San Salvador, El Salvador. That is where this blog entry comes to you from. Today is Saturday and this is how I got here......I left Maya Pedal yesterday and stayed the night in Antigua and left early this morning to begin the 2 day voyage through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and to my final destination of Managua, Nicaragua. My brother comes into Nicaragua to meet me on Tuesday so the time came that I had to leave Maya Pedal and close one chapter of this journey and open a new one.
But before I take this blog journey out of Guatemala, let me tell you how I spent my last few days. First off, I went to visit Maximon. Who is Maximon? Well....I wish I really knew, and even around Itzapa if you ask 5 people, you will get 5 different answers...but here is a shot at who I think he is. He is a kind of Saint, a deity from Mayan times named Mam I think, who they then made into a Saint....and he has something to do with Saint Simon...as he is sometimes called San Simon. He also gas something to do with Judus Iscariot, but obviously Mam existed before those guys so he is a mixture I think. He is the kind of guy that has a good side and a bad side, and you definitely want to be on his good side. Anyway, the Catholic church does not recognize him, and he is quite controversial. His temple is in Itzapa and so I went there. At the temple there were lots of shamans doing rituals. They say that Maximon is a very human saint, so he likes the things humans like....alcohol, cigarettes, cigars...so that is what people bring him as offerings. The shamans were burning piles of candles, flowers, cigars, alcohol, sand, wood, all kinds of stuff and chanting over them. They were also smoking cigars. It was really quite a sight. I was mostly an observer, but I did do what everyone told me to do and bring him an offering. I took him some cigars and placed them at his feet as I made my wish. I wont tell what it was but it was a pretty good cigar so hopefully I came out on his good side.
On my way out of Itzapa, I was riding on a bus that was loaded down with people. There were 3 people to every seat and the aisles were full of people standing. It was pretty hot and I was getting a little grouchy when I heard the bus driver yell ¨ladies and gentleman please if you could do me a favor and duck down, we are passing the police, thank you¨, and everyone standing up in the aisles ducks down and squats. So apparently, it is illegal to have people standing on the busses, which is pretty much hilarious because almost every bus I have ever been on in Central America has had people standing in the aisles. So, anyway, I was surprised and looked at the woman sitting next to me and we both started laughing. And I wasnt grumpy anymore.
So, it was sad to leave Maya Pedal and I left feeling like I was so blessed to have found such a great place and get to hang out there for three weeks. My final reflections on my time spent there are that I had a rare and beautiful amount of time alone to read and think and look a walls and sunsets, and also that I was stretched and learned to do new things and I am proud of myself. I also leave feeling peacefully happy that there are cool, small, innovative local organizations out there doing incredible and cutting edge development work. For my last day, Johanna the secretary took me to the nearby city of Chimaltenango and we ate pizza...a real treat. We exchanged hugs and commitments to keep in touch and I hope I can keep up my end of the deal, I sure want to.
So today I spent 10 hours in transit, first 2 hours in a shuttle through Guatemala City and then 6 hours on a bus into El Salvador. Right now I am in the hotel and I have to say, I have only seen about a 3 block area of San Salvador, but it is the ritziest thing I have seen south of the Alamo. I got in at dark and didnt want to venture too far but I did make it to the nearby Sheraton Hotel to use the ATM and ate dinner at the Pizza Hut down the road...pretty snazzy, but just like in the US, despite being so famous, Pizza Hut actually sucks.
So today has been the day of surprisingly good songs being played on the radio. So far I have heard ¨Ïll be missing you¨ by Puff Daddy, ¨Can I hold You For A While¨ by Tracy Chapman, and ¨What I Got¨ by Sublime¨. Cool eh?
Ok so this is it I guess...next time I write I will be in Managua...yay! Managua feels somewhat like a second home to me, if feels great to be going back. Hasta Luego!
Bree
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
I´m too tired from writing this blog and downloading pictures to think of a title.
So here is a new blog! And once again, I am beginning a blog by apologizing that it has been so long since I have written. It´s not necessarily that I haven’t felt like writing a blog, but I have been passing most days pretty similarly to the days before, so no new ground-breaking news. I have been volunteering at Maya Pedal for about 2 weeks now. Right now (Sunday) I am in Antigua Guatemala, a nearby touristy colonial city where I came to pass the weekend reading in coffee shops, looking at people and pricey souvenirs, sitting in the church, watching bad Ben Afleck movies, and internetting. Im back to work tomorrow morning.
I must say I am so glad I came here to Maya Pedal and it has surely been one of the highlights of any travel I have done so far. Each day I wake up early and start working on bikes. Once I was here for a few days and got enough skills under my belt to work somewhat independently I have really loved working on bikes. Maya Pedal gets old busted bike donations from the US and Canada, and most of the sales here are of refurbished bicycles for transportation. We also do some repairs for people that stop by with their bikes. So that kind of stuff is what I do. Maya Pedal also makes machines but I don’t do much of that….although I have gotten to try my hand at cutting metal with a big electric saw, and welding a bit too. I mostly leave the machines to Carlos, the technician because that is intense stuff. It is really cool to see someone who is so good at what they do, and to see what a little human ingenuity can do toward making such cool machines. So far I have seen bike powered blenders, corn dehuskers, corn grinders (for tortillas), peanut de-shellers, water pumps (up to 100 meters depth!), clothes washers, yay! If you´ll permit me for a moment…I´ll go on a soapbox about why pedal power rules!
1) First, pedal power is very cost efficient, the input is just human power which costs nothing, the machines are extremely durable with little to no repair costs 2) Pedal power is energy efficient. Now this goes a long way…I mean you aren’t bringing in energy from an outside substance to run these machines and there is no pollutants given off from the machines´ work. 3) With pedal power there is a more direct human connection to the product. You know the process it goes through, you know how it arrived in its´ final state…..as opposed to electric washing machines for example, where although you may use it everyday for your whole life, you never really know what goes on in that mysterious machine after you push the button. 4) Pedal power machines are available to people with limited access to electricity, and of course to those as well who have access to electricity, but find it advantageous to limit their usage. So that is a little bit about why I thik bike powered machines are awesome. Yay.
Last week a mother came into the shop while was the only one there and inquired about a bike for her 10 year old daughter. I showed her the collection of old bikes and explained we could fix any of them up for her daughter. She went away excited as we have a lot of descent bikes for little girls. I was alsp excited about the chance to fix up a bike for a little girl…something I have wanted to do since I got here. You see, here in Guatemala the majority of the population are indigenous people and they have beautiful traditional dress. The womens´ dress includes a long tightly wrapped ankle-length skirt. And this skirt my friends, is a very practical and good reason why women don’t ride bikes here. Also, it is kind of customary that only men ride bikes so even among women who are not indigenous, you don´t see many riding bikes. So anyway, I was excited when this lady came in and so I hope she returns and I can rebuild her a bike!
So the other 2 volunters that were here at Maya Pedal, George and Ola (married) left last week. Now it is just me in the the shop which is cool, I am just learning the art of being content while being alone. I read, I walk around, I cook, I set little tasks for myself. Today for instance is Sunday so I have a whole day of free time. This morning when I woke up I thought of all the things I was going to do; eat breakfast, walk around, sit in the church, have a hot chocolate, write in my journal, write a blog, have a coffee, eat lunch, read my book, read an interesting national geographic article I found in the hostel, eat dinner, go to bed exhausted after such a long day. So the speed is a little different here…and Im enjoying it. I am also entering into full planning mode as my brother Zak meets me in Managua in 11 days. We are going to hike volcanoes, swim in lakes, tour coffee farms, hike mountains, look at revolutionary sights, drink hot corn drinks, eat animals in their full forms, talk with Gloria, canoe, play cards by candlelight…..Im so excited I cant think about it too much or I´ll pee on myself. New topic.
Books read so far: Autobiography of Malcolm X, Autobiography of Rigoberta Menchu, and currently: The Invisible Man
Among all this excitement and good times, I did cry yesterday. I was sitting quietly looking at a beautiful lake when a lady walked by selling beautiful tapestries and I made the mistake of asking how much one was, although I had no intention of buying it. She replied that it was 250 quetzales…..about $35. I said they were beautiful but no thank you….and then this lady stayed there for at least 10 minutes, trying to sell this tapestry to me….it went a little something like this......
´´250 quetzalsis too much? Well Ill give you a better price…230, take it for 230. For you I will give a good price, 230 too much? Alright 220. Hand made you see, by me, it is my work, see the little birds, the volcano, for you 215…a good price. Come on lady, I haven’t sold anything all day….all day and nothing.´´
This went on until she was down to 70 quetzals, almost a third of her original price. It was a fair price for the tapestry, but just didn’t want the damn thing and I am on a budget and cant be buying tapestries all the time. So finally she gave up and walked away and I bursted out crying. I guess I just needed the release. We were both frustrated.
I must say I am so glad I came here to Maya Pedal and it has surely been one of the highlights of any travel I have done so far. Each day I wake up early and start working on bikes. Once I was here for a few days and got enough skills under my belt to work somewhat independently I have really loved working on bikes. Maya Pedal gets old busted bike donations from the US and Canada, and most of the sales here are of refurbished bicycles for transportation. We also do some repairs for people that stop by with their bikes. So that kind of stuff is what I do. Maya Pedal also makes machines but I don’t do much of that….although I have gotten to try my hand at cutting metal with a big electric saw, and welding a bit too. I mostly leave the machines to Carlos, the technician because that is intense stuff. It is really cool to see someone who is so good at what they do, and to see what a little human ingenuity can do toward making such cool machines. So far I have seen bike powered blenders, corn dehuskers, corn grinders (for tortillas), peanut de-shellers, water pumps (up to 100 meters depth!), clothes washers, yay! If you´ll permit me for a moment…I´ll go on a soapbox about why pedal power rules!
1) First, pedal power is very cost efficient, the input is just human power which costs nothing, the machines are extremely durable with little to no repair costs 2) Pedal power is energy efficient. Now this goes a long way…I mean you aren’t bringing in energy from an outside substance to run these machines and there is no pollutants given off from the machines´ work. 3) With pedal power there is a more direct human connection to the product. You know the process it goes through, you know how it arrived in its´ final state…..as opposed to electric washing machines for example, where although you may use it everyday for your whole life, you never really know what goes on in that mysterious machine after you push the button. 4) Pedal power machines are available to people with limited access to electricity, and of course to those as well who have access to electricity, but find it advantageous to limit their usage. So that is a little bit about why I thik bike powered machines are awesome. Yay.
Last week a mother came into the shop while was the only one there and inquired about a bike for her 10 year old daughter. I showed her the collection of old bikes and explained we could fix any of them up for her daughter. She went away excited as we have a lot of descent bikes for little girls. I was alsp excited about the chance to fix up a bike for a little girl…something I have wanted to do since I got here. You see, here in Guatemala the majority of the population are indigenous people and they have beautiful traditional dress. The womens´ dress includes a long tightly wrapped ankle-length skirt. And this skirt my friends, is a very practical and good reason why women don’t ride bikes here. Also, it is kind of customary that only men ride bikes so even among women who are not indigenous, you don´t see many riding bikes. So anyway, I was excited when this lady came in and so I hope she returns and I can rebuild her a bike!
So the other 2 volunters that were here at Maya Pedal, George and Ola (married) left last week. Now it is just me in the the shop which is cool, I am just learning the art of being content while being alone. I read, I walk around, I cook, I set little tasks for myself. Today for instance is Sunday so I have a whole day of free time. This morning when I woke up I thought of all the things I was going to do; eat breakfast, walk around, sit in the church, have a hot chocolate, write in my journal, write a blog, have a coffee, eat lunch, read my book, read an interesting national geographic article I found in the hostel, eat dinner, go to bed exhausted after such a long day. So the speed is a little different here…and Im enjoying it. I am also entering into full planning mode as my brother Zak meets me in Managua in 11 days. We are going to hike volcanoes, swim in lakes, tour coffee farms, hike mountains, look at revolutionary sights, drink hot corn drinks, eat animals in their full forms, talk with Gloria, canoe, play cards by candlelight…..Im so excited I cant think about it too much or I´ll pee on myself. New topic.
Books read so far: Autobiography of Malcolm X, Autobiography of Rigoberta Menchu, and currently: The Invisible Man
Among all this excitement and good times, I did cry yesterday. I was sitting quietly looking at a beautiful lake when a lady walked by selling beautiful tapestries and I made the mistake of asking how much one was, although I had no intention of buying it. She replied that it was 250 quetzales…..about $35. I said they were beautiful but no thank you….and then this lady stayed there for at least 10 minutes, trying to sell this tapestry to me….it went a little something like this......
´´250 quetzalsis too much? Well Ill give you a better price…230, take it for 230. For you I will give a good price, 230 too much? Alright 220. Hand made you see, by me, it is my work, see the little birds, the volcano, for you 215…a good price. Come on lady, I haven’t sold anything all day….all day and nothing.´´
This went on until she was down to 70 quetzals, almost a third of her original price. It was a fair price for the tapestry, but just didn’t want the damn thing and I am on a budget and cant be buying tapestries all the time. So finally she gave up and walked away and I bursted out crying. I guess I just needed the release. We were both frustrated.
So I think this is it for now....all the blogging and picture downloading my little mind can take. Ill be checking email regularly (hint hint) so drop me a note. BYE!
Bree
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