The Return

After spending some amazing time in León - which felt like the political capital of Nicaragua - I felt it time to head back towards Guatemala, my friends and my home in the jungle. I spent my last day in Nicaragua visiting museums dedicated to art from the world, the Nicaraguan revolution, and wandering through the streets soaking in the incredible graffiti that lines the buildings. But having grown tired, visited four beautiful, distinct sites in about ten days, met folks from all of the world, climbed a volcano, eaten amazing food, and thoroughly enjoyed life, my journey home was about the only thing left on my to-do list.

León, 4am: I leave on a bus up to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. This trip, I take believing that it will leave me only about an hour and a half of travel the following day according to every map I've investigated. On top of that, I get the privilege of passing a night in SPS, the HIV/Aids capital of Central America! San Pedro also has a reputation as a very dangerous city, but the people there were wonderful and helpful. I headed off to a cheap hotel when the older woman who helped me not only made phone calls to try to search for the easiest way back home, but even left me an envelope in the morning with half the money I had paid for my room as a discount. We had chatted about volunteer work and how this was just a passing through point on my trip back to the jungle... she was truly a joy.

San Pedro Sula, 4am: For the second consecutive day, I rise well before the sun to start my journey. Having heard many "horror-stories" of this city, I contemplate waiting for the sun to come up and people to start their work day before I head off in search for my bus. But my eagerness to get back to Guatemala pushed me out the door and everyone I encountered in the street offered to help me find the bus I was looking for. Gotta love when stereotypes fall on their faces!

Slight disappointment: I was a bit disappointed that only one prostitute blew me kisses in an attempt to conquer my heart. That said, I only saw one prostitute in plain-sight, so I guess I'm still batting 1.000 in that department, and it could be worse.

As I said earlier, I thought the trip from San Pedro Sula to Puerto Barrios (the closest city to where I live was a short one) and by land it is. But 3 buses and 7 hours later, I finally arrive back in Guatemala and could honestly feel the difference. It's amazing after having spent about 7 or 8 months in this country how I have that feeling that I am home. While I don't see it as a permanent home, for now, it feels right. Seeing some of my students upon arrival working in Buga Mama, our restaurant/practical classroom, a smile broke across my face as these kids have become such an important part of my life. How privileged I am to lead the life that I am living!

Pictures hopefully to be coming soon. Thanks for reading and please e-mail life updates on your ends as I am curious how folks are doing. jesse.schaubenfuerst@gmail.com

For a better world,

Jesse

Quick Shout Out

Shout out to my 3 blog "followers," although I'm not exactly sure what that entails. 2 of them happen to be my parents... which is probably a clue-in to my social connections in the world. But hey! Happy to have them. A special shout out to the wonderful, beautiful Melissa Sandoval, with her super tips on Nicaraguan hot spots. Thanks Mel! In Leon & Nicaragua until tomorrow; hitting up the museums a little later to get a better perspective on the Sandinista/Somoza histoy. Nothing more, nothing less.

For a better world,

Jesse

Medio Quemado

After a day of traveling by old school buses, boats, and rickity taxis, I have made it back to Granada. Without realizing it along the way, I must have been sitting on the same side of each means of transportation, because as I just dipped into the mini pool in my hostel, one side of my body, I find is completely burned and the other in good shape.

But before any more details about the here-and-now, I feel some backtracking is in order. As I had mentioned, while the students at Ak'Tenamit are on vacation for Semana Santa (Easter), I would head off to Nicaragua. I have finally just had some time to reflect on some of the past days goings-on and am quite pleased to report back on the range of these events from some good and bad, some that went right and others wrong, and some that are just plain bizarre. And it is there we will begin...

Before reading this anecdote, one must understand that I am still unsure to whether it is dream or reality, and for that it should be read with a grain of salt. Background: Guatemala offers a 90-day tourist visa. April 3rd I got back from a three-week trip to the States and therefore was granted a new visa. Introduction to 17-hours on bus from Guatemala City to Managua: In order to prepare for the ride, I took sleeping pills, and because they had expired decided to up the dosage and take two. One, we can now safely say, would have done the trick. My memory reports back the following: One of the employees of the bus company wakes me up at the El Salvadoran border demanding the payment of a fine of some 300 Q or $40. I don't know too many people who react well being stirred from their sleep, especially for demands of ludicrious payments. The drugs in my system were just an added bonus. Lacking the ability of words and thought processing, I stared dumbly until I could shake into some state of relative consciousness. It eventually dawned on me that they were probably referring to the aforementioned visa and merely struggling to find my newly acquired stamp. Be it in my dream or reality (that I will never know) - I showed them the stamp and fell back into a deep sleep - or was never out of it to begin with.

My day began in both Managua and Granada with tours from boys from the street. In Managua they boys explained to me the history of the old cathedral, National Palace and a local park. They children blew me away with what seemed like endless knowledge of their city and shared it with such pride. All day, people had been telling me to steer clear of such children who lurk around, and that they are "robbers," "cheaters," and in general were up to no good. When I asked my "tour guides" about this, they conceded that some boys were exactly those things - mostly out of necessity. My guides went on to say they felt it unfair, however, that most gringos stayed at a distance and even went to great lengths to avoid their paths all together. In exchange for their services, I gave each a quetzal (the Guatemalan currency) as a memory of our interaction. That was Easter Sunday and each of the three gifted me a little art sculpture made from banana leaf. Great kids.

After we parted ways, I headed off to the new cathedral to see how the people of Nicaragua were celebrating Jesus. It seemed though that most Managuans had headed out of town and I soon followed suit. In Granada, my guides new much less about their city, but were sweet and helped pass the time as I tried to get my bearings in a new city.

Granada led me to a Canadian woman who told me she was "doing business." She used the word so non-chalantly as if one would have no difficulty in understanding. Over our conversations to come, I learned that she, her brother, and another guy had started a business with the intention of buying property and "developing" it. Six properties later she claimed a successful trip. When I asked what they planned for their business, she said there was still debate within the "partners" and that the land would need 15 years until ready for whatever might come in the future... She then ranted about what awful steps the new government had taken to prevent foreigners from purchasing land in Nicaragua. We back-and-forthed for a bit about colonization, outsiders buying up and pillaging local resources without giving anything back. These ideas had not been points of concern thus far, she told me and they would cross that road when it presented itself. Clearly this was not the most pleasant way to start my re-immersion into hostel life.

After a day in Managua and one in Granada, I headed off to las Islas de Ometepe. Tagging along with a British guy I met, my adventures carried on at El Zopilote - an ecological hotel. Environmental consciousness is at a high and natural beauty is its rival. A couple days ago I hiked Maderas, the smaller of the island's two volcanoes. Size is such a relative concept, as "smaller" in this case is still a 6 km hike to an altitude of 1400 meters, so give me a break. Our group was composed of the Brit and a woman from New Zealand. We got up in a little more than 4 hours and with how I felt the day after, I believe it to be one of, if not the hardest hike I have ever done. There was no lookout from the top, but a climb down into a crater with a beautiful lake at its center. At this spot we relaxed for a little more than an hour, and ate homemade bread and jam to build our energy back up for the trek down. It was breath-taking... on many levels. Upon our descent we took a wrong turn and at some point, it dawned on all three of us that we were not on the parth which we rose. Carrying on, we eventually (3 hours or so later) came out into a banana field in the backyard of our hotel. It worked out perfectly and were greeted back with a great pizza dinner. A great meal to end a great day.

(Pictures of volcano hike and other highlights to come...)

So now I am back in Granada for the night, only stopping through to split the journy from the islands to Leon. There I hope to get a better feel for the Nicaraguan political scene of which I have heard so much. Hoping that the world is well and that the pirates stay out of this part of the world :)

With love,

Jesse

Reflections

Still here in Guatemala City. Leaving for Managua, Nicaragua at 3 am. Haven't had this much internet in Guatemala for what seems like all my previous six months combined so please forgive my rambles. Just found out via blogger.com that my zodiac sign is an Ox - not sure exactly how to feel about that. Living in a manatee reserve, I have begun to identify in our giant, peaceful neighbors. But now this new revelation that I may be more of an ox than a manatee is stressing me out.

Really proud of both Iowa's and Vermont's (especially my former home's) step towards equality for our gay brothers and lesbian sisters on the same-sex marriage issue. Shout out to House Rep. Kesha Ram for helping get the job done. The passage and previous debate has helped open up some great conversations down in Guatemala for me about inequality, diversity, and social movements. These have been especially profound with my students who find it difficult to believe in the concept "justice" after so many of their communities were destroyed, family members killed, and any resources taken away by the dominant groups in their society. So thanks to Iowa and Vermont!

Spent today wandering around Guate to see how the folks here celebrate Good Friday, went into a couple cathedrals, talked to some street vendors and kids about why today is such a special day for them. Many spoke to me about the power of Jesus and how he died for our sins. The kids however, seemed more thrilled because this is one of the few days out of the year that families spend part of whatever money they've been saving. Be it an shaved ice in the street or eating out in a restuarant, I saw many children of the street - normally forced into begging and kept out of schools - with sincere smiles on their faces enjoying a treat for maybe this one day out of the year, all while I was walking around in the heat, sweating: Truly a great reward from the kids.

To a better world,

Jesse

A Blogger's Recap

Greetings to all!

Welcome to Waxiru - Loco - Crazy (WLC). For those of you who haven't dusted off your Q'eqchi in a while, or Spanish for that matter, "Waxiru" ((Q'eqchi), one of the Maya dialects that is spoken in Guatemala) and "Loco" (Spanish) both mean, "Crazy," or one of the many words I could have chosen to describe my experience thus far in Central America.

This is my first ever blog entry and had I been writing seven months or so ago, the introduction would be a bit more fluid and this would have read more as a pre-departure for my trip to Guatemala. If you check your calendar today, it is not seven months ago. In fact, it is today, the 9th of April, the birthday of the wonderful Sarah Schauben-Fuerst (brownie points) and the beautiful Joseph Thomas, and therefore it is my duty to backtrack just a bit. I will refrain from a detailed outline of the past half year I have spent down here, but provide a recap of several highlights.

1. Decided to move down to Central America for some time to do some volunteer work, help find my passion and some direction in life all while trying to make the world a bit better a place topped off by trading in a New England winter for a Central American one.

2. Helped re-organize the Kamalbe Spanish language school (kamalbeschool.org) in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala. Spent about five weeks with three determined guys who started this school with the intention of offering Spanish courses to foreigners while providing volunteer opportunities in the rural outskirts of the second biggest city in Guatemala. Things started out well but I decided that this work was not fulfilling nor sustainable and it was time to move on.

3. Before moving on was possible, twenty-five local police officers thought it would be nice to thow me a "going-away" party at 5:45 am on the my intended day of departure. They brought party favors including big guns, a broken front door, a full search for fire arms, drugs, rabid animals, etc., the arrest of my housemate for a few crumbs of marijuana, and his charging of storage and distribution of illegal drugs. What party favors they forgot: cake, presents, the little cone-shaped party hats. Needless to say it was not the best party I'd ever been to, but boy did they think it was fun to come wish me off! My friend spent six days in jail before the ludicrous charges were dropped.

4. I arrive back in Livingston, Guatemala in route to Ak'Tenamit (my current place of volunteer employment) after first visiting the Caribbean coastal town two years earlier with a group from the University of Vermont. A small, laid back beach town, Livingston is made up of three primary ethnic groups. The q'eqechi indigenous population, the latinos, and the garifuna (a black population made up of the mixing of Caribbean, African and Arawak people.) Livingston continues to be the main weekend destination of Ak'Tenamit volunteers for an escape from some of our (not so) pleasant realities (keep reading further...)

5. Ak'Tenamit (aktenamit.org) is a multi-faceted social development project, owned and operated by the local and indigenous people focused on improving the lives of the native population which was targeted during the 36 year civil war in Guatemala that left 200,000 dead and another 50,000 whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The organization works in areas of health care, education, community and gender development, HIV/AIDS prevention, and alternative income generation. Tucked away on the Rio Dulce between the towns of Livingston and Rio Dulce, Ak'Tenamit is as serene a setting that one can find in Guatemala. With breath-taking sunrises over the river, animals singing their songs in the jungle, people trying to improve their own lives and those of others, my six months here have been one of the greatest and most beneficial experiences of my life.

Highlights here include eating beans and tortillas for almost every meal for six months; using a hole in the ground for a bathroom; having a tree-trunk bridge (intending to support both me and a co-worker) snap below my feet while we hiked into the communities to conduct research on contaminated water sources, leaving him to jump back to the mainland and me plumeting down about 13 feet into a water source below, and my first of too many cellphones breaking in the process... the camera fortuantely survived; having another cell phone see its life end in the river and an iPod to boot. Since then I have divorced almost all electronic devices from my life. Had I only learned before the iPod.

I currently teach English and a class on American-Guatemalan relations at our boarding school to about 2/5 of the 550 indigenous students (aging from about 12-23) from aldeas (villages) spanning from one coast of Guatemala to the other. My life consists of waking up in my little, electricty-free house to the shouts of the students bathing and washing their clothes at about 5 am. That usually means that it's time for my morning bath/swim in the river as we don't exactly have a running water supply. Breakfast comes and goes and then it's off to class. After about a 30 minute ride down river in my hollowed-out tree (or a canoe if you will) I teach for the day. We subsidize our food - beans and tortillas for the most part - with fruits and vegetables from down river.

Life is simple, but romantic. Other volunteers come from Argentina (1) Austria (2) Belgium (2) Germany (1) Spain (4) and two others from the US.

So there is a not-so-brief recap of the past six months. I just got back from a three-week trip back home. So for those of you whom I saw, it was great to see you. For those of you whom I missed, until the next time. Easter, or Semana Santa has arrived and is one of Guatemala's biggest holidays. Therefore, in order to escape a bit, on Saturday I leave for Nicaragua for about 10 days before the next trimester starts.

Stay tuned for updates. As I am a new blogger, it is still undetermined how attentive I will be. Some overdue it and end up concentrating more on writing than actually experiencing, others never post again after the introduction forgetting to keep their readers in the loop. Here at Waxiru - Loco - Crazy we will be looking for that perfect balance. Thanks for reading.

To a better world,

Jesse