Christmas in July...or December in Guatemala

Christmas songs began playing on the radio back in October. A medley of traditional, American, and Guatemalan Christmas hits with the Macarena spliced in was my personal favorite. Little by little the town began to feel more festive. Christmas trees went up in the stores, then in the plaza and in front of the Catholic churches (evangelicals don’t celebrate Christmas much). My little sister practiced everyday for the children’s Christmas choir and we practiced singing the songs together sometimes. I tried getting into the spirit by buying Home Alone 1 through 4 to watch. But after the tenth time or so my little sisters put it on, I started to regret that decision. I made an advent wreath in my room which I lit each night. My mother sent me some Christmas cds and movies and we made decorations out of construction paper and pine cones. I taught my sister how to make Christmas cut-out cookies, though really the only thing Christmas about these smiley face cookies was the month we made them in. We even put up lights on the outside of our house! But that feeling of Christmas never came. I felt like I was playing Christmas in July.

I went on a retreat with the other YAVs a week and a half before Christmas and the heat there really felt like Christmas in July. We made a Christmas in July dinner and put up a Christmas in July Christmas tree and we even exchanged Christmas in July presents. And when we left, I was ready for the whole season to be over. But the festivities had just begun in Comalapa.

Christmas traditions here were really quite nice. The plaza was filled with people eating vuñelos and sipping atol. Vendors were selling anything you could ever need for a nativity (the nativity is more common here than a Christmas tree). Every night for the 10 days before Christmas a posada went around the town. This includes a float carried by volunteers with Joseph and Mary on top, lit up by tons of lights and followed by children holding lanterns and adults singing Guatemalan Catholic Posada songs. They take a different route each night, so everyone gets a chance to see it from their house. At one point, they stop and there is lots of music that comes from a pick-up decked out in speakers and musical instruments. Then, the priest gives a sermon. The whole thing symbolizes when Joseph and Mary were searching for a place to stay that Christmas Eve. I was able to go the Monday before Christmas and the Obispo even came all decked out in his tall hat, but this time he left his Shepard staff at home. I think the Obispo in the equivalent of a Bishop, but I’m not really sure.

The Tuesday before Christmas was the long-awaited children’s concert. The last posada for the year went out and when it came back to the church, everyone followed and filled the church. A tarp covering the front of the church was dropped, revealing a beautiful life-sized nativity. Then the singing began. Afterward, everyone was able to walk through the nativity and kiss the Mary who stood above an empty manger, waiting for her son.

Christmas Eve I spent making tamales and cutting up fruit for ponche. We had yet to get our Christmas tree, so one of Aura’s brothers went up to the mountain to get us one. I brought it home, carrying it while riding on the back of a motorcycle. Then we quickly decorated it and got ready to go to our nighttime festivities, mostly mass. Aura’s littlest brother and I went to the plaza to ride the ferris wheel. I was really quite scared when we stopped at the top for what seemed to be forever, but then the fireworks began and we had the best seat in the plaza. After a short trip to a party where we didn’t know anyone, we decided to go ride the ferris wheel again. This time the conductors were having a good time. We were on that thing for 20 minutes. Around and around we went so fast! First forwards and then backwards! Oh and there was a spark! Oh how I thought we were going to die. And apparently a bigger ferris wheel comes in June for the fair. Ah! When we got back to Aura’s parents house, it was too late to go to mass. So, we just hung out trying not to fall asleep until midnight. At midnight we prayed in front of the nativity and hugged everyone saying “Feliz Navidad.” Then we at tamales and drank a little bit of whiskey. And by 2 am, we were finally home.

On Christmas I slept until 9 am, woa! I hadn’t done that since August. But that was still only 7 hours of sleep and I was tired all day. Christmas Day here is pretty low key. We ate all day. I taught the girls to toast marshmallows on the fire a while back, and apparently they liked it because we were doing it again on Christmas. And we watched Madagascar 2. For lunch we at turkey legs which was a treat. Presents aren’t really a thing in my family here. But, I had some small presents that I gave to them anyway, nothing big. Later I went to mass with some of Aura’s family, since I missed it on Christmas Eve. I was pretty sad missing my family for Christmas, but I tried to stay upbeat. And now, here it is December the 26th and Christmas is finally over.

Well, almost over. For the next few days, the baby Jesus is carried around town for everyone to see. And if you want him to enter your house, you stand outside your door with incense at 5:30 am. I am glad I am Catholic this year.

Top 5:
1. It is almost January, which means after 4 months of being in Guatemala, I will finally start working!
2. I am going to Antigua for New Year’s!

Bottom 5:
1. I miss being able to sleep in.


Pictures will come when my chip is ready to give them up.

dia de los santos, confirmation, thanksgiving pictures!

Dia de los Santos. We ate Fiambre and went to the cementary to fly kites and remember deceased family.

Confirmations at the Catholic Church. About 150 youth were confirmed and the Obispo came to bless each one of them.
Thanksgiving!

El día de acción de gracias....gobble gobble

Hola Buenos Tardes,

On Thanksgiving Day, I was in the Boca Costa, which is near to the coast of Guatemala. I was at a conference put on by CEDEPCA that dealt with domestic abuse and violence against women and children. This is a newly addressed issue, meaning that years and years have gone by while women and children have suffered abuse without saying a word. There were about 30 women present. Some had heard this before and were coming for training; others were hearing that they were made in the image of God for the very first time. It was difficult to get across to some of the women that men and women are equal. The man does not need to be the head of the house, both can share the responsibility.

The tone of the conference was quite serious; however, fun was still had in spite of it all. At bedtime, I slept in a room with about 10 women. I was precariously lying on the top bunk of a rickety bunk-bed when a rather large woman just began laughing. No one had said anything to instigate this, mind you. But she just couldn’t stop! It was a good hearty laugh from the belly. This went on for a good 45 minutes. Everyone was trying to sleep and yelling “Cállase!” while trying to keep themselves from joining in the giggle fit. Meanwhile, a strong-minded older lady decided to take matters into her own hands and began singing lullabies to the uncontrollable giggler. But, that only made matters worse. Eventually I fell asleep to the sound of laughter, singing, and two ladies below my bunk gabbing in Mam, a mayan language. I had woken up at 4am that morning so I was too tired to worry about the biting, tailless lizards my friend Allie told me about. Soon the laughing lady fell asleep as well, and her laughter turned into a loud bear-like snore. And at about a quarter to five, I was awoken again by the two ladies gabbing in Mam. In the morning, a little bit homesick for Thanksgiving, my two friends and I decided to utilize the swimming pool. We didn’t bring bathing suits, so we just went in our pajamas. As we made our way down the path to the pool, we were literally chased by a barking, very mean dog. Our hearts were beating fast, but as soon as we jumped in and felt the water fill our jamies, all was well again. I think we could all say that we had never gone swimming outside on Thanksgiving before. And though it was fun, I think I would have preferred the turkey and potatoes with my family.

I returned home Friday afternoon, later than I had intended because the shuttle is an unreliable mode of transportation sometimes. I had planned on cooking a Thanksgiving Dinner for my family on Saturday, and wanted to get started. We had purchased a turkey before I left and my host mom was going to wait to do the deed until I returned. So, as soon as I got home, I ran to the market and supermarket to pick up the rest of the items I needed, or so I thought, and rushed back to the house. My host mom had bought some whiskey to numb the pain of the turkey. And I thought that quite a nice gesture. As we walked out the door she told me to grab some cups, so I did. We walked down the street and met the in-laws at the home of the turkey. It was still quite a young turkey, maybe young adult age. Possibly still a teenager, however. My host grandpa poured some whiskey down its throat and it immediately relaxed. Then he poured some into four glasses and told us to “tomalo” or “drink up.” Knowing that I had a lot to do that day, I reluctantly gulped mine down. And wow am I glad I did because before I knew it the head was chopped, and the body of the turkey was spinning around squirting blood all over the place. It was like watching spin art Kill Bill style. My host grandma and I ducked into a traditional sauna and laughed at the absurdity of it all. We stuck the bird into the bag and brought him back home, hung him upside down on the clothes line, and went back to work.

My friend Ingrid came over to help me make the pumpkin pies. There were no pumpkins at the market so we used wicois, which are a more popular form of squash here. Ingrid proved to be a great helper when I almost put pepper in the pie mix instead of cloves. That would have been a disaster that may have sent me into an exasperated state. Just earlier that day the oven was fixed, so I really was taking my chances by putting my precious homemade pies in there. But I did; all three of them. I put two on the top and one on the bottom. And the one on the bottom was next to the pilot light and burned to a crisp. But, hey, I still had two! Meanwhile my host mom and grandma were plucking the turkey beside me.

The next day, after making hand-traced turkeys with my little sisters, I found out that more people were coming to my dinner than I had originally planned for. So, I got really nervous and went and bought more of everything. We had broccoli, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey, and wassail. It was a true Thanksgiving Dinner. We also had homemade tomato sauce, chili sauce, and tortillas, just to make sure everyone had something they liked to eat. I felt like a real chef telling all that came to help what to do, while feeling anxious that I actually didn’t know what to do. I had never done this by myself before, let a lone with Guatemalan versions of the ingredients. Many a phone call were made home to mom that day. Guests arrived, champagne was drunk, thanks was given (we went around the table saying what we were thankful for), food was served, explanation was explained, and silence overtook the table. I am not really sure what they thought about the food, but I was quite impressed with myself because it tasted just like it was supposed to. Most of the plates were cleaned; some had leftovers, but whether they liked to the food or not was secondary to the experience. I served 17 in all. And there was nothing leftover. It was exactly the right amount of food! Everyone left about 2 hours after the event began. That was about 15 or so hours of work for a 2 hour event. But I think it was worth it. However, the next morning, most of my family was a little sick. I don’t know about the other guests, but I imagine it was an epidemic due to some ingredient that wasn’t cooked well enough.

Oh well, until next Thanksgiving…

Top 5

1. I am feeling more comfortable in my home here and with my family. I am glad because Christmas is just around the corner!
2. I love going to conferences here. Even if they are really boring sometimes, I love hearing what people have to say and who is there to say it. Very interesting.
3. We are going to put up a Christmas tree! This will be the first time for my family. I am happy that this decision was made. I think it will help me to feel a little less homesick at Christmas this year. Though I know it won’t eliminate those inevitable feelings.
4. I bought five candles and put them in my room to light through the advent season. It really feels good to have that quiet time to myself to reflect and pray.
5. My parents and Drew have bought their tickets to come see me! March and April are going to be busy months, but very happy ones too.
   

Bottom 4

1. Being away from home for Thanksgiving, although it is only one Thanksgiving out of many.
2. Being away from home for Christmas season, although it is only one Christmas out of many.
3. Those first two are big ones and deserve to be worth more than one Gripe.
4. There is a chance I may not start teaching until February now! That is my half-way point. But, I am going to begin an English course for parents soon.

I have pictures but my uploader thingy won't work! They'll come soon. I don't want to deny you all the opportunity to meet my turkey!