Typical Catholic Mass?

I only have a couple minutes, so I'll make this quick. Two absolutely ridiculous things happened tonight at Mass. First, the Celebrant's cell phone went off while he was preparing the Eucharist. He got startled and couldn't silence it. It rang again seconds after, but this time he tried to pretend it wasn't his - but everyone knew. Secondly, the congregation sang a hymn to the melody of the Bob Dylan song "Blowing in the Wind." The song is now stuck in my head. What a night. And the Catholics criticize us Lutherans for having informal services...(thats a sarcastic joke for all my Benedictine friends at SJU!)

Teaching Begins!

This week Matt and I began teaching in Yalchucti and Rio Palmeras. We will be there three days a week, teaching primarily English. It is a bit of a challenge considering many of the students don't speak Spanish - Q'eqchi' only. A couple of the teachers speak both languages though, so we use Spanish as the intermediary to teach English. Kind of confusing, but hopefully that makes sense? We teach for about 4 hours a session, with 55-60 students in the class (little different than the student-teacher ratio at SJU...)

This Wednesday, all the teachers ate in one of the surrounding aldeas. It was the home of our "athlete of the week." Her parents had a celebration in honor of the award, which is really humorous though - because as is customary, only the males ate/drank (even though the "winner" was his daughter). She helped prepare the meal, and then waited outside. As this example clearly indicates, gender roles are still very alive in parts, well most, of Guatemala.

The actual meal is another story. I need to tell you guys about it now as it is becoming very normal for me, and I need to highlight how "culturally unique," synonym for ridiculous, things can be!

We had to walk about twenty minutes from the gravel jeep trail to reach the aldea. During this part of the day, the temperature is about 100 F with humidity of roughly 250 to 300 percent. So as we get there, I am sweating heavily. We then precede to enter their home, which is a four sided chicken coup essentially with a dirt floor. The temperature is even hotter inside, as we have to sit next to the cooking fire and are separated from any breeze there may be outside. Additionally, the roof is a product called lamina (essentially sheet metal) and you can feel the sun radiating its heat right above your head. Tree limbs are laid across tree stumps for chairs and the table consists of two desks pushed next to each other, and closely resembling the desks from our school (coincidence...?)

Once comfortably seated inside, we are handed a cup filled about half way up with a clear liquid. It is poured from an unmarked bottle, but smells distinctly of a 50/50 rum and insect repellent mixer. Next you are handed a lemon, which you cut in half and squeeze as much juice out of as possible. Finally, you ask for "agua" which is Spanish for water. Humorously again, this is Q'eqchi territory and the language has no distinct word for soda, so "water" means "cola" now. Apparently they don't like mixers here either. I would have been extremely pleased with a "splash" of cola. Which would have been significantly more than the teaspoon poured in my cup. I asked for "poco mas" or a little more, but to no avail. For the record, I needed to stomach a second one of these drinks (cubre libre) for "dessert."

So back to sweating profusely. I am now not only extremely hot, but eating spicy food. Really spicy food. The sweating continues. We drink a hot drink called atoll during the meal. It is steaming when served, and now I am steaming even more. Literally sweating through my shirt. Along with two hefty drinks in my system, I don't think I've ever been this hot before. I'm glad it is guys only at this point.

The meal was called soupa organica. It is a mixture of carrots, onions, maize and spinach in chicken broth. There is some meat, chicken actually, but not exactly what you are used too back home. There is a chunk. A section. Bone, skin, maybe some feathers as I mentioned in my last post with Padre Pedro. I usually choose not to eat the chicken. Today, I did not eat the chicken.

Lastly, people usually have a family dog that sits under the dinner table waiting for someone to drop some food, or he sniffs out the weak one and puts on the begging face? Either way he usually gets some food. Well not here. If there were any dogs, someone probably ate them by now. Instead, we have ducks and chickens under the table looking for food. Again, no joke. I don't even notice them anymore. As we finish our meal, a woman drops off banana leaves at the table. We all take our unfinished meat, along with some extra tortillas, and wrap them up using the leaves and tie them shut with corn stalks. We then walk back to the road in the rain. What a day.

Despite my sometimes sarcastic remarks, I'm having a blast - for real. The hospitality at the meal today, for example, was exemplary. There wasn't a second where I didn't have food, drink or attempted conversation at my fingertips. The hosts were wonderful. I just keep putting a smile on my face and remind myself to have patience, for I will never experience a world like this again. Miss you guys, and look forward to hearing from all of you soon. We are receiving two semi-truck containers of aid tomorrow, so I have A LOT of work in front of me over the next few days. If you're around, drop off some Gatorade!!! Please.

Oh yeah, I got my first haircut down here. Old school barber shop. Used a straight blade and all. So despite what some people may think, I will not be returning to MN with long hair...

Yalchucti y Mayan Misa con Padre Pedro

This week has been packed full of extraordinary events. On Thursday, Matt and I accompanied Padre Pedro to one of the aldeas in the jungle. He is the only native Mayan ordained priest in the region, so having the opportunity to hear not only a Mass, but a baptism and wedding in the local indigenous dialect was something very view people ever get to experience. We had absolutely NO idea what he or anyone else was saying, but we stumbled through the motions making it appear as if we knew what we were doing.

At the actual aldea, we were treated like kings. They provided us, along with local community leaders, meals both before and after the service. We had some type of red, greasy soup with chunks of bird in it. I say "chunks" because that is exactly what it was - bones, fat and whatever else happen to have been attached. We did our best to eat some (trying to be courteous), but remember we had to do this twice in a matter of about two hours!!! We were nowhere close to finishing our food, so they brought in banana leaves to wrap our "take-outs" in. They were then tied up with split corn stalks. No joke. I felt like I was on Discovery Channel's Survivor Man or something...

As we left, they filled our jeep with gunny sacks filled with cocoa (coconuts), bananas, beans and corn. Enough food to feed us for weeks.

The day before, we celebrated a second day of Dia de la Independencia - this time in Yalchucti. Yalchucti is our second project site. We are currently building a chicken coup there that will supply food for the nutrition program, as well as provide additional funds with any surpluses - which there will be plenty as the coup is designed for 1500 chickens.

In Yalchucti, we spent the day playing in a soccer tournament. It was an adult male only team, but don't let "adult" fool you. These guys were ruthless. All they do is play soccer and you can tell. They are in really good shape and have no hesitations throwing their body across the field. Fortunately for me, the tallest one on the field was about 5'6'', giving me a considerable height advantage - the only thing I had going. We lost 4 - 5, but I had three of our four goals. I think this helped me make friends.

Rio Palmeras

Hey everyone!

So despite my claim in the last blog, I did not attend a futbol match this weekend. We were all set to go, but Matt (the other volunteer down here from SJU) got sick and I wasn’t exactly in the mood to go by myself. Next week!

I have spent the last two days in Rio Palmeras – the site of one of our school/building projects. We celebrated Dia de la Independancia there yesterday, September 15th. There were events planned ALL day. It started with dancing, put on by the students at the school. Then there was traditional marimba music while we ate and then danced. The people there loved to see us gringos “trying” to dance to the marimba (a little different than Sal’s on a Friday night).

On another note, it is so damn hot there. I mean like 100 F no problem. The schools, while situated in the mountain jungles, are still about 3,500 ft lower in elevation than Cobán. The craziest thing about it is the indigenous population there wears large, bulky wool skirts and these sweater throws. The men all wear jeans, rubber boots and long sleeve shirts. It is awesome being there, and probably the most rewarding work so far, but my favorite part of the day is still coming back to a cold shower (not by choice, but perfect in that situation!). The other part that tops the day off is the ride home. This over an hour drive would normally seem boring, but here in Guatemala it is the perfect time to enjoy a couple beers. No joke. You stop at a tienda on the side of the road, pick up some Gallos (Guatemalan national beer) and drive. Numerous monks taught me this. Should I feel guilty doing this?

Home for the Next 10 Months

Hello all,

As mentioned in the last blog, I have made my way to Cobán - which will be my home for the next ten months or so. The city has about 50,000 people or so in it. There is very little nightlife as it rains daily in the evening. Not as bad as it sounds though. It is great weather the rest of the day, creating a very green and lush landscape year round. The actual city is nestled in a ravine between several large mountains. The Caribbean and Central American plates actually split the city down the middle, a perfect equation for disaster – though little activity has been prevalent for twenty five years or so (minus weekly tremors!). In my room I am sitting at 4, 150 feet – the only reason my place is bearable as the altitude means cooler temps, but more importantly NO snakes or mosquitoes (not sure which one is worse…).

The actual compound I am in is relatively nice when compared with its surroundings, but unfortunately that is not saying much. I am trying to convince Fr. Bernie to replace the sharpened glass bottles on the security wall with barbwire, but will probably not happen anytime soon. There is a lot of potential though! There are currently several buildings clustered throughout the square block compound, but there are several more under construction. By mid January this year, there should be two brand new educational buildings up and running. The buildings have space for several classrooms, a media room, kitchen, dinning facility and dormitory area for 150 students coming down from the aldeas (mountain villages – primarily Q’eqchi’ Mayan). This has everyone very excited and I will provide pictures soon.

My living quarters are very modest but acceptable. I have a single bed, a desk, closet and my own bathroom with shower! The monks living here are very nice. There are fifteen in all. Three from Blue Cloud Abbey in South Dakota, the remaining are from throughout Central America – including two Q’eqchi’ Mayans. Only one native monk speaks English, so learning Spanish and a little Q’eqchi’ has become a must to interact. I’m learning a lot. I quickly learned one of the monks is a marathon runner, so I have been running with him. He speaks no English, and I speak limited Spanish at the moment, so our runs provide the perfect “mobile classroom.”

I will be going to my first futbol match tomorrow night, and then visiting our building project in the mountains on Monday, so check back in for an update in a few days, friends.

Just Landed!

Hello everyone!

I made it to Guatemala - all limbs and vital organs in check! Things got a little crazy on the way down though. I was expecting to be picked up at the airport in Guatemala City as planned, but I got word Fr. Bernie would not be able to make it anymore. Instead, he would be driving to the airport two days later to drop off the prior and was saving time and money by only making one trip. That made perfect sense, except Matt and I now had to chill with all our luggage somewhere in Guatemala – a good problem as long as an adventurous attitude keeps your spirit up!

We took the easiest route, which was to catch a shuttle to Antigua. That city is amazingly beautiful. Imagine a city plucked from picturesque Europe and dropped in the middle of Latin America. Fantastic. There are Macaws, fountains, and flower gardens all over, especially in the nice hotels and Parque Centrale. Volcanoes surround the whole city as well; creating a landscape that is absolutely breathtaking.

We spent our two days staying in a moderately nice hotel. Some how we happened to pick the only one right next to Antigua’s only Irish Pub, Riley’s. Funny how that works… The monks always say God works in mysterious ways, and I couldn’t agree more! The last night before heading to Cobán was by far the best, as a guest joined me all the way down in Guatemala. Yup – Michael Anderson flew all the way down there and spent several hours on various chicken buses (local transportation, usually not recommended for tourists) to meet me in Antigua. We spent the evening at a couple different bars, and yes, one was Riley’s Irish Pub next door. Expect another update soon as I just got to my new home in Cobán and will be filling you in on the details, friends.

Day of Preparation

Despite the very misleading title of my first entry, this is NOT the first day of preparation I have had. There have been numerous contacts made, phone calls, emails sent and plane tickets bought! Hopefully I have everything in line.

Packing has been a bit of different story though. As most of you know, I spend my summers sealcoating my life away - making it difficult to "shop" during the day. I took today off of work though and spent way more time than anyone should ever spend in a mall. I have no idea how you shopoholic do it!!!

On my list of things to purchase was some computer supplies that I will be bringing down to Fr. Bernie (my pseudo host father?!) in Coban, Guatemala. I promised him I would put a plug in, so anyone looking to help out and donate could send 2GB flash drives. We are trying to get between 75 and 100 total.

As soon as I get down there, I promise my blogs will be MUCH more interesting - well I hope! Let the adventure begin!!!