Drewski in Guatemala

Blogger Revisited

2010-10-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

It was brought to my attention the other day that a friend discovered my blog I had kept during my service in the Peace Corps when it suddenly dawned on me...It was exactly two years ago that I finished my service. That also means that I have been home as long as I had been away.

I find it truly amazing that my life over the last two years has been on fast forward with comparison of the arduous life that once graced me in the impoverished yet beautiful nation of Guatemala. I continually look back on that experience as my formative years and it will always be my proudest accomplishment.

I also found it astonishing that due to current updates from blogger I was able to see that people from all over the world had read this blog. To me that was special honor and can honestly say that I await my next journey outside of the US with much alacrity.

I got home from the Peace Corps and like everyone else in the world I was greeted by the economic calamity which made it very disconcerting to find a job. However, I was constantly remined of the struggle that many of my Guatemalan friends encountered on a daily basis just trying to simply survive. Due to the fact that I never received any response to the ridiculous number of jobs that I applied for after the Peace Corps (most of which were Federal Jobs that I was optimistic about feeling that I had noncompetitive eligibilty***that was suppose to be a perk of serving in the Peace Corps which I unfortunatley found unhelpful) I decided like most people to take a step back and settle for any type of income.

Oddly enough in my hometown I applied for a job as a Police Officer and was shocked to find out that I got the job. It was a complete change from the life of a Peace Corps volunteer, but happily there were some similarities such as the special bond and comaraderie that goes with serving amongst others with the same purpose and goals.

I have since moved on to another job and I guess at this moment I don't have anything extremely profound to write, but simply that I missed writing on here and forgot how cathartic it is for me to write. In the near future I plan to write again and I have some funny stories that I feel need to be shared.

Until then take care,

Drewski

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

The week that should have been!!!

2006-11-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

The week started off so beautiful as I took in a very interesting cultural event in Santiago, Guatemala. Nov. 1st is Todos Santos day and all Guatemalan families go to the cemeteries to pay tribute to lost ones in their family. Kind of bizarre to see families spend days preparing the favorite meals of their loved ones and then going to the cemetery to eat that meal on top of the grave and socialize. However, it was very interesting to take in the event that proceeded this because it was completely incredible. In the afternoon was the festival of Barriletes (kites). There are all kinds of competitions of who can make the biggest kite, most colorful, best design, and who can fly the highest. None of you would believe how enormous these kites were and it was so much fun to see them come crashing down on the Chapines as they took cover for safety.

On Saturday at the center we all got together and played against our Spanish teachers in a very competitive game of soccer. The score ended up being 4-4 and we thought the perfect way to end was with a tie. When I got home Connie was giving Jarol a bath outside of my room as the cute little guy said to me naked with a huge smile “Andrés mira, estoy bañando con agua frío.” (Look Drew I’m taking a bath with cold water) All I could think is that I truly have become a part of this family.

Sunday was a huge day for me because it was the championship game of my basketball league. It was a really big deal as the entire town showed up to watch the game along with a bunch of my friends. There was a DJ playing Reggaeton music so loud I couldn’t think the entire game. I started off playing really well and hit a couple of 3’s to help my team to a four point lead at halftime. The second half got really rough and a couple of fights broke out. I JUMPED UP TO BLOCK A SHOT WHEN I GOT UNDERCUT AND LANDED ON MY WRIST. I didn’t think too much of this and kept playing the game. With one second left on the clock a guy on the other team got fouled. We were up by one point and he had a chance to win the game. The refs decided to call the game and just let this guy shoot the free throws to determine the game. As this poor guy approached the free throw line the entire crowd and teams stood on the three point line to heckle him. He was so nervous on the first one he air balled the entire backboard to the right. The second one he missed the shot short and the place erupted. My teammates went nuts and my coach lit off cheap fire works to celebrate. Afterwards there was a trophy presentation and the team decided to present me with the trophy. It was a tremendous honor and I will truly miss playing with them.

After the trophy presentation my arm really started to hurt so my friend Rochelle helped me carry my stuff home. She decided that I should call the medical officer because she was worried about my arm. Our medical officer decided that I needed to come in to the capital to have it checked out. I really found out how good of friends I had when Rochelle said she would come with me and help me out. My buddy Seth on my basketball team drove all the way from Antigua to pick me up and take me to the hospital. Unfortunately, I found out that I had fractured my arm and I would indeed need a cast. CRAP!!! I have to wear it for three weeks and I have to tell you that I am kind of bummed out. No salsa dancing, sports, or playing with my kids for 3 weeks plus 2 months of rehabilitation. It could be worse I guess. I will just keep my head up and realize that people have it worse than I do. Keep smiling right???

Take care,

Drewski

Feeling HOT HOT HOT

2006-10-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

I met my counterpart on Weds to the laughter of many of my closest friends because we won the award of volunteer/counter look alike. He is in his early 40´s and is a licensed architect. I really liked him from the start and believe that we will have a very productive two years together.

We embarked on our journey of 4.5 hours and left the training center in his 1985 Nissan as he asked me
Andrés, que tipo de música le gusta.¨ Drew what music do you like
¨Todos tipos.¨ Any kind

We then proceeded to travel through this beautiful country listening to some type of Rancho music when I in fact learned that I do not like all types of music. He then told me that he had some CDs in English. I had no idea what to expect when he put in the CD and I jammed with him to the song of ¨I’m every woman¨ by Whitney Houston. We were about an hour from my site when he put in the other English CD and it was the Beatles greatest hits. We rolled into town as I sang ¨We all live in a Yellow Submarine.¨

As I stepped outside my breath was taken away by how hot it is here. Holy cow!!! I am not complaining because you all know how much I hate winter but holy Jesus is it ever hot here.

All of my future co-workers are truly wonderful people and were all very accepting of me. I helped out during the morning at the city Health Center putting up signs about how to stay Abstinent and prevent AIDS. I also got to go to the children’s center and play with some of the sick kids which was really special for me.

After work I was invited to a City council meeting. Many of the people in this town are real characters. It is almost like dying and going back to the 1800´s with some of the guys in Cowboy hats, riding on horses, and having their pistols holstered on each side. The mayor of the town gave a welcome speech for me and said it was a true honor to have me here as the group gave me a nice applause. I then stood up and thanked them for this opportunity and told them how excited I was to work here and live in their community.

At 1:00 today I go to meet my future landlord and I am praying that I have a decent house to live in for two years. Really hard for me to miss HOBO days today but there will be more in the future.

Take care and thanks for all of your comments,

Drewski

Mini Craig D

2006-10-25T07:38:00.002-07:00

Today is a very big day here at the center. Our counterparts are coming from across this beautiful country to meet all of us. As I got ready today and put on my dress clothes, did my hair, and brushed my teeth I looked in the mirror. Who did I see standing there? Craig D Anderson. I havn't shaved my Mustache for about four weeks and it is scary how much I look like my dad.

I found out my site and I don't think I can give you the exact location but...

I am in the east of the country close to the border of Honduras. It is really exciting for me and tomorrow I go to my site to meet the mayor and my future coworkers for two years. Should be interesting. I got to read the end of service report of the volunteer that served in my city from 2003 to 2005. He said "This place is hot. Absurdly hot. If you don't like heat you will not like it here." Should be a nice change from the arctic zone of South Daktoa.

Take care,

Andres

Mini Craig D

2006-10-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

I need Dr. Klozenbucher to put some dogs to sleep!!!

2006-10-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last night was really interesting. I went with Julia to the championship of youth "Papifut" Papifut is Futbol but in an enclosed space with a fence around the court. I guess you could call it Arena Soccer. The kids that were playing were only 12 years old and you should of heard the fans. It was unbelieveable how hard the fans were riding the young kids, all I could think is how much I would be crying. There was easily 15 times as many people at this youth soccer match than compared to my basketball games.

I am getting pretty excited for the next couple of weeks. The staff is currently deciding where to send all of us for the next two years of our lives. I am kind of hoping for the eastern part of the country. I think I could spend two years of my life near the eastern coast which has a carribean vibe much different from the indigenous communitites here in the mountains.

All was going well until the other night. I was going to visit my frined Meghan and work on some spanish homework when a couple of dogs started barking at me. In case you didn’t know the streets of Guate a filled with “Chuchos” which are random street dogs who find it necessary to strategicly deficate in places where I am destined to step. Anyway three of them started barking like crazy so I did the volunteer defense mechanism and faked like I was going to kick them, suddenly before I knew it five more came from around the corner. So there I was on a dark street of Guate surrounded by 8 dogs. As they got closer and closer I picked up a giant rock and clobbered one in the head. They scattered breifly but then returned, luckily my Mom saw this and yelled at all of them for me. This was the first time I was scared and really wanted my 22 rifle to take care of business. Maybe I should just walk the streets with cheese burgers to create a diversion.

Take care,

Drewski

The classic Guate friends and photos

2006-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

These are my three closest friends here in Guate. (right to left) Meghan from Nueva York, Liam from Idaho, and Jacob from Nashville.

So you all heard the classic Guate story. Here is the classic Guate photo. We had STD day in our medical class and for fun acted out the steps of putting on a condom. I was lucky enough to draw ERECTION and then have Meghan snap this picture of me.

Got to keep you hanging

2006-10-02T09:28:00.000-07:00

One of our trainers filled me with pride the other day. She just doesn’t understand why people would leave a place where most Guatemalans dream of going to and sometimes even die trying to get there in order to come to here country and work for two years. I gave my family here a bunch of gifts and my family sent me. They told me how much they missed me last week while I was gone in Huehuetenango and I really missed them also. No funny bathroom stories this week but that can always change. Feeling much better and healthy!!! After my game yesterday (which we won) I met a nice looking Guatemalan girl…

Take care,

Andrés

The Legendary Guate Story

2006-09-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately during our field base training I have come down with a severe sore throat and a cold. I didn’t get to join the group today, but I have had an awesome trip. You never realize how many friends you have until you become sick. Everyone has been trying help me get well and asking me if I need anything. We traveled through the mountains to Huehuetenango. It was such a beautiful trip seeing the mountains with volcanoes in the distant background. The first day we visited a volunteer outside of Huehue who works for the municipal government there. Afterwards we had a dance competition between all of us in the group. There were two main dance competitions and on the first one Mary and I got second, but on the second one we took first. That’s right Drewski is learning salsa moves.
Now it comes to the legendary Drew story that is floating around Guatemala. All of my friends here know this story and ask me again and again to retell it. It may be a little gross or inappropriate for the entire internet to see… but it is to damn funny to stay here in Guate.

So there I was one morning just like any other ready for a fun filled day at the training center. I stepped one foot onto the street when… my stomach started turning like crazy and I knew I had to get the bathroom not now but RIGHT NOW. Got to the bathroom and did my deed and to set the scene I better describe the bathroom. We don{t have a door but rather a curtain and a chicken screams as it lays eggs every morning while I do my business. As I was nearing the end of my NUMBER 2 I heard these little foot steps moving rather quickly. Suddenly the curtain was ripped to the side and my little 3 year old brother Jarol was screaming at me. { Andrés Andrés YO TENGO QUE POPA.} He said it about three times telling me that Drew Drew I have to go poopy. At this point I am really embarrassed because my little brother needs to use the toilet but there was no getting me off that puppy. I was trying to tell him {Espere por favor Jarol.] {please wait Jarol.} But the poor little guy just couldn’t and before I knew it he said Andres Estoy popando {Drew I am pooping} then as he was pooping his pants he started to cry hysterically. At this point I am still sitting on the toilet thinking that this couldn’t get any worse when my mom came from around the corner only to see me taking a poop and her son crapping his pants. She picked him up and took him to the neighbors house to finish his job. I walked as quickly as possible to class and laughed the entire day as I told my friends.

I love being here in Guatemala and this maybe one of the best times of my life. Sorry if you thought the story was gross, but everyone here seems to laugh pretty hard. Even my Spanish professors who have nick named me {Señor Rompe Corazón Bigote.} Which means the Mustache Wearing Heart Breaker cause they think because of my dance moves and mustache I am going to break many Guatemalan girls hearts. That we will have to see.

Take care,
Drewski

Please don't make fun of the Fire Truck

2006-09-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

More pics later

2006-09-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here is dad ready to kill a chicken.
Please vote on the Gaute Stache.
Kloz will be happy to know I am dancing to "Jump On it" on the bottom pic.

Killing in the Name of...

2006-09-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well…

I should start off the blog for today by stating that I am in fact growing a Guatemalan Mustache. I have about a week’s growth and well… it is mostly hideous. Pictures coming soon and I want everyone to rate the stache and vote if it should stay or go.

My independence day started out with my most unusual Peace Corps experience yet. I was woken up by the sound of 9 chickens screaming for their life as my host dad ROCAEL was yelling “Púchica.” I then learned that on Friday we were going to kill these chickens and start preparing them for the birthday party I am about to attend. Now I have hunted most of my life with Grandpa and Dad so I thought to myself how bad could this be…

Well the process started out like the Rocky Movie where Rocky has to chase the chicken around to build up his speed. After 5 minutes of chasing around a single chicken it was my job to hold onto the wings. As I held onto the wings Rocael tied a piece of string onto the leg and then the rest of the string was tied onto the fence. He then twisted the neck of the chicken and gave me the signal to let go. As I let go the chicken would fall and hang upside down. While the chicken was hanging upside down it would start to freak out and flop all over the place with its neck twisted. As it became more freaked out with it’s head twisted eventually it would pop it’s head right off it’s body. If you are having a difficult time understanding I don’t blame you but I was lucky enough to do this nine times.

After the heads popping off Rocael and I went to the streets to watch the celebration. It was so much fun to see all of the kids dancing. I am not making fun but it was kind of comical to see the Guatemalan fire truck leading the parade. We are talking a 1985 Ford Mini van painted green with a red light on the top. They had a huge town dance that I attended later in the night. Two different Guatemalan girls asked me to dance, but the looked like they were 16 years old maybe so I decided just to watch.

In the next couple of days I hope to show pictures of the Parade, Birthday Party, and best of all the Assassination of the Chickens.

Take care,

Drewski

Día de Independencia

2006-09-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Let me take you through some of my nicknames here in Guate. Sad to say that I am not Drewski and that is sad for me. Well… it has become apparent to the other Municipal Development volunteers that I have a love for making maps. The programs that they use here are ArcMap and ArcView. In honor of me being a huge Geography Geek my friend Megan has started calling me ArcDrew. Lot’s of people make fun of the way I say my O´s so several people are calling me a Hoser or Dakoohhhta. Maybe the best is that since there are two Andrews in our group I am called Andresito with translates to Little Andy.
September 14, 2006 what an excellent time to be in Guatemala. Tomorrow is Independence Day here in Guate and the celebration is huge. I like it almost more here compared to the 4th of July because of the participation of the youngsters. Every grade from the school has a marching band and they dance through the streets. They have been practicing everyday we have been here and it is fun to actually see them march now. Last night I went with the family to a school play in honor of the Día de Independencia.
Tonight we have to say goodbye to one of our fellow trainees. He was a great trainee and much fun to hang out with, unfortunately because of family matters he must return to the US. I definitely wish him the best and that he can return to Peace Corps Guatemala again someday.
Tomorrow we have a much needed day off and it should be interesting to take in the cultural experience.
Still having a blast here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take care,

Drewski

Pics of the kids

2006-09-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

Ok so these are my cousins. From front to back Anderso, Christin, and Emilia. I want Kloz to know I taught them the Apache Jump On It dance.

This is Jarol who is my little shadow. Consuelo said whenever I leave the house he whines that he can't come with me. We hang out all the time.

I eat lunch everyday with Jarol and Anderso. Check out Jarol's KoolAid Stache. They remind me so much of my cousin Nick and I. They are the same age and a blast to hang out with. I give them "Vueltas"

I have a challenge for all of you. First of all thank you so much for the comments and it is one of the most exciting parts of my day usually. My challenge is for you all to see the movie “El Norte.” It is a movie in Spanish with English subtitles. The movie depicts the life of two Guatemalans that dream of life in the U.S. and stop at nothing to get there. I hope that you can not look at the movie thinking about Inmigration opinions but rather just to see what life is like here in Guatemala and how people dream about having the things that so many Americans take for granted. A toilet that flushes, your own car, a lawn, or whatever else it may be…

I won my basketball game yesterday. Many more of my fellow trainees came to watch so that was fun for me. I must say that I did feel a little bit bad though… This short Guatemalan dude drove the lane for a layup and I absolutely swatted his shot into next week. We are talking an Amy Anderson Volleyball spike on him, the crowd kid of went “OOOHHHHHH” but my Peace Corps crew was screaming “YYYYEAAAHHHH.”

It is so funny how everything is shrunken down here. I went into the restroom of a bathroom the other day and started to laugh – the toilets are almost like they were in grade school with them being so low to the ground. Also then when you go to wash your hands the sinks are way lower like at the height of you knees. My friend Jacob and I were discussing that how when you watch a basketball game here One guy might stand out as being super tall… but when I stand next to him we are the same height. For the first time in my life I am taller than average. YESSSS EAT THAT AMY.

Take care,

Drewski

OK ONE MORE PHOTO

This is Jarol and Roy. Roy is my other brother here in Guatemala and has a birthday next week. Should be a fun one.

Hello

2006-09-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

We are all starting to gel really well here. There have been some intense games of volleyball after training hours, and to make my sister proud lots of people have been impressed by my skills. Josh asked me if I honed my skills on the beach volleyball circuit of Dakotas. I wish you could all be here to see how much we laugh and give each other a hard time. My fellow trainees have been making fun of my South Dakota accent. Didn’t even know I had one, but yah doooon’t yah knooooow ; Oh yah ya betcha.
Yesterday a group of us went to Antigua for a little getaway. It was so much fun to hear stories about similar experiences of trying to keep the Guatemala food under control and not visit el Baño multiple times a day. I probably should send the stories in an email because they are quite grotesque but also hilarious.
I can’t believe that I haven’t even written about Bill in this blog. At staging in D.C. I met Bill and we are not sure on Bill’s age but he has a shirt that says “70 isn’t old… If you are a tree,” and he told us it was an old shirt. When I met him I thought to myself isn’t this cool that this nice older man wants to serve in the Peace Corps. After visiting with him we all learned that this was Bill’s fifth time serving in Peace Corps Guatemala. Today Bill leaves us to go to his site to work already and we will definitely going to miss his profound wisdom on this experience and about life in general. My favorite quote from Bill was “In Guatemala you can’t trust your farts.” That might be one of the funniest things I had ever heard.

Take care,

Drewski

For Uncle Mike

2006-09-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

For all of you to understand today’s blog entry I must first tell a story. In Montana this summer while visiting family I came across an unusual book in my Uncle Mike’s (who also served in the Peace Corps) truck. It was a book and a tape on how to learn Spanish rapidly. I was quite intrigued by this so I asked Uncle Mike “Please speak a little Spanish to me.” My Uncle Mike responded with simply one phrase “FFFEEEEEE” which is how you pronounce the letter “F” in Spanish. Since that moment the big joke in my family is to say the Spanish letter of “F” to each other.

So yesterday in my Spanish class to take a break we played the game HANGMAN. Surely all of you remember the game hangman where you guess a letter that is in the secret word. When it came to my turn and the teacher asked me to guess a letter. Funny enough I looked at her and proudly said “FFFEEEEE.” I could only chuckle as I thought of goofy Uncle Mike.

I am still having a blast here in Guatemala. They use the voz form for those of you that are interested. My favorite new Spanish word is “Púchica” which is like saying “Shoot” in English. It is a good way to express your feelings without saying a vulgar word. Today the kids and I danced to Michael Jackson in my room. I took some pictures which I hope to share with you soon.

Well take care,

Drewski

Best game in Guatemala

2006-09-03T11:05:00.000-07:00

Oh the basketball game…

Well, as I was writing my last blog entry my friend and fellow volunteer Mary was also in the computer lab. She lives with a family right by the basketball court so I invited her to come watch me play. It was neat as I looked up and saw her and her family there to watch me. It reminded me so much of High School days of my family coming to watch me play.

I better give you a setting.

The basketball court is a cement area with puddles all over it because we are in the middle of the Rain season. There are two small lights equivalent to flashlights that light the court at night. In one of the corners there is a stair case, which dangerously enough a chapine (a chapine is a Guatemalan) went flying down during the game. And to top everything off there is a decent sized crowd there. Wasn’t sure what I got myself into.

When I got there I learned that Rocael doesn’t play, but he is the director and ref of the basketball league. He introduced me to my teammates and I was ecstatic to learn there was another gringo on the team. Seth is a missionary who has lived in Guatemala for 3 years. He could possibly be the whitest man in the entire country; it was fun to visit with him because he is from Minnesota and knows pretty much exactly how I feel here. We are practically neighbors in the US!!! He told me our team started with 15 guys and last night I made five. ¨”Lots of people have quit” he told me. ¨”Oh and by the way tonight we play the toughest team in the league.”

I looked to the other side of the court to find a group of 12 chapines that were around 20 years old. The team was extremely athletic and had a very serious coach. Our team had myself, Seth, and three chapines that looked as if the should be playing soccer instead. Right away I knew that this was going to be difficult and I wanted so badly for all my boys from our intramural basketball team there.

To start off the game I had a couple of steals and a three pointer with several cheers from Mary and her family. I was really having fun. We were down one point at half time. The game stayed really close the entire way, and I must say that I handled myself fairly well with my teammates who had no background in basketball besides watching it on TV. The other team was really cocky and so it was fun to be in a game so close with them.

Devastation sets in…

With 30 seconds left we were down by one point. I got a rebound and passed the ball the entire court to Seth who was wide open for a lay-up. Sadly he missed it and the other team got the ball. As they brought the ball up one of my chapine teammates stole the ball and went the entire length of the court. As he shot it the buzzer rang and he missed the shot… but he got fouled!!!!!! All he had to do was make one of the two free throws and we went into overtime. This was maybe the most exciting thing I have been involved with for quite a while. As my teammate took aim he was shaking he was so nervous. He missed the first free throw to the right so bad he didn’t even hit the backboard. OH MY I THOUGHT. So what does he do??? He moved all the way over to the left side of the free throw line, sadly he missed the second free throw even worse.

So the other team won. I wasn’t really mad because I had so much fun. More importantly then winning I made a new friend in Seth. He said he could help get a cell phone or anything I needed. He also said any time I wanted to go to Antigua and visit I was very welcome. After the game Mary and I visited with her family for about 2 hours telling jokes and sharing laughs. All in all it was a great night.

Take care,

Drewski

Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

2006-09-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Everything is still going well!!!

Last night was really fun. I busted out the card game UNO. After nearly 25 minutes of deliberation and explanation we all figured out how to play the game. My little brother Roy won two games, the dad won one game, and the gringo (ME) also won a game. Afterwards Rocael and I watched the Astros/Mets game and played with the kids.

After Spanish class today (yes that’s right I had Spanish class on a Saturday from 7:30 to 11:30, but I really like it and am learning a lot) ten of us participated in a soccer match. After about five maybe four minutes all of us thought our chests would explode. Take into account that soccer is a sport of endurance along with the fact that we are all up in the mountains. However, we persevered and my team ended up overcoming a 3 goal deficit to win 10 to 9. YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!

After soccer and lunch the family and I went to Antigua. What a beautiful place and I was very happy to find out there is a McDonalds and Burger King there.

In one hour Rocael and I have our Basketball game. Wish me luck.

Take care,

Drewski

Happy Birthday DAD!!!!!

2006-08-31T16:23:00.001-07:00

Ahorita toda esta bien!!!

Before I left I had the best meal of my life. Stuffed Salmon, beer, potatoes, and the biggest slice of choc. cake. At that point I thought ¨Let´s do this.¨

As we left from DC at 2 bells en la mañana I kind of thought what are you doing and what did you sign up for. At the airport there were a few problems with Drewski packing way way way way way to much, but it all made it here.

We went by bus to the training center and it was a little tough traveling through the mountains, however, the traing center is such a beautiful place. Mountains in the background with flowers and trees everywhere. !Que Bonita!

I then went on to meet my family. As they walked me down a dirt path to meet them I wasn´t sure what to expect. I met mi Mama Consuelo and standing behind her were five of the cutest kids with ballons and a sign that said ¨Bienvenido Andrew Anderson¨

I had to take a quick siesta and then the kids and I went to play futbol and basketball at the park. The kids warmed up to me very quick and before I knew it I had tons of little Guatemalan friends.

When we got home I met the father of the house Rocael. We talked for a while about sports and to my suprise he asked me ¨Te gusta beisbol?¨ Of course baseball is my favorite sport! Next thing I knew we were watching the Yankees and Tigers game on ESPN ESPAÑOL. He said he loves basketball and showed me his Lebron James jersey that cost him 80 US dollars. He runs a basketball league in town and invited me to play on the weekends we he doesn´t have work. I plan to school and dunk on every Guatemalan in town.

Today when I got home my little bro ROY (third grade) and I played futbol in the streets for a while when for fun I threw a kid up in the air and caught him. Next thing I knew 15 kids mobbed me for a ride. All the kids on the yell (ANDRES ANDRES) and I am really having fun with all of them.

The food has been really good. Fruits, tortillas, rice, small steak.

My room is also nice. It is like having my own apt. away from the family. I have a living area and a bedroom.

I am really happy and doing great. Thank you all for the comentarios, and I just have to repeat by saying please be careful what you write.

Hope to get my phone soon!!!!

Take care,

Drewski

2006-08-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

First day of Staging

2006-08-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

All I have to say is WOW!!!

What are wonderful group of people I have met today. Volunteers from all over the US and one that is even Puerto Rican. It is amazing to hear the backgrounds from my fellow volunteers, and I must say that I am very impressed by all of them. I went out to eat at an Irish Pub this evening with Liam and Abraham. I had to write that just to make Grandma Carole and Murph proud.

Anyway, all is well and I am getting ready for the full day of meetings tomorrow. Can you believe that on Wednesday I will already be in Guatemala?

Drewski

See You Later! Hasta Luego!

2006-08-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Well…

It is so hard to believe that this day has finally come. I can’t believe that I am about to embark on this journey to Guatemala. Over the last month I have had much time to think about how fortunate I am. I am so thankful for my family and friends. I will miss all of you so very much, but understand that my passion is to serve in the Peace Corps. I hope all of you can find that passion in your life that motivates you to get up in the morning.

Take care and keep in touch,

Drewski

No puedo creo que mi dia para viajar a Guatemala esta ocuriendo. Durante el mes pasado tenia mucho tiempo para pensar sobre los afortunados en mi vida. Tengo mucho suerte!!! Estoy muy feliz tener mis amigos y mi toda familia. Voy a extreñar ustedes mucho durante mi servicios en Guatemala.

Cuidate y escribame cuado tiene la oportunidad,
Drewsito

Frantic Preparation

2006-08-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am currently preparing to leave for orientation on August 28th, 2006 to serve in the Peace Corps Guatemala. I will be working for the program of Municipal Development and the overall purpose is:

To facilitate and strengthen the relationship between the municipal government, particularly the planning office, and the citizenry so that the local government provides services that satisfy the demands of the population.