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No, ANN is not some new central-american terrorist group or terrible free trade agreement- it’s just one of the several political parties participating in the upcoming Guatemalan elections. Unfortunately, ANN has their central office right across the street from the Foundation. I say unfortunately because, in order to sway the votes of the electorate, ANN’s main method of persuasion is serenading the neighborhood with marimba music at full-volume from a sub-par speaker. I’m not sure if this is an effective technique and only us gringos are supremely put out by it, but it doesn’t seem like a good tactic to me. Imagine if Hillary Clinton’s campaign set up shop next door and played banjo music all the live-long day to win your support. So over the past few months we have been subjected on a regular basis to what we are convinced is the same marimba songs over and over and over again. It becomes a bit abrasive when you’re trying to listen to other music, watch a movie, talk to someone else, or just hear yourself think.
As voting is taking place tomorrow, for the presidential and mayoral elections, all campaigning and propoganda was supposed to end at noon yesterday. We had been looking forward to this blissful tranquility for weeks. And yet, what blasphemy greeted our ears late yesterday afternoon?? More marimba music, interspersed with strange seemingly-drunken announcements from Sakal Ixim, the ANN candidate for mayor. It should also be noted that aforementioned Sakal Ixim is well-known in the pueblo for having stolen a large quantity of money from bank patrons while he worked there. Perhaps he thinks high-intensity marimba music will blast this memory out of people’s minds. His reputation as a patron of the arts will far supercede his infamy as a thief.
Taking matters into there own hands, in response to the continuing noise pollution, Chat, Angie and Paul marched down to the cede, where they are registering voters to report this violation. (I stayed home to continue nursing my infirm lungs.) A very helpful municipal worker returned to the ANN den to inform Sakal and his henchmen that they MUST stop the music. In a tipsy and staggering manner, these gentlemen assured everyone that they would indeed shut it off. Incidentally, liquor sales are supposed to be prohibited throughout all of Guatemala for this entire weekend in order to assure a tranquil state of mind for the voters.
Anyways, a happy conclusion to this sordid tale- the music got shut off yesterday and we were not further plagued by it for the rest of the afternoon. However, I regret to inform you, that even as I sit here typing this morning, I hear the slightly-muted strains of the all-too-familiar marimba son. Those wiley scoundrels….they continue to play the music, but have now brought their speaker slightly inside the doorway. Please, join our cause! Write to your senator! Demonstrate in the streets! Down with ANN!!!!
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I really wish that I could bring this news to all of you in typical San Mateo style, preceeded by an introductory 5 minutes of wailing siren and then blared in distorted voice from a megaphone….in Chuj. But I guess I’ll have to settle for announcing through the blog. Luckily I have plenty of time for computer activity these days since we found out yesterday that we won’t be having class for the next 3 weeks. Believe me, we were surprised too. But with the approach of Feria looming, it has been decided that the school’s top priority should be practicing for the big marching band competition that will be part of the September celebrations. You may be thinking that this seems to neglect some other critical components of the children’s edcuation. I would have to agree with you there, but please note that in comparison to some of the other schools in town we have shown enormous restraint in postponing practices for this long. Truth be told, our band is probably the worst in town, because the other schools have been devoting much of the school day to straight-up band practice for months now. It may very well be that in the parade on the 18th the Centro band is the one in which a trumpeter trips and knocks over 2 girls playing lira and the bass drums just keep playing exuberantly and marching right on over top of them. All to the dissonant sounds of confused, arrythmic melodies. Oh well, as Maria de Jesus said,with great sassiness, ”They may be first place in the band, but we’ll be first place in our studies.” That’s my girl!!
So the aforementioned BIG NEWS, which I’m sure most of you have already heard by now, is that I will be returning to San Mateo next year for another go-round with these crazy lovable kids. I’ve enjoyed being here so much, that even from the beginning I had considered that one year just might not be enough. Upon leaving home 8 months ago, I never imagined that I would be coming to the end of my time here and planning for another year away. But I really feel that with the experience and knowledge of the school and the kids that I have now, I could do so much and bring more to the school by returning. They allowed me to learn and grow here, with all the latitude I needed to make mistakes and figure out my own way. Now that I have a better understanding of all that, I could really do a bang-up job next year, and it will be great for the school to have some consistency in the staff. So I talked to our director Beth Neville when she was here in August and she graciously accepted me back. I finally worked msyelf up to telling Mom and Dad while they were visiting, and of course, they were completely supportive and wonderful. (Makes you wonder what took me so long to get it out huh?) And now I’m breaking the news to the world! Spread the word!
I’ll be returning home to the States for about 2 months on November 12th and am so excited to see family and friends and spend the holidays with all of you. It’s unfortunate that it will be relatively short time that I’m back, but I hope to be able to see as many of you as I can. I’ll try to keep the blog up-to-date in these last few months. (I know what you’re thinking.) Thanks for sticking with me and continuing to check and read despite months of non-blogitude!
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Well, actually, the Butlers have already come and gone. The mid-August visit of los padres Butler was round 2 of the Butler invasion here in San Mateo. The first wave of attack came in May, when little miss Mary Beth arrived in town and mercilessly plundered the hearts of the male population of Yinhatil Nab’en. There is many a young tercero lad still pining away for senorita Meribet and frequently enquiring as to when my sister is going to return.
I believe there was slightly less romance and heartbreak involved in my parents’ stay, but it was a thrilling and beautiful week nonetheless. Wayne and Molly’s Guatemalan adventure began in the lovely colonial town of Antigua, where I met them lounging in the garden courtyard of the luxury digs of Hotel Aurora. (Lounging can here be interpreted as pacing nervously, because my bus was caught in construction all day and I was about 2 hours late in arriving.) After a full day of travelling, my own appearance frankly frightened me as I passed a mirror, but loving parents that they are, they were happy to see me, and forgave my bedraggled presentation and the unreliability of the camionetas. Following this joyous reunion, we enjoyed a mini-weekend-vacation in Antigua and Lake Atitlan. Having grown accustomed to Pullman buses and the Governator Hotel as the ultimate in luxury, I could hardly believe the star-quality accomodations and transport that my mom had arranged- I felt like a Guatemalan princess.
Of course, this royal treatment couldn’t last forever, and after feasting and fiestaing our way through Atitlan, we soon found ourselves on the chicken bus on the 5-hour ride from Huehue to the mountains of SMI. Much to the delight of my mom (at least at first) this was a very tipico camioneta ride- very crowded, very bumpy and there were even live chickens as fellow passengers. The novelty soon wore off, sadly, but I was so proud of the way Mom and Dad rose to the challenge and accepted it all with an adventurous spirit. On this particular bus ride, I was lost to all the charm of mass transport, as I was completely abosorbed in the world of Hogwarts through the gift of the final installment of Harry Potter which my dad had kindly brought for me. I did however emerge from wizard battle long enough to purchase the essential chuchitos in Soloma – no one could resist the siren call of this old woman’s feeble, hoarse voice beckoning you to buy her delicious wares of this quintessential bus food. Chuchitos are like Mexcian corn tamales with chicken filling, but moister because they’re wrapped in huge green leaves rather than corn husks.
Travel-worn and dust-covered, we finally arrived in the grand centro of San Mateo, where I’m sure my parents were awe-struck by the display of several fried chicken stands and hot dog vendors that our central park has to offer. I dare to conjecture that they were even more starry-eyed when they saw the faaabulous hotel room I had booked for them. OK, so it was slightly less majestic than the Hotel Aurora (seriously, check out the website for that place!)…..or maybe it was a bare room with nothing more than a bed, a toilet and an odd odor. But once again, troopers that they are, my parents said it was just what they needed, and settled right in. I feel so appreciative that in everything that they encountered during the week, from slight food poisoning to gaping stares from townspeople to long Disney medleys sung at dinner at the house, mom and dad greeted everything with flexibility and good nature.
It was a really lovely week. Mom got to spend a lot of time with the kids, working on some really fun sewing projects she brought with her, and did a wonderful job using her Spanish! The kids got a kick out of her being there and learning some more English. They’re still saying “In the bag!” and “Reaalllllyy??!” Mom and Dad both got to finally experience the manic nature of primero classes. Sadly, not classroom management at its best, but you have to love the energy these kids have. We also celebrated Mom’s birthday here, went to Thursday market, took some nice walks and ate some delicious food, both in and out of the Foundation. Mom’s birthday festivities resulted in the serendipitious creation of a new dessert that I dubbed Chocobanano Custard Crunch a la Mateana. Someone get me a publisher- I’m dreaming up a cookbook.
The week ended with a fantastic kings of Hooey Hooey tour. Since we have to go through Huehuetenango every time we travel anywhere, the Foundationers have developed a criterium of essential destinations whenever we stay there. We have our favorite hotel, The Governator (part of Schwarzaneger’s holdings in Guatemala) where Chat is a preferred client and always gets us a room. There’s also a fancy schmancy bar and several eateries that we enjoy. Mom and Dad gamely followed me around as I showed them all of our favorites and we had a wonderful last day together. The next day we had breakfast at our usual joint and took a taxi to the bus terminal where we tearfully said goodbye. Beyond the fact that the Huehue terminal is just one of the most depressing places in the world, it was tough to send them off on their bus to Antigua. (I did pin a note with their destination on their shirts and make sure they had enough lunch money.) They had come at a perfect time when I really needed a little break and support from my family. The week before had been a really difficult one- my grandpa passed away, our friend Fer left to go back to the states and there were a bunch of guests in and out of the Foundation. Nothing could have been better for me than to see my mom and dad and get to spend nice Butler family time together. It really helped everything get back into order for me, and since then, things have been a lot better. I miss Mom and Dad now and all the rest of my family and friends too- it’s been a long time! Can’t wait to see you all in November!!
P.S. Happy Labor Day! They celebrate it on a different day here in Guatemala, but coincidentally we didn’t really have to work today either, cause they school is practicing for the band competition in 2 weeks during Feria. Hooray!
