Drewski in Guatemala

YES WE CAN!!!

2008-11-04T22:55:00.000-08:00

I had been waiting for the moment to write this final blog about my service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, yet until just recently while listening to Barack Obama I realized that what I had been waiting for was an inspiration. On this day that has changed the history of our country and the world I find it necessary to express how amazing my journey over the last two years has been. This experience signifies so much to me and doubt I can fully explain it through writing…but here goes nothing.

VIEWING THE WORLD THROUGH DIFFERENT EYES

Leaving in August of 2006 the truth is that I had never experienced difficulty in my life. I had always been blessed with a great family that provided so much for me. Unfortunately, it took a significant period of time away from them and the US to completely understand it. One of the true blessings of the journey was that it allowed me to see not only the US differently, but also the entire world. In Guatemala I saw poverty that before could not have imagined existed, and yet I saw those same people offer so much to me for just being there.
We as Americans must understand that in the world today at this very moment there are people struggling just to survive. With that in mind as we face this financial crisis and difficulties let us unite and believe that…YES WE CAN

EXPERIENCING RACISM

Never before in my life prior to Peace Corps had I understood the struggle of being someone different. During my first several months many people in my community would refuse service to me in the grocery stores because I could not properly speak the language and was a foreigner. Fortunately, through my hard work and the ability of people in that same community learning my character and not concentrating on the color of my skin I was able to develop the most amazing friendships.

This is Eva the Banana lady who became one of my best friends in the market giving me an excellent price on bananas everyday.

These are the leaders of the community where I lived presenting me with a plaque thanking me for my service and friendship in the community.

We as a nation are a melting pot of different races, cultures, backgrounds, sexual orientations, political beliefs, and religions to name a few. It is most important during these difficult moments that we end discrimination and hate towards others and unify for one common goal to work together…YES WE CAN

SACRIFICE

Leaving for two years was a sacrifice that was rewarding and challenging at the same time. It was heartbreaking to miss weddings, reunions, holidays, funerals, and other events that would have likely been more pleasant then being in Guatemala. However, during these difficult moments of sacrifice and struggle is when I learned the most about myself and developed the most character. Not to mention an understanding and appreciation of men and women who do it everyday serving our country around the world. It is imperative that we as a nation understand that the road to prosperity will definitely be met by struggle and it will take sacrifices to succeed…YES WE CAN

LIVING WITHIN YOUR MEANS

My stipend for being a volunteer was a little over 300 dollars a month. In the beginning I found this nearly impossible to pay for my rent, utilities, food, water, and enough left over for entertainment. Thankfully, the experience taught me how to value what I could afford and the difference between what I needed and wanted. We as a nation tend to get a bit materialistic and sometimes concentrate on what we don’t have. During these moments we need to value most what we do have and never judge anyone based on their economic status…YES WE CAN

These are just a few of the lessons that have changed my life over the last two years. The truth is that I would have never been able to accomplish this without the support and love of my family, friends, fellow PCV’s, and the so many Guatemalans that accepted me and gave me the most wonderful gift of all FRIENDSHIP. This blog may be over but the lessons learned through this journey will last for the rest of my life. Anyone who ever considers joining the Peace Corps, volunteering, or simply just traveling I encourage you because sometimes it takes putting ourselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations to grow and learn the most about the world.

Barack Obama is different than any leader we have ever had in our country and many people may not agree with this change. My advice for this is to reach out, try to be understanding, and most of all patient because great changes and achievements take time.

Sincerely,

Drewski

The end but not the final blog

2008-10-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Just can´t quite put into words what these last few weeks have been like. I want to wait until I get back to the US to write a final blog and have a little time to reflect on all that has happened. What an experience...but man am I ready to go home and see my family. Sorry but it is just too much to deal with right now for me to write something on here.

Take care,

Drewski

World Map pics

2008-08-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

My Dad told me the project will not be complete without a GIANT star marking Forestburg, South Dakota.

Doing much better now that I have power and most of the town has stopped giving me a hard time about the short circuit. Happy, Health, and just trying to enjoy my last few months here.

Take care,

Drewski

Feria Pics and Circuit Story

2008-07-29T18:02:00.000-07:00

These were some of my favorite pics from last week.

It was neat because schools from all over eastern Guatemala were in our parade. Each school had their own band and dance team.

Hey dude!!! Getting ready for the rodeo to start. Nothing better than getting your picture taken in front of a bunch of bull's @sses.

I was a little appalled that families were sitting on the ledge during the entire rodeo. Thankfully nobody but the riders got hurt.

Last night another one of those classic moments occurred that I couldn’t wait to blog.
I had my night all planned out…I was going to spend an hour cleaning, then make dinner, and finally relax and read my book about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On the dance channel it was “Hora de Salsa” with great salsa music so I had the TV blaring while I was cleaning.

I washed my hands and started to chop veggies for dinner and decided I could let them steam while I took a shower. Had the electric stove turned up full blast and jumped into the shower…meanwhile keep in mind I still got salsa music jamming, with most of the lights in my house on, my fridge plugged in, and now I was about to turn on the shower which is heated by this obsolete electric device called a “calentador”.

I got about 90 seconds into my shower when I hear firecrackers going off, only it wasn’t firecrackers because immediately afterward the lights in my house went out. At this point I realized that I forgot a towel and clothes to change into and now the adventure starts because I can not see a thing due to the obscurity that is my casa. I open my shower door and see this beautiful display of fireworks when it occurs to me that it is a massive electrical fire. We are talking about a tremendous array of sparkles and lights that would rival most 4th of July fireworks. (jeez Drew did you ever consider that because the electric wires in this country are so primitive you maybe shouldn’t have every appliance and light in your house going at once???)

So at this point in total darkness I am wet, naked, and scared to death that I am going to get electrocuted while also looking for a my flashlight, towel, and maybe some clothes to change into. To make matters even better there is now a mob forming outside of my house of all my local neighbors and friends worried about my safety but maybe more so how they can put out this electrical fire. Everyone is screaming my name “Andrés, Andrés” when I finally found my flashlight.

In moments like these it really doesn’t matter how much Spanish you have studied because when experiencing sure terror/embarrassment it all goes out the window. I start to understand them telling me that they are going to put out the fire by throwing mud at it (which was pretty good thinking instead of water making it spread). I finally got dressed and greeted the helpful crowd after they put out the fire.

What makes this a unique and amazing experience is that after spending such a significant amount of time here you really become part of the community. It was so reassuring to know that during a moment like this I could count on all of my neighbors to help me out. The other thing that we volunteers experience is a greater understanding of the culture. Here in Guatemala I have learned that when your friends and neighbors are giving you a hard time, making fun of you, or calling you by an offensive nickname it is almost never to insult you but out of “cariño” (love or that the care about you) Immediately after the group realized I was ok they started giving me a hard time. “Andrés what are you trying to do burn the town down?” “Andrés you are going to have to get a bunch of candles and a pretty girl to keep you busy now that you don’t have power.” One of my buds even asked me jokingly “Andrés is it true you didn’t come to the door right away because you were playing with yourself?” You just have to learn to accept it, laugh with them, and dish it back. "No but I was wet and naked I told them."

Still waiting on the electricians as total darkness prolongs. A la gran puchicá!!!

Take care,

Drewski

Map pics

2008-07-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well the kids never showed up because they were busy getting ready for the parade. Have to wait to next week to teach them how to paint. Luckily though I can always count on my good buddy Gabriel to help me out with projects
This is how it looked before we started

Neldy the librarian and I.

Gabriel and I working diligently. He was cracking me up cause ever time he would say "Andres where did you go. Are you in Africa now? I thought you were just painting in China?"

Next week the kids come and should be lots of fun.

Take care,

Drewski

Map and town fair

2008-07-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

I just started a new project in our local library to paint a giant map of the world on the wall. Unfortunately, our library resembles the appearance more of jail cell rather than a library. I’m in Antigua right now for a PC meeting but when I get back to my town I will put pictures up of our progress. I’m planning making this an after school project to encourage kids to spent more time in the library and hopefully entice them to check out some books.

!La Feria!

This week is our town’s festival of the patron Saint and fair. Basically it´s a five day event full of parades, dances, live music, and culminated on Friday with one of the biggest rodeos in the country. I got my boots polished, cowboy hat, and mustache ready to go. I’m optimistic that it will be a great week.

Take care,

Drewski

Nick`s Fundraiser

2008-06-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

I recently went out west to support and attend a fundraiser put on by my friend Nick to benefit a women’s group in his site. The fundraiser was held at an ecotourism lodge near Lago Atitlan. These are my favorite pics.

Spectacular view of the lake from the lodge.

Nick with the group.

I love seeing kids wear the traditional clothes

The park had zip lines which I of course had to try out. It was such a great time and I was really proud of Nick for putting it all together to help benefit people in his site.

Take care,

Drewski

Nature Hike

2008-05-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

My neighbor, friend, and former mayor of our town Saul recently invited Gabriel and I to go on a nature excursion with him at his land which is about 2 miles outside of town. It was really fun and these are some of my favorite pics of the trip.

I had never seen so many ants in my life. Needless to say I was pretty happy to get the hell away from that tree

This is the national tree of Guatemala called the Ceiba

What trip would be complete without a picture of ¨The Gringo¨ holding the machete?

Take care,

Drewski

Vamos a cocinar

2008-05-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my friend and fellow volunteer Lisa came and visited. We made a delicious steak marinade I would like to share with all of you.

1 Pound of any kind of Steak
(They sell T-bones here for a pretty decent price in my department capital…No idea why but here it isn’t a delicacy so I take full advantage)
3 Garlic Cloves
2 Limes
2 TBS Soy Sauce
1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 TBS Ginger
1/2 TBS Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to your liking.
(Optional 1 jalapeño to add to the marinade if you want it spicy)

Dice up the garlic (and jalapeño) and put in a bowl with the squeezed juice of both limes and all the rest of the ingredients mixed up. Let the meat sit in the marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Throw on the grill and serve with steamed carrots, green beans, and broccoli. To really top it off serve with a glass of red wine and grilled pineapple.

Enjoy and let me know if any of you are brave enough to try it out.

Take care,

Drewski

Trees and Fresh Fruit

2008-04-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

After a short trip home I feel very rejuvenated and find myself appreciating this experience all over again. YES!!!!

My Dad gave me some advice last night that my blogs should be frequent, short, and full of pictures. Here goes nothing.

Today my boss came and we went up into the villages to visit the macadamia project. These are some of my favorite pictures of my entire time here.

I can’t describe how much I enjoyed visiting this father and son. They were pretty ecstatic about the project. Check out the smiles.

The people in the villages are wonderful, but maybe one of my favorite parts of being out there is access to fresh fruit. Were talking so fresh that right after this picture was taken Don Efrain took out his machete and cut Gabriel and I some fresh sugarcane and oranges.

YUM!!!

Take care,

Drewski

Feliz Año Nuevo

2008-01-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

I would like to start out by wishing all of you back home a very happy and healthy New Year. I must say that 2007 was one of the most challenging and difficult years of my life, but it also was one of the most educational. Now that I am approaching the final year of my service here I can definitely see positive changes in my attitude towards life here (Thank GOD).

Last week I went and visited Pablo. He told me that he suffered a broken right ankle and his left knee was severely damaged (sorry but my medical Spanish is pretty weak and I really didn’t understand much of what he was telling me). Nevertheless, he has to spend another month in bed resting but does have a remarkable outlook on life. By looking at the picture of his car you can understand why he is just thankful to be alive.

Although I spent yet another holiday season away from my family which was extremely difficult, I was thankful to pass it with a wonderful group of people in two beautiful locations. Here are some of my favorite pics from the beach. For New Years to I went to what I consider the most beautiful lake in the world. Lake Atitlan is surrounded by volcanoes and was a great place to be to celebrate New Years.

I started teaching English class this week to a group of guys in my town. They insisted on paying me money for teaching them class, however, I explained to them that I was a volunteer and didn’t want their money. Instead of money they worked out a payment plan of giving me food and a few cold beers once in a while for my service.

Take care,

Drewski

Crazy Clowns and Holiday Joy

2007-12-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

I opened up the newspaper the other day and had one of those classic ¨Guate Moments¨. Those surreal moments that you just can’t believe what you are seeing. Apparently, in Guate City two people were dressed up as clowns and when families came to see their act the two individuals would pull out guns and rob them. Here is the picture of them getting arrested. Not every day you see two clowns getting cuffed in your local newspaper.

Last week my good friend Pablo who works in the Municipal Building like me got into a pretty serious accident. The other driver was not paying attention and hit his car head on. He was rushed to the hospital in Guatemala City and from what I hear he is doing much better this week and is hoping to be back home next week for Christmas. I just ask for you prayers for my good friend to pull through this accident.

Also last week my boss came to do a site visit and check how everything is going with my work. He was very impressed with the Macadamia project and asked if we could go and visit some of the families that benefited. When we got to one of the villages where the project was they were having a town meeting, and asked if I could say a few words. For those of you that know me best understand that public speaking isn’t exactly one of my favorite pastimes (let alone having to do it in a foreign language). However, I knew that I could not decline because that would make me appear very arrogant in their culture. So I stood up and spoke for about five minutes when I realized that I now enjoy public speaking. Amazing the affect PC can have on a person. Many of the trees appear to be doing very well, and the ones planted with coffee are doing extremely well. We were getting ready to head back to town when one of the families came running up to me saying that we had to stop by their house before we head back to town. When we got to their house I was shocked to see that they had prepared lunch for us. What you all back home need to understand and appreciate is that these people are extremely poor and live in houses made out of mud with tin roofs, yet here they are being generous enough to offer me food (these are the moments that are really difficult for volunteers. We get offered food like this and would rather refuse and have them give it to their children, but you also don’t want to give off the impression that you are too good and appear pretentious. I gladly accepted the beans and tortillas and washed it down with glass bottle of Pepsi) It was just one of those amazing moments that make it all worth being here.

This last weekend the group of us that work in the Municipal Planning Office took a trip together to celebrate ¨Feliz Navidad¨ We went to this vacation spot that was about two hours away that had pools, go karts (advertised go karts but in reality it was one extremely ancient kart that barely topped out at 4mph), trampolines, and the all important hammocks. We had a few beers and a great time. Here is a picture of the group that made the trip.

Take care to all of you back home and I wish you all Happy Holidays. After this I hope to never spend Christmas away from family and friends again. ¨ Feliz Navidad…Prospero Año y Felicidad ¨ Merry Christmas…Prosperous New Year and Happiness.

Drewski

One year down...One year to go

2007-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wow!!!

I can’t believe how long it has been since I last wrote on here, and how much has happened since then. I will try to fill you all in…

The macadamia project went very well. We got all the plants to the village farmers by late August just in time before the rainy season started in Sept. and Oct. From what they have told me only about 100 trees didn’t make it, which is extremely well when you consider we planted over 7000. I am planning in the next few weeks to go and visit the villages so I will have more pictures to show all of you, but here is a picture of a farmer planting his tree .

When the projected ended in August the month of September became an extremely difficult time for me. Having it rain nearly every day became a little bit depressing, not to mention I had just finished one year here and many people say that the halfway part is the most difficult part of service (it is just the feeling knowing that WOW I have a whole another year of this…Do I really want to go through with it) I was also very depressed knowing that I would miss yet another beautiful fall in the Midwest and most notably the opener for Pheasant season.

So my mom and I decided to give my Dad an early Christmas present and fly me home for pheasant hunting. I had a wonderful trip home and got to hunt nearly everyday and spend much needed time with my family.

I flew back to Guatemala still struggling with the thought of being here for another full year when my good friend Liam let me know that PC was sending some new volunteers out to the Oriente where my site is at. I really can’t explain to you how uplifting it was to hear that I would finally have other Americans living close to me. Don’t get me wrong though…it has been a tremendous experience the last year speaking only Spanish and forcing myself to be proactive and meet many people. Thankfully, because of this I was able to make many Guatemalan friends which is what this experience is all about. However, once in a while you need a break and it can be very revitalizing to speak a little English.

Last week we had our Mid Service conference which proved to be very motivational for me. On the way to the conference I got to see quite the show. A man entered our Chicken Bus dressed up like a Michael Jackson Clown. He started dancing and singing like MJ so of course I had to give him a Quetzal (local currency). At the conference it became very apparent to me that I had survived through the difficult times (The first year can be extremely difficult. It takes a while for your Spanish to come around…not to mention I had never been away from home and I certainly had never lived by myself before.) Now that I am more accustomed to everything here I am confident that the next year will fly by and will also be more productive.

Some of the projects I hope to work on in the next year include

An AIDS Prevention workshop for teachers and young adults in the community.
A library project for one of the communities in the ¨Campo¨ villages.
Do more trainings for other Municipal Planning Offices on how to use the mapping software ArcVIEW.
Support our Forestry Office with more Reforestation projects

I have also learned from being here that you have to be flexible and patient so I can’t expect to accomplish all of this overnight.

Lastly, having the greatest impact on me enjoying my service again is getting back to church. Special thanks to my Grandparents and my friend Liam for inspiring me. When I get up and go to 6:30 mass on Sundays I have this amazing connection that I feel like I am at home. Here is a picture of our colonial church I really enjoy the fact that when it comes to communion there are no ushers and everyone just piles up to get to the offering. It almost becomes a race to see who can get there first.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Now that I am much happier and enjoying this experience once again you all can expect more blogs.

Take care,

Drewski

Back to Work

2007-08-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

As I am here sitting in my small house in 90 degree heat with no AC eating plantains for dinner watching a gecko crawl on my wall I can only think about how amazing my trip to the states was. I truly had a wonderful time and did basically everything I had dreamt about doing in the last year while living in Guatemala. All I wanted to was to spend as much time with family and friends while eating good food and drinking a few beers along the way. Thanks to so many people for making my trip truly memorable.

My sister gave me the best advice before I left ¨Take this experience day by day and most importantly ENJOY IT cause you’re volunteering to do it.¨ Thanks AMY

UPDATE TO MACADAMIA PROJECT

I just confirmed with the director of the VALHALLA MACADAMIA project in Antigua how to wire the money. It appears as though the project that was a dream for many people here in my site is going to become a reality from all of your help back home. I let the director know how many trees we were planning to buy and all he could say is WOW. He thought it was so awesome what we were doing and here are the numbers.

With all of your generous gifts of money we have about $2300. With that money we had to use $300 in order to visit the farm in Antigua where I went with a leader from each community along with our Municipalities forestry division and Gabriel. We did a full day training on how to plant, maintain, and produce the macadamia nuts. Here are some pictures of the event.

After that it leaves us with about $2000 which we will use all of it to buy more than 7000 trees for 540 families in 6 different villages and also pay to have the trees transported all the way here.

I can’t even explain to you all in words how excited the people of my site are to receive this project. Thank you all back home so very much for believing in the project and being generous enough to give money.

If there are still people that would like to give money and have not yet been able to do so we can accept the gift of money until August 19th.

Thanks again GOD BLESS and take care,

Drewski

Update to Maca Project

2007-06-29T09:06:00.001-07:00

Project is going great but was neglected for about a week and a half.

We had over 500 families respond to the project and they all filled out a form to receive the trees. Unfortunately, I got really and I mean really sick. It started with Strep Throat and ended with some type of explosive diarrhea that I didn’t even know existed. I got some medicine but it wasn’t before a couple of humorous Drewski stories occurred.

The Medical Staff had me come to their office in the capital to get some medicine. It never fails but every time I go to the capital I have to stop at TIKAL FURTURA which is the largest mall in the country. I have to stop there every time to visit the food court and get my Pizza Hut and Taco Bell fix. I walked into the place when suddenly I got a Guate diarrhea attack. A certain quote by my Uncle Bill would describe this perfectly by saying ¨Not now, but right $”% Now¨ I gotta go. I approached the escalator when unintentionally this precious little Mayan woman was putting a road block on the escalator. She looked at this structure that people we riding up and down as though it was the most advanced technology ever invented (and I am certain for her it probably is). She stood at the step to get on the escalator and contemplated getting on for what seemed to be an eternity for Drewski and his explosive diarrhea. Then she stood there with her right foot and would go to put it on and then quickly pull it back in fear the escalator was going to swallow her. After doing this nearly 10 times I finally walked over to her and told her it would be fine and helped her on and then to barely made it to the bathroom on time. (This story is hard to write but I promise I will act it out for you all back home in 2 weeks)

They got me some medicine and now I am feeling better than ever. I am ecstatic to share with you the response that I have received from the people in the villages that are about to receive these trees. People are coming out of their way to call me amigo and say gracias. We have planned to use about $300 of the money raised so far to take one person from every community to Antigua where the Macadamia farm is. While there the farm’s director is going to train all of us on how to plant and maintain the trees. This will help make the project more sustainable while also providing these people the opportunity to see their beautiful country. Sadly, I have seen so much more of Guatemala then just about everyone in my town. THANK YOU SO MUCH to those of you who have already given money to the project. Every dollar counts and the people in my site are eternally grateful. We are still accepting money and you can still send cash or check to…

Drew Anderson Foundation
40451 SD HWY 34
Forestburg, SD 57314

I can’t believe it but I will be home in less than two weeks!!! I hope to see all of you while I’m back, but just know more than anything I want to relax, eat good food, and spend as much time with family and friends as I can.

Take care and see you soon,

Drewski

Please Read and Please Help

2007-05-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Family, Friends, and Regular Blog readers,

Today’s blog I present to all of you back in the states a tremendous opportunity to help families in need. Over the past month my good friend Gabriel and I have been planning a project in the aldeas (Spanish word for Villages where the poorest people live) to prevent future catastrophes from happening. Perhaps the most devastating problems the people in the aldeas face with relation to poverty are malnutrition and deforestation. Unfortunately, many of the people here rely solely on the production of coffee in order to provide an income for their family. In recent history when the price of coffee declined the families were left with incredible economic hardships while not being able to provide food to their children leading to harsh cases of malnutrition. Also, because of the increased competition for land communities have conceded to the method of slash and burn which has detrimental effects on the environment (contribution to global warming and making their villages susceptible to landslides and erosion just to name a few). I can’t begin to tell you how sad it has been for me to see children suffering while watching people burn down beautiful forests that take years to grow.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS???

Gabriel and I have been working with the Valhalla Finca. This is an agency out of Antigua that provides Macadamia trees to communities in need for a below average price. The Macadamia tree provides amazing benefits to the communities.

It helps the environment. With broad leaves the macadamia tree absorbs a tremendous amount of Carbon which helps fight global warming and also prevents erosion of the soil.
It helps fight poverty. The Valhalla Finca not only sells the trees for growing but offers to buy the produced nuts for an above average price to provide income to families in need.
It helps fight malnutrition. The macadamia nut is very nutritious and can also be used in several domestic products.
It will also improve the soil quality so that the families can produce more coffee amongst the macadamia trees.

In the past I have utilized this blog in order to communicate on a regular basis with all of you back home while sharing humorous stories and experiences along the way. Now I would like to use this blog along with your help back home to change lives.

One of the biggest challenges we as Peace Corps volunteers face are developing sustainable projects. It is never worth your time, effort, and money to become involved with a project that will fall apart the moment you leave your Peace Corps site. I can honestly say that this is a completely sustainable project. First of all it is a known fact that macadamia trees can produce up to 150 pounds of nuts a year for over 100 years. The first macadamia trees were planted in 1890 and today still produce nuts. Second of all we have been working directly with community leaders to provide information and technical support so that they fully understand how to maintain the trees. With the help of the Mayor we are hoping to provide transportation for several community leaders to the actually Valhalla Macadamia Finca so that they can learn first hand and then teach people in their community.

HOW CAN YOU HELP IN THE STATES?

We desperately need your money to fund this project and the more money we raise the more families we can help. If you would like to help fund my project please send cash or a check made out to the Drew Anderson Foundation (due to tax purposes and to facilitate the process we had to call it that) and mail it to

THE DREW ANDERSON FOUNDATION

40451 SD HWY 34

Forestburg SD, 57314

Or you may mail it directly to the bank at

First National Bank of SD

Attention: THE DREW ANDERSON FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 916

Huron, SD 57350

Due to tax purposes this can not be considered a donation and has to be a true gift. Thank you for reading and please give anything you can to make a difference. If we are lucky enough I would like to fund the Macadamia project and then donate any money left over to schools in the region.

Take care and Gob Bless,

Drewski

I hope this was worth the wait

2007-04-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

A chis(Which means Oh man) On my way over to write this blog I stopped to get a bag of water. Yes here they don’t serve water in bottles but rather in mini plastic bags. Anyway as I left the water bag stand I hit my head so hard on the roof that I nearly took down the entire structure with the screaming of ¨Tranquilo Gringo¨ Take it easy Gringo.

It has been way to long since I have written on here and for that I apologize. Granted I have to walk all the way over here to the internet café and then pay quetzales to use the computer so I what am I talking about I don’t have to apologize to anyone.

A few weeks ago I was staying in Antigua during HOLY WEEK for a reunion I had with my director and other volunteers. Throughout service we have to reunite in order to discuss any major success or failures in our site. The week gave me the opportunity to see my old host family and visit them throughout the week. Also, it was amazing to be in Antigua during this week. The people here in general are extremely religious (For example when I leave the office for a trip my counterpart and coworkers always tell me ¨Have a great trip and always put GOD first¨) so it was very interesting to experience a culture that comes together during HOLY WEEK. Families spend entire nights decorating the streets with flowers or painted designs so that the next day groups of men and women can carry Jesus and Mary statues over the decorations. Even though I was severely homesick during this time for my family (Because I always go to Minnesota for Easter) it was fascinating to experience.

The end of Holy week was the third birthday of my little host brother Jarol. I just can’t get over how cute he is. I have no idea what the piñata was but it scared me a little. It is tradition here to force the kids face into the cake, however, this cute little guy did it voluntarily to make everyone laugh. That is why I nicknamed him the Payasito (little clown)

I always feel it necessary to put things into perspective for you gringos back in the states so that you never forget how great your life is in the NORTE. Today on the way to work a funeral procession passed me. In Guatemala families carry the coffin through the entire town’s streets to pay the last respect as the rest of family and friends follow. It is a neat tradition as they also have a band play throughout the entire procession. Anyway I asked my friend Gabriel who died and how. He told me it was a young guy my age trying to get into the United States and died trying to cross the border. How sad is that, someone in my community died trying to live the life that all of you are given everyday. It really put things into PERSPECTIVE for me and I hope it does for you as well. Also, there is a tremendous controversy here lately. The teachers in several departments (Which are like states) have not been paid for nearly a month now. Because of them not receiving pay they recently went on strike and now today have taken as far as blocking off several highways across the nation. I can’t even go to my department capitol now in order to do my grocery shopping because of these road blocks, but they should have it resolved in the next few days. I have several friends and family who are teachers back in the states and hope that this can demonstrate to them how lucky they are along with students benefiting from free education.

Lately I have kind of hit the Peace Corps wall which is expected. During the first few months you live in the honeymoon and euphoria of being in another country and experiencing a new culture. Unfortunately that wears off and then the real challenge of being a volunteer sets in. The biggest challenge of being here is finding ways to occupy the free time. You can only read so many books and watch illegal pirated DVDs that you buy in the market before you break and feel very lonely. Fortunately I found something to fill a bit of my free time that has been extremely fun. You are reading the blog of the Municipal Soccer teams Goalie. For a kid that has never played soccer in his life I have gotten much better and people last week were cheering for me. It feels so good to be a part of a team when we play nearly every weekend. During the week we have practice and I have made a lot of good friends since joining the team. With respect to my job I think I am going to start volunteering with the forestry department. They are planting trees in the villages to help fight deforestation and I feel that is a worthwhile project. It is only natural to get homesick and luckily I have amazing friends and family who have sent me care packages, inspiring emails, and thankfully many phone calls to help me get through the difficult times. All I have to say is thank you for your support.

Take care,

Drewski or in Guatemala Drewskito

GIS Hike

2007-02-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

On my day off last week from GIS training we got to go on a quick hike. You are looking at a Laguna on the top of a Volcano and the rest are a series of me seeing a volcano erupt in the background. How beautiful is this country. DON¨T FORGET TO READ THE BLOG BELOW and POST IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND.

Thanks and take care,

Drewski

Teaching GIS

2007-02-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Hola,

Sorry for the delay with my blog entries but I am forever grateful that I am busy here with work. I have decided to use this blog entry to explain what it is that I am doing here. So many of family and friends are seriously confused why I am not living in a MUD HUT and not teaching English. Today’s Peace Corps has given me an unbelievable experience that I seriously don’t know how it could compare to anything in the states. Sometimes I wonder how I found a job that combines my degrees in Geography, Geographic Information Science, Spanish, and Latin American studies. I feel very fortunate to participate in the NEW AGE of Peace Corps. When comparing myself with my Uncle Mike I can only respect him even more for his service in the 80´s. There were no computers and certainly no cell phones for him to call home on.

Peace Corps Guatemala has a partnership with a Geographic company located in the capital and I have the amazing job of traveling this beautiful country and giving work shops to planning offices. Here are some pictures of me in action sporting my very classy mustache. Besides teaching offices how to use GIS I am also working on a project to write grants and help fund education projects here in my site. That brings me to a very important question. I was wondering if any of you would like to donate money in the future to start a scholarship fund in my site. I am working on a way to set up Paypal on my blog so that all of the people that read this blog could donate and create opportunities for children. I am here donating my time so if we could combine that with money from home I really feel like together we could do some beautiful things here. Hopefully within the next 3 weeks I can set up this scholarship fund and we can get to work.
Till then take care,

Drewski

Perks of the JOB

2007-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken me so long but Blogger keeps changing everything and it gets harder and harder to write on here. Anyway like all other jobs in the world being a volunteer here gives you the opportunity to take advantage of some perks. We had a big celebration in an Aldea where the Mayor funded a school.

(I feel it necessary to explain the school situation here in the developing world to all of you at home so that you appreciate the schools in the states. Here kids are only allowed to go to school for free until the 6th grade. After that they can look for scholarships but those are no guarantee and sadly many kids are forced to start working after the 6th grade. Anyway the reality of the situation here is that in developing countries there is a tremendous gap between the rich and the poor with little to no middle class. Therefore, rich families are always able to send there kids to school and poor families well never change. It is a vicious cycle sometimes where sadly many people will never be able to escape picking coffee 10 hours a day for less then 10 dollars only to be able to afford to eat beans and tortillas for every single meal. It just goes to show the tremendous opportunities that we sadly take for granted being GRINGOS en LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS.)

Here in Latin America it is tradition for everyone to show up way late so to kill time before the school celebration my friend Gabriel asked me to go for a hike. We went on about a 20 minute trip with my South Dakota lungs about to explode when I saw this. A beautiful waterfall hanging out. I love this country I mean all of the sudden there is a waterfall!!!

This is Gabriel and I at the waterfall. He is probably my best friend here in my site. He has an amazing ability to put a smile on any persons face and he is such a joy to be around. People are saying that my Spanish sounds just like his and that I act just like him.

Take care,

Drewski

I am 6

2007-01-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

So to go through the pictures for you. That is our ambulance which I had to take a pose with with. The next one is with me and all of the neighborhood kids. I shared with them some Barbie Dogs which are now called Barbitos. So Dad next time you make Barbie dogs please call them Barbitos and think of me. The bottom two are from a dance party we had at my house. I love the last one of my counter part trying to be Michael Jackson.

So the other day my office had a huge laugh at my expense. TO say that you are doing ¨just ok¨ you can say ¨dos que tres¨ which means like two or three and I´m not doing good or bad. The only problem is that I said ¨Dos por tres¨ which means I said ¨I´m 2 times 3.¨ so now the big joke in the office is to say ¨Estoy seis¨ I´m six.

I am really starting to meet a lot of great people. The neighborhood kids are nice kids so I spend a lot of time playing soccer in the street with them. I taught them all the ¨Scooter Handshake¨ so that was my way to build up a lot of confianza with them.

Being in the Peace Corps is such an emotional roller coaster. I seriously have days where I am like – I need to get the hell out of here. I miss my family, friends, home, dog, car, carpet, clean cities, not running into street dogs, not having to travel everywhere by bus, and most of all speaking English so I don’t always sound like an idiot. However, I am very glad to be here at the present time seeing the world, helping people, and greatly improving my español. It is just truly amazing the ups and downs that you go through that simple can’t ever be compared to in the states. I truly believe that when I get home life will be so much more relaxed for me. I have come to the realization that problems I used to have as an American are so petty when compared to the challenges people around the world face on a regular basis. My site is very developed and I am thankful for that, however, every time I go out into the ¨aldeas¨ villages it is a completely different world and brings me back to reality. Sometimes it breaks my heart to see children and people so poor and malnourished. I guess the purpose of today’s blog is to try and put the luxury of being a gringo into perspective. Next time you run into a problem in the states stop for a minute and think to yourself ¨Is this really that big of a deal.¨ You might be surprised how often I realize that it just isn’t.

Take care and I love and miss you all,

Drewski

Feliz Navidad

2006-12-29T13:38:00.000-08:00

As of right now my Muni office is closed so to pass the time I have been reading the wonderful books my favorite person in the world sent me. MY GODMOTHER!!!!!

Anyway I went on a hike today to overlook my city and I thought I would share the view with you. To sit up here and read my book was well...AMAZING!!

Take care,

Drewski

Did that really just happen???

2006-12-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

I have lately been having these moments that have been extremely strange and well it is true that while in Peace Corps you have Surreal and Real moments. Let me share with you some examples of both.

Like the other day I bought a TV (which was an early Christmas present from MOM and DAD. Thank you both so much.) what was real was that I was about to get cable in my little house. What was surreal was how the cable guys climbed a pole, threw the cable through my window, and had it done in seconds. There is currently TV cable draped throughout the trees in my yard.

Real – Walking through the streets of my city.

Surreal – Walking through the streets of my city while dodging 10 year olds driving and strategically placed dog do-do. Also watching a Nun cruise by on a dirt bike while chatting on her cell phone. Kind of something strange.

Real – Being at a city meeting and listening to projects being proposed.

Surreal – Being at a city meeting and listening to projects being proposed by people speaking Chor´ti (which is the indigenous language of my site and I am going to take lessons on it.) Also during the meeting two street dogs came in and decided that was the perfect place to mate.

Things here are great but nearly everyday I stop and ask myself ¨Is that normal in other countries.¨

Take care,

Drewski

My House is a very, very, very, hot & small house.

2006-12-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

The front door is open come on it. Oh wait you can´t cause you are all up north freezing like crazy.

This is the view out of my front door everyday. Kind of makes me happy.

Below is a view to the side of my bathroom. I shower everyday with the door wide open. I really don´t know why but when you live alone in a third world country you do strange things.

You might all be wondering who is this handsome cowboy below. Well in my part of the country everyone has a cowboy hat, mustache, and gun. Since I can´t have a gun I thought that 2 out of 3 ain´t bad.

Take care,

Drewski

Oriente here I come with TWO ARMS!!!

2006-11-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

Wow!!!! I am sorry for how long it has been since I last wrote, but we have been busy as hell. Training officially ended last week and I am now a (PCV) and no longer a (PCT) Swearing in was a very surreal experience. As I looked around I came to the realization how fortunate I was to be surrounded by such amazing hard working people. The downside to that is now that we are volunteers spread throughout the country I will no longer be able to see them everyday. The moment we were swore in Liam and I went to the bathroom and had a ceremonial shaving of our mustaches. Everyone says it looks as though I lost about FIVE years.
I just got my cast off in the Capital and to celebrate I hit just about every fast food joint in the Malls food court. What a joy it was to stuff my face RIGHT HANDED with Taco Bell chalupas, Pizza Hut pizza, and chase it down with a Pollo Campero Ice cream.
I leave tomorrow at 7:00 to begin the journey with which I came here for. Two years starts tomorrow and while I am very excited I am also a little nervous. One thing for sure is that I have a sweet house which I can’t wait to show all of you. Coming soon pictures of the house and ¨Andres el Vaquero¨ (Drew the Cowboy).

Take care,

Drewski