Aventuras agrícolas en Guatemala y mucho mas!: iDescanso!

The first semester of school is over! Last week, Julio and I passed out final grades and listened to endless excuses of why a student did not deserve the grade he was given. We enlightened each complainer with the fact that three semesters remain in the school year. Therefore, if they want to improve their grade, they need to improve their punctuality, quality of work and attitude on the job.

"If you want to know how well you worked, ask us before you leave." Julio advised. "You guys always ask, 'Is our time up yet?', but we want to hear, 'What else can I do?' and 'How did I work today?'"

I could not agree more.

Easter break has arrived and I took the opportunity to visit one of my student's family in Chiquibul, Alta Verapaz. Moises León invited me to go home with him this past weekend. He overheard that I wanted to visit Playa Grande, a region in this department, and since he is from that area, he invited me to go home with him to eat fresh tilapia and visit the picturesque lake of Lachuga. With such an offer as that, how could I refuse?

And so this past Friday, we set out for hot, sun-scorched land of Playa Grande. Moi, as his family calls him, has seven brothers and one sister. His father, Julio, owns about 35 acres of land and practices the most intensive version of agriculture that I have seen in Alta Verapaz. His fields are an excellent example of intensive companion planting. One of his maize fields was bordered with two rows of bananas and a row of oranges. Chile was interspersed among the bananas. Where Julio had planted hardwood trees, cardamom was planted in between the rows. I also enjoyed hearing about Julio's plans of a future vanilla cash crop business.

Moises' mother is a busy grandmother who cares for her 5 grandchildren on a daily basis. Most of the children and their spouses live nearby, so the León home is quite a hub of activity. One of Moises' older brothers, Jaime, enjoys fishing with a harpoon gun he made. I accompanied the León brothers on a fish hunt one evening and enjoyed tilapia fish soup the next morning. Marcos, Moises' younger brother, is responsible for operating the family molino business. This machine runs early and late, keeping each home in Chiquibul supplied with the masa used for making tortillas.

And we did visit the lake called Lachuga. It is a beautiful lake amidst a preserved forest. We had a 3.5 km walk through the forest from the preserves' entrance until we arrived at the lake. It was a nice hike! The water was crystal clear, allowing us to have a good view of the large fish inhabiting the lake. Jaime lamented that fishing was forbidden at Lachuga. He wanted to try to bag some of the prize specimens!

All throughout my visit, I sensed that the United States is viewed as the promised land in the eyes of everyone in Chiquibul. One thing they knew for certain: one earns more in one day of work in U.S. than what a worker earns in one week in Guatemala. Having a family member working there is the best way to save for land, a home and to put one's children through school.

"Moises is smart." one of his older brothers told me. "He should go to the United States to work."

"But if all your smart people go the the United States, how will your community improve?" I replied.

I did not get an answer, but I hope they will think more about developing industry in their community. Practically everyone in Chiquibul has at least one family member working in the U.S. Two of Moises' brothers are working in the States. Hearing their rosy view of the U.S. reminded me of college classmates who complained of the boring Pennsylvania life and the excitement of international travel. I suppose we are never content with what we have or where we live.

I thoroughly enjoyed tasting all the fruits Moises' family has growing around their home. I drank cool, refreshing coconut milk from the palms growing outside the house to beat the heat, while others in the family settled for buying the imitation fruity-flavored kool-aids at the neighboring tiendas. I snacked on mangos, rose apples, pineapples, annona, bananas and gnawed on sugarcane while others preferred the little bags of chips and cardboard-like cookies from the neighborhood snack shops. "You have so many wonderful fruits for snacks growing right by your doors that I do not have in the United States!" I exclaimed to the family. "Why do you buy snacks from the tiendas, when you have these free ones?"

I am grateful that I had the chance to learn to know one student and his family better. I hope to learn to know the other students at Bezaleel more each day as we continue into the next semester.