Buenos dias!
Wow! We are so sorry we have been so absent. The past 2 weeks have been utterly crazy! So here is the run down of our lives, complete with pictures!
Two weeks ago we took some Spanish classes. We got to practice a ton and it really helped. Ethan's Spanish is pretty good now and mine is getting better. We both still have a lot to learn, but I'm really impressed how much Ethan's has improved over the past year. Ethan is able to carry on conversations with people and I definitely depend on his help when communicating.
At the end of that week, we held our first dinner party! It was so much fun! We had several friends come over and bring a dish (classic pot luck style). It was a lot of fun! We had green bean casserole, shrimp tacos with pineapple salsa, re-fried beans, nachos, tamales, and apple cobbler.
On August 24, we had our first day at the office of the nonprofit we are working with. It is fantastic! We have 4 desks and an entire room that we can use. The people who work there are so nice and it's just a great time getting to see them. They are constantly looking out for us and are doing everything they can to help make sure we are taken care of and that we are safe. It's so nice getting to work with them. :)
We have also been able to get out to the field for the first time (we've been three times now). We've gotten to talk to so many people and have heard so many stories. Some of these stories are heartbreaking, and we can only hope that with what we are trying to do we will, in some way, be able to help. Ethan has been able to collect some good data, so our mission while we are here is underway. :)
We have also been busy going car shopping. We are looking into buying a car while we are down here, and have been investigating various options in order to find a good one that we like. We've gone to several different places and are waiting to hear back from a few. It will be really nice and so convenient. We will be able to drive to work (cuts travel time in half) and we won't constantly need to get taxis in order to go to the communities for our field work. It's definitely a luxury and we are excited to be able to get one.
There has also been so much going on as far as the government. As a brief summary, the UN created a group called CICIG. It's purpose was to help investigate the corruption in the Guatemalan government. What they found out ran really deep. There have been peaceful protests since calling for the resignation of the Vice President and President. Several months ago the (now former) Vice President resigned and is now in prison while she awaits for her trial. A week or so ago, the President made a public statement saying he was innocent and that he would not resign. The protests have been continuing and on the 27th, there was a huge protest calling for his resignation. We read somewhere that there were approximately 100,000 people protesting and there were road blocks all over the country. Then this past Tuesday, the Guatemalan Congress voted to strip the President of his immunity (so they could start the process of impeaching him), and then he resigned Wednesday night. On Thursday he sat in a very long hearing to go over the evidence against him and to determine if the he is to be sent to jail while he waits his trial. After that hearing, they put him in jail until trail starts. It seems like as a whole, the country is very happy. Tomorrow they are having the first round of Presidential elections and in the mean time a new president has been appointed for the interim. I am still learning as much as I can regarding everything that is going on, but I have included some really interesting articles for your reading pleasure. Whats really amazing, is that through the all of this, the country has remained totally peaceful. There hasn't been even one single violent action from protesters or others. The safety of others has never been in question. However, Ethan and I are still taking steps to ensure we stay safe by staying home during days with higher amounts of protests.
In other news, there is another new student, David, at Colorado School of Mines who is hoping to do some work down here in Guatemala similar to Ethan's. He arrived this past Tuesday and we have been getting to hang out and introduce him to the contacts Ethan has made thus far. He'll be here for about a month or so, so it'll be really nice to get to spend some time with him and help him find out what he is going to hopefully be doing his project on.
Two weeks ago we took some Spanish classes. We got to practice a ton and it really helped. Ethan's Spanish is pretty good now and mine is getting better. We both still have a lot to learn, but I'm really impressed how much Ethan's has improved over the past year. Ethan is able to carry on conversations with people and I definitely depend on his help when communicating.
At the end of that week, we held our first dinner party! It was so much fun! We had several friends come over and bring a dish (classic pot luck style). It was a lot of fun! We had green bean casserole, shrimp tacos with pineapple salsa, re-fried beans, nachos, tamales, and apple cobbler.
The group at our dinner party.
On August 24, we had our first day at the office of the nonprofit we are working with. It is fantastic! We have 4 desks and an entire room that we can use. The people who work there are so nice and it's just a great time getting to see them. They are constantly looking out for us and are doing everything they can to help make sure we are taken care of and that we are safe. It's so nice getting to work with them. :)
We have also been able to get out to the field for the first time (we've been three times now). We've gotten to talk to so many people and have heard so many stories. Some of these stories are heartbreaking, and we can only hope that with what we are trying to do we will, in some way, be able to help. Ethan has been able to collect some good data, so our mission while we are here is underway. :)
Ethan collecting data in the field.
Vicky and I are talking to a community member (Right) about her history with landslides.
In one of the communities, we stopped by a house to talk to a lady whose husband died from a landslide. We ended up talking with her for a long time and hung out with her grandson. He was utterly adorable! He sang the Guatemalan national anthem for us and drew "tattoos" on our arms with a pen. We asked him who was on his shirt and he said "Buzz Lightyear y mi amigo Woody (Buzz Lightyear and my friend Woody)." He pretty much melted my heart and was as cute as he could be. He showed us his Buzz Lightyear toy, and he went to the store to get some batteries in order to show us what Buzz does with batteries. He was so cute!
Ethan, I, a little boy, and his Buzz Lightyear in a community.
We have also been busy going car shopping. We are looking into buying a car while we are down here, and have been investigating various options in order to find a good one that we like. We've gone to several different places and are waiting to hear back from a few. It will be really nice and so convenient. We will be able to drive to work (cuts travel time in half) and we won't constantly need to get taxis in order to go to the communities for our field work. It's definitely a luxury and we are excited to be able to get one.
There has also been so much going on as far as the government. As a brief summary, the UN created a group called CICIG. It's purpose was to help investigate the corruption in the Guatemalan government. What they found out ran really deep. There have been peaceful protests since calling for the resignation of the Vice President and President. Several months ago the (now former) Vice President resigned and is now in prison while she awaits for her trial. A week or so ago, the President made a public statement saying he was innocent and that he would not resign. The protests have been continuing and on the 27th, there was a huge protest calling for his resignation. We read somewhere that there were approximately 100,000 people protesting and there were road blocks all over the country. Then this past Tuesday, the Guatemalan Congress voted to strip the President of his immunity (so they could start the process of impeaching him), and then he resigned Wednesday night. On Thursday he sat in a very long hearing to go over the evidence against him and to determine if the he is to be sent to jail while he waits his trial. After that hearing, they put him in jail until trail starts. It seems like as a whole, the country is very happy. Tomorrow they are having the first round of Presidential elections and in the mean time a new president has been appointed for the interim. I am still learning as much as I can regarding everything that is going on, but I have included some really interesting articles for your reading pleasure. Whats really amazing, is that through the all of this, the country has remained totally peaceful. There hasn't been even one single violent action from protesters or others. The safety of others has never been in question. However, Ethan and I are still taking steps to ensure we stay safe by staying home during days with higher amounts of protests.
- http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-32882520?ocid=wsnews.chat-apps.in-app-msg.whatsapp.trial.link1_.auin
- http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/27/guatemala-president-impeachment-threat-protest
- http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/01/americas/guatemala-president-immunity-stripped/index.html
- http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/09/03/437158681/guatemalan-president-otto-p-rez-molina-resigns-amid-corruption-scandal
In other news, there is another new student, David, at Colorado School of Mines who is hoping to do some work down here in Guatemala similar to Ethan's. He arrived this past Tuesday and we have been getting to hang out and introduce him to the contacts Ethan has made thus far. He'll be here for about a month or so, so it'll be really nice to get to spend some time with him and help him find out what he is going to hopefully be doing his project on.
David and Ethan geeking out over some maps.
I also got to try my hand at making home made tortillas! It was so hard and completely awesome! You just take some dough and claps your hands together, and then BAM! you have a tortilla. Easy enough right? NO! It's really hard! It was a lot of fun though. I really want to learn while we are here! So, step one!
Can you guess which tortilla was mine?
Ethan, David, Vicky, and I also went to a park to see part of the Berlin wall a few days ago. We were waiting for a meeting and had some time to kill, so we decided to stop by. It was a cute little park that had a great view as well!
Ethan, Vicky, and I at the Berlin Plaza
Ethan, David, and I at the Berlin Plaza
The wall pieces at the plaza.
So, fun facts about Guatemala time! Guatemala LOVES their fried chicken. There is a restaurant called Pollo Campero, and from what we've been told, it's THE restaurant in Guatemala. Pollo Campero, in my opinion is similar to KFC but it has servers and is a little more than just a fast food restaurant, but people are serious about it. People will wait for 30 minutes just to get into the parking lot, and once they get into the restaurant they wait for an additional 30 minutes just to get seated. It's really funny.
Ethan and I at Pollo Campero
They also put everything into bags (going back to the eggs in a bag). We ordered lunch complete with a drink. When the food arrived, this was our drink. Placed very nicely into a bag.
Ethan with his juice bag.
We recently went to a friend's parents house for lunch. They said we were having enchiladas. When we get there, this (see picture) is what we were having. They were absolutely delicious! It was really interesting that they were so different from the enchilladas that I have been accustomed to. It was a hard corn tortilla shell, a mixture of beet and cabbage, ground beef with red sauce, lettuce, egg, and cheese.
Guatemalan enchilada.
We hope all is well! Until next time!
Saludos! Love you all!
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