First month in site!!

So, I have now been living in site for ONE WHOLE MONTH!  Some moments I feel as if I have been here for months, and other moments I feel as if it's my first day.  Here's a quick run-down on some of the things I've learned so far:

• There are dozens of types of mangoes, avocados, and bananas and I have a favorite of each.  These three foods comprise the majority of my diet here in Guatemala.
• I love salsa dancing.  I am still really, really bad at it, but I absolutely love it.  I'm sure it won't surprise any of you that I'm not too good at following a lead.
• If I accomplish nothing else in the next two years, at least my host sisters will be getting better grades in their English class.  I've been helping them out with their homework.
• I really love teaching.  I completed my introductory visits to each of the 14 schools I will be working with and am now returning to the classrooms to conduct an activity where the kids draw a map of their school and mark the things that they like and don't like about it.  I have found that when I am in front of a room full of kids, I really feel like my best self.
• There are things that I had always assumed I "needed", but am now doing quite fine without.  For example: a gym membership, a car, new clothes.  I've been working out in my room, riding public transportation, and buying my clothes at used clothes stores, and I've never been happier.
• However, I do still miss having electricity and running water 24 hours a day.
• An hour and a half commute to work isn't so bad if that commute is a beautiful hike.
• My head is quite literally in the clouds here.  We're at over 8,000 feet elevation.  
• Work comes in fits and starts.  I'm constantly evaluating if what I'm doing is actually working, so quite frequently my plan gets flushed and I have to start all over again.  Or, I get sick and stay in bed for three days.
• I prefer to work in a group.  I am the only volunteer in my project at my site, but there are two other volunteers working in different groups, so I try to tag-along with them or include them in my work as frequently as possible.
• Rainy season is super awful.  It rains EVERY SINGLE DAY.  This makes it incredibly hard to dry your laundry on the line or basically get anything done outside.  However, it is perfect weather for reading, of which I've been doing a lot.
• There are a lot of volunteers in the department of Quetzaltenango, where I am.  This has really been a lifesaver.  We get to relax together on the weekends, but we also get to work together (see the bullet on how I like to work in groups).  Every Peace Corps post has a different feel, and since PC Guatemala is condensed into a small part of the country, we've decided to take advantage of that and work together when it's possible.

Here's a few pics from my first weeks in site!!  Enjoy!

10 Things You Should Know About Guatemala

Guatemala is only about the size of Tennessee, but there is a lot going on here.  There is ancient history dating all the way back to the Maya civilization.  Now, there is a modern society with complex problems woven by corruption, malnutrition, and lack of education.

There are a lot of negative things on this list, but, hey, that's why there are Peace Corps volunteers here.  However, besides my actual house with my mom and my dad, I have never felt more at home anywhere.  The people are kind; the landscape is gorgeous; and there is a possibility of a very bright future for Guatemala.

Below each fact, I've put a link for an article with more information, on the off chance that you want to learn more, or you're just having a boring Tuesday night. 

Another volunteer, who works in a health center, noticed that they were handing out flyers of information with a bibliography.  The bibliography listed one source: "google.com".  Full disclosure, I did use Google, but I've included slightly more specific web addresses, in case you actually want to find the articles.

1.  A Gallup poll in 2012 ranked Guatemala as the 7th most positive country in the world.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/159254/latin-americans-positive-world.aspx

2.  Ríos Montt, former leader of Guatemala, was the first former head of state to face trial for genocide in a national court, as opposed to an international court.  He was found guilty this month.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/05/the-maya-genocide-trial.html

3.  Guatemala's gruesome, 36-year-long civil war ended in 1996.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/latin_america/jan-june11/timeline_03-07.html

4.  60% of the country's population is indigenous.  73% of the indigenous population is poor, while 35% of the non-indigenous population is poor.
http://www.iwgia.org/regions/latin-america/guatemala/868-update-2011-guatemala

5.  Guatemala's rate of malnourishment in children is the 6th highest in the world.
http://www.economist.com/node/14313735

6.  Guatemala's rate of obesity in adults is the 10th highest in the world.  How can one country be both obese and malnourished?? The answer is simple: carbohydrates.  Rice, bread, tortillas, potatoes, and corn are used to ward off hunger in the most affordable manner possible.
http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=351269&CategoryId=12394

7.  Some Guatemalans still claim that Belize is part of Guatemala.  The dispute may be settled as early as this year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belizean-Guatemalan_territorial_dispute

8. Guatemala is the world's second greatest exporter of high quality coffee, after Columbia.
http://www.avivara.org/aboutguatemala/coffeeinguatemala.html

9.  75% of the cocaine that arrives in the US passes through Guatemala and it has been estimated that 60% of the country is controlled by drug traffickers.  (Don't worry, Mom, not where I'm living.)
www.ghrc-usa.org/Publications/NarcoTraficofactsheet.pdf

10. Remittences in Guatemala are equivalent to 1/10 of GDP.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html

Talk to you soon!  I can't believe I've been in my site for almost one month!  Time is flying!

A Very Guatemalan Evening

I haven't blogged yet about my site and my work, but it's not because I haven't wanted to or even because I accidentally downgraded my internet...  again.  My problem is simple: I just don't know where to start. 

Everything about my life has been totally changed over the past three months.  I have made incredible, new friends.  I live with a new family in a new country.  I eat new food.  I have a new job.  I speak a new language.  How do I begin to transmit this amazing, rich experience with a few sentences and some pictures?  Welp, I have no idea.

So, I have decided to cut myself a little slack and start sharing  anecdotes as they happen.  I am going to start with thie of my Thursday night, which very accurately captures the spirit of improvisation and new experiences, that sums up my first few months here in Guatemala.

It all started Wednesday night at about 9:00pm.  I was in bed reading and not too many minutes away from falling asleep when my phone rang and the person on the other end of the line was Seño Gloria, my host mom.  She asked me to come downstairs to talk.  I really thought I was in trouble.  Luckily, she was just inviting me to her daughter, Ruby's, birthday dinner.  Ruby was turning 15 and even though it wasn't a formal quinceañera, 15th birthdays are still a really big deal here for girls.

So, the next afternoon, I got her a bracelet as a gift and got ready for the birthday dinner.  I still had no idea what to expect.  Slowly, family started to arrive and pretty soon there was a group of about 30 at the house. 

All of the sudden, Gloria says "Let's go!" and we all start to walk out of the gate that surrounds the house.  Lo and behold, the bus that my host dad drives was parked outside of the gate.  So, all of us loaded onto this bus and set out for the birthday dinner.  I'm sure everyone else knew what was happening, but I hadn't been filled in on the details and was totally confused about why I was on, what essentially amounted to, a Guatemalan party bus.

After about a thirty minute ride, we arrived at Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan fast food chain that exclusively sells fried chicken.  Guatemalans LOVE Pollo Campero!  After taking a few turns around the block because we couldn't find anywhere to park a huge bus, we unloaded and headed in. 

The huge group sat along a long table and waited for the meal to begin.  However, there was one problem - Pollo Campero does not serve tortillas and Guatemalans do not eat without tortillas, EVER.  Luckily, this was a prepared group and they had brought their own tortillas.  I am not kidding.  They each pulled tortillas out of the purse and were ready to go.

After a prayer and a few words about the birthday girl, we ate our meal, tortillas included.  Then, we headed back out to the bus.  However, the bus would not start.  After about thirty minutes of unsuccessfully turning the key in the ignition, the two mechanics on board decided they could help and fixed the bus in about twelve seconds.  So, we headed home where we opened presents and said our goodbyes!

While there is not a birthday party every night, there does seem to be some adventure every day.  Everything is new and usually takes me six times as long as I expected and always includes a surprise.  I am yet to go to bed thinking, "Well, that was a normal day."

I hope that by sharing some of these stories with you I can stitch together a virtual quilt of my life here and transmit it via blog.  If you want the 3-D experience, you can always visit! 

Also, if there is something that you would like to know about please shoot me an email at kelley.scholl@gmail.com with any questions that you have!  I would love some guidance about what to write about and would be elated to share more of my experiences with anyone who is interested.

Also, Happy Mother's Day!  I don't want to put any ideas in your head, but Mother's Day is celebrated on Friday here in Guatemala and mother's don't have to work...