Comfort, Construction, Books, and Friends

Once again I have to apologize for not writing for a while.

At this point in the journey, I (and I think Theo as well) am very comfortable. I am comfortable with myself, where I am, and what I'm doing. It was not a light-bulb moment to get truly comfortable but rather a long process and a combination of a bunch of different things. It takes time to get comfortable with the language, place, and people to develop ideas for projects, but also to have the confidence to initiate and carry out the projects.

For one, language is no longer a stressful part of my day. I still can't understand everything (especially when they talk full speed) but I no longer have any reservations about opening my mouth and trying to get my idea across. I'm sure I screw up a lot but it doesn't bother me anymore. This comfort has shown itself when friends visit and I can translate without many problems and have conversations in Spanish with both my friends and those here in Esquipulas. Teaching English in Spanish is no longer difficult (the Spanish part I mean. English itself can be pretty dumb language at times), and playing with kids at the City of Joy helps me relax with Spanish.

Secondly, and maybe more influential, is the work we are doing. I finally feel like we are doing important work here. We are still doing English, but the work that is most meaningful and rewarding for me is working at the City of Joy. We helped construct a thatched roof outdoor patio area next to the library a few weeks ago.

(Theo working on the thatched roof. There is no OSHA down here. We were about 8-10 feet up sitting on half inch thick pieces of wood held in by 2 nails on each side. Needless to say the wood pieces flexed a lot when we sat on them, and at one point the nails started popping out. But we made it out alive and the roof looks great.)
Last weekend we were in Guatemala City, and thanks to very generous donations, were able to buy a mountain of books for the library at the City of Joy. We bought their academic books for 1st-6th grade as well as some leisure books and novels, including my favorite Where's Waldo. Theo and I both expressed how rewarding it was, and how good it felt, to buy all of those books and think about all of the joy it will bring to the kids, not to mention the benefit of education. In addition, Theo and I have developed a new project at the City of Joy. We are going to build a playground! We are extremely excited about this project. We were trying to think of something fun to do at the City of Joy that would be an 'extra', and not just help with the neccesities (that already have funding). We thought of a playground and the ideas just kept rolling. We will be designing and constructing it ourselves and want to incorporate recycling as much as possible. Our goal is to use lots of old tires.
(In the no longer empty library with the books purchased...thanks to all who donated)

In addition to our projects (and yes we are still working on the water project but waiting for money to deside what we can do) we had a fun weekend with some fellow 2008 CSB grads. We got to hang out with Jenn (a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras), Katie (a close friend of Theo visiting for a week), and Molly (in Peace Corps training in Guatemala). It was fun to see familiar faces and talk about all of our experiences in Central America. And all of our experiences were different. Jenn lives in a small village of 6o0 in the mountains of Honduras without electricity whereas Molly is working near Antigua with local government organizations to improve Eco-tourism. In addition to seeing them, our 'jefe' came down to visit. Brother Paul is the sub-Prior at St John's Abbey and is both the founder and director of the BVC. We picked him up in Guatemala City after buying the books and are enjoying his humor as he stays with us. He is very happy with the work we are doing down here and that makes me feel good. It is always good to have someone else approve of what you are doing (especially your boss). This weekend we will be heading to Copan, Guatemala with Br. Paul to visit another BVC volunteer (although he is only there for 8 weeks). Next year Copan will be a site with 2 volunteers just like Esquipulas.

I should probably get off the computer now, but before I go...we are still collecting donations for our projects: more books, the playground, and our water project. If you would like to make a donation, please make the check out to St. John's Abbey and write BVC Guatemala in the memo. I know the economy is not good for making extra expensis but remember, it is a tax deductable donation and St. John's Abbey is matching all donations dollar for dollar.

Saint John's Abbey
31802 County Road 159
Collegeville, MN 56321