goodbyes - march, week two

the second week of march i spent visiting fellow mcc-er david in his placement community of nebaj.

the nebaj area is a beautiful section of the western highlands of guatemala - a remote region with striking scenary and a remarkable, warm and resiliant people who have survived horrific atrocities of guatemala's 36 internal armed conflict. governement-led massacres in the 80s especially, hit this region's mayan communities the most, and has touched every surviving person in some way.

david was gracious enough to let me just follow him around his daily work in the communities and it was easy to enjoy the natural beauty around us.

nebaj was a time for me to see a new part of guatemala without being the "guide". it was a wonderful learning experience and a time of mental rest. david, a fellow introvert, was very understanding and accomadating to my needs to just have time to slow down, think, and soak in. and it was great to hang with david on his turf since i am most used to MCCers coming to the capital for meetings where I live, and don't get out as often to the communities where they live.

so, if you're looking for some beautiful remote villages and some lovely mountainous hiking, and you find yourself in guatemala, head west.

goodbyes - march, week one...

march was my final month in guatemala. i decided to spend a month in guatemala/central america for a time of goodbyes and visits after wrapping up with semilla and mcc the end of february (see last post).


the first week of march, a good friend and former co-worker from michigan, sharon, traveled to guatemala with her college-age son nick and we had a remarkably hitch-free week visiting communities around guatemala.

it was great to have some "intersection" in my life - people from "back home" who were able to come and connect with the new life i had in guatemala.

my life has many beautiful people, places and experiences in it, but more and more often no intersection between them. so life becomes compartamentalized, places and experiences isolated, and me feeling ultimately alone, without anyone to co-remember and reflect on these people and places once I (re)enter the next place.

so it did my heart good to have friends from michigan who came and bridged two of my worlds; who can help me remember - and grieve - the loved ones and places i have now left behind in guatemala. and keep life at least a little less disjointed.

final months in guate - with mcc and semilla

jan and feb marked my last two months with mcc and semilla seminary in central america. months included working with semilla's board and rector on an organizational restructuring project. (not really something you take a picture of ;)!)

january 2009 also included regional meetings and retreat in nicaragua for mcc workers placed throughout the central american region. it was an 18 hour busride from guatemala, but worth it...

back in guatemala, saw off the last casas group of my tenure in guatemala (pictured here with the casas spanish teachers and adminstrative staff)....

and then, in february, semilla held its 25th anniversary and conferences:

there were some other misc fun times had as well , but having trouble with pic loading now, so will try in next post!

stay tuned!

peace,

s

a michigan christmas

once my position transitionted from CASAS director to assisting the seminary rector and board on a variety of projects, i had a more manageable workload and was able to finally take a vacation.

so, i opted to head north in dec for a blustery michigan christmas, and to catch up with friends and family...

1) to friend rachel zystra's cd release gig in chicago and wyce performance in grand rapids:

2) to see brett and sara pre and post baby ezra:

3) to hang with nuclear and extended fam:

4) reconnect with old friends carrie and crystal back in ludington:

5) and to play in the ice and snow (found out brother matt is pretty much a professional iceskater now!):

being home was a great time to spend doing normal family things and just enjoying being a sister, daughter and friend.

after christmas, headed back to guatemala...stay tuned for next post on Jan-Feb 2009 back in Central America...

~s

Recapping the past six months....

it's been a dry spell here on the 'ole blog.

so here's my attempt to recap a bit of how the last six months have gone:

- a michigan christmas (Dec 2008)

- MCC/SEMILLA work highlights (Jan-Feb 2009)

- guatemala goodbyes (Feb-March 2009)

- a guatemala visit from friends sharon and nick (March 2009)

- a visit to the ixil indigenous communties of nebaj, fellow MCCer david's placement site

- a visit to cousin ashley, in her peace corps placement in an indigenous reservation in costa rica (March 2009)

- a two- month transition in texas, as a live-in volunteer at world hunger relief, a sustinable organic farm and training site for folksinterested in rural international development/missions, urban gardening, and organic, community-supported agriculture farms (CSA's)

i'll keep the explanations basic, and just let the pics speak for themselves.

enjoy.

and thanks for tuning in.

~ s

happy day ´o the dead to you

throughout latin america, there are a variety of ways to celebrate all souls day, or "dia de los muertos" ("day of the dead"), as it is referred to in guatemala.

essentially, it is a day to remember ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. cemeteries transform into a huge festival/family reunion.

flower vendors offer piles of assorted blooms in vibrant hues, to be placed in the cubbies and stone vases that adorn loved ones´resting places.

food vendors offer elote asado (grilled corn on the cob with lime and salt, my personal fav); fiambre - an elaborate salad piled high with vegetables, boiled eggs, cold meats; sweet glazed donut holes, pupusas (a borrowed traditional salvadoran stable - grilled cheese stuffed corn tortillas, with pickled cabbage and tomato salsa), ice cream in bell-trimmed carts, and a myriad more.

children beg for balloons from the balloon vendors, while adults whisper prayers and private conversations to names on mausoleums, or mounds of earth. gravesites are sprinkled with flower petals and long, fragrant pine needles, and the favorite foods of the deceased arranged and shared in an annual family picnic.

in the community of santiago sacatepuquez, there is an additional tradition, for which they are well-known, in these parts anyway: the flying and display of elaborate, hand- made kites.

the symbolism of kite-flying is easy to grasp: the kites commune in the heavens with the spirits of ancestors and loved ones who have passed.

here are some pics:

hundreds of kites in various sizes sport intricate tissue paper designs, mimicking the traditional patterns in woven guatemalan cloth.

a variety of youth and community associations also gather together to make large and xtra-large a kites with social statements: about rebuilding and peace after war, caring for the natural creation, faith in god, uniting as a community to overcome current-day exploitation by mines, multi-national corps, and Spanish Conquest-descended plantation owners.

ready for take-off:

then there´s the big-daddies. these kites are display only. and require careful, complicated and athletic assembly by teams of 20 young men.

first, there is the unfolding of the enormous kite:

then comes the assembly of huge bamboo "logs" to make a frame the kite is fastened to :

then comes the lifting, with rope and pulley system:

and if all goes right, you´ve got an upright impressive masterpiece. if it doesn´t, you hear the bamboo crack, and watch the 20 young men scramble to lower the kite before it fully buckles, and then haul in the replacement bamboo, tape and ropes. and give ér a second try.

and eventually, with several teams of ambitious folks, you get a decked-out cemetery that looks like this:

and that´s how you celebrate nov 1st.

cheers.