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Okay, so I haven't really run out of things to say. You'll be happy to hear. This is the last blog entry for this trip, though, in case you were looking for an end point. A little closure. Something like that. As you're undoubtedly an attentive sort of person, you'll note that I've attached 74 pictures. Sounds like a lot, I'm sure. However, I started with 1,487,295 (exact number), and in that context 74 really isn't all that many. Of course, I could have knocked the number down to a nice, neat 25-30, but the truth is that I'm a bad editor. (Don’t tell anyone--I'd hate for my clients to find out.)
I'll pick up on Friday, May 1. I gave $2 and all my clothes to a lady who subsequently beat them on a rock in the lake. Laundry, Lago Atitlan style. I had the day off from teaching, as it was Labor Day, so I spent three solid hours studying Spanish at a lakeside cafe. Studying is a critical part of learning a new language, and I was thrilled to finally have some time to do it.
That afternoon, I also had my last Spanish class. I
Paul on the Boat to San Pedro
Paul took a flight to Atlanta, a second flight to Guatemala City, a car from Guat City to Antigua, a shuttle from Antigua to Panajachel, and a lancha from Pana to San Pedro. Long day.marched in all ready to rock out my newly honed knowledge of past and future tense verbs when my instructor, Flory, announced we would learn three new past-tense verb forms that for some reason unbeknownst to me happen to be different than the one I'd just mastered. "Es muy importante," she said. If you say so, Flory. According to Flory, people use these other past tenses to communicate what WAS happening, what HAS happened, or what HAD happened in the past. "It is the same in English," she said. "Huh?" I asked with a yawn. "Are you falling asleep? Wake up, Carolina," she said. I naturally took that opportunity to share with her my personal theory that "to be" and "to have" are pointless, stupid verbs that take the place of more engaging verbs, the kind that vastly increase the odds that a listener or reader will (1) stay awake and (2) refrain from smacking the speaker or writer out of frustration and boredom.
"I am trying to follow your argument, but I do not understand what you’re saying," Flory said to me (in Spanish).
"I plan to use these new verb tenses as little as possible," I
said (in Spanish).
"But other people will use them, and you will need to be able to understand what they are saying," she said.
"It's just that I feel as if I'm always accommodating other people," I said.
"The verbs 'to be' and 'to have' are important. In fact, you use these verbs regularly. You have even used them several times during this conversation," she said.
"I don't really know where you’re going with this," I said.
Flory sighed and smiled, and I sighed and smiled back and dutifully continued with the lesson. Nonetheless, I knew in my heart that if "was" and "were" and "have" and "had" were people I'd grudgingly hang out with them while every so often giving them a good smack in the head.
During my class, Paul finally made it to San Pedro. He took the 1 am flight through Atlanta, arrived in Guat City, took a private car to Antigua, caught a shuttle from Antigua to Panajachel, and hopped in a lancha (boat) from Pana to San Pedro. He arrived armed with notebooks and hundreds of pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, markers, crayons, etc., for my school kids. Thanks
for lugging all these supplies, Paul!
Paul then headed to Alejandra's house (where I was staying) while I finished my lesson with Flory. When I reached my breaking point ("I have finished this class," I told her, thereby demonstrating my newfound mastery of stupid verb tenses), we wrapped things up. I was pretty sad, all told. I really miss Flory. She's one awesome instructor and a good friend. When I return to San Pedro, I plan to request her as my instructor far, far in advance to make sure no one else grabs her first.
Ziplining.
The next morning, Paul, Sara (my Swedish housemate), and I joined three other students (Aaron, Kosh, and Emilie) to go ziplining. Mynor, who runs the Cooperativa, tossed us all into the back of a pickup truck and took us on an hour-long drive to Parque Chuiraxamolo, a parque ecological in Santa Clara (one of the towns on Lago Atitlan). Crazy stuff, ziplining in Guatemala--imagine the tech experts asking you if your equipment is good to go. ("Esta bien?" they asked us each about 85 times. Yeah, sure, looks great. But how’s about for fun YOU tell ME if all's well in gearland?)
San Pedro Docks
Paul arrived in San Pedro around 4:30 pm on Friday, May 1. One of the two ziplines was an astounding 150 meters across. Supposedly it's the largest zipline in Central America and one of the largest in the world. In short, the experience was terrifying and exhilarating and really, really fun.
Santiago Atitlan, Home of Maximon.
Paul and I took the lancha to Santiago, where we found a super-cheap hotel with the help of a little boy, probably age 7 or 8 (he gave us no choice, really). We gave him 5 quetzales as a thank you, as he really did help us out.
We walked around Santiago and spent most of the day fending off kids who wanted to show us where Maximon lives. Now, Maximon happens to be the evil, lecherous Mayan trickster saint who smokes and drinks and is purportedly derided by Catholic Church officials. Not surprisingly. Maximon comes in the form of a wooden doll, and each year he moves to a new house in Santiago. The host family allows people to visit Maximon (for a small fee), photograph him (for a larger fee), and leave cash and other offerings for him (all of which I'm assuming the host family collects for their own use--though I
guess some money goes for Maximon’s upkeep and for his several-pack-a-day cigarette habit).
Rather than pay any of these kids to show us Maximon, Paul and I instead took a 2-hour tour of the town with local history/culture expert Dolores Ratzan. We walked through the local marketplace, and Dolores pointed out the women's huipiles (shirts), known for their elaborate embroidered birds and considered some of the most beautiful in all of Guatemala. She also took us through the lovely Catholic Church (part of which dates back to 1571).
In addition, Dolores introduced us to her parents and showed us the small house where they live. As we watched her mother weave a new shirt (it takes 3 solid weeks to weave just one shirt, all told), we asked her several questions about the process. We got smiles and little more in response. Turns out Dolores' mother speaks only Tz'utujil--no Spanish. Interestingly, Dolores herself was formerly married to an American man who moved to Guatemala and learned Tz'utujil (pronounced something like "zoo-too-eel") so he could communicate more effectively with the local peoples (and, presumably, Dolores' mother).
In all, Paul and I spent two days and one night in
Santiago. Not a very touristy town--we saw few tourists, in particular, after around 4 pm--but a pressure-filled town nonetheless, what with the constant sales pitches by children and adults who want you to buy something--anything--and visit Maximon. Still, we’re glad we went.
Return to San Pedro.
Paul and I came back to San Pedro one morning to distribute the school supplies Paul brought to two schools, Pachanay, the elementary school where I'd been teaching, and Bella Vista, a rural school for poor children. Paul and I first delivered supplies to the Directora at Pachanay, and she kissed our cheeks and thanked us. I was pretty surprised by the emotional response from this very unemotional woman.
Since all of the school's teachers were in a group meeting with the Directora, I figured I'd take the opportunity to introduce Paul to my two third-grade classes (Tercera A and B). Here's what happened. We walked into Tercera A, and the kids clapped and cheered, then ran up to us and gave us a group hug (well, the girls all hugged me, and the boys all hugged Paul). Paul looked a little shocked and surprised, as he wasn't expecting this kind of
response. I introduced Paul, and he received more applause and several rounds of "holas!" from the kids. And when we told the kids we had to leave, they became silent. Pin-drop silent. Not a peep out of them. Cause they didn't (and probably still don't) understand where we were going. Or why we were leaving. Or if we'd ever be back. And the leaving, it made me feel a little sick and very, very sad.
Same exact scenario in tercera B. Down to the very last detail.
After Paul and I left Pachanay, we delivered the other half of the school supplies to Bella Vista, a rural school located on a hillside on the road out of town. Antonio from la Cooperativa accompanied us and introduced us to the school's Directora. As she wasn't expecting us, she was rather surprised by our visit. She and another teacher set the boxes in the back of one of the school's three classrooms (the school doesn't seem to have a room designated as a central office), while the kids in that class instinctually cheered and clapped and ran up to hug Paul and me. Without knowing who we were or why
Ziplining Crew
Sara, Kosh, Emilie, Carolyn, and Aaron we were there, the kids embraced us (literally, figuratively) as their own. As I've said on multiple occasions in this blog, I'm sure I (or in this case, we) did nothing whatsoever to remotely warrant such warmth and love and attention.
Panajachel, Guatemala.
Super touristy town. If you want to shop, you've come to the right place. And that about covers it.
Copan Ruinas, Honduras.
Paul and I caught a 4 am bus to Copan and rolled into town around 10:30 am. At the El Florido border crossing between Guatemala and Honduras, people in masks interviewed us to see if we had symptoms of swine flu--a hot topic of conversation throughout Guatemala.
Paul and I planned to spend 2-3 days in Copan, and we hoped to tour the ruins, visit a coffee plantation, and hike. Easier said than done. We popped into every travel agency in town, and no one had any information about plantation tours or local hikes. Everyone did, however, encourage or even instruct us to pay for a horse ride on the grounds of nearby Finca Santa Isabel, presumably alongside 8 million other tourists who'd likewise been encouraged or instructed to do so. No
Paul, Superman Style
On the second zipline run, we were given the option of riding Superman style. No hands. Here's Paul ... thank you, we repeated time and again. We finally found all the info we sought at the Tourist Information Office (no one seems to know about this magical place, located 1 block south of the Parque Central, east side) and Via Via (a hotel/restaurant/travel agency located 2 blocks west of the Parque).
Chock full of informational goodness, we quickly bagged the plantation tour idea (expensive, touristy, not at all what we wanted) and instead walked a few miles out of town to Macaw Mountain. With no government support whatsoever, the volunteers at Macaw Mountain built this bird sanctuary and gave a home to many beautiful birds that are native to the area. (They don't buy, sell, or hunt birds--they rescue them, treat them if they're ill or injured, and release them back into the wild if the birds are capable of fending for themselves.) Macaw Mountain is really a lovely spot to spend an afternoon, and the birds are simply incredible. I highly recommend a visit.
The next day, we walked about a mile to the famous ruins and spent 3 enjoyable hours strolling through the park. As noted on one placard, "Seven stelae and 11
altars form one of the most beautiful 'sculpture gardens' of the ancient world." Most of the stelae include portraits of dynastic rulers or depict milestones in the two Mayan calendars (one called Haab for rituals, the other called Tzolkin for secular events). Having never before seen Mayan ruins, I was pretty awestruck by the immensity of the grounds, as well as by the beauty of the intricate carvings. If you travel to Guatemala or Honduras, a side trip to Copan is a must, in my opinion.
Before we left town, we also visited Arte Accion (http://www.arteaccionhonduras.org), a Honduran nonprofit that organizes art-, drama-, and photography-based activities for local and rural-area kids.
Antigua.
Paul and I spent little time in Antigua, but I have to say it is really quite lovely. Colorful buildings, Euro-style cafes, colonial architecture, and ruins, ruins, ruins. My fave spot was the ruins of the monastery of the Church of San Francisco. Grassy hills, lots of caves, views of the town, and gorgeous multi-level ruins--fallen arches, beams, pillars. A good hour's worth of exploration. If it hadn't started raining, I would have sat on a stone wall and read a book for another hour or
Ziplining Crew
L-R, Mynor (who runs la Cooperativa), Aaron (from Washington), Kosh (from Alaska), Emilie (from Alaska), Paul, Carolyn, and Sara (from Sweden). Great day ziplining. That night, Paul, Sara, and I met up with Aaron, Kosh, and Emilie at Zoola, a cool local bar. so. Great place for reading, study, reflection.
And in Antigua, Paul and I had a chance to visit a bit with Sara (my San Pedro housemate) and her friend Michelle. I do miss my hermana pequena.
Some Final Random and Not-So-Random Thoughts on Traveling to Guatemala.
Water. Drink bottled water. Always. It's pretty cheap and readily available everywhere. Even go so far as to rinse your toothbrush with bottled water. And be wary of salads (sometimes veggies are rinsed in tap water), fresh fruits (same deal), ice cubes, water-based drinks made with fresh fruit, etc. Drinking even a little bit of the water in Guatemala or Honduras will make you violently sick. Sometimes for a couple of days or more.
Food. Pancakes and fruit for breakfast; rice, beans, and meat for lunch; eggs, beans, queso fresco, and corn tortillas for dinner. Heavy foods, overall. Sometimes a little pasta or a bowl of soup is thrown into the mix. Good, if largely unmemorable food. One thing's for sure--not too much whole wheat, and not a whole lot of veggies (at least in my limited experience). Pack some protein bars.
Showers. Cool or cold. Once or twice
Ziplining Truck Ride
We rode from San Pedro to Santa Clara (an hour each way) in the back of a truck. Fun stuff, actually. L-R Aaron, Kosh, Emilie, Sara, Carolyn I got some lukewarm water. Little water pressure. You get used to it. Trust me.
Packing and Laundry. Pack light. As in very little. No formal clothing necessary. And no heels or uncomfortable shoes--most streets are made of uneven cobblestone. I could even wear jeans and Chuck Taylor's or flip flops when I was teaching (the male teachers wore khakis or jeans, whereas the women teachers wore traditional Mayan shirts and skirts, as did most women in town). Regarding laundry, you can pay someone to wash and dry your clothes. Cost is about $1 per pound.
Internet Cafes. They're everywhere. Even the smallest towns seem to have at least one. Great way to stay in touch. Cost is roughly $0.30 - $1.50/hour, depending on the town/cafe.
Phones. Chances are your phone won't work in Guatemala. And if it does work, you'll pay a fortune for every incoming and outgoing call. You can, however, buy a new SIM card at most any Guatemalan phone store for about $6 (a store employee can pop the new SIM card into the phone for you). Then all you need to do is purchase phone minutes (the same store employee will basically
Paul and Sara, Buddha Bar, San Pedro
Our fave patron was a dog who sat at a barstool alongside more traditional patrons (aka people). My dog pics turned out pretty grainy. Alas. "populate" your phone with the number of minutes you buy). With your new SIM card, you pay nothing for incoming calls from the US. Outgoing calls to the US cost roughly $0.30/minute.
Electricity. The electricity seems to go out on a fairly regular basis in most towns. Sometimes for a few minutes. Sometimes for a few hours. Sometimes for a day or more at a shot. You get used to it. Hotels, etc., will use candles for lighting; restaurants will use backup generators or gas/wood stoves for cooking.
Spanish-Language Schools with a Home-Stay. I couldn't recommend San Pedro's Cooperativa School any more highly. Check them out at http://cooperativeschoolsanpedro.com. I thought it would be hard to study Spanish for 4 hours a day, every day. It wasn't. It was serious, serious fun. If you're interested in Spanish-language immersion study, you can also check out one of the many programs in Antigua. To pick the Guatemalan Spanish school that's right for you, visit http://www.123teachme.com/search.php?relCountryID=2 and review what thousands of students have to say about Guatemala's many, many schools.
Along those lines, I highly recommend living with a family while you study--you'll get homecooked meals, see firsthand how local people
Sara, "la Tortuga"
Sara leaves San Pedro to head back to Antigua. live, and have many, many additional opportunities to practice your Spanish. For the first two weeks I spent in Guatemala, I spoke relatively little English. I taught classes for 3+ hours a day (I taught English but spoke a lot of Spanish) and took Spanish classes for 4 hours a day. I also spoke to Sara (my housemate), other Spanish students, other people in town, and Alejandra (la madre de la casa) in Spanish. And I paid a mere $150/week for these privileges (this weekly cost included 20 hours of Spanish lessons, 3 meals a day, lodging, and evening activities at la Cooperativa). I'd call it a bargain, but I don't think the term suffiently describes how very much you get for so very little.
The Rainy Season. The rainy season in Guatemala and Honduras starts in April/May. And boy did it rain. Sheets and sheets, Noah's Ark style. However, most of the time the rain didn't start until sometime in the afternoon, and most of the time it didn't interfere much or at all with planned activities (hikes, walks, studies, etc.). Put another way, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to find the "right" time of year
to visit.
ATMs and Armed Guards. San Pedro has one ATM, and it worked about half the time. A little money goes a long way in Guatemala, so take out a bit more than you need just in case the local ATM is fickle. (Larger towns like Antigua have multiple banks and ATMs.) Also, all banks are protected by one or more armed guards (sometimes they're armed with pistols, but more often they have machine guns). You get used to walking past them. I didn't think I would, but I did.
Poverty, Crime, and Safety. NGOs cite a poverty rate in Guatemala of around 80%! (MISSING)While indigenous peoples make up about 2/3 of the population, a handful of Spanish families seem to own the vast majority of businesses and land in the country. (I've had trouble pinpointing the actual number of families and the actual percentages of businesses and land--the stats vary considerably.) Moreover, of 158 deputies in the Congress of the Republic, only 11 are indigenous Mayans.
The annual homicide rate in Guatemala is around 47 per 100,000 people, which is the 7th highest rate in the world. Two other central American countries have higher rates.
Bye Bye, San Pedro
I'll miss you. Can't wait to return. Honduras ranks #2 with 58 murders per 100,000 people; El Salvador ranks #4 with 49. (For purposes of comparison, the rate is 5.8 per 100,000 people in the US.) Muggings and robberies are also fairly common in Guatemala--recent polls show that 1 out of 3 Guatemalan families is robbed each year, for example.
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that many crimes aren't reported to the police. According to the people I've talked to, law enforcement is virtually non-existent, and government corruption at all levels is a very serious problem.
From a tourist perspective, I have to say that I felt pretty safe at most times. I stayed out of Guatemala City, for one. I took reasonable precautions, for another. I didn't walk alone after dark. I stuck to lighted, populated streets. I didn't dress to impress or wear expensive jewelry. I didn't cart around an expensive camera, and I only used my laptop in Internet cafes. I used common sense.
Guatemala Past and Present -- The Role of the US. From the '60s through the '90s, the Guatemalan military engaged in a repressive campaign against the civilian population. This "Silent Holocaust" left 200,000 civilians dead (42,000
named victims and some 160,000 others) and 400+ Mayan villages destroyed. Throughout this time period, the US sent massive military aid (arms, equipment, and training support for death squad officers). Further, the CIA regularly paid people for information obtained through kidnapping, torture, and death-squad activities.
The UN-sponsored Truth Commission, called the Commission for Historical Clarification (CEH), presented its findings in March 1999. The CEH concluded that the Guatemalan army had done more than violate human rights--it had constituted genocide against the Mayan people. The report also concluded that the US government directly and actively contributed to this 30-year genocidal campaign.
Why am I dredging up the past? Because it has affected and continues to affect the country's present. Unavoidably so. And I thought you should know.
Children and Schooling. Compulsory education ends after sixth grade. And from what I've seen "compulsory" is a loose term, as many young children wander the streets during what should be their school day. Add to that the fact that most children (probably 2/3 of them) do not attend secondary school. Children may not have access to secondary school, or they may need to work to help support their families. Moreover, many
secondary schools (possibly all of them) aren't free--they're private schools, and families need to pay tuition. (And while primary schools are free of cost to students, some, like Bella Vista, the rural school Paul and I visited, don't receive any government dollars or support.) At many schools, supplies are limited; at some schools, like Bella Vista, the teachers receive no salary.
What kills me is the lost potential. I mean, you should see these kids. Their smarts, their curiosity and energy, their savvy--startling is the best word for it. Kids as young as 7 or 8 will trail tourists through the streets in an attempt to sell them jewelry, scarves, pottery, fresh fruit. Their persistence and their skills in negotiation are nothing short of remarkable. And half the time they do their hawking in English, no less.
The way I see it, one of the best ways to help the people of Guatemala (for those who are so inclined) is to support the country's educational efforts. Volunteer as a teacher. Help pay for more books and more supplies and more teachers and more schools. Sponsor promising students who lack the financial means to attend secondary school or college.
It's hard and perhaps near impossible for a country to move forward--economically, politically, socially--when the bulk of the population has a sixth-grade education, at best. I'm by no means an expert, but it seems to me that education spurs opportunity which in turn spurs the individual will to strive for something--anything. It also seems to me that with the striving come achievements in health, security, development, and growth on both an individual AND a collective level. I believe these things to be true.
My Plans to Return.
Before I left San Pedro, I talked a bit with Antonio, who manages student activities and volunteer programs for la Cooperativa Spanish School. He asked me to return to San Pedro, to continue teaching English to the kids, and to stay a bit longer, if possible. I'm planning to do so. I just have to figure out when.
And That’s It, Folks.
If you've somehow made it all the way through my lengthy ramblings, you're made of sterner stuff than most, no question. Thanks for joining me on my journey. Just so's you know, I appreciate it. I do.
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wow.
Thank you for taking the time to write that up. what an amazing journey you had. I'm jealous but elated for you. Splendid. Can't wait for you to return there.