May and June 2012

Firstly I would like to apologise for the delay in getting this post written up. Normally I try for a post once a month but obviously this didnt quite go to plan with one thing and another. Anyway here is what I have been up to for the last two months......

For the month of May and June I took a break from La Cumbre for a number of reasons. I wanted to give my learning of Spanish a boost, I wanted to train for the half Marathon, I had a fundraiser to organise and  I had the trip to Tikal with the school in Coban. All of these are genuine reasons but if I am honest with myself I would have to say the main reason is that I honestly needed a break from La Cumbre. I was starting to have mixed feelings about returning to the place after spending a weekend away. Not a way I wanted to feel at all. I was starting to view it as harsh and lonely when in actual fact it is the harshness which gives it its unique buety and its isolation that has given me time to formulate the plans I have for the future . I owe the place and people a lot and never want to forget that. Anyway thankfully I honestly couldnt wait to get back after my break and have a new sense of enthusiasm for the work ahead. 

Over the two months I was mainly based in both Coban and Antigua....

Coban...........

As I have already mentioned in previous posts a good friend Stefan came up with an idea to bring 100 kids from his project, a school in Coban to Tikal, a Mayan heritage site. To fundraise for this, and the other few projects I have planned, I decided to run the half marathon in Coban. I went to Coban a week or two earlier than the race to do some training. Could have done more if im honest. The most I had ran before the race was 7km and the race was 21km. Still was happy with the time of 2 hours and 20 mins.

This photo was taken just after the race. Was suprisingly not in too much pain after the initial walking like a duck for a day or two... The entire weekend was a big festival in Coban with free concerts at various locations throughout the city on the Friday and Saturday leading up to the race on the Sunday. I know surely the party should be afterwards my toughts exactly. The lads live across the road from San Marcos park so had the enjoyment of listening to loud music until 2 in morning the night before the race without being able to drink or sleep. Right craic... Honestly though really enjoyed pushing myself as hard as I could the day of the race and I hope I will do one again sooner rather than later.
Big thank you to everybody who bought lines on sponsorship cards, and especially, Mam, Trina, Terri, Bell and everybody at JT Magen who sold sponsorship cards. Thank you to everybody else who took cards but didnt have as much luck selling. I appreciate it isnt the easiest thing sell to people who are going through tough times themselves at the minute. Thanks for the intention none the less.

I also took some spanish lessons in Coban during this time of 'intense' training... I also tried to teach the making of bottle lights with varying success. The first time was an absolute disaster. Myself and Stefan went to an isolated community and installed a bottle light in their community centre. A number of factors combined to make it a disaster. First we had no real plan as to how we were going to explain ourselves or the project. Our Guatemalan counterpart didnt really help us out either as he didnt introduce us or the project. So, basically two gringo looking eigits built a contraption with a bottle and some glue, cut a hole in their roof and stuck it in. It also started to go dark because of heavy rain. This meant that the bottle did nothing as a light and the silicone didnt stick because of rain. So now they had an ugly looking bottle sticking out of their roof and a leak. Disaster. Practically ran or gat ran out of the place.
Gladly when myself and Johnny repeated the exercise with the kids in the pastoral we learned a few lessons. Johnny had explained the purpose a few weeks leading up to the workshop and we got the kids to build their own as we explained the process. Johnny is currently with me here in La Cumbre and we are going to install a few more in the coming weeks so that when he returns to Coban he can do another workshop with the kids on installation.


Tikal Trip.....

I will let the photos tell the story of the trip fore the most part but just before hand id like to say congratulations to Stefan for thinking of the idea, organising it and seeing it through. I know I wouldnt have had the interest or cared enough to do somthing like this when i had just turned 20. In truth I didnt have much to do with it besides going to Flores a few days early to make sure everything was set up as planned and providing some money (raised by sponsorship cards) towards the fund. The whole concept was to bring kids from deprived backrounds to a Mayan heritage site to instill pride in their culture and in doing so themselves.. In truth in Guatemala there is a tendancy to see the great Mayan people of a source of great pride whilst the indigenous people with a certain amount of disgust. As if they were different people in anyway. Madness because the only difference is that the Myan people today are deprived of education of their culture from 100 of years of oppression. Anyway normally it is people from spanish heritage and wealth (wealth from robbed mayan gold and silver) or tourists who exclusively get the chance to visit Tikal...

one of the two coaches arriving in coban at the start of the trip...



getting settled in to the hall in flores on arrival.





bit of swimming in the lake the day before the Tikal adventure. happily nobody was eaten by crocodiles.



presentation on Mayan culture the night before trip to Tikal....



arrival at the central plaza in Tikal....



at tikal we had a Mayan ceremony performed by a Mayan priest.

MUCHAS GRACIAS........    kids showing their appreciation for the few days activities and events.......

I had planned on bringing the 12 kids on scholarships with seeds of help on a simialr trip to Tikal a few weeks back but due to the Govenment announcing that the mid term break was moved a week forward the sunday night before it has had to be postponed until end of term in November. Could be a blessing in a way as the rainy season will be over and we can cut down on travel expenses and travel time. Bit dissapointing all the same but it will still go ahead... Also means that we can use more funds on the house project in August if needed.


Antigua.......

The main reason I was in Antigua was to do Spanish lessons. I did my fair share of 'socialising' while watching the Euro championships if the truth be told but the Spanish lessons still went well nonetheless thanks to Luis my teacher in Entre Volcanoe spanish school.





I caught up with some old friends when I was there. Met up with Hilmar on a few occasions for a chat about everything and anything, which I always enjoy. He is going from strenght to strenght with the comedor, bottle lights, heating stoves and he has recently finshed building a house for a family too.

On one particular day I called out to him after Spanish school to help with some 'construction work'. Somewhere along the line the plans changed and we ended up killing, plucking and gutting 50 chickens for the freezer for the comedor. Was an experience. Got a free lunch out of it too. Yep you guessed it fried chicken. Sat down beside the table you see above. Safe to say I will never become a vegetarian if I didnt this day.





I also spent a good few evenings in the hospital with Dona Lily (woman I lived with when first moved to Guatemala). Was happy to spend some time with her because she is alwaýs such a warmhearted character but especially now that as far as I can tell there is a chance she wont be with us much longer. They think she has cancer of the liver. In any country wouldnt be great news but here in Guatemala especially a transplant just isnt an option. She is really a genuinely lovely woman and I hope for her and Astrid her daughter that the initial prognosis isnt correct. She is at home now at least and is a lot happier because of it. She spent two months in hospital waiting for tests and even now she is attending the Cancer hospital in Guate they are still waiting on more test results.

I was also a regualar at Reillys full stop, but especially for the pub quiz every monday night. First two weeks in a row we came first place and earned a pretty penny for ourselves... Pure fluke as I never came anywhere even close since....

'The fxxking idiots' winning team photo.

The fxxking idiots 2.0 reloaded winning photo...

 Reillys Irish Bar Antigua....

........ held a fundraiser for the house building project a few weeks back. We managed to raise nearly 400 euros between a raffle, auction and a percentage of the takings from the bar. Big thank you to everybody at Reillys namely, Henrik, Gal, Deane and Joep. Everybody who helped out on night namely, Gavin, Irene and Sylvia. Everybody who attended and the kind business in or around antigua who donated prizes namely....

Fusion Restaurant, Travel Menu, La Conoa, Saberico, Rainbow Trave, Rainbow Café, Vinos y Licores, Black Cat Hostel, Solex Mens Clothes, Papeles La Luna, Entre Volcano Spanish School, Choco Muso, Super Tienda Lucky, Global Surf Shop and La reunión golf and country club

Volcan Fuego above, is pretty much going off nightly and can be seen clearly from Antigua. Pretty amazing be anyones standards. As a wise man (Deane Kerlin) once said. Pick any landscape in the world and stick a volcanoe in the backround and you now have an amazing lanscape...



Back in La Cumbre......

Ive been back in La Cumbre for a week or so now and besides doing this blog and a visa run to mexico for the weekend this is what Ive been up to.....

myself and johnny (friend from coban staying in La Cumbre for 3 weeks) doing some english lessons. Head shoulders knees and toes, eyes ears mouth and nose......................

a finished oven......



Myself Roberto and Johnny teaching the womens group in La Union how to make ovens that sit on top of their stoves out of galvinised sheeting and some rebar. They cost about 4 euro but are really useful to households that only have the use of wood burning stoves typically.



the womens group in nuevo communidad and clippings from fruit trees ready to be planted next year....



 The next few months.......

For the remainder of this month I will be doing some teaching of English and getting ready for the house project in August. Had a good meeting with the family and Brenda on the weekend so we have agreed on a layout. I just need to price the alternative available materials to build it. I will have a post on this in a week or so with a lot more info.... Then hell for leather at house.... Big thanks to everybody who made this possible...