Volunteer Visit in Alta

This past week, me and three trainees went to the beautiful district of Alta Verapaz to visit a youth development volunteer at her site.

The trip couldn't have come at a better time since I was having a bit of tension with my family: I got home "very late" on Monday (as in 6:30 p.m.) to find them all panicking and upset because they were worried (...even though I always get home that late on Mondays b/c we go to the training center). Oh well. Regardless, very early the next morning I made the several hour journey with my two companeros on a pullman (a non-camioneta, greyhound-quality bus- luxury!) up to the city of Coban in Alta Verapaz where we met up with the volunteer we'd be spending the week with.

She is very nice, very laid-back, and very good at what she does, and we felt lucky to shadow her for the week. We got lunch at a Chinese restuarant (AMAZING), and that was only the beginning of a week of incredible food... at least to us, after 2 months of Guatemalan food (which isn't bad, but rather bland to American tastes... not spicey and flavorful like you'd expect).

After that, we took a short bus ride out to her town near Coban. It is a beautiful place, a larger town, and by far the loveliest I have seen yet in Guatemala. It is in a warmer climate, surrounded by hills blanketed in tropical forests. There was a lake nearby, and a natural park on an island called the "Petencito" (little Peten). Part of the town was on a large hill, at the very top of which was a beautiful old church and a little park, from which there were astonshing views of the valley and town below and the surrounding mountains.

The schedule for the week was much more relaxed than training, where every minute is scheduled, except for the evenings where you can't leave your house. In contrast, this week we slept in every day, started off with cups of good (not-instant coffee), did some prepping, and went to schools for only a couple of hours in the afternoon. Then we had the evening free to cook up some delicious food as we listened to good music, and then sit around having drinks and talking. I got to meet other volunteers with the Peace Corps and a couple of other foreigners volunteering in Guatemala through other agencies. On Friday night, we took a public van back into Coban where we met up with other volunteers in the area for delicious Cuban food, and afterwards some dancing.

The classes we saw were also very impressive. One day, school had been canceled, but the volunteer had asked her students to come for her class regardless and had asked one of the teachers several times to come unlock the door to the classroom. Well, the students showed up, but the teacher never did. Me and the other trainees led a couple of dinamicas (games) on the outdoor field, and then it began to rain. The volunteer ended up giving her lesson under the awning in front of the classroom in the pouring rain. It was a very inspirational lesson on gender, where the students had to discuss the differences between what opportunities they have within the culture because of their gender. The schools are notorious for being inconsistent, and school is cancelled about half the time for the smallest of reasons. We'll have to show her same kind of creativity and flexibility.

We also got to help out in Peace Corps' incredible HIV/AIDS taller (workshop) one of the days with the students. A volunteer came from her site on the other side of the country to help facilitate the taller, and me and the other trainees got to lead parts of it. It is several hours long and involves a lot of games and interactions. I've learned about it in training, but experiencing it with the students was an amazing experience.

More than anything, this week was an enormous relief to me. As trainees, we have to spend every evening at home with a family, we're not allowed to leave apart from day trips, we follow a very tight rigid schedule, meals are given to us, and we basically have no control over our lives. In contrast, the life of a volunteer involves a lot more independence-- with what you eat, your schedule, your work, your free time. I will be able to be much more myself, and I can't wait. July 18 can't come quickly enough.