A Quetzal For Your Thoughts

Mark Berman deserves credit for the title of this post

I have now been living in Xela for two weeks. Sometimes it feels like much longer, and at other times it feels shorter. I often wonder what I am doing here in the midst of a third world country when I could easily have a comfortable life back home, make decent money, live in a nice place, and be closer to all my friends. I still amazes me that as I sit here writing at this moment, I am in Guatemala, a country that is very foreign to most and a country that I knew practically nothing about two weeks ago. I have walked around the city and bussed around the country with a permanent smile on my face. This smile remains as eat panqueques and frijoles for breakfast, walk through the markets, and have a few beers with the other students at my school. I love the face that I am in Guatemala right now, learning not only Spanish but all about a different society, culture, and way of life. And even though it is painfully obvious that most Guatemalans do not get to live the life of comfort that we do in the States, life still seems to go on here just as it would back home. I have the suspicion that if I decided to move here permanently, my life would not be all that dissimilar from a life in the States (not that I have ANY intention of moving here). My foods would change, I would adjust to life without heat, speak Spanish, and learn how to navigate the old, bumpy roads, but overall most everything would be similar. I guess, as always, life is what you make of it.

The following are some random thoughts, experiences, and observations that I have had over the past two weeks, mainly about Guatemala but not completely:

• I love hearing and saying “Buenos Dias” and “Buenas Noches”. It makes me feel good to say it to and hear it from strangers, shopkeepers, and friends throughout the day. It seems that Guatemalans take extra care to greet everyone and say goodbye to everyone during brief meetings or long meals.
• The typical dinner is eggs, black beans, and tortillas. Not quite Ruth’s Chris.
• Powdered milk seems to be the choice of milk product here.
• I experienced my first earthquake yesterday. Just a small tremor, called a temblor in Spanish. Apparently there are 50-100 per day around Xela but it is impossible to feel most. I easily felt the ground shake and saw the plants swaying inside my school but it was very minor. Apparently, the last major earthquake here was in 1976 killing around 25,000 people.
• This is definitely a developing, third world country. It is unnecessary to look at statistics or rankings, it just feels like one. Works seems less formal and sparse. Everything seems less organized. Streets, transportation, and industry are not quite up to par with normal standards. People struggle to survive. Women are not even close to equal. Most people are not educated.
• Although many Guatemaltecos have refrigerators, they do not seem to like to use them too much. Normally one would refrigerate eggs…but here they do not. I have confirmed this to be true with the other students in my school.
• I discovered how to make the water in the shower hot. All it involves is turning the contraption only a little bit, not all the way on. I may never leave my house because of the hot water.
• You are not supposed to flush toilet paper at all in Guatemala. However, if you don’t use a lot it goes down and easy.
• The roads and sidewalks are terrible, honestly terrible. The sidewalks in Xela are all different heights, crumbling, different widths, and something to be seen.
• The little girls and boys are very cute. The girls seem to be a lot older than they are because of a lot of them have their ears pierced and wear colorful dresses. I made friends with the cutest 8 year old girl named Norma who is the daughter of one of the cleaners of my school. We talked about hobbies and listened to Disney songs last Friday. She is definitely better in Spanish than me.
• I am much taller than most Guatemalans and stick out like a sore thumb.
• The socioeconomic class structure is shaped like a pyramid. Lots and lots of poverty at the bottom.
• This week three older individuals started at my school. One single woman and a married couple ranging in ages of 50-70. I think that these people are awesome.
• I still love Lorena’s family. Her parents invited me over for dinner to her grandmother’s house in Xela while they were visiting. Lasagna, veggies, bread, and wine. Yum!
• It is really difficult to live in another language. As difficult as I thought it would be and far more tiring, yet I continue to enjoy it.
• It is very cold at night in my house. I sleep with sweatpants and a sweatshirt on and I still feel cold. The roof in my house is made somewhat of tin and somewhat of wood with little to no insulation. I am not sure I will make it Xela through the winter; maybe I will move to the lake.
• I know about 2 percent of the language right now.