Finally in Country!

Landing in Guatemala was nerve racking. I had waited so long to be able to get here and to finally be physically present in this country was very surreal. Getting off the plane caught my breath right away, and not just because it was so humid I couldn’t breathe. A few of the staff from the office and a couple volunteers met us at our baggage pick up and they couldn’t have been more welcoming, with big hugs and expressions of bienvenida! Once through customs we made our way to the office in a couple of vans, eating the fruit and drinking the nectars that our welcoming committee so thoughtfully provided. Traffic was a zoo, but our drivers expertly navigated what appeared to me an impossible maze. The countryside we passed through was lush and green, the road twisting and turning up and down the mountains.

Once at the office the training commenced! We stayed three days in a hotel near the office, with basic trainings to help us not immediately get into too much trouble. On day three we met our training host families for the first time. Anticipation hung thick in the air, making the humidity pale in comparison. After brief introductions, a couple of icebreakers, and a quick photo op, we made our way to the villages that will be our homes until we finish pre-service training in June. The 14 of us in my training class (Bak’tun 7!) are divided among four different villages based on our language level.

My host family is indigenous and lives in a town that is about 90ish% indigenous as well. My family consists of Grandmother, Grandfather, Mother, and three kids, ages 18, 14, and 12. They are all very sweet to me, albeit sometimes rather quiet.  The women of the family tejen (weave), as is the general tradition here. My 18-year-old sister, however, is currently studying tourism at the university. She is very smart and works insanely hard (50+ hours of work during the week and then all weekend at the university).

I generally have Spanish classes 3-4 days a week, 2-3 days I have technical training, and mixed up in between are classes on safety and security, medical, general history, etc. It’s pretty busy but very comprehensive, which makes me feel more confident in what I am doing here.

So what will I be doing here?

I feel like the answer to this question will continually evolve until the day I return to the United States, but as of now I am learning that the Peace Corps is not a charity organization, but rather a development organization. Instead of going and giving specific information or resources, I am going to be working closely with my health center counterparts to develop the programs and education they believe in. It’s the metaphor of teaching someone to fish so they can eat the rest of their lives rather than just feeding them dinner one day. Granted, my work will be centered on specifically improving health outcomes of mothers and their young children, but the way we’re going to get there is yet to be discovered, which is both exciting and daunting.

In the words of a wise friend, until next time, KEEP CALM AND GUATEMALA ON!