September Proyectos Familiares

September brought two more proyectos familiares, and they were both great! I was riding a pizza high after the Casa 4 cena, and so for both of my projects we made Hawaiian pizza. (The kids love making pizza!) For my first proyecto this month, I had a family of four. One is working as a tía (caregiver), two are in high school, and the last is in middle school Here are a few of them showing off their pizza right before we put it in the oven...

Ham, cheese, and pineapple heaven!

We had a great time playing Uno and enjoying our delicious pizza. When the time came to take the family photo at the end, things got interesting. Much to my annoyance, the youngest boy (who is from my section) wouldn't make a nice face (I was ready to be done by this point). As much as I didn't want to admit it, it was kind of funny to look at all the pictures. Check out his goofy mug!

1, 2, 3... smile! Hey, that's not a smile! >:(

Okay, that was funny but smile this time... STOP THAT.

HAHAHA (not), for real this time please... UGH. SERIOUSLY?

But finally, he finally gave me a decent smile and I snapped a pic of the family :)

For my second proyecto, I had two brothers who are both in high school. They were great. We really just kind of hung out for a few hours and made some delicious pizza. I was super lucky that they were both in the bakery workshop and manhandled the pizza dough like it was nothing. Thank you, boys! We were using a space with lots of games and activities, so we had a lot of fun just messing around with everything while the pizza was baking.

wobble wobble baby

Thank you for such a great project, boys!

I'll be honest. Sometimes it's hard to muster up the animo before a project, but I'm always pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoy myself once we actually get started. I've been really lucky with my first few proyectos since I've had nothing but great groups of siblings.  This quote is painted on the wall of the area I used for my second proyecto. Translated, it says "If we stop growing, we begin to die." I absolutely love that quote, and it's my mantra for the year. Through proyectos and everything that life is bringing me right now, I look forward to continuing to grow this year with NPH.

Channel this, Jess.

San Antonio Palopó, Lago Atitlan

My main post about my trip to Panajachel is already way too long. Thus, this post is dedicated solely to the mini adventure I had that weekend, which was by far my favorite part of the trip! I need to start with a story. A few months ago, I had seen some beautiful pottery in a craft market while I was waiting out a rain storm. I loved it, but I wasn't ready to buy anything. I left empty handed but determined to come back before the end of the year. After that day, I started noticing the same type of pottery all over the place in Antigua. It was so beautiful! Eventually, I asked a woman in a shop if there was a special name for the style, type, etc. of this pottery. She told me it all came from a little town called San Antonio Palopó at Lago Atitlan. I walked away repeating, "Palopó, Palopó, Palopó" and thinking, "Remember this, Jess! It's important!" I had pottery on the brain. I started researching this mythical land of pottery called San Antonio Palopó. (Click here so you can learn about San Antonio Palopó pottery too!) As fate unfolded and we planned our trip to Panajachel, I realized that San Antonio Palopó was super close to Panajachel. I HAD A CHANCE TO GO TO THE POTTERY MECCA OF SAN ANTONIO PALOPÓ!

It took very little to convince the other girls to check out San Antonio Palopó with me; Emily had already been riding the pottery obsession train with me, chooo chooo. So, on Saturday afternoon we set out towards San Antonio Palopó. The adventure began right away with transportation because we had to ride in the back of a very crowded pickup truck with the locals. That alone was a really cool experience. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm all about traveling like the people do, and that was definitely it.

Kyra modeling the means of transportation.

San Antonio Palopó. Reminds me of Greece, but poorer.

As soon as we stepped off the truck in San Antonio Palopó, we were greeted by a cute old Mayan woman named Maria who briskly asked us if we were here for the pottery. (Was it that obvious?!) After I practically shouted "yes!" at her, she started leading us through the small town. After zigzagging through a few streets and sharply turning a few corners, we were suddenly there, at THE original workshop/factory. I couldn't believe it! I was now standing at the place I had been dreaming about for weeks. Maria practically pushed us inside, urging us to go look at the different rooms where the men were working. I didn't really get an explanation of what was going on, buuuuut I did snap a few pictures!

Room 1- firing the pieces?

Room 2- get the pieces ready for painting?

This was my favorite part- watching the men paint! They really are such artists. I just kind of stared at them open-mouthed with wide eyed. I couldn't believe I was watching them make these masterpieces!

Master artisans at work. I died.

I love color. I died a second time.

While I was still gaping at the painting, Maria then ushered us into the room where the fun really began- the gallery! All of us were totally overwhelmed by all the beautiful things before us. I seriously wanted to buy everything. Thank goodness there wasn't an ATM in that town because I could have done some damage. It made me laugh to see us being such girls. For the first time in a long while, we were all hard core shopping. After a lot of indecision, bemoaning, biting our nails, and consulting with each other, everyone settled on a piece or two to buy. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, BABY!

Shopping and sensory overload. Too many lovely options.

too stinking cool

Maria then conveniently ushered us away from the ceramics to her own fabric store. She makes all the textiles by hand. It was (almost) as equally as impressive as the ceramics. Luckily, I didn't have enough money to buy anything else, but I was really relieved that a few of the other girls bought a few of her pieces. She was really pushing them on us, and she was the woman who led us to the pottery after all! :)

Maria showing off her wares to us.

Thunder started to boom overhead, signaling the end of our magical afternoon. Again, it all felt like such a blur. On the way back to Panajachel, the pickup was much less crowded than the first time. The vacant bench started to get a little unruly on the bumpy roads. Thank goodness I have tall friends with long legs to keep it in check!

I suddenly felt like I had very short legs...

That afternoon was a prime example of why I love traveling. It was an unexpectedly incredible adventure and I felt like I was truly living. Who cares about Facebook, TV, or other things like that? It was awesome to be out experiencing the world and its people. As you can see from their genuine smiles in Maria's shop, I think the other girls were feeling just as equally high on life as I was at that moment.

Radiating pure joy and loving life :)

I doubt I will ever forget my experience in San Antonio Palopó. Just in case my memory starts to waver however, all I have to do is look at my bedside table to see one of the ceramic pieces I bought :) I've got a spot spot for souvenirs that are beautiful, artsy, and full of personal meaning. This was definitely one of them. I hope this year continues to bring me similar experiences as I travel!

Warms my heart every time I see it.

Panajachel, Lago Atitlan

Take a breath- this is a long one. Grab a cup of coffee or something. Sorry!

Since the weekend in Monterrico, a few other volunteers and I had been pretty antsy to take another trip and see some more of Guatemala. This past weekend, I had the great fortune of finally being able to do just that! We went to the town of Lago Atitlan (Lake Atitlan), which is a must-see if you find yourself in Guatemala. It's a beautiful lake up high in the mountains. Some parts are touristy, but the Mayan culture is still present- it's a good balance. There are a bunch of little towns around the lake, and we decided to stay in Panajachel. Panajachel definitely has a reputation for being a gringo-town and more touristy, but it's a great starting point for exploring the lake. Including myself, there are 4 girl volunteers my age and we all just graduated college in May; two of us work in the clinic, the other two work in the schools. And so, it was with this group of lovely ladies that I took my half day on Friday (we get one Friday afternoon free a month) and headed off to Lago Atitlan!

As I mentioned, we all just graduated. The whole student loans and service stipend thing kind of puts a dent in our travel budgets. Thus, we were all about doing this weekend cheap. Instead of a fancy (read: expensive) tourist shuttle, this meant traveling with public buses (las camionetas) to the lake. The thing with the camionetas is that only Guatemalans take them. Being white and blonde, I really stand out on them. However, camionetas are a way of life here, and we take them all the time to places around NPHG. Lago Atitlan was a lot further than Antigua though, and I couldn't help but be a little nervous heading into unknown camioneta territory with a group of white girls who are obviously foreign and traveling. Lucky, all the girls were on the same page with safety. Sexy money belts were put on, money was divided and put in separate places, cell phones were charged, valuables were generally left behind, and the bare minimum was packed. I was pretty proud of myself for getting everything into my little Jansport backpack, and I had room to spare! (It helps when your two packing rules are "SIMPLE!" and "Boys don't matter.") This picture was taken at the end of the weekend right before we headed home, but as you can see by my mace and Kyra's rape whistle, we were ready to take on and any all shenanigans we might have encountered on the journey.

DON'T MESS.

Five buses and three hours later, I found myself stepping off the camioneta alive and well in Panajachel, Lago Atitlan. I couldn't believe I got there by paying only about $4 USD- INCREDIBLE. My wallet was very happy, and I got to fulfill my wish of authentically traveling like a real Guatemalan at least one time. We spent the few hours of daylight left wandering around and getting our barrings. In the evening, we grabbed dinner in a super quaint Chinese restaurant called Las Chinitas and passed several hours chatting and enjoying each others company.

The lake, dock view.

On Saturday morning, we headed off to Reserva Natural Atitlan (Nature Reserve Atitlan). It's located a few minutes outside of town, which meant I had an excuse to finally experience riding in a little Guatemalan taxi called a tuk tuk. The tuk tuk was like a cross between a golf cart and an ATV, and I felt like I was on a ride at Disneyland. During the short drive, our driver was nice enough to pull over to let us snap a few pictures of the lake.

Lago Atitlan, Guatemala. It speaks for itself.

First tuk tuk experience. Faster, faster, faster!

We spent the morning hiking around the Reserva Natural taking all the natural beauty in. Before we even left the visitor center, I couldn't help but snap a million photos of these gorgeous hanging flowers over some tables.

flowerrrr powerrrr

Almost immediately after we started hiking on the trail, we stumbled on the monkeys! They were acting exactly like monkeys should, hanging from their tails and eating bananas. Once they started fighting and jumping from branch to branch, I felt like I was watching a scene from Planet Earth

   

There were several suspension bridges, which we all had a lot of fun crossing...

Fearless Jess.

It was a little sad to still see trash along the river banks even in the nature reserve, but I guess when you're in a developing country you have to address some other concerns like food and health for people before you can start to focus on the environment. Overall though, it was still really beautiful to walk through the jungle! Here are some of the highlights:

Big waterfall, probably my favorite part.

Rushing river rapids below...

HUGE leaves. Probably twice as long as I am tall.

Vines vines vines.

Nature getting out of hand. "Why yes Kyra, you do have something in your eye..."

During the afternoon on Saturday, we wandered around the market and some different parts of town. My favorite scene was probably the Catholic church. It looked very Mayan, there were all these gorgeous green mountains around the valley, and kids were playing soccer in front of it. Totally Guatemala.

The Catholic church...

...with kiddos playing some fútbol in front of the hills!

I had to laugh when I stumbled on the Nevada street sign- you're never too far from home! ;)

  

As night began to fall, we wandered into a popular bar called Pana Rock to enjoy some pre-dinner drinks during happy hour. Don't ask me why or how, but there was a little 8 year old blonde boy named Aaron sitting at the bar who was very talkative. As I sipped my strawberry margarita, I discussed life with him. My favorite quote from the night... Me: "We're in Guatemala for a year." Aaron, eyes huge: "WOOOOW, that's long enough for a BIKE!" Ahhh to be 8. After Pana Rock, Saturday evening with filled with delicious food, great conversation with the girls, and even a splurge purchase of ice cream. (It was so worth it.) I don't think we walked anywhere as fast as we did when we were heading to the ice cream parlor haha.

The happiest of happy hours with 8 year old Aaron.

On Sunday, we had to head back to NPH but we still got to have some fun kayaking on the lake in the morning. ($4.50 USD for an hour? Don't mind if I do!) I don't know what the deal was with my kayak, but Emily and I could not go straight to save our lives. I wasn't even mad though. Just floating on the water, listening to the rain fall on the lake, and taking in the scenery was great! On one side of me, there were gorgeous, lush green hills. On the other side, the huge, dark, ominous volcanoes rose into the clouds and loomed over the lake. Really, really cool.

Gorgeous greens on one side of me...

...and volcano action on the other. Loved it.

As you might have guessed by the fact that I'm alive to write this blog post, we made it back to NPHG using the camionetas without any problems. Overall, it was incredible weekend. As cool as it was to see a new part of Guatemala, I also really enjoyed just shooting the breeze with the 3 incredible young ladies I was lucky enough to have in my company. I can't wait to travel in Guatemala with other great people again!

Tamalitos de Elote

Tía Rosa was gracious enough to have Kyra and I back over to her mother’s house two weekends ago, and it was just as great as the first time. That day, we were going to make tamalitos de elote (typical around Christmas time) with her mom, Angelita. I had to laugh when Tía Rosa disappeared to clean her house after a few minutes, leaving us to chill with her mom and the rest of her family. I’m glad she felt comfortable enough with us to do that! We jumped right into the cooking and got busy cutting corn off the cob. I thought it was awesome and so generous of Tía Rosa’s family that we were using corn from her father’s farm.

GET BUSY, KYRA!

The bountiful harvest.

The next part of the process was to grind the corn up. Traditionally, you would do this with two stones and slave over them for hours. Luckily, we live in the age of modern technology and just had to walk one street over and pay a few quetzales to use a grinding machine that did all the hard work for us. I’m all about efficiency! Also, I just had to include this picture of the power switch. This type of building/living standard is pretty typical of Guatemala, and sometimes it strikes me as hilarious because it’s so ridiculous. This kind of stuff would absolutely not fly in the States, but here it’s no big deal.

Technology. Gotta love it.

Casual hazardous exposed wires? CLASSIC Guatemala.

Once we got back to the house, Angelita added a few more ingredients to the creamed corn. These tamalitos are supposed to be sweet, and I was very happy to see the copious amounts of sugar being poured into the bowl. When she finished, it looked pretty much just like a normal cake batter. Using the leaves from the corn ears we cut that morning, we scooped the batter into them and folded them up. They were like little packages of yumminess! We ran out of corn leaves for the last of the batter and used aluminum foil instead, whch allowed Tía Rosa’s brother, Nelson, to crack a good joke about having tamales from both the city and the town. After we ran out of batter, we loaded the tamale bombs into a large pot and stuck it over the fire in the outdoor kitchen. It’s crazy to me that it’s normal to cook in this manner!

scoop scoop scoop!

Done and ready to cook the city/town tamales! :)

We had about 45 minutes to kill while the tamales cooked, and we went with Nelson into town to run a few errands. It was fun exploring San Andres a bit more, especially since he bought Kyra and I delicious iceys. I’m pretty sure they must have been using real fruit nectar because it was the most delicious one I’ve ever had in my life.

Out on the streets, baby.

DELICIOUS.

When we got back to the house, we had a yummy lunch with Tía Rosa and her family and then got to dig into the tamales for dessert. Everyone was really complimentary of them, and I thought they were great as well. Well done, team.

How do you like them tamales, hot?!

Just lunchin' with the fam!

There was still more fun to be had that afternoon. Kyra and I were overjoyed when we found out we would be making tortillas as well. In theory, it was pretty straightforward task but it was so much harder than I expected! There’s definitely a technique if you want to tortillar like an authentic Guatemalan, and I did not have it. My hands were awkward and clumsy with the dough, and I’m embarrassed to admit I dropped more than one ball of dough on the floor trying to get it right. The Guatemalans are speedy quick with their hands! Pat, pat, pat, pat like lightening aaaand look, there's a tortilla! I had a great time practicing though and I can wait to do it again to up my tortilla game! No surprises here, but the tortillas were also delicious.

Knead the dough for a bit while looking out at volcanoes...

Bake them in the open-air kitchen over the fire...

Enjoy! My tortilla was tiny and misshapen but I still loved it :)

After a quick visit to Tía Rosa’s house in the afternoon to say hi to her animals again, Kyra and I caught the bus back to NPH. Once again, I couldn't help but be deeply touched and grateful for the hospitality of Tía Rosa and her family. I love how welcoming Guatemalans are as a people!

Thank you for being so nice!!!

Oh gosh, it's still tiny and cute.