One month done--some thoughts on health care

First, I would like to thank everyone who has read this blog anytime throughout my service. I was mainly writing it so I would have a record of things I had done and because I enjoy writing. I hope that I have helped others gain a better picture of life in Guatemala and in the developing world in general (which can also be gained from past posts in Ecuador and Uganda). I'm sure I will continue to reflect on my life in Guatemala as little things here in the States remind me of my former life (eating some delicious mangoes, buying Maseca in the grocery store, finding a great Latin music radio channel). I will include these reflections while I continue writing about more mundane things as I face a few months in Ohio with little to do.

Two months or so ago, I probably wrote something about only having one month left in Guatemala. Well, now I've been out of Guatemala for a month and it's gone pretty slowly. My English still fails me sometimes and I am not yet ready to hold academic conversations with other people. But I went to a mock law class a few weeks ago and actually was able to follow the entire class and even enjoyed it. I haven't been busy with much of anything concrete. Mainly I've been reading a lot, watching some tv shows I haven't seen before, travelling a little. I can't really get a job right now because there aren't any around here and because I don't know yet whether I will start school in May or in August. And I've had two doctor's appointments, which is what I am writing about now.

Healthcare is in the news lately. The Supreme Court will decide whether or not to uphold the Obamacare mandate. I haven't completely caught up on everything yet so I don't have the full picture, but I am hoping that the healthcare mandate makes it through. Health insurance and health care reform is necessary, mainly to make health insurance available to more people and to improve the coverage provided through health insurance (so pre-existing conditions and prescriptions are covered, among other things). Many Americans continue to go without health insurance. I have been to see a specialist twice in the past two weeks, who after the second appointment told me there is likely nothing seriously wrong with me. Each visit would have cost me $150 out of pocket if I didn't have insurance. My insurance only requires a $25 co-pay for doctor's visits in their network (hopefully--I am dreading getting some invoice in the mail saying nothing is covered). Anyone without health insurance probably would live with their problem until it became impossible to ignore, worrying that the cost of doctors' visits and cost of treatments would be overwhelming. This is why it is important that people have health insurance, and why health insurance should be affordable enough so everyone can pay the monthly premiums. This is why things have to change. With the new requirements that everyone purchase a health insurance policy or pay a penalty/tax, it will make the pool larger which will hopefully give normal people more say in what their insurance will consist of and will also hopefully lower the costs of health insurance. Now, I am no expert, but I want to urge people to read up on this new mandate and get a better idea of what Congress has been dragging their heals on.

That's all for now. I'll write about more goings-on in the weeks to come.

And, just like that, I'm back

After a long day that at the time seemed to go very slowly but really went by pretty fast, I'm back in the States. Yes, I have been back twice during my service, but this time there is a sense of permanence because I will not be going back to Guatemala. The tears started coming as the plane got ready to take off and lasted through when I imagined Guatemala to end and Mexico to begin under the plane (probably about half an hour). I successfully kept most of it in so the people next to me wouldn't think I was an emotional wreck, but the truth is I kind of was an emotional wreck. I knew I wasn't going to be super happy in the States after living in Guatemala. The feeling kind of started at the airport when everyone circled around the people checking us into the plane and made it difficult for anyone outside of their circle to get in. I am talking about this literally, but it could also work as a metaphor. Anyway, despite the fact that we all had assigned seats and the flight people were calling us by groups clearly marked on our tickets, people did not have the patience to sit down and wait for their group to be called. It reminded me of Guatemala, especially my town on market day, when people will make a tight circle around the front and back doors of the bus so they can push their way in when it comes time, making it extremely difficult for the people getting off the bus, so that they can get a seat. There are no assigned seats so it makes sense first come first served. But in this instance, they were calling us in groups to have an organized filing onto the plane. Of course the girl in front of me in line was in a group they hadn't called yet, but when confronted she didn't care, insisting that it should be her turn too, she had waited around enough time and group four was close enough to group 5 anyway. This is an attitude I know I'm not going to like, but it's one I will have to get used to.

After arriving in Dallas and waiting to board my flight to Cleveland, a few times I remembered just how things work in Guatemala. There was a moment after using the bathroom when I had no idea what to do with the toilet paper. I glanced around for a trash can and, not finding one, remembered that our plumbing can handle a small piece of toilet paper. Then, after washing my hands, I waited for them to fully dry before eating my crackers. This is necessary in Guatemala due to there being fecal matter and parasites in the tap water and eating with wet hands may just make you sick. But here in the States, it doesn't matter if I eat with wet hands, or drink a nice glass of cold tap water with ice (which was delicious, but the way). It's just simple little things like this that will slowly help me insert myself back into life in the States but also remind me daily of what I left behind. For the next week, the biggest reminder will be the itchy giant bedbug bites I have all over my body, much worse than the last time I got them. My stuff is once again quarantined in the garage and I will have to deal with it all today, figuring out which stuff I can roast in the dryer (yay-dryer) and which stuff I will have to bag up for 6 months to a year.

It's good to be back with my family, and the heating is kind of nice, especially because my first sight stepping out of the airport at Cleveland was a bunch of snowflakes flying by. And this morning I woke up to see snow on the roofs and a little on the ground. So it's pretty cold out there, but at least I saw snow this year. And there's this super fast internet, which will inevitably turn out to be a time waster. But I have time, for the first time in a while. I always had a ton of stuff to do right up until the very last day in the country, where I was running around to get everyone's signatures to sign off on my COS (Close of Service) tasks. But now I can just leisurely sit here, read a book, surf the web, maybe run errands with my mom later (I figure shock therapy is best to treat my culture shock, so off to a sale at Khol's for a new iron). We'll see. I guess I'll keep writing about life in the States and thoughts and feelings on that front.

For my friends in Guatemala, enjoy the time you have left. It really is a treasure (I know, kind of sentimental and cliched, but how things really are). And enjoy the warm weather, fresh mangoes, and low prices. And everything else.

Take care, God's blessings, and I'm off to itch my bedbug bites.

8

It's really kind of interesting that I find time to write blog entries despite this crazy wrapping up I have to do here. I have two schools left to visit, lots of neighbors and other community members to say goodbye to, packing, paperwork to fill out and reports to write. This blog has clearly become my procrastination crutch, offering me something to do when I run out of facebook updates or videos to watch on youtube. Saying goodbye to everyone is what takes so long. And I have to make sure I say bye to everyone or else in five years or so they will be telling whatever volunteer/gringo finds their way here that there was once a gringa (they might remember my name, or perhaps call me Ingrid like some of the kids did today) but she never said goodbye. And most people go into a bit of a tangent of how great we were, leaving our country and our family to spend time here in Guatemala, where life is really hard and there is a lot of crime and insecurity. Really though, this was my dream and I loved it here.

I did not, however, love the school visit we did today. We saved the worst schools for last just to make sure we could visit our best/favorite schools. And the visit didn't go super smoothly. Teachers were out and about wandering around, so they weren't in the classroom to help control the kids. Five classrooms didn't even have a teacher at school, so the principal was running back and forth between these classrooms. And the kids would just sit and stare at us like we were speaking jibberish. It isn't like we never visited this school. Overall, not a good visit. Hopefully we can make up for it with a good visit tomorrow, which I would feel better about if the principal would actually answer my phone to let me know whether or not there are classes tomorrow.

So today was the last time up and down the mountain. No more beautiful views of Xela and Olinte from up in the mountains to the north. Also today was probably the last time I will do English exchange with my friend Astrid. We watched You've Got Mail today (one of the few movies I have with English subtitles). I will miss our daily cooking/movie/talking interactions. And there was even a temblor today, maybe the last I will feel here in Guatemala. I have a night ahead of me filled with more sorting and packing, and some writing of post cards to send out when I stop by the post office in Xela tomorrow after another despedida, this time at my favorite Indian restaurant (for the second time this week!). And the last day of work as a Healthy Schools Volunteer. I may shed a few tears--I've been feeling a little emotionally unstable lately.

9

Ate some Japanese food with my Guatemalan friend Astrid today and it was quite delicious. I had some beef with eggplant and bell peppers in a curry sauce, accompanied by fried rice and miso soup. Too bad I didn't know about this restaurant earlier. I'm sure I would have spent lots of money there.

As far as work today, we met with the directors to introduce them to our replacement--Miguel. I forgot to mention this earlier--we're getting replaced!!! After the sad news that Peace Corps wouldn't be sending new volunteers here, Yuna and I kind of despaired that our work would just kind of putter out and die without a little bit of a force (through the PC volunteer) moving it along. Things have been kind of sustainable, but it takes more than two years to bring about lasting change. So when we heard that there was a possibility that volunteers already in country that would be forced to move from their sites would have the option to stay in country and move into sites already developed, we contacted our bosses and pretty much begged them to send someone. After lots of running around checking out houses, cutting down our list of schools from 21 to 12, making sure the security situation was still good, etc. we were told we would be replaced! Which means that there will be someone around working with Healthy Schools for the next year, and also means that we have a good chance of getting a replacement in 2013 after Miguel leaves. This is really such good news and makes me feel a little better about leaving. Also almost cried during the directors' meeting because our counterpart said such nice things about us and pretty much demanded that directors step up and take control of the project. This just goes to prove that he has actually been listening to us. He even put the spotlight on the schools we had mentioned were the best, even though he's biased against some of them.

Also had a lovely activity with the Preschool in the center of town that we love working with. All of the teachers are super fun and nice and sweet and they invited us to their anniversary celebration today. They celebrate their anniversary every year, so it wasn't something super out of the ordinary (today was celebrating year 23), but they included a really sweet, heart-felt despedida for Yuna and me. They talked about how we introduced them to rincones de salud, how we motivated them to make things better for the kids, how the work was hard but that it was worth all the effort, all of this in front of lots of parents and all the kids. Then they gave us these really beautiful purses made out of traje.

And I saw one of my favorite girls today. I used to see her all the time with her grandmother, who came into the center of town to buy bread and then carry up the giant hill to the community where they were living to sell it. She called out my name and of course her grandma was happy to greet us. After saying we were leaving, she looked sad and genuinely wished us well and gave us God's blessings. I am going to miss how genuine people are here--she really meant what she said. And I really will remember her and miss her and her granddaughter. I am feeling emotional just writing about it.

Things are winding down. I will leave site early Monday morning, so I really only have two more days of work, and three schools to visit in those two days. Hopefully the rumors aren't true and there won't be a meeting on Friday. I guess if there is a meeting and our last visit is cancelled, it would kind of bring this crazy two years full circle. It is Guatemala after all, and things are likely to change for the worse at the last moment.   Luckily for us we've already visited all of our favorite/best schools!

10

Sight of the day: The little girl in the seat in front of me on the bus today was playing with a Barbie doll dressed in traje that I assume her mom made out of some scraps. It warmed my heart. I love it when I see the culture living so visibly through the children. Hopefully the beautiful skirt and blouse that the women here will not die out with future generations (although all signs point to this as the reality).

Today was the last market day I will have in town. I only bought some avocados (three giant ones for Q10=$1.25 mas o menos). I also made some funfetti cupcakes with a friend and stopped by my favorite Q1 one last time and found some shirts and belts. One of my bags is packed and is ready to head into the office tomorrow on one of the shuttles. Ten days left. It's starting to look a little sad in my room. Good thing I have some roses in here to cheer things up a little bit. And some dark chocolate to eat.

Last week in site

Just finished a delicious lunch of pasta with tomatoes, carrots and husquil mixed with tomato sauce and cheese. And now it's raining. We had a few nice days in there, but the rain is back.

I had a pretty great weekend. Saturday morning we ate out with the wife of the pastor of the church we go to in Xela. She's from the States so we've gotten to know each other. This was our despedida (good-bye). She treated us to a really good breakfast at a Mexican restaurant (Los Cebollines), where we also briefly met the new mayor of Xela who was eating with a group of people. Martha, a Guatemalan friend we've worked with for various different activities, invited us over for a despedida. She didn't mention that it was her birthday, but we ended up celebrating with two of her friends and they were really fun people. Martha made a really good lunch of fish (b-something? not sure the name), a salad and rice. We hung out and talked and also had the opportunity to visit the first greenhouse in the Xela area growing roses. Martha's cousins are in charge and one of them showed us around, showing us the different varieties they grow and answering our questions. I bought a dozen red roses for only a little over $3-good deal! Then we went back to the house and ate some delicious coconut cake and headed back home. Sunday we went to church and then headed in to Cemaco to meet some friends from town to look at toaster ovens. The family really likes to bake and want to get a mini oven so that they can actually make something. Then we all headed over for some delicious Indian food at Sabor de la India, where we stuffed ourselves with naan rellena, pollo tandoori, rice with yogurt and cashews and fried tortillas, topped off with a mango yogurt smoothie.

We've been running around like crazy to visit all of our 21 schools before next Monday, which is when I leave site for good. Most mornings we schedule 2 schools and things have worked out well so far-only one cancellation. We saved our worst schools for this week and these are also schools that take a bit longer to get to, so today was just one school visit. The government apparently decided to buy school supplies for the kids (again) so today was a crazy day to visit the school. Most of the teachers were out and about trying to figure out the school supply situation, which meant that kids were also out and about because there was no discipline going on. We managed to visit all 19 classroom in less than 2 hours, but it was a little frustrating getting all of the kids together and trying to find the teacher. Then we finished everything up just as a parent and teacher meeting got underway. We got a few different stories about when the bus would pass and ended up waiting an hour and a half to get on the bus back into town. And then my delicious lunch followed by some dark chocolates I splurged on in Cemaco. I think I'm feeding my emotions with junk food. Just another 11 days (!) of stress eating and then I'll be filling up on all of the good foods I miss from the States.

Falling in Puddles

It rained for the fourth time today. Seriously, is the rainy season already here? Anyway, I was at my friend Astrid's house for a baking lesson. She and her cousin, being Guatemalans, never really made cakes, cookies, pies, breads, etc. before and they really wanted to learn. So far we've made sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, chocolate brownies with frosting, strawberry cheesecake brownies, rice krispie treats, and chocolate cake. Today was a lesson in how to make zucchini bread. I kind of freaked out in the market in Xela the other day over finding zucchini and eggplant and started gushing about how good zucchini bread was, so she bought three zucchini and today we made something she never imagined existed. She thought it was so weird to make bread out of a vegetable. Anyway, we made enough batter for two loaves and had just finished turning on the gas oven when the rain hit. I remembered pretty much right away that the window in my room was open for some fresh air and I hadn't closed it because there was no evidence of rain in the sky when I had left just half an hour before. I didn't mention anything because I thought the rain would stop. Instead, it got stronger and after confessing to Astrid that I was worried about finding a flood in my room, she got a worried look on her face and told me to hurry home. I translated that literally and was practically running with my umbrella held high and clutching my purse to my chest so it wouldn't flop about outside of my umbrella's protection. I was almost home free when I came up short before a large puddle continuously emptying into a stream of water. I made the quick decision to back up a little and move to the side to avoid the river. My feet decided not to follow my brain and instead slipped right into the giant puddle while the rest of my body followed suit. At least my hands lept out to keep me from falling face first, getting wet and full of dirty run-off water (imagine streets filled with garbage including dirty diapers and the remains of lots of food, as well as the poop of animals ranging from cats and dogs to cows and sheep, and the urine of lots of men who don't mind public exposure). My left leg meanwhile fell into the giant puddle just as my purse was swinging forward towards the water. This happened in a matter of seconds. I didn't get hurt or anything. I just got up looking slightly like I was a stumbling bolo. There weren't a ton of people around to witness my embarrassment because almost everyone was holed up at home. The women selling vegetables kind of made an incredulous gesture at me and I just waved and ran off trying to act like nothing had happened despite the giant wet spot running down my left leg.

It was hilarious. I was even laughing at myself. Of course being one of the town's gringas, everyone who saw me knows just who it was that fell down in the rain. It was also one of those moments that you had to be there to really get the hilarity of it all. Just thought I'd share my super klutzy moment of the day.

Only 18 days left! (and that's an exclamation point both of surprise, excitement and sadness, if an exclamation can convey all that)

Lots of lasts

No Superbowl for me. I could watch it on the t.v. I have in my room, but I'm really not feeling like it. So instead, I've been sitting here, listening to the hail and rain hit the plastic roof down the hallway (we've had some crazy weather the past three days), thinking about life--what's been going on and what's coming up.

We've started our last visits to schools. This is where the melancholy hits. Knowing that I will soon leave this world I have become familiar with and go back to a world that I was familiar with is both exciting and depressing. I go through moments of extreme sadness, one that hit me while I was walking through the city the other day. I know my way around here--I know how to navigate the streets of town, what to say to people to start a conversation off right, where to go for the best tortillas, which woman on market day has the best produce. I feel so confident in my ability to live here in Guatemala and it's something that was a bit difficult to come by. And now that I'm an expert, it's hard to let it go again, to lose all that I have gained. But it's time. And since it's time, I'm always thinking in my head whether or not it's the last time I'm doing this or that. I bought toilet paper for the last time, I ate at the Chinese restaurant and the comedor in town for the last time, I washed some clothes by hand for the last time, I stopped by the police station for the last time (just to ask how things were going in town). This list will be growing in the next two weeks as I buy my last recarga for my cell phone or eat my last avocado. It's just hard to close everything up.

Several months back I was thinking of staying. Sometimes I wish I could stay. But so much has changed in the past six months. My host sister passed away, someone broke into my house forcing me to move out, living with my host family has slowly turned from something great to a very awkward situation, and Peace Corps Guatemala is going through some big changes, changes that will tear volunteers from their communities and challenge those left in Guatemala to adapt to even more new things over the next several months. I also have something to go back to-law school. It will be a (very expensive) challenge, but I feel like it's the right next step. I was thinking about law school before Peace Corps and it still seems like the next logic step for me and I'm pretty excited. I always wanted to work with human rights and the law seems like a good medium to turn to for human rights work. We'll see. Anyway, everything points to me going and that's what I'll be doing in less than three weeks. Between then and now, there's a lot of work to do to close up things here--14 schools to visit, neighbors to say good-bye to, paperwork to wrap up, reports to write, (hopefully) a new volunteer to introduce to our site, a pile of crap to pack up, doctor's appointments to go to. And most of this in the two weeks I have left actually in my site. That's part of the reason I haven't updated so much lately--lots to do and not much time to do it in.

Anyway, still plugging away here in Guatemala. Just wanted to share some thoughts as I go into the home stretch. I did some calculations recently and all told, Guatemala has been home for the past 750+ days. I spent some days in the U.S., but that was mainly just as a tourist. There are only 19 more days left. I'm going to try to make the most of it while running around between errands and meetings. I have more mangoes and avocado to eat and a few more English conversations to have with my friend Astrid. I'll try focusing more on the things coming up to keep myself a little more positive.

Celebrating the Little Things

In the midst of all of the mess that is happening with Peace Corps Guatemala, I have decided to focus on something positive today. Maybe tomorrow I will write more about the meeting all of PC Guatemala (almost all volunteers and staff) had today.

Since my time here is rapidly waning, I have decided to celebrate the little things, a few of which I enjoyed today.

1) Mangoes!! It is mango season again and while my favorite smoothie-worthy mango aren't ready yet, the smaller and messier ones are and they are quite delicious. And for the price of 25 cents each (which is actually a little pricey here, I think), they are much more affordable here than back in the States. My current plan is to eat one a day, which I have succeeded in doing for two days now.

2) Avocado!! Yet another food item that is so much cheaper here, which I why I am planning on eating a lot of aguacates in the next month. It is delicious with rice, Tortrix, tortillas, bread, etc. And at the price of 3 avocados for a little over 50 cents, another really great deal I won't be able to find in the States.

3) Hugs!! I began saying my good-byes today. This month will be full of last visits to schools, which will likely consist of visiting individual classrooms and saying good-bye to all of the kids and teachers. At the end we invite the kids to come up and give us lots of hugs, which they usually do (and sometimes they just sit at their desks and look at us like they have no idea what we are saying). I just can't wrap my mind around the fact tht these schools will no longer be 'my' schools and that I will no longer need to know that Seño Amarilis loves showing off her rincon de salud or that Profe Santos works with the little kids. All this info I have in my head about my schools which will no longer be useful. But I love the hugs that come with the good-bye. And someday, hopefully, I will be able to come back and see the kids again.

A month from today I plan on boarding a plane and heading back to the States. That doesn't leave me much time, but I plan on doing as much as I can with the five weeks left to me.

And another change...

...school is back in session!! I loved seeing all of the kids with their nice new backpacks, carrying freshly covered notebooks, walking holding their moms' hands on Monday morning of this week. I didn't have time to go to school-just a quick stop by the superintendent's office to let him know we had a Peace Corps meeting. But I did pass a lot of kids who knew me and stopped to say hi.

This school year has gotten off to a kind of rocky start. Inscription was down because some parents, who in previous years got used to handouts from the government consisting of school supplies, decided that they wouldn't send their kids to school unless the new government also provided school supplies. Teachers also talked of striking until the government agreed to help families with the cost of supplies. But my host mom has been raking in the dough (kind of) as lots of people have been stopping by to purchase the notebooks, pens, art supplies, markers, etc. necessary to start the school year off.

I have nineteen days to visit twenty-one schools. This amount of time may be whittled down as I schedule doctor's appointments, attend Peace Corps meetings, and face cancellations of prepared visits (there are lots of workshops at the beginning of the school year). We have prioritized schools based on who will actually keep going with the program and who is likely to quit (one contender for quitting-the school whose principal gave a fist pump when we mentioned we wouldn't be followed by any volunteers, signifying he was happy the program would stop after our time finished). We are hoping to set up a commission so that some teachers can keep things going in the absence of volunteers, and I truly believe that some schools will keep going with healthy practices and rincones de salud. But it is still unfortunate and sad that our work will be in jeopardy as things come to a standstill. Sustainability is important, but it takes more than two years to really get a project off the ground.

Anyway, that's the other big change in my life. Tomorrow I will be back to visit the superintendent to give him the bad news of the early COS date and to discuss our plans for the next month. Lots to do!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Just imaging the David Bowie song running through my mind. Change is on everyone's mind here in Guatemala. First on the list is the president and lots of local governments that changed over just last week. No word yet on repercussions from this change. I did get to see the loud parade in which the new mayor marched to the municipal building in town. Word on the street (chisme of course) is that the old mayor refused to personally and officially "entregar" (kind of like to give) his position to the new mayor. He really is a douchebag (I know it's a bit of a vulgar choice, but that word is what I think of everytime I see him). I am glad the people of my town decided that his corruption needed to be ended. No word yet on whether or not the muni workers I got to know this past year will be able to stick around. The new president has already started talking about changes, such as decriminalizing drugs. I also think he's started cracking down a little on the narcos. Lots of things to be done so hopefully he can bring about some quick positive change here in Guatemala, just minus the military taking over.

And the thing is, I won't get to see how many of the new changes shape up. Because...I will be leaving in a month. Peace Corps Guatemala is implementing some new policies and are shaping the volunteer population here in Guatemala to match new requirements handed down by those mysterious people heading this agency. All of the volunteers in my training group, the group scheduled to head out March 25th, were emailed about a meeting on Friday evening of last week. We were only given the information that this meeting would concern our COS date and the fact that we were required to take private pullmans (private buses-a much safer and less anxiety-inducing option than chicken buses) to the PC central office. So on Monday night I arrived and on Tuesday they dropped the bomb-we were being sent home one month early. To a lot of people outside of Peace Corps, a month doesn't seem like a lot. For me personally, I was planning on going home a few weeks early, in the second week of March, to visit some schools and start to make up my mind of where I will be next year. But a lot goes on in the last months of service. There are a lot of good-byes to be said, paperwork to fill out, plans to leave behind and parasites to weed out (and for me, probably some cavities to fill). I have a month in site (from yesterday) to finish everything up, with the last week a bevy of stool samples to drop off and forms to fill out and have signed, as well as a COS conference to attend. So I'm out of site on February 20th and I am expecting to fly home February 24th. For a lot of volunteers in my group, that's just too soon. There are still projects going on, chorros and stoves (and who knows what else) that were to be built up until the end of March. However, there is no option to extend as a PC volunteer. Anyone wishing to stay will have to do so on their own dime and with their own health insurance (after the month we are given through the insurance we currently have) and without the support Peace Corps has offered us here. This decision has created a lot of disenchantment and distrust between volunteers and staff, which only became greater after the news that came just two days ago.

Volunteers scheduled to end their service in July will be ending in March, a cut of 4 months. And sites in certain areas will be closed down. Communities will be left high and dry, volunteers will have to make the hard choice of living and working in a new site for a year or so or leaving for the States way ahead of schedule. I'm sure the population of volunteers will shrink drastically, which may lead to cuts of Peace Corps staff. It's just a bad situation all around and a lot of volunteers are upset. My site will still be open to any volunteers requesting a site change, but it seems like most volunteers being moved are choosing to return to the States.

So this is the news and those are the changes. Everyone is still in processing mode. There will be a meeting for all volunteers next week where we can talk to some of those mysterious decision-makers in Washington and hear what they have to say. Communication has been a bit vague here on the ground so it will be nice to get some answers. I'm worried there's going to be a lot of anger and animosity at this meeting. I guess we'll see.

On a happier side, I want to give a shout out to my friend Shaina for the lovely package she sent. Shaina, I know you read this blog so I just want to say thanks! The package came at just the right time, just as things here are getting a little depressing. The UNO will be appreciated by the kids and cousins in the family!

Hope all is well States-side. It's hard to believe that in just a short month I will be leaving what has become my home over two years to what will be home for the next five months or so. And just in time for lots of political ads-woo hoo! (kidding)

A Month-Long Christmas and Other Happenings

There are three big topics to cover in this blog post. Let's start with the one I am sure is on everyone's minds: Christmas!

I am for sure in the Christmas spirit. This is my first Christmas not with my family so I may have gone a little overboard with my cookie baking, but at least I've been able to exercise some self control as far as eating the cookies. I went up the hill to deliver several dozen cookies (cut-outs and almond bars) to my old neighbors and on my way to the second house I heard Vince Guaraldi's version of Greensleeves from A Charlie Brown Christmas being blasted from one house. That put a smile on my face.

Christmas celebrations so far have been interesting. The decorations in the malls and stores have been up for months now. There have even been Guatemalan Santas sitting in giant red chairs in the two malls near me. Christmas music is blasted and Christmas movies are left on as everyone goes about their normal, everyday business. For the past month I've also been enjoying my own mix of favorite Christmas music, including some Vince Guaraldi, Chipmunks and Sufjan Stevens.

Right before Advent season started, there was a week of little (and big) diablos running around chasing people and whacking people with sticks. On the night of the 7th, many families piled up some trash in front of their homes, placed a homemade devil on top of it, and lit it all on fire. This is the tradition of "quemando el diablo" (burning the devil) that happens every year. Burning the devil and trash signifies getting rid of all of the bad of the year before so as to have a fresh start on the next year.

A month ago the Advent season started and my family procured an Advent wreath, something they've never had before. I'm not sure where it came from or whether it is common around here (I don't think it is), but we've been reading devotions together every Sunday night before dinner for the past four weeks. Tomorrow will be the last one as we light the white candle in the center of the wreath. A few weeks ago, my host dad drunkenly put up the Christmas tree and arranged the nativity scene around the tree and my host sister's 'shrine-like area (not really sure what else to call it) in the dining room/former kitchen. There are actually several different nativity scenes involved. Baby Jesus won't be laid out with the scenes until Christmas-right now Mary and Joseph are just standing there waiting. Another Christmas tradition involving Mary and Joseph is the posada, during which a parade of people, some of them holding large statues of Mary and Joseph, march around town bringing the couple to one house or another, asking for a room in the inn (I think-it's what makes sense to me). And my host brother and sister took part in a Christmas pageant, which was really cute. My host sister Jeimy was a shepherd and one of the Magi. Gabriel was a shepherd and a prophet.

Then there are special foods. Marshmallows are a popular buy, as are ready made shortbread-like cookies. This morning we prepared the paches and this evening we will eat them with a fruit punch drink called ponche, which is pretty good. I've inserted my own traditions into life here and have been baking away. So far, I have made gingerbread men, chocolate peppermint cookies, chocolate peppermint biscotti, sugar cookie cut-outs (I found Christmas cookie cutters in a store in the city), and almond bars. Some of them I made with my host family and others I made with a volunteer friend and her host family. Cookies really aren't that hard to make and I am hoping that my showing them how to make them may start something new. The kids are looking forward to helping make some chocolate chip cookies to leave out for Santa tonight (yup, they believe in the whole Santa thing, which has been interesting for me to experience again after so many years of not worrying about Santa and his elves).

As for today and tomorrow, tonight at midnight (and a little before) everyone will go out onto the streets to burn some firecrackers and some will set off fireworks. Tomorrow, much of the same with visits to family members to bring them paches (my host mom is making 75-80 of them) and wish them a merry Christmas. And my town has a convite so many will head to the center to watch a group dance around in masks for hours.

On to topic number two, violence. I fortunately haven't been a victim of any violent crimes. But the problem is that violence is on the rise here in Guatemala as well as in the neighboring countries of Honduras and El Salvador. After fifty years of working here in Guatemala, the program's future is up in the air. In Honduras, they are even going as far as pulling all of the volunteers out for a 30-day administrative leave to see what they can make of the situation. What we do know is that the Peace Corps has suspended future training groups from coming. My partner and I have been working on training materials for the past couple of weeks-we were super excited to help train the volunteers who were to replace us and our fellow group members. But this will no longer happen. On my end of things, what really sucks is that my schools will no longer have a volunteer to work with to motivate them to keep going with Healthy Schools. The recycling program we also have in the works will also likely somewhat die out without us as the connection between the NGOs helping with it and the schools. While we've been focusing on keeping things sustainable, we are still in the beginning stages of our program in our schools, so there's no telling what will stick and what won't. This whole situation also really sucks for anyone who had been planning on coming with the training group to Guatemala in less than two weeks, people who had already put their lives on hold to be ready for two years of service. If any of you are reading this, I am so very sorry you will not get to know this incredible country and call it home for two years. Please know that Peace Corps is simply acting to keep you as safe as possible.

And last topic: law school. I finished up all of my applications in November and have already heard back from four schools. The big news for me is that my top choice, Berkeley, admitted me so I may very well be moving to California in August. University of Michigan, which was also one of my top three choices, also admitted me. (The other two I heard back from are George Washington University and Georgetown, both also possibilities.) I will need to visit some schools when I get home to figure out where exactly I want to spend the next three-four years. Wherever it will be, I am excited to start the next phase of my life, though it will be strange settling down again after two years in this completely different world.

And that's pretty much all for now. There have also been some convites with people dancing around in huge, elaborate costumes and with men dressing as women, as well as some conversations in English with a girl studying to be a bilingual secretary. And once January hits (2012 already?!?), school will start back up and we will have the giant task of figuring out how to train schools in maintaining the program and progressing with it without a volunteer present..

I hope that everyone has a happy and healthy Christmas! God's blessings during this season!

Merry Christmas Eve Day!

It's been a while. I know. I guess I got caught up in vacation time and despite not having anything super concrete to do, I found myself just as busy as ever with new activities.

I promise to write a nice long blog post on recent developments here in Guatemala and in my own life. Lots of exciting things, both good and bad, have been going on. Hopefully this will keep you reading my blog despite a long time since my last post.

The reason I don't have time this morning to sit down and write for a while is because I can hear some movement through the house. This means that my host mom is up and making paches. Paches are giant tamales that Guatemalans eat on Christmas Eve (and other special events) and it happens to be my favorite food here in Guatemala. I am going to go down and help her out. But here is an article I found on NPR about this food I have come to love: Pride and Prejudice: For Latinos tamales offer up a delicious serving of both. I personally love all versions of tamales (minus the sweet corn ones I've had once) that I eat pretty regularly here. My favorites would be paches and tamales con chipilin (a type of greens), or even chuchos, which are tamales with a piece of beef in sauce in the middle. Every tamale is like unwrapping a gift, which may be a big reason of why I love them.

Anyway, just wanted to share a little bit of what I will be doing for Christmas-helping make and then eating these delicious tamales. I'll be back later with more updates and maybe some photos.

Dando gracias

Okay. It's Thanksgiving. I am not really doing much to celebrate it here. I did explain, somewhat inarticulately, to my host family what this holiday is all about. My host mom thought this was our Christmas and seemed surprised when I told her we celebrate that as well. I said something about pilgrims and Native Americans and sharing food and being thankful for not dying.They looked at me like I was kind of crazy, but it made sense to me.

So, I have a lot to be thankful for, something I've been pondering with Thanksgiving looming (like everyone else, I'm sure). I'll keep a running list up here throughout the day.

1. I am thankful for my family. My mom and dad and sisters have always supported me and my crazy treks around the world. I know my mom worries about me constantly and I feel bad for causing her grief, but she knows this is what I love so she's okay with it. And my dad worries as well but not quite as much as mom. And I don't like that they worry, but it shows that they care.
I am also fortunate enough to have a great family here in Guatemala. They have helped me a lot over the past few days in moving all of my stuff from my house up the mountain to their house down in the center of town. My host mom braved the spiders and dust and helped me tidy things up and asked her cousin to help us bring the bigger things down the hill in his pickup truck. This whole ordeal would have been a lot worse if it weren't for them.

2. I am thankful for my friends. My friends have made life more entertaining and more bearable and are always there for me. I haven't had to unload too much drama on them because my life is fairly drama-free, but I know they would be there. I am also fortunate to count on friends who are so engaged in the world and in helping people and who inspire me to be the same.

3. I am thankful for my health. I have always been healthy and this has made my life immensely better, especially travelling in parts of the world where having a weak stomach leads to weeks of intestinal issues. Especially seeing what my host family has gone through this year with diabetes, hydrocephalus and heart problems, I feel very blessed to count myself in good health.

4. I am thankful for my faith. This has also helped me immensely here in Guatemala. I honestly feel as if God is looking out for me and I can tell that he has been answering my prayers. Surrounded by so much poverty and so many difficulties in life while finding that people remain faithful, this has been inspiring to me. Some people might think this is a little crazy, but my faith is stronger than ever. This is due in part to some of the volunteers I have been fortunate to live near and the church here in my neck of the woods that is fantastic, for which I am also thankful.

5. I am thankful to be doing something I love. I'm not getting paid, so it's all the better that I love my job. How many people can say they would gladly work in a super frustrating and thankless job for two years without getting paid? It works so well for me because I love what I do. I love working with the kids and teachers, visiting schools, talking about health issues, giving workshops, helping out with projects, coordinating with NGOs, helping other volunteers with camps or youth group activities, sharing cultural activities, etc. I joined Peace Corps not really knowing what I was getting into, dreading possibly teaching English or working with teens rather than kids, and when I found myself working here in Guatemala with Healthy Schools, I can truly say everything exceeded my expectations.

6. I am thankful for having internet now. My first year and a half in country without internet went well enough, but having it now has made a huge difference in staying connected and getting work done (as well as applying for grad schools). All of the files we are sent from Peace Corps are accessible through internet or from a disc. My teachers and directors sometimes communicate with me through e-mail. I've been limiting my use, but it's there when I need it.

7. I am also thankful for my computer. I spent three long months last year without a computer and it was pretty hard. A lot of Peace Corps work gets done on a computer. All of the files we are sent from Peace Corps are accessible through internet or from a disc. My teachers and directors sometimes communicate with me through e-mail. Again, I get a lot more work done with my computer, typing up notes, looking up activities and lessons, writing letters and other documents, as well as storing my photos so that they don't disappear if my camera disappears. Not to mention movies and music. Since my MP3 player went missing with my friendly neighborhood thief, this is my only access to my favorite tunes, which will become increasingly important as Christmas draws nearer and I need more and more of my favorite Christmas songs.

8. I am thankful for books. These have always been around to keep me sane, especially when my computer crapped out and when I didn't have the internet to keep me occupied. I spend more time reading books than I do on my computer, so these should probably rank above computer and internet, but they aren't necessarily crucial to my work. I am also sharing my love of reading with my host sister Jeimy. We're reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire together in Spanish. So I'm thankful to share this wonderful thing with her (and hopefully inspire her to keep reading when I'm gone).

9. I'm thankful for having 25 years here on earth. I've been blessed with lots of opportunities to really get out there and get to know other people and places and learn from many diverse experiences during my (almost) 25 years of life. With some of the crazy things I've been through, sometimes I'm surprised I've made it this far, but I'm looking forward to whatever the next 25 years (or however many) bring.

10. I am thankful for the 'luxuries' of running water, electricity and indoor plumbing. I remember back when I applied to Peace Corps and requested Africa thinking that I might very well be living in a very rural place with limited or no electricity, no running water, and a hole in the ground. While in Uganda, I experienced this and it was a little tougher (lugging water is hard work!), but I was fine with it after the initial shock wore off (pretty quickly). But having all of these make life so much easier and more pleasant. Sometimes I miss my hole in the ground and having running water of course leads to lots of waste, but I am thankful for having access to these things. And now I have a t.v. in my room! And access to a washing machine (though I will miss washing my clothes by hand sometimes)! Despite a lack of privacy and control over my life, moving back in with my host family does have some advantages.

11. I am thankful for pumpkin pie. This is the one Thanksgiving food I will be eating today courtesy of the Mennonite bakery in the city. I am also thankful that my friend Amber and I snagged the last two. My host family will hopefully enjoy at least this one tradition from Thanksgiving. I am also thankful for all other types of food that I enjoy, some of which Guatemala provides in abundance (fresh fruit and veggies, caldo de res, fried chicken, Tortrix, tortillas, and tamalitos, among lots of others).

12. Home Alone in Spanish. Enough said. (Yay cable!)

Life in the Centro

I'm almost all moved in with the host family. Just a few more bags and boxes to get from my house. My host mom, brother, sister and cousin all came up with me to my house to clean up stuff and pack stuff away. I thought they were just coming up to help me carry stuff down but my host mom went to work and started putting stuff in bags and cleaning up stuff. The two volunteers who lived in the house before me left a lot of crap for me to sort through. I'm a little embarrassed for how messy my family probably thinks I am after seeing the disaster that was my house. I have been saving plastic bags to stuff into bottles to make eco-ladrillos (eco-bricks) with to contribute to someone making a bottle project. I have also been saving all of my recyclables, so lots of glass and plastic bottles, paper and cardboard. From the way my house looks, I kind of look like a crazy pack rat. But all is a bit more orderly now. I found some stuff that got a little damp during the rainy season and was growing some pretty gross-looking mold, so it's nice to not be breathing that in anymore. And now I'll just have to get settled in a much smaller area than I am used to.

 And for my first night back here living in the center of town, I am greeted by the lovely, dulcet tones of children screaming "Que muera el diablo!" (something along the lines of "Die devil!"). I got some of the story from Jeimy, my host sister, which is that this week some teens dressed up all in red are passing through parts of the center of town following the cries of "Que muera el diablo" and hitting the people screaming this with sticks. My host siblings and cousin were of course half-terrified and half-excited for the eventual arrival of the diablos at our house and kept screaming from behind the bars in front of the store. Yes, I suppose they are cowards, hiding where the devils cannot get to them, but I wasn't about to go on the street to be beat with sticks either. Interesting tradition. Other than the screaming, there are a lot more noises here that I was once used to but I have been spoiled with country life where dogs bark and roosters crow, but cars and trucks only pass de vez en cuando. Here there is lots of honking and motors running, as well as the sound of motorcycles speeding by and people talking loudly on the street. It will probably take some getting used to, but hopefully I'll be able to start sleeping again.

On apples and (kind of) breaking and entering

A week ago, I had the most delicious apple ever. Really, it was amazing. Best apple I've ever eaten. And then today I ate an apple and it was awful. Probably not the worst thing I've ever eaten, but pretty bad. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish it, but I only finished eating it to get my daily dose of fruit. This is kind of how my experience in Guatemala has been-some days it's increcible, amazing, happy, best days ever. And some days it is awful-I'm sad, disappointed, depressed, sick, tired, etc. One of those bad days happened on Monday. Let me tell you about it.

Monday started out fine. I got up, I was feeling good, the sun was out. I didn't have much to do, just a visit to the superintenden and a local NGO we work with. Things have slowed down considerably since the school year ended. I've helped out with some camps here and there and we are coordinating with an NGO in the city to think up how to start a recycling program, but things aren't quite as busy. So I was taking my time on Monday. I had some laundry to do, some lunch to make, some dishes to wash. Finally, once 2:45 rolled around, I I decided to head down and work a little. I went through the normal routine of closing doors and locking up. But I forgot my sweater in my room right as I was about to walk out of my house. So I went back into my house, puttered around my room a little. Once I was in the hallway again right outside my room, I heard someone come in my back door. I thought that it was the owner of my house, who has never entered before without knocking, but I of course wasn't thinking this at the time. I heard this mystery person walk to the door between my kitchen/living area and the hallway and put a key in the lock. Since I still thought this was the owner, I figured I would open the door, greet him and then head out (it would be awkward to just be standing in the hallway when he came in and not open the door for him). So I open the door and freeze. I don't exactly know what I saw because things moved so quickly and I froze. What I remember seeing is a kid running out the back door, which was open. He was probably about 4 foot 8, maybe between 12 and 14 years old, straight back hair (I of course didn't think of all these crazy details until everyone started asking me about them). I didn't get a super good look because my automatic reaction was to freeze and kind of deny to myself that this was happening. A few moments after opening the door and the kid running out I went to my back door and looked to see if I could see anyone, but the kid was long gone. 

This was kind of an unexpected but also expected encounter. I mean, I knew something was wrong. About three weeks ago I had noticed some money missing. The doors were all locked, nothing else was misplaced, just the money was gone. So I just thought I was going crazy and misplacing stuff. I even entertained the thought that I was sleepwalking. I mean, I had been losing some sleep while applying to grad school, so this didn't seem too far-fetched. But then about five days later, I noticed that one of my USBs was missing and I knew that I had it after the money was gone because used it. Once again, I thought I was crazy. I didn't think much of it because the doors had all been locked, my computer and Kindle were still around. And then I found out exactly what was happening, something that didn't even enter my thoughts beforehand. Someone had the keys to my house, both the outside and inside doors. It wasn't breaking and entering, not really. This kid would sneak in, unlock the doors, take stuff from my room (which is where all of the stolen things were before he took them), lock up after himself, and slip out. I normally have my money hidden throughout my house, but on this one occasion, I had been saving up money to give to my host family so it was sitting on my dresser so I wouldn't forget it. I never thought that someone would break into my house because the two previous volunteers who lived in this house never had a problem and I hadn't either up until this point. This house has five good years behind it with no problems. Now, no one else from Peace Corps will be able to live here because of this incident. I'm just glad he didn't dig a little deeper into my things to find my passport because that would have caused even more headaches. 

The next few days went by, lots of questions asked, skeptical looks all around. I thought it might be my neighbor's son, but he was acting nonchalant and actually opted to stay in the room and talk with me and his mom rather than hide in front of the tv, and I had seen him right after it happened and he didn't act worried or sketchy in any way. A few people from Peace Corps came to help me deal with talking with the neighbors. The kid left behind one of the keys he was using and we went to the owner to see if he was missing any keys (he is the only other person, supposedly, with keys to my house), and he was missing the one key we found. That seems a little suspicious. I had trusted everyone so much and I found myself not really knowing what to think. I also realized that the kid must have been watching me to know when to come into my house. Before leaving, I close the door between the kitchen and my hallway and lock it and then, shortly afterward, I head out. The day I caught the kid, I had waited around maybe ten-fifteen minutes more to take care of some stuff, get a sweater, etc. This is of course speculation because I can't question this kid, but it seems logical because I hadn't caught him beforehand. And of course no one say anything.

So now I'm moving out. My host family says they are happy to have me, and I have been spending more and more time with them lately, so it will be fine. It's just quite a pain to figure out what to do with furniture, trash left over from two generations of volunteers, my recyclables. Then there's the fact that I'm moving into my host sister's room. Since she died in September, the room has been empty. My host mom claims that they were trying to get my host grandmother to move in there (she didn't want to) so it's no problem. It will be a little weird living in her room and kind of becoming another daughter again (my host dad really does introduce me as his hija to people sometimes), especially when Christmas comes up and it's my family's first Christmas without her. But I will do what I can to lighten the mood and keep the kids happy. I already bought some stuffed animals for the kids to hang on the doorknobs. It will be difficult moving from my own pretty nice house to having a small room and not cooking my own meals. But I will enjoy having company, having access to a washing machine, not worrying about creepy security situations. I've been thinking of pro-con lists since to make myself feel a little better about the whole situation. I will hopefully finish moving, for the most part, by Wednesday. Until then I'm still sleeping in my house-I put extra locks on the inside of the doors so no one can get in. I just can't leave the house because I don't know if this kid has the key to the front door. But my valuables are moved out so no worries about a passport going missing or my computer being stolen. It will be sad to not buy from my favorite store up by my house, no more free guisquiles from the owner of my house, I won't see my favorite neighbors as often, I won't be able to bake as often or walk around my house in shorts with my legs unshaved. But I will beel more secure and won't lose anything more.

But really, this sucks. I just don't feel safe anymore and I feel like I can't trust any of my neighbors, which is not a great feeling. I really felt safe in my house, it was the one place where I felt 100% safe. I would always say hi to my neighbors and talk about the weather or life in the US with them. I would make cookies and drop them off with Dona Estela for her four kids. I would walk up the hill with the kids who would continuously ask me questions about words in English. Now I can't greet people without wondering if they know the kid or were involved in his crime. I know this is illogical, but my brain is kind of in overdrive with suspicions and all. And since no one has any idea who this kid is (how could no one have seen him-he was entering my house in daylight? I guess the back door hides most of what he was doing, but still you could see him go around the side of my house to get there.) The stress has led to me eating more than usual (that's what stress does to me) and not being able to sleep. This was further compounded by the fact that the night after finding this kid in my house, I went to listen to some music after lying awake for three hours and found that my MP3 player was also gone (item number three to be missing, which happened between Thursday and Monday because I last listened to it Thursday night). Benedryl works some of the time, but I don't like feeling drowsy the next day. Hopefully the sleep will improve once I move in with the host fam. And the next week will be full of moving my things little by little from my house and cleaning up after myself. My host mom will be out of town so I can't really move the majority of my stuff in until mid-next week (I took two trips today with clothes and books), so my planned trip over Thanksgiving and for my birthday will not happen, but I plan on treating myself to some Indian food to celebrate my favorite holiday and 25th birthday. And I am rewarding/comforting myself now with movies and popcorn. Tonight: While You Were Sleeping, an old favorite I haven't seen in years. Not to mention slowly making my way through a bottle of cheap wine.

All is well, but my life has taken a rather interesting turn and I will keep all updated on my new(ish) life with my host family. I'm just glad that the kid didn't kill me in my sleep or attack me when I found him. And that I am not going crazy and misplacing everything. Ariel, one of the Peace Corps safety and security officers, did mention that it did kind of make sense, finishing up my service where I started, with my host fam. And my Spanish will improve at a faster rate. It's sad that I feel violated and all, but I won't let this one crappy incident keep me from enjoying the end of my time here in Guatemala. 

It's harvest time

Right now I can hear the kids outside my window, talking to each other as they husk the corn and throw it into baskets. Their parents, meanwhile, are in the field behind my house, cutting down the stalks and gathering the corn. Luckily this year it didn't rain and ruin the crop so it's looking like it will be a good year for corn and hopefully tortilla prices will go back to being 4 for Q1 rather than the 3 for Q1 that it is now. Also luckily, the weather has been gorgeous these past few weeks-sun shining, clear blue sky, a little on the hot side, a light breeze blowing through the corn stalks. The color of the corn turned from green to golden several weeks ago, and the golden color will disappear from the fields to become the brown of the soil. This is how Guatemala will look until I leave in March, which is a little depressing but I feel fortunate to have seen so many beautiful sites here up to now. Right now I'm going up to the roof to check on my clothes to see if they have dried, which they probably have since the sun is so strong lately.

New president

By the end of today Guatemala will have a new president. Unfortunately, most people I have talked to agree that there really isn't much of a viable option. It's sad to think that people have no hope for the future and are pretty resigned to the fact that there isn't a leader out there to bring the country out of insecurity and poverty. I guess we'll see what happens over the next four years and have to hope for the best. I'll update when we know who it will be.

Update: We have a new president here in Guatemala. The fireworks started going off half an hour ago or so. And the winner is, of course, Otto Perez Molina of Partido Patriota. Here's an article (in Spanish).

Another update: Here's a NYT article in English, with some interesting facts. It appears my host mom was among the 50% or so of Guatemalans who did not vote, largely feeling that choosing between the two candidates was a "choice between two deadly diseases." I sincerely hope Molina proves everyone wrong and manages to improve the security situation (with money from who knows where) while maintaining human rights standards and tal vez righting some of the wrongs of the past.

Caterpillar Coats and the Cold

I love (kind-of) alliteration. I am surprised I still know what it is. I need to get back in the "school" mindset. It's going to be a challenge. On to life in Guatemala.

Even the caterpillars are fluffing up and moving inside to avoid the cold. I am watching one right now make his/her way around my room, moving within a two square-foot space between the electrical cord of the computer, a belt on the floor, some aluminum foil and a receipt. (I haven't cleaned in a while so there are a few items scattered about the floor.) The caterpillar especially seems to like it under the receipt on the floor-I guess maybe it's a little warmer there? Hopefully it won't try to crawl into bed with me, like a spider tried to do last night.

It has been cold enough here to warrant an advisory from the government, along with the setting up of some centers in the city for people who do not handle the cold very well. It got down to about 6 degrees (Celsius of course) last weekend, which is around 42 degrees for those in the States. In a place where heating does not exist and houses are very poorly insulated (with huge gaps under the door and surrounding the windows that let in all the cool air), that is cold. Luckily I have plenty of warm pajamas and a nice wool blanket and down comforter on my bed, so I stay warm.

School is officially done. All of the teachers were at the superintendent's office today to turn in their paperwork. The only school activity I still have left is a pizza party with the "Healthiest School of the Year" on Thursday, which will be fun. On this past Friday, I was the god-mother to a graduating sixth grade class, so got to attend their graduation ceremony (as well as a ceremony for the preschool graduates). As the god-mother you have to buy them a little gift, so with the teacher and principal who were also god-parents we bought each student a scarf, something that will come in handy as the temperature continues to drop. In return, I got another plate for my collection. This one is pretty, with pink ribbon and butterflies. I may try to get it home if I have enough space in my luggage. The sad thing though is that this was the principal's last activity with the school. He is retiring and turned in all of his papers today. He was one of the best principals and was one of the first people we met when we moved out here to start work. The community and kids will miss him a lot, but he will still be around. He even joked about running for mayor and didn't completely dismiss it as a possibility.

Speaking of going home, that is coming up pretty rapidly. I can't believe that we are already down to under five months. The weeks fly by so that will seem like no time at all. I made lasagna and apple pie with my host family last week and my host mom started tearing up when we were talking about how soon I would be going, which just made me sad. I am going to try to stop thinking about it for now and just go on with things like I will still be here forever, but it will become increasingly more challenging as the weeks and months fly by.

Just Another Beautiful Day

We had the third day in a row with sun and it was marvelous! I took the opportunity, with no clouds in the sky to portend coming rain, to do some laundry so now I have enough underwear and clean sheets to get me through the next couple of weeks. I ran out of pillowcases last week and have been using a shirt--that's kind of how desperate the situation was getting. I also got my daily fill of Vitamin D (and then some).  It was warm and sunny, birds were singing, kids were out playing. I think I've just been spending too much time in my house. There may be more rains coming Monday, but until then I plan to spend time on my roof eating and cleaning more clothes so that I won't feel like too much of a zombie if I'm locked up in my house for another week. And I went into the city and bought some groceries and treats to reward myself (I know, it's a silly selfish thing, but I really have been living off of pasta and rice for a while now and needed a hamburger to get a protein fix). I brought some bread to my host family and played some UNO with the kids. Then back to my house to work on grad school applications. It's been a good day and hopefully tomorrow will also be a bright, beautiful day.

As for work, we haven't been able to do anything. The government issued a 30-day 'state of calamity' because of all of the damage done to roads and bridges and, as part of this, has cancelled classes. Teachers went in anyway this week to administer tests and today I saw quite a few in the center of town turning in paper work and going to a meeting. It's safe to say that my work here is done as far as this year goes. Next week I have a closing ceremony for a sixth grade class and a meeting to discuss trash management in town with an NGO that is interested in supporting some type of program (yay!), so I still have stuff to do, but it's more laid-back. The school year will apparently start on January 9th next year, but will probably end up being pushed back a few weeks or so. I guess we'll see.

That's all. Just want to let everyone know that the rain is gone (for now) and that I didn't go too crazy holed up inside. Hope all is well and that everyone who can is enjoying the fall colors. This will be my second year without the colorful rolling hills of Gambier or raking up leaves in the yard during fall break. I guess we'll see where I am next year, hopefully somewhere with some color.