PRE-ARRIVAL VOLUNTEER INFORMATION

The following is some practical information which we thought might be useful to you before coming down to Guatemala:

*Work Expectations: You will be working at least 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and a half-day every other Saturday. It is part of your committment to working at UPAVIM to be here that half day. The Reforzamiento schedule for 2001-2002 is 9-12 and 2-5. Each volunteer will have an "age" specialty and work with specific children of that age for an hour at a time. The two unscheduled hours will be taken up by class preparation, being involved in the evening youth group, making materials, and other assorted activities that come up. If the reforzamiento is well-staffed and you have other skills UPAVIM can take advantage of, you may be working on other projects. Reforzamiento, however, is the volunteers' priority and main committment.

*Safety: La Esperanza is a high crime area, so one must use good judgement at all times, and heed the advice of the UPAVIMAs, who are community members. Volunteers have been robbed both in and outside the community (more volunteers have not been robbed than been robbed). There is gang violence in the area, and it is best to walk around in pairs and not to go out at night. Expensive or flashy watches and jewelry can attracted unwanted attention, so we advise you not to bring them. Also for safety reasons, volunteers must be inside the UPAVIM building after 6:30pm.

* Health: You will need to get certain vaccinations before coming. Since the requirements change occationally, we suggest contacting the Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( also known as the "CDC." You can find them on the web. They have a travel section). County hospitals should be able to supply the proper vaccinations once you know what they are. If you plan to go to the Peten or other jungle regions, cholorquin malaria tablets are additionally recommended. Consult a doctor for dosage and prescription. Cholorquin may be bought in Guatemala as well at a considerably cheaper rate. Bug spray (especially with DEET ) is recommended, as well as anti-itch cream (such as hydro-cortisone or tee tree oil) for rashes or bug bites.

One of the great advantages to living at UPAVIM is the medical clinic, pharmacy, and laboratory on the second floor of UPAVIM which is accessible to the volunteers at a very inexpensive rate (less that $1.00 for a doctor's visit). For serious illness, there are several hospitals within the city itself. It's a good idea to bring painkillers, Pepto Bismol, and other symptomatic treatment and a first aid kit. Most volunteers suffer from some intestinal discomfort at one time or another. The volunteer library also has lots of books on health information that might be relevant. UPAVIM does not provide health insureance, so if you choose to purchase insurance, you need to do so on your own.

* Passport and Visa: Yes, you will need a passport to enter Guatemala. As obvious as it seems, please make sure you have a valid one. It is advised to bring a notarized photocopy of your passport with you, and to leave another photocopy at home. If you are coming from the U.S. or Canada, you do not need to obtain a visa before leaving (check on the requirements for other countries with your immigration office). When you arrive, Guatemalan immigration will issue you a visa, usually for 90
ydays -- make sure you look and see what they give you! After the first 90 days you can go to immigration and they will extend your visa for another 90 days. After this, you must leave the country for at least 3 days to obtain a new tourist card. Honduras and El Salvador are both easily accesible, and we can offer travel advice.

* Money: The two safest and most efficient ways of bringing money to Guatemala are debit cards (ATM) and Travellers Checks. It is possible to take out large chunks of cash with your debit card at a bank 20 minutes away, and when in tourist areas you can often find machines. Though debit cards with the MasterCard sign cards do work, they are less convenient than those with a Visa sign. Credit cards generally aren't accepted outside the capital (Guatemala City) and tourist areas. If you bring Traveller's Checks, be sure to make photocopies of the recie
pts with the numbers on them (two sets: one to leave at home and one to bring with you.) It is advised to bring a small amount of dollars.

*Communication: There is both a phone and email access at UPAVIM. Volunteers share the email account (upavim@itelgua.com your name in the subject line), and there is limited internet access that costs 50 centavos a minute to pay for the phone call. For international calls, you can use a calling card, or purchase relatively inexpensive pre-paid calling cards here ($0.15-0.20/minute to the U.S. and Canada). The Guatemala mail system has recently been sold to a Canadian Company and is now more reliable (efficient would be stretching it). You can have mail sent to you at:

Your Name
UPAVIM
Calle Principal, Sector D-!
La Esperanza, Zona 12
Guatemala, Guatemala 10012
Central America.

*Travel: For inexpensive flights to Guatemala, Council Travel and STA are good for the under-26 crowd. The youth card that must be purchased with the ticket also gives you (limited) insurance for your stay abroad. As a short term volunteer (4 months), if you wish to travel around Central America, please schedule this before or after your stay at UPAVIM. You do have every other Saturday and every Sunday off, *but it is important that you are here and working when you are scheduled to work.* Long term volunteers are encouraged to take one week off every three months. Also, if you plan on attending language school -- required for those who are not conversational in Spanish -- this should be done before your committment here. Of course, you may come here first to get oriented, but shortly thereafter you will need to go to the language school you choose (we can help you with that) as it is VITAL to have basic spanish abilities. YOU CANNOT SIMULTANEOUSLY VOLUNTEER AND ATTEND A LANGUAGE SCHOOL.

* Living Accommodations and living in general: There are three volunteer rooms on the roof of the UPAVIM building (next door to the Annex, which has the tutoring center its basement). Each room has a bunk bed with mattress, pillow, sheets and blankets as well as a small dresser. In all, we can sleep 5 volunteers. There is a community bathroom and shower with hot water. Please bring your own towel and flip-flops (if you want them). Volunteers have their own fully-equipped kitchen with a full-size fridge and a gas stove and oven. Lunch is provided Monday through Friday, but breakfast, dinner, and weekend meals are not. Purified water is delivered weekly at the volunteers expense (less than a dollar a 10 gallon bottle) or can be boiled. There are tiendas around the community where most day-to-day items can be purchased, and full-service supermarkets 20 and 25 minutes away by bus. A week's groceries can cost between $10 - $20US a week (or less, depending on what you like to eat). Vegetarians don't have much trouble, as lunches M-Th are meat-less, and we cook for ourselves the rest of the time. Volunteers do their own laundry by hand in the pila (sink-basin), and clothes are line-dried. There is a laundrymat nearby, which costs approximately $2US per load.

Language: The living situation is not entirely Spanish-speaking; the common language is often English. Volunteers can make group decisions around language (whether to have all-Spanish days, for example).

Exercise: Generally speaking, running alone in the community is not a good idea. Some volunteers run or walk in groups of co-volunteers or friends from the community. Running up and down UPAVIM's stairs is a less interesting but effective alternative. There is space on the roof for other individual exercises, such as yoga or jumping rope.

Please note: for safety reasons, the UPAVIM building closes at 6:30 and at that time volunteers are required to be inside for the night. (You may go out, but plan to stay somewhere else -- a friend's or a hotel -- and to be back for work by 9:00AM). This is not an insupportable situation, but it can take some getting used to. Bring thingsto do! Books, games, diaries, etc. Also be prepared for the fact that you may not get much alone time.

Clothing: Guatemalans tend to take pride in their appearance and are generally well-groomed, even if they have little money. You'll be working with kids in a very impoverished area most of the time, so neat, comfortable, casual clothing is your best bet. An often made mistake is that people bring their grubbiest clothes down here, and then look and feel sloppy all the time. If you plan on going out de vez en cuando (and there are some very touristy spots that have the kind of bar/club scene you see in other parts of the world) you might want to bring some low key "going-out" clothes. Decent jeans and decent shirt will definitely cut it. Footwear: The basics would be sandals, hiking/running shoes, and an alternative (nicer shoes). You will probably want to wear closed shoes most of the time during the rainy season. There is great hiking around in Guatemala,so bring some clothing to do that in. Keep in mind that you will have two drawers in which to store your clothing, and that you have to hand wash everything (which greatly shortens its life). One more tip -- dark colors hide stains, and very light colors you can bleach. In between colors are a tad harder to make look clean.

Guatemala has two seasons -- the dry season (from November until April) and the rainy season from May until September. For the rainy season rain gear and/or umbrella is necessary (as are clothes that dry quickly). The climate in the capital is relatively dry (not humid), windy, and mild - 70's to 80's F- so comfortable clothing (jeans and t-shirts or their equivalents are fine) are appropriate, though it is necessary to bring a light jacket and a cozy sweater for nights. In different parts of the country the climate changes drastically -- the cost is very hot and humid, and parts of the highlands are quite cool. Be prepared to layer.

Women -- you'll get harassed in the street regardless of what you wear, but you may attract less attention (and feel better) with a little more coverage. Guatemalan women don't generally show a lot of skin or wear really tight shirts. In urban areas, young people's styles are similar to North American/European.

*Things to bring and Getting stuff in General: We are just outside a major urban area. With a little bit of effort, you can find most things you need at a reasonable price. So don't panic if you forget anything. That said, it's probably easier to bring things.
Two general rules:
-Don't dress like you're camping all the time, but don't bring really nice, expensive clothes.
-Don't bring anything that were it to be lost, destroyed, or stolen, you would be devastated (Don't bring expensive things!)

In terms of good things to bring that you might forget:
- a battery-operated travel alarm clock
- a flashlight
- music and a discman w/ speakers, (we have a tape player, but not a CD player)
- a few favorite snack foods for desperate moments (though if you want junk food, big American-brand snack foods are here, but pricey).
-Toiletries you are particular about (including make-up, if you wear it)
- One nice-ish outfit for special occasions (weddings, etc)
-If you wear glasses: BRING A BACK-UP PAIR!
-For women: tampons. They are distantly available but not cheap here. So if you use them, it's a good idea to bring down a jumbo box of your favorite brand.