Another Week Away

I'm off. Again. To the middle of nowhere, Guatemala. This week, we are heading out to La Maquina, Zonas 1 y 2 to give our presentation on zero-till technology. This will be our second attempt at giving this same presentation in the same cities - due to the fact that last time we went out there, all the communities were in a crazy panic over the fact that the 'giant' tsunami was approaching the coast ("el fin del mundo! el fin del mundo!").

The end of the world didn't happen and neither did our presentations. I will be gone until Saturday, sleeping on cots with the chickens, ducks, pigs, toads, and numerous other animals. Now, I don't thrive or love the fact that I get less sleep on these trips and eat less or when I do eat, I eat the same thing (eggs, beans, rice, tortilla) for four days straight. But don't get me wrong - I really do enjoy these adventures and know that they are going to be among some of the more interesting/important stories that I bring back with me to share in the States.

No pictures today - I've stared at pictures constantly for the last three days because of work - but when I return, I will post atleast a few this weekend. I suppose I've got a few to pick from; I took nearly 1400 pictures in the last two weeks. My computer's memory is starting to get grumpy and hate me. I tell him that when we get back to the States, I will buy him an external hard drive friend and he will feel less bloated. Yes, I've started talking to my computer.

Speaking of coming back to the States, I'm nearly a third into my stay. At times it feel like I've been here FOREVER. And at other times, its hard to believe that I've been here that long. I have a laundry list of things I miss from home (family, friends, pets, beer, grassy front yards) but I think I'll save that for another post later. Until then, I'm off into the wild, living the dream, taking pictures, and eatting beans. Wish me luck!

Field Work - Willywood and Conrado

This is the first of a few posts that I plan on doing that will try to paint a picture of the communities that our projects at Semilla Nueva work with. First towns: Cornado and Willywood.

Conrado was the first place in Guatemala that I had the chance to speak in Spanish in front of a large group and the first place that I joined Darren (my boss) when he made a presentation about our technologies. It's rather small, just like all 'campo' towns, and has only one comedor (place that serves prepared food), which is often closed. However, despite its tiny size, it has a huge heart, full of citizens who are very organized and dedicated to creating long term change. It is a town full of children, always interested in our work and quickly willing to lend a hand.

Long Time, No Blog

The days are blurring together and Guatemalan life has been just rolling along. The last two weeks have been just constant travel, from the coast for work straight into a weeklong Guatemala blitz with friends from the States, Rachel and Jessi, back out to the coast for work. In the end, I rode well over 30 hours of buses across this great country in two weeks and only slept in my own bed one night in the same span. This weekend I’m taking a bit of a break, relaxing at home in Xela, working on some pictures, making stir fry, and catching up on ‘The Office.’ I do have some new photos for all of you to look at and hopefully enjoy. So over the course of the afternoon, I’ll be posting a few short stories and pictures to go along with them of how life has been over the last two weeks.

A Quick Note

For the record, I was going to post more yesterday... but the power went out last night and killed our internet. Thanks alot Guatemala.

Now I'm off to Antigua and Monterrico for the weekend with friends from home, Jessi and Rachel, and Xela friends Brenda and Emelie. So no posting for a few days. Lo siento.

Another note, you may or may not know that there was a huge earthquake in Japan yesterday, causing some major tsunami action to head towards the States. Two of my best friends in the world, Dean and Tyler Brown, are in Hawaii. They are now sleeping in a Safeway parking lot last I heard. But they are safe and in high ground away from any tsunamis. Please keep them in mind today and everyone else effected by the quake/tsunami. Thanks.

Behind the Scenes Look at Semilla Nueva

I may or may not get a bit of grumpiness from my boss for posting some of these pics but I think that they give a good perspective of what actually happens on the job.

We ride around in the back of pickup trucks, going way too fast and ignoring way too many laws of the road.

Because we ignor such laws, sometimes things on our cars break. Like the brakes. Luckily Brooke and Darren are all that are man and fixed it (kinda) while parked in a McDonald's in Guatemala City.


We also have fun after work. Long trips can be stressful at times so we make sure to take a break here and there.


Yes, this is a mattress in a shed. With seed bags. We slept here. When I say 'slept,' I mean I laid there for 9 hours and didn't sleep. I hate this shed.

That's kind of a small look into the working life of a Semilla Nuevan. There will be a post on Semilla Nueva's blog eventually about something similar. Probably a little more PR friendly. I will say though, life here requires some flexiblity, which makes for some annoying times and for some fun times. It's been a geat learning experience in that reguard. How often does one change brake pads in a McDonald's parking lot? These are once in a lifetime experiences.

Thursday's Barrage of Blogging Begins

Alright friends... if you are still reading and following this blog, I applaud you and thank you fully and sincerely. Its been a fast and busy first month. I've got some writing to do with the blog, I need to shave, and a pile of laundry to do. But the goal today is to catch up on all of this.

So something I thought I'd do was take some time to explain what exactly I've been doing down here in Guatemala. I guess I could start by linking to a post I wrote for Semilla Nueva and just posted literally within the last hour. This was a trip we took two weeks ago out to San Martin (a little town northwest of Guatemala City) to visit Cruz Cún Cún, a veteran of the Campesino a Campesino movement.

What is this Campesino a Campesino movement that I speak of, you might ask? Its essentially the whole basis for Semilla Nueva. The idea (in a very small nutshell) is that we take new technologies for sustainable agriculture, teach them to leaders of farming communities that desire our help and knowledge, and then assist these leaders in promoting the new technologies to their peers, friends, neighbors, and families.

This is the idea of Semilla Nueva. Personally, right now, my current duties are:

• Learning Spanish - with the goal of me eventually working in the communities that I talked about above.
• Taking pictures of our trips - for promotional media, fundraising purposes.
• Write for the Semilla Nueva blog.
• Assisting with daily functions of Semilla Nueva - gathering materials for the workshops we put on, which can be a challenge in Xela.
• Researching and reading through scientific articles for data that we can use for grants.

That's my general 'internship/volunteering' overview. Things are nice cause it differs day to day and by time June comes, the look of my job will be completely different than it is right now.

Ok... blog #1 for today - done. More to come!

One Month in Xela

I realized two things today:

1. Its been over a week since my last post.
2. I've been in Xela for over a month now.

And while I'd like to spend some time reflecting on the month that I've spent here, time is not something I have right now. In about an hour, I'm heading off to Guatemala City for work and will be gone until late Tuesday night. However, look forward to Wednesday, because there will be new pictures, stories, and a bit of a longer post/multiple posts.

Just thought I'd let all who care that I was alive and hadn't forgotten my blogging duties.