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Of all the possible skills I thought I might be able to learn while living in Guatemala, using an espresso machine never ranked very high. But that is where expectations could be deceiving.

Helen, another volunteer with Soluciones Comunitarias in Nebaj, brought a small espresso machine back from the States so that El Descanso, a small restaurant and favorite hangout place of gringos passing through town, could improve its coffee options (currently, they fill a big container of instant coffee).

What better way to get tourists to stay in Nebaj a little longer and put more money into the local economy than by offering quality coffee – there’s no shortage of it growing here.

That said, the majority of the highest quality coffee is sent directly for export. So, needless to say, the first three blends we’ve experimented with have come out less than ideal. But, we’re still hopeful to find something incredible and then teach the meseros in the restaurant how to make our favorite lattes, cappuccinos, and espressos.

So, even if the coffee we’ve made has been less than superb, Shreya (another volunteer, pictured) and I are already stellar espresso machine users. Ultra important life skills for the win.

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This post by Fellow, Ian Zimmermann has been cross-posted from the Current TV News Blog.

Q: What are you first impressions? How does your new home compare to where you live in the US?
What an amazing place! I grew up in a small New England town, so in terms of the number of people here, it’s certainly nothing too overwhelmingly different; that said, it can be impossible to find certain things here. Want to buy some peanuts? Too bad – you have to travel an hour and a half to find any. I honestly had no idea that there exist people this friendly! Everyone wants to say buenos dias to you and start a conversation. One huge pro of there being very little to actually do here is that human relationships end up being valued above all else.

Q: What are some of the local issues facing the community you’re in?
Lack of educational opportunities must be the most pressing concern here. Only last year did Nebaj – a community of over 20,000 – open its doors to the first free public basico (roughly junior high). If a student decides to go on for a diversificado (high school diversification), the options that exist are limited to three professions: a banker (impractical because there are only two banks in the city), a college track (impractical to most because there are no universities within an hour), or a teacher (the only profession in which it is possible to find work).

Looking outside of Nebaj into the surrounding communities, one of the biggest problems is malnutrition. Beans, rice, and tortillas are great and all – but they frankly don’t make up a balanced diet. In an attempt to raise awareness to this issue, one of our projects is to begin a vegetable garden with kids at a community center called El Centro Explorativo in La Pista. We hope this project will lead families to start their own vegetable gardens as a means for which to improve the local diet.

Q: How are those issues indicative of bigger global challenges or trends?
Lack of access to education is definitely one of the biggest barriers to self empowerment in developing countries. Specifically in Guatemala, one of the major problems is the lack of government spending on education caused directly by the very limited tax base in the country – the majority of industry takes place under the table. Malnutrition certainly plagues many developing countries and one of the large problems is that most people don’t actually know that they are malnourished because they have no idea of the concept of a “balanced diet.”

Q: How does what happens in this community affect the folks back home in the US? And the other way around – how do lives and decisions in the US affect the community you’re in now?
Directly, what happens in this community affects the States because of how many Guatemalans are, in fact, living there. Both my host family’s father and oldest son have lived in Miami for three and four years, respectively. Simultaneously, the families with relatives in the States need the money those relatives earn to subsist. The recent economic crisis has definitely affected the families here because it means, simply, that there is less money to be had.

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One of our major projects in Guatemala is to support Soluciones Comunitarias, an NGO which trains Guatemalans to sell health related products such as reading glasses, water purifiers, and vegetable seeds. This week, we spent two (long) days traveling around northern Quiche and I produced the following video to document our journey:

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Complimenting Zuleika’s blog post from last week, we spent this Monday in a town passed Vi Chibala called Santa Averina doing publicity for a campaign for Soluciones Comunitarias (we do publicity a few days before returning for a campaign when we bring the water purifiers, reading glasses, and other health products for sale). Usually, we just walk around town and hand out fliers describing the event; the free eye exams and such. In Santa Averina, however, we did our whole publicity in the market, where hundreds of women shopped in their traditional garb.

Following this, we found out that the town has a waterfall: “do you want to go?” My initial thought went something like “mehh, waterfall…” But, realizing it would probably be my only opportunity, I agreed to check it out.

After we walked fifteen minutes or so, we began to hear the roar of tumbling water. Turning a corner, I about lost my breath. Expecting the falls to be 20 feet or so, I was beyond shocked to see the picturesque falls stretching high into the sky in a microclimate rainforest – absolutely gorgeous. Moving closer, the falls simply appeared more and more magnificent.

I suppose the moral is to never turn down an opportunity to see cataratas?

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Feeling the part of an expert, I’ve decided to make a simple guide explaining how to come in contact with Guatemalans that have lived and worked in the States.

1. Go to Guatemala
2. Look “American”
3. Locate any form of public transportation (camionetas or microbuses work fine)
4. Take aforementioned public transportation
5. Sit on the driver’s side, as far back in the vehicle as possible
6. Wait

I kid you not, this plan is foolproof – I’ve successfully used it twice myself. (Okay, maybe not foolproof, but the only times I’ve met Guatemalans that lived in the US occurred this way).

The first time, in Equintla, a man sat next to be and began telling me about his three years spent working in Houston, Texas for a lawn service company. Yesterday, a man in a bus headed to Nebaj recited his tale of being an up-and-coming carpet installation expert in Miami, Florida, before – well – something happened (my Spanish is not that good, give me some slack).

Anyway, if you wanted to know how to find Guat-icans, now you know. Research still needs to be done to see if the opposite is true (i.e. private transportation, front passenger side will lead you to meet Americans that worked in Guatemala – probably not).