Different pace
5am the alarm rings and my day begins. I make breakfast, iron clothes, take a shower, brush my teeth, feed the dog, take the dog out to the restroom, and then off to work. Work ends around 5-ish if I’m lucky. Then it’s off to errands until I make it home, cook dinner, detox from the day and go to bed. It’s a very busy day, but a normal day. There really isn’t much time for friends, and barely enough time for me. That’s my life in the States. A life I left behind for my new life, here, in Guatemala. My days vary from day to day. Some mornings I wake up at 5 and others at 8am. Some days I go to the office, and other days I go to the field and work the coffee crops. Some days are completely filled, and others filled with pure relaxation. There’s no rush on time; and if we need more, there’s always tomorrow. What a complete change of pace?
At first, it was difficult for me to relax. I was so use to having almost every minute of my day mapped out. Now, I’m winging it. Some days I show up to work, and the meeting has been cancelled. Now what? Do I just go back home and sit idly or do I find something else to do? Do I stay with one of my coworkers, or do I do my own thing? Amazingly, I have spent most of those days working on my Spanish either alone or with one of my coworkers, or I catch up on things I had been meaning to do before.
I must say, I found it very strange to have so much free time on my hands, but now I put that time to good use. I work on small projects like painting my wooden furniture, or reading up some more on coffee, or finding ways to make my classes more fun. I’m finding new strengths within myself, and I am taking more time out for me….a luxury I did not have in the States.
5am the alarm rings and my day begins. I make breakfast, iron clothes, take a shower, brush my teeth, feed the dog, take the dog out to the restroom, and then off to work. Work ends around 5-ish if I’m lucky. Then it’s off to errands until I make it home, cook dinner, detox from the day and go to bed. It’s a very busy day, but a normal day. There really isn’t much time for friends, and barely enough time for me. That’s my life in the States. A life I left behind for my new life, here, in Guatemala. My days vary from day to day. Some mornings I wake up at 5 and others at 8am. Some days I go to the office, and other days I go to the field and work the coffee crops. Some days are completely filled, and others filled with pure relaxation. There’s no rush on time; and if we need more, there’s always tomorrow. What a complete change of pace?
At first, it was difficult for me to relax. I was so use to having almost every minute of my day mapped out. Now, I’m winging it. Some days I show up to work, and the meeting has been cancelled. Now what? Do I just go back home and sit idly or do I find something else to do? Do I stay with one of my coworkers, or do I do my own thing? Amazingly, I have spent most of those days working on my Spanish either alone or with one of my coworkers, or I catch up on things I had been meaning to do before.
I must say, I found it very strange to have so much free time on my hands, but now I put that time to good use. I work on small projects like painting my wooden furniture, or reading up some more on coffee, or finding ways to make my classes more fun. I’m finding new strengths within myself, and I am taking more time out for me….a luxury I did not have in the States.
This past week, PC offered a training class in Project Development for those of us in sustainable agriculture. A coworker and I both attended, and I must say, it was well worth it. It showed the steps in planning a project, and how important it is to be sustainable.
SUSTAINABLE……What does this mean? According to Encarta Dictionary, it
means “to be able to be maintained, or to exploit natural resources without
destroying the ecological balance of an area”.
Everything we do as PC volunteers should fall into the category of sustainable.
Otherwise, what’s the point in helping if the people we are here to help can’t
continue when we are no longer here?
I take my job very seriously. Instead of just doing things on the computer, I show
them how to do it. It takes some time, and it can be very frustrating, but it’s worth
it in the end. Despite the language barrier, especially in teaching technical things,
my counterparts have seemed to enjoy our lessons. The funny thing, it’s not just
them learning to be sustainable. I’m learning as well. I knew nothing of coffee before
I arrived here. I don’t even like to drink it. But in the past few months, I’ve learned
so much about how coffee is grown, cut, picked, pulled apart, toasted and shipped
for export; all without expensive machinery. I’m not sure I could have had this
experience anywhere else. It’s very labor intensive, but with the help of others, we
get through it. It’s very interesting to me that in our country, we rely on so much
technology. Here, where I work, they don’t have that luxury. Here, a sustainable
relationship is worth more than technology. We work together towards a common
goal, and there is no time for “I” in the equation.
After the workshop, my coworker thanked me for going with him. I explained to him that we are a team, and it would do neither of us any good for only one of us to go. It was important that we went through it together. We have ideas for secondary projects in the future. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.
Yesterday, we had our general assembly at my cooperative, and I couldn't have been more proud of such a job well done. We decorated the night before, spending all day cutting out giant letters to spell (Bienvenidos. 2 Asamblea General. Cooperativa Flor de Café, San Martineca R.L.). We spent all day the day before, decorating with balloons, cutting out letters, putting up crepe paper, covering the floor with pine needles, cleaning the bathrooms, and prepping the food. A lot for one day before, huh? I even had to bake 10 cakes for the event. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much, but it was all worth it. The event was better than expected, and my APCD even showed up for support. I look forward to next year's!
It was Rudy's B'day! Feliz Cumpleaños!
Un Nuevo Consejo
(The New Council)
My Blog List
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Life Sad Thoughts1 year ago
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The Circus is in Town10 years ago
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Normal to Me, Incredible to Others13 years ago
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Becoming the person who "did that"13 years ago
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Adios13 years ago
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