This Christmas was my first time away from family.  I decided that I was not going to be sad about it.  Instead, I made plans with my new family and friends here. 












The day after Christmas, my town was crazy busy!  We were celebrating 13 years of peace.  We had a great ceremony!  Our town is very proud of this accomplishment.  To keep the festivities going, I had a mini-partyat my house with my friends.  We had an SMJ-PC party.  It was great!  I cooked steak with onions & peppers, mashed potatoes, homemade mac & cheese, 2 cakes, and Candy made a cheese ball.  It was perfect! 






I must say, this holiday was better than I expected it to be.  For my first Christmas outide of the U.S., I had a blast!  Thanks to all my friends, family, and new family in Guate!  I hope you had a good holiday as well.

This past weekend, the crew of SMJ went to the beach!  Of course, we had to take the buses.  I must say, it was hot as the equator!  We took several buses to get there, and I was dripping with sweat by the time we arrived.  It was all worth it when we were almost to the beach.  We had to ride a long canal boat to get to the beach.  It was beautiful!  The water was filled with cranes!  I felt like such a tourist snapping pictures left and right.  When we arrivd at the beach, I was taken back by such a magnificent view.  The Pacific Ocean as a back drop for beautiful black sand.  It was amazing!

The house we stayed in was great.  It reminded me of one of the "Real World" houses.  It was so open, and large.  It had a salt-water swimming pool, 6 hammocks, and 3 roms with a lot of beds (20, I think) with a beautiful view of the ocean.  If I lived there, I would never go back to the U.S.  It was awesome!

The only thing that sucked were the mosquito bites.  We were covered in them!  I'm still itching!  Thank God for hydrocortisone.

At the end of our trip, we were allowed to visit a turtle hatchery.  They repopulate the ocean wih turtles.  The hatch, and then they take them to the beach and let them go.  All of the turtles make a mad dash for the ocean.  It is a breath-taking experience. 



You hope and pray that they all survive, but you know they all won't make back each year.

In the States, times have changed somuch.  It has increased in danger ten fold.  No more are the days of trusting a stranger to help you out and give you a ride off the side of the road.  If you think that's bad, you can thank all of the crime-solving shows that give you every detail of just how dangerous a "stranger" can be.  All those years of embedded training that "strangers" can't be trusted.

Now, I find myself in a world that's similar, but still quite different.  Here, in a country where at least 75% of the population is barely making it day to day, public transportation is the only option for many.  Yet, if you live in a small village "aldea", you may not have public transportation at all.  Because these aldeas don't have paved roads, the tricked-out school buses many people depend on are unavailable.  These people have to depend on the kindness of strangers.

As I rode in the pick-up with one of my co-workers going to an aldea, we stopped a couple of times and picked up people along the way.  There's very little conversation between them, and, sometimes, there is none at all.  It's an understood way of doing things here.  To them, it's just another day, there way of life, but to me, it's a simple act of kindness that I think the world is missing.  My coworker could have let those people walk the 2 to 3 hours to their village up and down the mountain side, but he didn't. 

It meant a lot to me to watch. This crazy world does not allow for too many of these events to take place, but in this corner of the world, I have found a simple act of kindess.

Today is Thanksgiving, but here it's just another day. 

It's my first holiday away from my family.  I have spent this time with family for almost 3 decades.  The thought of spending this day without them troubled me at first.  What would I do?  Will I cook?  Will I be with new friends?  I decided that none of that mattered when I woke up this morning.  Here I was a given a day to just remind myself of the things I am thankful for.  So in the spirit of the day, here is what I am thankful for:

GOD - for helping me find my way back to HIM

my mom - for raising a strong, independent, young black woman

my grandma - for teaching me the power knowledge holds

my grandpa - for teaching me hard work and the spirit of never quitting

my sister - for showing me just how important family ties need to be

my big brother - for teaching me you can cook with anything

my little brother - for showing me how important your dreams are

my Godmom - for knocking some good sense into me

my Godsis - for showing me sometimes you have to take the road less traveled

my Church Family (Elim Christian Fellowship) - for showing me just how important fellowship is when trying to reach an understanding of GOD

my prayer partner (Nat) - for helping take that step into the Kingdom

my professor (Dr. O) - for proving that no matter how tough someone is on you, you can still achieve greatness

my volunteer family (SAES & Kee-koo-ka-la) - for proving that family doesn't have to be blood

my baby (Coffee) - for showing me that despite being damaged goods, everyone and everything needs love

my best friends - for not taking my crap and always sticking by me

my guy - for loving me depite my brief spells of crazy

Peace Corps Guatemala (all the people who made this possible) - for showing me that frst experiences will not be last experiences, and I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE


As you enjoy your Thanksgiving either with family and friends or without, thank God for blessing you wit another day. 

HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING!

We made our way back to the bus stop, which means we traveled through the food court.  I must say, this was a genius design plan.  It's the only entrance for walkers.  You have to go through  the food court.  You catch people either hungry before they go in or hungry after they come out.  It's brillant!  Those restaurants are making money!

I don't think I will be making frequent trips back, but I will make a cookie dough run every once and a while to treat myself.  That's my Guatemalan Wal-Mart (Hyper Pais) adventure!

Yesterday, I finally recieved a package from my department at my university. I was so exited because I had been waiting for like 6 weeks. It was due!

I opened the box, ad there were a whole bunch of the thngs that make me feel so great:
          Wise Cheese Doodles
          Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
          Starkist Tuna
          Ritz Crackers
          Kraft Miracle Whip



Oh the joy of my American Eats! We have the usual suspect of American cuisine here like McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, and (my personal favorite) Domino's Pizza, but there's nothing like snack food. Don't get me wrong, though, I definitely eat Guatemalan food, especially this chicken and rice dish with this tomato-like sauce called "pepian". But there's nothing like snacking on my favorites to move to a state of uncontrollable bliss.

Then it dawns me.....I have an addiction. I have been in country almost 4 months now, and I went crazy when I saw my favorite snacks. I wonder if there's some kind of support group for people who are addicted to snacks. You know...like those AA meetings or the ones for people who ar addicted to drugs. Granted, mine is not as serious as those, but I need help (I think).

Well, for right now, I am a happy camper.  I can't say I wouldn't be sad if I didn't get my favorite snacks here and there.  Maybe after 2 years in country, I will learn to live without my favorites.......maybe not!

This week was our feria (fair) in town, and I am completelty amazed!  It's like the state fair back at home without the animals, and without all the rides.  Pretty much, it's a bunch of people selling stuff like: jewelry, shoes (sneakers too), bowls, cups, belts, shirts, pants, gloves, candy, food (all types).  The best part....you have no idea where to begin.  They are everywhere in the center of town. 

I bought these hand made clay mugs for less than $2 a piece.  They are beautiful!  I bought a D&G belt for $1, and a pair of NIKE gloves for 50 cents.  It was awesome!

I ate so much street food - anything that's actually cooked in the street.  It smelt so good, and tasted great too!  I had 12 bags of cotton candy in all.  It was hard to resist since they were less than 25 cents a bag.

One night, me and my site mate decided to go on the ferris wheel.  Now, let me see if I can describe how serious this is here.  1 - They normally do not have amusement park rides here for adults, so the ferris wheel is a big thing.  2 - The ferris wheel is not quite as large as our big ones in the States, but high enough for Guatemalans.  3 - The ferris wheel looks like a 1920's ferris wheel; complete with actual domestic light bulbs between the seats.  4 - These babies go way faster than ours in the States, and they go backwards as well.  So all in all - it was soooooo much fun!

Now the main event!  This year, my town decided to get a mechanical bull - you know for all the cowboys we have in town.  Not surprisingly, everyone was there watching.  Men were getting thrown off left and right.  Eventually, an old man talked my site mate into getting up there and riding.  Now first, she said no because she actually knows most of the people in town, but I explained to her that she only has 5 more months.  What does she have to lose?  She agreed, the crowd cheered, and it was the funniest crap I had seen in weeks.  She had a good time, and I got a great video out of it.  Of course you know I was next!  They cheered me on screaming "Moreña" meaning "dark girl" or "brown girl".  I loved it!  It was my first time ever riding a mechanical bull.  Funny how it ended up being here in Guatemala.

The next day, my host family said the entire town was talking about how the "gringa" and the "moreña" rode the bull.  Yes, great times!  I have 2 whole years to live this down here.  I wonder if they will bring it again next year, and if they will chant "Moreña" again if I go.

Only time will tell!

It's officially been one week since I have been in my new site.  The funny thing . . . I'm not sure if I feel like I've been here for much longer or if I feel like I'm just starting out.  I must declare, it's been a week of mixed feelings.  In training, you're watched like children.  Your famly is watching you.  The PC staff is watching you, and your program or group mates are watching you.  Now, in site, you're on your own.  No one is telling you what your schedule is day to day from 8am to 5pm daily.  I must say . . . it's a nice change of pace.

My professional life has returned to some state of normalcy this past week.  I didn't even feel like a new comer.  Despite my inefficient Spanish level, I was able to accomplish a lot.  I helped them design a new label for their coffee packets, designed their banner for our feria, add the finishing touches to their brochure, and introduce them to a new area to sell their products next year to get their name more visible.  I felt like I accomplished, easily, 3 months of work in one week.

I think I should slow down a little and pace myself.  Although, I have never been one to slow down when it comes to work.  It's the one area of my life, no matter what, I always seem to excel in!  I guess it's in the genes.

Now in my peronal life, I can't say things have been that great.  I have accomplished some things, but I feel a little out of touch.  I'm finding that there's a big difference in what I want to do and what is realistic for me to do at any given point.  I was trully blessed with a place that basically came fully furnished with a sweet setup, but there are some minor flaws I would like to remedy.  For example, I don't have a dresser for my clothes.  I would like to build my own dresser, but it is proving to be a little more difficult because the materials cost.  I know eventually I will be able to build it.  Due to the storm here of late, it' been extremely difficult to wash my clothes.  Since everything is washed by hand and hung out to dry, the rain has made it near impossible for my clothes to dry.  It seems patience is a skill I need to master while I'm here.

Despite this minor flaw, I have accomplished some basic minor tasks: 
           I built a fire pit in my yard to burn my trash.    
           I painted two walls in my bedroom wit a nice linear design.
           I disenfcted and thoroughly cleaned my kitchen, bathroom and bedroom - in the presence of spiders, which I'm extremely scared of!

 All in all, I have finished several preset objectives, and that's with a 6pm curfew.

I wonder if thngs will slow down, or if they continue at this pace.  Only time will tell.

This week, we trainees finished up our last week together. We had a meeting where we discussed our committment to service. Each of us took a few minutes to express our feelings. As I sat there wondering exactly what I was going to say, I started remembering my high school days. I began to chuckle at my thoughts, "How did I end up here?" I was suppose to go to school to study chemistry. Instead, I ended up at a great HBCU (Historically Black College or University) studying business. This path took me this way and that way, but it also led me straight back to my university to pursue my masters in agricultural economics.

It's funny how just 3 years ago I knew nothing of agriculture other than the fact that it involved farming. Now, I am in Guatemala getting ready to teach coffee farmers better business practices for the next 2 years. My, oh my, how my life has twisted and turned. I never imagined my life like this, and I never thought I would be living in another country.

I wouldn't want to change where I am right now at this moment! It doesn't get any better than this! GOD has truly blessed me!

So to those people of my past who remember that nerdy girl who loved chemistry . . . . I still love chemistry, but I have found my place in the world. Thanks for being a part of my past, and I hope you can be part of my future.

Now the big day is here. The day we transition from trainees to volunteers. After today, we embark on our new journies - some in the east, some in the west, and some in the center. Today we start teaching how important it is to have good nutrition, good business practices, and how small organizations have voice even if they are small.

Today is a brand new day.

SO..... Here is to everyone that's starting their brand new day!

So I’ve been living in Guatemala for almost 3 months now, and some things are very normal to me that would not have been 3 months ago. Every few days we take public transportation “Camioneta” which is a school bus outfitted to cram as many people in them as possible. Now normally, I’m okay with riding the bus. I’m used to being squished sitting 3 to a seat on both sides and at least 15 people squished together down the aisle, but one day, I was shocked.


I was on my way to the training center, and I had to swap buses. When I arrived on the second bus, there were a few empty seats so I was happy. There were other trainees on the bus as well. We were talking, and we knew that it was time to hold on to the rails on top of the seats because the road to the center is very curvy. We take our respective places and began our climb to our location at 1800 meters.


We have ridden this type of bus before: red, white, blue and yellow with a large sign that says Anitgua & Guate in bright lights on the front. It normally takes us like 20-25 minutes to get there. What we were not expecting was to magically arrive there in about 15 minutes. Our bus driver seemed to be in a race with himself. He took every turn as hard as he could, and he even rode in 2 lanes. 2 LANES PEOPLE! I don’t know if any of you have every driven up the side of a mountain, but driving at excess speeds is extremely difficult especially on a curvy road. I thought one of my friends was going to be sick. He looked a little red, and his eyes were starting to water. Most of tried to act like we didn’t notice what was going on.


For a brief minute there I felt like I was riding a fair ride. It had all the signs: fast speed, jerking motion, a lot of people, and a scary looking operator. Come to think of it, I was on a fair ride . . . .known as the Magic School Bus.

A few weekends ago, we hiked a volcano named Pacaya. It is suppose to be one of the easier ones. For me, it was a challenge. I attempted to walk up the volcano for about 20 minutes, and then I gave in to temptation and purchased a horse for the rest of the trip up.

For those of you who know me wll, you nw that I have never even been close to a horse before. They scare me! I quickly overcame my fears and hopped my fat butt up on top of the horse, Carmello. He was a smooth walker, and I even learned how to start and stop him. It was one of the most relaxing parts of the trip.

We arrived at this plateau for lunch, and the view was beautiful. It was so majestic and peaceful. After lunch, we started on our adventure of crossing the volcanoe. This means we had to slide down one side covered in ash and rock, and then cross the barren lands to actually come face to face with lava. LAVA PEOPLE!

We got to a spot we were comfortable, and roasted marshmallows and made mini smores! It was a blast. By the end of the trip, we were all exhausted, but it was a great day.

I know words cannot trully do it justice, so I have incorporated a video for your pleasure. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s the little things that mean so much.

Saturday morning, after a full week of non-showering or truly washing (only with baby wipes), I got to take a shower. But this shower wasn’t just any old ordinary shower. IT WAS HOT! The best shower of my life! My first HOT shower since I had been in country, which is about 7 weeks. It felt so good to stand there underneath the hot water as it ran from the top of my head down to my feet. I never knew that a shower could make feel so happy. I felt like there were rainbows and fairies singing in the background. The only sad part of this experience, I couldn’t let the water get into my eyes or mouth. (Water contamination is possible!) It wasn’t even a major factor for me because nothing and no one could take that moment away from me!

During my training in FBT, I experienced some challenges (like walking). To get to my host family’s house, I had to walk through this huge corn field. Now there was a small path with a pretty decent size hill on it. Most of the time I was able to walk up and down the hill (slowly) without much incidence, but there is one time I was not so lucky. I was on my way back to the house (in the dark) with my lantern in hand and my backpack (heavy as 17in. laptop with all the fixings, baby wipes, 1st aid kit, notebook . . .) on my back. Now when returning, I go down the hill which is normally better than going up. This time, I slide down the hill like a surfer catching a wave or a skateboarder sliding down a rail. It was sooo scary because I just knew I was going to fall. By the grace of God, I managed not to fall, but I had shoes covered in mud.

Later on that week, we visited a coffee farm that had rows of coffee plants as far as the eye could see. It was so beautiful. I loved it until I found out we had to hike up to the top of the coffee farm. I’m not quite sure how many kilometers we hiked, but by the time I reached the top, I hated everyone I was with. I sweated so much. I felt icky and gross, but the view was spectacular! I took several photos. You could see the corn fields that met the end of the coffee fields. Words do no justice for this place! It was that beautiful! As we were walking back down, gravity decided to take control, and I fell down 2 rows of coffee plants. That’s right, finally some falling! I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or feel sorry for the coffee plants. I know one thing, my butt was sooo dirty! As I got up and attempted to finish down the steep hill, I fell again down another 2 rows of coffee plants. This was the day for falling, I convinced myself. I had been blessed earlier, but now I had to face reality and gravity.

I was relieved to know I had enough baby wipes with me to at least wipe my hands well!

I must preface this story with the following information: This experience
documents my moments of personal growth. This story is meant to share my
feelings at that time, and does not represent how I feel now. Enjoy the
story!


The drive up to Coban was so much fun I almost forgot why I was going. We sang songs, picked on our only guy trainee, and even harassed our tech trainer. It was a blast! But reality quickly set in as I found out we were not going to stop at Hyper-Paiz (Wal-Mart in Guatemala) before going to our host homes.

Now let me just stop right here and say that I was not thrilled about FBT when I found out we were going to be staying in host homes. The other groups are staying in hostels, and it’s just not fair! I’m tired of staying with people, and having to explain what I can and can’t eat. By the way, FBT is a week of training outside of your normal city where they semi-prep you for your new city.

The first night in my host home was crazy! Crazy I tell you! First, I had to walk (in the dark) down this long dirt road, and then we switched to a path in the middle of a corn field. (For those of you who have seen Children of the Corn, you know how scary this was for me!) When we arrived, I found out that the bathroom was really a latrine out in the corn field, there was no shower (just tarp surrounding 2 planks of wood), and there were huge pigs that were not tied up! We enter what I thought was the house, but to my surprise it was one giant room with several beds. This means I do not have any privacy!

So 1st things 1st, I need to set up my bed. Ha ha! I don’t have one; just a wooden frame. I roll out my church-sponsored REI air pad and my sleeping bag. Of course I sprayed the wood and the extremely thick blanket they gave me with Raid. (So if I have a brain tumor, you know where it came from!) Then I asked if I can put my water in the fridge. My host dad opened the door, and I almost threw-up. Giant ants came crawling out of the fridge. I was terrified, and the fridge is right across from my bed! Later, they asked if I was hungry for which I immediately responded with NO. I told them that I don’t eat past 6:30pm, which is actually true since I have been here in Guatemala. They finished eating, and put their food in the fridge (with the ants). There is no way I’m eating anything that was in there!

After dinner, they all piled up in the room and began watching Fox & Hound. I stayed up and watched number 1 & 2. By the time Spiderman 1 was coming on, I was ready for the bed. Now, I have to change clothes somewhere, but where? (The make-shift shower room in the dark with chickens all around it?) Not going to happen! I waited until all the lights went out, and then I proceeded to remove my jeans and changed into my sweatpants. I had to learn very quickly to change fast. As I attempted to sleep, all I could think about was the giant ants. Finally, around 1am I got some rest, but it was short-lived. At 2am in the morning, the 1st rooster began to make his call. I couldn’t believe it; I had finally gotten asleep only to be woken up by the roosters. It was horrible, and it was every hour on the hour. By the way, there are 3 roosters at this house, and they all seem to be right outside the part of the house I sleep at. I felt like I was listening to the animal version of the Phil Harmonica because as soon as the roosters started, you could hear the pigs going. This gives a whole new meaning to Ol’ McDonald Had a Farm.

Just an FYI: This was just day 1! That next morning I decided to pray because I hadn’t in about 2 days. This definitely called for prayer. As I began to pray, I thought that maybe I should pray in both English and in Spanish just in case the LORD only spoke Spanish in this part of the world. I know it sounds crazy, but at this moment I wasn’t thinking straight. Afterwards, I felt much better!

By day 2, I was starting to get a rhythm of how to do things. My host dad offered me some hot water to take a bucket bath. I was kind of sketchy about the whole thing, but I didn’t want to be rude (especially since I wasn’t eating any of the food). I took my bucket of hot water, soap, bath cloth, and baby wipes (just in case) to the make-shift shower room. I placed the bucket in the mud and stood on the 2 planks of wood. As I attempted to wash, I heard the tarp moving. Who could it be, you wonder? One of the pigs was trying to get in. I’m giving a peep show to a pig! I need to at least charge! But that wasn’t all! The chicks (pollitos – po ye toes – here) were trying to get in as well. I decided this was not going to work, and I quickly finished up with my baby wipes. I walked back to the big room, locked the door, and began to change clothes. As I was pulling my pants to the end of my back, my host brother comes walking out of the back of the room. I didn’t even know he was there! Was he watching the whole time I was changing! Here I am mad that the pigs and chicks want to peek and see, and now I have given a full on exotic XXX show for free! I was so red on the inside!

By Thursday I was so comfortable with them, I just changed my pants at night to my sweatpants without hesitating. There was no point being shy; they’ve seen everything! I had a decent routine by then as well: I only ate crackers and Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast; and for lunch, I ate at restaurants with the rest of my training mates. I never went to the bathroom at night, I only washed with baby wipes, I always checked the room before I changed clothes, and I sat and talked with my family til 7:30/8pm every night. The family really grew on me; and by Friday morning, I was okay with walking through the corn field by myself, whether it was day or night.

So it turns out that Terror at 1800 (6pm – the time we first arrived) was no really just a chance to adjust to a new life style and face my fears. It was good, and I am happy I went through it. Would I like to live in a place like that in the future? NO, but I can if I have to. Am I still afraid of the corn fields? A little, but as long as I know my way out, I will be find. Would I recommend this trip to anyone else? Definitely! It’s a great experience, and the tea and coffee coops were extremely beautiful!

Ok, so most of you know me as Shaniqua, and several of you know me as Janine (my professional name). I even use J9 for a lot of my computer stuff. Well here, I tried to use Janine because that’s what I prefer. Ha-ha, jokes on me. I was told I needed to use Shaniqua because it was easier to pronounce, and there is a Telenovella star name Shaniqua. Apparently Janine here is pronounced (Ha knee nay). Ok fine! I will use Shaniqua. Well, my family has a hard time pronouncing that! They say (Shan KNEE kwa). There is so much emphasis on the “KNEE” part, it sounds really weird. So I have been given a Spanish name “Shani” (Sha Knee). They like is soooo much, except for my little brother and cousin here. They like saying (Shan KNEE kwa) because it makes them feel special. Oh well! I like the name. Looks like I have added another name to the list of names I use. Maybe I will come back with another name as well. Only time will tell!

After a long week of Spanish class and tech training, several of us decided to go to the beach. Now I must preface this with a little back story of my own.

• Earlier in the week, my group mates and I argued over going to the beach. You see, in a country where we all stand out (no matter how much we feel we are a part of the culture because we live here) we have to be really careful when we travel. So being the realist of the group, I asked several questions – How are we going to get there? (camioneta or microbus); What time are we leaving and coming back? Are there a lot of tourists that visit this particular beach? etc. By Saturday, my group mates convinced me to go to the beach (by answering some of my pressing questions).
  

So off to the beach! We all met in front of Pollo Campero (a huge KFC type restaurant that’s everywhere in the country). We all piled up into the rented tourist van, and we were off to the beach. . . . or so we thought! Not even a ½ mile away, we realize we’re missing a person. Yes! We left a soldier behind! How could we leave her? We were all so excited about going to the beach; we forgot she was in the bathroom. We picked up our comrade, and we were finally on our way to the beach. The drive was pretty smooth, but you could definitely tell when we were getting closer to the beach because of the temperature change.


We pull up to a parking area behind a restaurant. We were told if we want to park for free, we had to eat at their restaurant. What did we know? Sure! We piled out of the van and made our way to the beach. It was beautiful, but I stopped dead in my tracks. The sand . . . it was black! The entire beach was covered in black sand. I had never seen anything like it! It definitely wasn’t dirty. I have seen dirty sand before, and this does not qualify. Wondering why, yourself? Because Guatemala has so many volcanoes, the sand is black. Interesting! We find a spot for all of our things, and we get ready to hit the Pacific Ocean. Some folks had to change into their suits, so they went to use the restaurant we were required to eat at later. Boy were we surprised and filled with awkwardness when we went to use the bathrooms. We had to walk down this long hallway of rooms to get to the bathrooms. Hallway of rooms, people! Nothing but beds inside of them! OMG! We’re in a brothel! Ewww! We quickly scurried out of there, and focused on the beautiful sounds and smells of the beach.


I really enjoyed my time there. It was sooo much fun, and the Pacific Ocean is really salty! For lunch we visited a local restaurant, but not the one we were supposed to go to. We all sat down, looked at the menu, and decided fried fish would be the best choice. Boy, were we right! That fish was sooo amazing, and so fresh! I couldn´t have asked for a better meal (huge piece of fried fish, rice, salad, and potatoes), and all for under $10.



I look forward to beach trip number two!