Baby Blessings

Baby Blessings

I was observing two friends of mine the other day from afar as they were chatting; both friends are pregnant, each at her own stage, belly full with the life growing inside her body, possessing that warm glow every women has when she is carrying a child. As I watched my friends smiling at each other their little baby bumps brushed as they laughed, I could hear them discussing nursery colors, baby names, and hospital plans, my mind wandered off to another place, Guatemala. It always happens.

I thought how many challenges both these friends have gone through to be where they are with their expectant babies. For some women having a baby can be the most difficult experience of their life they are willing to risk their own life to have a child. For others it is very easy, they are comfortable, relaxed and, blessed with good health. Then still there are others who are having babies without any form of healthcare.

My two friends were talking about the local hospitals, where they were going to deliver, which one had the better birthing center. They discussed OBGYN’s and Pediatricians, it was interesting to watch and listen. I no longer have young children or get bouts of baby fever so I actually enjoy watching other women and listening to them. I also am able to pull back and remember when; a lot has changed in the twenty years since I gave birth.

My mind drifted off watching them and I began to think about my teacher, Sheny, living in San Pedro la Laguna. She will be giving birth soon too. When I met her she was four months pregnant. I thought about what her belly must look like, about her seven year old daughter and if she was getting excited. I thought about how Sheny didn’t have a doctor, she didn’t have a hospital. I thought about Sheny’s home; she lives with her mother, daughter, husband, sister, brother-in-law and at least ten children that I recall. Their home is dirt floor, corrugated metal sided and make shift roof constructed of the same corrugated material, a cook stove and a few basic pieces of furniture.  They do not have running water or sewer they have power but it is a wire that runs to a bulb over a make shift sink for a kitchen. There will be no nursery, no themes, no colors, no mobiles, lights or lullaby’s to play, no baby shower to plan. Sheny will just work until it is time have her baby and then return to work with the baby in a hand woven sack strapped to her breast.

This is Olivia and her daughter we met in Antigua

Sheny is by no means a poor or uneducated either. She is a school teacher with two full time jobs. She teaches to a group of five to nine year olds in the mornings and adults in the afternoons. As with many men in the area, her husband is unemployed…A lot of responsibilities fall on her shoulders. With each passing day I wonder how the next few months will work for their family. Sheny doesn’t have medical insurance or maternity leave. In fact during one of my lessons Sheny was able to share with me in Spanish and broken English that she has never been to a doctor. Her mother will be with her for the birth. She asked me if she ever came to the United States to visit me would I take her to see a doctor. At that moment my eyes filled with tears as they do now thinking how quickly I take for granted the simplest things…

an idea of what housing looks like for many in Guatemala

To put into perspective just how serious it is to be without proper healthcare and give birth in Guatemala I feel I must share a staggering statistic. At least one woman dies every minute during childbirth in Guatemala. On a global level it is even more mind boggling:

As the time grows near for my friends and my former teacher to give birth my prayers are with each one of you and your babies. No matter where you are in this world I pray for the happiest, healthiest, safest births for you all.

Birth is deadly for Guatemalan women | Worldfocus
I have added this news video feed I hope you will take the 3 minutes to check it out.

On another level...

On another level...

Today a co-worker friend of mine, who also is a school teacher, messaged me and asked if I could work in her place tonight. Another mutual friend was going to work for her but had become quite ill and was unable to cover the shift. I told my friend I would help her as I know it is teacher conference week and she needed to be at school and she’d do it for either one of us in a heartbeat.

I work in the restaurant business and tonight was exceptionally quiet. It comes with the territory when the sun comes out people want to be grilling and chilling at home with their families. I didn’t mind. I kept myself busy just the same.

After the dinner rush things really quieted down it was just myself and another server working and we were taking turns waiting tables as guests came in. It was the other servers turn but, I was cleaning her section therefore she was unable to take a table at that moment, she brought the next guests to my section.

It happened that I recognized one of the guests from a previous visit. The young man was a lot of fun on his last visit. He and the young lady he was with and I laughed and joked throughout their meal. For every smart remark he made I had a comeback…when the meal ended they asked me some questions about my Spanish. As I throw a lot of Spanish words out there to keep them fresh in my mind.

Honestly, there are many times when I want to walk up to a table and say, “Bienvenido a de Applebees me llamos es Julianna…” and I have to stop myself and reprogram my brain to make sure what comes out actually is English.

The young couple thought it was pretty cool that I have been to Guatemala a few times and that I did all this volunteering, educating, and donating. They left and went about their way, typical night. I never gave it a lot of thought as many people ask about Guatemala and I love to talk about…Frankly, it is a subject that never gets old.

Tonight, that same young man was having dinner with whom I assume was his father. I greeted the young man in the same manner as last time. “I see you brought a friendlier face with you tonight…I am excited to be your server...haha I am not gonna be his though…” and the other gentleman laughed, “She’s got you all figured out.”

What happened next took me by surprise. I was about to take their dinner order when the young man said, “Ask Juli what she does when she’s not a server at Applebees?” The man did. I told him about Guatemala. I told him about selling my clothes and donating the proceeds. The man just stared at me and smiled, “Wow, you are… just wow…” I tear up sometimes when I talk about it,  rather than shedding a drop, I took a deep breath, smiled and said, “I will order your dinner you two enjoy your drinks and walked away.”

As I was working I kept looking up at the young man and thinking about how much fun we had teasing and joking on his last visit but, how I never thought he was paying attention to what I said that night about Guatemala. I get asked all the time about it and wonder…But this young man was listening. I was touched by that.

When the two were finished dinner and I delivered the check the father set his bill off to the side and said, “Listen, can I talk to you about something not related to this?” motioning to his check, I said, “Certainly, what can I do for you?” He smiled putting his hand out to me gesturing me to take something saying, “I think what you are doing is fantastic, you are an exceptional individual and I would like you to have this.” My mouth dropped, my eyes filled a little (deep breath, deep breath), I accepted the gift and replied, “Oh my. Muchas gracias, es no necesario…” The man said, “The world should have more people like you in it.”

I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason and one good turn deserves another. I was not supposed to be at work tonight, it’s my day off. I was merely helping a friend who wanted to help and friend. I was not supposed to have that table, it was my co-workers turn. It just happened…

When I got in my car and drove home I thought about all the times I have talked about Guatemala at work, all the people who I have shared my experience with and how this moment impacted me. It was because it was a perfect stranger. They don’t know me and they get it…

A simple act of kindness…

I want to say a heartfelt thank you for the most generous donation. I assure you it will be put to good use. Moreover, I want to say an even greater thank you for making me aware of just what an impact the Guatemala project continues to make.

I am so blessed.

On my own...

I spent my whole life dreaming of the day that my prince charming would walk through the door, sweep me off my feet, and carry me off into the sunset.

That dream was long forgotten after having my world ripped out from under me. 

Trust. Belief. Faith. Hope. Love. I locked that up a long time ago.

As time moved on lonely moments would lead to half-hearted some things that fizzle in the darkness to nothingness. Late in the night I would find myself reaching out to a pillow for comfort. The cold reality set in.

Time passes. Resolve strengthens. Determination changes everything.

I threw myself into my work, enjoying a career that didn’t allow me to feel what was really going on. I loved my work and was driven to aspire higher.

Strong. Independent. Resilient. I found me.

Through my studies I found my passion, my calling, my heart’s desire though it wasn’t the man of my dreams. I had fallen in love...with a country, a people, a culture. Something no lover could ever give me.

Acceptance. Passion. Vision. The key fit the lock.

Traveling on this path gets lonely sometimes, as this life is not one that is meant for just anyone and, finding a special someone to share it with is highly unlikely but, it is the one that is meant for me. 

Coming home …

It’s been a month since I left the place where I rediscovered myself. Becoming that much closer to the "me" that I have always wanted to be.

 

A month since I left the place where stuff, like owning a fancy house, driving a tricked out car, having a camp, boat, snowmobile, motorcycle doesn’t matter. Fashion trends and designer labels don’t matter. The obsession with gadgets like ipods, iphones and ridiculous ring tones, don’t matter. 

No one cares about Beyonce, Rihana and Gaga. No one knows them anyway. The competition for big breasts squished into tiny over-priced-over-seas-sold-in-America outfits don’t matter. The over powering smell of expensive repulsive perfumes, hair sprays, fruity drinks, clacking heels, and bratty demanding I-want-McDonald’s-children-with their Mommy’s and their caked-on-lip-gloss-lips-smacking-gum, and acrylic nails destined to find themselves used as a scrolling tool on a touch screen, all make me cringe. Because they just don’t matter.

Never will I forget the places I walked. The house I built, the meals I ate, the friends I made, the lives I touched, the bed I slept it and the school I learned it. Mostly I will never forget the lives that touched mine. For it’s been a month and, yet more and more with each passing day I realize that all this "stuff" these "things" in my life are all very, very unimportant and unnecessary.

I love being among a people that gets it and gets me. The things we take for granted like having a home, with a toilet, and hot water, most of the people I met don’t even own their own homes. I can’t even begin to describe how modest of a shelter that it is. No one there spends their days redecorating…

The understand the blessing of having a job, no matter what the job is and doing it every day.  There are no sick days or paid vacations where I visited. The opportunity to attend school and become educated, most young people are working to contribute to the family and don’t have this chance, skipping school, dropping out that doesn’t enter their minds. 

A hot meal on the table once a day, every bite is consumed, nothing is wasted and no one turns up their nose because they didn’t like it. Clean clothes and a pair of shoes are a luxury. I met no one who had the ridiculous closet I had before I left. Proper health care is rare. Owning a car hmm I didn’t meet anyone who did.

I love my life here in the U.S.A. please don’t get me wrong, I have wonderful friends and magnificent family. I have a fun job working with amazing people who make me laugh.  I know that I am loved and respected and I love and respect them back. I have a home that I love, a nice car that runs. I have a puppy I cannot bear to be away from…BUT… It’s been a month. And all the things that drive me crazy are resurfacing.

I lived out of a suitcase in a teeny little room for a month and shared that space with a wonderful lady that I barely knew when I left. I realized that I don’t need half the crap that is stuffed in my house, my car, or in my pocketbook most days. I feel overwhelmed in my own home. 

I thought I had simplified my life by cleaning out my closet but I am just not satisfied. It’s time to dig a little deeper. Perhaps it’s more than the stuff that weighs so heavy on me.

I sat back for a moment today and thought about the day Julie and I arrived in San Pedro la Laguna. It was a three hour drive over narrow mountainous roadways that twist and turn to get there, then a 45 minute boat ride. When we arrived we had 5 suitcases. We looked like Sex in the City meets Guatemala. We were so far out of our element it wasn’t even funny. People just stopped and stared we really were quite a sight.

I feel the need lighten my load again. I need to continue to simplify my life and continue to find a way to keep that person closer that I found when I was in Guatemala. Holding on to that Jules is right where I need to be.

I planned on joining a fine team of individuals going to Nicaragua a few weeks from now but, when I returned from Guatemala I became extremely ill and had to back out. I have made the decision that I will be going to Nicaragua in October.

What happens between now and then should be a lot of hard work and perseverance. Keeping the balance with "who I want to be" and "where I am" is a challenge I am up for...

Last night in Antigua until next week...

Jules and Jewles

It was nice to sleep in and recover from the week of construction work we had. Spent the morning lounging about, sipping coffee, washing laundry and packing or bags. Despite a few minor incidents...no water for a bit, sluggish internet, and silly us we got locked out of the half of the house where our groceries computers were.

Old Cathedral in Antigua

 We ventured off into Antigua and wandered about taking in some of the beautiful sites the city has to offer. We saw two weddings...stunningly beautiful brides being brought to the cathedral by horse drawn carriages. 

Embroidery

A short walking distance down the street we visited the Artisans Market. It is an interesting place to visit if you've never been. It feels like a disorganized flea market. People are everywhere, anything you can imagine is for sale, and everyone wants to sell to you. There's no real walking space so you have to pay close attention to where your feet are and keep your bag close. Even if you are paying attention you can get lost. We spend about an hour checking it out.

Our taxi driver Manolo

Making our way back up to the park we hailed a taxi and rushed back to Common Hope to meet our friends Chuck and Sandra. Within moments they had arrived and we scooted out to hop on the chicken bus for a ride to their apartment. Last year the buses were deemed unsafe as there had been a strike and many murders. This year we learned that there has been no problems and it was fine to ride the chicken buses during the day time to get around.

Apartments where Chuck and Sandra live

 The bus dropped us off and we walked a few short blocks to Chuck and Sandra's apartment. Chuck and Sandra are a retired couple, from Iowa, that spend their winters in Antigua. Julie and I worked with Chuck this past week at Common Hope. They were very excited to have us over for a visit. 

Jules, Chuck and little Winston

 Their apartment complex was gorgeous. They welcomed us in for cocktails and were introduced to there two little puppies, Sadie and Winston. They refer to them as "the lads." 

Jewles, Sandra and little Sadie

The four us decided to go out to dinner, Chuck and Sandra suggested Las Palmas. We had just arrived and were taking a photo of our group when the lady at the table next to us asked if we would like her to photograph us all together. When she spoke to us it was in English and within minutes we learned that she and her husband both from Hanover, New Hampshire, were teachers with the Mayan Educational Foundation. We talked with them for several minutes, in Antigua everyone has time for everyone, and people treat one another like they are family.

Sandra, Julie, Chuck and I

 When they delivered our dinner it was the most delicious meal we had eaten all week. The four of us chatted and stuffed our bellies full. Chuck is a retired attorney, and did service work with the Peace Corp and the Episcopal. Sandra was a nontraditional student who went back to school at the age of 52yrs earning her degree in English and Women's Studies. Which just so happens to be my area of interest too. They quickly brought us up to speed on lots of things in Antigua. Julie and I walked away from dinner feeling like we had made life long friends that we definitely will be visiting again.

the cathedral where the weddings took place

 Julie and I arrived back to Common Hope for our last official night here. Tomorrow we will be up bright and early hoping on a bus for Lago de Atitlán (Lake Atitlán). From this leg of our journey forward it is a bit uncertain if we will have internet access or not so bear with us as we transition from Antigua to San Pedro.

Last day working for Common Hope

It was with tears in our eyes, blisters on our fingers, a limp in our step, and overflowing feeling of love and complete satisfaction that we walked away from Pablo this afternoon. Sniffles and giggles thinking of how hard we worked to get here and how hard we worked this week; the funny moments, the silly moments, the painful moments, and the rewarding feeling that comes from knowing one person really can make a difference. 

 

A moment to reflect on all the friends and family who supported us, whether it was the closet cleaning, lightening the load sale, pancake breakfast, 50/50 tickets, or the craft fair. Bought or sold, or just let us know you cared, if it wasn't for all of you –WE  wouldn't have been here.

We danced around the construction site all week, singing, laughing and pounding nails. The two, wonderful men we worked with laughed at us and with us so many times; Felix loved to tease Jewles about her groaning, mimicking her little noises throughout the day. He constantly would say, "Julie no happy. Julie no feliz" and burst into laughter and, Pablo loved to tease both of us for all the nails we bent, missed or just plain couldn't drive into the wood exclaiming, "Ay, Caramaba!" We will miss working with them so much. 

The ladies in the Hospitality Department at Common Hope Lys and Maria went out of their way to make our stay here comfortable. They assisted us in more ways than you can imagine and, have become dear friends, compañeras for life.

We made new friends this week Maura, Rebecca and Chuck. Maura we will no doubt be seeing here again. We loved, loved, loved her energy and spunk. In meeting Rebecca we discovered how small this world is, as she is an MIT student studying with friends of my daughters. Only in Guatemala can you meet someone who knows where Waterville, Maine is and knows two people you know. Chuck our new from Iowa; we are looking forward to having dinner with him and his wife tomorrow night. 

As we walked through the halls of Common Hope and walked back to our room we realized it was time to do our last important task this leg of the trip, giving our donations. We asked Maria and Lys to come to our room and we talked for sometime telling them what we had and how important it was to us to give to them. They couldn't thank us enough. Maria was so touched when she realized the bibles were in Spanish. I will never forget the joy in her voice...

This leg of our journey has come to a close and I once again am filled with peace, joy, and love. 

Tomorrow will be a day of rest, likely a bit of shopping and a lot of pampering, followed by dinner at our friends. Sunday we will be up very early and taking a bus to Lake Atitlan it’s a four hour bus ride and a short boat ride…sounds like an adventure already.

Concrete Angels

Juli & Julie

Jewels and I woke up this morning aching all over from all the hammering and drilling we had done yesterday. Heavy eyes and dragging we made our way to breakfast it was super chilly this morning, broke out the long sleeves, sipping our coffees noticing puffs from the volcano across the way.

Maura & Julie shoveling sand

After breakfast we walked over to the construction site where we met up with Maura, Rebecca, Felix, and Pablito. They were eager to go. When we looked around and saw what they had in store for us we weren't sure we were all that eager to help but, we did. Half an hour in we were back to being a sweaty filthy mess.

crushed rock

We swept out an area they use to pour cement and got it ready for hand style mixing. The four girls each grabbed a wheel barrel and made our way up to the rock pile. Each of us loaded  up and brought down sand, thirteen trips in all. We slowly were piling the sand in the shape of a volcano. After the sand was piled Pablo tossed the concrete mix down from the shelf on the sand. The same bags Julie and I struggled with the other day and Felix at back and laughed at us. 

those awful concrete bags

Once those bags were added to the pile we started to mix the sand and concrete together. Then it was time for another trip for more rocks. This time seven wheel barrels full of crushed stone. Felix and Pablo aren't messing around either, they say thirteen wheel barrels they mean full ones, same with the seven. Felix would look at us and say "mas."

Julie & Pablo mixing the sand and concrete

We then added those to the pile and began mixing the three together everything had to be mixed well. We broke the pile down into three and then back into one again. Only to break it down and make a little volcano and add water and a trench with more dirt around it adding yet more water. Pablo sprayed things down with the hose then Felix took to mixing it with the shovel. Moments later we were filling our wheel barrels up and had begun pouring concrete into the metal frames we oiled yesterday.

the volcano effect

It took all morning to get every mold filled but by lunch we had done just that. 

Maura adding the water

We let things set and went to lunch. Julie & I both could barely move as we made our way across the yard. We didn't complain we just couldn't move. We couldn't decide if we were hurting from hauling rocks or pounding nails, all we knew is we hurt.

crushed rock

Lunch was fast today, we are planning the next leg of our journey so half our break was emailing the next destination to firm up details. When we looked at the clock we both groaned  and hustled down for lunch.

Felix mixing the cement

After lunch Pablo instructed us in how to level out the blocks we made. It was time to smooth out the wrinkles and push the cement into the corners. It made me think of frosting a cake for some reason...I don't know how someone could do this type of work it is backbreaking.

Pablo overseeing Rebecca's craftmanship

The cement was then left to dry for however long it takes to cure. 

Julie leveling everything off

It was another labor intensive day but again it just feels good inside knowing all this hard work and all this effort is going to benefit a family and improve their quality of living. For Julie and I, we are coming to realize a lot about ourselves. We can do anything we set our minds to...Impossible is nothing for these two concrete angels!

Julie and Pablo putting on the finish touches after lunch