Thursday, May 26, 2011

Walking through rivers

Well, finally got caught in a downpour, and I blame it all on two ayudantes (transportation helpers-people who get you on the bus and then collect your money). I took a nice trip up to the department of Huehuetenango to a friend's site where I went to see one of her schools certify as a healthy school. It was a really nice trip-it's good to get out of my site once in a while and I got to see somewhere new. Huehue is really beautiful-there are lots of mountains, and the school we went to was way up there along a road with lots of great views. The certification went really well--two groups did dances, the younger kids recited the promesa de vida, another class sang "Queremos una Escuela Saludable" and lots of words were given by all parties present. After a delicious lunch of caldo (chicken soup) (it was SO good-as food here usually is), we headed back down to town, then my boss gave me a ride to Cuatro Caminos, which is a nice chunk of my trip in the comfort and safety of a Peace Corps vehicle. This is where my day took a turn for the worse and two different ayudantes flat out lied to me and when I said I wanted to go to Tribunales, they both took me to a big yellow bus. I don't know one bus from another regarding where they go-some go into the city and some skirt it before driving to the terminal. I wanted a bus that does the latter because it goes right by the entrance to my town. So I got on the bus confident I would be home within the half-hour. But no, of course it wouldn't be that easy. I soon realized that the bus I was on was not going the way I had been told, so I rode it to another stop I knew and got off to get on another bus to the other side of the city (I wasn't sure where the first bus would end up and I've learned it's better to be safe than end up on some sketchy side of town). There was tons of traffic and the sky kept looking more and more ominous. Since I felt like indulging my mini pity party, I stopped at the grocery store and splurged on Chex Mix (haven't had that in over a year and a half) and later went to the bakery and got a doughnut (SO good). Then a short wait, during which a few drops started falling then stopped. By this time I should have been home and settled in for the evening.

Eventually a bus came and the heavens opened up as we took off down the road into town. It was pouring and the driver pulled up right under an awning, where the sensible people decided to stay put. I, however, totally saw a picture in my head of me rushing up the hill and arriving home safe and sound and only a little wet, thanks to my sturdy umbrella. This picture in my head was completely wrong. The moment I stepped of the bus I walked right through a stream dripping down someone's roof, and then proceeded to walk through yet another, fairly soaking me before I had a chance to open my umbrella. The kids were all laughing, probably at the face I was making, and I quickly rushed out of there, kicking up puddles as I left. I was wearing a skirt which was wet along the bottom and started sticking to my legs, while I was carrying two bags which took turns sticking out from under my umbrella and getting soaked. Things weren't all that bad until I started walking uphill. One of the roads I have to hike up is paved until the hill evens out a bit, where it turns to dirt and rock. The dirt washes downward when it rains and there was literally a river of water just coming down, covering the entire road and getting into my shoes. Though I tried to be careful, there was no avoiding all of the water. Once on top, there was just a lot of puddles to be avoided, and parts of the path where a puddle covered the entire width of the path. My legs were covered in mud, my shoes were soaked through, my skirt was sticking to my legs. Once the land leveled out, I hoofed it to my house and made it in, washed my feet, changed my clothes, and ate my doughnut.

Now I'm safe and sound and drying. I now know never to take the Myrita bus because they lie. I also now remember what rainy season feels like. According to what someone told me, it's going to be a worse season than last year. Hooray.


This is what a good part of the road looks like. But there literally was a river (or in this case two rivers) of water rushing down the hill.

P.S. Write me comments peeps! I want to know what you think, what you want to know more about, etc.

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