Pablo Neruda in Ciduad Quetzal

Hola! It's Joe's mom, here in Guatemala to visit Joe - and to update his blog. I've been here before, three years ago, and I am so happy to be able to visit again.

It is beautiful. Very green, magnificently mountainous - from the sky it looks like a bunched-up crazy-quilt of color and odd shapes. Up close, the beauty is still apparent in the landscape, but you also see the poverty and the effects of poverty; the deep ravines are littered with plastic bags and other modern trash, the water quality is some of the worst in the hemisphere, the tree trunks are blackened from car exhaust. What a mix.

The new parish house in Ciudad Quetzal is so comfortable. After a good night's sleep and a warm shower (three years ago we didn't have running water), we headed out to the Institute. It's about a 3/4 uphill trek from the house on a rutted clay road full of people and buses. As you approach the Institute, the traffic noise gives way to children noise. Joe and Laurence (a college friend working on a grant to study religion here) are very popular with the kids. I think the feeling is mutual.

I was so impressed by Joe's class. His co-teacher, Irma, led the class in singing a Pablo Neruda poem set to music. They discussed adjectives and the poet's use of adjectives in describing objects to evoke feelings. Finally, they wrote their own poems.

They were lovely! It was so interesting to hear the love poetry written by some of the tougher-looking guys especially. And it was sweet to see the kids working together and appreciating each others' poems.

Here's an example:

Te Amo -Edgar Aceytuno
I love you

Eres hermosa como una rosa
You are beautiful like a rose

Incomparable como la luz
Incomparable like the light

de la luna
of the moon

especial y unica
special and unique

Si intento de olvidarte
If I try to forget you

empiezo a recordarte
I begin to remember you

Que hago? Dime tu.
What do I do? Tell me.

Empiezo a enamorame.
I'm starting to fall in love.

I was impressed.

The Institute is a place where kids from sometimes difficult backgrounds are able to not only listen to and learn from great poets but also feel safe enough to be inspired to write some themselves. I don't remember doing this in ninth grade.

Carrot cake, etc.

The quest to cook edible food continues. Today's conquest: carrot cake. Delish.

The rainy season seems to have picked up again after a brief respite. Yesterday it poured. All my clean underwear was hanging on the line. It's still clean, but pretty darn wet.

A poet from the capital is visiting our litterature class tomorrow - it should be interesting.

Mas Alla

The last few weeks have seen plenty of excitement in Ciudad Quetzal - and beyond. June 30 was the annual March for Peace (Caminata por la Paz), complete with huge crowds, lots of drumming and horn-blowing, people on stilts, music, and fun.

Lawrence and I took advantage of our week off from school following the Caminata by taking a little excursion with a friend to see a few other friends in Chiapas, Mexico. We were hoping to go with Father Chepe and Loren, but Loren's recent surgery and Chepe's recent trip to Bolivia prevented that. Still, we trekked across the border. It was a great trip.

Survey

In an effort to "aprofundizar" the Sister Parish sponsorship program, we have been doing surveys with all the students at the Institute. Last week we asked mostly basic questions like "Do you have brothers and sisters?" "What's your favorite food?" and "What are you most proud of?"

After a careful analysis of survey results, I have determined the following:

-60% of Guatemalan children prefer pizza over any other food.

-90% of Guatemalan children are more proud of their mother than anything else in the world.

BASKET!!!

The last week has been action-packed. Lawrence went on a trip to Tikal, a site of Mayan ruins in the Northeastern province of El Peten. Meanwhile in Ciudad Quetzal - basketball, basketball, and more basketball.

A few nights ago, a neighboring family came over for dinner. As if preparing for the 15 guests wasn't difficult enough, our water ran out. The enormous stack of dishes had to wait until the next morning to be cleaned. That's okay, though. Instead of cleaning, we hung out on our roof, playing musical chairs, hide and seek, and swinging on our newly installed hammock.

Saint John the Baptist

Yesterday the community of San Juaneritos (in Ciudad Quetzal) celebrated their "Fiesta Patronal" - the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The small cinder-block church was filled with people and incense, and their was a procession around the community streets that evening. I'd like to take credit for the below photos, but the first two were taken by a group of youngsters to whom I loaned my camera during mass...

Chillani!

We have 4 basketballs that we use in the workshops in Chillani. Rather than haul them back and forth from Ciudad Quetzal, we have competitions at the end of each day to see who gets to "take care" of the basketballs. Above: a race.