I have been waiting for it - but it hasn't happend - yet!
I have done lots of reading about it and certainly talked with people who have experienced it so it is with a bit of trepidation I write that I have not yet experienced it - or have not experienced something that feels really shocking!
I certainly have been aware of the increased pace of life and the greater degree of commercialism. I am also continuing to feel the tug of my new found friends in Guatemala, my slower pace of life and the need to follow up with projects I was involved with. And I am wondering how I will fit in at work; will I be able to bring my carefully cultivated slower pace to my job?
And then again maybe I was not away long enough to experience it?
Or maybe some of the strategies I have been using for reentry are helping. The four day visit to Tofino with my husband was a real treat (even if it was cold and rainy). As well, about a month before I was to return I began thinking about the writing I wanted to do. The biggest piece has been a cultural values analysis of modern Mayan culture. I really enjoyed doing the research and the writing and am loving the feedback I am getting from friends and colleagues in the highlands.
The team I worked with had a potluck a couple of days after I returned so that was a great opportunity to find out how everyone was doing, bring people up to speed on projects still underway and continue discussions on project work which needs to be done here to prepare for the next trip.
I also have had almost three weeks of time to get myself back here and have used the time to think, write, talk to colleagues, walk with friends and to sleep!
We'll see.
Feliz tardes, Colleen
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Bugs and Bites
I am finally done scratching and it occurred to me I did not write at all about bugs and bites while I in Guatemala. I suspect it has to do with coping with what you have to while on the ground. I wanted to share this, not because it was terrible or hugely difficult, but because it is a reality.
Shortly after we got settled in our houses in Santiago I started waking up with bites on my legs, arms and back. The first day or two I just ignored them. Hey, I was new to the country and lots of things were different. When I did eventually mention them to some of the people I was living with they said – you have bed bugs. Horrors!!! What to do?
Thank goodness for Jo who travels with tea tree oil and a spray bottle. A few drops in water and a good spray of all the bed linen every night managed the bugs. They did not stop completely but one or two bites every now and then was manageable. Jo lent me the bottle and I faithfully sprayed every bed I slept in just before bed each night.
I returned the bottle to her three weeks before we were heading home. I was now settled in a new spot and confident that there were no beg bugs. Error! No sooner had the bottle left my possession than I was getting a new kind of bite. Itchier and with more staying power. A few questions to some of the teachers I was working with told me I was now dealing with fleas – presumably from the dog living at the house I was staying at.
So, off I went to find tea tree oil and a spray bottle (that was a bit of a challenge and I ended up having to buy a small bottle of hairspray, dump it out, clean it with hot water multiple times before making my oil/water concoction). The poor dog was banished to the out of doors and was still living with a flea collar when I left.
And did I mention the scorpion? Greg had been warning us to check our bed linen and shoes because scorpions will crawl in and their bites are painful. One of my colleagues had one sleeping on his pillow which thankfully he discovered before he crawled into bed, so I became I bit more vigilant and thankfully so. I found one settled nicely into my bed linens when I checked into Paul’s Posada. Unfortunately for the scorpion he did not make it out of my bedroom – alive anyway.
So bugs and bites are real and especially in the unsanitized reality of the developing world. Ann just as importantly dealing with them is a small price to pay for the rewards which come in building relationships and understanding the world in new ways.
Best, Colleen
Shortly after we got settled in our houses in Santiago I started waking up with bites on my legs, arms and back. The first day or two I just ignored them. Hey, I was new to the country and lots of things were different. When I did eventually mention them to some of the people I was living with they said – you have bed bugs. Horrors!!! What to do?
Thank goodness for Jo who travels with tea tree oil and a spray bottle. A few drops in water and a good spray of all the bed linen every night managed the bugs. They did not stop completely but one or two bites every now and then was manageable. Jo lent me the bottle and I faithfully sprayed every bed I slept in just before bed each night.
I returned the bottle to her three weeks before we were heading home. I was now settled in a new spot and confident that there were no beg bugs. Error! No sooner had the bottle left my possession than I was getting a new kind of bite. Itchier and with more staying power. A few questions to some of the teachers I was working with told me I was now dealing with fleas – presumably from the dog living at the house I was staying at.
So, off I went to find tea tree oil and a spray bottle (that was a bit of a challenge and I ended up having to buy a small bottle of hairspray, dump it out, clean it with hot water multiple times before making my oil/water concoction). The poor dog was banished to the out of doors and was still living with a flea collar when I left.
And did I mention the scorpion? Greg had been warning us to check our bed linen and shoes because scorpions will crawl in and their bites are painful. One of my colleagues had one sleeping on his pillow which thankfully he discovered before he crawled into bed, so I became I bit more vigilant and thankfully so. I found one settled nicely into my bed linens when I checked into Paul’s Posada. Unfortunately for the scorpion he did not make it out of my bedroom – alive anyway.
So bugs and bites are real and especially in the unsanitized reality of the developing world. Ann just as importantly dealing with them is a small price to pay for the rewards which come in building relationships and understanding the world in new ways.
Best, Colleen
Friday, May 1, 2009
Home
I have been home for less than 48 hours and I have to say it all seems a bit surreal.
Normally when I travel internationally I arrive in Vancouver and make my way to the CMA to catch a flight to the Valley, but on Wed morning I was thrilled to have Mark there to greet me as I came out of the secure area. The smile on his face was worth the three months of missing him!
I am pretty tired and find that sleeping 8 - 10 hours a night is what I need (I was sleeping less that 6 most nights in Guatemala) even though I am not doing a whole lot physically. My life here seems to be very accessible - the strangest things are drinking water right out of the tap and flushing toilet paper rather than throwing it in to a basket beside the toilet. It great to have spring here with the warm sun, the smell of the sap and lots of spring wild flowers blooming in our yard.
Lots of people have talked to me about reverse culture shock and of course I have read alot about it. I have also been wondering about what I can do to mitigate and cope with it. The liteature says time to debrief is really important, and that combined with some patience, given that it can take up to six months for those who have been away a long time, seems to be the key to adjusting.
I have been doing a fair amount of writing over the last couple of weeks in addition to my daily diarizing and my blogs. I am wondering if this attempt to capture some of my thinking and my understanding will help. During the next couple of weeks I will be in contact with some folks in Guatemala as they review my writing which I suspect will also help me with my reentry.
I am off to a team pot luck tonight. I am the last to arrive home and it was kind of them to give me a couple of days to get my body and mind back on Canadian soil before the get together. Some of the folks have been home for other a month so it will be interesting to compare notes on how their reentry has been.
I am also looking forward to beginning the process of working through my 4000+ photos with a view to preparing a couple of presentations as well as finding some photos to create cards and some special gifts as well. I hope that a 30 minute slide presentation will provide me with some ways to share what I have learned with others - and help me find another way to be back here.
I'll do some more reflecting on the reentry over the next couple of weeks. Suffice to say that this first week is mostly about getting some rest, connecting with friends and family and doing some practical things like seeing my dentist and getting my hair cut.
Back to you in a few days
Colleen
Normally when I travel internationally I arrive in Vancouver and make my way to the CMA to catch a flight to the Valley, but on Wed morning I was thrilled to have Mark there to greet me as I came out of the secure area. The smile on his face was worth the three months of missing him!
I am pretty tired and find that sleeping 8 - 10 hours a night is what I need (I was sleeping less that 6 most nights in Guatemala) even though I am not doing a whole lot physically. My life here seems to be very accessible - the strangest things are drinking water right out of the tap and flushing toilet paper rather than throwing it in to a basket beside the toilet. It great to have spring here with the warm sun, the smell of the sap and lots of spring wild flowers blooming in our yard.
Lots of people have talked to me about reverse culture shock and of course I have read alot about it. I have also been wondering about what I can do to mitigate and cope with it. The liteature says time to debrief is really important, and that combined with some patience, given that it can take up to six months for those who have been away a long time, seems to be the key to adjusting.
I have been doing a fair amount of writing over the last couple of weeks in addition to my daily diarizing and my blogs. I am wondering if this attempt to capture some of my thinking and my understanding will help. During the next couple of weeks I will be in contact with some folks in Guatemala as they review my writing which I suspect will also help me with my reentry.
I am off to a team pot luck tonight. I am the last to arrive home and it was kind of them to give me a couple of days to get my body and mind back on Canadian soil before the get together. Some of the folks have been home for other a month so it will be interesting to compare notes on how their reentry has been.
I am also looking forward to beginning the process of working through my 4000+ photos with a view to preparing a couple of presentations as well as finding some photos to create cards and some special gifts as well. I hope that a 30 minute slide presentation will provide me with some ways to share what I have learned with others - and help me find another way to be back here.
I'll do some more reflecting on the reentry over the next couple of weeks. Suffice to say that this first week is mostly about getting some rest, connecting with friends and family and doing some practical things like seeing my dentist and getting my hair cut.
Back to you in a few days
Colleen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
