Exit Survey

Name: Barbara Elizabeth Veres

Site: Santa Cruz Comitancillo, San Marcos

Sector: Agriculture

Nicknames: Ana Bárbara, Qué Bárbara, Barbita, Barbarita, la hija más canchita de doña Isa y las mujeres artesanas, Vereẍ

Biggest accomplishment: Surviving.

Biggest disappointment: Hearing excuse after excuse of why they couldn't do something from the very people who wanted change.

Biggest regret: Regret? ¿Qué es eso?

Biggest fear during Peace Corps: Getting held up on a bus... ha. I kind of outdid myself on that one.

Defining Peace Corps moment: Two of the many others I could list here are:

1) In my third month as a PCV, January 2009, I didn't have water for the entire month due to the pipelines being dug up in town, so leave it to Murphy's Law to give me food poisoning at that same time. Streams of any hydration that was left in my body were projected out uncontrollably from both ends simultaneously, and I had nothing to flush with. I told myself if I could make it through that, I could make it through anything.

2) After spending two weeks in front of la compu with my grade six educated counterpart, Isa, who had never touched a computer before, I called her from the Peace Corps office to ask her a question.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Oh, just here in the office practicing on la compu," she timidly, but proudly responded.

I was glowing. Did I understand her correctly? Just days before she was still skittish about turning it on, even with me by her side. Did I actually do something sustainable? I think so. Púchica.

Things you will miss most: The gorgeous view from my country house, my house, the kids from my street, being part of a community, morning sunshine and afternoon rains, mountains, avocadoes, my lime tree, my ladies, most of the people in my office, el Rincón de la Yaya and the owners and teaching them how to make real cappuccinos, walking to get from point A to point B (as opposed to walking for the sake of walking), going out for a walk to "la gruta," Bobby, cheap and great comedor meals, ease of mobility and cheap travel, people's genuine hospitality of giving what little they have, riding in the back of 'picops', riding on top of buses (whoops), using fíjese que to start off a lame excuse, phenomenal free health care, the list goes on...

Things you will miss least: Being woken up at 2am, 3am, 4am, etc. by dogs barking or 'music' blasting, cocks crowing, engines revving, bus horns honking, people throwing their trash on the ground, the crowds of Sunday market days, hearing fíjese que... right before the start of a meeting after hiking 1.5 hours to get there, calling my boss to get an "ok" to leave for a weekend, people asking me why I drink so much water and if it's really healthy, watching my ladies aguantar unwanted pregnancy after unwanted pregnancy...

Biggest Irony: Being absolutely fine with and at times preferring the vegetarian option over a hunk of flesh in Guatemala.

Worst illness: Diarrhea becoming a normalcy for the last eight months of my service.

Biggest freak-out: Let me think... oh yeah, getting abducted in a taxi with Carolyn in Managua.

Strangest chisme you heard about yourself: I was a spy for the CIA, my site mate, Charlie, and I were either novios or maridos.

Most useful things I brought: Non-stick frying pan, speakers for my MP3 player which got my through training, my computer.

Least useful thing I brought: Solar power backpack... I was prepared to be placed in the most remote of places.

Favorite activity when bored: Walking around town to chit-chat with people.

Weirdest thing I did when bored: When watching my site mate's pooch, Amalia, she always seemed to be in heat, and thus the chuchos would alway await their Juliet below my balcony at my first house. There would be at least five of them whining and fighting with one another to get their beloved Amalia, so I'd take a pitcher of water and dump it on them from above. Kept me entertained.

Favorite Guatemaltequismo: ¡A la grán hijo le..!

Greatest lie I told at my site: My father is a mining engineer. Yeah...

Favorite Guatemalan inquiry: How many kids do I have? Did my husband give me permission to come to Guatemala? Well, why am I not married?!

Best Guatemalan gesture: The simultaneous wrist flip/ chin-up / lip point.

Favorite CD/song during service: NOW! That's What I Call Camioneta Music Vol. I

Song I would be content to never hear again: Any ranchera.

Favorite book(s) during service: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller

Favorite Guatemalan fashion: Men unknowingly wearing t-shirts with prints such as "Is that your belly button or are you just happy to see me?", "I'm a beer chick," "Alpha Kappa Sigma Sorority 2004," "Proud Girl Scout," "Why am I so thirsty if I drank so much last night?", "Get down with brown: vote Sanjay for Student Council Treasurer" and older women wearing shirts such as "^ The Man v The Legend," "Play Boy Bunny 1998," "HEY! I've got big boobies!"

Worst jalón: The one where I almost dislocated my tailbone.

Best bus ride: Tacana- dangerous as hell, but it was the quickest one from San Marcos to the capital.

Worst bus ride: All the other ones.

Favorite food: Somehow eggs and beans with chirmol never got old... I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Worst thing I ate: Liver... I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it.

Worst thing I smelled: The latrine which was almost overflowing with human waste.

Stupidest thing I did in the last two years: Accidentally didn't turn off my gas stove properly and woke up with a killer headache and an empty take of gas. Oy.

Untrue fact told to you as undeniable truth: “Fíjese que es prohibido por Cuerpo de Paz” - for pretty much anything I didn't want to do.

You know you’ve been in Guatemala too long when…: You know it will be a good day when you have taken a shower without 1) the water pressure lowering to keep the water warm 2) getting any sparks above your head from aforementioned water heater 3) the water doesn't switch off just as you've lathered your head full of shampoo.

I never thought I would…: Discuss my bowel movements so openly and in such vivid detail and come to agreements with other people of what illnesses we might have based discussed details.

When I grow up I want to be…: Full-time corporate slave, part-time yogi and philanthropist, retire at the age of 42.4 with 2.39 children and a husband living somewhere in the European countryside and / or seaside in our summer home with our two rescue dogs, with adventure holidays. Or just figuring out the next step would be nice.

If I had to do it all over again I…: No questions asked.

Favorite Aralen dream: The first time I had a psychedelic dream was after hearing about them, but still not actually having taken Aralen, ha.

Favorite Ropa Americana T-shirt: A guy walking around with a "I don't get drunk, I get awesome" shirt.

Favorite animal story: My favorite chucho, Bobby, was actually my landlord's dog that they never really took care of. Bobby would always befriend the gringos in town and follow us around everywhere- he's accompanied PCVs to Taltimiche, Chicajalaj, Los Bujes, Quexlemuj, and other far off places (up to 2 hours one way) just to tag along. Mid-way through my service, he started following me to the office in town and would sit through the treacherous 9-6 monthly meetings. Sometimes he didn't come with me to the office, and as I was sitting with Isa working on something I would hear a pitter-patter outside, see his head poke through the door and be overjoyed with excitement when he found me with something like, "Hey, there you are! I've been looking all over for you," look. Best chucho, hands down.

Best habit acquired: Patience, not being so serious.

Worst habit acquired: Ch-ch-ing people to get their attention, arriving late to meetings because I knew I'd be waiting around anyway.

Thing you missed most from the US (and I'll add Europe): Family, friends, anonymity, red wine, good food, stimulating and intellectual conversation, live music, yoga, spontaneous meet-ups with friends for a coffee or drink.

Thing you missed least from the US: People being so caught up in their own lives that they have absolutely no idea what is going on around them, people thinking they're "special," materialism, media, fakeness.

Favorite location in Guatemala: My site... I wish I would have figured this out earlier on in my service, c'est la vie.

Things you’d wish you had known when you signed up: I'd be back in Buffalo before I knew it. :-P

Best advice for the next group: If you can't be good, be safe.