Tanta lluvia!

It’s been a tough week here in Guatemala. Mainly, it’s just been the rain. I think I read in one of the newspapers that Guatemala hasn’t had this much rain in 60 years. The crops can’t take it anymore and food prices are already rising in anticipation for how bad the harvest is going to be. Corn stalks are falling over and just going bad with all the rain and because corn is so pivotal to Guatemalan food, who knows how the next year is going to go. I went shopping in the Democracia market in Xela yesterday and prices for pretty much everything (tomatoes, onions, spinach, garlic, etc) have risen by 50 centavos or more. The rain is also causing a ton of mudslides which have killed over 40 people. There was one on the Inter-American highway in Alaska (I think its name comes from the fact that it’s pretty high up altitude-wise and is thus pretty chilly) that took out a bus, micro, and some other vehicles, killing most of the passengers and drivers. Some volunteers went to dig out the bodies and look for survivors and were covered by another mudslide (or landslide? Not sure the difference, but here they’re known as derrumbes). Another bus became victim to another derrumbe. The road between Guatemala and here was not built in the most propitious place-there are lots of mountainous roads carved into earth that is prone to collapsing when there is a lot of rain. Peace Corps has us all confined to our sites for the time being so that people aren’t travelling. The Inter-American highway was closed in parts anyway, so I probably couldn’t even get to Guate if I tried. Because of the road closures there is a shortage of gas here and the lines in Xela were crazy yesterday. Now that I have the garbanzo beans I wanted to make a curry later this week I don’t have to go into Xela for a while.

I’ve been getting kind of restless being inside so much because of all the rain. I’ve been cleaning the house, reading a lot, watching movies, sleeping. I’ve also been cooking and baking a lot. In the past week or so I’ve made a lime bread (supposed to have poppy seeds too but I don’t have any), a really delicious carrot soup, cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (though I ate a lot of the frosting just as it was), apple butter, pancakes, popcorn, etc. I’m going to make some oatmeal cookies and guicoy (like zucchini) nut bread to close out the week when the next storm comes (rumored to start on Thursday). I have stocked up on food (plenty of pasta, rice, beans, flour, oatmeal, cereal, powdered milk, etc.) and have water for drinking, so I’m prepared. I also managed to do laundry this past week and the clothes dried on one of the nice days when the sun was out the whole morning and a few hours in the afternoon, though I had to put most of it out the next day to dry.

I’ve had a couple of crazy experiences in the past week. Over the weekend there was a mini derrumbe on one of the paths to my house and it took out part of the path. I didn’t know it was there and I was walking home one evening after spending time at a friend’s house and walked right by the part that fell away without seeing it-it’s a good thing I didn’t walk off of it. The next day I saw it and knew to steer clear (I pretty much avoid that path now-good thing there are two others). The next day, I heard a thunderstorm in the distance and went to my roof to take down the last of the laundry so that it wouldn’t stay wet for the third or fourth day in a row. As I was taking down the last piece I saw a flash of light and looked behind me because I thought someone was taking my picture but it was lightning that struck pretty close to where I was. Then today I had gone up to school only to find that there were no classes and luckily found a micro right away heading down, so I caught it and sat in comfort for about three-quarters of the ride. However, I had to get out to let someone behind me out and my spot was taken so I was standing by the door which for some reason wouldn’t close and at first I almost fell out until I got the door shut most of the way and held it shut for the rest of my ride. But all is good and I’m healthy and safe and staying where it’s flat (for the most part) so hopefully I’ll stay out of trouble for the next several days.

We had a certification for a school a few weeks ago which went really well. A lot of our directors came and hopefully they'll be inspired by the teachers and director who have done so much to have a healthy school. There were lots of important people there for the celebration-the departmental director of education, a Congresswoman, and Dr. Mack from Peace Corps. The volunteer who started the program here was able to make it back for the celebration too, which was really great. Everyone remembers all the work she did here before she left two years ago and were happy to see her again. There were lots of palabras and reconocimientos (words and recognition)-I even got a plaque even though I haven't done much to help the school. The kids did a dance and three gave a thank you speech, one in Spanish, one in K'iche' and one in English-we helped with the English and she did a really good job memorizing it and getting most of the words right. Then we presented a trophy to the school. Guatemalans love trophies and trophies are mostly used for sports, but we found a non-sport one and taped a toothbrush and toothpaste to the base, so it became a Healthy Schools trophy. Then there was a really delicious lunch of jocón-a dish with a sauce made of tomatillos and cilantro served with rice and chicken and, in our case, tamales.

As for my work, things are winding down. September 15th is Independence Day-I think the schools here have most of the week off-which is also feria in Xela, so I’ll be going to some parades and activities with my host family, which should be fun. My host sister has been learning to play trumpet with her school’s band and they’ll be marching at some point. Then there is the Ferris Wheel (Wheel of Death) to ride, which is scary, but more fun than scary. Then at the beginning of October is feria in one of the municipalities I work in so I’ll be going to see the schools in the parade. Then schools have exams the second week of October so I’ll be done by then. Crazy how fast time flies. I think I probably mention that a lot, but my first eight months (it’s already been eight months!) in Guatemala have flown. They’ve been a great eight months and I’m definitely looking forward to the next 19.