Tuesday, April 22, 2008

GB takes a fall

Sunday afternoon my dad and I go to Target to grab a couple of things I need to take with but when we come back tragedy strikes. GB (Gar-Bear or Gary) falls off a ladder and breaks his arm. No one in my family has ever really had a major accident like that so I was pretty scared, seeing my father lying on the ground weeping. Like always though, my dad maintained his humor throughout, responding to the nurse when she asked if he had taken his wedding ring off by saying, "Yes, and my earrings too." Even though he was in a lot of pain he was still cracking jokes. That's my Papa. So he'll take off a few weeks of work. We'll get to spend my last week here together which will be nice although taking care of someone who is injured (on top of my mom who is always sick), is not the funnest thing in the world when you are preparing to leave your current life for a little over two years. I'll deal though...I hope. I've always had a hard time tending to people who are ill. Not sure why but it may be because my mom has been sick for what seems like most of my life. You'd think I'd be a pro but its one of the things I dread the most. I feel pretty helpless.


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Mailing address


So below is the address that you can send me letters and packages to, if your heart so desires. One thing I will probably need is herbal deodorant or hypoallergenic because I have sensitive little pits. I keep thinking that I will begin to crave peanut butter but I wouldn't ask anyone to send me that because it is damn heavy. I will probably only ask family to send me things but from all else, I ask for letters. And yes, I will write back.

The address is:
(My Name), PCT
8 Calle 6-55, Zone 9
Guatemala City, 01009
Guatemala, Central America

If it is courier packages (DHL, FedEx), you have to write down this telephone number too: 502.2384.3800.

The address will change after 3 months so I'll keep you guys posted.

Less than two weeks!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

See what had happened was...

Below is the updated list of things I have to do and buy. Yes, there are only 3 more weeks. And I am tired and I just want to go back to bed but I have so much to do and so much I am thinking so I will just clean, pack, and work.

STD:
1) re-reading all my Peace Corps paperwork
2) pick up the backpack I won on ebay; $40; too much money
3) have to still pay my BR bill and request a printout of the $0 balance
4) pay phone bill (still haven't done this; meanwhile I have about 400 roll over minutes)
5) photo album is slowly getting filled
6) living will (don't want to do this)
7) computer things...still
8) look up fun icebreakers, leadership activities, games for youth
9) eat lots of food and exercise (lol)
10) teach my mom how to use the computer (the basics)
11) talk to my bank (done)
12) send letter to my host mom in Costa Rica (not done)
13) steal a sleeping bag from Perla and Bear (do I really want to haul this around?)
14) take a student to get her driver's license (if there's time!)
15) go to get the 25 cent wings at Bar Louie (did this last night and man were they delicious)
16) go to a dance party at the Hideout (mmm, Saturday?)
17) sell and ship dunks
18) go to the planetarium on Saturday (woohoo!)
19) take pics of my family and friends
20) pick somewhere to go for A's b-day
21) manual for new tutor (I best get paid for this)

Things to buy now:
1) Guatemala guide book (bought)
2) Diva Cup (not too sure about this one; still not sure about this; its expensive)
3) backpack (done)
4) running shoes that fit (might just have to keep the ones that are too tight)
5) herbal deodorant (I now have a good supply)
6) zip ties (in the garage?)
7) batteries AAA (on sale at Walgreens)
8) face wash/acne stuff (bought)
9) razor (got it all squared away thanks to mini-rooster)
10) sunglasses (mine hurt my face)
11) durable material skirt
12) good lotion

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Blasted dreams

I had a series of dreams last night. There were 3 major parts and while they were all kind of broken up, they all kind of fit into each other. The first was me being at some kind of sporting event or a generic public event. Anyway, George Bush was there and so was Faith Hill. the country singer. I don't know if she was presenting the president or what, but I know she was there in some kind of gown. And hmm, I was there too acting as some sort of helper? It seemed as I was one of those ball girls at tennis games so whatever the president needed, I had to get. I hope this isn't symbolic of the Peace Corps. So Faith Hill introduces him, he makes his way to the podium, and he goes over to shake my hand and then kisses it... I guess the event was televised because in my dream, they ran the story over and over again (not unlike the real media) on how Bush kissed my hand and I turned away and started laughing at the ridiculousness. He had a smirk on his face like, I know that kissing your hand is going to win me popularity with the people. My approval rating is sure to go up. I think I killed it for him though. I think this may have come from the youtube video Perla sent me of Bush at the baseball game getting booed recently. After that whole incident, I went to sit on the bench by my parents. I saw them but for some reason didn't sit by them, sat next to these two men and their nephew instead. They were Latin American or Spanish. I ended up going with them to their country. They lived right on the beach. The nephew was completely infatuated with me, declaring his undying love and what not. He was young but very attractive (but again, young). I think I end up leaving him and his uncles. Suddenly, my dream switches over to my brother. His sergeant tells us he has been killed. I am able to see how he dies. I don't know how but it was one of the most horrible things I have ever dreamt in my life. I was dreaming and crying, gasping for air. I wake up and start crying for real and then have to go to my mom.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Jr/Sr Scholars

I had been absent from Jr/Sr Scholars for a little over a month and just as you're told at the very first orientation you ever go to. They will notice. Last week, about 3 or 4 students asked me where I had been. Yesterday a few more with one saying that it had been, "like six years since I last saw you." Then another one came over and hugged me saying that I was his most favorite teacher ever. I'm going to miss them so much. It hurts that I won't be here to see them graduate in a few months. I love these kids (teenagers really) in ways that I don't understand. At the end of the summer of 2006 I laid down on the couch and started to think about some of them and began to cry. Not sob but just tears started coming down my face because I kept thinking about some of the stories that they had told me. Then I started praying to God, asking him to take care of them, all of them, to take everything away from me, just as long as these youth ended up happy and realizing their dreams. It happened again last night, minus the tears. I wasn't able to sleep. Woke up at 5 and couldn't go back to bed. So I just started praying about them again. It made me think that maybe someone was going through something at the moment and needed a prayer.

I wish I could bring them all down with me to Guatemala or take them anywhere around the world really. There has to be some airline that would do that for free. Someone with a kind heart? I need connections.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

UN Millenium Development Goals for Children in Guatemala

Published April 2, 2008 on prensalibre.com

Funcionarios de la Organización de Naciones Unidas consideraron hoy “altamente probable” que Guatemala no pueda cumplir con los objetivos del Milenio trazados en favor de la niñez.

“El hecho que no se vayan a cumplir las metas no significa que debamos asumir una posición derrotista, es mejor cumplirlas el 70 por ciento que quedarnos a la mitad”, dijo a periodistas la encargada del Informe de Desarrollo Humano del Programa Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo, Karin Slowin.

Los comentarios fueron hechos durante la presentación de un compendio estadístico sobre el desarrollo humano de la niñez guatemalteca.

El representante en el país del Fondo de Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (Unicef), Manuel Manrique, comentó que “el país no tiene planes en materia de Metas del Milenio... pero, en las pocas cosas que sí hay planes es en lo que hay (algún) avance”.

Los estados miembros de Naciones Unidas se comprometieron a cumplir antes de 2015 con una serie de metas para reducir los índices de pobreza, desigualdad, falta de acceso a la educación, entre otras, varias de las cuales están relacionadas con la situación de los infantes en el mundo.

Con la entrega de estadísticas sobre la niñez guatemalteca, las agencias de Naciones Unidas esperan hacer conciencia en las autoridades y la sociedad en general para impulsar el cumplimiento de dichas metas.


Aunque en materia de educación, Guatemala está cerca de lograr los objetivos, a siete años de cumplirse el plazo para alcanzar las metas, el país aún muestra grandes rezagos en cuanto a mortalidad materna e infantil, acceso a servicios de agua potable y saneamiento y desnutrición.

Las Metas del Milenio fueron trazadas por 140 gobernantes del mundo reunidos en Nueva York en 2000.

STD (stuff to do)


Time is going by too quickly. I have so much to do still. Talking to other PCV (Peace Corps Volunteers), I see that I am more prepared than some but nowhere near as prepared as others. I am the healthy medium... Anyway, these are the things I need to do. If I write them in more than one place, maybe I will be forced to get my butt in gear.
So here it is, things to do:
1) read (books about Guatemala and Afghanistan)
2) pack either a duffel bag or a really large backpack (which I have to buy)
3) pay the last of my credit cards ($150...nooooooooooooo...)
4) pay phone bill (more of my tax return money disappears)
5) oil change (did this yesterday so my car doesn't make the loud rattling sound anymore)
6) get in touch with some Sr Scholars
7) fill up my photo album (if you have some pictures of you and want me to remember your face, send them my way)
8) computer things
9) living will (I'm pretty sure I actually have to do this)
10) teach my mom how to use the computer (the basics)
11) talk to my bank
12) send letter to my host mom in Costa Rica
13) steal a sleeping bag from Perla and Bear
14) take a student to get her driver's license
15) go to get the 25 cent wings at Bar Louie
16) go to a dance party at the Hideout

Things to buy now:
1) Guatemala guide book
2) Diva Cup (not too sure about this one)
3) backpack
4) running shoes that fit
5) herbal deodorant (I have sensitive armpits)
6) zip ties
7) batteries AAA
8) face wash/acne stuff
9) razor

I'm sure there is more but that is all I can think of for now. I'm broke; feel free to chip in to the nightgown fund.