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