Now that I have been in Guatemala for 1 week I have started to gain some consistency to my experience. I am settled firmly into my town with my host family. I have answered many of the uncertainties that make one feel comfortable; directions home, how to take public transport, where the Internet café is, how to send mail, I have a cell phone, etc. My family really likes me as well. I have yet to have a tough day or truly frustrating moment since my second day here. I nearly feel guilty for not having those feelings.
It’s hard to feel isolated and depressed when I wake up and brush my teeth while looking at one of 3 volcanoes in the bright morning sunlight. Although the shower is cold and the roosters sound off like a crappy 3rd grade choir from 3-6 am, I feel so much energy from the natural beauty of the place and its simplicity.
Over the first 2 days of this week I have met my trainers and really gotten into the details of my project. Baseline consulting for small farmers describes the position in the least possible amount of words. The opportunity to work with local organizations, farmers, the government, and as many buyers, distributors, etc., that I find necessary makes me very excited. I have paradoxical sense of excitement due to a calm understanding of what is going on and knowing that this is exactly what I want to be doing. I even had a conversation with myself about it yesterday that I will cite for the rest of my life. All the fear and anxiety I had in DC has evaporated.
With all of the excitement comes hard work though. It’s been a little while since I have truly applied myself to a project, so currently hard work is easy and enjoyable. Tomorrow consists of long Spanish classes (of which I have already noticed marked improvement in comprehension), baseline data collection of our town, and phone calls home for the first time. I also have to deal with issues lingering from home, like Wachovia (worst bank ever), outstanding accounts receivable, Delaware Gazette, and so forth.
Running with the cell phone tangent…I spent the late afternoon/evening on errands into a UN supported historic city called Antigua, which is luckily on 10 minutes from my house by painted after market US school buses, of which I always look for Buckeye Valley School District on the side. The city is amazing and offers a taste of modernism and variety after days in more rural Guatemala. I recommend the city to all travelers, especially my family and potential friend visitors. After purchasing my cell phone and some stamps in town my marketing group grabbed a couple beers at Mono Loco, a former Peace Corp member owned bar. ESPN, ABC, and CBS were airing baseball games and sport talk shows. I am pretty sure I will be able to watch the OSU v USC game there, which I am stoked about, not missing much after all. Beyond that, putting down a couple cold beers for the first time in a while felt nice and comfortable. Unfortunately though, I left my umbrella and poncho there, and didn’t realize until after I was on a Camioneta (old us school bus) back to town. I then realized further that I left my phone box with only the charger in it on a step somewhere. Two major mistakes in hour. In what seemed like a ton of luck and an opportunity to sharpen my Spanish, I ran back through town and found all three items. Who says Guatemala is a crime-ridden country?
I still say it’s a crime-ridden country. On Sunday I went to the local gas station to get drinking water, since 99% of running water here is unsafe for outsiders, and saw a 40-50,000 Toyota Tacoma with a fresh paint job, massive rims, chrome, and extras I cant even place. A 25-30 year old Guatemalan was getting into it, strapped with a shiny chrome pistol that couldn’t even really be functional due to size. I made some mental connections, but also followed up with a teacher and my family about the scene. As I had thought, the guy was most likely a drug lord around my area. Typically there are several in each major area here. Everyone knows who they are, where they live and what the do. But when they pay for schools, municipal buildings, and pump money into the economy while operating under corrupt police forces who can really complain. Status quo, please.
My new phone number is country code 502, then 4061-0022. I have a prize for the first caller. If the number doesn’t work exactly its probably due to the country code and your phone service/type. Try to put a + in front of the 502. If all else fails try to use to Internet to find out how to call the number. Really though, I would really like to get in touch every once in a while, I have my old phone here with my numbers, so expect some calls here and there, and I expect to receive them here and there.
Wednesday Guatemala hosts the USA soccer team in a World Cup Qualifier in Guatemala City. I told my host family I will be cheering for Guatemala. Luckily I wasn’t standing in front of a reflective surface or they would have seen my crossed fingers.
I am signing off today with a few pictures to make it interesting:
Some cool kids from the 30
An open wire electric box that seems extremely unsafe in principle, but makes my shower warm, or at least did in my first place
Dave, my first roommate, and I.
My cozy room in Alotenango. I like it quite a lot.
Those are two of three volcanoes that I gander at while brushing my teeth around 730 AM…notice the moon slightly to the right of the first one
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