Feria 2009

March 23, 2009

Feria has officially ended. As a recap from last year, Feria is ostensibly a one week celebration of the town’s patron saint, but it normally runs closer to two or three and is more of an excuse for the town to let loose and go crazy. Vendors come in from all over the country selling food, games and cheap plastic toys, the town elects Señorita Flor de La Feria (Miss Flower of the Fair) among a billion other various señoritas, parades run daily, a giant speeding Ferris wheel is propped up on wooden blocks, neighboring municipalities arrive to compete in soccer and basketball tournaments, drinking begins in earnest, dances run into the wee hours of the night (things stay open past dark), fireworks take over, and a few religious traditions occur (like Jesus being carried down my street). Needless to say, it’s kind of nice to have the tranquility of a sleepy rural Guatemalan town back.

I did partake (solely for your benefit of course), in almost every greasy delicious feria food offered, mainly to put in the video I am making of the whole shebang. It’s unlikely I will have this ready however, until after Easter, because I’m heading down to Guatemala City next week to take the GRE, and then hiking through the jungle of Petén for 5 days to the Mayan ruins of Mirador. However, keep a look out for it in the upcoming weeks.

Speakers

March 12, 2009

I’m sure in my last two years of blog posts, that I have mentioned the Guatemalans’ love of loud noise somewhere. Its amazing the level of sound they can tolerate, and that there aren’t more deaf elderly. I just left the election of Señorita Flor de La Feria and am now suffering from a major migraine. To drive the point home, please check out the speaker set they deemed necessary for use in a regular sized gym. I was vibrating the entire event, and not as a result of my cell phone. Wouldn’t want the neighboring towns to miss out. I don’t doubt they could hear it… sound travels better here, across valleys to neighboring ridges, and forget sound barriers: no insulation.

Niña Parvulos y Bilingüe ... Again.

Niña Parvulos

March 10, 2009

Feria started off with a bang today, with the election of Niña Parvulos and Niña Bilingüe. I was lucky enough to be selected to judge this event which seems to contradict the very conservative Guatemalan culture, although it is very deeply ingrained here. If you thought the US was the only country in the world where mothers dressed their four year-olds up in skimpy clothing and paraded them around like dolls for the world to see, you thought wrong. The girls competed in the categories of Traje Típico (Mayan Dress), Talent (the only talents that appeared were dance and some type of activity with a hula-hoop) and Ballroom Dress. At the end of the day, a six year-old named Marleny, walked away with the main title. Before the end of feria the town will elect the following: Niña Estudiantil, Flor de la Feria, Señorita Deportes, Señorita Magisterio, Señorita Deportes Magisterio, and Hija del Pueblo Mam. Woohoo for beauty contests!

Bola

March 9, 2009

The other day I witnessed a disturbing sight. A bola – possibly our one and only – was lying prostrate in the middle of the street in our main square at 11 on a week day. (For all those who don’t speak Guatemalan: bola is the female version of bolo, which means drunk).

This could be deemed disturbing for several reasons:

Someone got so drunk that they passed out in the town square in the middle of the day.
Alcoholism runs rampant here, and there is little infrastructure to deal with it. Most people, when they reach the level of passing out, are abandoned by their equally inebriated drinking buddies, and the powers that be (ie la policia or, in this case, our one and only “traffic cop”) are loath to deal with the situation. Left to their own devices, they crash wherever they are able to take their last step, occasionally piss themselves, and generally lose their cowboy hat to the wind or trouble-making children. Additionally, women technically don’t drink, so it is likely, this woman didn’t have a drinking buddy to cuidarla from the get go.

Could she get hit by a car?
This, while possible, was unlikely. Being that we’re not exactly a raging metropolis, traffic is slow at best. Always putting safety first, our “traffic cop” or some other authoritative figure had taken it upon themselves to place two orange cones around her. Lastly, she was kind of hard to miss; besides being surrounded by the two traffic cones, everyone within a two block radius was staring at her. Women rarely drink (in public), and it is even rarer that one would drink so much by mid-day that this would occur. Hence: a huge spectacle.

Why is no one taking it upon themselves to move her?
This I cannot answer. I was not readily moved to take up the call either. My site mate and I discussed the matter, and decided that two gringas moving her out of the center of the road would only draw more attention to her, which is the last thing she needed. Whether this was to make ourselves feel better for not moving her, or was really in her best interest, is up to debate.

This does not inspire a great lasting first impression of the town.
A Trainee was visiting my site mate to get a better idea of what her life would be like once she swears in as an official volunteer in a couple of weeks. Bolos don’t create a great impression, but bolas even less so because they are so rare. Also, because no one was moving her, it didn’t make the people of the town seem very considerate.

I could go on, but I will try to prevent this blog post from becoming too long.

I am sorry to admit, the only living creature with any sort of compassion was a chucho (stray dog), who lay down to cuddle and support her in her moment of shame. (I apologize to anyone who would have loved a picture of this, but it just didn’t seem appropriate).

I feel incredibly sorry for this woman, who is the known bola in our town, and whose social status can sink no lower. It is frustrating that there is no organization or person who can provide her with the support she needs to overcome her alcoholism. It is frustrating that her children are being left without a mother or family to raise them. It is frustrating that people seemed to view the situation with humor rather than with any form of empathy.

She was finally moved on to the steps of the municipal building more than an hour later, by the aforementioned “traffic cop” and one of several bystanders, when a delivery truck needed to pass. I saw her again the next day, stumbling around, clearly drunk again, possibly unaware of her humiliation the day before and without hope or the likelihood of overcoming her addiction.

Estados Unidos or BUST!

February 26, 2009

Xpint is causing me endless grief. I’m trying to figure out how to send him home… but of course, no one can give me a straight yes or no. Some airlines say he can go in the cabin of the plane, but he has to be able to stand up and turn around in a height smaller than 9 inches. Since he measures more than 12, I’m not sure if this disqualifies him. I put him in a case that measures 8 inches in height and he can definitely turn around… but standing up is a matter of opinion. I suppose I should have followed the Kohls’ example and limited his food intake as a kitten so he didn’t get so large (Disclaimer: This is an inside joke people! The Kohls never starved their cat). He’s going to need to go on a severe diet between now and May, or we might have to remove his paws.

Going below deck carries all these temperature restrictions, and since he’ll be traveling through Houston or Miami in May no one can really guarantee that I’ll be able to send him. I would like to thank both Continental and American Airlines for giving different and contradictory answers every time that I call, using up all of my saldo (Q 300!!!), and leaving me more confused after each conversation.

So the matter is settled. We’ve decided he’s going to be a true Guatemalan and go mojado. Anyone know a coyote? Andrea thinks due to his querulous nature he’ll have trouble in the desert, but I disagree. Since cats are naturally desert animals I think he’ll have more trouble with the river.

Seriously though, he’s getting there somehow, someway, even if it causes me to go gray in the process. If anyone knows someone at Continental that can guarantee I can bring my cat in the cabin, I would love it if you could put me in touch!

Oddity

February 23, 2009

Xpint is preparing for his trip “home.” Poor thing, I don’t think he enjoys it much. I wouldn’t enjoy sitting in a cage barely big enough for me either, but the vet says he has to get used to his travel accomodations. Since Xpint can’t go home in July due to heat restrictions, we are looking into sending him home in May, and since May is rapidly approaching, I am having to prepare.

This weekend Andrea and I took our cats into Xela for vaccinations and to buy Xpint’s new cage. Just for a moment imagine the oddity for Guatemalans of two gringas on a bus, each carrying a cat. For lack of a better comparison: imagine two one armed people carrying squirrels on public transportation in the States… you get the idea. I heard whispers the whole way there…. GRINGA! GATO! Not that it prevented people from approaching us. Odd doesn’t begin to describe the trip.

Actual Conversation:
Guy: Where are you from?
Me: The United States.
Guy: Oh! I need a passport. Can you get me one?
Me:?? No, sorry, I don’t work in that area.
Guy: Are you married?
Me: YES!

I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask. Later he asked me if Cabrican was far from where we were… while we were on a Cabrican bus.

Conversation in Xela:
Girl (within a group): Can we interview you for a school project?
Me: Um, sure? About what?
Girl: The traditions of where you’re from.
Me: What kind of traditions?
Girl: You know, the traditions of where you’re from.

So specific! For lack of a better topic I picked Thanksgiving. They video taped it.

Perhaps I should have picked animal care… Might have been more fitting.

On the Way Home:
Man: Is that your cat?
Me: Yes (No, I’m just carrying it around.)
Man: Does he always travel with you?