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Xiguan

Xiguan in Chinese means to get used to or to be accustomed with. People often ask us if we xiguan food or life here in China. For the most part we have taken to life here with relative ease. This has been due to the great people, tasty food and the natural and cultural beauty of China. That being said there are still many things that we must xiguan but have not yet.

 

1.     Being called Mr. Mo.

2.     Squat Toilets

You would think I would get used to the idea

3.     The blaring morning announcements at 6:30 am Monday through Friday.

Better than my alarm some mornings

4.     The fact that you can step off the treadmill and smoke a cigarette right in the middle of the gym --> True Story

5.     Being so interesting that people stare at you.

I had a small group of children follow me home chanting "Hello, Hello!"

6.     Having most people be very nice to us. I have had street vendors and shopkeepers give me free food. I have no idea why.

7.     Seeing an Audi A6 followed by a donkey cart followed by a tractor down the street.

8.     Eating dinner for 50 cents.

 

I hope that these things do not come off sounding negative, because I am not complaining. These are just things that have caught me off guard or things that I find very interesting. One moment china can feel very western, only to feel culturally like a different planet the next moment. All in all we are enjoying learning about our new home and look forward to xiguan'ing more in the future.

 

kandm

PS. We can't get to our Wordpress blog right now so that is why we are again posting here. Feel free to pass the info on to interested parties.

Thoughts on Swearing In

US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman

We are at the beginning again. Today we stood up and raised our right hands and swore in as the 15^th group of Peace Corps Volunteers serving under the unique subtitle, the US-China Friendship Volunteers. This is our second time we have taken this oath. We are now committed to go out and fulfill our organization’s and our country’s three goals for PC. For those of you who may not know they are:

· Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

· Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

· Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

These may seem like very easy tasks, but at times these are very difficult to put into practice. Not only must we be good at our teaching jobs, but we must also be good ambassadors to the Chinese on the part of the US and to our fellow citizens on the part of the Chinese culture. We are constantly reminded that this is not just during business hours, but 24 hours a day 7 days a week including our vacations. We are PCVs period.

Even on those days when we are struggling to adapt we must put on our smiles and be a good friend to our community. Even if we do not like some aspect of the culture we are obliged to understand it or accept it. The speaker today spoke of challenges and I look forward to them for the next year here. All in all we look forward to the opportunity to yet again serve the US and China.

We had the rare opportunity to be sworn in by the brand new US Ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman. He has just sworn in himself and before meeting with the Chinese President, he decided to come to Chengdu to administer our Oath of Office. This being one of his first official acts, there was a lot of media that came to the ceremony. So it felt like an especially important day. He spoke of our importance as friendship makers and this is how understanding happens between nations. I found his speech and the words of our director to be very motivating.

Today was a good day to reflect on what it is we are doing here. We all join this organization for different reasons, but we all have one mission and purpose. Sometimes during the long hours of training we forget what that is and how important we can be if we are effective volunteers. We are here to strengthen our two nations understanding of each other, which will hopefully insure peace here and throughout the world. Talk about pressure. Well tomorrow we are off to Zhangye and the work (in the classroom) starts on Monday. We hope to be able to post more often as we are settled in Hexi University.

kandm

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We Made It

Nimen Hao or hello!

We made it. With minimal hassle and discomfort we made it to Chengdu. I will say though that flying around the globe is not good for one’s sleep schedule. I realize that this is obvious, but if you haven’t experienced the 13 hour time difference after a 24 hour trip, you really can’t imagine what it can do to you. Last night was the first night that I slept all night. Que Rico!!

We started our training Thursday and we have been going strong the last few days. We and the other members of China 15 (75 in all) will spend the next 9 weeks learning Mandarin, culture, TEFL techniques, about safety and security, and all we need to be happy and successful Peace Corps Volunteers. One difference, we found out that we will be living together during training. We have decided this is good and bad, but in the spirit of flexibility we can roll with it.

Our overall first impression of China is that it is an amazing and dynamic country. The people seem to go out of their way to talk to you and help you get around. We have already been lost on two occasions and had people walk us around. We were invited to play Ping Pong by a student who saw us watching from afar. All in all it has been a great first impression. Sure we have not seen the sun come out yet, but the people and the organization of Peace Corps has made up for it thus far.

We look forward to updating you all when we can, but I have a feeling that in a few days we are going to get very busy and may not be able to post as often. We hope that you will bear with us and check in to see what is new from time to time. Like always we appreciate comments.

We hope everyone is well.

k&m

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In San Fran

We have photos of San Fran at our new site. Come check them out. Remember we will no longer be updating this blog once we move over to China.

http://kandm1.wordpress.com/ or click the flag on the sidebar

Blog update

I have discovered that Tumblr is also block in China, so we have moved yet again. You will now be able to find us at http://kandm1.wordpress.com/. I have been assured that this site will work in China. Please visit the site and let us know what you think.

M

The end of K&M Guatemala

Well we have had a good run but it is time to say goodbye. We have discovered that the Chinese government does not much care for blogger, so in the name of harmony we have made a switch. We will still try to bring you a post or two every month, but I think that with this new format it will come even more often. Besides we had to change the name. The new site is called K&M China and resides at http://kandm1.wordpress.com/. Please become “followers” of our blog. Please post your comments about the new format to let us know what we can change. Thanks and we hope to hear from you soon.

K&M China

A Farwell to Jaime

I am really sad to say goodbye to Jaime. Two years ago my host parents decided Mosiah was too hard to pronounce, and bang Jaime was born (a translation of my middle name). He looks a lot like me although he has a propensity to wear cowboy boots, have a beard and he speaks really bad Spanish. Although we look very similarly we are also very different.

Jaime is quick with a joke and quicker to smile and make fun of himself. He feels comfortable in front of a classroom and likes to work with youth. He will try anything to make a classroom laugh especially if it is at his expense. He doesn’t concern himself with career tracks or with the workings of the wider world. He is focused on how his classes are going and if his students understand his lessons. Jaime can talk about sex and give a condom demonstration to anyone without shame or worry, because he knows the growing risk of HIV in Guatemala. Jaime likes the neighbor kids and doesn’t mind putting on the kettle and talking about adolescent growing pains after a long day. Jaime likes to dance! He likes to go out with his wife and listen to music. On occasion he has been seen dancing to Bachata, Banda, and Regaton.

I seem to be much more serious. While I like to have fun I see that I can be more serious and less concerned with laughter. I also see the need to focus more on my future and try to make lasting career plans. While I like who I am I will really miss some of the more carefree characteristics that Jaime embodied. In many ways he and I live different lives and different places. Very rarely do we mix nor do I think we would do well together. For instance, Mosiah does not dance to Bachata. He hates Latin music. Jaime lives in Salcajá and very rarely makes it out of town. Mosiah on the other hand has traveled all through Central America, attends meetings for the Peace Corps and worries a lot. Does this make me sound schizophrenic?

While it took two years to fill in and make Jaime a whole person here in Guatemala sometimes it is hard for me to see him living outside of the high plains. While Jaime has been very important to me these past two years, I don’t see him being well prepared for taxes, 401Ks or job searching. While I know part of him will live on inside me I also lament the fact that much of him will leave me waiting to reemerge in a distant visit to Guatemala. So, goodbye Jaime thanks for the memories and for all of your help (I will wear the boots and beard in respect).

Mosiah

Final Group Photo - Peace Corps Guatemala Spring 2007-2009

Last week we had our COS (Close of Service) conference in Antigua. Here is a picture of the 23 of 27 remaining volunteers from our training group. We are really going to miss everyone!

Nick's Music

My neighbor, lets call him Nick, is an interesting man. He is in his sixties, single, as close as someone in this country comes to being retired, but above all I would say that he is a music lover. I have had the opportunity to attend a few social situations with Nick. He is quick to dance, bop his head along with the beat or talk about some old Mexican or Spanish band. All in all he is a loveable old man, except when he wants to share his love of music with me.

It’s not that he is constantly coming over to get me to listen to something. He has a more… I suppose we will call it efficient approach. Usually on a Sunday afternoon Nick will decide that he will want to share some old Spanish love ballads with me and the rest of our colonia. He does this by way of engaging his outdoor speakers on his front porch that point out towards the middle of the street.

I must say that I was really taken aback when I noticed that he had speakers on the outside of his house. This is something that does not compute culturally to the average Gringo. The backyard perhaps, but speakers blaring into the street is just strange. And we are not talking a low volume. Usually it sounds like we have a band of guitarristas in the house with us. What’s worse is that Nick is usually chilling inside (I imagine him dancing with an imaginary women) while his speakers are thumping on the outside.

As far as I can figure the speaker’s sole purpose is to project Nick’s music into the barrio. Okay, but why? Does Nick think that his Gringo neighbors need to expand their musical palate and this is the only way he can inject his tastes into our lives? Have other people on the block come to him to ask him to please lighten up their Sundays with sappy love songs or ear-piercing ranchero music? Something tells me no. The only thing I have come up with is that he likes to have a drink or several, dance with his imaginary Marias and Juanas and turn up the volume for the rest us.

Whatever his reasoning I have figured out a few things.
1. No one seems to care. Never have I seen someone go over to ask him to turn down/off his speakers. Which leads me to believe that it is culturally acceptable to “share” your music as loud as you like with your neighbors.
2. I have also realized that perhaps I would be seen as enojado if I were to ask him to keep his music to himself. Enojado translates to mad which is a very undesirable trait where we live. As annoying as it can be I realize that I can do little about it.

I would hate to wreck our morning greetings and exchanges of smiles and waves because of my cultural inability to appreciate other people’s loud music. That being said, I may have cursed out loud in English the last time I heard the band strike up in the living room. I guess next Sunday I should grab my wife and practice our dance moves. If you can’t beat em join em.

Peace Corps Part Two??

It’s official we have lost our freaking minds. A few weeks ago we were checking the e-mail and saw that Peace Corps China was looking for a few good men and women to extend and work for their post. Doubting our credentials but full of hope we applied half joking that we might just make it. Volunteers for another year and a half, why not?

After a few weeks and a few sleepless nights came some news. Our PTO (Program and Training Officer for all of you non Peace Corps savvy people) informed us that we were given the green light for the medical section of our transfer. If all goes well, we will be medically cleared and off to China in June. “Wait… That means we will have to leave here in a month”, you can imagine the colorful language and general freak out that ensued directly after that realization. I am constantly reminded that I could take change better. I will however say this is not 100% as of today, but a very good possibility.

Here we are getting ready to leave. I find myself thinking about China and immediately missing Guatemala. Today we filled out our calendars, realizing all of the things that we have to do between now and then. Meds, classes, conferences, workshops, and goodbyes so many things to do and so little time here. I wish that pulling up stakes and drastically changing your life got easier with repetition, but really I think it is equally hard every time. I feel exactly like I did the first time we joined. Under prepared to say goodbye, worried about language, and hoping the medical exams go well. I suppose the flip side is that we have gone through all of this before and I can see through to the other side. I can see the friends, coming through culture shock and learning to love another country.

So there it is. KandM Guatemala will hopefully be rebranded KandM China by June. Sorry for the short notice to everyone back home and here in Guate. We hope that you will still drop in from time to time and see how we are doing. We will of course still accept any and all care package, presents, well wishes, and love that you might send. We will post a confirmation when we are positive that we are in. We also apologize if there is little information between now and June due to all that we need to get done.

Until then,

KandM

National Emblem of The People´s Republic of China

We Love Ryan!

Mr. Drickey was good enough to hope a plane and come to visit us for a week. While Kelly and I have been ridiculously busy the past week, Ryan was happy enough to tag along and see what our life is like here in PC Guatemala. Aside from just being a cool person Ryan was also great with the kids and very helpful around school.

Thanks to Ryan for playing his fiddle to my students and teaching us all a little about American Folk music, for helping the Peace Corps with a HIV workshop, being silly, jumping off docks with me and for being an overall Gentle Giant.

If you bump into Ryan please reiterate to him that he should use his skills for good (like joining up with us) and that he looks surprisingly good in a clown wig. Perhaps an employment opportunity?

Ryan at the sacred waters of Chicabal

Don´t make him angry, you wouldn´t like him when he´s angry.

¨I love Lago Atitlan!!¨

I love it more!!

Kelly and Ryan after work

Playing for the kids

Semaña Santa

In the US we have Easter Sunday or perhaps even Easter Weekend. If I remember correctly there are a lot of eggs, baskets and candy. Sure there is the whole Christian aspect that we celebrate in the US, but it hardly compares to Guatemalan or Latin American version. That’s right it’s time for Holy Week. Take that Easter Sunday, we rock out for the Lord all week long.

What exactly does this mean, aside from no school/no work?? Semaña Santa (Holy Week) has religious processions through the streets, mock crucifixions, sweet garbanzo bean soup, Samaña Santa bread and everyone dressed to the nines to walk around town and check out the alfombras (carpets). The carpets are made with sawdust and a wide variety of other materials to adorn the streets as the procession passes by. I was stuck by the zen notion of spending a day making these beautiful carpets just to destroy them a few hours later. All of this of course is in the celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Being a very catholic town Salcajá tries to put on a good show. Guatemala, however, seems to lack bunnies that lay chocolate eggs and kids searching for candy, I suppose you can’t have it all.

Kelly and I ventured out yesterday and last night to take a look at the weekend festivities. We were really impressed with what our small pueblito put together. We were impressed not only by the beautiful alfombras, but also by how Salcajá, a relative sleepy town, came to life.
Sure Guatemala is famous for its processions and holy week celebrations, but In Salcajá you get it all with out the high gringo prices. I think the 7 Wonders of the World carpet had to be my favorite. I’m not sure how it was related to the crucifixion, but I would give them an A for creative effort. San Jacinto (the oldest church in Central America) was open and we finally got some good shots of it. All in all it has been a good week and it isn’t even over yet. We hope you enjoy the photos and, as always, we appreciate your comments.

Making of an Alfombra

Street Shrine/Cafe

Kelly's School

Petra

"The Wonders of God Created by Man"
San Jacinto The Oldest Church in Central America

San Jacinto Shrine

Kelly, Berenice & Astrid

Mosiah and Astrid
Socializing in the streets"No More Violence" Constructed of Fruits and Veggies

Another Street Shrine

Alfombra of the procession?

Mangofish

Getting ready to march

"Lets see here. Robe... check, funny hat... check. Looks like we're ready"

The men carrying Jesus

Amazing

The women come in with Mary

Mary

Grandmas, Jovencitas and kids

The alfombras afterward

Ribbon Cutting and HIV Workshop

Last week I had the good fortune to see one of my schools move into a brand new building. Previously they had been sharing a elementary school space (elementary in the morning and secondary in the afternoon). While this might seem like a logical sharing of resources there were many problems with the arrangement. The middle school program is taught via videotapes and DVDs; the problem was is that the elementary school decided not to pay the electric bill so there hasn’t been electricity in over a year. There were also problems with the desks, sharing of materials, etc. Too make a long story short; everyone is excited to have our own school. We hope to start giving classes in the new building after Semaña Santa. This is a great achievement on the part of the school and the parents because the lack of funding to rural schools in Guatemala.

Kelly with my 8th Graders

Who is that handsome guy?

Setting up for the cutting

Some 9th Graders

Thanks to USAID for the tarp and shade

On my way to Totonicopan to teach about HIV

Welcome HIV AIDS

PCV Lynn our organizer

Teachers waiting to learn
Demonstrating the immune system

The same day I also agreed to help with an HIV workshop in another town. In all there were three two-person teams that gave a basic transmission and prevention charla to teachers. It may sound dull but teaching with the participatory method always brings laughter to a classroom.
We taught for about four hours and as always ended with a Q&A open to anything. There were the normal questions “Where does it come from?”, “How is it possible that an infected mother can give birth to a healthy child?” and “Are there more homosexuals infected than heterosexuals?”. This time though we got a question I haven’t had from an adult, “Does sex with a condom feel the same?” Being the only male volunteer still at the event the question fell to me to answer. I had no idea what to say in front of an audience of between 30 and 40 people. No one feels comfortable talking about sex, but this could have been a cultural minefield to maneuver through. Put on the spot I started speaking before I really had time to think.

My translation of what I said.
“Well… Okay… Lets see… Since we are now friends and there is trust between us I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is using a condom… The truth is using it feels... (Light bulb illuminating above my head) The truth is it feels better to be protected from HIV than to be infected by it.”
Perhaps it doesn’t sound all that clever, but when put on the spot and using a second language, I felt both relief and thankfulness that this moment was over.

The difference between HIV and AIDS

Some colleagues

"AIDS"

Having fun with our new friends

Why this is so important

All in all it was a long but fulfilling Peace Corps day. Sometimes I wish they were all that busy but we do what we can.

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