Cooking Time!

I´ve still been doing the same old same old...class and more class but today we got to have a cooking class at Chepe´s house! Enjoy the pics!


This is our dog Sultan. He LOVES to bark and howl..all the time.



Mi amiga Mary and I making Tamalitos...little tamales.



The mother of my language teacher taught us how to cook today! She is amazing at it. I tried my best and I did alright at the tamalitos but I am NOT talented at making the corn tortillas! Mine had huge holes in them.



A view of a volvano as we walked up to Barrio La Cruz today for class.

Day to Day

I have now been in Guatemala about a week! We are already deep into training. More or less my days Monday through Friday, and sometimes Saturday, are split between Spanish class in the morning and some type of technical training in the afternoon. I am in a group with 4 other women and we all live in San Luis Las Carretas. Every day we meet for class at 8am at one of our houses. We don’t do anything like a traditional class since we are more advanced so our focus is on conversational Spanish. In reality we just sit around and shoot the breeze and talk about everything from prostitutes to the supposed end of the world in 2012 (which by the way the Mayans here explained that, no, the world is not ending, it’s just starting a new era). Our teacher is Chepe and he is awesome! He lives in a nearby town of Pastores and rides his little moto everywhere. He also has a lot of good information about culture and customs. After class I walk home and eat lunch around 12:30pm and then it’s back to either more class with Chepe or a meeting with one of the Healthy Homes technical trainers. Yesterday the group from San Lorenzo came down and 10 of us met with Caroline who talked to us about figuring out a community’s needs and making sure it’s the people of the communities who are making the decisions.
Today we had class at Dona Lydia’s casa and did an exercise where we had to listen to a Guatemalan song and then put all the jumbled lyrics in order on paper…not easy! I am also taking it upon myself to work on my grammar outside of class on my own because in comparison to the rest of my group it is terrible but I am getting better and I can speak and understand everything and that’s what is important. In the afternoon we got picked up by the PC and all the Healthy Homes volunteers met in San Antonio Aguas Calientes for a common session. We discussed public health and what it means here in Guatemala. The statistics here are staggering:
-about 70% of population lives in poverty
-leading cause of death among children is pneumonia and diarrhea
-90% of water in Guatemala is contaminated
-the poorest country in Central America
The stats can go on forever like this. It is overwhelming to learn it all in one day. Needless to say there is plenty of work ahead of me.

Other than class I do a lot of studying and hanging out with the family. I have successfully made Carmila the baby stop crying a few times so that is good! She is so cute and already getting big. Cruz and Ingrid like to do things so yesterday we went to another little town and they had some street food. I tried to politely decline as I do not think my stomach is up to the challenge of street food just yet. I will try to start bringing my camera with me a few places so I can get some pics up here! Hasta luego!

The First Weekend in Guate

Mi cuarto (My room)

I WROTE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ON SUNDAY NIGHT BUT COULDN'T GET TO INTERNET:

I feel like so much has happened yet nothing at all. On Saturday we all boarded some PC mini-buses and went out to our communities. I was the first of ten to be dropped off and was quite nervous to meet my familia nueva (new family). However Dona Ingrid and her new baby, Carmila, greeted me at the door of the boot shop they own. Don Cruz (ok I THINK that is his name but people keep calling him either Cruzando or Armando…I need to figure this out ASAP!) Don “Cruz” came home for lunch and we all ate. They are a very sweet and living young couple and I feel privileged to be part of their family as they grow. Also Don “Cruz”’s parents live in the same house and names soon to come on them! People seem to mumble their names every time I ask. Now that I’ve been here a few days I think it would be rude to ask so I will try to find a way to figure them out. O there is also a dog named Sultan who is a 4 month old hound dog that looks way too much like Shanti. The town I live in is technically Pueblo Nuevo but it is right down the road from San Luis Las Carretas which is where I’ll be every Monday through Saturday for language and culture class for the next 3 months. Sunday another PCT, Mary, and I walked through the VERY small town (called “aldea” here) to go watch the local soccer team play. The town is mostly on one main road so I won’t be getting lost too much. And walking alone I’ve only received one bit of harassment when an older man said “guapa” (beautiful) instead of hello but if that’s the worst of it I’ll take it!

The last two days I’ve been to Antigua and it is beautiful. PCTs are not allowed to go during the 3 month training unless you go with your host family and conveniently my host family usually goes and walks around every weekend! Saturday it rained in the afternoon so we just went to the church named La Iglesia de Santo Hermano Pedro. On Sunday we lucked out with the weather and walked around a lot of the main plaza and saw another big yellow Iglesia but I did not catch the name. This big Iglesia has catacombs beneath it! Umm….Awesome! I’m excited to go to Antigua some more and check out the bookstores and coffee shops I passed by. It’s also nice traveling a big town when I am with Guatemaltecas (Guatemalans) because they know so much and I feel very safe.

Tonight on the way home from Antigua we went to Ingrid’s parents’ house for dinner. My stomach was not feeling well all day from the malaria medicine I’m on so I tried with all my might to put the food in my stomach but it was not easy. Here it is considered very rude not to finish your meal. Since I just met the whole extended family I did not want to come off wrong so I just sucked it down. My cultural lesson for this blog (although really I have muchos) is what I learned at dinner tonight. I was talking to Ingrid’s sister after dinner and in my understanding and translation she said, “It’s funny because you Gringos always want to leave the US and are so excited to arrive in Guatemala but us Guatemaltecas are the opposite we don’t want to leave and are so happy here.” She continued on about family and such. I thought this sentiment was interesting and true, at least for the Peace Corps Volunteer population. They do not have much but they have their family and are content with their lives. I love my life in the States but I always wanted more and I thought PC would help me figure out what “more” was. Maybe at the end of this whole experience I’ll have realized that the thing I wanted most was my family which I’ve always had in the US. Maybe I should appreciate what I have and my family more. Just something for all to ponder…

Alive in Guate

Hi all! I arrived safely in Guatemala on Tuesday. We woke up around 3:30 am and left the hotel at 4:30am and then our plane left Atlanta around 10. The flight went well and we arrived safely. After taking a camioneta or ¨chicken bus¨to the Peace Corps Office I was promptly pulled out to have my Spanish level tested. I thought I did terrible considering the complete lack of sleep but I tested into the advanced group! The last few days has been full of meeting going over official policy and tips for safety. And yes it is true, it is very common to carry a machete here in Guate.

Aside from all the meetings I have met some really great people here. I am currently rooming with Audra from Indiana and we are living with Doña Julia and her 6 daughters. She said though for these days we are there she has 8 daughters. Everyone in Guatemala is so welcoming and says hello passing on the street. Last night Audra and I walked around town with three of the girls. I have also met many awesome other Peace Corps Trainees (PCT). It is the first time I do not have to justify why I joined the peace corps to anyone becasue they all get it!

Tomorrow I will move to my next host family in the small town of San Luis Las Carretas. I will live with Don Cruz and Doña Ingrid. They are 25 and 26 and have a one month old baby. I will be living by myself with the family which makes me a little nervous becasue I wish my speaking skills were better but I guess practice makes perfect! We are assigned groups of 5 people that will also live in the same community and we will have class together every day all day. We will practice our spanish as well as some technical skills. Our teacher lives in the town as well and his name is Chepe and he has been working with Peace Corps for 27 years so I know we are all in good hands.

Finally, I want to note how green and beautiful Guate is! I have seen a few volcanos already! AWESOME! This is everything I wanted and nothing I expected. I am actually on my way to becomming a Peace Corps Volunteer and I couldn´t be happier. I know I will face some tough days but I also know I will make it through. Thanks to all for your support and I´d love to hear from you. This is my mailing address for the next 3 months:
Kelly Knapp, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 66
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, 03001
Guatemla, Centro América

Staging

Staging is the name Peace Corps gives to the day long orientation all volunteers go through the day prior to departure for the country of service. We discussed the challenges I will face as far as spiders, crime, sickness, mental health and culture integration. We did lots of group projects to discuss these challenges and how to overcome them. We also did skits to show our understanding of the Peace Corps Core Expectations. It was a lot of information but it was all helpful and I don't feel too overwhelmed. The only issue we did not ever figure out is, "Can we wear hiking boots on the plane?" The only answer is that "It depends." We have all come to find out "it depends" is actually the answer to most specific questions so really I am still clueless about a lot of stuff. However I am setting all my expectations very very low so no matter what happens it will be better than what I thought. For example, I am planning on sleeping in a dirt field with bugs and snakes tomorrow so if I have a bed and a roof then I am happy!

After the 7 hour orientation it was time for dinner. A group of us went out to a restaurant and most got a nice juicy American burger. It was a nice chance to get to know a few more people who I did not really talk to in Staging earlier. We took the complimentary stretch limo back to the hotel and I re-packed my bag. I think I am actually set to go! I will not have too much internet time the next week so don't expect any posts for a little while. Thank you all for your support and I am officially a Peace Corps Trainee (PCT)!!!

One More Day in the US

I have officially left Boise, ID for at least 27 months. I had a great last weekend seeing all of my friends, having a BBQ and drinking some delicious beer...all things I will miss very much. I also had the most intense cake ever with the Guatemalan flag and a giant bird perched on the cake. Loved it! I have had many tearful good-byes but I really cannot be too sad right now because I am excited to be starting this great adventure and I know I will be doing a little part to make our world better.

I woke up very early yesterday and caught my flight from Boise to Denver to Atlanta. I only packed my big backpack which weighed in at 45 pounds and then my little backpack which is about 20 pounds so I was well under the weight limit. However, carrying all that and walking around is a little difficult. After arriving in Atlanta I met up with 3 other girls and we made our way to the train into town. We looked ridiculous with all our stuff and we heard a few chuckles from others. After checking in we met up with other people as they arrived, went to dinner and hung out. Of course I could not sleep last night because I am too excited about everything! I'll hopefully update this one more time before leaving the states. In the meantime here is my mailing address until July:
Kelly Knapp, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 66
Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez
Guatemala, Centro América

Last Weeks in America

I have officially finished work in the US for at least the next 2 years! Last week I took Spring Break with my friend Samantha and we visited the San Juan Islands with her family. It was absolutely beautiful and was also a great time to relax and hang out with one of my best friends that I'll be very sad to leave.

Now I am spending my time cleaning, packing, visiting with friends and then cleaning some more. Maybe I should not have acquired soooooo many things the last 23 years!

3 weeks from today I will be flying to Atlanta, GA for Staging (aka a really long/intense orientation) and then on April 28th I will fly to Guatemala! I'm just trying to relax and not worry or stress too much in the next few weeks. I have been practicing my Spanish a little but hopefully it will all come back to me when I'm there. I am not too concerned with the Spanish part but rather with the technical work aspect of my assignment. I have NO CLUE how to go about building stoves/latrines/cement floors/etc. but hopefully I'll be a fast learner.

I'm also figuring out what exactly to pack so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions please let me know!