There is quite the social gathering going on over at the river just outside of town these days. People bathe (while wearing clothes), wash laundry and fill up pitchers to carry to their homes for drinking. It doesn’t matter how much money or how nice of a house some have when it comes to running out of water in the dry season. The dry season affects every socioeconomic status. Whoever is on the city water system (almost everyone) has no water during the day and a drizzle for a few hours in the middle of the night. We haven’t been able to flush the toilet at work for about 2 months. Apparently everyone but me knew that all you have to do is to fill a bucket with water (the drizzle from the night before partially fills a sink) and pour it into the toilet so it can flush.
The first month of dry season we weren’t affected since the ranch we live on has a different, more abundant water source for only 5 houses. The second month we were without water about once a week with an occasional 5 day stint without. This month we have had more days without water than with. Everything stinks without water, literally. I am down to my last pair of clean socks today, haven’t showered in 4 days, we still cook every night, but aren’t able to wash the dishes afterwards. We buy 5 gallon jugs of purified water so thankfully we do have clean drinking water.
I have also noticed how insanely dusty everything is when it doesn’t rain 5 or 6 times a week. My Dirt Devil experience occurs every morning on my way to work when a bus goes flying by and I feel as if I am trapped in a vacuum bag holding my breath waiting for someone to hit the power button. The humidity allows the majority of these tiny particles to stick to every inch of visible flesh. “Oh, how a shower could make everything better”, I say as I walk home with fingers crossed.
~Kallie
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
a.k.a. Señor Gordo
My jaw has dropped many times in the last year when it comes to fat comments and here are a few I've overheard in just the last month.
On the way back to the office one day we stopped to pick up one of our other workers . We didn't see him in the usual meeting place so our friend hung his head out the window and asked the nearby children if Señor Juan had already left? They shrugged not recognizing the name, so our friend then asked if Señor Gordo** had left? They immediately nodded and pointed.
Marta is 26, single and carries a little extra weight around the middle. Her concerned friend pulls her aside and explains to her, "Marta you are still a señorita*, but you look like a señora^. You really need to lose weight or you´ll never get married looking that way."
After a weekend with friends I mentioned I had eaten too much. My friend turns to me and says, "yeah, I have noticed you've gained some weight in the last few months and you're stomach isn't as flat anymore." Ouch, not exactly what I had meant by one weekend of overindulgence. But surprisingly, I do find their honesty quite refreshing most of the time.
*Senorita = young, single
^Senora = married with children
**Gordo = fat
^^Names have been changed to protect the innocent
Speaking of weight. Here are some women waiting to get their children weighed for the month to know if they are growing like they should be.
On the way back to the office one day we stopped to pick up one of our other workers . We didn't see him in the usual meeting place so our friend hung his head out the window and asked the nearby children if Señor Juan had already left? They shrugged not recognizing the name, so our friend then asked if Señor Gordo** had left? They immediately nodded and pointed.
Marta is 26, single and carries a little extra weight around the middle. Her concerned friend pulls her aside and explains to her, "Marta you are still a señorita*, but you look like a señora^. You really need to lose weight or you´ll never get married looking that way."
After a weekend with friends I mentioned I had eaten too much. My friend turns to me and says, "yeah, I have noticed you've gained some weight in the last few months and you're stomach isn't as flat anymore." Ouch, not exactly what I had meant by one weekend of overindulgence. But surprisingly, I do find their honesty quite refreshing most of the time.
*Senorita = young, single
^Senora = married with children
**Gordo = fat
^^Names have been changed to protect the innocent
Speaking of weight. Here are some women waiting to get their children weighed for the month to know if they are growing like they should be.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The Story Behind the Frown
The staff does and has been doing great work in the communities here. They are out in the villages every day, teaching, encouraging, motivating, and building trusted relationships with the people. Fighting poverty is a proccess. It requires time to change ideas, not quick monetary fixes.
With that being said, I'm so glad that we can be part of the FH Guatemala team. I have not been able to do as much engineering type work as I would have wanted this first year in Guatemala, but that's ok. I'm glad I have been able to lend a hand in other things that need to get done and I'm glad that I have been able spend time in the communities building the relationships and trust that is so vital to what we do.
For example, one job I have had is taking pictures of kids for the child sponsorship program. Sounds fun, it sure is. Sounds easy, it sure ain't. When taking pictures the typical cultural thing to do is get rid of your smile, just like Americans did 50 years ago. Not exactly what we want when we send updates to sponsors or are trying to get new sponsors. The kids here are adorable, especially with their big smiles that they almost always have, so my difficult task was to capture it. I think I've said "smile, look at the camera" a million times in Q'eqchi, in a million different ways to get kids to smile for me. In fact, when I'm in the communities now I commomly hear a kid repeating those words I'm now so known for "Se'en, i li camera". Overall, I think I've done a decent job, but there are some kids, if you saw their picture, you would think they were pretty depressed.
So next time you recieve a child update and they seem to be angry, imagine, just two seconds earlier they probably had the biggest, cutest smile of all. And if you ever are thinking about sponsoring a child and are flipping through photos, don't skip over the kid with a frown because it was only the lack of skill on the part of the photographer to draw out that wonderful smile.
With that being said, I'm so glad that we can be part of the FH Guatemala team. I have not been able to do as much engineering type work as I would have wanted this first year in Guatemala, but that's ok. I'm glad I have been able to lend a hand in other things that need to get done and I'm glad that I have been able spend time in the communities building the relationships and trust that is so vital to what we do.
For example, one job I have had is taking pictures of kids for the child sponsorship program. Sounds fun, it sure is. Sounds easy, it sure ain't. When taking pictures the typical cultural thing to do is get rid of your smile, just like Americans did 50 years ago. Not exactly what we want when we send updates to sponsors or are trying to get new sponsors. The kids here are adorable, especially with their big smiles that they almost always have, so my difficult task was to capture it. I think I've said "smile, look at the camera" a million times in Q'eqchi, in a million different ways to get kids to smile for me. In fact, when I'm in the communities now I commomly hear a kid repeating those words I'm now so known for "Se'en, i li camera". Overall, I think I've done a decent job, but there are some kids, if you saw their picture, you would think they were pretty depressed.
So next time you recieve a child update and they seem to be angry, imagine, just two seconds earlier they probably had the biggest, cutest smile of all. And if you ever are thinking about sponsoring a child and are flipping through photos, don't skip over the kid with a frown because it was only the lack of skill on the part of the photographer to draw out that wonderful smile.
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