Sorry, forgot to put my address in there. Some of you have been asking. If you´re gonna send stuff, I´d send it soon... not sure how long the mail takes.
32 Av. 14-18
Zona 7 Col. San Martín
Guatemala City, Guatemala
Central America
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Back from the Lake
Well, I´m back from my visit to a place that without question cracks my top five on the list of the most beautiful places I´ve ever been. I took plenty of pictures which I´ll throw up on that photo album site I set up so you can get a solid image of where I was.
Paul, the guy I was staying with, lives about a 10 minute walk outside of Santiago, the biggest of the villages surrounding the lake. We didn´t do as much work as I thought we would, but we stayed relatively busy most of the time. Paul lives in Santiago, but works with the bomberos (firemen) in San Jaun, a very small town across the lake to the North(ish), so we went back and forth a couple times from Santiago to San Jaun/San Pedro (right next to each other) taking care of a lot of little business. But most of our time was spent in Santiago and at his house, and if you take a look at the photo album you´ll see some of the better pictures I took. It was cloudy most of the time, so it was a little tough to get great pictures of the three volcanoes surrounding the lake, but I got some good ones.
One of the most encouraging things about the trip was meeting a ton of people who are doing good things for the communities there (Paul being one of these people). The people in the villages are almost entirely indigenous Mayans, which is really cool, but they´re also very removed from the outside world. Of course, in no way is this a bad thing, but for a long time these people haven´t had access to health care, great education, other services, etc. I was proud of my fellow gringos here (for the most part). For most of them, their reasons for living at the lake are based primarily on helping the Mayans gain access to the best the modern world has to offer, without (again, for the most part) imposing modern western standards of materialism and greed on the people. It´s a tough balance to make, but I hope it remains and gets even better in the future.
So after relaxing for a few days, I´m ready to get back into the bustling city and dive into whatever David will have me doing this week.
Hasta Luego,
Daniel
Paul, the guy I was staying with, lives about a 10 minute walk outside of Santiago, the biggest of the villages surrounding the lake. We didn´t do as much work as I thought we would, but we stayed relatively busy most of the time. Paul lives in Santiago, but works with the bomberos (firemen) in San Jaun, a very small town across the lake to the North(ish), so we went back and forth a couple times from Santiago to San Jaun/San Pedro (right next to each other) taking care of a lot of little business. But most of our time was spent in Santiago and at his house, and if you take a look at the photo album you´ll see some of the better pictures I took. It was cloudy most of the time, so it was a little tough to get great pictures of the three volcanoes surrounding the lake, but I got some good ones.
One of the most encouraging things about the trip was meeting a ton of people who are doing good things for the communities there (Paul being one of these people). The people in the villages are almost entirely indigenous Mayans, which is really cool, but they´re also very removed from the outside world. Of course, in no way is this a bad thing, but for a long time these people haven´t had access to health care, great education, other services, etc. I was proud of my fellow gringos here (for the most part). For most of them, their reasons for living at the lake are based primarily on helping the Mayans gain access to the best the modern world has to offer, without (again, for the most part) imposing modern western standards of materialism and greed on the people. It´s a tough balance to make, but I hope it remains and gets even better in the future.
So after relaxing for a few days, I´m ready to get back into the bustling city and dive into whatever David will have me doing this week.
Hasta Luego,
Daniel
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Vamanos al lago Atitlan
Well, spur of the moment about an hour ago, we decided that I´m gonna go to lake Atitlan until Saturday. There´s a fire department there that needs some help building a dock and fixing up a boat and stuff, so that´s what I´ll be doing for the next few days. That and swimming and relaxing in crisp, pristine, beautiful waters. Don´t act like you´re not jealous. David used to work with the bomberos (firefighters) here and used to be in charge of all the EMTs in Guatemala, so that´s how he met the guy (Paul, another gringo) that I´ll be working with. I´m pretty excited, because Lake Atitlan is well known as a pretty much gorgeous lake. And I´ll get to hang out in some smaller towns and buy some cool stuff to bring home, I think. And I´ll definitely take lots of pictures so you can be a little more jealous. So if I don´t update in the next few days, ít´s because I´m either without internet access or too enamored with my surroundings to bother with internet. Needless to say, I´m pretty excited about this leg of my journey. How nice it is when volunteer work and selfish tourism intertwine.
In other news, we went to dinner at ¨A fuego lento¨ (basically: little fire) last night and I ordered ¨una ronda¨ (a round). For 15 bucks (sounds expensive now... wait till I finish), you get the salad bar and, of course, una ronda. A round consists of 9 different cuts of meat, all seasoned and cooked to perfection. First was chorizo (sausage) and filet mignon, and it went from there, two at a time. When you finish the first two, they bring the next two, etc. Unfortunately, I couldn´t even finish the first round. I think I failed to mention that this is an ¨all you can eat¨ meal. As long as you keep eating, they keep bringin it. And we´re not talkin Western Sizzlin all you can eat... this is quality meat.
I love Guatemala
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Un buen fin de semana
Well, two more days have passed, and another month´s worth of stuff has happened. So we went to the village, las flores (the flowers) Friday night and stayed yesterday until about 2:30. The village seemed like a different world from the Guatemala City, and definitely from the States. We got there Friday night (we were actually in different towns Friday night and Saturday morning... I´m not sure what the first one was called, but the second was definitely las Flores) and our first job was to paint the school that they had built there. Now I don´t love painting, but it was fun. But it was hot. The temperature here in Guatemala city is just about perfect because it´s almost at 5,000 feet of elevation: it gets up to the low 80s, and in the sun it can get pretty hot but inside or in the shade, it´s excellent, and there´s usually a nice breeze blowing. But in this town, which was definitely not at elevation, it was pretty hot. Especially on a ladder inside a building without windows that open. The people I was painting with said more than once: sudas mucho. That means: you sweat a lot. Si. But it was good, we painted the school and then they put on a movie, but Fabiola (David´s wife), Romeo (a guy with us), and I went back to Romeo´s house to sleep. So we woke up about 5 the next morning (the latest I´ve woken up yet is 7:30 today) and went to Las Flores. At 8, we served a breakfast of cereal with warm milk, fruit, yogurt, and granola. It went well, then me and another guy, Pedro, who is about my age, maybe a year younger, played with the kids for a few hours. Afterwards, we just hung out for a couple hours while we were waiting for other people to get there to take us all back to Guate (the city). While we were waiting, the people served us lunch. It was good, soup and tortillas (you can count on tortillas with every meal here) and a little pork as well. The only weird thing was that the fish soup had an entire fish in it. Fins, head, everything. It was a new experience for me. But it was excellent, actually. So we got back and went to church (they have church Saturday night and Sunday as well), then came back here. And then this morning we went back to church, then this afternoon I played soccer for a couple hours with about 15 other guys from the church at a park that has a TON of soccer fields. And when I say fields, I mean something more like marked dust. With rocks. I fell twice and managed to get 4 open wounds. Que divertido. It was a lot of fun, though, and afterwards they bought a bunch of bags of water (yes, bags) and we talked for a little bit, and now I´m here.
So that´s the main summary of what´s happened the last few days, but obviously my experience goes much deeper than just external happenings.
When I said the village was a lot different than the city, I meant it in a lot of ways. First of all, it´s a lot slower. We ate lunch then sat for about an hour and a half while we talked and they made fun of the gringo a little bit because of his camelbak. They said when I drank from the hose on the camelbak it seemed like I was sucking on a ¨chiche¨. The context clues should give you enough to figure that one out, but if not, think babies and milk. And not from a bottle.
The other thing that was very different from the city was the poverty. It´s certainly not that the people here in Guate are rich by our standards. It doesn´t take long to figure that one out. But they have enough to live fairly comfortably (and when I say they, I mean the people I´ve encountered so far. By no means is it everybody) and have a few unnecessary comforts, too. But this village, man, poverty was in your face here. I mean, the things you see on TV: kids without shoes, with torn clothes the pretty obviously haven´t been washed recently, things like that. But oh, how much happier than us they seem. And how much they share. I didn´t take too many pictures, but I have a few. I wish I had taken more. Does anybody know of a good picture-sharing site I can use to put the ones I have online? Just post it as a comment, if you could, and then next time I´ll have pictures to share. Muchas gracias.
But back to the point. I´ve already been thinking about this for the past year or so, but this visit definitely reinforced my thoughts: MAN are we greedy in America. It kind of puts everything in perspective when you see a place like that, and even more to know that the people there are happier, without doubt, than most of us. It´s pretty humbling.
Now on to something a bit happier. After feeling a bit lost the first couple days, and a little lonely, God sent me a pretty big blessing on Friday. A guy that came with us on the trip, Luis (not sure if that´s how you spell it, but anyway...), just came back from being in the United States for 8 years and he spoke perfect English. And obviously, perfect Spanish as well. He spoke English to me and I spoke Spanish to him, and when I didn´t know a word I´d ask him and when he said something a little off I corrected him... it was awesome. He´s one of the nicest people I´ve met here (and the standards are pretty high). I don´t know exactly how much he helped me with my Spanish, but I´m pretty sure it was a lot because now it´s a lot easier to understand everybody else when they speak. I even catch a good bit of the full-speed conversation. Speed is definitely the biggest difference between Spanish class and the Spanish-speaking world. It´s tough, but I´m catching on and learning new words and learning what´s wrong with my grammar and everything. It´s nice. So thanks be to God for Luis, and also everybody else here who is patient with my undeveloped Spanish skills. They really are an amazing group of people.
So by now I´ve grown accustomed to life here, I´m beginning to be more confident in my Spanish, and from experience I believe that God´s definitely not gonna leave me alone here. And the happiness and faith of the people, both in the villages and the city, is both encouraging and humbling.
In short, it´s been a good weekend.
So that´s the main summary of what´s happened the last few days, but obviously my experience goes much deeper than just external happenings.
When I said the village was a lot different than the city, I meant it in a lot of ways. First of all, it´s a lot slower. We ate lunch then sat for about an hour and a half while we talked and they made fun of the gringo a little bit because of his camelbak. They said when I drank from the hose on the camelbak it seemed like I was sucking on a ¨chiche¨. The context clues should give you enough to figure that one out, but if not, think babies and milk. And not from a bottle.
The other thing that was very different from the city was the poverty. It´s certainly not that the people here in Guate are rich by our standards. It doesn´t take long to figure that one out. But they have enough to live fairly comfortably (and when I say they, I mean the people I´ve encountered so far. By no means is it everybody) and have a few unnecessary comforts, too. But this village, man, poverty was in your face here. I mean, the things you see on TV: kids without shoes, with torn clothes the pretty obviously haven´t been washed recently, things like that. But oh, how much happier than us they seem. And how much they share. I didn´t take too many pictures, but I have a few. I wish I had taken more. Does anybody know of a good picture-sharing site I can use to put the ones I have online? Just post it as a comment, if you could, and then next time I´ll have pictures to share. Muchas gracias.
But back to the point. I´ve already been thinking about this for the past year or so, but this visit definitely reinforced my thoughts: MAN are we greedy in America. It kind of puts everything in perspective when you see a place like that, and even more to know that the people there are happier, without doubt, than most of us. It´s pretty humbling.
Now on to something a bit happier. After feeling a bit lost the first couple days, and a little lonely, God sent me a pretty big blessing on Friday. A guy that came with us on the trip, Luis (not sure if that´s how you spell it, but anyway...), just came back from being in the United States for 8 years and he spoke perfect English. And obviously, perfect Spanish as well. He spoke English to me and I spoke Spanish to him, and when I didn´t know a word I´d ask him and when he said something a little off I corrected him... it was awesome. He´s one of the nicest people I´ve met here (and the standards are pretty high). I don´t know exactly how much he helped me with my Spanish, but I´m pretty sure it was a lot because now it´s a lot easier to understand everybody else when they speak. I even catch a good bit of the full-speed conversation. Speed is definitely the biggest difference between Spanish class and the Spanish-speaking world. It´s tough, but I´m catching on and learning new words and learning what´s wrong with my grammar and everything. It´s nice. So thanks be to God for Luis, and also everybody else here who is patient with my undeveloped Spanish skills. They really are an amazing group of people.
So by now I´ve grown accustomed to life here, I´m beginning to be more confident in my Spanish, and from experience I believe that God´s definitely not gonna leave me alone here. And the happiness and faith of the people, both in the villages and the city, is both encouraging and humbling.
In short, it´s been a good weekend.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Los gallos me molestan
!Hola¡ I´ve been here in Guate only about a day and a half, but it seems like at least two weeks. Not in a bad way, by any means, but it´s a big change from home. It seems like I´ve experienced way too much already to possibly fit into a day and a half.
I got here about 230 (their time) on Tuesday, got through customs, got my baggage, etc., and then went out the exit expecting to see Pastor David there with a sign. But, alas, no such sight. So I sat on my luggage for a few minutes while listening to lots of Guatemaltecans yell ¨taxi, taxi¨ and while some others tried to sell me some noisemakers and such. So for a few minutes there I was wondering what exactly I was thinking when I signed up for this trip. But then David came and all was well.
The first big shock came on the ride home. The streets here are CRAZY. Basically, if you´re there first you have the right of way. It´s fun. So we came back to his house and he showed me around and everything, then later we had a meeting with the church leaders, and they were very welcoming. I´ve worked with a couple of them since then and gotten to know them a little bit better.
So after a full (half)day of being shown around and meeting people and trying to speak and understand Spanish, it was time for bed at 930 (an unthinkable bedtime hour for your normal college student). Which brings me to the title of this post ¨Los gallos me molestan¨ means, roughly, the roosters annoy me. Dogs barking was the main deterrent to a good night´s sleep around 930 or10, but in the morning, probably around 4, the roosters started crowing. I THOUGHT that roosters were supposed to crow when the sun came up. Take it from me, the sun is no more up at 4 in the morning here than it is at 4 in the morning where you are.
David told me yesterday, Vas a acostombrarse, which means, you´ll get used to it. Indeed, this morning I didn´t hear them till 430. Shooting for 5 tomorrow morning. It´s fine, though, because I´ve left around 5 or 530 to go to their breakfast program for the kids anyway, so it´s not like I´m missing a ton of sleep.
So yesterday I went to the feeding program, then ran errands with David´s assistant, Edgar, who doesn´t speak a lick of English. They say that immersion is the best way to learn a new language. Without doubt, it also has to be the most frustrating. Haha esta bien. After running errands with Edgar (who I was actually able to talk with a good bit) I came back here (David´s house, which doubles as the church office) and rested a little bit before going to one of their small groups. They were having a celebration for ¨el dia del cariño¨ - Valentine´s Day. I went to bed after getting back from that, and this morning went to the breakfast program again.
And now I´m here. Of course, there´s more to tell, but I´ll save it for another post (Sunday, maybe... maybe Monday). I´ll be gone tonight. We´re traveling to a village where David has set up a feeding program. Again, more on that in the next post.
Miss you guys,
Daniel
P.S. - If you tried to comment on the last post but it wouldn´t let you, I changed the settings so you should be able to comment now.
I got here about 230 (their time) on Tuesday, got through customs, got my baggage, etc., and then went out the exit expecting to see Pastor David there with a sign. But, alas, no such sight. So I sat on my luggage for a few minutes while listening to lots of Guatemaltecans yell ¨taxi, taxi¨ and while some others tried to sell me some noisemakers and such. So for a few minutes there I was wondering what exactly I was thinking when I signed up for this trip. But then David came and all was well.
The first big shock came on the ride home. The streets here are CRAZY. Basically, if you´re there first you have the right of way. It´s fun. So we came back to his house and he showed me around and everything, then later we had a meeting with the church leaders, and they were very welcoming. I´ve worked with a couple of them since then and gotten to know them a little bit better.
So after a full (half)day of being shown around and meeting people and trying to speak and understand Spanish, it was time for bed at 930 (an unthinkable bedtime hour for your normal college student). Which brings me to the title of this post ¨Los gallos me molestan¨ means, roughly, the roosters annoy me. Dogs barking was the main deterrent to a good night´s sleep around 930 or10, but in the morning, probably around 4, the roosters started crowing. I THOUGHT that roosters were supposed to crow when the sun came up. Take it from me, the sun is no more up at 4 in the morning here than it is at 4 in the morning where you are.
David told me yesterday, Vas a acostombrarse, which means, you´ll get used to it. Indeed, this morning I didn´t hear them till 430. Shooting for 5 tomorrow morning. It´s fine, though, because I´ve left around 5 or 530 to go to their breakfast program for the kids anyway, so it´s not like I´m missing a ton of sleep.
So yesterday I went to the feeding program, then ran errands with David´s assistant, Edgar, who doesn´t speak a lick of English. They say that immersion is the best way to learn a new language. Without doubt, it also has to be the most frustrating. Haha esta bien. After running errands with Edgar (who I was actually able to talk with a good bit) I came back here (David´s house, which doubles as the church office) and rested a little bit before going to one of their small groups. They were having a celebration for ¨el dia del cariño¨ - Valentine´s Day. I went to bed after getting back from that, and this morning went to the breakfast program again.
And now I´m here. Of course, there´s more to tell, but I´ll save it for another post (Sunday, maybe... maybe Monday). I´ll be gone tonight. We´re traveling to a village where David has set up a feeding program. Again, more on that in the next post.
Miss you guys,
Daniel
P.S. - If you tried to comment on the last post but it wouldn´t let you, I changed the settings so you should be able to comment now.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Adios, Estados Unidos
I head out for Guatemala in the morning. This is probably the scariest thing I've ever done, but I'm not as freaked out as I thought I might be. Oh, there's trepidation there, don't get me wrong, but I'm fairly calm. The most stress I've had tonight is when I couldn't find one of my socks (these are no ordinary socks, mind you, they're $9 REI wool hiking socks). Turns out, puppies like to steal your belongings and take them to far corners of the house. I've found my sock, and it's no worse for the wear. I think the fact that such a trivial thing has caused the greatest stress of the night is a good sign: the Lord has granted me a great deal of peace about this trip. Much of that peace, I believe, has come from all you people who happen to be reading this (and some who aren't). Your prayers, good wishes, surprise parties (my fantastic UNC friends threw me a going-away party a week and a half ago), and assurances have calmed my nerves more than you realize. The fact that I have such great support is a good thing to be reminded of as I leave on this first great adventure of my life.
Actually, over the past day and a half, it's been the reverse of what I expected to happen; I've gotten much more excited about this and much less nervous. By now, I'm thrilled at the opportunity I have over the next few months to serve with a man who, from what I've read about his programs and his life, truly understands and lives out what it means to extend God's grace to his community and to love self-sacrificially as we're called. Check out what I'm talking about: www.cccguatemala.com and projectguatemala.wordpress.com
I think that's a big motivator for my going on this trip. I want to be a part of this action of grace and to learn from what he's doing. When people ask me what made me take a semester off to do this, I usually give them a pretty simple answer about logistics and the cool things about Guatemala. The main reason, though, is that I'm tired of the selfishness that I feel forced into while I'm at school. College isn't a bad place, necessarily, but it's a place that's all about the individual. I'm there to get good grades so I can have a great future for myself, and to have the most fun I can while doing it. Not everybody struggles in such an environment. Some can be truly selfless and loving even as everything around them tells them to care about numero uno. I can't. And that's a big reason for my trip. I don't think the answer comes from Guatemala, though; it has to come from Christ. I just hope that he uses Guatemala as a means to shape me into his image.
So, please pray that the Lord uses this experience to teach me a little bit about what it means to display a self-sacrificing love. And pray especially for me to learn how to bring this back to an environment that seems so against it.
I hope you're all doing well. Stay in touch while I'm away. I can't promise I'll answer your e-mails (not sure how much computer time I'll have or how many e-mails I'll have to answer). I can promise that I'll read them and be comforted by news from home.
Que Dios te bendiga,
Daniel
Actually, over the past day and a half, it's been the reverse of what I expected to happen; I've gotten much more excited about this and much less nervous. By now, I'm thrilled at the opportunity I have over the next few months to serve with a man who, from what I've read about his programs and his life, truly understands and lives out what it means to extend God's grace to his community and to love self-sacrificially as we're called. Check out what I'm talking about: www.cccguatemala.com and projectguatemala.wordpress.com
I think that's a big motivator for my going on this trip. I want to be a part of this action of grace and to learn from what he's doing. When people ask me what made me take a semester off to do this, I usually give them a pretty simple answer about logistics and the cool things about Guatemala. The main reason, though, is that I'm tired of the selfishness that I feel forced into while I'm at school. College isn't a bad place, necessarily, but it's a place that's all about the individual. I'm there to get good grades so I can have a great future for myself, and to have the most fun I can while doing it. Not everybody struggles in such an environment. Some can be truly selfless and loving even as everything around them tells them to care about numero uno. I can't. And that's a big reason for my trip. I don't think the answer comes from Guatemala, though; it has to come from Christ. I just hope that he uses Guatemala as a means to shape me into his image.
So, please pray that the Lord uses this experience to teach me a little bit about what it means to display a self-sacrificing love. And pray especially for me to learn how to bring this back to an environment that seems so against it.
I hope you're all doing well. Stay in touch while I'm away. I can't promise I'll answer your e-mails (not sure how much computer time I'll have or how many e-mails I'll have to answer). I can promise that I'll read them and be comforted by news from home.
Que Dios te bendiga,
Daniel
Sunday, February 3, 2008
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