I think the word "whirlwind" would be the best way to describe this last month and a half. The time has been exhausting but rewarding. I will try and sum up the highlights for you, but for the most part I am going to let those which are said to be worth 1,000 words do most of the talking.
First off, I want to tell you all that this universe we live in is a strange and wonderful place; it works in some mysterious ways. This story, I believe, illustrates this wonder any mystery quite well.
First a bit of background information. Without getting in to too much detail regarding the complicated history of this story, we'll just say that I went to school with this guy (we will call him Mr. Z), we were good friends, we had a falling out, and up until I got to Guatemala we hadn't talked for many years. Mr. Z and I had exchanged emails shortly after I arrived here, it was more or less decided that life was too short for grudges, and we found ourselves on amicable terms. There was no further contact up until about a two months ago.
Another important piece of relevant background information regards one of my training activities about 8 months ago. We went up to the community of Granados to lend a hand in the first day of construction of a new school. This was not just any school however, this school was to be made almost entirely of recycled plastic bottles filled with inorganic garbage. I think I have already described this project in previous posts, but for those who are unfamiliar: the basic idea is to tackle 3 major necessities with one project. 1 - Trash management. A huge problem down here, as there is no system in most small towns for disposing of garbage. 2 - Infrastructure. School buildings are expensive and most are overcrowded and deteriorating. 3 - Environmental education. The idea of recycling can be a very foreign one, and it is important to educate the youth so that they can carry these concepts into the future. With this in mind the essence of a "bottle school" is to educate the students about recycling. From there you have them collect thousands of plastic bottles and inorganic trash; by picking up the streets of the community and convincing the rest of the town to help them recycle. You then stuff the bottles with trash and use them to build the walls of your school. They are then covered with cement and you are left with a school building that looks like any other, but is in fact the very special result of a lot of education and hard work... not to mention much cheaper.
So, the point is that I helped put the first bottles in place eight months ago. Two months ago I ran into the volunteer that had been living in Granados at the time and who'd started the project. "How did your bottle school turn out?" I asked her. She told me how the mayor had cut funding on the project and it had been sitting stagnant for many months. Hopes of ever finishing it were low. "Gee, how sad after all that work" I thought, "I wish there was something I could do to help."
Enter Mr. Z. The very next night I receive a phone call from this old acquaintance, unaware that he even had my number. "I am working with a non-profit organization" he tells me, "and what we want to do is help remodel a school in Guatemala. We have funds to give and labor, but we can not get a hold of the school we'd previously identified. Could you help us get a hold of them? Or do you have any other ideas???" I told him I'd see what I could do, and sat there for the rest of the night reflecting on whether this was real or not.
The next day, after talking to the girl who started the project, I wrote Mr. Z an email explaining the situation. It was one of those rare situations that can only be called a win-win-win. His organization would win, because what they really wanted was a good story with good video footage so they could raise awareness for their cause; the community would win, because without a new source of funding the project would sit stagnant indefinitely; and above all, the kids would win!
The rest, as the say, is history. With all the magic of an eclipse, the earth, moon and sun aligned, and within six weeks the crew from "Hug It Forward" was here. Twelve days later we were attending the inauguration of the new school building. Anyone who has attempted a construction project in a 3rd world community will tell you what a feat that is.
This story, for me, has confirmed a lesson I have spent my whole life learning. Life is too short to hold grudges, in fact it is too short to waste more than five deep breaths on anything negative. There is far too much beauty, kindness and love all around us to preoccupy ourselves with the ugly, cruel and hateful. So, let your mind be free and open, focus on the positive and look for the good in people, and put yourself out there so that you are in a position to seize these opportunities when they come flying by. The wonders of this universe will do the rest. Cheers my friends, life is good.
This photo was taken during the inauguration ceremony of the school. This Tiny Dancer honored us with a solo dance, with a little audience involvement (see video below).
This is also from the inauguration. The school children performed a complicated dance in traditional Guatemalan garments. The smoke you see flying through the air is a result of the roman candles attached to the staffs they danced with. This would NEVER be permitted in the States.
These are typical Guatemalan kites, made out of tissue paper. I flew one on All Saints Day. More to come on this.
I spent a few days with my old host family. We celebrated Doña Brenda's 40th birthday in a big way!
Here is everyone after the big birthday dinner. I brought my friends Oliver and Rebecca along to meet this incredibly loving family.
Florecita decided that I would look really good with hair ties in my hair. As you can see she was right.
Flying kites in the cemetery in Santiago on All Saints Day.
Dave and I flying our own kite. It ended up getting tangled up with someone else's and falling out of the sky. Where we then watched a little kid cut the rope and run away with it. We were stuck on top of a 10 ft tall mausoleum so all we could do was laugh.
All Saints Day, November 1st, is an important holiday here. It is a time to honor your past friends and family. In Santiago they do this by holding an amazing kite festival. The main attraction are these large kites you see above. They are made with a bamboo frame and an absurd amount of tissue paper. Each one takes about 3 months to complete. They are about, at my best guestimation, 45 ft in diameter. Supposedly on really windy days in the past they have actually been able to fly them. I am skeptical, but they are nevertheless an amazing site to see.
Here is a close up view of one of the kites. You can see the intricate detail well. Each one has a theme and a special message. This one is about how the kids are our future.
Here is a view of the whole cemetery.
This kite is about 12 ft in diameter. Pretty impressive to see it flown. It takes many tries though, and they often crash into crowd. This adds a little bit of danger and excitement to the day, because you never know when a giant kite might land on your head.
Here is a shot of the front of the bottle school. We left a window open so you can see how it was actually constructed.
Every day after work on the school I played futbol (soccer) with the kids. I dominated, but that isn't the point. The point is how inspiring it was to see these kids showing up every day and volunteering their time (their school year is over). They were helping sift sand, mix cement, clean, paint, you name it.
Group shot after the inauguration ceremony. Look how beautiful the school turned out. Made out of trash... who knew?
At the inauguration we were presented with honorary diplomas. This is my buddy Carlos reading mine.
More shots of the wild dances.
Ditto.
Another traditional dance. They looked like Disney Princesses.
Bacilio's family mentioned to me that they had never eaten pancakes before. This was unacceptable to me, so we had a huge breakfast for dinner party the next night. These are my three little helpers and our big stack of hotcakes.
My buddy Johnny working out in my homemade gym while I flip pancakes.
Vilda stirring the batter.
Peace Corps Halloween party. Wonder Woman, Batman, Catwoman and Robin. The "jizz" sign is being held by a guy dressed in all black who followed Batman and Robin around all night holding up various action signs as they pretended to hit people. (this is hilariously creative if you've seen the old television show)
Halloween party group shot.
I was a "new-age" Guatemalan Narco-trafficker. The theme was super heroes and villains... my friend Rebecca chose my costume. The Guatemalan drug trafficker is the ultimate villain in country today. I am being forced into marriage by the point of my own plastic gun in this photo.
Rebecca and I in costume. She is more or less a prop of my costume. My "mujer". The black eye was not my fault.... she was asking for it.
Ditto. If you could zoom in on the belt buckle you would notice that it has a spur on it that spins like the rims of any good rappers SUV.
Getting the last of the bottles in place.
The cement is applied in 3 laters. Here you see examples of both the first and second layer.
Collecting the last bit of trash to fill the last 10o bottles. We had to travel outside of town to find it, because Granados was SO CLEAN!
The famous Siggy digging in the trash can of a local gas station as she pitched in to help build the school.
I organized a training day for the woman of Chilasco. The third part of the day was a cooking class. They were taught some delicious new broccoli recipes. This is the kitchen we used.
Panchita giving her cooking class. She's a natural, reminds me of Emeril.
Group shot before we ate the new recipes.
The first part of the training day was given by Siggy. She taught product elaboration for artisans and helped to explain how the marketplace works on a national and international level. Sherry then gave a presentation on Appreciative Inquiry that uplifted and inspired us all.
Sometimes the power goes out, but we don't let this stop us. We hold our weekly ADESOCHI meetings by candlelight.
Making Celso laugh.
I have another article coming out in a Guatemalan magazine soon about how women in rural areas make the difference, and it features my artisans. This is a picture for the article.
Me with one of my artisan families.
This is what the typical house looks like in my community.
This is what the streets of Chilasco look like.
I have joined the local soccer league. That is a whole other story. I did score a goal in my first game! which cause a big sensation in town. Notice though how the field drops off down a cliff behind the goal. What do you think happens to the ball every time they miss the net??
Video clip of the traditional dance.
Tiny Dancer getting one of the guys from "Hug it Forward" involved in the action.
