It’s Finally Happening!

Three days from now I’ll be an official Peace Corps Volunteer. 

Sorry I haven’t posted in almost a month, I’ve been really busy, and I honestly feel like there’s so much to say that I don’t even know where to start.  Also, it’s been really hard to write about my experiences when I’m not supposed to say where I am in the country.  For that reason, I made my blog private.  Anyone who wants to read it can just e-mail me and I’ll add them to the invite list.

Now for the exciting stuff:  I just returned from visiting my new home, Comitancillo, San Marcos, and I LOVE it there!  I don’t think there could have been a better site for me.  The pueblo is absolutely beautiful: it sits on a ridge with rivers running along both sides.  The entire area is surrounded by green mountains.  The landscape is so spectacular!  It’s also close to the tallest mountain in Central America, Volcan Tajamulco (which I plan to climb as soon as the rainy season ends).  The pueblo is also really safe, with almost no crime.  The people are friendly and warm with outsiders.  Most of the population of the pueblo speak Spanish, however many of the people in the rural aldeas only speak the local Mayan language: Mam.  My new sitemate, Emelye, and I have already hired a Mam teacher so that we can at least get a (very) basic grasp of what is apparently the most difficult Mayan language.

 Looking towards the cemetery - taken from the top of the municipal building

Now to rewind a little bit…  On Monday last week, we met our Guatemalan counterparts at the Peace Corps office for a day of orientation.  My counterpart is the superintendent of twelve middle schools in and around Comitancillo.  He is really nice and super excited to work with me.  I’m the first Peace Corps volunteer to ever work in the schools in Comi, however there are agriculture and health volunteers there already.

On Tuesday, My counterpart and I returned to Comi together with ALL of my stuff.  Luckily he had arrived in a car, so we didn’t have to take my stuff back on a camioneta.  We got to town in the evening (it took about 6 hours to get there from the Peace Corps Office), and I settled into a room I rented from a local family.  I then met up with my sitemates, Lauren (will be in site for 9 more months), Emelye and Tina (both from my training group).  We had a light dinner at this amazing little café that serves espresso, hot chocolate, and awesome food.

Wednesday morning I went with my counterpart and my other sitemate, Charlie, to look at houses.  The first house I looked at was basically a boarding house, with 6 unrelated people sharing one small bathroom.  I would have a room and nothing more.  Also, the family was unwilling to invite me to share any meals with them, which is an integral part of the host family experience.  The next house we went to is owned by one of my school directors, and is about a ten minute walk from the center of town.  It’s a really cute two room house, however it’s definitely “country living.”  It’s also completely unfurnished, so I have some serious shopping to do (unfortunately I don’t have serious money to spend).  Here are some photos:

View out the kitchen window

Looking into the kitchen (note the awesome dutch door)

My bedroom (and my barrel of corn)

Front porch, aka future hammock site

 Bathroom and pila

I spent the rest of my three days visiting my four schools and meeting influential community members.  All of my schools are really excited to have me, which is going to make my job a whole lot easier.  Also, my counterpart is giving me my own desk and computer in his office!  We worked out a schedule, so I’ll be in Tojcheche on Monday afternoons, Chixal on Tuesday afternoons, Taltimiche on Wednesday afternoons, and at the School in the center of town on Thursday Mornings.  I’ll have office hours all day on Fridays.  Tojcheche, Chixal, and Taltimiche are three aldeas of the Municipality of Comitancillo, and I will walk 30-45 minutes to get to each of them.  Municipalities in Guatemala are kind of like counties in the U.S., with the center, or pueblo being like the county seat, and the aldeas are the rural villages within the municipality.  My house is in a tiny aldea (Aldea Agua Tibia) right on the edge of the pueblo, only ten minutes away on foot.

Here’s some info about my site:                                      

Population of the municipality of Comitancillo: ~60,000

Population of the pueblo: 3,000

99% of the population is indigenous (Mam)

Number of aldeas: >50

Climate: Temperate to cold, average temperatures in the 60’s

Altitude: ~7,500 feet

The municipality of Comitancillo has the highest rate of child malnutrition in Guatemala

Comitancillo is considered one of the poorest municipalities in Guatemala

Illiteracy rate: 70%

On Saturday morning, we boarded a camioneta for the 7 hour trip back to our training towns.  Luckily, when we arrived in Xela, we were able to hop on a pulman (coach bus) for a much more comfortable ride.  Sunday was a day devoted to thanking our host families for all they’ve done for us.  We cooked up a huge pot of chili, a bunch of guacamole, and two cakes (funfetti!), and a bunch of our family members came to my house for a goodbye lunch.  While we were cooking, my host mom came into the kitchen and told me she wanted to dress me up in traje so we could take pictures of me cooking while wearing it.  I’m not gonna lie… I kind of loved wearing it.

 Cooking lunch while wearing traje

 With my awesome host parents

At my host family’s request, I’m going to wear traditional traje from my host community for my swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. ambassador’s house on Thursday.