Perspectives-K'ekchi Style!

Birthdays and Holidays

Everyone in the family knows when someone's birthday is coming. But when Yadira turned two on Nov 21, there were no songs, no cake, no presents, not even a 'Happy Birthday, Yadira' wish (except from me) We just knew that on that day, she was two!

Christmas is right around the corner. Sometimes I hear a radio playing a Christmas song, usually reggae. Again, there will be no presents! What there is however, is the singing in the two local churches that can be heard from anywhere in the village. (One Catholic and a House of Prayer) Services have picked up from three times a week to every night in anticipation of the birth of Christ! Last night, they were still going strong until 2:30 am! (The regular service lasts for over 2 1/2 hours!)

Feet

I wear rubber soled shoes everywhere but my feet always seem dirty. I feel the sharp rocks on the road poke through the soles of my shoes. My host mom, Juvena, walks these roads in excess of 3 miles to our farm BAREFOOT like a speed walker! The soles of her feet always look clean and I KNOW they're tough!

Projects--Plan ahead!

Make sure you have everything you need BEFORE starting a project. If you forgot something, it's an hour bus ride into town at only certain times of the day. But I'm lucky in San Miguel! My PC friends, Sam and Stephen only have bus service two times a WEEK and it leaves their village at 3 am and takes over two hours!

DOGS

Dogs are tools. You know how we might bang a wrench on a workbench when it's stuck? Dogs are kicked when they don't do exactly what the owner wants. They never see a vet, all look underfed (probably have parasites), never are allowed inside, females are in a constant state of pregnancy, and generally, look either sad or vicious! They are utilized as watchdogs and hunting dogs. The two dogs at my host family's house--Bones and Bingo--look better than most. But, yes, even the 2 yr. old kicks them. So when I started doling out affection to these dogs, they lapped it up (and the family called me "crazy Tracy"!) Every time I would come home, they would run and jump on me to greet me. (Totally unacceptable behavior here though, warranting a lashing or kicking!) I went over to my host family's house this past Tuesday and the dogs were SOOO happy to see me! The family told me that when I moved out of the nest, that Bones and Bingo did not eat a morsel for over two days. I've decided that dogs, in general, are truly moral. They ALWAYS want to please and do the right thing and NEVER mean any harm...even the dogs in Belize despite their cruel treatment.

Hard Days Work

I used to consider a full work week was 40 or so hours. The men in San Miguel leave on their bikes for their farm or their construction job at 4:30 or 5 am. Sebastian (host dad) returns at night around 10 pm. I'll do the math--17hrs/day 6 days/wk--102+ hours a week! Occasionally they work on Sundays, too!

Integrity

Speaking of morals, I think dogs have way more integrity than K'ekchi children. I won't condone it but I do understand it!

Recently, while teaching dental health in the roman catholic primary school, I was passing out balloons for each correct answer on the review. After the review, I asked for a show of hands from the ones that didn't get a balloon so I could give them all one. Half of the balloon winners said they didn't get one. Even when challenged by me and their peers, these kids looked me in the eyes and lied! These children are great children and are taught honesty and integrity everyday in their church lessons. Why lie? Maybe it goes back to the first paragraph of this blog being the havenots. It's too much temptation when you want THINGS especially when you have NO THING (s)??? Still, no excuse!

Privacy

It is common practice to keep doors open during the day in the village. In fact, it would be considered rude to close them other than when you're not home. So children wander in and out and like to pick up and handle everything I have--books, journals, pens, water bottles--it's just what they do. Even at my host family's home, my host sisters would come in my room and pick up my journal or my cell phone and read my notes or my messages.

Recycling

The K'ekchi are innovative when it comes to re-using items. Plastic bags are "gold" here and come in handy for a myriad of uses. When I forgot to buy teflon tape for the seal of my PVC faucet, my neighbor just tore off a piece of plastic and voile!--it sealed the threads! String and rope are useful items too...and used over and over. When I came home from Punta Gorda with 2 gallons of paint (to seal my dusty concrete floor) seven village women individually asked me if they could have the gallon bucket when I was done. I could only oblige two! I would be the most popular lady in the village if I painted the whole house using LOTS of buckets! Apparently, they make good containers for carrying 'masa' from the corn mills. So when you're using string, plastic bags, rope, or containers--think about how lucky these people think you are!!!

Just some insights into the K'ekchi...

God bless the people of San Miguel and us all...tracy