Photo Blog From Antigua, Guatemala

I just uploaded a bunch of photographs from my travels in Guatemala. I will be trying to add all of my photos from Central America in the coming future. Please check them out at http://travelerphotos.blogspot.com
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For more photos from Guatemala go to Lady the Tramps Photo Blog in Guatemala

The End of my Semester Abroad

I need a break! My eyes are strained, my shoulders ache and my mind is crashing. I just wrote a porfolio of 241 pages of writing for my schoolwork this semester.

Some people think that my school is easy and slack because it is an alternative, international program. Writing a portfolio of 241 pages of good, solid, researched essays is not easy. I can hardly believe that I even wrote so much.

I think my school is a lot more difficult than traditional universities. I have to live in a culture other than my own while studying. I have to live in a place where people do not speak my native language. I have to develop my own curriculum. I have to decide what I am going to learn. I have to do my own, real live field work and research, doing interviews, making visits, finding contacts. I have to draw my own conclusions from my own experiences, and not just regurgitate what a teacher thinks or what some dude wrote in a book. No secondhand experiences here.

My school is challenging. My brain needs a break. I am glad it is summer.

Remembering Mexico from my Childhood

I remember the smell of MExico as a young teenager when my family came here on vacation about 10 years ago. I wanted to be a woman then and I bought a new skirt and high, black platform shoes which I teetered around on trying to be pretty.

I remember seeing people in the streets, chubby women in short skirts and men who hissed at me as I eased passed. That was my first look at night people and I thought they were sleazy in their polyester clothes and I don't think I really understood it all and that was the first time I thought about that. But now I think that is just the way things are down here south of the border.

The streets were crowded at night with dull naked light bulbs glowing from a million shop windows selling trinkets and fake silver jewelry that caught the sparkle. I wondered where everyone was during the day. Maybe on the moon.

Mexico Hotel Room Poem

Waking up with odd feelings pouring from my head like the falling water that has been spilling all night from the shower in the hotel room next door that the drunk forgot to turn off
Got a rattling in my brain thinking bad thoughts and hankering for forbidden fruits.
Wish I could tweet like that little bird on my windowsill and lift my tiny crooked claw feet off of this ground and maybe fly away from here, a little lighter and a little bit freer than before.
In truth I am afraid of that big blue sky and what is really out there blanketed by the abyss because maybe it will suck me up into nowhere or my dreams, whichever.
The ceiling fan goes round and round but the hot air stays in my small white hotel room.
Today I woke up with inspiration.

Traveling Romance in Mexico

Dear Mexico,
I am finally with you. For years I have longed for the romance of your hot days and balmy nights, your senoritas swaying in the breeze with flowers behind their ears, your caballeros wearing their fancy boots and huge sombreros, your mariachis serenading me from the streets, and your taco stands. Things go at a particular pace here. I wish I could spend more time with you, Mexico. I will be back. I am in love with you.
Un beso,
Mira

A poem for leaving Honduras

Thunder rumbling in from the horizon
It's going to be a stormy night
I'm nostalgic again
Thinking of old friendships lost in the handshakes of time
I'm homesick again
or sick with the feeling that I want a home that is constant, sometimes
Another month over, a page turning in life
and I am outta here
I'm saying goodbye again
with glassy eyes and charming, curtious words
"Will you come back again?"
I know that my maybes really are maybes and
I am leaving another pile of only acquaintances again
It's going to be a stormy night again

Racist Remarks

After some comments I decided to do a little bit of an explanation on my last post about the israeli kid who walked into my hotel room.
I am not racist, never was racist, never felt racist, wasn't raised racist. I do however know that race exists. I am an anthropologist. This is what I study. I think the fact that there are different races makes the world beautiful. If we all looked the same, acted the same, had the same values, wore the same clothes, the world would be BORING.
My last post was not aimed at being racist. Someone took offense to my statement, "This is why people do not like israeli travelers." I did not say that I do not like Israelis. I did not say Israelis are bad. I, personally, do not see anything wrong with Israelis. They are just people, like all other people who live breathe eat play work drink walk talk see love think.
I just meant that some people do not like them. All around the world there are hotels with signs posted in front "No Israelis." In Latin America, Thailand and Southeast Asia, India, in many places these are present.
I am not saying Israelis are bad. I am just saying that not everybody likes to have Israelis in their hotels. (Hell, a lot of people don't like Americans and don't want Americans in their hotels either. And Americans don't like Latins and don't want latins in their country, so it works in all directions) I am not saying it is because they are ISRAELI. It usually is because of the way they behave due to cultural customs. To some it may be abrasive. They can be loud people, and they are very direct. They ask for what they want and they are assertive. (Many cultures think it is taboo to ask for what you want directly. I was in a shuttle with an old Israeli couple. The lady was uncomfortable, so she told the driver, "I am uncomfortable, please change the seating arrangement." The other people in the van were annoyed by this and thought it was rude. But why should this elderly lady ride all smooshed up and uncomfortable when the driver was stupid enough to put the suitcases on the comfortable seats and made the elderly lady sit on the uncomfortable seat? She was assertive and asked for what she wanted.)
Mostly, this is called cross-cultural experiences. This is when 2 cultures meet and must interact. Some cultures are very different from other cultures. Not all cultures get along.
Also, people are individuals. Not all people are exact stereotypes of their culture. Some people are good, bad, loud, quiet, shy, friendly, out-going reserved....It all depends.
My comments about the boy being rude are not meant to take a strike at Israelis. I do not have anything against Israelis. I was merely stating the fact that this boy made a rude action, or at least an action that according to my culture is rude, but according to his culture may not be rude. Anyone, regardless of where they are from, I would be angry at for walking into my hotel room, anyone. This is my culture speaking. I am American. I was raised that if someone, especially a stranger, walked into your room without knocking that this is a rude intrusion. Not all people are taught this. This is a cross-cultural experience....
In all, please don't be offended by my writings. I am merely stating my impressions of the world...and the reader must remember that I am an american, a female, a young person, a gringo, or whatever stereotype other people place on me. to ask me to view things outside of my own cultural upbringing is a little difficult....for anyone...
Forgive me if I have offended you.

Intruders in my Hotel Room

I was sitting in my hotel room relaxing in my underwear and reading. I heard a rustle and the dueña of my hotel was showing a group of Israelis the room across the hall. They turned my door knob, and then stopped. I heard the dueña tell them not to open my door because that room is occupied.

This was a close call.

I continued reading. A few minutes later I heard the Isrealis again. This time they actually did open the door and looked at me in my underwear. They slowly cracked it like they were being sneaky, looked at me, and closed it, without saying sorry or excuse me or anything.

Ok, so now these males have barged in on me after they were already told that the room is occupied AND they saw me in my underwear.

I do not like people randomly coming into my hotel room. I do not like strange boys seeing me in my underwear.

I put some pants on and went out to accost them. My heart was pumping. I turn into a bull when I am mad.

“Hey” (This was the angry hey not the nice hey)

They smile and say “Hey” (as if I had said the nice hey, and maybe they thought I liked giving them a free show)

I tell them not to open my door. They said they were looking for their room. I know they had already been shown their room. I do not like people coming into my hotel room uninvited like this. This is rude. This is why people do not like Israeli travelers. I would never ever think of walking into someone’s hotel room like that, after I was even distinctly told not to. These boys didn’t even think it rude enough to apologize to me for. Different standards.

Ethno-Tourism and Indigenous Communities in Costa Rica

So often tourism and an intrusion of outside influences have worked against indigenous peoples. They have been exploited as exotic savages, with explorers searching them out on expeditions to tell of their strange encounters. Stemming from this, indigenous peoples have altered their own cultures, playing into these stereotypes for the monetary benefits that tourism brings. From colorful turbaned gypsies in India, the Sichuanese putting on the attire of Tibetan nomads, and the Cuna parading their naked children dancing in the streets, people have found dollar signs where tourists seek culture.

A shell of tradition, a costume, a craft, a dance becomes bastardized, losing the intricate internal meaning and bowing down only for almighty money. A beaded necklace that once took weeks to fashion and years of skill to learn, is sloppily thrown together and sold for half the price at sub-par quality. A song that once described the universe is now forgotten, and only unintelligible humming is uttered for money on the street corner. All too much, the beautiful diversities of humanity have succumbed to this plague of tourism.

(Photo of indigenous mask artisan)

In Costa Rica, however, a very interesting movement in the indigenous communities is being developed and tested. They are using tourism as a way to revitalize and preserve their cultures.

I walked into the Namu gallery in San Jose, and my senses were blasted from all sides with vibrant colors and eccentric shapes. Every corner of the store displays baskets, masks, paintings, jewelry, textiles and all crafts imaginable made by the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica. The store is almost alive as these creatures crawl over the walls. It is so overflowed with such beautiful cultural works that I can hardly believe that less than 2% of the Costa Rican population is recognized as indigenous. Yet it is because of this colorful artesania that the indigenous people are finding a guiding light.

The Namu gallery was founded in San Jose almost a decade ago by an idealistic youth anxious to display the rich indigenous cultures of Costa Rica. At that time indigenous communities were hardly acknowledged and mostly unknown to the outside world. Conall French, after spending time volunteering with various tribes in the country, realized the need for these cultures to be rescued from extinction. The brightly painted masks, intricately woven baskets, and exquisitely designed handicrafts appeared to be just the eye-catching ticket to aid in the struggle.

As a family run effort, the Frenches now showcase work from all 8 tribes of Costa Rica in their fair-trade gallery. For the craftsmen this gives them an opportunity to sell their creations to a broader market for a better price than what they might earn selling locally on the side of the highway. The earnings are split 50/50 between the artisan and the shop, and the work is shown to international buyers. Some of the artists have even been able to solely rely on their crafts for income.

The Boruca masks are a very prime example of how tourism and Namu has affected the traditional culture. Originally these people carved wooden masks with demonic faces to be worn in the dance of the “diablitos.” They have now branched out in their craftsmanship. They have developed an “ecological” mask, which mixes the traditional style of iconology but now also portrays a medley of flora and fauna from the local region. The new mask forms express an indigenous cosmovision depicting an interconnectedness with nature. Because the diablitos masks were so popular the artists have been able to creatively expand and refine their skills.

A decade ago the mask-makers were mostly elders, and the tradition appeared to be in danger of survival. As the masks became more marketable to the tourists, the younger generations found importance, and a majority of the craftsmen are now young men. The involvement of these younger generations and pride in one’s traditional customs is integral for the continuation of cultural heritage.

In the Bribri reserve of the Talamanca region in southern Costa Rica, community efforts are striving to develop a system of sustainable tourism. The Finca Educativa is a network of 17 organizations of community, grass-roots tourism. It is used as a coordination base due to its close proximity to the outside and its access to phone, internet, and fax services. The Finca Educativa was formed to promote a kind of eco-ethnotourism. This is tourism that focuses on learning about ethnic groups and culture and also includes learning about environmental issues while communing with nature.

The Finca Educativa is very particular about the type of tourism that they allow into the community. The amount of tourists admitted must be ecologically sustainable for their area. They do not permit the tour companies from outside to bring in groups that may be culturally insensitive, such as the tourists coming in from the cruise ships in Limon. All guides must be local, and they prefer to take tourists in small eager-to-learn groups, rather than individuals. The Bribri do not want their towns to become a product of tourism, like so many other have, devoted to consumerism, partying, wiping out local traditions, foreign owned businesses, and an artificial “gringo” atmosphere.

In the indigenous pueblo of Watsi community members lead tours through the village to exhibit the way they live, how they farm, and how they make traditional crafts. Often other cultural events such as dances and storytelling are featured. The organization aims to include all members in the community from the youngest to the oldest. They believe that the more the wealth is spread the more of an aiding factor it will be. A theater group of children and teens has been created using the theory of indigenous theater developed by Pablo Presbere. Through theater arts they are portraying their indigenous culture with use of folktales, plays, and dances. The oldest person of the community of the ripe age of 107 is the grandfather and great-grandfather of a majority of the town’s population. He is often the leader of the traditional “Dance of the Vulture” as well as a storyteller during tours.

A major part of the Finca Educativa initiative is the women’s group ACOMUITA. This is a cooperative of 71 indigenous females started 19 years ago by Maria Lopez. Passed from her grandmother and founder of the community, Adela, she was instilled with the importance of continuing their cultural heritage. In the Bribri belief the indigenous bloodline is handed down by the mother and inherited by the girl-children. The females have supreme power over the family and household. In lieu of this, ACOMUITA was formed for helping community development by the traditional leaders, women. The women are usually enthusiastic about being a member of ACOMUITA because they can earn extra money to help their families and send their children to school while feeling empowered.

They have many projects already established and in the making for sustainable tourism development while preserving cultural values. One of the most elaborate projects is the making of organic chocolate. Cacao is a sacred plant chosen by the almighty deity Sibu to make human, and therefore, it is believed to be a representation of the mother of people. Traditionally the indigenous have grown cacao and made chocolate candy and drinks. Yet, the custom was failing due to lack of interest and a devastation of cacao plants caused by the Monilia fungus beginning in 1978.

In 2003 Maria Lopez and the other women initiated the chocolate project through ACOMUITA to revitalize it. They are establishing themselves as organic chocolate producers, farming the fruit and cooking the chocolate. So far, 25 locally involved farms have been certified as organic by the APTA. Tourists come to watch the chocolate making process and sample the delectable treats. It is also sold in nearby towns such as Cahuita and Puerto Viejo, and at other markets throughout the country. Their efforts are keeping tradition alive throughout the community as well as producing ways to gain a much needed income.

Quitirrisi is home to another indigenous community, the Huetar, whom are using tourism as a tool for revitalization to bring back their lost culture. Don Sanchez has started an agenda of tourism based on education and sharing of cultural experiences. Most of the tourists visiting his organization are school children or educational programs.

He showcases many traditions, such as the native style of building houses, an ancestor alter and a sacred corner placed in the farm. There is even a museum of Huetar archaeology of artifacts that he has collected from the region. Don Sanchez gives lectures on the indigenous cosmovision and the history of his people. Finally, he hosts a traditional sweatlodge in which his guests may participate in the sacred ceremony.

Although the Huetar people were once thought to be the largest indigenous group in Costa Rica, their population has dwindled and their culture has followed in the decline. Don Sanchez was raised in the indigenous community of Quitirrisi, but much about his own culture he has learned secondhand through books. Over the passing of time the Huetares has lost their language, customs and belief system. Don Sanchez is desperately struggling to rejuvenate his heritage before it is lost forever.

Tourism is a very weighty force in determining the fate of indigenous peoples. It has the power to destroy or the power to build. If it is regulated properly, it may be used as a significant tool to preserve culture. It must be, however, undertaken by the indigenous communities themselves in a sustainable manner. When this occurs it can be cultivated as a positive cultural exchange in which tourists are happy yet educated, and the indigenous societies may preserve tradition while breaking chains of poverty instilled by the first world.

Drugs in Guatemala

Knowing the local language means you can fight with locals. I have found myself yelling at a lot of people lately. Antigua is a huge sludge of tourists from all over the world, and of course, many of the locals do not like them. This means many of the locals are very rude. I do not like rude people. I like it that I know Spanish because then I can tell them they are rude.

Mostly, my problem seems to be with kids on the street that want to sell you weed. They wait all over until some young-ish looking traveler comes up and tries to sell them weed. I know a lot of times this is a bad deal. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that these young tourists get sold grass that was cut off of the side of the road. That is, if the kid doesn't just run off with your money and you never seen anything in return. These people already must think I am stupid.

The other day Wade and I were walking down the street when a teenager started asking Wade if he wanted a shoe shine. Wade said no, and we continued walking. The dude, however, continued after us, asking if Wade wanted a shoe shine. Wade said no again. Then the kid asked if we wanted to buy weed.

Now this kid did not look like a wholesome character. He was dirty, his eyes were bloodshot and only half-way open, he was jittery, and looked to have some welty skin problems. I did not want to buy drugs from him, nor did I need a shoe shine from him. I think he has himself taken a few too many drugs, and I don’t think it was anything as innocent as some grass clippings.

After the kid had followed us half a block and harassed us over and over to get our money in some form I told him to leave us alone. He continued following and asking us for some service to get our money. I told him to go away.

Then he was getting mad. He wasn’t getting our money. Lots of street people know that if you yell enough at people they will get scared and give you money. Wade and I are not scared. I just got mad. He then started calling me an arsehole. Maybe I am an arsehole, but he was the one yelling at me and following me down the street. I was just walking and did not want to buy his drugs. He followed us for a couple more blocks yelling at us. I yelled at him back.

What is the best thing to do in this situation? I do not know. If someone is following me and bothering me isn’t it normal to tell them to go away? In Guatemalan culture this does not seem to be normal. When the rich upper-classes are harassed by the poor, they simply give them money like it is nothing, or they completely ignore them. I do not think that is normal. I am going to go on yelling at these people. I am not going to be yelled at by some druggy and not fight back. This is rude.