Let’s start off with the differences between Chajul and Panachajel. In Panachajel, I am able to take hot showers instead of avoiding the ice cold showers at all costs in Chajul. In Panachajel, I am able to walk the streets without having to watch where my feet land, while in Chajul it was a necessary precaution unless you wanted to end up with your shoe crevices filled with excrement. In Panachajel the streets are even and lined with touristy shops filled with colorful souvenirs compared to the Chajul market which included raw chicken, fresh fruit, and an abundance of flies. Although there are many amazing things about Panachajel and despite the many tourists and locals roaming around, I feel emptiness and longing for Chajul.

No matter where I turned in Chajul I would see a dozen smiling faces and was greeted by holas from every neighborhood kid who happened to be outside at the moment. The women and girls were dressed in their traditional skirts and often seen at the pilas (their version of a washing machine done by hand) or trying to sell some of their weavings. The corn tortillas were always fresh and in abundance, the students always ready to learn, and Philanthropiece and Limitless Horizons always cooking up a new program or activity. This is why I loved Chajul. Chajul has a culture that is unshakeable (sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing), and a community that is willing to take matters into their own hands to protect their town. The rawness of Chajul made others in the group ready to leave when the time came, but as for myself, I was wishing I could spend another week, month, or year residing and living among side these amazing people. Having the opportunity to learn about these people’s struggles, experience their daily life, and spending quality time with them through dancing, reading, and singing made me become attached to these people and the way they live. Chajul and its people inspired and kindled a passion in me. I not only want to continue helping them on the problems they face, but also continue to learn from the perseverance and ambition that so many of them have. On the way out of Chajul and on the way to Panachajel I could not help but daydream about the day I will be able to return to Chajul.

 

A city like Panachajel is great, but it’s not Chajul. It is configured and molded into a destination that would please those who came from all over the world to see the beautiful Guatemala instead of the real Guatemala. It is a place where the locals are ready to sell, not to learn, teach and expand. Personally I would take a cultured, raw town like Chajul over a tourist town any day, but obviously my opinion is a bit biased.

Between Antigua, San Lucas Toliman and Chajul there has been no shortage of hearing the word ‘hola’ from the un-expectedly friendly locals we have encountered thus far.

For the past 11 days, each day begins on the rugged streets of Chajul that are full of character! Whether it is the chickens running around, the numerous dogs in search of scraps of food, or the trash that seems to never end, it is always an adventure!

Photo by Hannah Boyer

Whenever we are out, whether that be in the morning, afternoon, or night the locals are not shy in greeting us in an attempt to catch our attention.
“Dias,” “tardes,”or “noches” with the added “buenos” before to match the current time of day, is heard from more than a handful of people on any given day.
One morning, when we walked no more than ten minutes from our hotel to our next location, I counted seven separate morning greetings that I personally made eye contact with the greeter.  This number does not include the greetings that other members of my group might have received as well.
The majority of these greetings are from the local children. Some of the children of Chajul were actually the first to greet us upon our arrival into the city. They jumped playfully onto the back bumper of our bus almost as if they were exclusively escorting us into their community. The children here are consistently seen carelessly running and playing in the streets.  Children and toddlers do basically whatever they please, without a parent in sight.

These children who welcome us with so much excitement do not know anything about us besides the fact that we are different from them. We are merely the ‘Gringos’ who are visiting their city.
I bring up these positive greetings to compare to the dwindling tradition of the “howdy” greeting spoken on campus by our student body. As students at A&M, we are connected by the given title, Aggies, however we hardly ever greet each other in passing.
Why?
Being solely a visitor here and having no established relationship with the people here in Guatemala, I have noticed that the children are still not too shy to exhibit their friendliness to complete strangers. I then ask myself, “Why are we so hesitant to say “howdy” to our fellow Aggies whom we do have a mutual connection with?” 
Photo by Hannah Boyer

Occasionally a group of curious kids will start following our group in passing for their own amusement. Although we are the ones trying to observe and develop an idea that could positively impact the Chajulenses’ lives for the better, we find ourselves to be the ones being observed and end up learning something new in our daily interactions with them.

Ultimately, I find myself expressing the same friendliness and curiosity they have exhibited to me. I hope to continue to express this when I return home and to Aggieland.  The experiences I have encountered on this trip from the enthusiastic “hola’s” from the local children, to working with scholarship students of Philanthropiece in our service project with LHI (Limitless Horizons Ixil);  I feel as if these positive encounters have contributed significantly to my perception and outlook of life.
I will truly miss every single Chajulense that I have come in contact with, regardless of the lack of communication due to my slowly growing Spanish vocabulary. I really hope to someday return and show the people of Chajul some true Texas hospitality.

Just to go ahead and answer everyone’s questions, yes I did get my nails done for this trip! Shocking I know but having perfectly white fingernails somehow makes me feel so much better. With that being said I also found it to be a unique way to connect with some of the scholarship students that we worked with in Chajul. How do incredibly expensive manicures and a very poor community connect? It’s actually a lot simpler than one might think; every girl loves to feel pretty.

A quick glance around the streets of Chajul and you will see a beautiful red skirt worn by practically every female as well as intricately woven “huipile” for their tops. Each one is individually handmade to stand out from the rest, from the color of the fabric itself down to the animals and color of thread used to make them. Just like in America the women also enjoy creating extravagant earrings, necklaces, and many hair accessories.

While this all may seem a bit irrelevant considering that it is such a broad way to link to very opposite worlds together; I soon realized that the connection ran much deeper. Not only did the women wear beautiful clothing but they also did hard labor in them without getting dirty or ruining their outfits! It is a running joke in our group that I have been known as a “doll” who refused to get my clothes dirty OR mess up my nails throughout this whole trip, but I still participated in all of the hands on activities. I found it quite funny to look around and see that even though the girls looked as though they were going out in their nice outfits they were standing right along beside me doing manual work to construct a composting bin for their school. Isn’t it amazing to think that women can do just as much as men and still looking amazingly beautiful at the same time? While many of my classmates (mainly my teacher) had preconceptions about the amount of participation I was going to be accountable for; they soon realized that the old saying “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is way more than accurate!

 

 

More importantly isn’t that what all humans want? To be given the opportunity to show how great we can be at something? I believe this experience has given me more of an insight into a completely opposite culture, but also showed me that in the end we are all have some sort of common ground on which we can build a relationship and understanding of each other, even if we come from totally different backgrounds.

I speak English and they speak Spanish… and I’m supposed to stay with them for a whole night? This should be interesting. Last night I had the opportunity to stay with one of the families in Chajul. When first entering into the house, I already had my doubts. It’s not like your typical American house, but after about five minutes of communicating with the family I felt right in. It was a lot of fun we got to help make dinner and the whole family sat in the kitchen while the mother finished preparing supper. I kept thinking of back home in Texas, counting all the times I sat in the kitchen for hours waiting on mom to finish dinner and I could only recall a few and that was because I was forced. The culture is centered around relationships and the families are very close; which I admire and will definitely bring this bond back home. My stay ended up being one of the best moments on this trip. I loved sharing part of my culture with theirs and learning Spanish and Ixel and teaching them English. Gracias, Tantiuxh, and Thank you!!!

A device I used to use 24/7; hasn’t even been taken out of my purse except maybe once or twice… My phone. It’s a blessing and a hassle that I can’t text, call, snap chat, or Facebook whenever I want. I’ve kind of grown accustomed to not talking to my friends and family all day or sending random snap chats because I’m bored. Instead, I’m reading a book, talking with group members, walking around the town, or working on school papers. I never realized how much we rely on our cell phones on a daily basis just to look up the randomness stuff. Not being able to use my phone has allowed me to stay more in the present and notice everything that is happening around me. It’s a shame that technology has changed our lives so much and people have grown accustomed to having conversations over texting instead of face to face. I feel like we lose a lot of the meaning and emotion behind our conversations and with the world in general because we are glued to our electronics. I realize the minute I hit U.S. soil I will be texing, calling, snapchatting, and Facebooking for hours, but having this break has definitely opened my eyes to this new culture here in Guatemala and I hope to try and stay in the present more after I travel back home to Texas.

This past week we have been working with some of the LHI scholars and Philanthropiece students on a huge compost bin WITHOUT any electric tools. We sawed boards in half, hammered posts together, dug holes, and measured and leveled everything out… manually. It took us about 4 mornings to finish this project. I kept saying how much easier it would be if we had electric tools especially when measuring everything out. However, seeing everyone take a turn sawing and “hacking” the wood was pretty entertaining. The LHI and Philanthropiece students kept saying “Cuidado, Cuidado!” “Be careful!” every time we handled the machetes or saws. This past week, with these students, has been a lot of fun and we learned a lot from each other as we combined some of our Texan skills with their Guatemalan skills.

Visiting IMAP  (The Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute) and seeing how they work was probably one of the most intriguing and awe-inspiring activities we’ve participated in. Not only were we able to observe the composting, recycling, and water systems there, we were also able to learn a lot more about “cosmic vision”, which has influenced and shaped the lives of almost everyone in the indigenous Guatemalan society.  Knowing our place in the universe and observing the daily behaviors of plants and animals are some of the cornerstones of cosmic vision. It’s really amazing how people here have taken the time to not only learn from their ancestors, but also from each other to keep finding new innovative ways of accomplishing their task.

“There is no waste in nature.” – Ronnie

[Using old tires for farming rather than risking them ending up in local lakes]

If you really ponder that quote, it makes a lot of sense. From the birth to the death of every life on this planet, waste is something that we’ve created through the lack of understanding the full use and recycling capabilities of those products. By coming up with new innovative ways to recycle and reuse most household waste, many families have been able to reduce the amount of trash they output, which would otherwise end up on the streets and/or the local water source.  Although it was very different and somewhat “weird” to the most of us, using sawdust in the bathrooms instead of water seemed to be an extremely effective way to make sure that the sewer doesn’t contaminate the nearby lake. The knowledge of compost creation has allowed them to produce about 1,200 pounds of compost that can be used in IMAP crop fields each year. There were many safety precautions taken to kill the pathogens and microbes in the raw materials for compost, a process that can take months to complete but if done right saves a ton of money for this poverty-stricken society. The concept here was to not only have a temporary solution for this permanent problem, but to find a permanent and sustainable solution that could be used continuously by future generations.

“There is no straight line in nature”-Goyo

 [Method to prevent flooding and sitting water during heavy rainfall] 

While observing everything around us, like Ronnie said, everything in nature goes counter clock wise. Tornados, vines, the natural path of water, and dogs before they sleep are some of the examples. IMAP has incorporated these concepts throughout their gardens to more effectively make use of the space and the resources available. Furthermore, the fact that cold wind from the north during the day cools the planet and the south wind from the south at night warms the planet is another example of how our planet balances its internal temperature. This is only a small-scale example on Earth. On a bigger scale, we frequently notice the effects the moon has on our planet. Using this knowledge and more, Mayans have been able to understand the complexity of our planet, solar systems and the stars in our night sky.

 

The people of Guatemala have amazed me in the way that they utilize simple resources to achieve everyday tasks. It really put some things into perspective for me, because often times I’ve taken things for granted or have been selective with things that I use like many other Americans. Last week, we worked on creating a Banana Circle for IMAP. We learned to trace out measurements using a stick and a long piece of shredded plastic. It was very resourceful since we had nothing else around. The entire IMAP campus exemplified creative and innovative ways to use what you have to make anything you want. Buildings were made of bamboo sticks, steps made of dirt filled tires, plastic bottles used for potting plants or creating a type of window on buildings, and jewelry made out of seeds. It was really amazing to see how they utilized simple objects or trash even. It reminded me of the phrase “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

I am humbled by the little kids that play soccer in a dirt field with stick goals. It is inspiring to watch the Guatemalan people make the best and the most out of everything. They live in such poverty and hard times, but stay with high spirits. They do not have a choice between what type of cup they would like to drink out of. To have a cup is enough. They do not need a stove and some don’t even want a stove because the fire is enough; it gives warmth and it is where the family gathers around. There are many houses made of wood and tin roofs with bricks to hold it down. There are kids without shoes running in the street. From what I’ve seen people don’t have many clothes to choose from. They sometimes even wear clothes inside out to extend the wear before washing it again. I feel foolish looking back and remembering all the times I’ve worried about the wrong thing. Whether it was worrying about what to wear or not having enough clothes, or not accomplishing a task because I felt the need for specific gear or tools. I’ve become accustomed to having the luxury of a choice and I think that may have stunted my imagination. I want to be innovative and resourceful. In America we become so dependent on technologies that we forget how to function without them.

Necesito practicar Español. I need to practice Spanish.

Living in Texas, Spanish is a huge deal, especially towards the Mexican border. Not only is Spanish a language that is beneficial to know in the Southern part of the United States, it is also is a widespread language of Latin America, South America, Spain, etc. The people of Chajul mainly speak Ixil, the language of the Chajulense, but they are quickly learning Spanish as a means of communicating with others outside of their department.

Due to the incorporation of Spanish into the children’s’ classrooms, Spanish has become widespread. It has basically been the only way to communicate with the people here, of course with the help of a translator. I am very proud of my classmates and my self for our continued learning of Spanish each day. It is amazing how much Spanish one can pick up within a week and a half.

Today was probably the most Spanish-intensive day that we have had so far. We worked on the Lombriculture compost bins with the Limited Horizon scholarship students. We found out quickly that the only way we were going to work together, fully integrated, was by speaking Spanish. I was relieved that the students were so welcoming and willing to help us learn Spanish. They even knew some English words and phrases!

The nonjudgmental environment that the LHI students helped to create was unlike any Spanish classroom environment in the United States. The classrooms back home were a great way to learn the basics of Spanish and I learned many words and ways to form phrases yet never was able to put them into use. Today, we were eager to continue learning a new language and were completely comfortable with trying it out. As a team, the LHI students and TAMU students, we helped each other find the correct words and pronunciation in order for us to communicate to get the job done. And we had fun doing it!

 

Most importantly, the actual use of Spanish and hearing it spoken was the most helpful thing in learning the language. It made me feel great to know that I was learning as I was working and creating relationships with people who spoke a completely different language than myself. Not to mention that they probably thought it was cool to learn some English along the way. These kids will be trilingual some day!

I am so glad that I am finally doing what the three years of high school Spanish prepared me for: actually speaking Spanish.

Quetzals, Tortillas, and 7^th Graders….

In America there are price tags on every single item in a shopping center. Here in Guatemala you have to find a store worker and ask them how many Quetzal or “Cuantos Quetzales”. This past Thursday we had the opportunity to stop at Chichicastango on a market day. This is the biggest and oldest market in all of Guatemala and it occurs every Thursday. All of the streets were filled with vendors selling shoes, blankets, wepils, skirts, bags, knives, fruits, seeds, meat and anything else you can imagine. You would hear a vendor shouting “20 Q” which meant 20 Quetzal. It was very overwhelming, but a lot of fun when bargaining with the different vendors to lower the price. I imagine them thinking, “Those stupid gringos let me sell them this bag for 100 more Quetzals than it’s worth”. I of course ended up buying and spending way more money than I expected…yes I am the typical American girl. One little boy followed me for about 10 minutes all the way back to our restaurant trying to sell me some musical instruments; which of course I succumbed to his constant negotiating and bought them. “Cuantos Quetzales” has now become a daily phrase so far during my stay in Guatemala!

Pancakes for lunch??? Noo… Stacks and stacks of thick pancake like tortillas are served with all of our meals everyday. I’m not sure how I have survived without them while back home in the states. The other day we were given a tortilla making lesson and literally we tossed the dough ball back and forth in our hands and placed them on the stove and we had about 10-15 ready in less than 5 minutes. Why don’t we do this in Texas?  They are so thick and delicious. Everyone keeps saying we will eventually get tired of the tortillas, but so far I am in tortilla heaven. I will never buy tortillas from HEB again… I now know what the taste of a true pancake tortilla is like and there isn’t any going back to the prepackaged kind.

Just picture yourself in the 7^th grade again… Do you remember how hard it was to focus because of the cute boy next to you and the teacher who was trying to introduce the concept of letters and numbers as one subject? Now add in the fact that you can hear the class next door yelling and your desk is wooden and uncomfortable. We take so much for granted in the US especially when it comes to our education system. Every two or so years we are given the newest textbooks, the latest technology, and someone is always coming up with a new way to make our learning environment more enjoyable. Here in Chajul, the kids had so many distractions around them that I wondered how they even focused on the lecture. The middle school we visited today was also considered one of the best academic wise, but yet just observing the classroom for 30 minutes opened my eyes to so many differences from classrooms back home in Texas. These students had a lot of ambition and goals and with the distractions of their daily life I was very proud to see so many attending school. Life here in Chajul has really taught me to appreciate what I have back home especially when it comes to my opportunities in education.

It’s funny how it’s called a “language barrier”. Usually when there is a barrier it is almost impossible to connect to the other side unless you are able to penetrate and tear down the barrier, but when it comes to communicating with a fellow human being there are so many ways to communicate rather than speaking. In Chajul many of the children speak not only Spanish but also a Mayan language called Ixil, this could somewhat be interpreted as a double language barrier in some cases. Of course a translator never hurts (shout out to Molly, Steven, and Alice y’all are the best), but sometimes it takes more than the exchanging of words to form a bond with someone. You have to live through experiences, learn about each other, and have a genuine interest in those people if you want to experience a true connection. Although I speak the same language as however many millions of people in the world, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will get along or will ever get past the typical small talk. I’ve never really given thought to the term language barrier until today in Guatemala, but I’m beginning to think this barrier is completely mental rather than an actual barrier from connecting.

Today was one of the best days that I’ve ever had abroad. You might be wondering what was so extraordinary to make such a lasting mark…did we walk through a rainforest on a bridge over 50 feet high only made of rope and boards? Did we take a tour through a city of ruins and climb a volcano? Did we snorkel in a lake as clear as glass? All I can say to these types of guesses is think simpler. Today we were simply given the opportunity as a group to interact with the Limitless Horizon scholarship students. It started off fairly awkward, fairly uncomfortable, trying to talk to these students in Spanish. I felt like I was making a complete fool out of myself with every word coming out of my mouth, every time I blurted out an attempt at Spanish I would be met with a few giggles but mostly blank stares. The few times I was able to put together a feasible sentence the conversation usually ended right as it began. Then we started playing. This may seem like such an empty, pointless interaction to many, just playing basketball and futbol with these children, but I had so much fun I can’t even begin to describe the joy that filled my heart today. I feel as if this was a way to bond as a unit seeing each other’s competitive…and not so competitive sides. As we continued on with different activities I realized that I didn’t have to say much more than a muy bien and a high five to give encouragement to those around me. We continued on with cool down games such as Amarillo, Verde, Rojo, which was their own version of red light green light and still managed to laugh and smile with no exchange of words other than the occasional rapido. Other games such as the human knot were a little more difficult, but once they got the concept we were able to work together and untangle ourselves in an astonishingly little amount of time. Overall I am looking forward to continue working with these kids even though there may be a bit of a language barrier between us, but I believe that that will make little differences towards the overall bonding and experience.

Within the week that we have been in Guatemala we have been to countless markets and shops. There are people everywhere selling everything from handmade goods and produce to car parts and household items. In the United States we too have shops and stores on every corner. A common theme between both countries is that we thrive on competition. Some United States examples of this include a Shell station being placed across from a Valero station or a CVS pharmacy being placed across the street from the Walgreens. Here in Guatemala, in cities such as Antigua and Chichicastenango, this competitiveness is seen to an extreme.

In each market there are many, many stands all next to each other that will be selling similar items such as woven goods, handmade woodcarvings, and handmade beaded jewelry, all being sold for different prices. They each have an excess of these products that look almost exact to their neighbors’. This drives the vendors to extreme measures and they begin to put the hard sell on anyone that walks by or even makes eye contact. Although this may be annoying to the passerby’s, this is their livelihood and the way that they provide for their families. Many of the vendors say, “Help me pay for my family’s lunch,” or “Help me pay for coffee in the morning.” These statements definitely pull at one’s heartstrings. If at first they don’t succeed at selling an item, they often are willing to adjust their prices in order to make some sort of money for the day. Tourism and money from outside the city is what sustains their economy.

On the other hand, what about the other smaller towns, such as Chajul, that may not have tourists come through? If there are not many traveling through a town, there is no outside income, and without outside income the community’s economy will become stagnant. With the economy stagnant, the city will never be able to grow, improve, and prosper. I often wonder that if in these small towns that everyone knows everyone, how is business done and how can people make a profit? Is bartering and trading their way of life? I feel that the only way for these towns to improve is for the economy to improve and have an influx of money, but from where? Not every town can be a tourist’s paradise, especially in Guatemala where the terrain may sometimes be too rough or the roads too mangled to drive on.

Tonight, I brought up this topic during our reflection time. It was interesting to hear each of my fellow classmates’ perspectives. Overall, we realize that not all cities and not all countries can be growing and improving economically. It would most likely take the support from the government and the majority approval of the population. We came to the conclusion that the whole reason why Limited Horizons Ixil and the TAMU students are here is because we do see room for improvement and growth. There is a brighter future for the people of Chajul.