I think I last posted back in October, and I don’t know why I haven’t felt inclined to write anything. Sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.
A TON of stuff has happened, though – I moved out of El Tumbador yesterday, not because I was personally in danger but because of some broad security concerns at the national level. Peace Corps Washington had to make some hard decisions and rather than close PC-Guatemala they’re cutting the program in half, from +/- 200 volunteers to around 100. At the same time, they’re relocating all remaining volunteers to the Central Western Highlands of Totonicapan, Quetzaltenango, Quiche, Solola and Chimaltenango. Here’s a map.
I’m getting moved to Quiche.
(it’s pronounced kee-CHAY, not “keeche” like the egg tart lol)
My support network is getting turned upside down. A bunch of my friends have chosen to leave, as the administration realized they were complicating people’s lives by requiring site changes and so they offered everyone the opportunity to end their service honorably (rather than take the negatively connotated “early termination” label that you’d normally get if you left before 27 months). So people are going home.
All this doesn’t even touch the fact that I’m now going to spend my last 6 months of service getting used to new work counterparts, a new culture and a new community. I’m moving to a remote valley that’s dusty in the summer months, located at the end of a dirt road that becomes almost impassable in the rainy season. There’ll be no more of the coastal tropics, the steep foothills and volcanoes out my bedroom window, with every inch covered with lush coffee plantations. I’ll miss Tumbador but it’s a moot point – I figure that you have to put your own service and comfort in perspective.
In the meantime, I’m sitting in a cushy hotel in Xela waiting to share a flete (chartered truck or vehicle) with a future sitemate out to our new home. We’ll probably leave on Tuesday morning, which is fine with me because having cable TV, tasty meals, hot water and nice comfy room free of charge is a pretty good deal. Until then, I’m doing random stuff with my newfound free time…..like catching up on my blog ☺ Maybe I’ll try and make this a habit again….
p.s. did you see that word back there? Sitemates? That part ALONE will be crazy; in El Tumbador the nearest volunteer was an hour away but now I’ll have three or possibly four other volunteers living with me in the same town…..
