Gringa [or close enough] in Guatemala

I’m home.

Busy adjusting to a different time zone, drinking tap water, speaking english, driving on the left side of the road and the strangest to adjust to…throwing toilet paper in the toilet again (it goes in a bin in guate).

Mostly it has been easy settling back in so far; in fact everything here is so different that it feels a little as though my Guatemala adventure was just a dream…Narnia style, like I stepped into another world for a few months and when I came back it was as if no time had passed. Strange.

But everything seems so quiet and organised; I miss the music and general volume of life in Guatemala. I miss the colours and the food (although I think my stomach is appreciating eating australian food) and most of all I miss the girls at Salem.

Have already been to the doctor and am undergoing several tests to identify exactly what’s wrong with me and how they can help. Have also been advised to rest up a lot, which is actually a little hard for me after being so busy and living such an adventure for most of this year…

Thankyou so much to everyone for your support, encouragement and prayers during this year. It has been an incredible and life changing trip, and definitely not my last to Latin America.

Feel free to keep in contact.

Que Dios les bendiga y hasta luego!

Interesting CNN news clip with Compassion International on food crises and child malnutrition in Guatemala. Check it out here.

“According to the World Bank, about 75 percent of Guatemalans live below the poverty level, which is defined as an income that is not sufficient to purchase a basic basket of goods and basic services. Almost 58 percent of the population have incomes below the extreme poverty line, which is defined as the amount needed to purchase a basic basket of food.” CNN

• Always carry toilet paper. Especially when living in the developing world.

• You don´t need much to survive. It is totally possible to live out of a backpack.

• And it is totally possible to live outside of your comfort zone, even if it is uncomfortable.

• That ¨there are no shortcuts to any place worth going¨.

• That I am so grateful and blessed to know what life is like outside of a garbage dump

• I have so many opportunities and choices in my life and will never take them for granted again.

• That I could not survive without my faith in God.

• It doesn´t hurt you to be uncomfortable for awhile. ie. cold showers, squishy bus rides.

• When all else fails, laugh. It will get you through anything.

• That missionaries and volunteers who are here long term (as in years) really are incredible, hardworking and selfless people

• And that we could do a whole lot more to encourage and support them

• That in unkown cultures with strange languages you will regularly embarrass yourself. and that is ok.

• Guatemalans are incredibly friendly and generous people

• We could really do to be more friendly in Australia

• And that we could really afford to be more generous and hospitable in Australia

• It´s actually not that hard to learn another language

• The world is a lot bigger than I thought it was

• The world is a lot more broken than I thought it was

• And that I have fewer answers than I thought I had

• But that love – the forgiving, unconditional, giving type – really is the most important thing

• And that it is totally possible to make a difference in the world.

As emailed out on the 11 sept…

Hola again from Guatemala!
Here is another…and sadly my last…news from life in Guatemala.

Life in Salem lately has been busy, noisy, happy and messy as always.

Fun in Salem

Last Saturday they had their ´visitas´…once a month they get to meet up with their families, or whoever from their family is willing to come to the visit. It is an exciting time for them, they spend time the night beforehand making cards and drawings to give to parents and siblings. It is hard for some of them though if their families´ don´t show up. One of the normally cheerful little girls, Amarilis, was crying yesterday because she didn´t get to see her mum this weekend. I remember asking her once if she was happy in Salem. She told me she was, but not very happy because she doesn´t have her mummy there. Although they are so well cared for in Salem, my heart still breaks for these girls having to do life on their own at such a young age.

[El Castillo does believe that the family is the best place for these kids and works continually with each of the children´s families, to try to improve their situations so that the kids can go home. But sadly often the situations are so bad that it´s just not going to happen in the near future. A hug and a lolly later and Amarilis was fine. ]

As for other news, September 15th is Independence Day in Guatemala but it turns out that for patriotic Guatemalans the whole month is basically a celebration. There are fiestas in each town and Guatemalan flags are hanging from every rooftop and car windshield. Today the girls were very excited because the El Castillo school celebrated with ¨La Torcha¨…a mini marathon run with a torch to celebrate independence day…thankfully the bus follows behind for those that need a rest!

Wednesday night before going to church we took the girls to the local market where they spent time handing out food and clothes to the children and adults rummaging among the rubbish there. The rubbish in the markets stinks. Picture huge big piles of rotting fruit and veg and who knows what else right in the middle of the market. Along with the children and adults looking for things of worth there and eatting scraps, there are hundreds of stray dogs scavenging and fighting. A lot of the girls have come from situations like those they were giving to, so it was a good opportunity for them to learn to pass on the blessings they have received. They were so enthusiastic about it and did a great job!

The children handing out food and clothes at the local market.

So this is my last newsletter because thanks to yet another bout of amoebas and several other bacterial infections I have been advised by my australian doctor to return home to rest, get treatment and give my stomach a chance to recover before possibly doing some long term damage. I am disappointed to be leaving here almost four months earlier than planned but definitely hope to come back in the future.

If there´s one thing I´ve learnt in these last 9 months, it´s that it is actually very possible to give these kids from the streets a chance at a decent future.

Yes it´s hard work, but with the resources and people, it´s possible. Unicef estimates that there are 40 million children living on the streets of Latin America, and just because I am leaving Guatemala now doesn´t mean that I will forget them. I can´t forget them. I have had a chance to see their struggles and their joys first hand, and I plan to do what I can to help them whether I am in Australia or in Latin America.

Saying goodbye will be hard. Little Amarilis, the girl I mentioned before, said to me out of the blue yesterday, ´You know that I love you a lot, don´t you?´ and I just couldn´t tell her I have to leave next week…pray for me!!

If you are interested in learning more about the lives of these children, Toybox sends out a fantastic fortnightly prayer email newsletter with stories from the streets…you can sign up here: http://www.toybox.org.uk/pray.html

MUCHISIMO GRACIAS to everyone for your invaluable encouragement and support during these 9 months. And to my Australian family and friends, will be home end of September, can´t wait to see you! 🙂

Dios les bendiga MUCHISIMO! Adios de Guatemala,
Gemma Freeman.

food crises
¨The President of the Republic of Guatemala has declared a state of public calamity due to the high level of malnutrition caused by the loss of crops caused by irregular rain, dry and hot conditions as well as high food and fuel prices. According to the authorities, approximately 54,000 families have been suffering from food shortages due to dry weather conditions causing the loss of their corn and bean crops. ¨
Relief Web

“Guatemala has had high indices of poverty and malnutrition for decades, provoked by a long history of inequality. There is food, but those who go hungry have no money to buy it.” President Colom United Nations

¨According to the United Nations World Food Programme, Guatemala has the fourth highest rate of chronic malnutrition in the world, and almost half of all Guatemalan children are malnourished. Plans are being made to send 20 tons of nutritional biscuits and emergency supplies for 54,000 families.¨Toybox

¨A fortified food blend called VitaCereal™ has been a mainstay for young children and mothers in Guatemala, where almost half of all children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition. But the nutrition programme may be suspended for lack of funds.¨ World Food Program

gang violence
¨Polanco said that so far in 2009 102 drivers have been murdered, including 14 last month and 7 so far in September.

Polanco said in remarks to reporters that if the killings of bus drivers continue at the current rate for the rest of the year, 2009 will be the most violent year yet for the sector.

The Association of Urban Bus Companies says that owners of the 1,300 buses running in the capital pay gangs an average of $395 a week per vehicle to avoid attacks on the drivers.

Guatemala, with a murder rate of 17 a day, is one of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.¨ Latin American Herald Tribune

See those flowers?

Given to me. On the bus. By a stranger. For holding her bags for her (crowded bus, i was seated, she was standing).

I don´t know if it ever would have occurred to me to give flowers to a stranger.

But then I thought, why don´t we do things like that more often?

She only had a little bocquet, wrapped in newspaper, and she took half of the precious things out and gave them to me.

She didn´t know how down I was feeling on the bus.

That I was wrestling with the fact that life always seems to turn out so differently than I plan. That I had just managed to eat my first meal in a week and still felt sick from it. That I had just been reminded (rather strongly) by my doctor, parents, volunteer coordinators and friends that health has to come first. That I was dealing with the disappointment of having to wrap up my Guatemalan adventure in just a short couple of weeks to return home 4 months early. That I was trying to figure out how on earth I would say goodbye to those beautiful girls.

Flowers. A small reminder that even when we don´t understand, when life takes unexpected twists and turns, there is still beauty to be found and love to be shared.

If you get the chance, why not give something nice to a stranger today. You don´t know what they might be dealing with.

These last minute changes shouldn’t be looked at as bad things. They should be embraced as learning opportunities. -Graham Brenna

(Yes, I am coming home soon. But no, it´s not over. The children living on the streets of Latin America have captured my heart and primero Dios, I will be back…)