Saturday, July 30, 2011

Uganda in the news

It's been three years since I was in Uganda, but it's always on my mind. Every once in a while I walk around here in Guatemala and a certain smell or feeling reminds me of my time in Uganda. Just the other day I was walking to school down a dirt road and it had just rained a ton the night before so it was super muddy. By the time I arrived at the school my shoes were caked with mud, much like my shoes would always be after walking from my house in Lugala to the bus stop to head into Kampala. My dad sent me an article about Uganda this morning and on getting my daily news fix, I found another article in the New York Times.

Some of the latest news from Uganda concerns the recent denial of visas to a Ugandan little league team hoping to compete in the Little League World Series in the States. Apparently some of the kids lied about their ages. Article from ESPN here.

And also from the New York Times, an article that talks about lacking resources in hospitals. This is definitely something I experienced while at Mulago in Kampala. It is just sad when simple medical tools that save lives aren't available even in the best government-run hospital in the country. Moreover, people come to these hospitals expecting to be helped, but that is often not the case. Here's the article for this story. Despite how messed up the American medical system is, with the corrupt health insurance industry and all, at least we receive the care we need (most of the time).

I'll write more about the past week perhaps tomorrow. It's been a busy past few weeks but it's been a productive time. Hope all is well!


Monday, July 11, 2011

La violencia

Oh Guatemala. Why can't you be in the news for something positive?

I've had more than a few comments from friends and family about the recent death by shooting of a folk singer from Argentina in Guatemala City. There's a link to an article from CNN over on the left side (as of when I am writing this) if you want to read more about this.

Guatemala is a violent country. I've been talking with friends and colleagues here about the recent upswing in violence and everyone is concerned. As this recent shooting shows, no one is safe, even if you have a van of bodyguards travelling behind you.

I guess the purpose of this post is to assure everyone that I am safe. Luckily, I live in a part of the country that hasn't seen too much violence. I do what I can to keep myself safe, from being in my house by the time the sun goes down to only travelling when necessary. So don't worry about me. Peace Corps will get us out of here if things get really bad.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Dry clothes make me happy

It was such a beautiful day! I woke up to a foggy morning and rode the bus up through the clouds. The school I went to today (one of my favorites) is up in the mountains so we were higher than the clouds and views were beautiful. (Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so I won't be able to share this image). The walk to school was pleasant-the temperature was a little cool and the path a little muddy, but I chatted the whole way with a teacher and she showed me yet another path to the school (besides to two very muddy paths I already know) that kept my shoes and pants free of mud. I had a fun and productive visit, which included revising hygiene, meeting with teachers to plan a project of building latrines, and chatting with the principal about fruit, gardening, the economy, immigration, etc. (not to mention singing and playing with the kids). This is one of the schools where I do have to walk uphill both ways to get there, so I headed back up and down the hill again, enjoying the clear blue sky. For once the sky wasn't full of ominous clouds and it wasn't freezing. I headed home on probably the most secure bus I've ever been on-there were two police officers on it heading down into the city. I made it home without any raindrops falling onto my papers or my feet sloshing through puddles of mud. But, best of all, my evening spent washing clothes on my roof during a thunderstorm paid off (despite having my neighbors think I'm crazy) and my clothes finally spent a good uninterrupted eight hours out in the sun and, for the most part, dried. Just a few sweaters and shirts that are a little damp. But yay for having clean, mold-free clothes! The sky started to look a little dark half an hour ago so I rushed up the hill to my house to take down my (mostly) dry clothes and five minutes later, downpour. At least the nice weather lasted well into the afternoon. I am so thankful that my clothes dried-it's hard to gauge when it's going to be a cold, rainy day and when not, so washing clothes means taking the risk that your clothes won't dry for days and will start to get smelly and moldy.

That was my day (up until now). I hope yours was as pleasant and full of sun.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Speaking of immigration...

Here's an NPR story on the perilous journey up from Central America through Mexico with the hope of eventually making it to the U.S. Please note that this journey will just become more dangerous as Guatemala continues to face increasing violence related to drug trafficking. It's a reality that many of the kids I work with may face one day/are facing now.

Just an FYI. And because I love NPR.

Friday, July 1, 2011

On a more light-hearted note

This has nothing at all to do with Guatemala. I am sitting at home in bed, not feeling so hot (but on the mend) and because I am still in my first week of having internet at my fingertips, I have been surfing the web. I can't even begin to explain how I've been jumping from one topic to another. One of my recent pursuits has been organizing my online bookshelf and going through the books I've read lately. I came across Anne of Green Gables, which I reread for maybe the fifth time last year, and learned that it's hundredth anniversary has come and gone (in 2008). Then I came across an article by Margaret Atwood, written for this anniversary. Here is the article: 'Nobody ever did want me'. The article is a few years old, but, as she mentions, Anne really has stayed the same.

Atwood briefly mentions various commemorative items that came out to celebrate the anniversary. I would especially love to have a talking doll that says, "'You mean, hateful boy! How dare you!' followed by the sharp crack of a slate being broken over a thick skull, or else, 'I hate you - I hate you - I hate you! You are a rude, unfeeling woman!'"

Photography and Immigration

Here are some beautifully stark photos from Mexico: People of Clouds
(Read the article first and then scroll down to the see the photos).

Although my town here in Guatemala hasn't seen nearly as much migration as the Mexican town of San Miguel Cuevas, some of the images are similar-mainly the ones dealing with planting and harvesting corn. I thought these images especially highlighted the fact that the elderly and children are the ones left behind, with the elderly grandparents caring for their grandchildren as the generation in between struggles to find work in the States.

Immigration is something I think about quite often. People occasionally ask me my thoughts on immigration, mainly wondering whether or not I agree with the strict measures put in place in Arizona and now Alabama. I'm going to hold off giving opinions and instead remember a young girl I got to know a bit last year. She goes to one of my schools up the mountain and I remember her firstly because I saw her shopping with her mom and sister in the supermarket in the city and she stopped and said hi. The next time I saw her, she was at school and we talked about her friends and family. She said she didn't have many friends, which made me sad. I had my camera that day so we took lots of pictures, and she is in some of them, kind of standing apart from the rest of us. I saw her a few more times before the end of the year. This year when I went back, I looked for her-I could still remember her face-expecting her to find me in the crowd at recess and say hi. But, I didn't see her. Towards the end of my visit, her sister came up to say hi and I asked where her older sister was. She told me she had gone to the States with their mother to be with their father. I was somewhat horror-stricken, images from the movie "Sin Nombre (excellent movie) running through my head. I can't imagine how horrible the trip can be for adults, let alone ten-year-old children, especially with escalating violence here in Guatemala and in Mexico. Her sister told me that they made it safely to the States, but I wonder how much emotional toll the trip took on her. I hope and pray that she is living as normal a life as possible in the States and that the whole family will eventually be reunited.

With her story in mind, I could never say that I hate immigrants. I would have never said that before anyway. I simply respect the fact that people are willing to take risks to find a better life for themselves and for their families. I know that jobs are scarce and the economy is still struggling in the U.S., but even on our worst days, our lives are still much more comfortable and stable than many south of the border.

That's all. Have a good weekend and happy (almost) Independence Day!