Monday, December 25, 2006
The last week of December. I've got to get serious about what to pack for my project. Six
months in the Guatemala highlands will be cold. So I know I need warm clothes, jackets and
stuff. But will the Crisis Corps supply warm blankets, towels and things like that?
The project is beginning to take shape, although I don't really have a clear idea of what
will be expected of me just yet. After Hurricane Stan, nine communities chose to move, with
promised Gov't help, from dangerous valley locations to mountaintops. But it seems that
many of these communities still don't have permanent housing, water, or electricity, and
remain dependant on local and international organizations for food and water delivery.
Scarce firewood increases the threat of deforestation.
Articles in La Prensa, the major newspaper in Guatemala, state that only about 55% of the
money originally allocated for recovery from the hurricane has actually been disbursed.
More of the funds are being made available now, but the paper notes that the records of how
the money is being spent are very murky. It implies that much of it may be lining pockets
instead of building houses.
There is a good website that provides information about the situation, the communities and
their current status, at projectinfoixtahuacan.org
There are some things that are definitely different about Guatemala. Right now, there is a
shortage of paper money. A few ATMs will dispense bills, but only in small amounts, and
only to their clients. With my VISA card from a bank in the USA, I am out of luck. Shops
will accept my VISA but I can't get money for small purchases, and neither can a lot of
other folks. There are lots of articles in the newspaper about what a problem this is for
people and for shopkeepers, but no information about what caused this strange absence of
paper, or when more will become available. Strange.
months in the Guatemala highlands will be cold. So I know I need warm clothes, jackets and
stuff. But will the Crisis Corps supply warm blankets, towels and things like that?
The project is beginning to take shape, although I don't really have a clear idea of what
will be expected of me just yet. After Hurricane Stan, nine communities chose to move, with
promised Gov't help, from dangerous valley locations to mountaintops. But it seems that
many of these communities still don't have permanent housing, water, or electricity, and
remain dependant on local and international organizations for food and water delivery.
Scarce firewood increases the threat of deforestation.
Articles in La Prensa, the major newspaper in Guatemala, state that only about 55% of the
money originally allocated for recovery from the hurricane has actually been disbursed.
More of the funds are being made available now, but the paper notes that the records of how
the money is being spent are very murky. It implies that much of it may be lining pockets
instead of building houses.
There is a good website that provides information about the situation, the communities and
their current status, at projectinfoixtahuacan.org
There are some things that are definitely different about Guatemala. Right now, there is a
shortage of paper money. A few ATMs will dispense bills, but only in small amounts, and
only to their clients. With my VISA card from a bank in the USA, I am out of luck. Shops
will accept my VISA but I can't get money for small purchases, and neither can a lot of
other folks. There are lots of articles in the newspaper about what a problem this is for
people and for shopkeepers, but no information about what caused this strange absence of
paper, or when more will become available. Strange.
The last week of December. I've got to get serious about what to pack for my project. Six
months in the Guatemala highlands will be cold. So I know I need warm clothes, jackets and
stuff. But will the Crisis Corps supply warm blankets, towels and things like that?
The project is beginning to take shape, although I don't really have a clear idea of what
will be expected of me just yet. After Hurricane Stan, nine communities chose to move, with
promised Gov't help, from dangerous valley locations to mountaintops. But it seems that
many of these communities still don't have permanent housing, water, or electricity, and
remain dependant on local and international organizations for food and water delivery.
Scarce firewood increases the threat of deforestation.
Articles in La Prensa, the major newspaper in Guatemala, state that only about 55% of the
money originally allocated for recovery from the hurricane has actually been disbursed.
More of the funds are being made available now, but the paper notes that the records of how
the money is being spent are very murky. It implies that much of it may be lining pockets
instead of building houses.
There is a good website that provides information about the situation, the communities and
their current status, at projectinfoixtahuacan.org
There are some things that are definitely different about Guatemala. Right now, there is a
shortage of paper money. A few ATMs will dispense bills, but only in small amounts, and
only to their clients. With my VISA card from a bank in the USA, I am out of luck. Shops
will accept my VISA but I can't get money for small purchases, and neither can a lot of
other folks. There are lots of articles in the newspaper about what a problem this is for
people and for shopkeepers, but no information about what caused this strange absence of
paper, or when more will become available. Strange.
months in the Guatemala highlands will be cold. So I know I need warm clothes, jackets and
stuff. But will the Crisis Corps supply warm blankets, towels and things like that?
The project is beginning to take shape, although I don't really have a clear idea of what
will be expected of me just yet. After Hurricane Stan, nine communities chose to move, with
promised Gov't help, from dangerous valley locations to mountaintops. But it seems that
many of these communities still don't have permanent housing, water, or electricity, and
remain dependant on local and international organizations for food and water delivery.
Scarce firewood increases the threat of deforestation.
Articles in La Prensa, the major newspaper in Guatemala, state that only about 55% of the
money originally allocated for recovery from the hurricane has actually been disbursed.
More of the funds are being made available now, but the paper notes that the records of how
the money is being spent are very murky. It implies that much of it may be lining pockets
instead of building houses.
There is a good website that provides information about the situation, the communities and
their current status, at projectinfoixtahuacan.org
There are some things that are definitely different about Guatemala. Right now, there is a
shortage of paper money. A few ATMs will dispense bills, but only in small amounts, and
only to their clients. With my VISA card from a bank in the USA, I am out of luck. Shops
will accept my VISA but I can't get money for small purchases, and neither can a lot of
other folks. There are lots of articles in the newspaper about what a problem this is for
people and for shopkeepers, but no information about what caused this strange absence of
paper, or when more will become available. Strange.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Further correction: It is "creche."
OK.
Four months, here in Querétaro – much longer than I had expected, and an awfully long time to be apart from Myrna. But suddenly the time for the next adventure is here. I leave for Guatemala and Myrna in two days, on Sunday, to stay through Christmas and New Year’s. Before I leave, Christianne and Tom have invited a group of friends to a lunch tomorrow as a bon-voyage party.
Then on Jan 4th I will begin a 6-month project with the Crisis Corps. The goal is to help a Guatemalan village through the final stages of recovery from the effects of Hurricane Stan, and to help in formulating plans for prompt reaction whenever a new disaster occurs. Since Stan, a whole group of people have been moved from dangerous sites that are prone to landslides to homes at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately for me, the mountain is about 9,000 ft, so it is cold there. Frost in the mornings, I’m told. I’m not looking forward to that part of the project!
The plan is to complete this service and then return to Mexico, hopefully for a two-year stint with the Peace Corps here. Since the HQ of Peace Corps Mexico is right here in Querétaro, I attended the swearing-in ceremony for the latest group of volunteers last Wednesday. This certainly is a different kind of Peace Corps. The age profile is turned upside-down from Tanzania and other programs I know of. There appeared to be only about two volunteers under the age of 50. Lots of engineers, scientists, and strategic planning types. I’m not sure this is the kind of effort that JFK had in mind, but it seems to have a lot of support here, and for my own interests, sounds more in-line with my career than teaching high-school chemistry in Tanzania. Anyway, the food was great, the mariachi band was energetic, the speeches were relatively short, and I met a number of the Peace Corps staff and heard encouraging words from them. So, onward and upward.
OK.
Four months, here in Querétaro – much longer than I had expected, and an awfully long time to be apart from Myrna. But suddenly the time for the next adventure is here. I leave for Guatemala and Myrna in two days, on Sunday, to stay through Christmas and New Year’s. Before I leave, Christianne and Tom have invited a group of friends to a lunch tomorrow as a bon-voyage party.
Then on Jan 4th I will begin a 6-month project with the Crisis Corps. The goal is to help a Guatemalan village through the final stages of recovery from the effects of Hurricane Stan, and to help in formulating plans for prompt reaction whenever a new disaster occurs. Since Stan, a whole group of people have been moved from dangerous sites that are prone to landslides to homes at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately for me, the mountain is about 9,000 ft, so it is cold there. Frost in the mornings, I’m told. I’m not looking forward to that part of the project!
The plan is to complete this service and then return to Mexico, hopefully for a two-year stint with the Peace Corps here. Since the HQ of Peace Corps Mexico is right here in Querétaro, I attended the swearing-in ceremony for the latest group of volunteers last Wednesday. This certainly is a different kind of Peace Corps. The age profile is turned upside-down from Tanzania and other programs I know of. There appeared to be only about two volunteers under the age of 50. Lots of engineers, scientists, and strategic planning types. I’m not sure this is the kind of effort that JFK had in mind, but it seems to have a lot of support here, and for my own interests, sounds more in-line with my career than teaching high-school chemistry in Tanzania. Anyway, the food was great, the mariachi band was energetic, the speeches were relatively short, and I met a number of the Peace Corps staff and heard encouraging words from them. So, onward and upward.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
OK, so I got the spelling wrong: It is crech, not krech. Nice to know that at least a few people, like my sister, check out my blog from time to time and keep me honest. Anyway, this is a picture of the manger scene in Queretaro, with St. Francis of Asisi looking on from the left. The manger is actually empty - it sprinkled a bit last night, and maybe they moved the child to a hotel to keep him warm and dry?This is the first time that I have tried to add photos to this blog. It is easy when it works, which is apparently not always. I should have been doing this long ago, although it does take a fair amount of time to upload the photos.
And here are a couple of the devils, intent on stopping the Queretaro shepards on their way to Bethlehem.
I love the bulbous hippo floating in its little pool in the middle of the Garden of Eden
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
It is comfortable during the days here, but it is definitely cold this evening. Shopkeepers are huddled in corners of their stores, and people are walking around with scarves over their noses and mouths. Mexicans are convinced that cold air by itself causes illness. Still, there are an amazing number of street performances and activities happening in here Queretaro, building up to Christmas. Yesterday evening I was walking to a concert (free) and stopped to watch yet another procession - a group of young kids dancing and carrying religious banners, followed by a small band, then a truck or two carrying images of the Virgin of Guadelupe, Mexico's patron saint, then a group of adults singing and clapping.
Zenia Garden, the big public square with the bandshell designed by the Frenchman of Eiffel Tower fame, is a hive of activity. The greenery areas have been converted to Christmas scenes. But the inevitable krech occupies only about a fifth of the total. Other scenes include the Garden of Eden, representations of Queretaro itself, and a huge area given over to devils, fiends and beasties, accompanied by huge spiders, burning torches and pots of fire, sound effects and a smoke generater. All surrounded by borders of poinsettias and other pretty flowers. There are concerts and school choruses performing in the Garden every night this month.
The school choruses tend to rely on English carols, and it is a gas to hear familiar carols sung with Spanish accents. Often it is pretty obvious that they have no idea what they are singing about (Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful, or Jingle bells). Makes me think of all the choruses I've sung in Latin or French without really bothering to translate the words.
The mix of local lore and Mexican figures with the classic Christmas scenes we take for granted is delightful. The scroll in front of the devils and fiends captures the spirit. It explains, roughly, that when Lucifer saw the shepards heading off toward Bethlehem, he sent his legions to Queretaro (!) to intercept these simple Christians (?) and attract them to hell instead. But even supported by their friends the spiders, rats, and cockroaches, the shepards turned them down. (What a surprise! ) A few were almost subverted by wine and women, but the trusty crew finally persevered and continued on toward Bethlehem. Halleluia!
I now have a January 4 starting date for my project with the Crisis Corps in Guatemala. That gives a focus for Myrna and me to explore together whether we spend Christmas in Guatemala or Mexico.
Politically, it has been fascinating to watch Mexico struggle to inaugurate its new President in the face of continuing opposition from the loser of the election. Calderon kind of snuck into the crowded Chamber of Deputies, got draped with the Presidential Sash, delivered the required oath, and was outtathere in less than 4 minutes! He's a little guy. An opposition paper printed a picture of him wearing the sash, dwarfed by the now-ex-President Fox. Made him look about as absurd as Dukaukis with his head sticking out of a tank. He's got a tough job ahead.
Zenia Garden, the big public square with the bandshell designed by the Frenchman of Eiffel Tower fame, is a hive of activity. The greenery areas have been converted to Christmas scenes. But the inevitable krech occupies only about a fifth of the total. Other scenes include the Garden of Eden, representations of Queretaro itself, and a huge area given over to devils, fiends and beasties, accompanied by huge spiders, burning torches and pots of fire, sound effects and a smoke generater. All surrounded by borders of poinsettias and other pretty flowers. There are concerts and school choruses performing in the Garden every night this month.
The school choruses tend to rely on English carols, and it is a gas to hear familiar carols sung with Spanish accents. Often it is pretty obvious that they have no idea what they are singing about (Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful, or Jingle bells). Makes me think of all the choruses I've sung in Latin or French without really bothering to translate the words.
The mix of local lore and Mexican figures with the classic Christmas scenes we take for granted is delightful. The scroll in front of the devils and fiends captures the spirit. It explains, roughly, that when Lucifer saw the shepards heading off toward Bethlehem, he sent his legions to Queretaro (!) to intercept these simple Christians (?) and attract them to hell instead. But even supported by their friends the spiders, rats, and cockroaches, the shepards turned them down. (What a surprise! ) A few were almost subverted by wine and women, but the trusty crew finally persevered and continued on toward Bethlehem. Halleluia!
I now have a January 4 starting date for my project with the Crisis Corps in Guatemala. That gives a focus for Myrna and me to explore together whether we spend Christmas in Guatemala or Mexico.
Politically, it has been fascinating to watch Mexico struggle to inaugurate its new President in the face of continuing opposition from the loser of the election. Calderon kind of snuck into the crowded Chamber of Deputies, got draped with the Presidential Sash, delivered the required oath, and was outtathere in less than 4 minutes! He's a little guy. An opposition paper printed a picture of him wearing the sash, dwarfed by the now-ex-President Fox. Made him look about as absurd as Dukaukis with his head sticking out of a tank. He's got a tough job ahead.
