Just Thinking

Well I am sure that most people have heard that we will be coming home in May for a little visit. It is hard to imagine that when we land in Denver it will have been over a year since we have been in the States, a record for the both of us. The anticipation that is building inside of me reminds me of being a kid and waiting for Christmas. The excitement builds with every coming day, and I know that it will be impossible to sleep the night before the flight.
As I lay in bed at night dreaming of carpet, hot water from the choro, driving, bathtubs, and beer from a tap, a question starts to nag me from some corner of my mind. How will I describe the past year of my life to everyone? Most of the time only one-word answers come to my mind. Guatemala is great, frustrating, heartwarming, heartbreaking, amazing, lonely, crazy, boring etc. I suppose that if anyone were to be asked what their past year was like the answer would look much the same. Still, I crave something that could sum it up for people as I anticipate this question to come up.
“So how has the last year been in Guatemala”?
The last year has been sprinkled with just about every emotion that I can think of. I have felt elated after an especially great class and I have felt despair and thought of quitting after a terrible one. I have basked in the beauty of a volcanic lake, but I have also lamented the destruction of the environment. I have felt connected to Guatemalans but others have also robbed me. I think that development works some days and think it’s a farce others. I suppose it all is summed up that my life here is filled with opposing feelings and contradictory experiences. Perhaps that is the Guatemalan experience.
Guatemala is a land of contrast for me. It is a place where the rich and the poor live in relative proximity. It is a place where people wish for security but life is so uncertain. It is a place where ancient cultures live next to and perhaps compete with modern culture. Guatemala is a land of agriculture but also of malnutrition. At times one can feel guilty about living around this but still having the luxury of being removed and only a plane ticket away from escape at any moment.
But that did not answer, “How has the last year been in Guatemala”?
The last year has been… Interesting? Fun?
Those words seem so trite and so far removed from the truth. I suppose it is cliché and again only a one-word answer, but the truth is the last year has been an adventure.

Visitantes

In March/beginning of April we had a few visitors. First our dear friends Sarah and Soren and after my parents. We had a great time and are very thankful for all the gifts they bought for us and to help us with our work. We hope they had fun climbing volcanoes, going to a Guatemalan ¨baby shower¨, swimming in Lago Atitlan, learning how to make tortillas, and overall seeing this beautiful country. Below are some pictures from our adventures.

Eating¨helados¨in Parque Carmen

¨Baby shower¨Guatemalan style

Delmi, Edwardo, Kelly, Mosiah, Sarah and Soren

Niños with Sarah and Soren

Dad in the back of a pickup

Climbing Volcan Chicabal near San Martin Sacatepequez

At the mirador

Mom cooking with two gabachas

Swimming in Lago Atitlan

Semana Santa - Holy Week

Semana Santa - Holy Week

Semana Santa was March 16th through the 23rd this year. Guatemalans celebrate the resurrection of Christ much differently than Christians in the United States - no chocolate, Easter eggs or bunnies... There´s special food, family dinners and most of the country is shut down from Wednesday to Sunday. However the main events are the processions. The processions are elaborate ceremonies where townspeople carry large platforms with figures from the Easter story through towns over a processional route that has been covered in alfombras - carpets made of colored saw dust. We were able to visit Santiago Atitlán on Good Friday to see the procession there.

Images from Santiago Atitlán, Sololá

Meet the Kids

Since January I (kelly) have been working 2 days a week at a shelter for abused women and their children. It is one of only two shelters in Guatemala, the other having just opened in the capital a few months ago. The shelter provides food, clothing and a safe place for women who have nowhere else to go. They also provide health education and vocational training so these women improve the quality of life for them and their children. If you want to read more information about the organization go to their website at www.ahnh.org. I work with the children of the women who are not yet old enough to go to school. We play games, do art projects and go on field trips outside the shelter. I´ve been trying to teach some basic hygiene skills and creativity through art. The pictures below were taken on a field trip last week that we took to play soccer on ¨field¨ above the city. It was the first time that the kids had gone outside this year (2008) because other outings had been cancelled... The kids are great, very loving and trusting despite all they have been through.

New Mailing Address

Thanks to everyone for your letters, cards and packages! We love getting mail and being reminded that people at home are thinking about us. Our address has changed as the Peace Corps office is being moved outside the capital due to security reasons. Our new mailing address is:

Cuerpo de Paz/Peace Corps
Kelly and Mosiah Montoya PCV
Apartado Postal 66
Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez
03001
Guatemala, Centro América

Lots of love,
Kelly and Mosiah

What we´ve been up to

We realize that we have not written a really in-depth post for some time. Sorry. I wish that we could say that it has been because we have been so busy with work, but the truth is that in December nothing really goes on as far as work goes. The truth of the matter is that we have been having too much fun getting to know our new country and sharing it with friends and family.
Dave came down on Halloween and spent about a week with us here in the Xela area. I hope that he had as much fun as we did. It was a little strange having our first guest. Not that it wasn’t a pleasure on our part, it’s just that it is kind of strange to have these two very distinct worlds and lives come together for a short time. I sometimes worry that people wont like Guatemala as much as we do. I think that the highlight of that trip was our journey to Todos Santos for the Drunk Horse Races. It was a truly amazing thing to see and I would suggest that anyone traveling through Guatemala November first make the trek up there to see the colorful and inebriated town.
Our next adventurous visitor was my wonderful mother, Diane. We were honored that we got to steal her away from the family for thanksgiving. I was happy to show her not only our town but also our life here in Guatemala. She was also a trooper through her bout with traveler stomach for a few days. We got to take her to one of our favorite spots in Guatemala for Thanksgiving, Lago Atitlan. Anyone who gets to visit this high volcanic crater lake falls in love with it. Not only for its spectacular views (it is surrounded by volcanoes), but because the people around the lake are so unique and wonderful. I think the highlight of the trip for me was when my host family took a trip to Antigua to visit Diane because she was too sick to leave the hotel. Although I found translating to be harder than I thought, it was great to have my Guatemalan mother meet me real mother.
After Reconnect we awaited yet another visitor. Trevor came to visit about mid December and spent the New Year with us. As our previous post describes we had a great time traveling around Guatemala and Belize. I really don’t think that I can explain to everyone how beautiful the landscape and the people are here. While I can’t say that we will have the time to do the trip that we did with Trevor I would encourage all visitors to Guatemala to take more than a week to get to know this wonderful place.
Well, there is a summery of some of the things that we have been up to in November and December. We are now trying to get back into the swing of things. I have started school again and have high hopes for a more productive year with the kids and the teachers in Cantel. Kelly is trying to expand her role in the cooperative and is meeting with a women’s shelter to see about volunteering. All in all we are having a great experience and I think that we fall more and more in love with Guatemala everyday.

We're Back

Well, we are finally back in Salcaja. We would like to apologize for the lack of posting lately, but with the holidays we have not been in front of a computer much.
We returned last week from a journey around Guatemala with a short boarder jump into Honduras and Belize. We realized when thinking about the trip that we really had not been East of Guatemala City, so we planned to head that way and try to get to Placencia, Belize by the 22nd. We also had the great fortune to have Trevor (from the CU days) traveling with us and our friend Kate (PCV) joined us for Christmas. I would hate to bore everyone with a blow by blow of the vacation, so I will give you the highlights.

Copan Ruins (Honduras) – Just a skip across the Guate boarder you can see some amazing Mayan stone carvings.

Livingston – While still in Guatemala you get a great feel for Caribbean and Garifuna culture. Just don’t stay in a hotel that is throwing a party for the owners girlfriend

Placencia, Belize – A great place to swing in your hammock and dip in the Ocean. Kelly and I also had a great time at the Christmas eve Reggae dance party on the beach. We spent Christmas day relaxing, eating, drinking Belizian rum and playing cards with Trevor and Kate.

Tikal – A breathtaking Mayan site full of temples and wildlife. Any visitors to Guatemala should make the trip up to the Peten

Lanquin - A great place to hangout for New Year's and close to Semuc Champey and cave tours.