Well, this may be the beginning of an interesting story and adventure, at least thats what I hope. On June 21, 2007 I leave for my internship with the Long Way Home in Comalapa, Guatemala, a rural town in the Highlands comprised mostly of indigenous Mayans. The history of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala is long and impressive, while the recent history is fresh and still very ugly, as the the Peace Accords of 1996 signaled the first real ceasation in violence since the early 1950's. Yet, despite its current poverty, racism and inequalities Guatemala offers a unique Latin American history and learning experience, particularly as U.S. citizen. With a prevalent and culturally rich indigenous population experiencing a revitalization both socially and politically the natural landscape and history of Guatemala is beginning to shine once again, in a "New Dawn" as they say.
The Long Way Home is a kind of community center as I understand it; with community buildings, soccer fields, basketball courts, an organic garden, indigenous arts center and tree farm. I will be doing physical work for this aid and development organization, building and maintaining infrastructure, gardening, hauling, digging, etc. I hope to be integrated into the community a bit as well, hopefully practicing my Spanish and picking up some Kiche(an indigenous Mayan dialect). But certainly I will be doing my fair share of physical labor; digging, hoeing, hammering and the like.
While I'm in the community I am interested in learning about the their experiences during the early 1980's, when many say the government exacted a genocide against its own indigenous population. But I would really like to learn what, if any, political and social solidarity among indigenous and Ladino populations came about as a result of the state terror. Or what kind of activist and development groups or social and political movements have been involved with the community since.
I plan to see some beautiful sites as well like Lago Atitlan, the Mayan ruins at Tikal, and possibly all 32 volcanoes in the country. And hopefully there will be a hurricane that I'll have to avoid. Talk to you next from Guatemala...
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