Messaging the Great Beyond

Sue, my friend from Elkader,  arrived in Guatemala 

just in time for a field trip best described as (Vinton's) Party in the Park .....

........ and Memorial Day, 

all rolled into one. 

On November 1, the Day of the Dead, the people of the villages of Santiago and Sumpango fly vibrant tissue paper kites, large and small, to honor their dead. 

 Brian drove us to Santiago where we parked in someone's yard as if it was a Hawk game in Iowa City.  Later we paid to use the family's toilet, a simple cement throne in an out building near our car.  

But first we wound our way through the streets.... 

  .....past fair vendors (this is something medicinal, I think)...

......to join families in the cemetery who spent the day cleaning up graves.... 

......decorating with flowers.....

  ....picncking.....

 ......and of course, flying kites.

This should be the featured photo with this post .. the cell phone company advertisement next to the old school message to the great beyond.

Brian, Sue and I...












..... climbed atop a tomb for a great view. 

 Traditionally it takes 40 days to build the kites, the first day marked by the village's unmarried men heading out to the coast at 4:00 am to laboriously collect bamboo for the kite frames, some measuring over 60 feet in diameter. 

Community and family groups work for months, cutting and pasting. The glue is a mixture of yucca flower, lemon peel, and water, ropes are made of the maguey plant (the plant that also brings us tequila), and the tails are made from woven cloth.

The kites have portraits and messages to or about deceased family members (below, the words read "there is no other love on earth as great as that of a mother") and slogans about issues like caring for the environment or women’s rights. 

Below, the quetzal, their maginifcent national bird.

The groups who have created the kites assemble them onto the frames and attempt to fly their kites in the later afternoon. Families and children fly smaller kites together as well, running between graves to get them up in the air and suffering crashes that can be somewhat fatal to their carefully built kites. Bystanders learn to duck!

These kite celebrations have  been around for 3,000 years and are recognized by various religious sects. Locals believe it is a tool for communicating with the beyond. 

Learning the Language

 Below, you will find Antigua, very near Guatemala City 

in the south central state of Sacatepequez (say that five times real fast).

What do you call someone who knows two languages?

Bilingual. 

Three languages? 

Trilingual. 

One language? 

A gringo. Or gringa, as the case may be. 

My first impulse was to answer,  "An American," but being in Central America introduced a paradigm shift. Guatemalans have been Americans forever, we are the new kids on the block.

In and around Antigua the people I met spoke Spanish (and maybe English, German, etc, depending on their country of origin). 

The estimated 35,000 indigenous people of the Guatemalan highlands mostly converse in any one of 22 other Mayan languages. Sue and I spent four days in the small village of El Hato, 7 KM above Antigua, where the Spanish-speaking Mayan children attending a summer school daycamp were learning Kaqchikel, a local heritage language.  

So my second week (after Van left and before Sue Gnagy joined me) I took two-hour daily language lessons at a school in Antigua named after and near a landmark old church, San Jose el Viejo. '

Almost everything in Antigua is viejo (old) because it is the earliest European city on the continent. And Antigua is a great place to learn Spanish because Guatemalans reportedly speak more slowly than Mexicans, so there are many schools to pick from. 

Isobel and I met in a carrel in the courtyard and talked, (mostly) in Spanish,

 every afternoon.

We talked a blue streak as she helped me with the presentation (in Spanish) I was working on for a Lions Club (more about that later) and told me about her life and her hopes for her country, asking me many questions as well.

We covered culure, politics, education, our families, economics, favorite pastimes, history ... I can't begin to tell you how much I learned in addition to excercising my rusty high school language skills. 

Isobel is evidently Mayan, more educated than average, younger than me, with a hard working husband and two young adult children (one prepared to teach but with no job, the other hoping to pursue post secondary education and looking for a job as a cook), living in part of her grandparents' home on the far side of Antigua with other extended family. She was worried about her grandfather, in his 80s, whose taxi was now beyond repair, because there is no such thing as retirement in her country.

Some of her questions: were my glasses acquired new or used (we talked about vision due to Lions presentation) and were they bifocals? She was surprised during a conversation about Reach Out and Read (again from the slide presentation) to learn that there are U.S. Americans who don't know how to read. 

But mostly she was discouraged about the corruption in her country that prevents tax money (and foreign aid) from reaching the schools and people. She estimated 80 percent goes into the pockets of the President and government officials. 

This sentiment and statistic was echoed by a later encounter with a wealthy Ladino (a person of Spanish descent, not Mayan).  Everything I had read about the class divide between the two groups came into sharper focus on my journey, but they both said the corruption at the highest (and lowest) levels of government was criminal.  

And during our lesson I managed to drop my i-pad on the tile floor, crazing the screen into a maze of splinters. It still worked, and my slide show presentation about Vinton and our Lions Club was intact.

I was humbled by knowing I could afford to get it fixed, when a simple paper BINGO game at the Bodegona was beyond the reach of even educated working people's budgets, and an education and a paying job are beyond the reach of so many. 

We in the U.S. are muy (mimados?) privilegiado/privileged/spoiled, but I guess that goes without saying. 

Tomorrow: Sue and Julie's big adventures in Antigua, El Hato and Chimaltenango. 

Kid Time & Kodak Moments

I thought I would blog while I was there, Ha Ha. But better late than never. More installment coming after this one, the final chapters will go into Big Picture experiences, what I learned about Guatemala and its people. But for now, here's a family story, if you'd like to be a mouse in the corner.

Brian and Denise live in Villa Santa Catarina Bobadilla, a gated neighborhood next to the pueblo of S.C.Bobadilla, a basic (translate very poor) community with corrugated tin houses and live poultry (translate: roosters crowing in the early morning).

They are maybe four of miles outside of Antigua. There are maybe thirty-five houses on the loop. You can get there by chicken bus, slightly more expensive but equally packed with people van/bus if one happens by, car, or by toot toot cab I suppose, over the hand-built cobblestone streets.

They took us to fabulous restaurants in and above Antigua. Stunning views. Incredibly fresh food, well prepared, graciously served. And we spent some time with them at home.

Denise: Stella and Junie;

Grandpa meets Junie. She sleeps through it in fine form.

view from rooftop patio, volcano Fuego errupts

The active volcano Fuego sends up a cloud of steam. 

Antigua is ringed by 3 volcanoes, their house is ringed by construction. 

Socrates guards the plants and veggies in pots on the roof.

above, their courtyard garden

below, their house, the two vertical windows behind the white car, is accessed on the side drive

there is always construction going on, you can see the workers' bicycles parked along the left

standard security includes concertina wire atop fencing (below right)

lots of avocado trees in the empty lots

                                

the neighborhood (my photos don't do the landscaping justice)

leaving grandma at the bottom of the steps with the stroller, Stella makes a dash for freedom

 two amigas, making a break for it

Stella loves her boots; neighborhood buddy Kayla loves her drum

breakfast in San Mateo, week 1 (I didn't promise this would be in chronological order)

pumpkin carving was fun ... right up until it was bedtime.

That's Junie in the middle, being loved up by Cash

In town for Halloween, a transplanted U.S. tradition. 

The Hungry Caterpillar  and friends get started Trick or Treating 

at Oldtown Outfitters (friend Matt's business)  

adjoining Antigua Bicycle Coop (Brian's bike shop)

and progress to other participating businesses. 

A group of moms supplied the businesses with the treats to hand out. 

 the gang gathers

 Stella spreads her wings

 the shop

Sue Gnagy arrived just in time for the festivities

Junie, awake in her cocoon

El Martes

Hola from the pais de eternal spring!

fun with Stella 

brunch with Junie

Teddy Bear's Picnic by Jerry Garcia - on the iPad - our fav

Denise has been making costumes, she crocheted Hungry Caterpillar hats for both girls. Junie will be wrapped in a blanket cocoon and STella will wear beautiful felt wings that will be attached to her back and wrists, showing the colorful wings when she stretches her arms. There will be photos.   

 My biggest challenge is remembering not to throw toilet paper in the toilet - there are waste baskets provided. Once again we take services like waste disposal and plumbing for granted.

Just read that Iowa forfeited funding to expand Amtrak. Boo.

It is 6:00 and the kids just left for the city to pursue new & updated documents for the little girls. It will take all day at the embassy and offices, lots of waiting. Stella is a drama queen but tiny Juniper is exceedingly mellow as long as mom is there with instant dinner. We took her to a community theater play and she didn't make a peep.  Four of Denise's friends joined us for a drink and the play, fun to meet them as well.  They have built playgroups and book clubs and bicycle buddies, a large circle of fun and caring "family."

The play was Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" and their friend was in it. Quite good although I confess I got drowsy and may have missed a few lines. Theater was small and in an old building (everything is old here, Antigua being the oldest European city on this side of the Atlantic) but the acoustics and sight lines were excellent, and it was in English. 

Today I take the bus into Antigua to my language lesson. I've been over the route with Brian and Denise, also with my Spanish teacher yesterday (two hours x 5 days = $55, a bargain). Claudia the housekeeper arrived, she will show me how to use the washer and dryer.

The language School is conveniently located near the hotel where sue and I will spend two nights and it has a secure ATM for lock currency. Very near the parque    central and Brian's bike shop.

I feel so much more at ease getting around and using currency at this point. I bought a cheap phone and have Brian's # in it.  My Spanish teacher loves to assist with all related topics.

Cameras just can't capture what the human eye sees in the evening from their rooftop patio. The volcanoes at sunset are spectacular, Fuego has been active the last two days.

Next time I'll bring my laptop instead of iPad mini, there is no great advantage to the portability as I don't carry it around for fear of pick pockets and it isn't as useful for photography and sending photos as simple pocket camera and laptop. I will also bring my cross body flat bag (alini) instead of the travel vest with all the pockets. The iPad mini shows through the hidden back pocket and could make me a target for backpack slashers. Although I am basically in safe settings one must err on the side of caution.

Van is home already. We all miss Grandpa, he was a big hit. But I admit to feeling more confident with my Spanish and navigation skills when I 'm depending on myself.

-jz

Week One At Casa Zimmer

I just bribed an 18- month-old into PJs with ice cream AND a sucker. Stella and I played in the neighborhood pocket park, skipping nap time altogether, with her buddy Kayla and nanny Myra, all afternoon. I have no idea what we talked about (in Spanish) but it was evidently hilarious.

Van flew home early this morning. Stella is still looking for him, he was a huge hit with her. We spent the week getting to know newborn Juniper and marveling at the truth in that old adage, DNA works in mysterious ways. Delightfully unique sisters they are. And we have been out to eat in places I can't do justice to in 25 words or less, including amazing vistas, incredible food, parrots, peacocks, and culture from three continents.

We had a layover in the Dallas airport on the way down and I was, as far as I could tell, the.only one there wearing gloves. Coming on the heels of the Ebola scare there (Did you know it could survive in dried sweat?) I thought I might as well use up a few of  the 500- glove-box supply in our hall closet, left over from stem cell transplant recovery. Van didn 't follow suit, but he also.does not chew his fingers. No one ( not even Van) laughed openly and a flight attendant went out of her way to tell me it was a smart idea.

The American Airlines baggage check person rolled her eyes at our luggage, though. Among other things, I was packing nursery equipment for Casa Zimmer in a 47-pound duct-tape-reinforced junker one way; the wish-list gift of an  8-pound adapted bocce ball set for a new special needs classroom;  and a projector purchased by Manos de Christine that would never have made it to El Hato School via what could loosely be called the Guatemalan postal system.

I regret bringing this iPad mini instead of my laptop, it is cumbersome to correct typos and not as capable of managing and sharing decent photos. That may have to wait until I get home.

I am ensconced at Villa Catarina de Bobadilla (Brian and Denise's third home since they've been here) for another week and then spend my third week with Iowa friend Sue Gnagy, two tourista days in Antigua and four days up in the clouds at Earth Lodge, volunteering mornings at nearby El Hato school as substitutes for the English teacher for ages 4-6 and 7 - 10 summer day camp classrooms. We've already had a great deal of fun planning books, songs, games and craft activities.

I messaged with a Lions Club district governor from this area, hoping to meet with a club, and mastered enough of Keynote to produce an admittedly lame slide show about our club/community to share (using my iPad and borrowing the serendipitous projector) but I am not sure if the meet-up will actually take place and my narration in Spanish needs work. Maybe I will post the photo of my club holding up hola/hello signs for you, when I can get to my iPad photos through Blogger... It loves only Picassa at present, which I Am not on.