Mas practica es necesario

Today is my 28th day in Guatemala-

-and i'm still sick.

This is my medicine to get rid of the hongos en mi estomago

One capsul=one shot, twice a day

Have you ever seen such a thing??

So...unfortunately...i'm still sick. I can't seem to kick this darn cold. The ash is still hanging in the air. The volcano is still angry and spewing ashy clouds into the air every day, which truely isn't helping. AND, to top everything off, I now have bed bugs. Mushrooms in my stomach, an 8 day and counting cold, cough from angry volcanos, and now bed bugs. First I just had bites on my feet, so I thought maybe it was something else...but now i have them on my cute little belly and arms. ARGH. I really can't catch a break. I'm having my sheets washed again- so, keep your fingers crossed. Hopefully the little creature was living inside them.

I'm also looking into an escape to the beach this weekend, escape from the ash. HOpefully meet some friendly animals in the mangroves.

Interesting daily thoughts:

1. It's been cooler and rainy the past few days. The rain was nice at first, felt like it was cleaning the air a bit from the ash, the air needed a good washing- but, it's still not clean.

2.The cobblestone streets make walking in the rain like hoping across pebbles in a stream. I enjoy the game, but dislike the rain.

3. The cars seem to drive even faster in the rain! The drivers are never overly cautious to begin with, but the rain seems to just pump them up. Let's see how wet we can get the gringos! I've been drenched twice....and I prepare to keep counting.

4. Men are mainly the drivers and they don't stop for women in the street, this upsets me. I swear they'd run me over and not feel bad about it. Men don't have to take a test to get a license, but women do. Interesting, eh? Machismo at it's greatest.

5. Ash is still coating everything in the city. A nice little blanket for these cold days...but i'd rather go without it. The knowledge that i'm breathing in that nice coating, is not a happy knowledge...it's disgusting and I'm feeling the consequences.

6. I've been eating more meat here and I think I need to stop. My stomach doesn't like it- but where are the vegetables? I see them growing in the fields, but I don't see them in the mercados.

7.Mas practica es necesario. I noticed my awful mistake in my 'hola senor tortuga' post....i originally wrote: signor. My problem with Spanish is that I keep mixing it together with peices of Italian, sometimes even a bit of French. I think that perhaps I'm really not learning Spanish, but just creating a new language of my own. Italiaspanglishcais.

*Working on our mural in the TRAMA office*

The past couple days have been spent volunteering at TRAMA and I´m really liking it there...things are slowly coming together. Painting is fun, the women are super friendly and we get to dive into whatever sort of projects we want. I actually feel like I'm helping. AND, next week I start volunteering with Habitat as well. We start building at 2 on Monday, so I'll have exciting stories after that as well!

More soon.

Yo Prometo.

-Victoria

Es muy importante saber para comprender

Disculpe todo,

Posting again quite soon, I know...but at the moment I´m busy sitting at the computer doing research for another organization I started volunteering with and had to share some information on Guatemala with you.

First, the new orgnization I am helping is called TRAMA- It is a women´s weaving co-operative and we work with over 400 women in 17 different co-ops in the area surrounding the city of Xela. All of these communities are Indigenous villages of Guatemala. At the moment, I am researching info in order to search and apply for grants, but on a more exciting note: I am also painting a mural at the center today! I´m very excited about painting and using my artistic skills...it´s been far too long!
Anywho-At the center, the women offer weaving classes and also have a store to sell their goods, which are all absolutely amazing. If you have a free moment visit the website at:

http://www.tramatextiles.org/

You can also buy stuff online! Or contact me and I´ll ship anything out for you.

Back to the important stuff:
I am also busy trying to brainstorm fundraising ideas for the orgnization. I want to start up a weekly Trivia night at a local cafe, searching for a venue that will take us, in order to raise a little money on a regular basis and just get word out there on a more regular basis as well. Before starting to work at TRAMA I knew very little about the state of women´s rights in this country. From working at Nuevos and talking to my former teachers about Guatemalan life I was exposed to the statistcal numbers and the high rate of violence against women..one teacher informed me that 98% of women are estimated to be abused in some way: physical, mental, sexual, etc. Rarely these go reported because most of the time it´s by their own husbands. Here is some more detailed information I found today on the SIGI website: Social Institutions and Gender Index. Worth a read!

"The physical integrity of Guatemalan women is not sufficiently protected and violence against women is a serious issue. The incidence of rape, disappearances, torture and murder of women is high and continues to rise, and there is a culture of impunity in Guatemala regarding such crimes. Violence against women is prohibited by law, but is not punishable by a prison sentence. Domestic violence can lead to legal proceedings only if visible traces of the abuse remain on the victim for at least 10 days. Such violence is widespread and it seems to be difficult for women, especially indigenous women, to access the judicial system. There seems to be no social awareness in Guatemala about the gravity of violence against women.
Rapists are exempt from prosecution in Guatemala if they are married to their victim and the Penal Code lays down the criterion that women must be “honest” to be considered victims. It has been reported that the government plans to remove these clauses from the Penal Code, but no information is available to confirm this report. There is currently no legislation in place in Guatemala pertaining to sexual harassment."


Another interesting tidbit:

"The incidence of early marriage is quite high: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 26 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed."

Busy contemplating how lucky I am,
Vicki

¡Hola Señor Tortuga!

¡Hola otra vez!

Since my update on my first three weeks here was so brief ( sorry for the semi-failure), I figure... When I have the time I´ll share the most important stories with you. Today you get to hear the story of my trip to the zoologico.

During my first week here, if my memory serves my correctly, I looked into doing some volunteer work with a wonderful organization based here in Xela called Nuevos Horizontes. Nuevos Horizontes runs both a Women´s shelter for abused women and their children and a Day Care center for single working mothers- all volunteer run. They were taking the kids from the Day care on a trip to the Zoo...so I jumped at the chance to help out.
It was a great way to meet all the volunteers and all the kids, in total we had 30 kids that day and 15 volunteers.

The smiles and beautiful faces of these children describe all I could ever say about my time with them. No words, just pure joy.

I hung around specifically with one amazing young girl, who had to say hello to each animal we encountered: ¡Hola Señor Tortuga, Hola Señorita Poloma!

Haha, an amusing part of the Zoo was the polomas, which means there was pigeons at the zoo. Yes, Pigeons! In a cage! As a display!...and its not like they don´t have them here, because they take over the Parque Central at all times of day...but, just in case you don´t get enough bonding on a regular day walking around the city, you can always visit your friends, las polomas, at the zoo.

Each day is an experience I will never forget.

(Cada dia es una experiencia que yo voy a olvidar nunca.)

Nos hoblamos pronto. Adios por ahora.

Tu amiga en Xela,

Vicki

Oranges are green here.

¡Hola!

So, as you know ( and if not, now you do!) I´m off on another adventure. This time life has taken me to Guatemala...busy existing in the second biggest city of Quetzaltenango, but more preferably refered to as Xela.

Now, i debated for some time whether it was even worth my effort to update you all on the past year of traveling I experienced in Italy and Thailand...I decided to sum it up. Both changed my life forever.

Italy was an escape to never forget, literally.

Thailand will forever be indescribable. My time spent there was the most amazing and rewarding thing I´ve ever done. Thailand, the culture and it's people will have a special place in my heart forever.

Shed a few tears and move on...


...to more current things...I´m in Guatemala!

First of all, i´ll update you on why i´m even here...

I lost my job and was going semi insane at home ( sorry parents ), pero Yo digo la veridad! I decided on Guatemala because
One- its cheap.
Two- I figured, if I was taking a long vacation I may as well also gain some sort of skill and do some volunteer work.
My wonderful cousin had taken Spanish courses here in Xela before, so I enrolled! I am studying Spanish at a school called Celas Maya, 5 days a week, 5 hours a day. As part of the program I am also living with a host family. 5 dollars a day for a room and 3 wonderful meals, can't quite complain!

So, my blogging skills are subpar and I've now been in Xela for 3 weeks without even attempting this. So, bare with me as I rapidly inform you on the on goings of life here.
I've studied for three weeks and feel like my spanish is atleast coming along, perhaps not as well as I had hoped...but its a process. There have been 3 msall tremors since I've been here, all within a few days which was a very exciting new experience! ( don't worry parents! ) I've also been growing fungus/mushroom in my stomach, which have been wonderfully painful AND contracted some nasty cold on top of it...AND, to top that off..the nearest volcano has been angry lately and spewing lots of wonderful ash into the air which is making my cold soooo much better.
Outside of class, I've swam in volcanic hot springs, climbed a volcano ( dormant- again, don't worry parents!), traveled to nearby village visiting these beautifully YELLOW churches, visited a glass factory and was able to Blow Glass!, wandered aimlessly through the never ending mazes of markets, riden on many a chicken bus- with actual chickens!, and swam in the Pacific Ocean for the very first time.
I also have been overwhelmed by the amount of volunteer organizations in this city. I spent a week volunteering at a Day Care run for single working mothers. The kids will melt your heart with one smile...and i've been dissapointed that my studies have been overtaking my free time lately, but its a hard balance. I also plan on helping out with the construction of a home with Habitat, and it takes about a month to build one house, so I look forward to seeing the whole process. I also have a the prospect of volunteering for a women's weaving cooperative, helping in the office and HOPEFULLY treking around to nearby villages to take photos and interview the women who take part in the cooperative to put together a story on them and the organization.

Ok- well this doesn't even begin to describe everything i'm experiencing. There just aren't enough words and never enough time. For now, this has been a little taste and as time goes on I'll fill you in on the important stories and new adventures occuring here, in my life, in Guatemala.

Adios por ahora. Hablamos pronto.