Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Las noticias (in color!)
Check out this website for Guatemalan news updates:
www.nisgua.org
Major highlights: the sentence in the prison rape case. This case was a very big deal--the first of its kind. They say three-fourths of women in prison experience sexual assault. Bringing the perpetrators to justice is not easy. The woman who went forward, and her family, were threatened many times. But they got a conviction.
Testimonies given in genocide cases: now this is a REALLY big deal. Cases have been brought against two of Guatemala´s past dictators for the violence (many have called it genocide) that occurred during the civil war. For the first time ever (and these guys were in power from 1978-1983!), people have been able to testify in court. Talk about an uphill battle. There have been a tons of threats and violence against the people fighting for justice. The cases are being tried in Spain, but the investigator was halted, and now with a bunch of legal maneuvering things are going forward in Guatemala too.
Other news: last week, authorities found a ¨clandestine¨ house full of about 8 or 9 babies just outside Antigua. The owners of the house have not be able to adequately explain why they have all these babies. People are trying to keep it quiet, because there is a lot of fear all over the country about robachicos (kid-snatchers), which has sparked some awful violence in the past. Many illegal adoptions happen, though, which is one of the reasons international adoptions have been halted for now.
Last week in Solola, a ¨delinquent¨ was captured by the community and burned alive. As I talked about it with my family, they said, ¨You see, in Guatemala the police don´t do anything. They´re corrupt. So if someone commits crimes, the community takes justice into their own hands.¨
I´ve had a hard time adjusting to how often I feel scared here. Sweeping generalization of the day: the sad thing is, so does everybody else.
www.nisgua.org
Major highlights: the sentence in the prison rape case. This case was a very big deal--the first of its kind. They say three-fourths of women in prison experience sexual assault. Bringing the perpetrators to justice is not easy. The woman who went forward, and her family, were threatened many times. But they got a conviction.
Testimonies given in genocide cases: now this is a REALLY big deal. Cases have been brought against two of Guatemala´s past dictators for the violence (many have called it genocide) that occurred during the civil war. For the first time ever (and these guys were in power from 1978-1983!), people have been able to testify in court. Talk about an uphill battle. There have been a tons of threats and violence against the people fighting for justice. The cases are being tried in Spain, but the investigator was halted, and now with a bunch of legal maneuvering things are going forward in Guatemala too.
Other news: last week, authorities found a ¨clandestine¨ house full of about 8 or 9 babies just outside Antigua. The owners of the house have not be able to adequately explain why they have all these babies. People are trying to keep it quiet, because there is a lot of fear all over the country about robachicos (kid-snatchers), which has sparked some awful violence in the past. Many illegal adoptions happen, though, which is one of the reasons international adoptions have been halted for now.
Last week in Solola, a ¨delinquent¨ was captured by the community and burned alive. As I talked about it with my family, they said, ¨You see, in Guatemala the police don´t do anything. They´re corrupt. So if someone commits crimes, the community takes justice into their own hands.¨
I´ve had a hard time adjusting to how often I feel scared here. Sweeping generalization of the day: the sad thing is, so does everybody else.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Big Three
I have been tagged by PunkieMommie to write three things about myself. (She has a great blog by the way--recommended reading.) I haven´t forgotten, PM! I´ve been trying to think of something...here´s what I´ve got.
1. I always, always have a song in my head.
Literally. I will go to sleep with one, and wake up with another. It changes throughout the day, but if I pay attention to my brain, it´s always playing music. Sometimes I think my thoughts are just one big found poem from all the lyrics I have backlogged in my brain.
Song of the moment: ¨If it hadn´t been for cotton-eyed Joe, I´d been married a long time ago. Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, cotton-eyed Joe?¨
2. On personality tests, I consistently score right in the middle between introverted and extroverted.
Relationships are what make life for me. At the same time, the thought of a silent retreat in some Ashram somewhere sounds very appealing.
3. I am not very acculturated.
Today I ran out of the Luna bar stash I brought with me, and I shed a little tear.
1. I always, always have a song in my head.
Literally. I will go to sleep with one, and wake up with another. It changes throughout the day, but if I pay attention to my brain, it´s always playing music. Sometimes I think my thoughts are just one big found poem from all the lyrics I have backlogged in my brain.
Song of the moment: ¨If it hadn´t been for cotton-eyed Joe, I´d been married a long time ago. Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from, cotton-eyed Joe?¨
2. On personality tests, I consistently score right in the middle between introverted and extroverted.
Relationships are what make life for me. At the same time, the thought of a silent retreat in some Ashram somewhere sounds very appealing.
3. I am not very acculturated.
Today I ran out of the Luna bar stash I brought with me, and I shed a little tear.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Another phone number!!
Awwww yeah. Picking up the digits.
Not very different: 4353.3188. The other phone ceased to work. But at least it wasn´t stolen!!
Not very different: 4353.3188. The other phone ceased to work. But at least it wasn´t stolen!!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Creatures
There aren´t many non-human creatures in Antigua, but I´ve been having a time of it with the ones there are.
1) Microscopic creatures.
Sorry I haven´t been very communicative this week--I´ve been sick with some unrelenting Guatemalan bug. I went to a doctor, and he says it´s just a virus, so I´m hopeful that I will be back in full force sometime soon.
2) Mosquitoes shmitoes.
I spend a lot of time marveling at how perfectly evolved these creatures are. I´m not kidding. And yes I do have a lot of time on my hands. And my office is full of mosquitoes, so I have a perfect vantage point from which to study them. Seriously, they´re terminators. They´re machines. So tiny and light, and surprisingly hard to capture, many of them don´t make any noise. Their legs and mouth are so delicate and soft, you often don´t feel it until it´s over. They will find any pin-size spot of skin that is not covered with repellent or clothing. They find their way up pant legs and sleeves. They will hide patiently all day inside my dresser until I turn the lights out at night. They spread disease more efficiently than I finish a plate of Indian food. No wonder they have survived so freaking long and traveled around the world. I wouldn´t be surprised if someone somewhere worshiped them.
3) The mouse--pobrecito.
I´m sitting on my bed about to go to sleep, and out of the corner of my eye I see this little mouse go scurrying across my floor. I go knock on Clemencia´s door, and she´s like, ¨¿De veras? ¡Ay Dios!¨ She, her husband Julio, and Daniel all come into my room to help me, and we all slip happily into our gender roles. The mouse keeps scurrying just out of reach, Clemencia shrieking every time. I hide up on my bed laughing hysterically. Daniel, proudly declaring he has no fear, grabs my headlamp and starts hunting for it, and Julio brings in a lamp and two brooms. Clemencia keeps saying, ¨I have to leave! I´m gonna panic!¨ Finally we lose it for a while. They decide it might be hiding in my suitcase, so we take everything out of my suitcase and don´t find it. It gets very quiet. Clemencia lifts up one of my pillows, finds the mouse, erupts with shrieks, and starts a landslide of yelling and chaos and my hysterical laughter. Finally Julio gets a hold of it. I think we all bonded. Pobre mouse though.
1) Microscopic creatures.
Sorry I haven´t been very communicative this week--I´ve been sick with some unrelenting Guatemalan bug. I went to a doctor, and he says it´s just a virus, so I´m hopeful that I will be back in full force sometime soon.
2) Mosquitoes shmitoes.
I spend a lot of time marveling at how perfectly evolved these creatures are. I´m not kidding. And yes I do have a lot of time on my hands. And my office is full of mosquitoes, so I have a perfect vantage point from which to study them. Seriously, they´re terminators. They´re machines. So tiny and light, and surprisingly hard to capture, many of them don´t make any noise. Their legs and mouth are so delicate and soft, you often don´t feel it until it´s over. They will find any pin-size spot of skin that is not covered with repellent or clothing. They find their way up pant legs and sleeves. They will hide patiently all day inside my dresser until I turn the lights out at night. They spread disease more efficiently than I finish a plate of Indian food. No wonder they have survived so freaking long and traveled around the world. I wouldn´t be surprised if someone somewhere worshiped them.
3) The mouse--pobrecito.
I´m sitting on my bed about to go to sleep, and out of the corner of my eye I see this little mouse go scurrying across my floor. I go knock on Clemencia´s door, and she´s like, ¨¿De veras? ¡Ay Dios!¨ She, her husband Julio, and Daniel all come into my room to help me, and we all slip happily into our gender roles. The mouse keeps scurrying just out of reach, Clemencia shrieking every time. I hide up on my bed laughing hysterically. Daniel, proudly declaring he has no fear, grabs my headlamp and starts hunting for it, and Julio brings in a lamp and two brooms. Clemencia keeps saying, ¨I have to leave! I´m gonna panic!¨ Finally we lose it for a while. They decide it might be hiding in my suitcase, so we take everything out of my suitcase and don´t find it. It gets very quiet. Clemencia lifts up one of my pillows, finds the mouse, erupts with shrieks, and starts a landslide of yelling and chaos and my hysterical laughter. Finally Julio gets a hold of it. I think we all bonded. Pobre mouse though.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
My day with lava
I hopped a shuttle with 15 other tourists and we drove about an hour away. It started as a normal hike. I was like, ¨Isn´t it supposed to be hot or something?¨
Then, it wasn´t so normal. There were breathtaking views of the Agua volcano, which looms over Antigua.
This was our guide, the tiniest sweetest man. He has lived at the bottom of this volcano his whole life. He hikes it twice a day. He has eight children, who sometimes help him. He´s great at active listening. Guide: ¨Soon the rainy season will start, and then we can´t climb to the top of the volcano.¨ My coworker: ¨I´m from Oregon, and we have a long rainy season too.¨ Guide: ¨Oh, a lot of rain in Oregon, huh?¨ I couldn´t get over it. Over and over they talked like this.
Agua and mist.
People on horseback would ride by yelling, ¨Taxi!¨
At this point, I am huffing and puffing and thinking, ¨I shouldn´t have bought such cheap boots at the thrift store.¨ That´s my coworker in the foreground.
Getting to the top--now it´s hot!! We´re climbing on rock that´s formed from dried lava. It´s kind of like sharp Styrofoam. Underneath it you can see...more lava. I feel like I´m in Lord of the Rings.
Lava!!
More lava!!!
Roasting marshmellows on the lava.
Lava dog.
I was like, ¨No really, I don´t need to get any closer to the lava.¨
Walking back. Those are people up there.
And...we´re back.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
What is it?
I´m reading two quite stimulating books right now: Awakening the Buddha Within, about Tibetan Buddhism, and The Moon Guide to Guatemala.
From the latter book, I learned that one of the very few Mayan texts still in existence (most of them were destroyed when the Spanish conquered), called the Popol Vuh, tells an intricate creation story. It says that the gods created humans to give meaning to creation, to praise and name it, and to mark the passage of time.
From the former book I learned that Tibetan Buddhism teaches us to peel away the layers upon layers of meaning we give the world. After stripping away those veils of fantasy and seeing them for what they are, we eventually come to the center, which is essentially called ¨emptiness¨ or ¨nothingness.¨
I like how those two seem to complement each other--we´re here to give meaning to the world, but maybe we have to let go of it to get back to the gods?
The author also says one of his favorite teachers used to always say, ¨What is it?¨ That was his mantra for life, essentially, ¨What the hell is going on?¨
From the latter book, I learned that one of the very few Mayan texts still in existence (most of them were destroyed when the Spanish conquered), called the Popol Vuh, tells an intricate creation story. It says that the gods created humans to give meaning to creation, to praise and name it, and to mark the passage of time.
From the former book I learned that Tibetan Buddhism teaches us to peel away the layers upon layers of meaning we give the world. After stripping away those veils of fantasy and seeing them for what they are, we eventually come to the center, which is essentially called ¨emptiness¨ or ¨nothingness.¨
I like how those two seem to complement each other--we´re here to give meaning to the world, but maybe we have to let go of it to get back to the gods?
The author also says one of his favorite teachers used to always say, ¨What is it?¨ That was his mantra for life, essentially, ¨What the hell is going on?¨
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