Is this Justice?

:: Day 82 in Guatemala ::


Keeping count of my time in Guatemala through my blog has been really useful. It reminds me that my visa expires after 90 days and that the deadline is quickly approaching. How ironic would it be if I ended up being "undocumented" in Guatemala. Anyway, I'm not bold enough to take that risk. Or maybe I'm just too cheap to pay the fine at the airport - I'd rather pay for the visa extension. So anyway, Monday I went to "Migracion" to pay for and request my extension. They took my passport for processing and said to come back in 8 days.

:: Is this Justice? ::


This week we were finally going to San Marcos for sentencing in the case of the dad who sexually abused his two daughters. (I know, I know - my topics are sooo uplifting.) At first it was just going to be me and Jenny going - so I was going to drive us to San Marcos (that is a 5 hour drive). But as time passed more people decided that they could go after-all. In the end it was me, Jenny (MTM Attorney), Ana Lucia (MTM Director), Brenda (MTM Psychologist), and David (MTM Board Member).  I still drove. Mostly because if Ana Lucia drove she would try to make it all the way without stopping - good luck if you are hungry or have to pee. Driving was fun. I kept feeling like I was really speeding because sometimes the speedometer was reading at 80 to 100 km/hr, but I had to keep reminding myself that is only 50-62 mph. Anyway, I mentioned previously that in some parts this road is full of curves. I kept getting self-conscious about my driving because the people in the back seat are swerving back and forth with every curve. Again, I had to remind myself that I've been the one in the back seat getting flung from side-to-side all the other times we went to San Marcos - it wasn't my crazy driving, that's just the road!!! That is my story and I'm sticking to it!

MTM: Jenny, David, Ana Lucia, me, Brenda

So Tuesday morning was the "hearing" as usual. There weren't any legal arguments left to be made - all the debate concluded at the previous hearing. There was just one last opportunity for the querellante (the mom of the two girls who is pressing charges) and the defendant (abusive dad) to each address the court before sentencing. Mom was great! She had kept it together before the hearing but once she started speaking she got emotional. She was very clear and concise - demanding that the court do justice to her daughters, reminding them of her daughter's cries before this same court only a few weeks prior. She told them that while she was blinded and didn't know her rights for so many years, that every step of the way he - a former police man - knew that what he was doing was wrong. She said that now that she knows her rights and her daughter's rights to be free from abuse and to receive reparation ($), that the court simply protect and uphold those rights.

When the dad/defendant took the stand (for the first time throughout this process) it made my stomach curl. He has shown up to every hearing bible-in-hand. His whole speech (and yes, it was a speech - it actually sounded much like a sermon) was about how he has found God and that he is right in the eyes of God. That only God can judge us and calls us to forgive each other. He had the audacity to say that he loves his daughters. That he loves his wife more now than ever before. He talked about how he has paid his dues because it is not easy being a former cop in jail. He talked about how he has received a calling to spread the word of God and help others. He was extremely eloquent - it made me sick to listen to him. After having heard his daughters tell the scream and cry through the story of how he sexually abused and raped them, I don't think anyone in that courtroom was buying anything he had to say.

So the court adjourned and requested that we return at 19:00 for sentencing. Yes, 7pm - 10 hours later. We drove back to Xela and ran errands and killed time. Had a very interesting debate about horses, donkeys and mules. I later had to pull up wikipedia to prove that I was right. I went through my animal obsession phase as a kid and still remember some random animal facts. We found a Texas BBQ restaurant in Xela and had lunch there. They all ordered chicken soup. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich. Who orders soup at a Texas BBQ restaurant!?!? We finally made our way back to the courthouse around 6:30pm.

At around 6:45pm they come out and tell us that it is going to take a bit longer - probably until 8:30pm. We decided to wait in the lobby area rather than go out and come back. At 7:10 the Fiscal (prosecutor) runs up in her gym clothes semi-apologizing for being late. Jenny informs her that it has been pushed back until 8:30. Her response? "Oh good, I'm starving I can go get food. Oh, but my novela starts at 8:30!" Really? They are releasing the sentence and you are worried about your novela instead of your client who is having an emotional crisis? She then goes on to say she hopes it comes out okay because things have really gone wrong for her in the past - and she starts listing mistakes she has made that had unfortunate results in her cases. Needless to say - she left to have dinner and watch TV at home.

While we were waiting Jenny got a surprise gift from the Court Secretary!

About an hour later la Jueza Presidente (presiding judge) comes out. She comes up to where we are sitting and starts complaining about how poorly written the complaint/charges are. "The laziness of these prosecutors amazes me! When she turned in the first complaint I gave it back to her and told her she should revise it to make it coincide with the girls' testimony. She gave it back in a worse condition than the original! We are really struggling to get the sentencing out from this complaint, I'm just warning you so that you are prepared for what you are going to hear." Jenny started telling her how much trouble MTM has had with her. Since MTM can only act as co-counsel to the prosecutor there have been times where they offered her advice or changes to the complaint but couldn't do anything once she had made her decision. The best they could do is try to do some damage-control in court during debates. Even then the Fiscal yelled at Jenny for admitting (on the record) that the Fiscal had made a mistake. While it was good to hear that what MTM has been saying about the Fiscal all along has been right - it was also incredibly depressing. She has been doing this work for about 10 to 15 years and it looks like she's making a life-long career out of this. She is not a rookie prosecutor - there is no excuse for her mistakes and no one keeping her accountable.

When the sentencing finally started (at 9:30pm) the Public Defender and the Fiscal were not present. The court gave the dad/defendant 15 years for sexual aggression against both girls, and 24 years for the rape of his youngest daughter. The rape of the older daughter couldn't be proved because of that doctor's horrible expert testimony. The court also offered Q40,000 in reparations for each of the girls. In the end he has to serve 39 years in prison (minimum 20 if he gets out on good behavior) and pay Q80,000 ($10,500). While this is a victory for MTM, and a tremendous step forward in the healing process for the girls and their mom, it doesn't make up for all the damage he has caused. Even if he is punished, and even if they go through years of therapy - how does anyone recover from years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father?

Top: Panel of 3 Judges; Left: Defendant & Attorney;
Right: Fiscal, Querellante & Querellante's Attorny (MTM); Bottom: Witness Stand

It was bound to happen sooner or later...

:: Day 77 in Guatemala ::

So I had almost decided not to post to the blog this week because nothing exciting had happened. This week was slow. Sure, stuff happened, but nothing to write home about. Here's a quick recap of everything that was marginally interesting this past week:

Aura's Birthday!!!

-- Saturday we had a party for Aura from MTM because Sunday was her birthday!!

-- Monday was just another day at work.


-- Tuesday was blah, but then we (everyone from MTM) went to the hospital to try to donate blood to Paula's grandfather. Which I guess is interesting because the whole office went. Apparently you need to bring your own donors. And if they aren't an exact match (which I wasn't because I'm A+ and apparently most people are O+) they won't take your blood at all. It just seems like they really want families to have to PAY for each pint of blood their loved one needs.


-- Wednesday was the next Diplomado workshop. Unfortunately, this was the worst one. The first day was really repetitive because it was about Domestic Violence, and we already talked about that.
Wednesday Guatemala also beat the U.S. in Sub-20 soccer - making Guatemala eligible for a world cup for the first time in over 100 years. So the whole city went wild around 10pm at night, and unfortunately a man died because of the excitement. He was the father of a woman who works closely with MTM. Just as they were celebrating the win -- he died from a heart attack. He was only in his 60's.

-- Thursday the Diplomado was about "Health" which is a great idea in theory, but poorly executed. When we came back to the office there was a meeting with the director of Open Society Institute in NY, apparently she is a BC Law alumna! She asked me to contact her when I get back to Boston.  (Oh, and I finally talked to Xochil & Mami via Skype!!!)


-- Friday would be just another day in the office, plus a funeral, but then....




On Friday April 8, 2011, my 76th day in Guatemala, the inevitable happened:


Aura was going to run some errands for the office, which required driving downtown to Zone 4. It was almost lunch time and I was wrapping up what I was doing, so I joined her. It was really hot out so we were driving back with the windows half down. As we are rolling to a stop at a red light, Aura spots some guys who are headed to our car and who clearly are up to no good. We both hit the window buttons to roll them up. But they are just not fast enough. Two guys come to her window, one guy comes to mine and they stick their hands in the window to stop us from rolling it all the way up. The guys at each of our windows stuck their arms all the way in the windows - they were rolled up too high and the car is an SUV so they couldn't reach very far in to the car. They were both kind of pulling on the windows - either trying to force them down or break them. Meanwhile all three of them are yelling at us to give them our cell phones, money, wallets...

This whole time I'm trying to figure out what to do. Our doors are locked. The two guys with their arms in the windows clearly aren't armed, but maybe the third guy is. I've got my purse in my lap - which I instantly grab and hold towards the middle of the car where they can't reach. I'm fumbling with my purse trying to stall and trying to figure out what is going on... meaning: trying to figure out what Aura is doing. My instant reaction is - I'm not giving them ANYTHING. But, I'm in a foreign country with a high incidence of violence and everyone warned me that I'd probably be assaulted at some point and the smart thing to do is give them what they are asking for. So I followed Aura's lead. She hid her wallet but gave them her cell phone and the Q10 which were sitting on the dash. Since this other guy had his hands all in my face - although I don't remember him actually touching me - I fumbled with my purse for a while then remembered my phone was in my pocket. So I gave him/ he took my cell phone. We were still trapped at this red light long enough for him to yell at me more to give him my wallet, to which I respond I don't have one, even though I'm clearly still holding on to my purse. He looks at my purse and I say, "its full of books!" which is only partially true. It also had my debit card, camera, and house keys in it - so I was definitely not going to let that go as easily as the cell phone. The light finally turned green and we were able to go.

In the end, neither of us were hurt, but we were short two cell phones and Q10. Today (Saturday) the plan is to go to Tigo and try to get them to give me a new phone with the same phone number. It could have been much worse.

Moral of the Story: Guatemala is dangerous. Just when I was getting comfortable, three delinquents decided to remind me that I need to constantly be on alert.

Truth is, this week has been full of stories like this. On Saturday two men tried to do the same thing to Ana Lucia (the director at MTM) while she was stopped at a red light. On Monday, Hugo, who just got hired as an accountant at MTM, was assaulted while he was riding the bus home. They took the Q10 he had on him and basically just left him so shaken up that he took the next day off from work. Someone else was telling us this week that her brother was held up at gun-point while riding another local bus. And then Friday, Aura and I were assaulted while driving just a mile-and-a-half from the office.

I think I have avoided mentioning the scary stuff in my blog. For instance, the first time we went to Coatepeque was actually kind of scary. They had warned me that one of the defendants was a narco-trafficker and that he had made threats against Yasuri, the attorney for the Fiscalia/MP. As we were waiting and during the trial it was no big deal. But suddenly, as we were getting ready to leave it was like Yasuri went into a panic. She kept glancing outside and started calling to see if anyone from her office could come pick her up. She even called for a police escort. Apparently the defendant's family members - who are also involved in whatever drug trafficking business he has - were waiting around on the outside of the courthouse. The police came and made people leave, but she was still afraid that they'd just be waiting around the corner and find her as she was walking to her car. We ended up staying with her in the courthouse for at least 45 minutes after the trial was over. The longer we stayed, the more worried I became. We finally decided that Yasuri and the victim's family would go with Paula in the car we brought from MTM since it was parked across the street. Meanwhile Aura, Jenny, and I would go find Yasuri's car and meet them back at our hotel. I think I was nervous that something would happen until we actually pulled into the parking lot for the hotel. The threats against Yasuri became so extreme that they took her off the case. They replaced her with a different lawyer and she is requesting a transfer to Xela.

There is some good news in the Coatepeque case, however. Now remember, this is the case where the 13 year old was raped by three different men. She became pregnant, and now has an adorable daughter who she also named Yasuri, and contracted HPV. Well, there had been problems because the STD tests - which could provide crucial evidence for proving the rape by the other two men - would have cost over Q13,000 ($1,695). That is simply money that MTM and the victim's family do not have. Yasuri has been great on this case and did everything she could to convince her superiors that MP should pay the costs of those exams!

But anyway, the scary stuff comes with the territory. I knew what I was in for when I agreed to come to Guatemala. In fact, that was part of the reason I decided to start a blog - its almost like a weekly alert letting you know I'm still okay! But, I feel like I've been lucky because my experiences here have been more good than bad. I've got big plans for this last month, and I'm going to make the best of the time I've got left! But don't worry, I'll be careful. 

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Date: Saturday, April 9, 2011  (Happy 21st SLG!)

Days in Guatemala: 77

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

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. 

-------------------------

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.

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