Teenagers are a Tough Crowd

:: Day 67 in Guatemala ::

Thanks to my lovely friends on Facebook, this weekend I watched a quick clip by spoken-word poet Sarah Kay and had a profound appreciation for professional spoken-word performers. Even when she stopped doing her poems and was just talking to the crowd, she still sounded like every word was planned out and perfectly executed. And suddenly I was insanely jealous.

Last week was another week in Zacualpa (in the convent) for me. I feel like every day I made more and more work for myself. When one plan fell through, I'd come up with an even more elaborate one. Now suddenly I'm planning an Expo for the Centro del Migrante as well as workshops for teenagers on the topic of migration. Its four workshops in four days, and on the fifth day - the Expo. Seriously? Yes, and it gets worse. The three schools I'm visiting don't have a space where I can do a single workshops with all the kids so...

• April 27 - I'm doing 3 one-hour workshops at LICEO
• April 28 - I'm doing 2 one-hour workshops at Alegria y Fe
• April 29 - I'm doing 1 or 2 one-hour workshops (TBD) at INEB, and
• April 30 - I'm doing a workshop with the youth group at the convent.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Perhaps the bright-side is that my workshop planning is already half done! Hermana Ana Maria failed to mention that she had youth group coming on Saturday and that she wanted me to do a workshop with them. I didn't find out until Friday night. Now of course I couldn't say "no". That word is a recent addition to my vocabulary and I haven't quite learned how to use it yet. So I spent all of Saturday morning preparing to give a workshop in the afternoon. And man, let me tell you, teenagers are a tough crowd.

:: Back in the Day When I was Young (I'm not a kid anymore) ::

So I used to think that working with teens was easy, because I'm young and they can still relate to me. Well, I think I'm passed that point. Being just a few months from being an attorney kind of puts a big divide between where I am in my life and teenagers. Not to mention the fact that I'm an American city-girl talking to a group of rural Guatemalan teens.

So naturally, I start thinking of other ways to open the workshop that is going to help them feel more comfortable with me and therefore more comfortable participating. I start with a joke at my own expense, tell them about me, my background, and my experience with migration issues. Then I want to gauge to see how many of them know people who have migrated to the U.S., and what they already know about the subject. So, I thought, let's do this by the least confrontational way possible - a show of hands and questions that start really generally and gradually get more specific. I really forgot about the power of peer pressure and teenage self-consciousness. Statistics from the PDHRP's research in this community tell me that over 50% of families have someone in the U.S. And in a group of perhaps 50 teens, only about 10 raised their hand. Okay, I guess that's as good as it gets.

I would say that I "winged" the rest of the presentation, but that is just not true. I had a power point presentation with over 25 slides, not enough pictures, and two video clips. This is where I am insanely jealous of people like Sarah Kay - I wish I was compelling enough to keep people's attention without visual aids and confident enough to make it through without relying on a power point presentation to remind me of my next point.

At the end of the whole thing I of course opened it up for reactions and/or questions. What was I thinking? Of course they aren't going to ask anything. So we broke them up into small groups and then had one person "present" what their group had talked about and any questions they might still have. It is always easier to speak up and risk looking dumb when you can blame it on your group.

I have to say that I felt like I was walking a fine line with this presentation. I'm not trying to scare the kids out of migrating - that just doesn't work. But I want them to know the risks and the realities of migrating through Mexico, the U.S. Border, the U.S. immigration (deportation) system, and social realities of being undocumented. I also wanted them to know that there are people who care, and organizations that are fighting for migrant's rights and can help them if they face any abuses along the way or end up in deportation proceedings.

For the next seven of these workshops I'm going to have to find a way to keep this presentation balanced and present the good with the bad.


:: Birthdays and Funerals ::


Last week while I was in Zacualpa, two things happened on the same day: (1) it was Hermana Ana Maria's birthday! and (2) the mother of a woman who has been involved with the PDHRP for the past few years passed away. So the week was also filled with birthday celebrations and mourning. The birthday stuff was really cute. They decorated her place at the table, had a big lunch with people from the community, had a piñata, and at night the novice nuns performed a dance for her! So cute.

Hermana Ana Maria's B-day Table Setting

B-day Lady totally missing the piñata 

How cute is she?

The Priest finally just grabbed the piñata with his hands.

Nice! Shirt full of Candy!

The funeral was the next day. The PDHRP team in Boston asked me to get flowers for the family. No big deal, right? Wrong. Zacualpa is a small town. There is no flower shop in Zacualpa. In order to get flowers I'd have to take a bus to Santa Cruz el Quiche or Joyabaj which are the nearest big(ger) towns. I ended up asking Sor Ivonne (one of the nuns) to come with me so that I wouldn't get lost. Thankfully, they do sell flowers in Joyabaj. However, they don't sell flower arrangements. So I got to try my hand at a little creativity. With a dozen roses and four other types of flowers, a vase and some gold ribbon - I think I did a decent job. Right?

:: Accidentally a "Good" Catholic ::

So on Friday at dinner, right after Ana Maria informed me that I would be doing a workshop with the teens the next day, I accidentally agreed to do the Stations of the Cross with the nuns. I didn't understand what they were talking about. This is a problem when all your Catholic vocabulary is in English. Truth be told - I'm not even sure how to say "Easter" in Spanish.

So after dinner, Sor Neisy tells me "vamos ir a ver las cruces" (we are going to go see the crosses). Or at least that is what I heard. I was confused, so I asked "where?" And she said "out in the community". I was even more confused. What crosses? I walked around town all week and I didn't see any crosses. So I asked again, "Adonde van a ir?" ("where are you going?"). And she answered "A las cruces". Fine. Maybe its a display the community put up, or maybe its an area of the town that is called "Las Cruces" that I just don't know about. So I grab a jacket and I join them. Afterall, Rachel went back to Boston and the Italians left for the City that morning - so what else was I supposed to do?


Next thing I know, we are walking into the church and upon Ana Maria's cue a small procession starts. I'm still confused about what is going on. Then we walk down the street and stop in front of a house that has a small altar out front. Then the reading begins "Primera Estación: Jesús es condenado a muerte" and it clicks - I just agreed to do the stations of the cross! And aren't there like THIRTEEN of them!?!?!

Turns out she was saying "Via Crucis" - in Latin. Makes sense. It is a Friday in Lent. Which also explains why we had nothing but eggs, beans, and veggies today.


Anyway, it was too late to turn back now. So I stuck with it - through all thirteen stations! The whole thing was actually very cute. Each station was in a different part of town and the group of about 50 people would walk together, singing, and stop at each home to do the next station. Afterwards in the intentions they'd include a prayer for the family that put up the altar. I had never seen the stations of the cross done this way and it was a million times better than what I remember from elementary school where we just went around to each of the stations inside St. Andrew's Church.

:: Getting "Home" ::

So after being in Zacualpa since Tuesday, and working every day, by Sunday I was ready to go home! Well... "home" as in back to my apartment in Guatemala City. Sunday I still had to meet with Jose Daniel and Victor to do some planning for the workshops and Expo, but my mind was set, after lunch I was leaving!!!

I told Sor Ivonne that I was going to take the chicken bus to Chichicastenango and then a tourist bus from there - because I don't trust the ghetto buses and am afraid to get robbed because I'm taking my laptop. Well... as it turns out, the dangerous part is actually between Zacualpa and Chichicastenango - if I make it that far then I'm golden. But, she reassured me that they don't rob the buses on weekends because they are too crowded. When I got on the bus I remembered why - it is impossible to walk around in there! How are you going to hold up a bus when you can't even walk down the aisle to collect your money?

Anyway, so I took the Chicken Bus from Zacualpa to Guatemala City. That is a FIVE hour bus ride crammed into a seat that was intended for children but is now filled with three adults. Woo hoooo! I was just glad to have a seat! And I was glad that no one talked to me! Having the guy next to me fall asleep and once in a while accidentaly rest his head against my shoulder is waaay better than getting stuck sitting next to a guy who I'm afraid is trying to figure out where I live.

Yes, that bus is moving. Yes, he's waving at ME.

So now I'm back in the apartment. I've got just over a month left in Guatemala. I am at that strange point where (1) I am ready to go home! but also (2) I am finally feeling "at home" in Guatemala. This month is going to fly by! Next weekend I'm going to Livingston and Rio Dulce with the Italians and Juan Leo. In a few weeks my sorority sister Chris is coming so we'll be out doing touristy stuff and visiting Antigua for Holy Week! And in the meantime I have a 20 page research paper to write (that is how I know time is going to fly - deadlines always sneak up on you).

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Date: Sunday, Mar. 30, 2011

Days in Guatemala: 67

Date of Return to Los Angeles: May 4, 2011

Date of Return to Boston: May 18, 2011

Barbri Bar Prep Start Date: May 19, 2011

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011

Soy Feminista... ¿Y qué?

:: Day 57 in Guatemala ::


I have been in Guatemala almost two full months now. I think it is time for another serious entry, especially after this very serious week. I am really enjoying working at Mujeres Transformando El Mundo. As a learning experience it has been absolutely incredible...

Last week I attended the workshop that is hosted by MTM, CONAPREVI, Fundacion Debora, and Moloj. Turns out that our discussion regarding Femenism, Patriarchy, Androcentrism, etc. served as a wonderful lead in to this week. The funny thing was, that it became really clear that the word feminism has a lot of negative connotations and is very taboo for women in Guatemala. Hence my title, I'm a Feminist... And What?

Before you read on, let me warn you - this is a long entry. And parts of it may be really depressing. Feel free to skip forward if you must. If you have ever asked me "how is work" and my answer was really vague its because I've been working with these kinds of cases for a few years now and they are difficult to talk about sometimes.

Also, there are no pictures. Sorry.


:: The Never-Ending Trial ::


Monday we traveled to San Marcos again for the continuation of the trial, which as usual was scheduled for Tuesday at 9am. We really expected that this would be the last time, even the judges wanted to wrap up the case this day. However, the defense attorney had other plans. He requested an extra five days to work on his defense (shouldn't that be done by now?) and objected to every charge on the record. Unfortunately, in some instances he had a point. I have been reluctant to say it, but the Fiscal (Prosecutor) in this case seems really incompetent. Key elements from the girls' declaration were taken out when she filed the original declarations and charges, and then added back in during the process. Clearly, this was something the Defense objected to having on the record. The trial will be continued on March 29th, and hopefully we'll finally have a verdict.

I'm sharing this small update with you because I have become increasingly frustrated with the lack of efficiency  in the court systems, which inevitably correlates with a lack of justice for victims.


:: New Place, New Client, Same Sad Story ::


As soon as we were done in San Marcos we headed for Huehuetenango which is a department that is on the Guatemala/Mexico border. We went to meet with a potential new client and her mother. This was the first interview. Of course, I can't tell you their real names. So let's say that the girl is 15 years old and her name is Nadia, and her mother's name is Maribel. All the other names I'm using are definitely fictional as well. This is  her story:            (Yes, you should have imagined the voice of the narrator from Law & Order: SVU)

Maribel has six children, three sons and three daughters. Nadia is the second to youngest of all her children. When Nadia was 2 years old Maribel separated from her abusive husband. The decision to become a single mother is difficult for anyone, but it is particularly difficult for women in Guatemala. However, Maribel was fortunate because the director of her children's school, Edgar (although she usually referred to him as el Licenciado), stepped in to help her family in their time of need. He became like a godfather to her children. Sometimes he even gave the family money out of his own pocket. As her children got older he asked Maribel to submit scholarship applications for her children because he also worked with a program that gives scholarships to indigenous children. However Maribel's family is not indigenous, so he told her that the only one the program could accept was Nadia because she is the only one that seemed to have indigenous features.

Maribel would pay for Nadia's school expenses (books, supplies, uniforms, fees, etc.) and have the factura (like a receipt but used for tax reporting purposes) written out in Edgar's name since he was her sponsor for the scholarship. When Nadia turned 11 or 12 years old, Edgar told the family that she was required to do horas sociales (community service hours) as part of her scholarship. Edgar no longer worked at the school, but instead was teaching at a the University. In fact, he spent his time split between the local campus and the one in Guatemala City - five hours away. In order to fulfill her community service hours, Edgar would take Nadia with him to his office at the local University where she would help him around the office, mostly by cleaning, filing paperwork, or arranging his bookshelves. Once in a while he'd drop her off at his house so that she could babysit his infant grandson.

When Nadia was 13 years old, Edgar invited her to attend a three-day workshop for the scholarship recipients. The workshop would be taking place at the University in Guatemala City. Although he had an apartment in the City, he arranged for Nadia to stay with his secretary at her apartment. On the way there Edgar asked Nadia what she planned to wear for Friday evening since there was going to be a Gala. Nadia of course said that she was going to wear her normal clothes since her family didn't have the money to buy her anything fancy. Of course that won't do, so Edgar said that he'd buy her nicer clothes since most of what she was wearing was old and barely fit her, otherwise the others would not accept her. In fact, he sent his secretary with her to buy a nice black dress for Friday. The workshops were about several topics including earthquake and fire-safety, but were only a few hours each day and were led by two instructors. There were about 10 other students present, girls and boys, most of whom were a little bit older than Nadia. During their free time Nadia would go with Edgar and he showed her around the campus explaining what each building was and taking pictures of her so that she could show her family later. Edgar told her that if she studied hard maybe she could attend this university and become an attorney some day - just like him.

So hopefully you've been reading this lovely story with a grain of salt. During this time, behind the scenes things went very wrong. (WARNING: The story gets ugly here, you might want to skip down a few paragraphs.) Edgar started telling Nadia stories about how when she was little she used to tell him that she wanted to be his girlfriend, and that she would hug him and kiss him on the lips. He used this story to start taking advantage of her. He told her that since she had wanted to be his girlfriend, that now that she was older she had to be his girlfriend. He said that girlfriends and boyfriends are supposed to keep secrets for each other. He started touching her, rubbing her legs, kissing her, and telling her that this is what boyfriends and girlfriends do - just ask anybody.

A few months later there was another three-day workshop at the University in the City. Again, Edgar invited Nadia to attend. This time, however, she would be staying at his apartment because his secretary could not host her. Knowing that this arrangement looked inappropriate, Edgar assured her that they would not be alone - the apartment has three bedrooms and someone else would also be coming to stay in the third bedroom, although no one ever did. That night he asked her to help him record the grades for one of his classes. He started drinking a little bit as they were working. When Nadia became tired she excused herself and went to bed. Edgar continued drinking by himself in the other room. In the middle of the night Edgar burst into her room and climbed into her bed. He told her that these were things that boyfriends and girlfriends have to do. He raped her and told her that boyfriends and girlfriends aren't supposed to tell anyone about the things that they do together. Afterwards she was bleeding. He gave her some pills to take. She didn't know what they were for so she didn't take them. She showered and eventually fell asleep crying. In the morning he was gone. He called her and told her that he had arranged for her to go home (a day early) on a shuttle. He warned her that she shouldn't tell her mother about what they had done because she wouldn't believe her anyway. When Nadia arrived home early and her mother asked her what had happened, Nadia just said that she had felt uncomfortable because Edgar had been drinking and that she wanted to come home because she had started her period early (almost a full month early).

The holiday season began and Nadia didn't have to go do her community service hours as much. During this time she avoided being alone with him. But when her 14th birthday came around, Edgar and his wife invited Nadia out for dinner and he told her that they wanted to give her a birthday present. The three of them went to dinner together, and then his wife said she had some errands to run and left separately. Afterwards Edgar took Nadia to buy her a cell phone for her birthday - saying that it was from both he and his wife. Then he told her that he had to run an errand before dropping her off at home. He drove to an area she didn't recognize and pulled into an auto-hotel, when they pulled in someone pulled the gate down behind them. He took her into a room that had a bed on it, where he raped her again, covering her head with a pillow so she couldn't scream. He told her that this was payment for the new cell phone. Afterwards he warned her again that she shouldn't tell anyone. Besides, who would believe you? I am a powerful man and you are just a little girl.


After this she avoided him at all costs. If he came to her house she pretended to be asleep in her room. She made excuses not to do her community service hours. She told her mother the workshops were boring so that she wouldn't have to go to City with him again. She was scared to tell her mother what had happened. She didn't think anyone would believe her. But after a few weeks, Nadia didn't have a choice because she was pregnant.

Now Nadia is 15 years old and has a 6 month old baby. Her mother and her sisters are supporting her, helping her with the baby, and supporting her decision to file charges against Edgar. But everyone else seems to have turned against Nadia and her family.

• Some of her family thinks that she is a disgrace to the family because she is an unwed mother.
• Her father said that they should find the man and make him marry her and take responsibility for his child.
• When they filed the complaint and the charges with the police and the prosecutor's office - someone in that office warned him so that he was able to run away before they arrested him.
• A judge arranged for his family to meet with her mother, Maribel, to negotiate. Even though negotiation is not an option in rape cases involving minors. 
• His wife and adult children have offered her money in exchange for dropping the charges.
• Several people have "volunteered" to adopt the baby. The baby which is the only proof that a rape occurred. This includes his own family and some of his colleagues.
• Even an attorney who was supposed to be helping them with their case suggested a monetary settlement even though there is an option to request monetary compensation within the criminal and civil processes. 
• Maribel believes that Edgar is hiding out in his mother's home within the city - but even though there is a warrant for his arrest the police refuse to go look for him unless she is absolutely certain he is there. 
• Nadia is afraid that someone will kidnap her baby, or do something to harm her and/or her family.

This case is heartbreaking and disheartening. In it we see all the battles faced by victims of sexual violence in Guatemala. How do you work from within a patriarchal and machista culture that blames the victim and sees no fault in the man's action, especially with a corrupt criminal justice system that encourages impunity?

But the worst part about this story... is that there is more to it. She isn't the only girl he has sexually molested or raped. He molested Nadia's older sister. He raped another young girl who ended up moving to another city with her mother and living in an apartment that Edgar pays for. Turns out that he was removed as the director of that school because someone had complained about sexual abuse, even though at the time they said it was because of problems with the staff.

I strongly suspect that he is part of a child trafficking and sexual exploitation ring, and maybe a lot of the other "well respected" people in town are in on it as well. Why? Well, granted, not all the details are in this story. But here goes:

• This is a border region where there is an especially high risk of human trafficking. 
• What kind of scholarship program has sponsors pay their student's expenses directly? And if the University and the scholarship program put together these three-day workshops why were there only 10 students? 
• Why did he take almost 25 pictures of her after buying her the new clothes?
• And that "Gala" that he bought her the dress for - apparently the students were just kind of paraded in front of a group men - it was not really a party.
• Edgar told Nadia not to say anything to anyone at the workshop, unless they directly asked her a question she knew an answer to. And Edgar kept the notebook in which she had taken notes during the workshop, supposedly because those notes could not leave the University.  

Truth is... there are several other elements that have led me, and the attorneys at MTM, to believe that there is a ring of sexual exploitation in this town. And since this guy is an attorney and is well connected - it is going to be impossible to get a fair trial locally.

:: We Hate Men ::

So after meeting with that client in Huehue you can imagine that we were all emotionally exhausted. As we sat for dinner and mulled over the details suddenly the three women from MTM start ranting about how much they hate men. Can you blame them? They see cases like this all the time. They face judges who think that filing charges for "violence against women" is a joke. The news talks about cases like that of Mindy Rojas whose husband cut off her face and left her for dead. She survived and filed charges against him, a few months later she was assassinated. They live in a country where femicide (or feminicide) and sexual violence are everyday realities. They, and probably every woman they know, have been victims of inter-familial violence. 

Mid-rant one of them turns to me and says, "I know you have a boyfriend, and maybe he's the exception. But I'm sorry. I just hate men."

And just so you know, because I know some of you are asking yourself this - No. All three of them are not Lesbians. One is Lesbian, one is Bi-Sexual, and one is Heterosexual.

But I must say, being in Guatemala really makes me appreciate the U.S. and men in the U.S. Walking down the street and being called mamacita, cachetona, linda, gordita, preciosa, etc. by men of all ages, and I mean ALL AGES, gets old really fast. As I walk down the street I size up every man I see before I determine how close I'm willing to walk when I go past him. This all makes me feel really fortunate that I've got some good men in my life. Men who are not going to take advantage of me, abuse me, or treat me as inferior or insignificant. And that I can walk down the street in Los Angeles, or Boston, without fearing that I might be targeted just because I am a woman. I have not lost faith in the opposite sex just yet.

:: You Are Missing Out America ::

This is the last part of this blog entry, I promise!

Friday I attended a workshop hosted by Project Consulting Services (PCS) about the Rights of Migrant Women. There were people, mostly women, representing organizations that work with migrant women in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. It was a small group, so everyone talked about their work as well as the conditions facing migrants, or specifically migrant women, in their countries. 

I mention this partly because it follows this week's theme. Mostly, this small group of women, and men, really impacted me. Every part of this semester in Guatemala has been a learning experience. Things like this workshop are broadening my perspective on migration as an international issue. I absolutely loved that these women from different countries were coming together to discuss how their work compliments each other's work and how they could coordinate to provide better services to this migrant population. The issues they talked about are things that inevitably have come up in the U.S. The effects of deportation on families. The causes of female migration and how it is invisible when the male migrant's experience is considered the norm. The dangers of migration for women, especially in regard to sexual violence, and sexual and reproductive health. The vulnerability of women and children to human trafficking. 

The truth is that I feel like we are missing out. Human Rights organizations in Latin American countries are reaching out to each other to build a bigger network, and the U.S. is not included. Why? Maybe its as simple as the language barrier - our information is in English and theirs is in Spanish. Or because in the U.S. the Spanish language and anything Latin American is not appreciated, and is in fact looked down upon. They are doing incredible research in the area of human rights, research that is interesting and useful because it is directly related to processes that are occurring in the U.S., but we can't access that information. The U.S. is literally building walls along its southern border, shutting its doors to Latin American immigrants. And through its increasingly nativist attitude - shutting down the opportunity for information sharing and collaboration at an international level.

Latin America is indivisible from the United States. What happens in the U.S. effects what happens in Latin America and vice versa. It is time to stop closing our eyes and pretending that if we can't see it, it is not there, or if you just ignore them, they'll go away. Grow up America. 

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Date: Sunday, Mar. 20, 2011

Days in Guatemala: 57

Date of Return to Los Angeles: May 4, 2011

Date of Return to Boston: May 18, 2011

Barbri Bar Prep Start Date: May 19, 2011

Graduation Date: May 27, 2011

California Bar Exam: July 26-28, 2011

Let the Processions Begin

:: Day 51 in Guatemala ::

The other day as we're driving home - correction: Oliver who is the assistant at the office is giving me a ride home - Oliver asks me if I've ever seen a procession. Sure, of course I have. They have those in LA sometimes, and I'm pretty sure I've seen some in Mexico. Then he asks me how big those processions were. Now I'm confused. Big? You mean the number of people involved? No. He means the size of the processional float (anda). So we stopped at a church on the way to my house. The thing was huge!!! I of course didn't have my camera on me this day. But when I say huge - I mean it takes 50 people to carry it.

So that leads me to this weekend, which was rather kick back. I did laundry, wrote my previous blog entry, did some reading. Sunday as I'm sitting in our little garden terrace I hear a whole lot of noise outside. I'm thinking maybe its a religious event, after-all it is a Sunday in Lent. Eventually I had leave the house to run some errands: ATM, pharmacy, pay electric bill, buy dinner. The next block over something is happening... people are arranging flowers on the floor. It is actually really pretty, and I assume it is something religious because some things are in the shapes of crosses, but I just figured I'd ask Ceci when I got back to the house.

Two hours later there are tons of people on our street. Ceci informs me that those flowers on the ground are an alformbra, a carpet made of flowers, in preparation for a procession that would be coming through soon. So naturally, I pulled out my camera and we hit the streets to see what was going on. (This alformbra is nothing compared to the elaborate ones they'll have during Semana Santa - Holy Week.)

There were street vendors, tons of people who came to watch, and cucuruchos who were dressed in white and purple robes and others who were dressed in all black. Ceci told me that these are the ones who are supposed to carry the processional float. Of course these are all Catholic devotees, but they are also the Guatemalan upper and middle class. Sure, carrying the float is a sign of devotion, but you also have to pay for your spot. So participating in these processions seems to be not only a sign of one's religious devotion but of their social status.

When the processional finally came around in front of our house, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to take video or pictures. So I took both. Unfortunately... that didn't make for a great video. So please excuse the terrible workmanship on this video and the mixing of the music... I was just looking for a drum beat to fill in the silence:

So I suppose this was only a taste of what Semana Santa will be like in Guatemala City. This particular procession was not very long. It started at a church that is about 6 blocks away and was just circling around the neighborhood before going back. That of course does not make it any less impressive.

The bad news is that as I'm scrambling to get my camera and some money so that I can take pictures of the madness and of course buy a snack from one of the street vendors - I discover that my change purse is missing. Not really that big a deal. It only had like $20-$25 in it. However, it also had my ATM card inside. Fortunately I'm paranoid enough to have put the money I had taken out of the ATM in my bra rather than in my pocket or change purse. So I still have the $200 I had just taken out and I was able to call and have it frozen before anyone could try to use it. I must have lost it somewhere between the little restaurant where I bough a Guatemalan hot dog for dinner and the two blocks I had to walk to get home. I just hope that whoever found it - really needed the money. 

El Lago y La Mujer

:: Day 49 in Guatemala ::

Keeping up with a blog can be hard work. Kudos to those of you that do this every day. I’m not sure how you constantly come up with new things to write about. Meanwhile, I am out trying to do new and exciting things to write about… and that of course gets in the way of actually writing. So much happens so quickly… now its Saturday and its time to play catch-up.

:: Lago de Atitlan ::

As I mentioned previously, this was Rachel’s last week in Guatemala. So we had scheduled some travelling last weekend. We didn’t get to go to Rio Dulce like we had wanted, but instead opted for Lago de Atitlan which is much closer. Saturday morning I took a tourist shuttle (more expensive but more comfortable and less risky than chicken buses) from Guatemala City to Antigua to Panajachel. Sounds boring to take a bus by yourself for 2-3 hrs, but of course I ended up sitting next to and talking to a guy who lives in Solola, which is the town right before Panajachel, the whole way there. Turns out that he runs repatriation programs for Guatemalan refugees who are just now returning to Guatemala after the armed conflict, and he used to sell toys so he as travelled to the US and China quite a bit (same line of work Hannover is in now).


So, like last time, we left the hotel booking until the last minute. So much so, that I went door to door to some of the hotels until finding one with an available room. The first two were BOOKED SOLID. The third one, El Chaparral, was also full. As I inisisted, “are you sure you don’t have any rooms left?” the manager kind of hesitated and said, “well, we are setting up one room on the third floor as we speak”. After determining that the room would fit five people, I asked if I could see it. It was a meeting room – like the type they use for conferences because the 3^rd floor of this little hotel is their “conference center”. There were two queen sized beds and two guys who were starting to put blankets on those beds. No other furniture whatsoever. The manager assured me they could put one more bed in since there were 5 of us. Q&A: Is there a bathroom? Yes. Hot water? Yes. Can I see it? Sure, wait, we don’t know where the key is. But we’ll find it. Good enough. I called to double check that everyone would be okay with this set up although I suspected that at Q375 a night ($49) split by five, there would be no complaints... I'm not sure why all the hotels were booked this weekend. There were no special events. Even the hotel staff said that they were surprised that everywhere was booked. But apparently, we came on the weekend that all the tourists decided to visit Panajachel. 

Giulia, Rachel, Juan, Me, Irene

Saturday night was predictable: dinner, drinks, live music. Fun, but nothing crazy. Sunday morning we all just kind of rolled out of bed at whatever time we naturally woke up, or in Juan's case - whatever time everyone else naturally woke up. Just as we were leaving the hotel a guy approached us offering a tour of the lake. After a little back and forth on our part, we went for it. We started with a trip across the lake and breakfast in the little pueblo of Santa Catarina Palopó. It was very cute. There was a basketball court and a soccer field right on the edge of the lake. There were women weaving scarves and table runners, and of course selling other typical art and clothes on the side of the road. Of course the fact that they were weaving right there immediately convinced me to buy something. At least I feel like my money is going to the person who actually did the work, rather than a middle man. 


After breakfast we continued on our boat tour. Lago de Atitlan has some hot springs in the lake. So our tour guide basically took us out to another part of the lake and asked us if we'd like to swim. Although we all came prepared with bathing suits, only Rachel and Juan actually jumped in. I'm still glad I didn't go in the water because judging by Rachel's scream - that water was not warm. They later told us that it shifted between hot and cold water, which I guess doesn't seem that bad. I imagine it was like sitting in a hot bath tub and running the cold water - you get those sudden waves of hot and cold. 

Lago de Atitlan - San Antonio

The lake itself is gorgeous! It is huge and it is surrounded by three volcanoes. All around the edges of the lake there are either little pueblos like the ones we visited, Santa Catarina, San Antonio, and San Pedro, or gorgeous houses that are mostly owned by foreigners - apparently many of them are writers. I can see how living on this lake can be a source of inspiration. Our tour came to an end around 2pm. By this time the lake was pretty choppy and there were a lot of waves. As I stepped off the boat and nearly lost my balance I said, "Whoa, estoy mareada" and suddenly the meaning and origin of the word "mareada" made sense to me. Mar = sea, marear = to get dizzy, or in this case - seasick. Its funny how you don't really think about those things sometimes.

Lago de Atitlan - Panajachel

By 2pm last night's shenanigans were catching up with me. I was ready for a nap! But.... naps aren't really an option when you are traveling in a group, right? So after changing our clothes and having ice cream for lunch - this is typically what Irene and Giulia want to have for lunch, we headed for Panajachel's Nature Reserve. For $25 we could take a tour of the nature reserve, which requires climbing quite a bit, and then ride down on the Zip-Lines. We were all kind of split on this one - because you could also take the tour without the Zip-Line for about $7. Now, if you know me - its obvious that I was pushing for the Zip-Line tour. After a bit of convincing Rachel, Juan and I did the Zip-Line, and Irene and Giulia did the walking tour. We actually all started together on the tour. The only wildlife we really saw were birds and spider monkeys. But it was a great hike - complete with scary rope bridges and a waterfall!

At the end of the hiking tour the zipline began. There are eight ziplines ranging from 90 meters (295 ft.)  to 320 meters (1050 ft.) along waterfalls, canyons, the valley and the coffee grove forest. And of course with a beautiful view of Lago de Atitlan. I would have taken pictures - but they recommended that we hold on with both hands. 

In the end our trip to Lago de Atitlan was well worth it. The lake is beautiful, the Nature Reserve was so much fun! The only thing missing was a hike up one of the volcanoes - but that will have to wait for next time.


:: Dia de La Mujer ::

Tuesday, March 8th, was International Women's Day. So Rachel and I joined MTM at the demonstration for el Dia de la Mujer in Guatemala City. It started at the Municipal building and ended at the Palacio Nacional. It was hard to tell how many people participated - but my guess would be that it was in the hundreds. It was really awesome to see so many groups on the streets for this event. Women, men, and children. In some ways it was more like a parade than a march. In front of us there was a big truck with music blasting. Behind us there were some kids on stilts dressed like clowns and a guy who was fire swinging. The march lasted about 3  hours or so. Perhaps the thing I enjoyed the most, was the fact that we were stopping traffic in the middle of downtown. I probably would have been pissed if I was driving anywhere at that time.

      

:: El Aquario ::

Since this was Rachel's last day in Guatemala, Tuesday afternoon we followed up the march with some shopping at the Mercado Central. Then we joined Juan, his dad, his sister Deisy, and his adorable four year old niece, Yulisa, for dinner at Pizza Hut. I know, I know, sounds lame, right? This was the best Pizza Hut I've ever been to. The pizza was really good. It was a two-story sit-down restaurant with a huge playplace (like in McDonalds). And for drinks they served pitchers of Horchata! I had been avoiding the American restaurants whenever possible - but I might just have to order from Pizza Hut more often while I'm in Guatemala.

As we were eating our pizza, somehow we started talking about Aquariums. Rachel immediately became excited to find out there was an Aquarium in Guatemala City. Since Juan and his family didn't seem to be in a rush - we all took a trip to the Aquarium.

Just so we are clear, this is not your typical aquarium. This aquarium is located inside the Oakland Mall in Zone 10 of the City. It is not only inside the mall, it is inside of some restaurants! On one side there is a family-friendly restaurant, on another side there is a bar (adult-friendly restaurant), and on the other side there is a couple-friendly restaurant. We just wanted coffee - so we opted for Nais Aquarium - the romantic couple-friendly restaurant. Every table has a view of the aquarium. Inside there are blacktip sharks, eels, mantarays, and all sorts of fish. Perhaps the best part is... the little tube in the middle where you are literally surrounded by fish. I think that if anyone is looking for a cool restaurant idea... this is one to steal!

So that just about wraps up my week. Wednesday and Thursday I attended a workshop hosted by MTM and three other women's rights organization. The topic: feminism and discrimination. Very interesting to hear the Guatemalan perspective on these issues. But that may just have to wait for another blog post.