Postcrossing Favorites for February

February's favorite postcards received via Postcrossing.com are:

From England

From France

The Charles Bridge in Prague, Czechoslovakia

(See http://myturntodayyourstomorrow-cheryl.blogspot.com/2010/07/postcrossing.html for details about Postcrossing.com.)

Part 20 "Adios, Babies!"

[Cheryl's Note: Follow the rest of Michelle's adventure in the March blog posts.]


Michelle writes: Tomorrow I take a shuttle bus to Panajachel, a popular tourist town on the lake. From there, I take a boat to Santiago Atitlan. Then, I'm supposed to show a tuk-tuk driver the photo on the flyer for the Elder Center. That is supposed to get me there; if not, I have a phone number of a lady. It is all an adventure! Everyone is so helpful, I'm not worried. Is that called blind faith?


I will miss the babies.

Baby René

Mario, an independent nino, follows you around the hospital.

Sweet Juan Antonio always sucks those middle fingers to fall asleep.

The twins voice their opinions.

This 4'10" nurse is a powerhouse, keeping Casa Jackson's babies fed, changed, bathed and charted!

Part 19 "Tamale Quest"

Michelle writes: My house mother, Dora Luz, recommended a place to me after I praised the tamales she made for St Valentine's Day. The new place had tamales, but not as good as Dora Luz's; wrapped in a banana leaf to steam, they are very moist.

So, I walked into this place that looks tiny from the street. Inside, there was a counter and a glass display with pastries and a table for two in the corner of the room, which was about 8 feet wide.
      Apparently this place is a local secret, because you wouldn't know they served food just by walking past. I stood there as a couple guys came out of the back, which you can't see because of the dim lighting and partitions. They unhooked a chain that spanned the narrow access. I said I wanted a tamale, which someone had to interpret for the old lady who runs the place. Then the guy indicated that I should go back behind the chain, and there were two tables: one full, the other mostly full. 

      I stood there until a guy seated indicated to sit down at an open chair. As I sat there, the gal next to me decided to talk to me. I was lost because of her rapid speech, but she saw my glazed look and slowed down and then asked if anyone knew English. Luckily, there was a young girl who did.  We started to talk, with my limited Spanish and her limited English. 

      I told the table of people that the mother of the house where I stay told me to come. (I'm sure they were wondering how I found the place), and I wanted a tamale. They were all very gracious, and when I said I was a volunteer with God's Child they knew of the project, and a man thanked me for coming to Guatemala to help his people.  I said that I had worked at Casa Jackson that morning, so we talked about the ages of children and how they stay there until they get gordo (fat). 

      When those people left, they gave me some hugs. Then the conversation continued with another couple from Guatemala City who had come to Antigua for the day because it is tranquilo here. Then I talked to a university student studying business. He was from up north by Santiago Ixcan, a Mayan from Quiche. Together, we stumbled through our communication. He hopes to start a business exporting cardamom, coffee, and textiles, which are what I plan to bring back as well. 

      This is the best lesson: trying to talk with people on the streets! So, I had my tamale, frijoles, (can't believe I'm ordering beans when I eat out, so you know what I'll be eating when I come back to the states), and avocado. Everyone at the table had an avocado, fresh and perfect! All this and a softdrink for 20 Q or $2.50 and a Spanish lesson to boot! Everyone else had a bowl of soup, with a side of rice, avocado, carrot, squash. I'm sure that was the deal of the day. I'm going back there again.

      I hadn't realized that tamales are really a special occasion food, because of all the prep time. Dora Luz usually prepares them at Christmas and then for Valentine's Day. I baked bread for the family, so maybe it was a sharing of specialties. I made cinnamon rolls, oatmeal-and-raisin bread, and a bread with sauteed onions and peppers and chili powder. It was a big hit and shared with Dora's four children and their families. I took some to work as well. Dora Luz is an excellent cook, so I am very fortunate to live in her house.

I had another housemate for three days. Roberto is Canadian and has been working with a Canadian NGO since 2007. He may take a grant writing position with God's Child. It was interesting talking to someone about life here and working with the government systems--local and national--in Honduras and Guatemala. That's another whole story! 

Roberto said life in Antigua is like being at a resort and that Dora Luz's house was very nice with a huge well-equipped kitchen, so check out those pix again!!  He said he wants to hear from me after I've been to Santiago Ixcan. He said that you can tell this is a tourist town as it is clean with good streets. I'm in for an eye opener, I think.


This vendor is serving molé with plantain. In Guatemala, the molé is sweet, so you can imagine bananas in chocolate sauce. Definitely worth the $1.20!

I walked around town a little with Roberto, and he taught me a great response to the street vendors: "solomente mira, un voluntario," only looking, a volunteer. They back right off, knowing you don't have the money of a tourist and are here to help.

Part 18 "La Merced"

Michelle writes:

Went to Catholic mass on Sunday evening at La Merced. What a beautiful church! Of course, I didn´t understand all of it. It was the usual Catholic mass and beautiful guitar music.  The musicians playing and singing were broadcast over a good PA system to the plaza outside. 

Part 17 "Monterrico"

Michelle writes:

I went to the beach last week on my two days off from school and volunteering.  Monterrico is a three-hour shuttle bus ride from Antigua for $10. I shared a room at a hostel ($5 per person) with Sofie, a 22-year-old gal from Sweden who I met on the bus. Sofie has been traveling alone through South America for five months. She'll be here one more month, then go back to Sweden for school this fall.

Monterrico is on the Pacific coast; it has black sand beaches and is very hot from the late morning until evening. We had to sleep with mosquito nets, as the mosquitos were active at night.

 Sofie and I went to the turtle reserve to release a baby turtle that evening, and we toured the museum and tourist center in the waning light. There were no lights in the museum, so it was hard to see anything in the twilight.  

Our guide spoke only Spanish. I did know enough words to get the gist of his story. We saw black turtles, iguanas and caiman in their pens.
  

The next morning we took the 5:30 am tour of the lagoon.

Mangrove trees line the banks. 

As we were boarding our wooden canoe we saw a ferry-like canoe with two cars on it. There was another with a chicken bus loaded with people. 

We watched fishermen pull in their nets, some loaded with fish and others with shrimp. We also saw four-eyed fish. They skim along the surface of the lagoon and then jump like grasshoppers when scared. They have two eyes above and two below. Fascinating!

We saw many birds, as well as the three volcanoes near Antigua to the north. A spectacular morning! 

Life at the beach was calm and quiet compared to the city; it was a very nice change. We napped in the hammocks and swam in the pool, which was very clean.
I had fish fillet one day and caldo de marisco, a bowl of shellfish, the next. Fresh and delicious! I ate over a dozen shrimp, heads and all, a small crab, and a 6-inch fish, minus the head and tail, thankfully!

Part 16 "Tuk-Tuk"

Michelle writes:

When I go to The Scheel Center, I take a tuk-tuk (a motorized 3-wheel golf cart of sorts) as Scheel's is in Colonia Victoria, next to San Felipe. Casa Jackson is in San Felipe. It's a bumpy ride over cobblestone streets and speed bumps.

I had a tuk-tuk driver last week who had lived in Michigan for 20 years and spoke English very well. He came back to Antigua for family and to start a restaurant. He owned a restaurant in the States which did well, and he came to Antigua to open the same Guatemalan/Mexican restaurant. 

After 9-11, life changed for the people here as well as for those of us in the States. Tourism is a major factor, and the Guatemalan economy was hit hard. He had opened the restaurant and had bills. Now, he drives a tuk-tuk and is making more money than he did with the restaurant. 

I think driving a tuk-tuk would be fun, zipping around the streets, weaving in and out of traffic between cars and scooters. However, I don't see any women drivers.

I'm mesmerized at the simplicity in repairing cobblestone streets. A worker pulls up the loose stones as another mixes cement there in the street. The elder of the crew has the task of pounding the stones back into place in the hole that has now been filled with cement. It's a quick and efficient way to take care of potholes! But, I must say the ride is very bumpy on these streets, you see many broken down tuk-tuks.  Good mechanics have a thriving business.

Part 15 "Little Sales GIrl"

Michelle writes:
Yesterday, while studying my Spanish flash cards and sitting in the plaza, I watched three children playing on the bit of grass. The oldest child--a girl about 8 or 9--climbed up on the fountain's wall to fill an empty Coke bottle with water.  On the other side of the fountain, a man was wringing out his shirt and washing his face. Leaves and clippings were floating in the water. I watched to see if the children would drink this less-than appetizing-water.  
No, the girl washed off the little boy's feet and poured some water on his head--the usual kid stuff. Then the children noticed me and came over to see what I was doing besides drinking a Coke. The little boy really wanted a drink. I asked him if he had a vaso ( cup), and later, he did find an empty water bottle.  

The older girl knew her business: she talked to me, telling me her name and those of her siblings or friends. I asked if I could take their picture. When I did, she wanted the camera next, so I let her take a picture as well, before putting it away, because now they all wanted the camera.  
The girl disappeared, but she was back in minutes with shawls woven by her mother, telling me there are more colors and aren't they pretty? I ended up walking over to where her mom was in the central area to check out their wares. Of course, I bought. How can you turn down these sweet children? 
It was nice to have this morning when the air was cool. I plan to bring shawls back from Santiago Ixcan to support their project, and coffee from God's Child Project, one of their money makers.

Speaking of fund-raising, The Scheel Center (see earlier blog post: Part 12) is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center.

Part 14 "Street Scenes"

Michelle writes: 

San Felipe held a festival for St. Valentine's Day. On my way home from Casa Jackson, I bought my lunch from the street vendors: atol (a drink topped with corn), mole, and fresh guava. Yum!

I truly enjoy the street vendors with their tasty food for a reasonable price, the flowering trees everywhere, the colorful clothing of the Mayan people selling their textiles, the assistance of others--whether they are tourists or locals--if one is lost and needs info, the size of the city with people walking everywhere. And of course, the happy smiling faces and the pleasant greetings from the passers-by.

There are daily fireworks celebrating something--birthdays or anniversaries-- that sounds like a heavy rain on a tin roof.

The colors, the colors! The colors of the buildings, the surprise of looking behind the walls and heavy gates that face the street to see a beautiful oasis. 

Restaurants, homes, hotels and private spaces, all constructed with basic building materials: stone, concrete, cinder blocks and tiles.

After being here a while now, certain comforts of home become more apparent. We take for granted the toilet paper available in most restrooms that you flush rather than throw in the trash, sidewalks and streets without a lot of obstacles and holes, dish soap that doesn't feel like cleanser, emissions control (the diesel buses here are belching black exhaust), even having space for practicing yoga that feels clean (the courtyard here is always open to the dust of the city). And long, hot showers! It's good that I'm used to river trips and that the weather here is usually warm. These are small things that we take for granted.


The opportunity to gain an education is another thing that many of us take for granted. The Scheel Center (see earlier post: Part 12) is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center.

Part 13 "Finding Myself"

Michelle writes:

Well, I think I now know why I had to come so far away to find myself. I feel so free here. It's just me and no one else to rely on. It's empowering to be in a strange place, knowing I’m OK and will figure out what I need to know, on my own. Being married for so long, I needed to know I can be okay, and in the States it just isn't the same with my safety network of family and friends. Although by writing and posting, I'm still not alone, because you all are with me.

The people I meet are great. Yesterday, I had lunch with Ginny from Vermillion, South Dakota, who is here for 2-1/2 months. She has been involved with a group that sells products from Guatemala, such as organic coffee and textiles, in a fair trade shop in Vermillion. They have return customers for the coffee, and then hope they will also buy gifts. The chocolate here is pretty good also! 
The originator of this project will be in Guatemala next week. Once again  timing came through for me. I'll meet with them next week at their project at Santiago Atitlan, a village on Lake Atitlan. They have a shelter for older women where I want to volunteer. "Sharing the Dream" is their website at: http://www.sharingthedream.org/

So many people are doing service work, and there is such a great need. Don't know where it will take me, but I'm exploring options. 


Education increases the options we can explore. The Scheel Center (see earlier blog post: Part 12) is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center. 

Part 12 "Scheel Center"

Class of 2009 at The Scheel Center

Photo from The Scheel Center's Website at

http://www.scheelcenter.org/home.html

Michelle writes:
The Scheel Center is another school that opened in 2008. There are 150 students here. They receive a stipend to attend school; otherwise they would be working to help the family. The school serves students 8 years old and up and has had a 27-year-old student.  
I got to help in the classroom with math. I haven't been in a classroom, since my kids were in elementary school. The students did very well with the lesson. My job was to walk around and check their work. Luckily, I understood the task, but the language is another issue! I am not sure which grade it was, but the students varied from kids that looked like 4th-graders to a boy who was bigger than me--maybe junior high or high school age.

Student's Vegetable Garden
Here, the focus is on trade skills: cooking, carpentry, computers, gardening. Students from Texas A & M have come here several years to assist with  the gardening program. These skills will then be used at the local hillside homes.

Tires for Terracing

Compost Bin

Scarecrow, Guatemala-Style

Also at the Scheel Center, there is a full-time dentist and a doctor’s office, but no funding for a doctor as yet. There is space for a pharmacy, with beautiful wood cabinetry built on site, but no pharmacist. Funding, as always, is the limiting factor.

All families are interviewed as to need by a full-time psychologist. I am amazed at how many services they are able to provide with such limited staff and small space. Everyone multitasks. 

Tomorrow I will help with food distribution to the families. Off to spend the afternoon with the babies!

For more information about the Scheel Center, go to http://www.scheelcenter.org/home.html
Right now, The Scheel Center is in the process of raising $10, 000 to fund their school here.  Their deadline is Easter Sunday, April 24th, and they've already raised $4,000. If you want to contribute, please go to www.globalgiving.org. Type "Scheel Center" into the website's search box, and you'll find donation options that will benefit The Scheel Center.


[Cheryl's note: I've started a blog for The Scheel Center. To see profiles of some of the volunteers and the staff and to learn more about what they do, go to: http://scheelcenter.blogspot.com]

Part 11 "Homeless Shelter"

Mural at God's Child Dreamer Center 

Depicting Life in Guatemala

Michelle writes: 
Have the morning for some computer time. Worked at the homeless shelter two nights. They open the gates at 6 pm., serving 50-75 per night, mostly men with drug and alcohol problems, some elderly women, and a couple of families with children. There is a concrete divider separating the men from the women and families. 


Both nights we served soup and atol--a warm drink with milk and maize. This is a facility where you can volunteer with limited language skills, so we smile a lot! Alexander is happy to converse with me, as we both have a limited knowledge of the other’s language. They are very gracious as I stumble along.

Maybe there will be some other folks who will volunteer at God’s Child or just come experience this culture. I’m loving it, can you tell? 

Part 10 "Mops and Margaritas"

UP-DATE FROM MICHELLE:  My news is that I have had a change of plans and am staying for another two months!!  Oh my gosh, the freedom to follow your heart.  I am so very blessed to have this time and opportunity.  I will write more later; it´s been a busy week, again!  Am loving it!


Previously, Michelle had written:
Life is busy with volunteering in the morning and Spanish school in the afternoon. My housemate was leaving, so we went out the past two nights. I had a great margarita made with mint and herbs! Of course, they have the usual, but I'm always up for something new, and it was worth it. The drinks are between $5 and $7. The other day I bought a beer for the evening for $2. I shared with my host family. They said beer was so expensive they didn't buy it. It is all perspective.

Saturday several parents came to visit and help care for their babies.  It was nice to have extra hands to feed and diaper. It gives the nurses a much needed break. 


Last night, there was a volunteer and just one nurse when a girl with epilepsy had a seizure. We arrived to find alcohol swabs on the floor and the IV hanging (which I've seen in the US as well). I'm sure it gets crazy, and they really do an amazing job. The girl went to the hospital for now. The hospital refers many children to Casa Jackson, knowing they need long-term care and can't stay. Casa Jackson is a small-scale (capacity of 20 children) longer-term hospital focusing on nutrition, as that is a huge problem here and impacts brain and motor skill development profoundly. 

Today I swept and mopped, only to find out that the disinfectant was gone! A long-term volunteer had sent me an email asking if I could help purchase some disinfectant. I hadn't realized the need was so imminent! The mop is a broom with a towel over it. It's a bare bones operation.