Christmas 2010 - Lawrence, KS

 

 

 

 

This year, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Lawrence, KS with our two kitty gatos, Smokey and Sadie (the Goat). While we missed seeing the family, it was fun to watch the cats go crazy with the tree and excessive amounts of cat nip!

Maple Leaf Festival 2010

 

 

 
The Maple Leaf Festival started in 1958 in Baldwin City, Kansas. It began as a community even inspired by Dr. Ivan Boyd, a biology professor at Baker University, also located in Baldwin City. Dr. Boyd stated that the third weekend of October was the best time to observe the changing colors of the Maple leaves as well as celebrate a successful harvest.

Now, more than fifty years later, the event continues to attract hundreds of people (as we noticed as we were waiting in the slew of cars on the turnpike). With over 300 craft exhibits, quilt shows, performing arts, live music, and unique fair food, it is a family-friendly event with something for everyone. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for local non-profits to raise funds.

Once we found parking, we held back the temptation to try the BBQ sandwiches at the firetruck to see what the billowing smoke could mean in terms of meat cooking on a grill. We began to make our way through the crowds, stopped off to buy a lemonade from a group of kids with a lemonade/grape kool-aid stand, and finally ended at a huge grill with a variety of animals to choose from. We settled on a brat, a hamburger, and an order of nachos with the liquid cheese.

After we ate, we started walking back through the streets to check out the quilt display and some of the craft vendors. All the while, we reminded ourselves that we needed to make it back to the stand with the huge cookies. So, at the end of the day, we returned to the stand which packed full of homemade goodies.  Just as I saw the word, "Patchouli" on what we originally thought were cookies, I knew that something had gone wrong. Nope, not cookies; rather, they were homemade soaps made from goat products.

Luckily, on the other side of the stand, there were some assorted jams, breads, and a couple of baggies of cookies. I picked out a large jar of blackberry jam, a loaf of pumpkin bread, and a baggie of chocolate chip cookies. All in all, it was a fine day at the Maple Leaf Festival!

Wuqu' Kawoq Global Giving Day to Support Midwives in Guatemala!

Wuqu' Kawoq is an NGO that provides health care in the highlands of Guatamala to Kaqchikel-speaking patients in their language. Tomorrow, we have a big campaign with Global Giving to raise money for our project with midwives. Starting at 12:01am Eastern on October 12th, Global Giving will match any donations over $10 by at least 30%.

The money will be used to expand our work in the past with midwives to more broadly address issues related to human and reproductive rights. Specifically, we will offer expanded educational offerings targeted at sexually transmitted disease, STI, contraception, and sexual rights. We will couple this to offer free of charge screenings for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases as well as access to contraceptive methods.

Here is the webpage from global giving:
http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/guatemalamidwives/http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/guatemalamidwives/

And, here is a statement from Brent Henderson, Wuqu' Kawoq Board Secretary:
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Tuesday-is-the-Day-to-Support-Midwives-.html?soid=1102026328962&aid=aYD6hQgY0rY

Please consider making a donation. Every little bit helps!

Clinton Lake September 2010

 

Before it turned cold, Brian and I took advantage of the warm, sunny weather to go hiking near Clinton Lake.

Hot Damn, Tiffy Wrote Part of a Book

The Boom Femenino in Mexico: Reading Contemporary Womens Writing.  You can get it on Amazon.

Hot Damn, Tiffany was in the newspaper

--Campus group aids in Guatemala disaster relief in the University Daily Kansan--

Back to the U.S.

On August 2nd I flew back to the States from Guatemala, and I got to come home to our new house. As you can tell, the cats adjusted marvelously!

Feria de San Juan

After two hours driving through the windy roads that weave through the mountains leading to Comalapa, we arrived and were instantaneously overwhelmed with all of the stimuli. We ate lots of fair food (although we paid for it later), rode the Rueda de Chicago, a ferris wheel that is take down and reassembled from one town to the next, and topped off the evening with a man dancing around in a deer outfit with hundreds of fireworks attached to his body. Quite entertaining, to say the least!

Van to Chiq'a'l (Comalapa)

For the Feria de San Juan on June 24, 2010, a bunch of people from the Oxlajuj Aj course took a van to Comalapa to take part in the festivities.

CIRMA (Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica)

 

One of the highlights to my being in Antigua is that CIRMA (Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamérica) is located just a five-minute walk from the main plaza. My first time there, I was completely mesmerized by all of its research glory!

Oxlajuj Aj 2010

After completing the Kab'lajuj Ey Kaqchikel Mayan field school, I started Oxlajuj Aj, a Kaqchikel summer language course organized by Tulane University. Here are some of the pictures from the first few weeks of class....

Xukulem Richin Graham (Graham's Ceremony)

 Graham, Claire, and I

Wo'o' Ajmike chuqa' Ixq'anil

(They were on the other side of the fire).

Just as we were arriving to Antigua, it was time for Graham, one of the year-long interns for Wuqu' Kawoq to depart for the States. To wish him a safe journey home, we held a day-keeper's ceremony for him at the altar located inside PLFM here in Antigua. Here are some pictures of us after it was over....

Nusamaj pa ri rute' q'aq' (My work in the kitchen)

One of the benefits of having a house was that we had a kitchen and could cook our meals, instead of having to eat out all of the time. I tried my hand at a few dishes, and here are some pictures of the results....

Taq Kotz'i'j pa xeruxikin qachoch (Flowers by our house)

One of my favorite things about our house is the fact that there were so many flowers nearby, which tend to attract the butterflies!

Qachoch pa Pan Q’än (Our House in Antigua)

The backyard

Rebecca picking limes off of our lime tree

Our pila

Rute' q'aq' (Kitchen)

Dining Room

Clarice and Claire sitting in our living room

Nuch'at (My bed)

Ruxikin Jay (Bathroom)

After the Kab'lajuj Ey course, we moved to Antigua to start Oxlajuj Aj, a Kaqchikel Mayan language and culture course organized by Tulane University. To get settled in, we first found a place to live in, and we found a house just on the north end of town. Here are some of the pictures of tiqachoch (our little house)....

Kab'lajuj Ey Kaqchikel Maya Language School Clausura

 

After the two weeks of classes, we had our clausura to conclude the course and celebrate the success of Kab'lajuj Ey. It is always an emotional time because you form really strong bonds with everyone, so it is difficult to say good-bye to people who have managed to profoundly touch your heart in such a short amount of time.

For the clausura, the students get to make mini-presentations, so I sang "Jun ti sanik" (There is one ant), which is a children's song in Kaqchikel. I also sang "Velha infancia" with Clarice in Portuguese. Some of the other talents were singing the Kansas alma mater, polka dancing, and having an English lesson for the teachers. It was hilarious teaching the teachers about vocabulary in English related to exercising (lifting weights, jumping jacks, etc.). It is always fun to turn the tables on the teachers and let them be students for a little bit. hehe

Finally, we all wrote a Matyoxinïk (a thank-you) for all of the teachers to thank them for all that they did for us. I am a schmuck for that sort of thing, so I was in tears the whole time I was trying to give mine. It was such a beautiful experience, so I really wanted my Matyoxinïk to communicate my gratitude and let the teachers know how much they each had touched my heart.

Since it was such a special occasion, I asked one of the teachers if she would mind lending me one of her trajes, so I felt so special walking around for the day in my po't and skirt!