It’s better to be a coward…

The public transportation system in Guatemala isn’t the safest. In fact, as Peace Corps Volunteers we are prohibited from taking public transportation inside Guatemala City. Last Wednesday I headed down to Antigua to spend the night there before heading into the city to have Thanksgiving dinner with a family from the US Embassy. I ended up going with two other volunteers. We got a late start since the axle broke on the bus one volunteer was riding down from her town. The delay meant we missed the last Pullman (think Greyhound) and had to take a Camioneta (think crowded school bus) for the 7-hour journey. Aside from a sore arse and a bit of boredom, things were going just fine until we got outside of Tecpan and three men stood up, pulled out pistols, and demanded all of our money and valuables. Not just the gringos, but also everyone’s. They were equal opportunity robbers. Unfortunately, I had made the tactical error of brining my laptop (free Wireless in Antigua) and my digital camera (to take pictures of turkey?). They had a keen interested in the three gringos on the bus and rightfully so since all told they made off with a couple of laptops, a digital camera, two I-Pods, about $200, my watch, and a bit of my pride. They had the due diligence to feel around my crotch and find my money/passport carrier. Fortunately, they only wanted the cash. For no good reason, I also had my class ring with me, but one of my colleagues was nice enough to hide it after she was frisked. I never did actually find out where she put it, but I suspect it was somewhere that doesn’t get much sunshine if you know what I mean. The ladrones (robbers) had control of the bus for about 45-minutes in total and got off in the middle of nowhere, probably to a getaway car. I have to say, they were quite good at what they did, but I see bad Karma heading their way. This is fairly uncommon and I chock it up to bad luck, and yet common enough that the Guatemalans saw no point in notifying the police. We of course made the necessary phone calls to the Peace Corps and they reacted appropriately. Not cool, but probably not the most danger I’ve ever been in. That night my fellow volunteers bought me the commiserate amount of drinks for an armed robbery at a bar in Antigua. Of course there was an Irishman/Philosopher at the bar who was able to pass on to me some words of wisdom (an ol’ saying in his country said with a thick Irish accent) “It’s better to be a coward for 5-minutes than to live the rest of your life dead”. Wise indeed.

Swearing-In

It is hard to believe I’m actually a Peace Corps Volunteer now. If you weren’t keeping score, we had three months of training before we were sworn in as Volunteers and now the 24-months of service clock starts. If you would have told me 18-months ago that I would be a Peace Corps volunteer I would have told you that you were crazy. The 16th of November we swore it at the Ambassador’s residence. It was a nice ceremony and two members from each host family were invited. I am sure for many of the Guatemalans this was on of the nicest houses they have ever seen, actually now that I think of it, it was one of the nicer houses I had seen too. We were then able to spend the weekend in Antigua-Guatemala, which was a nice change and a good chance to get together with friends before we went off to the four winds. Now it's time to get to work.

Veteran’s Day

I wrote the following e-mail to my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers on Veteran’s Day. I figured some of my blog readers might enjoy it also.

It seems like a lifetime ago and a world away that I was wearing the uniform of our armed forces and yet on this day last year I was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. What a difference a year makes. When I think of Veteran’s I tend to think of my father and my uncles who served in Vietnam and my grandfathers who fought in World War II, but after wearing the uniform for more than ten-years and serving in Iraq and Afghanistan I suppose Veteran’s Day is for me as well. Today I can’t help but think of and pray for the soldiers in the mountains of Afghanistan, the sailors afloat in the Mediterranean, the marines on the ground in Iraq, and the airmen putting jets in the air around the world. I can’t help but remember the many men and women who have given their lives in defense of our nation.

And still I find myself today in Guatemala serving in the Peace Corps. Most people who find out for the first time I traded in my Air Force combat boots for Peace Corps Birkenstocks have some degree of astonishment. It was a very personal decision involving a sincere desire to work at the grassroots level in development and have a rich and deep cross-cultural experience. In the end I consider it a continuation of the same strain of service to our nation that I started when I was sworn into the Air Force.

Although I deployed to some austere locations, I consider myself fortunate to not have seen the face of war in the way that many members of our military do. I refer to them simply as heroes. Over the years I did have the opportunity to drink coffee with a Serbian man who was only a child when the war in Bosnia ended who nonetheless continued to have a deep rooted hatred for Muslims. I met Afghan Air Corps leaders who were working hard for a better and more secure country even though they had known nothing but brutal occupation in their lifetime. I found myself living on a base in Iraq receiving almost daily mortar and rocket attacks from local farmers who in desperation received a small sum of money from insurgents to light the fuse (and run). I heard stories from Koreans who have been separated from their families for more than two generations because of a tyrannical dictator. I have to question where these seeds of hatred come from and what can be done about it. I truly believe that improving the lives of people on an individual level, exposing others to American freedoms, and gaining a better understanding of how others live can have nothing but a positive affect on the world we live in today. That is exactly what we’re doing in Guatemala.

I find far more similarities than differences between the service I am doing now and the service I did in uniform. I found myself then and find myself now surrounded by motivated people who at their core want to make the world a better and safer place. People willing to make significant personal sacrifices. People who want to decrease human suffering and improve the lives of the less fortunate. We hear of decision makers who are hawks and of decision makers who are doves, but I believe war and peace are on more of a spectrum with a lot of ground in the middle. President Kennedy, the visionary of the Peace Corps, served with distinction as a Naval Officer in World War II and I think he understood this too.

Today is not about just or unjust wars, quagmires or long-term strategy, troop surges or withdrawals. Today we don’t talk about a Global War of Terrorism, low-intensity conflict, or nuclear proliferation in an unstable world. Today is purely about remembering the men and women who have served and are serving as soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in our armed forces. I know of no collective body that wants to avoid conflict more than our men and women in uniform. And yet, when they are called to serve, when they are called to put their life on the line, they step forward and do so without hesitation.

I recognize that I’m not the first veteran to serve in the Peace Corps and I’m certain I won’t be the last. Over the years I encountered a number of returned Peace Corps Volunteers who were proudly serving in the Armed Forces. In my mind, they are now making peace in a different way. In my mind I’m still fighting for the same things I fought for when I wore the uniform in a different way.

I have seen war and I have seen peace and I can attest to the fact that peace is better. And while I’m thinking of my brothers and sisters in arms in faraway lands this Veteran’s Day I am proud to be here serving with my brothers and sister in peace. I hope all of you take a moment today to think of and honor the men and women who are serving and have served in our armed forces. If you have a friend in the military drop them an e-mail. If your mom, dad, uncle, or aunt served, give them a call and say thanks. That’s what today’s about.

Sincerely

Paul

Where’s Pauldo?

We got our sites this week. It was fun to find out where we’re each going to spend the next two years. We actually got a map and put it up at a bar in Antigua with pictures of each of the trainess taped to their site. There are three programs in my training class—municipal development, agriculture security (growing stuff) and agriculture marketing (selling stuff). Each program director had the opportunity to get to know us over the course of the last two months and also had visibility on the available sites. We got a chance to give him our druthers, but at the end of the day he tried to match our skills and desires with the needs of the available sites. It would have been fun to be a fly on the wall. I told our program director that I was willing to go anywhere and I wouldn’t mind going “somewhere shitty”. I also menioned that I thought the place I visited where all the men wear red pants would be a good fit. He had other thoughts. We acutally talked the day he finalized the list and he asked if I would be okay with going somewhere else (where they don’t wear red pants). I had to put my trust in him. I’m actually heading up to Tejutla, San Marcos near the border with Mexico. It’s about 1-hour from the main town of San Marcos, not that remote, and not that “shity”. I think the overwhelming reason I’m going there is because the guy who has been there the past two years has been extremely involved in the office and the town’s business and our director wanted to send someone who might be able to continue his level of work. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. I know from experience that it’s much easier to follow a screw-ball or chuckle-head so we’ll see how this goes. The other thing which is slightly unerving is that he was a native Spanish speaker (I you’re reading this you’re a good dude and you did a great job). I’m sure it will all work out just fine. I guess we’ll find out when I head up there in a couple of weeks!

Dia del Muertos – Go Fly a Kite

The first of November was the Dia de Muertos or “Day of the Dead”. It’s also know as All Saints Day. One tradition in Guatemala is to go during the week and paint the graves of your ancestors as well as lay flowers. Many people actually go to the cemetery the night of the 1st for a good part of the night. The other thing that Guatemalans do is fly kites. Not your normal made in china kites that you get a Wal-Mart, but homemade kites of varying sizes. I went over to Santiago to see these kites. There were teams of men flying these kites right from the cemetary which ranged in size from 10 feet to over 100 feet tall. There were made with differing sizes of bamboo and something aproximating tissue paper (I believe it was a higher grade than what we use in gift bags). In a mixture of Mayan and Catholic tradition the thought is that the kites can help you get closer to your ancestors (who are in heaven which is of course on top of the sky). I’m happy to report that the kites over about 30 feet tall weren’t actually flown. I’m assuming is was because of some sort of catostophic disaster that occurred in years past. They certainly looked airworthy and were cool to check out nonetheless.