So for those of you who haven't heard about it on the news, Volcano Pacaya erupted last Thursday leaving ash all over the capital, Guatemala City, then on Saturday a huge tropical storm, Agatha, came through flooding a major part of the country. This has left landslides, a giant sink hole, fallen bridges, lots of mud, and the airport closed for almost a week. I luckily? was out of the country visiting some friends and couldn't return until today. For pictures of the catostrophe you can go to http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/a_rough_week_for_guatemala.html
I've heard my house and town are fine and were minorly effected. The capital has been a disaster. Right now I'm just trying to make my way back to Jocotan, hopefully arriving tomorrow or the next day. I'll keep you updated on further news once I get there.
Peace, Love,
Robin
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
New News
Also, thank you very much for the books we have been recieving for the library project. It is always growing and will be a great success here. In recent news I haven't recieved any further confirmation from USAID or the muni on find the funding to restore the building, although I have a meeting this Friday in the capital where I'll learn about some new library electronic resources. The meeting is hosted by USAID so I'm hoping to check with them personally about the project then.
Since each day seems to be going by faster, and I have less and less time here I have also begun looking for Plan B, which is looking better every day. Plan B is to do the same thing I want to do now but instead of in the Municipal Library, complete the project in the Oraphange Community right outside town. Last Friday, when I was there for my Youth Group, I noticed they have a room with books and so I asked the secretary about it. Aparently they have a library, but basically not enough books or computers for it to function, soooo this project would be great there as well and the people who work there are very motivated and great to coordiante with. So for a Plan B, I think it's a pretty good option.
One of the great lessons from Peace Corps, have a Plan B and be patient and flexible, and patient, and strong, and still more patient... Nothing, especially not in Guatemala, changes in a day.
In other news I made cake and watched movies in my house this weekend, it was great. The kids in the picture are wearing the traditional local dress for the Folklore Festival that was last weekend. =)
Peace, Love,
Robin
Monday, May 3, 2010
Amazon Book List
I still have some high priority books on the Amazon Wish List, here's the link:
http://amzn.com/w/3LEFGDRF2T287
I'm also looking for headphones for the Digital Encyclopedia, which are only $5, or you can send me your old ones for free!
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=382512
http://amzn.com/w/3LEFGDRF2T287
I'm also looking for headphones for the Digital Encyclopedia, which are only $5, or you can send me your old ones for free!
http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=382512
May, Can it get any hotter?
So May has just begun and I'm still sweating like a little piggy. I thought April would bring enough rain to cool us down a little but it doesn't seem like it has at all. Now it's just getting humid, which as we all know is worse. On the up side we have electricity this week! Last week there were about 3-4 days where it flickered on and off. And unfortunately my running water is the color of poop because of the run-off of soil and actual poop into the river that feeds the public water. Awesome, I know.
For some good news, I've started working with a youth group at the local orphanage. The kids are great, man do they have a lot of energy. We voted on our group name, we are the Fantastic Amigos, and we're making a big flag this week and tye dying t-shirts. They are almost all in 5th or 6th grade, and want to play a lot of sports. I hope I can keep up with them! The theme of the group is "being a good citizen" so we will dabble in politics, do community clean-up projects, and generally try to be as democratic and fun as possible.
I'm uploading photos right now on webshots from my trip to Tikal in March and of the mural I was working on in the Childrens malnutricion rehabilitation center. The mural still isn't finished on one wall because I need more green paint, but it's look really nice and I'm pretty proud of it.
I also just got back from the yearly trip to El Salvador with my Muni for Labor Day. Six hours in a van each way and they don't let you sleep or they paint your face with lipstick, I think of it as like a frat hazing each year... (Drew, you know what I'm talking about.) The weather there was actually overcast which was really nice and everyone had a good time.
This month I have plans to continue fighting for the library as always, youth group activities, meetings with the community leaders in the villages, and soliciting a letrine project in Chiquimula. Oh! and I just realized it's Mother's Day this Sunday so maybe I can make cards or something with my kids for their house mothers... and Happy Mother's Day to my mom, the best ever! hugs and kisses, mom!
peace, love,
Robin
For some good news, I've started working with a youth group at the local orphanage. The kids are great, man do they have a lot of energy. We voted on our group name, we are the Fantastic Amigos, and we're making a big flag this week and tye dying t-shirts. They are almost all in 5th or 6th grade, and want to play a lot of sports. I hope I can keep up with them! The theme of the group is "being a good citizen" so we will dabble in politics, do community clean-up projects, and generally try to be as democratic and fun as possible.
I'm uploading photos right now on webshots from my trip to Tikal in March and of the mural I was working on in the Childrens malnutricion rehabilitation center. The mural still isn't finished on one wall because I need more green paint, but it's look really nice and I'm pretty proud of it.
I also just got back from the yearly trip to El Salvador with my Muni for Labor Day. Six hours in a van each way and they don't let you sleep or they paint your face with lipstick, I think of it as like a frat hazing each year... (Drew, you know what I'm talking about.) The weather there was actually overcast which was really nice and everyone had a good time.
This month I have plans to continue fighting for the library as always, youth group activities, meetings with the community leaders in the villages, and soliciting a letrine project in Chiquimula. Oh! and I just realized it's Mother's Day this Sunday so maybe I can make cards or something with my kids for their house mothers... and Happy Mother's Day to my mom, the best ever! hugs and kisses, mom!
peace, love,
Robin
Monday, April 5, 2010
Semana Santa 2010
Well March turned out to be quite a month. I spent most of it traveling either for work or on vacation and am glad to be back in my house here in Jocotan for most of the month of April.
Semana Santa was celebrated as always with alfombras, processions, carnival food, and good friends. I finally got a chance to see Tikal, the most famous of mayan ruines in Guatemala. I went with several friends and another volunteer. We hiked, camped, and swam a lot. Mean while, since noone works for semana santa, the computers have been held up at port until this week. I spent all of the week before semana santa freaking out trying to get everything together just to have it all halted completely for a whole other week, but that's just the way it goes here. Anyway I think the pick-up date is scheduled for this Friday now. I'll send updates and pictures as soon as they are here.
The mayor didn't come to work today, surprise surprise, so most of the things I need to get done are waiting on his desk. This month we have many many communities to go to for voting in the new COCODE representatives, but I'm nervous after my Brava experience.
Aside from the muni I am soliciting a new marketing peace corps volunteer to my site in November to work with a women´s group who makes jewlery and purses from recycling. It's a really cool project, and all the women are amazing, so I hope they get a positive response from peace corps. Right now I just help them out a little by selling their products in Antigua, but they could really use a good website, publicity, and more organizational support. The best part is all the profit goes straight to women to need it the most by teaching them this skill and at the same time cleaning up the environment.
Well I guess that's enough for now. It's time for my refraccion (or snack time!), hoep everyone had a great Easter!
Peace, Love,
Robin
Semana Santa was celebrated as always with alfombras, processions, carnival food, and good friends. I finally got a chance to see Tikal, the most famous of mayan ruines in Guatemala. I went with several friends and another volunteer. We hiked, camped, and swam a lot. Mean while, since noone works for semana santa, the computers have been held up at port until this week. I spent all of the week before semana santa freaking out trying to get everything together just to have it all halted completely for a whole other week, but that's just the way it goes here. Anyway I think the pick-up date is scheduled for this Friday now. I'll send updates and pictures as soon as they are here.
The mayor didn't come to work today, surprise surprise, so most of the things I need to get done are waiting on his desk. This month we have many many communities to go to for voting in the new COCODE representatives, but I'm nervous after my Brava experience.
Aside from the muni I am soliciting a new marketing peace corps volunteer to my site in November to work with a women´s group who makes jewlery and purses from recycling. It's a really cool project, and all the women are amazing, so I hope they get a positive response from peace corps. Right now I just help them out a little by selling their products in Antigua, but they could really use a good website, publicity, and more organizational support. The best part is all the profit goes straight to women to need it the most by teaching them this skill and at the same time cleaning up the environment.
Well I guess that's enough for now. It's time for my refraccion (or snack time!), hoep everyone had a great Easter!
Peace, Love,
Robin
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Problemas and my new nickname...
So today I was what you call in spanish 'enojada'
Recently we have being going out to the villages to elect the community leaders who will then participate at the local level of government to solicite projects and programs for thier villages.(COCODES) Each time we go out I get so frustrated with how horribly organized the elections are. In the last village they voted by someone from the mayor´s office going up to each person individually and asking the vote and annoucing it outloud over a microphone to mark it on a whiteboard in front of everyone.(which as you can imagine took forever! in the hot sun) I suppose this could be looked at as transperancy, it can also be looked at as manipulation, intimidation, and partiality considering the person asking for their vote is part of a political party himself and obviously has his own priorities.(He even told me so.) It kind of appauls me actually that they do it this way, especially when almost 40 people refused to give thier vote, and most women can barely speak up to their husband much less infront of the whole community with everyone watching.
But here's the problem, noone trusts anyone. Which I knew, but not really to this extent until today. Instead of explaining anything to me, my co-workers reaction to my "I want to better the system of votation" was "no we will not" and swiftly walking away from me. I found it extremely rude, considering he didn't even know my suggestion yet.
What I wished to propose today was a vote with beans and buckets. The idea is that each person has 1 bean or "vote" and each bucket represents the contendors, and you simply put your bean in the bucket of your choice. That way you don't have to write anything for those who can't and your not annoucing every vote on a loudspeaker. But apparently my co-worker doesn't agree because people are so mistrusting that they will say we rig the beans, that others rig the beans, or maybe even that the beans with rig themselves, who knows.
But since he never explained his point of view and just told me "no," well I got up some nerve and said to myself 'I'm tired of being ignored here, and my spanish is finally good enough to serve me, and I have something good to say and I am going to be heard g*d d*mn*t.' and went right up to him and told him to never talk to me like that again, that it was rude, and that I will be listened to and if you don't agree that's fine but I deserve a good answer.
Aparently I came off as a little fuerte (or strong). ok alot fuerte... I have now broken any image of being a nice, calm person, and have now adopted a new nickname. Brava.
I hope it serves me well.
Peace, Love, haha
Robin
Recently we have being going out to the villages to elect the community leaders who will then participate at the local level of government to solicite projects and programs for thier villages.(COCODES) Each time we go out I get so frustrated with how horribly organized the elections are. In the last village they voted by someone from the mayor´s office going up to each person individually and asking the vote and annoucing it outloud over a microphone to mark it on a whiteboard in front of everyone.(which as you can imagine took forever! in the hot sun) I suppose this could be looked at as transperancy, it can also be looked at as manipulation, intimidation, and partiality considering the person asking for their vote is part of a political party himself and obviously has his own priorities.(He even told me so.) It kind of appauls me actually that they do it this way, especially when almost 40 people refused to give thier vote, and most women can barely speak up to their husband much less infront of the whole community with everyone watching.
But here's the problem, noone trusts anyone. Which I knew, but not really to this extent until today. Instead of explaining anything to me, my co-workers reaction to my "I want to better the system of votation" was "no we will not" and swiftly walking away from me. I found it extremely rude, considering he didn't even know my suggestion yet.
What I wished to propose today was a vote with beans and buckets. The idea is that each person has 1 bean or "vote" and each bucket represents the contendors, and you simply put your bean in the bucket of your choice. That way you don't have to write anything for those who can't and your not annoucing every vote on a loudspeaker. But apparently my co-worker doesn't agree because people are so mistrusting that they will say we rig the beans, that others rig the beans, or maybe even that the beans with rig themselves, who knows.
But since he never explained his point of view and just told me "no," well I got up some nerve and said to myself 'I'm tired of being ignored here, and my spanish is finally good enough to serve me, and I have something good to say and I am going to be heard g*d d*mn*t.' and went right up to him and told him to never talk to me like that again, that it was rude, and that I will be listened to and if you don't agree that's fine but I deserve a good answer.
Aparently I came off as a little fuerte (or strong). ok alot fuerte... I have now broken any image of being a nice, calm person, and have now adopted a new nickname. Brava.
I hope it serves me well.
Peace, Love, haha
Robin
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Back from Vacation
Ok so I went on Vacation it was great... no. really really great... but now I'm back in Jocotan and it is Bloody Hot! I mean whoa what happened, I go on vacation and the sun jumped 1 million miles closer to Chuiquimula, Guatemala. I need another fan.
In work news, the 6 computers that have been donated arrive next week!!! The pictures are of the crate being loading and of the wonderful team from Computers for Guatemala state-side! I'll be going to pick them up the 26th. Also I have more donations for books that should be arriving this week, so all of this is exciting. If your interested in buying a book you still can on Amazon.(http://amzn.com/w/3LEFGDRF2T287) The books with HIGH PRIORITY are obviously the most needed, but each and every book helps!
I'm still working on the mural in the Health Center so I'm busy finishing that most nights. I'm also trying to get letrines for a community but right now the Mayor isn't seeing anyone because he's having legal trouble and I need his signature... I'm also working with a women's group that makes jewlery out of recycling, it's really cool and I'm helping them sell it in Antigua. This weekend I have to go to take a shipment of orders.
Then the 29th starts Semana Santa which if you've kept up with my blog already know is the biggest celebration of the year, possibly bigger than Christmas... I'm not sure what I'm doing for it this year, last year I scouted all the parade routes and hung out around town.
Ok so that's the quick update. Pictures to come!
Peace, Love,
Robin
In work news, the 6 computers that have been donated arrive next week!!! The pictures are of the crate being loading and of the wonderful team from Computers for Guatemala state-side! I'll be going to pick them up the 26th. Also I have more donations for books that should be arriving this week, so all of this is exciting. If your interested in buying a book you still can on Amazon.(http://amzn.com/w/3LEFGDRF2T287) The books with HIGH PRIORITY are obviously the most needed, but each and every book helps!
I'm still working on the mural in the Health Center so I'm busy finishing that most nights. I'm also trying to get letrines for a community but right now the Mayor isn't seeing anyone because he's having legal trouble and I need his signature... I'm also working with a women's group that makes jewlery out of recycling, it's really cool and I'm helping them sell it in Antigua. This weekend I have to go to take a shipment of orders.
Then the 29th starts Semana Santa which if you've kept up with my blog already know is the biggest celebration of the year, possibly bigger than Christmas... I'm not sure what I'm doing for it this year, last year I scouted all the parade routes and hung out around town.
Ok so that's the quick update. Pictures to come!
Peace, Love,
Robin
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