D-Day…as in Diarrhea Day…

(Don't worry I haven't been sick yet...knock on wood)...

but now that I have your attention…

For those of you wondering exactly how I am spending my time so far in Guatemala, and what training covers, well, let me just tell you…POOP! Because everybody poops…

Last Tuesday we had a medical session in which we learned all about DIARRHEA— yes, every traveler’s worst nightmare. We even got to sing the Diarrhea song. What, you say you don’t know the diarrhea song? Well here, let me teach you: (PS, I dedicate this to my brother, because he first taught me this...who knew years later the Peace Corps' Nurse would ask us if we knew this song...) Ok, here goes:

When you’re sliding onto first and you feel something burst…

DIARRHEA, DIARRHEA

When you’re heading for a double, and you feel something bubble

DIARRHEA, DIARRHEA

When you’re heading into third, and you feel a little turd

DIARRHEA, DIARRHEA

When you’re sliding into home, and you feel something foam

DIARRHEA, DIARRHEA

First, let me just say, that this was the best Tuesday medical training session EVER! And two, also for my brother, I learned that beans really are the magical fruit, and they do, according to the fart chart (pictures to come soon, I promise!) that the nurse so nicely made for us, cause gas.

Seriously though, the Peace Corps really wants us to know the ins and outs of preventing diarrhea and other illnesses (worms, malaria, you name it, we might contract it). Because of this, we spend a few hours every Tuesday learning how to correctly clean, disinfect, and prepare food, how to prevent illnesses, and God forbid, how to handle and even treat certain illnesses. It is very in-depth and useful. We are lucky to have such a dedicated medical staff. In order to keep the information from getting dry, the nurses are awesome and try to have a sense of humor about every category, including diarrhea, which when you think of it, is not funny at all. Ok, that is all for now. I promise to have a more mature post for you all next time...

Cheers from Guatemala!

Labyrinth (not the movie from the 1980s…)

Yesterday I went to Antigua with my Spanish class, and I have to say, that it is gorgeous…I would totally consider becoming an Ex-Pat in Antigua. There is a law that says all buildings in Antigua must be constructed in a colonial style, thus, everything has a colonial air to it—even McDonald’s! Seriously, the McDonald’s in Antigua is the most beautiful McDonald’s I have ever seen. It is pretty fancy. (And no, I am not advertising McDonald’s. I’ll have you all know that I DID NOT buy any food there!) First of all, this McDonald’s is HUGE. You step inside, and it just keeps going to a back part, that is like a huge courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the middle surrounded by green trees and benches. There is an outdoor patio near the courtyard with comfy armchairs and even some desktop computers for internet (there is free WIFI, too!) Ok, I’ll stop talking about McDonald’s now…

The streets of Antigua are cobblestone, and the building are brilliantly painted with bright yellows, greens, blues, and any other color imaginable. There is a central park, with a huge fountain, and an old cathedral in the background. Although beautiful, Antigua’s bright, cobble-stone streets all look alike, and thus, they do not help my already lacking sense of direction…I think I will often get lost here, but that is fine with me! Antigua also has a central market, which is even MORE confusing that the streets of Antigua. This market is a labyrinth; you could go around for hours and find millions of different products, from cow intestines to soap, and just entrench yourself further in the maze. This will be a problem for me, too. Oh, well… All part of the adventure, right?

“Confianza”

For our first three months in country, the Peace Corps considers us trainees, and not full volunteers yet. There are a set of goals we must accomplish and training we must complete, which include: language, culture, field-based/technical training, as well as training on medical, safety and security measures. Our schedule is pretty hectic, with Sunday as our only free day. However, it is nice to stay busy, as it keeps my mind so preoccupied that as of yet anyhow, I haven’t even had time to feel homesick (though, I do miss my SO CAL Mexican food—bean and cheese burritos— and I could totally go for a slice of pizza right now…I don’t think you can send me these items…)

Mon/Wed/Fri we have Spanish class from 8am to 4pm usually in our training neighborhoods. My town is called San Luis Las Carretas and is teeny tiny, the highlights include the church, the “park” (which is the concrete area right in front of the church) and the futbol field, which happens to be right in front of my house (Score!). There are 3 other volunteers in my neighborhood (these volunteers are my Spanish class and the people I see the most often) Saturdays we only have Spanish class from 8am to noon, then we are supposed to spend time with our host families. Tuesdays we have a full day of medical, safety, security, and technical trainings with the entire group (there are 32 of us), though for technical training we are divided up by project group (municipal development for me, and there are about 15 of us…I think). I have to leave my neighborhood by 6:30 (via bus) to get to the Peace Corps Headquarters by 8am…then we usually stay until 4:30 pm (LONG DAY for ME)But is great to see everyone and share all our stories. Thursdays we are just with our project groups at site, 8am-4pm. Basically, I love Sundays now.

“Confianza” (Spanish for trust) is a huge part of the culture. In order to integrate into our communities, we have to be accepted by our families, and then communities. Spending time with our families through chatting, watching tv with them, helping with household chores (cooking or whatever), playing with the children, or even some “chisme” (gossip, though I don’t say anything, I just listen…!) will help us build strong relationships with our families. If our families accept us, then our communities will follow. To “Gringos” (or north Americans in this context) this may seem trivial, but here you’d be surprised how important this is. “Confianza” is a lot like social capital. I was sitting with my “madre” after dinner, and we were just chatting, and she was like, “we had one volunteer who only came out of her room for meals, and never talked…we didn’t have much confianza in her, and she had a hard time…she ended up leaving early”…Confianza can really make or break a volunteer’s Peace Corps experience. Thus, I am working hard to build up my “confianza” to make the relationships and solidify the friendships and resources that will hopefully lead to my future success as a volunteer…and for the more obvious reason—in development, if the community you are working with has no faith in you, then you won’t really be working in development for too long…!

Noorita Menchu…

Like most places in the world, the United States included, in Guatemala my name seems to confuse people, eliciting what I personally find to be the most entertaining expressions ever, and pronunciation is nearly impossible. Additionally, without divulging too much of my personal information, for those of you who 1) know how to correctly pronounce my last name (clue: the “h” is silent) and 2) know any Spanish, you will notice that the first part of my last name sounds like a bad word in Spanish. When I first introduced myself to the Peace Corps Spanish teacher conducting my oral interview for placement in Spanish class, she paused for about a minute, then told me that 1) my first name would be too difficult to pronounce for the average Guatemalteco, and 2) my last name sounded like a bad word in Spanish. She suggested I use a new name when I conduct my workshops (yes, I will be holding trainings and workshops in the not too distant future!), since I would most likely be working with children (who would definitely snicker at my name, especially those loveable, but oh so predictable high schoolers—they are the same in every country I find…wow I feel old typing that…!)

Flash-forward two days when I am being dropped off to my family or training site where I will be for the next three months until I get my permanent site…of course my family could not pronounce my name, but they were really awesome about it, and my host madre asked if she could call me Noorita, because that was easier for her to say, plus she said she liked nicknames (especially diminutives, that is what she uses with her own daughters). Then my host dad offered his last name jokingly (Menchu), since after all, I am his daughter now. Thus, Noorita Menchu was born…That is now how family talks about me…Although I find this pretty comical, one thing I have noticed with Guatemaltecos, especially, my host family, is that they are warm and actually have an awesome sense of humor. Also, when they say I am now their daughter, my host parents really mean it, and they already feel like family that I have known all my life.

My host parents are amazing—very generous and kind. They have two daughters, Lucy and Rosita; each one is married, and with their families, they live in the house, which is like a compound with a central courtyard. Lucy has three children: Ana Belen (14), Guillermo (10), and Luz Maria (8), and Rosita has two children: Andre (7) (or Andrecito as we all call him) and Alessandra (1 year 10 months) (Ale) ( I LOVE HER!!) They call me their aunt, and they are all so fun. Today I played futbol with the boys (they didn’t believe me when I told them I used to play goalie!), then Luz Maria joined in, and the boys decided we should play boys vs girls (hombres contra mujeres) Although they said they won, they totally cheated and didn’t count our goals…! I sense a rematch soon…