Fair warning this is a post of less than sunny forecasts and many excuses
I once heard this great idea my friends wife had about writing a blog about being off the grid. We all found it genius aside from the fact that having a blog would be in direct contradiction to being off the grid, let alone having the electricity or phone connection to access it. Maybe a zine would be more authentic. Who knows, but in a few different circumstances it has come up that the proper name would be straddling the grid, which I believe I am currently doing.This is the main reason I haven´t posted anything for a while.
I have more pictures but I can´t find my connector cord and my camera wasn´t working for a while. Also the flikr folks want to charge me money to have more than 200 photos which I have past, so that´s currently up in the air.
So anyway being that I don´t have a computer and I moved to a different house without a computer... I don´t have one. There are internet cafes but they are expensive, so my time and budget for typing and editing of these things is on fumes.
I know that people have tried to leave comments and for some reason the program isn´t letting people sign up or cuts them off, etc. Sorry about that. Especially because without them it kind of defeats the conversation starting aspect of a blog.
Further I have deactivated my facebook account. I could go on a million different tangents about why I did this, but the number one reason I did so was in direct relation to my watching of the movie the Social Network. Everyone seems to be alive and functioning so I´ll take that as a sign that the world is still in balance.
More bad news. I will do my best to put up some pictures and post when I can, but the best way to hear from me is to email me at chriserickson@hotmail.com . If you do I promise you will get a response. I am very good about this now, as before I used to blow off emails (yes even from family and friends)yet I now have a new appreciation for the courtesy of doing so.
I have an email that I send once a month to the College Place Presbyterian Church and also send messages to those who have donated toward the completion of my development projects here. I encourage you to do so, and will be willing to talk with you about what the money is for, who it is helping, etc. any time. I don´t like the pay to play system much though so donation or not, if you want a monthly update, send me your email, and I´ll be in touch that way.
I´ll probably have to make atleast one more post because this one it too debbie downer to be my last.
Que le vaya bien,
Chris
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Mas Fotos
So I've had a few people ask me about not being so stingy on the photos. So here you go. These are some pictures from my latest trip about 4 hours deep into the jungle outside of Coban. By far the most remote place and people I have encountered. Most the pictures are of the group from here. There is one that is with two guys from there. I cant even remember the name of the place, but it is not even an official place so...Look for the one with the guy who looks like the Guatamalan Billy Bob Thorton. You'll also noticed the beard was imposing, and so I cut it off as to not scare the natives any longer.
I will write more on Coban. Sorry no pictures of Antigua my camera battery died. There'll be other times.
www.flickr.com/photos/51849388@N08/?saved=1
I will write more on Coban. Sorry no pictures of Antigua my camera battery died. There'll be other times.
www.flickr.com/photos/51849388@N08/?saved=1
Monday, August 23, 2010
Guatever
So I've just got back from spending 9 or 10 days in Antigua. At first I didn't like it because it is a huge tourist trap of hotels and restaurants and such. Not that its bad, but its sole existence is to be inhabited by white people (not just americans) on vacation...or so it seems. After a few days I didn't mind it so much, and actually found that it was kinda nice because there were a lot of people to meet, and everybody wants a friend or has a story to tell about how they got there or what they're doing. In my experience if you give them a chance, everyone likes to talk about themselves, and I of course am one of these people. Antigua refreshingly though seems to be one of the few places where people actually get nicer when they are lonely. Anyway, I met a lot of good folks, some from peace corps, some local, and a bunch from Washington (7 or 8). Also it was funny to hear people pronounce Spokane as(Spocaine)and not get the inside joke.
I also went to school for the week, and learned a bunch of stuff. My Spanish is way better in the two months I've been here, but I'm still working on pronunciation quite a bit, and still have to think about what I'm going to say. I can understand quite a bit, but people have to not talk like the micro-machines guy or else I get lost. I guess I like talking better because I can choose what I want to say, instead of racking my brain trying to decipher what is being said.
Finished a book called White Noise by Don Delillo not too long ago. This book is where the band (which I have never heard a song of) Airborne Toxic Event gets its name. It was pretty good. Reminded me a lot of the Trial, by Franz Kafka. Not so much in the story but the seeming hidden meaning in the characters, and events and use of metaphor to represent things like consumerism, and fear of death. I liked the specific part at the German Hospital at the end where a nun gives an account of hers and other nun's belief and faith in God as non-existent, but instead the idea and perception of their greater faith was what was truly important in order to give everyone something to respect and aspire to, yet be able to blow off anytime they want because it is okay for a "common" man to fall short of the conviction of a nun.
This idea of taking a title, self aware that they were not as grand as the perception their position carries, yet taking the responcibility and weight of such lofty perceptions in order to sustain the belief for those who need it, is very interesting to me. You can see it many places as common as parenting to the many political issues of society, to religion and its various teachings, but I find it interesting how we distinguish which is narcicism and which is not. Of course a person would insist the necessity of a parent providing such an example to a child, but what is the line? Manisfest Destiny? Health Coverage for Abortions? Anti-Communism? Approval of a Mosque at Ground Zero? At what point does our great intellect and authority to tell others what is best for them become egoism. In my book it all is, regardless of a persons need, such thoughts and actions imply a person has decided or agreed with the decision of another that their intellectual standing it greater than those they are providing examples to...Why else would that person need your help? If you were not smarter than that person or know something they didn't or, were not better equipped with resources, etc. why would it be so important that anyone concern themselves with the well being others? Epecially in the instances where a person's well being is not involved. And truthfully, its not a bad thing, it literally is the way of the world and the society we live in. To embrace it is to adapt. Of course, to know this or see it in practice is one thing, but to say it, I guess, is another. It would seem that as long as we act oblivious to such obvious things, that we are not vein, but to acknowledge it, even in its flaws, is disingenuous.
Luckily, I like the idea that people, while always in pursuit of gain, don't always have greed but instead compassion in their hearts, whether knowledgable or not of their lack of altruism, and for the benefit of all are trying to help.
I also went to school for the week, and learned a bunch of stuff. My Spanish is way better in the two months I've been here, but I'm still working on pronunciation quite a bit, and still have to think about what I'm going to say. I can understand quite a bit, but people have to not talk like the micro-machines guy or else I get lost. I guess I like talking better because I can choose what I want to say, instead of racking my brain trying to decipher what is being said.
Finished a book called White Noise by Don Delillo not too long ago. This book is where the band (which I have never heard a song of) Airborne Toxic Event gets its name. It was pretty good. Reminded me a lot of the Trial, by Franz Kafka. Not so much in the story but the seeming hidden meaning in the characters, and events and use of metaphor to represent things like consumerism, and fear of death. I liked the specific part at the German Hospital at the end where a nun gives an account of hers and other nun's belief and faith in God as non-existent, but instead the idea and perception of their greater faith was what was truly important in order to give everyone something to respect and aspire to, yet be able to blow off anytime they want because it is okay for a "common" man to fall short of the conviction of a nun.
This idea of taking a title, self aware that they were not as grand as the perception their position carries, yet taking the responcibility and weight of such lofty perceptions in order to sustain the belief for those who need it, is very interesting to me. You can see it many places as common as parenting to the many political issues of society, to religion and its various teachings, but I find it interesting how we distinguish which is narcicism and which is not. Of course a person would insist the necessity of a parent providing such an example to a child, but what is the line? Manisfest Destiny? Health Coverage for Abortions? Anti-Communism? Approval of a Mosque at Ground Zero? At what point does our great intellect and authority to tell others what is best for them become egoism. In my book it all is, regardless of a persons need, such thoughts and actions imply a person has decided or agreed with the decision of another that their intellectual standing it greater than those they are providing examples to...Why else would that person need your help? If you were not smarter than that person or know something they didn't or, were not better equipped with resources, etc. why would it be so important that anyone concern themselves with the well being others? Epecially in the instances where a person's well being is not involved. And truthfully, its not a bad thing, it literally is the way of the world and the society we live in. To embrace it is to adapt. Of course, to know this or see it in practice is one thing, but to say it, I guess, is another. It would seem that as long as we act oblivious to such obvious things, that we are not vein, but to acknowledge it, even in its flaws, is disingenuous.
Luckily, I like the idea that people, while always in pursuit of gain, don't always have greed but instead compassion in their hearts, whether knowledgable or not of their lack of altruism, and for the benefit of all are trying to help.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Only in AMer..Guatemala
So I tried to go to the movies. Made a trip down to old Chimaltenango, I have learned that you need to add the tenango part "means town or city" to the root word because it is very very similar to a word that is part of George Carlin's big seven. Anyway it was somewhat of a momentous occassion because I went by myself. I figure I have to learn sometime, and at the age of 28 I get frustrated at the fact that I have to use training wheels for a lot of things down here.
So anyway I get to Chimaltenango and I weigh myself on one of the cool machines (lets be honest it's a scale) that they have in the mall for everyone to get their weight. And low and behold I a have lost 50lbs. I have to admit that I think that's alot, especially for 7 weeks. If anyone has questioned my description of the food and the amount or lack there of...I issue this as my proof, that I really miss food. Anyway I go to see what movies are playing...Karate Kid and the Origen.
This is funny for me because I have stated several times that I would NOT be seeing the Karate Kid. First of all I have already seen the Karate Kid. It had three very important things. Pat Morita, Elizabeth Shue, and of course a very Tiger Beat friendly Ralph Machio. For me, if a movie does not have at the very least, these three things...It CANNOT be titled the Karate Kid. Much the same way any show or movie without Leornard Neimoy, Bill Shatner, or an in the closet George Tekai cannot be called Star Trek. You will remember the Next Generation was the name given to the second wave*. Turns out the only movie with subtitles was Karate Kid. Turns out that a gentleman, the same that I discussed Dirty Dancing with** had seen the real Karate Kid when it came out in 1987 during his senior year of high school and originally felt the same way I did, but had informed me that he went with his son and that it was pretty good, and a completely different movie.
With this information I decided that I could handle it. I went and asked the gentleman at the window one last time to buy a ticket and make sure that the movie had subtitles. It did he confirmed, BUT and that's a big BUT, for some unknown reason to anyone, except the hearing impared population of Chimaltenango both the language and the subtitles, were in Spanish. So suffice it to say, I did not go to the movies or watch the Karate Kid.
Instead I went and walked around the downtown shopping district. I found a gentleman that said he would make me a pair of Snake skin boots for about 80 bucks, same for Emu, which are about $400 bucks a pair in the U.S. So for this I was thankful, and after an afternoon of windowshopping rode the 80 person deep chicken bus back to Patzun.
*I do realize that there was a movie a year or two ago, but it just goes to show the lack of respect that hollywood has for people that can still remember the original. You didn't see this happen with Saved By the Bell. Even though the cast was the same they changed the name to the College Years when they were'nt in High School anymore, and further to The New Class when they went for the nostalgic remake.
**For those that didn't know the movie I referenced in my last post was Dirty Dancing. I can only hope that The Swayze and that sweet prince Chris Farley are somewhere working on Chipindales routines as I type.
So anyway I get to Chimaltenango and I weigh myself on one of the cool machines (lets be honest it's a scale) that they have in the mall for everyone to get their weight. And low and behold I a have lost 50lbs. I have to admit that I think that's alot, especially for 7 weeks. If anyone has questioned my description of the food and the amount or lack there of...I issue this as my proof, that I really miss food. Anyway I go to see what movies are playing...Karate Kid and the Origen.
This is funny for me because I have stated several times that I would NOT be seeing the Karate Kid. First of all I have already seen the Karate Kid. It had three very important things. Pat Morita, Elizabeth Shue, and of course a very Tiger Beat friendly Ralph Machio. For me, if a movie does not have at the very least, these three things...It CANNOT be titled the Karate Kid. Much the same way any show or movie without Leornard Neimoy, Bill Shatner, or an in the closet George Tekai cannot be called Star Trek. You will remember the Next Generation was the name given to the second wave*. Turns out the only movie with subtitles was Karate Kid. Turns out that a gentleman, the same that I discussed Dirty Dancing with** had seen the real Karate Kid when it came out in 1987 during his senior year of high school and originally felt the same way I did, but had informed me that he went with his son and that it was pretty good, and a completely different movie.
With this information I decided that I could handle it. I went and asked the gentleman at the window one last time to buy a ticket and make sure that the movie had subtitles. It did he confirmed, BUT and that's a big BUT, for some unknown reason to anyone, except the hearing impared population of Chimaltenango both the language and the subtitles, were in Spanish. So suffice it to say, I did not go to the movies or watch the Karate Kid.
Instead I went and walked around the downtown shopping district. I found a gentleman that said he would make me a pair of Snake skin boots for about 80 bucks, same for Emu, which are about $400 bucks a pair in the U.S. So for this I was thankful, and after an afternoon of windowshopping rode the 80 person deep chicken bus back to Patzun.
*I do realize that there was a movie a year or two ago, but it just goes to show the lack of respect that hollywood has for people that can still remember the original. You didn't see this happen with Saved By the Bell. Even though the cast was the same they changed the name to the College Years when they were'nt in High School anymore, and further to The New Class when they went for the nostalgic remake.
**For those that didn't know the movie I referenced in my last post was Dirty Dancing. I can only hope that The Swayze and that sweet prince Chris Farley are somewhere working on Chipindales routines as I type.
Friday, August 6, 2010
¨I carried a Watermelon¨
¨I carried a Watermelon?¨
This of course is a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, especially that came out in 1987, if you don´t count Red Dawn, which I talked about this week with the group from Tennessee. It´s not that hard to guess if you´re my facebook friend because I wrote a far too detailed note about this movie on there at one point. I still can´t believe that I´m not ashamed that my buddy Zack and I watched this movie almost everyday after school junior year of highschool.
Alright so now that everyone is done googling the movie quote, we can get into the thick of things...
This was by far my best week yet. The group as aforementioned from the Columbia Tennessee, First Presbyterian Church were just the transition from the previous weeks of work and solitude that I needed. I helped them put in the water filtration system and had alot of good conversation, observation, and fun along the way. I was really impressed withthe positivity they generated. I don´t think I heard anyone say ¨no¨ all week and it was very contageous. THere were a lot of obstacles too, including much of the bracing for the roof in the way, an unfinished floor, and problems with the water pump for their private quarters* which left them without the ability to take showers most of the week. They never seemed to let it bother them. I was also inspired by the fact that I don´t think I heard them speak ill of anyone all week. There are always instances where in conversation a person you mutually know will come up (not me, but them in this instance) and especially in relation to an unfortunate situation the tendency is to point out some flaws that they might have. This group didn´t do that. This was also a group that passed along to me, ¨my mama always told me that if you hear something nice about someone make sure and let em know.¨ In leaving a world where most things I heard about people were the negative ones, and myself being a person that sometimes is at the short end of that stick, I really liked that quip...well that and ¨that´s like socks on a chicken¨ in relation to things being the stuff**. I also appreciated that these folks weren´t your hard core bible thumpin, rigid, no dancin, cards, or pg movies people either (dare I say, uppity christians). Before I left, one of the ministers at the CP church and I were talking about the people who live loudly as christians through simple action and not boisterous words and the number of bible verses they know and this group for me was a great example of good people giving a good name to other christians out there. I was definitely sad to see them go.
Updates:
I went and got a pizza last Saturdya. I ate the entire thing! I have a picture of the empty platter that I will upload soon. I have had alot of pizza, and while ingredients, crust, amount of sauce and quality of cheese have been done better in many places I¨m sure, this was the best pizza I have ever had in my life...well atleast that I can remember.
I have come up with a new idea that is sure to make millions. Probably almost as good as kitten mittens, or the c-walking for christ clothing line***. It´s called yearbook.com (domain available) In this you market to schools the function of moving their yearbook/annual to the web. Saving on cost, the schools can sell their own accounts to the kids, and kids can leave comments like ¨see you around, I´ll be the guy in black at courtney´s birthday party.¨**** You can increase content by alot, and kids could add their own pictures, cutting down on kelly kool kid having 15 photos because the editer thought he was dreamy, and kelly keyboard kid can have his rightful place in history. Tons of schools out there, and of course now that facebook has a bunch of olds on it, its obselete. If there is one thing i know about kids or remember from being a kid it´s that they solely want to be where parents aren´t. They say there´s nothing to do, so you build them a skate rink, and no one shows. It´s not because they don´t like skating its because there are parents there. Build a clubhouse where kids can hang out without any adults there and I´ll show you a place where tons of kids go. Anyway back to the point, this is the way of the future, and I am hoping that I know have intellectual property of it. Maybe I can find a whitman kid to write up some cold fusion for me.
I think I´m going to go to the city tomorrow and watch a movie. I´ve been told that the movies are in english with spanish subtitles so it should be a go. THey have the new movies too, since there are no internet listings I´ll probably see that dumb vampire movie, or toy story 8 or something, but it will still be awesome. Then on monday or tuesday I think i am going to antigua to look at the language schools there, so hopefully within a week or two I´ll be doing that.
*this use of words seems extremely old-timey, but for the life of me I can´t think of any other way to accurately describe this noun.
**Also reference the cat´s pajamas or the bees knees.
***This is a clothing line my buddy Pat and I came up with, where former gang members who are now born again, and of course kids who want to be cool, will want to wear these clothes to stay street and represent Jesus at the same time. It´s of course afusion on the popular southern california dance popularized by the crips ¨c'walking¨ and the footprints picture frames on many walls around the world where sometimes there´s two set of footprints, and sometimes one when god carries you. With the popularity of Promise Keepers I can´t see why this isn´t already a worldwide phenomenon.
****This is an actual comment left in Michelle Gwinns 7th Grade Pioneer Middle School annual by Allen Stanley, and possibly the awesomest annual comment EVER!
This of course is a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, especially that came out in 1987, if you don´t count Red Dawn, which I talked about this week with the group from Tennessee. It´s not that hard to guess if you´re my facebook friend because I wrote a far too detailed note about this movie on there at one point. I still can´t believe that I´m not ashamed that my buddy Zack and I watched this movie almost everyday after school junior year of highschool.
Alright so now that everyone is done googling the movie quote, we can get into the thick of things...
This was by far my best week yet. The group as aforementioned from the Columbia Tennessee, First Presbyterian Church were just the transition from the previous weeks of work and solitude that I needed. I helped them put in the water filtration system and had alot of good conversation, observation, and fun along the way. I was really impressed withthe positivity they generated. I don´t think I heard anyone say ¨no¨ all week and it was very contageous. THere were a lot of obstacles too, including much of the bracing for the roof in the way, an unfinished floor, and problems with the water pump for their private quarters* which left them without the ability to take showers most of the week. They never seemed to let it bother them. I was also inspired by the fact that I don´t think I heard them speak ill of anyone all week. There are always instances where in conversation a person you mutually know will come up (not me, but them in this instance) and especially in relation to an unfortunate situation the tendency is to point out some flaws that they might have. This group didn´t do that. This was also a group that passed along to me, ¨my mama always told me that if you hear something nice about someone make sure and let em know.¨ In leaving a world where most things I heard about people were the negative ones, and myself being a person that sometimes is at the short end of that stick, I really liked that quip...well that and ¨that´s like socks on a chicken¨ in relation to things being the stuff**. I also appreciated that these folks weren´t your hard core bible thumpin, rigid, no dancin, cards, or pg movies people either (dare I say, uppity christians). Before I left, one of the ministers at the CP church and I were talking about the people who live loudly as christians through simple action and not boisterous words and the number of bible verses they know and this group for me was a great example of good people giving a good name to other christians out there. I was definitely sad to see them go.
Updates:
I went and got a pizza last Saturdya. I ate the entire thing! I have a picture of the empty platter that I will upload soon. I have had alot of pizza, and while ingredients, crust, amount of sauce and quality of cheese have been done better in many places I¨m sure, this was the best pizza I have ever had in my life...well atleast that I can remember.
I have come up with a new idea that is sure to make millions. Probably almost as good as kitten mittens, or the c-walking for christ clothing line***. It´s called yearbook.com (domain available) In this you market to schools the function of moving their yearbook/annual to the web. Saving on cost, the schools can sell their own accounts to the kids, and kids can leave comments like ¨see you around, I´ll be the guy in black at courtney´s birthday party.¨**** You can increase content by alot, and kids could add their own pictures, cutting down on kelly kool kid having 15 photos because the editer thought he was dreamy, and kelly keyboard kid can have his rightful place in history. Tons of schools out there, and of course now that facebook has a bunch of olds on it, its obselete. If there is one thing i know about kids or remember from being a kid it´s that they solely want to be where parents aren´t. They say there´s nothing to do, so you build them a skate rink, and no one shows. It´s not because they don´t like skating its because there are parents there. Build a clubhouse where kids can hang out without any adults there and I´ll show you a place where tons of kids go. Anyway back to the point, this is the way of the future, and I am hoping that I know have intellectual property of it. Maybe I can find a whitman kid to write up some cold fusion for me.
I think I´m going to go to the city tomorrow and watch a movie. I´ve been told that the movies are in english with spanish subtitles so it should be a go. THey have the new movies too, since there are no internet listings I´ll probably see that dumb vampire movie, or toy story 8 or something, but it will still be awesome. Then on monday or tuesday I think i am going to antigua to look at the language schools there, so hopefully within a week or two I´ll be doing that.
*this use of words seems extremely old-timey, but for the life of me I can´t think of any other way to accurately describe this noun.
**Also reference the cat´s pajamas or the bees knees.
***This is a clothing line my buddy Pat and I came up with, where former gang members who are now born again, and of course kids who want to be cool, will want to wear these clothes to stay street and represent Jesus at the same time. It´s of course afusion on the popular southern california dance popularized by the crips ¨c'walking¨ and the footprints picture frames on many walls around the world where sometimes there´s two set of footprints, and sometimes one when god carries you. With the popularity of Promise Keepers I can´t see why this isn´t already a worldwide phenomenon.
****This is an actual comment left in Michelle Gwinns 7th Grade Pioneer Middle School annual by Allen Stanley, and possibly the awesomest annual comment EVER!
Friday, July 30, 2010
Yup
So its been another week, and the work has been pretty heavy. 12 hour days for no pay even for the best of intentions wears on you. Tomorrow gonna be there bright and early at 5a to pour the roof, the old fashioned way (mixing by hand). Spent the last two days framing it out. The scaffolding of which I will post some pics, I have mentioned was sketch before. YUP! I was up there clipping some reebar (sp.) and it broke, only fell about 6 feet so not too bad, just some scrapes from the metal. Drew more blood from scratching my hands on the bailing wire the past few days anyway. To say the least I made extra sure that the styrofoam roof that the concrete gets poured on was nice and sturdy before walking on it to put in the light fixture boxes. Although its always funny when people you know get hurt and they aren´t in serious shape so you can laugh, I always enjoy it so you can have this one on me*
After this roof is done the water filtration people from the US will be here monday to install the equiptment so I think i´ll get a bit of a break from the work for a while which will be nice. Talking about going to Antigua for a week to a language school which I would really like to work out. I am good with highs and by´s, things I need, am pretty good at knowing all the tools and other words related to building stuff, and can understand the gist of things now, but it is hard with the speakers that I am around. They don´t have good grammar so things I pick up aren´t necessarily right, and also they don´t know words that should be common. For instance I used the word propane, then propano to ask if they were out. Since its what they cook with you would think they would know the word but they just looked at me sideways. I looked it up in my dictionary today and sure enough propano is the word for propane. Pizza was another one that the mom couldn´t get when we were talking about popular food people eat in the US. They are missing the boat on grilled cheese sandwiches. Annunciation is at an all time low, they shorten alot of words like we do, which is understandable, but its funny when I´ll use the same word they do and they don´t know what i´m trying to say. Also I have noticed that the parents, now that they know I know what they are saying they have started to speak in Quetchaquel, which is the indiginous language down here. Either way its getting better.
I think I will add a few things that the super sensitive, easily offended ¨in touch¨ people who are trying to make America a big crib would enjoy some of these things that are very common in Guatemala:
Public Urination- Anytime anywhere pretty much, I am not surprised at all anymore to turn around at work, the market, on the way to work, on the way home, seeing a guy taking care of business
No Peta or Bob Barker- Dogs are not spayed or neutered and are everywhere¡ mostly trying to procreate. I always like to laugh that one of the hot spots is at the Mormon Church which is right next door to Alpha Omega and quite visible from the roof of the building we are working on. Its really nice and well mowed and made of all the nicest material, and of course the prime spot for canine adultry. Also dogs are not cared for and all scared, I´ll save the details for the those with weak stomachs, but most have probably been to the third world and know what I´m talking about. I did get a new job this week though...Throwing rocks at dogs that come onto the property and try to mark territory and disturb the kids and such. I miss on purpose, sometimes.
Breast Feeding- THis is one that I have heard alot about the past few years in the US, and frankly it wouldn´t be that big of a deal for me if just a bit of discression was used. Im talking about the middle of the mall food court, at church, in the market right behind the merchandise, you name it. No blankets and no qualms at all. I also love it when someone like say an uncle or other family member will come and pat the baby on the head and talk goo goo gah gah while the kid is feeding.
Children in the back seat- Nope, looks like Brittany Spears would be alright in Guatemala. Always held in the arms in the front seat, or sitting on the middle console, sometimes breast feeding. And I will add that driving is WAY safer in the US. You thought candadians and teenagers were bad? At least they´ve had TSE and had to pass a drivers test.
Food Storage- It is very common to take something like a soup or rice or noodles off the the stove, set it on the floor for the night and serve it again the next day. Its kind of the school lunch philosophy where one day there will be meatloaf then there will be spaghetti, then hamburger gravy (which I used to love!) Except usually on the third day here its served cold. I guess it wouldn´t be that big of deal if there weren´t a ton of flies all over the place. Of course I haven´t gotten sick yet so...maybe ýou´re all just germ conscious.
Thats enough for now, I have a another big friday night of going to bed by 9 as long as dinner is by then. Big day tomorrow though, might get a pizza after work. Also they said they would take me to the city to go grocery shopping one of these days, so I´m pulling for some Mac n Cheese.
*I do know that there are people reading, even though no one comments. Don´t worry I´m not offended even though that desiese perez hilton gets like a couple hundred a day. I might have to start spelling words wrong, or talk about sales at crate and barrel. Either way I´ll keep writing, because truth be told I really don´t have anything better to do.
After this roof is done the water filtration people from the US will be here monday to install the equiptment so I think i´ll get a bit of a break from the work for a while which will be nice. Talking about going to Antigua for a week to a language school which I would really like to work out. I am good with highs and by´s, things I need, am pretty good at knowing all the tools and other words related to building stuff, and can understand the gist of things now, but it is hard with the speakers that I am around. They don´t have good grammar so things I pick up aren´t necessarily right, and also they don´t know words that should be common. For instance I used the word propane, then propano to ask if they were out. Since its what they cook with you would think they would know the word but they just looked at me sideways. I looked it up in my dictionary today and sure enough propano is the word for propane. Pizza was another one that the mom couldn´t get when we were talking about popular food people eat in the US. They are missing the boat on grilled cheese sandwiches. Annunciation is at an all time low, they shorten alot of words like we do, which is understandable, but its funny when I´ll use the same word they do and they don´t know what i´m trying to say. Also I have noticed that the parents, now that they know I know what they are saying they have started to speak in Quetchaquel, which is the indiginous language down here. Either way its getting better.
I think I will add a few things that the super sensitive, easily offended ¨in touch¨ people who are trying to make America a big crib would enjoy some of these things that are very common in Guatemala:
Public Urination- Anytime anywhere pretty much, I am not surprised at all anymore to turn around at work, the market, on the way to work, on the way home, seeing a guy taking care of business
No Peta or Bob Barker- Dogs are not spayed or neutered and are everywhere¡ mostly trying to procreate. I always like to laugh that one of the hot spots is at the Mormon Church which is right next door to Alpha Omega and quite visible from the roof of the building we are working on. Its really nice and well mowed and made of all the nicest material, and of course the prime spot for canine adultry. Also dogs are not cared for and all scared, I´ll save the details for the those with weak stomachs, but most have probably been to the third world and know what I´m talking about. I did get a new job this week though...Throwing rocks at dogs that come onto the property and try to mark territory and disturb the kids and such. I miss on purpose, sometimes.
Breast Feeding- THis is one that I have heard alot about the past few years in the US, and frankly it wouldn´t be that big of a deal for me if just a bit of discression was used. Im talking about the middle of the mall food court, at church, in the market right behind the merchandise, you name it. No blankets and no qualms at all. I also love it when someone like say an uncle or other family member will come and pat the baby on the head and talk goo goo gah gah while the kid is feeding.
Children in the back seat- Nope, looks like Brittany Spears would be alright in Guatemala. Always held in the arms in the front seat, or sitting on the middle console, sometimes breast feeding. And I will add that driving is WAY safer in the US. You thought candadians and teenagers were bad? At least they´ve had TSE and had to pass a drivers test.
Food Storage- It is very common to take something like a soup or rice or noodles off the the stove, set it on the floor for the night and serve it again the next day. Its kind of the school lunch philosophy where one day there will be meatloaf then there will be spaghetti, then hamburger gravy (which I used to love!) Except usually on the third day here its served cold. I guess it wouldn´t be that big of deal if there weren´t a ton of flies all over the place. Of course I haven´t gotten sick yet so...maybe ýou´re all just germ conscious.
Thats enough for now, I have a another big friday night of going to bed by 9 as long as dinner is by then. Big day tomorrow though, might get a pizza after work. Also they said they would take me to the city to go grocery shopping one of these days, so I´m pulling for some Mac n Cheese.
*I do know that there are people reading, even though no one comments. Don´t worry I´m not offended even though that desiese perez hilton gets like a couple hundred a day. I might have to start spelling words wrong, or talk about sales at crate and barrel. Either way I´ll keep writing, because truth be told I really don´t have anything better to do.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
One Month
So now that I´ve been here a month I seem to have a routine down. Wake up at 6:30a, walk about a half mile to the church for work. Work til noon, walk home for lunch, walk back, work til 4:30p walk home. I do this six days a week, except on Saturday, I get off work at noon. After work I take off my work clothes lye on my bed for a bit, then do a few sets of situps and pushups. At this time I put on some sweats and listen to music off my phone and play solitaire on the same phone for an album or so. I have really been enjoying August and Everything After by the Counting Crows, and of course Andre Nickatina lately. I was listening to XO by Elliot Smith for a bit but I found it a bit depressing* so I stopped that. After this I either play guitar or read my GRE vocab, read a book (haven´t had one in a couple weeks), or look up words in my spanish dictionary that I have written in my notebook. I am supposed to have a spanish lesson with the mom twice a week for an hour each time. Its never been more than one, and I think I´ve had three total. She is a teacher, and I think they purposely hold back because they want me to pay. $12 bucks for three hours isn´t a bad deal, but I feel that my forty plus hours a week of work and raising a considerable amount of money for their church** is a good trade off for some spanish lessons. Anyway...On Wednesday there is a family church service at one of the houses, on Friday there is a prayer meeting at the church where they take all the prayer requests then go to the front kneel on the steps and all pray outloud at once. I usually use this time to write down words in my Holly Hobby notebook that I don´t know. On Saturday there is a youth service where the youngin´s sing songs and play games and such. To tell the truth I cant remember if I have gone to this or not, they all run together a bit. On Sunday there are two services, one at 10a and one at 4:30p. I have been sleeping in on Sundays and going to the late one. I went to the early one the first week its not really important, kinda just for the super hardcore. Afterwords I play a bit of guitar or basketball with the kids. Anyone who knows me, knows that I don´t really like basketball nor am I good at it, but here I´m a foot taller than everyone, I can dunk on the 8 ft. rims and its not a big stretch to see why these people love soccer so much***. This of course brings us to dinner, which is usually about 8:30 or 9:00p or later. There are always beans, either black or red, either whole or blended. And lately alot of vegetables, squash and plantains all last week. Lunch is the best usually soup and noodles (lunch is also the biggest meal of the day. I don´t eat breakfast anymore because it is cornflakes everyday, and the powdered milk gets old QUICK! When they remember they get bananas and I´ll grab a few on the go. Otherwise I have a couple 8 cracker packs of ritz througout the morning. They have told me that next week we will go to the city to the ¨big¨supermarket I and can show them what I like. It´s funny b-c I always eat what I´m given, and aside from a whole lime squeezed on an avacado, or lettuce with lime juice the food is the same, just prepared different. and of course WAY LESS MEAT. Also they push the tortillas hard here. Reminds me of the time that three buddies and I went to the all you can eat shrimp at red lobster and all ate more than 85 shrimp, and the most was over 100. The waitress kept bringing rolls.
Last weekend I was tired of only going to the church and the house so I ventured out into the town and found the market and grocery store. I got some ritz, some ramen, and a hershey bar. No peanut butter. I also found a place that looked alright and had a hamburger. It was delicious and I didn´t get sick. They also have pizza, might try it next time. The market is big, all kinds of stuff and people, and alot like a value village on clothes. T'shirts from the new jersey health institute and such. Three is also a nice little park, and a really big catholic church in the city center. There are alot of funerals and the people all walk down the main street with the casket from the church to the cemetary. I think the smallest I have seen is about 300 people. Pretty eye catching. I want to take more pictures of people, but I don´t want to look like a tourist too much and get robbed, or make people mad, like for instance I saw a guy carrying about 6 times his body weight in corn the other day on his back. I didn´t necessarily want to be that guy and ask for a photo op. There are a few dental places downtown that do gold teeth and outlines, and stars and such. I want one REAL BAD, just one tooth. The mom and aunts all have them, and they said they are for show not for bad teeth...It´s definitely the thing to do. It´s like $30 a tooth so the price is totally right. I have to think about it though b-c they said its not reversable.
I do have some more pictures up but no captions, mostly just progress on work.
*Not hard to find depressing being that he definitely was, the theory is he committed suicide by putting knife in the wall and running into it. Gory huh!
**I will be raising some money in the coming months for my work on the internet cafe, so don´t be alarmed if you see something asking for support or possibly selling some coffee or something.
***I am a strong believer in the Chuck Klosterman theory that soccer was perfectly designed for kids who are terrible at all other sports, because all they have to do is run around on a field and there parents can tell them how good they did. 0-0 score. No big deal. Good job!
Last weekend I was tired of only going to the church and the house so I ventured out into the town and found the market and grocery store. I got some ritz, some ramen, and a hershey bar. No peanut butter. I also found a place that looked alright and had a hamburger. It was delicious and I didn´t get sick. They also have pizza, might try it next time. The market is big, all kinds of stuff and people, and alot like a value village on clothes. T'shirts from the new jersey health institute and such. Three is also a nice little park, and a really big catholic church in the city center. There are alot of funerals and the people all walk down the main street with the casket from the church to the cemetary. I think the smallest I have seen is about 300 people. Pretty eye catching. I want to take more pictures of people, but I don´t want to look like a tourist too much and get robbed, or make people mad, like for instance I saw a guy carrying about 6 times his body weight in corn the other day on his back. I didn´t necessarily want to be that guy and ask for a photo op. There are a few dental places downtown that do gold teeth and outlines, and stars and such. I want one REAL BAD, just one tooth. The mom and aunts all have them, and they said they are for show not for bad teeth...It´s definitely the thing to do. It´s like $30 a tooth so the price is totally right. I have to think about it though b-c they said its not reversable.
I do have some more pictures up but no captions, mostly just progress on work.
*Not hard to find depressing being that he definitely was, the theory is he committed suicide by putting knife in the wall and running into it. Gory huh!
**I will be raising some money in the coming months for my work on the internet cafe, so don´t be alarmed if you see something asking for support or possibly selling some coffee or something.
***I am a strong believer in the Chuck Klosterman theory that soccer was perfectly designed for kids who are terrible at all other sports, because all they have to do is run around on a field and there parents can tell them how good they did. 0-0 score. No big deal. Good job!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)