped out. As as result of these injustices, the land of their ancestors was stolen. Many of them bought it back, but were given false documents or the people from whom they bought the land did not truly own it in the first place. So, there is a lot of legal gray area which leaves the largely illiterate population at the mercy of these large companies. The companies have their own police who patrol the area with their guns during the day, and at night have been murdering the leaders of the community. This is happening as we speak.
The international pressure has only had limited success as they have called for the Guatemalan government to intervene and provide housing for these people. The people who were talking this morning, sat in on some meetings and the government responded that they could not find these villages or people. I want to learn more and the people are heading back to that part of Guatemala to use their influence as ¨white people¨ to help the village (the village people asked for them to come back). Talking to the other students at the Spanish school was encouraging as there seems to be real ways in which we can make the world a better place or at least lend a helping hand in a serious way.
This afternoon we also got the chance to meet with a military official from the Guatemalan army who served during the civil war in intelligence work. He gave us the official stance of the military on the civil war, which was worth hearing. His perspective was primarily that those in the military are the military and must follow the letter of their instructions to the last period. He also said that the military only takes credit for about 60% of the deaths and harm that the REMI project´s statistics claims that they were responsible for causing. We found out later that our speaker is actually on trial for human rights violations in the international court....
Lots to think about for sure!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day Nine: Unedited ramblings on inequalities
Inequality is hitting me more than just a bitter nagging at the back of my mind. There is no escaping, just better bubbles we create around ourselves. I am priviledged. I have plenty to eat, clean water to drink, somewhere to sleep and bathe, and people who love me. If something goes terribly wrong in my life I can be sure that there will be someway to be rescued from that situation. There is no true physical suffering. I cannot physically understand the struggles of so many people on the world for whom the basic human rights are not respected in their lives.
It is one thing to read about these abstract people, but a completely to meet and talk with them. When you hear about people through others or books, you have a percieved idea in your head of what they are like or what the particular situation. However, when you meet that experience or person face-to-face they become real in way that is hard to ignore. For me, right now, that is the disparity surrounding me. I am sitting in my giant room with a huge comfortable bed of my host family. I have my own space. I have a large group of people on the trip to keep me company in the afternoons. I have the staff of the program there to assist me if anything happens that is less than "acceptable".
Directly outside my window, there are two indigenous women working on the sidewalk trying to sell various typical Guatemalan weavings. I hear the constant questions as people walk out of the school "handmade".. "por favor".."son bonitos"... "para tu familia"... which is all met with a "no, gracias." If one were to buy or donate money to everyone who asked, you would have to spend hundreds of dollars each day. I wish I had the money to do that. No, actually, I with we could fix the root of the perpetuating inequalities. I'm not saying that we need to move to a completely communist or socialist system, but there are a lot of ways to combat the persistant inequalites that would require less drastic measures.
That's really been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if got my point across, but the priviledge of being a well-education woman from a society that for its problems, gives me drastically better chances at living a life where at the very least the basic essentials are covered... is hitting me in the face in a way that I definately think it should.
To move from frustration to action is the harder step, but with this afternoon's activities helping out at a local organization working toward sustainable development... we´ll make a small step!
It is one thing to read about these abstract people, but a completely to meet and talk with them. When you hear about people through others or books, you have a percieved idea in your head of what they are like or what the particular situation. However, when you meet that experience or person face-to-face they become real in way that is hard to ignore. For me, right now, that is the disparity surrounding me. I am sitting in my giant room with a huge comfortable bed of my host family. I have my own space. I have a large group of people on the trip to keep me company in the afternoons. I have the staff of the program there to assist me if anything happens that is less than "acceptable".
Directly outside my window, there are two indigenous women working on the sidewalk trying to sell various typical Guatemalan weavings. I hear the constant questions as people walk out of the school "handmade".. "por favor".."son bonitos"... "para tu familia"... which is all met with a "no, gracias." If one were to buy or donate money to everyone who asked, you would have to spend hundreds of dollars each day. I wish I had the money to do that. No, actually, I with we could fix the root of the perpetuating inequalities. I'm not saying that we need to move to a completely communist or socialist system, but there are a lot of ways to combat the persistant inequalites that would require less drastic measures.
That's really been on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if got my point across, but the priviledge of being a well-education woman from a society that for its problems, gives me drastically better chances at living a life where at the very least the basic essentials are covered... is hitting me in the face in a way that I definately think it should.
To move from frustration to action is the harder step, but with this afternoon's activities helping out at a local organization working toward sustainable development... we´ll make a small step!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Day Eight: August 29, 2011
The first day of classes went pretty well. Well, I guess it was just one class that took five hours of my early daytime. I really did enjoy it. My professor is one of the most experienced teachers in the school which I could tell just by his manner of speaking which was very respectful, patient, and obviously experienced in teaching. We started out by a basic chat getting to know each other, and testing the waters as far as speaking ability in Spanish went. Starting with the most basic questions and moving on to more complicated and advanced questions. After that, I took a brief grammar quiz (which proved me me, once again, that grammar is an area I need to work on). From there we began discussing the structure of the course and how we were going to approach the following three weeks. We then, dove into the course itself. Starting with a discussion of some of the latin american literature that I've read and then we picked out two books for me to read. The first is a Guatemala testimonial about the civil war, and the second is a book by Isabel Allende. Once we came back from the school library, we started in on literary vocabulary in Spanish.
Then we had the break, where every Monday the school has their weekly event announcements and we had a short group meeting with our study abroad coordinator. Following, that meeting all the literature students met together to discuss some more the structure of the class and some of the group activities we are going to do. They are just two oral presentations, a movie, and at least one group discussion. When we got done with that meeting, my Spanish teacher and I, went back to our little wooden table to continue our class. I basically spent the last period of time reading aloud from the novel and looking up vocabulary words.
All in all it was a very good class. I am sure that I will be challenged by the course, because I will have to have intellectual conversations in Spanish for five hours everyday. Not to mention reading two books in Spanish in the next three weeks. Wish me luck!!
An update as to the homestay situation, still lovely to have my own room to relax. There is also another person living in the house, who is a young man from a rural area of Guatemala here to apprentice with a computer repair shop. The food and general experience of the house are really simple, but definitely pleasant.
This afternoon, we also had the chance to watch a really interesting documentary on a community in rural Guatemala called "Voice of A Mountain." The documentary talks about the struggle for debt free land of a group of people who got together after the war to develop an organic coffee and banana farm. Their story was very interesting, and the documentary well made. If you would like to learn more, you can visit this site: http://www.voiceofamountain.com/.
A side note: I am currently sitting in a cafe. While I have been sitting here to update this blog, there have been several small children walking into the cafe asking for money. Just a glaring reminder of privilege and inequity. :/
Then we had the break, where every Monday the school has their weekly event announcements and we had a short group meeting with our study abroad coordinator. Following, that meeting all the literature students met together to discuss some more the structure of the class and some of the group activities we are going to do. They are just two oral presentations, a movie, and at least one group discussion. When we got done with that meeting, my Spanish teacher and I, went back to our little wooden table to continue our class. I basically spent the last period of time reading aloud from the novel and looking up vocabulary words.
All in all it was a very good class. I am sure that I will be challenged by the course, because I will have to have intellectual conversations in Spanish for five hours everyday. Not to mention reading two books in Spanish in the next three weeks. Wish me luck!!
An update as to the homestay situation, still lovely to have my own room to relax. There is also another person living in the house, who is a young man from a rural area of Guatemala here to apprentice with a computer repair shop. The food and general experience of the house are really simple, but definitely pleasant.
This afternoon, we also had the chance to watch a really interesting documentary on a community in rural Guatemala called "Voice of A Mountain." The documentary talks about the struggle for debt free land of a group of people who got together after the war to develop an organic coffee and banana farm. Their story was very interesting, and the documentary well made. If you would like to learn more, you can visit this site: http://www.voiceofamountain.com/.
A side note: I am currently sitting in a cafe. While I have been sitting here to update this blog, there have been several small children walking into the cafe asking for money. Just a glaring reminder of privilege and inequity. :/
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Day Seven: August 28th, 2011
Today we had breakfast at the hostel across the street from our hotel. I choose the typical Guatemalan breakfast and it was delicious! I also had some yummy te de durazno or peach tea. After our breakfast, we headed to the Spanish school where we met our host families.
My host family is a middle aged Guatemalan couple who live right across the street from the Spanish school that I will be taking classes at. I´m very excited about the location of their house. My room in the house is a large room with a big wood closet and queen sized bed. The entire house is rather simple, as is typical in Guatemala, but adequate in all the necessary aspects. I foresee it being a very calm and relaxing place to spend time reading books or doing my homework.
I spent the day unpacking my things and getting settled. I had lunch with my host mom and then went to my room to read my book. I´m currently reading Brida which is a book by the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho. I´m a little more than half way through the Spanish version of the novel. So far, it has sustained my interest. Basically, today was a pretty chill day. Tomorrow, we start our one-on-one Spanish classes!!
My host family is a middle aged Guatemalan couple who live right across the street from the Spanish school that I will be taking classes at. I´m very excited about the location of their house. My room in the house is a large room with a big wood closet and queen sized bed. The entire house is rather simple, as is typical in Guatemala, but adequate in all the necessary aspects. I foresee it being a very calm and relaxing place to spend time reading books or doing my homework.
I spent the day unpacking my things and getting settled. I had lunch with my host mom and then went to my room to read my book. I´m currently reading Brida which is a book by the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho. I´m a little more than half way through the Spanish version of the novel. So far, it has sustained my interest. Basically, today was a pretty chill day. Tomorrow, we start our one-on-one Spanish classes!!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Day Six: August 27th, 2011
Today was an adventure. This adventure started at 4:30am in the morning as we woke up then to prepare for our day trip to Santa Maria, one of Guatemala's many inactive volcanoes. We gathered together as a group in the hotel and then walked to the street corner to wait for the bus from the Spanish school. The wait was a little longer than we had anticipated as the bus was a half hour late, but we got to watch the trash being picked up.
The trash being picked up off a street corner may seem quite insignificant, however, the process is not the same as in the United States. In order to get the trash into the truck, it has to be swept up off the ground from the pile that had been tossed there and rummaged through by the stray dogs we see all over the city. The process involves two men to sweep the garbage into a pile and then onto a tarp. From that point, they have to lift up the tarp and throw it into the truck. Repeating that process until all the trash has been collected. Once they are all done collecting trash in the city, they drive it to the municipal dump where it is recycled by hand by those who can find no other work than that. Anyway, it started out the morning with an interesting perspective.
We got on the bus and headed to the base of the volcano that we were going to climb. I have to admit I had some extreme nerves looking at the height and steepness of the volcano. The first few meters were really hard, especially with the difference in altitude that I was not used to after only a few days here in Guatemala. There were two other people in the group who were also desiring to go at a slower pace without the pressure of going super fast up. We ended up sticking together and taking our time.
Even though we only made it half way up by the end we'd gotten to know each other a lot better. We also had the chance to talk to our guide about Guatemala, both during the war and the current situation in the country. They both are, of course, very interrelated. We also had some interesting philosophical conversations about views of the world, life styles, education, and Lady Gaga. Along the way we met two Mormon missionaries who were on month fourteen of their two year service in Guatemala, three Guatemalan children on their way up the mountain to get their family's cows who were grazing up at the top where there is better grass, and a couple groups of North American's trekking up the mountain. We also had plenty of time to take in the scenery and get some neat pictures too!
When we got back to the bottom of the volcano, we were told that the bus was not going to return for us. We had two choices walk a very long way back to where we were staying or pile into a pickup truck. The latter was the one we choose, was was quite an adventure. They drove really slowly and we all survived! When we all got back to the hotel, most of us took a nap. I was out for about three hours. Then a few of us went back to one of the restaurants where we'd been previously and had a delicious lunch/dinner. Just as a side note, we are being really spoiled with the fresh fruits we are served here because they are so amazingly yummy. The food in general here is very tasty. I don't think I ever want to leave!!
Tomorrow morning we get to have brunch at the hotel. Then we are all going to walk to the Spanish school to meet our host families. The day will basically be moving in and getting to know our host family that we will stay with for the next three weeks. I'm very excited!!
Now for the pictures....
The trash being picked up off a street corner may seem quite insignificant, however, the process is not the same as in the United States. In order to get the trash into the truck, it has to be swept up off the ground from the pile that had been tossed there and rummaged through by the stray dogs we see all over the city. The process involves two men to sweep the garbage into a pile and then onto a tarp. From that point, they have to lift up the tarp and throw it into the truck. Repeating that process until all the trash has been collected. Once they are all done collecting trash in the city, they drive it to the municipal dump where it is recycled by hand by those who can find no other work than that. Anyway, it started out the morning with an interesting perspective.
We got on the bus and headed to the base of the volcano that we were going to climb. I have to admit I had some extreme nerves looking at the height and steepness of the volcano. The first few meters were really hard, especially with the difference in altitude that I was not used to after only a few days here in Guatemala. There were two other people in the group who were also desiring to go at a slower pace without the pressure of going super fast up. We ended up sticking together and taking our time.
Even though we only made it half way up by the end we'd gotten to know each other a lot better. We also had the chance to talk to our guide about Guatemala, both during the war and the current situation in the country. They both are, of course, very interrelated. We also had some interesting philosophical conversations about views of the world, life styles, education, and Lady Gaga. Along the way we met two Mormon missionaries who were on month fourteen of their two year service in Guatemala, three Guatemalan children on their way up the mountain to get their family's cows who were grazing up at the top where there is better grass, and a couple groups of North American's trekking up the mountain. We also had plenty of time to take in the scenery and get some neat pictures too!
When we got back to the bottom of the volcano, we were told that the bus was not going to return for us. We had two choices walk a very long way back to where we were staying or pile into a pickup truck. The latter was the one we choose, was was quite an adventure. They drove really slowly and we all survived! When we all got back to the hotel, most of us took a nap. I was out for about three hours. Then a few of us went back to one of the restaurants where we'd been previously and had a delicious lunch/dinner. Just as a side note, we are being really spoiled with the fresh fruits we are served here because they are so amazingly yummy. The food in general here is very tasty. I don't think I ever want to leave!!
Tomorrow morning we get to have brunch at the hotel. Then we are all going to walk to the Spanish school to meet our host families. The day will basically be moving in and getting to know our host family that we will stay with for the next three weeks. I'm very excited!!
Now for the pictures....
 |
| early morning at the bottom of the volcano |
 |
| View from the side of the volcano |
 |
| A little further up the volcano... |
 |
| Cool looking flower |
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| Pretty tree! |
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| Mountain Blueberry |
Friday, August 26, 2011
Day Five: August 26th, 2011
I am writing this blog utterly exhausted. Today we had a variety of orientation lectures on health, experiential education, and general Guatemala. We had the chance to explore the city some more. We went to this amazing coffee place and I got crepas de fresa y nutella which is strawberry and nutella crepes. They were really delicious! We took a trip to the Spanish school that we will be attending for the next few weeks and met with the administrators of the program and learned about the history of the school. After that we went to the supermarket to buy some food for our trip to the mountain tomorrow. We are leaving super early in the morning tomorrow to hike! There is a lot more I could say right now, but I am very sleeeepy. Buenas noches!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Day Four: August 25, 2011
Today started out bright and early with a typical Guatemalan breakfast of black beans, plantains, and corn tortillas at the hotel where we are staying.
Following the delicious breakfast, we went upstairs to the roof where we did an activity to learn about everyone's educational biography. Everyone was given a sheet of paper, markers, crayons, and the task of representing our formative educational or life experiences on the page in twenty minutes. Once we had finished with that portion of the activity, everyone had the chance to share with the group. I found it incredibly interesting to learn about everyone's life and background coming into the program. Very much a worthwhile activity in my opinion.
A little later in the afternoon, we had another really interesting activity. It was a socioeconomic survey of the city. We were broken up into groups with four themes (education, clothing, food, and medicine), given 50 quetzales (about US$6 and the minimum daily wage in Guatemala), led to the central market, and then told to use the money we were given to purchase what we could and to interview (when appropriate) people to find out more information on the various costs of living in the city. My group was the one focused on education. We wondered around the market for a while, but were completely unable to find anything school related. So we decided to leave the main market place and started exploring the various small stores to find one that sold school supplies. A couple blocks away, we finally started finding stores that had what we were looking for. The first one we walked into we asked about prices, and then decided to buy some pencils. We asked for ten, but the store only had seven. We ended up visiting various stores and buying random school supplies, most of which were relatively inexpensive.
One of the last stores we visited was run by this Guatemalan woman who was a former teacher at the Spanish school we start at on Monday. Our conversation with her was really interesting. According to her, the two biggest problems in Guatemala are malnutrition and unequal access to education. She also had a lot to say about her experiences with teaching Spanish and meeting people from around the world. About two years ago her house was completely destroyed by the mudslides that are very common in Guatemala, so she can no longer host students, but she has many fond memories of her former job. We were very grateful for her time and insight into the current situation of education in Guatemala.
Following our adventure, we all met back together to share and debrief the experiences we'd had. One of the groups had visited a children's clinic and talked with the doctor about the health situation in the city. She said that the biggest problems she sees in children coming to the clinic are almost always directly related to malnutrition. They also purchased many different types of medicine for their fifty quetzales. The food group was able to purchase enough food to cook one hearty meal for a family of five. The clothing group was able to buy a really cheaply made pair of sandals and a children's sweater for their fifty Q. The challenging part of this activities was really thinking about how difficult it would be to live on and support a family on fifty quetzales a day or less. Getting sick or buying new clothes on top of feeding a family is extremely difficult. The experience was the first big shocker of the semester.
The privileges that I personally have can be kind of difficult to swallow when we do activities like this one that really open your eyes. I'm still processing the whole activity and the whole sticking out the crowd as the blonde, blue eyed, tall, white girl in general. It's a very different experience to be the minority in the crowd, yet not necessarily the negative side of the minority status. The privileges associated with the color of skin that I was born with honestly make me uncomfortable. I can't pass by the beggars on the street without a sense of guilt for having my life instead of theirs. That guilt is gradually transforming into a strong will to work on the areas in which my true living out the life of being a more responsible and globally minded person. I plan to make that a stronger focus in my life now and continue that when I return home.
Thus far, this trip has been absolutely amazing. I am sure there will be more challenges to come throughout the semester, but I am sure that this is going to be a transformational time.
Hasta luego!
Following the delicious breakfast, we went upstairs to the roof where we did an activity to learn about everyone's educational biography. Everyone was given a sheet of paper, markers, crayons, and the task of representing our formative educational or life experiences on the page in twenty minutes. Once we had finished with that portion of the activity, everyone had the chance to share with the group. I found it incredibly interesting to learn about everyone's life and background coming into the program. Very much a worthwhile activity in my opinion.
A little later in the afternoon, we had another really interesting activity. It was a socioeconomic survey of the city. We were broken up into groups with four themes (education, clothing, food, and medicine), given 50 quetzales (about US$6 and the minimum daily wage in Guatemala), led to the central market, and then told to use the money we were given to purchase what we could and to interview (when appropriate) people to find out more information on the various costs of living in the city. My group was the one focused on education. We wondered around the market for a while, but were completely unable to find anything school related. So we decided to leave the main market place and started exploring the various small stores to find one that sold school supplies. A couple blocks away, we finally started finding stores that had what we were looking for. The first one we walked into we asked about prices, and then decided to buy some pencils. We asked for ten, but the store only had seven. We ended up visiting various stores and buying random school supplies, most of which were relatively inexpensive.
One of the last stores we visited was run by this Guatemalan woman who was a former teacher at the Spanish school we start at on Monday. Our conversation with her was really interesting. According to her, the two biggest problems in Guatemala are malnutrition and unequal access to education. She also had a lot to say about her experiences with teaching Spanish and meeting people from around the world. About two years ago her house was completely destroyed by the mudslides that are very common in Guatemala, so she can no longer host students, but she has many fond memories of her former job. We were very grateful for her time and insight into the current situation of education in Guatemala.
Following our adventure, we all met back together to share and debrief the experiences we'd had. One of the groups had visited a children's clinic and talked with the doctor about the health situation in the city. She said that the biggest problems she sees in children coming to the clinic are almost always directly related to malnutrition. They also purchased many different types of medicine for their fifty quetzales. The food group was able to purchase enough food to cook one hearty meal for a family of five. The clothing group was able to buy a really cheaply made pair of sandals and a children's sweater for their fifty Q. The challenging part of this activities was really thinking about how difficult it would be to live on and support a family on fifty quetzales a day or less. Getting sick or buying new clothes on top of feeding a family is extremely difficult. The experience was the first big shocker of the semester.
The privileges that I personally have can be kind of difficult to swallow when we do activities like this one that really open your eyes. I'm still processing the whole activity and the whole sticking out the crowd as the blonde, blue eyed, tall, white girl in general. It's a very different experience to be the minority in the crowd, yet not necessarily the negative side of the minority status. The privileges associated with the color of skin that I was born with honestly make me uncomfortable. I can't pass by the beggars on the street without a sense of guilt for having my life instead of theirs. That guilt is gradually transforming into a strong will to work on the areas in which my true living out the life of being a more responsible and globally minded person. I plan to make that a stronger focus in my life now and continue that when I return home.
Thus far, this trip has been absolutely amazing. I am sure there will be more challenges to come throughout the semester, but I am sure that this is going to be a transformational time.
Hasta luego!
View from the hotel roof, which served as our classroom for the day....
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