Quince AGAIN

Wow. I really feel like Peace Corps service is FLYING by. I can't believe another Quince has come and gone. For you non-Guatemalans or Non- PCV Guatemalans the 15th of September is Guatemala's Independence Day. We look at it as a time when schools are taking huge amounts of study time out to work on their dance routines to techno music, a time where fireworks are frequent, and a time where everybody uses it as an excuse to get out of work. With that said, it is actually a great holiday. This year I went to Xela as it is the fair there this time of year. It was really fun. I went with some PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), some Guatemalan friends, my friend Evelyne who lives here in Tecpan, and her 2 friends from Canada. We went to some beautiful hot springs, the fair, and a futbol (soccer) game in Xela. It was a great weekend and I felt pura Guatemalteca due to the extremely Guatemalan things we did. I think my highlight was going to the soccer game. It was really fun, everybody was representing their Xela colors (which are actually the United States colors), singing, dancing, yelling, etc. On the day of the 15th I went to one of my good friend Dana's schools to watch some pinata breaking and listen to some live Marimba (the country's typical music). Then we had snacks on the grass at our friend's farm. It was a really great day. Today is a day of rest due to the festivities so all schools are closed. . . Hence my blog update.

Work is going OK. It's really hard right now because early on in this cycle we visited the CTAs (Superintendents) that actually wanted the project in their municipalities. Right now we're visiting the CTAs that really don't care. We have to CONSTANTLY call them to confirm. We get canceled on REPEATEDLY. And when we get there they often have not chosen their schools. We have 3 left to visit, 1 appointment for tomorrow, and something tells me the other 2 have completely blocked us from their lives. No worries, we'll start visiting the good ones again and work will pick up! We have a training next week with our boss. .. He's going to be training the CTAs on Project Design and Management which means how to design and manage small project like hand washing stations, letrines, and kitchens. We don't really have a role in the training, we're mostly going to support and learn. I think it will be interesting. We hope to take advantage of the fact that all of our counterparts will be together so we can train them on how to conduct a Baseline Survey, make a Plan of Action, etc. but I'm not sure if we'll have the time. I'm realizing more and more that making a HUGE difference this year will be difficult but at least we can be as organized as possible and set things up for the volunteers that will replace us. We also hope to do another big training at the end of this year or the beginning of next year to explain about all aspects of Healthy Schools including health classes, healthy , habits, etc.

I still love my English student Michelle. I haven't done a class in a while but we're picking back up today. We went over things in the kitchen last class so I think this class we'll make banana bread so she can use her new vocabulary. . .

All is well in my house. Except for the mold smell. But that will be gone in the dry season hopefully!

Ok, I'm out of ideas! I hope to update again soon!

Ah, other current challenges. SAFETY. I actually feel MUCH better now than I did a few weeks ago. One of my good friends in Peace Corps was on a bus that was held up at gunpoint. Since travel is an integral part of my job, I was nervous for a while. Also, some guy grabbed me on the street. Gross. I will never get used to lacks of respect like that. But, I will say that I have a thicker skin than I used to! It's a shame that such a gorgeous country with such great people and so much need also has abusive people that yell at women on the street, rob buses at gunpoint, and touch women close to their homes. But, maybe the small improvements that each volunteer and NGO is making will all add up to contribute to a huge change here in Guatemala eventually.

Jess