Week Two

Sunday November 18th I got up, put on my running clothes, grabbed my mp3 player and headed to the Central Park to attempt to run 6.2 miles. When I got there I met up with Rocio and Terry (Rocio works at the project and is dating Terry who's in the Peace Corps, teaching in Ciudad Vieja). The music was far to loud for being set up next to a cathedral on a Sunday morning, but I found out that they don't have mass at 8 AM on Sundays. We also ran into Karen, a long-term volunteer in the clinic, right before the race started. The beginning of the race was on Calle del Arco. We ran out of Antigua to San Felipe then over to Jocotenango, back South to Antigua passed the market and on to the highway to Ciudad Vieja, then cut east just South of Antigua to Alemeda del Calvario, heading north to 4th Street and back West to Central Park. I had felt pretty good through most of the run, less a minute or two around Km 7, and opened up for the last Km. I finished the 10K of Antigua in 59:55, and after not having run since the 23rd of September, I was pleased with my performance. The rest of the day was pretty lazy around the house and I got to meet one of Jorge and Christine's grand kids and two of there great-grand kids. That night I went to Cafe Sky to watch the sunset. While there I met Jack, from AZ but had been living in Oregon most recently, and Carl, from Toronto. They had met on the fight to GUA. We had a few drinks then decided to go get some food, we got some pasta near central park and then ended up at Cafe 2000. We watched The Guardian while enjoying some more drinks. Jack is here learning Spanish for a few weeks then traveling all over Central and South America before starting a job in Brazil. Carl is here just to be here, working odd jobs and hanging out. He taught English in Paraguay for a year and volunteered for a year in another South American country, but had spent the last year in Toronto working as an arborist and decided he missed the Latin-American vibe and needed to come back. Cool guys.



Monday I wasn't nearly as sore as I had thought I would be, so that was great. I had orientation in the clinic today. I started with the Director, Dr. Alvaro, a real nice man who was born in Guatemala then went to school and worked in Minnesota for 30+ years and moved back to Guatemala to work with C.H. I spent a little while at the reception desk, pulling files, checking people in and taking temp/weight/height for some of them. Then I spent a few minutes with the Lab Technician, they have a lab that can do a bunch of blood tests and diagnose a lot of diseases. This year they have only had to refer people, for something they couldn't diagnose, a couple of times. Then we had the Despedida for Karen, she had been here for a year and was returning to the states to begin her residency at a hospital. Then I spent a little bit of time with the dental assistant. Britt, a Vision Team coordinator, approached me and asked if I would be willing to translate for the Don Filaberto Tour on Saturday. After some convincing I agreed to do it. The rest of the day was normal: home, lunch, school, home, dinner. After dinner I was reading and pulled up some classical music on my computer, Jorge really liked it and wanted me to burn him a CD of it. Then off to bed.

Tuesday~ Woke up after a not-so-good night of rest to French Toast for breakfast, YUM! It also made me think of Sarah as she doesn't like the texture of French Toast or Pancakes... ;) I was also excited because today and tomorrow I got to work in the construction area with some of the volunteers and the Vision Team. I arrived to meet Gary and Mary and their two High school aged boys, Andy and Scott and another young man Tim. We all loaded up in the back of the truck and headed to San Juan where we hung the windows, doors and the roof. I had another incident with and laminate nail where I knocked the collar off the head of the nail and cut my thumb..., my left thumb may be very funny looking in a year, if I still have it..., knocking on wood... When we finished we had several extra boards and one of them was already nailed together for the roof, 28 feet long. So we took all of that wood down the street to the next site, where we would start work the next morning. Everything fit in the bed of the truck except the long board, so Pablo, construction employee, at 5 foot maybe, and I carried this board down the road, I'm sure it was a funny site, but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it... Then home for lunch and off to school, except today I didn't want to sit and study so we went to the market and then to the central park, had some coffee and tea (guess which one was mine...) and a piece of cheesecake then just wandered Antigua. Luis told me all sorts of cool things as we went. When we finished, I called Gwyn to see if this phantom game of soccer was going to happen or not, and she guaranteed that it was. So I went home changed and headed back to the project. The game ended up being staff vs. volunteers, that meant the Discovery Teams (including the family I had worked with earlier in the day) vs. the Guatemalans, Gwyn and I. We had a lot of fun, and after some of the Discovery folks left it became Gringos vs. Guates. We hung in there for a couple of points and then they just kicked our butts... good times :) Went home and Jorge had some blank CDs so I burned him some of my classical music and a Frank Sinatra disc, another of his favorites. Dinner and bed.

Wednesday I got to the project and met up with some of the Vision Team that was going to work with us building a house today. We had a Doctor, Dentist, Accountant, Federal Prosecutor, College Anthropology Professor, and a Techno Geek Tim (started a company that does 3-D printing??? retired and now just travels and writes for some magazine every once in a while). The house that we were building today was a little different that others in that it had two walls already there. They were the concrete block property walls, so we just had three walls to erect, two exterior (two doors and windows) and one interior. We also got a new tool that the Discovery Team had brought down, a Sawz-All. The Guatemalans had never seen, let alone used, one before, so it was fun to show then the versatility that they have and after a couple of minuted they were hooked! Home for lunch then off to school where we looked at definite and indefinite articles and the rules for usage and omission. It was very frustrating and there are a lot of strange rules I survived though and I think I kind of understand them now. Today I also started the process of finding a place to live come the beginning of December. Britt has a house and Karen was her roommate so I talked to her and then Kaela, another C.H. employee, told me about an apartment at her complex that will be available soon. When I got home after school I talked with Jorge for a while, we have really connected over music, and I have started to look at Jorge and Christine as my Guatemalan Grandparents. I found out that Jorge is 82 and I think Christine is a little younger. Good day.

Thursday- Turkey Day in the states, here there was nothing. They don't have a Thanksgiving Day and it was fun explaining what it's like in the states during this week, with Turkey Day, no school from Wed. on, Black Friday... I got up and went to work as did everyone else. I worked with the support group today, that means I cooked, swept and mopped, and worked with the maintenance guys doing all sorts of stuff. Then home, lunch, school, and back to the project for the Despedida for the Discovery Team that was here (Gary and family and another Family). Britt gave me directions to her house and I stopped by on my way home. Her house is just Southeast of Antigua in a pueblo called Santa Ana. It's right off the main square in Santa Ana. It's a nice piece of property with 4 houses on it on the corners of a central garden. Got the tour and met her boyfriend, Charlie, and headed home for dinner. I like the idea of living in Santa Ana because it's away from the tourists in Antigua and around more actual Guatemalans, so I really like that option..., we'll see, I'll be moving like Dec. 1st. I called my family and a couple friends to wish them a Feliz Dia de Gracias, had dinner and went to bed.

Friday- PANCAKES!!! YUM!! ;) Again another normal day, off to orientation at the project, today with Maribell, director of education (she reminded me of my friend Holly S.), and then in the Psychology department. Home for lunch, school, then I went to the Bodegona and bought a bunch of fruit, I'm making a fruit salad for the Thanksgiving Dinner that all of us Gringos are having Sat. afternoon at the project, then went to the Project to make the salad and help prepare food for 40 people. We peeled 30 lbs. of potatoes, watched The Bee Movie (pirated, you can find almost anything in the market), cooked a huge pot of Broccoli, made some Jell-o, and called it a night. Tamalyn, Felipe, and Sam dropped me off at home where I was in bed pretty fast.

Saturday - I got up at about 6 am loaded up my pack and headed to the project to go with the Vision Team to Don Filaberto's home. Don Filaberto has a couple of affiliated kids and takes groups from his home in San Miguel Escobar to his farm land a couple kilometers up the Vulcan de Agua. All 12 members of the Vision Team were going, so we all piled into a van and headed out at about 6:40. I did the D. F. hike with both Vision Teams that I came with, so I was familiar with what to expect but I was still a little unsure about my translation abilities. Luckily there were two young women on the team that spoke Spanish as well, so when I had trouble with anything they helped. We sort of rotated translating. They're a fun group and joked around a lot, so I fit right in. They moved kind of slow, but they are flat landers..., Minnesotans... We had fresh tortillas, guacamole, and black beans at D.F.'s property then headed back down. We returned to the project at about 12:30. I took a shower and sliced up a pineapple to complete my fruit salad with, then headed to the kitchen where I helped Jeff and Sian to carve the Turkeys and make the gravy. At a little after 2 PM we started eating, there was a ton of food, we all ate too much, talked and laughed, and then went back for more food. When I was done Sam solicited me to come play with him on the trampoline. I was full, but I couldn't turn a three year old down. For a good hour and a half Sam and I played on the tramp, under the tramp, around the tramp, and luckily I was given some rest every once in a while when Sian would come and play with him for a bit. Then I found the couch and just sat for a long while, occasionally throwing the ball for Jeff's dog Sasha. Everyone left and it was just me a Gill, Sian's mom staying at the project. We chatted a bit, I checked my e-mail and passed out pretty early.

This morning, Sunday, I got up at 5:30, ate some food and got ready to go riding with Chicho. We were going to meet at 6 AM in front of the project, at 6:30 I just came back in. We arranged this on Tuesday and I didn't remind him, nor do I have his phone number so it just didn't happen, no worries though. I watched the sun as it crept down the volcanoes, Fuego and Acatenango, and at about 6:50 Fuego said good morning to everyone with a burp of smoke. Then I crawled back into bed and slept off some of that turkey:) I got up a little later had some leftovers and started in on updating this blog.

So there you go, I am up to date. Now if I could just get the picture thing figured out...

Blessings and Peace to you and all of yours.

Love and Hugs :)

PS- Check out my friend Pam's blog (fellow river guide and traveler extraordinaire): http://wherewasiyesterday.blogspot.com/


PICTURES: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12588&l=ae4dc&id=752630746