Karen Learns K'iché

Yesterday I went to the cemetery. But I didn't just go because I wanted to see the cemetery; I went to see Vanushka. Vanushka Cardenas Carajas, born in 1910, was a gypsy circus performer of Hungarian descent.  During one of her performances, when she asked for a volunteer from the audience, the volunteer was the governor's son. They fell madly and passionately in love, but neither's parents approved of their relationship. To put an end to things, the governor shipped his son off to Spain. When the circus was ready to move on from Xela, Vanushka decided to stay and wait for him. She fell into a deep depression, and died at age 17. Local legend has it that if you ask Vanushka, she will reunite you with your lost love, or bring you the love you've been looking for.  Although I went with the mission of finding Vanushka, I found the entire cemetery to be thoroughly enchanting. It was the most beautiful place I've seen in Xela so far. Yesterday I poste...

My first announcement is that I have broken up with tamales. It's over. We're through. I'm so sick of them that I will probably never eat them again. Blech. Take your wet, flavorless, mushy balls of undercooked corn and rice with your bones and chicken skins and go assault the taste buds of someone who appreciates you. And don't come back! Friday night, I heard what sounded like a marching band on the corner, so I ran outside to see. As I was headed back inside, I saw Mari, my host family's live in housekeeper, headed out. She said she was headed to the market to get some stuff for dinner so I tagged along. It was fascinating to see all of the different places she went for each thing because to me it looked like they all had the same stuff.  Then she took me to some stands that sold traditional dress outfits for women and we talked more about possibilities. She walked SO fast I thought I was going to die. I took advantage of this opportunity to hang...

There has been a lot of excitement in my house lately, and some at school, about the possibility of me buying a traditional K'iche' outfit.  These outfits are worn by SO many women every day. I would go so far as to say that 40% of Guatamalan women use traditional dress every day. The idea was first suggested by the live-in housekeeper, Mari, a lovely young woman that I have become friends with, who is K'iche' and wears traditional dress every day.  Mari showed me a viral video of an american woman who has married a Guatamalan man. They returned to Guatemala from the US for his father's funeral. The video shows the woman, in traditional dress, fluently speaking Kaqchikel with his family members. The idea of me buying one of these outfits has become a daily topic at my house. Last night Mari brought down her fanciest traditional outfit and she my host mom tied the skirt around me. My host mom, Claudia, has a friend who is going to bring another one for me to try n...

This is an empty lot that I walk past on my way to the gym. Trash and dogs are two of the most visible problems in Guatemala. The dogs aren't stray; they actually have homes. But they are sent outside during the day to roam freely and are let back in and fed at night.  I read an article about the trash problem that said the following: "Nowhere in Guatemala is there a system for the final disposal of solid waste. In the urban areas it is estimated that 47 % of the population has the benefit of solid waste collection. The rest of the people burn, bury, or toss out their trash.  In rural areas only 4% of the population has the benefit of trash collection services. ” Recently, there was a news story here about a house the police raided. It had ten living dogs, and several that were recently slaughtered. They appeared to have been operating an illegal dog-meat business. Having seen the amount of dog poop on the streets, and having read Will Harlan's book ...

My school has pre-planned activities for the students six days a week. Some of them interest me, others don't. I did two activities this week. The first one was a trip to Zunil, a farming town about a half an hour down the road. I had passed through there last week on my way to Tapachula and found it fascinating and was eager to return. The reason for the trip was to go see San Simon. San Simon is not a saint that is recognized by the Catholic Church. He started as a legendary figure in the Mayan cosmovision, and morphed into a saint after colonization.  San Simon is considered the patron saint of vices. His picture often hangs in bars and brothels.  Bar owners, drug dealers, pimps and madams make him offerings to ask for success and protection. Every department (the state-like unit in Guatemala) has their own San Simon mannequin and every year he is placed in a different community within each department to be "taken care of." I didn't ...