We continued working on the garden box project this week; on Sunday, however, the med team from Berkeley also arrived. This meant that Mark would be working with their group and I would be the main person in charge of our group (apart from Lorenzo of course). Before, when we had split into groups, it was always Mark with two or three people from Berkeley and then me and Lorenzo with another person or two. Now, however, it was me with someone else and two of the other girls going with Lorenzo (Andrea got sick and then had to leave early because she’s going to Korea!) In most of the communities, this wasn’t a problem--Lorenzo would take us to the family and then he would leave with the other girls to go plant a garden with another family. Everything would go fine, we’d teach them how to plant, go over the garden map and the brochure--and ta da...done. But, for some reason, in the community of the Paquip, they speak very little Spanish (in all the communities up in the mountains Quiche is the dominant language, but most people also know Spanish, or at least the kids are proficient in Spanish. In San Pedro, everyone speaks Tz’utujil--another native Mayan language--and Spanish), which made it hard to explain what we were doing. We managed to get by--I would explain and then the family would combine the Spanish they knew, we would use gestures, and drawings to help us, and everything worked out. But, it was a very interesting experience--before I had always been with Lorenzo who speaks Quiche, so if there was ever a problem he was able to translate and help me out--but this time we had to make it work with my Spanish (which isn’t perfect of course) and their Spanish (which also wasn’t perfect).
We’ve also started doing interviews with the families about their water (consumption, source, how safe it is, etc). Some people in the medical group who are more focused on public health brought the surveys down, so we’ve been helping them out and interviewing the families we work with about their water. We ask things like where does your water come from (ie do you have your own sink, is there a public tap, do you use the rain, is there a river); is it safe to drink the water straight from the tap or do you have to do something first (ie boil or filter if they have one); does the water have any smell or color when it comes out of the tap; do you store the water anywhere, and if so do you cover it when it’s not in use; how often do you clean the receptacle where you store your water; is there ever a problem with insects; where does the dirty water go; and then also looking at what the houses are made out of and the kitchens. It has been interesting to do the surveys--although again, Lorenzo a lot of times ends up having to translate for me, because even in the towns where they speak fairly good Spanish, a lot of times the older people don’t speak it as well as the youth so Lorenzo has to help me out (or maybe my Spanish is just terrible so they can’t understand what I’m asking ;P).
As it turns out, most people have a private tap now--they used to have public ones, but now almost every house has their own. Occasionally, if relatives live close together they’ll only have one for the extended family. What varies really widely is what the collect it in--some families just have a tap that the put a plastic bucket under to collect water, others have sinks (not like a sink like you would think of in the US, but a different kind). Some people keep water in the sink (they’re really deep and there’s a compartment for storing water) others have metal or plastic barrels, others don’t save water at all because they say they always have water. Almost everyone believes that they have to boil the water before drinking it, only a few families said they drink straight from the tap and that the water is safe (and they were all from the same community, interestingly enough). Most people say there are some problems with flies and mosquitos during the rainy season, but that most of the time it’s not too bad.
Where the dirty water goes really varies a lot as well. In some places there is a pipe that takes it away from the house and dumps it in the street or somewhere else. Other places it just runs away from the sink into wherever. Another thing we have been asking about is bathrooms; most bathrooms up in the mountains are pit toilets--but they vary widely (something I have been noticing), from literally a pit in the ground to a toilet that is set on top of a pit. I think it’s kind of interesting. Also, we ask about the trash (because there is always trash all over the ground and the concept of trash cans doesn’t seem to exist anywhere, not even in San Pedro where I think there’s a trash collection service). Most people use the organic material for fertilizer and burn everything else (plastic, nylon, etc); I think they also just throw a lot on the ground because it’s always all over the place, but nobody will actually admit to that.
Anyways, the surveys have been really interesting. The degree to which people are open about things and how awkward I feel asking them the questions also varies a lot. Some people are really great and answer the questions as best they can, other people mumble one word answers. But, overall, everyone is great--especially because some of the questions I think may seem a little intrusive.
Life with my host family is also going great. I really, really enjoy spending time with my host sister. She’s really cool and a lot of fun to talk to--really mature I think for her age (although the maturity spectrum is different here, seeing as most people get married around 17 and have families by about 19). We always have a lot of fun together. I always have very interesting talks with my host dad during lunch and dinner...ranging on everything from sex ed to how my parents punished me when I got in trouble when I was younger (this was after Juanita got in trouble for something) to what I thought about the government providing subsidies for farmers. It’s always interesting to hear his point of view--and then to try and give a general response for the United States, because opinions are so varied. My host mom is really sweet, she always makes sure I get enough food (I think I’ve gained about 10 pounds already) and asks how my day went and helps me out with anything I need. My brother is funny--he’s always full of energy and saying silly things. His favorite thing to ask me, even when we’re not eating (because it has become a joke) is “te gusta la comida?” (do you like the food?), and if he’s ever quiet, my host mom will say “el disco ya no funcionó” (the disk is broken) and then he will go “que?” and then start talking again.
We all made cookies together last night which was a lot of fun. My mom had never used an oven before, so it was a bit of an adventure. It was a lot of fun though. We all mixed them and put them on the pan to cook and stuck them in the oven. Then afterwards we ate most of them...I think we all had a stomach ache afterwards, but it was totally worth it because it was so much fun.
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