Welcome to Teculutan

Mid March (and yes, in the midst of a solid month of volunteer groups here), I moved to a city called Teculutan, which is about 40 minutes from my prior residence. I knew shortly after arriving in Guatemala that this change would be happening. We refer to the house as the HIM House. The first picture below is the view from the street. One would never know how much space and housing we actually have behind that outside wall! This house was also built by the teams of volunteers, however, this was years ago. We have an awesome family who lives in the front, streetside house on the property. The middle picture is a view of their house from the inside courtyard. Both Luis and Norma work for HIM and have for about 16 years. Luis is a driver when we have trips here and Norma is the cook for our trips. Luis has also been trained in prosthetics and runs the ROMP (Range of Motion Project) lab year round when the Prosthetists from the States are not here on volunteer trips. He really is a jack of all trades! His English is about at the level of my Spanish so we have fun correcting each other and somehow manage to have a lot of inside jokes.

The picture directly above is what we refer to as the HIM house. The lower level of the house has a large comedor (dining room), bathrooms, and a couple dorm style bedrooms that are used for PA (Physician Assistant) rotations that come from various colleges in the States. They come throughout the year for a month stay to work at the local hospital. These groups range from 2-12 people. Currently, we had one rotation leave April 4th, another arrive April 5th, and another on the 12th. We currently have a full house!

On the upper level is our kitchen/dining area and three large bedrooms with bathrooms. Robin, Lauren, and I (all long term volunteers) each have a bedroom there. I am still trying to get settled in my room and hope that I will be settled about the time I am packing to come back home. Isn’t this how it always goes?!?! Here is the view out the North facing window in my bedroom. And oh ya, who could forget, the chorus of chickens and roosters that reside outside of my window?! Many days, they tend to think it is 6am all day and all night long.

My favorite feature of this house is the rooftop. Those of you that know my love for warmth and sun can see why. I love it even more because someone thought to put in an electrical outlet, so I can actually do much of my computer work from there! I guess I could consider it my office in Guatemala!

Additionally, the yard is overflowing with mango trees, which is wonderful right now as it is mango season. Mangos can be heard hitting the tin roof all day long. There is a plethora of fresh ripe mangos on the ground every morning just waiting to be eaten!

A little about my roommates….Robin is in her late 60s and is a semi retired Realtor in Oconomowoc, WI. One of her daughters who is also a Realtor does much of the work in her absence, but you’d be amazed how much she can still do from here with a cell phone and internet! She has been living here for just over a year and has committed to 3 years. She returns home intermittently for a month at a time. She left for the States recently and will be back here in early June. Recently, Robin added to our house with a puppy named Lydia. She is a good dog, but of course is a puppy so requires, a lot of “NOs” and cleaning up after. Robin has a lot of roles here. She handles much of the logistical info related to the groups that come down. Additionally, she is going to be working on getting our new AA project going, as she also has a background as an alcohol and drug counselor. Pictured below are Robin and Lauren on one of the trip's fiesta nights.

Lauren is in her mid 20s and is from Napa Valley, CA. Prior to coming here she was a preschool teacher and director. This background has allowed her to easily and successfully fall into her role here of setting up a child sponsorship program. She tours local schools and daycares, interviews the family of the child and matches them up with a sponsor in the States. The sponsor's contribution will pay for the child’s school supplies, uniform, shoes, and school fees if applicable. This really is an amazing gift, as many children will drop out of, or not even start school. Usually this is due to one of or a combination of these reasons: lack of money for school related expenses, the parents need for the child to help out at home or work to bring in money, or the parents are not educated so don’t see the value in their children having an education. Lauren has been here since August and unfortunately, will be going home in just over a month. Naturally, given our age, circumstance, desire to travel throughout Guatemala, etc Lauren and I have gotten to be very good friends. Here is just one of the million pictures we have together. This was taken early April as we were able to get a quick break and hitched a ride to Honduras and jumped on a ferry to the beautiful island of Roatan.

As so many of you know, I value relationships. One of the many things that I love so much about Hearts In Motion is the opportunity it allows for me to be in the company of and acquainted with so many fascinating, diverse and wonderful people all at the same time. I am driven and energized by this. There is something very powerful about a group of people working together passionately for a cause that is bigger than the sum of its parts. We allow eachother to do so much more together, than we could on our own. The results are exponential and the bonds long lived. It is a privilege to be a part of this experience.

“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life -- happiness, freedom, and peace of mind -- are always attained by giving them to someone else.” - Peyton Conway March