Who Steals Toothbrushes From Kids?! My Whirlwind Week!

Other kids, That's who! DAMN. IT. Maybe those dudes who stole my ipod and camera started their THIEVERY at like, hmmm 7 or 8? This has brought a much grander problem to my attention and it must be addressed. Ok, so like i said in my last post, one of my new schools is actually in the afternoon. It's the Urbana school right in the center of Santa Clara. However, in the morning there are classes as well. I was assigned these schools by my counterpart, the superintendent of schools...his reason for choosing my schools was that they had never had a PC Volunteer before. Apparently, the morning classes HAVE had a volunteer before, but that person was from Eco, a completely different program. They've never had Healthy Schools before. Also, the morning classes have over 400 students and the afternoon has only 40.
So I spent a good part of last week going around to my schools and convincing the parents and teachers how important it is that they buy a new toothbrush for their kids to have in school. I found some opposition of course because of the cost. some of these parents have 5 or 6 kids in the same school. I've got a few tactics i've learned to change this train of thought.

'How much does a toothbrush cost in the market?"
"5q"
"great, and how much does it cost to remove a tooth?"
"50q"
"interesting..."

They usually crack up, and some kids have already been bringing in their new soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste..etc. AWESOME! So the kids from the afternoon classes brought theirs in and they were stolen the next day by the morning kids. They are super discouraged....What the hell am i supposed to tell the parents now? I told the principle i would go to the morning school and talk to the other principle and see what we can do...the only plausible thing i can think of is add the morning to my new schools. I wish we had done this from the start, and i'll have to talk to PC about it but their not gonna say no. maybe if the kids in the AM has their own rincones de salud, they wouldn't steal the others?? wishful thinking I know but I gotta do SOMETHING! the principle said they are always having problems between the morning and afternoon..she said if I invited the teachers to a meeting with the morning teachers, they wouldn't even come. well, we'll just see about that. I know it must suck to have to share your school, but these teachers need to set WAY better examples for these kids...I'm not afraid, i gotta fix this and I got to do it PRONTO! wish me luck.

NEW STUDENTS!

Damn, I've been so busy. It's been exhausting but such a nice change. Since, I've only got 7 months with these schools, there is so much to be done if I want to make an actual difference in these schools, with these kids. This week I gave four workshops to the teachers at each school and i passed through every single classroom and did some activities with the students. Also I met with teachers and principles to do some project planning. We really are on the clock to get these done and this is my number one focus! I've been deciding which schools are in the greatest need of infrastructure projects and I have two front runners, Many more updates on that to come! meeting with the carpenters next friday to talk cost and materials.

The least of it =(

So you probably already know cuz i've been super upset about in on facebook, but my dog Newman was attacked by another dog, he's gonna be ok eventually but he's super hurt! He's got 3, 3-4 inch gashes on his ass and back and one on his face. He's got two drains inside the cuts and they had to shave half his bod! poor thing. I guess the owner of the other dog just stood there and let it happen. Newman is at the vets over the weekend for close care, I just can't wait to see him and give some love. I'm angry cuz this was so avoidable and we just love our dogs so much. Newman is the biggest and strongest of the three but he still only weighs in at 19 lbs. Our blind, 8 lb dog Oscar wouldn't have survived an attack like that. just vicious! There are more pics on my mom's mobile uploads if you want to see.... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Today my cousin Derek gets married! DAMN I HATE MISSING THIS! His bride-to-be's name is meghan and she seems super sweet and everyone in the family loves her, unfortunately i have not met her yet, they started dating while I was here in Guate, but hey! we're facebook friends! boo guatemala. They are tying the knot up in Maine today on a boat, beautiful small ceremony. My whole fam has made the trip up =) she speaks spanish too, so that will always be fun. Congratulations to you both I am so proud of you Derek. Les Deseo lo mejor! can't wait to party about this!


We got BIG DOINGS this week in my site, for the past two months atleast, a couple of super talented artists have been working on a huuuuuge mural in our central park. (also new) They have finished as of two days ago and Monday we will inaugurate it as a community at 7pm. The mural tells of Tzutujil history. The man in black and white depicted on the left is actually a living member of the community! talk about respecting your elders! It is certainly rare, usually people don't ever live to see themselves be memorialized. what a blessing to him and his family. i hope he speaks on monday night, though it probably won't be in spanish =) This mural is EASILY the coolest piece of art i have EVER seen in my life, its just awesome. here is a little teaser, on monday i will make a facebook album of it and all of its details. Congratulations to the artists! You have changed SMV forever!

This just in from mobile uploads! getting married on a sailboat!

It's different but the same...back to work!

For those of you reading this who aren't too PC savvy, One of the major ideas is that we volunteers work and live our entire two years with the same project, and normally that means the same people, co-workers, students, and schools. I obviously have had a quite different experience because of my site change back in Feb. I was given the task in my new site to finish up some work of other volunteers and certify three healthy schools. done. So now what? 

Santa Maria Visitacion is where i live and Santa Clara La Laguna is right.next.door. It is so much bigger than my site and i go there just about everyday. It's got a humongous market on tuesdays and saturdays and is also the only place nearby to buy cat food. its a 10 minute walk max. thought i will continue to live in SMV, my new work site is now Santa Clara. 

I have begun work in 4 new schools in Santa Clara, and for the most part. they seem really on board with the project. I had one big kick off taller (workshop) last week with the superintendent and all four principles. All four of my new directoras are women and here is why I am pumped up about that- Some women Ive met and worked with are an exception to this but Guatemala is still a super machismo culture. Countless times i have been speaking in a group of men and women of all ages, and about 90% of the time i have seen that the women won't speak up, contribute to the discussion, or express their concerns, doubts, or opinions, so long as the men are there. They tend to be shyer and pretty much they'll say ' what he said' or 'yes, we agree with him' if they say anything at all. I am so pumped to see these women in a professional position and hopefully we can accomplish so much together! i've not been one to acostumbrarme to this part of the culture. Now, we have five women heading up the Healthy Schools project in Santa Clara La Laguna and I am all about it.

More good news, is two of my schools are located IN THE CENTER OF TOWN! this is a first for sure! i've has to hike hours before and endure horribly crowded pick up trucks that fly down mountain sides to get to my schools in the past. the other two are in walking distance, half hour tops. AWESOME! none are in creepy lonely mountains or deserted streets..yayy for staying safe and robbery free! (knock on wood, havent been robbed since march 25th!)

Within the four schools, I have 545 students. So far in Peace Corps I have been able to work with about 3,000 kids. wow. is that right? some closer than others obviously but thats pretty cool now that i think about it. I was a little hesitant to begin with my new work at first, it is just hard and it takes alot to gain trust and integrate into a new community but then i realized i have been doing this now for 20 months! where was my confidence at? well its back and im stormin through.

My boss Dr. Sergio Mack paid me a visit today and I am super glad he did. When we went to visit our first school, Triunfo La Paz, he spoke with all the teachers for about a half an hour and then we were lucky enough to run into a padres de familia meeting as well, where he and i introduced the parents to the program. It is INCREDIBLE how much people respect him in this country. Today he did what would have taken me four or five visits to the school. Gained trust, introduced the program, and got everyone de acuerdo. Sometimes it is hard to get the parents to work with us, but it is definitely their responsibility to send the kiddos to school nice and clean, and as time is now working against me, I am happy those steps are passed right through so we can get down to business.

Dr. Mack and I decided that because my time is so short we will focus on two things. Each classroom will have their healthy corner, rincon de salud, and the kids will be practicing healthy habits. seems so basic but its not. This may be the first time some of those kids are hearing why its important to do so...motivating 338 kids in one place with one faucet. CUESTA.

Handwashing station Cabrican

speaking of one faucet. REMEMBER THAT FUNDRAISER I HAD?! i'm sure you do, favorite night of my life. well like i said my largest school has one faucet and 338 kids grades k-6. There are 12 teachers and classrooms. We are in the VERY beginning stages of constructing a hand washing station in this school called Pabaya and Chichiyel. YAHOO! We are looking to make our 'lavamanos' with 12 faucets. why not? one for each classroom. The price difference between doing 8 faucets (the requirement for a healthy school) and 12 really isnt that much different. We want this project to be sustainable, and I can only see this community growing in the future let's go for the gold. The project will look alot like the one we did in early January last year in my old site. Here's a pic to refreh =) I am sure I will be posting as the project gets underway but as i learned, we gotta have some patience...everything in guatemala moves about as fast as a turtle walking backwards. haha thats funny. 

Stay tuned for updates! back to work and busy  feels good!

Why Are We (Why Am I) So Obsessed With The Casey Anthony Case?

"Tot Mom" Casey Anthony on trial

Once in a while, a trial will come along and absolutely captivate the nation. In my lifetime, if you asked me which ones have done just that i would say BOOM- SCOTT PETERSON AND OJ SIMPSON. Now of course we have the Casey Anthony. Why are we sucked in? What makes these cases different, more infamous than others? People are on trial for murder on the daily. Is it a media frenzy? (well, of course) But I would like to share my thoughts on why i think this is. My opinions are coming from two places inside me as i write this blog, the emotional woman who is never going to accept the unanswered death of a toddler, and the girl who studied sociology and criminology in her undergrad. I  feel like if I tie these two together I can explain pretty well our obsession with Casey Anthony, and the other two trials.

When I was  junior at Umass, I enrolled in an incredibly well taught, interesting, modernized class called "Gender and Crime" (it is tied for my favorite class ever along with "Sociology of the Mob") Since it interested me so much, I did very well in the course and returned as a TA for both semesters of my senior year. So when I say things like "we're obsessed with Casey Anthony's Murder Trial because she defies gender norms" please hear me out, I was passionate about the things that I studied and what i came to know about the world from a sociological point of view and i like to think that i can be a respected voice here...espero que si....

Now, It's pretty obvious why we were enthralled with the OJ Simpson double murder trial. Before he even led the police on the (coolest) low-speed chase in the white Bronco, he was a household name, a respected athlete, an icon to some, i suppose. Race played a huge roll, it's no secret that the nation was pretty much split as far as his 'not guilty' verdict went. I watches the news as large crowds of African Americans leaped for joy when the verdict was read, I along with some of you who are reading this was in Mrs. Kelley's 4th grade class watching it on the roll-away tv as she cried right in front of us. I believe together with his race, high profile coverage and his celebrity status was cause for alot of people to sympathize with him. Let's not forget his economic status. Can most men, black or not, on trial for murder afford such high caliber attorneys ? not. a. chance. now THAT  was a defense team! (RIP Rob Kardashian, i love your family) Key factors in the OJ trial- economic status, race, and celebrity and jury selection...11/12 were either black, hispanic or native american. one white woman served on the jury. this matters. SIDE NOTE- you know Oprah Winfrey, one of the worlds most powerful women, excuse me, people- well her life long goal is to interview OJ. LIFE. LONG. GOAL. she's always been vocal about this and she believes he is guilty. Guess now her show is over she won't have that chance. oops excuse me it's because homeboy is locked up these days. do i think OJ Simpson is guilty of murdering ron goldman and nicole brown? yes i do.

The All American Couple

Scott Peterson was charged with murdering his wife Lacy and their unborn child in 2003. The reasons we were all captivated with this trial are a little more relateable to the reasons we are captivated with Casey's. Scott Peterson is the epitome of the all american boy. Handsome, successful, beautiful family and home...when we as americans think of cold blooded killers, we don't picture a man like him. The media has taught us to do this, statistics have taught us to do this, but now we have a tall, dark and handsome OUTLAW. “I am not sure what a killer looks like, but I didn’t think
he had the look. He was the All-American boy.”
—Mike Belmessieri, Juror No. 4. his sex appeal and charisma were even present during trial, he caught our attention in a different way. WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY? RIGHT? People were mesmorized bu the images of him, lacy and his mistress Amber Frey..btw...i still want to read her book "WITNESS" . Scott Peterson, no criminal record, golf enthusiast, ASU graduate, what happened? we can't pull 'social strain theory" here, life was good. We sympathized with his TWO victims. we wanted to believe there was NO WAY he could kill his beautiful pregnant wife...which led us all to america's favorite passtime...arguing over whether this was a double murder or not, is the unborn child a murder victim as well? This California jury said yes. Justice was served in this case, Peterson sits on Death Row as we speak, guilty of  the 1st degree murder of Lacy and 2nd degree murder of Connor, the unborn child. Welcome to the dark side of the American Dream folks.

Caylee's biggest advocate

This is when i began watching Nancy Grace. Grace is the most powerful liaison between us, the public, and the Casey Anthony Trial, and has been since july 2008. I have mad respect for her. She is so smart, fearless, opinionated, and powerful. She is entertaining to watch. I watched her coverage on the Anthony case for a year and a half pretty faithfully before i came to guatemala...also known as the land of no television. Is Nancy Grace responsible for the media frenzy surrounding this case? yes. Is that a bad thing? no. Cuz here is a straight up FACT for you...in the 6 months between the day Caylee was reported missing and the day they found her body, oops excuse me, her skull, Nancy was 10 times more of an advocate in finding the toddler than the entire Anthony family combined. She ran photos of Caylee nightly, gave us access to tip hotlines, shared the latest in the investigation...somebody had to be in Caylee's corner-It was Nancy Grace, since day 1, fighting for justice.  She isn't  hot-head either, in her nightly show on HLN she is constantly sharing the screen with lawyers, forensic experts, witnesses etc...she made sure she was reporting from different points of view...that didn't mean she didn't let them know when the were dead wrong- but i respect she let others share their expertise and views on her national tv show.
Grace promtly coined the phrase "Tot Mom" in the beginning stages of the investigation, she gave us the facts as soon as she knew them. I really just enjoy watching her, since i have not had a tv, i've tried to follow snippets of her show on you tube...i downloaded one the other day in the first 10 seconds it's Nancy "Tot Mom trial, defense drops a bomb today, excuse me, STINK BOMB" ...it was a stink bomb. the day the defense gives us the theory that Caylee drowned in the family pool. I'll get to that bogus move in a minute. Grace's reaction to one of the most controversial verdicts of all time? "I absolutely can't beliee that Caylee's death has gone unavenged-In the end, Tot Mom's lies seemed to have worked"
is she on the hook for telling it like it is? yup. she says "I told the truth. Am I taking the heat for it? Yep. Is that going to make me stop looking for missing children and trying to solve unsolved homicides? No. I'm not going to let some kooky jury stop justice. Not for me anyway..."  i got your back...and i agree with you when you say "somewhere out there, the devil is dancing tonight." There are no winners in this case.

don't forget to tag me on facebook, my daughters missing!

I don't have to agree with the jury. I don't agree at all- but that's my right. just like it's Casey's right to a fair trial.  Guilty of four counts of lying to the police...why do you lie to the police? to cover something up HELLO GOODBYE. unfortunately in most US courts, those charges are misdemeanors and homegirl is walking out of jail is 5 days for time served and good behavior, ha, good behavior. I believe she is guilty as hell of both first degree murder and aggravated assault against a child. 

RIP CAYLEE

Here are the facts as i know them...facts which will later be construed as inconclusive evidence. Now, my recent searches on the internet include jennifer aniston, perez hilton, and CNN. NOT NECK SNAPPING AND CHLOROFORM . Cindy Anthony, Casey's mom testified it was her who had searched those things...which may lead to her facing some perjury charges because she was clocked into work at the time. Throughout the 3 year investigation, trial, her parents have switched up stories...I am not gonna judge them TOO BAD i have no idea how to relate to what their going through, dead granddaughter and daughter in the national spotlight for her murder. that's alot to go through. It was Cindy who called 911 and reported Caylee missing, not Casey. 31 days too late. Cindy testified originally that she had begged Casey to inform her of Caylee's whereabouts for a month and got nothing but the run around from TOT MOM. Casey was laid up in bed with her boyfriend the day after Caylee really 'disappeared' all day. chillin. She continued to party it up showing everyone her COMPLETE disregard for her daughter. Sometimes, it was just in the way Casey spoke that made me say "WTF" even early on, august 2008, Caylee's 3rd birthday was approaching and in a jailhouse interview with her parents, Anthony kept repearing " I want to see THAT girl, i miss THAT baby girl" THAT girl? what kind of mother talks like that? now i know there is no legal legitimacy to judge her this way but come on! how about "my girl, my baby, caylee, my daughter" i mean get out of here man, terrible mom.
when Cindy was called by the impound station to come pick up casey's abandoned car, she originally described a 'dead body smell" coming from the trunk and all over the car, which she later testified as 'rotten pizza smell" The forensics team found both cloroform and body decomposition in the trunk along with a single hair from Caylee's head. Why this was never conclusive evidence for anybody, I don't know. oh yes i do know...this bring us to the defense's theory that Caylee drowned in the pool. I don't believe this went down AT ALL.
I am not a mother, so what i say is as an outsider. I am however a HUMAN and a woman and i've spent hundreds of hours taken care of a precious toddler. Now, if your daughter is drowning in the pool, you call the effing paramedics! what you don't do is drive around for 3 weeks with your daughter's dead body in the trunk then dump her in the woods with duct tape on her mouth to rot. People are forgiving, if it was an accident , anyone with a heart is going to sympathize with you..is that what she was so scared of? the judgement of being an irresponsible mom? look at you now. The most hated woman in america.

Facing the Death Penalty

So whatever, if she was covering up and accident, why is it that she allowed a first degree murder trial to pan out on the national and international news??? Casey Anthony was facing the death penalty. THE. DEATH. PENALTY.  I mean seriously. It's because it wasn't an accident, if it was the cover up itself should have been grounds for some jail time....legit jail time, do u know how many man hours went into the search for poor caylee? 


Once her first lie was proven false, you know the phantom Nanny who had Caylee safely under her care, began to surface, our minds were made up, and there was just no going back. I remember watching True Hollywood Investigates- Women Who Kill, back in the fall of 2009, before the trial even began and Casey Anthony was listed as NUMBER ONE in the countdown. a little preemptive from the E! channel but i was totally de acuerdo, i think we all were. It's because her victim was the most defenseless victim on the countdown. 

SHAME ON YOU PROSECUTION!

The Now-Famous Defense Attorney Jose Baez

I respect the justice system, when the verdict was read, it didn't make me necessarily lose faith in it, it is just so hard to swallow. hmm father of 3 locked up for 5 years for driving without a license, Casey Anthony walks free.   I mean ya ya ya time served...ugh get out of here! Over 400 pieces of evidence entered in trial, the Florida prosecution couldn't turn any of them into concrete evidence to convict her?! what are they working with? they should be ashamed and embarassed with their courtroom performance...they couldn't call in any other experts worth a dime? If it was me, and i saw in ANY way this evidence wasn't fuerte enough, i would have done anything in my power to get my hands on someone like Dr. Lee, the most respected forensics investigator in the world. i mean something, was it shortage of funds? is that the problem? what- we just want answers. (although this isn't the 1st time we've seen Florida screw up with a vote, right?)The defense wasn't THAT good, i'm pretty sure i might have made a legitimate argument against their theory right here in my own blog post. 
But why are we so invested? It's for so many reasons, number one being we want to see justice for victim Caylee Marie. ok. jury, you've acquitted  Casey of the charges, good for you. Answer us this, who IS responsible? you know investigators have Zero other leads...you had the right woman on trial, and everybody blew it. what can we do now? it sounds crazy but i keep thinking there was some sort of '12 angry men" thing goin on in the jurors quarters. it'd at least give me some peace.

awww, look who let her hair down for the 1st time in 3 yrs..

Casey's shocks us. We are appalled by her reprehensible attitude, we loathe her because of her obvious disrespect for law enforcement and the justice system. we are frustrated because her 'i'm the real victim" attitude is palpable, when she cries in court...is it for her baby? or that she has to go through this gruesome trial? we'll never know. we are angry with her because of the lies, why doesn't she seem to care what happened to Caylee? since she is just sooo innocent, she is just gonna live with the unknown...is this how her mind works? if so, are we gonna go head and define her as a psychopath? well, maybe, there aren't too many people who would knowingly drag their family through the international mud. literally, check out this article earlier in the week published in Guatemala's national newspaper
http://prensalibre.com/internacionales/Jurado-absuelve-Casey-Anthony_0_512348805.html


or this one..http://prensalibre.com/internacionales/Absuelven-mujer-acusada-asesinar-Florida_0_511749015.html

single white female..no?

Casey Anthony defies the social norms of a murderer. She is a young, white, single, mother, she is FEMALE, lady killers are few 'round these parts...'round any parts for that matter.... just let me ask you these questions: Who is Andrea Yates? Who is Susan Smith? Can you picture them both in your head right now? I guarantee at least 90% of you are going to say yes. Why is this? It's because they're white women who killed their children. period. whether in a mental institution or serving 2 life sentences, at least these women are locked up for life. These cases stay with us because they are so rare, and they're shocking. we don't want to accept the reality that some people are capable of such crimes. and the victimology? defenseless children, way to go ladies. we are so frustrated with the unknown surrounding this case and the injustice that has been served. for example.... WHO THE HELL IS CAYLEE'S FATHER? we don't know that either but i say HALL OF FAME DEADBEAT.


Por lo menos, we can say she will lead a life full of fear and shame from the moment she steps out that jailhouse. Her parents have been in hiding since the verdict was read on tuesday, rightfully so...i actually hope the FBI has them in the witness protection program soon. there has been enough tragedy in this family already.

just where i thought i'd be at 25

I said to myself a few weeks ago, 'wow, she has got to be just BEYOND ashamed of herself" why did i say that? because her face was plastered on PEOPLE magazine with the headline "getting away with murder?" you don't get any more shameful than that...you really dont. 


we feel helpless, and we all want justice for Caylee. we're already on it with the record breaking petition averaging 2 signatures per second. This law would make it a federal offense not to report a missing child/person in a timely manner.....join us in making sure this type of case never hit the courts again! 


http://www.change.org/petitions/create-caylees-law

RIP CAYLEE MARIE

Triple Certification on June 21st, Here's the Deal!

Ok. Not to be a drama queen but Tuesday, June 21^st will be HANDS DOWN the most important day of my two year service. We will be certifying all 3 of the schools I work with as “Healthy Schools” or “Escuelas Saludables”

Student and teachers, Pak'awex

I have been in the Healthy Schools program since the start of my service…18 months ago…wow! However when I had a site change back in February, my role in the program changed BIG TIME. I used to work with 35 schools and a partner in Phase 2 HS. Phase 2 has 10x as many schools because we are trained to work more with the teachers and superintendents rather than the students. It is our job to train the teachers to teach the kids all of the healthy habits, lesson plans, and infrastructure that a ‘Healthy Schools” requires. We kicked the program into high gear when my training group arrived and most volunteers, including me, started work in phase 2. Beforehand the HS volunteers were generally worked in Phase 1, where we worked with just a handful of schools and directly with the students.

Former Volunteer Rose Conklin, cooking with the mother's of Chuipoj

When my site changed to Santa Maria Visitación, Sololá, I began Phase 1 work with 3 schools. Tzumajhuí, Pak’awex, and Chiupoj had been in the HS program for 4 years, and worked with two now ‘returned’ Peace Corps Volunteers. My task was pretty clear, get to know this schools, work with them in the HS program and decide if they were ready to be “Certified.” I arrived in SMVin February, started visiting the schools and got crackin’. Since the Volunteers before me had done such a PILAS job, these schools were really impressing me with their healthy habits, clean schools infrastructure…EVERYTHING!

In order to be a ‘healthy school,” you need to meet these 8 requirements.

La Hora De Limpieza, Pak'awex

1.The school is clean. Pretty basic but everything in the school, bathrooms, classrooms, patio- and most of all, the student are clean. As part of the daily schedule, each school has “la hora de limpeiza” which is basically clean, sweep, mop- all of this which is done voluntarily by the kids to get ready for the day.

Hand-washing station, Chiupoj

2.The school has running water 5/5. This means that for all five days of school each week, the school has water for five hours.

3. The third requirement is that each school has ATLEAST 8 working faucets for the kids to brush their teeth  and wash their hands

4. Each classroom in each school has a Rincon de Salud, or a ‘Healthy Corner.”  This is an area in the classroom dedicated to personal health and hygiene. Rincones de Salud includes an overall health theme and each student has a place just for them to keep their own things. Every student has their own towel, toothbrush, tooth paste, soap..etc.

Rincon, Tzumajhui

Rincon, Pak'awex

Rincon, Chiupoj

Within the Healthy Schools program, we like to have the kids practice a poem called ‘La Promesa de Vida” or “Promise of Life” which is around every Rincon and it motivates the kids. It basically says my life is precious and I need to take good care of myself in order to grow, believe, and achieve great things in life.

the dice (dado), Pak'awex

the students check out each other's nails, Pak'awex

5. Atleast 2 times a week, each classroom teaches health-themed lessons. This can mean anything from nutrititon, to self-esteem, to teeth brushing. Each school uses either a Dice or a Roulette with the options of hair, teeth, face, hands, clothes, and nails. Every morning the dice is flipped and the students take turns checking each others nails,hair etc. that day, and they're not afraid to call each other out! One girl told me once in Pak'awex that my nails were too long...fair enough. "Long, but clean" i said lol.

Kitchen, Pak'awex

the mothers prepare a healthy snack, Tzumajhui

6. It is really important that a Healthy School has a clean kitchen. This means NOT enclosed in smoke. The snacks are served by the Mothers everyday, they normally rotate on a schedule of who prepared 'refaccion" as we call it. the kitchen should be clean at all times and the snack should be healthy. We normally serve a hot drink called Atol which is like milk with rice or oatmeal to give it some sustenance, they mix it up and put some chocolate in there often.

Clean, Happy, Healthy students, Tzumajhui

7.  The requirement is that 85% of the student or more come to school every single day clean from head to toe. Honestly with these three schools, i think it is more or less 95%. I went into each school with  healthy schools profile, the requirements... i used the colors of traffic lights. if they received a green light, they met the requirement. Out of the three schools we got all green with the exception of two yellow lights for the kids clothing. I thought maybe it could have been a little cleaner..so i simply spoke with the mothers of the kids, letting them know that was their responsibility and wahlah! done. Everyone is so supportive of the program in every community we had no problems at all with their cooperation.

Teeth brushing in Chuipoj

8. Before eating snack each day the students VOLUNTARILY wash their hands, also right after a trip to the bathroom. After snack the kids are to run to their rincones de salud and grab their toothbrushes. Isn't it funny that we don't even do that in the states. 

Because the volunteers before me were so pilas, as well as the teachers and principals, these schools are healthy. I wrote letter of recommendation to both my boss and the Ministry of Education to approve these 3 schools for certification. On Tuesday, we will have all the students, teachers, parents, committees, 4 mayors, director of education of Sololá, my boss Dr. Sergio Mack, some pc authorites and other volunteers, and HOPEFULLY both national newspapers. But we'll see about the last one..haha

practicing their traditional dance, Tzumajhui

It is a day of celebration because these schools, teachers and student DESERVE THIS! Once a school is certified "healthy" it becomes an example to others all around the country. It is something they should really be proud of, big ups to the teachers especially. It isn't an easy job getting students k-6 motivated about their health and hygiene

Principal of Chiupoj,  Sen~o Magda

All 3 schools will have a special time during the ceremony, one school is singing and reciting poems the other two are performing traditional guatemalan dances. I have seen them practicing and it is just gonna be  A BEAUTIFUL DAY! We are serving lunch to 150 people. On Monday, I will go to the market with the women teachers and buy our ingredients. Since we will only be at one of the schools for the ceremony, i have been making posters about the other schools displaying their hard work for all to see! I have used some of the fundraiser money to fund this day, including a marimba band, lunch, decorations etc...so THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS DAY MEMORABLE. 

Pak'awex from a distance, it is LITERALLY in the mountains!

Painting Tzumajhui for the big day!!!

Prayers that the day goes smoothly and it will be a day to remember for all the kids. I will be giving a little bit of a speech, sometimes i get a little nervous and it sounds like i don't know spanish...lets hope i can evade my nerves and do a great job! 

I am gonna out on my traditional outfit and have an awesome day...my boss wants to meet with me after the ceremony to decide what my next steps should be because technically my job will be done in this community. All i can say is there is anothing I won't do in order to stay here, i love my little town, im enjoying teaching english and i'm sure i can hop on some other projects around here =)

thank you everyone for your constant support, i already have  a new memory card loaded up for my camera haha, you can expect lots of pics!

Saludos, Grace

btw, this blog in no way reflects the american govt or peace corps...these are all my thoughts!

25 Facts About My Service, the good, the bad, and the ugly...SO FAR!

1.    1.   I have kept my computer clock on Boston time my entire service.

 My cat, Mrs. Cooper!

2.   2.    I have hosted a total of FIVE cats, currently have 3- Mama Mrs Cooper, and two of her 3 kittens. The other mini-cooper went to my friends Agnus and Michelle, bartenders at our fav bar/hostel in Antigua, El Caminante slash El Mirador. She loves her new home!

3.      3. I lived and worked in Cabrican, Quetzaltenango for just over 10 months as a Healthy Schools Phase 2 Volunteer. There, I shared 33 schools with my “pahtnah” Cliff. The Schools were in all sorts of conditions..some good, some so-so, and some in need of just about everything, but most importantly – connection to water!

.     4.  Two volunteers have now replaced me in Cabrican to work in those same schools. They are super great girls, super motivated. The project money raised at my fundraiser on Jan 29^th, is safely away and we plan on following thru with connecting water to those escuelitas!

2.      5 I have watched all 10 seasons of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. from beginning to end 6 times. Thank you Aunt Joanne, the box set was a birthday gift from her =) ITS. HILARIOUS. My favorite episodes are a 2-way tie between the one where they play the question and answer game and the one where Rachel is Late. The girls lose a question and answer game to the guys and they win their apartment- it’s also the one where Pheebs finds out she is pregnant with her brother’s triplets. In the one where Rachel is late, she is pregnant over a week and a half past her due date and she is hysterical! She just HHAAAATTTESSS on Ross- good stuff. My favorite emotional moment was when the girls were in the bathroom at Monica and Chandler’s wedding, finding out Rachel is pregnant, I cry. Every. Time. I. watch. It. Finally, my favorite joke is Pheebs is on the phone and she ends up getting and impromptu date out of it. She clenches her fists and proclaims ‘Today is gonna be SO much better than I thought!” then throws out double palms to ross and says “oh Ross, I can’t make lunch”  hahaha straight up diss.

1.      6. I have been either robbed or pick-pocketed 4 times. I have lost one camera, one ipod, three phones, three debit cards ,an internet modem stick, 10 dvds ( the real ones from the states, not the pirated 10s), including an all-time fav “Shawshank Redemption”….and about 2000 quetzales.  The majority of these happened while traveling on a bus. The word for thieves in Spanish is “Ladrones” ….fingers crossed for a robbery free last year of service!

2.     7  My best friend in the PCG is Mary Faucette. She is from Chattanooga, Tennesee…Mary reps for Tennessee like I rep for Boston, she doesn’t play games. The first convo we had was after staging in Washington DC…she walked back into the hotel and I go “omg I got dope in like 10 minutes” and she opened her Target bag and goes ‘ check out this super cute Guate shirt I just got.” Done. Mary likes to climb trees and do outdoorsy stuff, she is super athletic…when we were at the Panajachel welcome party I entered a dance contest and lost-and proceeded to cry for an hour.  Faucette was trying to comfort me and try to make me wrap my head around what I was even doing. I said “but Mary! What if it was a tree-climbng competition and YOU lost?!!?” hahahahahaaaaa

      8. I haven’t fallen in love in a while…it’s been kinda nice 

DBOAT!

9.       I gave out the official title of ‘Dopest Brother of all time” more commonly known by its acronym, DBOAT, to Adrian Ortega.  He’s from San Diego and the brotha has got. It. Goin. On… at his going away party (despedida) I not only gave him a cape that said “DOPEST BROTHER,” but also gave quite the ceremony to hand it over. Adrian is the DBOAT because he is down for whatever man, so laid back . HE RUNS SHIT. He’s got more friends than you can even wrap your head around, and he amps up the party.  He never has anything bad to say about anyone…well, unless of course you’re just awful, then he might have some palabras..i fell in love with him a little bit, I think everybody did he knows full well the deal, I fall in love with my guys friends as a Fact. Of. Life. Homeboy ain’t nothing bad to look at either…DOPEST BROTHER ADRIAN ORTEGA!

3.    10.   I had bed bugs for my first 7 months which was TERRRRIBLE. They tore up my legs real bad, hoping they won’t scar I use this special aloe cream from a woman in church, I think its helping.

Lake Atitlan!!!

1.    11.   I  HAD A SITE CHANGE! I now live in Santa Maria Visitacion, Solola…its about a half an hour up the mountain from Lake Atitlan, one of the biggest tourist sites in Guate. Unfortunately not many people swim in the lake because it’s so contaminated. PC has volunteers stations around the lake, both working to clean it up and creating sustainable tourism programs, its pretty cool. The Lake is surrounded by volcanoes and it’s such a gorgeous site to see! Though my site change was devastated, halfway through my service, but I lucked out with a Lake-site for sure.

.     12.  Despite taking bucket-baths for the past 16 months…thanks to trips home and packages from MAMA, I have yet to wash my body with anything but Victoria’s Secret body wash. Right now Im using ‘love rocks’ and I still have an unopened bottle… I also don’t have to go without Folgers coffee my aunt joanne and my parents have been so good about sending me packages with café rico! Just a couple things I couldn’t quite go without during my time here....

         13. Speaking of Victoria’s Secret…one of the things I miss most is working there!!!  I worked por lo menos 40 hours a week right up until I left for Guate. I hope I can work there again back in the states, even a couple of nights a week!  That job was perfect for me and I enjoyed it so much- the fat discount wasn’t bad either. The PC girls get a kick out of my ability name their bra size or fragrance…so fun =0) .   

we clean up nice! 

            14. On March 1^st 2011, Peace Corps Celebrated its 50^th anniversary.  President Kennedy created the peace corps in 1961, since then over 200,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries around the globe. Currently 8,655 volunteers serve in 77 countries, over 250 languages have been taught in spoken in Peace Corps. We had an event on March 25^th at Abassador Steve McFarlane’s house..CRIB IS OFF THE HOOK! We all got dressed up, the new volunteers swore in and my training group finally got a picture together! This same weekend we celebrated exactly a year of service, so proud of everyone!

15.       As far as my work goes in my new site- it is so very different than Cabrican,  I am now a phase 1 volunteer. Two volunteers have already worked in my site a total of 4 year---and there are only 3 schools.  My boss told me when I moved here my task was clear cut- these schools were ready to certify as ‘healthy schools” and I was to do just that. Well, I’m doin it. If all goes as planned (you never know in this country, things can change ALLL THE TIME) we will have a ceremony to certify them all. One school will act as the host for the event and the other two will come and have some sort of booth to show their work, think science-fair… This will happen on June 21^st. I will be busy and focused trying to organize the event…there will be music, people will give speeches, my boss will attend as well as his colleagues and members of the ministery of education.. it will be a great day if I can pull it off…some schools are a little bummed out they are not getting their own special day..i told them they can absolutely do that and I will support and attend it…but PC and Guatemalan authorities will only attend the one time…so that’s the biggie..

Promise of Life -translated in QUICHE

16.        The students in my furthest (and smallest) school “pak’awex” do not speak Spanish, I speak with the two women teachers. They speak the indigenous languages of “quiche”…as do their parents. I only know a couple of words…”Maltiox” means THANK YOU and I’m not sure how to spell it but something like “Chauc Chiq” is goodnight. I’d like to learn a little bit more, the people of the community literally LOVE IT when you walk out of their little store with a “maltiox”…lol Most everyone in this community can speak both languages. In Healthy Schools we like to have the kids recite “La promesa de vida” or “promise of life” one day we translated it into Quiche and made it into a song…the kids loved it and I think I am gonna ask them to sing it for everyone at the big certification ceremony.

17.       I am currently reading the BIBLE front- to back. I’m doing this for a lot of reasons but I FOR SURE don’t wanna wake up some day and ask myself “did I not read it because I was lazy, or what?” it’s a tough read for sure but it’s also cool. The book of numbers was nearly impossible to get through because it is basically numerical data of a census token. It was interesting to read thru the lives of Moses and Aaron, I am not necessarily studying the bible, maybe I can do that a little later after I read through…it’s a life goal! I am also reading the world atlas front to back, you can laugh if you want! But on each page there is a mountain of info about that area of the world, populations patterns, economic profiles, interesting facts, and famous architecture, ancient ruins, or something unique and awesome to that specific area. Meeting a bunch of travelers from around the world..it is so clear that US schools fail as far as geography goes, I remember taking geography in 7^th grade and that’s it. I have read through all 50 states, North, Central, and South America, and I just crossed the pond.  Learning is cool. 

18.       I am learning to play the guitar! I just bought classical/acoustic guitar, and I am pumped up about it. It all my down time here in guate, I am either dancing or singing- it’s time to learn to play, I’m all about challenging myself these days. I have been learning from youtube videos and tutorials. I hope to learn the styles of Lauryn Hill (unplugged) and India Arie…they are my two fav soul sistahs and I find myself being influenced by their sound for sure. There is a 4 video youtube tutorial (taught by a dope brother) literally titled ..”how to play guitar like lauryn hill unplugged” sahhhweeet! It’s gonna require a lot of patience on my part, my fingers are so short that it’s hard for me to stretch them out to play even basic chords, but Patty showed me some finger stretches to practice and I will get it. I am focused on learning “if I were a boy” by beyonce because ever since I learned she had done it in Spanish, I have been singing kind of a Spanish/English mash-up version of it…there are only four chord in the whole jam and I am trying to get the finger picking pattern down so I can serenade you all! Haha but its true...

19.       The PC is not all fun and games, missing home is no joke! I think the other volunteers would agree when I say the emotional ups and downs are just straight up extremeeee. It sucks when you travel to hostels and they are the only place to take a hot shower!! It’s super lonely at times, I would literally die without music…or facebook for that matter, don’t judge me. It’s a legitimate lifeline.  Mom got a web cam from my sisters for mother’s day, now I can skype with mom and dad! It’s hilarious, you can only picture my mom, I get 30 second hellos and goodbyes from EACH of the 3 dogs..jajajajjaja!

20.       I have been here for just about 17 months, so that would leave me with 10 left!!!

Slave 4 u!

21.       The annual 4^th of july party is creepin up!!! This is a weekend that everybody looks forward to. We have a basketball tournament where the different departments play against eachother, the all- volunteer conference at the office…but most importantly the party in Santa Lucia…music, BBQ, beer, the whole thing. Last year I was in the talent show and danced to the single ladies dance..it was a pretty good success, the crowd was poppin for sure. This year I will be dancing to Britney Spears…Slave 4 u! let me just tell you, its like training for the Olympics! The dance itself I believe to be much harder than single ladies…Britney was so athletic when she was rockin the hell out of this song in 2001. Beyonces style of dancing is more suave, and sensual..britney is very sharp and in your face…and don’t get me started on the amount of hairflips..i spent 2 night already with a heating pad on my neck…learning to dance like Britney spears is NOT A GAME!

22.       Now, if I am to be a little emotional and sentimental about my service, I I think without a doubt that my strength as a person is being tested. Unfortunately my site change was just devastating to me. I had worked for so long in my old site and I had made promises, friends, relationships and gotten to know some of my students and teachers really well. PC says I am never to return there under any circumstances…it feels kind of like an unfillable void. It is just so hard when things are just OUT OF YOUR HANDS, you know? I have decided to let it go and move on, thought that took me about 4 months to get to this place. At this point I am all about setting little mini goals for myself and just reaching them. I had to change my attitude for sureeee, I have been pretty down in the dumps since my site change and I just cant let that ruin the rest of my service, I don’t want to regret my time in anyway. Gotta make stuff happen for yourself.

ALWAYS REPRESENT BEANTOWN

23.       Boston. OH MY GODDD DO I REPRESENT BOSTON. I think my boston accent has gotten much stronger since ive been here, I think its subconscious or something but I love it. I spend quite of bit of my time at parties and out at bars talkin about boston, the Celtics, patriots, sox, and bruins…what its like to be a true fan…IT’S A LIFESTYLE. So I spend the rest of my time telling off a buncha losers who talk shit….i mean, what am I gonna do, Let them do it? No. Apparently, no one else in the entire country likes tom brady…ummm they can take that bullshit talk somewhere else, ya hearrrrrd me? I have also come to a life/love/dating realization…looks like im gonna have to hold out for a boston boy. Its important. I need someone who knows that date night means ‘where are we watching the game” not some princess dinner and a movie crap. Haha its so true tho, a boston boy has a certain attitude that’s unique to them and turns out, I got that same attitude…AND I LOVE IT! 

24.       I’m not drinking a drop of alcohol in May, I declared it sober month…honestly since the superbowl, we have had reasons to party every weekend , going away parties, and of course its birthday season! I wanted to stay in site and take a break, focus on some work and that kind of thing. Also, I gained a little bit of weight since my site change and I wanted to make time to get my body back in shape….the dancing is helping! Haha I am on a diet, of sorts but let me tell you, trying to get motivation to go running or hiking is pretty much non-existent if you are IPOD-LESS, for real. (or terrified of getting robbed)

Paige is coming!!!!!!!!!

25.       One of my best friends Paige, is coming to visit me in August!!!! My first visitor!! She will be here for 4 days, and I got the whole thing planned out – we’ll do Antigua one night, hike volcano Pacaya, then ill take her to the lake to experience the hippie side of Guatemala…I cannot wait!!!!

.        

i could go on, but 25 seems to be a good number, i promise i will be better about updating my blog!!!

and as a reminder....this blog in NO WAY represents the opinions or thought of Peace Corps or the United States Govt!!!!