On a better note, I woke up to firecrackers and roosters and got to see the sun rise over Guatemala City.  I ate fresh mango, cantelope, and pineapple for breakfast, and today we leave to visit a group of women weavers called Mayan Hands and then head to Panajachel.  We visited Mayan Hands last year, so it will be fun to see how far they have advanced since then.  

Amy

We picked up Clemente Ruiz, a gentleman who works with Mayan Hands. I had seen the Mayan Hands tag on many items at the store, so I was very excited to meet some of the ladies who made the crafts. We traveled down the road to the village. Many people stared, I suppose a van full of Gringoes doesn't come around too often.  The people of the village were all in traditional dress and had long, dark brown, beautiful hair. They smiled when I waved at them, the kids with dropped jaws waiting almost in disbelief.  We emptied the van, standing next to a woman and her two small children. Even though I was well aware of the fact, it still surprised me of how tall I was next to these native Guatemalans.

We started up the hill and Virginia, our travel guardian, stopped to show us the maize growing in the hillside. Big deal I thought, I've seen corn before. However, when she pointed it out and we looked closer, I learned that it was actually maize and beans planted together. The maize uses the nitrogen produced by the beans and the beans grow up and around the stalk of the maize.

Soon, we arrived at the top of the hill at a small gathering of houses and other buildings. Many women started coming out of the buildings, again, staring at us strangely. Some came out with crafts and sat on the floor outside the door to continue creating.

I immediately noticed one of the women weaving placemats out of grasses. I had seen these in the store before and I was drawn to the familiarity. Next to her was a woman crocheting a water bottle holder. I'm in the process of learning to crochet, and this woman put me to shame! Her calloused hands moved quickly and the rhythmic motion of her hooking mesmerized me as I sat beside her.

Clemente then pulled us aside and explained about the program. This village, El Adelanto, weaved as part of the Mayan Hands organization. Many of the women were widowed, and nearly all had families. The Mayan Hands program gave them a source of income and education on how to create crafts.

As Clemente spoke, my eyes drifted back to the women. Their children were put in slings on their backs and the ladies rocked back and forth as they weaved the grasses and knotted the thread. Their traditional dress was so colorful and beautiful. The women looked you right in the eye, and smiled, looking away only occasionally to glance at their handicraft...it was really quite unique how they kept your glance.

We introduced ourselves and heard some stories of the women in the group. They told of sweatshop labor, losing their husbands, and of the joy the Mayan Hands organization brought to them. Weaving for the program gave them a sense of ownership when they realized they could succeed on their own.

We were able to look through some of their crafts for purchase. They had just completed an order, so they didn't have much. I found a water bottle holder that matched Starburst's outfit, so I purchased it directly from the lady who made it. The women crowded around as we admired their crafts and as each of us made our purchases the woman who made it smiled and seemed to blush, although I could hardly tell with their dark skin. We asked to have our pictures taken with the woman who created our purchase, and for this, many were very excited! I posed next to Isabel who tried to stand on her tip toes to equal my daunting 5'3" height!

The ladies made and served lunch, perhaps the most intense moment of the day. On the menu, beef stew, with a very large piece of beef in the center. Hmmmm....here goes the vegetarianism! I didn't want to appear rude, but I was also concerned that I wouldn't be able to do it! Virginia told us that the meat was a very special treat...with that bit of knowledge, I took I few swallows to prepare myself, and then gave way. I did it, I ate beef, the first time in many years! My tripmates watched me in amazement as I chewed and swallowed the beef. Lynne had moved down to help me just in case, but I finished, and I did it proudly!

Outside of our eating area, the children were sitting with their mothers, playing with the cups and the random trash that littered their little village. I wanted to pull a dirty bottle out of a little boy's mouth and tell him that it was "icky", but I knew that both he, and his mother would not understand, and may have even been offended, so I refrained. Kids were running barefoot near the edge of cliffs, a scene that would cause any N. American parent to panic.

I noticed a little boy in our eating area, gathering the pop caps from our soda bottles. I watched as he stacked and restacked the caps on the chair. I went to play too, but when he noticed, he took them and ran away. His large brown eyes met mine and I smiled at him as he peeked at me from behind his mother's patterned skirt. We engaged in a game of Peek-A-Boo, a game that is understood in nearly any culture. We laughed at each other as we played, and soon the other ladies were laughing as well, exchanging comments in Tsu Tsu Jil (sp?), a language I couldn't even begin to understand. I wondered what they were saying!

We left the hilltop after group pictures. The ladies bid us farewell with smiles and handwaves and the children waved too, and ran to wave some more at the edge of the cliff. I smiled as we drove away and chugged some Pepto-Bismol to relax my gurgling stomach. The beef had made its way down, and my body was not happy about it!

Our next destination took us on a van ride across the riverbed. Here some of the obvious devastation from Hurricane Stan was apparent. The river was nearly non-existent, how, I don't know, but so was a bridge and several houses along the shore. We arrived at a place called Oxlajuj B'atz, an organization that functions much like community education. We heard three ladies speak about their programs. Ramona, the lady in charge of the project, mentioned that it was a pilot program started by Mayan Hands and Mayan Traditions. It was an educational project that went into the villages to teach women about business practices, community organization and leadership, health & nutrition, and new techniques in weaving.

We watched a woman demonstrate back weaving on a chair specifically designed for the women in that profession. A specially designed chair had been created that was ergonomic correct to increase the woman's health and their productivity. It was very impressive.

When leaving, we walked across the riverbed this time and went to have dinner. The rain started while we were finding a restaurant and it poured as we ate. I couldn't help but think about the women in El Adelanto and what they were doing. In the hour while we ate, the streets flooded up quite a bit and we experienced our first taste of the rainy season in Guatemala.

We stayed in a hotel that night, I had my own room and used the opportunity to relax and reflect on our journey thus far. I flipped through the channels on the television and came across the movie Spanglish, and it was actually in English! I watched for awhile and then went to sleep amidst the barking of the dogs.

Jacquie

go to May 18, 2006