Then and Now

Seems unlikely that I would find myself at Mayan ruins on the tail end of a work trip, but here I am lying under a huge pine tree in the midst of what was once at important city: Iximche. What remains now, forces your imagination to run wild: important ceremonies, human sacrifices, the comings and goings of people from the surrounding villages, a soccer type game, using a ball similar in weight to a bowling ball, that ended in death, weddings, births. It was an elaborate and complex society that only the impressive trees remember seeing. The wind rustles their leaves as if trying to whisper the story of this place and the birds chirp and fly by, as they always have. It is the most peaceful and serene place I have been in Guatemala and there are few things better than finding a quiet, breezy place where you can lay and watch the clouds roll by as the symphony of sounds plays a one time show.

Yesterday was a 18-hour day. All that time was used to visit two homes, eat a couple of meals and compile the information from the interviews and photos.

6:00 am found me taking a taxi to a direct bus that had been cancelled, so a “chicken bus” it was. Three exciting hours later, I hopped on a motorbike with Jose, the Habitat promoter, for a nearly three-hour ride on unpaved roads to the first home. The scenery was stunning as the motorbike struggled to carry us up and down the numerous mountains and along the ridges. The steep mountainsides proudly displayed their crops and were dotted with workers tending them. Textures and hues of green varied as we crossed through many microclimates and in front of some homes, women were crouched down on their knees, weaving away on their looms, as they have for generations. As the day-to-day life whizzed past, it was so easy to see the connection these people had to the land and place. They learn skills at a young age and many will teach their own children the same thing in the same place. Is it important to pass down skills from one generation to the next? I think so and maybe those skills are what we are knowledgeable in and we find to be useful wherever we are in the world.

Mejia family

Barely able to get off the motorbike, I hobbled down to the first house. It was the first time I had seen a home that was given as a gift with no payment expected. The Mejia family’s previous home (a one room, adobe walled, dirt floor, tin roof sleeping area) was destroyed, in December of 2009, during Tropical Storm Agatha. For the past year, the family of 10 slept in an even smaller adobe room, connected to the kitchen. Financially, there was no way to repair or even consider building a new home, so life went on. The family lives three hours by bus, on unpaved roads, from the nearest town but the father heard about Habitat helping victims of Agatha while working in the capital city. A year passed with no word, more money was donated for Agatha victims and then came the news that they would be given a house. Two months later, their new three roomed home was ready. All three rooms will be used for sleeping and it is surely a much warmer night’s sleep with no worry of the house washing away. The family is full of thanks, overflowing with joy and still in awe. Their smiles and kindness wrapped around me like a blanket and made me feel the warmth of the human spirit.

The Mejia family's old home

New home

The two and a half hour ride back was bumpy and my legs could barely be convinced to stay in place to hold me on but I was pleased with what I had seen and I felt lucky to be in the moment. With a new appreciation for paved roads, a quick lunch and two more hours riding, I found myself at the second home. Flora and her two daughters greeted me with big smiles and curious glances. Their family of seven had been taking cover in the kitchen when their tin walled and roofed home was ripped away during Agatha. They managed to put it back together, in a sense, but there were gaping holes and a certainty that it would not withhold the rains that are soon to start. A year also passed before they got the news that they would receive a free Habitat home, and it was a huge surprise when the materials started to arrive. They are beyond grateful and after 26 years, they will have a sturdy, warm, dry home. Volunteers did not build either of these houses and it seems that I was the American face that had the pleasure of accepting their gratitude. Many people don’t see or realize the direct impact they have on other’s lives but I am certain that if we put forth the energy to help others, we can rest assured that somewhere things are just a little better. 

Old home

New home

I arrived back at my hotel after dark and when I looked in the mirror, I saw a dirt-covered face with a huge grin. My body ached, I was mentally drained and I was filthy from all the dusty roads and black smoke of buses, but I felt recharged. I drank a beer, had some dinner and wrote and emailed the reports and photos just before midnight. Dormí como una piedra! (I slept like a rock)

She asked for a picture with me.