Now we just finished a learning session with one of our teachers here. He is an Indigenous man from Guatemala who lived through the 36 years of war here. It's so interesting to hear him talking about Mayan spirituality and its focus > There is believed to be one God, "Ahau" who is interconnected with everything, both man and woman. Nature is key. Everything is complimentray and connected. This forms a balance, harmony, an equilibrium. The sense of community is incredibly strong and vital.
But during the years of war, because of the legacy of the Spanish Conquest, he and his classmates were taught that Mayan spirituality was witchcraft, "no one should practice that." Before Guatemala declared independence from Spain the "Repartimientos and Encomiendas" ocurred, which distributed the indigenous people among the Spaniards, controlled the indigenous people and Christianized them. This is when Mayan spirituality truly became oppressed.
To this day that legacy still remains in many ways.
We're expecting a woman from the humanitarian community who is a part of Congress to come and join us. She will be talking about the current politics of Guatemala.
Just a note, our last speaker just told us about the widespread dissatisfaction with the current President, Alvaro Colom. Initially Colom claimed to be "one for the Indigenous"...
I guess the speaker is on her way!
The other students here are pretty great.
There are a lot from Northfield, MN who attend Carleton and St Olaf. It seems as though the rest are from Washington and NY.
Love,
Anni/ka
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Hello from Guatemala City!!
Yesterday I arrived to the supposedly "newest and best" airport section in Central America... I guess I was too busy to notice because I was focusing on getting my backpacking gear on my back without falling over. I swear some people wear watching, just waiting for me to slowly start tipping.
Once I went outside of the customs/luggage area I finally saw the little "Center for Global Education" sign and then I headed over to meet up with a few of the other participants that had already arrived.
I got to sleep a little on the plane, but once we got to the guest house where we're staying and became acclamated, many of us passed out on our temporary beds... I finally slept for a few hours.
Lunch and dinner were both big, filling meals...and very good, at that. I definitely have got to skip dinner tonight because breakfast and lunch today filled me up so much.
They gave us our orientation today and then we went to La Casa Crema, which is named after the White House. There we also went into one of the famous cathedrals of Guatemala City.
Following this, we traveled to the main garbage dump site of the city. This is a very impoverished area where many people are self employed, working with recycling and the trash as a whole just to make a small living. It is interesting because virtually there is no recycling in Guatemala, but people living in the garbage dump area collect things such as plastic, then take those items to plastic mills to get money, for example.
There we went to a type of school and recreation center that began 20 years ago, started with 15 youth and now has 400 youth as students. The school was inspired because of the mass amounts of children who were collecting garbage in order to make a living for their family, but by doing this full time they were not getting an education. Now the four teachers at this school offer support, education, recreation, and an emotional outlet to displaced children, children without support, children previously expelled from school who cannot enter back into the main school system, pregnant adolescents, teens who never attended 1st grade and on for example... The school works with the youth in order so that they can still work, either in the mornings or afternoons, as long as they come to classes daily during the half of the day when they're not working. If the students continue this throughout their years and complete their education, they can get a job with the City, working with various City gardens. The students can also choose to go on to a university.
Essentially, just being there for the hour that we were, I can tell you that this is a truly amazing and genuinely successful grassroots organization that has, and continues to, empower those who were born into an area that has been labeled one of "asassins and thieves."
After this we drove many miles to a higher part of Guatemala that is inhabitated basically all by the wealthy. There we saw huge, luxury apartment complexes, mega malls, gated communities, Sears, TGI Fridays... riches and globalization to the T.
Talk about polar opposites.
Yesterday I arrived to the supposedly "newest and best" airport section in Central America... I guess I was too busy to notice because I was focusing on getting my backpacking gear on my back without falling over. I swear some people wear watching, just waiting for me to slowly start tipping.
Once I went outside of the customs/luggage area I finally saw the little "Center for Global Education" sign and then I headed over to meet up with a few of the other participants that had already arrived.
I got to sleep a little on the plane, but once we got to the guest house where we're staying and became acclamated, many of us passed out on our temporary beds... I finally slept for a few hours.
Lunch and dinner were both big, filling meals...and very good, at that. I definitely have got to skip dinner tonight because breakfast and lunch today filled me up so much.
They gave us our orientation today and then we went to La Casa Crema, which is named after the White House. There we also went into one of the famous cathedrals of Guatemala City.
Following this, we traveled to the main garbage dump site of the city. This is a very impoverished area where many people are self employed, working with recycling and the trash as a whole just to make a small living. It is interesting because virtually there is no recycling in Guatemala, but people living in the garbage dump area collect things such as plastic, then take those items to plastic mills to get money, for example.
There we went to a type of school and recreation center that began 20 years ago, started with 15 youth and now has 400 youth as students. The school was inspired because of the mass amounts of children who were collecting garbage in order to make a living for their family, but by doing this full time they were not getting an education. Now the four teachers at this school offer support, education, recreation, and an emotional outlet to displaced children, children without support, children previously expelled from school who cannot enter back into the main school system, pregnant adolescents, teens who never attended 1st grade and on for example... The school works with the youth in order so that they can still work, either in the mornings or afternoons, as long as they come to classes daily during the half of the day when they're not working. If the students continue this throughout their years and complete their education, they can get a job with the City, working with various City gardens. The students can also choose to go on to a university.
Essentially, just being there for the hour that we were, I can tell you that this is a truly amazing and genuinely successful grassroots organization that has, and continues to, empower those who were born into an area that has been labeled one of "asassins and thieves."
After this we drove many miles to a higher part of Guatemala that is inhabitated basically all by the wealthy. There we saw huge, luxury apartment complexes, mega malls, gated communities, Sears, TGI Fridays... riches and globalization to the T.
Talk about polar opposites.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Guatemala... get up in three hours
My mom has kept coming into the living room to tell me that I should go to bed now... I guess she has reason because I'll be waking up around 12:30 am.
Last night I didn't sleep well at all... I couldn't get these Alison Krauss songs out of my head. I know, Alison Krauss, right.
Well if there is one thing I'm feeling anxious about it's that I just want to meet these 18 other people that will be studying abraod in Central Am. with me and I want to develop some good connections with them.
But I guess skipping those beginning parts of meeting one another would really take away a huge chunk, no?
Well, the staff will be a-waitin' with the "CGE" sign at the airport tomorrow...!
Last night I didn't sleep well at all... I couldn't get these Alison Krauss songs out of my head. I know, Alison Krauss, right.
Well if there is one thing I'm feeling anxious about it's that I just want to meet these 18 other people that will be studying abraod in Central Am. with me and I want to develop some good connections with them.
But I guess skipping those beginning parts of meeting one another would really take away a huge chunk, no?
Well, the staff will be a-waitin' with the "CGE" sign at the airport tomorrow...!
todo en el presente~~~
After picking up my friend on my bike today, we headed off to our main spot, The Blue Heron coffeehouse. As we were biking down her street she quickly noticed how still it was outside, and in that stillness she automatically felt a certain type of comfort.
My friend just finished living in Connecticut for four years and will be soaking up the Winona environment for some months now in her upcoming future. I guess it's a thing about being back in a smaller, generally tranquil town... you become refreshed and better aware of the peaceful stillness of the streets, of how you can actually hear the leaves shaking in the moderate wind... things like that.
I had to be reminded of this peace. It's funny what an awareness, present-moment-check does to you.
:)
My friend just finished living in Connecticut for four years and will be soaking up the Winona environment for some months now in her upcoming future. I guess it's a thing about being back in a smaller, generally tranquil town... you become refreshed and better aware of the peaceful stillness of the streets, of how you can actually hear the leaves shaking in the moderate wind... things like that.
I had to be reminded of this peace. It's funny what an awareness, present-moment-check does to you.
:)
Friday, August 22, 2008
The journey to enlightenment... well-informing oneself.
Just the other week another report came out stating that most people from the US get their news from the TV.
It is long past time that each of us take our own initiatives do inform ourselves from diverse, global perspectives. For example, it is vital to receive world news from a perspective outside the US. Also, independent news sources are crucial. Yes, one can argue that all news has an agenda; but at least hear those different, varying, diverse agendas [especially ones that don't come solely from one's country's bias] in order that you aren't just watching your state's weather channel and reports that focus mainly on the State Fair and who got robbed the other day.
It is long past time that each of us take our own initiatives do inform ourselves from diverse, global perspectives. For example, it is vital to receive world news from a perspective outside the US. Also, independent news sources are crucial. Yes, one can argue that all news has an agenda; but at least hear those different, varying, diverse agendas [especially ones that don't come solely from one's country's bias] in order that you aren't just watching your state's weather channel and reports that focus mainly on the State Fair and who got robbed the other day.
One of the people, eh?
John McCain was quoted the other day saying he would have one of his staffers "get back to" the public about how many houses he has.
By the way, the guy has seven.
One cannot claim that they "work for the people" [and the majority of the "people" here are middle to lower-income] and then live so lavishly to the point where he or she cannot keep track of the number of homes he or she has.
All leaders should live through average, not exceedingly rich and squandering, lifestyle in order to be on the same playing field as the rest of US people.
By the way, the guy has seven.
One cannot claim that they "work for the people" [and the majority of the "people" here are middle to lower-income] and then live so lavishly to the point where he or she cannot keep track of the number of homes he or she has.
All leaders should live through average, not exceedingly rich and squandering, lifestyle in order to be on the same playing field as the rest of US people.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Eat fresh, eat locally, eat from Featherstone Farm!
CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, has been up and running throughout the summer this year in Winona, MN. Not only is this initiative happening in Winona, but there are also many local farm crop shares just like this going on in the Twin Cities!
My family and I pick up our reciclable box every Wednesday from the Bluff Country Co-op. The best thing is to come back home and feel excited as you open up the box, which is literally filled with food, wondering which fruits and veggies you have received this week. Today we got bak-chow [sorry for the spelling], yellow squash, red tomatoes, some type of seasoning herb, zuchinni, and a honey dew melon. DELICIOUS! Now two times a week my family uses our "wok" to cook those veggies and fruits up... There are so many of them that we've got to do the combinations.
Also, if you're eating a lot of cooked food for dinner, you can eat the veggies raw if you just wash them, dice them, and sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Then when you're done doing that, mix in some lime or lemon juice, vinigarette, and/or plain olive oil. RIQUISIMO combination*
The best thing is knowing that when those delicious greens go in your mouth, you are eating from a trusted, known source and most of all, you are supporting your local, organic farmers!
My family and I pick up our reciclable box every Wednesday from the Bluff Country Co-op. The best thing is to come back home and feel excited as you open up the box, which is literally filled with food, wondering which fruits and veggies you have received this week. Today we got bak-chow [sorry for the spelling], yellow squash, red tomatoes, some type of seasoning herb, zuchinni, and a honey dew melon. DELICIOUS! Now two times a week my family uses our "wok" to cook those veggies and fruits up... There are so many of them that we've got to do the combinations.
Also, if you're eating a lot of cooked food for dinner, you can eat the veggies raw if you just wash them, dice them, and sprinkle some salt and pepper on them. Then when you're done doing that, mix in some lime or lemon juice, vinigarette, and/or plain olive oil. RIQUISIMO combination*
The best thing is knowing that when those delicious greens go in your mouth, you are eating from a trusted, known source and most of all, you are supporting your local, organic farmers!
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