I had to do it, one time one time

Me on Mt. Pacaya

Lava at the top of a Volcano, it burnt my shoes off, and we roasted marshmallows

The Gringo with his girls

The men of the family

Bonding

We get to have fun on the weekend (sparingly)

View from house (2 of the 3 volcanoes, the one on the right i see on fire every once in a while and it is appropriately names fuego)

View 1 of my palace (the photo on the wall is of the GSE)

Group outside Santa Lucia at a Directors Pad

11-22

Day 21-22 The first shit day of Guatemala
I would like to start out by saying that the title does not quite sum of the last few days. Ill Start with the good stuff. Saturday a group of the Food Security people came over to my house in Alo to practice a charla (brief educational session) that they would be giving over the next few days. The topic: how to make gardens from junk, specifically old tires, which there is an abundance of in Guatemala, along with many other useless items to be 180ed into treasures. But we spent the morning cutting up tires, turning them inside out to make more surface space, and then planting items; chiltepes (ridiculously hot peppers I crush all day), radishes, onions, yerbas, etc. There were 11 trainees, a few adults, 2 Spanish teachers, and my family around. We listened to some Americano music (citizen cope, Michael frantic, tom petty, nas) and passed an awesome morning together.
Later in the day several (9) of us reunited in Antigua for a couple come down drinks and some COLLEGE FOOTBALL opening Saturday. Sadly the only game I watched wholly was Michigan get downed by Utah. But I saw several highlights and a good halftime show. A couple sporting comments, OSUs Beanie Wells will be ok to crush USC on the 13th, Clemson sucks…what the fuck, and well-done South Carolina for looking solid…bench Beecher, he sucks. Listening old Ball Coach?
Anyway, after that I returned home alone, making a couple interesting excursions along the way. One to a street stand, after being encouraged to NEVER eat street food by the medical staff due to contagions I ate my 3rd street sandwich (which again I had no issue with). After returning home I watched a bit of a pirates DVD, Ironman, and passed out, normal for myself during any movie.
Welcome to Sunday (Day 22)
I awoke initially to a massive thunder sound at 130 am. At this point im used to odd noises all night, but this one shook my room a bit. After 15 solid seconds of groggy thought I realized it was Volcano Fuego in my backyard. So I jumped out to the garden and caught a glimpse of lava flowing down the volcano, followed by about 10 minutes of fiery gurgle. In all it was brief.
Volcanoes seemed to be a theme of the day in review. I reawoke at 5:00 due to a call from my major amiga and neighbor Rachel/Raquel (don’t really put to much stock in the Spanish versions) who I had informed last night I WOULD NOT be climbing volcano Pecaya, two hours away, that morning. But after realizing I had already slept 8 hours (yes if you are doing math I went to sleep at 9ish) and I wasn’t all that tired…and I felt like I may have been missing something I joined her on the excursion. Little did I know then, I would have been missing out. We met up with 13 other trainees in Antigua, where we waited for them a solid 30 minutes. Which luckily was enough time to buy some more suspect street food that I am still not diarreahing out and coffee. I did have to explain away bums (bolos) the entire time. I do emphasize with them though. I have had long night where ive been hungry and somewhat lost at 6 am on a Sunday morning. But I had to kindly explain in Spanish that I didn’t want to be bothered eating breakfast, that I only get 26 quetzals a day (I had spent 17 at that point) volunteering for them, and that I didn’t have any end of cigarettes either. I earned a smile. They were probably happy to get an explanation versus an outright fuck off.
Anyway, the climb to Volcano Pacaya was incredible. We spent the first half going through thick forest before coming to a steep mountainside of pure volcanic ash and pumice rock. On the top we were able to stand next to flowing lava, which has a thick consistency. I stuck my walking stick in it. We also cooked marshmallows and had smores, even though im not sure how sulfuric fumes affect the body. I have some sick pictures to post though, it was amazing.
Fast-forward 3 hours to Antigua again. Rachel and I ate at a little bagel joint, and then went to the internet café. There we did the normal routine, espn, gmail, facebook (thanks Kelly for the good story and nice Peruvian update); bank accounts…and herein lay the big issue of the weekend. I noticed under my pending transactions I had 3 $135 withdrawals. A brief calculation, 135 X the 7.41 Quetzal per dollar exchange rate = 1000 quetzals on the nose, lead me to believe I was a victim of identity fraud, thick sarcastic yay. Never having left my card out of my site, and still having it in my possession I am verily confused. Some happy Guatemalan is out there that I would like to punch in the face. I don’t know how they did it. BUT, after returning home and discussing with my father, I got a hold of National City, a much better and helpful bank than Wachovia, I discussed the situation. I had only made 2 small withdrawals over the weekend in Antigua, nothing near 135 dollars. I good solid day costs 20, that goes as far as transport, 6 beers, lunch, and maybe even a 1 quetzal donation to a street hoodlum. Anyway, I have to call Tuesday after the transactions clear to see what has actually occurred and where. But I better get that money back. I don’t have a whole lot right now. Anyway, retelling that tale pissed me off again, so im going to bed.

Day 19…Not my historically typical Thursday night
I just recalled that I failed to mention a major event in my life that occurred last Sunday with my host padre, host bro, and site mate Escott. Ready for it…I farmed. I have done a number of related outdoors activities that would be defined wholly as manual labor, but never have I truly planted something for the benefit of the family. The 4 of us traveled to a small field where my host padre and his father (A slightly senile 78 year old that talks unintelligibly, nicknamed the Comandante, whom I heard a rumor involving him trying to run for mayor in the last few years of the town I am living in) jointly own a coffee field. There I spent a good couple hours planting coffee trees. I enjoyed it. The combination of an inundation of agriculture information, and daily markets full of fresh fruits, vegetables and freshly killed meat excite me for the future prospect of daily life here.
A second topic I would like to mention is how much I like the staff we are working with here in Guatemala (I hope they read this ha-ha). My Spanish teacher is a great guy, funny and enthusiastic to guide us through the language and cultural barriers. The directors are passionate about what they do, and they display it all the time. They make it necessarily difficult while providing all the necessary support. Yesterday I had a long conversation with the Director of Guatemala and the Program Director. They were doing routine interviews. I dont know if it is typical or not, but for the Country Director we are her first full group and she was excited to get to know us. I didn’t know what quite to expect when I walked in as far as questions. She told me that this was a get to know the trainees type of interview and that they would be asking some open ended questions to learn a bit more about us. After a brief pause I realized that that was the open-ended question in itself. Mentioning that this was the most open ended question I may have ever received I delved into my personal journey through the mental and physical tribulations of joining the Peace Corps. Mostly it was positive for me to hear me meaningfully say how I felt and what I went through after adding another chapter to the journey, and knowing its all coming to fruition.
As I write this USC is playing NC State in Thursday night football. Foremost I would like to express my jealousy of not being there and enjoying the beginning of the school year atmosphere. Second though, some of my colleagues here are watching it due to the fact basic cable here includes ESPN, which bodes well for the futurrrr.
I also had some good notes online from people back home keeping in touch. One long account of some recent events had me rolling in an internet cafe, it hardly makes me feel like im this far away. Another interesting side note that’s not so interesting for me, I have a few fleas I think I sleep with in the evenings.

Day 11 a 17…Still in Guatemala
I apologize due to the lapse in time since I have informed anyone of my activities here in the great little country of Guatemala; I have been busy in a very informal and relaxed way. First, I want to send a shout to my amigos CJ and Tim, whom I had brief phone conversations with this week and I enjoyed catching up very much. You guys both have clearance to visit now. I am slow to get around to making calls due to being busy and also cost of calls. I am earning a whopping 26 Quetzals a day here while in training, is basically walk around money to spend. It costs 6 for an hour of Internet, 1-3 for a snack and a drink, 10 for a pack of cigarettes, and 15 for a beer. So it actually goes fairly far. I am not buying all of the things I listed, only references J. But that translates into 3.5 bucks per day. I will be paid much more handsomely in Quetzals when I am sworn in on October 31.
This past weekend I had to opportunity and good health, not all of us have it here, to make it into Antigua and have a little day drinking sport. On Saturday approximately 20/30 volunteers made it there. We had all bonded before on smaller scale levels, but Saturday was truly a milestone. Many of us shared tequila shots, good stories, intense conversation, and saw one of our elders come out of his shell in an extremely comical way, telling a long joke starring a pianist, a monkey, its balls, and a cigarette prop. We spent the afternoon at Café Skye, a bar that has an amazing patio/roof top bar that overlooks Antigua in the middle of the 3 volcanoes I have referred to before. The weather was amazing, and I think we all came away better friends and happier with our lot in Guatemala.
Apparently we had so much fun that about 18/30 of us were there on Sunday ha-ha. We went to a local American bar where we celebrated the birthday of one of the girls. I sponsored her a tequila shot upon arrival. After that we spent all afternoon watching US channel sports and having a couple well-deserved beers. It was nice to see the trainees that were unable to make it there on Saturday, which included my first roommate David.
Quick follow up to Antigua, I discovered a McDonalds there on Tuesday and stuffed a 33 Q big Mac and fries down, not because I was hungry, but because I missed me some McDonalds. I’m good for another few weeks now on tortillas and such local specialties.

day 10.1

ok obviously my pictures didnt load un the sub par tech in Guatemala. Ill figure out another way. And advice of the day, dont ever use wachovia.

Day 9…Still Good
Now that I have been in Guatemala for 1 week I have started to gain some consistency to my experience. I am settled firmly into my town with my host family. I have answered many of the uncertainties that make one feel comfortable; directions home, how to take public transport, where the Internet café is, how to send mail, I have a cell phone, etc. My family really likes me as well. I have yet to have a tough day or truly frustrating moment since my second day here. I nearly feel guilty for not having those feelings.

It’s hard to feel isolated and depressed when I wake up and brush my teeth while looking at one of 3 volcanoes in the bright morning sunlight. Although the shower is cold and the roosters sound off like a crappy 3rd grade choir from 3-6 am, I feel so much energy from the natural beauty of the place and its simplicity.

Over the first 2 days of this week I have met my trainers and really gotten into the details of my project. Baseline consulting for small farmers describes the position in the least possible amount of words. The opportunity to work with local organizations, farmers, the government, and as many buyers, distributors, etc., that I find necessary makes me very excited. I have paradoxical sense of excitement due to a calm understanding of what is going on and knowing that this is exactly what I want to be doing. I even had a conversation with myself about it yesterday that I will cite for the rest of my life. All the fear and anxiety I had in DC has evaporated.

With all of the excitement comes hard work though. It’s been a little while since I have truly applied myself to a project, so currently hard work is easy and enjoyable. Tomorrow consists of long Spanish classes (of which I have already noticed marked improvement in comprehension), baseline data collection of our town, and phone calls home for the first time. I also have to deal with issues lingering from home, like Wachovia (worst bank ever), outstanding accounts receivable, Delaware Gazette, and so forth.

Running with the cell phone tangent…I spent the late afternoon/evening on errands into a UN supported historic city called Antigua, which is luckily on 10 minutes from my house by painted after market US school buses, of which I always look for Buckeye Valley School District on the side. The city is amazing and offers a taste of modernism and variety after days in more rural Guatemala. I recommend the city to all travelers, especially my family and potential friend visitors. After purchasing my cell phone and some stamps in town my marketing group grabbed a couple beers at Mono Loco, a former Peace Corp member owned bar. ESPN, ABC, and CBS were airing baseball games and sport talk shows. I am pretty sure I will be able to watch the OSU v USC game there, which I am stoked about, not missing much after all. Beyond that, putting down a couple cold beers for the first time in a while felt nice and comfortable. Unfortunately though, I left my umbrella and poncho there, and didn’t realize until after I was on a Camioneta (old us school bus) back to town. I then realized further that I left my phone box with only the charger in it on a step somewhere. Two major mistakes in hour. In what seemed like a ton of luck and an opportunity to sharpen my Spanish, I ran back through town and found all three items. Who says Guatemala is a crime-ridden country?

I still say it’s a crime-ridden country. On Sunday I went to the local gas station to get drinking water, since 99% of running water here is unsafe for outsiders, and saw a 40-50,000 Toyota Tacoma with a fresh paint job, massive rims, chrome, and extras I cant even place. A 25-30 year old Guatemalan was getting into it, strapped with a shiny chrome pistol that couldn’t even really be functional due to size. I made some mental connections, but also followed up with a teacher and my family about the scene. As I had thought, the guy was most likely a drug lord around my area. Typically there are several in each major area here. Everyone knows who they are, where they live and what the do. But when they pay for schools, municipal buildings, and pump money into the economy while operating under corrupt police forces who can really complain. Status quo, please.

My new phone number is country code 502, then 4061-0022. I have a prize for the first caller. If the number doesn’t work exactly its probably due to the country code and your phone service/type. Try to put a + in front of the 502. If all else fails try to use to Internet to find out how to call the number. Really though, I would really like to get in touch every once in a while, I have my old phone here with my numbers, so expect some calls here and there, and I expect to receive them here and there.

Wednesday Guatemala hosts the USA soccer team in a World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City. I told my host family I will be cheering for Guatemala. Luckily I wasn’t standing in front of a reflective surface or they would have seen my crossed fingers.

I am signing off today with a few pictures to make it interesting:

Some cool kids from the 30

An open wire electric box that seems extremely unsafe in principle, but makes my shower warm, or at least did in my first place

Dave, my first roommate, and I.


My cozy room in Alotenango. I like it quite a lot.

Those are two of three volcanoes that I gander at while brushing my teeth around 730 AM…notice the moon slightly to the right of the first one

A few days of the past

Day 3…Welcome to Guatemala (August 13, 2008)

Today has worn me out more than any other day yet, any of those other 2 days I have been on this little adventure. Eloquence will be lacking in this entry. But today we got to Guatemala and now it’s fully on me. I floated mentally and physically in and out of consciousness today due to waking at 3 am for the flight, although the flight was at 730, its nice to be treated like a child again. Really though, today I felt pretty good all day compared to the last two days. I still feel massively homesick for my people. Being out of phone and Internet range is the ultimate distance.

I arrived into Guatemala City at 2 today. It’s a rainy, cool place, 7,000 feet high. We spent plenty of time meeting the people in the airport. I had a solid long conversation with an American who has lived in Guatemala working for the Peace Corp for the lat 18 years. I reconfirmed my reasons for embarking on this adventure with him. Although sometimes I feel like I’m just trying to convince myself. Part of me wants a natural disaster to occur just so I have an excuse to flee back to my comfort zone. I wont say it wont happen.

Currently its 7pm here, and I am lying in a small room with my temporary roommate David, who is a municipal volunteer and will be sent to another part of the country after the initial orientation here. Saturday the group of 30 will be broken down into the assignment groups and sent out for community based training in which I will move to another home stay. Dinner tonight was interesting, I had platanos, beans?, cheese and tortillas. I enjoyed it mostly, except for the fact I had just eaten a banana I bought from a tienda. The family here is nice, the kids are great and I talk to them frequently.

Tomorrow I have my first day of training in country. Early in the morning we take evaluations of our Spanish level, of which I was disappointed in myself today upon arrival. I really struggled to pull out some simple phrases. However, I think the anxiety and exhaustion contributes to that ha-ha. Shots and further medical evaluations occur tom too. I am tired as f***. I love you family and friends. And I want to say to those who I had last minute conversations and texts with; they really went a long way in making me feel better mentally. Those of you know who you are. I’m in a tough place in all respects.

Day 4…Turning day numero uno

The third world clashes with the first world as I listen to a new CD (thanks JV) on my MAC and blog, while getting annoyed by the barking dogs and early morning rooster cries. This morning I awoke to a 5 am alarm, incorrectly set by my temporary roommate and friend David. He never set the time back 2 hours to Guatemalan time, so don’t feel so bad for me, I got up at 7 after 2 more glorious hours. After the luxury of a hot shower, eggs, beans and tortillas, I trekked a whole of 2 minutes to the Peace Corp compound, guarded with a couple soldiers with sawed off shotguns. On Monday there was actually a shooting due to a disagreement over bus payments to gangs outside of the compound. It’s pretty safe though, slight sarcastic smile.

We opened the day with more introductory courses, followed by a Spanish level evaluation. I did pretty well, although I haven’t used it for a bit I worked my brain back into a solid 20 minutes performance that I believe put me in the upper half of the marketing facilitators. I will find out tomorrow. There are 8 of us here, and 8 more food security people, and 14 municipal development volunteers. Of note, the average age of our group is 26. I had a preconceived notion most people here would be fresh out of school. Not the case. Many are out of grad school, or coming off of successful or not so successful or fulfilling positions. There is one very interesting, nice man that is well into his 60’s, old enough to be my grandfather, easily.

Before lunch the sustainable agriculture group took a peek at the gardens exhibited in part of the massive complex I didn’t know existed. After checking out some tire gardens and miracle California worms that emit tons of fertilizer and eat like pigs and increase crop yields hugely, we walked through some basketball courts that bordered what I guessed to be an elementary school. Over a barbed wire fence I fist pumped a group of 3 kids, I got one fist pump back, then I gave another, got 2 back, then saluted, and got 3 back. After this they we collectively had the attention of the whole group who waved, prompting a clearly audible thanks.

The afternoon passed with presentations by the deputy director Jim, who for Weeds fans looks like Doug, and by a self proclaimed red neck from Georgia, Makali. Makali is the director of safety and security for Guatemala. He gave a humorous and overly entertaining view of serious crime in Guatemala and our risks during his hour and a half presentation. I felt like I should have taped it.

I made some solid connections through good conversation and acknowledgements today too. Honest John the Potato Farmer is one of my favorite colleagues of the group of 30.

In the evening many of the group moseyed up to the central park, guided in most part by various 8-12 year olds from the temporary host families. The park overlooked an ancient volcano, an amazing site. I would have taken a picture, but I hopefully left my camera at the compound after spending the time to dig it out of my bags there.

I also got the chance to get online today, only to find out the US is getting crushed in Gold medals, and lost to Nigeria in soccer, although Nigeria should be applauded for being the 1^st place team in the group.

In all, today was a great day; one that I feel is a turning point in my time here. I know after today that I can do this, and feel passionate about it. I know there are plenty shitty days to come, but this was a great day. My energy level was high, and I was happy. I still miss you all (family and friends, not any bystander virtual stalkers), but thankfully at least for today that longing has moved from the forefront of every thought, to somewhere less noticeable.

I received my “syllabus” from the head of the sustainable agriculture today, it’s going to be tough and a lot of work, but very real, and extremely valuable. I wont get into it now, but you’ll all see eventually. I’m not going to let these people down, and that excited me.

Read of the day, I started “The End of Poverty” by Jeff Sachs. You should Google it, for those of you who are at work, reading this to catch a break. Here is a quote I like from it, maybe because I feel like i'm doing it in my way:

“Rather, it is our task to help them onto the ladder of development, at least to gain a foothold on the bottom rung, from which they can then proceed to climb on their own.”

I now turn my computer off, laughing with my roommate about the brutally loud vibrating rudder sound coming two rooms away from our host patriarch, and after telling of a story about a certain champion of snoring I know from Charlotte. I hope to load these entries in the next few days.

Day 6…Time to meet family numero 2

Firstly, I would like to say with an absolute smile on my face, im drinking my first beer since leaving DC and drinking yeunglings with Jack and Ananda on Tuesday night. Yeah its Saturday night. About time. The beer is called Gallo, which is a rooster (Cock), and its pretty good. I also have not had a cigarette in 2 days. You may think I’m miserable, but this is my 3^rd great day in a row. Yesterday we finished our initial Peace Corps orientation at the Guatemala headquarters, and today we moved out of our temporary housing to travel to our training quarters. The marketing facilitators have been broken up into 2 groups at this point. My group is made up of 4 people; myself, Scott (from Ohio), Alexander (NY) and Rachel (Minnesota). I am pleased with the group, we get along well, and we will maximize our time here as friends.

As the different groups departed today from the center to go to the various training sites it was disappointing. I saw my first roommate (David) go to a different site, along with a number of other interesting people I was just getting to meet. For those of you I talked to in DC, its quite a 180 from when I said I don’t know if I connect with a number of these people. Fuck its hard to concentrate w massive dog barking in the background…earplugs.

That should lead me into my new site. My van set out w 8 volunteers, 4 municipal development and 4 marketing facilitators. The van dropped the 4 muni people at a tiny (the smallest training site) site about 25 minutes away from the center. It looked like a pretty common developing country scene, to put it properly. Seeing the site I had relatively low expectations for my site. We had been sold pretty hard on our site during classes on Friday due to it being the furthest from the center, about an hour. But no sale was necessary. I had a permanent smile on myf ace after realizing my group was only 10 minutes on the other side of Antigua, squished in between not 1, or 2, but 3 Volcanoes. It’s the closest site to the beach. And the kicker, the houses we are staying in are the nicest I have seen in Guatemala, save our assistant director Craig. The houses here are still generally low income in the area, but we are all staying with reltively successful families. My family consists of a father, his father, and his 3 children (21 F, 13 M, 9 F). The 21 F definitely wants to marry me and had dropped several remarks about romantic things offhand already. I might start showing her pictures of ex girlfriends. There is a woman who lives here and does the housework, but I don’t know her relation yet. I find it very interesting I live in a home with no mother. I can only imagine she died at some point. I have connected well already with them, after only a day. The kids cant stop playing w me. The dad and his dad are good guys, and good humored. I find myself fortunate to be in this city. It has much to offer.

On a day when I met a new family, I was reminded of mine. I found a letter from my dad in a book I had been reading. I wont go into much detail, but It brightened and saddened my night at the same time. I want to throw in an “I love you Dad, and family,” after reading it. This is definitely the hardest thing I have ever invited myself into, but Im stepping to the challenge. I am fortunate to be supported by amazing staff who know exactly what I am going through. I am confident today, that I will be confident for the next 26 ½ months.

Day 8

Yeah this is short because I only pasted the last few days of blogging on here and havnt written today, but I will hav a phone very shortly and I am excited to get in touch. Im feeling great and I have gained a mental clarity.

Come to Antigua. You dont know what youre missing.

Day 2...Washington DC

Ok, after day 2 I am feeling a good bit more confident in my ability to adjust and deal with the challenges and anxieties ahead of me.  I am still very upset about the relationships that i will not be able to be involved in over the next couple of years, but contact isnt hard.  And ill be home to visit once in a while.  Remember there are plenty of tourism and resorts in Guatemala people.  

Day 2 in DC was long and instructional, just like day 1...and i'm glad to be done with staging.  I leave for Guatemela city this morning at 7:00 am, so keep me in your thoughts. Little stands in the way of Guatemala besides a few beers and a joy ride about Georgetown and Arlington with Jack and Ananda.  I wish I could have another big goodbye, but they make it harder, and ive been doing it all summer haha.  If i don't get to say an official goodbye to you, Im sorry, but ill say hello in not all that long.  I will be out of touch as far as internet and telephone goes for the next 4-6 days.  Do not think I have gotten lazy on the blog yet, Im just in a developing country.  

Goodbye USA, 

Colin R Deffet 

Day 1...Washington DC

Today is the hardest day.  To those who left Columbia with me on the 31st, you know how hard it was to leave and ultimately start the necessary transition to the next phase of our lives....Well it was just as hard this morning when I left to go to the airport (thanks CJ, Alyssa). Finally when I put Columbia behind me after 4 amazing, fun filled, emotional, and glorious years that made me who I am today as I embark for my next experience, I nearly cried.  Im about to leave the country for at least the next 6-9 months without coming home, maybe longer. 

The hardest part isn't the lack of luxuries, its all the people I cant see and keep in touch with. Keeping in touch is the last thing I am good at, but now I cant.  The distance and lack of internet will make it more imperative that I reach out more often to my freinds at home.  But I am realizing, and realized long ago, its the people around me that I enjoy about my life so much.  I will miss all of you and what you bring to my life.  

Family in Ohio

Friends in Ohio

Friends in South Carolina

Friends in Australia

Scattered friends all over

You all know how much you mean to me and that goodbyes aren't necessary.  Ill be back...

...After the most difficult thing I will ever do.  Right now the emotions pumping through me are exhausting and difficult to deal with, but as so many people told me before I left, stay strong.  I only have 800 days left (slight smile).  Dealing with the double transition of leaving school and the USA is tough for anyone and I knew that, but its hurting now.  I know I just have to trudge through it, and find supportive relationships here.  I met the other 29 people in my training group today.  My first impression is that there are few people I can really connect with on my level of personality and thought, but then again its day 1 and im not in the state of mind to try hard.

I love my life, those involved and those who have influenced me as a person.  People are on my mind today.  Im not ready to get into the details of my actual Peace Corps experience. 

I am planning on keeping this blog updated so we can all have some form of contact beyond facebook, email, etc.