Cursing Abounded

The little bastards next door who throw loud, late-night parties every couple months had another one this weekend. They arrived at about 6:30 and played loud music til 10:00, when presumably they went out to a club. Then they returned at 12:30 and turned the music back on full blast and were yelling and carrying on in their courtyard (with which we share a wall, and from which we can hear everything even with our bedroom doors shut). Y and K each went over to ask them to quiet down, but it didn't make any difference, then I went over and it didn't make any difference either. The guy who came to the door when I knocked was pretending he couldn't understand my Spanish, the prick. I went over again and yelled at him, but still nothing changed.

I stood on a patio chair and yelled over the wall to "Muevanse adentro ahorita" (Go inside right now!) y "Callense, putas borrachas" (Shut up, you drunk whores!) and some a$$hole laughed and replied, "I no speak English". After they'd been at it for an hour and a half, the guard finally agreed to go over, and then the jerks did go inside. I f*cking hate them and felt like throwing eggs at their house, but I knew some poor cleaning lady would be the one stuck with the mess.

John's idea is to buy one of those mixer/sprayer attachments for the hose, and instead of filling it with fertilizer, fill it with the contents of a dirty diaper. Then the next time they refuse to shut up at 2:00 in the morning, soak the jerks down. Ah, that sounds good!

New Huipil Craft Site

My craft sales have slowed down in recent weeks, so I wanted to try expanding my audience. Therefore I recently opened a shop on etsy: http://lachapina.etsy.com. I'm continuing to put posts on my crafts blog about every day/every other day and can take orders from there as well.

If you refer someone to my Etsy shop or my blog and they make a purchase between now and 6/1, have them tell me your name, and I will give you $10 off your next order!

Ridiculously Excited

...over a doll.

I was looking for a Latina doll to give Azucen@ for her upcoming birthday, and I came across the Americ@n Girl doll Josefina, whose character is Mexican-American living in New Mexico in 1824. I know these are meant for much older girls*, but this doll and her clothes/accessories are so cute and in many ways remind of Guatemala.

However, Americ@n Girl stuff is EXPENSIVE. So I hit eB@y. Even used, however, these dolls were generally going for $55-$75, which is a. waaaay too expensive for our limited birthday budget, and b. waaaaay too much to spend on a doll for a two-year-old who was going to be dropping it, chewing it, and spilling food on it.

But, believing in the "you can't get if you don't ask" philosophy, I emailed some of the sellers who had dolls with imperfections and who hadn't received any bids yet, and asked if they would consider doing a low buy-it-now price since I didn't care about the flaws and wanted this lovely doll for my toddler's birthday. One of the sellers, who had a doll with some pen marks on the underside of one foot, agreed to my offer of $30 and asked that I send her a photo of Azucen@ with her doll! I was SO excited!

"Is this for you or for her?" asked John.

"Ummm, both?" I answered.

I'm going to make some Guatemalan clothes for her, since she is coming with some plain doll clothes (not the pretty Mexican outfit in the photo below). And if Azucen@ isn't interested in it? Well, I know a 31-year-old who will be!

*I will be removing any parts that could pose a choking hazard.

Our Sweet and Tender Hooligan

[S]he was a sweet and tender hooligan, hooligan
And [s]he said that [s]he'd never, never do it again.
--The Smiths

John, Azucen@, and I were in a local shop this weekend and Azucen@ was enjoying trying on the bracelets, playing with the balls, and holding the stuffed animals. When we got home and were changing her diaper, a bracelet fell out of the front pocket of her overalls!

Now when she sees it sitting on the dining room table she points to it and says "Uh oh". We're going back today to return it :)

Two Things

1. To Suzanne, who left a comment a few days ago saying she knew a doctor who would like to help the people at the finca: I don't have contact information for you, so please leave your email address. Thanks!

2. If anyone is going to be coming to Guatemala in June or early July and would be willing to carry back addressed packets of craft items and take them to the post office for me in the US, I would be happy to compensate you for your troubles. Please leave an email address in the comments. Update: Thanks Julia and Kim!

Chicken Bus

Last Friday I rode a chicken bus for the first time. Y, roommate K, and I walked over to the mercado and caught a bus to Chimaltenango (known as "Chima" to locals) to spend an hour or so at their market. I don't think I'd been on a school bus since about sophomore year of high school, and having heard horror stories of chicken bus accidents and robberies, I'd been in no hurry to try the experience. But I was assured by several people that routes like this one were considered quite safe even for gringos, so I agreed to give it a try.

The bus was clean and quieter than I'd expected it to be. The most interesting thing about it was the number of people coming on to sell things to the passengers. They would walk down the aisle, drop a candy in everyone's laps and then on the walk back up the aisle, pick them back up if the person wasn't going to buy it. Pretty bold! Other people hopped aboard selling things like ice creams (wrapped in a plastic bag, but I still don't know how they didn't melt) and vitamins. They would eventually get off the bus as it started to take off.

It did get very crowded (three adults to a seat, plus people standing) as we picked up more passengers nearer our destination. I recalled the phenomenon of skin sticking to bus seat vinyl.

The fare from Antigua to Chimaltenango, about a half-hour drive, was a whopping Q5.50 (approximately 75 cents). I wish the route between Antigua and Guatemala City were safe, so I could go to museums more often. But alas, that's a very dangerous one!

How Cute Is Jason Bateman?

Did every heterosexual girl born in the '70s have a crush on Jason Bateman when he was on Valerie/Valerie's Family/The Hogan Family/The Show That Changed Names Like Every Season?

Because I sure did. Then I callously forgot about him until John and I started watching Arrested Development last week. We've only watched about seven episodes so far, but that show is SO FUNNY. And Jason Bateman is still completely adorable.

Cut-Outs

I'm quite pleased with how my latest craft pieces turned out. It's something brand new, so check it out!

... And if you would like to order anything and you need it by the end of the month, drop me a comment over at the craft blog because John's heading back to the US for a bit and will be mailing things the week of the 19th.

Monkey Party

Azucen@'s 2nd birthday party theme is going to be monkeys. She LOVES monkeys ("mono! mono!"), and I need to plan ahead so that John can bring back some party things from the US. I'm going to economize by using plain white plates/cups/etc that I'll buy here in Guatemala, but I remember from her 1st birthday party how hard it was to find any birthday decorations that weren't licensed characters. And I couldn't find streamers anywhere!

So here are the decorations I ordered online (plus some streamers).

I'm going to put these on top of her cake, and I think I'll put little palm trees on it too (which I've seen at the grocery store here).

And I hope to find a monkey pinata somewhere here in Antigua.

Random Fact for the Day

This morning John asked me excitedly, "Did ye know turtles can breathe through their arses?!"

No, I didn't know this. Turns out it's true; some turtles get up to 68% of their oxygen intake this way.

So there you have it.

Donation Info

Several people have asked how they can donate more to the people of the finca. You can do so via Paypal to my email address, e*rins*toy77 (no asterisks), which is a yahoo account.

Thank you, everybody!

Afternoon at the Finca Near La Rinconada

What an experience today. The conditions at the finca were just as Y had described, as you'll be able to see from the pictures. The water supply was filthy, there was one toilet, and the warehouse of a room in which all the families sleep was something I'd feel too guilty to have my dog sleep in.

According to Y, the finca owner has to give workers a raise if they are there for three months or more. Therefore, he will only give one- or two-month contracts. Then these families have to uproot themselves and move on to another finca.

Here's a link to all the photos with descriptions, as there are too many to put in this post. You do not have to sign up for an account to view them. Many thanks to Y and six of her classmates for driving and helping organize our time at the finca.

Some notes and observations, in no particular order:

• The children were so, so dirty, even the five-month-old. It was heartbreaking, and I wished I could take each and every one of those little souls and give them a good bath and wash their hair.
  
• Many of the children had skin conditions, which I'm sure is due, in part, to the lack of hygiene. I want to investigate the idea of spending the remainder of your donations ($380) on having a doctor do check-ups on all the children and give medicine as necessary to help these kids before their skin conditions worsen.
• There was a woman there exactly my age - 31 - who was 6 months pregnant with her 10th child. Two of those children have died, and she is already a grandmother. Please consider donating to a family planning and sexual health organization like WINGS. It's one of the most critical ways we can help.
  
• All the adults look older than their age, and the children look younger. There was a boy who I assumed was about nine years old, and I found out he was 15. The malnutrition must not only stunt growth, but delay puberty.
• A toddler was carrying a machete back from working with his sister. A TODDLER.
  
• One funny moment was when Y's classmates and I were holding up various pieces of clothing to see which sizes to give to which children. A pink sweatshirt was the perfect size for one boy, who at first balked, but was then told by Y's classmate that it didn't matter, that it could be for a boy too! He accepted her explanation and was quite happy after that.
  
• One of the most poignant moments was watching an older gentleman run down the hill when we only had a few baskets left to give. He'd been inside and was worried that he had missed his chance. It brings tears to my eyes, thinking of this old man coming toward us as fast as he could because he needed that food.
• Even with the dire poverty, kids are still kids, and they laughed, chased each other around, and were delighted to get cookies and pieces of candy soon after we arrived.

Today reinforced to me that each of us has an absolute duty to our fellow man to help those in need. It is nothing more than a fluke that some of us human beings were born into families that can provide a house or apartment, clean water, a balanced diet, clothing, and medical care when necessary, while some of us have none of those things. If you are moved by these photos, please consider donating to an organization that helps needy families, be they in Guatemala, the United States, or anywhere else in the world. Let's see how many comments we can get on this thread with people stating they have donated to a worthy cause!