Forty Days

As difficult as it is to believe, I am now a third of the way through my semester in Guatemala. In some ways, it feels like I just arrived; in others, it is as if I have always been here. Life continues to be very difficult, but beautiful and joyful all the same.

I enjoyed a pretty lazy weekend: relaxed, bought some bootleg DVDs, did a little homework, and caught up with a few of you at home. (Skype truly is wonderful.) I’d like to share a few stories from the past few days…

Sunday afternoon I went searching for some lunch and ended up at a Middle Eastern restaurant that had caught my eye a few days before – thanks to Nate and Stacey and Matt, I’m hooked on this stuff. It was pretty tiny inside – just two small tables. I ordered my food (don’t remember what it was called – sort of like hush puppies with veggies and hummus in a pita, with a nice side of heartburn) and sat down in an empty seat across from another customer. He turned out to be a retired commercial airline pilot from Florida who is in Antigua learning Spanish so he can travel more around South America. We had some interesting conversation about Spanish, traveling, Obama, and the financial crisis. While I am still shy of strangers, it’s cool to meet and talk to different people – just like the Irish guy we met at the partido de fútbol and then ran into again in Monterrico last weekend. Chris, you were right about meeting interesting people when traveling!

I’ve found that if I’m going to attend daily Mass, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning, since I’m generally otherwise occupied with classes, internships, meals, and hours of internet access at CIRMA (the security man usually comes to close up the building between 6:30 and 6:45pm and I have to drag myself away from skype conversations). Regardless, I try to go once or twice a week to 6:30am Mass at la Iglesia de San Francisco, about ten minutes walk away from my house. The sky is always so beautiful in the early morning, and I love following the nuns-across-the-street (though they are technically ‘sisters’, right?) to and from Mass. There are plenty of nuns, monks, and joyful old people there, and by the time I arrive back at the house for 7:30am breakfast I am awake and ready for the day. Today is Miércoles de Ceniza (take a guess) so half the people in the city are walking around with ashes. I ended up with a pretty gigantic one. It’s interesting already to see the difference in Lent here: there was an offering of apples in front of a statue of Jesus in church this morning.

Yesterday we decided to skip Spanish class (don’t worry, this was organized by our program director) in favor of a trip to Guatemala City to attend the Informe de la Comisión para el esclarecimiento histórico contra el olvido. Basically, this was a conference celebrating the tenth anniversary of the formation of an organization promoting the historical memory of Guatemala. Even though the peace accords after the civil war were signed thirteen years ago, the government has still not accepted responsibility for the military’s actions (see my last post). There were hopes that President Colom would ceremonially accept the truth reports, but this didn’t end up happening. After discussing this with U of A’s study abroad faculty advisor/professor Liz Oglesby, who is here to visit for a few days, we figure it probably had to do with the speakers’ adamant assertions that genocide occurred during the armed conflict. This is a controversial claim because of the intentions that are implied in the term ‘genocide’.

So life continues here in Antigua. A few of us are planning on a trip to tour the Cuevas de Candelaria this weekend. There’s supposed to be some pretty cool Maya art that you access through boat tours. So the adventures continue…maybe I’ll even get to fight some Nazis.

NUNCA MAS

It’s been another good week here in Antigua. I’ve been here five weeks so far and each day passes more quickly than the last. I opted to stay here this weekend to rest and get caught up on some work so that I will be ready to travel the next few weekends. Hopefully this will include trips to Copán, a Classic period Maya archaeological site just over the eastern border into Honduras, Livingston, a town known for garífuna (Caribbean black) culture, and maybe some hiking around Coban and tour of the Cuevas de Candelabria in the eastern part of the country. Our program is taking a trip to Tikal in the Petén region farther north in about a month.

Yesterday we went out to a German restaurant to celebrate our program director Javier’s 25^th birthday. I decided to fully embrace my German heritage and order sausages with sauerkraut (don’t worry Mom and Grandma, your sauerkraut is much better). Come the New Year 2010, I think I will eat more than a pittance of this wonderful food. I also got a break from Gallo (I’ve been told it’s similar to Coors light) and had some Moza “cerveza oscura” – dark beer. I enjoyed it, but (surprisingly) miss the beer at home. I never thought I’d say this, but perhaps I will make the men in my life proud and appreciate good beer someday.

As we drove through Guatemala city a month ago, there were a lot of messages painted on the city's walls. Here, "Libertad" and spray-painted on another wall, "¿DONDE ESTAN 45,000 DESAPARECIDOS?" - Where are the 45,000 disappeared?

We had our first colloquium lecturer yesterday. Daniel Hernandez is a photojournalist and artist who works to raise awareness about the genocide that happened here in Guatemala during the civil war from the 1960s-1990s. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was pretty ignorant about Latin American history and politics until I came here. In my four semesters of Spanish, we talked a little about the Madres de Plaza Mayo protesting the desaparecidos – disappeared people – in Argentina. Now my eyes are opening so many similar situations that have happened throughout Latin America. It’s hard to take it in, especially recognizing the impact of United States intervention in Central America beginning in the fifties (’54 here in Guatemala). I am not saying we should hate our country because we’ve messed up – only that we, and our children, should never forget this, especially as we face tough issues like illegal immigration and everything in the Middle East.

Names of victims, civilians as well, from the civil war on the walls surrounding the national cathedral in Guatemala City, placed there by the Church in the late 1990s. To learn more, look up "Monsignor Juan Gerardi". The Church has done a lot of crappy things, but we should never forget people who died serving God's people.

Throughout their education, students complain constantly about learning history. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked “why?” Until now, I didn’t have an answer. Now, as I learn about the history of conflict in Guatemala, I begin to understand. The military and the government still do not recognize and commemorate the 200,000 deaths that occurred during the civil war, the vast majority of whom were indigenous civilians at the hands of the army. The truth reports are kept from public schools, despite groups’ efforts to make them available. If Guatemalans cannot teach their children about what happened, then historical memory will die. The war, the genocide, will be forgotten. As a generation passes away, who will remember? Who will solve this country’s problems? Who will make sure the same violence does not repeat itself?

Why do we learn history? We are not so different. Our children, too, deserve to know the truth about our country, the victory and bravery along with the mistakes and the stories of those who have been silenced. Because they can. I finally realized yesterday that I’m not going to leave this job to someone else so that I can pursue a PhD and a career in academia. At least, not for now.

"Nunca Mas" - Never again

Daniel Hernandez © 1997

Our history is our memory. Our history is our identity. If we forget it, we forget ourselves.

And as the sun sets over the Pacific...

Hey all! I'm back from Monterrico after a weekend of laziness. It was a fun way to spend Valentine's day.



We (I went with two other CIRMA students, Tamara and Stephanie) arrived late morning after taking a van for about two-and-a-half hours from Antigua. Monterrico is basically a collection of cheap hotels, seafood restaurants, and bars on the southern (Pacific) coast of Guatemala. There's not a whole lot to do, other than tour the mangrove swamps (we opted to sleep in), release baby sea turtles to the ocean, drink, eat shrimp, and relax in a hammock or on the sand. I got some reading in, worked on my tan (and my burn) and danced the night away.



The waves are pretty huge, so we only played in the surf a little. They still managed to kick our butts and knock us down plenty. I got to go for a long walk on the beach at sunset on Friday, and my baby sea turtle got second place in the race...he was quite a little bugger. We also made friends with all sorts of interesting people: some Guatemalans, Germans, and one Irish guy. Chris is right, you do meet really interesting people at hostels. All in all, it was a fun weekend, though I am somehow more exhausted now than I was on Friday...



Dang you Moctezuma...

As the sun sets behind the volcanoes...

It's early evening here in Antigua and I am sitting by an open window, enjoying the breeze and the fading sunlight. There are probably a lot of things I should be doing. Oh well.

I have been here nearly four weeks, though in a way it feels as if I have always been here. My Spanish is improving to the point that I am finally getting a little better at eavesdropping on conversations, speaking spontaneously, and skimming ridiculous anthropology readings (in Spanish...and French). Thanks to my Spanish teacher, I now realize that those men on the street haven't been saying "good afternoon" but rather calling me attractive. That's the difference between ¡buenas! and ¡buena! I think I'll pretend I'm still ignorant.

The past week and a half since I last wrote has been pretty calm. Mostly I get up, eat food (amazing, amazing food), go to classes, e-mail and skype, write, go to Mass, and do a little studying and reading. Classes are going well, and continue to be very relaxed. Spanish is probably my favorite. We do a little reading and a little writing, but mostly just talk, learn new vocab, and review grammar. Since there are only five students, there's plenty of opportunity to ask questions. Out Latin American Studies class, well, I'll let you know. We have mostly discussed theory behind theory in philosophy and anthropology (think: worse than Levi-Strauss). As a result, I think I'm more confused than I was when the class began. Hopefully that will change. History class is an intense three hours every Monday afternoon. As I wrote before, the professor is an ex-guerrilla from El Salvador. As such, we're learning about the various stages of human social and economic development, from Primitive Communism to Capitalism to Socialism in addition to things like the Social Relations of Production, Productive Forces, ideology, and social explosion. Yes, we're learning Marxist theory, like it's fact. Don't worry. I've been told I'm not allowed to come back wearing a beret. In that case I'd just stay here...

My internships are also going well. I am working through my second book catalog entry for the CIRMA Social Sciences library. Switching between French, Spanish, and English is not nearly as difficult as I thought. Sometimes I find myself halfway through a paragraph before I register which language I'm reading. It's a pretty cool feeling. I am also volunteering at an after school program for younger kids called El Semillero de Mi Angel Guardian. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, I help a group of second grade boys with their sumas, restas, multiplicaciones, y divisiones. It can be a little hard when each one wants your attention and help, but I'm learning a lot (and brushing up on my math skills).

This weekend a few of us are going to Monterrico, a beach town on the Pacific coast. I'm looking forward to chilling out (not that I don't do plenty of that here), eating seafood, and reading on the beach. Miss you all a lot. I'll make another update after returning from Monterrico. Have a happy valentine's day!

"Closer to Heaven above"

Yep. We climbed a volcano. We roasted marshmellows on lava and made s'mores. I am fairly certain my new hiking boots saved me from injuring myself horribly. In short, it was pretty amazing. At the top (about 8000 feet) we were above many of the clouds...so very beautiful. I'll leave the rest to the pictures.

De todo un poco

As we learned this Monday, there are two seasons in Guatemala. The rainy season goes from May to November, the dry season from November to April. Since it is the end of January, it is naturally pouring outside. I am using this as an excuse to write a little bit about some of the fun things we’ve done over the past week.

Classes have been going on for a week and a half now. Already I’ve done about as much work as I do in a single day at William and Mary. I am only taking three classes, and a lot of my extra time will be spent doing internships. Spanish class meets four days a week for about an hour in the morning, and I need to start spending more time studying grammar and vocabulary. The class is focused on conversation, so we have been listening to and discussing music. In addition, we are reading the Popol Vuh, the Q’iche Maya origin story. It is an interesting selection, since oral tradition is written in such a different style (think Homer). We’ll also be reading it in English for our Latin American Studies class.

Friday, our whole group took a field trip to Guatemala City. Our program director, Javier, showed us the national palace and cathedral along the Plaza Central. The cathedral was beautiful. The statues of saints and Jesus (they care called imágenes) don’t make me feel like I’m in a waxworks as do many here in Antigua. I much prefer the realism of Renaissance art, it’s not so creepy. Javier showed us the mercado (market) , which is pretty gigantic. My favorite part was the raw meat section and the fruit piled high everywhere. We went to a nice restaurant for a traditional Maya lunch. Ka’kik is a turkey and rice soup flavored with chiles, served with tamales (a sort of bread made of cornmeal, cooked inside corn husks or leaves). Instead of salt and pepper in packets on the table, there was chile pepper and salt. Since being down here I have discovered the wonders of fresh-made limeade, with plenty of sugar, and sometimes some soda water. My host mom flavors a lot of food with lime – especially soup and broccoli. I think I will follow suit when I head home.

For the afternoon, we went to the Popol Vuh museum on the campus of Francisco Marroquín University. We worked our way through Preclassic to Postclassic artifacts, recovered from construction sites and private collections. There was some pretty cool stuff, and I especially enjoyed being able to pick out stylistic differences in the pottery. Javier is a student at the university so he took us on a mini-tour and we all got coffee (though I don’t think anyone actually got coffee) before heading back to Antigua. The drive there and back was fun as well – our driver Josué had a varied of dated music that got us singing everything from Spice Girls to Queen.

After our excursion to the macadamia nut finca, we went with Josué to the nearby town of Dueñas for a local fútbol (soccer) match. We all wore green and white, Antigua’s colors, and had a great time cheering and expanding our vocabularies with the kind of good, wholesome words that you can only learn at sports games. Antigua won, 3-0. There are plans in the works to go again, and this time get jerseys for Antigua, drink some Gallo, and continue to benefit from the language immersion.

Monday was our first history class of the semester. Our professor is one of a kind: an ex-guerrilla from El Salvador with a PhD in international relations. He’s a blunt man with a great sense of humor. One of the students in our group is a military analyst studying international narcotics. When he explained this to our professor, the prof asked, “Do you smoke weed?” Jordan responded no, to which José Antonio asked, “How can you study drugs if you don’t do them?”

The class took a tour of Antigua, to get an idea of the city’s past. Starting at the Parque Central, we visited and discussed the municipal building, the Catedral de Santiago (Saint James is the patron of Antigua, and his feast on July 25 is a huge celebration), the Palacio, and the fountain. A few cool notes: most of the old churches in Antigua face west, which relates to sunlight entering the church. Cardinal directions are really important to the native worldview as well. The fountain in the Plaza Central has associations with fertility tied to a myth of Spanish women who would not breast feed their children (you'll understand after seeing the fountain).

We visited the Posada de Don Rodrigo, a snazzy hotel in the design of a traditional Spanish house with a beautiful view from the roof. We walked through the Merced, the yellow church pictured in an earlier entry, with a lot of the most celebrated imágenes used in the Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions. I learned a new thing about St. Anthony of Padua: he is not only the patron saint of lost things, but also of single women. It is a tradition for girls at age 13 and over to gather 13 coins from their friends and light a candle in front of St. Anthony's image as an offering so that they might find a man. One of the students from our group, Taylor, then responded, “So this is where I come to find single girls!”

Our tour guide took us into a nice restaurant, where there is a room (almost like a cave) with a table for two and lots of candles, ¡que romántico! It is used for engagements – we mused that if a guy wanted to play a good joke oh his girlfriend, he could take her there and not propose. I can imagine several of you guys doing this as a practical joke on a girl with a good sense of humor (you could always propose at the very end). Our final stop was El Convento de las Capuchinas, a neat, beautiful old convent. There was an “eighteenth century recording studio” (as one of my compañeras put it) in the basement – the resonance was awesome.

That’s all for now. I started my internship with CIRMA today – reading social science books in French (yes, you read that right) and writing catalog entries in Spanish. My first book is on the Yaqui du Mexique. I’ll keep you updated on how this goes. Tomorrow we’re set to climb an active volcano – I’ll eat a s’more for you all.

Desiderata

Some of the other students from CIRMA really wanted to visit a Macadamia nut farm just outside the Ciudad Viejo. I thought, ok, this is better than doing homework, I’ll go. We took a taxi from the catedral – I think we were all a little afraid that we wouldn’t survive the ride in such a beat-up car, in a city with no clear (at least to us) right of way. We made it there – at the entrance to the driveway there was a sign – “Valhalla” with a little Viking hat. You know, the kind the ‘fat lady’ wears when she sings.

Our driver dropped us off and then led us into the main area, by a sign which read, “Welcome to Valhalla – Where every day is Earth day/Aquí cada día es día de la tierra.” I thought to myself, wow, these are real hippies. We met the wife of the ex-pat who owns the finca. She told us all about the farm – three hundred unique (not grafted) trees, completely organic with no pesticides – and showed us around, offering us samples of nuts and the products they make with them. They use every part of the nut and shell for products, mulch, and fertilizer. They also donate new trees to indigenous communities to help them to be sustainable eat healthily. It was an eye-opener to see real sustainable agriculture in progress, by such good-hearted people.

We met her husband inside – an older man with a fire company hat from the states, wearing a striped sweater and khakis. He introduced himself with a “you are home,” accompanied by a barrage of the most lewd jokes I have ever heard, one after the other. We finally went out (i.e. to me, escaped) to the “restaurant” – a couple tables under the trees – to eat some Macadamia nut pancakes and drink some rosa de jamaica (a popular drink made with hibiscus flowers). The ex-pat joined us with his breakfast (it was noon) and jokes (that I’m sure made me blush beet red), and sat with us for about two hours. Over these two hours, we heard much of his life’s story – how a seventy-year old man from Frisco ended up growing macadamia nuts in Guatemala.

You know Jack Kerouac? Lorenzo’s narrative reminded me of reading On the Road, with stories about “Susan” (don’t ask), growing weed (don’t ask), lots of sex (please don’t ask), working as a firefighter, living in nature, God and farting, the future, and love. While I fully intend to forget quite a few – many of this man’s stories will follow me wherever I go. He faced death so many times. Lorenzo figured the “Old Man” wanted him to be alive to do something. As his wife told us, “Some people, in their old age, sit around and watch TV. We wanted to give back.” They are quite a couple. They fit, they complete each other. Lorenzo described himself as mal creado, “badly raised”, but said his wife still thinks he’s a good guy. I think I can understand, more now than ever.

Despite Lorenzo’s advice that we should all just buy land in Cobán and grow blueberries, accompanied by his predictions of apocalypse and survival that freaked me out as badly as history channel shows on Nostradamus when I was ten, I still look forward to going home when my semester is over. He left the US because it is so messed up. I will go back and remain there, because it is so messed up. And, you know, if the end of the world comes – that’s cool. There’s this guy and his dad I’d really like to meet.

On the wall of one of the buildings was a plaque with the Desiderata, one of my favorite prayers. Seeing it there somehow made things click for me. I respect and admire Lorenzo and his wife for all they are doing. They are good people.

We left with a hug goodbye, and an invitation to return anytime to Valhalla. Valhalla: the heaven of the Vikings – not just St. Peter, the pearly gates, and people with harps – but one full of girls, drinking, and partying. You know, I think he’s got it half right.