Traveling Alone

Traveling alone as a single woman in Guatemala is a bit foreign to most Guatemalans. Yesterday, I left on a chicken bus from San Pedro La Laguna to Huehuetenango. It only required two buses and I watched my bags like a hawk. Nothing was stolen and besides one old man asking me while he held my hand when I would return, I’d say it was a successful trip. The things you forget while you’re traveling alone:

• Using a restroom can be extremely difficult unless you can bring all your bags into the outhouse.
• Plan on getting squished up against the window or between two old men.

At the same time, the old men may be very helpful and take you by hand to the next bus you need to catch, as was the case with me. 

I arrived to Huehuetenango (Huehue like “way-way” for short) yesterday afternoon. The city is the third largest city in Guatemala and rarely sees tourists.  Huehue is also known for its mixture between people of Mayan descent (typically speaking Mam or Awakateko) and Ladinos (mixed Spanish and Mayan descent). It lies below the Cuchamantanes Mountains. The mountains are filled with small indigenous villages, including Aguacatán which is the village I’ll be staying in next month to study for my thesis.

I am living at the Spanish school, Xinabajul (a Mam word) and the teachers and family here are incredibly friendly and welcoming. Already the conversations at mealtimes include topics about Huehue’s geographically close location to the Mexican border.  With just an hour and half bus ride to Mexico, it is not surprising that immigration has affected the Huehuetecos. The Mayan people speak Mam and live in both northern Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico.  During the genocide against the Mayan people, the majority of indigenous persons had to flee. Fortunately, Mexico became a safe haven for the Mayan people. Many stayed in Mexico and now identify themselves as Mexicanos, while some returned to their country of origin. More recently, the border is notorious for narco-trafficking. My Spanish teacher said that almost any person in Huehue with nice cars and houses is almost certainly affiliated with drug trafficking.  

Looking at my bedroom window to the entrance of our house/school. Their adorable daughter, Lucia looks out towards the street.

The beautiful Spanish school of Xinabajul.

After four hours of one on one Spanish lessons with Otto Mendoza, I went to La Casa de Materna. I hopped on Otto’s moto and rode on my first moto to the hospital. La Casa de Materna is a clinic for pregnant women who have a high risk pregnancy. The majority are at high risk because this is their ninth or tenth pregnancy.  Many of the women live too far away from a hospital that can give them the necessary help. One woman I met today was from La Mesilla (the Mexican border) while many others were from small towns in the mountains surrounding Huehue. One woman looked about 15 years old while another must have been 50 years old. 

I got a tour of the clinic and met the staff. There are about 25 beds and four beds specifically in the clinic for babies born prematurely.  It was definitely the first time here in Guatemala that I ached for the immense amount of poverty. These babies were two pounds and the smallest I’d ever seen. It was heart breaking. The young woman said she had already lost one baby at birth. Her new baby is named Liliana and was born at seven months after the umbilical cord broke.  She will stay in the clinic for at least another month. The women are required to pay 30 Quetzales (about $4) to stay at the clinic until the birth of their baby. This includes three meals a day, bed, daily check in with doctor/nurse and support.

Then the afternoon got a bit hectic. It begins with me starting to feel a bad stomach ache coming on.  Yes Montezuma arrived while I was at the clinic (and yes I am writing about it). The nurse then shows me into the “leisure room” and all the very pregnant women are sitting on “medicine balls”. I then realize I have been asked to lead exercises for the women who meanwhile are in tons of pain! Por Dios. I faked my way through it because the nurse said, “La jefe va a el clinico!” Apparently, this clinic is privately owned and funded by Americans with an organization called Project Community Impact (PCI). The boss was an American woman and all the nurses were very worried about trying to make the clinic look nice and that the patients were active and not sleeping. Perfect timing.  I attempted to lead some pregnancy stretches on medicine balls while they took some photos, probably for fundraising.  Despite things being hectic, it was great to see a large non profits' ability to make such an impact at the individual level for these women. The nurse said without these clinics there would be little to offer women with high risk pregnancies and many women end up dying during labor.

The Hospital in Huehuetenango. Casa de Materna is behind this hospital.

For an article on the clinic: http://www.pciglobal.org/guatemala/true-reason-for-celebration