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Such amusing stories are shared while we eat meals...Here's one told by Sister Annie:  She was woken in the middle of the night & asked to come quickly to help with a delivery.  Off she went with her medical backpack & flashlight.  After quite a hike, she arrived at a mud hut...she followed the sound of moans dodging handing clothes, sleeping kids & chickens.  Reaching the mom, she tried to set up a somewhat clean setting...and so asked if they chickens could be put outside.  The Dad looked surprised but did as he was told.  Soon after, Annie started feeling lots of bites all over her feet & legs & asked about it.  The Dad said it was ants...she asked how come just now...he said "No chickens...they eat them."  The chickens were herded back in!  Mom, baby, Sister & chickens were soon all happy!    
 
 

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By 10 a.m. coffee break, Sister Liz had already seen 10 patients besides checking on on our job...hanging towel racks.  I fixed turkey-ala-king for lunch & then we worked on assembling 2 sets of bunk beds..they hope to attract lots of volunteers soon!  I'd sure encourage anyone to come!!  (Shan? Julie? Karra?  Do you feel the tug???)  
 

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All decisions about what & how to build here always heavily take in consideration the future...when the Sisters hand this whole operation over to the locals &/or future Sisters.  Will they be able to maintain it...cost efficiency...availability of replacement parts...and will it be nice enough so any futures Sisters can be given "an offer they can't refuse"...they call it the Godfather offer.  Both Sisters should be wearing name tags saying:  nurse, doctor, building contractor, master carpenter, builder & handyman.  They have learned an enormous amount hands-on!  I love the model they have sitting on their kitchen table--that they truly follow:
A missionary goes where she is needed but not wanted.
She leaves when she is wanted but not needed.
 

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When we came in for breakfast at 7, the Sisters had another surprise for us...since they had not had a big Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, they had a turkey in the oven & all the fixings for a complete feast.  They had already made pumpkin pie & apple crisp.  We cleaned some veges & fruit, set the table and then I went out to help Rog....until the turkey was done.  Annie, in the meantime, had given Rog more directions and since the power was out...painting was Job #1.  Hermonso, their handyman worked along side us.  Monday (today) the clinic is not open so the Sisters did their paper work & jobs they usually do on Saturday.  Around noon, I went in to finish up dinner and what a feast we sat down to!  We had so much to the thankful for.  Just about when the paint job was done, the electricity came on so Rog started Job #2...wood baseboard in the newly built volunteer house.  Around 4:30, Sister Liz insisted that we stop working.  We cleaned up, watched the News, ate turkey sandwiches & sat around the table just enjoying each other & stories.  7:30, we headed back to our room & heated blankets.
 

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The Sisters live in a very nice home made out of stone--built by some Benediction nuns during the religious persecution years so it is very solid with small windows.  They have made it very homey.  After we unpacked the jeep, we sat around their kitchen table and looked over the job list they'd prepared for Rog & then they showed me where to find all the ingredients I would need as I had been appointed the "cook."  Sister had asked me to send her my "menu "last week & she had made sure I had everything I needed.  I went to bed thanking God for landing me here!!!

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Our volunteer quarters is really the patients' ward so have hospital beds & a nice bathroom with hot water!  They are finishing a new building that will house volunteers in the future.  The Sisters had purchased everything we could possible need...heated blankets, towels, coffee pot, hot choc mix, granola bars, fruit, chips, water...and Diet Coke!  The Sisters were bursting with excitement as we were the first family to visit here.  Sister Liz kept saying,  "I can't believe this!"
 

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San Jose Clinic...a bright, shiny star on the top of a 9000' mountain!  We were totally amazed at what the Sisters have built here in just 5 years...while servicing over 80000 patients!  The clinic is a well built cement building, tiled half way up, tile floor, bathroom, fireplace ...and has good medical & dental equipment.  It is cleverly decorated with lots of kid friendly touches & a pot of hot coffee...no wonder people (mostly Mam indigenous) walk for miles to come!  They do have minimal charge for all services...free things are not valued nor would it allow the clinic to every be self-sustainable.  Many of the funds to cover the original equipment & building came from individuals & grants (like the owner of Hilton Hotel).  The Sisters are very frugal & efficient.  They have used "free trial" run drugs...one for diabetics' lesions that worked great.  The whole thing is so very impressive...but then what would you expect from Sister Liz & Sister Annie!!!

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Sister Liz booked our hotel room in Guatemala City…the nicest…and safest which is probably why she booked it here. It is gorgeous…first hair dryer, robes, safe etc….  The gated hotel had many stores, food choices and movie theaters.  We ate some lunch & wandered about waiting for Sisters Liz & Annie.  I am sure my heart missed a beat when I spotted them.  Eight months of emails back & forth and finally together.  They were excited as we were. They were also tired (after all, one is 84 & the other 69) so they went to rest and Rog & I went to the pool.  Three wine glasses & one Diet Coke toasted our rendezvous!  7 AM we were in their jeep with Annie at the wheel headed toward their mission.  We made several stops along the way to break up the trip…breakfast, groceries, hardware, pick up a hearing aide & dinner.  We were awed by the mountain panoramic views & by all the stories the sisters shared with us.  We learned about the background of the indigenous people they work with…how they have been persecuted, how the mining companies are destroying their land, how the drug lords take over their land, earthquakes & flooding devastations and the government crackdown on the religious missionaries that left many dead.  Sister Liz told me more about the Presentation Sisters, her earlier missions and we both laughed about family stories.  At 5 pm, we arrived at San Jose Clinic in Conception Talapa.

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7:30 AM we climbed into a nice van and headed to Guatemala City.  We were stopped by several people who told us there was an accident ahead so we turned around…only to be stopped a few more times…and finally we turned around and headed out the way we originally planned. There had been an accident earlier but now it was cleared up.  There were only 9 in the van…such luxury!  Two from Maine had been on a chicken bus when a guy on top had fallen off…he jumped off & checked the man’s pulse and wanted to keep him immobilized…but the driver & another guy, picked him up & held on to him until they got to a medical center where they dropped him off with a bag of money that the people on the bus had donated to help cover the cost.  Good people.  Another couple in our van was from Belgium and I learned a lot about their schools…4 ½ days a week with lots of homework, everyone learning at least 3 languages, tracked in HS and many trained for jobs…the less motivated go just 2 days a week meeting mostly with a social worker (which he was) who tries to encourage them toward a more positive life.  The girl worked for Red Cross in the refugee program.  Belgium accepts many refugees who can have unlimited stay with bed, food, medical & a small amount of money.  Most who get to Belgium were at least middle class in their war torn homeland and most were there because of some religious conflict.  That led us to a discussion about religion.  They said most Belgium churches and others in most northern European countries were mostly empty.  Belgians feel religion is a private matter and they do not need to go to a public church.  Most do not like the Catholic church as an institution…too rich & showy…which led to a discussion of money.  50+% of their income goes to taxes, 30+% goes to mortgage is they buy a house…which many young people cannot afford today.  Most like the Euro but realize that Germany & France control their economy.  The final rider was an older American man who has come to San Pedro for 7 years…plays his harp for dinner & has a local carpenter cut wood, an artist paint it and he brings them back to the USA so he can build harps.  As always, a huge part of what we love about traveling is the people we meet.

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Images not to be forgotten: 

-Old Barbie doll redressed in traditional clothing with accessories of flat pan & several tortillas

-As we sit at an internet café, an older man with a load of split wood on his back drops it in front of the restaurant across from us

-Terrace gardens which started at the lake and went up many yards up to a nice home

-one speed boat & two seadoos is all that we saw on the huge Lake Atitlan

-man peddling bike with cooler filled with ice cream treats attached on rear and playing a catchy tune while riding down the road

 

46

Antigua...the old capital...the old, old city filled with monsterous ruins from it's glory years...and tourist from many countries.  Here the streets are all cobblestones...the size of baseballs...the stores & restaurants are ancient buildings & homes re-purposed without losing the character of the original building.  Two city blocks are crammed with handicraft items:  bags, purses, wood carvings, belts, ceramic figures, cultural clothing & trinkets so numerous it just overwhelms you as you walk by shop after shop as the merchants hound you..."Lady like a pretty scarf?  I have beautiful blouse.  Many color.  You want to buy bag?  I give you good price today.  Only for you. etc. etc."  If you dare let your eyes fall on an item, the sales pitch gets louder & faster...and if you pick up an item to examine it...good luck trying to get away!  Honestly, I would have like to buy more than I did but the suitcase space & weight is a good deterrent.  We followed a walking tour and located all the sites and learned much about the history of this city.  I especially enjoyed visiting an ancient convent that took up a whole city block.  It had a circular room where about 30 small cells had served a bedrooms.  I was surprised to see how many of the other rooms were now used as offices with hardly any change to the original decaying walls.  Of course, churches outnumbered the gov't buildings and one of each had been restored.  Another convent has also been restored including the archway above the street that provided a path for the nuns so they couldn't be seen crossing the street.  That convent is now a hotel.  Domes sit majestically on top of most every building and the wall that surrounds Antigua is covered with flowering vines.  And the backdrop to this beauty are three towering volcanoes...one that almost destroyed the city and one still quite active which Rog saw proof of.  Another active one, Pacaya is about an hour away.  We arranged a tour and around 4 pm we began the ascent...it was hot, steep & unstable.  After about 2 km, I gave into the guy who was walking behind me & leading a horse who every time I sat down to rest, would ask "Taxi?".  It was a blow to my pride...but I did enjoy the views much more...and the views were magnificent.  The winds picked up as we reached the bottom of the clouds...which luckily cleared for us so we could see the mountain top spouting steam!!  We also found a hot spot and roasted marshmallows in a crack in the lava that we were standing on.  Another lady had strawberries which she shared with us so we feasted & enjoyed the sights around us until almost sunset.  Then we hiked down...no horse ride...stopping only to take in the ever changing hues of the sunset over the mountains & valleys that surrounded us.  Covered with lava dust, we arrived back to our hotel ready for a shower and bed.

45

We left our hotel a bit after 9 and were on a bus to Antigua by 9:30.  It was the usual "old school bus" and the road was really curvy and we got slammed around on every curve like on a tilt a whirl...but we felt very safe as the front of the bus displayed a prayer, a Blessed Mother with a bouquet of fake flowers & a Tweety Bird!  A family of 7 sat in one seat right behid us part of the way, two of the kids jostling between the seat & the aisle and the baby cried a lot even though they gave her an ice cream cone that dripped all over the very calm mom.  There was also a lady holding a live chicken tenderly wrapped in her sweater...truly this was a chicken bus (which is actually what these buses are called here.)  Many trees and bushes were in bloom with flowers of vibrant to pastel shades of red, pink, fucia, purple, yellow & white.  As we got closer to "Whata" (Guate...short for Guatemala City), we came by mountain sides covered with cement homes with only a couple painted.  Then we saw some gated communities much richer.  Our favorite scene for the ride was a big stake truck with a load of calves that had 7 hammocks strung above the calves, with 7 guys swinging back & forth, and a couple more cowboys with their saddles sat on top just behind the cab. Since the bus stopped often but could go faster than the truck, we passed them several times...each time we'd get another laugh!  We got to the bus station around noon...it was very modern, gorgeous & huge...and we found our first McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway & Little Caesars that we'd seen since leaving home.  I noticed that most of the people...who were all locals...were eating at Pollo Campero...the Guate fast food chain & very much like our KFC.  I enjoyed my "regular McD meal" which cost $5 here but only $3 at home while Rog found a doblado (deep fried meatpie).  We shared some Little Caesar cinnamon sticks with a carmel dip and both left with full tummies.  We taxied through town to the next bus terminal...buses are not allowed in Guate so 3 bus stations are all on the edge of town.  In 5 minutes we were off again and arrived in Antigua by 3:30... it amazes me how well Rog gets us from point A to point B!

44

As we headed out for the bus to Antigua, we met a great Guatemalian family that had been in the States for 6 years.  The father was getting his masters degree in Agriculture.  The 10 -12 year old and I had a nice chat comparing her USA school, her Guatemalian private school & the Guatemalian public schools.  She said USA schools had more freedom & nicer facilities.  Her G private schools was tougher with about 20 in each class and teachers from around the world.  The G public schools had classes of 50 or so, no books and only taught reading, writing & math.  Kids paid about $50 to attend.  I would have enjoyed talking to her longer, but it was time to move on.

43

Our last day with the girls was delightful and emotional.  We did a review and hung two poster on which I had printed all the English we had taught.  We had prepared some relay games, but the girls put on a program for us instead.  It included singing, cultural dancing and speeches of gratitude and love.  We had shared much joy with these girls and Sister Ada and I had a huge lump in my throat and fought my tears as we said good bye and closed the door on yet another rewarding experience.  Thanks be to God.

42

Things we have seen and noticed here in Jalapa:

Qtips are about 1/3 the size & strength as ours

Colored pencils sold here are the ones impossible to sharpen

man carrying ladder...another a bicycle... while riding motorcycle

horse being shoed on the street

the sound of horses clip clopping down the street as we sat typing at an internet cafe

woman selling homemade food items in front of a nice restaurant

watch dogs behind barb wire fences on top of businesses

the sound of slapping as we pass so many woman making tortillas...about every ten feet

most children snacking while walking down the street

snack bags are tiny with usually only about 8 or 9 chips in them

security guards holding shotguns at every bank, gov´t building and other important buildings

no news on TV...lots of soccer!

children & woman riding on the handle bars of bicycles

women sorting dirty potatoes & other veges wearing fancy, clean aprons

students going home from school for lunch by tuktuk or being picked up by mom only to return 1 1/2 hour later

young girls in skin tight skirts or pants wearing 3 -4" heels buzzing about on motor scooters

though we see many wearing traditional clothing, they are not for sale anywhere...only the material

most kid´s toys..like so many other countries...are cheap plastic & dolls are all white with blonde hair

the rear end of buses cemented into the sidewalk are used for street corner barriers

daily they assemble & disassemble city blocks of small shops that are just angle iron & tarps  packing up the huge pile of                  merchandise in grain bags or crates....but we have no idea where the stuff goes at night...only to appear again the next day

and so much more that reminds us that we are not in the USA!

41

Our English lesson with the girls was a Valentine treat for all of us   The girls were thrilled to count to 100 and actually enjoyed taking a quiz with the new red pencils we gave them.  Then we played a review game and everyone ´won´ twice ...receiving a pencil sharpener & a chocolate heart.  The two nuns enjoyed it as much as the girls did and they sent us off with a frozen, chocolate covered banana.    Our 5 p.m. ride to Casa Hogar arrived on time and by 5:15 we had four groups of about 10 kids busy coloring, painting, working on a puzzles and making a Valentine hearts project.  The next hour and a half, we moved kids to each project and incorporated more kids adding projects as the numbers increased...and constantly we were returning the hugs & smiles we were receiving.  Conditions were rough...only a coarse cement floor & dim lighting...but that did not diminish the fun we were all having. 

When we got back to our hotel, we treated each other to a piece of cheese cake.  What a special Valentine Day! 

40

More about the man we met this morning as we waited for our ride:  he left Guatemala when he was about 27 to find a job in L.A., became a US citizen about 5 years later and has gone back & forth for the last 20 years...since a major operation last year he is no longer working.  He gladly shared his take on man´s life:  first 20 years is DOG'S LIFE...on the prowl looking for girls and staying out all hours of the night...followed by DONKEY LIFE...work hard to carry burden of family life....last part of life was MONKEY LIFE....play with grandchildren and  freedom from work...like a monkey swinging free & enjoying life.  

39

Yesterday, we scoured the streets most the day looking for things we might use to enrich the Valentine´s Day  for the children at Casa Hogar (the home for the abused &/or raped girls and their children).  We found crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, paints, red & pink construction paper, clay, puzzles & a frisbee.  We made samples of several projects and looked forward to having a chance to have fun with these kids who have so little.  We were told we would be picked up at 10 am....it is now 11 a.m. and we are sitting on a bench in front of our hotel with all our supplies....waiting.....it is now 11:45 and we just got a message,  translated by the man we met while waiting...and our new pick up time is now 5 p.m.  We have learned to become very flexible and patient....and also reminded that this is Guatemala time...not a bad thing.

38

Just when we begin to forget just how low the girls we are working with live, we get a `slap of reality.`  The girls had asked us to label the various things in their home so I spent an evening writing labels of the things in their home.  The next day the excited girls followed us around as we taped words all over their home:  wall, floor, classroom, chair, bedroom, bathroom, but when I looked for a place to hang `toilet paper`, they all laughed and said, ¨No toilet paper!¨ 

37

Our days are almost routine now...breakfast of pancakes with honey, fruit, coffee & rich delicious hot chocolate at the hotel...computer cafe...teaching nuns...lunch...lesson plans....teaching girls.... a little shopping on our way back to the hotel...dinner (often peanut butter & fresh bread from one of the many bakeries on the hotel terrace)...writing, reading, cards, TV (which since only one channel is in English, whatever is on is what we watch).  We have spent time at the humungous market in the center of town where tables overflow with mounds of clothing, shoes, kitchen supplies, and grain bags are filled with corn, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, oranges, pineapples and lots of unknown others and crates of bananas, eggs, chickens etc, etc, etc.  How in the world do they sell all this before it rots???   One morning the nuns were busy, so we jumped on a mini bus & headed to the Cascadas de Tatasirire...a nature park with swings that hung about 30' from a branch & swung out over a valley.  Wheeeee!  We walked the flower lined trail passing hundreds of giant lovely calilillies, pastel pink impatients plants taller than me and blooming phlox as big as a mixing bowl.  Butterflies fluttered by to add to the beauty.  The trail led us beside a 5 tiered waterfall and then into a pine forest...we saw nobody else the whole time.   What a nice change from being in Jalapa, a town of about 60,000.