Coffee

An alarming thought just raced through my mind - will I get my morning cup of coffee in Guatemala?

Of course, you coffee aficionados (how's that for using Spanish!) know that Guatemala produces some very fine Arabica beans. But, growing and picking them is a long way off from roasting and brewing them. Reminds me of life back on the farm, just because we grew barley doesn't mean we drank a lot of beer. (Ok, we did drink our share, but there was no "producer discount").

So the question remains - Do Guatemalans drink coffee?

According to the June 2009 Coffee Report of the International Coffee Organization, the per capita consumption of coffee in 2008 in Guatemala was 1.3kg. At the same time it was 5.8kg in Canada. In other words, we consume about five times more coffee!

Perhaps I should begin weaning myself to one cup a day.

Here are some other interesting coffee facts:
* There is a world coffee crisis - the supply of coffee far exceeds the demand. While this doesn't seem to affect the price of coffee at Starbucks or Tim Horton's, it greatly affects producers, especially the small, family owned coffee farms in coffee producing countries like Guatemala.
* We pay more for one cup of coffee than a producer receives for a pound of coffee beans ($1.19/lb). Some farmers receive even less - they're at the mercy of the "coyotes" the middlemen between farmer and trader.
* Fair trade coffee buyers work directly with the producer thereby cutting out the middleman and paying producers their fair share.
* It takes 1 to 3 years for a coffee tree to produce 2000 cherries needed to make 1 lb of roasted coffee.
* The International Coffee Organization, in its effort to combat the coffee crisis, offers a "Step by Step Guide to Promote Coffee Consumption in Producing Countries". One step in the guide includes disseminating positive health-related information on coffee to potential consumers.

My Spanish Name

From what I can decipher from my handy dandy Spanish book, here's the phonetic translation of my name. (By the way, don't you find the spelling of phonics just a little ironic?!)

Anyway, here's my Spanish name:

Getty = heh-eh-tt-ee

Just sneeze and you've got it!

Want to know your Spanish name? Send me your name and I'll see what I can do. A fun way to learn the Spanish alphabet.

Telling Friends and Family & Being Clear about Why

My friends and family are excited and very supportive of this trip. Mom and dad were, of course, very concerned about my safety and a little baffled about why I feel the need to do this. Couldn't I just volunteer in my own community?

My own community is very important to me and I do whatever I can to help it thrive. In fact, I believe a strong community that gives people a sense of belonging and gives them the opportunity to lead a good life is critical. And, while things certainly aren't perfect, I think we do that pretty well here in Canada - at least in comparison to other places in the world.

I'll keep doing my part at home, but I also want to help create that opportunity for others around the world and show them they are a part of a bigger community that cares about them. Helping others get good, safe housing that they can call their own, is my way of doing that.

Quiet frankly, I also want an opportunity to learn more about our world. More than just sight seeing, I want to connect with people and learn about their lives.

Learning Spanish - Day 1

My Spanish lessons start today courtesy of some good friends who delivered a "Spanish in 10 minutes a day" learning kit. (I have the best friends!)

One of my first phrases - Hola. Yo quiero un cafe, por favor. Gracias

Can you guess?

How much humble pie will I eat?

This morning, wearing my Dry Weave shirt and Running Room shorts, I laced up my arch supporting, gel cushioned Asics, my high tech Mountain Equipment fanny pack, plugged in my iPod and went for a leisurely jog along the freshly groomed path following the flat, meandering Red River.

As I struggled with the burden of my 500ml water bottle, I wondered how this compares to the lives of the women in Guatemala.

I expect I will be humbled in many ways.

Now, off to a nice refreshing shower!

Why Guatemala?

Considering all the places in the world, why choose Guatemala?

The fact is, I didn't really know where I wanted to go. Until one day...

I read about Healthy Horizons Honduras run by a Winnipeg couple who have been helping an orphanage in Honduras . As I read the article, I wondered if this could be the way to fulfill my mission. I visited their website and was so impressed by their work that I emailed Steve and Sharon about the potential of joining their trip.

They replied and said there was an opening.

That's when it hit me - I could actually do this.

That's also when reality kicked in and I got scared. Suddenly going to a developing country in the throws of a political coup with a small, independent group of people didn't sound so good.

So, Honduras was out. But my curiosity about Central America and my desire to go was at an all time high. I just needed to find a place that was somewhat more politically stable and a project with a larger organization that has a lot of experience and connections should anything go wrong.

Meanwhile, Darryl (my husband) and I were making plans to once again volunteer for the Building Blitz for Habitat for Humanity here in Winnipeg.

You see where this is going, right!

Just like you, I put two and two together, checked out Habitat's Global Village program, submitted my application and two days later was contacted by my team leader Greig about going to Guatemala.

And that's how Guatemala became my destination.

You're Going Where?!

I've always known that one day I would travel to a developing country to offer my help in some way. But that was all I knew. I didn't know when it would be, what it would be, where it would be or how it would happen.

Now I know. This November I'm going on a Global Village Build with Habitat for Humanity to Guatemala. I'll be going on my own with a team of people from across Canada for one week.

That's all I know - for now. When I think about it, there are still a lot of things I don't know:

I don't know anything about Guatemala. (I admit, I had to look it up.)
I don't know Spanish. (Will that matter?) (How quickly can someone learn Spanish?)
I don't know how to build houses. (How important is that for a house build anyway?)
I don't know how to tell my mom I'm going to a developing country. (Yes, I'm 40 years old and still concerned about what my mom will say!)

Despite the unkown, I am really looking forward to going. And, I'm looking forward to sharing my journey in this blog.