Fin del Entrenamiento y Juramento

Here is a picture of the posadas that took place in San Bartolomé. Look at a previous entry to remember everything if you have questions. In the picture, we(as in the public) are in a house and the statues of Joseph and Mary , which are in the back left of the picture, have already been carried in by procession.

So I’ll try to start where I left off, which was right after Dia de Todos Los Santos. That following week, I got to visit where I am right now, my current community in which I’ll be working for my 2 years of service. I’ll describe it a little bit, but with time and future entries, a lot more information will come out. The community is a small one, in the department of Jalapa. There are only about 500 families living in it and there’s a school, a Catholic Church without regular masses, and a building for people to come to when the nurse is in the town. For now, I’ll be living with a family with my own room without a door and at the moment without a dresser and a bed in which I fit. There’s no toilet, but only a raised cement structure to sit on with a hole. There also is really a good place to bathe. I just take a bath next to 2 walls of black plastic along side the outside sink, which is the only source of water that the house has. The land here reminds me of Colorado because there are mountains and pines and it is rocky and dry, which proves to be a challenge in growing gardens. The climate here is pretty comfortable and warmer than where I was living before. I would say it gets up to the 70´s just about every day and stays in the 50´s at night. December, January, and February are supposed to be the coolest days, so it looks like the weather only gets better from here. Also, there are lots of tropical fruit plants, including bananas and all the related fruit to bananas, papayas, oranges, lemons, limes, and whole bunch more of different fruits I have never even seen or eaten in the US. There is electricity in the house and there is water coming from pipes, although it still needs to be boiled before using it. They tell me that water does not dry up here, so that also is a good news as this is something that happens in some parts during the dry season.

The meals are very healthy and nutritious, so there is not too much worry about my health. I am going to have to get adjusted though to type of food I am eating. The community basically eats only what they raise. Some of the few things that they buy include salt, sugar, some other seasonings, and maybe some oatmeal. I eat whatever is put in front of me, with the exception of coffee. Meals generally include beans and tortillas with vegetable and the fruit that is in season. Dinner also might include an egg. I have also been served a vegetable soup and a spaghetti type meal too. Since I have been there, I was only served chicken a small portion of chicken twice, once for the first night that I arrived. I have yet to see them buy chicken or beef or another meat. I would imagine, though, that when a special occasion comes, they slaughter their animal that they have or buy the meat. I never leave the table hungry, but I am sure you can imagine why I don’t turn down food.

From what I have been told, the first 3 months at your new community after swearing-in are the hardest. Through this time, I am going to try to hang tough and try to get accustomed as best I can to my new environment.

Before I permanently moved to this community, I had to return back to San Bartolomé to finish up training. We took our Spanish exams (I don’t know my results but I know I passed without a problem), finished up homework, and made our visit to the Peace Corps HQ in the capital where we go to hear from the different government agencies working in Guatemala through the Embassy.

Friday, November 16 was swear-in day. We went to the ambassador’s house in the capital. The house was beautiful and the backyard was huge. The house looked like a huge US house and the yard actually had grass and landscaped grounds. There was even a heated pool, sauna, and tennis court way in back. The best part thought was that I did not even feel like I was in the middle of the city. I couldn’t here the constant roar of diesel buses or the honking nor was I overcome by the horrible pollution that often takes your breathe away, literally.

The ceremony itself was fast and included the ambassador and others giving some speeches, us volunteers taking an oath virtually the same as someone working for the government, and us volunteers receiving our certificates with a professional picture with the ambassador.

To me, it was hard to believe I had just completed training, my first 12-weeks in Guatemala. From now the days count down from 2 years, I start receiving my real living allowance, and start accruing my vacation days and 2 days a month. (I actually get all Guatemalan holidays along with Thanksgiving and 4^th of July for US holidays too but can only use them while in Guatemala).

After the ceremony, the San Bartolomé group treated the host families out to lunch, we all packed, and headed for Antigua for a evening of celebration and a joint dinner.

Here is a picture of all the people I was living with while in San Bartoloé plus Abi and Lauren.

Here is a picture of the swearing-in ceremony. In the picture from the left is the US Ambassador in Guatemala, the director for Peace Corps in Guatemala, and the director of my training for Peace Corps
Here is a picture of all the people in my program (Sustainable Agriculture) while celebrating in the backyard of the ambassador´s house after just having been sworn in as official volunteers. Also in the picture are my 2 bosses, more or less for the program I am doing