I have recently realised that my blog still lacks a post dedicated to a place which is, for all intents and purposes my home while I'm in Guatemala. This is Casa Sekina with which I cannot say I spent my best moments here but nevertheless deserves a post because it provides a great insight into the life of many of the volunteers in Antigua.
My first morning in Shekina was calm and peaceful. As I struggled to gain some info about the habits, what to dos and the what not to dos from Shirtless Rob, the guy with whom I subsequently travelled to Semuc Campey with, life continued in its normal weekend pace. Generally there's a set routine. People wake up, usually after a alcohol fuelled night, to a small nourishment, that for me usually does not merit the name breakfast, particularly for people like me, engaged in physical labour at a construction site. Typically it consists of some pancakes, fruit, slices of bread, Days with eggs for breakfast is like a godsend. Lunch usually consists of soup, salad, greens, anything but meat. Dinner might have some soup with some chicken in it with an ocassional little kebab style meal, with plenty of rice and a couple of tortillas.
All of the shortcomings are more than matched by the general positive outlook and constant laughter and smiles between me and the staff that work in Casa Shekina servicing the volunteers. Particularly with Alfredo who also greets everybody with the standard Guatemalan handshake, smiling, always smiling. By the second half of my stay he would regularly joke around with me, always laughing boisterously, even if he at times had difficulty hearing not only something said in Spanish but also names, even Hispanic names. But still everybody who leaves any sort of message in the special farewell notebook, recognises his sweetness and good naturedness. In fact people of a more empathetic disposition have proclaimed their love for Alfredo, offered him booze and implored him to go out with them. Naturally he would decline making them desire his company even more. Just to be clear, Alfredo is a 60 year old married man with children.
His attitude towards volunteers perfectly represents the attitude towards volunteers in general. Despite the presence of rules prohibiting alcohol and use of drugs, none of the volunteers have been seriously inhibited from living a less hedonistic life than back home. All is done openly in front of Alfredo, who does not opelnly shaking his head disapprovingly only if the noise gets out of hand. He bears no ill will or grudges but it is not his world and makes him uncomfortable.
