PCT- A note on Peace Corps Training

In the nights I have been reading a Peace Corps chronicle “Living Poor” by Moritz Thompson who served in Ecuador.  “Peace Corps training is like no other training in the world, having something in common with college life, officer’s training, Marine basic training, and a ninety-day jail sentence” plus being in a completely different culture!  But it used to be more extreme in that there were more training rounds in different countries where people would get kicked out before reaching their site country.  One of the training people today also told me they used to have stern looking people in white lab coats not talking to you, but watching and writing down everything on a clipboard. Whew, it’s not like that anymore!

It is kind of reminiscent of being back in school.  It is very packed schedule with lessons, papers, textbooks, presentations, vaccinations (so far I’ve gotten my second hep a, typhoid, and 2 rabies pre exposure shots, and going to get 2 more rabies shots fo free! Super duper), Spanish lessons for six hours on the off days.  But I think the people that work at Peace Corps make it fun.  My Spanish teacher will have us walk out into town for 15 minutes and make friends with someone and ask questions about their job, then come back and share.  Now that’s a Spanish class I can do.  In the states I always felt awkward speaking Spanish, but here I am really good at lots of different salutations, chatting about families/weather, getting directions.  Because that is how I learned all of my Spanish.

I have an awesome view of Volcan Fuego (left) and Volcan Alcanatengo (right).  I will try to put a weekly photo of it up.

A couple minute walk from my house I also get an awesome view of Volcan Agua from the street.

Jerry, the 76 year old, is one of the three others in my town. I freaking crack up whenever he uses the expression “Back in ‘Nam!” b/c he is being serious, unlike another certain lady I know. He said all the fireworks that go off here constantly sound exactly like the mortars from back in nam. I don’t really understand them yet. I’ve never seen one with any sparks or color, just for the big bang sound I guess.

But two of some of my favorite people have already dropped L Southern accent David went back to propose to his girlfriend in the South.  His last girlfriend he bought a horse for and built a barn.  Then she sold the horse and broke up with him.  Someone told him it sounded like it was straight out of a country song and he said his friend did write a song about it.  I couldn’t stop laughing at his accent after that.  An odd character for Peace Corps I thought, and it does turn out that trying to get a hold of his gf everyday was too stressful for him.  The other was a really awesome volleyball girl named Alicia.  She had such a chill and awesome personality that everyone loved.  Before we left for DC she talked about how she wanted to live with the indigenous people and learn to use a loom.  But I don’t think she realized that stuff always sounds more romantic and easy than it actually is.

Another guy in my town is having a hard time, because even though he’s had Spanish class he can’t understand when people are talking to him and can’t vocalize very well.  He was wandering around town alone and depressed and another gringo saw him and said, “you’re a volunteer aren’t you?” he replied “why?”, “because you look depressed”.  Hahahah. I’ve just been telling him he is getting better even if he doesn’t notice it (poco a poco) and to cheer up and make the best of it.  I guess everyone keeps saying the beginning of training and when you first arrive at your site are the hardest times.  Even though the dropout rate is 25% on paper, I heard from another person it is actually about 50% ...

1-11-11or in Guatemala -> 11-1-11

On the crazy chicken American school bus rides there are always three people to a seat, the third hanging off into the aisle and leaning on either the other person doing the same thing or against someone squished in between.  It is soooo crowded and the roads are so twisty and bumpy.  Then the ‘ayudante’ or bus helper has to try and walk through the seemingly impenetrable aisle for money collection.  People climb the seats and bars like monkeys to get out of the way. People that can’t fit inside hang off the ladder on the back or out the side doors and squish in when trucks go zooming by.  I NEVER THOUGHT THE BUS COULD BE SO MUCH FUN!

My mama showed me how to make corn tortillas from scratch and we made so many we couldn’t remember why we started making them. Hers were quick, circular, and never had holes. Mine had rips and for the most part were shaped like elephants.  It was my first time to ‘tortear’, yes there is a verb specifically for making tortillas.  I seriously eat five with every meal, making my daily tortilla intake about 15.  Almost equivalent to my daily banano intake.  But those are pretty much the bulk of my meals.  Ok, as you can see I’m going crazy and rambling about tortillas.

The coolest Guatemala Spanish specific word I’ve learned is pronounced (boo-yah!). I don’t know how to spell it. My dad explained that it means a lot of noise.  But it is only a word you would use in the streets with your friends, and in the house you would be respectful and say ruido. Guatemalans also have a very suavecito accent.  It is so comforting and soft sounding.  And they always say uh huuuh, quietly and high pitched at the end, like someone would do in the states talking with a child.

P.S. I dislike diarrhea. I dislike talking about diarrhea. I dislike hearing about everyone else’s diarrhea. Today we had the most disgusting lecture about diarrhea, amoebas, ringworms, tapeworms, hookworms IN DETAIL for about 4 hrs. And she made us sing the diarrhea song. And told us they already stool sampled someone in our group and found ringworms.  Then of course we had lunch right after. But seriously, you gotta be careful, diarrhea kills!  Here’s photos of the most recent diarrhea deposits:

Just kidding!

My favorite new thing to do when my mom is cooking, throw a banana on the coals for 5, then commence eating.  Now whenever she has the fire cooking, “Keem-bear-lee! Quieres un banano asada?” Si madre. Si. Yo quiero. Yo quiero mucho.

¿Sacatepequez whhaaa?

ok, guys here´s a jumbling of my thoughts that i haven´t even looked over.  but it´s getting dark soon and i have to be home before then!

Santa Lucia

We all left from our hotel in DC around 3:30 am and nobody really slept on the plane ride so when we arrived we were all super drowsy. For the local transportation in Guatemala (and in some other countries in Central America) they use old American school buses and paint them with bright colors and crazy decorations.  These are also called chicken buses.  We piled in, got out of Guatemala city as fast as possible, and headed toward the town of Santa Lucia for the Peace Corps headquarters.  Here we stayed for a few days with host families in pairs of two while they tried to figure out our Spanish level.

While most of Peace Corps is a solo experience, it was fun to have a few days with the other trainees and instructors.  It really eased a lot of people into the culture because you still had to share your room with another American. Then when we all went to the headquarters in the morning there were lots of people to swap stories with.  For me the transition was much easier.  Central America still feels familiar and warm, I didn’t realize I missed it.  Costa Rica study abroad prepared me for the climate, eating beans and rice everyday, not putting toilet paper in the toilet, and hand washing my clothes. The month long homestay I did afterwards in San Vito prepared me for living in a conservative latino home.  It has proved useful and definitely eased culture shock. And unlike others I was fully trained in taking cold showers beforehand ;)  I am so grateful to have had those experiences and also to have traveled through all of Central America and Guatemala previously.  Now I am not too anxious to sightsee here and can really spend time getting to know the culture, language, and families.  I can also share what I’ve learned with the other volunteers.  We all have really cool, interesting things to teach each other.

I can’t stop laughing at people though. Especially when they all come in looking drowsy and shocked in the mornings before training sessions.  What I find most funny is hearing from everyone the difficulty they’re having in basic tasks: showering, going to the bathroom, eating food, and sleeping.  Plus it is a way for everyone in the group to vent and connect to each other.  Makes everything much easier to deal with.  Our training coordinator Craig shared with us that some houses have hot water.  And while the electric shower head might look sketchy, it really is ok.  My friend Meredith came in the next morning and told us that she got shocked.  When she told her host family, they showed her that you’re supposed to use the shower curtain to grab the handle. She is so funny, I asked her how you say diarrhea in Spanish and she replied liquido del culo.

Luckily my host mom ran a massage parlor and a traditional Mayan sauna.  And I loved her cooking!   For those of you that know my eating habits more, you know that I like to have lots of different flavors all at once. For breakfast she made eggs, bread, a sort of bean soup (frijoles colados), yogurt, and fruit loops.  Mmmmmm.  I think my roommate really liked the food too, but usually never finished everything.  We both got really strange looks on our faces after our host mom listed off tons of ingredients that were in a hot drink she handed us.  All we could catch is that it had eggs, fish, sugar.  It actually was really yummy.  I am also happy that they use very very spicy (pica mucho!) chile sauce here, unlike in Costa Rica.  Her son, his wife, their children, her grandmother, and their animals were always around to greet us too.  I know that they were probably give us traditional food. But my host family lives in the city and has access to junk food. I was going to the bathroom and saw my host father bringing on dominoes secretly after we went to bed.  Not really jealous.

Headquarters

The director Craig always gives us enthusiastic, comical, informative speeches.  Because he was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, is married to a Guatemalan woman, and works and lives here he is an invaluable resource.  And I really like that he doesn’t try to candy coat what it is going to be like. “It’s going to be hard. Damn hard.”

Things I learned from Craig:

*For some reason the average amount of volunteer injuries and mental health issues are twice as many in Guatemala than the worldwide average.

*The US has 1,500 malaria cases per year.  There are that many in Guatemala per week.

*Our malaria medicine might induce night terrors or just vivid colors and smells in dreams. True that.

*There are 5.6 homicides per 100,000 in the US. Guatemala: 48-50. A lot in Guatemala city, this is why we avoid it.

*Because we the volunteers don’t have a lot of time together: “Share your heart and who your are right now. There’s not much time. You guys are going to need each other for the good and bad times. People at home aren’t going to be able to relate”

*Guatemalans will never answer no.  If you ask them for directions they will give you somewhere to go even if they don’t know.  Like the Japanese they want to appease you for group harmony.  If you ask, “does this bus go to Antigua?” they will say yes, even if they know it doesn’t.  So if someone asks us, and we know it is a no, then he said we should respond, “Saaaaaaber!!” Kind of like, “Whoooo knows?!”  Anytime you ask for directions ask a few times.

*ALL OF US BELIEVE IN GOD.  They’ve had communities totally reject Peace Corps forever after getting an atheist volunteer.  So if they ask us if we believe in God, we say yes even if it’s the little bush outside our window.

*We will put away scientific reasoning in conversation.  It doesn’t fit and sounds condescending.  I will listen to Craig because I want the community to accept and trust me completely so my project will be most successful.  Having small talk about the weather today on the porch or asking how somebody’s cousin is at the corner store can be some of the biggest parts of the job.  He said people from small towns are some of the most successful volunteers, yes!

*Guatemala is the most conservative country in Central America. Instead of “this is Juanita” you would say “may I present Juanita”.  On the street only use “good morning and good afternoon, etc.” never “hello”. Always use titles and overplay them instead of downplaying them like we do in the states.  I have to brag about my degree for the next two years for respect, not bad.  Adults are not friends with members of the opposite sex unless they are family.  If you bring the opposite sex into your bedroom and close the door, even for a moment, you just had sex with them.  If you have a conversation on the street with a member of the opposite sex all of a sudden you guys are bf/gf.  If you are my age and not married with children they feel really sorry for you. 

*It is weird to have “alone time”.  If you go into your bedroom and close the door they will assume you are sad about leaving your boyfriend/girlfriend in the states.

*It takes about 2 weeks on average to finally figure out all the people who live in your house.

*And everything in the house is assumed communal so expect if you accidentally leave some money around that children will whisk it away quickly for candy.  The children will also enjoy going through your things.

*And give our rent money to the madre, not the papa. He will go to the cantina (bar).

While Guatemala is the most conservative country in Central America. There are definitely plenty more conservative developing countries.  We have a RPCV in our group who served in Tonga and he said you couldn´t even invite a friend over of the opposite sex and nobody was EVER alone in the street even if they lived alone.  He said one volunteer had a tongan boyfriend and after a year invited her bf over for the night, the next day her neighbor came out angry and speared her pet dog in front of her..

San Antonio, January 9, 2011

There are about 17 ecotourism volunteers and over 30 healthy schools volunteers.  Us 17 ecotourism volunteers have been separated into groups of about 4 into various towns.  My training town is San Antonio.  I will meet up with the other three in my town occasionally for Spanish lessons.  And Tuesdays we will all travel together back to the headquarters for technical training.

There are great views of the mountains and various volcanoes from my home.  Volcan fuego is always spitting out ash.

There is only a mom and dad.  My dad works all night and sleeps during a lot of the day.  He is very nice and always has lots of things to teach me about Guatemala in a very fast pace over meals.  He also speaks the indigenous language, Kakchiquel and has been teaching me some.  I use it to make them laugh.  I spend pretty much every second with my host mom and their pets (a dog named Dadi, dos gatos, 4 little birds, and two parrots which kind of just chill in the trees talk about how they’re hungry or yell Paco randomly).  We cook, go to the market, platicar (chat), wash clothes.  She is cooking lunch right now and burning plastic garbage. Hence I am in my room, writing on my laptop.  I am finding it hard to sleep because—BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! Oh what was that again? Oh just extremely loud fireworks that go off throughout the night.  Guatemala has a bloody history of war so Craig makes jokes about waking up and thinking, “It’s the war again!!”  By the 5 am one I wasn’t so startled. Adjusting little by little.  It is a tradition to wake people up on their birthday by lighting loud fireworks off outside their window.  Never noticed how many birthdays there were before this.  5:30 am this morning we left to get seats at the church for the Catholic mass.  It was extremely interesting for me.  When I go next Sunday I’ll try to get some pictures.  On top of the fireworks there was a town festival last night so lots of yelling through loudspeakers and marching band music.  During the day it is very sunny and hot, pretty tranquilo.  I like how chill it is but my host mom keeps asking me if I’m bored. Nope.  When I feel lost or homesick looking at my bracelets from Patrick and Laura help me feel grounded and give me a reality check (you are a person with your own family Kimberly!).

Washington To Washington

Seattle, Washington
Preparing to commit 27 months to the Peace Corps in Seattle was a very memorable experience.  Quitting work, holidays, moving out, packing up, saying goodbyes, freaking out, etc.  I especially loved the amazing surprise party from my friends the first day of the new year.  Laurita and Susie Q escorted me downtown to "Seattle's hottest nightclub" as Stefon would say... the Last Supper Club, complete with smiling faces, pink/purple balloons, a disco ball, hard techno oontz beats, people not afraid to just dance, upstairs fem-physio activity, the most epic tooth-brushing party, and plenty of fun photos:

One of my dear worldhouse roommates, Alex, drove me to the airport.  With Laura and Patrick on either side of me in the back and Toni in front.  I kept thinking the whole time during the ride: this is not happening,  I'm not leaving them, are they really not going to be around?  It was very hard separating myself from them.  I have been talking with many other volunteers, none of which have admitted to a painful breakaway from their friends.  Then I realized it hurt so bad because of all that we've shared and all the good time we've had together and that's when I smiled.  I'm so grateful to have friends that leave me crying.