Back in Guatemala

So this post is long over due, as Ben and I are a couple days into our vacation right now. We’ve been moving around quite a bit up until now and the internet access hasn’t always been great so I figured I’d take this as an opportunity to get you all caught up.

I left Mexico last Friday, which now feels like it was months ago. The night before I headed out the researchers that I had worked with had me over for a good-bye supper which as great. I’m really going to miss them all. So Friday night I stayed at a little place near the airport and in the morning I walked over and picked Ben up. We spent the day in Guatemala City which as fine, not my most favorite place in the world but a nice visit. The next day we went to this town called Chichicastenango, which has a huge market every Thursday and Sunday. So we spent the day there and then took off again the next morning. We also got to experience both sides of Chichi as it’s a totally different town when it’s not a market day- a lot quieter.

So our next stop was Lake Atitlan, which is supposedly one of the most beautiful lakes in the world and I would have to agree. We spent 3 days around the lake- 2 in Panajachel and 1 in San Pedro. We tried to go paragliding but sadly the wind wasn’t co-operating this week but we made a pact to do it at some point in our lives. We did however get to go ziplining which was amazing- soaring over trees and coffee fields with an awesome view of the lake. We also did some hiking at a nature reserve. In San Pedro we spent an enjoyable afternoon in a pub watching soccer with a lively bunch of Europeans and since our hotel had hammocks on the roof, we spent most of the evening relaxing up there. Ben is already making plans to relocate to San Pedro, I think he might have liked it there.

Today we arrived back in Xela and I’m going to go give Ben and tour of the place in a little bit. It’s kinda odd being back but exciting too. Basically our plans for the next 4 days is to hike, hike and hike some more, so hopefully we make it out of here alive.

I know you all have been waiting for photos but Ben accidently brought the wrong camera cord, so you’ll have to wait a little longer until we’re finally home. So that’s more or less what we’ve been up to these past few days. I’ll try to write at the end of the week-end to let you know how we made out.

Winter in Mexico?

So I realized that I’ve been pretty lax on new posts over the past little bit but like I said before, I’m really not doing a heck of a lot. The past few days have been mostly spent in my room, continuing the process of sorting all my data. For some reason I had this wildly optimistic idea that this part of the process would only take a few days but I have since discovered that I was way off base. As Ben can tell you, I’m prone to mini-panic attacks and have had a few while trying to sort all this junk out. I have a habit of getting overwhelmed, trying to do everything at once but I’m learning that it’s best just to tackle one section of my report at a time, even though it’s taking more time than I intended.

Today was probably the coldest day ever. When I woke up this morning I could see my breath and after checking the weather reports, came to find out that Halifax was actually warmer than San Cristobal. Needless to say, I spent most of the day huddled under the covers… working on my research of course. I did venture out a couple times though, once for a Spanish lesson and another time to purchase a bus ticket to Guatemala City and a greatly needed hot chocolate.

So in three days time I take off back down to Guatemala. I’m looking forward to going back, seeing Ben, having a vacation and then heading home for Christmas. In light of my diminishing time here in Mexico, I decided that my last full day, Thursday, will be spent touring the city, seeing all the things that I meant to see but never found the time. So hopefully I’ll have something interesting to report then.

Anyway, as most of you probably know, Josh got a job in Yellowknife and is currently in the process of packing up. Though I’m super proud of him for getting to go do his dream job, I’m also pretty disappointed that I won’t be home in time to see him off. Of course we miss each other by a couple of days! But there is always skype and of course I’m already planning a trip up to visit him!

So that’s it for now. Sorry the past few weeks have been fairly uneventful. I’ve enjoyed my time in San Cristobal but am now looking forward to moving on.

 

Spanish Word of the Day: Educado/Educada (Polite)

My current Spanish teacher has three favorite types of students: Canadians, Australians and Swiss. Apparently together we form the world’s most relaxed and politest population.

Survey Says…

Since it’s been a couple days since I least wrote I feel like I should provide you with some sort of an update but basically I’ve been camped out in my room the past few days. I’m currently in the process of compiling all my data and it’s taking a lot long than I expected. Apparently I was wildly optimistic about how quickly I could get this part done and should have known better the moment I sat down with my 14 interviews and realized that I had no idea what to do next. Now that I finally got it all sorted, I’m finally getting around to writing it all up in a way that hopefully makes sense. Oh and I’m making graphs! Though they certainly are not the most important feature of my research I got a little sidetracked and went a little crazy with the graph making.

So really that’s about all I have for now. I literally come out of my room three times a day for meals and then an additional time for a mid-afternoon walk. Tomorrow though I’ll have observations to do at the market, following which I’m going for a Spanish lesson. I figured that I’d make the most of my opportunity here and get a few more lessons in. I will leave you with my frustration of the day. Four women form the leadership team for the Tianguis and it has been apparent to me, even before I arrived here, that they don’t exactly like me. Helda had to fill out a ton of paper work to finally get them to okay my research, which apparently didn’t happen until a few days before I actually arrived in San Cristobal. Up until this point I’ve only interacted with one of the women and she is generally less than friendly with everyone. Anyway, Helda and I are trying to set up a time to for me to interview them before I take off next week. A few days after I arrived I was told that on Nov 26th (this Saturday), there would be a meeting and it was expected that I would share some of my findings. That’s all fine and good, so tonight Helda emailed the ladies to see if we could hold an interview after the meeting since everyone will be present. The only response I’ve gotten so far stated wanted to know why I didn’t tell them earlier that I was planning on presenting something because people aren’t going to be available Saturday. It’s not really a big deal, just a bit of added frustration for the evening but it’s probably the most eventful part of my day so far- which is sad.

On a super awesome note: Josh had a phone interview today and finds out sometime tomorrow if he’ll be packing up and heading up to Yellowknife. If you could keep him in your prayers that would be awesome. I’m really hoping that he hears good news tomorrow because I know he’d do a great job.

Oh and on an unrelated note, to answer Shari’s question: the temperature is generally in the low 20s during the day.

Spanish Word of the Day: Ermitaño/Ermitaña (Hermit)

Because that’s what I’ve become.

Making Sense Of It All

So I realize that it’s pretty much been a week since I last wrote but I’ve been pretty busy trying to squeeze in as many interviews as possible. I actually did my last interview with producers at the organic market on Wednesday so now I have pages and pages of data from my 14 interviews that I need to sort through and make sense of. It’s a bit of a tall order so I’m foreseeing a lot of time being spent in my hotel room this coming weekend. There are a few more people in town that I’d like to have a conversation with but otherwise the rest of my time in San Cristobal will be spent reading articles and beginning the actually writing process. I can’t promise how many interesting posts will come of it but I’ll try my best.

Somewhat on that topic, I realized that I never gave any real description of San Cristobal. I was going to try to draw a map but the  realized that my mac doesn’t have the paint application so you’re gonna have to use your imagination, at least until Ben arrives and then I promise to post my photos.

So we’ll start with the centre of town, which I always refer to as Central Park, though it’s really called Plaza de 31 Marzo (March 31st Plaza?). In the middle is this large white gazebo, which I think is also a cafe. All around the gazebo are small walk ways, gardens and speakers on posts which are always playing soothing local music. To the west of the plaza is a large white colonial building that has been hosting a book sale for the past few weeks. To the north is a huge yellow cathedral and then the south and east sides of the plaza are bordered by either cafes, restaurants and a hotel. Everything in this areas has a very old, colonial feeling to it. There are a lot of streets that meet in this area but in three corners- the two top corners and the bottom left- are where  the pedestrian/tourist streets start. Basically they make me think of Spring Garden Road, except that it’s all cobblestone and no cars are allowed. Basically the only thing you’ll find on these streets are cafes, restaurants and gift shops, but it’s still a lovely walk.

On the two extremes of the city centre (to the left and right) are two more cathedrals on top of hills, and once you make it to the top of the stairs you’re rewarded with some pretty great views of the city. Cathedrals are something that San Cristobal does not lack. I think there are literally three of them on the next street over from my hotel and I hear their bells all of the time.

If you headed north from the Plaza, you’d eventually run into the Artisan market as well as the general market. The market is huge and you can buy pretty much anything you’re looking for, from food items, candles, sweets and tortilla presses. Generally when I go to the market I never go with a game plan because I never remember here exactly everything is, so I just wonder until I stumble across someone selling what I’m looking for. The artisan market is smaller and here you can find blankets, jewelry, bags and wood carving, among other things of course. My favorite though has to be the churros- which is basically deep fried dough covered in sugar and evaporated milk. Trust me they as super good.

To get to my hotel, you head south from the Plaza for about 4ish blocks, passed the Sweet Market- where they sell piles of sugary items as well as souvenirs- and then turn east. Two more blocks and you pass this awesome hole in the wall restaurant that sells quesadillas and a fruit/ veggie stand and voila, you’ve made it to my hotel! I’m in a quieter area of town but still only five minutes away from the centre.

So that as my attempt to give you a better picture of San Cristobal. Though I like the city my time here is slowly re-affirming the fact that I am not a city girl. My past internships have always been in smaller cities/towns, where there was a lot of green space to hang out in or places to bike to. That doesn’t feel like the case in San Cristobal. But my hotel room does have this great window over looking a bit of court yard and some greenery, so even though I’m not exactly outside it’s still not a bad place to do most of my work.

Regarding food, I’ve tried to eat out at some places that specialize in local food but being on a fairly tight budget also means that most nights I make use of the kitchen downstairs, though generally ,when I don’t feel like cooking I usually head to the market to buy some tamales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamales) or something similar. This is definitely an area that Mexico and Guatemala win over Ghana. Ghanian food and I didn’t really mesh (fufu = worst thing I’ve ever had to eat) so it’s nice to actually enjoy the local food. And to be honest, Xela is currently winning the competition for best city that I’ve stayed in for over a month. It has a winning combination of great food, city as well as green spaces and being able to generally communicate with people are all in its favor. Don’t get me wrong, San Cristobal is a great city and well worth a visit but after being here for a month so far I’m looking forward to heading back to Guatemala. Which on that note I’ll update you on the progress of my countdown. In 2 weeks and 11ish hours, I’ll be boarding a bus to head backdown to Guatemala City and in an additional day and 3ish hours I’ll be picking Ben up at the Guatemalan airport. After being gone for eight weeks so far, another two doesn’t seem that long at all- though it’s still crazy to think that I still won’t be home for another four weeks. And since I’m on the topic of countdowns, did you know that it’s only 32 days til Christmas, or so the sign outside one of the stores told me.

Spanish Word of the Day: El Pavo (Turkey)

As I’m sure most people do when they are in a new location for an extended period of time, I have begun to make my list of foods that I want to eat within the first week of being home. So far on that list is Pizza Time pizza, muffins, fish and chips, milk and of course turkey dinner with all the fixings. I think that the last items are due to a)excitement for Christmas and b)the fact that I missed Thanksgiving dinner but I’m looking forward to a turkey induced coma when I finally make it back to Halifax.

Remembrance Day

It’s an odd feeling spending a Holiday in another country where the day isn’t celebrated. Today felt a bit like when I spent Canada Day in Ghana a couple years ago; you feel like you should celebrate it in some way but don’t really know how to. Like I wrote before, Todos Santos felt a bit like Remembrance Day to me so I’m going to say that’s how I celebrated. And true to it’s nature, the weather was even bad down here in San Cristobal. (I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Remembrance Day ceremony where there wasn’t rain, snow, strong winds or some sort of mix). But honestly it’s a small price to pay in comparison to the years that men and women spent fighting in worse conditions. So even though I’m not in Canada, I tried to find my own little way to remember.

So my research is slowly winding down. In one week my translator takes off to Cuba so we’re in a bit of a mad dash to get as many interviews completed between now and then. We’re making great time but when you have a deadline everything seems a lot stressful. My supervisor flew home yesterday, and with him went all my lovely free meals! (Back to peanut butter sandwiches for me- though if you know me you’ll know that this isn’t really a hardships) It was really great to have Dr. Isakson here with me for a week. Yes he might have introduced me  to the cause of my mid-research meltdown (ie. meanest academic ever) but he also helped me focus in on my topic and envision where I was going. And to be honest, he is one of the biggest reasons why I’m here I am today. Not only am I in San Cristobal because of his research contacts here but I’m quite honestly studying agriculture and food because of him. If you had asked me when I first began my undergrad what my field of interest was, I probably wouldn’t have known but agriculture was not at all on my radar. But luckily for me I had an awesome teacher all through my undergrad and into my master’s degree and when I had my grand realization regarding what I wanted to do with my life, I knew exactly who to turn to and received an amazing amount of guidance. We were joking the other night that maybe he could be my supervisor the whole way through- first, honours thesis, then masters…next PhD?? Right now I’m looking forward to a break from everything school related but who knows what will happen a few years from now. I wouldn’t hold my breath though.

So basically interviews will rule my life for the next few days and after that my final two weeks will be spent at the library reading articles and attempting to make sense of all my data. My original plan was to write my thesis up in a few months and then graduate in May but last night I realized that I had over looked one key step. In the midst of getting approval from the ethics as well as the risk assessment board, I completely forgot to apply to graduate in the spring. This one silly little form that basically just needs to be stamped and entered into the computer completely slipped my mind until late last night, and the deadline was a month ago. So as it stands I’m still going to try to get my thesis finished and completed within a few months of being home but I won’t actually get my certificate until October. It’s only an extra 4 months that I’ll have to wait, which really isn’t that long in the long run and I figure this means that the writing process won’t be so stressful since I’ll have more flexible deadlines. The biggest benefit for not graduating until October, in my opinion, is that the convocation ceremony will be significantly shorter! Because if everyone’s honest, those things are way too long and once the people you know walk across the stage all you want to do is go home. Anyway I contacted Saint Mary’s and they might make an exception and let me hand my application in late but it’s a whole bureaucratic process so I wouldn’t plan on it.

I don’t really know if I have any more news. Basically for the past few days I’ve been conducting interviews, typing up the results, hanging out with Dr. Isakson, and repeat. Oh I did get to visit a few more plots the other day and they are amazingly beautiful. I think everyone knows but if not, in May Ben and I bought our first house and are looking forward to planting a garden this coming year. We planted a small one this past summer but in our haste we didn’t really dig down far enough nor prepare for the onslaught of slugs. Every plot that I see just gives me more ideas and increases my excitement, so the plan for our garden is increasing and changing daily. I’m even reading right now about how to design a pet-friendly yard, complete with what I like to call a “puppy jungle”. It would take way too long to explain all my ideas here but next summer stop by our place to check it all out and hopefully we can serve you some lovely fresh vegetables.

Spanish Word of the Day: Conejo (Rabbit)

So I interviewed someone today who sells meat at the Tianguis. They literally raise every type of animal under the sun and have hundreds of each. In the case of rabbits, they currently have somewhere between 350-400! I could not imagine having that many animals but maybe my parents will be able to comment once all their new fish eggs hatch!