Clearly I have fallen behind in keeping this blog udated. I am working on the book, however. The good news is that nothing dramatic has happened in 2019. The father/grandfather of all except Diego. Alex, remains incarcerated and gladly we have no news. He is in year nine of a sixty-eight year sentence. No one misses him.
Jackie, 23, continues working at the Antigua Green School where I am now a part owner. Late last year we hired a new, Guatemalan director and the school has really taken off since then. In January with the start of the new school year enrollment is up some sixty percent and the school will be launching a new curriculum designed by an American women with credentials from Columbia University. Jackie, in addition to working full time and raising six-year old Liam will graduate from university a year from now as a professional teacher.
Liam, 6, enjoyed his first ever visit to the ocean.
In June Astrid, 20, graduated from the Antigua International School and she is still in recovery from no longer having massive amounts of homework. As a graduation gift I took her to London where she attended a future doctor internship at the University College of London medical school. She stitched up a banana beautifully. She is taking a gap year and working to save money so that she can apply to medical school in Guatemala for January, 2021. Currently, she is working in a call center taking calls from irate, or confused Lyft customers. In January she will start working for our dentist running his front office. Less money but more time with Beyker, her three old son.
Astrid at the top of the Shard in London
Denis is working part-time doing office work, is the estate manager for Casa Broccoli and is a devoted uncle to both Liam and Beyker. Beyer loves school, books, swimming and blueberries.
We had to make an emergency run for blueberries.
Diego, who turned seventeen in November, is currently in Colombia with the family of his best friend from school. He left mid-November and flew on his own to Cuenca, Ecuador where he met up with his pal and his pal's mother, who was working there. At the end of the month the two flew to Bogota where they met up with the friend's father. They will go to Cútuca, Colombia (on the border with Venezuela) for Christmas with grandparents and back to Bogota for New Year's returning to Guatemala for the start of school in January.
Sebastian (l) and Diego (r) in Cuenca, Ecuador
Cris and Mishell, now twelve and eleven respectively, say that they sort of miss their brother but are enjoying the run-up to Christmas. They particularly like making cookies. I took them to the annual Christmas concert "under the stars" in the ruins of the San José Cathedral. Gladly, they enjoyed it especially the candles and fireworks during the Hallelujah Chorus. Cristofer even had a favorite soloist.
We also made the annual trek up the hills to cut a Christmas tree. Gladly, Mundo Posible has a truck which makes the twelve kilometers off road an easier journey.
Cristofer, Jackie, Liam, Mishell, Astrid and Beyker
For our annual Christmas photo this year we had to create a collage given the wanderings of Diego.
Upper right, Diego, lower L-R Mishell, Denis, Liam, Cris, Jackie, Astrid and Beyker.
After a frenzied few weeks it is as quiet as it ever gets in Antigua this Christmas morning. The locals party most of the night and the local, very Guatemalan, grocery store closes its doors for the only day in the year. Earlier in the month we made the annual trek to the Christmas tree farm and, apparently, this year's tree was a bit too big for the stand as it fell over twice. It is now tied to a wall mounted light fixture. I went to dinner with a friend the evening that we brought it home and Diego phoned me at the restaurant to tell me "the tree fell down again but we put it back up."
And then there was a day of baking cookies. They seem to enjoy the process as much as the product.
There was a birthday party for Joaquin, a friend of Cristofer's on the 21st. Next to Diego is his girl friend of over a year now, Mia. Her mom and I keep pretty close tabs on the two.
A Christmas party found Cristofet in charge of the children in the basement. We moved the microwave down there and gave him a Costco-sized box of popcorn, guacamole, chips and Christmas flavored movies.
And then, at last, the big day.
Liam, son of Jackie, aged 5 1/2
Beyker, son of Astrid, aged 2 1/2
Cristofer, 12 in January
Late in the day of Christmas Eve I delivered all of them to their homes for their family celebrations. Less than an hour after arriving at a dinner party Diego phoned and pleaded with me to come and pick him up on my way home as "there is no one my age here." There was no one in my house his age either. I guessed that, after spending much of his time at my house, that he couldn't make it back over the cultural divide. I collected him and he went with a group of elders to see the Christmas lights in central Antigua and look in on a couple of Christmas masses.
All seems fairly well at the moment. Astrid will graduate from the International School in June and plans to enter medical school at the public university in Guatemala City. She expects to be there for ten years emerging as a pediatrician. Diego and Cristofer can't wait for school to start again in January. Under new direction their school with its focus on green, sustainable, project-based learning is a pretty exciting place to spend their days. Mishell is going through some pre-teen angst no doubt compounded by pressure from her mother who may be leaning on her last child and only daughter to stick around and take care of her. She tells Estela my housekeeper that Diego has abandoned their mother which may, in fact, be the other way around. I don't ask questions as I don't think they have the answers. Everyone, except Denis, returns to school on the seventh of January. Jackie as a teacher for the Montessori pre-kinder program.
Best wishes for a prosperous, peaceful and, hopefully, sane 2019!
Beyker, Astrid, Denis, Cristofer, Mishell, Jackie, Liam and Diego
I have been reminded that I have been delinquent about staying up to date with this blog. I just re-read my last post and realized that I was a year off on the ages of both Denis and Jackie. Jackie is twenty-two now and Denis is twenty-one. Jackie's son, Liam, will be five later this month and Astrid is eighteen and her son, Beyker, was two in June. Diego is still fifteen and Cris and Mishell, eleven and ten respectively.
Now that everyone's age has been established I am pleased to say that there is nothing dramatic to report. No one is pregnant. Alex is still in jail and there is very little news of him, gladly. I suspect that Marielos, who does not do much else, still pays him the occasional visit. Why remains a mystery to me and to her family as well.
Cristofer engrossed in the World Cup, Uno not so much.
Earlier this year a family knocked on my door and asked if I would consider selling them my other house. I indicated that I could be. They asked the price which I immediately increased by $10K. They asked me for a discount as all good Guatemalans would do and I dropped the price by $10K. They shook my hand and the deal was done. So, I only have one house to maintain which is a bit of a relief. The resulting cash has allowed me to become an investor in the school that five of the kids now attend, the Antigua Green School. Cash was needed to hire a new director and to upgrade the facilities and materials. As I believe that education is key to everything else why not?
Astrid will soon start her senior year at the Antigua International School (not to be confused with the Antigua Green School). She remains steadfast in her determination to become a pediatrician and has a list of schools she plans to apply to in the fall both here in Guatemala, in Canada and Spain. I have reminded her that a scholarship will be required as there is a limit on the bank of Tía Joan. Unlike in the U.S. it is possible for her to enter directly into medical school in other countries.
Beyker, 2, son of Astrid. Loves school.
Jackie is caught up in the changes at the Antigua Green School. I think she will probably survive the upcoming management change as she was heard to say that she welcomed a new director "who would listen to my ideas." I have been pleasantly surprised at how she has matured and learned to think for herself. Perhaps, becoming a mother at seventeen had something to do with that.
Liam, Jackie's son, will be five this month. He loves school too.
Denis remains at loose ends not for a lack of applying for jobs. He recently worked at a fancy hotel for a wedding and brought me a large bouquet of flowers that were left over. I would like him to have some goals and take charge of his life but I think that needs to happen from within and not from my counsel at this point. He is very good with both of his nephews who refer to him as "papa." At least they have a father figure who is a kind, good person.
Diego remains a delightful kid but he too needs a kick in the pants now and then. When school is not in session he more or less lives at Casa de Tía Joan which gives him easy access to his friends who are also his classmates. He has a mountain bike and rides in races with a couple of friends and their fathers. The other families are all very good to him and often I don't see him for days but get a stream of text messages telling me where he is and who he is with.
A week or so ago Diego rode in a very hard race. He had a flat tire and didn't have a spare tube. A friend inadvertently went off with his helmet and more. He saw a man who appeared to not be well. He was walking slowly, stumbling even, along side of his bicycle. Diego went over to the man and offered him a bottle of an electrolyte drink that he had which the man gladly accepted. Diego managed both bikes and walked with the man to the finish line. They talked and the man asked Diego what he wanted to do when he finished school. Diego told him that he wanted to be a software engineer. Before they parted the man gave Diego his name and phone number. He told him to call when he finished school and that he would give him a job. Well done, Diego. Now, would you please do the presentation for your entrepreneurship class?
Diego (right) and his pal, Sebastian.
Cristofer has suddenly experienced an educational spurt. His English has improved vastly and he loves the idea of having homework. He has become computer literate and, most afternoons, will ask if he can use the computer to do some research. Most recently it was the flags of Europe. Did you know that there are fifty-one countries in Europe (not to be confused with the European Union)?
Mishell is experiencing both an early puberty and an early adolescence which I am not entirely sure I want to deal with again. The thought of yet another pregnant teenager leaves me quite cold. I am trying everything to keep her distracted. She has an English tutor, classes in piano, hip hop and gymnastics but the jury is still out on whether any of that can overcome the influence of her mother. My hope is that she will surprise me one day soon.
Beyker, Mishell and Astrid. Phone time.
The biggest news during the first half of 2018 was the volcanic eruption just a few miles down the road on June 3rd, an otherwise quiet Sunday afternoon. Hundreds if not thousands are dead or missing. Thousands are living in shelters and now temporary housing. Two months later funerals are still going on with entire families being buried in a single grave, eight, nine, ten coffins many of them small. Bodies of family members are still being found in their homes under ten feet of lava. A former gardener of mine at the other house was one of the first casualties. Several years ago he qualified to become a volunteer bombero or fireman. He and his partner were the very first responders and, to date, their ambulance has not even been found under tons and tons of volcanic material. What once was the highway to the coast is now impassable. There is a new river in the middle of a vast lava field. Just down what once was the road an entire community was buried alive. This video was made by a journalist friend. It shows the highway about ten miles down the road towards the coast.
So, el volcán Fuego, which once was exciting to see during its increasingly frequent eruptions is now looked at in a much different light. There is a new crater on the south side where the pyroclastic material exploded out with little warning covering the village of San Miguel Los Lotes. Adjacent to Los Lotes was a very elegant golf course and luxurious residential community. It had some of the most stunning views in the world but many wondered why anyone would live there as the elders all knew that lava had once covered the area. Lava is once again covering most of the area and has destroyed the common areas, the elegant clubhouse and restaurant that overlooked the golf course with views to the Pacific. The tenth hole has gone down the newly created river of lava. The multi-million dollar homes are undamaged but without basic services and the area has been deemed uninhabitable by the government. Not surprisingly the insurance companies are denying responsibility. I heard yesterday of one woman who had just completed construction three weeks before the eruption. Two million US dollars. Not only will the insurance company not pay but she is being required to continue to pay her maintenance fees despite there being no water, sewer, electricity or access. However, these people were all evacuated hours before the eruption and the authorities seemed to have forgotten about the poor in the adjacent village.
After two weeks of digging through ten feet of lava this family found the remains of their loved ones
Here where one expects nothing from the government people were in the streets hours after the eruption soliciting donations. Chef José Andrés was in Antigua within days and set up his World Central Kitchen in two locations. His group has been supplying thousands of meals daily and also installed a commercial gas range in an isolated village high up on the offending volcano so that the women can cook for the community. Slowly, land is being purchased by good samaritans such as singer Ricardo Arjona and NGOs and houses are being built for some three thousand people left homeless.
Thousands of meals every day courtesy of the World Central Kitchen
One of the reasons I like living in Guatemala is because the people are so friendly and accommodating. Everyone, gringo and local, pitched in and made sandwiches, cut vegetables for the World Central Kitchen. Students helped out at the shelters where some 3500 people have been living. They wandered the streets with donation boxes.
The van driver who takes Cris and Mishell to school gladly helps Cris load up his bicycle on the days when he needs it. In exchange Mishell gives him home baked cookies. Teachers at the school give Diego a ride home when his bicycle has a flat tire. Another teacher just helped Diego decide between two pairs of shoes. Some much of what goes on here would be against the law in other countries. It is very refreshing. People just giving each other a hand.
It has been a while since I have updated this blog which means that nothing terrible has happened so far this year. I am knocking a tortilla on a piece of wood as I write.
Jackie is almost twenty-one and her son, Liam, was four in August. Jackie continues to work as a teaching assistant at the Antigua Green School. Liam is in his third year in the school's Montessori "baby" program. In January he will move up to kinder. As Liam finishes school at 12:30 and his mother needs to stay all day Jackie has a financial arrangement with a chicken bus driver who picks the boy up every day and sees him safely to his village where he is collected by a woman who looks after him in the afternoons. He might well be the youngest solo chicken bus rider in the country. Liam thinks coming to my house is akin to going to Disneyland (which he likely has never heard of). He points my house out to everyone on the chicken bus, "Tía Joan house," and has even entertained the passengers by telling them that "Tía Joan can swim under water." Yes, she can. Liam's mom works all week and attends university classes all day Saturday. She is in her third year of university studies to become a professional teacher and is first in her class. No, I don't see much of her.
Liam and his best friend, Bridget.
Denis, soon 20, has been working full-time since graduating from high school. The lure of money. When he is not working he is at the gym bulking up. He passes by my house most Saturday afternoons to use my scale and my Internet. Clearly he thinks a weight gain is a positive thing. Gladly, he has discovered that he is working too many hours for too little money and with the encouragement of a friend talks about taking the entrance exams to the University of San Carlos.
I guess it was bound to happen but now that Denis is more or less an adult his sleazy father is asking, even demanding, that he come to see him in prison. Denis continues to decline the invitation. As Alex has shown no interest in his daughters one can only conclude that his interest in Denis is about weaving him into his web of nastiness. The assumption is that Alex has money stashed somewhere. Why would one engage in kidnapping if not for profit? He likely sees Denis as the most vulnerable and the one most likely to help him recover his resources with little or no risk of loss. Recently Denis ran into a sister of his father's at a gas station and she told him "your father says if you don't go see him he will take care of you when he gets out." Given that Alex will probably be in his eighties if he gets out alive it wasn't a great threat. But still not a nice memory of his father.
In addition, Denis is now being taunted at the gym by deliquentes who haven't forgotten Alex's criminal history and have made the usual assumption that, yes, there is money stashed somewhere and Denis is the most likely person to know where it is. Denis said he would go to a different gym but both his mother and I are encouraging him to take the university exams and go to Guatemala City, get an apartment with his friend and a job and enjoy the university. Time to get out of town.
And then there is Astrid. Eighteen years old, mother of a eighteen month old, and an almost straight A student in English at the Antigua International School. While she is (sort of) old enough to be a parent she was not, this past summer, old enough to have a proper job. She tried to get a summer job with a call center and they wanted her but couldn't take her as she was not yet eighteen. So, she spent her summer vacation volunteering for WINGS (www.wingsguate.org) counseling students about the trials and tribulations of unprotected teen age sex. One week she addressed a group of three hundred. Many young girls are taking her aside and asking for help and she is taking them to WINGS for the services they provide. The director of her school told me "we are very proud of Astrid." Astrid wants to go to medical school when she graduates in another year and a half.
Beyker and his mum, future doctor
Diego, fifteen, has taken charge of his own education it would seem. He is teaching himself to write computer code and edit videos by watching YouTube videos. Recently he was recognized by the Internet Society as one of "25under25." This was a global competition to identify twenty-five people under the age of twenty-five who use the Internet in innovative ways to make a difference. Diego was recognized for his volunteer work with Mundo Posible (www.worldpossible.org) in deploying online educational resources to rural schools that do not have Internet. In September Diego and his "chaperone," Tía Joan, were flown to Los Angeles for a celebration and networking event with the other twenty-four awardees. Diego now has friends like himself all over the world. He routinely chats online with Mary in Kampala, Uganda.
Recently Diego attended a "Tech for Change" conference in Guatemala City. One of the speakers was Luis von Ahn, the Guatemalan developer of reCAPTCHA and Duolingo. Diego came away saying that he was going to create something even greater than Duolingo. No doubt he will.
Diego and his new international pals. Mary is on the far right in red.
The Guatemalan-Irish twins Mishell, now nine, and Cristofer, ten, continue to flourish and are rarely apart though this past year they were in different classrooms. Mishell is taller than her older brother and loves working with an English tutor. Cristofer has opted for working on Duolingo. He hasn't yet given up his baseball cap.
Cristofer doing his daily routine on Duolingo to improve his English.
Mishell graduated from lower elementary to 4th grade in upper elementary.
Liam in his pre-school graduation outfit
My nephew, John, visited for a few days and we went to the Pacific coast with Cris, Mishell and Diego.
Cristofer enjoying the surf and warm water.
John acting as lifeguard.
We also made a trek into the hills to find the perfect Christmas tree as in the past and, sure enough, we found it. Happy Holidays!
L to R: Astrid, 18, Denis, 19, Cris, 10, Beyker, 18 months, Mishell, 9, Liam 4, Jackie, 21, Diego, 15.
Another year has sped by and the Guatemalan holiday season was officially
launched on the seventh of December with the burning of an effigy of the devil.
This year mischief makers erected a rather voluptuous female devil, allegedly modeled
after Antigua’s first ever female mayor. Yes, she is blonde. The new devil quickly disappeared after the local
authorities put their heads together and reappeared sporting a bra and a baby.
The devil, laced with fireworks and doused with gasoline was set afire, oddly
between two gas stations. This year she was accompanied by several Donald Trump
piñatas with devil horns. This event symbolizes clearing the bad spirits out of
one's house in time for Christmas.
The she devil was burned along with piñatas of
Donald Trump on December 7th.
The highlight of this year's Christmas season was a packed to overflowing concert in the ruins of the cathedral. Midway through the concert there was a stunning display of fireworks visible through the never restored ceiling.
Site of the Christmas concert
On the afternoon of December 24th, Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, Antigua starts to shut down andfamilies visit the churches to see
their nacimientos, manger scenes, often very elaborate. At midnight there is a full
half hour of fireworks from every corner of the Panchoy Valley. The locals then
party until dawn with tamales, fruit punch and gifts while the gringos take to
their beds. Then it is fairly quiet until the New Year's festivities start with
a procession of the Virgin of the New Year in nearby San Miguel Dueñas. Some
sixty convites, dancers in very elaborate costumes representing Mayan
gods and conquistadors, dance through the streets until late in the evening. On New Years' Eve the
center of Antigua is closed off to traffic and the festivities start at four
o'clock with marimba and indigenous dance competitions. Central Park is packed
with people from all corners of the world, young and old. Vendors sell
everything from noisemakers, candy cotton, inflatable airplanes and large paper
lanterns that pepper the sky after being set adrift by a fire lit in the base.
At midnight there is yet another half hour of fireworks welcoming in the New
Year.
Convite dancer in San Miguel Dueñas
You would really think that the energy that
goes into the holiday season was a once in a lifetime event like winning the
World Cup. But it comes around annually with the same amount of enthusiasm
each time. Partying is very serious business not to be taken lightly in Guatemala.
For those of you who might be wondering how the last blog report
played out the three younger children returned to their aunt's home once I
realized that the whole business was yet another ruse likely authored by the
incarcerated Alex to attempt to get me to pay for housing for their mother,
Marielos. From his not so lofty perch Alex apparently doesn't understand that
the woman scarcely takes care of her children as it is. If she had her own
place they would likely starve to death.
About the time they returned home Diego and Cristofer both
participated in a graduation ceremony at school. Diego graduated from primary
school and Cristofer from lower elementary (in the Montessori tradition) to upper
elementary. Marielos and her sister (the very one who had allegedly thrown her
and her children out on the street) made a huge fuss about the graduation
taking Diego off to the market where they completely overdressed him for the
occasional in a funereal black suit and tie. Then, quite expectedly, not one
member of the family showed up in time for the graduation ceremony. Diego had
been in tears behind the scene, his teachers reported, and it pained me to see
him continue to glance around looking for his mother. She and the rest of the
family showed up after the ceremony but on time for the free food.
Diego's primary school graduation. Moving up to middle school.
It has become an annual ritual to trek uphill for about an hour
to a remote Christmas tree farm. A four wheel drive is necessary to navigate
the seven off road kilometers into the facility which is surprisingly elegant.
There is a small, shallow lake with plastic row boats. One year I had to roll
up my pants and walk in and rescue the boaters who hadn't yet mastered the oars. A rugged vehicle takes you to the area where the desired size of trees are. Then there is
a scattering of children as each one picks a different tree. Finally, there is
a consensus and two men with a chainsaw take over. Back down to base camp while waiting for the tree
to be delivered and secured to the car there is a feast of tortillas, chorizo,
guacamole and hot chocolate (yes, it is cold up there).
Mishell, Liam, Jackie and Cristofer find the perfect tree.
This year Jackie's son, Liam, who is three and a half, went along
for the first time along with his 21-year old mother, his thirty-nine year old grandmother,
Estela, Cris, Mishell and Diego. Jackie continues working full time at the Antigua Green School while taking care of Liam and attending university classes all day on Saturdays.
Liam enjoying his first trip to the Christmas tree farm.
Astrid, who turned seventeen in November, is astounding everyone
at her international school where she is a sophomore. She is on target to receive mostly As, some Bs,
while taking excellent care of her six-month old son. She has an A- in an AP
economics class given in English by the director of the school who was one of the first to
say that she could never return to that school while raising a baby. Go Astrid!
Astrid has a lot on her plate for a seventeen-year old.
Denis has graduated from high school and becomes one of the 25%
of Guatemalans with a high school education and graduating from a private
program gives him an advantage over many in that group. He has secured a decent
job with possibilities so it remains to be seem whether or not he will see the
advantages of continuing his education. Perhaps, in time, but right now he is working six days a week and the boss likes him. He plans to ask for Saturdays off to pursue university classes. Attending university all day on Saturday is common for those who need to work during the week.
Astrid, Baiker, Mishell, Denis, Liam Jackie, Cristofer and Diego
Diego, now fourteen, has jumped into adolescence, but gladly his
obsessions right now include chess, Rubik's cubes and long sessions of Dungeons
and Dragons with classmates. He has announced his intention to learn Java script by watching YouTube videos.
Cristofer and Mishell are now fairly fluent in English, proficient in the board game Rumikube and are looking forward to returning to school. Mishell loves to read and was very excited about a pile of books that she received for Christmas. Cristofer is a born comedian who loves school, math and being helpful.
Cristofer, ten in January, enjoys playing Santa
We had another good sized eruption from the volcano, Fuego, to close out the year and remind us how unimportant we are in the overall scheme of things.
Fuego celebrating the end of 2016.
2017 brings another trip to Cuba in January with a pre-school classmate in the hope that travel to that island won't soon be restricted by the new administration. Shoulder surgery in February will probably send me back to Spanish school for six weeks since I won't be able to do much else. I also look forward to some more road trips with Mundo Posible (www.worldpossible.org) to very rural parts of Guatemala where we distribute educational resources to schools that have little or none.
Teachers seeing Wikipedia and the Khan Academy for the first time.
