The Christmas celebrating here started in the afternoon on the 24th. I began with the ninth consecutive Posada (See video in other posting of a Posada), which is a re-enactment of Jesus and Mary searching for a place to stay. This night for the Posada, instead of processing from one house to another house where celebrations would occur and Joseph and Mary would stay for the night, we went to the Church where after the Posada, midnight mass was celebrated (for the first time, midnight mass was celebrated at 9pm – I was thankful for Padre Victor´s mandate). The service, since there was no priest, was held outside. People brought their candles for light along with hoards of loud fireworks (there only purpose was to make noise), firecrackers, sparklers, and fountain fireworks. Firecrackers or things that explode loudly are used for any festive occasion here – birthdays, independence day, whatever. Sparklers, fountains, and
candles were extra things to celebrate Jesus being born, the light of the world. All these things were used throughout the service with kids constantly running around jumping through fountains of ¨fire¨ or carrying sparklers or gazing where the loud bang occurred. For me it probably was the most distracting service or mass I have been too. I mean, how am I supposed to put my attention level to super (something necessary for me right now while listening in Spanish if I want to understand) with so many giggling kids and pretty lights while a homily is going on? After seeing the kids during the service, I also understood while there was a national campaign to keep kids safe from burns during the holiday season.
So as I said, I did not get much from the homily itself, but a significant thing for me was something that was done when the service ended. Everyone blew out their candles and ceased the fireworks and everything else so that there was complete silence and darkness. Then after a bit, lights were turned on and everything relit as the baby Jesus was brought out to accompanyJoseph and Mary. After a veneration of the baby Jesus, and placing the Holy Family in the Nativity, the celebration ended and moved to the homes where the traditional meal is tamales and hot fruit punch.
The family with whom I am staying killed a turkey for the Christmas Eve dinner, which occurred at 1:00 AM on the 25th. They also used part of a pig for lunch on the 24th. Unfortunately for me, I paid my respects by eating everything, almost all which was foreign to my stomach whether because I had never tried it before or because my stomach was now used to the bean and tortillas diet.. Well I paid dearly the next day and I suspect the culprit was the 8 pieces of chicarón, which are deep-fried chunks of pig fat, however I am sure that the factory cookies, turkey, and loads of hot fruit punch did not help.
My plan for the 25th, Christmas Day, was to go to San Carlos to spend it with Padre Victor and other guests. I still went feeling bad, but I think I visited more with the toilet and my hearty piece of bread, rehydration drinks, and guisquiles (their like thorny potatoes that grow on a vine) were not exactly was I was expecting to eat when thinking about the meal the days before. I was actually really thankful. The people at the Church took care of me very well. Not that I was that bad off, but it was reassuring to have them help me. Plus the Church had a toilet, hot shower, a couch, and even a TV which added that touch of relaxation needed when you not feeling good. By the next morning, I was feeling better, but would not start eating normally til the weekend. I know it will be easy to remember next time not to eat pig in my town again.
Until I talked with family and realized people were together at Gee Gee's or Uncle Ben's or Aunt Deb's or that Charlie and Katie were taking the younger cousins to the movies on Christmas Day, December 25th did not seem like Christmas. The religious aspect was there, but where was my Christmas Eve mass at St. Pete's? Where were all the family gatherings we have? Where was the cold and the snow and the Christmas songs which I could not find on the radio and missed so much? Most importantly, where was my family? For me, I guess I don't know if Christmas happened. It´s not necessarily something sad or happy, but its as though Christmas was left out of the calendar for 2007 and that I need to wait longer.
Something which did not exactly put me in the Christmas spirit during this time was a surprise I had. It was something for which I was praying I would avoid but still thinking at the same time when it would come. The surprise came after felling something crawling on my in my bed while sleeping and then examining my bed after now being able to sleep from crawling and bites. The bites, though, did not hurt, which made me think it was something like a bed bug of some sort. When I took off my sheets, however, I found hoping tiny monsters – AKA fleas. I spent the day washing everything from my clothes to my bedding, going to San Carlos to buy a bug killer and to wrap my wimpy mattress in plastic, and spraying and thoroughly cleaning my room. Upon cleaning my room, I realized 2 things. There is a lot of dirt and dust that is coming from outside into the room through the space between the wall and ceiling. I also realized other bugs were entering in my room too when to my surprise after and hour after spraying the all purpose killing agent, I found a dying scorpion under my bed. Although I don't really like using this poison, it just might be a preventative spray if I see another scorpion.
Finally, to update you all to where I am today, I´ll let you know how New Years went too.
So after a relaxing weekend where I went off my all-vegetable diet (due to me being sick earlier in the week) to the normal food I was used to eating, I was convinced to go to Lake Atitlan to a tourist town in Sololá for New Years. There nearly all the new volunteers would be meeting to bring in the new year. I hit the road on the 31st bright and early at 5:30 and made it to Panajachel by 2:00pm. I think I am getting used to long, crammed camioneta rides as I was not that beat afterward. The town was quite warm, warmer than my site which felt really good, and was filled with North Americans and Guatemalans alike.
The evening of the 31st we had a nice dinner, danced and celebrated and then for midnight some of us went to the lake to watch people shooting of fireworks. I thought this was a much more peaceful option to where we had been where people were lighting off what seemed to be sticks of dynamite. Their explosion was so loud my ears were still hurting the next day. I would call the thing a US quality firework explosion (like what you hear when the big fireworks are exploding in, for instance, Grand Rapids) except that it did not leave the ground leaving those around the ¨bomb¨ deafened.
New Years Day was filled with relaxment including wearing shorts, eating lots of peanut butter sandwiches and oranges (a family from my town gave me 40 to bring on my trip to Sololá), walking the beach and walking through the city and all the vendors, and finally going swimming in the lake. Unfortunately I did not take my camera, but there is a picture of the lake in a previous blog.
Here was the little altar the family made in their house for Christmas
Here is the unlucky turkey with his feathers in the plastic container. To our defense, he was mean to people who tried to enter into the coop.
Here was one of my new friends I found in my room. I found this guy after treating my room for the fleas I had in my bed and then after sweeping the floor. In this stage, the scorpion is pretty close to dead
Here is a picture of the posada for those of you who can view the video.
Here is the Nativity in the Church. No pine trees were used, but they did use a bunch of green plants and flowers as you might be able to see in the picture. This picture is still from before Christmas so Mary and Joseph and Jesus are not in the Nativity
Here is a picture of the church in my aldea
And here is a picture of the Church from the outside
This is one of the tiny school building that is in the aldea. Also in it is the main playing court of the aldea where soccer is played. Soon there will be a basketball rim set up. You can see it resting in the right of the picture. I cant wait as I am the equivalent of an actual good basketball player down here when compared to everyone else. I guess my height might have something to do with it.
Here are future tortillas . It is corn dried on the stalk and thrown on the ground in front of the hosue. It only needs to be dehusked and then the kernels needed to be removed from the cob. From there you cook the kernels in water for a day. Then you grind it all with calcium to get your dough to form your tortillas. In the back right, you can see the black plastic wall which represent 1 of the 2 walls I use when bathing next to the pila. Although you can see the actual pila I use, another pila , which is blue, is in the photo on the left.
More future tortillas
Constructing a house -- Instead of using adobe like most of the house, these people are constructing their house with concrete brick. I got to help with some of the work.
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