Saving Baby Sea Turtles in Monterrico

So this week I came back from Zacualpa and went back to work at MTM on Wednesday. On Friday night - Rachel, Juan (who apparently doesn't even go by "Juan" - instead he uses his middle name "Leo" but it's too late because now we're used to it), Irene & Giulia (the Italian girls), and I went to Antigua. (Two Americans, two Italians, and a Guatemalan = a whole lot of translation issues and conversations about vocabulary, lol.) The next morning we were off to an early start and headed to Monterrico for a weekend at the beach (Pacific Coast). I must say that this has been the best weekend in Guatemala so far. 

:: Antigua Guatemala ::

Antigua was a lot of fun. I think we all needed a night out to unwind and have a few drinks. We stayed at a hotel called Posada San Pedro which was great except for one tiny little detail: no hot water! Nonetheless it was very cute, clean and quiet. In the morning we got up and realized there was a gorgeous view of one of the volcanoes - I'm not actually sure, but it's probably el Volcán de Agua.

We went out for dinner and a few drinks at Frida's then walked around until we found a bar with live music. After our first round of drinks were done, we ordered a round of "Cucarachas". When they brought them to the table we realized they were FLAMING SHOTS! I immediately said that there has to be Bacardi 151 in that drink - but of course everyone at the table ignored me, and the few that actually asked the waiter what was in it must have conveniently forgotten that part. Now that I have internet access I can confirm - tequila + kahlua + 151 + fire. Now that I think about it, we drank a lot more than it seemed like. We had a 2nd round of Cucarachas and at some point ordered a bucket of Gallo. Since there was a live band we also did our fair share of dancing.

Now, somewhere along the line - very early on in the night - we somehow ended up with a temporary addition to our group. (Please see photo below.) Meet Fausto. He's the guy in the middle in all black with long hair. He looks like he's 18, right? Well... he claims to be 22 years old and his brother is the guitarist in the band that's on stage. Apparently Fausto was supposed to sing the lead this night... except he got too drunk. He kept saying that when he sobered up they'd let him sing again. Of course... as you might have guessed from the picture below... he never sobered up! I have to say this kid was very entertaining! No matter what song was on he'd try to make the dance floor into a mosh pit. And every once in a while he'd just yell out " I love Rock-n-Roll!!!" and throw up the sign of the horns.

Fun times. Believe it or not, we called it a night around midnight. We were up and out the door before 8am the next morning.

:: Tortugario de Monterrico, Guatemala ::

As we were driving to Monterrico I called a handful of hotels until I found one with an opening. We stayed at Café del Sol which is right on the beach, just two blocks from the main street in Monterrico! The hotel didn't have many amenities - but it had everything we needed: beds (with mosquito netting), showers, a pool, a bar/restaurant, and beach access - all for about $100 a night ($20 each).

Café del Sol's Beach-side Restaurant / Lounge Area 

When we arrived the first thing we did was take a walk along the beach toward the main street. Did I mention that Monterrico is a black sand beach? Absolutely gorgeous! But soooo painful to walk on in the middle of the day. It is impossible to walk on barefoot unless you are walking along the water. As we were walking a man came up to us and asked if we had heard about the event happening that afternoon. Of course we hadn't heard - we just picked a random weekend and decided we wanted to go to a beach. But after he told us... we had our weekend trip all planned out.

We lounged around the beach all day. Played in the water like 10 year olds for an hour or two until we were exhausted. There were some mean riptides and at least I got really tired really quickly. We then went back to our hotel pool to rinse off in the outdoor showers, take a swim without risking drowning, and chill pool-side. Around 3pm we gathered our stuff together and went to the hotel restaurant to have some smoothies until the 2-for-1 happy hour started. Then, it was finally time....

Monterrico is famous for its Tortugario. It is a sea turtle hatchling reserve and sanctuary. Every year sea turtles lay their eggs in the black sands of the beaches around Monterrico. However, in some places, like Guatemala, they eat turtle eggs (no I haven't tried one - and I don't plan to). There are regulations for the harvesting of turtle eggs - you can only take half of the eggs that are laid each season. But of course, it is nearly impossible to enforce so between the poaching and environmental changes some sea turtle species are seriously at risk of becoming extinct. So at the Tortugario they rescue injured sea turtles and protect sea turtle eggs which are laid during October - December. They incubate the eggs in the Tortugario until they hatch 50 days later. For 10 Quetzales (about $1.25) you could buy a ticket to participate in the baby sea turtle release at 5:30pm. These were sea turtles that had just hatched during the previous week. They release them on Saturdays (so that the public can participate in the release - as a way of raising awareness for sea turtles) at sunset (because that is when the risks from predators is at its lowest).

I'm generally not one to get super excited about anything - but this whole event was the most adorable thing I've ever seen!

This is Squirt (like in "Finding Nemo")

Everyone who had a ticket was given a baby sea turtle to release. We were lined up along the beach and two lines were draw in the sand about 4 feet apart. Once everyone had their turtle we were supposed to put them down on the first line on the count of three. The first turtle to cross the second line won a free t-shirt for it's releaser. Personally, I would have preferred to keep the baby sea turtle. I mean, look at that face, who wouldn't! But of course, that would have defeated the purpose of the whole event, right?

We released our baby sea turtles just before sunset. Afterwards we, and 50 or so other people who participated in the release, sat around to watch the sea turtles go off into the sea and to watch the sunset. It was all very romantic. LOL. No really, it was gorgeous! The whole weekend would have been perfect for a couple's romantic getaway. But of course, at least for the time being, three of us are in long-distance relationships and the other two are single. Perfect, just perfect. But its okay, every time something was very obviously romantic I'd point it out and we'd laugh about it. Or at least I'd laugh about it - come to think of it, half the time I don't even pay attention to whether anyone else is laughing with me! (Unless Rachel points out that my joke wasn't that funny.  Love you Rachel!)



:: Reserva Natural de Monterrico ::

The next morning we were up early for another Monterrico experience:  a boat tour of the Nature Reserve at sun rise. Like I said before, this whole weekend was very pretty and romantic. We somehow managed to get ourselves out of bed and ready by 5:30am (even though at 1:30am the girls in the room next door and some guys they had probably just met at the bar came back to the hotel to blast their music, drink and yell for two hours - no I'm not judgmental at all).

The sun rise was beautiful. We went on small boats that could only carry about 8 people. The guide had a long stick that he used to push our boat along the water.

Watching the Sun Rise over Monterrico's Nature Reserve

It was mostly a tour of the mangroves (let's be honest, I didn't know what mangroves were until this weekend - let's just say my only point of reference was "orange groves"). The mangroves, lagoon and nature reserves are home to a lot of birds, we saw mostly Cranes and Pelicans, and in the waters there is a combination of fresh-water and salt-water animals since the water in the lagoon changes throughout the year. The big selling-point is the four-eyed fish (yes, that is a real thing). If you are looking at the water you'll see them swimming along and every once in a while they jump out of the water - presumably to eat some bugs.

Isolated home on an Island in Monterrico w/ Crane out front.

Interestingly enough, there are some families that still live in the area of the Nature Reserve. Right now this home is occupied by a family (when we passed there was a young girl inside and some clothes they had hung out to dry). They have no electricity and no water supply to this island. They are only able to live here for part of the year. I think that the guide said that during winter (which is summer for those of us in the US) it rains so much that the water level rises and they can't stay on the island. So they are only here during the summer. Some locals also come to this area to fish (part of the year there are shrimp in these waters.)

But anyway, this whole weekend was amazing. I can see why everyone who visits Guatemala absolutely loves it! I'm also loving my group of travel buddies from this weekend. What am I going to do when Rachel leaves?!?!? We've got one more weekend for travelling before she heads back to Boston - we'd better make it good!!!

Finally, in honor of my baby sea turtle friends... one of the best clips from Finding Nemo:

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Date: Monday, Feb. 28, 2011

Days in Guatemala: 37

Date of Return to U.S.: TBD - First Week of May

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011

Back to the... Convent?

:: Day 31 in Guatemala ::

After spending 6 years at Ramona Convent... I never really thought I'd ever find myself in a convent again. Okay, so I didn't live in the convent at Ramona - but I did spend at least 40 hours a week on that campus for 6 years. And this week I found myself staying in a dorm-style room in the Convent of the Iglesia del Espiritu Santo in Zacualpa, Quiche, Guatemala.

:: Why??? How??? ::

So the past several days I've been all over the place. Last weekend I was in the City. I took the whole Transmetro tour and spent a little time at el Mercado Central.

Monday I went to San Marcos with the women from MTM again. Tuesday afternoon Rachel arrived. Rachel is a PhD student at BC, she is studying the psychology of children of transnational families (the effects of migration on children and families). She has been working with the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project for about 4 years now, so we met when I started working with the project during Fall 2009. Since Rachel was going to be in Zacualpa for the next 3 weeks, we figured it would be a good time for me to go to Zacualpa and get acquainted with the town and the Guatemala side of the project - which is hosted at the Convent. (That explains why the convent.) 

On Wednesday afternoon Rachel's friend (and my new friend?), Juan, picked us up from my apartment in the City and brought us to Zacualpa. Most of the route is the same as the route toward San Marcos, but where it splits you really feel the difference. The road to Zacualpa has some killer curves on really steep inclines. I was amazed to see some of the vehicles actually make it up the hills. And when it got dark it was almost scary. The good thing is that Juan is a really careful driver and so I felt safe the whole time. Nonetheless, there were turns where it feels like you are in the Haunted Mansion, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, or the Roger Rabbit ride where your little car is headed straight toward a dead-end, or in this case a huge cliff, and when you are certain you are about to plummet to your death, suddenly there is a head-jerking side-ways 180 degree turn that sets you back on track.

El Convento de la Iglesia del Espiritu Santo

:: Life in the Convent ::

The convent itself is very pretty. There is a lot of open space, memorials for the martyrs killed during the Armed Conflict, murals, garden areas and the expected shrines with images of the Virgin Mary, chickens and turkeys and their babies, the convent's adopted stray dog... There are five Franciscan Sisters living in this convent. They are relatively young: three are in their late 20's, and the other two are between 40 and 65 years old. After being at Ramona where most of the nuns had white hair - they are really young! And of course they are really nice. Hermana Ana Maria is clearly in control here - she must be the "Mother Superior" in this convent - she is firm but loving. And she kind of dominates the dinner conversation. Everyone else is really sweet and pretty soft spoken. They seem to have a routine that includes prayer, chores around the convent, family style meals at 7:15am, 12:30pm, and 7:00pm - all interspersed with some responsibilities in the community. The Convent has a pastoral outreach program that works with lots of people in the community - beyond just the Catholics. This is where the Centro del Migrante (the PDHRP's partner program in Zacualpa) fits in. There are also two Italian girls who seem to be doing a semester of service here at the convent. (I can't imagine living here for 4 months.)

This week has really been more about getting settled here. I met Jose Daniel who runs the office. Took some walking tours of the town. Accompanied Rachel as she set up and conducted some of her interviews. Also accompanied Hermana Ana Maria as she tried to do some damage control at one of the communities - El Tablon. We've visited a few people who have family members that are in deportation proceedings or who were recently deported - it is really hard to talk to people who you can do pretty much nothing for. But the truth is that they are grateful to have any kind of information and sometimes just someone to listen to their story. The plans for my work here are kind of up in the air, but in the meantime I'm putting together some materials that can be used to have some community workshops about immigration to the US.

So life in the convent is slow. And it is definitely bringing back some of that Catholic guilt I've been repressing for all these years. At least I haven't been pressured to go to mass.

Momma Turkey and her adopted Baby Chick <3 

:: Thoughts and Highlights ::


Kochoban? (I actually am only 50% sure this name is right.) So one day at dinner Hermana Ana Maria is telling us that in Q'eqchi' (or Kekchi) communities women who are visiting have to be careful. When a man has decided that he wants a certain woman he will use a form of brujeria (witchcraft) called kochoban to make her fall in love with him and stay in the pueblo. They do this by putting the kochoban in a food that they then offer to the woman. So you have to be very careful who you accept any kind of food or drink from. Now remember, these are NUNS who are telling this story. Generally not the type of women you expect to believe in some superstitious witchcraft type stuff. Right? Hermana Ana Maria proceeded to tell us about three women who came from the U.S., Spain, and Puerto Rico, who had a kochoban cast on them. (1) The Spanish woman came as a volunteer and one of the indigenous men cast a kochoban on her. With her help he eventually became mayor of the pueblo. However, since she was unable to give him any children, he found himself another Q'eqchi' woman. The Spanish woman is still head over heels for him (el es el sol y la luna para ella) and is basically his housewife while every night he goes and sleeps in the house of the other woman with whom he has children. (2) The Puerto Rican is still wasting her life away in the little pueblo with her man. (3) The American fell head over heels in love with another man from the pueblo who cast the kochoban on her. When she refused to leave her parents came to get her. They said she was furious as a like a caged lion and was taken home kicking and screaming. When she got back to the U.S. she fell into a deep depression. After taking her to some psychologists her parents gave up and finally came back with her to Guatemala so she could marry the man. Ultimately her parents took them both back to the U.S. so they could live together. Wow. Lets be honest - for every story like this - there are dozens of others in which the kochoban didn't work. Which means - sure, they probably really do try to cast spells on people - but who is to say that the spell is the reason someone fell in love? Its a self-fulfilling prophecy: If they fall in love - it worked. If they don't - you must have cast the spell incorrectly. Either way, people really believe this stuff and its scary. I don't think I'll be with Q'eqchi' people at any point, so its not really something I need to worry about... but I will think twice before accepting any offerings of food.

Zacualpa: a few blocks in either direction from the Church and you can see the mountainside.

Rural Poverty. So as we are driving through El Tablon I'm looking around at all the houses. There are some that are recently built from remittances from relatives in the US. Others that are made of adobe. All around there are cornfields. Dry, dead cornfields because the harvest time has passed and rainy season is still 3 months away. So how do these rural families in tiny adobe homes survive after the harvest season has ended? Barely. They barely survive. (1) Sometimes whole families travel to the coast or to Mexico to harvest coffee. They board up their windows and doors and take everything with them - kids, chickens, pigs. The whole families work - little kids can carry rocks or dirt. Older ones can clean the coffee or help with the harvesting. And someone has to take care of their chickens and pigs. They get paid about $2.50 for a full day's work and they live off tortillas. When that harvest season ends, they pack up and head home to work their land again. (2) Other times, dad goes to work on the coast and mom stays behind with the kids. They are left with little or nothing. One mom we saw had a fever, hadn't had anything to drink all day because they can't afford to buy purified water, and was breastfeeding her 3 month old baby. Did I mention there were 3 other little kids all under 6 years old? These women do what they can cleaning people's houses or washing dishes in town. Once in a while they'll get an order for a tejido and they'll make a little bit of money off of that. Otherwise, they and their children barely eat. Its no wonder these kids suffer from malnutrition.

Chicken Buses. The drivers are crazy - they take those crazy steep curves really fast, and have no problem passing up cars in front of them. I mean, seeing a small car speed up and pass up a slow truck or bus is normal, but seeing a big brightly colored bus do it and barely get back into their lane before they have a head-on collision with on coming traffic is just scary. But I have to admit that being on the bus is much less scary than I expected. (You can't even tell that the driver is crazy - or maybe I just lucked out and mine actually weren't crazy? Yeah right.) On Sunday we took a bus from Zacualpa to Chichicastenango. In Chichi there is a huge mercado on Thursdays and Sundays where you can find typical Guatemalan art, tejidos, jewelry, food, and just about anything a tourist on a shopping spree can dream of. The guy sitting behind me literally had a bag full of baby chicks (hence why they are often called "chicken buses"). The seats are packed. Its essentially an old school bus that has been painted all kinds of crazy colors. Now imagine that school bus being packed full of adults - three to a seat!!! I swear the only reason I didn't fall into the aisle was because me and the woman on the opposite side both had one butt-cheek on the seat and the rest of our body weight was being propped up against each other. But anyway, lets just say it was an interesting experience. On the way back we apparently got a discounted rate. Afterwards I realized why. Half way through our trip when the bus got emptier, the bus driver's assistant (who collects the money and is in charge of looking out and telling the driver when its safe to take the 180 degree curves) decides to come sit on the seat next to me. (Only three of us had gone, me and the Italian girls, so since the bus was empty I was sitting in the seat across from them). Long story short - he later kicked someone out of that seat so that he could sit and talk to me more. Turns out he lived in the US for 8 years - 6 of them in Providence. Men in Guatemala are apparently very straight forward. He almost immediately asked me if I was married or had a boyfriend. When I said I was engaged he said that was too bad. When he asked how long we'd been together and I said almost 8 years he laughed and said that I "might as well be married". LOL. Then he slipped in that if it was him - he wouldn't have let me come to Guatemala alone. HA! In the end he was actually very nice and I was very glad to see that he didn't ask me for my phone number and didn't suggest that we hang out or anything. Thank God. Although he did slip in that if I needed a ride back to Guatemala City - their bus passes through Zacualpa on the way to the City every day at 5am. (Good thing I'm too lazy to get up that early to catch a bus.) The whole experience was very embarrassing, flattering, but embarrassing. I can't imagine what the Italian girls were thinking - if I were them, I'd be judging me right about now.

Anyway, now I'm back in the city. Juan was nice enough to give me a ride back this morning (Tuesday). I don't feel so bad since his sister came with us. They both had errands to run in the City - they buy all of their supplies here and sell it back in their store in Zacualpa. Besides, I did give him gas money.

Anyway... I took quite a few pictures this time around. Also, since Rachel is in town we've got big plans for doing the touristy stuff. So stay tuned!

Eat, Sleep, Work...

:: Getting Around On My Own ::

I've always thought of myself as one of those people who can't do anything alone. There has always been someone around to go with me to the store, to a movie, for a walk, to dinner, basically for just about everything. Think about it, I'm one of four kids and I've been with Hannover for almost 8 years now. Of course, living in Boston changed that a little bit. I had to get comfortable with doing things by myself. I suppose that I could have called someone up to say, "Hey, I'm going to Target. Do you want to come?" The truth is, that I assume everyone else is busy living their own life, so I rarely ask someone to come with me - unless they live under the same roof as I do. Also, that is a relatively easy thing to do when you have a car. Of course, picking up and going somewhere by yourself is also pretty easy to do when you have a car.

So living in Guatemala City has been an adjustment. Partially because I still have trouble asking people to accompany me. More-so because I don't have a car, and because everyone keeps warning me that I shouldn't ride the local buses. Apparently they are frequent targets for robberies. So, if its not safe to walk alone, and its not safe to ride the bus, what is left? I either call a cab (my cab driver Mario has started to say we're BFFs) or catch a ride. I haven't felt this dependent since high school. The plan is to buy a bicycle. I think I can make it the 1.8 miles to work, right?

:: The Routine ::

So this week was much calmer than the previous ones. I thought I'd be going with the team from the Post-Deportation Human Rights Project (PDHRP) in Zacualpa for a tour that included visiting parts of northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. Plans changed. It took a while to get things figured out, but it looks like that tour will have to wait until maybe next month. So, this week was much more about settling into a routine here at "home" in the city. It became - up early, maybe workout, shower and get ready, wait for my ride, go to work, get lunch at the little home/restaurant around the corner, home around 6pm, walk to the grocery store or convenience mart to buy something to cook, or walk to another local home/restaurant or street vendor for dinner, go online to catch up on TV shows that I'm missing (mostly: Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Community, How I Met Your Mother), gchat/facebook/email/kill-time, go online to talk to Hannover via google voice or skype, go to sleep. Somewhere in there I'll work in some reading - maybe I'll read as I wait for my shows to download. In other words... nothing very exciting happened this week. So let's talk about work:

:: Medical Monday :: 

Monday we went to the Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguro Social (commonly called "IGSS" but they pronounce it like a word - sounds like "eeks"). It sounds like it should be the department of social services, but it is actually the community medical clinics. We were accompanying a client who has a horrible medical history. She had a constant pain in her stomach for years and the doctors kept telling her its gas, or a hernia, or that its just in her head and she should seek counseling (seriously, they said that). She is actually a nurse for IGSS, so after consulting with her co-workers she asked for a colonoscopy - but her doctors refused to give it to her because she's not over 40. At some point she was in the hospital for "observation" for two weeks - but all they did was give her antibiotics and painkillers.

It took at least another year before they finally ran the test that revealed that she had a tumor growing on her intestine. When she went in for surgery, they told her that none of the other organs seemed to be effected - and that they would probably just take out a piece of her large and small intestine. Well, when she woke up she found out that not only did they take out part of her intestine - but also her uterus and ovaries! Let's not even talk about all the health issues involved with that.

Later, someone finally runs a colonoscopy and finds that she also has colon cancer. So that's the reason we were there today. She was about a month past-due on her chemotherapy treatments. The first time they gave her the treatment, the second time they refused, the third time she came back with an attorney from MTM and they gave her the treatment, the fourth time she came alone and they refused, and now she was showing up again with an attorney from MTM in hopes that she would get her chemotheraphy treatment. Long story short - Jenny from MTM fought with every doctor in the clinic and worked her way to the top guy until they finally requested the medication she needed from another clinic. They had said it would take at least two hours to get there - it was there in 20 minutes. We stayed there almost all day just to make sure that she was getting her treatment. We had also called attorneys from PDH: Procuraduria de los Derechos Humanos (which is like the national department of human rights) who came to accompany her, and had arranged for a meeting with a representative from Congress to discuss the issues she had been facing in getting treatment.

Lessons learned: (1) being poor and needing medical attention is a nightmare, especially in Guatemala. (2) doctors in Guatemala are not scared of lawyers. At least, they are not as scared of lawyers and lawsuits as people in the U.S. In the U.S. we have a legally-oriented culture. Not only do we watch legal TV shows - like Law and Order, Boston Legal,  or even The People's Court - but we also are very accustomed to taking people to court whenever anything goes wrong. So doctors have malpractice insurance - just in case they get sued. Here, that legal culture just does not exist. And even if it did, the common perception is that the guy with the fattest wallet who can pay off the judges wins.

:: Other Work-Time Highlights ::

Child Prostitution:  Yes, this is one of the many fun topics I've been exposed to this week. It's not something people really want to talk about, but it happens. On Thursday morning we attended a presentation by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Abuses and Trafficking) revealing the results of their study of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of male children and teens in Guatemala. It is not really something I had heard much about before. When really young girls are involved in prostitution they are generally being held somewhere discreet, probably against their will, and someone else is running the business. With boys, there is a totally different story. They tend to be living on the street, or children of adult women sex workers, victims of child abuse and neglect, and they are simply poor and prostitution is a way to put food on the table. There is more autonomy, but the truth is that behind the scenes there are a number of power dynamics and groups that are recruiting boys into prostitution or trafficking them to cities where there is higher demand. Unlike the girls, the boys are rarely regarded as victims or at risk children in need of services. Instead, they are seen as sexual deviants. Furthermore, even in cases where there is sexual abuse and rape of young boys - those cases are rarely prosecuted since the laws are mostly directed towards protecting girls and women, and since there is such a great stigma associated with being a male victim of sexual abuse. 


What happens when you break-up with your boyfriend who is growing marijuana on your land: Yes, this is one of the cases that came to MTM. Granted, it was much more complicated than that. It involved two break-ups. The first was between a woman and her husband and resulted in the husband's parents kidnapping their little girl. When the woman showed up with the police to get her daughter - the in-laws threw rocks at them! The second break-up was between the woman's mother and her boyfriend. Since the boyfriend, plus the daughter's husband, and her three sons were growing marijuana on the mother's land - it was not a pretty break up. Now the mother and daughter are being threatened by all the men in their family because the men think they are trying to report them for illegally growing marijuana. So the question is... how do you protect these women from the men's threats of violence, and get the baby daughter back from the in-laws, all without calling attention to the growing of marijuana because the women would also get in trouble for having it on their land?




:: A Taste of Guatemala ::


Finally, I'll end this entry with something a little more light-hearted, food. These are pictures from the few times I've actually remembered to bring out a camera before or during a meal. Of course, pictures of food are never as good as the real thing. 


These are called "Cuchines" (possibly spelled "Cuxines" with the x = sh sound ) This one of course was broken in half and I split one half open so you could see what the seeds look like. The seeds are a shiny black, but are covered in this white, fluffy, cotton-y stuff that you can eat. I assume most of you have either read Charlotte's Web or have seen the movie. These seeds feel and taste exactly what I imagined Charlotte's egg sac to taste and feel like. I know, that sounds ridiculous but there is no better way to describe it, besides they carry it in their mouth so its totally appropriate to think of that. Soft, fluffy and sweet... These we bought on roadside as we were heading down "the coast" from Coatepeque last week.

These are "Rellenitos". It is fried banana with sweet black bean filling. The black beans are cooked with cinnamon and sugar and then made into a sort of paste. The rellenitos are generally sprinkled with sugar - much like those sugar covered donuts. They are a type of dessert and they are really good. The second picture is there mostly to show what my meal was that day - a chicken sandwich and a rellenito - all for 15 Quetzales ~ approximately $1.93

Typically this is what my lunch looks like. This particular day it was breaded pork chops with rice and potato salad. There is always rice, but the meat and the vegetable side vary. When I'm at work I generally buy lunch from a lady who lives down the street. Everyday she makes 3 meals to choose from, a meat, a chicken, and usually a soup. It costs 12 Q ~ $1.54. It tastes much better than this picture looks. PLUS, we alway get a stack of about 15 fresh handmade tortillas for 4 Q ~ $0.51

These apparently are called "Patches". They are wrapped in a banana leaf. They look and sort of taste like tamales - not Mexican tamales but more like the Salvadoran tamales I've tried. Only instead of being made with maiz, they are made with potatoes. Also, very very good. (The first one is what it looks like wrapped, the second one is unwrapped - this one has a pork filling.)  6Q ~ $0.77

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Days in Guatemala: 21

Date of Return to U.S.: TBD - First Week of May

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011

Primer Acompañamiento

:: Day 14 in Guatemala ::

Today I am doing absolutely nothing! Why? Because this week was exhausting. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying…

I started the week in the office, doing the usual reading and sitting in on a meeting or two. The work some of the organizations here are doing is actually quite impressive. The director of Fundación Progresar came to talk to MTM about building an alliance. I won’t get into the details, but I will say that what her program does was rather unexpected. They work with a few rural Mayan communities to help them develop agricultural skills and programs, and have a piece of their program dedicated to the empowerment of Mayan women. Knowing how small MTM is, and how much work they are already doing, I half expected them to say “Sounds like you are doing great work, we’ll be in touch about how we see our programs working together.” Instead they jumped right on board! They committed to running at least two women’s workshops during the next year, and to looking into how they could develop a men’s program based on the principles of gender equity (let’s just say I’m skeptical about that last part).

But for the rest of the week… the work I did this week was really more of an acompañamiento than anything else.

:: Acompañamiento ::

So let’s backtrack a bit to where I told you that I don’t really understand what it is that my housemates do for work. Well, everyone kept throwing this term out: acompañamiento. It means exactly what it sounds like “accompaniment”. Rather vague right? As it turns out, there is a collaborative called La Coordinación del Acompañamiento Internacional en Guatemala (CAIG) which unites organizations from nine countries, offers an international physical presence and impartial observation for defenders of human rights in Guatemala. The participating organizations are mostly from Europe, my housemate is with the program from Austria. I suppose the program can be compared to the Peace Corps, as it attracts and recruits recent college graduates, only they come to Guatemala as volunteers for at least 4 to 6 months – I’m actually not sure if they get a stipend. Their job is literally to accompany human rights workers. Guatemala’s justice system does very little to protect victims of crimes or witnesses who speak out. Victims’ families and witnesses are often threatened with death, physical or sexual violence if they continue to push their cases though the criminal justice system. So when someone provides acompañamiento, all they do is travel with the victims or witnesses to their court hearings (and probably other things as well). The best analogy is that they act as “legal observers”. They do not interfere if something happens, they are not private security. If there is an incident they immediately disseminate that information to an international audience. It is a way to keep track of the human rights violations occurring in Guatemala as they are actually happening. Also, part of the idea is that there is safety in numbers. Someone is unlikely to be attacked if they are with a large group of people. At least, that is my understanding of the purposes of “acompañamiento”, I am sure it is much more complex than that. And, of course, how I spent my week was not really in line with what CAIG is doing either:

:: San Marcos ::

Wednesday afternoon we hit the road. Three of the women from MTM picked me up and we drove for about 5 hours (including a late lunch break), through Quetzaltenango (aka Xela), to San Marcos. The route was absolutely beautiful! We drove right by the gorgeous Lago de Atitlan which is surrounded by three volcanoes. I tried to take a picture, I tried to take several pictures actually, but when you are on a winding mountainous road the camera is just not quick enough. And since we were trying to get to our destination before nightfall so that we wouldn't be driving in the mountains after dark – it was out of the question for me to ask them to stop so I could be a tourist every 15 miles or so. So, my apologies but pictures of the beautiful Guatemalan landscape will have to wait until I get to be a tourist – and not just a volunteer.

We stayed at a really nice hotel, nicer than some of the hotels I’ve stayed at in the U.S.  I’m not sure where MTM gets its funding but everything was paid for all weekend! The hotels, the food, even the random ice cream breaks.

Fountain outside S.M. Courthouse

We had to be at the San Marcos courthouse by 8am the next morning. Not surprisingly, the hearing did not start on time. But without divulging too much information, let me tell you what this hearing was about.  This was a criminal case regarding two young girls, now ages 13 and 11, who had been sexually molested and raped by their father over the course of several years. A full criminal trial was scheduled – testimony and examination of accusers and witnesses, including expert witnesses, and oral arguments by the attorneys. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned – the forensic specialists and the psychologists who had examined the two girls did not arrive. The expert witnesses and oral arguments were rescheduled for February 15^th, but the rest of the case continued. Clearly, this is a very sensitive case, so it was a closed courtroom. However, MTM did get permission to allow one member from the team to sit-in as a member of the public. So, after the recess I switched with the other attorney from MTM and watched the second half of the hearing.

Just reading the brief MTM had filed was heartbreaking. I tried my best not to look horrified when the dad walked in. Three security guards brought him in handcuffs and sat him down in the waiting area with us. Less than 15 feet away from the girls!?!? I could not believe it. As soon as she saw him coming, their mom stood in front of them and tried to block them from seeing him, but it was too late. The older girl started crying almost immediately. As soon as the dad had settled into a chair, the family took the girls downstairs so they wouldn’t have to see him.

Despite the fact that the expert witnesses did not show up, I think it was a great hearing. Both girls testified and talked about what had happened to them. The older daughter let it all out that day, she had everyone in the courtroom crying – including the panel of THREE judges! Even as we were recounting it afterwards I kept getting teared up (thank God for sunglasses – I don’t think anyone noticed).

Essentially: Criminal Court for Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Community. 

:: Coatepeque ::

After having a late lunch with the family we picked up our things and drove to Coatepeque [pronounced Co-ah-teh-peck-eh] because the next trial was Friday morning. It was another drive through the mountains. As we were driving I kept looking all around us thinking “This is a tropical forest – there shouldn’t even be a road here! Heck, there probably should even be people living here!” Again, I would have tried to take pictures but the winding road made it impossible to get a good shot. Even our hotel had a tropical feel to it – complete with bright flowers, bright colored birds waking you up at dawn, humidity and mosquitoes (I keep finding more and more bites – and yes, I did use insect repellent!)

When we arrived at the courthouse, they told us that the hearing was not on the Calendar. Somehow the women at MTM convinced them to have it anyway since everyone was present (the judge did not look happy about this).

This is another heartbreaking case - a 13 year old girl was raped by three different men, has a newborn daughter as a result, and contracted HPV from one of the rapists who is an HPV & HIV positive drug trafficker. I had been forewarned that in this case the drug trafficker/defendant had threatened both the family, and the government attorney. So I was absolutely shocked to see that the men were walked in very casually by security guards. They were handcuffed in pairs, but weren’t supervised very closely during the two hours that they sat in a waiting room with several other people including the victim’s parents and attorneys!

The three men were represented by one attorney. As the hearing progressed I realized that because they had chosen to be prosecuted together, no charges could be placed against one without also being placed against the other two. This was particularly significant because today MTM’s goal was to request for the judge to add charges in addition to rape: (1) acts falling within the penal definition of “violence against women”, and (2) transmission of a sexually transmitted disease. In the end, only the charge for violence against women was added, but considering how reluctant this particular judge had been to recognize the legitimacy of violence against women theories, it was a victory on the part of the government attorney and MTM.

:: Winding Down ::

The BLUE is a rough draw of where I went this week.

So after three very long days, we made our way back down “the coast” to Guatemala City. Let me just say, when someone says we’re driving along “the coast”  – I immediately picture Pacific Coast Highway, you know – the one they always show in movies with a view of Malibu Beach and Santa Monica. If you can’t see the ocean for at least part of the ride – you aren’t riding along “the coast”. Regardless, it was a nice and comfortable straight shot without the endless winding roads we had traveled on the previous days, but with less of a view. We stopped along the roadside and bought some Cuchines and fresh Coconuts (with straws of course). And I finally walked in my front door at about 7pm.

2.5 L Coke / 1 L Gallo Beer

After showering and napping a bit, I walked down stairs to hang out with the housemates. Romina’s mother and brother are in town from Austria. Romina had gone to her boyfriend’s house and Ceci had just arrived when I came downstairs. So she and I went out and bought four liters of beer so we could sit and hang out with her brother, Nikolaus (that’s the German spelling – right?). Yes, that’s right – four LITERS. The Guatemalan brand “Gallo” is sold in one liter bottles for Q. 20 – which comes out to about $2.55. Now let me tell you – this was probably the most hilarious conversation I’ve ever been in. Nikolaus speaks German and some English. Ceci speaks Spanish and even less English than Nikolaus. I of course am bilingual – but clearly English is my stronger language. Somehow I managed to do some translation for them between Spanish and English. We kept getting stuck on “little things” like how to say “pigeons”, “vomit” or “oligarchy”, or how to explain some kind of chemical engineering that Nikolaus is studying at the university. And the conversation became a US/Austria/Guatemala comparative study of the hour of “last call”, drinking and driving habits and enforcement, the attractiveness people in each country (i.e. Ceci complained there are no good looking men in Guate), not to mention a discussion of the rise and fall of some shared celebrities (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Next thing we knew it was almost 2am and we called it a night. 


Now, after going non-stop for a couple of days, I'm finally getting some "me" time.