Santiago Atitlan Massacre

Link to more pictures related to this blog (If a picture of the inside of a church does not appear, close the window and try this link again. Sometimes the link does not work properly the first time.)

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During the 36-year Guatemalan civil war (1960-1996) government soldiers kidnapped and murdered many people. The Commission for Historical Clarification estimates over 200,000 people were killed or disappeared during the conflict. Government soldiers often rounded up men and boys from villages and executed them to instill fear into the residents. These soldiers were often supported or trained by the U.S. In fact, in
1999, President Clinton expressed regret to the Guatemalan people for
the role the U.S. played in the Guatemalan civil war. I talked with individuals who experienced this terror and who lost fathers, husbands or sons in the violence.

In spite of, and in the face of, this violence many Guatemalans hold on to hope for peace and justice in their society. They are determined the horrors of violence and war will never again envelope their country. In the next several blog posts I will chronicle several past and present efforts to demonstrate this commitment to peace and justice.

The Santiago Atitlan Massacre, December 2, 1990: (Documentation of this event is given in the Americas Watch and Physicians for Human Rights Report)

During the civil war there was an army garrison in Panabaj, a small village about 1 mile from Santiago Atitlan. Santiago Atitlan is a beautiful city of about 40,000 people, located 45 miles from Guatemala City and situated on the shore of Lake Atitlan. For many years the army had been harassing local residents, indiscriminately killing farmers and other citizens. On December 1, 1990, four soldiers entered a bar and began harassing patrons. As the evening progressed the soldiers visited other bars and became more rowdy. People gathered and a struggle ensued. One of the soldiers fired into the crowd and injured an 18 year old boy, Diego Ixbalan. The soldiers then returned to their garrison.

A group of citizens then went to the Catholic church in town and at 1:00 a.m. rang the church bell for an hour to summon the town people. Over 3 thousand people, including the town mayor and mayor-elect, gathered in the middle of the night and marched to the army garrison one mile away in Panabaj. The purpose of the march was to peacefully demonstrate against the violent actions of the government soldiers. As the mayor and mayor-elect asked to speak to the army commander, the soldiers opened fire on the gathered citizens. Thirteen people, including a number of children, were killed.

In the days that followed, thousands of people signed a petition asking the government to remove the military garrison. Under pressure from the citizens and human rights groups, the government miraculously agreed to the demands, and by the end of the month the military post was abandoned. However, the soldiers responsible for the massacre were never held accountable. The people of Santiago Atitlan formed their own security patrols "armed" with only whistles and white banners. Several months later army patrols attempted to enter the city but were driven away by the residents.

Today a peace park has been constructed at the site of the demonstration. Stones from the army garrison were used to build the park. Memorials for the massacre victims are in the park.

On October 5, 2005, the village of Panabaj suffered another catastrophe when rains from Hurricane Stan triggered a massive mudslide on a mountain adjacent to the village. Several hundred people were buried in mud that was 10 feet deep in some places. But again, people gathered together with resilient hope and rebuilt the village. I visited the village in January and saw mud-stained buildings - evidence of the mudslides more than three years ago. I stayed with a woman named Ana and her family in her rebuilt home. Ana belongs to ANADESA, an organization formed to provide employment for women in Panabaj and to promote tourism in the area. Juan Carlos Azurdia worked with ANADESA for a year after he returned to Guatemala from Goshen.

Update

Today several of my family members arrive in Guatemala - Eileen, Rachel, Tex and Josiah. We will travel for a week, then return home on March 4.

As I write this, they are 37,000 feet in the air over Tennessee traveling at 550 mph. For those who are interested, you can track any commercial airline flight in real time at http://flightaware.com/

I will not have computer access during most of the time we are traveling, so there will not be any posts to this blog for a while.

However, I have many more interesting stories to tell and many pictures to post. So come back and visit this blog in about 8 days. I will continue posting for a while after I return home.

Floyd

Ensamble de Marimbas y Ballet Folklórico

Link to pics/videos of Marimba Concert
Link to pics/videos of Ballet

During the month of February there has been an international festival, Festival Internacional de Cultura Paiz , in La Antigua Guatemala (Antigua). The program includes theater, dance, ballet, concerts, opera, art and much more. The city is absolutely crowded each weekend. One of the CASAS volunteers, who did not know about the festival, went to Antigua a week ago and could not find a hotel room. Antigua is about 30 min from my home, so it is easy for us to quickly drive there on a Sunday afternoon. We attended two events: two weeks ago a marimba concert, and today a ballet.

Marimba music is very traditional in Guatemala, and the concert drew a large crowd. It was in Parque Central, a very beautiful plaza in the center of Antigua. There were four marimba groups; each group had about 8 marimba players. They all played together, so the music was an amazing blend of sound from 30+ marimba players. The concert went on for two hours straight - no intermission! Click this link for pictures and videos of the concert .

Today we attended a modern ballet with a traditional folklore theme. On our way to the ballet we stopped at a cathedral in San Felipede Jesus, a small town outside Antigua. The cathedral has several carved images of Jesus and is very well known as a place to come and pray for miracles. Jose Luis' father prayed for a miracle at this church in the 1920s and paid to have a plaque of gratitude placed on a wall of the cathedral. We saw the plaque, but Jose Luis does not know what his father prayed for or what miracle he might have experienced.

After lunch in a small traditional restaurant, we went to the ballet. The characters portrayed in the ballet included mythical beings, animals, and a variety of folkloric and historical characters. I was not able to follow everything, but did not feel so badly when Jose Luis and Olga said they were not familiar with all that was portrayed. There was a mix of Mayan and Christian religious themes, the devil with an apple, Spanish conquistadors, and African, Mayan and Spaniard characters. The pictures at this link will provide a much better description than I can give in text. Of course, there was a marimba band to accompany the ballet.

Volcan de Pacaya

Click this link for more pictures and videos of the volcano.

Click on the pictures below for a larger view in another window

Sunday, after church and lunch, my family and I headed out to climb the volcano Pacaya. It is one of the most climbed volcanoes in Guatemala (in total there are over 30 volcanoes here). Currently Pacaya has been active since the 1960s. The last major eruption was in the 1980s. Most of the time the volcanic activity is a number of slow lava flows from various places on the side of volcano.

Our group included Jose Luis, Olga, Claudia, Jorge, Juan Carlos, a friend of Juan, and me. We arrived at the park around 3:30pm and started up the path. Jose Luis and Olga did not climb the volcano, they stayed at the bottom near the park entrance area while we "younger ones" did the climbing. I was the oldest, Claudia is 34, and the others are in their late 20s. The younger guys often ran ahead, Claudia moved along at a constant pace, and I brought up the rear stopping many times to rest. The climb was one of the most physically taxing things I have done in a long time. However, I do admit that what I consider physically taxing at this time in my life would have been less taxing 20 years ago! It did not help that I had also climbed the mountain behind our house the day before we tackled the volcano, and my legs were already tired.

The first part of the climb was through a forested area around the base of the volcano. The path is not difficult, but is steep in a number of places. The most difficult aspect for me was the lower concentration of oxygen at the 7,500 ft elevation. Most of the time, while walking in the woods, we were in the clouds, and the the landscape had a deep mystical character.

After about one hour we arrived at the part of the volcano that is volcanic rock and totally devoid of vegetation. Some of the rocks are small pebbles; other rocks are large with extremely sharp edges. Climbing was similar to, though much more difficult than, climbing a steep sand dune. Each step forward often resulted in a backward slide of 1/2 to 1 1/2 steps! Along the way we encountered (or started!) several small rock slides - one rather large rock came within inches of Jorge. We passed large areas of cold solid rock that still displayed the folds of molten lava. We also passed by several areas where we could feel the heat from molten lava under the rocks. At this point we joined with a small group of people who had hired two guides. These guides took us off in a direction different from where the large tour groups headed. In the end this turned out to be a good decision.


We climbed up the lava rock bed for another hour and arrived at a spectacular site of molten lava oozing out of the mountain. Words cannot fully describe the experience. I was 8-10 feet from flowing molten rock that was likely around 1,500 degrees F (I checked scientific reports on lava temps for Pacaya). We spent about 1/2 hour at the site - taking pictures, watching the lava flow, poking at the lava, and toasting marshmallows! The lava flows slowly and keeps changing as you watch. After several minutes of flowing from one spot, the lava started flowing from another place. Juan Carlos has climbed the volcano numerous times and said this was the largest and best lava flow he has seen.

Around 6:00pm we started down the mountain - by this time darkness was setting in. The descent over the lava rocks was more difficult than the ascent. Each of us fell a couple times. On one of my falls I received several cuts on the palm of my hand from the sharp edges of the lava. At one point Jorge just sat down and slid down the rocks. By the time we reached the main path leading into the woods it was totally dark. As we looked back up at the mountain we could see a long red river of lava flowing down the side.

There were many groups in the area led by several guides, so we felt quite safe. I had a small LED flashlight with me. Claudia, Juan Carlos and I were at the end of the returning groups. I stopped to look at the stars and that caused us to become separated from the group. We continued along the path but saw no one. After a while we saw two men up the hill from us and they told us (in French) that we were on the wrong path. We thought we recognized them from one of the groups. So, we crawled through a barbed wire fence and went up the hill. However when we got to the top the men were gone. Using my small flashlight, we looked around and found another path. We went through two closed barbed wire fences and eventually joined another path that I believe was the first path we were on. After about 10 minutes we caught up to the main group and felt quite relieved! For a while I wondered if we had been duped into leaving our first path and lured into an ambush. The volcano park is quite secure now, but 5 years ago there were problems with robbers attacking hikers.

The total time for our excursion on the volcano was 4 hours: 2 hours up; 1/2 hour at the lava flow; 1.5 hours back down.

Click this link for more pictures and videos of the volcano.

R & B

(Click on the pictures below to enlarge)

Click this link to my photo website for more pictures.

For most North American readers of this blog, the title "R & B" will bring to mind "Rhythm and Blues" - a music genre that is high on my list of favorites. In fact, thanks to internet technology and online radio stations, I'm listening to some good R & B music as I write this blog entry.

However, my readers who have been to Latin America will also think of "Rice & Beans" or "Arroz y Frijoles." It's not possible to go through a day without arroz y frijoles in Latin America, and frijoles (beans) are are served with everything. I've found I actually like beans. (My daughter, Rachel, will likely say I still like them because I have not eaten them often enough.)

Today Jose Luis and Olga asked me what I like best for breakfast, and my answer was heuvos y frijoles (eggs and beans). Olga provides a variety of breakfast foods - mush, fruit, granola, rice & beans, and pancakes (on Saturdays). They were a bit surprised that I said eggs and beans are on my list of favorites. Jose Luis said he thought that when Eileen arrives she might ask why my skin is so dark, and that I might reply, "Because Olga feeds me only beans!!"

In our house the beans are soaked in water and cooked in a large slow cooker for a couple days. There is always a pot of beans on the stove ready to be reheated. Sometimes we eat the beans whole, and other times the beans are pureed in a blender to form a bean paste.

We do have a good variety of food. This evening we had fish, lettuce and cucumber salad, and, oh yes, rice and beans! We also have chicken dinners, beef, wonderful soups and a variety of vegetables - red beets, carrots, potatoes, squash, green beans and plantain. Check out the photo website for pictures of food.

El Mercado en San Lucas

Link to photo gallery of more market pictures.

(Click pictures in blog for larger view)

Today is Saturday - market day for my family. Jose Luis invited me to go with him to the San Lucas market. San Lucas is a small town about 2 miles from our house. My family does most of their shopping there in local shops and in the local market. There are larger more convenient supermarkets, but items there are much more costly. We stop in San Lucas almost every evening on the way home from Guatemala City to buy fresh bread and a few other items for dinner. However Saturday is the day you go to purchase your week's supply of meat and vegetables.

The market is in a large enclosed building with some shops under eaves along the outside walls. Compared to the main market in Guatemala City, the San Lucas market is small. However I was quite impressed by the size of the market and the wide variety of items available. What do you want? OK, no problem. You can likely get it at the San Lucas market. Beef, chicken, pork, ham, beans, rice, vegetables, fruit, cheese, eggs, canned and boxed goods, clothing, ... eat breakfast, wash your clothes, buy furniture. You name it, and it is likely available.

Sanitary practices with meat are lacking. It is not as bad as Eileen and I experienced in Nigeria, but still, meat hangs unrefrigerated and uncovered in the open air right where people are passing, talking, sneezing.... etc. Fortunately the weather is not hot, and there are virtually no flies or other insects (at least at this time of the year). Most stalls have refrigerators for longer term storage of meat.

Colors. Ah, the mixture of colors in the market is wonderful. From the clothes people wear, to the fresh fruits and vegetables, to the mixture of goods and items displayed in the stalls - everywhere your eyes feast on color. I think one reason colors are so noticeable is that a large variety of items are displayed together in one small area. Also the fruits are ripe and colorful. Come along and join me on a walk through the market in my picture gallery.

Hace Frio!

Hace frio!!! It's cold!!! Tonight the low temperature in Guatemala City is predicted to be 49F - it will be colder out here on the mountain. To those of you in northern climes, 49F might seem quite balmy. But I'm in a house with no heat - that is not, "no central heat", it is no heat period! And the house is designed for warm weather. The windows are not caulked and do not seal tightly, and the floors are bare concrete.

Last night it was also cold and windy. Around 5:30am the electricity went off due to a downed power line. My CPAP machine (for sleep apnea) went off and I couldn't sleep any longer. I got up at 6:30 to shave and shower. When I turned on the shower I did not hear the familiar growling noise of the small water heater on the shower pipe. Duh, Floyd, no electricity! I had a haircut yesterday and really wanted to wash my hair. So I stuck my head under that wonderfully cold water fresh from the mountain spring. Wow! It was so cold it was actually painful.

Everyone complains about the cold - this has been the coldest winter in quite a while. Today Albertina, my Spanish instructor, decided I brought the cold weather with me.

In the picture I'm sitting at my bedroom desk wearing a t-shirt, two other shirts and a jacket. With all that on I'm still a bit on the short side of comfortable. Fortunately my bedroom is upstairs and is slightly warmer than the downstairs rooms. During dinner we warmed our hands over candles. Tonight I will sleep in my jeans, t-shirt and at least one other shirt. I will wrap myself up in three blankets and hope I stay warm.

Futbol Americano en Guatemala

When the Super Bowl is played, Americans must gather for parties. No matter where we are, it is our duty to search out other Americans and like-minded folks to share the experience. The newspaper reported 98,700,000 people watched the game on television. However it's likely the census takers missed our group in the back corner of Cheers Bar in Guatemala City. If we were missed, the number should be updated to 98,700,017.

Our group consisted of 10 Americans, 5 Guatemalans, 1 Canadian and 1 Honduran (two of the Americans were recent Goshen College nursing grads, and two others went to college with my son Mark). If we were not seen, we certainly were heard, for we were a noisy bunch. Fortunately our entire group was cheering for Pittsburgh (no fights broke out). At at table across from us there was a group of Guatemalans who cheered for whichever team made a good play!! They were determined to be happy no matter who won the game. And what an exciting game!

Even in Guatemala I was able to have food appropriate for a Super Bowl game - beer, nachos and a hamburger (alas, no pizza). The bar quickly ran out of french fries, so I had hamburguesa solo. My host family brother, Juan Carlos, insisted I try Gallo beer - a Guatemalan beer he claims is excellent and without comparison. Well, I would put it in the same class as Miller or Bud - not really beer at all. I was sorry to disappoint Juan Carlos and finished out the night with Negra Modelo (dark Mexican beer) and Moza Bock Beer (dark Guatemalan brew). When you are a cerveza oscura drinker, cerveza clara just does not cut it.

The evening ended in jubilation for all Pittsburgh fans and the Guatemalans at the table across from us. The party was great - wonderful people with lots of fun, food, drink, conversation and screaming.

Mi Caminata

Click this link to see more pictures of the hike.

Mi caminata - my hike. This Saturday I decided to take another hike up the mountain. I'm determined to reach the top of the mountain sometime and need to become adjusted to the high altitude and to build up my stamina (I can't let Jose Luis put me to shame!). Our house is at 7,000 ft., and the mountain top is at 8,000 ft. Jose Luis told me there is a wonderful view from the top of the mountain - you can see Antigua and the surrounding volcanoes.

My good friends, Lula and Rex (the German Shepherd dogs), came along to accompany me and be my body guards. One of the other dogs (a small black dog) decided to join us. Lula made certain the other dog trailed along at a distance. If the other dog came up close, Lula would run back and start biting the other dog.

There were many flowering bushes, trees and weeds along the way. I found that interesting because it is the dry season and there has not been significant rain for quite a while. I was again amazed at how many small farm plots and orchards are on the mountain. No one lives up there, and the farmers who care for the fields and orchards have a long uphill hike to tend the plots and a long way to transport their produce back down the mountain. As I hiked I saw an old man far ahead of me slowly trekking up the path. However, I soon lost sight of him and never saw him again.

When I returned, I showed my pictures to Daniel (Claudia's husband). He thought I was about 1/2 way to the top. That was encouraging because I did not feel too exhausted. However I think the slope becomes much steeper near the top. Enjoy the pictures!

Mi Casa

Click this link for more pictures of mi casa.

The house I live in is about 14 miles west of Guatemala City - at least the part of Guatemala City where I study Spanish. For now I will discuss my home. I will feature the family I live with in a later blog.

The route from Semilla/CASAS to my home is partly city streets and partly a 4-lane highway that winds its way over a mountain. On days when traffic is light the trip takes 30 minutes. On days when traffic is heavy (almost every day) the trip takes 1 hour to 1.5 hours. Yes, it has taken us 1.5 hours to go 14 miles. Traffic around Guatemala City is a mess during rush hour.

My family used to live closer to Guatemala City, but 8 years ago they purchased their current property and built a new home. Their daughter and son-in-law (Claudia and Daniel) are architects and designed the house. The reason they moved further out into the country is that their prior home was in an area where gang violence was increasing, and they felt it was best to leave the area.

The home is located on the side of a mountain (elevation 7,000 ft), about 1/3 of a mile from the main road. (See house location in Google Maps) The house is built of concrete, as are most houses I have seen in Guatemala. The are two main floors in the house. The first floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom and master bedroom. The second floor has an office/computer area, three bedrooms and a storage room. Halfway up the stairway there is a laundry room. Our water supply is from a spring located further up the mountain. We have electricity, phone, and internet service. The only hot water available is from a small electric heating element in the shower head (well, it is not always hot - but usually is warm enough to shower).

The lane leading up to the house goes further up the mountain - about another 1/10th of a mile - and then turns into a path. It is possible to hike to the top of the mountain (elevation 8,000 ft). Jose Luis (father of my family) said he will take me up there sometime. The problem for me will be the elevation - I get out of breath quite quickly. Jose Luis is 10 years older than me, and he can hike up the lane and mountain path at a good clip; I have to stop and rest several times.

About 5 years ago Claudia and Daniel (the daughter and son-in-law) also built a small house on the property and moved here. I have not been in that house. It is a single story structure and seems to be constructed of wood. I presume it is a temporary home - I'll have to ask about that.

Daytime temperatures have been in the upper 60s to lower 70s. At night it gets quite cool - in the mid 50s. That might not seem cold to those of you in Indiana, but when you are in a concrete house with concrete floors and no heat, located on the side of a mountain at 7,000 feet, it is quite cold. In the evenings I wear a t-shirt, shirt and jacket, and I still often feel cold. At night I sleep under 3 blankets.

Truce

With herb soup, Pepto-Bismol, Ibuprofen, hot tea and rest serving as mediators, Tecún Umán and I worked throughout the night to negotiate a truce. I will stay home and rest today and will be very respectful of all food and drink I consume in the future. Tecún Umán will rescind the curse placed upon me and give my body permission to heal. As of 10:30 the truce still holds and I expect to be back to normal tomorrow.

Yo estoy enfermo

Hoy esta hace fresco y yo estoy enfermo. Today it is cool, and I am sick. I think my Spanish is close to saying that anyway. At least my family understood when I said, "Yo estoy enfermo." at church. I did not even have to use a dictionary to get my point across! So, I guess I am making some progress.

It seems Tecún Umán's revenge (Mayan version of Montezuma's revenge) finally caught up with me. My talisman against diarrhea could not hold out against the stronger powers of the Maya. But, it worked for two and a half weeks! Maybe I should have kept 3 packets of pills in my pocket instead of one.

Around 5:00 this morning I got awake with mild diarrhea. I thought it would go away and had my usual eggs and beans for breakfast. About halfway through the church service my stomach became upset, I felt light-headed, I developed a splitting headache and my diarrhea continued. After church I talked with two nurses (recent Goshen College grads) who are at CASAS. Kerri gave me some Ibuprofen and told me not to take my diarrhea pills unless things got really bad. She suggested getting some CIPRO, a broad spectum antibiotic, in case things got really bad. It seems as if few medicines require a prescription here - you just go into a pharmacy and buy whatever you want. The prices are really cheap.

On the way home from church we stopped and got some Pepto-Bismol and CIPRO. I took the Pepto-Bismol when we got home, but will not take the antibiotics unless I get really bad. Claudia made me some special soup that is good for upset stomachs.

I'm not certain what caused the diarrhea. Yesterday Olga's mother came for lunch (she is 87) and brought some really hot salsa. Of course, it was necessary for me to put that in my soup. It was so hot tears streamed down my face. Everyone was laughing. I felt better when Jorge also got out a napkin to dab his eyes. So, it may have been the chili in the salsa. I'm quite careful about what I drink and usually drink bottled water (agua pura). However for lunch we had lemonade made with filtered water from the spring that the family uses. The chili was so hot I drank a lot of lemonade. That also may have contributed to my sickness. Then last Friday evening we stopped and got tortillas from a road vendor at a gas station. I ate one that was mildly warm and toasted another. So, it may have been a combination of many things.

Right now (3:30p) I'm going to bed. Hopefully some rest, the soup and the Pepto-Bismol will have me in good shape by tomorrow morning. No pictures with this post. I could take one of me sitting on the toilet, but will spare you and me the embarrassment.

Iximche

Click for more pictures of Iximche

Iximche is the site of a Mayan city founded in 1470. It is located about 50 miles outside Guatemala City. Iximche was the capital city of the Kaqchikel Maya. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in 1524, they formed an alliance with the Kaqchikel Maya - promising to be an ally against the rival Kiche Maya. But, as happened so many times, the Spanish did not honor this alliance. After establishing their own capital at a nearby location, the Spanish attacked Iximche several times. The Kaqchikel Maya fled Iximche to the surrounding mountains and launched attacks against the Spanish. The Spanish burned Iximche to the ground in 1526, and in 1527 left the area and built another capital city near Antigua Guatemala. The site was buried for centuries until Jorge Guillemin, a Guatemalan archaeologist, conducted excavations of Iximche from 1960-1972.

I visited Iximche with the AMBS group on January 15.

Quick Update

Picture to the left: Flowers in the CASAS compound.

Just a quick update...

This morning I came to town with my host father (he calls me his brother). We went to his office at the Mennonite Central Committee headquarters and participated in a men's bible study. I was able to pick out isolated words, but not enough to put anything together to know what was being said. When I was introduced there seemed to be comments that I was not a gringo ("Yankee from the north"), but was welcome as one of them - at least that is what I hope the comments were about !!!! ;-). Even though I understand very little, situations like that are helpful because they give me a sense of the cadence of the language and help me identify sounds and words.

Later in the morning I spent time with the Registrar/Technology Specialist at SEMILLA/CASAS. He is quite young and a fairly recent employee. My first two technology tasks will be to look at ways to get better reports from their database and to help them more fully develop their website. Our discussion was interesting because he is learning English, and I am learning Spanish. There were many times of laughter as we each looked at the other with blank expressions. At one point we had to get a translator, but translating technical computer terms is not that easy!!

My second Spanish lesson did not produce the headache I had on Monday. I hope that is progress. One of our activites was a memory game - turning over cards with pictures and words, then trying to match them. My teacher did better than I - not because she is a native Spanish speaker, but because her memory is so much better than my memory. I never did well at that game.

Tomorrow I leave on a 4-day trip with the AMBS (Elkhart Seminary) group. So there will not be any posts to this blog until I return. I also have a good bit of Spanish homework to do - write 21 (simple) sentences using all the various forms of 'to be' and including indentification, descriptions, time/date, emotions, etc. I may not be able to post anything until Monday or Tuesday evening.

As I write this I'm reminded of one very noticeable difference between Guatemala City and Goshen - the length of time for sunrise and sunset. Due to the many mountains and volcanos around the city, the transition from dark/light and light/dark is very rapid. By the time I realize the sun is setting - boom! - it is dark. And in the morning it seems like a light switch goes on when the sun rises.

Pictures:

Left - hillside on outskirts of Guatemala City at night.

Right - Volcano in the background. You can see the base of the volcano under the clouds and the tip of the volcano above the clouds. (Click on the pictures to get an enlarged view.)

Museo Ixchel

This morning we visited Museo Ixchel, a museum of Mayan textiles and clothing.  Adrian, a Canadian anthropologist working at CASAS, went along.  Adrian's Ph.D. is in Mayan culture, so we benefited from her knowledge and experience.

Our visit to the museum was in preparation for a trip to Chichicastenango, a Mayan market town, this weekend. Weaving, textiles and clothing have always been important aspects of Mayan culture - even taking on religious or cosmological meaning.   Much of the specific religious significance of the patterns has been lost due to European influence and the introduction of Western religion.  However, the ancient geometric patterns still communicate important aspects of traditional Mayan spirituality: a sense of balance, centering, community and a four-cornered universe.

On another note, for my Spanish homework I had to describe characteristics of various people.  My entry for Rachel (my daughter):

ella es casada
ella es una mujer
ella es una madre
ella es una hija
ella es energica
ella es simpatica
ella es joven

Three Hours of Spanish

Today I had my first Spanish class - three hours, one-on-one, intensive, fatiguing, headache producing. This is not a critique of my teacher. Albertina is wonderful, and I like her approach to instruction. This is a commentary on how difficult it is to learn a new language, especially for an old brain with plaque-encrusted neurons and synapses that have diminished transfer rates. I believe I could feel my brain swelling as it tried to process all the new information. I remember experiencing the same head-splitting feeling on other occasions when I worked through difficult mathematical equations or complex computer programs. It is the feeling that comes as your brain is confronted with a large amount of new information and begins to make connections and associations and to build new neural pathways. But, this is great!!! It is the challenge I wanted.

The mode of instruction is very dialogical. Albertina is well trained and speaks Spanish 99.9% of the time, and makes good use of newspapers, pictures, objects and gestures. Today I learned numbers, time, dates and how to describe things and people. In one of the activities she gave me a Spanish language newspaper that was about 3 months old. The front page article was about Barack Obama and John McCain. I had to give descriptions of each person. I could use English words, then Antonia would say and write the corresponding Spanish word. For example, in describing Barack Obama, I would say, "el es married." Antonia would respond by saying and writing, "el es casado." I was then to know 'casado' means 'married' and use that word as I described other people.

It is now time to let my swelled neurons get some rest and return to normal. I hope sleep will facilitate the transfer of short-term memory to long-term memory - if I recall correctly that actually happens. I must get up at 5:45 tomorrow morning so Juan Carlos and I can leave the house by 6:45. Traffic in the morning is extremely slow and Juan Carlos was late to work this morning after dropping me off at CASAS. The picture is me in my bedroom.

Orientation

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The first several days in Guatemala have been time for orientation and sightseeing. Two other groups are currently at CASAS: six students and a professor from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) and about 20 students and two professors from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). The AMBS students are here for three weeks to study Guatemalan social and justice issues and how the church can respond to the challenges of Guatemalan society. The EMU group is here for about three months for language and intercultural study.

The SEMILLA/CASAS campus is very beautiful, the sun shines all the time (during this season), and the staff are very kind and helpful. When I heard about the latest snow storm in Goshen, I was so thankful to be in Guatemala!

I participate in some of the AMBS class sessions and on some of their cultural trips. Thursday we were given a brief tour of central Guatemala City (the old part of the city). To our surprise, we were then divided into groups of two and given a paper with questions we had to answer. Each question gave a street location in the city and some fact to find out about something at that location. Kelbessa (AMBS seminary student from Ethiopia) and I paired together. Our tasks were to 1) find the central city open market and inquire about the price of a pound of beans (about 64 cents) and a pound of rice (about 58 cents), 2) locate the city government offices and find out how many elected representatives are seated there (158), 3) locate the newspaper office and find out how many people read the newspaper each day (about 10,000, but we think that is low and the person giving the answer did not know the real answer or did not understand the question), and we had to find two graffiti writings. I think we did well, even though we felt quite helpless, especially in the crowded market. The market is a very large area under the street with many small shops, and we had difficulty finding the section with beans and rice. And at the government office no one at the information desk spoke English. Our paper with the questions was in English and Spanish, so we could show the Spanish part to people with whom we were conversing, but we still had to engage in additional conversation.

Friday morning I attended the AMBS class discussion, led by Willi Hugo, head of SEMILLA - the seminary branch of SEMILLA/CASAS. Even though I had not read through all the materials, I found the instruction and discussion very interesting. Friday afternoon I joined the EMU group for a general orientation to CASAS.

Today (Saturday) I went with the AMBS group to Antigua, one of the oldest cities in Guatemala. Antigua is surrounded by three large volcanoes. When Spain occupied the region, Antigua housed the central government for almost all of present-day Central America. Over the years, sections of the town were destroyed by earthquakes - the latest in 1773. In 1776 central government offices were moved to Guatemala City, the current capital of Guatemala. Antigua is a beautiful, colorful city with cobblestone streets, many beautiful old buildings, a great market area and many indigenous people.

So far I have not been sick. I always keep anti-diarrhea pills in my shirt pocket as a talisman against Montezuma's revenge, but expect that the forces of nature will win out at some time.

Life with my host family is great. Jose Luis and Olga are very patient with me!! They almost always speak to me in Spanish, and when I indicate I do not understand (about 99% of the time now), they then switch to English. Their English is limited, but far, far better than my Spanish. We resort to dictionaries many times. And we end up laughing about the difficulties and many mistakes. One example: the way I pronounce the word for 'daughter' is actually the word for 'cheek' - "My cheek has a son." "My cheek is 30 years old." "My cheek speaks Spanish." This Monday I begin formal Spanish lessons. Perhaps I will learn to properly aspirate my 'j' so people understand my daughter, not my cheek, will come to visit on February 25th.