About a month ago (see: "Casa de Grapas" post) I mentioned that I had entered the Presidential race for the Volunteer Advocacy Council. Well, I'm thrilled to announce that I won and swore-in last Friday to serve the volunteer community until September of 2010.
The Volunteer Advocacy Council, or 'VAC', represents the 180 Peace Corps Volunteers in Guatemala in new policy decisions at the country level and helps boost morale by organizing events like the annual 4th of July party and regional welcome parties for new volunteers. It consists of eight volunteers: one representative from each of the seven regions where volunteers serve in Guatemala, plus the president. In the 90s, VAC had a reputation of being just the party-throwing committee and didn't garner a lot of respect from the Peace Corps administration, but has really changed its image and function in the last ten years for the better. The Council is tapped every time volunteer input is needed at the administrative level and is the voice of the volunteer community for issues ranging from Living Allowances to relationships between volunteers and Project Directors. For example, the Asst Director of Peace Corps Guatemala will be making revisions to the Volunteer Handbook, (our manual on codes of conduct etc.) before the new year and has asked the VAC to be an instrumental part of the process in which the revisions that will be made. So it's a considerable responsibility as President to lead the VAC, but I'm really excited and it should be fun.
A couple of the things that we have discussed initially as a group are establishing a peer review board to hear cases that could result in the expulsion of a volunteer, improving volunteer/staff relations, making it better known which volunteers are where and what their strengths are, continuing the campaign to increase the volunteer living allowance, and keeping the tradition of throwing a rockin' 4th of July party.
Our first meeting is this Friday. We will establish our goals and objectives for the year as well as assign people to the various services that VAC provides (such as merchandise, cook book, survival guide, and calendar to name a few).
Jamie Staples' Peace Corps Blog
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Milpa!
Remember how I mentioned a few posts back that I had planted corn by my house? Well here it is! About a month and a half old and 8 inches tall!
Will's Wedding
Apologies for the lack of posts, but September has been crazy busy.
In late August I went home for the first time in eight months for my brother’s wedding. I expected more of a culture shock when I arrived in San Francisco after being in rural Guatemala for the majority of the year. But to be honest, it was just like I left it. My friends were still there, the good places to eat hadn’t changed, and we wound up going out to the same bars that we had always gone to. The only thing that changed was that the Giants were winning. Maybe I should stay down here for a little longer…for the good of the franchise.
I did notice that everything was cleaner in the U.S. than in Guatemala: less trash strewn everywhere, less burning plastic, less gritty. Also, it felt nice to be surrounded by English speakers and people who didn’t make me feel like Andre the Giant.
I spent the following week on the Monterey Peninsula for my brother’s wedding. Will, my brother, did an amazing job planning and threw a great party. We sampled local wines one night, had a beachfront sunset cocktail party the next, and shared the wedding ceremony on the third day in the gardens of an old Monterey adobe that also serves as the Monterey Museum of Art. Truly an amazing week.
Coming back to Guatemala was not as tough as I though it would be. On the contrary actually, I looked forward to getting back. However, no sooner did I get to site did I get sick again. We think it’s some kind of virus (maybe related to mononucleosis) and really didn’t make it easier to settle back in for the next year and a half. Getting sick down here is probably the worst thing in the world because it totally blows up your perspective on everything and really gets you down. But oh well, I always know to expect it when I get sick, so now it’s just a matter of getting better, which I’ve already started to do.
In late August I went home for the first time in eight months for my brother’s wedding. I expected more of a culture shock when I arrived in San Francisco after being in rural Guatemala for the majority of the year. But to be honest, it was just like I left it. My friends were still there, the good places to eat hadn’t changed, and we wound up going out to the same bars that we had always gone to. The only thing that changed was that the Giants were winning. Maybe I should stay down here for a little longer…for the good of the franchise.
I did notice that everything was cleaner in the U.S. than in Guatemala: less trash strewn everywhere, less burning plastic, less gritty. Also, it felt nice to be surrounded by English speakers and people who didn’t make me feel like Andre the Giant.
I spent the following week on the Monterey Peninsula for my brother’s wedding. Will, my brother, did an amazing job planning and threw a great party. We sampled local wines one night, had a beachfront sunset cocktail party the next, and shared the wedding ceremony on the third day in the gardens of an old Monterey adobe that also serves as the Monterey Museum of Art. Truly an amazing week.
Coming back to Guatemala was not as tough as I though it would be. On the contrary actually, I looked forward to getting back. However, no sooner did I get to site did I get sick again. We think it’s some kind of virus (maybe related to mononucleosis) and really didn’t make it easier to settle back in for the next year and a half. Getting sick down here is probably the worst thing in the world because it totally blows up your perspective on everything and really gets you down. But oh well, I always know to expect it when I get sick, so now it’s just a matter of getting better, which I’ve already started to do.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Casa de Grapas (House of Staples)
Casa de Grapas. I planted some corn in my yard to the right of the house. It has already sprouted and this view should look a lot different in about one month when the stalks are higher.
Kitchen area
Four planks of wood: $8Eight cinderblocks: $3
One piece of rope: $0.35
Homemade closet: Priceless
Bathroom, complete with hot-shower and pink shower curtain.Yeah, that's right, pink shower curtain.
"Pila", or "sink that you use to wash everything that's too dirty to be washed inside".Notice the compost container to the left; never thought worms could be so interesting.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Casa de Grapas
Casa de Grapas (House of Staples) has debuted in San Rafael Pie de la Cuesta. This was a huge personal upgrade for yours truly and has completely changed my experience. I feel much more integrated into the community now that I have my own place. I have neighbors I greet every morning and afternoon as I go to and return from work, I grocery shop for myself, and - in general - I have a much larger ownership over my life. This is not to say that living with my host family wasn't enjoyable, they are really solid people, but I constantly had this nagging feeling that I was a visitor in the town.
I've started to cook for myself a bit. I make my breakfasts and dinners, and eat lunch (the biggest meal in Guatemala) with my old host family to keep that relationship going. The standard breakfast has been either cereal with banana or the occasional four-egg omelet packed with veggies. Thanks to Mac for bringing down my French coffee press because now I can start the day with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, instead of a mixture of watered-down Nescafe and three table spoons of water. Dinners usually consist of some kind of starch and some black beans. I'll mix it up every now-and-then with a pack of mac & cheese from the market in San Marcos, but that's a rarity.
Another development is that I submitted my application yesterday for the President position of the Volunteer Advocacy Committee. The VAC, as it is known, is the elected group of eight volunteers (of 178) that represents the greater group of volunteers in any administrative context and serves as a support structure for all volunteers. Election results should be released in a couple weeks.
That's the latest. I'm heading home a week from Friday for my brother's wedding. Can't wait! More than the wedding itself, I can't wait to see family and friends; especially my sister's children who - I'm sure - have grown a ton since I've been gone.
Oh, and we beat "The Machine" in last Sunday's soccer game. That puts us in third place out of twelve teams. Playoffs bound!
I've started to cook for myself a bit. I make my breakfasts and dinners, and eat lunch (the biggest meal in Guatemala) with my old host family to keep that relationship going. The standard breakfast has been either cereal with banana or the occasional four-egg omelet packed with veggies. Thanks to Mac for bringing down my French coffee press because now I can start the day with a freshly brewed cup of coffee, instead of a mixture of watered-down Nescafe and three table spoons of water. Dinners usually consist of some kind of starch and some black beans. I'll mix it up every now-and-then with a pack of mac & cheese from the market in San Marcos, but that's a rarity.
Another development is that I submitted my application yesterday for the President position of the Volunteer Advocacy Committee. The VAC, as it is known, is the elected group of eight volunteers (of 178) that represents the greater group of volunteers in any administrative context and serves as a support structure for all volunteers. Election results should be released in a couple weeks.
That's the latest. I'm heading home a week from Friday for my brother's wedding. Can't wait! More than the wedding itself, I can't wait to see family and friends; especially my sister's children who - I'm sure - have grown a ton since I've been gone.
Oh, and we beat "The Machine" in last Sunday's soccer game. That puts us in third place out of twelve teams. Playoffs bound!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
August Action (pics below)
'Slow and steady' should be the mantra for August, which is fine with me.
The boys from the water projects had to return to their primary duties of meter reading and fixing the city's water tanks, which left Marcelino, Saul, and I to continue with the trails and fencing in the park. We lost a bit of momentum, but for our numbers we are advancing considerably. Marcelino and I worked out a system where he would go ahead of me, digging holes where our fence posts would go. I then follow, inserting the posts into the holes he dug and filling-in the space around them to secure the posts in their place. We're focusing on the posting first and are getting pretty efficient at it, having covered about 1km of our 1.5km trail.
The unexpected parts of working in the park have been both the most trying and entertaining. For example, we ran out of posting two weeks ago and had to bring in some more from a nearby coffee plantation. After the load was dropped off, we had to somehow get it from the entrance of the park to the point where we had left off with our work...about 1km away. With the very few resources that we have in the park, both economic and human, Marcelino and I had to haul 80lb loads of wood on our backs down into the park, using a what's called a 'nekapal' (pic below). The first three loads were fine, but after the 4th and 5th, supporting that kind of weight with essentially just neck and upper back muscles started to take its toll. But this is Peace Corps right? This should be expected, and it was actually pretty fun.
Another highlight of August (so far) has been the start of a new soccer league (pic of field below). I pried and searched all over to get myself on a team, and found myself one in '12:30'. 12:30, the team's name, is a San Rafael team made up of a bunch of young guys who I had met in town. Yours truly debuted at goalie, but after realizing how boring that position actually is I asked to be moved to forward. We have a big game on Sunday against 'The Machine', the team currently in first place.
In signing off, the best part of the past two weeks has been moving into my new house, but that is a whole other post in and of itself. More to come.
The boys from the water projects had to return to their primary duties of meter reading and fixing the city's water tanks, which left Marcelino, Saul, and I to continue with the trails and fencing in the park. We lost a bit of momentum, but for our numbers we are advancing considerably. Marcelino and I worked out a system where he would go ahead of me, digging holes where our fence posts would go. I then follow, inserting the posts into the holes he dug and filling-in the space around them to secure the posts in their place. We're focusing on the posting first and are getting pretty efficient at it, having covered about 1km of our 1.5km trail.
The unexpected parts of working in the park have been both the most trying and entertaining. For example, we ran out of posting two weeks ago and had to bring in some more from a nearby coffee plantation. After the load was dropped off, we had to somehow get it from the entrance of the park to the point where we had left off with our work...about 1km away. With the very few resources that we have in the park, both economic and human, Marcelino and I had to haul 80lb loads of wood on our backs down into the park, using a what's called a 'nekapal' (pic below). The first three loads were fine, but after the 4th and 5th, supporting that kind of weight with essentially just neck and upper back muscles started to take its toll. But this is Peace Corps right? This should be expected, and it was actually pretty fun.
Another highlight of August (so far) has been the start of a new soccer league (pic of field below). I pried and searched all over to get myself on a team, and found myself one in '12:30'. 12:30, the team's name, is a San Rafael team made up of a bunch of young guys who I had met in town. Yours truly debuted at goalie, but after realizing how boring that position actually is I asked to be moved to forward. We have a big game on Sunday against 'The Machine', the team currently in first place.
In signing off, the best part of the past two weeks has been moving into my new house, but that is a whole other post in and of itself. More to come.
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