Conociendo Zunil y San Simon

Zunil crossroads

My first week here in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (the country's second largest city set in the Highlands) was a great transition period for me.  One week of full-time immersion classes at the school ICA helped me adjust to speaking and thinking in Spanish again.  Classes run from 8am - 1pm with a 30 minute pause at 11am.  The students are from Holland, Germany, Denmark, and the U.S.  My maestro was excellent: young, creative in his teachings, experienced.  While my inattentive nature challenged him I'm sure, he seemed flexible and patient.  My host family, 60+ year old Anita and her daughter have been exceptional and feed me VERY well!!  No doubt I get my daily dose of frijoles negros!

God is Love

The Spanish language school typically offers activities daily.  My second day there, I ventured with other students to the nearby town of Zunil where food for nearly the entire country is grown.  Since Zunil is graced with an abundance of rains and fertile land, every patch of land is transformed into a cultivo such as of espinaca (spanish), brocoli, zanahoria (carrots) etc.

The women here are elegantly dressed in traje indigena -- made of textiles characteristic of the Mayan culture -- often weaved by hand with a back strap.  In Zunil, a women's cooperative of nearly 500 share a space where they receive fair prices for their meticulous craft.  I purchased a weaved ribbon that women use to first wrap around their hair, then continue to wrap creating a crown around the head.

Catholicism is prevalent here and at Zunil's center is a beautiful stark white church that possesses a large silver cross on its altar.  Inside, patrons light candles and make offerings to statues of Jesus.

One curious practice in this town is worship of San Simon, a life-size plastic representation of the god of indulgence, drunkenness and sexuality.  The result of a strange combination of Mayan religion and Catholicism, this god is hosted by a family chosen by the cofradia-- a brotherhood of leaders -- for a year.  Worshippers visit the pint-size doll and pray for fortune, good health, a prosperous growing season, etc...  Here are a few photos from my visit to see this deity. 

Up close and personal with San Simon.

Offering a nice cold beverage to the parched deity.

While obviously a tourist in this country -- a gringo, or sometimes referred to as chinita, when not mistaken for as a guatemalteca -- my preference is to experience it in full immersion through person to person experiences, encounters, and relationships.  This is what I hope to build in the short time that I am here, especially at Primeros Pasos Clinic which serves several communities in the dusty Palajunoj Valley.

April 2005 Travelogue Continued...

Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 11:35:23 PM

Subject: Hola de Lago Atitlan, Gautemala

During the schoolweek we were entertained by the school's guide ronaldo.  an ex guerilla who had to change his name for security purposes.  he shares many war stories, a lot of which i don't understand.  a very stoic man, rigid in the face and almost puppet like when he speaks.  at times he can muster up a smile though.  i love ronaldo.  we all do.  we visited a local cooperative where they recycle glass to produce exported glasses, vases, and knick knacks.   in a large warehouse, i watched the men blow glass.  it was fascinating.   (http://www.copavic.com/default.htm)

Waiting to be sold at the market.

I´ve hiked a grueling hike to a sacred crater lake, Chicabal, revered by evangelists and catholics alike as ceremonial grounds.  in may the lake is off limits to visitors as this is the month the more important ceremonies are performed.  swimming is off limits b/c the waters are sacred, but boats are off limits as well.  there is somewhat of a whirlpool at the center of the lake that makes it very dangerous.  and since the lake is "connected to the ocean by a tunnel beneath the earth", the locals are able to read the ocean tides from this inland and elevated lake. 

On the road to Chicabal.

Offerings crater lake-side.

The agricultural countryside is quite a landscape with it´s crops gracing the steeply inclined mountainsides like quilt patchwork.  its a wonder the land and crops don´t simply slide down the mountain. 

Patchwork Countryside.

evangelical churches are ubiquitous here.  in one town, santiago atitlan, there were 43, one at every turn of the corner.  the town is small.  catholicism is not as we know it in the US.  it is less conservative here, acknowledging the mayan practice of their traditional customs.  whereas the evangelicals try to strip the mayans of their cultural identity by forcing them to wear modern clothes, doing away with the beautifully weaved "traje indigena".  one of the most well known evangelists in guatemala is Rios Mont, an infamous political figure responsible for Mayan genocide in the 1980´s, when nearly 75% of the indigenous population were decimated.  his name is synonymous with the devil.  he is still awaiting trial for his involvement.

i´ve met many wonderful people.  danes.  germans.  dutch.  canadians.  americans.  all going to the school.  and the locals that still look at me curiously in the streets.  i think that they come to terms with the fact that i´m not "una guatemalteca" when they acknowledge that i´m a whole head´s height taller than them.  when i stand at crosswalks, i´m amazed to find that though i´m standing in the back of the crowd, i´m still able to see the street.  it´s nice to feel so tall.

there is far more to tell, but this has already dragged on,,,,i´ll try for shorter anecdotes next time.   i hope you enjoy the story as i have enjoyed experiencing it all.  

Semanta Santa

The beginning...

Nearly six years ago, I attended a birth conference in Asheville, where my interest in childbirth really began.  A short black and white film was presented, and though its content was simple, I was struck with intense emotion and found myself in tears.  In Mayan past, the midwifery tradition was strong but the practice is slowly being forgotten.  The short clip, an obscured view of a woman in childbirth and her midwife performing a manual inversion of a breached baby with few resources, few tools -- the greatest resource = the midwife's tender hands -- was moving!  It seemed to stir an understanding, deep in my heart, of the power and strength of women's bodies to harbor this miracle -- the miracle of life.  This single event catapulted me into a mission to meet one of these miracleworkers.  So, with only one semester of Spanish One under my belt, I booked a flight to Guatemala and underwent this journey solo.   Four weeks of travel in Central Guatemala was the perfect prelude to moving to Chapel Hill, where after my return I would begin 14 months of studies in nursing.  Guatemala was going to be my grand adventure.

The following email entry describes much of my experience then.  Mateo makes an appearance in it, since it was at this time, in 2005, when I cross paths with him again, 3 years after our first encounter.  Funny how the world works.

Sent: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 11:35:23 PM

Subject: Hola de Lago Atitlan, Gautemala

Whew!  finally the chance to email.  it{s only been 10days but already i feel comfortable and feel as though i{ve experienced alot.  i{ve turned 5 shades darker since i've spent most of my days outside, with my shoulders the darkest.  guess i should buy some sunscreen.

Sweet Mama T drives me to the Atlanta airport.

from the airport in guatemala city i took a taxi to antigua,,,the quaint touristy town i mentioned in the previous email.  the guatemalan culture is so colorful, whether in its clothing or in its storefront windows and doors.  i went wild with my camera in only the first 2 days, shooting nearly 2 rolls.  YIKES.  off to xela (shay-la) also known as Quetzaltenango where i would study spanish for one week...i rode on the infamous "chickenbuses," the buses the locals take from village to village.  what an experience.  i{m convinced that all the dirty old school buses of north america end up here.  

the very colorful and sometimes gaudily decorated public transport is cheap, costing me only $4 for a 4 and a half hour bus ride.  these buses do us all the favor of releasing thick clouds of black exhaust making it difficult to breathe fresh air.  i don{t believe fresh air exists here.  and though the sign at the front of the bus says 65 passenger capacity, the drivers and their ayudantes (helpers) easily squeeze in twice that, asking families to double stack themselves.  it's incredible.  the acrobatics of the ayudantes (who collect the fare and help with your bags) are what fascinated me most.  with the bus still maintaining a good 25-40mph, before the bus comes to a screeching halt, the ayudantes maneuver their way from either the front sliding door or the rear emergency door to the top of the bus to gather your belongings...because although the bus is packed, he seems to remember when and where everyone plans to get off.  the bags are hurled from the top of the bus into the street´'s gutters.  and if you{re lucky, the driver allows just enough time for you to get off before peeling out.  the ayudantes are great at what they do!  several times i began to doze off, which in riding around the highland mountains may not be the best idea.  since the roads are so curvy, it is essential to grip onto the seat in front of you at all times to avoid ending up in the lap of your neighbor.  the guy next to me didn{t take that into consideration since he spent most of his nap essentially lying on top of me.  needless to say i ended up in xela in one piece....

Chickenbus Esmeralda

Mi companero

... the school week was great.  i learned a good bit of spanish despite not studying much outside of class.  (though, i{m losing it very quickly, growing comfortable in the very touristy lago atitlan where the world{s hippie{s seem to convene.)  in Xela, i found a quaint little coffee shop to make my home for studying, just one block from my homestay family.  (surprise. surprise. even in Guatemala I'm feeding my addiction.)  my family was very accomodating but i ate a shitload of beans, nasty white toast with margarine, and cornflakes with warm dry milk nearly everyday.  not much in the way of veggies or fruits or unprocessed meat or non instant coffee for that matter.  but they were loving and very welcoming.  the school itself, PLQE,  is great.  i would recommend it highly to anyone interested in language immersion.  i was greeted my first day by an ex SUWSer by the name of matt rudolf.  (anyone remember him?)   strangely enough he is the acting coordinator at the school for this month and was leading the orientation.  he is of the micah generation.  what are the odds? 

the week of study ended quickly with a graduation, one in which i had to perform a wonderfully silly poem i wrote in spanish to demonstrate what i had learned, since the book i wanted to read from, "donde viven los monstruos" (where the wild things are) is too advanced for me.  we ended the evening with foosball and a family style dinner: un plato tipico de Guate.  it was divine.  and on a day when i started to feel homesick because i lacked real connection with the students of the school (since at PLQE i was scheduled to study in the afternoon, when only 5 out of the 25 other students studied), i finally felt like a part of the school and made some good friends.

the following night, my new Canadian friend ashley and i took on the role of social coordinators and mustered up a good 16 students for drinks, billiards and dancing.  didn't get to shake my bootie much since mi amigo christian and i were busy beating some chapins at pool.   

(Email continued in next entry.)

Cafe Luna : my coffee home away from home

Mr. Mateo Rudolf leaves a week of study at La Escuela de la Montana