In the Home of Friends

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Life at Lake Atitlan is behind me and now it is time for the next chapter. I am staying for a week at the home of Dennis and Doris Rice in Quetzaltenango (known to everyone by it's Quiche Maya name Xelaju or simply Xela - pronounced Shea-lah). Dennis and Doris manage Vine International's warehouse operations in Xela (For more information on Vine International, see my past entry A Spiritual Recharge or visit www.vineinternational.org). The Rices are one of the kindest and spiritually solid couples I have had the pleasure to meet. They have only recently met me and they opened their home to me, gave me a place to sleep, a HOT shower, washed my clothes, and prepared food for me at each meal. I was not expecting all of this treatment, but I must say it sure is nice to have. The Rices have lived in Guatemala for 10 years and have devoted their time and energy to doing God's work and spreading his word. They first started out in the Peten Region up north, but now they live in the Western Highlands where the temperature is much less humid.

I met up with Dennis and Doris in Los Encuentros after making my early morning accent up through the mountains surrounding the lake. Before heading to Xela, we had to meet up with some individuals just north of Guatemala City to scope out some possible warehouse locations and discuss future operation possibilities. A major U.S. ministry wanted to discuss the possibility of future warehouse consolidation between the missionary groups providing medical supplies to Guatemala. We visited two possible sites and toured the vacant warehouses. The facility that showed the most potential was a former Reebok and Gap manufacturing warehouse. There were some former "Employee of the Month" pictures still up on the walls and the oldest of the award recipients was 7 yrs. old (just pulling your leg). I did get to learn more about the inside operations of non-profit organizations and the process by which they ship, warehouse, and distribute their supplies. After the meeting was adjourned, we made our way through the Bread Basket of Latin America ( b/w Chimaltenango and Quetzaltenango), over the highest point of the Pan-American Highway (Little Alaska), and down into the Rice's hometown of Xela.

Quetzaltenango is the second largest city in Guatemala and is the commercial center of the Southwestern region of the country. To the south of the city stands the massive Volcan Santa Maria, and just behind it sits the active Volcan Santiaguito. If you look closely you can see puffs of smoke and ash coming from behind Volcan Santa Maria. The temperature in this region is really nice. It is cool at night and in the mornings and comfortably warm all day long; very similar to San Diego, CA. The city has everything from malls, workout facilities, and theaters. There is even Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Sub Way, and three McDonalds throughout the city, which I don't plan on visiting. Xela is similar to Guate City in that it is more westernized than the rest of the country, and has some colonial style architecture like that of Antigua. Every year from Lent to Easter there is a group called Los Encapuchados who collect money all through the streets of Xela and some other large cities. The group is a secret society with members who dress up in robes, full face masks, and carry a stick or short bat to intimidate people into giving their money to their so-called good cause. These guys just step out into traffic waving their stick around to stop the vehicles and then ask for money. It is said that they give a little to charity, but most goes to big parties they throw for the members. In the past, there were cases where some of these guys busted out car windows and spray painted shops and buildings that would not donate. This is said to be controlled now, but they still run around bothering everyone.

Monday night, I joined the Rices and their friends in a weekly Bible study. The group consisted of four missionary couples who are living in Xela and working to spread the Word. That night's message really hit home and was a great motivator in my travels. The discussion was centered around "One's Potential" and Roger (who led the worship that night) expressed this point with an analogy about everyone having a "seed" within and the importance in how one chooses to nourish it. The discussion brought up questions of "what do you wish for your life?" and "how do you know the correct path?". These questions were exactly what I have been struggling with for the past couple of years. I have been and still am in search of what it is I am called to do. That is in part, one of the reasons for my travels. I have decided to write a separate entry to discuss what I took from this lesson and to share with everyone my beliefs because I have set by for the past month and a half and just listened and now I would like to share what I believe. I am not good at debating people face to face, but I sure can write it all down. So, I am going to discuss some of my beliefs and opinions, so if you don't feel like listening to it then don't click on the link, but maybe I also put some in this journal, so be careful. I know I said I wasn't going to go there in my journals but I have changed my mind because it's important to me and it's my journal and I can do what I want (Ha, take that!). Click on What I Believe if you want to know my opinion; I dare you.

Tuesday and Wednesday consisted of the following: I helped out at the Vine Warehouse with some organizing and cleaning up. We were only there for a few hours and then we took some medical supplies over to a local doctor. Since we were near the town center, the Rices took me on a tour of downtown and showed me some good places to eat and told me a little of the cities history. Back at home, I am being fed like a king. I previously lost weight due to lack of meat and small portions, but the Rices are taking care of that problem. Later that day, I went to the local mall and walked around, and then I treated myself to a movie at the theater. The movie was actually in English with Spanish subtitles, so it was like going to a language class and enjoying a flick at the same time. The following day started out with more great food and conversation. I helped the Rices move some new beds and furniture into their house and next took the old stuff over to Roger's for his family to have. Later, I went to a local gym to get in a workout. I got to talking with one of the gym's trainers and he ended up giving me a bunch of protein bars for my travels. I felt bad though b/c at first I thought he was actually trying to sale me product when really he was only being generous (that teaches me not to pre-judge). On my walk home, I stopped off and watched some Papi futbol games at the local courts. Papi futbol is just like soccer, except it is played on a miniature field and goals. Back at the house, I spend a lot of time talking to the Rices about life, religion, and just general information (Dennis is like talking to a dictionary; he has all sorts of good information).

Thursday, we took a road trip down South near the coast to a city called Retalhuleu to visit a local clinic. On our drive down, the road we took crossed through 24 different microclimates; which is basically a distinct type climate for a small-scale area. According to Dennis' friend, there are only 27 types of microclimates in the world and we just passed through 24 of them. We started out in the Xela valley, made our way through the highland coffee plantations, then down through various types of jungle, until we finished up in the coastal region with palm, coconut, and banana trees all around. One quick tid bit, did you know that coffee grown at higher altitudes has more flavor and acidity, but less aroma than coffee grown at low altitude, so this is one of the reasons why you see mixed blends in stores. When we arrived in Retalhuleu, we went to the local clinic Vine supports and met all kinds of people. The clinic and a group called Confraternidad Los Once work together in Cancer prevention. We were introduced to many of the members and sat and discussed things for a bit. Next, we followed everyone over to a farm house that was owned by one of the members, so we could all enjoy a lunch together. Before lunch was served, the owner of the land took us on a tour of her property. The farm had cattle, horses, pigs, a small Tilapia farm, sugarcane, banana trees, and other crops all spread out on a very large hunk of land. By just meeting the lady, you would have never known she was worth a lot of money because she didn't buy or wear anything she didn't need. After our tour, we sat for lunch accompanied by 20+ people and enjoyed a unique Guatemalan dish with rice milk to drink. For dessert we had carrot cake, mangos, and cashew fruit (which was a new one for me). The stem of this very sweet and acidic fruit is the cashew nut. Before the cashew nut goes through the toasting process it is very poisonous; it even gives off a toxic gas during this process which makes it some what dangerous. Each fruit only produces one cashew nut; now you know why their so expensive. Following dessert, the group had one person who could speak English, so he stood and expressed to the Rices how appreciative the organization was for all that Vine International has done. At that time others around the table expressed their thanks and you could just tell by their expressions that it was so heart felt. Then Dennis addressed them all with his thanks for what they are doing for the community and for the hospitality that they have shown to us. We later departed from the farm after many, many hugs, handshakes, and kisses. I did have one question for the Rices in the car and that was, "Why did everyone keep saying 'Gracias Adios' over and over again throughout their thanks?". They said it so fast that I thought they were saying "Thanks, Goodbye" over and over, which I found weird. But the Rices laughed and explained to me that they were saying "Gracias a Dios," which is "Thanks to God" (Duhhh!).

We took an alternate route back to Xela for different views and to avoid some of the traffic we encountered on the way down. The drive back was absolutely beautiful. In the mountains, we saw all types of trees with different color foliage ranging from bright orange to brilliant yellow. We passed through a banana plantation with trees as far as the eye could see. The area we where in had a lot of geothermal activity, and this was evident by the many hot springs and type of vegetation that was growing. Dennis showed me a plant that has been around since prehistoric times and is very different from other plants. This large leafed plant (some the size of an umbrella), unlike other plants, photosynthesizes sulfur dioxide rather than carbon dioxide. This is why it is only found where there is geothermal activity. It's nice being around the Rices. I spent most of my time asking questions, because they are both so well educated. At their home, they are always discussing all sorts of information with me; from the history of Guatemala, politics, to religion. I am just soaking it all in! Tomorrow I am just going to relax, read, and maybe go see the town some more. The Rices are going over to talk with some ladies, that run a clinic they support, about alternate locations for their clinic; since they are being forced to move from their present rent free establishment within the next 45 days. The clinic is for the poor and doesn't bring in enough money to pay rent anywhere else in town. The Rices informed me, to my surprise, that they only charged 5Q for a doctor’s consultation and only 10Q for delivering a baby- ladies, that's only about $1.30 in expenses to give birth (not bad, wouldn't you say?). The Rices are going to assist the clinic in searching for an alternate location and also try and figure out a plan for their financial problems.

I leave for Antigua Saturday so I can try and find my Dad and I a place to stay during the Semana Santa Festival in two weeks. I'm having trouble finding a place that is not already booked, because this is the largest festival of the year. I had no success calling places, so I am going to try my luck at walking around the town. I meet Dad at the airport on Monday the 27th, and then we're off across Guatemala and on into Belize for a week of relaxing in the sun (I can't wait). My Dad will be here for three weeks and then after that he is back to the states and at that time I too will be exiting Guatemala, but to the south I go. But just before I leave, I will hopefully get to meet Gresly, the 5 year old Guatemalan girl that I've been sponsoring through Compassion International.

This week has been a little more laid back than usual, so I've had the chance to read, write, and come up with a few travel tips for some fellow travelers. I have had a few people e-mail me with questions about what to bring and any other recommendations I might have. So I am going to list a few travel tips that I have learned thus far. These tips are mainly ones you wouldn't think of, so for equipment recommendations just shoot me an e-mail and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Tips You May Not Know

• Be careful with Liquid Deet. - Due to my pack being tossed from bus to bus, my deet busted in one of the pockets of my pack and this powerful stuff eats through synthetic material. Now part of my pack has decomposed into goo.
  
• Don't buy and eat the cut up fruit and vegetables from vendors on the street. - If it is cut up then they probably touched it with their hands and you could easily get worms. I heard this advice after my 3rd week, so just incase, I put myself through a 3 day cycle of worm pills.
  
• Bed Bugs (little red welts)- I have heard that a drop of lavender on the bed will keep them away (could be a myth...I don't usually carry lavender around so it's untested). I've tried just spraying deet on the sheets and I think it helped, but I already had so many bits I couldn't tell. Also, set the mattress out in the sun for the day and wash all of your clothes b/c they live in the seams.
  
• Coffee fly bites (red welt w/ a little dot in the center- which is an egg) - Use rubbing alcohol over and over again on the bites. You can also use Tea Tree oil mixed in with your shampoo to help with your skin, but it is probably best after treating with alcohol.
  
• How to kill a chigger (little red welts usually around your arm pit or your nether region) - the best way to kill is to put finger nail polish over it and this will smother the little bug living under your skin.
  
• Don't leave avocados in the sun. - The sun burns the skin and ruins the fruit. The best and fastest way to ripen is to stick it into a paper bag with other avocados. These tips are true for a lot of other fruits as well.
  
• Calles (streets) run East to West and Avenidas (Avenues) run North to South. - Avenidas have the right away and always remember that down here pedestrians Do Not! There is also rhyme and reason behind each of the building #'s but it would take to much time and space to explain, so just ask someone on the street.
  
• Glow sticks -bring a couple of glow sticks in case you decide to go spelunking(exploring caves) in Semuc Champey.
  
• Peanut Butter - buy it before you get here; it is much more expensive in Central America. This stuff is a great source of protein when you go days without meat and is great for a quick snack on a long chicken bus ride ( I recommend with bread and sliced banana).
  
• Dental Floss - this can be used to sew up shorts or whatever if you don't have any thread. I met a guy who sewed up the whole back of his swim trunks with the stuff.
  
• Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) - This medicine is a life saver when a bad case of IBS kicks in, or your just get really sick. It does a good job with killing infection. I recommend buying it when you get to Central America, because it is cheaper and you don't need a prescription.
  
• Malaria Pills - I have met a lot of travelers who say that you really don't need them in Central America- all they do is tear up your system. But, I have also met some older more knowledgeable people who say definitely take them, b/c if you catch Malaria you have it for life. I personally have not been taking them yet, but I might when I head to the Bay Islands of Honduras. As for the types to take, do not take Larium or its generic form Mefloquine. Both can have terrible side effects, such as totally freaking out mentally - not good! If you have the money I would recommend Malarone, but if you want to go cheap use chloroquine. It doesn't work on the types of Malaria that a lot of countries have, but is fine for Central America. Definitely wait to buy it after you get down here or just buy a little in the states (enough to get through your first week cycle back home) and then buy all of the rest in Central America b/c it is dirt cheap down here.
  

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Photos

Che Gavara's Former Residence
Che used to rent a room at this establishment back in the day, which is located in the center of Xela.

Los Encapuchados
These hooded freaks raise money through intimidation. Similar to the GirlScouts' techniques in the states.

Papi Futbol
This game is exactly like soccer only with a miniature field and goals.

Lunch in Retalhuleu
We enjoyed the company and hospitality of the Confraternidad Los Once group.

Prehistoric Plant
This large leafed plant is different than other plants in that it photosynthesizes sulphur dioxide rather than carbon dioxide. This is why it is only found where there is geothermal activity.

Banana Tree
A Banana tree only produces one bundle of fruit and then it dies and another tree springs up from the root system the following year. If you look closely you can see the flower attached to the bottom of the fruit which drops off when it is ready to be picked.

The Cashew Fruit
The stem of this very sweet and acidic fruit is the cashew nut. Before the cashew goes through the toasting process it is very poisonous. Each fruit produces one cashew nut; now you know why their so expensive.