Modern World Languages
Guatemala 2009 Updates
Guatemala Term 2009 is in full swing.
Photos
Photos can be seen here.
Updates
Missed a week? Need to catch up? Read the past weekly updates.
New Update
I left off in the last letter with ministry sites and
prayer requests, but I missed one very important and wonderful experience,
climbing the mountain (Ecological Park – Heart of the Water). Climbing the
mountain was certainly a workout, but it was more than that, it was a chance to
see the beauty amongst the poverty and to appreciate even more the opportunity
to be amongst the community that exists in Magdalena. It was about an hour and
a half hike up the mountains; believe me when me when I say our legs were
feeling every bit of it! Some of it felt like climbing really steep steps,
other parts were a nice walk, but with the air getting thinner and your legs
growing tired, we were glad to reach the top for a nice little break,
especially when we saw the sights that awaited us. You could see at least half
of Guatemala according to our guide Mario. At the top there was a ton of fun
things to play on, like a tire swing and a couple of other swings that hurt
your butt a ton to sit on, there were wooden ‘bikes,’ a bunch of wooden benches
and a naturally made playground. It was really cool to all the things that they
could make out of wood. Even in the midst of all the cool toys, my favorite
part was the SUN! I know it is hard to believe, but for the first week in
Magdalena, it was pretty cold. Nothing compared to Minnesota, but at the same
time, in Minnesota I have a jacket and an endless supply of warm clothes… in
Magdalena I have like no warm clothes. Seeing the sun was a sight for sore
eyes, we had all been waiting for it to come out of hiding! Most of us just
lounged around on the benches enjoying each others company while doing a little
tanning. (The above picture was taken by Students International’s media man
Jose Antonio, who did an amazing job of capturing the beauty of the mountain.)
The next day, Sunday the 8th, we went to church once more at Mario’s church, and then prepared ourselves for the move to Antigua. It felt so weird to pack up to move again, we just all felt so comfortable there, at least Selma and I did. Arriving in Antigua we had a chance to drop off our stuff and unpack a bit before walking over to the SI office to go to Fernando, the site director’s, house for dinner. It was AMAZING, after this little orientation, we got to have SPAGHETTI which is only like my favorite meal of all time. I was very excited. After we got back we got to hang out with the family a bit, and I have to admit, we both had our doubts about how we would fit in with the family, because they seemed a bit difficult at our first meeting.
Meals were really hard at first, because they would do small portions, and what seemed like half the plate was beans, and almost every meal was the same. That lasted for about two and a half days before we brought it up to Don Arturo, who was in charge of both the language school and home stays in Antigua. He was really great about it and contacted the family to make sure that food wouldn’t be a problem anymore. In the past week Selma and I have grown really close to some of the other exchange students living in the house. There are two other students, Rebecca, who is from Canada, and June who is from Japan. They are both a lot of fun to hang out with, and have helped in adjusting to the new family. Though we have been enjoying ourselves a lot more, we greatly miss Magdalena.
With the change over to Antigua, we also started our
language school classes at Centro Linguistico “Maya”. These little intensive
courses are no joke, I feel like I have barely had time to explore, I’ve had so
much homework! None the less it is a lot of fun, and my teacher, Luis is great.
At Centro Linguistico Maya you have your teacher and you; you have a designated
table, and a course syllabus. It is comparable to having your own private tutor
who gives out a lot of homework, but not to worry, we are all learning a lot
out of the experience. Some of us have had the opportunity to explore a bit in
the neighborhoods around our home, and have found great places to have coffee,
eat ‘pan dulce,’ buy snacks and sit and people watch. I myself have found a few
new addictions to take over for the Mountain Dew that doesn’t exist in
Guatemala. Dona Leonor’s Panaderia
and Pops. ‘Panaderia’ translates bakery, and whoever Dona Leonor is, she works
wonders on bread. I have recently found that I am addicted to her wheat
baguettes; in the past three days, I have had at least half, if not a whole
baguette each day. They are marvelous, and so very intoxicating. Pops is a
little ice cream shop that I first went to on the work site tour with the
group, then again with the social work site group, and once more with Becky.
They are great there, I only hope they don’t start to recognize me to the point
that they know my name, that’s how I’ll know that I am in trouble!
Today,
Saturday, Valentine’s Day we went on a really romantic trip… to the convent. It
was pretty interesting, because the girls that lived there back in the day
really didn’t have any source of contact with the outside world. They also had
a lot of different forms of ‘torture.’ Like rooms on one floor where they would
lock you in a room to pray for hours on end. Or this room that was essentially
a sauna where they would ‘purify’ girls when they first arrive to the convent.
They would be steamed until they passed out, and they would be considered
cleaned of all impurities. I can’t imagine living this way, but it certainly
was interesting to learn about it. We also went to a coffee plantation, and I
had NO IDEA it took so long to make a cup of coffee. First they start out as coffee
cherries, and then from
each cherry come two coffee beans. They have to be dried off, then you can cast
off the shell, and you have the coffee bean itself, which needs to be toasted
and ground. From six and a half pounds of coffee cherries, you only get one
pound of coffee (about 40 cups of coffee). CRAZY! And for every 100 pound bag
of cherries that the pickers bring in, they get 40 Quetzals, which equals out
to about 5 or 6 dollars. They can maybe get two bags a day for a 10 hour work
day. Who knew coffee had such an interesting story.
We’ve found a few great hang out spots that have served
as meeting places and relaxation times. Parque Central, this quaint little spot
in the center of town is great for a little stroll, a spot to listen to music,
to sit and visit or even people watch. One last thing I can’t forget – the
artisan market. That place is SWEET! You can find all kinds of jewelry,
clothing, souvenirs and a great place to observe the culture. Wondering between
little shops flowing over with gifts, you can easily get lost, or as some of us have experienced, a great
place to spend money quick. I have decided to hold off on the shopping
excursions until after our trip to Panajachel, where the artisan markets have
stuff at a cheaper price, though either way it is a deal. The paca is another cool place that we’ve
found. Essentially it is a thrift store of second hand clothes from the US.
It’s great to just wonder around in there, and you can find stuff at great
prices. Anything you could have forgotten to bring you could find it in the
market.
Antigua is a very different city than Magdalena; partly in that walking down the street you come across other white people (tourists and other language students), but also in the pace of the town. Where in Magdalena it was the traditional Latin American mentality of time, and where it was a very relationship centered community, Antigua is much less so. It feels much more like American mentality than Hispanic mentality. It makes me both comforted and saddened with missing Magdalena. Life also seems to be speeding up for us as students as we have homework and assignments to complete for Spanish class. In the light of the homework load and the stress that accompanies it, roommates and family situations can become high stress, so prayers for these relationships are extremely important, as well as the learning going on during this time. Also, prayers of health for people in our group who have started getting sick, thankfully with nothing worse than a bladder infection. All in all we’ve been having a great week, and hope that you have as well. You are in my prayers as I hope we are in yours.
In Christ,
Michelle Mikelson
Week 1 by Michelle Mikelson
¡Saludos de Guatemala! So far I have been having a great time in Guatemala. We started out our trip at a seminary called Semilla, located in Guatemala City. While we were there we got to do cool things like explore – we went to the cities of Guatemala City, where we got to go to one of the most famous cemeteries in Guatemala, where many political and societal figures lay, which is pretty sweet. Going to a cemetery was actually a lot more interesting than it would seem, because their burials are so different than they are in the western world. They are above ground graves, and the wealth of the family is very clear just by looking at them. Those who came from the richest families, like the Castillos family, have this huge structure built for the graves of their family members, and it is shaped like that of an Egyptian pyramid. Other families had structures above ground that said their family name and where those family members who passed away could be laid to rest. Others who were not wealthy enough to have family burials could bury their family members in the niches of a stretch of wall.
Bellow are three pictures of the sites we saw in Guatemala City, one, of the Castillo family burial site, as well as the niches, the other of a family grave (to the left).
Another thing that we did in the cities was to go look at the city dump. Believe me when I say I was not prepared for that experience. The smell was horrific, and the amount of vultures was astounding! The picture you see is of the dump, and as interesting as the picture you see is, it doesn’t begin to describe the sight. In one part of the dump you see a bunch of people sorting through recently deposited garbage. Part of what they are doing is looking for some treasures that they could either bring home or sell for money to feed their families. The other part of what they are doing is recycling, since Guatemala does not have a formal recycling program, they can collect bottles and cardboard boxes, and other items, and sell them, where they will be reused. It is both interesting and disturbing all at the same time. While you feel sad for the people doing the jobs, you are also shocked by their independence and their ability to provide for their families.
Semilla was a great experience, not only giving us a chance to transition into our new lives, getting to know one another, but also learning about the culture surrounding us. We had so many opportunities to get to know one another and bond as a group before having to get started on our school work and the pressures of the semester. For that I am extremely thankful.
On Saturday the 31st of January, we moved from Semilla to our host families. Selma and I are living with Mario and Ingrid, and their seven children: Jonathon, Melissa, Ingrid, Cindy, Jorge, Mario, Claudia (who has a daughter named Catalina Rachel). Mario is pastor of the Mission Evangelic Monte Sinai Church, where we attend church during our time in Magdalena. They are extremely hospitable, and the two of us have our own room separate from the main home, which has its own bathroom and shower. Talking to Ingrid we have found out that they have hosted somewhere in the vicinity of 300 students, but we are the first to stay in their new guest rooms. Having our own space has been really great because it helps us feel less intrusive on the family. Mario’s house is also where our group meets for classes, for meetings and as a hang out spot, so we have less distance to travel. Which, considering that we are going up and down a mountain whenever we walk anywhere in the city, it comes as a great relief to get to stay in one spot.
With starting our time in Magdalena, we are also starting to work at our ministry sites. My site, Hermano Pedro, is a hospital, as well as a home for handicapped people. There are five main sections: the children’s area, which has about 55 kids with a variety of levels of disability from paralysis, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome; the adolescent’s; the elderly, where some are just not able to live independently, and also those who’s mental capacities are beginning to fail due to old age; the newborns, who are not all of disabilities, but many are just malnourished and come to live there so that they can return to health; and the psychiatrists area which has those who suffer from mood altering disabilities. The hospital section is open to all, so walking through the halls you will see quite a few people waiting to see the doctor, or the dentist, or to have x-rays taken. It is astounding the number of people who go though the place daily! There is also a little chapel where both the residents and community members can go to say a prayer or to participate in mass on Thursdays and Sundays. It’s been an exhausting experience, never before having worked with people who have disabilities, but at the same time, I know that it will really grow me. The first day I was working with the elderly women, and it was definitely a struggle, being that I didn’t really understand them (they were speaking my second language, and slurring at the same time, which makes understanding them rather difficult), but the second day, we got to work with the children, and they were adorable! They just had so much spirit and were the complete opposite of the women. Though they didn’t have the language capacities that I have, and cannot understand what they are saying, they just have a spirit about them that makes them a joy to work with. I really look forward to opportunities to work with them and to gain a better understanding of the organization.
Though we have been having a great time here in Magdalena, we still have prayer requests: for continued health and unity, for our impact in the community and that we are blessing the families and community members with whom we interact, for progress in our work at the various sites, and determination for all of us as we struggle in homework and as we begin to understand the culture in which we work. One prayer that I would really appreciate is for safety as we anticipate moving to Antigua on Sunday, where there are a lot more tourists, and as a result, a lot more pick-pocketing and other petty crimes. Thank you all for your support from the US, and for your prayer. I look forward to sending you more letters, and telling you about my trip thus far!
Despedidas,
Michelle Mikelson