Piroshki

Since almost every nationality in the world can be found in Abu Dhabi, I've learned just as much or more about other cultures as I have the Emirate one. Annnnd, since one of the best parts of any new culture is figuring out how they cook, I was very excited when my friend from Uzbekistan taught me how to make piroshki:

A simple mixture of either yogurt or cream with flour, is the base for the dough. Egg or baking powder can be used for leavening and a dash of salt for flavor... and that's it. Mix it until it isn't sticky, (we didn't even measure, just started with about two cups of yogurt and added flour until it was soft, but easy to handle without sticking to fingers.) If you'd like to see the recipe in Russian, check it out here... This is the one approved by my friend, anyhow. Some English ones in .pdf can be found here.

For the filling, anything can be used, but since meat can be very expensive, one traditional filling is pumpkin. We chopped onion very fine and cooked it in butter until transparent and then added grated pumpkin. To this mixture we added sugar to taste and let it cook down until very soft. Apple is another popular filling that I might have to try later. I had never tried savory onion and pumpkin also mixed with sugar, but it was a really nice flavor.

Stuffing the pumpkin inside of the circles of dough, pinching the seams closed and then frying them reminded me of making pupusas in Guatemala...

They were delicious!

Loss: Coping With Death From Abroad

One of the hard parts of living so far from family is never knowing when will be the last time you see someone alive. Health and youth are not immune to accidents. Age and infirmity do not necessarily rush death. But what if you do have an idea that it's the last time?

We've just experienced both the expected and the unexpected within a week.

When we  visited this winter break, one of the challenges was knowing how to balance the hope for recovery from a very grave illness with the reality of what normally happens: death.We accepted reality and still held on to hope... which produces another challenge: When someone has made a monumental impact on your life, it's hard to balance wanting to squeeze all of the time with them possible and just letting things flow naturally so that the last bit of normalcy can create memories to savor.

But then, we lost another family member first, unexpectedly. And we were sad. And we were thankful we had visited just a month or so ago. And we were thankful we DID have so many great memories of both people.

Living an international life makes room for many different memories and relationships. We're glad that we have the base of strong family relationships in the States of people who genuinely want the best for us and, though they miss us, are also happy that we are able to experience so many things.  We are also glad that we are living our dreams now instead of waiting for everyone to be gone and then be left with less experience and energy to go abroad... but it is a two-edged decision. Being abroad helps you appreciate family more, which means you miss them more, pack more into the tangible moments you get and that the distance softens any would-be irritating qualities. It's not as easy to take people for granted this way. We're grateful for such a strong family bond. We're grateful for all of the new people we've been able to meet. We hate to be away when the family is coping with death. There is always this tenuous relationship between loving and letting go for both sides.

While Ben was discussing if he would go back for the funeral, he weighed the expense with the experience and ended with the thought: "what's money, anyways, if you can't use it as a tribute to the relationships in life." Because really, that's the point. The formative relationships we had with family enrich every experience we have now.

Life abroad highlights the ups and downs: You have to love hard when you get the chance and appreciate the chances you get. 

International Public Transportation: Overcoming Fear

Growing up outside of city limits where the extent of public transportation was pretty much just the school bus option offered by the local public school, learning how to use public transportation has been exciting, intimidating and a bit frightening at times. Especially the taxis.

In Guatemala it wasn't safe for a non-Guatemalan looking woman to ride the way-over-capacity buses that were available. Especially alone. Buses were always getting shot up and their drivers killed or threatened for the bus fare. One Guatemalan friend said that when she had to take the bus she would sit as far from the driver as possible because of how likely it was for a bullet to travel in that direction. Needless to say, I wanted to keep coming home to my daughter and when Ben used the truck with a different schedule after school and I needed to find a safe way to exercise, I had to make a choice: learn to use a taxi or keep running laps around the enclosed garage like a gerbil in a cage. I learned how to use a taxi. Now, admittedly, I'm no poster child for courage, but this was a big step for me. Something Guatemalan taxis did was to always ask for a name and then try to link names and phone numbers and locations in their database. While I recognize that they were trying to streamline their process in order to offer better service, that didn't seem like a good idea to me. The last thing I wanted was someone hacking into the taxi data and knowing people's locations, names, phone numbers and approximate schedules. It just didn't seem smart to give all of that information in a country where kidnapping people who attended the school I taught at wasn't improbable. I used the school phone whenever possible and gave a different name than my own every time. There's a thin line between being smart with your information and being paranoid... and I'm not really sure where that line is. I realize that fear can keep us from really living, and we have to make smart choices and keep going realizing that many things are always going to be out of our control.

In Abu Dhabi, many situations are different. While I haven't figured out the bus system yet, they are not near as exciting as the chicken buses of Guatemala. There is even a separate place for women and children in the front, which I prefer. If anyone causes problems here they are deported, so I haven't heard of any shootings, kidnappings or robberies. I know this doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but it's much rarer. Stopping at red lights isn't as risky, since you don't have to worry as much about armed guys on motorcycles demanding money from your car window and then speeding off. You don't even have to give a name or really even call a taxi with a phone because there are taxi stands all over the place and rarely a long wait. Communicating in English with mainly Filipino, Pakistani and Indian drivers and learning my way around a new city are the most challenging things so far... But I still have difficulty getting over my initial fear of using the transportation and going places (and my natural tendency to just make homemaking my entire life and saving money.) However living an international experience means learning to do things that are uncomfortable sometimes because overcoming these things opens so many more opportunities to learn about the world around us and to create our form of community. I'm thankful for the friends I have made here who keep pushing me to learn new things and to expand my "safe" zone.

Have you ever dealt with fear of public transportation? How did you overcome it?

Summer Vacation 2010: Driving from Texas to Guatemala as a Family

My summer vacation began June 19th when Talia and I flew back to NE TX to be with my family. Unfortunately, we used the last of our frequent flier miles to get there and Ben, always up for an adventure, drove up later after seeing to the last details of our moving from the apartment to a house in Guatemala. We were glad to see family and friends and Talia really loved going to VBS in Texas!

We left North East TX July 21st and began our epic-like journey back to Guatemala City with a toddler.

July 21: Wednesday we made it all the way to Eagle Pass. We had decided to take a middle route, though on the map it looks longer, because of the tropical storm damage that took its toll on both coasts. This ended up being a very good decision due to great toll roads and hardly any vehicle searches. Ben, who has made this trip on the Gulf route about 4 times (before this one,) said that even if it was a day longer, it was a much better drive and worth it.

July 22: Thursday we crossed the border with barely any trouble at all and made it to the state of Coahuila, MX; a beautiful state I wouldn't mind visiting again. We didn't make it very far into MX today because of the long time it took to get the paperwork done at the border and a collapsed bridge that we had to figure out how to detour, but progress, nonetheless. We stopped in Saltillo, MX- I felt very safe here and wouldn't mind living here some day as it is only 2 days drive from my family and it is still in a safer part of Latin America.



July 23: Friday we arrived at Tlaxcala, MX- described as a hidden gem of a town bypassed by most tourists. I would have to agree with that assessment. It was beautiful and had many things I would have loved to browse if it weren't raining this entire day! Unfortunately, Montezuma's revenge found me here. ;)



July 24: Saturday we arrived in Oaxaca, a rather large Mexican town with very confusing roads, especially at night. There were many times two roads going one direction on either side of a middle road going the opposite direction... and the roads on the outside frequently switched into the lanes on the other side of the road at stoplights. Imagine all of this at night with millions of headlights coming out of nowhere at every stoplight. I think this is something you would probably have to experience to get the full benefit of what I am trying to explain. ;) In Oaxaca we were so ready to be finished with the trip and getting pretty stressed. We stayed at a local hotel that had interior parking and weird smells. I didn't sleep very well.

July 25: Sunday- we arrived in Tapachula, the last town on the border in Mexico before crossing into Guatemala! I was thrilled to stay in a very nice Holiday Inn Express here that had wonderfully huge beds and clean showers and free breakfast and working wireless... It was the best night's sleep throughout this entire trip. We debated staying an extra night to just relax, but we were so close to home, only one more day- plus it was expensive at $100 a night.



July 26: Monday- we crossed the Mexican-Guatemalan border and immediately noticed that we were not in Mexico any more! The roads got bumpier, guards with guns were at every convenience store, barbed wire was the most noticeable decoration and, of course, there were locals protesting the increase in electricity prices blocking the only way through to the capital. After waiting in a huge line for about 4 hours, they decided to go home due to the rainy seasons gushing outburst. The next few hours were occupied with me trying to keep Talia occupied so she wouldn't scream while Ben was trying to drive through torrential rain. We stopped at a convenience store for a break and were soaked running the 12 feet to the entrance. This last day was a constant struggle since we were almost home and everyone was so tired. We were very happy to find a Sarita for supper with a great play place for Talia to run around in! We then dragged home and collapsed.

Overall, this was a lifetime experience I will never forget. I could literally feel people praying for us the whole trip. I wish I could explain that feeling. I cried out of gratefulness several times because things went so smoothly. Ben has made this trip about 5 different times now that this one is complete. He was amazed at how few times we were searched and how easy it was when we were. We didn't get any speeding tickets. We didn't have to pay any bribes. The only trouble we had with the vehicle was a flat tire that was on a toll road on the way to Tlaxcala where they have people hired to help you in an emergency. It was perfect because they came and changed the tire for us and if they had not come, Ben would not have known to use a certain tool to get to the spare tire and we would have been stuck! I am crying as I type this because I still feel so amazingly blessed and protected. Driving through Latin America always makes me feel like a spoiled rich kid in comparison to everything around me. Though I try to constantly be appreciative, I still feel like I have so much more than I deserve! If I could voluntarily choose to do this again, I would do everything in my power to fly instead, but I am immensely grateful for His hand on us this trip.

Driving from Texas to Guatemala - almost done!

Driving from Texas to Guatemala

Day 1 - I left from Kilgore, Texas on July 15 and went through Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Kingsville, and Harlingen to Los Indios, TX. The drive was great…glad I’m got the cruise control fixed! It was about 10 hours driving because I left so early (4 a.m.) and missed all the rush hours. I got to meet with one of my former professors and former International Student Director Dr. Mark Walsh from Texas A&M - Kingsville who was nice enough to pass on a couple of contacts’ phone numbers. It was completely unexpected to get to meet with him on my way through, but definitely a pleasure; he’s the one who arranged much of my trip to Chile and got my travel bug in overdrive.

Day 2 - Thursday, July 15, I went to Transmigrantes Mireya, the company who arranges all the paperwork to take a car into Mexico, or in my case, through Mexico. If I had not been taking many personal belongings, I could have just entered as a tourist, but much of the point of driving was taking our stuff, so I went as a “transmigrante,” which is the same class as the guys who tow trucks down with “IN TOW” taped on the back. Actually most of the guys are Guatemalans, taking those vehicles to Guatemala to repair and resell; I always thought they just went to Mexico.

After waiting a couple of hours at the company to get the truck contents inspected (a process that would be repeated many times over the next couple of days) I was able to go to US customs to get permission to leave the country. Apparently, US customs believes that the best way to do this is to have literally 100 or more trucks, cars, and assorted other towed things line up and wait in the sun for two hours, then start to let them through 1 at a time. Hmmmmm. If you need to learn patience, just drive through Mexico….you will develop it or have a heart attack trying. Fortunately, I was mentally prepared for it, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t think, “Hey guys, there’s probably a better way to do this!”

Once I crossed, there were guys before the Mexican bridge (if you recall, much of our southern border is a river J Rio Grande for the USA, Rio Bravo is what it’s called in Mexico…same river). These guys are “tramitadores”; basically, they get your paperwork out of the way before you cross into Mexico; believe me, there is plenty to do after you cross, so you’re glad to get the vehicle part out of the way. The short explanation is that these guys take your title and send it to the other border (Guatemala) so that they know you didn’t sell it in Mexico, since you’re not paying Mexican taxes for it. The big packet of papers that Mireya gives you has a list of all contents and approximate value; if anything is missing when you get to the Mexican side, you have to pay taxes on it, because they’re assuming you sold it. Letting go of my title was hard to do, but several people had assured me this was normal. Still, though….you want me to give you my WHAT???

After you cross into Mexico, you have to do several things. You have to get your vehicle fumigated, searched again by guys with big guns (they’re generally nice, though, especially if you speak Spanish), get your visa to go through (21 dollars or so), get car insurance and change money. This can take a while, but the upside is that the coke machine had bottled cokes for only 8 pesos (about 60 cents); downside, it only takes pesos, and you have to change those first lol. Thursday’s legal requirements from start to finish took me all day, so that by the time I drove to Matamoros 30 miles away, it was almost 7 p.m., so I just stayed there for the night. I had planned to get to Tampico the second night, but that proved unrealistic. However, if someone were just driving as a tourist, they could have gone through the border with a minimum of trouble and could have made it to Tampico (about 8 hrs) just fine.

Day 3 – July 17 – Matamoros to Tampico via Ciudad Victoria

Friday the journey to Tampico began…the first “real” day in Mexico. I’ve been this way on a bus before, and the way we went was following the coast. This is a one-lane (each way) road that is always congested and you have to go through 1000 little towns with speed bumps. No thanks. I decided to go through Ciudad Victoria, and then to Tampico. This way was about an hour longer, but the map I had (Guia Roji, buy one!) said that it was a four-lane highway. It was awesome! I basically set my cruise for about 65 mph and drove for 75% of the trip that day. The rest was little towns, etc, but not too unreasonable. Not much notable about Friday, except for seeing an abundance of goats.

Day 4 – July 18 – Tampico – Veracruz

Saturday - Well, Tampico’s not much of a tourist town, and it’s not pretty. I stayed on the north side due to the fact that the loop around the city started there (obvious, no? LOL) So I left pretty early, and not 30 minutes into the trip, this little Nissan Sentra transit cop car pulls me over. I had had no problems with the army with huge guns, but these guys pulled me over for passing a truck going 20 mph, even after 5 cars in front of me did the same thing. Texas plates call attention, I guess. Anyway, short story, they used the same old line about following them to the police station and paying an astronomical fee ($800 – for passing someone??) but after some discussion, they agreed to take $100 USD and I wouldn’t insist on a receipt ;) Fortunately, I had budgeted this in to my trip fund and was really just wondering when it would happen. I never felt threatened, just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible, but not for $800! (which I didn’t even have on me anyway)

The scenery the rest of the way to Veracruz was absolutely beautiful, seeing the ocean for a good part of the way. According to the hotel signs toward Veracruz, this area is a good place to come if you don’t speak Spanish, because they all advertised speaking English. It made me want to stop there for the night, but alas, I persevered : ) I actually made it much further than I had thought I would…all the way to Cosamaloapan, Veracruz. I think I spelled that right. The hotel was much cheaper there…33 bucks a night and that was the pricey place! And it even had internet, although I didn’t take advantage of it much since I didn’t get in until about 9 p.m. Unfortunately, when I went out for a small pizza, I stopped by the grocery store on the way back to the hotel (it was on the next block over). As the grocery clerk was bagging my drink, I THOUGHT he asked me if I wanted him to bag my pizza, too. Well, I strongly replied, “No, no, I’m just walking to the next block, it’s fine the way it is” in a nice tone of voice like “you don’t have to go to the trouble to do that”; well, imagine how bad I felt when he said, “Sorry, I just wanted a little piece…” and realized that he was asking me if he could have a piece of my pizza! Well, I felt bad because I just kind assumed he was asking about the bag and didn’t really hear the question….but isn’t that sort of a strange thing for the grocery clerk to ask?? I was slightly comforted by that fact.

Day 5 – July 19 – Cosamaloapan, Veracruz to Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas (border with Guatemala)

How many good things can I say about this day? I was originally going to go to church somewhere, but since I was out in the sticks pretty much, I had no idea where one was so just took off at about 7 a.m. Compared with the days before, there was practically no traffic. The roads through Oaxaca and Chiapas were good, and I was able to sail through much of it like I had my first day in Mexico. The scenery in the mountains is absolutely beautiful! At one moment, I was listening to a song by Brent Beaugeois (however you spell that; anyone remember him?) based on the book of Job, basically saying “I created all this, who are you?” and I looked up to see the most imposing mountains on all sides of me. Talk about perfect timing. Absolutely georgeous. Coastal drive was great, but very windy.

When I came into Hidalgo, these guys on red motorcycles started chasing me. I waved a couple of them off until I saw a huge group of them waiting on the side of the road. I then realized that they were the tramitadores that John Villanueva with Agape in Action had told me about. These guys basically do all your paperwork for you and you pay them a reasonable fee for the service. It’s worth it! Anyway, the hotel was even nicer, and only $25, with free breakfast (a real breakfast, not “continental breakfast” whatever that is ;)). What a deal. I still maintain that travelling to Latin America is the best way to go, because even if you have to pay a flight, everything is dirt cheap when you get here (some places more than others). On to the fun part…

Day 6 – Tecun Uman, Guatemala, to….Tecun Uman, Guatemala. – Monday, July 20

Trying to import my truck - Today started out with a bit of patience testing, as I had to wait until all the right people got in the right offices to check to see if my title had arrived from Los Indios. Not all bad, though, because if it had arrived right on time, I would not have had the opportunity to enjoy the free breakfast! Anyway, it did arrive about 10 a.m. The tramitadores (I have 2 for some reason; they’ll have to fight over the fee…it’s complicated) were a great help and ran around to and fro. I went with them to most of the places, but they handled the talking to people, making copies, and explained the process very well. Note to anyone reading this: if you do not speak Spanish, this process can be much more difficult, but you can still get it done. I would bring a translator to avoid much confusion. The tramitador will be able to pull out the documents you need, but you will probably have no idea what’s going on, raising the stress level on a day when you basically just hang out and follow these guys everywhere. Did you know that I can fit on the back of a moped? :D

Well, we got everything done by about 1 p.m., including going to Western Union in town to get the money Adina sent for the taxes (I didn’t bring that much cash for security reasons). Well, guess what? WELCOME TO GUATEMALA! There was a strike on by the campesinos, many of them Mayan, over some land that was supposed to be rented/given to them to use for farming. Well, apparently it didn’t work out their satisfaction, because they are blocking the border and 3 other places around Guatemala! I tried to cross back into the customs section from getting the cash, and I literally was surrounded by them, yelling “No hay paso!” (No crossing!) and received a stern lecture by the leader about respect or something. When I say I tried to cross, I don’t mean running like Red Rover come over, I mean I politely attempted to walk through what appeared to be a break in the line. Well, they didn’t like that, and I got a picture taken of me by someone that I’m not entirely sure wasn’t a journalist. I had a chance to catch up with her about 6 p.m. and explain that even though her photo might show me trying to break through a line, that wasn’t the case. I can just see it showing up in a Guatemala City newspaper and my boss going “hmmmmmmmmm”. Anyway, I might just advise them of what happened so it’s not a surprise LOL. Anyway, they didn’t beat me with sticks or anything, and I didn’t even say anything to them, just walked back after it was evident that I wasn’t going to get anywhere.

My tramitador, Esbin, was nice enough to take me his house after we bought some Pollo Campero for lunch and I spent the afternoon there. Turns out he’s an evangelico as well and plays the piano, so we had a lot to talk about.

Anyway, so I’m staying in Tecun Uman, the Guatemala border city tonight, apparently. It’s 7:30 p.m. and the gate to the border closes at 8:00 p.m. Hopefully they won’t be blocking the gate tomorrow because I would hate to have to wait another day just sitting here; I may never know the reason for it all, but here I am. Moving on tomorrow, hopefully!

For more about getting a car from the States to Guatemala, or vice versa read this post.

To read another detailed post about driving through Mexico with my family read this post.