So this week I've been busy finishing things up before I move out of San Antonio for good. It's so hard to say goodbye to all of the wonderful people we've been working with these last months. The week before last we met with the women's group for the last time, and tomorrow we have a meeting at the muni with the mayor and other offices we've been involved with. If it's this bad after three months I can only imagine what it'll be like to leave after two years! Maybe I'll just stay and avoid all that :)
So there's so much to write about the ecological park where I'll be working....since I'm short on time I'll direct you all to their website to check it out:
http://www.corazondelbosque.com
Oh, and swear-in is this Friday, when I actually become a true Peace Corps volunteer...pretty exciting!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Moving to Sololá...
Yay! Just found out where I'll be working the next two years- in the beautiful site of El Novillero, an aldea of Santa Lucía Utatlán in the department of Sololá close to Lake Atitlán! It's actually one of the communities we visited during our field based training. I'm super excited but have a healthy dose of nervous anticipation, as next week I go to visit and set up my living situation. I'll be sure to write more details about the project later.
Can't wait to have visitors....
Can't wait to have visitors....
Monday, March 9, 2009
Feria de la Cultura=Craziness
What a rollercoaster we’ve been on this past week and a half! When I mentioned the Cultural Day last, it was a completely different idea than what actually came to pass. Instead of afternoon activities with mainly Spanish school students, the Muni and women’s group decided to make it a huge 2 day affair open to the general public. With only a week and a half to plan, we thought it would be almost impossible. But even after weighing the risks and challenges, they still wanted to go for it…so the four of us took deep breaths and pledged our support.
Imagine trying to plan and promote a huge fair complete with exhibitors, food, entertainment, activities and vendors- with only 7 days (excluding the weekend) and in Guatemala, where things aren’t always as cut and dry as we’re accustomed to. I lost count of all the meetings we sat through trying to figure out who was doing what, who wasn’t doing they were supposed to, and just overall damage control (as our trainer David calls it). After hours and hours of stress and hard work, in collaboration with the Muni and women, we pulled off a nice event which included: a Mayan Ceremony; 20 women selling their textile goods; 8 exhibitors of products and services such as eco-parks, coffee farms, my friend Rachel’s NGO Camino Seguro http://www.safepassage.org/, and the new bank that’s coming to town; a traditional folk dance; the game of Pelota Maya; the Departmental Band; traditional food served by the women’s group; and activities such as making tortillas, grinding coffee and taking photos in traditional dress. Although we didn’t draw a huge crowd, the tourists that came loved it and it was an enjoyable learning experience for the women (and us as well!)
We’ve also had some fun times lately, such as going to the beach (beautiful black sand!), watching the first procession come to Antigua during Lent, and having lunch with the US ambassador to Guatemala.
Sometime this week I’ll hopefully be posting very exciting news: I’ll finally find out which community I’ll be working in these next two years!
Juego de Pelota Maya
Imagine trying to plan and promote a huge fair complete with exhibitors, food, entertainment, activities and vendors- with only 7 days (excluding the weekend) and in Guatemala, where things aren’t always as cut and dry as we’re accustomed to. I lost count of all the meetings we sat through trying to figure out who was doing what, who wasn’t doing they were supposed to, and just overall damage control (as our trainer David calls it). After hours and hours of stress and hard work, in collaboration with the Muni and women, we pulled off a nice event which included: a Mayan Ceremony; 20 women selling their textile goods; 8 exhibitors of products and services such as eco-parks, coffee farms, my friend Rachel’s NGO Camino Seguro http://www.safepassage.org/, and the new bank that’s coming to town; a traditional folk dance; the game of Pelota Maya; the Departmental Band; traditional food served by the women’s group; and activities such as making tortillas, grinding coffee and taking photos in traditional dress. Although we didn’t draw a huge crowd, the tourists that came loved it and it was an enjoyable learning experience for the women (and us as well!)
We’ve also had some fun times lately, such as going to the beach (beautiful black sand!), watching the first procession come to Antigua during Lent, and having lunch with the US ambassador to Guatemala.
Sometime this week I’ll hopefully be posting very exciting news: I’ll finally find out which community I’ll be working in these next two years!
My old friend Matt from study abroad, who's just finishing up his PC term- crazy to run in to him each other after so many years.
Juego de Pelota Maya
Procession in Antigua
The beach at Monterrico
The beach at Monterrico
Monday, February 23, 2009
Project Update and Field Based Training
I can’t believe how fast the days are flying by- there’s so much to catch up on! Each day seems to bring a variety of experiences and cultural lessons, both with our host families and in our professional environment as well. As we get to know the women’s group more and more, they have been sharing not only their struggles, but their wisdom as well. I’m amazed at how much they do each day! While most men work from 8-5, these women are at it from at least 5-9, taking care of their families. A few weeks ago they gave us an entire afternoon to do various workshops. The topics were divided up amongst the four of us: working in teams, attending to tourists, promotion/marketing and understanding the costs of production (which is what I discussed with them). After guiding them through various exercises, I came to fine that most of them don’t take in to account the amount of time it takes them to do their weavings, and in the end are paid very little for the work they do. We discussed strategies to decrease costs and increase profits, but it’s very difficult for them to alter their traditional ways. It was undeniably a challenging seminar to give (particularly to indigenous women in Spanish!)
One thing I’m pretty excited about is an upcoming Cultural Day we’re helping to organize with both the women and the Municipality. We’ll be inviting students from the Spanish schools in Antigua to come to San Antonio and see traditional dances, hear marimba, learn how to make tortillas, grind coffee, eat typical foods and take pictures in the local clothes. We are also targeting regional residents by offering live music and a demonstration of the pelota maya. Our purpose is not only to share the culture of the town with tourists, but to give the women a taste of what it could be like to diversify their income sources. With only a few weeks left to work here, we want to leave them not only an annual operating plan (a POA) with a budget, but also the determination to see it through.
Our work was interrupted last week for field based training where the 16 of us in Sustainable Community Tourism spent a week together visiting different sites to learn more about the environmental segments of our program. Here’s the brief overview:
· Stayed the first three days at the park El Aprisco outside of Totonicapán. It was so cold, even wearing 5 layers to bed with my sleeping bag and two blankets didn’t help! If you think all of Guatemala’s hot, you are dead wrong. And here I thought I was pretty tough, coming from North Dakota. But it was a beautiful place, and we had some great hands-on training (for park management/eco-tourism). We were also able to visit a local school, teach the kids how to make crafts out of recycled materials, go bird-watching and have some crazy campfires.
· Went on to Corazón del Bosque, near Sololá- we were pretty excited to have running water, real coffee, and be a few degrees warmer! Continued our lessons on environmental interpretation and conducted an Eco-camp with local teenagers.
· Visited a volunteer at the Park Chuiraxamoló, overlooking Lake Atitlán, and learned the ins and outs of working despite local politics. Check out my picture below on the zip line!
· Visited another volunteer in Alaska, seeing various projects up close: stoves, wells, school gardens, and playgrounds made from tires and wood.
Here we are helping an elementary school in Baja Verapaz construct a building out of plastic bottles and trash. The kids went in to the community and gathered 4,000 bottles from the streets and river, filling them with around 100 plastic bags and chip bags each. After the bottles are placed together between the chicken wire, cement will cover the walls and there will be no difference in the insulation or durability.
This is a mini recycling center made out of plastic bottles. You can see how they left some spaces so people could see how it was constructed.
This is a view from a volunteer's site, called Parque Chuiraxamolo, on Lake Atitlan. You can see some of the lake's volcanoes in the distance.
We were lucky enough to go on the zip line at the park, which is 400m long and SO AMAZING! We were able to go across the valley like superman, and it really did feel like I was flying.
One day during FBT we went to an elementary school and taught the kids about environmental education, including a craft made from recycled goods. Our kids made super cute flowers out of plastic bottles and chip bags.
Here's the first park we stayed at during FBT, El Aprisco, in Totonicapan. Incredibly beautiful and tranquil, with a great diversity in birds and trees.
Here's us learning how to build trails with our homemade creinometer (sp?).
Teaching English to some of the women from the group...I love it!
We were also fortunate to be a part of a traditional Mayan ceremony- it was such a great experience to learn more about this part of their culture.
One thing I’m pretty excited about is an upcoming Cultural Day we’re helping to organize with both the women and the Municipality. We’ll be inviting students from the Spanish schools in Antigua to come to San Antonio and see traditional dances, hear marimba, learn how to make tortillas, grind coffee, eat typical foods and take pictures in the local clothes. We are also targeting regional residents by offering live music and a demonstration of the pelota maya. Our purpose is not only to share the culture of the town with tourists, but to give the women a taste of what it could be like to diversify their income sources. With only a few weeks left to work here, we want to leave them not only an annual operating plan (a POA) with a budget, but also the determination to see it through.
Our work was interrupted last week for field based training where the 16 of us in Sustainable Community Tourism spent a week together visiting different sites to learn more about the environmental segments of our program. Here’s the brief overview:
· Stayed the first three days at the park El Aprisco outside of Totonicapán. It was so cold, even wearing 5 layers to bed with my sleeping bag and two blankets didn’t help! If you think all of Guatemala’s hot, you are dead wrong. And here I thought I was pretty tough, coming from North Dakota. But it was a beautiful place, and we had some great hands-on training (for park management/eco-tourism). We were also able to visit a local school, teach the kids how to make crafts out of recycled materials, go bird-watching and have some crazy campfires.
· Went on to Corazón del Bosque, near Sololá- we were pretty excited to have running water, real coffee, and be a few degrees warmer! Continued our lessons on environmental interpretation and conducted an Eco-camp with local teenagers.
· Visited a volunteer at the Park Chuiraxamoló, overlooking Lake Atitlán, and learned the ins and outs of working despite local politics. Check out my picture below on the zip line!
· Visited another volunteer in Alaska, seeing various projects up close: stoves, wells, school gardens, and playgrounds made from tires and wood.
Here we are helping an elementary school in Baja Verapaz construct a building out of plastic bottles and trash. The kids went in to the community and gathered 4,000 bottles from the streets and river, filling them with around 100 plastic bags and chip bags each. After the bottles are placed together between the chicken wire, cement will cover the walls and there will be no difference in the insulation or durability.
This is a mini recycling center made out of plastic bottles. You can see how they left some spaces so people could see how it was constructed.
This is a view from a volunteer's site, called Parque Chuiraxamolo, on Lake Atitlan. You can see some of the lake's volcanoes in the distance.
We were lucky enough to go on the zip line at the park, which is 400m long and SO AMAZING! We were able to go across the valley like superman, and it really did feel like I was flying.
One day during FBT we went to an elementary school and taught the kids about environmental education, including a craft made from recycled goods. Our kids made super cute flowers out of plastic bottles and chip bags.
Here's the first park we stayed at during FBT, El Aprisco, in Totonicapan. Incredibly beautiful and tranquil, with a great diversity in birds and trees.
Here's us learning how to build trails with our homemade creinometer (sp?).
Teaching English to some of the women from the group...I love it!
We were also fortunate to be a part of a traditional Mayan ceremony- it was such a great experience to learn more about this part of their culture.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What I've been doing outside of work...
This is my attempt at making tortillas...you can see the ones my host mom made are nice and round. Mine are a little off, but with practice hopefully I'll get there! I've even ventured out with some different shapes; the heart definitely got some good laughs.
Here I am grinding coffee beans. The neighbors across the street have plants in their yard, and after they pick them, they're set out to dry. My family buys the dry, green, coffee beans and then we roast them on the comal. After roasting they are ground on the piedra (which is what I'm doing). Then....we drink it!!! Talk about keeping it local; these beans don't go more than a 100 yards from home.
Weaving lessons are going good. Although I'm slow, it's been really fun to learn the process and understand more of what the women here do each day to earn a living. It is A LOT of work. If my tejido turns out alright, I'll post a picture when I'm done.
Let me tell you, it is SO fun to climb volcanoes! We hiked up Pacaya last week and were roasting marshmallows on a rocks that were from a 2008 lava flow. Yum :)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Trabajo y Fiesta!
Settling in to life here has been easier than expected. I have the regulars I say “Buenos dias” to when walking through town; I’ve picked up some fun Guatemalan phrases (¡Un cachito por favor, cuate!); and I begin each morning with a wonderful cup of coffee, made from the coffee beans that grow across the street.
My group has gotten off to great start on our cultural tourism project. The other two girls in the group, Molly and Maria, bring environmental and tourism skills, while Jamie and I bring more business and economic development expertise. We will be working with the Municipality to assist a Mayan women’s weaving group so they can have a more sustainable way to create and market their goods. Last Friday we met with 32 of the 55 women for a focus group discussion, trying to find out what their assets are, what they want, and how we can help them achieve their goals. We are a bit overwhelmed with all we want to do in the next two and a half months!!
But it hasn’t been all work and no play….this last weekend San Antonio Aguas Calientes had a big festival to celebrate the Dulce Nombre de Jesus. I’ve never seen such a thing! Parades, processions, dancing, food, plays, mass, bands, Mayan games, endless fireworks and music don’t even begin to describe the three days of festivities. And my friend Rachel (from ACCION USA in Boston) is now living in Antigua and was able to come for the second day and check out my pueblo!
As we were watching the parade, Maria and I were standing against a wall (otherwise we block everyone’s view behind us) when a few Guatemalen men went past us on the sidewalk. The first one looked at me and then did a double take with a big smile. He looked semi-familiar, but I only gave him a half-smile just in case he was sizing up the gringa. Maria didn’t recognize him, but I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that I knew him. It wasn’t until five minutes later that I realized it was the mayor! We had had a meeting with him on Wednesday where he pledged his support for our project. Ay, que cosa, hopefully he won’t hold our absent-mindedness against us!
Another funny thing happened the next night I went with Jamie and his host family to watch a play. Only I want you to picture it on top of someone’s roof in the middle of the block with hundreds of people gathered below to watch. The main actor was quite funny as he began to tell the story of the Dulce Nombre of Jesus. He went on to describe that no such festival is celebrated in the United States, thus the gringos have to come to San Antonio to see it…of course Jamie and I are the only two gringos in the crowd and every single person starts to look our way! There’s no hiding when you’re the tallest people around. It was all in good fun, and the upside is we’re now well known throughout town!
The main church and plaza
My pueblo- San Antonio Aguas Calientes
My group has gotten off to great start on our cultural tourism project. The other two girls in the group, Molly and Maria, bring environmental and tourism skills, while Jamie and I bring more business and economic development expertise. We will be working with the Municipality to assist a Mayan women’s weaving group so they can have a more sustainable way to create and market their goods. Last Friday we met with 32 of the 55 women for a focus group discussion, trying to find out what their assets are, what they want, and how we can help them achieve their goals. We are a bit overwhelmed with all we want to do in the next two and a half months!!
But it hasn’t been all work and no play….this last weekend San Antonio Aguas Calientes had a big festival to celebrate the Dulce Nombre de Jesus. I’ve never seen such a thing! Parades, processions, dancing, food, plays, mass, bands, Mayan games, endless fireworks and music don’t even begin to describe the three days of festivities. And my friend Rachel (from ACCION USA in Boston) is now living in Antigua and was able to come for the second day and check out my pueblo!
As we were watching the parade, Maria and I were standing against a wall (otherwise we block everyone’s view behind us) when a few Guatemalen men went past us on the sidewalk. The first one looked at me and then did a double take with a big smile. He looked semi-familiar, but I only gave him a half-smile just in case he was sizing up the gringa. Maria didn’t recognize him, but I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that I knew him. It wasn’t until five minutes later that I realized it was the mayor! We had had a meeting with him on Wednesday where he pledged his support for our project. Ay, que cosa, hopefully he won’t hold our absent-mindedness against us!
Another funny thing happened the next night I went with Jamie and his host family to watch a play. Only I want you to picture it on top of someone’s roof in the middle of the block with hundreds of people gathered below to watch. The main actor was quite funny as he began to tell the story of the Dulce Nombre of Jesus. He went on to describe that no such festival is celebrated in the United States, thus the gringos have to come to San Antonio to see it…of course Jamie and I are the only two gringos in the crowd and every single person starts to look our way! There’s no hiding when you’re the tallest people around. It was all in good fun, and the upside is we’re now well known throughout town!
The main church and plaza
My pueblo- San Antonio Aguas Calientes
My family- Don Enrique, Clara, and Dona Maria 
"Pelota Maya"- the ancient game played by the Mayans; this group will appear on the History Channel in March!
Part of the parade
Walking through the maze of buses in Antigua
Molly, Maria, Jaime and our Spanish/Cultural mentor Jorge
Rachel and I in Antigua 
Part of the parade
Walking through the maze of buses in Antigua
Molly, Maria, Jaime and our Spanish/Cultural mentor Jorge
Rachel and I in Antigua 
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Address and Cellphone!
So if anyone ever feels the desire to send some cheer my way (hint hint) here’s how it’ll reach me in the near future:
PCV Brittany Sickler
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 66
Antigua Guatemala
Sacatepequez 03001
Guatemala
Central America
And I just got a cell phone today...yay! The number is 011 502 4034 5514. It's free for me to receive phone calls, so no worries about ever giving me a call.
PCV Brittany Sickler
Cuerpo de Paz
Apartado Postal 66
Antigua Guatemala
Sacatepequez 03001
Guatemala
Central America
And I just got a cell phone today...yay! The number is 011 502 4034 5514. It's free for me to receive phone calls, so no worries about ever giving me a call.
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