So I just got back from our week long Field Base Training and it was absolutely amazing. We were all incredibly busy but managed to bond during our five hour nauseating car trips through bumpy roads, getting stuck in the mud, and dangerous curves.
We left Sunday and made our way to Canillá which is a painfully long and horribly off road like journey into the department of Quiche. The thing about Canillá is that it is terribly hot and there are lots of mosquitoes so a lot of us were suffering. I managed to only have two small vampire like bites on my wrist, others were not so fortunate. Plus the small motel/hostel like place we stayed at had ice cold showers and every time you flushed the toilet or used the sink it reeked of sewer. Eh, c’est la peace corps vie.
In Canillá Jacob and I did a charla (presentation) on malnutrition in the health post waiting room. Waiting room charlas are always hard because well the people are waiting. They want to see the doctor, they don’t feel well, their kids don’t feel well, they’ve been waiting a while, plus there is a giant ass gringo butchering Spanish in front of them. But, regardless, we ended up doing a really good job. We read a story about two twin sisters. One who ate well and who was big and strong and the other sister who ate poorly and who was weak and little. Plus had more participation than I thought we would! Usually, getting participation in a waiting room is like pulling teeth. Also, we brought bananas as healthy prizes for those who answered questions. :)
There were lots of other charlas along the way that my fellow volunteers did really well on: Dental hygiene, pneumonia, the environment, hygiene, etc. After our charla we went to a local Evangelical Christian radio station and acted out a socio drama on hygiene over the radio. It was lots of fun to act out, even though I only had two whole lines. After that we did a four hour long HIV/AIDS Taller (workshop) and Tina and I were responsible for teaching the scientific terms of HIV/AIDS. Of all the work we did that was probably my least favorite because the audience worked at the health center and they acted like they already knew all of the words. Even though they didn’t know what heterosexual meant. Odd.
All in all we spent from Sunday to Wednesday morning in Canillá and it was a great experience. From there we made our way to San Cristobal which is in the department of Totonicapan (very close to Xela). Best part about our hotel? WARM SHOWERS!!! I was in heaven.
We were lucky enough to not only got stuck once, but twice, in the mud on the way to do some home visits in a small aldea outside of San Cris. But we made it through mud and all and had a wonderful few days in San Cris. We got to see a couple finished projects (stoves, latrines, etc) and we got to see the pride these families had in their new homes and improved living conditions.
One of my favorite moments was when Jacob and I went to a home to play a memory game with the kids. This woman had seven kids ranging from ten months to about ten years old. Besides the fact that one of the kids was absolutely horrified of us and kept shouting how he was scared and kept crying, the others were so intrigued by us and the memory game. We must have played it about a dozen times. Afterward they had a million questions about how to say words in English. Once we told them they would teach us the words in Quiche (A Mayan language).
We finished the week with our final Charla on nutrition again during a cooking class where the women were learning to make sweet milk with cinnamon (which by the way was to die for). Tina and I rocked our final charla and had great participation and energy from the women. It was probably the best charla either of us had ever given and I even saw women taking notes! It made me incredibly happy.
We left early yesterday morning and got to indulge in a little xelapan (an amazing bread store) and pupusas for lunch.
Overall this week I ate like complete crap, I worked my butt off, I made new and amazing friends, and I had an unforgettable week.
FBT = amazing.
